Healthy Snacking Tips & Tricks

Snacking doesn't have to be a bad habit. Sure, it's easy munching down a whole bag of potato chips, but there are healthier options out there, and healthy doesn't have to be boring nor does it have to taste bad. Consider your options...

Baked potato chips are a healthier alternative to regular potato chips, but they are still high in sugar, sodium, and packed with added cornstarch. You could instead make a big batch of hummus to last you all week long to dip your fresh veggies in. I have the easiest hummus recipe where all you have to do is toss some tasty ingredients into a blender and voila! Although, I omit the tahini paste so I guess, technically, it can't be called 'hummus' but you can definitely add some if you wish. It's high in protein to keep you feeling full and it's delicious!

Humble Hummus Recipe

4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans chickpeas, drained
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
S&P

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth! See, easy.

Frozen yogurt isn't as good for you as you would think either. By it's definition, yogurt should be made with milk that has been fermented with added cultures. Top it off with some sprinkles and fruit, and you have the ideal health snack right? Sadly, no. Sure, it may be healthier than ice cream, but it's actually loaded with additives with names we can't pronounce like maltodextrin, disodium phosphate, cellulose gum-- so calling it frozen yogurt is totally misleading. How about just grabbing some plain yogurt instead? Top it with a drizzle of honey, some fresh fruit and walnuts, and you have a much healthier snack. Or opt for a banana and glass of skim milk. It's fulling protein packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. I like to freeze my bananas then blend them with a bit of milk and peanut butter. It's faux ice cream, but it's still so tasty and great on those hot summer days!  

Everyone loves snacking on Pretzels, but those things are just refined carbs pretty much. And way too high in sodium. Unless you find the low sodium pretzels, I would steer clear. Nuts are packed with good fats, omega-3, and other vitamins and minerals; it's no wonder they are known as nutritional powerhouses. Almonds, cashews, and pistachios are among the top best nuts for you and they can hold you over until dinner. Edamame is a delicious alternative packed with vitamins and protein, but the best part is sucking them out of their fuzzy exteriors. 

Beat Temptation

Snacking can be very healthy for you as long as you do it right. It's easy to grab a bag of chips or salty trail mix from the convenience store, but it's just as easy to prepare your own snacks and it's much better for you. Being in the car is probably the worst place to be when you're feeling hungry. It will be tempting to go through the nearest drive-through for some fast food so I recommend keeping a stash of goodies in your glove box. Protein fights off hunger and keeps you feeling full longer! 

Pre-measure Snacks

It's easy to go through an entire bag of something when you have it right there in front of you (guilty). You just get caught up in your work and before you realize it, you're fighting for the crumbs at the bottom of your giant bag. Over-snacking defeats the whole purpose of keeping healthy. A couple handfuls of nuts is great, but a couple more and you end up ruining your appetite altogether. And it's good to keep track of your portions.  

Play with your Food

Peel, shell, crack your food. Whatever it takes to keep your mind busy while working for that bite in order to forget about your hunger. 

Impressive wines all under $20

Occasionally, my fiance and I have our sommelier (basically a wine expert) buddy come over for wine tastings. Mainly just to try out some fancy wine but also to train my palate. Today we tried wines from Spain, California, and Australia. Here's where I share my not-so-professional thoughts, yet still justified reviews. 


$11- Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha Calatayud 2012 Product of Spain delivers what you would expect from a good Spanish wine. It rivals some of the wines I've had in Italy with cherry flavors that dance around in your mouth after taking a sip. 

$15- Sterling Vintner's Collection Pinot Noir 2013 from the Central Coast of California was classically silky and impressive. I enjoyed the cherry and vanilla flavors. For the affordable price, this is a brilliant wine.

$17 Earthworks Barossa Valley Shiraz 2012. I'm not typically a fan of Australian wines but I love a good a Shiraz, and I must admit I was impressed with this one. Full bodied with plum flavors and notes of vanilla.   

My sommelier agrees that being under 20 bucks, these wines are fantastic. 

Cheers!

Think Pink!

Start your day off right with a deliciously healthy smoothie. Forget going green; think pink! I slowly started to cut coffee out of my daily routine, either occasionally switching for tea or taking it with butter so I can cut out the sugar-- if you haven't had butter coffee you haven't lived, but be cautious as it is extremely addicting. Anyways, clearly I still love my coffee but now I'm making smoothies and I feel better than ever! I was that person you couldn't talk to before I've had my morning cup of jo, but now I'm way more energized and feeling more alert in the mornings. 

Strawberries are are a great source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Frequent intake can also improve blood sugar regulation. They are also extremely perishable with a maximum shelf life of 2 days on average. They are still edible afterwards but you will no longer gain all of the packed nutrients, so you might as well throw them in a blender before they go bad. Strawberries are sweet, juicy and fragrant, and perfect when combined with blueberries. 

Blueberry, the superstar fruit! We all know about the health benefits of blueberries. Packed with a wide variety of antioxidant nutrients, they provide whole body support. New evidence even suggests that they can improve memory! And best of all, in the case of smoothies, they can be frozen without damaging their anthocyanin antioxidants.

And milk. It still surprises me how more people don't drink "whole milk" and prefer either 2%, 1% or non fat. There is an assumption that whole milk is fattening, but a better name in correlation to the other variations of milk would be calling it 3.5%. Milk does not contain that much fat to begin with and whole milk has about 30 more calories per cup than 2 percent. 2 percent, 1 percent, and nonfat are all processed by removing some fat content, making it less creamy. Whereas whole milk is, well, more whole. So you can continue to drink whichever you prefer but maybe the facts might help drive up the sales again, since they fell below 14 billion pounds last year. Okay, enough about that. 

I use 5 fresh strawberries, and a handful of blueberries (about half a cup) and 1/3 cup of whole milk. That's a total of roughly 93 calories! 

Make sure to freeze your blueberries because that's how you get that smooth, creamy texture. 

You can also add agave syrup or honey for a little more sweetness, but I like this just the way it is. 

Cheers!  

     

Tuscany and Risotto

Known for their wine, pasta, gelato, art, pizza and so on, Italy in my opinion has ought to be the happiest place on earth. With the best foods and the best wines and the greenest of grasses, what's there not to love? I have traveled to Italy so many times and I never tire of the small city that is Florence. A place where everyone knows everyone, a place to find love, a place to live life the way it was meant to be lived-- stress-free with a glassful of wine and a plateful of risotto.  

Here's my last trip to Florence where I had no plans of hitting the museums or the cathedrals ( I have already seen these historical beauties before and if you haven't yet, then you absolutely must) but to eat all that I can eat and drink till I could drink no more. And it was the best time of my life. And I had a lot, a lot, of risotto. 

Okay so first, there are a whole bunch of places called "Bars" but don't be fooled, they are actually what we refer to as cafes. And in these cafes you will find endless options of pastries, cookies, breads, candies and the best cappuccino/espresso you will ever have. Obviously I can't just choose one pastry so I have to try a few.  

The croissant was melt-in-your-mouth perfect and the cappuccino made a great start to my day.

For lunch I ordered mushroom risotto and my dad ordered a pizza. Every restaurant has cute outdoor seating so here we are enjoying the weather.

That's a really tall beer dad.

It was absolutely perfect. The rice cooked al dente (firm to the bite), the mushrooms fresh, the creaminess bringing it all together. 

This restaurant was so good I had to go back and try their spaghetti. Which I did just a couple hours later. 

Great presentation!

Okay so I did do some sightseeing. This is Piazzale Michelangelo where there is a replica of David as a monument base dedicated to Michelangelo. It's filled with locals and tourists because of the amazing panoramic view of Florence. 

I am one happy camper.

Typically with Italian cuisine there's an appetizer, first course, second course and dessert. Risotto or pastas for example would be a first course, and proteins such as chicken or fish would be served as a second plate. Here I am ordering risotto again as my first dish. 

 Risotto al Vino Rosso 

(Red Wine Risotto)

Swordfish 

Second dish

Girls night out! This is me and my girl who lives in Florence. Here we are at the heart of it all.  

Many hours and glasses of wine later, we stopped for some late night pizza.

All the wine explains the blurriness of this picture.

Look at all that meat! 

Today I was invited to have lunch at my friends villa in the outskirts of Florence near Chianti. An excellent homemade lunch served outside surrounded by endless trees of green.

What a beautiful stone villa!

All hands on deck!

I'm clearly in heaven.

The one thing I love the most about Italian culture is the importance of family bonding. Every friend's house I went to, the center focus of the house is the dinner table. Here, it's all about how big your flat screen TV is, but there it's how big your table is. Moments like these are what I treasure the most. 

And for dinner that evening we went out to celebrate mom's birthday at a fish house.

Table for 20! Dad making a toast.

 Appetizer of olives, cheeses, chicken liver pates and tons of other goodies.

Main course steak served family style.

Berry Pana Cotta for dessert yummm.

Earlier I said I made no plans to visit the cathedrals. But honestly who can resist the gorgeous Brunelleschi Duomo that Florence is most known for?

Absolutely brilliant.

A few steps away from the cathedral and Ponte Vecchio, in the heart of this historical center where my friend owns a leather boutique, there's a food vendor with a line forming around the block waiting for this bowl of tripe soup. Food carts are always underrated and overlooked, but I have found time and time again that they really put their heart and soul into their food and in turn, the end product is unbelievable. Luckily for me, my friend is tight with the owner and we didn't have to wait in the line.

Served in plastic perfect for walking around, eating and shopping at the same time. This tripe was the best tripe ever.

Back to my girl's house for lunch! And what a lunch it was. See what I mean about the dining table?

We had salmon, asparagus, fennel salad, chefs salad, sparkling water and wine.

We did it all over again for dinner with some good old fashioned spaghetti.

We went out for dinner one night at a very fancy restaurant, which was a nice change from all the casual dining I've been doing lately. It was a great night, but I would still choose the food carts and outdoor patios over a candlelit dinner anytime.

Spicy Seafood Risotto was a hit!

Again, I may have wandered off a bit to do some more sightseeing. On my previous trips to Italy I never quite made it to the medieval city of Siena, and well that's a must. 

When you choose the life you want to live, early mornings don't seem so bad, Mondays aren't dreadful, your hard work is hardly considered work at all, success finds a new meaning, and you realize that you actually do have the time to lay down-- if only for a second. #freedom #siena

So I made sure to fill up my water bottle.

Waiting for the train to take me to the airport with my prosciutto and cheese sammy in hand.

And one final serving of risotto (this one with leeks). 

ChinChin!

 

Pineapple Granita

OYSTERS WITH PINEAPPLE GRANITA

1 medium pineapple, peeled, cored, chopped
1 cup water
¾ cup sugar

Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil for 1 minute; remove from heat. Add pineapple and simple syrup to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Place mixture in baking pan and place in freezer for about an hour. Using a fork, rake the mixture making sure to get the frozen edges. Place back in freezer and repeat the raking process twice more in one hour intervals. Serve with freshly shucked oysters. Freeze leftovers for up to 2 weeks to enjoy on its own on a hot day.

Recommended Wine: Pinot Gris/Grigio
Alternative Wine: Chardonnay

MUSSELS IN WHITE WINE

My dog, Handsome, and I look forward to Saturdays all week long because that's the one day we wake up with a routine--considering I'm incredibly restless and live a mostly unpredictable day-to-day lifestyle-- and take our mile long walk down to Little Italy's farmer's market. I pick up my staple items-- a pound of fresh mussels, a loaf of bread and goat cheese-- and an abundance of seasonal produce depending on what I plan on whipping up in my kitchen. It is important to me to support my community by buying locally and preserving our environment by buying fresh. So yes, I have made a habit out of going to the Farmer's Market.

I come home and the first thing I whip up are these fabulous mussels. This is so easy to make and it's ready in no time-- like 10 minutes. My fiance loves them and it holds him over until the next course is ready to serve. Cheers!





















$6 lb of fresh mussels $1 loaf of fresh bread  = Winning


MUSSELS IN WHITE WINE

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/3 cup Pinot Gris/Grigio
1 lb mussels, debearded, scrubbed
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 lemon
1 baguette cut in diagonal slices; toasted


Heat oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Melt in butter. Add shallots, season with salt and pepper, stirring often, cook until soft (about 2 minutes). Add garlic, cook until fragrant (about another minute). Add wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has slightly reduced (about a minute more).

Add mussels and water to pot. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring once or twice, until mussels open (about 5 minutes). Discard any mussels that do not open.

Ladle mussels and broth into shallow bowls and garnish with chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve with toasted baguette slices.

Recommended Wine: Pinot Gris/Grigio
Alternative Wine: Sauvignon Blanc

@allpurposeflower_

SPINACH AND RICOTTA RAVIOLI WITH SAGE BROWN BUTTER

Making the dough for this recipe may take some time, but it is all worth it at the end. If you're short on time just use store bought wonton wrappers!

 DOUGH FILLING
1 ¼ cups flour
2 eggs 5 oz fresh spinach
1 tablespoon heavy cream
4 oz ricotta
 6 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Pinch of nutmeg
1 egg yolk

SAUCE
3 oz butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
 Pinch of nutmeg

Place flour on a clean work surface, make a well in the middle and add the eggs into the well. Start by beating the eggs with a fork. As the dough thickens, use your hands to knead until it is thoroughly worked together (about 10 minutes). If the dough sticks to your hands, add more flour. Cut the dough in half, dust a rolling pin with flour and begin rolling each piece out into 2 thin sheets. Reserve.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt and cook spinach for about 1 minute. Remove spinach from water and let cool. Squeeze out as much water as possible from spinach and roughly chop. Combine spinach, cream, ricotta, 5 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper. Whisk in egg yolk.

Assemble ravioli by placing spoonfuls of filling in even rows, spacing them at 1½-in intervals, on one of the sheets of dough. You could at the this point brush the spaces between the filling with an egg wash, but not necessary. Place the other sheet of dough on top of this one, pressing down firmly between the pockets of filling, pushing out any air. Cut into ravioli squares using a sharp knife or cookie cutter.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sage and nutmeg; simmer for about a minute. Set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, working in batches, add ravioli. When raviolis float to the top (about 2-3 minutes) they are ready.
Reheat sauce if need be. Transfer ravioli to serving dish, serve with the brown butter sauce, top with remaining Parmigiano Reggiano.

Recommended Wine: Pinot Gris/Grigio

Cheat: You can skip the dough making and purchase wonton wrappers instead if you’re feeling lazy.