Archives: Health food

Dear friends,

We are now the proud owners of the Excalibur food dehydrator!! Yes you heard right, we can now make our own dried fruit, fruit roll ups, raw treats, granola and lots more!

Clearly I am quite excited about this new addition to our tiny kitchen although we don’t have much space to store the new tool, but we will find a place – even if it has to hang from the ceiling! Kidding… but that’s a running joke around my apartment – we have to start sticking things to the ceiling so we can walk a straight line! I’m exaggerating a bit, but let’s put it this way, we need a new apartment JUST to have space for all our fun kitchen goodies.

For those of you who eat a raw diet or know someone who eats that way, this dehydrator is the perfect gift for him or her! I was so excited to try it out that I took whatever fruit we had in our fridge, sliced them and stuck them in the dehydrator for about 10 hours -maybe longer next time though – the mango looked SO delicious that we couldn’t resist. I will post pictures next time, but this time there just wasn’t enough, and it was gone within minutes that I didn’t even have time to reach for my camera.

Stay tuned for more raw yummy food from the Excalibur!
dehydrator

Here’s the thing, whenever someone tells me they are headed to the health food store or even a “healthy” restaurant I am always so thrilled – BUT I’m a little nervous for them as well. I say this because even though you’re in a natural, organic, healthy restaurant or a health food store DOES NOT mean that everything they sell is healthy! This really is a common misconception and you shouldn’t feel like you’ve been mislead, because these stores and restaurants try to cater to all types of people – mainly health nuts but others as well.

What I can suggest is to ask lots of questions! When you’re at a restaurant ask how your dish is prepared, the ingredients that are used and any other question that you feel is fit. Hopefully your waiter doesn’t get annoyed because this is their job – although, I have had some experiences when they get bothered by me but I just try to stay calm and explain that I have a strict diet – they should hopefully understand.

When at the health food store read the labels. You will most likely be able to tell if the item is healthy or not – if you need help, I am always available to guide you.

Try to watch out for restaurants that serve vegetarian dishes that seem healthy. For example, Many places serve vegetarian Chinese food that most people would think is healthy – but many of the dishes are made with a lot of oil, which causes a stomachache in my case and is just unhealthy in general. It is also important to watch your portion control when you eat out.

If you’re really in the mood for noodles and Chinese food then cook it yourself. You can make an easy stir-fry with rice noodles, veggies and tofu (or other type of protein). When you cook for yourself you know exactly how much oil goes in the pot and plus it’s so much more satisfying when you know you’ve made the meal yourself – it just tastes so much better!

I will post my personal recipe for stir-fry below:

This stir-fry does not have broccoli. I used a sesame drizzle sauce with a hint of wasabi from Trader Joes but I will make my own sauce next time.

Tuesday night dinner with my fiance. This stir-fry doesn't have broccoli and I used a sesame drizzle sauce with a hint of wasabi from Trader Joes. I plan on making my own sauce next time.

This will make enough for at least four people. If your only cooking for 1 or 2 people then I would still cook this amount so you can have delicious leftovers! This recipe is fully adaptable so feel free to change it any way that you like.

1 package of rice noodles (follow directions on back)

1 head of organic broccoli, (you can also chop up the stems and put them in – just cut off the very tip)

1 organic zucchini cut into round slices (you don’t need to peel it – just wash it well to wipe off any dirt) you can also use yellow squash or any other veggie that you prefer

1 package of organic spinach, kale or any other green that you like

1 medium onion cut into slices (you can add more if you like onion)

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tbs olive oil

1 package firm or extra firm tofu or other type of protein.

Sauce:

You can use a pre made sauce from Whole Foods or other health food store but make sure to check the label for sugar content and artificial ingredients. You want something that sounds appealing to you and doesn’t contain too much salt or sugar.

If you can’t find something then you can always make your own
I use these ingredients:

tamari (which is soy sauce without wheat)

umeboshi vinegar (which gives great flavor)

apple juice with no added sugar gives it a bit of a sweeter taste and dilutes the salty tamari

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger.

Boil the water for the noodles and start cooking while you’re making the stir-fry.
Add the olive oil to a large pan then put the onions in since they take the longest to cook. Then add the garlic and ginger (if your making your own sauce you don’t need to add garlic and ginger since it will be in the sauce already.)
Cook for a few minutes then add the rest of the veggies.
The tofu tastes best when marinated. If you don’t have enough time to marinate then just cut the tofu into cubes and put it in the pan. Let everything cook until it starts getting soft and then add the sauce. Make sure to save some sauce so that you can add more when you put the noodles in.

When the noodles are soft drain them and run them under cold water so they don’t stick together. Add them to your stir-fry and then drizzle some more sauce on them.

I hope you have fun with this. It’s pretty easy to make and only uses two pots, which is a simple clean up!

Eat one serving and I guarantee you will be full. This is such a better choice then going to a healthy Chinese restaurant.

As they say in French, bon appétit.