L.O.V.E. Yearly II

While I wasn't due for my yearly cleanse until March, I went into this holiday season craving it! The idea of detoxing my body is what got me through the holiday eating, (let's face it, chocolate helped me out a great deal too) and reminded me there was something to looking forward to in January. I enjoyed my experience so much with Organic Avenue last year, I decided to stick with the company, but commit to their level 2 cleanse, LOVEfast (Live Organic Vegan Experience), which is a juice based cleanse with a salad at the end of the day.

Day 1 - Normally I would head to the L.E.S. Organic Avenue store to pick up my daily juice, but this year I was able to score a sweet deal via MindBodyGreen, a website dedicated to tips for a healthier mind, body and planet and decided to have my juices delivered. I felt bad for the delivery guy at 8am when he rode up to my door on a bike in 25 degree weather! Here's my menu today:

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh Pressed Apple Juice
• Young Love Juice (Cucumber, spinach, celery)- 77 calories
• Green Embrace Smoothie (Banana, Mango, Spinach, Coco Butter, Doc Brocs Alkaline Plant Powder, Lacuma, Spirulina)- 740 calories
• Raw Green Soup - 93 calories
• Dandelion Cream Salad
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon) - 194 calories

Since I've done this before, I was anticipating my Sunday evening email telling me what was going to arrive Monday am for the start of my cleanse. Mentally I was prepared for this entire week knowing that I would only eat one solid item a day. Luckily, the shot of Chlorophyll was not as bad a I remember it and once I brushed my teeth the taste was all but gone. I also learned to like the Green Juice last go round and actually seek out a juice bar where I can have this made when I feel I need it during the year. I drank my juices pretty much on schedule today and was excited for my 6pm soup. Too bad! I had a vision of a thicker broth that even chilled would feel more like a meal and less like a juice - wrong. I ate as much as I could and ended up dumping the last 1/4, so by 7:30pm, the Dandelion salad was calling my name! While it wasn't the best O.A. meal I've had, it was nice to chew something and the pine nuts and raisins added texture and a bit of sweetness. The last thing I wanted to do was drink that Green Mylk, but I knew that with less food and more juice on this level of cleanse I need all the calories I can get. At 11pm, I'm headed to bed with no head ache or withdrawal from sugar, but my insides do feel like they are being rung out a little.

Day's winner: Green Embrace Smoothie   Day's loser: Raw Green Soup

Day's weight loss: 1.6lbs

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Day 2 - Due to the upcoming snow storm, I was delivered today and tomorrow's cleanse at once. Here's what I have to look forward to for Tuesday:

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh Pressed Orange Juice- 219 calories
• Green Love Juice (Kale, Cucumber, Spinach, Celery, Romaine, Swiss Chard, Collard Greens, Apple, Lemon, Parsley Juice) - 123 calories
• Blueberry Spirulina Smoothie (Coconut Water, Blueberries, Banana, Coconut Oil, Spirulina)- 371 calories
• Cucumber Basil Soup (Coconut Water, Coconut Meat, Cucumber, Avocado, Basil, Garlic, Himalayan Salt) - 350 calories
• Kale Dulse Salad
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon) - 194 calories

Had a great night's sleep, even if it was only 5.5 hours (early morning meeting), and felt energized to start my day. The mornings juices were tasty and at 11am I tried to lay down for a nap. Instead I just laid there unable to sleep. The natural juices have this effect on my body, which is actually wonderful. So, I got up to drink my Green Love. OMG, what happened to my green juice? I love the Young Love they usually send, why is this one so horrible? It's so bitter and has a weird after taste, must be the Swiss Chard that the OA website is raving about. I'm sad to say from there the day's juices didn't get that much better. The smoothie didn't have the thickness of the first day and tasted mostly like coconut water (not a huge fan). The cucumber soup grew on me by the end. It started off with mostly a coconut taste, but the basil and garlic really came through and I found myself happier with every slurp. The Kale salad was served my need to chew on something, but was practically tasteless and by the time I was supposed to drink the Green Mylk, I was sick at the thought of ingesting anything else so 1/2 of it went down the sink. I got into bed with a headache and realized that even though I was drinking all day long I was dehydrated. I'd forgotten to drink even a sip of water in the past two days. So I down a large glass and laid down for a good night's sleep.

Day's winner: Cucumber Basil Soup   Day's loser: Green Love Juice

Day's weight loss: 1.8lbs

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Day 3 - Slept a great 8 hours and my headache is gone! My juices were already in the fridge from the early delivery so this is what I'm drinking today:

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh Pressed Pear Juice- 294 calories
• Veggie Vibe (Carrot, Cucumber, Beet, Celery, Chard, Spinach, Ginger, Parsley, Lemon) - 113 calories
• Cacao Smoothie (Coconut Water, Blueberries, Banana, Coconut Oil, Spirulina)- 902 calories
• Cucumber Basil Soup (Coconut Water, Coconut Meat, Yacon Syrup, Agave Nectar, Cacao, Vanilla) - 350 calories
• Kale Dulse Salad
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon) - 194 calories

Cacao Smoothie photo by Organic Avenue

The morning started off the same and I was looking forward to the Veggie Vibe juice. At Pravassa's Vermont vacation last September, Chef Melissa Petitto made a morning juice out of beets, apples and ginger so I curious to see how this one compared. While I very much enjoyed the Organic Avenue version, Chef Melissa's had a sweet and tanginess to it that wasn't to be found in this juice. Since I juiced the one in Vermont, I know the apples and ginger were much more prevalent than what I had today. Since I wasn't thrilled with yesterday's smoothie and today's also listed coconut as the first ingredient, I wasn't expecting much. OMG what an amazing surprise. The Cacao Smoothie is my new favorite food! I have to figure out a way to work this into my weekly diet. It's like drinking chocolate cake batter, but not as thick or sugary. Seriously it was so good that I put off eating the soup so the cacao memory would linger longer. This evening I attended a 7:30pm yoga class, so it put my evening routine into a bit of disarray. I ended up taking a few swallows of soup, skipping the salad and drinking 1/2 of the Green Mylk. But I actually feel refreshed and revived after class and not hungry. So while today's cleanse had quite a lot of calories, I didn't end up consuming them all. We'll see how this effects my weight loss by tomorrow.

Day's winner: Cacao Smoothie   Day's loser: Cucumber Basil Soup

Day's weight loss: 0.8lbs 

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Day 4 - Ok, due to some left over juice/food in the fridge, I decided to make my own version of the cleanse today:

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh Pressed Grapefruit Juice- 193 calories
• Carrot Juice - 189 calories
• Blueberry Spirulina Smoothie (Coconut Water, Blueberries, Banana, Coconut Oil, Spirulina)- 371 calories
• 1/2 Cucumber Basil Soup (Coconut Water, Coconut Meat, Cucumber, Avocado, Basil, Garlic, Himalayan Salt) - 175 calories
• Kale Dulse Salad
• Fennel Orange Salad (Lemon, Cucumber, Himalayan Salt, Orange, Pepper, Olive Oil, Fennel, Dill)
• 1/2 Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon) - 97 calories

I was really surprised when I unpacked my juices for the day and saw the Blueberry Smoothie. Supposedly I was given this smoothie on Day 2, but I think the bottle was labeled incorrectly and I actually drank the Lemon Lime Smoothie that day, it was green after all, not purple. Anyway, due to the late delivery on the juices, I didn't get started until 10:30am and chased my shot of Chlorophyll with the Grapefruit Juice. Yuck! I don't like grapefruits to begin with, (my husband will tell you a funny story about that one day), so I was sure the juice was going to be torture for me. Sure enough, 1/2 if it went down the sink. The Carrot juice that followed was much sweeter than I expected and was purely carrots. While it wasn't bad, I decided I'd rather eat the carrots for the nutrients and the crunch factor. So, turns out the actual Blueberry smoothie is delicious and my 'lunch' was amazing. Ok, maybe not as amazing as the Prosciutto di Parma Crepe my friend ate across the table from me, but hey, I enjoyed it! For the second half of the day, I didn't want my left over juices to go bad, so I ended up consuming the previous days remains and added in the Kale Salad. Overall it was fine, the fennel salad was by far the tastiest, but I'm glad that I only need to consume 1/2 the liquids. While I did mess with the Organic Avenue formula by eating an additional salad today, I was shocked when I weighed myself in the morning and discovered I'd actually GAINED 0.2lbs. I mean they are only 5oz salads! Guess my morning Pilates session didn't burn enough calories. Well, tomorrow is the final day and I'm looking forward to my celebratory sushi meal on Saturday night.  

Day's winner: Blueberry Spirulina Smoothie  Day's loser: Fresh Pressed Grapefruit Juice-

Day's weight GAIN: 0.2lbs

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Day 5 - Last Day! It's a choose your own adventure day as I didn't get to start the day's cleanse until 11am due to a late delivery.

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Lemonade (Purified Alkaline Water, Lemon, Lime, Ginger, Agave, Himalayan Salt.)- 351 calories
• Young Love Juice (Cucumber, spinach, celery)- 77 calories 
• Banana Almond Smoothie 8oz (Coconut Water, Banana, Coconut Oil, Almond) 
• Gazpacho Soup ( Tomato, Carrot, Cucumber, Celery, Bell Pepper, Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic, Olive Oil, Cilantro, Lime Juice, Cayenne, Himalayan Salt.) - 137 calories
• Dandelion Cream Salad (Kale, Dandelion, Pine Nuts, Garlic, Daikon, Miso:Soy Bean Paste & Sweet Rice, Sesame Oil, Jalapeno, Cilantro, Dill, Hemp Seed, Raisins, Parsley, Lemon, Ginger, Himalayan Salt, Pepper.)
• 1/4 Cacao Smoothie - 200 calories
• 1/2 Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon) - 97 calories

I was quite hungry by 11am so I downed both the Chlorophyll and the Lemonade. I'm not sure if it was my low blood sugar or something else, but the Lemonade (so good and perfect for a hot summer day), gave me a big of a sugar high feeling. It went away quickly, but I was surprised. Maybe it was the agave. I was very happy to have the Young Love back for my green juice and the Banana Almond Smoothie was amazing! The 8oz bottle (1/2 the size of a typical smoothie) came with a generic label and no nutritional or caloric information. Either this is a new smoothie for Organic Avenue or it was made on the fly, either way I vote they keep it in! The Gazpacho ended up becoming my pre-dinner about 6pm and I couldn't have been happier. The texture, the taste and the spices were perfect. My mouth was on fire while I ate it, but I didn't mind at all! Dinner was late at 8pm and the salad was a good end to the cleanse food. I ordered a bunch of additional vegan treats to ease me back into eating solid food again. One of the things I had delivered was the Cacao Smoothie so I treated myself to a few sips as dessert for the evening. Then 1/2 the Green Mylk capped off my day and another yearly cleanse. See my full recap and thoughts on the L.O.V.E.fast cleanse this Monday.

L.O.V.E.fast photo by Organic Avenue

Day's winner: Gazpacho Soup  Day's loser: Green Mylk Drink 

Day's weight loss: 0.6lbs

TOTAL weight loss: 4.6lbs

Wild Arugula Salad

In the summer time, all my body craves is salad and fresh fruit. When the cold weather comes around and the wind starts to blow, all I want is comfort food. Luckily, Chef Melissa Petitto created a salad recipe for Pravassa that combines the healthy comfort into one dish. We first cooked this salad at our Fall Farmer's Market Tour & Cooking class. It was so good, that I went back to the market pre-Thanksgiving and made it for my family.

Wild Arugula Salad with Butternut Squash, Lardons, Roasted Wild Mushrooms and Goat Cheese 

INGREDIENTS:(serves 4)
2 cups          wild arugula, washed and spun dry
1 cups          butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
1 tablespoon  olive oil
½ pound        thick cut Lardon (bacon), about ½” thick, cut into ½” chunks
1 cups           mixed wild mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon    olive oil
¼ cup              crumbled rosemary fig goat cheese
1 tablespoon     good quality local honey
1 tablespoon     Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons   Balsamic vinegar
¼ cup              good quality extra virgin olive oil
                       sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 
METHOD OF PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line 3 baking sheets with foil.
3. In a medium bowl, combine butternut squash, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Place seasoned squash on a foil lined baking sheets, making sure they are in a single layer.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until crispy and browned. Rotate tray 1/2 way through. Set aside to cool.
4. On the second baking sheet, place a fitted metal rack (to raise the bacon off the tray) . Arrange the cut bacon in a single layer. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lardons crispy and fat free. Set aside to cool.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the mushrooms, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Place seasoned mushrooms on the third foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until dry and crispy. Set aside to cool.
6. To make the dressing, combine honey, Dijon and balsamic in a small bowl. While whisking the balsamic mixture, slowly add in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
7. To assemble the salad, arrange the wild arugula on a large platter.  Top with butternut squash, lardons, wild mushrooms, and crumbled goat cheese. When ready to serve, drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette.

A great tip that Chef Melissa has for us was to create a buffet style offering of our salad toppings. This way the winter salad was perfect for our vegetarians as well! The salad was such a hit, I'm sure it will become a new Thanksgiving tradition.

Video Blog: Making a Fig Tart Tatin

Chef Melissa Petitto took time at Pravassa's Revitalize Retreat in Vermont to show us how to make a fig tart tatin. It's much easier than it sounds and fun too!

Here's a shot of the finished product and a recipe so you can make it at home yourself.

Fig Tart Tatin with Shaved Manchego and Spinach

INGREDIENTS: (serves 8)
2 sheets                   puff pastry, approximately 17 oz
4 Tablespoons           superfine sugar
2 Tablespoons           red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon            fresh thyme, chopped
12 each                    figs
2 oz                         manchego, shaved
2 cups                      baby spinach
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling
Freshly cracked black pepper
        

METHOD OF PREPARATION:
1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.    Roll out the pastry thinly and cut into 8 circles, approximately 2 ½ inches. Perforate all over with a fork and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
3.    Put the sugar in a pan with a dash of water. Allow the mixture to boil until a nut brown caramel forms, then remove from heat.
4.    Carefully add the vinegar and thyme and pour the caramel into 4 large ramekins.
5.    Cut the figs in half lengthwise and place 3 halves in each ramekin, cut side down. Lay a pastry circle on each, tucking in the edges. Place each ramekin on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and puffed.
6.    Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before inverting each one onto a flat plate. Top with shaved manchego and baby spinach, drizzle with olive oil and season with black pepper.

How to Pick a Melon

During Pravassa's Sunday morning farmers market tour, Chef Melissa Petitto showed us how to pick a ripe cantaloupe. Check out the video below so you know what to look for at the market this week.

A vegetarian meal that will impress your friends

As the weather starts to get warmer, I start to want to eat healthier. The longer days remind me of the summer nights of my childhood where we'd eat dinner outside. Living in NYC eating outside is a complete luxury (thank you tiny balcony or shared roof deck), but one that I like to do often. What will make it even better this year are the recipes that Pravassa was lucky enough to score from Chef Melissa Petitto.

So get ready to wow your dinner party with 3 vegetarian recipes that will melt in your mouth! All recipes yield 4 servings so multiply if you're inviting the neighborhood. Now the trick is getting Ms. Petitto to come over and cook them. I guess we'll just have to wait until September when we head to Vermont.

Chili Lime Glazed Tofu served with Coconut Black Rice and Broccoli prepared by Melissa Petitto.

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Chili Lime Glazed Tofu
INGREDIENTS:
1 package x-firm tofu
½ inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 each clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
2 each limes, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons siracha (hot sauce)

PREPARATION:
1. Squeeze Tofu free of water, cut into 8 pieces and then cut in half diagonally
2. Combine honey, lime juice and zest, siracha and garlic in a shallow dish. Add tofu and allow to marinate at room temperature for 2 hours or overnight.
3. Add sesame oil to a nonstick skillet over high heat. Reserve extra sauce. Add tofu and allow to for a crust on each side, 5 minutes per side. This can be done ahead of time. Reheat in a 400° oven for 10 minutes or until warmed through.

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Coconut Black Rice with Cilantro
INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup black rice
1 can lite coconut milk
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 each garlic clove, chopped

PREPARATION:
1. Combine rice, coconut milk, vegetable stock, cumin and garlic in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Turn off heat and allow to sit covered for 5 minutes.
4. Fluff, stir in cilantro and serve.

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Bragg’s Roasted Broccoli
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups broccoli florets and trimmed stalk
2 tablespoons Bragg’s (liquid amino acids)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pan spray

PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Line a sheet pan with foil and spray the foil.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, Bragg’s and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared sheet pan.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until dry and crispy.