To supplement my freelance/writing career, I recently took a job as a so-called “household manager” for a single dad and his lovely daughter Kate. Kate is six and about as sassy as they come. She is smart, supremely adorable and has become my best little sidekick in just one month’s time. Part of my role as her caregiver involves preparing her meals. I can say with all honesty that this has become one of the most difficult aspects of my life at the moment. While Kate will eat a piece of salmon (doused in teriyaki sauce, of course) on occasion, her diet mostly consists of goldfish, chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes with mounds of butter and mac n’ cheese. I’m a bonafide nutrition zealot, and these foods go against everything I believe in. What’s a nanny (or parent for that matter) to do?!

What’s even worse about this situation is that I’ve found myself nibbling on her leftovers. Not only is her little body not getting adequate nutrition but now mine has become a garbage dump too. Yikes. Something had to give. So I decided to turn it into a game. Namely, the Juicing Game. I explained that my cool silver juicer is the “board” and we can put whatever we want in it. Like an antioxidant rich version of “Easy Bake Oven,” my juicer has become a veritable chemistry lab for Miss Kate. Sometimes the results are not so great, but usually things turn out okay and she loves to drink her “creations.” This strategy is bound to work for any adventurous kids. Just follow a few guidelines below (based on trial and error) and I promise that your little one will be slurping down fresh pressed juice by the sippy-cup full.

The Juicing Game

1. Have your kids juice in the same color category. For example, they can do an all green juice (celery, kale, green apple, cucumber, etc…) or an orange/red juice (carrot, beet, etc…). Why follow this color-coded approach, you ask? Kids are more apt to consume substances in bright colors. Brown juice just won’t fly. Trust me.

2. Start sweet. Let’s be real… bitter veggie juice is hard for even us adults to choke down sometimes. Don’t expect your kiddos to worship plain kale juice right from the start. It ain’t gonna happen. Instead, start with palatable fruits that you know they’ll love. Apples, carrots, watermelon, oranges and mangos are all good choices.

3. Supervise closely. Explain how your magic juicer works and the mechanisms involved – specifically a sharp spinning blade and basket. Make sure that your kids are always keeping their hands out of the chute (if you have a centrifugal juicer) and that the chopping of veggies and fruits should also be taken seriously and only handled by adults. Since Kate loves to “do everything,” I combat this by chopping up the stuff while she’s playing in another room.

4. Make cool stuff with your juice! One of the best ways to get your kids to love the process of juicing even more is to use your juice to create kid-friendly foods like popsicles, soups, etc. Not only will you feel great knowing that your child is getting tons of great nutrients, but you’ll also be setting the little munchkin up for a lifetime of healthy food choices.

Photo credit: Horton Web Design

Everything gets a little lighter when it’s hot outside, and the open-faced sandwich is a perfect example. Begone, second slice of bread! All of you have to do is pile delicious toppings onto a single, thick piece of toast, and chomp down on it while shooing away flies. (They’re everywhere these days. Ugh.) Naturally, the classic tomato sandwich rules them all, but here are ten more ideas for those days when you want to spice it up a bit.

1. The classic avocado sandwich.

Smash a few slices of perfectly ripe avocado on a crusty piece of toast. Drizzle with olive oil, top with sea salt. Add: crushed red pepper, black pepper, a squeeze of lime.

2. Salmon, radish, and apple open-faced sandwich.

A cool take on a traditional Danish dish.

3. Open-faced BLT. 

Coat one slice of toast with mayonnaise. Top in this order: 1) lettuce 2) tomato 3) bacon.

4. Open-faced steak sandwich with tomatoes and goat cheese.

Perfect for using up leftovers.

5. Fried egg and asparagus sandwich.

Roast or steam a few skinny pieces of asparagus. Fry up an egg, as hard or as runny as you like it. Butter a piece of toast, add the asparagus, top off with the fried egg. Finish with a crack of black pepper and a few shavings of cheese.

6. Fig, ricotta, and honey open-faced sandwiches.

Grecian and delicious.

7. Sautéed vegetables tossed with feta or parmesan cheese.

Slice up whatever produce is getting old inside your fridge, and quickly sauté with a bit of olive oil and garlic. Pile onto bread, crumble cheese on top.

8. Caramelized onions and a slice of mozzarella. 

Need I say more?

9. Open-faced bacon-and-egg sandwiches with arugula. 

The BLT’s fancier cousin.

10. Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches.

Spread cream cheese over toast. Top with thin slices of cucumber, julienned basil, salt, and pepper. Perfect for tea time.

Pro tip: if you have guests over, refer to these sandwiches as tartines. Que merveilleux!

photo attribute: Jeffery Loo on flickr

1. Be asymmetrical.

Your bouquet doesn’t have to look the same from every angle–in fact, it’s cooler if it doesn’t. Don’t stagger your flowers like you’re beading a necklace–let them clump, droop, and gather in visually interesting formations.

2. When in doubt, pick just one flower.

If you’re filled with despair at ever achieving the perfectly-arranged bouquets in Martha Stewart living, then stick to one type of flower. You absolutely cannot go wrong with a simple cluster of daffodils, hydrangeas, roses, tulips, lilacs, peonies… (you get the point).

3. Gather wildflowers. 

You know those tangly patches of Queen Anne’s Lace, dandelions, and black-eyed Susans that grow along the side of the highway? Clip an armful and bring it home to create a centerpiece that’s absolutely stunning in its authenticity. Just remember shake out the flowers before you bring them inside to get rid of bugs.

4. Fill up on greens.

A) Flowers are expensive. B) Greens are cool. If you only have a small handful of blooms and want to make a lush bouquet, gather things like ferns, ivy, tree branches, and even pretty weeds to fill out the bouquet.

5. Make multiple small arrangements.

Collect whatever glass containers you have on hand: old Coke bottles, jars, wine glasses, champagne flutes, traditional vases, etc. Divide your bundle of flowers into mini bouquets (don’t use the same ratio of flowers in every bouquet–variety is the spice of life, friends!) and put a few stems in each container. It’s super cool if the containers are varying heights. Cluster in the middle of the table, or on a windowsill, desk, or bookshelf. Who knew happiness was so easy to arrange?

One-dish salads, packed with grains and lots of fresh vegetables, herbs, and cheeses, are one of my favorite thing to eat in the summer. You can make a huge bowl and have it for lunch all week, adding more herbs, slices of avocado, or a dash of hot sauce as you go. And salads like these have as many nutrients as a green smoothie, just in a different form.

The formula is simple: a base grain (quinoa, faro, barley, etc.), plenty of crunchy filler (celery, carrots, radishes, fresh corn), some luxurious add-ons (fresh herbs and cheeses), and a simple dressing of oil + acid. Toss, eat, store leftovers in the fridge. This isn’t so much a recipe as some loose guidelines for tossing delicious vegetables in a bowl.

This salad has some of the flavors of a classic caprese (tomato and basil), but instead of mozzarella, I used goat cheese to make a more robustly flavored dish. Quinoa is a complete protein, too, so it’s one of the best bases you can use for a grain salad. And of course, there’s plenty of vitamins worth writing home about: vitamin A from the shredded carrots and vitamin C from the grape tomatoes.

Quinoa, Basil, and Goat Cheese Salad

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, washed and sliced
• 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 loose handful fresh basil, julienned
• lemon juice
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Cook and cool the quinoa. (Pop it into the fridge for a bit if you want.) Gently stir in the carrots, tomatoes, goat cheese, and green onions. Drizzle olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice over the top, stirring frequently and tasting as you go. Season with salt and pepper. Top each serving with a tablespoon of julienned basil.

This salad keeps well in the fridge, as the flavors will continue to blend. Serve alongside sandwiches, or use as a complete meal.

Looking for more salad recipes? Try this Herbed Feta-Lentil Quinoa Salad or a Crunchy, Warm Spring Salad.

Whether you’re a gourmet chef or a hopeless disaster in the kitchen, there are a few techniques that everyone should master. As someone who falls in the latter camp (like Carrie Bradshaw, I use my oven to store sweaters… not to make culinary masterpieces), I’ve recently become obsessed with perfecting the simplest of cooking skills. Luckily, I have a professionally-trained chef in the family who is not only a total foodie genius, but also possesses the patience to school me on everything I should already know by now.

Below are the two techniques I’ve found most useful–especially since cooking healthily doesn’t always produce uber-delicious food. And don’t forget that your juicer and blender can be extremely helpful tools in your arsenal. With the possibility to produce soups, nut butters/milks, salsas and more, make sure you keep these workhorses handy.

How to Boil an Egg

Yeah, yeah, roll your eyes. But making the perfectly boiled egg is an art, my friends. None of that overcooked, green-rimmed yolk business. Once you master the art of the perfectly boiled egg, you’ll wonder how you went so long doing it the old way.

Start with cage-free organic eggs. They taste better – I swear it. Just keep in mind that brand new eggs are harder to peel. It’s better to let them sit in the fridge for a few days before boiling.

Fill a large pot with cold water, place the eggs in the bottom of the pot and bring it all to a boil. Let the eggs cook in a rolling boil for 9 minutes and then remove them immediately and immerse them in ice water. Once they’re cool, peel and eat. I like to keep a bowl of hardboiled eggs in my fridge all week for a quick snack or to make egg white salad (see last week’s recipe).

How to Brine

Want to know the best kept secret in restaurants? Brining! In a nutshell, a brine is a mixture of water, salt, and flavor. When you immerse a lean cut of meat in a brine, osmosis goes to work, some crazy chemistry happens, and you’re left with a super flavorful and tender piece o’ protein. I recently brined pork chops (organic and humanely raised, duh) and was BLOWN. AWAY. No offense to my mom, but her chops never tasted like this. Try it this weekend for your fam.

• ¼ cup Kosher salt
• 4 cups of water
• Pinch sugar
• Seasoning of your choice (fresh herbs are best – i.e. Rosemary sprigs or smashed garlic cloves)

In a sauce pan, bring all ingredients to a boil to dissolve the salt and sugar. Cool in the fridge before using. Then submerge a lean cut of beef or chicken in the mixture for 1-1.5 hours. Remove from the brine and rinse with water to remove excess salt. Pat dry and get cooking!

Photo credit: Pontus Edenberg

For many people, seasonal change comes with a change in drinking habits.

I’d be the last one to say it’s not fun. But aside from a little antioxidant activity via red wine, nobody is saying alcohol is good for you. In fact, scientists are pretty convinced of the opposite: heavy, consistent drinking can lead to a terrifying assortment of health problems, from anemia and heart disease to cancer, cirrhosis, dementia, depression, seizures, high blood pressure, and nerve damage. Moderate drinking can dry out your skin, harm your sleep, bloat your face, and cause weight gain. And let’s not even talk about hangovers.

There’s a new app called Drinking Mirror that wants to remind you of alcohol’s darker side using everyone’s most vulnerable spot: vanity. The app shows you what you’ll look like in ten years based on how much you drink right now. Upload a photo of yourself, plug in the number of drinks you have per week (1-5, 6-10, or 10+), and watch the transformation. Warning: it’s not pretty. If you’re a heavy drinker, you’ll see wrinkles, broken capillaries, and sagging jowls where your normal face used to be. I asked to see what I’d look like in ten years at 10+ drinks a week (I don’t drink that much, but I was curious), and the result was horrifying enough to make me swear off alcohol for good. Or at least for now.

But fresh juices are here to counteract the nutrient-deprived skin and dehydration of drinking, and they also give you something to sip on when all your friends are chugging champagne. Replace a few of your weekly cocktails with green juice and you’ll start to see and feel the difference right away. The thought of your face in ten years will no longer be so terrifying.

Here are some recipes to get you through the sangria-free weekdays:

Cucumber-Watermelon Electrolyte Juice
Watermelons and cucumbers are so hot right now, and both are absolutely packed with liquid–and this isn’t tap water we’re talking about. Both cucumber and watermelon water are filled with electrolytes, AKA nature’s gatorade.

Mexican Fiesta Juice
The two stars of this concoction are jalapeño and cilantro–two items you wouldn’t typically think of passing down the chute of your juicer. But hear me out…

Cranberry-Parsley Juice
Cranberries make your urine more acidic, helping prevent UTIs. Parsley is often used as a natural remedy for both UTIs and kidney stones. This juice combines them both in a sweet medley that will have your kidneys (hypothetically) glowing.

Moving Day Mega-Juice
Two huge mason jars full of carrot-grapefruit-spinach-apple-broccoli-green pepper-jalapeño-basil juice, oh my! This juice tastes incredible–the sweetness of the apples and carrots perfectly balanced out the veggie-ness of the broccoli and green pepper, and the basil and jalapeño gave it an amazing je ne sais quoi.

photo attribute: HybridSys

There is seriously nothing better than good Jewish deli food. 

Since I’m making 2013 the year of food makeovers, I thought that there had to be a way to make my favorite deli foods with less saturated fat, sodium and dairy. After a bit of research and chatting with my favorite Jewish friends, and family I think I’ve come up with two recipes that are majorly delicious and perfect for packing on a picnic with a couple of bialy’s (less carbs!), sliced tomato, capers, and maybe a good bottle of wine – Manischewitz if you really want to go all out. Try these this weekend and celebrate good family and friends. L’chaim!

Egg White Egg Salad

• 1 dozen boiled egg whites (for guilt-free egg eating, buy only organic, cage free eggs)
• 4 stalks of organic celery
• ½ white organic onion
• ½ cup Veganaise
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Fresh dill (if desired… it’s not my fave but works well in this recipe)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Process the celery and onion in a food processer until a fine dice is achieved. Add in the egg white and process to desired consistency. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and fold into the egg white/celery/onion mixture. Serve chilled with a half an avocado or on toasted sprouted grain toast.

Vegetarian Chopped ‘Liver’

• 3 medium organic onions
• 1 lb white organic mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 3 hardboiled eggs
• ½ cup raw walnuts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Grapeseed oil for cooking

Finely chop the onion and caramelize in a pan with grapeseed oil until they are very brown (just not burned!). Remove onion, and in the same pan, add another tablespoon of oil and repeat with the mushrooms. In a food processor or blender, combine the onions and mushrooms with the remaining ingredients and pulverize until you get a chunky mixture. Full walnut pieces shouldn’t be visible, but it shouldn’t turn into a paste either. Gauge it to your liking. Serve with matzoh.

Photo credit: Fleur Suijten

This summer recipe (okay, let’s call it what it is, a “recipe”–scare quotes and all) is quite possibly the flagship food of summer. It beats out caprese salads, corn on the cob, hot dogs, popsicles, and root beer floats in terms of sheer ease of making and total deliciousness. It’s the perfect lunch (or breakfast or dinner or midnight snack) for those days where it’s so hot that you barely have an appetite, and the thought of doing anything that could be filed under the category “cooking” makes you want to hop straight into the refrigerator and stay there till autumn.

Yes, this is the ultimate low-maintanance recipe. If you can listlessly wield a knife, you can make this sandwich. Of course, tomato sandwiches have often been the starting point for many variations: grilled cheese with tomatoes, tomato and hummus concoctions, tomato-basil sandwiches, BLTs, avocado-tomato vegan concoctions, and so forth. And all of those sandwiches are amazing, but it doesn’t get better than this simple classic.

Part of what makes tomato sandwiches so appealing right now is that summer is the only possible time to eat them. Unless you live in a warm-all-year farmer’s paradise, off-season tomatoes aren’t even worth speaking about. Only in July and August can you find tomatoes that are succulently red all the way through, bursting with ripeness, and in all sorts of crazy colors (yellow, orange, purple, and mottled red). Tomatoes (technically a fruit–a berry, in fact) are famous for their antioxidant content, especially the high amount of lycopene, which is vital for bone health. Their phytonutrient count is “off the chart,” according to World’s Healthiest Foods, and they’ve long been praised for their role in heart health.

As far as the other ingredients in this sandwich, quality is key. With such a simple recipe, every ingredient gets a chance to shine–or flop. Translation: get the good bread.

One Perfect Tomato Sandwich

• Two slices good bread
• One perfectly ripe tomato
• Hellman’s mayonnaise
• salt and pepper

Toast the bread. Spread each half with a thin layer of Hellman’s mayonnaise. With a serrated knife, cut the tomato in thick, even slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

You know what to do.

Since the advent of refrigeration, cow’s milk has been a staple in the American home.

We all know that cow’s milk contains ample calcium (about 300 mg per cup) and since our bones need calcium for optimal function, it makes sense to assume that consuming milk would give us rockstar bones. Unfortunately, science just doesn’t support this widely-believed myth. In fact, the countries with the lowest amount of dairy consumption have the lowest incidence of bone fracture and osteoporosis. How can this be? And how come no one is telling us this? Well first off, cow’s milk (like all animal protein) is acidic. Your body’s M.O. is to keep you neutral and it just so happens that calcium is awesome at alkalizing acid. Therefore, when you drink milk, calcium stores in your bones are actually leached out to neutralize the acidic nature of the drink. Unfortunately, much of the medical community is still living in the dark ages and recommending serious milk consumption despite this irrefutable evidence and science.

It only gets worse from there. Gone are the days of the humble dairy farmer, milking his small flock of cows and in his place are large factory dairies with thousands of animals and machines doing the milking. This new way of producing milk is cost effective, but often results in sick cows and the spread of disease. To combat these illnesses, farmers load up their cows with antibiotics along with a hefty dose of hormones to increase their output. All of this ends up in the milk you drink. Studies have even shown that these hormones can induce premature puberty in little girls. Thankfully, there are responsible milk manufacturers who are now dedicated to producing milk without these insidious add-ins. If you’re still serving cow’s milk to your family, please make sure to seek out these organic brands.

For my money, I say that organic almond milk is the safest way to go. But like anything, it’s all about choice and personal preference. Try starting a milk debate amongst your friends or family and see where they weigh in. You’d be surprised by the lack of knowledge and the way some feel so fiercely protective over their right to drink the stuff.

Photo credit: Alessandro Paiva

File this one under Easy Summer Recipes That Won’t Make You Die of Heatstroke While Making. When you know you need your vegetables, but aren’t in the mood for a salad, veggie-packed sandwiches are your greatest ally. And so I made one for you–filled with salty feta, briefly marinated onions, and an absolute rainbow of vegetables.

This marinated-onion trick is one I’ve recently learned, and it’s a total lifesaver. I love onions as much as the next guy, and they’re full of powerful nutrients like flavonoids, which tend to be more concentrated in the onion’s outer layer of flesh (so peel off only the papery outer skin). However, there’s nothing like a big chunk of raw onion to ruin a bite of salad or sandwich. Sometimes onions are just a little too much. But giving them a quick marinade in oil, vinegar, and spices takes away the onions’ bite, transforming raw onions from spicy and sharp to sweet and luxurious. Plus, it’s a great way to infuse extra flavors into boring sandwiches or salads that could use a makeover.

Crunchy, Cool Greek Sandwiches
serves 2

• 4 slices good bread
• 1/4 cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup purple cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup Balsamic Marinated Onions (recipe below)
• Greek yogurt
• olive oil
• feta cheese

Toast your bread. Spread one side with Greek yogurt (think of it as Mediterranean mayonnaise) and drizzle the other side with olive oil. Cover the first slice of bread with a layer of feta cheese.

Layer on the veggies: cucumber, red pepper, purple cabbage. Top with Balsamic Marinated Onions and the other slice of bread.

Balsamic Marinated Onions
makes enough for 4+ sandwiches

• Red onion
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Slice half the red onion as thinly as possible and place in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the onions until they’re about half covered (no measuring necessary here; this recipe is very forgiving). Sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper. Gently toss the onions until they’re completely coated. Let them sit for at least five minutes before using on your sandwiches, and store the rest in the fridge–they’ll get better as they soak!