Noshtopia

Pasta Seafood Fest: Lobster, Mussels, Clams and Shrimp With Linguine

2013-05-23T12:40:24-07:00

I had brunch with the family recently, and dad got one of the specials which was this linguine pasta dish with lobster, mussels, clams, and shrimp. The dish was big enough food to feed three adults. I had to take a photo of dad's dish just because I was so fascinated with the seafood.

This dish reminded me of the East Coast and visions of fisherman coming into the harbor with their catch before most of us are out of bed.

What kind of pasta seafood combinations have you created or eaten?

w00t! We Are Content Partners With Keas Helping Employees Eat Well

2013-05-22T09:45:45-07:00

I'm very excited to share with you all today that Noshtopia is a new healthy eating content partner with Keas , an Employee Wellness Program that combines the best of social media and online games to create happier, healthier, more engaged employees.

If your company uses Keas, you will start seeing our delicious healthy food ideas on the Keas platform. I'm very excited to be able to spread more of our plant-loving noshiness over into the workplace.

We're keeping it real - real food eating!

What Is Eating Flexitarian?

2013-05-22T03:50:29-07:00

Looks yum huh?! Before I get to esplaining what Flexitarian is, let me share that the blueberry, granola parfait and the Grilled Garlic Jalapeno Havarti with Roasted Tomato and Basil sandwich is dairy and egg free. The yogurt in the parfait is coconut milk Greek-style yogurt. The dinner plate is ground turkey with chard, roasted cauliflower and red Quinoa. The green salad has flowering radishes, purple curly kale, and English Peas, and for dessert we have a vegan hot fudge sundae.

Eating healthier just got a bit more fun didn't it? Welcome to eating Flexitarian!

Philosophically, I practice "eating wellness" here which is basically as Hippocrates said, "let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." I believe in the Farmacy before the need for the Pharmacy. Farm over Pharma.

Credit: Bizarro Comic

Flexitarian is eating mostly plant-based with occasional meat, dairy, eggs and seafood. Flexible is the key word. It's essentially going vegetarian with the ability to eat the incidental cheeseburger, chicken tikka masala or tuna sandwich without getting the evil eye from others or you feeling guilty for being a bad, cheating vegetarian. I know so much judgement sometimes. So, we are trying to vanquish the judginess.

I also like the concept of flexible to represent mostly healthy for your body with the occasional vice eating that allows room for the junk, decadent, and processed foods. I am realistic. Healthier eating does not mean perfect eating. There is a difference between eating a candy bar once in awhile versus three times a week every week. Healthier eating means balance and flexibility - incorporating both health and fun! If plants and animals can co-mingle, so can kale and Quinoa with donuts and fried chicken. Again, the key is flexible so your psyche knows that there is no deprivation. Nothing is forbidden.

According to Wikipedia, "in 2003, the American Dialect Society voted flexitarian as the year's most useful word and defined it as "a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat". In 2012, the term was listed for the first time in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary."

More recently in 2013, Mark Bittman came out with a book called, "VB6" meaning Vegan Before 6pm which is his version of being Flexitarian. His new column in the NY Times is called, "The Flexitarian." I first read about Bittman's VB6 philosophy in 2009 when he was embarking on a new health journey. That column inspired my version of Flexitarianism which I was calling, "80/20 Plant-based Eating" which incorporated eating 80% plant-based/vegan and 20% meat and seafood.

I started eating more plant-based in the early 2,000's after I was forced to change my eating habits because I discovered that I was allergic to dairy and eggs. Initially, I couldn't imagine my life without pizza, ice cream, and mac and cheese, but fortunately because food producers are getting more creative and there is more customer demand, there are many options for dairy-free, and egg-free eating.

To make things easier, and since the NY Times has now essentially socially validated the term Flexitarian, I'm going to go with Flexitarian instead of 80/20 Plant-based eating. I envision the Flexitarian style of eating becoming the next big trend because it gives people the ability to eat healthier by eating more plants and yet being able to still eat things like cheese and chicken on occasion. There is no living without nor cheating because we get the flexibility.

Flexitarian is different than being an Omnivore, in that Omnivores eat everything, where Flexitarians are more conscious and mindful of the type and quantity of animal and seafood products they eat. Flexitarian eating is also more plant-based versus vegan in that the emphasis is more on eating plants versus just eating animal-free.

You can eat vegan an entire day and actually not eat a single vegetable or fruit. Kellogg's Unfrosted Pop-Tarts, Bisquick biscuits made with soy milk coupled with peanut butter, French fries, and Kool-Aid are vegan, and for some people that is breakfast and lunch. And while we're at it, Crisco and high fructose corn syrup are vegan too.

For the time being, I will intermittently use both the terms plant-based and vegan because although the word vegan can be a polarizing word for some people, it's still a good descriptor nutritionally for foods that are dairy, egg, and honey free for those of us who have food allergies. It still sounds odd to me to call a vegan muffin a plant-based muffin. Plus, saying vegan muffin is shorter than saying, "It's a dairy, egg, and honey free muffin." I'm thinking Twitter 140 limitations.

You don't have to be vegan to eat vegan foods. But I get it. I've had the vegan food police come after me before when I've mingled beef meatloaf posts with vegan enchiladas.

Going Flexitarian is a great way to transition into vegetarian or vegan eating, or to cut down on your consumption of animal products for health, environmental, or monetary reasons. Flexitarian is pro-plant and not anti-meat.

I LOVE. love, did I mention love, farmers markets. In fact, there is a whole category on Noshtopia dedicated to the cool foods I find at farmers markets. It's my fruit and veggie inspiration for you all!

I do my best to eat meat that is humanely raised, grass-fed, free of antibiotics and hormones, and for seafood, I eat wild versus farm-raised. I like to buy seafood that has the Marine Stewardship Council ecolabel because it means that brand has made a commitment to seafood sustainability. I do eat cheese and meat alternatives that are GMO-free which I also lump in the "on occasion" category. A couple of my favorites include, Beyond Meat plant-protein chicken-free strips, and Daiya dairy-free cheese.

I eat real foods and as much organic and GMO-free as much as possible looking for the USDA organic and Non-GMO Project Verified symbols. If the ingredient list sounds like a chemistry project, I don't eat it.

Going Flexitarian not only helped me feel better, it helped me get back in and healthily stay in my skinny jeans - 40lbs gone and stayed off for over five years now!

And unlike most weight loss diets, there is no cheating or dieting here. There is no more worrying or obsessing like I used to. I just eat!

Along with being Flexitarian, I am also gluten-little and soy-little meaning I have cut my gluten and soy consumption way down like 80% down. Although I am not allergic or intolerant to gluten, I started going gluten-little because I noticed I just felt better with less gluten in my daily eating. I only eat organic soy because I know it's GMO-free.

I am also avoidant of High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Sweeteners, Sugar Alcohols, Artificial Food Coloring & Food Dyes, MSG, and Preservatives. We're keeping it real!

For sugars, the American Heart Association recommends that women consume around 25 grams of added sugar per day, and for men 37 grams. I try and stick to that guideline +/- 10%. Cutting down on the sugars was and still is one of my personal eating challenges because oh how I love donuts, cookies, and sugary drinks. But the more my body gets used to the healthier eating, the easier it becomes to not want the sugars.

At Noshtopia, my intention is to help you eat your way to a life full of healthiness and have fun along the way! If you are new to eating Flexitarian, I welcome you and please let me know in what ways I can make eating more of a pleasure.

Yes, You Can Have Your Bacon And Eat It Too: BLT Pink Beans Salad

2013-05-21T23:28:51-07:00

Bacon is a great way to get people to try new things, and in a salad you can use bacon sparingly for flavor versus as a main dish on a plate. When I eat bacon, I always get nitrate-free bacon. Black Forest bacon would be a good one for this dish.

For this post, I tried out Tempeh Smoky Maple Bacon to make my salad vegan. I had seen the GMO-free tempeh bacon for awhile now at Whole Foods, and was curious. I've never had vegan bacon before, and I was pretty impressed with this bacon. It's definitely worth a try if you want to go all veg on this salad.

Instead of lettuce, I used chopped arugula because it's a funner green so technically, I should call this a BAT Pink Beans Salad, but that sounded too weird, and everyone knows what BLT means. The word arugula does have the letter L in it, so it's not a total stretch....Okay, maybe a little.

I've been expanding my bean horizon, and found in the bulk food section at Whole Foods Pink Beans also known by the Spanish name habichuelas rosadas. I love the pink color of these beans! Taste-wise, the pink beans taste like a smoother, sweeter Pinto bean.

For the tomato, I found these really cute baby heirloom tomatoes at Trader Joe's. I loved the variety in colors. You can use regular cherry tomatoes, but for some fun variety, go to TJ's and try the heirlooms.

This salad is really easy to make and bonus, it's gluten-free! If you don't have Pink Beans, you could use Kidney, Pinto, or Red Beans in its place.

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 cups cooked Pink Beans*
3 pieces of cooked Tempeh Smoky Maple Bacon, or two strips cooked bacon cut into bits.
1/2 cup chopped arugula (Feel free to add more arugula to green up the salad!)
12 mini heirloom tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes cut in halves.
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup of your favorite vinaigrette. To stay with the pink theme, and go a little more on the sweet side, I used Brianna's Blush Wine vinaigrette.

*I soaked the beans overnight, and then boiled them in water with a pinch of salt for about 45 minutes on medium heat.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cooked pink beans, bacon, onion, arugula, and vinaigrette and mix well together.

Fold in the tomatoes last because it's the most delicate of the ingredients, and mix everything together one more time.

Enjoy!

Organic Basil So Pretty It's In The Flower Section

2013-05-20T18:32:30-07:00

I love how Whole Foods has the flower section in the front as you walk in the store. I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I walked into the Whole Foods on 4th in SF and saw organic basil mixed in with the other flowers. The smell was pretty incredible too!

And now I want to grow an herb garden.

Happy Food Revolution Day 2013! Here's 5 Real Food Dish Ideas

2013-05-17T11:12:22-07:00

Oh you know how we love some Jamie Oliver! Today is Food Revolution Day 2013, and we are happy to support a day of eating, educating, and celebrating real food.

To help inspire you, here are 5 of some of my favorite dishes I've made recently that are full of vibrant nutrient-abundant plants. Do you have any dishes you are making for Food Revolution Day? Please share in the comments.

Enjoy!

Raising The Bar On Carrots: Roasted Purple Carrots On A Bed Of Arugula

2013-05-17T10:30:46-07:00

As you know, we are done with baby carrots because it reminds me too much of dieting. Besides, whoever gets cartwheel excited over baby carrots?

Now, roasted purple carrots, here is something that will make your palate dance. Ok, maybe not Gangnam Style, but you'll definitely Instagram this.

Heirloom carrots come in all different colors, and you are most likely to find these beautiful creatures at your local farmers market. Purple is my favorite color food, and I think it's cool that with these carrots you get the purple on the outside but the inside is still a shade of orange.

To roast the carrots, cut them down the middle, on a baking sheet, coat the carrots with olive oil. Sprinkle on a couple pinches of sea salt, and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool and serve on a bed of fresh arugula!

The Best Brick Oven Grilled Veggie Pizza I've Ever Eaten + A Smashed Potato Pizza

2013-05-16T15:48:44-07:00

My friend Maria @Studio747 was in town visiting last night, and I had to take her to Source SF. I haven't been able to stop thinking about that place and their Beet Red Quinoa salad. I was dying to try the brick oven pizza at Source because they can make any of their pizza vegan. It's challenging to find a really good vegan pizza.

The search is over...

OMG! You know that feeling when you put food in your mouth, chew, and literally you can feel the happiness going down to your tummy. That is how I felt when eating the vegan version of their Grilled Veggie pizza. Pure joy, I tell you. What I found interesting is that they use a cashew based cheese, so the pizza is soy-free. Cool!

The Grilled Veggie Pizza has grilled squash, eggplant, artichoke hearts, assorted mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, plum tomato sauce and fresh cut basil sprinkled on top. The crust was exactly how I love it, slightly crispy with a soft inside.

The pizza is pretty big too. I'd say three people can eat well with a side green salad. I had some wonderful cold pizza leftovers today.

Maria ordered the vegetarian version of their Smashed Potato pizza which has fresh mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, swiss, romano, herbed potatoes, garlic sauce, and fresh cut basil sprinkled on top.

If you are in San Francisco, you must visit Source. I'm telling you, they have some of THE best plant-based food I've ever eaten.

Fun Fusion: Chinese Mexican Chicken Salad

2013-05-14T16:05:40-07:00

I got all "We are the World" on your basic Chinese Chicken salad. You know I simply cannot do anything generic. I got inspiration for my fusion salad from this Chinese Mexican restaurant in Phoenix where I used to live called Chino Bandido where you can get a Carnitas, Egg Foo Yung, Pork Fried Rice burrito with a side of refried beans. The combination is kinda trippy, but somehow it oddly works.

Instead of fattening and greasy, I got flexi and sexy. We got some hotness in the salad...and actually I am talking about some literal hotness. For the greens, I used chopped curly purple kale and ancho cress I found at the farmers market this weekend. Ancho cress is a wide leaf edible herb that has a peppery mustard burst kinda like wasabe. Ancho cress is a fun way to liven up a salad.

What's cool about this salad is that you can use real chicken or you can do what I did here and use a meat alternative like Beyond Meat chicken to make the salad vegan. It looks like real chicken, doesn't it? For the Mexican part, in a suace pan I heated the chicken in olive oil and seasoned it with some Frontera taco skillet sauce. Besides being vegan, my salad is also gluten-free.

The rest of the toppings include mandarin oranges, chopped green onion, chopped beets just for some color, and crushed tortilla chips instead of crispy noodles with Chinese chicken salad dressing from a bottle.

Next time you make Chinese chicken salad, try some dark greens instead of iceburg lettuce. You'll be adding more flavor and nutrients to your salad in a fun way.

Simply Seasonal: Quinoa, Beets, and Ramps Salad

2013-05-13T19:08:21-07:00

Quinoa salads are a basic food for me because Quinoa is a great plant-based protein source, and it's gluten-free. Beets are kind of a polarizing food. At first bite, the experience is usually either, "Oh yum!" or "Oh yuck!" And beet juice makes everything look like a bloody mess, which for me is actually cool because I like to use the juice to make dishes a deep red color.

My first beet experience fell into the, "Oh yuck!" category. I thought the beets tasted like mushy dirt. As it turns out, those beets were from a can and boiled to death. But, everything changed when I tried fresh roasted beets. A happy dance ensued. Roasting vegetables just makes everything sunshine and roses in my book like caramelized cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

One of the best ways to ease into a new food like beets or Quinoa is to make that food an ingredient, a supporting player, to blend in a bigger dish like in this very easy Quinoa salad versus making the food the star of the show.

I love this Quinoa dish because it's very simple to make with minimal cooking, and you can have fun with it by trading out some of the ingredients. I used chopped ramps aka wild leeks in this recipe because they are in season, and add a beautiful subtle garlic flavor to the dish. Instead of ramps, you use a leafy green or herb in season like chopped arugula, kale, chard, green onions, or chives. Get creative!

Besides being packed with nutrients and protein from the Quinoa, this dish is gluten-free, vegan, and GMO-free. I'd even eat this stuff for breakfast. It's so good.

Ingredients (2-3 servings):

2 cups of cooked Quinoa
1/2 cup pureed cooked beets*
12 cherry tomatoes cut in halves or thirds
1/4 chopped onion
1 tbsp chopped ramps bulb
1/2 cup chopped ramps leaves
1/4 tsp sea salt

*For the pureed beets. I used packaged freshly cooked organic beets from Love Beets.I found them at Costco. Another favorite pre-cooked beets brand found in many grocery stores including Walmart is Melissa's Peeled Baby Red Beets. For 1/2 cup pureed beets, put 2 whole beets and 1 tbsp of water in a food processor and blend until slightly chunky.

In a large mixing bowl add in the Quinoa, pureed beets, chopped ramps bulb, chopped onions, and sea salt. Mix everything together until the Quinoa turns a nice red color.

Add in the chopped cherry tomatoes and ramp leaves, and mix nicely together.

Enjoy!