Monthly Archives: March 2015

Recipe: Samantha’s Shakshuka

10/30/2013

Samantha’s Shakshuka (otherwise known as poached eggs in tomato sauce)

Shakshuka is a flavorful and rich dish eaten in North Africa, Israel, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries (though it has different names and varieties). It’s usually eaten for breakfast, but I prefer it for a light dinner or lunch. The great thing about this dish is you can individualize it as much as you like. The basics are tomatoes, onions, peppers, cumin, garlic, water, salt, pepper and eggs. Other than that, it’s up to you. You can add paprika, or sometimes I cook it with a dried pepper like chipotle to give it a smokey kick. You can add hot sauce or whatever herbs you like. I personally use green peppers as that’s the way they do it in Northern Africa, but in Israel they often use more tomatoes and red peppers. It’s very versatile.

Ingredients:
1 green pepper (diced)
1 yellow onion (diced)
2 tomatoes, I prefer plum but it’s up to you (large dice)
1/4 cup water (more as needed)
3 eggs
2 gloves garlic (chopped)
2 tbs olive oil (feel free to add more or less depending on your preferences)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp cumin (feel free to add more)
1 tsp paprika (if you like)

1. heat pan and add olive oil
2. once olive oil is hot, saute the peppers and onions over medium heat for about ten minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic after about 5 minutes, you don’t want it to brown.
3. Add the tomatoes, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Saute for about a minute and then add the water. Cover the pan and let cook for about 5 minutes. Add more water if it gets dry.
4. Once the veggies have cooked down a bit and look a little saucy, crack the eggs into the sauce. It helps to make indents in the sauce and crack the eggs into each indent. You want to keep them separate.
5. Add a little salt and pepper and cover. You are basically steaming the eggs in the tomato sauce. I cook them until the yellow’s are slightly cooked, I’m not into runny eggs. That’s about 10 minutes. Feel free to cook them as much or as little as you like.
6. Serve on it’s own, with a side salad, pita or bread. Add chopped herbs at the end (cilantro is a good match).

Enjoy!

Recipe: Zaalouk: Eggplant and Tomato Dip/Spread

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10/30/2013

Yesterday I had some people over for lunch and one of the things we made was zaalouk, a traditional middle eastern eggplant and tomato dish. It has all but 5 ingredients (not including olive oil and a few spices) and is super easy to make. Feel free to be inspired and add any other types of herbs or spices you like!

Zaalouk Eggplant and Tomato Spread

Ingredients
1 eggplant
4 plum tomatoes*
1/3 cup olive oil
1 lemon
1/3-1/2 cup cilantro depending on how much you like it
1/3 cup water
3 garlic cloves
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs paprika
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne if you like some heat

Directions
1. Slice the eggplant in half the long way and roast it at 400 until it’s soft (about 30 minutes).
2. Separate the flesh of the eggplant from the skin and rough chop it.
3. Mince the garlic, chop the cilantro and dice the tomatoes.
4. Heat pan with the olive oil. Saute the garlic in the oil for a minute or so and then add the eggplant flesh (discard the skin… or compost it if you’re cool like that), the tomatoes, cilantro, spices and water. Cover the pan and lower the heat to medium.
5. Check on the pan every once in a while to make sure there is enough liquid, you can also stir it around and help mash it together. Leave it covered and cooking for 25-30 minutes.
6. After 25-30 minutes, take off the cover and continue to let the mixture simmer if it is too liquidy. Add lemon juice and any additional salt and pepper.

*I’ve had some people reach out who can’t eat tomatoes. If you’d like to try a version of this without tomatoes, use pureed roasted red peppers.

Recipe: Homemade Roasted Red Peppers

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10/30/2013

This is a recipe that my family has been cooking as long as I can remember. I’ve had jarred red peppers and they are really not the same, plus they have preservatives in them which I would rather do without. Homemade roasted peppers are richer, earthier, and simply more delicious. Plus the jarred peppers can get pretty pricey! Give it a try and let me know if you think the two are comparable 🙂
Ingredients:
·         As many peppers as you want, I like red best
·         Olive oil
·         Garlic
·         Lemon Juice
·         Salt and Pepper, to taste
Preparation:
1.            Wash peppers

2. Flip iron grate on stovetop upside down (this creates more space for more peppers)

3. Turn on the flame and using tongs, place the peppers on the grate on the flame

4. Turn the peppers every few minutes so that each side is completely charred and black

5. Once all sides of the peppers are black, place them in a bowl and cover the bowl for around 3 minutes. You can also put them in a paper bag. The idea is to allow the steam to loosen the char.

6. Remove the peppers and scrape off the char using the back of your knife. You don’t want to wash the peppers because it will remove the (delicious) oils.

7. Slice peppers into thin ribbons and place in a bowl or jar with olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Use as much or as little as you like as it depends on your preferences. Keep in the fridge.

Start with the peppers on the stove, don’t forgot to flip the grate for more room

Use tongs to flip the peppers and don’t forget to smile 🙂

Once the peppers are charred, put them in a bowl with cover, paper bag, or in this case, pan with lid, to let them steam for a few minutes. This makes it easier to remove the burnt part and softens the peppers.
Use the back of your knife to scrape off the char and slice into ribbons (you can also tear the peppers into ribbons, no need to be exact)Put the peppers in a jar with the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and shake it up making sure to coat all the peppers with the oil and flavors. These peppers actually taste better after a few days in the fridge.

Recipe: Fennel

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10/30/2013

Tonight I made the most delicious fennel, I wish I had more!

I like to cook with pretty simple ingredients and whole foods. I’m not great at measurements or timing. But maybe I’ll get better. In the meantime, here’s my recipe for delicious fennel!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion (I used yellow) sliced thin
1 fennel bulb cut into thin wedges
olive oil (as much as you want!)
1 small plum tomato
salt
1 tbs butter (feel free to use olive oil if you are vegan)

1. First melt some butter and olive oil in a wide non stick pan. After it’s hot, throw it the thinly sliced onion and thin wedges of fennel and don’t move them. Turn the heat up to medium high and walk away. You want the bottoms to brown a little which means not staring at the pot and fighting the urge to stir.

2. After the bottoms of the fennel and onions are slightly brown (maybe 10 minutes?) stir everything around, add the tomato (chopped however you like) and let it cook down for a minute.

3. Next add about a 1/4 cup of hot water and cover the pan. Turn down the heat to medium low and let it cook for about 20 minutes (until the fennel is as tender as you want it). You can add more water if the fennel isn’t tender and it’s getting dry.

4. Once the fennel is cooked, take the lid off the pan and continue to cook at low heat until there isn’t that much liquid (this is called reducing and makes delicious rich sauces).

For those actually on candida diets, follow what your body is asking for. I didn’t eat tomatoes for a really long time, but now I eat them occasionally. Fennel only has 5-10 carbs per bulb (depending on size) so it seems relatively safe for the candida diet and it’s really good for digestion!

Enjoy!

Recipe: Cacao covered nuts

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12/28/2013

Happy Holidays everyone! I know that my sugar cravings have definitely been high these past couple of weeks! Especially with all the holiday sweets around, there is definitely the temptation to try some of those cookies, and the pie, and the cake, and well… there goes being sugar free. Alas, I’ve come up with an interesting holiday creation of my own that satisfies my sweet tooth! Are you ready?

1 spoonful of coconut oil
1 tablespoon of almond butter (unsweetened)
1 tsp of unsweetened cacao powder
a dash of cinnamon
2 handfuls of cashews or any other nut you like

1st I mix together everything besides the nuts until it gets creamy. Then add the nuts and mix together. You can also add coconut flakes. It turns out something like chocolate peanut butter nuts, but so much better because it’s good for you and tastes good! I also just found a delicious recipe for coconut cashew cream, so stay tuned! I’m sure it will be a delicious addition to the nuts.

I’ve been trying to incorporate cacao into my diet lately. One of the lectures at my school was talking about how great it is. It appears to be good for your heart and mood (stimulates dopamine and serotonin). I’m willing to give it a shot 🙂 You can read more here: http://www.medicinehunter.com/cocoa-health-miracle

Yum yum crackers for everyone!

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1/4/2014

I have been on a baking kick lately… and for someone who is gluten-free, yeast-free, sugar-free, etc, well, let’s just say I didn’t see much baking in my future. So, I’m feeling quite excited and I wanted to share some of what I’ve been learning with you.

I recently discovered elanaspantry.com. It’s a wonderful site with tons of recipes for people with different food styles (nut-free, candida, paleo etc). The recipes I’ve been trying use almond flour in place of wheat flour, which makes her products extra yummy, high in protein, and safe for those of us with sensitive systems. The only downsides are that almond flour is pretty expensive and it’s easy to overdue it. I know I love nuts and they are a quick and easy snack, especially in cracker form, but eating too many of them makes me feel less than great. So, as with everything, moderation is the key.

Below is one of my favorite recipes that I’ve tried from her website so far. These crackers are crispy and delicious, and they only have about 5 ingredients. They also happen to remind me of the cookies my grandmother, Meme, used to make us. Every time we went to visit her in Israel, we would come back with tupperware filled to the brim with her simple and not-so-sweet cookies. It’s been a while since I tasted those, and these just brought me back. Next time, I’m also going to try adding fennel seeds to the batter.

Here’s the link for the recipe and the text. As I mentioned earlier, I halved this recipe and I also used olive oil. Also, since I don’t have a rolling pin, I used a cylindrical spice bottle 🙂
In case there are any vegans reading this post, I found another similar recipe that uses sesame oil and water instead of eggs. You can also try substituting the egg with flaxmeal and water.
http://www.elanaspantry.com/sesame-crackers/
http://debbiekoenig.com/2012/12/07/30-minute-holiday-baking-sesame-almond-crackers/ (this is the vegan recipe)

Sesame Crackers

3 cups blanched almond flour
1 ½ teaspoons celtic sea salt
1 cup sesame seeds
2 eggs, whisked until frothy
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or olive oil

In a large bowl, stir almond flour, salt, sesame seeds, eggs and oil until well blended
Separate dough into two halves
Line two large (12 x 16) stainless steel baking sheets with parchment paper
Place one half of the dough in the center of each lined sheet
Cut another piece of parchment paper and place it over one of the balls of dough
Roll dough out between the two pieces of parchment paper, until it is ⅛ inch thick and covers the entire baking sheet; remove top paper and repeat process with the other piece of dough
Cut the dough with a knife or pizza cutter into 2 inch squares
Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown
Cool and serve

Makes 96 crackers

And here’s my final product! Yum!

Want to Skip the Thanksgiving Food Comas?

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11/4/2014

If you are anything like me, buffets are your nemesis. I’m the type of person that should never go to buffets because I will just keep going. I hate leaving anything on my plate, and no matter how full I am, I will keep going if there is food in front of me (even if it’s on another person’s plate!).

Funny enough, a couple of weekends ago I was working at a retreat site with all you can eat vegan, macrobiotic, aryuvedic and every other type of “healthy” food you can imagine. It was the first time I had been in a food situation like this and I was loving it! Until I wasn’t lol. The first few meals I got platefuls of food, multiple rounds, and by the end of the day I felt sick just thinking about eating anything. No matter how awesome and healthy your food is, if you eat too much of it you’re not doing yourself any favors.

The way I like to think of it is like a washing machine. You know how if you stuff it all the way with too many clothes, nothing gets clean because the soapy water can’t reach the surfaces of your clothes. That’s like what goes on in your stomach. All the enzymes and acid that need to mix with your food have trouble getting around if your stomach is too full. When you eat too much, your body has to work extra hard to digest the food and it still ends up doing a shit job.

All that said, there are some things that I find work in managing portion sizes, especially during the holidays. One of the most important things is to never show up to an event hungry. In my family, we start our thanksgiving get together around 4pm, so it’s tough to fit in lunch before I get there. If I wait until 4pm to eat lunch, I know I’m going to eat a ton more than I really want to. We all know the saying about our eyes being bigger than our stomachs. Well, when you’re super hungry that’s even more the case.

Have a snack before you go into the meal, even something small, so you’re not drooling before you even sit down with your plate.

Another thing that can be really helpful is using a small plate. For my Thanksgiving, that means using the dessert plate for my meal. This way my plate is super full, and it’s not really a big deal if I get seconds. I did a test once and I filled three different sized bowls with the same 1 cup of food. In the small bowl, the food looked great and satisfying. In the largest bowl it looked like nothing. So much of eating is psychological.

If you know you are prone to overeating on the holidays, eating from a smaller plate will help you feel satisfied without sending you into a food coma.

The last thing I like to focus on when thinking about making sure I feel my best after a holiday meal is really appreciating the people around me. Hopefully you like at least some of the people you will be spending the holidays with. And if like is too strong of a word, maybe there is at least something interesting or entertaining about them. By focusing on those around you, you will naturally eat less. There are some countries in the world that might not have the best diets, but overall, they are super healthy because so much of their eating is social. They spend time talking with the people around them, laughing and story telling instead of stuffing their faces.

If you take moments between bites or plates of food to engage with people, you will feel more satisfied emotionally and physically.

Remember, change doesn’t happen overnight. Try some of these tips and see how it goes. From there you can adjust. Hey, you have the December holidays to try again!

Sending you lots of love!

Samantha

Kale Salad with Apple Dressing

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10/13/2014

During the past few months I’ve had the pleasure of working as a contractor for the Department of Health in NYC. One of the things that I’ve been doing is teaching cooking and nutrition demos at Headstart programs. Last week, the season came to an end, and one of my last hurrahs was making an awesome kale salad with apple dressing for the parents and kids.

This recipe from Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegetables was a huge hit. My favorite was one woman who looked at it with a crinkled and puzzled face and said, “this is kale? I don’t like vegetables”. And, she tried it (people have a hidden desire to like vegetables… I can just see it) and she loved it! She came back for 3 more samples.

What I really like about this recipe is that the sweetness from the apple really compliments the kale. It’s also really quick to make. So, go grab your grater and get to it!

Kale and Apple Salad

Ingredients:

2 apples
12 cups kale (about 2 bunches)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Wash the kale and remove the leaves from the stem. Chop or rip (great for kids to help with) into bite-sized pieces. Gently massage the kale in a large bowl. This will help reduce the bitterness
Chop one apple and add to a bowl with the chopped greens.
Shred one apple in a separate bowl using a grater. Add the vinegar, lemon juice and oil.
Add dressing to the salad and enjoy!

There are lots of different ways you can make this salad. You can switch the kale for any other green like spinach or arugula, and you can switch the apple for another fruit, like pears (which also happen to be in season… hint hint). Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or almond slivers would also add a nice crunch.

Let me know what you think and how you made yours in the comments below!

What We Can Learn From Cows: Chew Chew Chew!

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9/16/2014

One key to good digestion is good chewing habits! Can you believe it? The cows definitely have something to teach us in this department (except it is ok to keep your mouth closed).

When you chew your food well, not only are you making it easier on the rest of your system, but you’re mixing up all those lovely food particles with the miracle that is digestive enzymes. Each digestive enzyme works on a particular type of food, whether it’s carbohydrates, proteins, or fats.

Your saliva contains digestive enzymes that help break down your food before you send it on down to your stomach. The more you chew, the less your body has to work to digest your food. It also gives your body time to rev up for the digestive process, since once you start chewing, your body knows what comes next.

Chewing your food well also forces you to slow down a bit, which means you’ll be able to feel when you are full and you’ll be less likely to overeat. This can prevent bloating, heart burn, acid reflux, and help you lose weight. Chewing your food slowly is also a great exercise in mindfulness. Phew! Who knew there were so many benefits of chewing your food?!?

So let’s get started! Here’s your action item:

First do an experiment. Take a bite of food and see how many times you chew it before swallowing (without consciously trying to change it).

Now, take another bite and at least double that number. What’s that like?

Try to see if you can chew your bite 50 times.

The funny thing I learned about chewing is that junk food tastes awful when you chew it for a long time, whereas natural whole foods can taste even better the longer you chew them. That’s some food for thought 🙂

Happy chewing!

Samantha

Four Tips to Beating Bloating, Constipation, and other symptoms of IBS

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6/27/2014

Digestive upset is super common, but it’s something that very few people feel comfortable talking about. Lucky for you (or me), I’m not one of those people. I love talking about all things digestion related because it is so important for our health.

The past week, a lot of people have approached me with questions about how to deal with not-so-fun digestive symptoms like gas, bloating, constipation and IBS. While doctors are great and can be helpful, other IBS warriors who have found some relief can also offer tons of great tips and tricks.

In my newsletter this week, I’m sharing four of my top tips for dealing with digestive unease based on my experience and working with other people with these symptoms. Here are four more tips that I hope you find helpful! Please do keep in mind that I am not a doctor. None of my advice is a substitute for medical care.

1. A Heating Pack

Yes, that’s right. I learned this from a physical therapist I was seeing and have never gone back. Simply put a heating pack on your stomach as you eat breakfast, watch TV, lie in bed, or any other activity. It helps immensely with bloating.

2. Massage

Abdominal massage was another super helpful tip from my pelvic floor physical therapist (thanks, Karen!) when my IBS was worse. Start by making small circles right below your belly button and work your way up along your right side until you hit your rib cage, then move across and back down (following your intestinal track). Use as much pressure as you feel comfortable with. This can help stimulate peristalsis and also helped me with bloating.

3. Digestive Enzymes

When I first started to change my diet, I was super bloated! I was eating tons of greens and fiber and I needed help. My naturopath suggested some digestive enzymes and they were a God send! I even remember my mom taking them when I was little when she had digestive upset. Hers tasted really good, too. One of the main ingredients in digestive enzymes usually comes from papaya. Yay whole foods!

4. Reduce Stress

I know, everyone says it. But, what on earth does it mean!!!!! This is one of my least favorite combination of words in the english language. And… it’s true. However, I prefer to think of it as having fun. Where could you be having more fun in your life? What have you been dying to do, but haven’t made time for. That’s how you reduce stress, at least in my book.

Hope these tips and techniques are helpful for you! Please feel free to share any others that work for you in the comment section.

Much love,

Samantha