Tag: Chia Seeds

Posted on

Sweet Potato Spice Smoothie

Happy October! This month is characterized by crisp air, cooling temps, changing colors and happy hearts. It also marks the beginning of peak apple picking season and, lest we forget, pumpkin spice everything!

Always a bit of a rebel, I’m skipping the pumpkin patch and going tuber on all of you who are craving fall flavors and sweet treats but hoping to stay as healthy as possible before the holidays set in. Sweet potatoes, my favorite tuber, are a root vegetable which swells underground to store more nutrients to survive the cold, dry winter months and to provide energy for regrowth. Sweet potatoes literally swell with nutrients like beta-carotene which the body converts into vitamin A (retinol) and give these tubers their orange hue. We need vitamin A for healthy skin and eyes and to reinforce our immune system. Sweet potatoes are also loaded with vitamin C–a boost we all need this flu season–and several B vitamins.

Go on now, put down the pumpkin spice latte and try this fun Sweet Potato Spice Smoothie, bursting with fall flavors and the fuel you need to fortify your body before hibernation season hits.

Sweet Potato Spice Smoothie_MOARfit by Amy Rizzotto

Sweet Potato Spice Smoothie

{serves 2}

What You’ll Need:

  • ¾ cup sweet potato purée (canned)
  • ¼ cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
  • 8 oz unsweetened almond milk (or use hemp, coconut or rice milk)
  • 4 oz apple cider
  • 1 Tbs maple syrup (optional)
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ⅛ tsp (or “a dash”) ground cloves
  • 1” fresh ginger, peeled
  • ½ tspn vanilla extract
  • ½ cup ice
  • 2 Tbs chia seeds

How to Make It:

  • Blend all ingredients except the chia seeds in a high speed blender until smooth.
  • Add more ice to thicken, or almond milk to thin out as desired.
  • Split into two portions and stir one tablespoon of chia seeds into each glass.

If you love this, try using the more conventional smoothie ingredient, pumpkin purée, or the less conventional but still delicious ingredient, butternut squash purée, instead. It’ll change the taste a touch but still be packed with immunity-boosting vitamins A and C. Bon apetit!

 

{Originally published on the Relay Foods blog, October 19, 2014.}

Posted on

Picnic in the Park: Two Healthy Brunch Salads to Share

We like to brunch here in Washington, DC. Whether you live in Eastern Market, Mt. Pleasant or anywhere in between you’ve got at least a dozen solid options any given Saturday/Sunday. While I’m all for brunch, it makes it way too easy to blow your healthy eating habits—especially after your third (or was it fifth?) bottomless mimosa. And when it becomes more of a ritual than a splurge it can have a negative ripple effect on your overall diet. If you’re a habitual bruncher, why not try a picnic lunch in your favorite city park? When you’re the chef you have control over the menu and can ensure it’s bettering your wellness goals rather than bulldozing them.

Last weekend I went to one of my favorite District parks with three of my favorite people. My friend Jeanine is an amazing cook and is all about healthy eating and fitness. We divvied up the dishes and came up with a delicious gluten-free, dairy-free  menu that seemed to please not only us wellness wackos but the men in our lives too. You know you’re doing nutritious the delicious way when your self-proclaimed meathead mates are going back for thirds. J took the lead on the heartier fare with crustless, dairy-free baby quiche and potato pancakes. They were both so light and super tasty. Perfect for a steamy summer morning.

Perhaps not surprisingly, I decided to tackle the fruits and veggies. Dressing up a fruit or veggie salad is all about the quality of the ingredients. To give these simple salads a little boost I went to Whole Foods and picked up ripe, organic and mostly in-season fruits and veggies. The watermelon and heirloom tomatoes (both packed with lycopene as discussed in my Gazpacho post and Active Life DC Watermelon Popsicle article) were calling my name as soon as I walked through those sliding doors. Everything else followed suit.

I like to add a little je ne sais quoi to my recipes—you know, a taste that pleasantly lingers on the palette and makes you immediately ask for the recipe. The wow factor on my Favorite Fruits Salad is in the Ginger Lime Dressing and chia seeds. The acidic bite of fresh lime combined with ginger’s subtle spice and agave’s earthy sweetness bring continuity to the diversity of fruits I selected. And I’m all for texture, so the chia seeds add not only heart-healthy omega-3s but a nice crunch. When it came down to veggie selection time I wanted the tomatoes to steal the show so I balanced them with creamy, ripe avocados (which increase HDL cholesterol and lower the bad LDL kind) and organic basil leaves. After adding a drizzle of delicious Le Roux’s fig balsamic vinegar and a couple cranks of ground sea salt and black pepper, the minimalist in me screamed stop! In both dishes, the beauty of whole, real foods speaks for itself. It doesn’t take much doing when you let the food dictate the menu.

Favorite Fruits Salad with Ginger Lime Dressing

SONY DSC

What You’ll Need:

  • 1/4  watermelon, cubed
  • 1/2 fresh pineapple, cubed
  • 1 kiwi, diced,
  • 1 ripe mango, diced
  • 1 white peach, diced
  • 1/2 pint blueberries
  • 2 tbs mint, cut into ribbons
  • 1 tbs chia seeds

For the Ginger Lime Dressing:

  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tbs agave
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, grater

How to Make It:

  1. Chop all your fruits and mix together in a big bowl (feel free to substitute ingredients for your favorites or what’s in season).
  2. In a separate smaller bowl, mixing together the ingredients for your dressing until combined.
  3. Pour dressing over fruit, sprinkle in chia seeds and mint, and toss to combine.
  4. Chill, serve and enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato, Avocado and Basil Salad with Fig Balsamic

SONY DSC

What You’ll Need:

  • 3 heirloom tomatoes
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves, whole
  • Fig balsamic vinegar (or your favorite flavored vinegar)

How to Make It:

  1. Thinly slice tomatoes crosswise into rounds
  2. Thinly slice avocado crosswise into rounds
  3. Take a platter and create a bed of basil leaves as your base. Layer different colored tomatoes and avocados until the plate is covered
  4. Drizzle with balsamic and garnish with basil chiffonade
Posted on

Healthy Obsession: Chia Pudding

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or perhaps rural Kentucky, you’ve heard the buzz around chia seeds. Yes, these are the same chia seeds popularized in the ’80s by Chia Pets (“watch them grow!”), now apparently the latest tool of Obama’s electoral campaign…but I digress.

These ancient Aztec nuggets have been given a new lease on life and a substantial share of the health food industry due to their impressive nutritional checklist: Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, protein, dietary fiber, antioxidants and the highest concentration of skin-perfecting Omega-3s found in any whole food. Like all A-list health foods these days, chia seeds are raw, gluten-free, kosher, and vegan. Tree-huggers worldwide, rejoice!

I am always skeptical of ‘superfoods’ that make lofty promises–e.g. açaí berries–but after trying these out in a number of recipes from homemade energy bars and smoothies to oatmeal and most recently PUDDING, I’m a believer. Plus, bonus (!!), anything with a few tablespoons of chia seeds in them make you feel full and satisfied. One reason for this is their fiber content (5g per tablespoon). The other reason is these little guys plump up in liquids, acting as a thickener and replacing the need for gelatin in the following recipe.

So, back to PUDDING. I recently made a really yummy batch of chia seed pudding and had to share. Life is about moderation and every now and again I’m sure as hell going to splurge on a red velvet cupcake or chocolate lava cake, but, come on now, who doesn’t love a guilt-free dessert? This recipe is so simple, so tasty and super healthy to boot.

Spiced Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

  • 2 cups of unsweetened vanilla coconut-almond milk
  • 1/2 cup of chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup of agave syrup
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp chile powder (if you like more kick like me, double)

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a tupperware then pour the wet ingredients on top, whisking vigorously. Cover and place in the refrigerator. Et voilà, 6-8 hours later your dessert is ready! The consistency is a little funky–think some combination of bubble tea tapioca balls and passion fruit seeds–but don’t knock it ’til you try it. Now go and enjoy your delicious, chocolate-y creation knowing it’s nutritious and delicious.

[slideshow]

I’ve also made a vanilla version of this recipe, which I may or may not have eaten for breakfast this morning. Shh, don’t tell! Just remove the cocoa and chile powder and replace those flavors with the pulp of one vanilla bean.