Tag: vegetables

Lemon Cream Pasta

Published on by Christine4 Comments

I can’t believe it has been over a year since our trip to Europe.  I so miss the days of walking everywhere, drinking wine & cappuccinos and eating ALL the pasta.  My favorite part of the trip was a 5-hour private cooking class in Lucca, Italy – check out my brother’s travel blog for all the yummy details!  When I am craving comfort food, my new go-to is the lemon cream sauce we learned to prepare.  It’s light and perfect for summer. Today, I’m sharing it prepared two ways.  The flavors in both of these recipes will blow you away… they certainly don’t taste healthy. Plus, both of these recipes can be made in 30 minutes, so it’s perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.

For the Lemon Cream sauce…

Simmer the zest of 1 lemon in a tablespoon of butter or coconut oil for one minute on low heat.

Then add 4 tablespoons of bone broth (or white wine).  I always have bone broth on hand and try to use it as much as possible… it’s a super-food that helps with digestion, supports our immune system, remineralizes our teeth, and is vital for our connective tissues (ligaments, joints).  Simmer for another minute.

Next, add 1 cup of organic heavy cream, the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of sea salt (I use pink Himalayan salt). Bring to a low boil, whisking frequently, to reduce the cream.  After 10 minutes, remove from heat and let it sit – it will continue to thicken as it cools. While the sauce is sitting, you can make the pasta.

Veggie Noodles with Italian Sausage

For a completely grain-free version, you can make “noodles” from squash & zucchini.  I use this julienne peeler to make the veggie strings, but of course you can use a spiralizer if you’re fancy.  Then, saute the “noodles” in a bit of olive/coconut oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes just until they are soft. Season with salt and toss with the warm sauce.

Complete the meal by topping with sliced organic Italian chicken sausage for some protein.

Veggie Noodles with Lemon Cream Sauce

Einkorn Pasta with Kale & Pancetta 

Despite the fact that so many people are having problems with the gluten in modern wheat today, not all gluten is actually bad.  Societies have eaten wheat for the centuries and been entirely healthy… even Jesus broke bread!  Over the years, wheat has been hybridized to increase crop yield and is now high in they type of gluten to which most of us are intolerant.  There is an ancient version of wheat that remains unhybridized and contains a completely different, more digestible version of gluten.  This is the traditional wheat that our ancestors ate and were nourished by.  Many with gluten allergies & intolerances are even able to eat Einkorn wheat without reaction. Read more here.

Anytime I want to enjoy real pasta, I make Einkorn pasta. I buy mine at Whole Foods or Natural Grocers and it’s prepared just like any other pasta.

To complete this meal, I saute sliced pancetta (or turkey bacon) and kale, then toss with the pasta and lemon cream sauce.

Einkorn with Kale and Pancetta

Happy cooking!

A Health Challenge: My Goals

Published on by Christine6 Comments

Auld Lang SyneWe are almost halfway through January and I wanted to check in… how are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions?   I’ll be honest, I’ve failed already.  But, I’m not giving up quite yet!  

I recently organized a health challenge for my office and have also decided to participate.  The challenge runs 12 weeks and started yesterday.  The competition is based off of body fat percentage loss since that is a good indicator of both fitness and health and more accurate than BMI.  Plus, you can see your percentage loss, weight loss and inches loss at the end, which is so encouraging.  Y’all, my current body fat percentage puts me in the “overweight” range… I have got to get back in that healthy range! I’ve known for awhile what I should be eating and doing to get my body healthy, I just haven’t had the self control to do it. As I sat down last night to think through my goals and make a plan, I knew that many of you also have some health resolutions this year and might want to see what I’m doing.  If you haven’t made a resolution yet – it’s not too late!  Here are the five things I am focusing on for this challenge, why they are important and some simple action steps to follow if you are interested in adapting them yourself:

  1. Increase Nutrients – With all the packaged and processed foods in our restaurants and grocery stores, we are no longer getting the nutrients our bodies are starved for.  We have essentially become malnourished as a culture.  The blog 100 Days of Real Food has some great meal plans and recipes to avoid processed food.  I will be focusing on eating real food with real health value to my body.  I will aim for 5+ servings of vegetables per day and a high protein, high fat diet to keep me full and give my body energy instead of relying on cheap carbs to do so.  Basically, I’ll just be eating lots of fresh, organic produce and protein.
  2. Eat Clean – It is important to eliminate the toxins in our environment and foods that are causing harm to our bodies.  In order for the nutrients we eat to work effectively to help our body, we need to make sure we are not poisoning it at the same time.  I always look for these on food labels when grocery shopping or on a restaurant menu:
    Hormone-Free
    Antibiotic-Free
    Preservative-Free
    Pesticide-Free (Produce)
    Cage-Free (Eggs)
    Free-Range (Chicken)
    Grass-Fed (Beef)
    Wild-Caught (Fish)
    Non-GMO
    Nitrate-Free
  3. Eliminate Inflammatory Foods – While losing weight/inches/fat would be great, my main goal is health.  I want to get my hormones balanced, be pain-free and increase my immune function.  My adrenal levels are currently way high, which is inhibiting all of those things and causing me to gain weight.  Eek! The only way to fix it is to change my diet: I will be avoiding grains & cheap carbs, soy (as always!), sugar (except for a couple of special occasions & some dark chocolate here and there) and vegetable oil (I use coconut oil instead… and no, it doesn’t taste like coconut).
  4. Drink More Water – A couple of months ago, I read the book Your Body’s Many Cries for Water and learned so much about how dehydrated I am (I plan to write a review about the book soon!).  Drinking lots of water has tons of benefits, including losing weight & detoxifying the body.  Per the book’s recommendation, my goal will be to drink at least 64 oz of water per day, plus an extra 16 oz for any coffee or tea I drink since those beverages work to dehydrate us.  Also, less alcohol… red wine is healthy, right?
  5. Get Moving – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I hate exercising.  I can commit to eating well all day, but commitments to exercise always fail.  Recently, I watched an interesting documentary about exercise and I really want to put the routine into practice.  It will only take 3 minutes a week… surely I can.  I’m going skiing soon and my trip to Europe this Spring will entail lots of walking, so I need to be in shape. I woke up this morning and worked out for the first time in years, so I’m off to a great start. Please, ask me next time you see me and hold me accountable!

Writing those out makes it seem a little less daunting than it did yesterday.  Instead of focusing on what I can’t have, I’m going to focus on all the yummy foods that I can eat…. here’s to bacon, avocados, raw cheese, BBQ, sushi, colorful salads, nuts, fresh juice, sweet potato fries, fried okra, dark chocolate, and (in case you forgot) bacon.  Cheers!  *Water glasses clink*

Who else wants to join me?  What are your goals?