Detox, Lifestyle and more….

Today instead of recipes I decided to write different kind of post. I hope everybody who read the post will find it beneficial and helpful.
What is Detoxification?
Detoxification is process of either clearing toxins from the body or neutralizing them and hence clearing excess congestion. Fats free radicals and other irritating substances act as toxins.Detoxification involves dietary and lifestyle changes that reduce the intake of toxins. The avoidance of chemicals from food or other sources like, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco….helps minimize the toxin load. Drinking extra water and increasing fiber are essential steps.

If you think, just a water in the glass but so important for us to drink every day.
The body will not function properly without enough water and can’t metabolize stored fat efficiently. Drinking water is essential to our system and body.

Why Detox?
To prevent disease, reduce symptoms, cleanse body, rejuvenate, weight loss, clear skin and enhance overall senses.

When NOT not to Detox
- During pregnancy
- If you suffer from major heart disease
- If you are over seventy-five or under twelve
- When you are on prescribed medication (check with your doctor)
- If you are under extreme pressure physically (training for sports competition)
- If you are significantly underweight
It is necessary to consult your doctor or physician if you plan to start detox plan or diet.

Seaweed is super food. Today we can find little packages of seaweed in almost every supermarket. Seaweed can help to boosts the immune system, to help protect against thyroid cancer and other cancers, to helps decrease high blood sugar and cholesterol levels, to detoxifies the body from heavy metals, radioactive elements, free radicals and toxins and boosts weight loss.

Chamomile Tea is a well-known herbal tea commonly considered to possess a relaxing and soothing influence. As well as being consumed as a tea by itself, chamomile is a typical component in herbal tea varieties. It is made use of both as a beverage and as an herbal remedy.
Chamomile tea has a deep background of application in herbal medicine and is typically risk-free to utilize as a drink. Even without health advantages it can certainly be valued as a relaxing drink which get rid of toxins.
Other benefits are: Improves the function of the gastro-intestinal tract, improves the structure of hair and nails and help them to grow, help to detoxify smokers from strontium and cadmium.

Pineapple is a tropical fruit that has bromelain, a natural enzyme that can detoxify your system starting with your colon. Eat only fresh pineapple to get super benefits from this fruit. It is high in Vitamin C a volatile substance that is easily destroyed by cooking. Pineapple salad made with mango, grated carrots a touch of mint and lemon juice is nice detox for your whole body.
Recently I was part of the wonderful grilling presentation class at the William-Sonoma store. The class was very nice experience. I was really impressed with pineapple easy slicer gadget. So easy to use, really helpful kitchen tool.
“Transform a prickly pineapple into a stack of juicy rings in seconds with the aid of this cleverly designed slicer. Simply insert the shaft into the top of a trimmed pineapple, apply light pressure and twist the handle.Cores and rings a pineapple with a simple twisting motion.Maximizes the amount of usable fruit.Rings come out with no eyes or bits of peel attached.Leaves the core and empty shell behind.Heavy-duty stainless-steel cutting shaft.Dishwasher safe.”
You can find pineapple easy slicer at William-Sonoma stores near you for $19.95.

Today while my kids attended sport practices I spotted this cute goats right in the middle of the field at city of Torrance in Los Angeles. They looked happy and relaxed, peacefully eating grass and making soothing sounds. Goat cheese and milk are fantastic and have many health benefits. Goat’s milk is a very good source of calcium and the amino acid tryptophan. It is also a good source of protein, phosphorus, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and potassium.
My point is, if we look around us a little bit and accept solutions that can really make big positive influence on our overall health and lifestyle, it doesn’t have to be so hard. Drinking more water, eating fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, exercising and sometimes switch to different kind of foods will have fantastic results and we will feel better and much more energetic.

Sunny Granola & Dry Papaya Bars

Every time when I found myself in the supermarket isle with “healthy”bars, I am looking at the products and prices at the same time….keep thinking why not to try and make them at home and put favorite ingredients that would taste amazing in home crafted bars? Yes, I will do that….and I did.
After nice shopping with my kids in bulk section for dry goods and yummy grains (they love to put labels with numbers and food codes) we ended up with very nice combination for the bars.
For the base bar recipe I decided to go with Katie’s recipe from Running Times. Love the recipe but I added different fruit, nut, seeds and chocolate off course:)

Sunny Granola Bars with Dry Papaya

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup dry papaya, cut in cubes
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chip
1/4 cup dry pepitas, sunflower kernels

Preheat oven to 325F.
Combine oats, coconut, wheat germ and any nuts and seeds you wish to toast for the bars in the pan. Toast for 20 minutes mixing and turning at least once during toast time so they are all evenly toasted.
While the oats toast, combine butter, sugar and honey in a small saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Add the peanut butter at this time and stir thoroughly.

Put the toasted oat mixture into the large mixing bowl. Add dry fruit and chocolate. Drizzle the syrup over oats and sir until they are evenly coated. Return everything to the pan and press mixture in to the form square mass.
Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes or longer if you like crispier bars.
Remove pan from the oven and let it cool completely before cutting. Bars will keep for a week in a nice storage container.

Wonderful tasty, crunchy and nutritious snack. Lovely with coffee, tea or glass of cold milk. So convenient.
Enjoy.

Homemade Mint Hummus with Mint & Sea Salt Tortilla Chips

With the usual mid afternoon snack craving I was inspired to create and make healthy snack with a twist. Browsing through the foodbuzz.com and reading interesting posts from my blogger friends I spotted FOOD FRENZY RECIPE challenge.
“Recipe Challenge is a monthly contest to find the best recipe that includes a specific ingredient. The concept is simple, but the creativity is limitless, it just depends on your imagination. You must create a recipe that includes the selected recipe challenge ingredient. May’s Recipe Challenge Ingredient: MINT.”

I made Homemade Mint Hummus with Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Mint & Sea Salt Tortilla Chips

I love to grill vegetables, it adds amazing flavor to the dish.

Mint Hummus Recipe

1 can garbanzo beans
1/4 cup of fresh mint
1/2 cup mini tomatoes, fire roasted
1 clove of garlic, fire roasted
1 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
juice and zest from one orange

Using food processor combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Then grate the orange zest and squeeze orange juice to add liquid.
Season with sea salt and pepper, mix and transfer to the serving dish.
Serve with homemade mint tortilla chips. Mint hummus has wonderful aroma. Lovely fire roasted tomatoes and mint are great, refreshing combo.

To make this amazing chips, you need just a few ingredients, cooking tongs and your grill.
Drizzle flour tortillas with olive oil, sea salt and chopped mint. Grill the tortilla on the hot grill for few minutes turning once.
Brake them with your hands to pieces, dip and enjoy!

Mint contains a number of vitamins and minerals, which are vital to maintain a healthy body. Mint is rich in Vitamins A and C and also contains smaller amounts of Vitamin B2.
Mint has always been used medicinally to aid digestion and relieve indigestion. If you suffer from frequent indigestion, drinking a cup of peppermint tea after your meal may help.

Mint

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Happy Mother’s Day with Homemade Caramel Apples:)

Mother’s day is very special day to me and to all the moms and their children. I think that every day should be just the same because love, hugs, kisses and knowledge needs to be shared every day.
I remember when I was a kid and special little moments that I shared with my mom. Now, we live on the different sides of the world but I know that she will be reading this post-Happy Mother’s day mom.
Few days ago I was a part of the wonderful celebration in my kids classrooms and I received cute little gifts:)

My dear husband and kids surprised me with a big sweet dessert for Mother’s day, they made together Homemade Caramel Apples with fantastic toppings- everybody’s favorite:)

Homemade caramel was fantastic and my hubby did amazing job. Kids have a blast with decorations.

I am so happy and grateful for all the kindness and love:)
Apples were the big hit….super delicious.

Lovely dessert:)

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Spinach Cheese Gnocchi & Importance of Homemade

Few nights ago I watched great TV show called “Extra Virgin” with Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos. Very cute show, lovely family and fantastic recipes. I love idea of living in the big city and having vegetable garden and even chickens with fresh eggs in your backyard. Why not? Kids will grow up learning about best quality ingredients and freshly prepared homemade food.I fell in love with this recipe from the moment I saw it, so next day I decided to make it.
Spinach and Cheese Gnocchi dish is absolutely fantastic!

I share the same point of view with Debi and Gabriele with a different set up, I don’t have chickens yet, I only have my little herb garden, my oranges, apples and tomatoes are starting next week:)

While waiting for the lunch to be done…. my kids are working hard and making big selections of cookies using play dough:)
You can’t beat playing outside while waiting for the fresh homemade lunch….I love weather in L.A., we can do this almost every other day.

Extra virgin is the show which will entertain and delight you with great Italian recipes and ideas.

Original Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi by Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar

Ingredients

* 2 pounds fresh spinach (about 3 bunches)
* 1 (16-ounce) container ricotta cheese
* 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
* 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 handfuls fresh sage

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot salted water to a boil.
Cut the stems off the spinach, and soak the leaves in the sink. Wash them thoroughly.
Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove spinach from the water and plunge in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
Drain the spinach very well, and using a clean tea towel, squeeze out the extra water. Chop the leaves very fine.
Put the cooked spinach in a large bowl, add the ricotta, 3 tablespoons Parmesan, egg yolks, and season with a couple pinches salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Mix well, and make sure that the ricotta crumbles into fine pieces, and mixes properly with the spinach. Shape the mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.
Lightly butter a 13 by 9-inch casserole dish, lay all the gnocchi in it, and dress it with a few very thin slices butter and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Cook the gnocchi at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, and then use the broiler for the last 5 minutes to crisp and brown the top of the spinach balls.
In a medium skillet, melt the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, and saute the sage until it starts to brown. Serve the gnocchi on a warm plate and dress with the sage-butter sauce, and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com

My kids took a photo of their mama rolling spinach and cheese gnocchi.

Only thing that I changed from the original recipe is the herb, instead of sage I used fresh basil from our garden and also I used extra virgin olive oil instead of butter for the basil- olive oil sauce.

This is such a fabulous dish, I can’t wait to make it again:)

Among the World’s Healthiest vegetables, spinach comes out at the top of our ranking list for nutrient richness. Rich in vitamins and minerals, it is also concentrated in health-promoting phytonutrients such as carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) and flavonoids to provide you with powerful antioxidant protection.
Pure, extra virgin olive oil is not only a light and delicate addition to many wonderful dishes, it is one of the most health-promoting types of oils available. Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, a type of fat that researchers are discovering has excellent health benefits.

Spinach

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Raw Broccolini Salad, Kids Lunches & Field Trip to The Natural History Museum

Last week our school has an opportunity to visit Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. It was educational and fun, field trip experience. Moms were preparing kids lunches trying to pack healthy choices for the little ones. This time I decided to make and take with us Raw Broccolini Salad for our lunch box. Salad has fantastic fresh flavor and it is truly delicious.
It was real hit and my six year old love it:)

Raw Broccolini salad

1 bunch broccolini, washed with stems, trimmed
1 garlic clove, grated
2 green onions, trimmed and sliced
radishes, whole and sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
fresh mint, chopped
orange, zest and juice
extra virgin olive oil, drizzle
Permigiano Reggiano, grated

Slice broccolini into long thin strips leaving the flower tops on. In a bowl add red pepper, avocado, garlic, onions, radishes and all the herbs and spices. Mix well, then dress the salad with the orange zest, juice and olive oil. Marinate the salad for about an hour. Before serving add freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Broccolini has similar nutritional value as broccoli, with a slightly sweeter taste. It is rich in antioxidants and very good source of calcium, iron and fiber.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County was an amazing field trip. So many things to see and to learn about.
“Museum protects over 35 million specimens, dating back 4.5 billion years. Museum is an authority on the “big picture” of the planet, the natural and the cultural world. It tracks the Earth’s biodiversity, because knowing what is out there is the first step to conservation.”

Kids lunches packed, lined up and ready for the lunch time:)

Besides the amazing taxidermy and skeleton specimens you’ll encounter in Age of Mammals, the Museum’s scientists and exhibition designers have created fun, interactive kiosks that will make you think you’re out in a fossil field, or inside a paleontology lab like the one here at the NHM.

Outside the Museum’s South Entrance, you’ll find enclosed habitats filled with life.
From April to September, the Pavilion of Wings is fluttering with over 40 species of live butterflies.
From late September to November, the Spider Pavilion houses web-weavers, hard at work. Come check out their intricate webs!

Kids were absolutely delighted with so many different kinds of butterflies, some resting on the flowers some flying:)

Beautiful and patient butterfly, allowing me to take a photo.

Interesting facts are all over the exhibit halls making visitors well informed and easy to navigate throughout the museum.

Los Angeles Natural History Museum is a great museum and amazing place for everybody to visit and explore.
http://www.nhm.org

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all of my friends and family!

This year we dyed eggs in red onion skins.
For the bath I used lots and lots of onion skins and herbs like fresh rosemary, mint, parsley and dry bay leaves. Also fresh pepper corns, sea salt and olive oil.
When Easter eggs are done, they have incredible rich color and flavor.

Here is the photo of the Sweet treat. Homemade Carrot almond cupcakes with whipped mascarpone mango frosting.
Amazing combination of flavors, earthy and delicious.

Happy Easter:)

Homemade Seeded Four Cheese Crackers

Like I promised last time, here is amazing recipe for the homemade seeded crackers.
This recipe is absolutely for everybody to enjoy, kids or adults, fresh from the oven. They are so tasty that you don’t need any kind of dip on the side. Greek yogurt or glass of milk would be a great idea. They are fabulous with soups too.
I dress up this little treats with sesame, flex, poppy seeds and sea salt.
Filling, four beautiful cheeses: Parmigiano-Reggiano, Whipped Cream cheese, Sharp Cheddar and Smoked Mozzarella.

You will need:

1/2 stick of sweet cream butter
1 cup of organic pastry flour
1/4 cup non-fat sour cream
salt, just a tiny bit
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 cup shredded smoked mozzarella
1 table spoon sesame seeds
1 table spoon flex seeds
1 tea spoon poppy seeds
1 tea spoon sea salt

Using stand mixer with paddle attachment mix butter, cheeses, salt and sour cream. Add flour and continue mixing for few minutes till nice non sticky dough is made.
When done, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave it in refrigerator for at least an hour to rest.
Sprinkle working surface with a little flour and form nice ball from the dough.

Then, using your hands, start forming sausage shape from the dough. Place your seeds on the working surface and roll the dough to collect and stick all of the seeds.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Using large cookie sheet pan place the parchment paper and set aside.
With the sharp knife, start cutting the dough making nice bite size cracker shapes.
Arrange them at the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Then, munch them and enjoy. Great to eat at the home or on the go.

Benefits of the seeds:

Poppy- Poppy seeds act as source for a variety of minerals like iodine, manganese, magnesium, zinc and copper. Poppy seeds are also considered as useful remedies for facilitating effective process of digestion in human body.

Sesame- Sesame seeds help in digestion, stimulate blood circulation and benefit the nervous system. They are good source of iron and zinc. Sesame seeds protect our body from free radicals.

Flex seeds- Flax is high in both soluble and insoluble fiber. One ounce of flax provides 32% of the USDA’s reference daily intake of fiber.The consumption of flaxseed is associated with a reduction in total cholesterol, including the LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides.

Coolest part, crackers are super tasty and homemade:)

Manhattan Beach Farmers Market, Homemade Carrot Soup, Kumquats & Bagel Shop

Tuesday was busy but really nice, pleasant day. Spring break is on, so kids and I decided to visit local Farmers market and take a walk at the ocean boardwalk. We were lucky to meet few wonderful and generous people that day. Afternoon was sweet filled with cooking, tasting and happy eating:)
Manhattan Beach Farmers Market was a real surprise.

This market has vendors who have great selection of produce and products to offer to customers.

Fresh, locally-grown fruits and veggies, flowers, plants, organic produce, dry fruits, nuts, hot and prepared artisan foods.

Every Tuesday rain or shine from 11-4pm.
http://www.mbfarmersmarket.com
At the market I met Secil, helpful lady from Arnett Farms.

For an astonishing 103 years the Arnett Family has been operating one of the best farms in California that specializes in oranges.
Arnett Farms, located in Fresno, grows over 200 different varieties of stone fruits, citrus, and berries, as well as apples and persimmons.
We decided to buy Kumquats, tiny looking like oranges and make something special- Canded Kumquats.
Market offers organic section too where I found lovely red carrots and later made beautiful creamy carrot soup.

On the way back from the market kids needed a little snack so we stop at the local Noah’s Bagel shop.

I am personally big fan of power bagels and new bagelthins.

” Noah’s® is a neighborhood based, deli inspired restaurant that serves a variety of signature sandwiches, fresh baked breads, home-style soups, tempting sweets and our award winning bagels.” As usual kids had toasted Asiago with cream cheese when friendly team member Felton approach us with a hot from the oven Apple cinnamon coffee cake and politely said that it was for us to share.

How sweet and kind! I was really surprised and I asked him if it’s all right if I put few pictures on my blog. He said that he would love that. So there it is, sweet delight, fresh and tasty. Brilliant with cup of coffee. Thank you.
http://www.noahs.com

Candied Kumquats Recipe

- 4 cups roughly chopped kumquats
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup brown sugar
- fresh mint

With a pairing knife roughly chop the kumquats.

Discard any seeds you can that are easy to get too, but they’re edible so don’t worry if some get chopped up or stay in the fruit. Feel free to leave any small kumquats whole. Heat the water and sugar over high heat until it comes to a boil. Simmer for 4 minutes. Add the kumquats and simmer for 20 minutes. Add fresh chopped mint.

Cool at the room temperature before transferring into the glass vacuum seal jar.

Can be stored for up to two weeks in the refrigirator. This recipe is gluten free.
Great addition to the fresh made waffles or any recipe that calls for dry fruits.
Like citrus fruits, kumquats also low in calories. 100 g of fresh fruit provide only 71 calories. Nevertheless, they are incredibly rich sources of health benefiting dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins and pigment anti-oxidants that contribute immensely to our health and wellness.

Cream of Carrots Soup

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients

1 bunch of fresh red and orange carrots
1 pear
1 red onion, broiled
Italian parsley
sea salt, for taste
freshly ground pepper corns for the taste
1/2 cup non fat sour cream, gluten free
1 cup broth (from cooked carrots)

Wash and cut carrots, coarse ends.
Peal the onion and put it in the broiler till grilled texture is visible and aroma fill in the kitchen:)
Using medium sauce pan add: carrots, pear, onion, pepper and little salt.

Boil for 30 minutes.
Using blender pour the ingredients slowly, add sour cream, season with salt and pepper.

Blend on medium, gradually adding broth till desired consistency.
Serve warm with homemade crackers.

Carrot soup recipe is also gluten free.
I was on the roll that day and really in the mood to prepare and cook lovely things so I also made beautiful homemade crackers. Recipe and more at the next post:)

Carrots do stand out for their higher fiber content, so if you’re looking to increase your daily intake up higher, that’s the first big benefit that they will offer. Carrots are also very well known for their Vitamin C content, but that’s not all they’ll provide. They are also a rich source of Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic acid, iron, potassium, as well as copper.
Much higher than their vitamin C content, carrots are finally an extremely good source of Vitamin A with a hundred grams supplying you with 276% of your total daily value.

Soup of the Day- French Onion

Whenever we visit restaurants and there is a good and recommended French onion soup on the menu, I am willing to try it out. My kids are a big fans of this particular soup, so yesterday they gave me a challenge to try to make my own French onion soup. I have to add that kids were very excited and helpful at the same time. They were waiting by the the broiler drawer to finish it’s work and couldn’t wait to see the result. Off course I accepted the soup challenge, how can I refuse right? Result is, amazing soup. I think the best description was that during the lunch time everybody was busy with spoon and bowl thing, slurping and smiling and the only sound you could hear was “Mmmm”!!
Best thing is, my dear family was very happy and super satisfied with this wonderful dish.

French Onion Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:

– 2 large sweet onions, cut into ribbons
– 2 cans organic low sodium chicken broth
– 4 dry bay leaves
– sea salt, to taste
– 4 garlic cloves, grated
– fresh ground black pepper, to taste
– 1 teaspoon brown sugar
– 4 slices crusty whole wheat artisan bread
– 4 slices reduced fat mozzarella cheese
– 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Using big pot, drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and stir until tender for about 20 minutes. Add bay leaves, garlic, salt and pepper and sugar. It will help with caramelization process, for minute or two. Then add chicken stock plus 2 cups of water. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven broiler.
On the bottom of every bowl place the piece of bread on the bottom. Ladle soup into oven safe serving bowls and top every bowl with slice of mozzarella cheese. Broil the soup bowls in the preheated oven until cheese bubbles and browns slightly.
Serve right away, enjoy eating every bite with the spoon and the fork.
Can’t wait to make it again:)

When cooking I am always trying to make meals that are low in fat and healthy as possible. This time I cut on fat, and used chicken instead of beef broth.
Onions contain as many as 150 phytochemicals. The flavonoid quercetin, an antioxidant (phytochemical) found in onions, helps eliminate free radicals in the body, inhibits low-density lipoprotein oxidation, protects and regenerates vitamin E, and helps to circumvent the harmful effects of heavy metal ions.

Onion