Lemon and coconut yogurt cake - I Love Italian Food

Lemon and coconut yogurt cake - I Love Italian Food

Juice Pulp Crackers

Do you hate to see food or nutrients go to waste? If you are an avid juicer, then you know all about the beautifully-colored arrangement of pulp that the machine spits out as the juice is squeezed out of each fruit and vegetable. Most people discard this pulp and get right to chugging their fruit & vegetable cocktail.

Unfortunately, no juicer can extract 100% of the nutrients out of the fruits and vegetables. Plus, what many people don’t consider is the fact that when you juice, you are essentially leaving behind all of the great fiber that the fruits’ and veggies’ skins and peels are so naturally high in.

Fiber serves a very important role in the diet… when consumed in whole fruits and vegetables it helps to slow the body’s breakdown and release of sugar from the produce, preventing blood sugar spikes and crashes; fiber can help you feel full longer; and fiber keeps your digestive system running smoothly and efficiently.

Bottom line, there is value in this often-neglected pulp!

Next time you make a juice, think twice before tossing the pulp! There’s no need for any nutritious part of the fruits and vegetables to go to waste. Here’s how you can transform your fibrous pulp into hearty and delicious Juice Pulp Crackers.

Juice Pulp Crackers – Ingredients

• 3C pulp vegetable/fruit pulp from juicer
• ¼C chia seeds
• ½C chickpea flour
• 1C water

Tips: Feel free replace the chia seeds with flax meal. Add garlic powder or some other of your favorite seasonings for added flavor. Make sure that if you plan to save and use the pulp, properly remove any inedible skin and seeds from the produce prior to juicing!

Juice Pulp Crackers – Preparation Instructions

1. Combine the juice pulp, Chia seeds, and chickpea flour in a food processor. Add some of the water and blend the ingredients together. Repeat until you have added all of the water. You really want to purée the pulp to break up the fibrous threads as best as you can, but let’s remember that it is essentially a bowl of roughage—embrace the raw and hearty texture.

2. Spread the mixture onto a nonstick baking sheet using a large spoon or a spatula. Spread the mixture as thinly as possible to allow your crackers to get nice and crispy.

3. Bake the cracker sheet in the oven at 350F for anywhere from 30 – 40 minutes, or until it is completely dried up and crisp.*

*If you prefer to keep your Juice Pulp Crackers raw, use a teflex sheet and dehydrate at 115F for at least 6 hours. You can even try letting them dehydrate overnight for extra-crispy crackers.

4. Once you have a crispy cracker sheet, remove the sheet from the oven or dehydrator and using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, break the sheet up into individual crackers. Once your crackers are all cut up, you can put the crackers back in the oven for an extra toast under the broiler, or go ahead and serve them as is.

Using the same recipe, you can also try making fruit and veggie pulp patties on the stovetop! 

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And if the pulp doesn’t look so appetizing to you, there are other ways you make use of it, like making it into garden compost to help your spring garden flourish.

3 Detox Soups to Cleanse and Revitalize Your System

A detox soup takes many of the healthiest ingredients possible and puts them together in one pot. They usually involve pureeing or blending the vegetables up, or at the very least chopping them into bite-sized pieces. This makes the soup easy to digest so your body can absorb and utilize all of the nutrients more easily. The best part about these recipes is that the focus is still on taste, so you’re getting a detox dose of vitamins and minerals without having to suffer through it.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

 Serves 8

Ingredients

2-3 pound butternut squash, cubed in 1-inch pieces
4 large sweet apples (such as Gala or Honeycrisp), cubed in 1-inch pieces
8 ounces mushrooms, cut in half
1 cup (about 4 stalks) celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into fourths
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons salt + extra to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper + extra to taste
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional (for a little extra kick)
Pumpkin seeds, optional (for garnish)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together the butternut squash and onion with 1/8 cup of olive oil. Stir to coat evenly. Place the vegetables in a large baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until squash is fork tender.

Meanwhile, mix together the apples and mushrooms with the remaining olive oil. Place on another baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until soft and fragrant.

In a large soup pot, place roasted vegetables and add chicken broth and apple juice. Using a an immersion blender, puree vegetables (alternatively, you may use a blender and puree vegetables with the liquid. This may take 2-3 batches). If the soup is too thick, additional chicken broth or water can be added to thin it out to your desired consistency. Simmer the soup over medium-low heat and season with spices, adding more or less to suit your taste.

Serve warm and garnish with pumpkin seeds, parsley or thyme, and a splash of cream.

Detox Green Soup Recipe with Broccoli, Spinach and Ginger

Broccoli is one of the most healthy foods you can eat, and so is spinach, and both get called to the line of duty on this recipe. Just one would be enough to get the detox job done, but when you have them both working in conjunction with each other, it’s almost too much of a good thing. Since some struggle with the thought of having to eat either broccoli or spinach, don’t fret: there is parsley, garlic, and onions to help with the taste and also to add bonus nutrients, as if it needed any.

This easy detox soup can be thin or thick, depending upon the amount of water you add.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil or coconut oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons diced onion
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4 cups fresh broccoli, cut up
1/2 pound of fresh spinach leaves
3 parsnips, peeled, cored, chopped
2 ribs of celery, trimmed, chopped
A handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Fresh water, as needed
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Lemon or lime juice


Instructions:

Using a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat and stir in the garlic, onion, and ginger to season the oil. Add the broccoli, spinach, parsnips, celery and parsley, and stir a bit until the spinach wilts and collapses. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. Remember the spinach will cook down quite a bit, so don't add too much water at first. You can always thin the soup later, if you need to.

Bring to a high simmer, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to a medium simmer. Cook for fifteen minutes or so until the veggies are softened.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.

Options:

To make this a creamy (and still non-dairy) soup add a good dash of light coconut milk.

Beans and Greens Soup

Many times beans are overlooked as a detox food, because the thought is that only fruits and vegetables can detox the body. But beans have a good amount of fiber and are usually able to aid in digestion if they are cooked properly and eaten in correct portions. In this case they’re using cannellini beans, but you could substitute those with whichever beans you happen to have on hand. The other ingredients highlight the subtle flavor of the beans, while providing additional textures and tastes.

Serves 5-7

Ingredients

3/4 cup dry cannellini beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
4-8 cloves garlic, minced (I like a lot)
1.5 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
2 teaspoons tomato paste
6-7 cups water
4 cups collard greens, finely shredded
fresh parsley to garnish (optional)
grated parmesan to garnish (optional non-vegan garnish)

Instructions

Cover beans with about 3 cups of cold water. Cover and let soak overnight.
Drain and rinse beans. Set aside. (skip steps 1&2 if using canned beans)
In large stockpot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion, saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic, and saute until mixture starts to turn golden brown. Add salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf, and vegetable base. Stir, cooking for one more minute.
Add tomato paste, water, and beans. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
Add greens, and continue to cook for 20 minutes or until beans are soft. Add water if soup becomes too thick.
Remove bay leaves. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and grated parmesan. Serve with crusty bread.

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It's time for DETOX

My Greatest Probiotic Foods You Should Be Eating

Are you getting enough probiotic-rich foods in your diet? 

Chances are you’re probably not. 

Probiotics are essential for your digestive health, which most people already know.

But did you know there are hundreds of other health benefits of consuming probiotic-rich foods that you might not be aware of?

In this article I want to cover my favourite probiotic foods you should consider adding into your diet today and how they can benefit you.

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Probiotic Foods Benefits Are Amazing

Probiotics are good bacteria that primarily line your gut and are responsible for nutrient absorption and supporting your immune system. 

If you don’t have enough probiotics, the side effects can include: digestive disorders, skin issues, candida, autoimmune disease and frequent colds and flus.

Historically, we had plenty of probiotics in our diet from eating fresh foods from good soil and by fermenting our foods to keep them from spoiling.

However, today because of refrigeration and dangerous agricultural practices like soaking our foods with chlorine, our food contains little to no probiotics and most foods today actually contain antibiotics which kill off the good bacteria in our bodies.

By adding more probiotic foods into your diet, you could see all of the following health benefits:

Stronger immune system

Improved digestion

Increased energy from production of vitamin B12

Better breath because probiotics destroy candida

Healthier skin, since probiotics improve eczema and psoriasis

Reduced cold and flu

Healing from leaky gut and inflammatory bowel disease

Weight loss

Sound good?  If you want all of these benefits, then it’s time to start consuming these probiotic foods for better health.

#1 Kefir 

Similar to yogurt, this fermented dairy product is a unique combination of milk and fermented kefir grains.  Kefir has been consumed for well over 3000 years and the term kefir was started in Russia and Turkey and means “feeling good”. It has a slightly acidic and tart flavor and contains anywhere from 10 to 34 strains of probiotics.  Kefir is similar to yogurt, but because it is fermented with yeast and more bacteria the final product is higher in probiotics. 

#2 Yogurt 

Possibly the most popular probiotic food is live cultured yogurt or greek yogurt made from the milk of cows, goats, or sheep. Yogurt in most cases can rank at the top of probiotic foods if it comes from raw grass-fed animals. The problem is there is a large variation on the quality of yogurts on the market today.  It is recommend when buying yogurt to look for 3 things. First, that it comes from goat’s or sheep milk, second, that it is grass-fed, and third, that it is organic.

#3 Cultured Vegetables

(Sauerkraut and Kimchi) – Made from fermented cabbage and other vegetables, sauerkraut is not diverse in probiotics, but is high in organic acids (what gives food its sour taste) which support the growth of good bacteria.  Sauerkraut is extremely popular in Germany today. Kimchi is a cousin to sauerkraut and is the Korean take on cultured veggies.  Both of the fermented formulas are also high in enzymes, which can aid digestion.  

#4Pickles

Pickles are the gateway ferment. Not only do they provide a healthy dose of probiotics, they're a familiar food item and have a taste that many people already love—including those who may hold their nose at the idea of eating fermented foods.

#5 Kombucha –  Is an effervescent fermentation of black tea that is started by using a SCOBY also known as a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. Kombucha has been around for over 2,000 years originating around Japan. Many claims have been made about kombucha, but its primarily health benefits include digestive support, increased energy and liver detoxification.  

#6 Kimchi 

Think of this spicy Korean dish—typically made from fermentedcabbage—as a beauty food, as well as an energy-booster. It can help "enhance digestion and nutrient assimilation," she explains. "You may also notice, with improved digestion, an improvement in the look of your skin".

I have several great recipes that I want to share with you.

Dip with Raw Cashew Nuts

Quinoa and Kefir Pesto Bowls

Be Healthy

Quinoa and Kefir Pesto Bowls

Servings:2

Ingredients

1/4 cup Kefir1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves1 1/2 cups fresh kale leaves1/4 cup roasted pistachios1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese1 large garlic clove2 large eggs, softly boiled2 cups cooked quinoa2 Tbsp chopped pistachios1 Tbsp chia seedsKosher salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

To make the pesto: add the kefir, kale, basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, pistachios and a pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper into the pitcher of a high-powered blender or a food processor. Pulse until a few chunks remain, but the sauce is mostly smooth. Set aside.

To prepare the bowls: divide the cooked quinoa or grain of choice into to bowls. Spoon over 2-3 tablespoons of kefir pesto. Chop  each egg in half (or slice as desired) and distribute evenly between bowls.

Add half of the avocado to each bowl, followed by half of the pistachios and chia seeds.Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add additional pesto or kefir to reach desired creaminess.

 

Think Smart

New Year's Resolutions - Nr.1 Eat Better Daily Menu Tip for 21 days Weight Loss Nutrition Plan

Time to make those New Year's resolutions! And after the holiday glut of heavy feasts and high calorie beverages, it's no surprise that "lose weight" and "eat better" are at the top of your list. Instead of simply making your diet-related resolutions with the best of intentions, put the following diet tips into practice and stick to your New Year's resolutions all year.

Here are my suggestions for those of you who choose to “eat better”.

Daily Menu – 6 days per week + 1 day Detox.

Start with 3 weeks (21 days).

8-8.30 – Breakfast

Cheese (40 g) + Fruit

or

Yogurt (200 gr) + Fruit

10-10.30 – Snack

Tea + Fruit

12-12.30 – Lunch

Chicken (150 gr) + Salad (300 gr)

Or

Beef (150 gr) + Salad (300 gr)

Or

Meat Balls (150 gr) + Salad (300 gr)

Or

Fish (150 gr) + Salad (300 gr)

Or

2 boiled eggs + Salad (300 gr)

For Salad you can choose vegetables between: Kale, Cucumber, Tomato, Pepper, Cabbage, Carrot, Lettuce, Turnip, Zucchini, Green beans +spring onion + herbs.

Avoid potatoes as much as possible.

4-4.30 pm Snack

Tea + Fruit

7-7.30 pm – Dinner

Vegetarian dish

One day per week – DETOX

During this day you can eat only Fruits or Vegetables or Vegetarian Soup or Yogurt.

I recommend drinking 2 l of water per day + green tea as much as you like.

Try to avoid Coffee and Black tea.

You can season your dishes with sea salt and olive oil or sesame oil.

For Tea I recommend Honey – 1 tea spoon per cup.

For this period of time is highly important to stop drinking all type of alcohol, eat sugar, bread, pasta, biscuits, cakes and etc.

And don't forget  Your Every day Workout.

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Be Healthy

Be Happy

Eat and Lose Weight

Raw Kale Salad Recipe: Sweet & Healthy

While Kale is a superfood with impressive nutrition benefits, eating kale raw can be difficult for some to enjoy. Don’t let its sometimes-bitter, tough texture intimidate you from using it in its simplest form.

I’m going to let you in on a huge secret on how you can transform the flavor and texture of these leaves to your liking. It’s simple – just give the leaves a massage.

I know what you must be thinking, but experienced kale lovers take kale massaging very seriously. Just like people in a tense and bitter mood, this cruciferous vegetable responds very well to a deep-tissue massage.

Wondering how you “massage” kale? After breaking the kale leaves up, grab a bunch in your hands: massage and roll them together for a few minutes. You should actually feel the tough leaves breakdown and become tender. If you taste them, you’ll notice that the bitterness that some find displeasing magically mellows.

Massaged kale is not only more pleasant on the palate: breaking through the tough fiber barrier allows for easier digestion so that the plentiful vitamins K, A, C, minerals calcium, and manganese is absorbed more easily into the bloodstream. Something great about a vegetable like kale, full of nutritious fat-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble phytochemicals, is that it can be paired with a healthy oil, like olive oil, which helps the body further absorb and utilize these compounds.

Now, all that’s left is finding the perfect toppings to complement the kale for a tasty and nutrient-dense salad. Sweet citrus fruits stand up well next to kale, and creamy avocado is a great addition of healthy fat that will further mute any residual bitterness.

Raw Kale Salad Recipe | Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped
• ½ avocado, sliced
• 2 tbsp sliced almonds
• 2 oranges (1 for the dressing, and 1 set aside to top the salad)
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch of sea salt and black pepper

*Makes 2-3 servings

Raw Kale Salad Recipe | Preparation Instructions

1.      To make the dressing, squeeze the juice of one whole orange into a cup or bowl and add the olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Mix thoroughly and set the dressing aside.

2.    To prepare the salad, put the washed, chopped, and massaged kale into a large bowl. Add in the sliced avocado and sliced almonds. Peel the second orange and after removing as much of the white pith as possible, cut up into large chunks and add to the salad.

3. Pour some of the dressing on the salad and enjoy! (A good tip to remember when making a kale salad is to let the dressing sit on the greens for at least 5 minutes, up to an hour; this allows for the greens to continue to soften and absorb some of the flavor).

Dressing

Raw Kale Salad Recipe | Toppings

• Chopped apples, walnuts, onion, raisins with an olive oil and fresh lemon juice dressing
• Fresh or dried cranberries, sundried tomato, hazelnuts, raisins with an apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing
• Dried currants, pine nuts, parmesan cheese shavings with a honey, balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing
• Grape tomatoes, olives, feta cheese with an olive oil, lemon juice and crushed red pepper dressing

Enjoy

“Should I do cardio before or after weights?”

One of the most common questions is, “Should I do cardio before or after weights?”

While the long answer is “it depends”, most people will be better off completing cardio after weights whether their primary goal is muscle gain, strength gain, or fat loss.

Here are 5 reasons why you should consider doing cardio after weights:

Cardio After Weights Reason #1) Increased Energy For Lifting Weights

During exercise, the body uses stored energy in our muscles called glycogen. If glycogen levels are low, it affects our energy levels for workouts. For example, if you’ve ever gone on a low carb diet and experienced less energy during workouts, then you know what it feels like to have low glycogen levels. The same phenomenon happens if you do cardio before strength training – you use up your body’s preferred energy source for intense exercise. If you use up that energy, it won’t be available when you need to lift heavy weights, making a goal of building muscle, increasing strength, or maximizing calorie burn through weight lifting compromised.

Cardio After Weights Reason #2) Favorable Hormonal Changes

By completing cardio first, cortisol is released without a concurrent increase in testosterone. Cortisol breaks down muscle in order to give your body the continued energy to workout. This works fine when doing cardiovascular exercises and happens extensively in long duration cardio (think marathons), but is detrimental to building muscle if there’s not a concurrent increase in testosterone. For example, when you’re strength training, cortisol levels will go up but so will testosterone levels. This hormonal shift not only allows you to have energy for the workout, but also helps to rebuild muscle after the session. Without these changes in hormonal profiles, it becomes much harder to gain muscle.

Cardio After Weights Reason #3) Greater Afterburn Effect

The workout that causes the largest afterburn effect will be the most effective for fat loss because you will
not only burn calories during your workout, but also for up to 48 hours afterwards. While the research is inconclusive (some studies show the afterburn effect to be greater with cardio before weights), an intense metabolic resistance training workout can create a very large afterburn effect and increase your cardiovascular health. A traditional bodybuilding workout on the other hand will not create a very significant afterburn effect so in that case, cardio before lifting may make sense from a fat loss perspective.

Cardio After Weights Reason #4) Exercise Feels Harder Doing Cardio First

The “perceived exertion” rates (how hard exercise feels) is higher when you do cardio before strength training – even if the results you get from both routines are the same. This simply means that if you do the same routine, but do cardio first, it will feel much harder then if you did the same exact workout by doing the strength portion first. In other words, all of those reasons listed above truly do make your workouts feel harder. The sad part is that this method is not more effective for fat loss or muscle gain than if you simply did the strength first. 

Cardio After Weights Reason #5) Less Risk of Injury Due to Fatigue

If you try maxing out on squats after an intense cardio session, you may be mentally and physically fatigued, which increases the chance of injury. Besides needing the mental fortitude to put a heavy weight on your back after cardio, you will also need the help of a number of smaller “assistance muscles” to help with the movement. These may have become fatigued from the cardio beforehand. By tiring these stabilizer and assistance muscles before performing heavy strength training, you risk the chance of completing an exercise incorrectly or with improper form.

Why Not Combine Cardio and Weights?

If you’re truly pressed for time, you can combine strength and cardio movements. An example would be to complete two strength training exercises – think lunges and cable rows – followed by bike sprints for 30 seconds. By combining the strength and cardio portion, you are satisfying the need to create damage to the muscle, keep your heart rate high throughout the session and have more spikes to your heart rate creating a greater oxygen debt.

The Wrap Up

While there are several benefits for lifting weights before cardio, at the end of the day, the best fat loss plan is the one you will stick to and that continues to produce results. If you enjoy completing cardio first, then by all means go for it! I would caution using the “weights after cardio” approach, however, if your main goal is building muscle.

Be Smart

Please feel free to leave a comment below.