When I was in Whistler hanging out with Olympian Kelsey Serwa, we got to make some of the Zico Coconut Water smoothie recipes and I’m completely addicted to one in particular — the Mint Lime Detox smoothie. It’s as refreshing and vibrant as it sounds and I’ve been having it a few times a week. Here’s the recipe (it makes 2 cups):
- 1/2 cup Zico Original Coconut Water
- 1/2 cup ice
- 1 1/2 bananas
- 1 orange, peeled
- 1/2 lime, peeled
- 3 mint sprigs, just the leaves
- 1/2 cup kale or spinach (optional)
Looking for a pre-workout smoothie? Morning Blast features Greek yogurt, bananas, almond butter and has a latte-flavour kick. You can find that Morning Blast smoothie recipe over on AmongMen.
March 14, 2014
2012 was an Italy-heavy year. I visited twice (first Parma, Milan and Florence in the early summer and then Rome in the fall).
I recently spent the day with Italpasta touring their pasta factory located just north of Toronto in Brampton (my second pasta factory tour this year — first one was in June with Barilla in Parma; from now on, just call me the pasta factory tour-er! De Cecco, have you got a factory for me to visit?? Preferably in Italy? Si?). After the factory tour, our party bus then headed back to downtown Toronto for a delicious lunch at Mistura prepared by chef Massimo Capra.
The pasta entrees were all prepared with Italpasta’s new Total Pasta, which is high in fibre. I’m the first to admit that I’m not much of a fan of whole-wheat pastas, but Total Pasta (which has 10 grams of fibre, 7 grams of which come from inulin) really tastes like regular pasta. (And you know how much I love food, so I would never steer you to try something un-delicious!) I’ve included the recipe for my one of my favourite dishes from that lunch below.
Over lunch, Chef Massimo admitted that even he has trouble finding good authentic food in Italy. It was a bit of a relief to hear this; I spend a chunk of my trips stressing about finding the best meals possible. Most recently in Rome, I was disappointed in about half of the meals I ate there despite all the legwork I’d done in advance. Sitting there with a subpar meal in front of me felt like a big ol’ glaring #FAIL.
Massimo offered three tips on how to find great food while in Italy:
Do your research and be smart about what you’re ordering
Get familiar with what dishes the region you’re visiting is known for. “Don’t order pizza in Venice or spaghetti Bolognese in Florence,” he says.
Look for the snail symbol
Out and about and looking for a spot to eat at? Look for the snail logo of the Slow Food organization in the window of the restaurant.
Trust ones that made the cut in Osteria d’Italia
If you have enough time before your trip, order the guide here (I believe it’s only available in Italian, but am not sure). Skip following the Michelin stars, says Massimo, who says that’s more for tourists.
Buon appetito!
RECIPE: Penne Montanara with mushrooms, kale and cherry tomatoes
Serves 4
Prep time 15 min
Cooking time 15 min
- 1 package Total penne
- 3 cups kale, chopped
- 3 cups mushrooms, mixed to your liking
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat a skillet and pour in olive oil; add garlic and onins and cook until translucent. Add the mushroms and cook gently until soft Add the kale and vegetable stock and simmer for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes.
Cook the penne in plenty of salted water until al dente; drain and add to the sauce. Sprinkle with grated parmagiano, toss well and serve.
January 4, 2013
(Kale chips, Embracing Balance)
Why wait until the new year to kickstart your resolutions when you can start now?
OK…so this is actually one of the resolutions I made for 2011 — eat more veggies. And while I wouldn’t say I was successful, I did throughout the year add a few more salads and vegetable side dishes to my meals. But chatting this month with a fellow freelancer who is also on the eat-more-veggies track reminded me I still have a long way to go.
(After all, that incredible spinach gratin Chuck Hughes made in his recent Chuckmas Christmas special is not the kind of veggie dish I should have on the regular…although that’s the kind of veg dish I love, you know where the cheese and cream outweighs the vegetables)
Which also reminded me that I have yet to bake up some kale chips.
I love chips + I love kale = I am sure to love kale chips.
And kale’s high in antioxidants, omega 3s, fibre, etc. (ie. these chips will be way healthier than a bag of Ruffles)
I know. I’m a little late to the party (kale chips, so 2008…). Kale chips have actually been on my to-do list for several years now, but I again was reminded of this remaining to-do, this time thanks to the lovely blogger Jaime at Embracing Balance who was recently tweeting about her kale chip experiments, and so kale chipping I will do.
December 21, 2011
