Ok, so chips are still not a healthy snack.  But at least they won’t be chockfull of artificial ingredients in addition to the fat!!!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704050204576218492608111416.html?mod=wsj_share_twitter

To my beer loving friends who thought they were S.O.L when they found out they were wheat/gluten intolerant…

http://www.glutenfreebeers.co.uk/

The Green’s Dark Ale is freaking amazing.

I used it to make a Shepard Pie and it was DElicious, then we drank the rest of the beer and it was also delicious.

Go on, try it, it is available in most Whole Foods.

For all you vegans and vegetarians, chefs are getting serious about veggie burgers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/dining/23meatless.html?pagewanted=1&hpw

How about we start out with the worst part about this restaurant…

It’s not open for dinner, yet.

OK, now that we have cleared the air, I feel that I am prepared to give an accurate description of my dining experience…

Ready?

DELICIOUS!!!

Farm Shop, located in the Brentwood Country Mart is truly wonderful.  The staff is warm and friendly, the atmosphere is delightful, and best of all, there are plenty of menu options for us picky eaters.

I went to Farm Shop for brunch recently with some friends and had a delicious quinoa salad with fresh beets, salad greens, fennel and avocado.  I also had a healthy portion of fried potatoes (but they were SO good) and a side of fresh sliced homemade pastrami.  The potatoes were served with two marvelous sauces, an aioli and ketchup (both made in house) and fried sage.  The pastrami was melt in your mouth delicious and the salad was thoughtfully crafted and well portioned.  My friends raved about their open faced tuna on olive bread, salmon omelet, and bruleéd grapefruit.  I feel that I should mention that the pastrami takes almost a week to make, WHAT? That is crazy! Crazy delicious, that is.

The dining experience ended with a HUGE meringue (potentially larger than my face) smothered in a delicious homemade jam, filled with a dollop of decadent cream.

To sum it all up-if you live in L.A. you should definitely check this place out.  Truly delicious, a fun atmosphere in a charming part of town, and a great way to treat yourself after a hard week.

More and more of us have problems with gluten.  Someone might suffer from side effects ranging from bloating, digestive issues, skin problems, fatigue, etc.  But a blood test for celiac might turn out to be negative, and where does that leave you?  Are you imagining a cause and effect when you eat gluten, or does it really exist?

This article from the Wall Street Journal gives a great explanation and acknowledgment of gluten intolerance.  So if you feel like you have issues with gluten, please read on:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704893604576200393522456636.html?KEYWORDS=gluten+sensitivity

Chicken fajitas seem like a good choice when perusing the menu in a Mexican restaurant…and they are a good choice compared to a cheese, pork and sour cream laden burrito-quesadilla-taquito surprise, but they are often cooked in way too much oil and served with dangerous refried beans.

So, since you already have my healthy “refried” bean recipe you’re halfway there.  Now just buy whole grain tortillas and whip up these chicken fajitas-lean, healthy, and full of veggies and protein, serve them with a nice margarita and you’re ready for a fiesta!!! 

Healthy Chicken Fajitas

3 skinless boneless chicken breasts

2 tsp olive oil

2 minced garlic cloves

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp chili powder

juice from one lime, plus lime zest

3 TBL minced cilantro

salt, black pepper

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 large onion

1/2 diced jalapeno

2 thinly sliced garlic cloves

sliced avocado

refried beans

Combine olive oil, garlic, onion powder, chili powder, lime juice and zest and cilantro to make a marinade. Marinate chicken breasts for at least 2 hours.  Remove from the marinade and sprinkle with salt and pepper. The chicken is best grilled on the barbecue, but if you don’t have a grill you can saute on the stove or broil in the oven.  

To prepare the veggies spray a large saute pan with cooking spray, then add the sliced peppers, onion and jalapeno.  Cook on a low to medium light for about 20 minutes, than toss in sliced garlic and cook for another 10 minutes.     

Slice chicken and serve on a tortilla, topped with the veggies, avocado and refried beans.  Add a squeeze of lime to taste.

Serves 4.

This salad is delicious and pretty enough to serve to your most favorite guests.  I used mango and cara cara orange slices, but you can substitute strawberries, sliced pear, or any other fresh, ripe fruit that you have on hand.

Tropical Salad with Cilantro Dressing

For the dressing:

1/3 cup cilantro

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

1/8 cup rice wine vinegar

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp agave

1/3 cup olive oil

For the salad:

2 cups salad greens

1/4 small jicama (cut into sticks)

1/2 mango (sliced thin)

1 orange (sliced)

1/2 avocado (sliced)

1 large tomato (sliced)

To make the dressing put cilantro in a mini chop blender and blend until finely chopped.  Add vinegars and process, then add 2 cloves of minced garlic and agave and process again.  Add oil and blend.  Set aside.

To make the salad put 1/2 cup of greens into each bowl, then divide jicama, mango, orange, avocado and tomato.  Drizzle with dressing and serve extra on the side.

Serves 4

Here is a little factoid that is VERY important for everyone to take seriously…JUST because something is “healthy” doesn’t mean that it is healthy for you.  

Listen to your body! If certain foods don’t make you feel well, don’t eat them. If certain recipes don’t sit well with you, don’t make them. And most importantly, check in with a doctor that you really trust. Why do I say this… here is my story.

This is a bit embarrassing, being The Health Food Stalker and all, but I think this story is really important and I want to share it.

A month or two ago I got lab results back saying that if I didn’t change my diet I would most likely have a heart attack or a stroke by the age of 60. WHAT, me?! The girl who eats whole grains, organic meats, and fresh farmers market vegetables? Yep, me.

Here is the reason why: for my particular cholesterol profile and my particular digestive system, whole grains, or any carb for that matter, breaks down immediately into sugar. The doctor told me that I need to seriously increase my levels of protein and fat, or else I would be in big trouble. Wait, me? The girl who eats meat once a week?  Yep.

So here I am, creating my path to a longer and healthier life style, adjusting my diet to accommodate my needs.

The recipes that I posted are still VERY healthy, but some of the more carb heavy recipes happen to be bad for my specific genetic makeup. 

So, this is to say that it may be impossible for you to figure out what you should and shouldn’t eat without consulting a doctor.  But there is a certain amount that you can do on your own.  For instance, I never feel that great after too many whole grains. My roommate and I did a macrobiotic week and afterwards she felt great, and I felt awful. I had an instinct that it was all the brown rice, but since I thought brown rice was healthy, I put my thoughts aside.  As it turns out, for my body, brown rice isn’t so great.

I am going to continue to post a wide variety of recipes, so that everyone can enjoy them. But I highly recommend thinking more about what is going into your little mouth. If you are going to spend extra time and money thinking about eating well and actually doing it, you should make sure that what you are actually doing is the right thing!

I understand that the biggest obstacle to eating healthfully is time.  If there are only 24 hours in a day a certain percentage has to be set aside to: 1) think about eating well and 2) somehow find the time to do so.

I happen to be one of those weirdos who just has to make sure that my time allocation allows for healthy eating. Eating healthfully is a priority for me, and if I have to sacrifice time spent on other things I’ll do it.

However, I know that the vast majority of the population doesn’t have this neurotic and sort of bizarre timing down to a science.

So, my new task is going to be figuring out ways that you can eat healthfully in the shortest time possible. I am going to start focusing on recipes that are easier and less time consuming. I’ll also point out products that make time travel faster (no, not literally).

I want to make sure that my blog remains helpful and insightful, so bring on the questions and keep coming back for more recipes!

Caramel coloring is a common ingredient that sounds innocent enough…  but do yourself a f(l)avor and read on!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-f-jacobson/caramel-coloring-in-soda-_b_823639.html