Category Archives: Recipes

Easy and Healthy Frittata Recipe

Posted on by Allen Stern

Since learning how to make a frittata last summer, I’ve totally enjoyed the egg dish. Frittatas are super easy to make, very healthy and are perfect for taking to work for lunch or for a weekend brunch.

Being honest here, I haven’t done great at lunch. I do amazingly well with healthy meals for breakfast and dinner and then green juice for an evening snack, but for lunch, I only do a good job. It’s definitely the meal that I could improve on and frittatas are a perfect way to upgrade lunch.

If you haven’t heard of a frittata, it’s basically a fancier version of an omelette that eats like a slice of deep-dish pizza. You start the frittata exactly the same way you cook an omelette but you pop it into the oven/broiler for a few minutes at the end. It will wow your brunch guests and will also satisfy you at lunch.

Healthy Frittata Recipe

I first learned how to make a frittata during a cooking lesson with my nutritionist. I was a bit shocked at how easy they are to make. You beat the eggs, add the other ingredients to your mixing bowl, stir, pop into your frying pan and then for a few minutes at the end, put it into the oven on the broiler setting to “crust” the frittata. Take it out of the oven, slide it out of your pan, slice it up like a pizza and enjoy. You can store the frittata in the fridge for a few days and enjoy it cold or re-heat as desired. What’s great about a frittata is that you can hide lots of veggies in them and you can also just put in anything you have laying around.

Easy and Healthy Frittata Recipe
 

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Author:
Recipe type: Brunch
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
  • 6 eggs (try to get the best quality eggs you can)
  • 4-6 ounces of goat cheese (crumble it up)
  • ½ pint cherry tomatoes (diced)
  • 3 large handfuls baby spinach
  • 1-2 slices of yellow onion (cut in thin slivers)
  • pinch sea salt
  • small pat of organic butter
  • pinch of dried herbs (I used parsley, chives, chervil and tarragon)

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees or set on broiler option
  2. Beat eggs and mix with cheese
  3. Melt butter then add veggies and wilt the spinach
  4. Add egg and cheese mixture and herbs to pan
  5. Cook mixture on top of the stove until the eggs are just barely set
  6. Place pan into oven and cook until golden brown on top
  7. Take pan out of oven (be careful, handle will be HOT!)
  8. Slide frittata out of pan, slice and enjoy

Next time I plan to use campari tomatoes in my frittata as they will add a burst of sweetness to the dish. Also, make sure you use a non-stick pan for this dish and also make sure your pan can go into the oven. This is the frying pan I use and absolutely love it. It’s got the new “green” nonstick and has been awesome with the nonstick properties even with no butter or sprays. It’s also a perfect size for a frittata.

For another healthy frittata recipe, check out Linda’s recipe.

Healthy Frittata Recipe

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Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Posted on by Allen Stern

How about a very simple to make, tasty raw vegan chocolate mousse that will satisfy your cravings for a sweet treat?

My fitness trainer Ashli posted on her Facebook page a very simple recipe for a chocolate mousse. I hadn’t tried avocado so I figured this would be a great opportunity to give the fruit a try.  Many of the smoothies I’ve shared on the Smoothie a Day newsletter use avocado and it appears to be a great replacement for banana in a smoothie as both fruits create a creamy texture in a smoothie.

What’s great about this sweet treat is that it is amazingly healthy, completely raw, vegan, vegetarian, good for you, good for your friends and family and I am sure the little ones would eat this up like chocolate pudding. I remember growing up eating Kozy Shack chocolate pudding and this raw vegan chocolate mousse recipe tastes very similar!

Please share this wonderful recipe:

Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse

I modified Ashli’s recipe a bit to remove the white sugar and the the chocolate powder and replace them with powdered stevia and cacao powder respectively. I also used water instead of the almond milk as I generally stay away from nuts. You could easily use soy milk or any other non-dairy milk you prefer. Both recipes are listed below.

I topped the mousse with a dusting of matcha green tea for a kick of energy but you could also top this dessert recipe with cacao nibs, goji berries for some crunch or chia seeds.

Ashli’s recipe includes the following ingredients: 2 pitted and peeled avocados, 2 tbsp of good cocoa powder, 1/8 tsp raw sugar, and 2-3 tbsp of almond milk. Blend until creamy.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse Recipe
 

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Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 2

Ingredients
  • 2 pitted and peeled avocados
  • 3 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
  • 1-3 packets of powdered stevia
  • 3 tablespoons water

Instructions
  1. Blend until creamy. You will want to taste the mousse as you blend and adjust the stevia until you reach your desired sweetness level. Adjust the water as you blend to make the mousse creamy.

I hope you enjoy this healthy dessert!

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Baked Sweet Potato Fries With Mango Dipping Sauce

Posted on by Allen Stern

I’d like to share my super simple recipe for baked sweet potato fries with a mango dipping sauce. With almost no effort, you can create a very healthy side dish that will wow yourself, your kids and your guests.

I never ate sweet potatoes before my first cooking lesson several months ago. Growing up my mom would make a, “sweet potato casserole” that included sweet potato, pineapple, a few other ingredients and marshmallows on top. My mom and sis always enjoyed it but I don’t ever remember ever trying it. I stuck to french fries and mashed potatoes.

Please share this wonderful recipe:

Until the nutritionist I worked with explained the difference between sweet potatoes and “regular” potatoes, I had no idea how healthy sweet potatoes are! Check out some of the health benefits of sweet potatoes (also called yams) on NaturalNews. Sweet potatoes are also good for weight loss and I think they are one of the reasons I feel like my meals are fulfilling without needing bread or other starches.

  • Sweet potatoes contain almost twice as much fiber as other types of potatoes.
  • Sweet potatoes contain a large amount of vitamin B6.
  • One medium sweet potato provides your body with the complete recommended daily allowance of vitamin A and then some.
  • Sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamins C and E. These are potent antioxidant vitamins that play an important role in disease prevention and longevity.

I was eating the sweet potatoes by slicing them and steaming them for a few minutes — then I top the sweet potatoes with cinnamon. I absolutely love the taste of this side dish – it is so satisfying and so easy to make!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Today I’d like to share another way to prepare sweet potatoes – creating “french fries”. Unlike a french fry at a fast food joint that deep-fry’s the potatoes, these fries are baked and still come out WAY crispy and are absolutely amazing. I mean seriously amazing. They are also perfect for a dish for a dinner or cocktail party as they work great as a finger food.

One note — I like to use “jewel” organic sweet potatoes for both dishes. I find that they are easier to cut and taste much better than the conventional sweet potatoes/yams. If you have tried conventional sweet potatoes and didn’t like them, I suggest trying the jewel organic sweet potatoes.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries With Mango Dipping Sauce Recipe
 

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Baked sweet potato fries with mango dipping sauce recipe.
Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Serves: 2

Ingredients
For the potatoes:
  • 1 (or 2) large sweet potato, cut into fries (I used organic)
  • 2 tsp grapeseed oil
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp + ⅛ t. sea salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp oregano
For the mango dipping sauce:
  • 1 cup mango chunks if frozen or one mango if fresh
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions
For the sweet potato fries:
  1. Cut the sweet potatoes into long, evenly-sized fry strips. Place into bowl with cold water for 30 minutes. While they are soaking, mix up the oil and spices in another bowl. After the potatoes soak, rinse and pat as dry as possible with a paper towel. (the key to the crispy is to get all the water out)
  2. Rub the spice mixture all over the potatoes and cover them well using your hands. Bake for 20 minutes at 430 degrees. Turn the fries over after the 20 minutes and bake for 12-20 minutes watching them after 12 minutes for your preferred level of crispy perfection.
For the mango dipping sauce:
  1. Blend the mango to create a creamy sauce either in a blender or a food processor. Top with red pepper flakes.

I used a pizza pan that has holes in it to cook the fries so that the heated air would flow through the french fries. In my photo you can see the fries are well done – make sure you check the fries after 12 minutes after you turn them to make sure they end up at your desired crispyness. When you take the pan out of the oven, let it rest for 5 minutes so that the fries can take their shape so you can eat them with your fingers.

I hope you enjoy these baked sweet potato french fries as much as I do – kids would totally love this dish too!!

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Acai Berry Green Smoothie Recipe

Posted on by Allen Stern

I’d like to share my recipe for a super simple acai berry green superfood smoothie. I’ve been hooked on Acai Bowls since the nutritionist I worked with recommended a local acai bowl shop here in Austin, Blenders & Bowls (my review). The acai bowl is a frozen treat that is amazingly healthy and has a soft-serve ice cream texture. I can’t ever imagine wanting to eat ice cream again as I’d rather have an acai bowl.

acai berry smoothie

I’ve been adding acai berry powder to my green smoothies for months and really have found that the superfood helps with feeling great and losing weight. WebMD has more information about the acai berry and the nutritional benefits of this awesome superfood. They note, “Some studies show that acai fruit pulp has a very high antioxidant capacity with even more antioxidant content than cranberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, or blueberry.”

I wanted to create a simple green smoothie that uses the acai berry mix with minimal ingredients. The popular brand of the acai berry mix is from Sambazon. The Sambazon acai berry mix is available in a 4-pack in the freezer case for about $5 at health food retailers like Whole Foods and Central Market. Make sure you purchase the “unsweetened” version – it is the package with the purple stripe on the top – not the orange or green stripe as those have sweeteners and/or other stuff which we don’t need for our smoothies.

This smoothie is perfect for those just starting out with green smoothies. It tastes great and has a very creamy texture. The pure acai berry smoothie pack has a variety of Omega fatty acids including 45 mg Omega 3, 595 mg Omega 6 and 3225 mg Omega 9. This recipe is a modified version from the one included on the Sambazon package to increase the nutrition by adding greens and reducing the sugar.

Acai Berry Green Smoothie Recipe
 

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Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Serves: 1

Ingredients
  • 1 packet Sambazon frozen acai berry mix
  • 4 ounces water
  • 4 ounces apple juice
  • 2-3 large handfuls of spinach
  • 1 frozen banana
  • goji berries (optional)

Instructions
  1. Run the acai berry mix under warm water to soften the mix a bit.
  2. Blend
  3. Top with goji berries
  4. Enjoy

Acai Berry Green Smoothie

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Pineapple Ginger Apple Mint Juice Recipe

Posted on by Allen Stern

pineapple juiceHere’s my recipe for a super simple pineapple + apple + ginger + mint green juice. This juice will have your energy level on high and will fill you with lots of healthy nutritional goodies!

I have to admit that I don’t super love pineapple smoothies. I like them fine and pineapple will stay in the “smoothie rotation” but I find that pineapple makes the smoothie very thin and I have to compensate with other items to thicken it up. What’s funny is that the second most popular question I received from the smoothie readers on my smoothie newsletter was about why pineapple smoothies are thin! The reason is because of the water content of the pineapple.

Please share this wonderful recipe:

With that said, I do enjoy pineapple – it makes me feel like I am on the beach. The local market here in Austin had pineapples on a massive sale so I couldn’t resist trying to make my first pineapple juice! Since I already drink a green juice everyday, I decided to go with more of a fruit juice with a hint of green from mint. Be careful on the mint – it is very strong so go easy.

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This juice recipe is super simple – just a few ingredients. I use the Omega VRT 330 HD juicer but any juicer will do for this green juice recipe. The Breville Juice Fountain is a popular juicer and was the model used in the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (you need to watch this movie! it’s free on amazon prime). If you are new to juicing or wondering why you would want to remove the fiber, check out my “juicing vs. blending” overview. My Omega VRT juicer made about 64 ounces of total juice – your juicer may vary slightly. Since this juice will have a ton of sugar, I’d suggest sticking to 16 ounces – so this recipe will make about 4 servings.

With the cost of a pineapple at $1, there is no reason to buy the bottled stuff – the pasteurization process kills some of the nutritional value of the juice. My juicer can juice the entire pineapple although I did cut off most of the skin and if you use a more traditional juicer, you should definitely cut off the skin.

Check out some of the health benefits of mint leaves (source):

  • Soothes the digestive tract and easing the severity of stomachaches.
  • Drinking herbal mint tea reduces irritated bowel syndromes, cleanses the stomach and also clear up skin disorders such as acne. Provides a cooling sensation to the skin and can help to treat minor burns, itching and skin irritations.
  • Mint is a strong diuretic and therefore, helps in eliminating toxins from the body.
  • mint reduces the growth of bacteria and fungus in the body on regular intake.
  • Help in curing asthma and other allergic conditions.
  • Crushed mint leaves helps in whitening teeth and combat bad breath.
  • The phytonutrient, called perillyl alcohol, in mint is believed to prevent colon, skin and lung cancer.
  • Relieve minor aches and pains such as muscle cramps and sprains.
  • Mint is a very good cleanser for the blood.

Check out my new line of mason jar lids in the image below! :)

Pineapple Apple Green Juice

Pineapple Ginger Apple Mint Juice Recipe
 

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Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Serves: 4

Ingredients
  • 1 ripe pineapple
  • 2 apples – whatever kind you like
  • 3 sprigs mint
  • ½ inch piece of ginger

Instructions
  1. Remove mint leaves from the stems
  2. Remove skin from pineapple
  3. Juice
  4. Enjoy & Smile

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