Last night for dinner….

Curried Carrot Soup

Ingredients

Servings: Makes 6-8 servings

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 pounds carrots, scrubbed but unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• 1 tablespoon Madras-style curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt or light coconut milk, optional
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes.

Add the carrots and stir well. Stir in the curry powder and ginger and cook, stirring almost constantly, for 30 seconds.

Add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover the pot. Simmer until the carrots are very tender, about 30 minutes.

In batches, transfer the soup to a blender, process until smooth and pour the puréed soup into a large bowl. (If you have an immersible hand blender, you can purée the soup right in the pot.) If you’re me you will step away from the immersible hand blender as you remember the last time you used said item you and the kitchen were covered in curry.

Return the puréed soup to the pot. If desired, stir in the yogurt or coconut milk and stir over low heat just until the soup is very hot; do not simmer. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Recipe created by Art Smith

So Now I’m an Expert???

As I write the heading for this post in my mind I’ve become someone’s lovely, little Jewish bubbe or Barbara Streisand. I’m convinced I was Jewish in a previous life. But I’ll leave that for another post.

For those of you who don’t know me personally, a few years ago there was a period of time, which lasted much longer than I would have liked when I was unemployed. Convinced that I would never work again in advertising and that I would be shunned forever. I took one of those ‘what the hell’ career change kind of leaps. I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC and a Culinary Arts program in Rochester.

I spent 7 months studying holistic nutrition online and in NYC while also spending 6 hours a day, 5 days a week in a working kitchen learning everything from knife skills to how to make meatloaf for 500 people. I loved every minute and I want to share everything I learned with you.

So…maybe not an expert…but I know more than my fair share. I graduated from IIN as a Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach and I graduated from the Culinary Arts at REOC Program at SUNY Brockport with special honors.

The Institute for Integrative Nutrition is the only nutrition school integrating all the different dietary theories – combining the knowledge of traditional philosophies with modern concepts like the USDA food pyramid, the glycemic index, the Zone and raw foods.

For more information about my education, please go to www.integrativenutrition.com

Tonight for dinner…

Vietnamese-Style Beef with Garlic, Black Pepper, and Lime

I’ve spent the day being ‘Lisa Haus Frau’ Whirling Dervish of clean and I’m just too tired to fuss with dinner. But I still want to eat something good. You should have most of these ingredients in your pantry. Or you have soy sauce packets leftover from you last take-out order of Chinese. And if you’re a fan of gin and tonics, margaritas or mojitos I know you have plenty of lime on hand. Enjoy!

2 Tbs. soy sauce

2 Tbs. fresh lime juice

1 1/2 Tbs. light brown sugar

1 Tbs. fish sauce

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbs. peanut or canola oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 lb. beef tri-tip steak or tenderloin,cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1 medium yellow onion, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick wedges

3 Tbs. chopped salted peanuts, preferably toasted

2 scallions, both green and white parts, thinly sliced 5 cloves garlic, minced

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, and fish sauce; stir until the sugar dissolves.

In another small bowl, stir the garlic, 1-1/2 tsp. of the oil, and 1-1/2 tsp. pepper.

Season the beef with salt and pepper. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1-1/2 tsp.of the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Swirl to coat the skillet. Add half of the beef in a single layer and cook, without stirring, until well browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Using tongs, turn the pieces over and brown on the other side, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Transfer to a medium bowl. Add 1-1/2 tsp. oil to the skillet and repeat with the remaining beef, adding it to the bowl with the first batch when done.

Put the remaining 1-1/2 Tbs. oil in the skillet and heat until shimmering hot. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Return the beef and any accumulated juices to the pan and stir to combine.

Add the soy sauce mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the beef and onions are coated and the sauce thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve sprinkled with the peanuts and scallions.

Recipe courtesy of www.finecooking.com

This is another go-to site for me when I need ideas. Love them!

We are not all the same…

Just because your best friend, sister, husband, co-worker swears by hot sweaty yoga, the Paleo Diet, barefoot running or eating twigs and berries doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you. You’re you. Not them. Question your doctor, friend, Oprah, Dr. Oz, Suzanne Somers, Paula Dean. Ask for different opinions. Read everything you can get you hands on.

Every week I plan on posting articles about different food trends (raw, macrobiotic, juicing), diets (Paleo, Zone, Flat Belly) and recipes that are easy to make and just plain good.

Or check out what I have to offer under the Health Coaching tab on my site. Let me do the leg work. Based on what you tell me, I’ll develop a plan that is the right one for you. You and you alone.

The message here is – It’s all about perseverance. Keep trying new things until you find something that works for you.

It’s not a walk in the park. You have to want it and own it. All of it. Good and bad. But know in the end that it will be so worth it.

Big words and self doubt

When I first developed the tagline for my business/blog/what have you I got very shy. I felt like ‘empowering you to lead a healthier life’ was so lofty and arrogant. But once I stepped back and thought about what ‘empower’ really means I realized that is exactly my intent, goal and purpose of creating this business.

To ‘empower’ is to ‘enable.’ To ‘provide with the means or opportunity.’ To ‘make possible, practical or easy.’ (It’s the geek in me that likes to look up actual definitions of things)

My objective is to provide you with information regarding health, food, wellness and other things that strike my fancy. With the ultimate goal of you discovering how to lead a better, healthier life with more joy, more laughter and less of a bagel belly.

The intention is for you to uncover what’s truly best for you. Not the neighbor lady. Your boss. Or that chick on Dr. Phil.

Don’t worry. You won’t be doing this alone. I’ll be along for the ride.

At what age do we stop believing we’re awesome and can do anything?

The Two Fat Ladies

My struggle to develop a name for my business has been epic. My good friends and poor husband have heard me go on ad nauseum about the name of my business. I wanted the name to reflect who I am (approachable, irreverent), my approach to health and wellness (personalized and realistic) all with a good giggle and snort thrown in for good measure.

That is asking a lot of a name. But I’m ridiculously stubborn.

The inspiration, my muses for the name of my business are the witty, brilliant, culinary geniuses Jennifer Patterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright. Otherwise know as ‘The Two Fat Ladies.’

I know there appears to be a big disconnect. Fat Ladies. Health. Nutrition. Not so much. These two women capture the personality I want for my business. They’ve been described as having….

An uncompromising approach to food and cooking.

Irrepresible views on everything from the proper way to hang meat to the vilfication of cholesteral

Unflailing good humor, lack of airs and grace

And their food…full flavored fare for those who delight in the savory goodness of well prepared ingredients

If I can capture just some of that I will consider myself successful.

But wait…still no explanation for the name???

At the end of each show, after sourcing the freshest of ingredients, cooking amazing food and providing their opinions about essentially everything they would close, with the two of them sitting in comfy chairs, a glass of wine in hand and say to each other ‘To Your Very Good Health.’

I know that’s a long explanation for a name. And the marketing girl in me should know better. But somehow it just feels right.

Last night for dinner…

Last night for dinner we had Shrimp Shu Mai, Salt & Pepper Shrimp with Cilantro Rice and Jalapeno Slaw with a Coconut-Lime Vinaigrette. Hungry yet?

I can’t take credit for the shu mai. I think it may be beyond my abilities as a patience challenged cook. But since that part of dinner came directly from the frozen section of my local super fabulous Asian emporium of food…it was easy peasy.

Check out the Fitness.Food.Fun. tab for the recipe. Enjoy!

Seriously. Another blog???

Actually I’m using this space to launch a business. To Your Very Good Health.

My goal is to provide a mind/body perspective related to nutrition, fitness, food and life while not taking things too seriously.

What would it be like if you could…

• Throw away the scale
• Acknowledge that a size is just a number
• Break up with Ben & Jerry (or just be friends)
• Cook meals worthy of a guest stint on the Food Network
• Try new foods like kale, figs and quinoa (stop making a face)
• Know that you can lose the muffin top, Buddha belly, those annoying last five pounds
• Set an intention to…Run a marathon, a half marathon, one mile, down the block
• Stop holding your breath and remember to pee

Check out the Health Coaching tab to find out what I have to offer.

If I make you giggle, snort or think about something differently it’s a good day.

Moose Out