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GUEST POST: Fresh Ideas for Spring Veggies from A-S

I am so excited to turn over this post to one of my favorite New York ladies, Aimee of Healthy Apple!

Good afternoon everyone, I’m Amie from The Healthy Apple blog, and I am delighted to be guest-posting today on Ashley’s blog. I am a Nutritionist who believes in the philosophy ‘Everything in Moderation’. I feel it is important for each of us to enjoy life as well as try new foods and experiences. We need to take time for ourselves and make sure we are providing our bodies with Primary Foods and Secondary Foods each and every day. Today I am going to be sharing with you some of my favorite springtime veggies as well as a tasty recipe.

Spring is one of my favorite seasons of the year, not only because it is the arrival of warmer weather and beautiful, blossoming flowers, but because I start looking forward to serving my favorite Spring veggies such as artichokes, sweet corn, fresh spinach, crisp green beans, Swiss chard, asparagus and broccoli. These spring veggies are delicious and each one packs a serious nutritious punch with each bite!

Asparagus: One cup of these hearty stalks packs in 3 grams of fiber and supplies us with a plethora of antioxidants such as beta carotene, vitamin C, folate and vitamin A.

Artichokes: One gorgeous artichoke has 10 grams of fiber along with scores of folate and vitamin C.

Broccoli: One cup of these little green trees provides us 2 grams of fiber alongside a nice dose of vitamin A, folate and vitamin C.

Green Beans: Each cup of crispy green beans fills us up with 4 grams of fiber, a nice dose of omega 3’s, vitamin A, folate and calcium.

Spinach: These dark leafy greens are my favorite; they are loaded with antioxidants such as folate, vitamin C, beta carotene, omega 3 fatty acids and a fabulous dose of calcium.

Sweet Corn: Corn on the cob is one of the most delicious ways to enjoy sweet corn; each ear awards us 2 grams of fiber, a load of antioxidant phytochemicals and folate.

Swiss Chard: This dark leafy green comes in two fabulous colors: deep green as well as vibrant red. My favorite choice, however, is the rainbow chard, which makes each dish look incredibly colorful! These tasty leaves pack in 4 grams of fiber, a load of vitamin A and beta carotene, as well as vitamin C, calcium and folate.

Here is a delicious spring veggie recipe that will satisfy your palate and get you ready for the warmer weather.

Sautéed Spring Veggies and Goat Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 Bunch Swiss Chard

• 1 Bunch Asparagus

• ¼ cup Dried Cherries

• 1 cup No-Salt added Vegetable broth

• 2 Tsp. Olive Oil

• ¼ cup Crumbled Goat Cheese

• ¼ cup Walnuts (Toast by lightly browning in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat, stir frequently)

• 1 Tsp. Minced Garlic

Directions

• Slice Swiss chard into thin strips. Cut ends off of both asparagus and Swiss chard. Rinse and drain well. Add to a skillet with 1 cup of vegetable broth. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain well.

• Add olive oil to the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir. Add asparagus and Swiss chard; sauté for 3 minutes.

• Transfer asparagus and Swiss chard to a serving dish. Top with toasted walnuts, dried cherries and crumbled goat cheese.

• Enjoy!

So, as this beautiful spring weather starts to arrive, be sure to check out your local farmer’s market and pick up some of these luscious spring vegetables. I hope each of you enjoys my Sautéed Spring Vegetable and Goat Cheese recipe above. Send me a comment and let me know your thoughts! I would love to hear from you.

As I mentioned previously, I am a Nutritionist with a passion for cooking, baking and healthy living in the Big Apple of NYC. My Nutrition Counseling is a unique, exciting innovation in health and nutrition. While most dietitians dwell on calories, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, restrictions and lists of good and bad foods, I work with my clients to create a happy, healthy life in a way that is flexible, fun and free of denial and discipline. No one diet works for everyone, therefore I will guide you to find the food and lifestyle choices that best support you. I will also help you make gradual, lifelong changes that enable you to reach your current and future health goals.

Contact me today at thehealthyapple@gmail.com for a free health consultation. We will discuss your unique situation in depth and determine how I can help you reach your personal goals. Aside from Nutrition Counseling, I also provide Menu Planning, Personal Shopping/Food Store Tours/ Cooking Parties and In-Home Demonstrations.

Thank you Ashley for asking me to guest post on your blog today. Have a wonderful day everyone- I hope the sun is shining wherever you are!

All the Best,

The Healthy Apple

http://thehealthyapple.wordpress.com/

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ashleyd /

Thick, creamy, and delicious is the only way to descibe Pulmuone Hummus!

Pulmuone Hummus is the best hummus we’ve ever tried! I’ve been an Athenos lover for years and have tried Saabra multiple times. Bo ate it straight out of the container while I enjoyed it with my daily dose of carrot and celery sticks since clearly i’m still having snack time at pre-school. 🙂

Pulmuone’s website states that they present more than 75 years of commitment to organic and natural foods. They are located in Fullerton, California and have make more than just hummus. They have tempeh, noodles (supposedly better than Shiritaki), sprouted tofu, tofu burgers, and more! Their ultimate goal is to nourish health and well-being through supporting dietary and agricultural changes.

They currently have some great promotions on their website and can be found at Whole Foods and Jubilee in NYC and EarthFares throughout the country. In addition, I thought you all would enjoy a recipe from their site. I think it sounds delicious!!

HUMMUS Pizza
•1 pizza crust (refrigerated pizza dough or box mix)
•1 cup Wildwood Hummus any Flavor
•2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
•Vegetables of your choice ‐onions, peppers, broccoli ,tomatoes
Preparation
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread hummus in an even layer over pizza crust.
You want to have the same amount as you would have tomato sauce on a pizza.
If you like more, add more. Add mozzarella cheese and chopped vegetables of choice. Cheese and vegetables can be added, omitted, or mixed according to taste. Place in oven and bake on baking sheet for twenty minutes or until crust
is golden brown and cheese is melted.


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Sunshine day…

Good morning!!!
In preparation for the half marathon tomorrow, I drank tons of water yesterday, ate quite healthy while ensuring that I replaced some of my calories that normally are from protein into carbs, stretched, and even passed on the chips and guac we normally get at Papatzul. In addition, I slept 10 hours though it wasn’t the best sleep i’ve ever had. Bo has had a long week at work and his roommate actually got laid off this week during their company’s last round of cuts. Therefore, when his roommates and some other work friends wanted to go to a birthday party I understood why Bo wanted to join them. He left at 11:30 when I crawled in bed. I slept comfortably and soundly until 4:45am. The group decided to bring the party back here until 6:15 which meant that for an hour I was experimenting with noise blocking devices (thinking good thoughts, putting a towel under the door to block noise, putting a pillow on my head, you name it) but nothing really worked. Luckily they decided to all go their separate ways or off to bed at 6:15 which allowed me to sleep for 3 more hours. This is just another reason why I can’t wait to move to our new apartment together where there will only be 2 occupants versus 4!
Spring has finally arrived in NYC and I couldn’t be more excited! This morning it was finally sunny, warm, and fresh outside. When I went to buy a banana for my morning oatmeal everyone was sporting flipflops, sundresses, and bright tops! The excitement that a fresh renewal has arrived to burn off the winter gloom is definitely contagious. I couldn’t help but have a hop in my step as I walked the two short blocks or keep myself from coming home and opening all the blinds while I did some cleaning.
Speaking of this wonderful weather, i’m getting very excited for tomorrow’s MORE/FITNESS MAGAZINE Half Marathon. I’m so thankful Melissa and I made the correct decision and each went to the Expo yesterday. My friend just texted me telling me that there is a line three blocks long right now to get in! Yesterday, the Expo was a bit dissapointing but had one definite highlight. It was held in the Altman Building which is a perfect location as it’s pretty central and a nice size space. But, where were all the samples?! There were no amazing bar companies, sports drinks, etc. The only samples vendors were giving out were from Eucedrin and Silk. Oh well, I guess i’ve been spoiled by the Philadelphia events. In addition the bag they gave us was quite heavy due to a FITNESS magazine and MORE magazine. I was surprised to see that they are going to have pacers for both the half marathon and the marathon. I’ve never used a pacer before and had planned to “use” Melissa as my pacer tomorrow but it could be great motivation. My goal is to better than my last half marathon in Charlotte. I think this is a good comparison as it was very hilly as well. According to Athlinks, my time was 2:27. That is the slowest i’ve ever run a half but I was coming off injury and poor training. My previous times are as follows:  Philadelphia 9/07 (flat) 2:07, Charlotte 12/07 (hills) 2:12, Philadelphia 9/08 (flat) 2:21, Philadelphia 11/09 (flat) 2:19, Charlotte 12/08 (hills) 2:27. As you can see I was on a very strict training plan last year when I ran my first half marathon and it made a huge diffference.
I was about to leave the expo, dissapointed and sad that i’d missed Melissa when I saw a sign that said “MORE EXPO DOWNSTAIRS”. I quickly dashed downstairs to see what I could find. To my great excitement, I saw a sign for Gracie’s Gear. I’ve heard a lot about her products through blog giveaways and definitely wanted to buy a tank and find out more about what differentiates her products. A nice woman saw me looking at all the products and asked if I needed help. She quickly helped me understand the differences and explain their different products. But, even more exciting, she asked me to wait a minute because the adorable, pregnant blonde next to me who was deep in conversation with a reporter was in fact, Gracie! Gracie spent 20 minutes with me discussing how her company started, her products, and her passion for helping others improve their running times and experience through Heart Rate training. In fact, this week she is going to do a guest post and discuss the different benefits and how to start your own HR training program to help with your next race. I asked her if she’d be willing to do a discount code for the site and instead she loved my idea of wearing one of her tanks for my race on Sunday and then reviewing it! In addition, I think I will be receiving an extra one next week to give to one lucky reader!! I have tons of pictures but unfortunately my camera is being stupid!
When Bo and I got home last night after a wonderful but late dinner at our favorite, Papatzul, we were met my a huge box from Dustin at Wildwood! He was so kind to send us 3 packages of hummus (Original Light, Spicy Cayenne, and Indian Spice) and then three packages of their tempeh. I would love any suggestions you all have for using Tempeh as i’ve never tried it before! We will definitely be trying the next few days and reviewing them. Bo and I were like kids in a candy store when we received the package as they are our first official samples! I am hopefully going to work with Dustin to setup a discount code so you all can try their amazing products as well!

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