A Few of Our Favorite Healthy Things

So in my last post I said I would share a few of our favorite things.  I'll start with a three healthy cookbooks we found that we cook out of almost every week:

1.  The Golden Door Cooks at Home:  Favorite Recipes from the Celebrated Spa

I LOVE this cookbook.  Everything we have made out of it has been amazing.  A few of our favorites are the Roasted Poblano, Corn, and Potato Soup; Miso Soup; Parmesan Chicken Schnitzel with Warm Potato and Garden Bean Salad and Creamy Mustard Sauce; Adobo-Marinated Grass-Fed Flank Steak with Spinach Salad and Roasted Poblano Dressing; Cottage Griddle Cakes with Blueberry-Peach Syrup; Indvidiual Sharp Cheddar Frittata with Potato, Spinach, and Red Onion; Vanilla Creme Brulee; & Chocolate Chip Cookies.

You didn't misread, those last two are desserts!  There is a whole section.  We were blown away by how good the creme brulee was.  You wouldn't even know it was a much healthier version.  The only down side to this book is some of the recipes are rather complicated and require a lot of ingredients.  That said its perfect for foodies, anyone who wants to treat themselves and not have to feel guilty, or anyone who loves to entertain!  You can find it on Amazon here.

2.  A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider

This is a great cookbook for every day.  Many of the meals can be thrown together in minutes or even made several days a head.  Additionally, a lot of them require ingredients that are easy to find and inexpensive.  Again, everything we have made out of this cookbook has been great.  To get a better idea about what's in this cookbook its probably easiest to go over to Amazon since you can look inside it (including the index).  Make sure you try the Ravioli with Garlic, Olive Oil and Crispy Sage!  

3.  How to Cook Everything Vegetarian:  Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman

We have the vegetarian edition because my partner was originally a vegetarian when we met several years ago.  However, there is a cookbook by Mark Bittman entitled "How to Cook Everything," that may be more appropriate.  This is also a great stand by cookbook with easy healthy recipes.  It also a great resource at almost 1,000 pages.  To get a better idea of whats in this cookbook head over to Amazon as you can look inside this cookbook.  Some of our favorite recipes include the Potato & Leek Soup (it has 3 different variations) and the Pasta with Broccoli.  We also consult this cookbook for a variety of information such as how long to cook various rices, etc.

Some our favorite health food finds include:

1.  Coconut Water

There are several varieties of coconut water and they are readily available at various grocery stores and even on Amazon (a great way to buy them if you drink a lot as they give you free shipping and a discount).  Coconut water is a natural way to hydrate!  I live in the South and do a lot of work outside and coconut water re-hydrates me faster than Gatorade ever did.  It also makes a great post-work out drink.  When buying coconut water make sure you look at the package to make sure its not from concentrate. Vita Coco and ONE are two of the brands to look for.  I wouldn't recommend ZICO because it is from concentrate rather than just fresh coconut water.  They also come with several flavors added, however these contain more sugar.  I've heard its also great for curing hangovers, but I haven't had a chance to try that out yet.    To find out more about coconut water head over to Fooducate to see the 10 things you should know.

2.  Fooducate Blog/App

If you have an iphone this is a must have app (find it in the app store for free).  I believe they are working on one for the droid as well.  It allows you to scan items at the grocery store and then gives them a grade based on what they do/don't contain.  It will also give you better alternatives.  It makes it easy (and fun!) to buy better food at the store.  If you don't have an iphone you can read there blog here.  It is very informative and covers a variety of food related topics.  They also have really fun giveaways and on the blog they play games like "guess whats in the picture (see below)."

Any idea what that might be?  It's Chicken!  Yummy...

3.  Breville JE98XL Juicer, Two-Speed Juice Fountain

So you are probably thinking, a juicer, really?  Why would I want to buy something that I'm not going to use, will be a pain to clean up, and will just sit in a dark corner some where?  So now that we have covered why you shouldn't buy one, lets cover why you should.  This juicer is great.  If you do decide to do the CLEAN program you will have to invest in a juicer because as part of the program you make a variety of juices at home.  This juicer isn't huge, so it wont take up a lot of space and makes great tasting juice.  This morning we made a Green Apple & Fennel juice.  Its also pretty easy to clean up and parts of it are even dishwasher safe.  We bought ours at Macy's because we got it for a great price on sale, but they can be found all over the place.  This model is in the medium price range, but they have a variety of juicers that should meet most budgets.  Lastly, once you have had your own fresh juice it will hard to go back to anything pre-made from a bottle, so consider it an investment in your health!  I mean you don't need juice with added sugar and chemicals do you?


As time goes by and I continue to discover new things I'll try to share them.