Food for Real

I got a lot of feedback about this cocktail, so I thought I’d post a little more about it. First of all, it’s a wondrous creation that can be made with ANY fruit (Black-eye Blackberry -funny?-, Randy Raspberry, Starry Night Starfruit…Again, not much thought put into the names.) For one cocktail, I used:

-6 small wild strawberries
-1 ounce organic vodka
-About 3 oz. sparkling soda (Make sure to use soda and not tonic water. Soda is calorie free. Tonic is not.)
-Splash of champagne

One cocktail contains 100 calories, no added sugar, 25 mg of Vitamin C and 64 mg of potassium! Cocktails don’t get much better than that!

One of my favorite things to do is explore local farmer’s markets. So I decided to start my first weekend in NYC off with a visit to the famous  Union Square Farmer’s Market . Under the scorching hot sun and among hundreds of people, I found a locavore heaven! From freshly cut lavender to Japanese turnips, the Union Square market offers a complete array of options for New Yorkers and visitors alike. Located in Union Square West, the market covers about 2 acres of land and hosts over 140 farmers each week. I spent the late morning and early afternoon strolling in and out of the tents, chatting with farmers and a few locally-grown food enthusiasts, and tasting some of the most incredible strawberries I have ever encountered (courtesy of Sycamore Farm in Middletown, NY).

I adore Union Square. Not only did I spend a summer living there about six years ago, but also, my father grew up just a few blocks away on 14th street. While almost everything around this area has changed since my last visit, my love & nostalgia for it has remained.

I still have some groceries left over from my Whole Foods trip this week, so I didn’t need to buy much at the market today. However, I did pick up some of those incredible strawberries, some infrared, idared apples, lavender, and 100% organic whole wheat bread from the Catskills.

On a ‘less work, more play’ note, I have two friends visiting from Boston tonight! And I have a feeling that those wild strawberries are going to be transformed into my favorite cocktail. Here’s how to make it. Then drink it.

Purchase a bunch of juicy, red, wild strawberries, some organic smooth vodka, champagne, and soda water. Muddle the strawberries, pour in the vodka, pour in the soda, top off with champagne and SHAZAAM, you have my #1 favorite cocktail: Steph’s Strawberry Smooch. (Totally just made that name up). Enjoy!

The woman is a dietitian’s dream. As part of her Let’s Move! initiative, the first lady is launching the Chefs Move to Schools campaign as a way to augment her fight against childhood obesity. Tomorrow, 100 Chefs will join the first lady in Washington DC and will help bring nutritious, delicious, real food to school cafeterias in the US. Bravo!

In a very short time, in addition keeping up with her spectacular guns, Michelle Obama succeeded in calling national attention to one of our most significant problems in the US: childhood obesity. Today’s generation of children is the first EVER to be predicted to have shorter lives than their parents. Every time I hear this fact, my heart hurts. Luckily, we have a very nutritionally active first lady in office, and I firmly believe that we will see more and more progress with every day.

My first night in New York this summer is unforgettable. My friend Mike took me to an incredible restaurant called  Westville East (http://westvillenyc.com/). Our dinner was fun, food, (and wine) filled, and I really cannot wait to go back! I got the whole trout seasoned with rosemary with a side of broccoli rabe (obviously) and mixed greens. Mike got the grilled herb marinated chicken with grilled asparagus. We ordered a nice bottle of Malbec (I prefer red), and it was overall,  simply a great time.

The menu at Westville East is full of fresh, some locally grown and organic vegetables,  killer seafood options, and a pretty impressive sandwich menu. The open windows are perfect for people watching (we definitely saw Mike Myers), and the East Village is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots in Manhattan. We concluded the meal with a walk in the park and some good conversation…couldn’t have been better!

Westville East is located at East 11th and Avenue A.

I’m officially settling in here in Manhattan where I’m working as an intern in the Nutrition Department of Good Housekeeping Magazine (GHM). Upon arriving, I walked into a world that could not possibly get any busier, so finding the time to shop for groceries (the need for new shoes came first!) and  planning meals could easily be pushed aside. I’m planning to head out to the Union Square farmer’s market (http://www.grownyc.org/unionsquaregreenmarket) this weekend for some fresh fruits & veggies, but that’s days away! With that being said, stocking the fridge with a few staples needed to become a priority today.

My Purchases:

• Fresh strawberries
• Organic blueberries
• White nectarines
• avocado
• Non-fat FAGE 0% Greek Yogurt (one of my FAVORITE things)
• Whole Wheat Bread
• Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter
• Olive Oil, Soy Sauce
• Pepper, Cinnamon, Cumin
• Tofu
• Quinoa (technically a vegetable-related food, but is used as a whole grain)
• Broccoli Rabe (my favorite source of greens right now)
• Salad Greens
• Chickpeas
• Lemons
• Small antipasto (pickles, olives, artichoke hearts)
• Skim Milk
• Green Tea

Quick ways these simple ingredients will keep my diet real during the next few days:

Breakfast:

Greek FAGE 0% yogurt w/blueberries and strawberries. 1 cup of this yogurt will keep you feeling satisfied until lunch, and the fiber and water content of the fruit doesn’t hurt! Plus, these berries are rich in disease-fighting antioxidants known as anthocyanins  (responsible for the purple/red/blue colors). If the yogurt + berries is a little too tart for you, agave nectar is a nice natural sweetener with a relatively low glycemic index compared to other sweeteners.

Lunch:

Salad greens w/chick peas & avocado. Sprinkle some pepper over the greens and pack a lemon wedge to squeeze over the salad like citrus dressing. So simple. So good.

Afternoon Snack:

If you’re like me, hunger strikes when the clock strikes 3 p.m. I tend to have a snack at this time during the day as to avoid the pre-dinner taste test that inevitably turns into dinner number 1, immediately followed by dinner number 2 (I know that you know what I mean). I’ll spread a thin layer of peanut butter over one slice of whole wheat bread, and that will do the trick!

Dinner:

I’m planning to try to cook at home, but dinner plans with friends seem to be popping up. I’m not complaining. New York Restaurants are AM-AZ-ING…but more on that later. If I do end up cooking before heading out for the night, I’ll cook the tofu, quinoa, and broccoli rabe. Here’s how. It’s so quick. Try it.

Boil water, cook quinoa according to directions. Midway through the quinoa cooking, cut 1/5 of the tofu block and press as much moisture out as you can w/a paper towel. Cut it into cubes, throw it in a bowl, and pour some soy sauce & cumin over it (weird combo, I know, but it’s delicious). While that’s marinating, boil water and set up the broccoli rabe to be steamed. Then line a skillet with some olive oil, throw in the newly marinated tofu, cook on both sides for about 3 minutes over medium heat. The quinoa and broccoli rabe should be done or almost done after this. Mix all of it up and voila! Quick, easy, good, real.