Green Juice Fast

Needless to say, after a week at Universal Studios in Orlando I needed to cleanse! I've discovered that a Green Juice Fast doesn't have to be painful. To my surprise, it's actually been quite pleasurable and I really look forward to drinking my favorite green juice! I know there are a lot of green juice recipes out there, but this one is so good that everyone I make it for asks for the recipe. So here it is. Let me know how it works for you.

Following the Clean Cleanse by Alejandro Junger, I drink this yummy green drink I've developed for breakfast and dinner and have my only meal at lunch, usually consisting of a big green salad with chickpeas and turkey or chicken. Initially, I lost 4 lbs. overnight which was clearly water weight from the french fries, pizza and God knows what and then a pound every day after that. I'm feeling quite virtuous, but put a Volcano in front of me from Rainforest Cafe' and it's all over!

This recipe makes enough juice for breakfast and dinner. Just refrigerate what you don't drink at breakfast and save the rest for later. I find if my drink is ready and waiting I don't start snacking. Don't forget to wash all vegetables thoroughly. For a cold drink, make sure your coconut water is refrigerated.

Green Juice Fast

2-16 ounce servings

A big handful of kale (2 ounces), tough stems removed

A big handful of spinach (2 ounces)

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

4 tablespoons unsweetened, dried coconut

1/4 cup raw almonds

1 apple, cored

1 cup pineapple, or a small banana

16 ounces pure coconut water

Place all ingredients in a Vitamix, or high powered blender and mix until blended and smooth.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

I think the best combination in the world is chocolate and peanut butter. I put my two favorites together to come up with this fabulous Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe, which makes dark, rich, crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside cookies with creamy peanut butter that melts in your mouth. They remind me of the amazing, oversized, dark chocolate peanut butter cookies my friend Jen brought me back from Levain's in New York City. I've never forgotten them, and since I don't get to the upper west side too often, I decided to make my own!

Levain uses peanut butter chips in their cookies, but they've never done much for me so I avoid them in my baking. They just don't have that smooth, creamy texture and taste of real peanut butter, so I prefer to use peanut butter cups in this chocolate peanut butter cookie recipe. Plus, the milk chocolate in the cups helps to make this cookie even smoother. If possible, time your baking so they can be eaten soon after they come out of the oven and are still warm. They are outrageously good! When I served them to my family tonight there was a two second pause, and then a unanimous "OH MY GOD"!

You can keep the dough balls in a plastic container lined with parchment in the freezer, and just bake them as desired. I use mini chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joes, but you can also use the smaller Reese's peanut butter cups that come in a bag and chop them coarsely into 1/2 " pieces.  If you can't find either, go with 18 oz. of the chips. If available, Muscovado brown sugar adds a hint of caramel. I also use Plugra in all of my baking which is a European butter with a higher fat content for more moisture and better flavor. Use the best cocoa you can find, like Valrhona which gives these cookies a deeper, richer flavor.

How to avoid a flat chocolate chip cookie? Here's a professional baking secret...the key to baking a puffy cookie that keeps its shape is to freeze your cookie dough (at least four hours, and preferably overnight) and the cookie trays before popping them into fully a hot oven (preheat for at least 30 minutes). Also, make sure your baking soda is fresh to avoid a flat cookie. Give yourself at least five hours before serving to allow for freezing time. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

Makes about 24

2  cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 100% cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold and cut into cubes
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
18 oz. mini peanut butter cups, or larger cups coarsely chopped into 1/2" pieces

Place 3-4 cookie trays, lined with parchment paper in the freezer.

In a medium sized bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, mix sugars together. Then add the cold butter. Mix for two minutes or so on medium speed until smooth.  Reduce speed to low and add one egg at a time, using a spatula in between to scrape sides. Mix egg in thoroughly and add vanilla.  Add flour and cocoa mixture and mix until combined.  Add peanut butter cups and mix.

Form dough into balls 1 1/2" and freeze dough for at least four hours, preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Place 6-8 cookie dough balls on a frozen parchment tray and bake for 18 minutes, but no more or they will lose moisture. Let cool on wire racks.

Attack while warm.

Roasted Chickpeas Recipe

I just can't contain my excitement over this Roasted Chickpeas Recipe. I mean they are just so good and on top of it, they are a great healthier snack option. Just about every nutritionist these days says we should eat beans daily. Yawn. Beans bore me. I can potentially get excited about chickpeas though, and these spicy roasted chickpeas are great to eat warm right out of the oven when your watching Justified or Downton Abby – or whatever show it is that you can't seem to watch without snacking.

I begged my youngest daughter to taste test just one – my "vegetarian" who eats meat, but no vegetables (or fruit for that matter), who has been known to eat three cupcakes at once, who sings rap songs entitled "I hate Carrots" – and she took the bowl away and claimed them as hers. I then thought I heard something to the likes of "it tastes like popcorn, they're SOOOOO good"! "What did you say?" I just had to hear it again. She then finished the bowl! My other two girls did manage to snatch a few before they were gone and concluded, "those chick peas were amazing!

I had tried several roasted chickpeas recipes online, but they were all too bland, so I came up with my own spice mixture which I tested several times with various amounts of spices. I am finally happy, and the spice mixture can also be used as a spice rub for pork or to season other foods, like roasted nuts.

If you are serving more than a few people, double up on the recipe and increase cayenne to 1/8th of a teaspoon. 

Roasted Chickpeas Recipe

1 can chickpeas

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Spice Mixture:

1 1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

pinch of cayenne

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse the chickpeas beans in a colander, and then using a paper towel dry them as best as you can. Allow them to sit and air dry for several minutes until fully dry.

Mix all of the spices together in a medium sized bowl. Add the dried chickpeas (add any skins that have fallen off too as they become crispy and delicious) and oil, and then mix until the chickpeas are evenly coated with the spice mixture.

Spread the chickpeas out on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes. Taste for crunchiness, and if they are still soft in the middle bake a few minutes longer ( but no more... they burn quickly at this point, so watch carefully) until crunchy.

Serve while warm.

Baked Turkey Meatballs

These Baked Turkey Meatballs in marinara sauce are so moist and flavorful, you won't miss the beef at all. In fact, they're so amazing my family prefers the turkey which is a good thing since turkey is lower in fat.

After reading Super Immunity by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, I am trying to add more immune boosting, anti-inflammatory and anticancer foods to my family's diet. The added mushrooms, onions, garlic and turmeric give any store bought marinara sauce a health boost, or you can make your own healthy marinara sauce from scratch (see recipe below). Serve these Baked Turkey Meatballs in marinara sauce with whole wheat or any healthy pasta of your choice (have you tried black bean?), and a side of sautéed swiss chard with garlic and mushroom. There. You have just added the major immune boosting foods to create a meal that's not only healthy, but incredibly delicious, hearty and comforting.

You can use the leftover meatballs to make turkey meatball grinders the next day like I did for dinner tonight (just stick a few sauce covered meatballs on a whole wheat roll, top with shredded mozzarella and a sprinkling of Parmesan, and warm in the oven until the cheese melts).  I got three enthusiastic "Mom, these are SO good"! thumbs up.

If you have picky little eaters like I do, chop the mushrooms very finely and they won't even know their in the sauce. You can also switch out the ground turkey for grass fed ground beef if you prefer.

Baked Turkey Meatballs

Makes about 24

1 pound ground turkey, dark or white meat

1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup water

1 large egg, whisked

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 teaspoons parsley, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (for coating the baking pan)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large baking pan with the tablespoon of olive oil.

Mix all ingredients together and form into 1" round meatballs.

Place meatballs on the olive oil coated tray and roll them around so that they are all covered with a thin coating of oil.

Bake meatballs on baking pans for twenty minutes.

Marinara Sauce with a Health Boost

serves 6-8

*2 28 oz. cans whole peeled plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), no added sodium, or two 28 to 32 oz. jars of store bought marinara sauce, no sugar added
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil (optional)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
handful of fresh basil
freshly ground black pepper
meatballs (see recipe above)

Pour the 2 cans of tomatoes (or store bought marinara sauce) into a large pot. Add the remaining ingredients (except the meatballs) into the sauce and cook on low, stirring occasionally until sauce becomes thick and dark red (about an hour). During the last twenty minutes of cooking, add the meatballs so that the flavor is absorbed into the sauce.

Look for tomatoes with less than 70 mg. of salt per serving, such as "Cento". If using store bought sauce, you can omit the salt.