Blame It On Rio

In exactly one month I will be on a beach in Rio. (Yes, I do know just how lucky I am) And let me tell you just how UNlucky I've felt while trying to get in shape for my big trip to the land where dental floss doubles as clothing.





(*photo courtesy of cancelled stamps)








Gone are the days of my early twenties where I could whip my body back into beach bound shape with little to no effort. 30 may be the new 20, but let me tell you, they're also the years of working your booty off to, well, um keep your booty!

With only a month to go, I had to take drastic measures. Which unfortunately for a lover of food and food writing meant giving up a lot of the things I adore. Like carbs, salt, sugar and dairy, otherwise known as the Paleo Diet. (Gasp!)

If you've written me off and stopped reading, I understand. Feel free to join me again for articles about real food when I'm back from my trip. No I haven't lost my mind and will be throwing the Paleo Diet along with caution to the wind once I step on the plane. It will all be worthwhile once I'm eating bbq meats in Brazil, beef in Argentina and whatever the local delicacy happens to be if I'm lucky enough to make it over to Uruguay.

For those of you gracious enough to keep reading until then I have to
secretly tell you- its actually not that bad.

The Paleo Diet cookbook has some decent recipes and actually allows
athletes to have yams with some salt as a treat. After a huge workout
at the gym today (thank you dee for pushing me and my booty) of course
I'm considering myself an athlete. And a culinary genius for coming up
with this low cal, low salt delicious recipe!

Paleo Diet or not, you have to try these.

Smoked Yam Fries


2 large yams peeled and cut into long thick chunks
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chipolte powder
1 teaspoon smoked salt *I like the maldon brand but you can use any brand you prefer
2 tablespoons olive oil

Toss the yams with all the ingredients listed above. Bake in a 400F oven on a cookie sheet or baking tray until golden brown turning halway. Approx. 30-40 minutes.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Its 2011 and I couldn’t think of a better way to start off the New Year then cooking something warm, buttery and spicy. Okay, I can think of one other thing that’s better-spending all of New Year’s day in bed with this guy:



I know right? But eventually a girl’s gotta eat. I love Indian cuisine and in an effort to spice things up and be a little more health conscious this year, I opted to cook lentil and spinach curry.



Most of us can afford to skip the meat in a meal every now again and this is the perfect substitute. I promise even the most carnivorous of individuals won’t feel like they’re missing out. This curry is fast, easy, creamy and utterly delicious. What more could you possibly ask for? So stop drooling and get moving- I promise even if you’re having the laziest of Sundays this curry is worth it.

Spinach & Lentil Curry (Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook)

¼ cup Ghee*
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 large garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 ½ tablespoons curry powder
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
2 cups of lentils
3 cups low sodium chicken stock
2 cups of water
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
2 cups of coarsely chopped spinach
Handful of cilantro chopped
Fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste

Heat the ghee or vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook stirring occasionally until lightly browned. 6-7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and stir cooking for 1 minute more. Add curry powder and cumin and stir for 30 seconds. Finally add lentils, stock, water and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, 20-25 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, spinach and simmer until spinach is wilted. Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and cilantro to taste.

*Ghee is just clarified butter- if you don’t have it don’t stress- vegetable oil works too