Snack Wrap

I am a huge fan of avocados. Living in CA, I am lucky, because I am constantly surrounded by fresh ones. A delicious way I have found to eat them are by making a lettuce-taco. All you need are 3 simple ingredients: romaine lettuce, an avocado, and Spike. I've recently been introduced to Spike, which is this delicious spice that adds some delicious flavor to just about anything.

1. Take a full leaf of washed romaine lettuce 

2. Fill this lettuce "shell" with sliced avocado

3. Top with a bit of Spike

4. Eat and enjoy!

Simple, quick, easy - delicious.

Restaurant Review

IL CIELO
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Cuisine: Italian
Price: $$$
Website 

Il Cielo has been voted the "most romantic restaurant" in Los Angeles. Although I didn't go there for the romance, but rather with family, I did witness another couple in quite the date - with a large candle stick and rose petals covering the table.

The restaurant has the feeling of eating outside under the stars, when in reality you are in a small enclosed space with a clear ceiling and numerous twinkle lights. The ambiance is quiet and beautiful. The staff is friendly and incredibly attentive.

The bread is fresh and warm, with a hint of cheese and tomato cooked into it - yum. 

My order:
Vellutata Di Piselli Frescai - Sweet pea soup with shallots, onions, and leeks
Spaghetti Latini - Imported drum wheat spaghetti with spicy italian peppers and cherry tomatos

The food was so delicious! I would go back in a heartbeat, and definitely recommend it. It is the kind of place to celebrate a special occasion, or go on a romantic date.

Overall out of 10, I would rate it:
Food: 9
Ambiance: 10

Diet: Revised

Last week, I received some great news! After going in to my doctor and asking if he could re-test each and every thing in my no-no list, to see if perhaps I could bring something back into my diet...I was completely surprised with what I am now able to eat again - almost everything!

My restricted list is so short now; I am thrilled. I apologize for not having posted in a while, I have been extremely busy stuffing my face.

1. Sugar (regular and brown)

2. Corn

3. Grapefruit and Orange

4. Dried Fruit 

Don't worry - that doesn't mean the healthy recipes will stop! They just will involve some great new ingredients. 

Chopped

I spend a great deal of time with my older sister and 11-year-old twin niece and nephew. However, in this day and age, apart from watching Disney, it can sometimes be a challenge to find something to watch on TV that we all enjoy. Recently, I have turned them on to watching the Food Network, as we all share a passion for food and find joy in cooking. 

The show we have been obsessed with most recently is Chopped. We all love watching these expert chefs come up with mind-blowing creative dishes out of the most repulsive ingredients (ex: dessert from Bone Marrow, Kale, Cottage Cheese). After watching an episode, my niece suggested we have a competition of our own.

We paired into two teams: my sister and niece were one team, my nephew and I the other. We picked four ingredients to make our "appetizer" with. Our ingredients were a bit more user-friendly, but hey, we aren't trained chefs. 

It was required to use all of these ingredients, however you could also help yourself to anything else in the kitchen.

{my teammate}

{opposing team food prep}

{scrambling to plate their dish}

Even though we used the exact same starting ingredients, both teams came up with completely different recipes.

{my team}

 CHOPPED SALAD

Finely chopped butter lettuce, apples and chicken, with a minced carrot, ginger and rice vinegar mixture. Topped with a fresh squeeze of lemon, and crumbled nut thin crackers.

{opposing team}

LETTUCE WRAPS

Thin sliced carrot, cucumber and chicken, with fresh mint, in a rice-vinegar and honey reduction. Topped with nut thin flakes. 

You be the judge - which recipe is most creative, best presented, and looks most delicious, and which team should be chopped?

Skimming

How informed do you feel about current events? Although I try to check the headlines on a daily basis and register for AP Mobile alerts on my cellphone, I constantly feel out of the loop on what is going on in the world. I'm sure many of you feel the same. At times, it can be overwhelming to try to read the news - there are so many sections, where do I even begin? That's why I was thrilled to learn about The Skimm.

After signing up, you are delivered a daily e-mail first thing each morning, highlighting what is going on in the news. It breaks down the most relevant and important stories, and puts them in to simple terms. They make it easy to read, and even add humor. Now, I can feel caught-up on my world news and feel ready for any conversation - all before leaving bed in the morning!

Sign up here!

Once A Cheater, Always A Cheater?

This week has been chaotic, to say the least. Monday was an incredibly saddening day, and things just continued to pile on. First, the horrible news of what happened in Boston, where all of my best friends from College reside, threw me for a spin. My heart goes out to all of those in the area, and the victims are in my thoughts and prayers. From there, I was dealing with other shocking news in my personal life. To put it short - it was a bad day.

So, how does one recover from a no good, very bad day? Let me clarify - without having at least a cocktail or dessert? Well...they don't. For 3 months, I have been incredibly strict in sticking to this eating regime. I haven't let so much as honey cross my lips. However, with my Aunt's temptation and overwhelming feeling that life is just too short, we headed to the Hotel Bel Air - probably one of my top favorite places in the whole world - and splurged.

{www.dorchestercollection.com}

Sitting in the gorgeous bar area, watching the fireplace roar and listening to an incredible piano player, I ordered a dirty martini with stuffed blue cheese olives - my favorite. That was my splurge, I thought. Things went downhill from there. Okay, so I ordered a pizza. It was small - miniature even. With fresh mozzarella and an incredible sauce. Well, heck, I was already on a downward spiral. I ordered a hazelnut crunch bar dessert - a delicious chocolate hazelnut homemade-version of a candy bar, complete with fresh whipped cream and homemade double-chocolate ice cream. Really, can you ever go wrong with Wolfgang Puck?

I'm here to admit it. I take full responsibility. I cheated...and it felt incredible. Now back to my normal routine. I have come to the realization that people should just do what makes them happy. Whether that is following my recipes, eating healthy or  eliminating certain items, do it because it makes you feel good. But don't forget - everyone deserves a splurge now and then too.

Book Review: Cook Book Edition

IT'S ALL GOOD

I always love cook books, cooking blogs, and all things cooking. However, it has been tricky to find something that is really pertinent to my diet. Gluten-free recipes usually use a lot of corn, vegetarian may use a lot of fruits and vegetables I can't have, and vegan doesn't avoid the gluten. Throughout my frustrations of recipe-hunting, I stumbled across Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook: It's All Good. I had no idea what to expect, and though I was aware it had come out, I had no intentions of buying it. One fateful day in Target, I picked it up and started thumbing through it. The recipes were amazing. Everything is so natural, adaptable, and delicious. Although some of the things I still can't have (she uses raw honey and maple syrup as sugar substitues, but I still can't have those), I have earmarked multiple recipes I am anxious to try both now and once I am bringing more foods back into my diet.

I loved the book so much, I sent one to my sister. I highly recommend it to everyone - only $17.39 on Amazon, while marked at $32 on the book. 

What are you waiting for?? Go pick up your copy!! 

My recipes I am most excited to try:

Chinese Chicken Salad

Spicy Sweet Potato Soup with Chipotle Coriander

Chicken Burgers, Thai Style

Bummer Bars 

Once you've purchased the book, let me know which ones are your favorites!