Salad Sundays: The Monday Edition

My "I only have 10 minutes to cook" Salad
Ingredients:

• frozen artichoke hearts
• tomatoes
• garbanzo beans
• Rawmesan vegan cheese
• mixed greens

Directions:

1. Heat artichokes and 1/4 cup of water in a large skillet (like this one).  Cover with lid. While artichokes are cooking chop tomatoes.
2. Drain and rinse garbanzo beans. Set aside.
3. When artichokes are almost cooked (about 5 minutes), drain excess water from the pan.  Then toss tomatoes and garbanzo beans into skillet along with spices of your choice.  I like lemon pepper and garlic with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
4. Lower heat to medium and allow to simmer.
5. Toss mixed greens with dijon vinaigrette dressing (like this one).
6. Spoon artichoke mixture** on top of dressed greens and sprinkle with Rawmesan vegan cheese.
7. Eat and enjoy!!

-♥ J :)

**Artichoke mixture is also delicious served over brown rice.

Champagne and Babycakes NYC

Yesterday I had one of those overly ambitious days where I tried to conquer my monster to-do list in one fell swoop.  I did ok, but one of the to-do's that didn't make the cut was eating (and therefore posting) a salad for Salad Sundays*.  Instead, I opted to have a delicious dinner of champagne and cupcakes while watching the SAG Awards.  What can I say?  Some days salad just doesn't win the fight.  But, hey, at least the cupcakes were of the heavenly Babycakes NYC variety.  Babycakes are vegan and gluten free so I feel like that kinda counts as a balanced meal (and champagne** counts as a fruit, right??).  

If you haven't checked out the new Hollywood/ Larchmont Babycakes location, you need to go immediately.  In addition to the cupcakes and baked goods, they have homemade lemonade, cheap coffee and the very promising sounding "icing shots" for only $1.50.  The staff is as sweet as the treats and the fun, kitschy vibe of the store makes you feel like you are in a homey, small town bakery.  They even had silly tip jars marked "Pauly Shore or Jersey Shore…Vote with your tip."  I put money in each since I wasn't sure…get it…I wasn't "sure"…"shore"…"sure"…never mind.  One thing I am sure of....Babycakes for dinner is a really fun way to end a Sunday.

-♥ J :)

*Salad Sundays: The Monday Edition will be posted later today…just as soon as I make my lunch. ;)

**Charli would want me to point out that the "champagne" was actually prosecco.  She is a stickler for details like that.

The Cold Front

Yesterday, I was felt a cold coming on, so I decided to make my go to "kick-that-cold-back-where-it-came-from" home remedy.  I made it up last year when my Mom felt like she was getting sick.  She drank it as soon as she started to feel run down and BAM!  Cold was sent a packin'.  

• 2 cups organic low sodium* vegetable stock
• chopped garlic cloves (to taste)**
• cayenne pepper (to taste)
• juice of 1 lemon

In a small saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil.  Drink and enjoy!

-♥ J :)

*It is very important that the vegetable broth be "low sodium."  I forgot to tell Erin that when I gave her the recipe and she woke up with puffy, salty eyes.

**I usually use 3-4 cloves of garlic and as much cayenne as my stomach can stand (about 1/4 teaspoon).  Be warned...this is not a breath friendly recipe.  Consume only around your closest friends and definitely not before a hot date.  I usually drink it and go right to sleep.

P.S. Do you have any favorite home remedies??  Hop on over to the Happy Healthy Belly Facebook page to share them!!

Martha Stewart for the win.

About 40 seconds into this video I had to cover my eyes.  Think about that.  40 seconds into a video about where America's food comes from, I had to cover my eyes so as not to see the acts of monstrous cruelty.  A video about our food supply should not have the same effect as a horror movie.  Thank you Martha Stewart for bringing awareness to this important issue.  To learn more about factory farming and what you can do to stop it, click HERE.

-♥ J :)

Salad Sundays: Mas Malo's Mexican Chopped Salad

Last night a bunch of us went to Malo for dinner. In addition to the requisite chips, guacamole and margaritas, I was dreaming of the salad that I had the last time we went there for Sophie's birthday.  Turns out the Malo we went to last night (the Silverlake location) doesn't have the salad.  My beloved salad is only available at their downtown location: Mas Malo.  So in honor of the salad I didn't get to have last night, I am making it this week's featured salad.  Guess I will be making it at home, too.

Mas Malo's Mexican Chopped Salad** 
Ingredients:

• celery
• garbanzo beans
• red radish
• iceberg lettuce
• cucumber
• bell pepper 
• tomatoes
• avocado

Directions:

1. Chop all ingredients and toss with a lime vinaigrette (recipe HERE).  
2. Eat and enjoy!!!

-♥ J :)

**The Mas Malo chopped salad actually comes with queso fresco, but I order it "no cheese sub avocado".

And speaking of Paula Deen...

Paula Deen's “Lady’s Brunch Burger” 

A couple of weeks ago, my father got really sick.  He had a debilitating pain in his stomach as well as nausea and a fever.  He couldn't get out of bed.  "What did you eat today??" I asked.  "Maybe you have food poisoning."  "I don't know," he said between groans of pain.  "Nothing weird.  A roast beef sandwich.  I'm fine.  It's probably the flu or something."  I googled his symptoms and a host of scary ailments came up: heart attack, diverticulitis, blocked intestine.  "Dad, if you don't feel better tomorrow you need to go to the doctor."  "Hrumphdk," he grumbled...

With great power.

"Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such thing as Wisdom; 
and no such thing as public Liberty, without Freedom of Speech."

-Benjamin Franklin

I owe you some Crazy Sexy Diet chat, but that is going to have to wait until tomorrow.  Today Happy Healthy Belly is "going dark" in protest of the U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Real threat to our liberty does not come as we think it will: loud and scary and with great furor.  Real danger is often quiet and placid and cloaked in good intention.  It is the unassuming ticker tape scroll that runs subtly beneath a "news story" that Paula Deen has Type 2 diabetes…

Take action NOW.

-♥ J :)

*As Steve said, this article is "short, but gets to the heart of the issue."