Category: Diet

Smoothies Two Ways!

I’ve never been a big smoothie drinker, and mostly because I just find it a hassle to have to blend everything up. You have to shlep out the blender, clean it after, and all for a drink? It doesn’t seem worth it.

But a new product on the market has totally revolutionized the smoothie industry – Swirbie! The fruit comes in nifty pods that all but dissolve in your drink, no blender required. I am hooked!

My kids have been drinking smoothies all summer, no blender necessary, and we even get to prepare smoothies on Shabbos. I love to add the pods to coconut water, seltzer or different varieties of milk for a truly refreshing drink.

One of the best parts about the pods is that since they’re frozen, you don’t need to add ice, so there’s no watering down your drink. I call that a win-win!

This chili lime smoothie was inspired by Trader Joes viral chili lime seasoning, and I’ve been drinking it on repeat, it’s that good!

Chili Lime Mango Smoothie

2 Swirbie mango pods
1 cup coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp honey, or, to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
tajin spice or Trader Joes chili lime seasoning, for the rim, optional

Method:

Add mango pods, coconut milk, lime juice, honey and cayenne to a mason jar and shake until the mango dissolves. Rub the lime around the rim of your serving glass and dip in tajin spice. Pour the mango smoothie into the glass and serve immediately.

One of my favorite smoothie blends that I picked up from living in Israel is banana + date + tahini + milk. The flavors pair really well and it makes for a filling breakfast on the go.

And for a truly decadent treat, top off your smoothie with some shredded halva (or halva floss, as I like to call it!), it really takes it over the top.

Swirbie pods are available in strawberry, mango, peach, blueberry, banana and spinach flavors. You can use them on their own or blend two flavors together for an equally delicious drink!

You can find Swirbie pods in the freezer section of your local kosher supermarket.

Banana Tahini Smoothie

3 Swirbie banana pods
1 cup almond milk
2 tbsp raw tahini
1 tbsp silan (date honey)
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt
sesame seeds and halva, for serving, optional

Method:

Add banana pods, almond milk, tahini, silan, cinnamon and salt to a mason jar and shake until the banana dissolves. Dip the rim of your serving glass in tahini and dip in sesame seeds. Pour the banana smoothie into the glass, top with shredded halva and serve immediately.

This post is sponsored by Swirbie.

 

Related Recipes:

pear ginger and oat smoothie
pumpkin pie smoothie
tahini frappuccino

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Kale Crunch Salad

All I can say is even though I had a boatload of this salad on Shabbos, and then again yesterday when I photographed it, I need it again like NOW, and that, my friends, is a sign of a delicious salad – one you want to eat over and over and over again!

Yes, the flavor combo is bomb but what really makes this salad extra special is all the crunchy elements and it’s like a party in your mouth. A party!!!

I debated calling this the Cruciferous Crunch Salad but then I tried to say cruciferous on my Instagram and I ended up saying cruciferouSH, so I nixed it lol! Kale Crunch Salad has still got that alliteration ring to it that I love, so we’re going with that!

What is really great about this salad is that it’s really adaptable – sub in your favorite candied nuts, seeds and croutons,  the important thing is you want things with lots of different textures in every bite.

And with Rosh Hashanah just a few short weeks away, we’re hoping on the pomegranate train and I couldn’t be more excited!

Kale Crunch Salad
YIELD: 6 servings

4 cups kale
2 cups shredded red cabbage
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup roasted & salted sunflower seeds
1/3 cup candied slivered almonds
1/3 cup crunchy rice noodles, such as La Choy brand

Dressing:

1/3 cup grapeseed or light olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Spread the kale out on a platter or bowl. Mix the cabbage into the kale. Top with pomegranate seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds and rice noodles.

In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients and whisk until thickened.

When ready to serve, toss the salad with the dressing.

VARIATION: use pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds and any type of candied nut instead of the almonds or croutons or chow mein noodles instead of rice noodles.

Related Recipes:

smoky kale and farro salad with balsamic fig dressing
wilted kale and kabocha squash salad
fall farmer’s market salad
kale persimmon salad

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Summer Peach Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

You can thank corn nuts for this salad. Actually you can thank Skopp’s Supermarket in Fallsburg, New York where I purchased said corn nuts that totally inspired this salad!

When it comes to salads (or really most of the recipes I make for dinner), I’m not much of a planner. Inspiration hits at the grocery store or when I’m standing in front of my refrigerator trying to clear it out at the end of the week.


In this case, I was shopping at Skopp’s for my weekly groceries upstate, and I eyed the nut cart with roasted corn nuts all warm and toasty. So I reached for the scoop and thought, “How good would these taste on a salad?!”. I was already in the produce aisle where I caught sight of big beautiful summer peaches, and it hit me – yes!! Juicy peaches and crunchy corn nuts are a good idea, what else should I add? I happened to be standing near the avocados at that point and it was a match made in fruity heaven.

Off to the next aisle, the beautiful baby heirloom tomatoes looked so fresh and colorful and I knew they’d add the perfect balance to the sweetness of the peaches. Mixed greens were a given. And the maple candied pecans – well they are a favorite around here, and the flavors matched perfectly.


That, my friends, is how this Summer Peach Salad was born. It is also a lesson that everything is better with corn nuts!

Summer Peach Salad
YIELD: 6-8 servings

5oz. spring mix
8oz. heirloom grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 large peach, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1/3 cup BBQ flavored corn nuts
1/2 cup maple candied pecans or store-bought candied pecans

Chili Lime Dressing

1/2 cup light olive oil or grapeseed oil
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar (unflavored)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp chili powder
kosher salt, to taste

Method:

In a bowl or platter, layer all the salad ingredients. Place all the dressing ingredients into a jar or container and shake vigorously until thickened. Pour over salad before serving.

Related Recipes:

caramelized peach and gouda quesadillas
corn and heirloom tomato salad with basil lime vinagrette
fruit salad with basil honey lime dressing

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Shaktuna (Tunisian Tuna Shakshuka)

Having recently traveled to Paris, I have a newfound love of tuna – and not the type we mix with mayo and stuff in a bagel. But the kind that’s canned in good quality olive oil and served with sesame bread. Or the kind that’s stuffed into a teeny tiny sandwich with potatoes, eggs, capers and olives: the Tunisian tuna sandwich known as Fricassé.

I made my way to Charles Traiteur, the popular kosher catering/take-out to taste their renowned Tunisian Tuna Sandwich, a soft sesame baguette stuffed with tuna, eggs, harissa, olives and a hint of mustard. It was good, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype, maybe because the bread was soggy.

But then I went back before Shabbos and got their Tunisian Fricaseé sandwich – mini bites of heaven with the same ingredients of the tuna sandwich, only on delicious fried bread and I haven’t stopped dreaming about it since!

Now lets go back a couple of months, when I was introduced to Finer Fin tuna, aptly named because that tuna is FINE!!! I have been hooked on their amazing flavors, including Mexicana, 3-Bean, Zesty Lemon and Spicy Chili. Each filet is hand-sliced and packed in extra virgin olive oil. The tuna is wild caught, a great source of Omega 3, Non-GMO, low in mercury and sustainable caught. It basically sells itself!

So, back to Paris, I came home re-inspired on the tuna front and decided to do a riff on shakshuka and the classic Tunisian Tuna sandwich and let me just say…WOW. Like seriously this makes the perfect breakfast, brunch, lunch or even dinner. It was just THAT good.

Because Finer Fin’s tuna is already packed with flavor, it needed only a small can of tomato sauce to create a base for shakshuka. I added the other classic elements of olives and capers, but you can easily leave those out if you’re not a fan of briny flavors.

You can also throw in some spinach or kale into the mix if you’d like, which is really what I love about shakshuka – it’s just so versatile! (see the gazillion different combos I linked to below, I can’t get enough!).

So if you’re looking for a taste of Paris, or you just want a quick and easy dinner to get on the table, look no further than SHAKTUNA!

Shaktuna (Tunisian Tuna Shakshuka)

2 pkg Finer Fin spicy chili tuna
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
1 tbsp capers
3 tbsp sliced black olives
juice of 1/2 lemon
kosher salt, to taste
5 eggs
handful of fresh parsley
baguette or pita, for serving

Method:

Add the Finer Fin spicy chili tuna to a large skillet and stir in the tomato sauce. Add capers, olives, lemon and salt, to taste. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Using a spoon, make 5 wells for the eggs and slide them in carefully. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny, about 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley.

This post has been sponsored by Finer Fin. All opinions are my own.

Related Recipes:

roasted eggplant shakshuka
Mexican quinoa shakshuka
beet, kale and goat cheese shakshuka
zoodle shakshuka,
garbanzo bean shakshuka with labneh
spaghetti squash shakshuka
stuffed portobello shakshuka

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Ratatouille Roast Chicken

Y’all know I’m not really one for traditional dishes, but if there’s any time where tradition plays an essential role, it’s Passover, or Pesach. The Passover seder is all about the rituals that we observe each year – from preparing our homes and making them chometz-free (free of any leavened grains), to eating matza and morror (bitter herbs), drinking four cups of wine, hiding the afikomen and reciting the Haggadah. It’s all about, as Fiddler-on-the-Roof used to say, TRADISHUN!

Because this holiday has always been about creating special memories with family, I’m all about the simple kosher-for-Passover foods that my mom prepared each year. On the eve of Passover, we would all wash up with soap, put on some aprons and get to work peeling and chopping veggies for her classic Pesach dishes.

We’d fill mason jars with ratatouille, mock chopped liver, cucumber salad and vinaigrette (a salad of cooked beets, carrots, potatoes and red onion) and each meal over Passover, we’d dig a little deeper into the jars, until they were finished. Somehow, we never got bored of eating the same dishes over and over again because that’s what the holiday was all about.

This ratatouille dish is not quite the same as my mom used to make (since she did not use any processed ingredients like spices or tomato paste!), but it’s definitely inspired by the Passover dish of my youth.

Ratatouille Roast Chicken

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (pargiot)
1 medium eggplant, diced small
1 medium zucchini, diced small
1 red pepper, diced small
1 red onion, diced small
1 heaping cup grape tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
fresh basil, for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, zucchini, pepper, onion, tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate the ingredients.

Place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper. Spread ratatouille mixture over the chicken. Bake, uncovered, for one hour, stirring the vegetables occasionally. Garnish with fresh basil.

Serve warm with mashed potatoes, quinoa or rice.

Related Recipes:

chimicken
pulled pesto chicken with fire roasted tomato jam
harissa roasted chicken

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