Healthy Chicks

This Valentine’s Day, we celebrated with love letters, sushi lunchboxes, Pad Thai takeout, red wine, Cacao Covered Strawberries, and most special of all: a private tea tasting with Flowering Rock Tea.

A former boss and professional colleague of mine introduced me to this Boston-based startup, as he knows how much I adore speciality, all natural products. And if you read my blog, follow me on Instagram or have looked inside my kitchen cabinets, you know how much I’m in love with tea.

Flowering Rock Tea is not your everyday household tea, as they produce all-natural herbal Botanical collections inspired (and sourced) in Greece. After our lovely sushi lunch in Brookline, The Boy and I head on over to their pop-up location at 70 Charles Street in Beacon Hill (where they’ll be until the end of the month) to check it out for ourselves!

When we walked in, we were greeted by the lovely couple and Founders of the company, Natasha and Konrad Makowski. Immediately, we were drawn in, not only by the fresh herbal aromas but also by their warm, welcoming nature. Seriously, we could have stayed all evening chatting with these two. (In fact, we pretty much … Read More!

Good afternoon lovely ladies and Happy Sunday! Hope you all stayed warm & safe during the Blizzard. As for me, I escaped to our condo in Waterville Valley, N.H with the family for a weekend of snowshoeing, card-playing, unplugging and wining & dining.

New Hampshire is one of my favorite places to unplug, relax and simply appreciate the beauty in nature. I also love spending quality time with my family and The Boy without any distractions from the outside world. Oh, and one of our favorite activities: eating good food. Last night, I enjoyed Salmon Oscar-style from the Woodstock Inn Brewery, which was topped with asparagus and a decadent Béarnaise sauce, served with mashed butternut squash and steamed broccoli. I have no words!

NuttZo: A Jar Full of Love

Speaking of good food, I’ve totally been loving NuttZo, an Omega-3 packed Seven Nut & Seed butter. If you didn’t already know, I’m totally nuts about nuts, nut butters and seeds for that matter (love my flax!) So when I received a jar of NuttZo  to sample myself, I was ecstatic to try a new brand of one of my favorite “condiments.” There’s no better time than Valentine’s … Read More!

Indulge a little much during yesterday’s Superbowl partying? First of all know that It’s OK because Healthy Chicks Eat Burgers Too (and chicken wings, pizza, nachos, you name it.)

At our house there was a lot of chicken wings, beef stew, greasy Chinese, chips, beer and wine to name a few. Fortunately, I made a healthy Kale & Avocado salad to add a little green balance, but only a few people ate it (ha!) I guess the other stuff looked a little more appealing on Game Day…

If you’re feeling a little bloated from all that excess sodium and greasy food, you can start fresh today because “Tomorrow is a New Day” after all.  One of my favorite ways to refresh is by chugging a ton of water, and my favorite way: green smoothies! I made this for my mom and I this morning (I took a trip to visit the ‘rents for a few days), and she absolutely loved it! I’d have to agree.

Post Superbowl Party Green Smoothie for 2

In the Mix:

• 1 c. unsweetened almond milk
• 2 large carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• small handful parsley
• large handful of each spinach, mixed greens and kale

Happy Superbowl Sunday ladies! Today’s post is a Vlog (my second Vlog EVER actually) because I wanted to share with you something that I get questions about all the time: how to handle “over-indulging” without all the guilt that comes with it, or feeling like you “ruined everything.”

I was inspired to create a Vlog after chatting over coffee yesterday with the lovely Cait from Cait Plus Ate at Daybreak. (Side Note: If you don’t know Cait already, you should totally check out her blog especially if you are a fellow foodie or live in the New England area.) She just did her first Vlog (and totally rocked it) and she gave me the courage to give it another shot!

After all, I am very passionate about this topic and want to reach as many readers (or shall I say viewers) as possible. Plus, I feel much more confident this time around, judging by my last video where I was a tad nervous.

OK, 1, 2, 3…ACTION!

What are your favorite indulgences? Do you let guilt get the best of you? … Read More!

Of course people scrunch their noses and roll their eyes at the thought of “eating healthy” when they think of it as bland, cardboard-tasting, flavorless meals (think: a pile of iceberg lettuce with fat-free, calorie-free dressing).

And up until about five years ago, that’s what healthy did mean to me: boring salad bars, diet sodas, sugar-free everything, low calorie, processed-fake-food-crap. Blah.

Then I discovered how much fun I could have in the kitchen cooking healthy food, how creative I could get with my veggies, and how utterly delicious green “healthy” foods could really be.

Most days of the week, The Boy and I craft up wholesome, healthy dishes together in the kitchen and more often than not it’s an exciting experiment. We use what we have in the fridge, creating innovative recipes and award-winning concoctions (at least according to us.) In fact, while I am pretty skilled in the kitchen, The Boy is really the Master Chef of the two of us which makes life a little easier.

No matter what we concoct, we typically (most days) aim to make most of our meal veggie-based with healthy fats, nutritious proteins and wholesome grains added in.

Last night, we had lots … Read More!

Quinoa and I have quite the love affair. I discovered this grain-like seed a few years ago when I was dealing with gluten issues and haven’t looked back since.

I typically enjoy quinoa at least twice a week and  unsurprisingly, it’s quickly become one of my favorite kitchen staples. Really, I never go without it. In fact, we have three bags of it in our cupboards now. (Hey, you never know when you’ll need it!)

Quickie Quinoa Facts

• While many refer to quinoa as a grain based on the similarities, quinoa is in fact a seed.
• It’s 100% gluten free, making it a great choice for someone with Celiac’s or a gluten sensitivity, or for those who don’t digest gluten-heavy grains very well. As an added benefit, it’s also very easy for most to digest!
• It cooks up in about 15 minutes, making it my favorite go-to when I “don’t have time” to cook as opposed to other grains like rice that can take up to an hour to prep
• Quinoa is a complete protein, making it superb for endurance & energy!
• High in B vitamins, iron and potassium to name a few
• It’s always good to rinse quinoa thoroughly

Good morning Healthy Chickies, and Happy Day-Before-New-Year’s-Eve. Since I’m still getting over some sniffles from the holidays, I’ve been trying to eat (and drink) with my health in mind, paying extra attention to the foods that are going to fill me up and make me feel strong & healthy.

This morning, I whipped up a health-boosting green smoothie in the Vitamix, carefully choosing ingredients that’d work on my side as I knock this cold to the ground.

Hope you enjoy!

Health Boosting, Anti-Inflammatory Green Smoothie

Serves 2

• About 1 c. unsweetened coconut or almond milk
• 3 large handfulls baby spinach (fill to about 3/4 of the blender): high in vitamin K and A & rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants
• 3 carrots – rich in antioxidants like Beta Carotene
• 3 celery stalks – high in vitamin A & C, boost immune system and have been used to help lower blood pressure
• 2 cloves garlic – antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, anti-infection…need i go on?
• juice of 1 small lemon – strengthen immunity, cleanse the stomach & liver, fabulous detox to name a few
• 1 large apple – good amount of soluble fiber and have also been known to reduce LDL (“bad cholesterol”)
• 1

Today we’re going to discuss something some of us have, many of us want more of, and all of us need: ENERGY.

Have you ever observed children running around, who seem to have all the energy and life in the world and wonder, “How can I get some of that?” On the other hand, so very often we see business professionals completely drained by the stresses of the workday, mom’s suffering from extreme fatigue, and college students relying on energy drinks to keep them “going.”

What gives? How can we get our energy levels back up in order to feel healthy and alive again?

While there are a number of reasons for low energy levels (including emotional, mental, physical and chemical stress), today I’d like to focus on one of my favorite topics: food. More specifically, I’m going to show you how you can increase your energy levels almost instantly through your diet!

1. Avoid or limit your intake in processed foods, caffeinated beverages, artificial sweeteners, sugary treats and heavy red meats, all of which can drain your energy if consumed in excess. Remember, you don’t need to change your diet overnight as it’s all about baby steps. Try