Juicing

A few months back Dan went on a work trip to LA, and met up with his friend Greg. Every time we chatted, they were “juicing”. It made me laugh, thinking of these 2 guys, in a hotel room with a juicer and making different concoctions on their own. It all felt very California, yet Dan and I have decided to dive  into the world of juicing! We purchased a brand new juicer, and are a little too excited.

Fancy juice.

I have heard that beets are great for detoxing, and wanted a beet and kale based juice. (Interestingly enough, anytime we have now juiced with beets, I get a splitting headache, so we have not been using it anymore). We don’t eat nearly enough vegetables, so I think juicing is a great way to help fill that void in our diets. We aren’t using the juice for weight loss, but a supplement to our daily lives. We LOVE our juicer by Breville. It’s pretty easy to clean, too. Surprisingly the whole clean-up doesn’t bother me (and I hate doing dishes and any sort of cleaning). Maybe it’s just because I’m so excited to drink the colorful concoction I just made!

Colors.

Food Babe has some good recipes, but for the most part, I just grab whatever fruits/veggies I have on hand and throw them in. I am also dying to try this detox tea as soon as I pick up some ginger (I recently bought a bunch of turmeric at Whole Foods to throw into juices). Anyway, the possibilities are endless! I love juicing, it is definitely here to stay. I need all the help/energy I can get while chasing around a 2 and a half year old

Juice life.

SurfSet & A New Addition to the Family

Dan and I had an adult evening recently thanks to my parents. We headed down to AC to check out their newest hotel, Revel.  I have no words, it was amazing. Not only did we desperately need an adult evening (and I don’t just mean dinner out), but the hotel is glorious. Really top-notch. You immediately forget you are in New Jersey and feel like you are on a real vacation. Every room has an ocean view and the hotel is just so shiny and new.

Anyway, I found out that the Exhale Spa at Revel offers the world’s only SurfSet class (NYC has some pop-up studios, but this is the first REAL studio). SurfSet is basically a full-body workout on a surfboard. It includes these pulleys to use for “swimming” and incorporates a lot of yoga and ab work. It was phenomenal. Within 2 minutes I was sweating and seriously worried about being able to finish the class, but we did it! Dan and I were the only ones in the class, and the instructor made the class a lot of fun. I highly recommend this workout!

Being a nerd before class starts.

Apparently a permanent studio is also coming to NYC in September. I can’t wait to see where it is! I would love to be able to do this more often, especially in winter when you are looking for a fun full-body workout that you can do inside. The class at Revel was only $20 since the studio is so brand-spankin’ new. Worth every penny!

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Saturday Dan and I welcomed a new addition to the family (aka The Gilded Lady per Dan):

She’s 10’6″ and 26lbs. Welcome to the Moser Family!

Dan, myself and my Dad immediately walked to the end of the street and dropped her in the bay. We each took turns paddling around a little, then me & my Dad got into the car and proceeded to buy a second SUP. Very exciting day! We are all psyched to hopefully get in better shape (it’s a killer workout) and have some fun while doing it.

Dan taking The Gilded Lady for a spin.

So that wraps it up. I’ll be heading back down to the beach on Wednesday and will be doing some working and then paddling on my down time (aka Ben’s nap!)

Going Gluten/Wheat/Dairy Free:

On another note, I just began going gluten/wheat and dairy free 2 days ago. It’s a bit of a challenge so I am open to hearing any recipes or websites that are helpful! Luckily I love quinoa and have been eating chicken & corn pasta, but I feel a little limited right now. Especially when it comes to snacks. The hope is that by adapting this type of diet, my allergies will get better (I grew up allergic to wheat and dairy, even though I supposedly am not allergic anymore). I can’t breathe almost all day and since medicines don’t work, it’s time to try to alter my diet a bit and see if that helps. I’m proud of myself for trying it, but I need all the help I can get!

Summer Recipes: Salsa Chickpea Lettuce Wraps & Avocado Mango Salsa Salmon

I have been spending a lot of time at my parents’ beach house lately which means no time to update this blog with recipes we have been trying! (Too hard from the iPad).

This recipe from Happy Herbivore is a delicious and easy dish (we used it as a side dish for 3 people). I have been loving chickpeas lately and this is a different way to enjoy them!

SALSA CHICKPEA LETTUCE WRAPS

Salsa + Chickpeas

Source: Happy Herbivore

SALMON + AVOCADO MANGO SALSA

Avocado Mango Salsa

Adding mango to avocado is genius. Try it. Later in the week we made this “salsa” to put on top of chicken and it was equally as delicious.

Source: Canyon Ranch

Once I am back from food shopping I will update the blog with some more of the latest fitness & food happenings!!

Lululemon Love

Since I started working part-time this summer, and simultaneously working out much, much more, I have been slowly rewarding myself with some much-coveted items from Lululemon. My old pilates clothes were really not cutting it (read: old pajamas) so once I was able to spare some of my work money, I did what any normal girl would do…I went shopping!!! My first purchase was a pair of crops. I LOVE them…I know they are expensive, but I basically wear them every day and they wash so well! I have since bought a fun yoga top that I also wear out, and 2 sports bras.

Lululemon Loves by lisakmoser featuring yoga tanks

I mean, how much do you love their stuff? It’s so versatile. I wore my yellow sports bra and yoga top all day in NYC recently (and it was about 100 degrees out).

Below is my newest Lululemon WISH LIST! I can’t wait to get a REAL yoga mat, another pair of crops, and at least one nice tank for pilates or for under my yogi shirt!

Lululemon Wish List by lisakmoser featuring yoga tops

Here’s to rewarding yourself for getting in shape! Now let’s hope this rain goes away so I can take Ben on a nice long walk and get some exercise, followed by a Tone It Up video while he naps (or, more realistically, a nap for myself too).

XOXO

NYC Day Trip & Feeding a Toddler: Banana Corn Muffins

If anyone actually reads my blog, they might be wondering how one person makes so many muffins. Some days I feel like  I work in a muffin factory. As usual, today is one of those days. I woke up nice and early to start work at the muffin factory with some Banana Corn Muffins from Weelicious. These are pretty delicious.

Healthy Banana Corn Muffins

Banana Corn Muffins

1 Cup Corn Meal
1 Cup All Purpose Flour (I used 365 organic whole wheat flour instead, works fine)
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Ripe Bananas, mashed
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg
1/4 Cup Honey
3/4 Cup Milk (I used 365 almond milk)
1/4 Cup Apple Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Whisk the first 5 ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients to combine.
4. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, trying not to over-mix.
5. Fill batter into greased or lined mini-muffin cups, about 2/3 of the way up, bake for 15 minutes for mini muffins and 20 minutes for regular sized muffins and serve.

Source: Weelicious

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My mom and I whipped up a batch of these little guys for my sister’s cross-country RV road trip. They were apparently greatly appreciated. I wouldn’t know, since I wasn’t invited.

Even adults like them. Photo courtesy of Laura.

ANYWAY, Did you ever have a day where you are having so much fun, you can’t even handle it? You are just bursting with happiness and love for life? That is how my Friday went. My sister and I headed into the city for the day, with the only real “plan” that we were going to go to Central Park. Well, we ended up in pretty much every neighborhood including Central Park, East Village, Union Square and the West Village. There were so many fun parks and spraygrounds we passed, I want to take Ben back in as soon as I get the chance.

The train blowing Ben’s mind.

We had an amazing lunch at Posto. We sat outside at cute little picnic tables and Laura and I both got Classica pizzas and then we died of happiness. We then headed over to Lillie’s to meet a friend for a drink. Ben was sleeping in the stroller at this point and we were able to relax for one minute and enjoy the gorgeous Victorian decor.

Ben playing with trains at Posto.

I love Central Park. It’s such a magical place. As you can see by the angry look on Ben’s face, he agrees.

Model boats on the lake in Central Park

We could have done without the 95 degree heat, but it was still a perfect day. With the added bonus of walking a million miles and hopefully burning a million calories.

Trying to get a picture of Aunt Laura, Ben sleeping, and the Empire State Building. Mission not accomplished.

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Well, Dan is finally home from Atlanta. And the toothpaste exploded in his suitcase. So, that’s pretty funny.

Happy Weekend!

Tortilla Pizzas

My mom had about 300 old Everyday Food magazines she was getting rid of. It was so fun to go through them all and tear out recipes to try (I’m sure I won’t actually cook the majority of them). This simple recipe for a Tortilla Pizza stood out…it looked so delicious and I by using a whole wheat tortilla instead of pizza dough, the calories are drastically reduced.

For this “pizza”, we coated the tortilla with some olive oil & crushed red pepper, then added diced tomatoes (drained from a can), mozzarella cheese, kalamata olives, feta cheese and fresh basil. WOW. Dan was so shocked when he came home from work and this was on his plate.

Doesn’t that look like pizza?

This “Almost Pizza” has me laughing about the SNL Almost Pizza skit. Hilarious.

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Food Babe has a few great articles I wanted to share (and by great, I mean you want to kill yourself after reading them).

1) Is your Veggie Burger bad for you? 

• This was a tough article to read. I LOVE Spicy Black Bean burgers from Morningstar. But if you really think about it, how can any of those processed burgers really be good for you? We have resorted to making our BBQ Cheddar Chickpea burgers instead, and will dabble in other homemade veggie burgers. Send any good recipes my way, please!

2) Be on the lookout for this carcinogen in your organic food!

• Carrageenan  can be found in most milk substitutes and even infant formula. Of course the TJ’s soymilk I had in the fridge listed this in the ingredients. Bye, bye! Products I found that don’t use it are: West Soy Organic soymilk (I just use this in coffee) and Whole Foods Organic Almond Milk (I rotate out almond milk and organic whole milk for Ben).
• Seriously though, this sh*t is in everything. Read your labels! Don’t even get me started on the fact that this is in Zico Chocolate Coconut Water.

Ok, time to get some rest. Heading to Central Park with Ben tomorrow. Can’t wait!

Homemade “Ice Cream”

This is one of the most exciting discoveries EVER. (Thanks, once again, to Pinterest!!) Homemade ice cream! No ice cream maker needed! No added sugar! Plus there are so many different variations on this “recipe” I literally don’t know where to begin. Dan and I made a simple Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream yesterday, but tonight we’re going to experiment with strawberries, too!

YUM.

First, just slice 2 bananas and freeze. Take the frozen bananas and blend in a food processor. Add whatever you want, blend, and voila, you just made ice cream! For this type, we added 3 tablespoons peanut butter, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, and about a tablespoon of almond milk. You can eat it right out of the food processor (we just couldn’t wait) OR put it back in the freezer to make it a little more like real ice cream. So simple and so delicious!  This is our new go-to dessert and such a great way to use up ripe bananas.

Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July!

Stand-Up Paddleboarding & Feeding a Toddler: Homemade Cheese Crackers and Zucchini Muffins

I haven’t made the veggie pancakes from Weelicious in awhile (why? Not sure), so I whipped up a batch of those yesterday and Ben is loving them. I started using organic whole wheat flour in EVERYTHING and it’s really going pretty well. The consistency of things aren’t too bad. Since I still had a ton of zucchini left, I made some Zucchini Muffins from Weelicious, also! YUM. These are so good, I have already eaten 5. I need to stop making Ben such delicious meals! I’m just happy to be getting some veggies into his little tummy besides the Dr. Praeger’s Spinach Littles, which I am not really 100% sure how healthy they really are.

Cheeeeeeeese!

Sunday while still at the shore, I was perusing through 100 Days of Real Food and found this awesome homemade cheddar cheese cracker recipe. I LOVE the Annie’s cheddar bunnies, and thought this might be a good alternative. This is the simplest recipe in the world. I don’t even understand why it is so easy. End result: Delicious crackers Ben takes one bite out of and spits out. My life! A normal child would definitely like them.

Getting ready to SUP!

We had another wonderful weekend at the shore. I can’t wait to go back in a few days. We finally tried stand-up paddleboarding! It was so much fun, and I could not have been more sore the next day. My Dad came with us, and we all had a lot of laughs during our 2 hour “lesson”. What a workout. Dan is dying to get his own SUP now so he can do it all the time, which I think is a great idea.

I’m really only a few feet offshore. Sneaking pictures in during the lessons was not easy!

Dan the man

We have really been kicking up our exercise a notch this summer. I am down a total of about 10 pounds since April which is exciting! I think eating better has definitely helped. I just discovered Ezekiel Bread (not as tasty as potato bread, but that obsession HAS to end). I also have a small addiction to MyFitnessPal. Physically, I feel the best I have since before I had Ben. Now if I can only keep it up!

On a side note, my sister is coming back from the trip of a lifetime tomorrow, and I cannot WAIT to see her and her husband. They drove across the country in an RV. So amazing. I’m so happy for them and this adventure they just went on! You can check out their trip on my sis’s blog.

Happy Early 4th of July!!

How I have to exercise with my little monkey man attached to me!

Beach Eating recap – BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad, BBQ Cheddar Chickpea Burgers & more!

It’s hard to update the new recipes we try while I’m at the beach house, so here’s a little recap of the past few weekends! (Our main themes seem to be BBQ and quinoa…all good stuff!)

This BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad from Iowa Girl Eats was probably the #1 dish of the summer so far. We BBQed up some tofu for my father, and he said his was also amazing. Surprisingly the corn was fantastic; since it’s not really jersey corn season yet we were a little nervous. And the greek yogurt/bbq sauce dressing is pure genius!

BBQ Chicken deliciousness.

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed very well
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 chicken breasts
• salt & pepper
• 2 ears corn, shucked (or 1 cup corn kernels)
• 1/2 cup black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce (we used Stubb’s)

• Rinse quinoa very well in a fine mesh sieve under cold running water. Combine with the chicken broth in a saucepan then bring to a boil. Place a lid on top, lower heat to medium-low, and cook until quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt & pepper, then grill over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes a side, or until no longer pink in the center. (Alternatively you could poach the chicken, or use leftover or rotisserie chicken.) Add corn to the grill at the same time, and rotate every couple of minutes to evenly char on all sides. Remove chicken and corn to a plate and let cool slightly. Shred or cut chicken into cubes, then mix with enough BBQ sauce to coat. Slice kernels off the cob.
• Mix together Greek yogurt and BBQ sauce in a bowl. Evenly divide the cooked quinoa, shredded BBQ chicken, grilled corn, black beans, and shredded cheese between four plates. Drizzle with yogurt and BBQ sauce mixture.

Source: Iowa Girl Eats

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I have been eyeing up this BBQ Cheddar Chickpea Burger recipe for a long time now (damn Pinterest!) and finally decided to conquer them on Father’s Day. They were phenomenal. A little tough staying together…you have to cook these in a pan instead of on the grill (we tried both). And we also bought these amazing brioche buns and topped it with avocado. They look a little charred in the photo, but I assure you, they were perfect.

Veggie Heaven

BBQ Cheddar Chickpea Burgers

makes 4 burgers

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil + 1/2 tablespoon
• 1/2 cup broccoli
• 1 medium-sized peeled carrot, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese + more for topping
• 2 tablespoons barbeque sauce + more for topping
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (I used cayenne instead)
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder (I omitted)

Heat a small skillet over low heat and add 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Throw in onions with a pinch of salt, stir to coat, then let cook and caramelize for 5-6 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In the bowl of your food processor, add broccoli and carrot, pulsing until chopped very finely. Add chickpeas, sauce, honey, flour, cheese, onions, salt, pepper, paprika and onion powder. Process and pulse until completely combined but not pureed. Carefully remove from processor bowl and form into 4 burgers. If you feel that your burgers and somewhat delicate, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Once hot, add burgers to the skillet and cook on each side until golden brown and crispy on the outsides, about 3-4 minutes. Be gentle when flipping and removing burgers so they don’t crack or fall apart. Serve on toasted buns with additional cheddar, avocado and sauce.

Source: How Sweet It Is

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The next recipe is really just a sandwich. But it’s an amazing sandwich. We owe this gem all to my cousin Mim, who introduced us to this deliciousness when we were living in San Diego. You can really top it with anything you want (add some ham, turkey, etc) but we kept ours simple with a nice Italian loaf, fresh mozzarella, and some jam. And butter, obviously. Pictures courtesy of Dan since I was at work while these were being made. Then Dan hopped on his bike and rode me down TWO of these for lunch. And I ate them both…oops.

Gooey.

We also have a new favorite shore house side dish – Smashed Potatoes! I got these adorable little organic baby yukon gold potatoes and you can take my word for it…they were good.

Heading back to the beach tomorrow and hoping to do some more cooking this weekend!

Feeding a Toddler: Whole Wheat Spinach Cake Muffins {+ Homemade Soap!}

I have stopped the constant experimenting with baking because it gets depressing when Ben doesn’t eat ANYTHING I slave over all day. But I have been eyeing up these Spinach Cake Muffins on my favorite website Weelicious for a few months now. I had all the ingredients including some spinach that was about to go bad, so I figured why not?? I used whole wheat flour, since that was all I had, and that may have been a tiny mistake. I think I need to get some white whole wheat flour since it substitutes for regular flour much better, but last time I was at Whole Foods they didn’t have the organic kind. Anyway, these came out hideous. Very very ugly. My first thought was that Ben wouldn’t eat them. So, I give him one fresh out of the oven (they smelled delicious). He takes one bite, makes a face like I am trying to kill him, and spits it out on the ground. I wasn’t shocked…this is my life!

It’s hard to get a good picture of ugly muffins.

After I ate about 4 or 5, trying to decide if I like them (obviously I do), I gave Ben another one. He ate it! I have proof, too. And this morning he just had 2 more. This is exciting stuff around here, getting Ben to eat something that has vegetables in it AND is homemade. I’ll give this recipe 500 stars and 12 thumbs up! Yay!

SUCCESS!!!

Spinach Cake Muffins (original recipe)

• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Fresh Spinach, packed
• 1/3 Cup Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil
• 1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour (if you want to use whole wheat, maybe try white whole wheat)
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor and puree.
3. Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and combine.
4. Pour the spinach puree in a large mixing bowl.
5. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.
6. Scoop batter into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 of the way. (Makes 24 mini muffins)
7. Bake for 12 minutes.
8. Serve.

Source: Weelicious

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When I first found Pinterest, I didn’t quite get it, then I loved it, then it just started making me feel inadequate. Are people really this crafty? Do they really cook and bake THAT much? But then I started actually MAKING some of the things I pinned, and my love for Pinterest is back. The craft pins are especially tricky. Who has time for that? Chasing after Ben all day, getting up at the crack of dawn with him, going to playgrounds, music class, making dinner, etc…please!

One thing I struggle with since having Ben is safety in cleaners, soap, sunscreen, etc. I found this amazing site called SAFEMAMA. What an amazing resource! Even if you don’t have a child. Well, after being sick of paying ridiculous amounts of monies for a “good” soap, a few months back I actually made my own soap!  And it came out glorious! And I know it’s safe for Ben (and us).

Thanks to this tutorial, it was really easy. I used one bar of Dr. Bronner’s (really, Dr. Bronner’s is just the best stuff ever) and it makes an entire gallon. You can’t go wrong! Perfect for the cheapskate in everyone!

One bar = Liquid Soap fo’ Life

Also, have you smelled Dr. Bronner’s? Yum. I think you can even brush your teeth with their products. They are so all-natural it’s ridiculous. There are a million and one uses for this stuff. I digress. Onto the soap making pictures!

Easy peasy!

Pretty awesome, right? I just re-filled all the soap dispensers in the house, reminding me about my amazing soap and prompting me to write this post.

Maybe I’ll try this soap dispenser tutorial I pinned a thousand years ago next!