Homemade Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

I can still remember the 4 hours (very well worth) that I spent on making my very first gnocchi from scratch – yes, it took me full 4 hours to make the dough, cook it and also make my sauce from scratch (because using ready-to-use sauce is just never the same).

The reason it took me the full 4 hours is because I kind of was just winging how much potatoes and flour I used to make the dough. I also remember having dough up my arms and finding little pieces all the way up my elbows a few hours later.

 After I was done, sitting down and enjoying the wonderful taste of 'homemade' made those 4 hours very much worth it! It was an amazing meal! But naturally, this only happens on special occasions and the last time I made it was to celebrate graduating from nutrition school. What better way to celebrate than with friends and good food, right?

When I came across this recipe (in pinterest of course, haha), I was extremely excited because I love gnocchi and creative cooks that take traditional recipes to the next level with their own special touches!

This recipe replaces the potatoes for spinach and ricotta. And don’t worry, it did not take 4 hours ;) it probably didn’t even take an hour to get everything done including the sauce. Now, I decided to go with tomato sauce because I confess I’m not the best at making white sauces (if you have a good recipe, do share!).

Enough intros about this yummy dish and let’s get cookin’!

Here’s what you need for your homemade spinach gnocchi:

• 200 grams (7oz.) of spinach
• 1/3 cup ricotta
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon of salt, lemon zest, dried thyme (each)
• ½ teaspoon of white pepper

If you are using fresh spinach, add it to a pan with a little bit of water and cook with lid for a couple of minutes just until they turn that beautiful bright green. Remove from the stove and drain well.

If your spinach is frozen, just defrost and then drain well.

In a medium bowl mix ricotta, flour, egg, parmesan cheese, and the spices with a fork. Cut up the spinach and add in bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Mix with your hands the spinach with the rest of ingredients. If you notice that the dough is still sticking too much to your fingers, add a little more of flour.

Shape the mix into small balls (make sure they are not too big since it will take longer to cook and won’t come out as soft).

Put the gnocchi in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Cook the gnocchi in boiling water. Like other gnocchi recipes, the dough will rise to the top of the water when they are cooked.

Scoop out the dumplings as they rise.

Serve with your choice of sauce (I chose homemade tomato sauce for mine)

And there you have it - enjoy my dear nutrinutters!

Until next time J

Bon Appetit!

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-

Gluten-free Cauliflower Muffin

Ciao nutrinutters!!

Boy, do I have a treat for you! And I know a few of you are probably not that into cauliflower, but I promise that the taste of these muffins came out divine! ;)

The recipe is quite easy to make and the hardest part was probably waiting for it to bake for 30 minutes while salivating. Just kidding, girls don't salivate! (or maybe we do haha). It was literally a mix and bake, and for those that are avoiding gluten this one is perfect for you!

So let's not waste anymore time and get to the good stuff!

Gluten-free Cauliflower Muffin (Serves 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

Produce                                Dairy and Eggs

3 cups grated cauliflower                            2/3 cup goat cheese
                                                                    3 eggs

Oil and Spices                      Baking                

2 tbsp olive oil                     1/4 cup of gluten-free flour (I used 1/2 tapioca, 1/2 almond)
2 small garlic cloves            1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp rosemary                      
1 tsp salt                                
White pepper to taste

Directions:

• Grate about 1/2 a cauliflower to yield 3 cups of grated cauliflower.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• On a mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly with a fork.
• Mix in the oil and spices and the baking ingredients.
• Lastly, add the cauliflower and goat cheese and mix until even.
• Pour mix in muffin tray and bake for 30 minutes.

Bon Appetit!

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-

The Challenges of DIY Shampoo

As you have probably already noticed, about two months ago I've entered the “do it yourself” world, starting with a face cleanser (which I loved and still use,DIY: Coco-Lavender Face Cleanser) and eventually going to making shampoos.

I read a lot on the topic and it seemed like most recipes had one ingredient in common: castile soap. 

I chose a recipe that seemed easy and good to go (DIY: Coco Shampoo) and used it for over a week. I must confess that I almost did not make it since I’m somebody that likes the feel of squeaky clean hair. I'm even one of those gals that does the opposite of what you're supposed to do and would wash my hair every day. I eventually gave up on that shampoo recipe since it didn't seem like it was cleaning much and used the rest as a shower gel, which worked quite well!

My next shampoo was actually a fun experiment! I read that aloe vera gel is good to neutralize the skin’s pH, so there goes the nutrinut to Publix to buy an aloe vera leaf to get fresh gel (not bottled). I mixed the gel from one big leaf (getting it open and scooping the contents out is quite fun! Highly recommend to try with the kids…it’s super gooey!) and mixed it with one can of coconut milk. This one was a little better! It didn't seem as oily but my hair seemed to just be accumulating the mix and it just felt like my hair was on hairspray 24/7! Time for the next one...

Shampoo number 3, one tablespoon of baking soda per cup of water. 

In terms of removing the natural oils that your hair produces, this one was the most effective. However, it also dried out your hair big time! Which only means that I moved on to shampoo number 4, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 4 tablespoons of water (I got all of these numbers from people who like me, experimented with making their own shampoo). This one was the best one so far but in all honesty, I have been washing my hair once a week with regular shampoo. But on the bright side, it feels a lot healthier!

These haven't worked out exactly how I've been hoping for, but I am persistent and will continue to look for the perfect shampoo recipe ;)

If you already have this figured out, share your secrets with the nutrinut :) I'd love to give it your recipe a try!

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-

Some Goji Berry Love - It's Smoothie time

Usually I don't post smoothie recipes but I made the most delicious one the other day and wanted to share with the nutrinutters!

For starters, what goes into my smoothies depends on what I have at home and whatever seems to inspire me at the moment. The process is actually quite fun, especially if you really just let your instincts take over. I just happened to have goji berries and hemp seeds at home, perfect!

Goji berries are pretty popular nowadays especially since it's packed with antioxidants, but did you know that they also go by another name... wolberry! 

Whether all the health claims can be backed up, they do have a good amount of antioxidants and in Asia they were eaten for generations in hope of living longer - plus they taste quite good! Needless to say a small handful went into my smoothie.

Next in the superfoods list, hemp seeds! These little seeds have a nutty flavor which is quite good and are rich in good fats, protein and vitamin E.

So this is what went into my tropical goji smoothie:

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1 slice of pineapple
• 1 cup of mixed berries
• small handful of goji berries
• 1 teaspoon of hemp seeds
• 1 teaspoon cacao (did I mention I love chocolate?)
• sprinkle cinnamon 
• Optional - 1 medjool date (for a little sweetness) 
• Milk (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients

Top it off with extra goji berries for a different look ;)

Enjoy all the supernutrients!

-XOXO-

The Nutrinut

Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Guten tag my dear Nutrinutters,

I admit I am a little late to this trend, but I still wanted to give this a try!

When I found the most amazing avocado in the supermarket yesterday the initial idea was to make a lime and avocado tart, but being that I was exhausted from work, I decided to try the avocado chocolate mouse recipe that has been trending for a few months. I do love regular chocolate mousse, but I am a true lover of avocados and cacao, so why not give it a go and try to make a healthier recipe, right?

The perks of avocados

Not only are avocados delicious and can be used in just about any recipe from dips to a butter substitute in baking (I recently learned that it even goes well in soup!), but they are rich in vitamins and minerals, contains the good fats, and has an amazing amount of fiber (1 cup has about 10 grams!). Because this fruit is so nutrient dense, consuming it will give you anti-inflammatory benefits and support cardiovascular health!

The perks of cacao

EVERYTHING! haha, pardon my enthusiasm but I am a true dark chocolate lover :)
Cacao is mainly known for being rich in antioxidants but what you might not have been aware of is that our gut bacteria seems to be fond of it too! And after all the studies that have been coming out on probiotics and gut bacteria, we want to keep the little fellas happy.

So now to the Avocado Chocolate Mousse...

Trying to find the recipe that I had fallen in love with a while back because of its simplicity, was like trying to find a needle in a haystack! But luckily I remembered the ingredients: avocado, cacao and honey. I was in luck! I  had all of the ingredients.

Although I didn't have the right measurements, I decided to wing it and make it my own. I started with 1 cup of avocado, 1 teaspoon of cacao and 1 teaspoon of honey. The taste was good but no chocolate mousse flavor. After blending, tasting, adding a little more, blending and tasting again, this was my chocolate avocado mousse recipe:

Avocado Chocolate Mousse (yields 1-2 servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup of avocado
3 teaspoons of cacao
1-2 teaspoons of honey
Optional: 1 date

Directions:

Blend in food processor.
Decorate with berries or sprinkle cacao on top.

This recipe did not disappoint! It's not only healthy but the best part is that the taste was amazing! I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did. Let me know if you give this one a try, I'd love to hear from you ;)

XOXO

-The Nutrinut- 

Quinoa and Spinach Bake

I think a lot of people will be able to relate to this...

Lately, the more I think about it the more I want to switch over to veggie world and not have meat anymore. What brought this on? A few years back, we adopted the cutest half cocker spaniel half yorkie named Carrie (after Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City). The name suits her very well since she likes men and shoes ;)

What does Carrie have to do with me wanting to enter veggie world?

Everything! I noticed that slowly I stopped enjoying meat as much because all I can think about is how these animals are raised and immediately make the connection with our little mutt, "what if that were Carrie?". And although this might sound like nonsense to some, she is a very special part of the family (plus she has perfected the "puss in boots" look, haha).

This is why for date nights I find myself always looking at the vegetarian side of the menu and when I'm going on my Pinterest sessions I'm always attracted to the meatless recipes. This is how I found Quinoa and Spinach Bake.

The perks of Quinoa 

Last year (2013) was "The International Year of the Quinoa" for a reason. One of the main perks of quinoa is that it's considered a complete protein source, meaning that it contains good amounts of the essential amino acids. It is also a good source of healthy fats and fiber. Pretty good right?

The perks of Spinach

This recipe also has a good amount of spinach. I love spinach! I add it to everything I can think of, including my morning smoothies. Spinach is a good source of so many nutrients that I don't even know where to begin! But just to name a few: Vitamin K, Vitamin A, manganese, magnesium and folate!

So ladies and gents, I present Quinoa and Spinach Bake, it's Vegetarian and Gluten-free!

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

Grains and Seeds:                       Eggs and Dairy:

1/4 cup sesame seeds                                        2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup uncooked quinoa                                      1 cup greek plain yogurt

Produce:                                      Spices, Seasonings, Oil:

1 pound baby spinach                                         2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil (plus extra)
1 shallot diced                                                    1 tbsp dried thyme
2 cloves garlic                                                    1/4 tsp chili powder
                                                                         1/2 tsp ground white pepper
                                                                         3/4 tsp salt

Instructions

• Cook your quinoa like rice (2 cups of water for per cup of quinoa)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coat a baking dish with a little olive oil or coking spray if you have any, then coat with sesame seeds.
• Cook for a few seconds spinach in a pan with a little water, just until spinach gets bright green. Drain water and set spinach aside.
• Heat olive oil in pan. Add: shallot, garlic, thyme and chili powder and saute. Remove from heat and transfer to medium bowl.
• Add: spinach, cooked quinoa, yogurt, eggs, salt and pepper to the shallot mix, making sure ingredients are combined.
• Transfer quinoa mixture to baking dish and place in oven. Bake until it reaches a golden brown color. Mine took 45-50 minutes.
• Remove from oven and enjoy! :)

This dish goes very well with your favorite salad and olive oil on top.

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-

DYI: Coco Shampoo

I have some exciting news! I just invested on a good camera. I confess I'm still in the exploring phase and trying to figure out how to get the most out of my pictures. I even watched yesterday a 1 hour tutorial on the camera basics until eventually I got overwhelmed and decided to continue the video another day, haha. Has this happened to you?  I'd love to hear some of your camera stories :)

Since the weekend is when I have more time to get things done, I decided to test out a new shampoo recipe and see how the pictures would turn out.

Just like with the coco-lavender cleanser, which by the way I've been using for 3 weeks now and my face has never been this great, I chose to go the DIY route because I have very sensitive skin and always had to overpay for more "natural" products. 

My criteria for going with this recipe was that it was simple, had good reviews from other people that tested it out and I had all the ingredients at home. So here it is!

Coco Shampoo Recipe:

- 1/4 cup Coconut Milk (I used from the can)

- 1/3 cup Castile Soap

- 1 Teaspoon Olive oil (I recommend using 1/2 a teaspoon instead since coconut is moisturizing enough)

- 20 drops of essential oil (I used 10 drops of lavender and 10 of tea tree)

Directions:

Mix in all the ingredients in a container of choice. 

Since I didn't have a bottle with pump, I just used an empty shower gel container.

TIP: Make sure to always shake, shake, shake before each use ;)

I've used this shampoo twice already and have liked it so far. I think if I told you that it feels the same as when one uses regular shampoo, it would not be the most honest comment. I think that any change goes through an adaptation period.

But as to how my hair looks and feels: very clean, soft and not frizzy...which is a huuuge must for curly hair gals, like me ;) Aaand a little bonus: you don't even need to use conditioner after.

Give this one a go and let me know how it worked out for you!

ONE WEEK UPDATE:

After using this recipe for a week I decided that I did not adapt very well and felt like it was just building up in my roots, so I'm still in the look for the shampoo for me...But good new is that this recipe makes an excellent shower gel ;)

I'm thinking that the next shampoo recipe will have aloe and coconut milk! Let's see how it will turn out :)

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-

Berry Jelly

I woke up on 4th of July with full determination and wanted to do something special but still quick for breakfast, so I decided to go with a berry jelly to add to yogurt and show my red, white and blue ;)

After checking out some neat jelly recipes during the week, I decided to adapt my original strawberry recipe and see how it would turn out. Also, I didn't only want to stick to strawberries so blueberries seemed like a great idea to give extra flavor...

I confess that the original idea was to add only a little bit of blueberries but as I was scooping them out of the bag, they rolled all over the counter and so I decided to add everything in the jelly...kind of like "the more the merrier" crossed my mind that moment :)

If you are new to the kitchen, this is actually a very good place to start! I would not say that jelly is the healthiest thing to make since it can go very wrong if too much sugar is added, but in comparison to what you buy, it is a lot better for you since it has no preservatives and you control how much sugar to add...and did I mention it is tastier too!

So here is how you can show your top chef skills and impress your friends and loved ones!


Berry Jelly:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of mixed berries (I used strawberries and blueberries)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 4-5 Tablespoons of sugar (Ideally I would have liked less sugar but this was the first time I experimented with lemon)
• 1 cinnamon stick (I like this better than powder)

Directions:
Add all ingredients in pan and cook on medium-high heat (frequently stirring) until it reaches the "jelly" consistency.

So there it is! Quick, easy, and delicious!

Bon Appetit!

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-

Strawberry-Banana Soft Serve

Ciao Nutrinutters,

Banana soft serve...

I've seen videos, recipes and pinned just about every version of soft serve ice cream.

Haven’t heard this term before? It is usually done with frozen bananas blended into ice cream consistency and voila! You've got yourself vegan ice cream.

The idea always intrigued me. Although it was pretty clear from the videos that it did look like ice cream, I just always wondered if it just tasted like bananas, because that’s what it is after all! And if I am craving ice cream, will a banana soft serve do it for me?

So of course when I saw some spotted bananas in my kitchen, I chopped it up and didn't think twice to freeze it. When Saturday came along and I craved dessert after lunch, I remembered that not only did I have my one frozen banana but frozen strawberries too!

So this is what I did:

Placed in the food processor 1 medium frozen banana with about 1 cup of frozen strawberries.

I read that adding vodka helps with maintaining the creamy consistency. Not having vodka at home, I found some random white wine in my fridge…maybe not the best idea but I thought “what the heck!” and added 1 tablespoon of this wine. I recommend adding something sweet like moscato…

I confess I struggled to get the creamy consistency without adding any liquids because my food processor is not that potent, so I added 2 tablespoons of almond milk. And for the final touch, to make sure that it didn't only taste like a frozen banana-strawberry smoothie, I added 1 tablespoon on vanilla extract…we wanted dessert after all ;)

And the strawberry on top...

As for the taste, I loved it! Giving it 4.5 stars simply because this is the first recipe I try. If you are looking for a healthy, easy AND tasty way to cool off this summer, I’d give this one a go. Especially with the summer heat here in Miami, this is exactly what I needed!

And just to give this recipe a little more credit, my parents and boyfriend approved too ;)

Bonus good news: it stays just as good the next day too!

Just make sure to take it out of the freezer and wait 5 minutes so it’s easier to scoop out.

Strawberry-Banana Soft Serve Recipe: (serves 2-3)

• 1 medium frozen banana
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 tablespoon white wine/vodka
• 2 tablespoons of almond milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Process in food processor until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-

DIY: Coco-Lavender Face Cleanser

Ciao Nutrinutters,

For a few years now I've been investing a good chunk of my paycheck on beauty products.

If you are like me, just about anything irritates your skin, whether it is leaving it too dry or making it very oily or just giving you dermatitis (an irritation of the skin). I started a nonstop process of reading articles talking about all the harmful substances and realized that my super expensive, healthy, organic, natural, full of antioxidants, miracle product also have these in their label (usually aaaall the way in the bottom of the list of ingredients…but it is still there!). I just about lost it when I realized that my $30 shampoo (that lasts me less than 2 weeks) also contained way down at the bottom a few of the no no’s…I thought this shampoo only had bananas and essential oils for cryin’ out loud!

So now I am listening to a little Bossa Nova (Brazilian music, very relaxing btw!) and sharing with you how I converted to DIY...

The idea started probably a couple of weeks ago when I thoroughly read the entire list of ingredients in my shampoo and decided I could do better! I guess I am a little late to the DIY party but I like to think that I am fashionably late ;)
I started looking at pinterest (I am also a lot more appreciative of this now) and googling in general DIY beauty products. Now, the beauty about working in a supplement company is that I am a lot more aware of all the possibilities that are out there. I looked up recipes that I could make with the raw ingredients sold in my company and found quite a few! How to decide? So many scrub recipes, shampoo, face cleansers…

I confess that I was so enthused with the idea that I just randomly purchased a bunch of essential oils, coco-lavender face cleanser came to be.
Moroccan clay, Castile soap and shea butter. Since I forgot a few ingredients for the shampoo recipe I wanted to give a go, I decided to try instead the cleanser. I adapted a recipe with a switch of ingredients and that is how

It was Saturday morning and time for the nutrinut to get cookin’.
Here’s what I did:

Recipe:

-          1 cup distilled water

-          2 tbsp castile soap

-          ¼ cup coconut oil

-          2 tbsp raw honey

-          1 tbsp shea buter (melted*)

-          20 drops lavender essential oil

*place container with water half way in the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and place other container that only contains the shea butter in the hot water and allow shea butter to melt. (like picture below)

Mix all ingredients and place contents in a container for you to use. I placed mine in a bottle with pump.

Make sure to shake bottle before each use to mix well all ingredients.

I've used this cleanser 3 days already and I’m still in love! I found that it not only cleans the skin, but also hydrates and I haven’t had the need to use my face moisturizer at all! And because of that, my skin is a lot less oily during the day. My skin is combination by the way...

It might be early to say since usually you need to use a product more than 3 days to know how effective it is, but these simple ingredients have done a lot more for my skin than all of the expensive products I've used in the past…a lot more pocket friendly too ;)

So are you going to give this one a go?? Let me know how it works out for you :)

XOXO

-The Nutrinut-

New Smoothie Video! :)

Hey Nutrinutters!

If you liked the last smoothie video, make sure to check this one out too!

Are you feeling Peachy today? :)

Last Day of March!

Dear Nutrinutters,

Today is the last day of March and although I missed a few tips, I wanted to make up for it with this:

Try this one at home ;)