Smoothies for Spring: Green and Scrumptious

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Warmer weather brings me back to my Vitamix and green smoothies. I started making green smoothies when I was studying nutrition at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2010. Immediately, I felt a difference in my body as it soaked up all those micronutrients. I began craving one every day.

In the wintertime though, I find it more challenging to get into the smoothies. Instead, I use my Vitamix for blending soups and pestos.

Now that it’s spring, I’ve been back into a daily smoothie and I feel fantastic. Dancers have asked what’s the difference between a green juice and a smoothie? A smoothie is made in a blender where all of the greens, fruit, and water are blended together; a juicer presses the juice out of greens and fruit into a glass. The “husk” of the greens and fruit gets thrown away once it’s been pressed.

I like smoothies better than juice because

  1. I don’t own a juicer and I’m not going to buy a juicer. They’re expensive and take up a lot of kitchen space I don’t have.
  2. I like that the entire vegetable or fruit is IN the smoothie- that’s a lot of soluble fiber, which helps keep my intestines clean and happy.

That said when wandering the streets of Brooklyn or NYC, I will occasionally stop for a fresh green juice at the local juicer. The benefits of green juice shouldn’t be understated – I just don’t happen to make it.

The recipes I start my dancers on are the following:

Sweet Smoothie

  • Add 3.5 glasses of water to blender
  • Add 5 oz washed baby spinach
  • Add flesh from one mango, peeled
  • Add 1 banana
  • Blend at high speed until smooth

Savory Smoothie

  • Add 3.5 glasses of water to blender
  • Add 5 oz washed baby spinach
  • Add flesh from one avocado, peeled
  • Add 1 cucumber
  • Add handful of fresh parsley or cilantro
  • Add juice from half a lemon (or more, to taste)
  • Blend at high speed until smooth

Depending on the power of your blender, you may have to chop fruits/veg into cubes or blend in stages. With the Vitamix, it can all be blended at once.

I always start with water and suggest you do too. (Too much unneeded sugar in juice.) The banana and avocado act as the emulsifier- the thing that makes all the ingredients stick together.

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll learn which fruits and greens go well together and which tastes work best for you. There are tons of recipes online, but I’ve found it fun just to experiment and see what I like.

A green smoothie is great first thing in the morning before you jump into the shower. In fact, it’s recommended to be consumed on an empty stomach for maximum absorption of nutrients. It also makes a yummy snack in between class and rehearsals or right when you get home as you’re preparing dinner. Rather than reaching for crackers or some other empty-calorie snack food, drink down a smoothie. It will satisfy your hunger without ruining your appetite for that delicious dinner you’re making.

Let me know what you think if you try these recipes!

 

Meals: Four to Add to Your Rep

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When it comes to meals, what I have found is that all of us need a few simple, easy recipes in our repertoire. Recipes that require no thought, almost no preparation, and deliver a good nutritional punch. These are four standby meals from my kitchen; I always vary the side vegetable depending on the season. Sometimes I add a whole grain like wild rice or a risotto, depending on how hungry we all are, but the basic meal is here.

 

Salmon with Green Beans and Almonds

Salmon

  • Rinse salmon fillet in water and pat dry with paper towel
  • Place salmon (skin side down) in frying pan
  • Squeeze lemon juice on top (or skip it if you don’t have any)
  • Add salt and pepper
  • Cover with lid and turn heat to medium.
  • Set timer for 15 minutes.

Beans

While that is cooking,

  • place 2 inches water in a medium saucepan
  • Turn heat to high
  • Rinse green beans
  • Add to water when boiling
  • Cover with lid and set timer for 4 minutes

In the meantime, open package of sliced or slivered almonds.* Plate salmon when cooked. Drain beans and return to pan. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, a bit of olive oil, and salt to taste. Toss with almonds.

*If you’re really feeling fancy, you can toast the almonds: just place them in a small frying pan without oil on medium heat and toss regularly till lightly toasted. Toasting really brings out the flavor. 

 

Cod Fillet with Spinach

I like either Italian breadcrumbs or Panko for my cod. They both produce a nice thin crust that fancies up the fish just enough.

Cod

  • Place a pat of butter or oil (peanut and olive are nice) in frying pan over low-medium heat.
  • Rinse cod fillet in water and pat dry with paper towel.
  • Place fillet in breadcrumbs and turn to coat well.
  • Place fillet in frying pan and set timer for 3 minutes.
  • Flip cod and reset timer to 3 minutes.

Spinach

  • Place another pat of butter or oil in a saute pan.
  • When melted, add prewashed baby spinach.
  • Toss until all is wilted.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.

The cod can be eaten as is or with a spritz of lemon juice or ketchup or even tartar sauce if that’s how you like it.

Salads

Meals don’t have to be on plates with separate components; sometimes our evening meal is a giant salad in a bowl. It’s a good idea to always have some salad or leafy greens in your fridge for just this purpose. I like the prewashed ones because… it’s easy! If you’re hungry for more, there are some great boxed soups out there these days that can be heated up in a few minutes. Here is one of my favorites.

Protein-Packed Salad Bowl – version 1

First, toast pumpkin seeds (and/or walnuts) in small frying pan on low-medium heat

Then,

  • Place prewashed salad greens (or baby kale, baby spinach, arugula, whatever) in large bowl
  • Add chopped tomatoes
  • Drain and add canned cannellini beans
  • Add leftover grains from fridge (quinoa and any rice works great in a cold salad)
  • Add raisins or dried cherries
  • Crumble blue cheese over top
  • Add toasted seeds/nuts
  • Toss with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Protein-Packed Salad Bowl – version 2

  • Place prewashed salad greens (or baby kale, baby spinach, arugula, whatever) in large bowl
  • Add drained canned tuna
  • Add leftover grains from fridge (quinoa and any rice works great in a cold salad)
  • Add chopped cherry tomatoes
  • Add kalamata olives (buy them pitted)
  • Add chopped cucumber
  • Crumble feta cheese over salad
  • Toss with red wine vinegar and olive oil
  • Add a pinch of dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

 

Stock Your Pantry (& Freezer)

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Cute stocked vintage pantry. 

They say the worst possible time to grocery shop is on an empty stomach because the choices you make are going to appease your body’s worst cravings.

And I say the worst time to prepare a meal is when you are both hungry and have an empty fridge.

That’s when cookies and cheese for dinner start to sound mighty good.

But neither cookies nor cheese will replenish your body after a long day of dancing. Better to have a plan for those days when grocery shopping is out of the question and you need a quick, nutritious meal.

The solution is to keep your pantry stocked with non-perishable items that you can put together in a pinch to make a tasty, healthy meal. I am going to add freezer items to this list because, like the pantry, freezer items are just there whenever you need them. They don’t go bad and don’t require any care.

So here are some pantry and freezer staples and how you can use them.

  1. Canned tuna packed in olive oil
  2. Canned organic beans
  3. Vinegar (I like red wine, balsamic, and rice wine)
  4. Oils (I like olive oil, toasted sesame seed, and peanut)
  5. Lemon juice (See Shortcuts below)
  6. Whole grains (i.e. cracked freekeh, mixed wild rice, steel cut oats)
  7. Frozen peas
  8. Frozen leafy greens (i.e. spinach or kale)

Preparation Tips

Whole grains take a while to cook, so I like to do them in the morning while I’m getting ready or throw them in to cook while I’m eating dinner – then they’re ready for the next day.

For example, as soon as you get up, put a medium pot of water on the stovetop on high heat. As soon as it’s boiling, toss 1-2 cups of grain it in, lower heat, and set a timer. By the time you’ve showered and gotten dressed, they’ll be ready to drain and stick in a Tupperware for later. Or do the same while preparing your dinner. Once you have grains stored in your fridge or freezer, it takes no time to heat them up and add to the meals below.

Meal ideas

These meal ideas are quick and easy. They are not fancy and not for every night, but they work great as backup. You definitely want a backup plan for dinner so you don’t skip it or eat something useless.

  • Tuna tossed with warm peas: add lemon juice and olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
  • Beans and kale/spinach: heat frozen greens; drain; add to drained beans (cooked or not); toss with your choice of dressing. Try peanut oil and tahini or toasted sesame oil and rice wine vinegar.
  • Tuna mixed with capers and kalamata olives, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper; eat over a bed of steamed greens.
  • Beans and grains. This is one of my go-tos. Doesn’t get any faster or simpler than opening a can of beans and tossing with pre-made grains. Jazz it up with grated cheese, if you have any or a nice oil and vinegar combo.

Shortcuts

In an ideal world, we wouldn’t take any shortcuts, but in the real world of evening exhaustion and nutritional need, shortcuts are sometimes necessary. So go ahead and buy the lemon and lime juices in the little plastic containers. (I like the Sicilia brand.) These keep forever in your fridge whereas real lemons and limes rot.

Also, I am a huge fan of ordering some foods online so that I can keep them in stock and not have to schlep them home. I order my tuna online here. For those of you who live far from a good grocery store (or don’t have time to shop), Bob’s Red Mill is a great place to get your grains online. Get a bunch so you never have to worry about running out.

And…get stocked! And then tell me about it. 🙂

 

Food Basics for Dancers & Parents

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A lot of dancers and parents of dancers come to me for help with food and eating. Among the many questions I get are these:

  • What food, exactly, should I be eating?
  • How much of that should I be eating?
  • Are carbs really bad for me?
  • What kind of fat is “good” fat?
  • How many calories is “too many”?
  • What should my BMI be?
  • Can I ever eat dessert if I want to be a dancer?

Today, I want to focus on the “what” of a dancer’s diet. I use diet in the very relaxed meaning of “foods you eat.” For example, I eat a vegetarian diet or my diet is pretty clean. I don’t use it in a restrictive sense like, I’m on a diet.

So, what you should be eating is whole foods: food in its most natural state.

Obvious examples are fruits and vegetables as you find them in the grocery store or farmer’s market: uncut, uncooked, unseasoned, raw, and as they come out of the ground or from the tree or stalk.

The same goes for animal products: you want fresh, organic (when possible) cuts of meat and fish. Try to buy eggs from grass-fed hens, and dairy that is organic or at least hormone-free.

It gets trickier when we look at grains because so many are refined. Aim for rice in its natural state (not white, but wild, basmati, brown, long grain) and oats that are slow-cook or steel-cut. Oats and rice that are “quick cook” or microwaveable have been refined; whole grains take a while to cook. (But they’re worth it nutritionally as well as taste-wise!)

Now, once you go about cooking the above food, you will, of course, season and alter it to fit your needs and tastes. But in your kitchen,  your whole foods won’t be subjected to any refining processes that will harm them (or you).

Each meal should have (roughly)

  • 50-60% complex carbohydrates: vegetables, leafy greens, whole grains, fruits, etc. Complex carbohydrates are carbs in their natural state.
  • 25-30% protein: beans, legumes, fish, meat, eggs, cottage cheese, etc.
  • 15-25% healthy fats: from foods like avocado, salmon, sardines, nuts and seeds, and olive oil, walnut oil, avocado oil.

Carbs: Simple & Complex

The carbs that people try to eliminate are simple carbs. Simple carbs are carbs that have been refined or altered. Anything with a sugar base – like soda and candy – as well as anything with a flour base – like cakes, breads, croissants, muffins, bagels, crackers- contain simple carbs.

Simple carbs are processed much faster in the body and generally deliver less nutrition than complex carbs. Simply stated, they are “empty calories”- calories that don’t provide your body with the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your dancing body craves.

Your Plate

Use the above percentages as a guide when looking at your plate: you should have all three of these macronutrients at every meal, and roughly in these quantities. I recommend getting that much into your routine first. Then, after you’ve got it down, start mixing up your choices so that over the course of a week, you have a nice variety of foods. (i.e. Don’t always make chicken your protein or brown rice your grain – vary it.)

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Questions about your particular diet or way of eating? Think you’d like to learn more about how dancers should be eating? Please set up a Discovery Session with me to talk about where we can start!

Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium

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February’s Dance Magazine has a great article on bone health, “The Bone Bank” (not available online, unfortunately). If you haven’t read your copy, take a look as the author, Nancy Wozny, creates a great image of your bones as a bank that you only get to make deposits on for a few key years after which, the bank pretty much closes. (Read the whole article for the specifics!)

Wozny also gives information on common sources of calcium, which reminded me that I have been meaning to post about non-dairy sources of calcium. Some people don’t like dairy or their bodies don’t process it well, and the good news is you don’t have to drink milk or eat cheese in order to get your daily intake of calcium (which is between 800-1,000 mgs for adolescents). Try some of these options instead or in addition to your usual dairy go-tos:

  • Spinach- 1 cup- 240 mg calcium
  • Collard greens- 1 cup- 250 mg
  • Kale- 1 cup- 249 mg
  • Amaranth – 1 cup- 267 mg
  • Buckwheat- 1 cup- 114 mg
  • Chick peas- 1 cup- 150 mg
  • Sunflower seeds- 3.5 ounces- 120 mg
  • Sesame seeds (whole, not hulled)- 3.5 ounces- 1160 mg
  • Pistachios- 3.5 ounces- 131 mg
  • Orange- 1 large- 75 mg
  • Papaya- 1 medium- 75 mg

Also, remember that calcium cannot be absorbed properly without Vitamin D3- the sunshine vitamin; if you aren’t getting some daily exposure to sun, here are a few common sources of that as well:

  • Eggs
  • Salmon
  • Tuna
  • Oily fish like mackerel and sardines

Keep those bones dense and strong!

 

An Apple a Day...

An Apple a Day…

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In winter time, I tend to eat a lot of apples: they are one of the only fruits still available at the farmer’s market and are so versatile. Today, I’m giving you three ideas of how to get your apple a day. All are simple, fast, healthy, and delicious.

Sliced apple with nut butter: one of my go-tos, this has been made even easier to prepare thanks to single serving packets of nut butters like these from Justin’s. Mix it up by trying different types like almond or cashew butter. (Try to limit butters with added sugar.) Make it simpler by using an apple slicer/corer like this. If prepping the apples at home, dump slices into a tupperware or ziploc bag, and then toss in a teaspoon of lemon juice to keep apples from turning brown. This is a great energy snack: carbs plus protein.

Sliced apples with lemon and black pepper: I know, it sounds odd, but it is 100% delicious. A friend’s mom served this as a snack before Thanksgiving dinner and it was perfectly refreshing. Prep apples same as above, put into the bag/container with lemon juice and then add freshly ground black pepper. Try it first; judge second.

Homemade applesauce: Don’t worry if you’ve never made this before- it couldn’t be easier. Chop apples into chunks- I like to leave the skin on because it gives the sauce a nice color. I also use different types of apples to increase the flavor. Toss all apples into a pot. Add 2 inches of water. Add ground cinnamon and cloves. Cover with lid and turn heat to medium-low. Cook for between 20 and 45 minutes, checking apples every 10 minutes or so; give them a good stir to rotate the cooked ones to the top. Depending on how mushy or chunky you like your applesauce, you can start smushing it with your spoon or let it stay chunky. Taste and add cinnamon and clove until it’s the way you like it.

No, you do not need to add sugar! (Or butter.) Really, apples are very sweet, especially when cooked down. I have served this to a lot of different people and all of them have remarked on how sweet it is. They never believe me when I tell them there’s no added sugar. This is a great dessert – try having it after dinner to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Warm Soup for Cold Nights

Warm Soup for Cold Nights

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On these cold winter nights, a bowl of steaming soup is a great way to warm up and get your nutrients. Soup is easy to cook and it lasts- make a big pot that you can reheat during the week, or freeze in single serving containers for a quick meal later on. (This is especially good for evenings when you are hungry for something healthy, but are too tired to cook.) Add beans for a protein boost, ribbon-cut leafy greens for vitamins, and a Tablespoon of turmeric for anti-inflammatory properties.

Recipe: Minestrone Soup

  • 2 quarts veggie broth
  • 1 can/jar tomato puree (look for BPA free cans or buy in glass)
  • 2 cans cannellini beans
  • 3 carrots, cubed
  • 3 pieces of celery, cubed
  • 1 big onion, chopped
  • 3 zucchinis, cubed
  • 1 bunch of collard greens, cut into ribbons**
  • Grated parmigiano cheese
  • 1 teaspoon each of dried herbs: oregano, basil, tarragon, etc.
  • Optional: tablespoon of basil pesto.

Heat the carrot, onion, and celery over low heat in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. When tender, add dried herbs (if you like them!): oregano, basil, tarragon are my go-tos. Stir until herbs become fragrant. Then add broth and tomato puree and beans. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 mins. Add cubed zucchini and collard greens. Simmer for 10 mins. Salt and pepper to taste. If you like pesto, adding a Tablespoon to this soup will add a rich flavor. Serve with a sprinkling of grated parmigiano cheese on top.

** To cut leafy greens into ribbons, simply place two leaves together, roll like a cigar, and then cut thin strips through the rolled cigar. If ribbons are too long for your taste, cut the big leaves in half lengthwise before you roll them.

Nutrition at the Birmingham Royal Ballet: a Mixed Bag

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This article about the nutrition of dancers with Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancers Victoria Marr and Matthew Lawrence, got me thinking. If you haven’t read it, take a peek.  Here’s what it’s got me thinking about…

1. Two-thumbs-up for the shift away from telling “heavier” dancers to stop eating, and instead directing them to company resources like nutritionists.

Even better that “things have gone to the nth degree with nutrition” (Marr) and dancers are even getting their bone density tested. (A wellness advocate’s dream…)

2. Two thumbs down for the ever-rigid ballet aesthetic which turns away beautiful dancers if they “don’t have the right shape.”

“You still have to be quite skinny and you have to have long, lean muscle. There’s no getting away from that. Ballet is all about aesthetics,” says Marr. I know this, but it still pains me.

3. Two half-sies thumbs for both interviewees eating whatever they like, according to the article. It’s great that they do not feel constrained, but it’s a little sad that they confess to eating “rubbish,” including “Kit-Kat bars” and “chips.”

On the one hand, they are professional adults who can eat whatever they want, but with so much access to nutrition and care, how did they end up with such low-quality snacks? I’m all for splurging, but aim high and go for the good stuff. (Like…Mast Brothers chocolate, for example. Why waste your calories on junk?)

4. Two palms up in the “huh?” gesture for Marr’s conflicting comments on food amounts: on the one hand, she says there is a “preconceived idea that dancers have to keep their food intake down in order to keep quite skinny,” which she claims is untrue, but then she confirms it by saying, “I don’t need to eat inordinate amounts of food to get the energy I need. You don’t really. It’s a myth.”

So, dancers don’t have to eat “inordinate amounts” of food to get the energy they need?

Problems: 1) “inordinate” is too subjective: what does that mean, exactly? and 2) everyone is different.

While Marr may not need to eat a lot, that generalization shouldn’t be applied to all dancers. Furthermore, many dancers do lower their overall caloric intake in order to achieve the proper look. By the time they become professionals, they are so used to eating that way it may feel totally normal. It doesn’t change the fact that compared to an average person, dancers eat considerably less food.

5. And, finally, two thumbs up for proper screening. That neither Marr nor Lawrence have faced issues around their weight at BRB made me think about the selection process. Most companies have a rigorous screening process wherein dancers who do not fit the aesthetic of the company are not usually hired. I used to think this was terrible, but I have come around to understanding the potential good of this practice.

If a company has a strict aesthetic, then I think it’s correct that they screen and hire appropriately. Is there anything more disheartening than landing the much-coveted contract, only to be told you must lose weight?

Until the ballet aesthetic changes worldwide, dancers should not be hired at one weight on the condition that they drop to another before they are considered stage-worthy. Surely, this practice leads to a greater number of physical and psychological problems.

Ultimately, I like to think the ballet world will be forced to alter its aesthetic to accept more “normal”-sized dancers. But until then, it seems imperative to not put dancers in the position of having to lose weight in order to keep their jobs, which is why being particular about the aesthetic right out of the gate seems like a better choice to me.

But enough of what I thought. What was your impression of the article?

Ham and Cannellini Bean Soup

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If you live in a cold climate, then you probably already eat lots of soup in wintertime. If you haven’t ever made soup, give it a try! It’s one of the simplest meals to make, is very forgiving, and stores well. (See here for my vegetable soup recipe.)

For busy dancers, soup keeps well in the fridge (or freezer) and heats up in an instant. If you have trouble finding energy to prepare dinner on a regular basis, having a big container of soup in your fridge makes it a lot less time-consuming. Pair with a side salad or a piece of chicken for a complete meal, or with a piece of crusty bread for a snack before collapsing into bed.

I am a big fan of bean soups as they deliver protein in a non-animal way – most of us consume a lot of animal protein and not enough beans and legumes.

Soups are also a good platform for whole grains: rice, quinoa, or a more exotic grain like freekah, can all be dumped into a pot of boiling broth to give body and nutrients to your concoction.

I made a version of this recipe in the slow cooker* over the holiday break and froze half of it. It’s thawing for tonight as my answer to yet another rainy, grey, and raw day in NYC. The silky beans take on the smoky flavor of the ham hock and the result is a deeply satisfying, rich bowl of goodness. It’s a meal in itself.

  • Chicken broth (2 quarts)
  • one smoked ham hock
  • 3-4 cans cannellini beans
  • sliced red onion
  • herbs de provence, 2 teaspoons
  • salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the sliced red onion in a little olive oil until soft. Add herbs de provence and stir till fragrant. Pour in chicken broth, beans and finally ham hock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the ham hock from the soup and pull off the meat. If you like ham, add the pieces back in to the soup. If not, discard.

Pour into a bowl and eat with a crusty piece of bread or a side salad.

*For the slow cooker version, use a 1-pound bag of dried cannellini beans that you’ve soaked overnight and 2 quarts chicken broth; toss everything in the slow cooker (no need to sautee anything) and put the cover on. Cook 6-8 hours on low heat. 

Back-On-Track Winter Green Salad

Back-On-Track Winter Green Salad

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I am the first to admit that eating a cold green salad in the heart of winter can be a challenge if your body craves warm and hearty foods like mine does. That said, greens are always in order, no matter the season, so it’s time to get creative.

This recipe calls for arugula, a bitter, dry green which pairs well with olive oil and parmigiano cheese. A lot of brands carry arugula in those plastic boxes, already washed. This is one of those “cheats” that I support- anything that gets your meal to you faster without compromising your health!

The recipe also calls for fennel, a bulbous, white, crunchy vegetable that grows in the ground. If you’ve never had fennel before, give it a try; it tastes a bit like licorice, and is crisp and fresh-tasting. In fact, in Italy, a slice of fennel is often served at the end of a meal to refresh your palate before moving on to dessert.

It’s also healthy, delivering 17% of your recommended daily amount of Vitamin C and 10% of your Potassium.

If you like shopping at your local farmer’s market, which I highly recommend, this salad makes use of ingredients you can find in late fall. If you’re a supermarket-goer, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding arugula or fennel year-round.

Ingredients

  • Fresh arugula, one bunch
  • Half of a fennel bulb, sliced into slivers
  • Parmigiano cheese shavings (You can shave your cheese with a mandolin or the wide section on your grater.)

Mix these ingredients, then toss with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper.

The peppery, bitterness of the arugula is nicely offset by the parmigiano cheese, which also adds saltiness. I think the freshness of the fennel is what makes this salad so healthy-tasting. It’s also light, which is great for in between classes or rehearsals, and late at night when you need something but don’t want to fill yourself too much.