Book It
January 7, 2010
Thanks to the internet and Food Network we barely look at cookbooks anymore. However, sometimes I eat with my eyes so to speak and become inspired via large glossy pictures.
I wrote about my love for the ultra healthy but amazingly delicious Babycakes Bakery in my October 5 post (scroll down and look for a picture with large fluffy donuts). Since trekking down to Broome street isn’t a realistic option for most, Babycakes thankfully offers a great cookbook for in home healthy-ness. Already on my list of favorite presents to give, this book is filled with bold pictures that honestly make you smile when you flip through (although who wouldn’t when looking at cupcakes page after page) plus short bursts of information to intro readers to the natural, vegan and gluten free ingredients used.
Get the book and bake it…don’t fake it.
Keep It Local
January 4, 2010
When the boyfriend is sick what does any nice girl do…? Make him soup. When the boyfriend is sick what does any nice girl (that doesn’t like to cook) do…? Buy him soup, obvi (short for ‘obviously’ for any of you Baby Boomers out there).
Yesterday I stopped by Local, an organic fair trade and shade grown coffee shop. With four small tables, it’s more of a take out spot or place to go solo with a book (or Kindle) for the afternoon. The menu is pretty well stocked for a mere coffee joint – their ‘early all day’ list includes a Farmers Market Egg White Sandwich on organic 7 grain or sourdough bread ($5.50), Local Made Granola with farmers market fruit/yogurt ($6.00) and Pukkolla rolled oats, ground bran, dried apricots and dates, apples, walnuts and almonds soaked in milk ($5.00). All of their baked items are made fresh each morning using organic cane sugar, organic flour and farmer’s market eggs. If you’re feeling ambitious, they have an extensive sandwich and salad list as well.
On a mission, I picked up a cup of the tomato and basil soup ($6.50) and a fresh baked corn muffin ($2.75). Little did I know that I’d also be taking home an XL order of his cold…as I write this I’m home sick from work…waiting for someone to bring ME soup.
Sweet Sweet Salvation
October 28, 2009
What you’re looking at isn’t gluten free – Vegan friendly – Certified Organic – nothing. nada. zip. These are down and dirty cupcakes from Billy’s Bakery. Why post them on a “healthy living and eating” site…? Because sometimes, the way to achieve optimum health is through balance and allocated time for indulging/relaxing (or at least that’s how I try to rationalize it). Besides, no one wants to be so neurotic that they’re prone to snapping at the site of a sugar cube.
If you are going to fall off the wagon (which you should every now and then), do so by picking a place like Billy’s that uses only the highest-quality ingredients (real butter, whole eggs and fresh fruit/nuts) – think old-fashioned Grandma’s kitchen style (well, my Grandma was more of the ordering in type of girl). Billy’s rocks the bakery sans preservatives, making sure that your splurge is really worth it.
When I’m itching for my sugar fix, I make my way downtown for their cupcakes ($2.25), Hello Dollies ($3.25) and…here’s the one that I owe 30 Hail Mary’s to the diet gods for eating…the mini Caramel Pecan Cheesecake ($4.50). I’m not a big Red Velvet fan but my friends die for the Billy’s version as well as the Banana Cake (cakes available per slice/full 9 or 10 inch sizes).
Is That Muffin Worth The Muffin Top?
October 24, 2009
Muffin Top (noun): the overhanging fat on a person’s waist resembling the top of a muffin or a cupcake; result of pants being too tight, stomach being too big or all of the above.
pictured above: Starbucks Classic Blueberry Muffin (470 calories/32 grams of sugar)
New York City requires by law that any restaurant with 15 or more chains must display the calorie count on boards, menus and food tags. For those of you not living in the city, congratulations – you’re left to live in complete and ignorant bliss, able to enjoy a Grande Pumpkin Spice Frappucino (470 calories/60 grams sugar/13 grams fat) and a Cinnamon Chip Scone (540 calories/32 grams sugar/29 grams fat) on your way to work…thinking its just a little Friday morning treat.
WAKE UP CALL. I always assumed that the crumble top muffins at Starbucks were packed with calories. However, until NYC started posting their nutritional info in plain black and white I never knew just how horrible they were (back in the day, I couldn’t say no to their ultra dense coffee cakes). One of their seasonal drinks, the Venti Banana Coconut Frappucino, has 730 calories (170 more calories than a McDonald’s Big Mac). What is even more shocking is that The Center for Science in the Public Interest equates drinking one large Frappucino with consuming two McDonalds Quarter Pounders.
I don’t mean to pick on Starbucks (although, they’re an easy target) because they also offer great morning pick me ups like the Tall Caffe Americano (10 calories/0 grams fat). My point is, is that the glass case of bakery items may look appealing but can potentially carry triple the amount of calories than you would normally expect. Read labels and consider the actual “cost” – is the muffin worth having a muffin top?
Triathlon Training Just Got A Little Sweeter
October 7, 2009
Anyone training for a triathlon…how about an Ironman? If so, head to Levain’s Bakery at 167 West 74th Street. Looking, smelling and of course TASTING the 1/2 pound cookies on the Upper West Side (second location in East Hampton) feels like everything but training for a triathlon. However, the founders of Levain’s created the rich hunks of chocolate and butter half baked goodness during Ironman training. After finding the perfect recipe for a serious calorie bomb, they quit their jobs (in banking and fashion) and opened their first location. Ensuring the freshest goods, the bakery donates all of the day’s unsold items to charity for a clean start the next morning. I wouldn’t recommend replacing your powerbars and Gu gels for Levain’s signature Chocolate Chip Walnut 6oz cookie, but it is definitely a good idea to find some balance and enjoy the sweet side of working out!
My favorite Levain’s cookie: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip ($4)
Have Your Cake And Eat It Too At BabyCakes
October 5, 2009
Before I get into how phenomenal BabyCakes NYC is, we should first walk through a brief glossary of terms…
Kosher: a term that refers to something (not just food products) having followed all of the Jewish legal guidelines
Parve: food products that do not contain or have not come into contact with any meat or dairy
Vegan: a diet and lifestyle that excludes the use of animal products (meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy, honey, fur, leather, wool, gelatin etc) in food, clothing or any other use
Gluten: storage proteins that exist, conjoined with starch, in some grass-related grains such as wheat, rye and barley
Agave Nectar: a carbohydrate rich substance with a low glycemic index, thought to protect against health risks often associated with artificial sweeteners, (also from the same Agave plant from which tequila is made, however, sans blurry intoxicated effect)
Glycemic Index: a ranking of carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels, with the high GI carbs being the ones that cause our glucose and insulin levels to spike drastically (not as good for you)
Spelt: an ancient grain closely related to common wheat and is made up of 57.9% carbohydrates, 17% proteins, 3% fats plus a moderate amount of gluten (compared to wheat, this translates into 15-20% more proteins, higher in complex carbs and includes enzymes to assist in glucose and insulin secretion)
BabyCakes NYC: certified Kosher, parve and vegan bakery that offers all-natural, organic and refined sugar free alternatives for dessert
Located at 248 Broome Street (and soon to come Los Angeles shop), this bakery actually makes you feel healthy just by reading their ingredients lists. Substituting rice flour, garbanzo/fava bean mix or spelt in place of standard bleached flour, the founders of BabyCakes NYC find creative ways to work around various food allergies, dietary restrictions and mainstream products that put your health at risk. Canola and cold pressed virgin coconut oil represent fat to help ensure that the decadent apple pies or stacks of fluffy donuts preserve their “dessert” integrity. I bought an agave sweetened spelt chocolate birthday cake for my mom in July and have sent many gluten-free friends down for their loaves of various breads, cookies, brownies and cupcakes. Best of all, their staff welcomes questions and helps to educate customers about the benefits of each ingredient…that is, for those who aren’t as lucky as you to have received this glossary cheat sheet.
