Fresh Pressed
October 5, 2009
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Pyramid recommends 3-5 servings of vegetables a day. For most, including myself, this seems like a pretty intimidating number! One way I get my daily dose is by being creative and disguising veggies as something more interesting (although, I don’t think my Cranberry Rhubarb cookies count…).
Liquteria on 11th and 2nd offers an entire farm of liquid produce via pressed juice extraction. With the aid of hydraulic pressure, vitamins, minerals and enzymes are separated from the pulp making for a 4 day shelf life (refrigerator necessary). Many juices can be loaded with sugar, sodium and unnecessary calories. Liquteria freshly bottles nutrient rich juices like All Greens (kale, spinach, romaine, parsley, celery and cucumber), Beets Me (carrot, beet, apple, pear, lemon and ginger), or spicier options such as The Killer XX (green apples, double service of ginger, cayenne and Immunity Now – a Liquteria potion to jump start your immune system). Although I find that the best way to preserve the integrity of the vegetable is by eating raw whole snacks, pressed juices make a convenient on-the-go option and an easy way to chug down part of the 3-5 serving quota. This small LES shop also offers healthy quick bites (think tofu dogs and avocado wraps) plus smoothies and a few organic breakfast treats. Juices run anywhere from $5.50 to $7.50 per bottle – a reasonable price to pay to avoid the hassle of grocery shopping and messy veggie clean up.
My favorite fresh pressed juices:
All Greens With Apple (apple, lemon, ginger kale, spinach, romaine, parsley and celery)
Grasshopper (apple, pear, pineapple, wheatgrass and mint)
Roayal Flush (pineapple, pear, ginger, aloe vera and Liver Kidney Lymph Detox)
Go Go To Gobo
October 1, 2009
One of the benefits of having ‘healthy living’ enter the NYC trend scene, is that restaurants are now paying closer attention as to how they can transform sterile tofu and broccoli stalks into a medley of tastes, colors and smells.
Gobo, a vegetarian restaurant that creates “food for the five senses,” incorporates Zen compassion with global organic cuisine. Aside from the food being fresh and filling, the interior space is sleek with light stained wood and includes an organic juice bar. During this visit, I had the five spice tofu rolls with mango puree ($6), pine nut vegetable medley with lettuce wraps ($13) and soy filet with coconut curry rice ($19). The next time I go back I’ll plan to bring a larger group of friends so we can order several items to try tapas-style.
New Yorkers would expect nothing less from Gobo considering that the leading chefs, Darryn and David Wu, are the children of founding partners of New York’s Zen Palate.
