Taste of Tremont

I think I've had just about enough Cleveland bashing to last me a lifetime since this Lebron thing has happened. Since my husband is always listening to radio talk shows(usually sports-related),I get to listen to all these jackasses from other cities sympathize with LeBron about why he would possibly want to stay in a city such as Cleveland. Well, I'll tell you why.... take a look at these beauties! Tremont is quite possibly my favorite area in Cleveland. I'm not sure a lot of people from other cities make this a stop when they come to visit. We have a lot of well-kept secrets here. This is St. John Cantius church where we had a bite to eat on the steps...

Remember the movie The Christmas Story? Well, the house from the movie is in this neighborhood. This is my sister admiring some lovely leg lamp mini lights for her home next Christmas.

A Greek-like statue lady posed in front of one of my all-time favorite Tremont bars.
O.K. Enough of the sight-seeing. Its time to view the main event which was the Tremont food!

We tried some Lobster Gazpacho from the Southside! This was wonderfully refreshing on such a hot day. It was a little lite on the lobster, but, Gazpacho is so good and healthy I barely missed it!

Next, we mosied on over to Fahrenheit and has some Chinese Chicken Salad which was a beautiful combination of cabbage, roasted chicken, mango, and wasabi peas mixed in a light sesame dressing. I have to admit that I really wanted the loaded chips below it which were homemade potato chips with goat cheese and bacon. However, in keeping with the name of my blog... "skinny eats Cleveland", I behaved myself. I wasn't sorry. The chicken salad was good.

Isn't it pretty????

Lastly, we sort of fell off the wagon and got some pizza at Lago. At least it was vegetarian. It consisted of artichokes, olives, and goat cheese. Yummy! Oh, and this restaurant also has a Vegetarian Monday night event which I hope to attend one of these days.

So all in all I would say that it was the perfect culinary adventure day in Cleveland! It even ended up with a rainbow over my house. Bet you don't see many of those in NYC....

Roadtrip to the Smokies

Hi y'all! I just returned from a wonderful vacation with my family and some old friends to the Smoky Mountains in NC. This was our view from the house....

Imagine this sunrise with a warm mug of french roast coffee.....

Anyhow, when I started this entry I was feeling guilty for not writing this week, but, then I realized that I have just been busy relaxing on vacation! Isn't that what wellness is all about? I spent 5 great days with my family. We ate well, we slept well, and we played. We had no WIFI or cellphone connection and we reconnected with each other. I felt totally rejuvenated when I returned. Everyone talks about the cool mountain air, but unfortunately it was 95 degrees up there last week. We were able to beat the heat splashing around in a cool swimming hole...

We also had an awesome time white water rafting on the Ocoee River. Seriously, this was amazing... I felt like a kid again. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves water and can swim fairly well. Class IV rapids are pretty rocky, but fun, fun, fun. But enough about my vacation.... and back to food. Our food choices(or lack of healthy choices) while out on the road are rather appalling. I felt like I was never more than a stones throw away from a McDonalds no matter where I was. The south feels especially limited in their healthy options. This probably explains why NC(where we stayed) ranks one of the highest in childhood obesity.

I find the best defense while traveling is to arm myself with lots of healthy snacks. I always hit Trader Joes before a roadtrip because they have so many great snack items. One of the best snacks is their frozen edamame. These are so good and filling. My kids like them because they have a hint of salt and are fun to pop out of the pod. A 1/2 cup provides 9 grams of protein which will help give you a satiated feeling. They also provide a healthy dose of fiber which is always a plus while traveling(be careful not to overeat edamame for this reason).

Trail mixes are also great. I love their Temptation Mix which has peanuts, cashews, almonds, dried cherries, peanut butter and chocolate chips. You could probably save some money by concocting this mix on your own, but, I wasn't that organized.

Peanut butter sandwiches made on whole wheat bread are also easy and satisfying when traveling. Mozzarella cheese sticks are easy to throw into the cooler. And of course, fresh, cut-up fruit and vegetables are also good options. Also, be sure to pack lots of water. I really like La Croix seltzer water if your craving that carbonation(grapefruit is my favorite flavor). These have 0 calories and no artificial sweeteners.

If you still need a restaurant fix along the way, I discovered this great website...http://heathydiningfinder.com/. You can plug in a zip code and price range and find restaurants with healthy dining options in the area. This is a cool website! Check it out. Happy traveling y'all. I think I'll keep this southern accent up for a few hours...

Kamm's Corner Farmers Market

Yeh! Farmers Markets Rule

My friend and fellow blogger, Tina, and I braved the oven-like temperatures yesterday in search of more delicious food jems in our favorite city.... Cleveland! We found some great stands including White Family Farm which can be found on http://voytkofarms.com/. You can pick some of your own produce here. I picked some great blueberries last year and they are in season right now so hurry up and go there! The farm is a bit of a hike in Auburn Township, but, the location is beautiful. It's worth it I think.

My next favorite stand was Hooper Farm and this picture below is the reason..... Dear Old Dad's hot pepper relish. I guess you would call it a relish. Its not a jam, so yes, I'm calling it a relish. This stuff was sold out. I'll definitely go earlier next time so I can purchase some. It was great on homemade pita chips which were out for sampling. At first it was sweet and then followed with a slow burn. Very tasty!

But my favorite discovery of the day was The Olive Tap!!! This can be found on http://www.theolivetap.com/. The "olive tasting emporium" is located in Medina, Ohio just 30 minutes south of Cleveland. Their is also a stand at the Crocker Park
farmers market on Saturdays. Anyhow, I felt like we had are own personal tasting emporium right at the stand. John, the owner, let us taste about 10 different oils and vinegars. Some of the one's that stood out in my mind were the mandarin orange infused oil, the strawberry infused balsamic vinegar, and the pear and spice infused vinegar. Imagine the salads you could create with those babies. Or forget the salad, they are great on ice cream says John(my new friend). I also tried a mushroom and sage infused olive oil which, I swear, tasted like Thanksgiving. Anyhow, I'll stop now. The price on most of the bottles was around 15.00. This stand was definitely worth the trip to Kamms, so, go check it out.

Time for summer salsa

This to me is the epitome of summer.... Salsa(and a margarita)! My tomatoes are not yet ripe, but, I cannot wait. So I used plum tomatoes from the store. But, I did use fresh cilantro from my husband's garden. Speaking of my husband, he is out with my daughter sabotaging my healthy efforts at one of the local rib festivals. I guess that is their idea of summer. I took a pass and whipped up this salsa and some banana bread instead(that took some self-control). Anyhow, here is the recipe. I think it is awesome.....

Sue's Serendipitous Salsa:

8 plum tomatoes quartered and seeded

1/4 c. cilantro

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 jalapeno(add more if you like it hot)

1 clove of garlic

juice from 2 limes

3- 4 tsp of cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1-4 tsp black pepper

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Enjoy with your favorite chips and cerveza.

Chichen Chilaquiles

Not a bad dinner for a hot and humid Tuesday night! I got 4 very enthusiastic thumbs up from my homies which is next to impossible in my house. Anyways, I just wanted to share the recipe of Chicken Chilaquiles(I like to say the name.) which provides a mere 347 calories per serving. I had some leftover grilled chicken, but, you can also use rotisserie chicken breast. Here it is:

Chicken Chilaquiles

2 c. shredded skinless rotisserie chicken

1/2 c. chopped green onions

1/2 c. mexican blend shredded cheese

2T. parmesan cheese

1t. chili powder

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Combine those ingredients in a medium bowl. Next make the sauce....

3/4 c. 1% milk

1/4c. cilantro(I used more)

11 oz can of tomatillos(I used fresh tomatillos chopped)

4.5 oz can of green chiles drained

Blend those ingredients in a blender or food processor.

Then place 1/3 of sauce into a 11 x 7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place 4 small corn tortillas over the sauce. Put 1/2 of your chicken mixture on the tortillas. Then layer(like lasagna) another 4 tortillas and rest of chicken. End with 4 tortillas on the top. Pour remaining tomatillo sauce over the whole dish. I made some extra sauce to ensure the dish is moist enough. Sprinkle with 1/4 c. Mexican shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Strawberries!!!!

Last weekend my sister Judy and I went strawberry picking at Patterson fruit farm. Patterson
is usually known for its apples, but picking strawberries was equally fun. It felt great to be kneeling in the dirt with the view of the green hills in the distance. The sun was warming the plants and the smell of fresh strawberries was surrounding us. So, we went a little crazy! We picked 6 trays of strawberries. After all, strawberries are only in season for a short time and when would we have this opportunity again? Right? Well,
2 hours and $60 later we left Patterson's with red finger tips and a trunk full of strawberries. I think the Patterson staff may have been chuckling at us. Once I got home, I was admittedly a little overwhelmed by all the strawberries I had just purchased. My family was starting to get tired of eating strawberries in everything. I consulted with Eating Well's Strawberries Healthy Food Guide: http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/healthy_food_guide/strawberries . It's best to freeze strawberries within four days of picking. So, make sure you have some time set aside. I did not plan well and then became really stressed when the 4th day arrived. I started having bad dreams about millions of rotting strawberries. Anyhow, all was well and I got them frozen in time. Back to the freezing process. They should initially be placed in the freezer on a cookie tray so they don't stick together. Then they can be transferred to freezer bags and used later. The strawberries may be used up to a whole year after freezing. I can't wait for those smoothies next winter! Would I do it again despite my strawberry stress? You bet ya... They were way sweeter and more tender than their grocery store counterparts.
Because I am the caring foodie, I have to include a few nutritional facts. A cup of strawberries provides a whole day's worth of vitamin C and 3 grams of fiber. They also are a great source of folic acid for any of you pregos out there.
Here is my latest creation using the strawberries.... Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp from http://cookinglight.com/.

Udupi!

O.K. So I have to apologize because it's been way to long since I've blogged. I hope I haven't lost the few readers I've accumulated. Anyhow, I tried a vegetarian Indian restaurant this week called Udupi, and it's a spot I have been meaning to try for a long time. My friend Tina(fellow foodie)

and I went in blindly, which is usually not the way I roll. Also, although our waiter was extremely polite and gracious, there was a huge language barrier. This is not good because I tend to order like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally- lots of questions. So I think our waiter assumed I was your typical fried-food-loving American. He offered to bring us a platter of various, popular appetizers. They were all deep-fried and admittedly tasty, but not healthy-blog-friendly. One of the fried items resembled a hockey puck. It was black and had a crispy outer layer but was sweet and bright PURPLE on the inside. I imagine this was beets, but again, I had trouble getting a description from the waiter.

I ended up ordering Malia Kofta, which is a dumpling made of potatoes, carrots and peas. It came in a delicious and mild saffron sauce made from cashews. It was extremely rich. So, I guess the title of this post could be labeled, "Do as I say and not as I do..."

After I left, I did some research on eating healthy at Indian restaurants. The following are some rules of thumb you should follow if you are trying to watch calories and fat.

Key words to look for are:

"Tandoori"- baked or grilled

"Vindaloo"- red, spicy sauce

"Daal"- lentils which are low-fat and rich in vitamins and fiber

"Parantha"- Whole wheat bread

"Raita"- A tasty yogurt-based condiment which balances out the spicy sauces

Key words to avoid:

"malai"- means cream

"makhani or "ghee"- means butter

"pakora"- deep fried fritter

Overall our experience was great! By nature, Indian is naturally good vegetarian fare. The rich and exotic sauces and spices used in Indian cuisine make you forget that meat is missing from the dish. The only thing I was missing was some Indian friends to help me translate.