Supermarket Survival

Shop more efficiently, navigate the grocery store like a pro, reduce temptations and distractions and ensure you’re filling your cart with healthy foods!

I don't know about you, but I could spend houuuuuurs strolling through the aisles of my local market.  And the farmer's market?!...forget it, just leave me be and I'll see you at dinner. Most people know that the market is one of my happy places but I know for a fact that some of you absolutely hate it, put it off until the last minute, and then don't have enough time so end up picking up take-out.  You barely have time to throw dinner together, let alone navigate the grocery store to find the healthier items that should be finding their way into your cart.  

Well, I have a few tips when it comes to just that.  

First things first. MAKE A LIST:

Plan ahead and take the time to put a list together and ALWAYS shop with one. If it's not on the list, don't buy it. Just you, your cart and that list! This not only saves you time and money, but it saves the waste from impulse purchases.

DON'T GO UNDER-NOURISHED OR HUNGRY:

I know when I'm hungry, I shouldn't talk to people, make decisions or drive a car. I'm cray. Always be prepared for the grocery store. Have a healthy dose of vegetables, healthy fats and protein before making your way to the store and if you're on the go, never leave home without a little stash of nuts, veggies or a healthy bar in your bag.

MAP IT OUT:

Shop the perimeter of the market.  The healthy items are found along the perimeter, so shop mostly here, where the produce, dairy and meat can be found. Try to avoid the inner aisles as best you can, which is filled with processed, frozen and junk food. If you should have to grab something from an inner aisle, enter and exit from the same side...no need to wander all the way through.  Get what you need and head on out!

BEWARE OF THE AISLE-ENDS:

Markets tend to prop up sale items at the end of aisles and majority of the time they are not items that are going to help you shop efficiently and healthfully. Eeevery once in awhile there might be a good find , but that'll be a gem.

CART HALF-FULL:

Unless it is filled with bunches and bunches of kale and swiss chard or you're feeding a family of five, there's probably not a reason to fill your cart.  

LABEL READING CHECKLIST: 

When reading labels, there are a few things that you should look for.  

 - Whole Foods

 - No more than a few ingredients

 - Food that is close to it's original state

 - Organic and local if possible

 - Minimal or no packaging

And a few things to avoid.

 - Sugar (Look for tricky words such as "syrup", words ending in "-ose", words beginning with "malto-", made with/contains real fruit, fortified with)

 - Artificial sweeteners, additives, preservatives, coloring

 - Hydrogenated oils

 - Any ingredient you don't recognize

I hope this helps!  I'm off to my happy place! xx

Toast Obsession

Yep, it's official... I. AM. OBSESSED. WITH. TOAST. There aren't enough places around this town with good ol' toast.  I'm going to change that and you can quote me on that.  But, in the meantime, while you're waiting, I'll just be making it at home, for myself and for anyone else who wants to sit down with me and indulge in the many possible creations for this brilliant and simple idea we call toast.  Did you know that toast was created to make stale bread more palatable, and at one point, Streetband/Q-Tip even had a song named 'Toast' where they used toast as an instrument and the sound of toast being scraped later in the track...ummm....yeah, that happened. 

While living in Venice, I frequently (when I say "frequently", I mean "daily") walked down with Chloe to the little local joint GTA (Gjelina Take-Away) and it was almost a certainty that I'd order a toast. Sometimes the granola, sometimes the spicy breakfast sandwich with kale, but most likely...toast...and a cortado.  God, I miss that place. And with that nostalgia and longing for a good local spot where everyone knows my name and the toast that I want, I have to settle for toast at home.

Above, my favorite, salmon toast (wild alaskan smoked salmon, cream cheese, pickled cucumber, capers, radish, dill) and pear toast (winter red pear, whipped cream cheese and yogurt, maldon sea salt, thyme).

Salmon Toast

INGREDIENTS:

• Artisan bread, sliced (and optional: lightly toasted)

• 4oz Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon

• 2 oz Organic Cream Cheese

• 1 Pickled Cucumber, thinly sliced/shaved

• 1 Tbsp Capers

• 1 Radish, thinly sliced

• 2 sprigs fresh dill

• Maldon sea salt

• fresh cracked pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange your mise en place of ingredients.

2. Spread cream cheese onto slice of artisan bread.

3. Layer with salmon, cucumber and capers. Top with radish and dill sprigs and a pinch of maldon sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Voila!

Winter Pear Toast

INGREDIENTS:

• Artisan bread, sliced (and optional: lightly toasted)

• 2 oz cream cheese

• 2 tbsp plain greek yogurt

• 1 red or asian pear, thinly sliced

• maldon sea salt

• 1 sprig thyme

• optional: drizzle of honey

DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange your mise en place of ingredients.

2. In a small bowl, whip together cream cheese and yogurt. Adjust amount of yogurt for desired taste and consistency. Spread cream cheese onto slice of artisan bread.

3. Layer pear on top of cream cheese/yogurt and top with maldon sea salt, a sprig of thyme and optional honey drizzle for added sweetness. Done!