5 Ways To Feel and Look Better with Food You See Everyday - Food Tips

It was so hard for me to get out of bed this morning. Especially since I thought there was actually chance for us to have a snow day. Thanks Fox News, and NY1 for getting my hopes up!!   I had planned all the wonderful things I was going to eat at home, like creamy, hot chocolate and fluffy pancakes. I even thought of the movies I was going to watch and the recipes I was going to try from all the new cookbooks I got. But when that bubble was popped my excitement turned to low energy.  

Then I found out that Phil the Groundhog did not see his shadow meaning there was NOT going to be 6 more weeks of winter. I was happy to hear this because I can’t wait for the Sun to come out. Seriously, can I get some sunlight in the forecast?!? But then the panic set in that sun means less clothes and I definitely have stored up some nuts during the winter months.

So I wanted to find a way to put down the Oreos and pick up a better alternative. And I know that Spring is coming but it’s not here yet. So in the meantime, I need to find some ways to help boost my mood and give me more energy.

I figured I am not alone in this quest. So, I’ve posted two recipes with ingredients that can help improve your complexion, energy and mood. These are just a few that I am trying this week and I’ll have more to come. But If you have go to foods that have or haven’t worked for you please let me know. You can comment below or on my twitter feed @AishaFoodista

Water- An Energy Booster
  Believe it or not Water is a great way to boost your energy. We need water to produce energy and drinking water hydrates your body which helps fight fatigue. 

Olive Oil – Wrinkle Fighter against Sun
A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition compared the diets and skin of people living in sun-exposed areas, and found that those with the least wrinkling had high intakes of olive oil, vegetables, and legumes.

Chile Peppers - Spicy way to Burn Calories
Some scientists say capsaicin, the element responsible for the spicy kick, may help your body burn calories at a slightly faster rate. But most Scientists do agree that capsaicin decreases your appetite when consumed from whole peppers. Varieties include jalapeno, cayenne, and habanero (the hottest). You can control the heat of peppers by removing some of the seeds and ribs.

Tomatoes - Antioxidants unite 
Are full of antioxidants beta carotene, vitamin C, and lycopene, all known to protect against sun damage and skin cancer. To increase your absorption of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, researchers recommend cooking tomatoes in a small amount of olive oil.

 Garlic - More Discreet Cure for Athlete's Food
 Because of its anti-fungal properties it can help fight fungal infections, like Athlete's Foot. Keep in mind though that 
Garlic's medicinal properties are most effective when eaten raw. So enjoy it chopped up or eaten whole. 

Onions 
 Onions accelerate the break down of fats in your food. So instead of storing them in fat cells the body excretes them. 

Spicy Marinara Sauce

     Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

·             2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

·            3 cloves garlic crushed

·            1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

·            1 tablespoon tomato paste

·            1 32-ounce can chunky-style crushed tomatoes

·            Salt, pepper and Sugar to taste

·            1 teaspoon Italian dried seasoning

·            1 handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped 
          1 onion, sliced

                                                                     

Preparation

Add the Olive Oil to a medium-size saucepan over moderate heat. Add the onions, garlic and crushed pepper to the heated olive oil.

When the garlic sizzles, add the tomato paste, cook for one minute, then stir in the crushed tomatoes. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, sugar and Italian seasoning. Cook for five minutes and stir in parsley.

Kiwi Fruit

 Kiwi is incredibly beneficial for skin. It's one of nature's richest sources of vitamin C containing 100 percent of your recommended daily intake. The vitamin C in Kiwis prevents skin damage and helps build up collagen, a protein that keeps skin elastic.

Apples
Apples are a good source of pectin, a soluble fiber that digests slowly, which helps make you feel full. 

Ginger
   Add freshly grated ginger to your food and the flavor will help you feel more satisfied, so you'll eat less.

Kiwi Lemon Ice Delight

{adapted from Famous French Desserts}

Preparation Time: 15 minutes 
Freezer Time: 1 hour 

Ingredients:(4 people)

2 Lemons
3 Apples
4 Kiwis
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1 1/4 cup Low-fat Milk (or skim)
Handful of Chopped Fresh Mint (optional)

How to Make It:

1. Peel and slice 2 kiwis. Cover the sides and bottoms of four individual dessert bowls (prettiest when glass).
2. Peel the remaining 2 kiwis, apples, and lemons. Remove the seeds from the apples and lemons. Place all contents in food processor or blender and reduce to a purée with milk and sugar. Pour this mixture into serving bowls, over the kiwi slices and put in freezer for one hour.
3. Before serving, sprinkle mint over top.

Don't Know What to Eat ?!? - Food Tip

Don't know what to eat? Not to worry, it happens to me too and I'm a Foodista ;).
But now there's help from Foodista.com's new app/link.. It's like the Magic 8 Ball for Meal Time.

And no I don't just like them because they have the same last name as me :)

But you be the judge and check it out for yourself.

http://www.whatshouldicookfordinner.com/

Jerk Chicken Recipe

When my friend Ahmad asked me for a great Jerk Chicken recipe I immediately hit up my Jamaican friend, Zaire, and my Mom who got married in Jamaica. My mom said: "Oh. I have a really great recipe from the Hotel's Executive Chef where your Dad and I got married. But it's in the garage and I don't know what box it's in." Luckily, my friend Zaire gave me his coveted family recipe.

But first you probably want to know what Jerk means and there are a few different theories on that.

One is the word “jerk” comes from the Peruvian word “charqui” meaning “dried meat.” Another states it evolved from a noun, “jerk”, to a verb, “jerking”, and referred to the cooking method where holes are poked into the meat so the spices can be absorbed. But author, Helen Willinsky believes the name comes from the way cooks would jerk pieces of meat off of a roast on the barbeque.

But we can commonly agree that Jerk is a Jamaican style of seasoning and cooking. The “Jerk” style uses a marinade or paste, usually pimento, a.k.a. allspice, and scotch bonnets, also known as habenero peppers. The meat is marinated and slow smoked over pimento wood. 

Over 2400 years ago, Jamaica was settled by the Arawak indians, who came from South America. The Arawak Indians smoked and dried their meat in the sun or over a slow fire. This was important because it meant the dried beef could be taken on journeys and eaten. 

In the 1700's some of the slaves, who would later be called Maroons, escaped and hid in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. They had to constantly be on the look out in order to evade the British army from recapture.

Because food was often in short supply they learned to catch wild animals in the forest. Using salt, peppers and spices they learned to preserve the meat. The influence of the Caribbean flavors and the combination of ancient Arawak Indian techniques, and the Maroons cooking style are the elements responsible for our modern day jerk chicken. 

Jerk Chicken Spice Blend

Ingredients

• 1 Tbl. ground allspice
• 1 Tbl. ground thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground sage
• 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. minced ginger
• 2 Tbls. fresh garlic (crushed)
• 1 Tbls. brown sugar or molasses
• 1/4 C. Soy sauce
• 1/4 C. dark rum (optional, but encouraged)
• 3/4 C. white vinegar
• 1/2 C. orange juice
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 Scotch bonnet peppers
• 3 green onions, diced
• 1 C. white onion, diced

Procedure

      -- Put all of the above ingredients in a blender and whiz until smooth.

Jerk Chicken

Ingredients

• Spice Blend
• 2 lbs. of chicken pieces (I always encourage people to use legs and thighs, but breasts will work as well)
• Lime for garnish

Procedure

1. Place chicken in a large freezer bag and pour in spice blend. Place in a bowl to make sure there isn't any leakage and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but up to a day is preferable.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees or grill. If using an oven, place chicken skin side up on a roasting pan and roast until cooked through (about 45 minutes) flipping once halfway through the process. If using a grill, place chicken skin-side down and grill until skin becomes crisp. Flip and finishing cooking thoroughly. Don't be afraid to blacken the chicken with this recipe.

National Hot Chocolate Day- Celebrate With a Remix - Serendipity 3's Frozen Hot Chocolate Recipe

Today is National Hot Chocolate Day and what better way to celebrate than with my favorite remix of the Classic - Serendipity 3's Famous Frozen Hot Chocolate. It's sweet and refreshing!

{Serendipity 3's Frrrozen Hot Chocolate}

Ingredients

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

• 6 pieces (1/2-ounce) chocolate , a variety of your favorites
• 2 teaspoons store-bought hot chocolate mix  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cups ice
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate shavings

Directions

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup of milk until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room-temperature chocolate mixture and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Traif - Restaurant Review and Rockband Party

My friend Kim had been ranting and raving about this restaurant in her 'hood called Traif. 

Traif meaning non- kosher (in Yiddish)  is owned by a dynamic duo of a team, Chef Jason Marcus who is Jewish and his non- Jewish girlfriend Heather Heuser. They wanted to make their restaurant an ode to the forbidden foods in Judaism. You can see this theme throughout their menu that is filled with a bounty of pork and shellfish dishes. 

Personally, this dichotomy intrigued me since I grew up in a home where my father is Muslim and my mother is Catholic. Although in Catholicism the dietary restrictions are experienced mainly during lent, in the Islamic religion, alcohol and pork products are strictly forbidden all the time. And even though in my family we all have different beliefs, we still observe not eating any pork out of  "respect to my father". 

Traif's delectable items are meant to be shared. But don't call them tapas because they're not. It may look like a duck, walk like a duck and quack like a duck but it's not a duck. The difference between Tapas and Traif's sharing plates is size. The portions are slightly larger than your typical tapas.

Bacon Broth amuse bouche of bacon broth with chives

Autunm salad apples, cranberries, greens, bacon, maple pecans, blue cheese 

The Autumn Salad was crisp, light and delicious. The apples and cranberries added a nice element of sweetness and texture. The maple pecans brought a rustic charm. The blue cheese and the parmesan cheese shavings added a creaminess to the perfectly dressed salad. This was a satisfying salad and a nice way to start off our mini- feast.

Spicy Bigeye Tuna Tartare tempura eggplant, kecap manis

Spicy Bigeye Tuna Tartare tempura eggplant, kecap manis

OMIGOSHH!!! Let me try and describe this without drooling all over my keyboard. The only thing that comes to mind when looking or talking about this dish are cheesy pick up lines... because.. I never thought I'd ever say this but they are completely accurate descriptions of how I feel.
"Did it hurt? When you fell down from heaven?" or "Are your feet tired? Cause you've been running through my mind all day?" Sad. But true.

The Spicy Bigeye Tuna Tartare is in my top ten favorite appetizers of all time. The elements that make up this perfectly blended dish are succulent pieces of tuna, coated in a mildly, spicy sauce resting on top of a crunchy piece of tempura eggplant and drizzled with kecap manis. Kecap manis is a sweet soy, Indonesian sauce. It is sweetened with palm sugar and has notes of star anise, caramel and or garlic.

This incredible dish has quickly become my new favorite thing to eat! Honestly, sometimes I wish I hadn't eaten it because I haven't stopped thinking about it ever since. It has become an albatross that hangs around my neck, torturing me with its deliciousness.  All I can say is if you like food then EAT THIS!!

Sautéed Broccoli Rabe roasted portabella-­-truffle toast, fried egg

Creamy, savory, salty, those are the first sensations that you experience with this dish. The portabella, truffle toast added the most amazing earthy, grounded flavor. The cream sauce that was on top along with the fried egg that oozed its beautiful, golden yolk when you cut it, had my tongue feeling like it had been submerged in a waterfall of creamy delights. The Broccoli Rabe added a nice crunch and combined with all the other components of this dish made me feel like I was at home on a cold day, curled under a warm blanket watching the snowflakes fall.

Rock shrimp salt-­-pepper rock shrimp, sweet potatoes, pineapple, long beans 

On the outside the Rock Shrimp had a light, crunchy coating. On the inside the shrimp were sweet, and plump. The pineapples, and sweet potatoes added a sweetness and contrast in texture. The pineapple chunks were a little warm and firm. The sweet potatoes were tender and a beautiful orange color on the inside. The long beans were perfectly cooked with a crunch. And as the final touch everything was lightly coated in a midly, spicy sauce that tied the whole dish together. This dish is definitely an addictive, crowd pleaser. 

Duck Confit Lettuce Wraps banana-­-tamarind, cucumber salad

The Duck Confit lettuce wraps were good. The Cucumber Tomato salad cut the richness of the duck confit very well. The butter lettuce held up to the wrapping action and added a nice buttery, fresh after taste. The Banana tamarind was also tasty but I wish there had been more because I ran out of it quickly.

Escolar white snake mackerel, dashi broth, long beens, potatoes, tomatoes

Escolar white snake mackerel, dashi broth, long beens, potatoes, tomatoes

Chef Jason brought over a special treat for us. I suppose that's what happens when you roll with VIP regulars like Dave and Kim. Plus I was looking very L.A. in honor of the LA themed party we were heading to after dinner, so I'm sure he thought I was "somebody".

Dave has been to Traif over 75 times since it opened less than a year ago; and Kim has been there about 50 times. I must say, now I see why. I would eat there everyday if I could, especially since the menu is always changing. I just hope they don't take the Spicy Bigeye Tuna Tartare off the menu.

The Escolar was perfectly cooked as you can see in the picture above. It had a sweet flavor almost like cotton candy. The dashi broth, a Japanese broth, is the base of most soups, like miso. The tomatoes, long beans and potatoes absorbed the rich flavors of the broth and melted in your mouth, releasing all the heavenly juices. The playfulness of the Escolar and the depth of the Dashi broth played together in my mouth like a young child and his grandfather.

Bacon Doughnuts dulce de leche, coffee ice cream

Bacon Doughnuts dulce de leche, coffee ice cream

Bacon Doughnuts dulce de leche, coffee ice cream

So I must put in a disclaimer since I don't eat pork, as I mentioned earlier, Heather and Jason were super nice and substituted fleur de sel doughnuts for the typical bacon doughnuts. The doughnuts were delicious. They were fluffly and light and reminded me of beignets from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. The Dulce De Leche caramel on top was amazingness. The coffee ice cream added a nice cold texture and rounded out all the salty and sweet flavors of the dessert.

Petits Fours small pineapple confection

Traif is incredible. It's great for families who just want to enjoy each other's company, or couples who want to go for a date night. It's also a great spot to have a party with your friends or your ritual weekly meeting. With dishes sure to please everyones' palate I think you will probably leave saying the wise adage "Everything tastes better with bacon."

After we finished dinner at Traif it was off to Kyle's going away Rockband party. The Rockband party was L.A. themed so I went for the laid back musician/actress/model/ DON"T YOU KNOW WHO I AM look.
All in all it was a fabulous dinner fit for a true rockstar!!!

Rockbanders Unite

Kyle the Host - who's moving to LA

Kicks Kim (on the left) and Aisha Foodista (on the right)

1,2,3,4 We Are T.U.S.U.Y.

Swich - Wholesome Sandwich Company - Lunch Review

{Swich Lunch Combo with Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Edamame with Mint and a Banana Lemonade}

The age old question I ask myself every week.... What should I eat for lunch?

Now I take my omnivore's dilemma very seriously and as a result I know most of the lunch and dinner spots around my work very well.

 Swich - The Wholesome Sandwich Company, I had heard really great things about this healthy sandwich chain that had been popping up all around NYC, and I decided it was time to try it for myself.
 I walked in and must admit I was overwhelmed with the amount of choices. Do I pick from one of their sandwich specials or do I create my own? Do I want a sandwich or salad? After stuttering back and forth over my choices and holding up the line for a good few minutes I chose my lineup.

Spicy Chicken on a Ciabatta Roll with Spinach, Tomato, Swiss Cheese, Mayo, and Honey Mustard. 

{Edamame with Mint}

My sandwich also came with a small side of edamame, which was both salty and refreshing from the chiffonade of mint mixed in. They also had a Banana lemonade that looked really good. The employees were ranting and raving about it.

All in all I have no complaints about Swich. If you're looking for a decent and healthy spot to get a sandwich then I would definitely try this place. Also their Banana Lemonade is rockin'. It has the sweetness of a typical Southern Lemonade with an added sophistication from the banana.

104 8th Avenue

New York, NY 10011

(212) 488-4800