I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve blogged. Actually, I can believe it. So much has happened. While I absolutely loved living in the NYC area, my husband was offered his dream job, and unfortunately there wasn’t an opportunity for him to work out of the NYC office. We decided to move cross-country to the company’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, about an hour south of San Francisco. The move has been hard, particularly on me, and I honestly still don’t feel at home here and desperately miss the Northeast. Maybe not the cold winters and snow, but definitely the people – my family and friends. I still have bad days where I feel alone and wish that we never moved, and I’m not sure that will ever go away. I honestly don’t think that it ever will.
Without question, my favorite thing about living in Silicon Valley is the weather. I’ve never been a winter person, and I certainly don’t miss the snow. That being said, there is a misconception that CA is warm all year long. While it’s certainly warmer here than in NYC, we live in Northern CA. Mornings and evenings can get into the 30s during the winter here in Northern CA (very different from sunny Southern CA), so I definitely need to pull out my puffy, winter jacket and go into winter eating mode here as well.
So many of us eat salads all throughout the warmer summer months, but tend to gravitate towards warmer, heartier options when the winter rolls around. While I love salad, I admit that winter salads can be challenging. It can be hard to find the delicious farm fresh vegetables during the winter months that were plentiful at farmer’s markets and grocery stores throughout the spring and summer. I refuse to give up salads throughout the winter, but I make salads with a different strategy. I’m a big fan of cooking with the produce that is seasonal, so my winter salads are usually heartier with roasted root vegetables.
Salad:
Dressing:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel butternut squash, beets, and carrots, and cut into 1 inch cubes. You want all of the vegetables to be uniform in size so that they roast at the same time. You also want to arrange the vegetables in a size layer on the baking sheet so that the vegetables roast and don’t steam. Use 2 sheet pans, if needed. Drizzle about 1 Tablespoon of oil over each sheet tray of vegetables, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast your tray(s) of vegetables in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, tossing about halfway through. You want the vegetables to be tender, and I like when the edges start to brown and caramelize. Yum!
While the vegetables roast, make your dressing. Zest your lemon into a bowl, and then juice the lemon. Add in 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. You should have about 3 Tablespoons of acid between the lemon and apple cider vinegar. I like my salad dressings on the acidic side, so I like to use equal parts acid to oil. Whisk in 3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste.
When the roasted vegetables are tender throughout, let cool. Prepare your avocado just before serving to prevent browning. Toss the baby arugula with the roasted vegetables, diced avocado and dressing. I added bocconcini mozzarella balls for a filling lunch, but you can also add chicken, steak, fish or feta or goat cheese, and you have a complete, healthy, and absolutely delicious meal.
I picked strawberries for the first time while Jordan and I were in NJ visiting my parents for Father’s Day weekend, and we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather, get outside, and do something different. When we first got to Alstede farm, it was like a carnival; there was a bounce
We had a garden in the backyard of my childhood home. It wasn’t enormous or fancy (it bordered the fenced-in area for our dog, Ranger), but it was fantastic. Each spring my mom and dad planted basil, tomatoes (both cherry and regular), zucchini, and eggplant. While I like to think that
My recipe for Roasted Beet, Sweet Potato, and Kale Salad with Horseradish Dressing was a big success on Mindbodygreen.com — over 6000 people shared it! Please go to MindBodyGreen to check out my recipe and share it on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
One of my main goals with Deliciously Dara is to cook and deliver or cater healthy and delicious food that people love to eat, and I really hope that you share my recipe, try it out, and enjoy!
Great for dinner. Always a family favorite.
Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a sauté pan. Season both sides of the skinless boneless chicken breasts with sea salt and pepper and add them to the pan on medium heat. Sear the chicken breasts for about 4-5 minutes on each side, remove them from the pan.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the pan, turn the flame to medium-low and add the chopped shallot and garlic to the pan. Add a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper so that the shallot begins to release its natural juices and starts to become translucent. After about 2-3 minutes, add the mushrooms into the pan with another few pinches of sea salt, so that the mushrooms start releasing their natural liquid. Sauté the mushrooms for about 3-4 minutes.
Add in ½ cup of marsala wine and ½ cup of low sodium chicken stock, turn up the heat to medium to medium-high heat and let the dish cook for another 5 minutes. The marsala and chicken stock will have started to reduce.
Add the chicken breasts back into the pan, turn the pan to medium, and let the dish cook for another 5 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through and the mushrooms should be nice and tender. Taste the sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Even though the chicken is cooked, the sauce might be a bit thin, so if you would like to thicken the sauce a bit, stir 1-3 teaspoons of flour into the sauce. I use gluten free brown rice flour, but you can use all purpose flour, whole wheat flour or any general flour that you have on hand. While specialty flours like coconut, almond and quinoa flour have gained popularity, I would not use those flours in this recipe because they could alter the taste of the dish. After about 3-4 minutes, the flour should thicken the sauce.
Serve the chicken over rice, quinoa, or vegetables, and enjoy!
My recipe for Wilted Kale and Quinoa Salad with Avocado Basil dressing was featured on Mindbodygreen.com this past Monday and it was a resounding success! As of this morning, my post has been shared by more than 7000 people over Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, and Email!! I’m so excited that so many people connected with my recipe. One of my main goals with Deliciously Dara is to cook and deliver or cater healthy and delicious food that people love to eat, and I couldn’t be happier that this recipe was such a winner!
I am taking on new clients, so if you or someone you know would be interested in learning more about working with me to reach your weight loss and health goals – and to eat deliciously healthy food in the process – please contact me. I look forward to speaking with you and working together!
Also called Eggs in Purgatory. Fantastic, fast, easy recipe for dinner.
Great for dinner with any chicken, fish, or meat!
In my first post, I said that I hated the word diet. Traditionally, you hear people say that they are “going on a diet.” But what happens when the person either reaches their goal weight or begins to experience setbacks in that weight loss diet plan? Typically the answer is going off of the diet.
Ditch yo-yo Dieting: If you go on a diet, you can easily go off
Have you ever been on a weight loss diet, promised yourself before a holiday, event, or dinner out that you’re going to stay 100% on whatever plan you’re following, decided to have a taste of something decadent, and then decided that since you already did not live up to the 100% perfection that you promised, you might as well go crazy, eat whatever you want and over indulge all day/evening long?
We all have tendencies to look at the food we eat in black vs. white / good vs. bad terms and then look at ourselves as good / bad based on what we eat and how we behave.
Being Realistic: Very few things