Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Chocolate Greek Yogurt Dip


It happens to the best of us. 
We set out with great intentions of only eating healthy. Until we walk past someone devouring a chocolate ice cream. Then the "I will start tomorrow" thoughts set in. I have been fighting those thoughts. Now on week 6 of my lifestyle change. Doing almost 2 hours of exercise each day, consisting of yoga and walking for now, and eating healthy organic and whole grains only. But yesterday was a hard day fighting off cravings. So I set out to make something that would calm the chocolate demon in my body. 

I got thinking, I mean Chocolate is a super food, so I can make it healthy, right? What else is healthy for me? Greek yogurt is. Let's put them together. Combined with a plate of fresh fruit, and I had myself an afternoon feast that tasted sinful, but made my chocolate craving stop immediately. 

If you love chocolate and fruit, this is for you! 

Chocolate Greek Yogurt Dip

½ cup Plain Greek Yogurt
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. brown sugar, or 3 tsp stevia, or 3 Tbsp. agave nectar
½ tsp. vanilla
fresh fruit (for dipping)

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until it is an even dark color and all of the brown sugar granules have dissolved, about 3 minutes. Serve with fresh fruit for dipping.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Chicken Sausage Tagliatelle




This past week I had the honor of sampling Jovial Foods gluten-free Tagliatelle pasta
What a treat! Even if I was not eating gluten-free, I would want to buy their pasta instead of the nasty enriched pasta sold at the market. 

Jovial™ gluten free products were developed in Italy, out of a heartfelt compassion for all of us who have had a food intolerance critically effect personal health and wellness. Jovial believes eating gluten free should be pleasurable and not feel like a sacrifice. 

When I saw this pasta, I thought; "oh boy, this is gonna be a comfort food night!". 
I got busy. Walked to Jimbo's for the finest produce and some spicy free range chicken sausage. Thanks to my herb garden I had plenty of fresh basil. 
This dish came together effortlessly and disappeared fast. Boy was I right about comfort food. This pasta is so decadent. I love it! So go ahead. Enjoy pasta again! 
You can get jovial pasta here and at a lot of health food stores, like Jimbo's, whole foods, vitacost etc.


Gluten-Free Chicken Sausage Tagliatelle
by Christi Silbaugh

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. spicy chicken sausage, casing removed
1 tsp garlic, chopped
1 tomato
1/2 cup chopped basil
1 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste





Boil and drain your pasta according to package directions.
Chop up your tomato, garlic, and basil.

Heat a skillet over medium heat, and add olive oil, garlic, and your chicken sausage. Cook until sausage is browned and cooked through. 

In a large bowl add noodles, cooked sausage with drippings, tomato, basil, and parmesan cheese. 
Toss to distribute ingredients evenly throughout pasta. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and eat! Great hot or cold. 

Friday, December 13, 2013

Gingerbread Larabars



Yesterday I brought you Chocolate Peppermint Larabars. I explained that larabars are raw, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, and scrumptious. So I wanted to bring you another great holiday flavor. Gingerbread! These taste like you are biting into gingerbread heaven, but without all the bad calories and guilt. Suitable for breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, or dessert. Enjoy!

Gingerbread Larabars



1 1/2 cups pitted medjool Dates
1 1/2 cups almonds
1/2 cups walnuts
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Add Almonds and Walnuts to a food processor. Process until nuts resemble bread crumbs. 
Put remaining ingredients in food processor 

and process until fully combined.
Press into an 8x8 pan that is lined with parchment paper.
Cover and put in the freezer for 2 hours before cutting into bars.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
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Thursday, December 12, 2013

Supah Stah Dark Chocolate Superfood Bars

Today I am excited to tell you about SupahStah Dark Chocolate Superfood Bars. 
SupahStah bars feed your body in the best possible way. This powerful combination of 6 superfoods contains wonderful fats, seeds and fruits your body can use as energy. It’s chock full of chia-great fiber, hemp seeds-high in EFA’s, goji berries- anti-oxidents, coconut butter – protein and unsaturated fat.

The coconut sugar is the lowest on the glycemic index and doesn’t spike your blood sugar. Cacoa fat and coconut fat are fats that BURN FAT….you’re body doesn’t store it. It’s fat your body can USE.

SupahStah Dark Chocolate Superfood Bars are:
a delicious, convenient way to enjoy multiple superfoods that TASTES like a TREAT and FEELS like ENERGY.
perfect for athletes, kids and people on the go, the benefits are endless
a wicked awesome choice before yoga, a run or as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea.

Help Erika get these bars into every health food store! 

Chocolate Peppermint Larabars


If you are not familiar with larabars, let me introduce them to you. They are raw, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, and scrumptious. They taste like cookies because the dates make them sweet combined with super foods like cocoa and almonds. Basically, you get dessert, without the guilt. I eat them in between meals to tide me over. No more of those processed full of sugar granola bars. Eat healthy and wholesome. 

I developed this bar for Christmas. They taste like a thin mint cookie from the girl scouts. Suitable for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, or dessert. Enjoy!

Raw, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Chocolate Peppermint Larabars


1 1/2 cup medjool dates, pitted
1 cup almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup cashews
2 TBSP cocoa powder
1 tsp peppermint extract

Add all ingredients to your food processor and pulse until fulling incorporated. 
Spread into an baking dish lined with parchment and freeze for 1 hour before cutting. 

I had to share this picture because my dog peanut was so interested in these bars, I had a hard time keeping her out of the picture.

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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Tamarind Salmon with Lemongrass




I hope everyone has recovered from Thanksgiving. If you are like me, you are ready for some healthier dishes before the Christmas feast begins.

This Tamarind Salmon hits the spot on both flavor and calories.
You might wonder what Tamarind is. It is a fruit that originated in Africa used in savory dishes, and it is completely naturally gluten-free. It is tangy and goes perfectly with lemongrass and ginger. 

This light healthy dish will take your taste buds by surprise. Perfect over greens, sauteed vegetables, or rice. 

Tamarind Salmon with Lemongrass

3.5 ounces of tamarínd paste
2 stalks lemongrass , slíced (woody layers removed)
1 small serrano pepper , seeds removed and fínely chopped (optional, if you don't like heat, simply omit)
1 inch gínger root, grated
3 tbsp agave nectar
3 tbsp mínt , chopped
4 8 ounce fillets of wild salmon , skín on
a small handful cilantro, chopped

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees
míx the tamarínd, lemongrass, serrano pepper, gínger, agave and mínt together ín a small bowl. 

Put the salmon on a píece of foíl.
Brush a thíck layer of the sauce over the salmon and cook for 10 mínutes.
Serve sprínkled wíth cilantro and a bowl of extra marínade on the síde for díppíng.



Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Taco Salad


I recently joined forces with Goya Foods, America's largest Hispanic-owned food company, in collaboration with The First Lady's LetsMove initiative and the USDA, to promote the MyPlate / MiPlato cookbook, Healthy, Tasty, Affordable Latin Cooking. This book is part of the national MyPlate campaign designed to help educate Americans on healthy eating.

The bilingual book has 10 complete meal ideas (no more last-minute meal planning while driving home), with 30 recipes from around Latin America and Spain, and some healthy Latin twists on American classics. Each of the meals has the USDA stamp of approval and incorporates all five food groups (that’s right, all of them). For curious minds, each recipe also includes nutritional information, cooking tips, and estimated costs. There’s even a cheat sheet showcasing all the Goya ingredients you can use to keep your diet healthy.

For more information about Goya, please visit Goya.com For a copy of the cookbook, consumers can download the cookbook online at Goya.com. For special giveaways, please visit Goya's Facebook fan page, Twitter and Pinterest Page.


The book inspired me. Instead of sharing one of the wonderful recipes, I want to share with you what I made with my goya products. A healthy vegetarian taco salad. You can leave out the chips for an even healthier salad, but I used wholesome organic, non-gmo corn chips to scoop that salad into my mouth and it was scrumptious. 



Vegetarian Taco Salad
Makes 4 salads



2 cups refried beans 
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Goya Pico De Gallo Authentic Mexican Salsa Mild
plain Greek yogurt 
*optional non-gmo corn tortilla chips





Divide the following directions between 4 plates:

Heat up your refried beans. There should be 1/2 cup of refried beans in the center of each plate. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the beans.
Surround the beans with lettuce. Each plate should have 1 cup of tightly packed chopped romaine lettuce. 
Pour the Pico De Gallo around the beans using the amount you desire. Top with guacamole and plain Greek yogurt.  If you are like me and desire a crunch, surround your plate with non-gmo corn tortilla chips. 

Monday, December 9, 2013

Asian Snapper


I am very proud of myself. I just completed a full month of yoga. I go 4 times a week and I am absolutely in love. For an hour and fifteen minutes 4 mornings a week, I get to pray while exercising. It has truly changed my life. I believe I can honestly say that I will never ever stop practicing yoga. On the days I don't have class, I still practice at home. My Christmas list now consists of 5 yoga books I really want to get. Why did I not start practicing yoga sooner? To say the least I am extremely thankful. I am so thankful that I found yoga. I will never ever go back. I also enjoy my walk to yoga and back. I feel alive again after beating the cancer, and I feel like I can take on the world every day. If you have not ever tried yoga, I really recommend you get to a yoga center (not a gym), and start with a gentle flow class. Don't be afraid. Everyone was a beginner once!

Yoga has been helping me balance out my life. Something that I have always struggled with. I tend to be all go, go, go, with very little stopping. Now I am budgeting out time for all of it. It also helps me with my food choices. Knowing that I just sweat and worked off a ton of calories, I don't want to reach for the bad food that would negate what I just accomplished. 

So I have been making a lot of fish and veggies. Red Snapper is in season here and I can't get enough. It adapts to any flavors you add to it. This dish is full of asian flavor. One look at it, you would think it is complicated. In fact, it is quite simple to make!  You can have this ready in 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Gluten-free Asian Red Snapper
adapted from The Guardian
Serves 4

For the fish
4 red snapper fillets
1 tablespoon peanut oil
4 thin prosciutto slices, each piece halved to match the shape of the fish
1 4 ounce can of whole bamboo shoots, julienned
4 shiitake mushrooms, stalks removed, julienned
1 Tablespoon grated ginger
8 chives, sliced in half lengthwise, then cut into 3rds.
freshly ground white pepper

For the seasoning
2 tablespoons light soy sauce -or bragg's amino acids
3 tablespoons chicken stock
1⁄2 teaspoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1⁄4 teaspoon sesame oil
1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all the seasoning ingredients together.
Brush the peanut oil all over the four pieces of fish. 
Brush seasoning on top of the fish. 
Place the prosciutto slices on top of each fish. 
Brush again with seasoning.
Top with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and ginger. 
Brush again with seasoning.
Place on a baking sheet or grill pan. 
Pour the rest of the seasoning over the fish.

Cover and bake for 10 minutes. 
Sprinkle with a pinch of white pepper and serve. I served mine over Cauliflower puree, but it is great alone, or over rice or pasta. 

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