Healthy New Year’s 2011

You haven’t given up on your healthy new year’s resolutions yet, right? Hopefully not… I’m thinking most folks are still going strong because my gym is still slammed like a mall on Black Friday.

I’m definitely still working on my 2011 goals, speaking of which, look what jeans fit me this morning:

The Seven jeans I won through a company sponsored Twitter giveaway!

And for you all you ladies wondering, yes they do live up to the hype of making your booty look good.

Back to the topic at hand…

Last week put a little damper on my healthy eating goals because I was feeling emotionally drained and less inclined to cook at home but thankfully last night’s healthy cooking demo at Whole Foods definitely got me excited about healthy cooking again. The dishes made by Chef Jesse were all based on Whole Foods new initiative, Health Starts Here – they were all plant based, low in sodium and oil-free.

First up, one of my favorites, a Raw Kale Salad with a Garlicky Dressing.

This one had raw kale, garlic, liquid aminos, vinegar, tahini, nutritional yeast and lemon juice. It was very similar to a garlicky kale dish on the WF salad bar that I absolutely love so I excited to this on the menu. Holy delicious greens!

And then there was a Mock Tuna Salad made with soaked almonds and sunflower seeds.

This one was really hearty and filling but a little on the sweet side from agave nectar and sweet pickles. I think I’d leave out the agave and add more kelp granules if I made it at home.

TVP Chili was next on the menu…

I really liked the flavor of the chili which was heavy on the texturized vegetable protein (TVP), a soy based meat substitute, light on the beans and had a secret ingredient – masa harina, ground corn flour traditionally used to make tortillas.

The last main dish, Thai flavored Buckwheat Noodles, was so flavorful. The red curry, turmeric, curry powder, garlic, shallot, coconut milk and veggies sauce was perfect over the soba noodles.

Between the main dishes and dessert, we all had a chance to taste a little fresh turmeric root, the root that makes mustard yellow!

It’s good for you, yes, however it also tastes like a rotten carrot and be careful when eating it raw because after the demo I came home and brushed my teeth and now my tooth brush head is yellow! Not cool… although may I’ll just take it as a sign that I need to buy a new head for my SoniCare.

Last on the menu, Jesse prepared Fruit & Nut Bars aka Eating Bird Food Bars.

Oats, flour, walnuts and dried fruit make these bars a dense treat with no added sweeteners. They would be the perfect on-the-go snack bar.

For obvious reasons, this was one of my favorite WF Cooking Demos. Jesse kept saying that he’s a newbie to healthy cooking, which may be true, but it definitely didn’t show tonight. All the dishes were incredibly flavorful and nutritious!!

Unfortunately my partner in crime was sick and had to the skip the demo. It’s not the same without her, but I did get to hang with her mom and neighbor.

If you’re interested in finding similar recipes, there are a ton of Health Starts Here recipes on the Whole Foods website!

Alright, it’s time for me to head to work. I hope you have a fabulous Tuesday and if you get a chance check out my guest post which will be up over at Made Just Right later today.

Tagged as: Fruit & Nut Bar, Health Start Here, Mock Tuna Salad, Raw Kale Salad with Garlicky Dressing, Seven Jeans, Turmeric, TVP Chili