Purple Power Smoothie

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Gourmet Greek Girl

Happy (belated) Halloween! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays – I love carving pumpkins, watching scary movies, and seeing all the creative costumes. This year I didn’t dress up (I meant to 😦  it just crept up on me so quickly!!) but here is a little blast from the past. This was what I wore Senior year of high school and to this day it’s still my favorite costume! I wore it to school and got a lot of laughs.

Halloween 2005 2
Superman!

Halloween 2005
My best friend went as Batman; we were quite the crime-fighting duo.

What was your favorite costume? 
Today I have a quick, healthy, and delicious smoothie recipe for you. I call it a Purple Power Smoothie.

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I actually got the inspiration from the Green Monster Smoothies (http://greenmonstermovement.com/)that have become popular the last couple years, but since my smoothie ended up purple, I figured I couldn’t really call it a Green Monster.

Though I’ll admit it’s not exactly the prettiest smoothie in the world, it’s extremely healthy, tastes awesome, and is so easy. I make these a lot either after a workout or as part of my breakfast or lunch.

First, pour a cup of milk into the blender. I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of regular milk – I just love the taste of almond milk! But any milk you have on hand will work.

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Add a BIG handful of washed baby spinach, then blend until smooth.

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It may sound super gross to add spinach into a smoothie, but trust me – you can’t taste it AT ALL! I swear. And it adds so many health benefits to the smoothie: it’s loaded with vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids, it contains anti-cancer antioxidants, and it strengthens your bones.

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Next, add in half a frozen banana. I always keep plastic baggies of frozen bananas in my freezer for this purpose. They come in so handy! When I have bananas that are about to go bad, I slice them then freeze them on a baking sheet for a couple hours. When they are frozen, I transfer them into plastic bags and store them in the freezer. Also add in a handful of frozen blueberries. I store a plastic bag or two of these in my freezer as well (they’re also good to eat frozen by themselves). Pour in a little more milk and blend again until smooth.

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Finally, add in a tablespoon of almond butter or peanut butter and a dash of cinnamon. Blend like crazy until the smoothie is the desired consistency!

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This is an optional step, but I like to add a little extra protein (especially after working out). I usually add about 1/2 a scoop of vanilla protein powder or 1 whole scoop if it’s after a workout. Sometimes I also add in a teaspoon of Chia seeds. If you’ve never used them, they blend really well and don’t add any weird taste to the smoothie. They reduce food cravings, reduce blood pressure, contain omega 3, and have lots of fiber and antioxidants. They’re also gluten free.

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Note: I have a small blender so I blend everything in steps, but if you have a big one then just go ahead and blend it all at once!

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Purple Power Smoothie 

Ingredients: 
1 cup milk (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1 giant handful of baby spinach
1/2 frozen sliced banana
1 handful of frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon peanut butter or almond butter
dash of cinnamon
optional: 1/2 or 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
optional: 1 teaspoon chia seeds

Directions: 
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

You can also make the smoothie ahead of time then freeze it so that it’s all ready to go!

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Posted in Breakfast, Healthy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Caramel Apple Crisp

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Gourmet Greek Girl

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How was everyone’s weekend? I had a nice, relaxing weekend at home with my parents. We went out to my favorite restaurant, Yu’s Mandarin in Schaumburg, IL. It is crazy good! If you live in the area and have never been, I suggest it. We always get the appetizer sampler that comes with eggrolls, shrimp toast, chicken and beef skewers, and crab rangoon. Their crab rangoon is my absolute favorite. The Mongolian 3 Ingredients (beef, chicken, and shrimp) and Singapore Noodles are my 2 favorite entrees; I always get one or the other and I’m never disappointed. The best part: I get to take the leftovers to lunch tomorrow, woo!

We also watched the movie “The Heat” with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. It was hilarious! I think both of them are great actresses and together they were even funnier. Melissa’s character was completely ridiculous and had me laughing pretty much the entire movie.

I have a dessert recipe for you and I’m very excited about it: Caramel Apple Crisp! The perfect autumn treat!

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Caramel Apple Crisp
Recipe adapted from iowagirleats.com (I love this blog!)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 large apple
1/4 teaspoon flour
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons old fashioned oats
3 teaspoons flour
3 teaspoons cold butter
1 Tablespoon caramel sauce

Directions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel then chop apple into small, 1/4″ cubes. Mix apple with 1/4 teaspoon each flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, then pour into a small, non-stick sprayed baking dish.
  2. In the same bowl combine 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons oats, 3 teaspoons flour, and 3 teaspoons cold butter. Mix the ingredients with your fingers until butter is well distributed among the rest of the ingredients. Pour the mixture on top of the apples and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crisp is golden brown.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce in the microwave for 15 seconds and drizzle over the apple crisp.

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I have a confession… I ate the whole thing by myself. I couldn’t help it, it’s just so good! The cinnamon apples, warm caramel, and crispy topping… mmmmm. Try this!

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Posted in Desserts | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Smoked Salmon Spring Rolls

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Gourmet Greek Girl

Wow it has gotten chilly outside! Apparently there have also been some sightings of snow in Illinois 😦  I don’t want Fall to end! It is by far my favorite season. I love the cool weather, crisp air, and beautiful colors. I do enjoy December leading up to Christmas, but I’m so not ready for the season-that-shall-not-be-named yet!

How do you feel about companies already advertising for Christmas?

I DESPISE it. It’s not even Halloween yet! I just want to enjoy my favorite season a little longer. Grrrr.

Okay, enough ranting. I feel like I haven’t been eating extremely well lately. I blame it on the fact that it’s been a really busy couple weeks at work with parent-teacher conferences, open house, testing, etc. So last night I really wanted something light and healthy. I thought of the perfect meal: Spring rolls. I added a little twist though and incorporated smoked salmon – it added so much flavor!

The beauty of spring rolls is that they are really hard to mess up! Even if they don’t look professional, they will still taste great. They are also very customizable – you can add any veggies you want and even tofu, meat, or seafood.

Here is how to make my spring rolls with a twist: Smoked Salmon Spring Rolls.

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First, assemble your ingredients. We have cucumber, carrots, green onion, avocado, spinach, and smoked salmon. I don’t have an exact amount of these because you can really add however much of each ingredient that you would like.

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Next, take your rice paper wrappers. You can get these in most grocery stores, in the Asian foods aisle by the soy sauce and rice noodles.

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They start out hard, then after soaking them in hot water, soften. They become very stretchy so you don’t have to worry about being extremely careful with them when wrapping the spring rolls.

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Pour some hot water into a dish, and soak a rice paper wrapper in it for about 10 seconds, or until it softens. I used a cookie sheet to soak my wrappers in.

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Lay the wrapper onto a clean surface then add your ingredients into the center.

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Roll the wrapper just like an eggroll. Fold down the tops, and then roll from one side to the other, wrapping it snuggly. Don’t worry – it won’t break!

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Repeat until you run of out of ingredients or wrappers!

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I served mine with soy sauce mixed with some brown sugar that was then heated a little in the microwave. Any soy, sweet and sour, or teriyaki sauce would be good though.

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Smoked Salmon Spring Rolls

Ingredients:
1 package of rice paper wrappers
Cucumber, cut into thin sticks
Carrots, cut into thin sticks
Green onion, chopped
Avocado, thinly sliced
Baby spinach
Smoked Salmon, cut into thin strips

*I didn’t include any amounts here because it’s really up to you how much to use! I made 10 spring rolls and used 1 mini cucumber, about 10 baby carrots that I chopped up, 1 green onion, 1 avocado, a big handful of spinach, and about 2 ounces of smoked salmon.

  1. Lay out all your ingredients. Soak a rice paper wrapper in a shallow dish of water for about 10 seconds, or until soft and pliable.
  2. Place the softened wrapper onto a clean surface, and line up your ingredients in the middle. Fold in the tops of the wrapper, then roll tightly from one side to the other. Repeat until you have used all your ingredients and/or wrappers.
  3. Serve with soy sauce or sweet and sour sauce.

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I hope you make these! They taste so fresh and light – definitely what I needed. And I have to say, the salmon definitely gives it a lot more flavor. I’ve made these without salmon before, and they are good, but I think the salmon takes them to a whole new level.

Posted in Asian Inspired Food | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

My “Don’t Miss” List for Travelers in Paris

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Gourmet Greek Girl

Since this is a food AND travel blog, and so far I’ve only blogged about food, I thought I’d give travel a try! Traveling is without a doubt my favorite thing in the world. I love the feeling of experiencing new cultures and sites, meeting people from all over the world, and seeing things I’ve read about or seen on TV come to life.

One of my favorite cities to visit is Paris, France. There’s no other place in the world like it! I spent Fall semester of my junior year of college studying abroad in Nantes, France and I’ll never forget the feeling I had when I took my first weekend trip to Paris. I stepped out of the train station accompanied by my new study abroad friends, and had butterflies in my stomach. I just could not stop smiling the entire weekend – this sounds cliché, but it was magical! Paris was everything I had hoped it would be, and more. Though we were only there for a weekend, we managed to see many of the sites and had a wonderful experience that I will never forget.

Since that first incredible weekend, I have been to Paris 6 more times – all on weekend trips. Though Nantes will always be my TRUE French love, I have had some unforgettable experiences in Paris. From my various trips to the City of Lights, here are some of my favorite spots to visit. I would suggest these to any visitor, no matter what length the stay. Hopefully this will be of use to anyone planning a trip to Paris in the future!

Voici la liste (in no particular order): 

  1. The Eiffel Tower – of course, no trip to Paris is complete without seeing this architectural masterpiece (which Parisians originally hated, fyi!). Unfortunately, the line is always ungodly long to visit the top. My suggestions: buy your tickets online ahead of time, get there as soon as it opens, and take the stairs up to the 2nd floor and elevator to the top from there – the line will be shorter and it’s cheaper! Also, evening is a great time to stroll past the Eiffel Tower. It looks incredible lit up, and every hour on the hour it sparkles for 5 minutes. It’s gorgeous!
    me eiffel tower
  2. Arc de Triomphe – another tourist staple. There’s a great view of the city from the top, just be careful crossing the street.
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  3. Jardin des Tuileries – The park in between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. It’s a beautiful park and a nice place for a picnic or a rest from all the site-seeing.
  4. The Louvre – unless you have a lot of time to spend here, I don’t recommend going inside. There’s so much to see that if you are just in Paris for a couple days, you may want to wait until you come back for a longer trip. However, the glass pyramids and fountains on the outside are definitely worth a look.
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  5. Notre Dame Cathedral – incredible! The architecture is amazing and it’s free to go inside and look around. I also recommend paying to climb to the top – it’s, in my opinion, the best view of Paris since you can see the Eiffel Tower from the top and also there are lots of cool gargoyles. Not to mention Esmeralda’s Bell.
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  6. The catacombs – My favorite! There is an entire city beneath Paris: a city of the dead. There are around 6 million people buried in this system of underground tunnels, and it is not to miss. There’s so much history down there and it’s so interesting! Not to mention creepy (and awesome). Get here early as the line is a pain.
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  7. Pere Lachaise Cemetery – Think of the cemeteries you’ve been to in the US. It’s not like those at all. It’s incredibly gorgeous! Do not go to Paris without seeing it! Intricate and beautiful tombstones and mausoleums make up this cemetery as well as gigantic trees, hills, and quiet paths. There are also many famous people buried here: Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Moliere, etc. It’s so gigantic there is actually a map to help you find your way around to the different graves.
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  8. Take a cruise down the Seine – you’ll get some excellent pictures of the city and see the unique bridges from a different vantage point.
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  9. Musée d’Orsay – This is an impressionist art museum located in an old train station. There are many pieces by Monet, Degas, Renoir, etc.
  10. Market at Rue Poncelet – you should definitely check out a market to get a more authentic French experience. Sample the food, do some shopping, and mingle with the locals.
  11. Sacre Coeur – Famous basilica in Montmartre. It’s a gorgeous church and also has an amazing view of the city.
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  12. Montmartre – stroll past all the quaint winding roads and hillside apartments, visit Place du Tertre: the artist square, Moulin Rouge and the red light district, and Amélie’s Café. One of my favorite parts of the city.
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  13. Le Quartier Latin – go to the Latin Quarter by la Sorbonne for cute cafés, boutiques, affordable restaurants, and an excellent night life.
  14. Do some exploring of your own! Just start walking in any direction and see what you will discover. Have a city map and metro map just in case. When my boyfriend and I took a trip to Paris, one of our favorite activities was strolling around, looking for space invaders. We tried to find as many as possible!
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There are so many more things to see and do, but if you are a tourist in Paris these are some things you definitely should not miss! Parisians or others who have spent long periods of time in Paris may have different suggestions, but these are the places that I recommend. Feel free to add to the list!

As for food, here are some of my suggestions:

  • Visit a boulangerie for fresh bread, a fromagerie for some cheese to go with your bread, and a patisserie for some French pastries. Trust me – you don’t want to miss out on these French staples!
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  • Relax with some coffee at a café. Enjoy the café culture; sip on your drink slowly while enjoying good conversation, a book, or just people-watching.
  • Try some crêpes with nutella and fries with mayo (sounds disgusting but is really good!) from a stand.
  • Don’t dine at any restaurants located near the Eiffel Tower; they will be extremely overpriced and very touristy. Instead, look for restaurants in the Latin Quarter or Montmartre. Many of them have fixed price menus where you can get a good deal on an appetizer, main course, and dessert.
  • Restaurant suggestions:
    • Le Refuge des Fondues – located in Montmartre near the Abbesses metro station. It’s a fondue restaurant that is cheap, has “family style” long tables so you can meet other travelers, and they serve wine in BABY BOTTLES. How cool is that? Pretty darn cool if you ask me. Though the food is not the best you can find in town, the atmosphere is what really makes it worth it. If you’re looking to have a good time in a unique environment, this is not to miss.
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    • Le Chat qui Pêche – located in the Latin Quarter. They have lots of traditional and regional specialties and it’s reasonably priced and very delicious.

Now go plan a trip to Paris! 🙂

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Aubergine (Eggplant) Slippers

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Gourmet Greek Girl

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was a 3 day weekend, but it still went by so quickly! I hate that about weekends… I look forward to them all week then once they finally come they just fly by. Still, it was nice having an extra day to relax and recuperate from work, and it definitely helped that the weather was absolutely gorgeous!

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The weekend before last, I visited my parents in Illinois and my mom showed me how to make this really great Greek eggplant dish. Both of my parents were born in Greece, and my mom makes a lot of delicious, traditional Greek food. Eggplant is definitely popular in Greek cooking and it just so happens to be in season right now, so it’s the perfect time to try out this recipe! It’s not difficult, but it will look extremely impressive once you’re finished. I give you Aubergine Slippers!

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First, wash your eggplants and remove the stems. Cut them in half lengthwise and soak them in some salted water to get rid of the bitterness. Rinse the eggplants, then scoop a little out of the insides. Coat them with oil and a sprinkle of salt, put them in a greased or foil-lined baking pan and allow them to bake in the oven until soft.

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Next assemble your ingredients for the meat sauce. Ground beef, onions, garlic, parsley, white wine, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and a bay leaf. You could probably make the sauce vegetarian if you are not a meat-eater!

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Next, cook the onion then add in the garlic and ground beef.

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At this point, the eggplants should be about ready to take out of the oven.

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Keep stirring your meat sauce…

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Then add in the white wine.

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Add the tomato paste into the mixture along with a cup of water.

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Finally, add in a bay leaf and cook on low for about 30 minutes.

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While the sauce cooks, start on the Bechamel sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps forming. Pour in the milk, after having warmed it slightly first, and then add the cheese and salt, stirring the mixture constantly.

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Add in the nutmeg. When it thickens, remove from heat and allow to stand for one or two minutes. Beat the eggs and stir them slowly into the mixture, stirring continuously.

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Spoon the meat sauce onto the eggplants.

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Then, cover the eggplants with the bechamel sauce. Top with some parmesan cheese. Bake them in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

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They should come out looking like this!

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Aubergine (Eggplant) Slippers
(Melitzanes Papoutsakia)

Serves 8
Cooking time: 60 mins

Ingredients: 
6 mini eggplants
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 cup of oil
1 lb ground beef
6 oz tomato paste
Salt
Pepper
½ cup of dry white wine
Parsley, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese

For béchamel sauce:
Prep time: 15-20 mins

2 tablespoons of good butter
3 ½ heaping tablespoons of flour
1 ½ cups of milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
A little salt

  1. Preheat the oven to 350. Remove the stems of the eggplants and wash them well. Cut them in half lengthwise and soak them in some salted water to get rid of the bitterness. Rinse the eggplants, then scoop a little out of the insides. You don’t need to scoop out all the seeds, but try to get the majority. Coat them with oil and a sprinkle of salt, put them in a greased baking pan and allow them to bake in the oven until soft, about 20 minutes. You may need to cook them longer if they take longer to soften.
  2. Put the oil in a saucepan and heat. Add the onion and allow to soften, then add the garlic, ground beef, salt and pepper to taste, wine, and the finely chopped parsley. After the ground beef is browned, add the tomato paste and a cup of water. Allow this mixture to cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
  3. While meat sauce is cooking, begin the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps forming. Pour in the milk, after having warmed it slightly first, and then add the cheese and salt, stirring the mixture constantly. Add in the nutmeg. When it thickens, remove from heat and allow to stand for one or two minutes. Beat the eggs and stir them slowly into the mixture, stirring continuously.
  4. Spread the meat sauce mixture over the eggplants, then cover with the béchamel sauce. Finally, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

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You may have some leftover sauce. If so, it’s delicious with spaghetti as well! I hope you enjoy it! I sure did.

Posted in Greek Dishes | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments