Rouge Tomate

Tonight, I went to dinner at what my sister has now dubbed her new favorite restaurant in NYC, which really says a lot.  It is always difficult to try to eat healthy when in a restaurant because the portions are at least double the size of a serving, and you never really know exactly what goes into the dishes.  So, when I was doing research on healthy restaurants in the city, I stumbled upon Rouge Tomate.  It is one of the only restaurants in the city that is SPE certified, which means that you can actually go online and see the nutritional breakdown of all of their dishes and the ingredients that goes into them, which is great.  Based on the availabilty of nutritional info and the intriguing menu, we decided to try it out.

The actual restaurant is pretty big and has a very nice ambiance inside.  It would've been a bit nicer if it wasn't torrentially raining outside, but I can't really hold that against them since they can't control the weather.  They have a pretty big drink list, which includes some homemade sodas, juices, cocktails, and an extremely long wine list.  My sister got the Pink Sangria, which was Rose, Plum Gin, Orange, Pineapple, and a Hibiscus Flavored Pineapple, and she said it was a nice, light drink.  Then, after we ordered, they brought an amuse bouche to the table, which was beet carpaccio with a horseradish foam and topped with some pumpernickel breadcrumbs.

This was so delicious, and had a perfect balance to it.  The horseradish was not too strong, and the breadcrumbs added a really nice texture to the beets.  I was super happy because normally when chefs actually make an amuse bouche, it has some sort of fish in it so I never get to eat it, but in this case it had my favorite ingredient, beets! 

Then, someone came to our table with a nice basket of bread and you could choose a slice of sourdough bread (I think thats what it was) or a peasant roll which was basically a wheat roll with a lot of seeds on it.  To have with the bread, they brought yellow lentil hummus and some ricotta cheese.  I had the peasant roll, which was really good with all of the seeds.  I tried the hummus, which was pretty good but I am not a big hummus person so I chose to ate the roll plain.  

For the appetizers, I ordered the beet salad which came with pineapple, pumpernickel breadcrumbs, and burrata cheese.  

When it first came to the table, the first thing that I noticed was the presentation.  It just looks so colorful and pretty that I didn't want to eat it!  Of course, I quickly got over that and dug in.  Every component of the dish worked so well together and the pineapple and breadcrumbs created a nice contrast with the beets.  I have had a lot of beet salads, and this one is by far one of my favorites.  My sister had the Wild Mushroom seasonal toast, which she said was really delicious.  It was two small pieces of sourdough toast topped with tofu aioli, sauerkraut, wild mushrooms and broccoli.  I tried one bite and it was delicious, and I usually don't like cooked mushrooms!

Having already had great bread, a nice amuse bouche, and amazing appetizers, we had really high expectations for the main course.  I ordered the Spring Pea Tofu with Buckwheat, Onion, Peanuts, Peas, Coconut and Rhubarb, and my sister got the Arctic Char. 

Again, the first thing I noticed when the plate came to the table was how pretty and colorful it looked!  You can tell that they really think every component of the dish through and they spend a lot of time on presentation.  The tofu was really delicious, and I usually don't order tofu.  It has a nice pea flavor to it, which set it apart for an ordinary piece of tofu.  All of the components of the dish worked really well together, and it is definitely something that I would recommend and order again.  I was only able to make it through one piece though because I was already pretty full and wanted to save room for dessert!

The dessert menu had some really great options, but my sister and I choose to stick with the small plates because we were pretty full.  Apparently the chocolate sphere is the most popular dessert, which I usually would get since I am a chocoholic, but I was too full and knew that if I ordered it, I would end up eating the whole thing and then would regret it later.  So, I choose the soy chocolate ganache with banana, olive oil powder, and cocoa nibs, and my sister got the small strawberry shortcake.  

The soy chocolate ganache was the perfect dessert!  The ganache was extremely rich and chocolatey, and you would never know that it was soy!  The bananas underneath the chocolate were really sweet and had great texture, which worked well with the ganache.  The size of the dessert made it the perfect way to end the meal without feeling overly stuffed.  And, while I did not try the strawberry shortcake, that got rave reviews as well.

Overall, I would highly recommend this restaurant!  Every single thing that my sister and I got was delicious, and you could tell that they really pay attention to detail.  While it is on the expensive side, it is a nice place to go to for special occasions or when you are looking for a little splurge.  You will leave here knowing that you had a very satisfying, delicious, and healthy meal, which is hard to come by in NYC. 

Bali BBQ Chicken with a Japanese Sweet Potato and Steamed Broccoli

Yesterday was a Whole Foods Day for me because my lunch and dinner both came from the prepared foods section at Whole Foods!  In addition to shopping for lunch options on my recent trip there, I was looking for some dinner items that I could eat on a day where I didn't feel like cooking or having a frozen meal.  So, when I saw their Bali BBQ Chicken, I thought that it was a perfect option.  It is really just a simple piece of grilled chicken with a light coating of some BBQ sauce, which I like since I usually eat pretty plain chicken.  On the side, I had some steamed broccoli and half of a baked japanese yam.  I like the japanese sweet potato better than the regular one because to me it has a sweeter taste.  When shopping for one, the skin has a more purplish color before it is cooked, so it is easier to tell it apart from the other sweet potato varieties.  The inside is also a yellow/whitish color instead of the usual bright orange color.

This was a perfect and easy balanced dinner for me.  It heated up in under a minute, and was so good and filling.  Next time I would probably just get some sauce on the side to dip the chicken in because it was a bit bland even for my taste, but it was still pretty good.  

This is why I love Whole Foods so much!  You can get some really great meal options that can be thrown together in under a minute, and they are all healthy and delicious.  It also makes it look like you spent hours cooking!

Sweet Potato & Quinoa Cake with a Summer Kale Salad

Lunches for me have always been a pretty boring meal, because I usually just end up eating a turkey sandwich.  While I do love turkey sandwiches, I was at a point where I needed to spice things up.  So, last weekend when my sister and I ran in Central Park and decided to stop at Whole Foods on the way back, I was immediately drawn to their prepared food counter.

The Whole Foods in Columbus Circle is, in my opinion, the best one in the city and has a really great selection of prepared foods.  They have a big sushi counter, pizza, hot food bar, prepared food bar, deli counter, sandwich counter, and a great bakery counter.  After looking in all of the the display cases for a while, I decided on a few small things.   Among them was a Sweet Potato Quinoa Cake with Dried Cranberries and a Summer Kale Salad which had some apples, almonds, and a light coating of a sweet dressing.

Today, I finally got around to trying both of them.  I brought it with me to work and it was the perfect lunch.  The quinoa cake is really delicious and filling.  It is basically quinoa, some wild rice, dried cranberries, and sweet potato to bind all the ingredients together in the shape of a patty.  The sweet potato taste really comes through, and it is even better when heated up.  The kale salad was also really delicious and felt very light and springy.  The kale was lightly coated in a sweet dressing, which created a perfect balance.  The apples in the salad also gave it great flavor.  Together, these two dishes were a great combination and were super filling.  After eating it, I felt like I had a really healthy and balanced meal that also tasted delicious, which was a nice change from my usual turkey sandwich!  I will definitely be purchasing both of these dishes again on my next trip to whole foods if they have them!

Donna Bell's Bake Shop

One of my favorite bakeries in NYC is Donna Bell's Bake Shop.  It is pretty new to the bakery scene in NYC, but it is up there with the best.  I actually interned there in the Fall of 2011 to help with PR and Marketing, which is how I was first introduced to their amazing baked goods.

They are a quintessential neighborhood bakery that you would expect to find in a small town, but they happen to be right near one of the busiest areas in the city, Times Square!  They specialize in southern style baked goods, drinks, and food items.  Some of their most popular items include their Lemon Bars, Drop Biscuits, Sweet Tea, Chicken and Dumplings, and their Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Since I worked there twice a week, I got a chance to try most of their items and can vouch for all of them!  My favorites were their cake slices (you get a huge slice and it is some of the best cake that I have ever had), brownies, lemon bars, biscuits (I seriously have never had biscuits as good as theirs), chicken & dumplings soup, mac and cheese, corn bread, cinnamon scones (tastes like a cross between a scone and a cinnamon roll), and their muffins.  Oh, and even their coffee is amazing!  I know the list is pretty long, but it is because everything is just that good.  I have never had anything there that I didn't like.

But, unfortunately for me, the location of the bakery is pretty much out of the way of anywhere that I go in the city, so I hadn't been back in over a year.  This morning, however, I decided to go back and pay them a visit.  I was immediately greeted with a beautiful display case of about 5 different muffin varieties, 3 different scones, warm biscuits, breakfast sandwiches, and hot coffee.  It was so difficult to choose one thing because there were so many baked goods that I wanted, but I had to limit myself to one item as to not completely sabotage my efforts to eat healthier.  So, I ultimately decided on my favorite muffin there- the Coconut Almond Muffin.  Not only is it my favorite of their muffins, but it is the best muffin that I have ever had, and that says a lot because I have had A LOT of muffins.

When I took my first bite, it was just as delicious as I remembered.  The top has an amazing crunch to it, and the inside is very fluffy and soft.  The almond flavor really comes through in every bite, and there is tons of coconut and almond slices in the actual muffin which makes it even more delicious.  Most muffins that I have had don't have the crunchiness on the top that you look for, but all of the muffins at Donna Bells have it.  I have tried their chocolate chip, banana pecan, peach, and blueberry bran varieties and they are all just as good.  I also got a cranberry muffin for my sister and she had the same reaction as me--she said the best part was the top because it is crunchy on the outside but so soft on the inside.  You can really tell that they are baked fresh and they care about what they are making (just as a side note, my sister was planning on saving it, but she finished it on the subway ride before she even made it to work, which is a testament to how good it was!)

Basically, if you are in the city you MUST go to Donna Bells!  It is on the corner of 49th Street and 8th Avenue, which is just walking distance from Central Park and Times Square!  It has a nice homey, neighborhood feel to it, and you will be able to find something for everyone.  A lot of the more famous bakeries in NYC have lost their edge and are just tourist attractions, but Donna Bells is the real deal.  

They have their menu posted online and it updates with their daily specials, so you should definitely check it out (www.donnabellsbakeshop.com).  They also have such an amazing story...it is owned by three best friends, one of whom is Pauley Perrette from NCIS.  The bakery is named after Pauley's mother, Donna Bell, and most of the original recipes were hers.

Oh, and if you are planning to visit (which you should be), I recommend going on the early side because the best things tend to sell out quickly!

Trader Joe's Pulled Pork

A few weeks back when my sister and I went on our first Trader Joe's shopping binge, we picked up a package of Pulled Pork from the refrigerated section.  When we originally saw it, we got excited because we like Pulled Pork and had been wanting to make it for a while, but the thought of making it ourselves was a bit daunting.  So, when we saw that Trader Joe's had pre-cooked pulled pork that you just reheat, we were immediately sold (and it didn't even expire until the end of July).  They also had Pulled Chicken Breast which we wanted to get, but they were sold out at the time.

So, today I finally got around to heating this up for dinner.  The package makes 3 servings at about 1/3 cup each which was plenty.  I put it on one of Martin's Potato Rolls (the smaller size) and had some steamed broccoli on the side.

The pulled pork was really delicious.  I was worried that it would taste fake or fatty, but it actually tasted like real pork meat.  The sauce was also really good and there was a lot of it, which I enjoyed.  The only thing that I would warn you about is that the sauce definitely has a kick to it.  I wouldn't say that is is spicy, but seeing as my sister is extremely sensitive to spice, I had to warn her about it.  It is also very messy, but that is expected with a pulled pork sandwich.  You WILL have sauce all over your hands when you are done, but it is totally worth it.  

I dont remember exactly what I spent on this, but I think it was around $3.99 for the package of pulled pork.  I definitely recommend buying this if you are in the mood for some pulled pork but you don't want to go through the hassle of making it yourself.  Next time, I will buy the pulled chicken and test it out, though I'm sure it will be just as delicious!

Honey Coconut Blueberry Bran Muffins

Today is Tuesday, which in my apartment means muffin day!  Since about January, I have tried to make a new and healthy muffin/scone every week.  I use recipes that I found on skinnytaste.com, emilybites.com, and a bunch that I adapted off of Pinterest to make a bit healthier.  Most, if not all, of the muffins that I make have no butter and use unsweetened applesauce instead of oil to keep them moist and low in fat.   I usually limit the quantity of muffins that I make to 4 because even though they are healthier, they are still muffins and should be eaten in moderation.  After making a new kind of muffin every Tuesday for about 3 months, I finally got to the repeats and there are about 8 that made it onto the permanent list (including these)!

So, today was Honey Coconut Blueberry Bran Muffins.  Again, I found the recipe for these on skinnytaste.com (http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/08/honey-coconut-blueberry-bran-muffins.html).  I have to admit, I am not the biggest fan of fruit in muffins with the exception of bananas.  But, my sister love blueberries in muffins so I try to be a good roommate and make blueberry muffins once in a while.    That being said, I'm glad that I gave this recipe a shot because I really enjoy these muffins.  They are very hearty and filling, and have nice texture because of the blueberries, coconut, and chopped nuts.  They also have a significant amount of wheat bran which makes them more healthy!  The only real change I made from the skinnytaste recipes was to use pecans instead of walnuts, because I just love pecans.

To me, this muffin has the perfect balance of sweetness, moistness, and healthiness!  Adding the coconut and the chopped nuts adds another layer of taste to them, and the wheat bran makes them very fiberous (not sure if that is actually a word) and filling.  I highly recommend trying this recipe, even if you are skeptical about fruit muffins like I was!

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Since I do not eat any seafood and rarely eat red meat, I usually end up eating some sort of chicken dish everyday.  While it is sometimes a struggle to keep things interesting, this Baked Chicken Parmesan is definitely one of my favorite chicken dishes to make.  It is very easy, super tasty, and you would never even know that it is actually healthy!

I never really ever ordered Chicken Parm in a restaurant partly because I knew how unhealthy it was (since it is usually fried) and partly because I have never been a huge fan of large amounts of cheese.  But, when I started cooking more often and found this recipe from skinnytaste.com (http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/04/baked-chicken-parmesan.html) my opinion for the dish has totally changed.  {And just as a side note, skinnytaste.com is my absolute favorite source for healthy and delicious recipes.  She has such amazing recipes posted for every different food category and meal, and she even posts the nutritional info and the weight watchers points for each dish.  I have made probably at least 20 different things from her site, and everything that I have made so far has turned out great and they were so easy to follow.  Highly recommend this blog if you are looking for healthy, delicious, and easy recipes!}

Anyway, back to the chicken parmesan...this is my second time making this dish and it was just as good as I had remembered.  The cutlet is baked in the oven on very high heat which allows the outside to retain its crispiness without being fried, and each piece gets 1 tbsp of sauce and 1 tbsp of shredded mozzarella cheese which is more than enough.  It is the best to eat right when it comes out of the oven because that is when it is the crispiest and the cheese is the most melted.  But, since it makes 8 portions (I halved it to make 4 instead) the leftovers are still just as delicious.

I had mine with 1/2 cup of penne with1tbsp marinara sauce, and some steamed broccoli.  The overall meal is extremely filling, delicious, and healthy which makes it that much better!  I highly recommend trying the recipe (follow the link above), and checking out the recipes on skinnytaste.com.  Trust me, you will love them!