The Best Ice Cream in America

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

best ice cream

Summer’s coming to an end, but the weather should allow for a few more trips to the ice cream shop.  Tyler and I indulged in some of the best ice cream of our lives on our cross-country road trip this summer.  There was Moomer’s in MI:

best ice cream

where Tyler had Raspberry White Chocolate and I had Coconut ice cream with Chocolate and Almonds (pictured above).  There was the fresh peach ice cream at a peach orchard outside Fredericksburg, TX:

best ice cream

and then an old favorite that I just can’t get enough of:

best ice cream

(Butterfinger Blizzard from DQ, of course).  Then there was the ice cream at the Humboldt Castle on an island in the St. Lawrence river in Northern New York, which was delivered by this kid on a little boat:

best ice cream

(he had some problems with the landing, hence the falling containers!)

Some of our other favorite spots:

The Cape Cod Creamery in South Yarmouth, MA — possibly best vanilla soft serve on earth

The Pied Piper Creamery in Nashville, TN — the Movie Star (lemon ginger) was to die for

The Silver Spoon Trailer in Fredericksburg, TX — a gourmet popsicle truck (also has food!)

Chunk-n-Chip Cookies in LA — ice cream sandwiches on freshly baked cookies, called “Boo-Yahs!!”

Coolhaus in LA, Austin, and soon in NYC — gourmet ice cream sandwich truck, with unique and delicious rotating flavors — we even had these at a wedding last spring, check it out.

Buying ice cream to eat at home? Check out this buying guide, so you can make sure your ice cream is hormone-free!

Making ice cream at home? Here’s my favorite homemade vanilla ice cream recipe from Eating Well, which you can alter to become any flavor you want, and bonus: is low-fat!

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20 Salads That Are Worse Than a Whopper

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

wendy's cobb salad

Yesterday I posted some hearty, flavorful, yet healthy salads that you can make at home.  But salad isn’t always the healthiest choice when you’re dining out.  This article, from Eat This Not That, shows you 20 salads that are so bad for you, you’d be better off ordering a Whopper.  Really!  And oops, I ordered one of them – the Wendy’s BLT Cobb Salad – on our road trip (pictured above).

Now before you run off to order Whoppers and Big Macs, keep in mind that you can make your restaurant salad A LOT healthier by customizing it a little.  And when you do so, it does become a better choice than a Whopper.

Tips for making your restaurant salad healthier:

  • Request dressing on the side
  • Ask if a “light” dressing is available; if not, order a vinaigrette and add just a little
  • Pick off the huge pile of greasy wontons, croutons, or fried onions that come on top
  • Remove half the bacon and if the pile of meat is bigger than the pile of lettuce, remove half the meat too
  • Don’t eat all the cheese — many salads have 2-3 servings (300 calories & 30 g fat!) of cheese
  • If ordering a taco salad, order it without the shell and with the guacamole & sour cream on the side
  • Keep portion size in mind – just because it’s a salad, doesn’t mean you should eat the whole thing
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5 Dishes That Will Make You Love Eating Veggies

Monday, August 30th, 2010

eat more vegetables

Question: I’ve been trying to up my veggie intake, but am getting bored with the same old salads and steamed sides.  Do you have any ideas to spice up my healthy eating?

Answer: Yes! I love veggies and salads, not because they’re healthy, but because they’re good.  You do have to get a little creative in order to make veggies as tempting as other less nutritious foods, but I have lots of ideas.  Here are a few of my favorite veggie-heavy dishes.

  1. Salmon Nicoise Salad (pictured above). Arrange the following ingredients on a large platter: cold cooked salmon (could also used canned salmon or good quality canned tuna), hard-boiled eggs, blanched (steamed for 2 min) French green beans, steamed baby potatoes, halved cherry tomatoes, and olives of choice.  Sprinkle some capers on top, then drizzle with a mixture of 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 cup olive oil, and some chopped fresh parsley or basil (optional).
  2. Sweet Potato and Poblano Salad with Honey & Rosemary. One of my favorite recipes from Bon Appetit last summer. I make it easier by roasting the potatoes, instead of steaming then grilling them.  This salad is great warm or cold, and it’s so flavorful that even if you don’t have all the ingredients it’ll still turn out great.
  3. Mexican Chopped Salad. Chop some Romaine lettuce into very small pieces and spread out on a platter.  Lay the following ingredients on top: 1 can rinsed & drained black beans, 1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernels, 1.5 cups chopped tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes, 1/2 can diced mild green chiles, 1 finely chopped orange or yellow bell pepper, 1 cup chopped jicama, and 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese.  Make a vinaigrette from 1/2 cup salsa, juice of 1 lime, 2 Tbsp honey, and 2 Tbsp olive oil, then drizzle over the top and serve.
  4. Grilled Caesar Salad. Preheat grill.  Cut 3 washed Romaine hearts (or small heads) in half lengthwise, so you have 6 total pieces that are still attached by the stem at the bottom.  Cut 3 thick slices of Ciabatta or other rustic Italian bread.  Spray grill with nonstick spray, then place the lettuce cut-side down on the grill over high heat for about 1 minute, or until light grill marks appear and lettuce just barely begins to wilt.  Then grill bread for 1-2 min/side.  Place Romaine wedges on a large platter with big chunks of fresh tomato and the bread (cut bread in half or into chunks if you want).  Drizzle with a mixture of 2 Tbsp light mayo, 1 clove minced garlic, juice of 1/2 lemon, 2 Tbsp vinegar of choice, 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, and 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Top with shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese.
  5. Ratatouille. A veggie stew so tasty, hearty, and flavorful, you’ll sway even the meatiest of eaters.  I like to use canned tomatoes and garnish with chopped Kalamata olives and crumbled feta cheese.

Need snack ideas using veggies?  Raw veggies are best, because they’re so low in calories.  Doctor them up with one of these super easy dips.

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Herbed Grains Salad

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

Every time I serve this salad at a party, people contact me afterward asking for the recipe.  It’s a crowd-pleaser and a nice change of pace from traditional pasta salads.  For all of you who’ve asked me recently, here you go!

Herbed Grains Salad

1 1/4 cups dry grains medley (try Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains, or any mixed grains you like such as wild rice, Israeli Couscous, whole wheat orzo, rice-lentil combos, etc)

1 large apple, diced

½-1 English cucumber (also called Hothouse, in the plastic wrapper), diced

4 green onions thinly sliced

1/3 cup dried cranberries

¼ cup toasted sliced almonds

Large handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

Large handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Juice of ½ an orange or a lemon

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup Extra Virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Cook grains according to package directions, making sure to include some salt in the water for flavor.  When cooked, spread grains out onto a dinner plate to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, whisk together maple syrup, vinegar, olive oil, mustard, and lemon juice with a dash of salt & pepper.  Add apples, cucumbers, scallions, herbs, and cranberries to the bowl and toss in the vinaigrette.  When grains are cool, add them to the bowl (de-clumping with your fingers if necessary), along with the toasted almonds.  Toss to coat.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.

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Peach Crisp A La Mode

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

peach crisp recipe

Nothing’s better than sinking your teeth into a ripe, juicy peach…except maybe taking a big bite of warm peach crisp topped with vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

Healthier Peach Crisp

6 large very ripe peaches, cut into thin segments (peel if you like, but I don’t)

1/2 stick cold butter, cut into little cubes

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oats

3/4 cup brown sugar

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp white sugar

3 Tbsp white flour or 2 Tbsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350.  Gently toss peach slices, white flour/cornstarch, and white sugar in a large bowl.  Pour into a 8X8 baking dish or pie plate.  Put dish/pie plate on a baking sheet lined with foil.  In a separate mixing bowl, combine the butter, whole wheat flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.  Mix together with your fingers or a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs, the spread this mixture over the top of the peaches.  Bake for ~45 minutes or until top is golden brown and peach juices are bubbling up on the sides.  Should look like this:

peach crisp recipe

Let cool for at least 15 minutes, then serve with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Note: you can make this recipe with any fruit you like.  Peaches + blueberries, strawberries +rhubarb (have to add another 1/2 cup sugar to the fruit part), and apples + cranberries (with another 1/4 cup sugar) are my favorite combos.

Want another great peach recipe for summer?  Peach ice cream!

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How to Be Sure Your Ice Cream is Hormone-Free

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

organic ice cream

Did you catch this article in the Huffington Post the other day?  If not, read it now, or at least before you sit down to your next bowl of ice cream, which as you’ll learn, may be made with Monsanto’s artificial growth hormones.  Yuck!

What are artificial growth hormones?  They’re hormones given to cows on factory farms that make them produce much larger amounts of milk in shorter periods of time.  Not only is this uncomfortable for the dairy cows (who often get mastitis, a infection of the udders which produces pus, which ends up in your milk products…sorry to be gross, but you deserve to know), but it also means that there are excess hormones in your milk…and your cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream, etc.  And while the U.S. continues to argue that drinking growth hormones is no problem, all 27 countries in the European Union, as well as New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Canada, have banned growth hormones in dairy production because of the massive risks to human health (e.g. breast, colon, and prostate cancers).  That’s reason enough for me to be careful about what dairy products I buy.

So, What Brands of Ice Cream Should I Avoid?

Breyer’s

Haagen Dazs

Baskin-Robbins

Any of the sub-brands of these companies

Many other store-brand ice creams

What Ice Creams Are Hormone-Free?

The only way to make sure that your ice cream is made with milk from healthy, pasture-grazing cows that lead happy lives is to buy organic ice cream.  Preferably, organic brands that source their milk from small, independent dairy farmers who practice sustainable farming.  Here are a few suggestions:

Alden’s Organic (pictured above)

Stonyfield Farm Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt

Straus Family Creamery Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt

Tillamook

Whole Foods Organic

Julie’s Organic

Ben & Jerry’s

Remember, just because these ice creams are organic, does not mean they’re not ultra-rich and high in calories, so as always, keep your portion size small and enjoy every bite!

For more info on why buying organic dairy products is a must, see here.

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