Simple Green Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

1-3 handfuls of washed Spinach or Kale

2 spoonfuls of nonfat Greek Yogurt (plain or vanilla)

1 banana

1 Lemon

1 spoonful of Chia Seeds

Soy milk, orange juice, or water

Screen Shot 2016-04-21 at 12.04.24 PM

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated the blog, and I’m not proud of the lull. It’s been a very busy new year, but I’m excited to share that there is a lot of fun content coming your way that I can’t wait to share! Since I’ve been so busy, I’ve been eating a lot of meals on the go. While a green smoothie here or there isn’t unusual for me, I’ve ramped up my green smoothie intake to almost once a day either for breakfast or lunch. This habit can get a little pricey, especially if you’re grabbing from your local juice shop, health food store, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I have my favorites, but it’s SO simple to make this healthy drank right at home with very little ingredients. Keep reading if you’re ready to add in 7 healthy minutes to your morning routine:

Gather all of your ingredients listed above. Place the greens in first, so that they hit the blades first and become small particles that you will barely be able to taste. If you don’t have spinach or kale, you can use romaine, iceberg, chard, etc., but be prepared for a less appetizing taste. Spinach blends in with the flavors the best and can be masked easily with orange juice. The next ingredient you will want to get the most mixing is the yogurt, so add two spoonfuls in next on top of your greens. Next, add in your banana, whole or halved is fine.  Squeeze in some lemon juice. Add in chia seeds now, or sprinkle them on top once you’re done, your choice. I recommend adding in splashes of soy milk, orange juice, or water until you get the consistency you want. Some like their smoothies on the thick side, I like mine so that I can take it to-go with a straw and not worry about it being too chunky. Filling your blender up to the level that your greens are stuffed at the bottom tends to do the trick. Blend, blend, blend. Pour and enjoy!

If you don’t want to take the DIY route, my favorite green smoothies are from Whole Foods and Nekter Juice Bar, but also check your local health food store or smoothie stop for their options. Also something to keep in mind, although the juice craze is booming right now, if it’s mostly fruit based, the juicer strips the fruit of a lot of their fibrous material and leaves a ton of sugar, which is why they taste so good. Smoothies are the way to go, just keep an eye out for too big sizes sold in stores and those that use ‘juice’ ingredients instead of blending everything and keeping all of the nutrients and fiber in tact!

 

Outside Lands 2015

Outside Lands is a music, food, and arts festival, and it just so happens to be in my favorite city – San Francisco! I was lucky enough to be invited to the 3-day festival in San Francisco to cover the gourmet food and beverages offered at the event! Read on for my favorites!

 

unnamed-3

For the past couple of years, Outside Lands has incorporated the most amazing ‘LANDS’ to the festival.

outside-lands-2014-024

Wine Lands was filled with old friends and newcomers, but the payment method was much more smooth this year, since it was incorporated into everyone’s pre-registered wristbands. My favorites were from Hobo Wine Company, Ghost Pines, The Prisoner Wine Company, and Union Wine Co..

11849383_893187040770301_2100992941_n

We happen to mosey through Beer Lands on National Beer Day and found some favorites: Ace Cider, Anchor Brewing, Golden Road, Sierra Nevada, and Stone Brewing Co..

 

As for the food, the selection was the best it has ever been! Here are some of my favorites:

unnamed

Chimichurri Fries from 4505 Meats

11821864_400972200110026_1705850523_n

Porchetta Taco from La Urbana

outside-lands-2014-121

Chicken Arepa from Pica Pica

unnamed-1

Fry Bread Taco from Precita Park Cafe

unnamed-2

Poke Platter from Pacific Catch

outside-lands-2014-041

THE BEST PORK BELLY BURGER EVER from Big Chef Tom’s Belly Burgers

unnamed-4

Okonomiyaki Japanese Pizza from Namu Street Food

Are you drooling yet? Now, on to the music! The first day was filled with an eclectic mix of some new artists that I have been wanting to see live and old favorites, including Leon Bridges, The Drums, Glass Animals, Iration, George Ezra, Lake Street Drive, Chet Faker, and Mumford & Sons. The second day started out with a BANG with Misterwives, then Mac DeMarco, Cold War Kids, Milky Chance, Billy Idol, Tame Impala, and The Black Keys. I’m bummed that we didn’t try to venture from one stage to another to catch Kendrick Lamar’s set (which I heard was amazing!), but The Black Keys put on THE SICKEST SHOW. They made a fan out of me. The third day was definitely my favorite, and not just because it was my birthday! We started out the day with St. Paul and the Broken Bones, James Bay, Hot Chip, Slightly Stoopid, Axwell & Ingrosso, Sam Smith, and of course, SIR ELTON JOHN. He put on the most amazing 2 hour show, and I could not have asked for a better birthday!

LA Magazine’s Best New Restaurants of 2014

FullSizeRender13

Last week, I was lucky enough to attend Los Angeles Magazine’s Best New Restaurants party at LOT 613 in the Arts District. Last year’s celebration was full of delicious bites, wine and cocktails, a beautiful venue, and a fun crowd, so I was definitely looking forward to this year’s event!

The venue was a lot more spread out in terms of food booths. There were a couple in the main room, a few more in the loft area, and the last couple outside along with the bar, coffee station, and etching table for your complimentary wine glasses from Infiniti.

As for the food, I truly loved the choices that the chefs made this year! Keep reading for the full list:

unnamed

MB Post served a pork and shrimp dumpling. Due to my shrimp allergy, I was unable to indulge, but my boyfriend quite liked it! Their restaurant is definitely one of my favorites in the South Bay.

FullSizeRender14 FullSizeRender15

Mercado was serving cheese enchiladas and shrimp tacos. I’m allergic to shrimp, so I was unable to try the taco, but it was well received by the crowd. It was pastor marinated served with Oaxaca cheese, onions, cilantro, and chile de arbol salsa.The cheese enchilada was simple, but saucy.

FullSizeRender12

Smoke.Oil.Salt served creative Spanish skewers with olives, Iberico pig and Atlantic cod. As a whole, the skewer was on the salty side, but very rich in flavor. The restaurant is known for their Paella Sundays, which is a must-try! For a full breakdown, see my post from last year: http://eatdrinklovejenna.com/2014/05/20/paella-sunday-at-smoke-oil-salt/.

FullSizeRender11

I remember reading about Union last year, but the accolades seems a lot quieter than some of the other restaurants on the list. I have no idea why; their dish was one of my favorites. It was a burnt semolina capunti with duck sausage and fennel. It was awesome! I promised the chef I would be visiting ASAP because I wanted to try more of his creations!

FullSizeRender10

Bestia served a crispy ciccioli with mustard creme fraiche, fennel, and a candied summer eggplant. It was a crispy, bite-sized burst of flavor. This was different from any other dish I have tried of theirs, so I was glad to experience more variety. I am too in love with their pasta dishes to try anything else when I visit.

FullSizeRender8

My dad has been wanting to try Alimento for quite some time, so I was happy I was able to sample their dish and report back to him. They served a chicken liver crostini. The portion was perfect and the spread was creamy and rich.

FullSizeRender7

Faith and Flower served a delicious lamb pierogi. It was small in size, but packed with flavor. I only wish there was more food to try. This establishment landed on countless ‘best new restaurants’ this year and I can see why.

 

FullSizeRender6 FullSizeRender5 FullSizeRender4

Pine and Crane impressed me with their servings. I’m not a huge green tea fan, but their passion fruit infused jasmine green tea was so refreshing! I’m not a huge peanuts fan, but their spicy peanuts were so flavorful!

FullSizeRender3

Scopa Italian Roots was serving yummy ricotta bread bites and festive dessert bites! Unfortunately, I was unable to try their pasta, which seemed to be one of the crowd favorites of the night. I hope to be able to dine with them in the future to experience the hype!

FullSizeRender2

Night + Market Song served their Crispy Rice Salad. When I saw that they were serving a salad, I wasn’t excited. After tasting it, I felt quite silly for thinking that it would be underwhelming. It was delish! It also happens to be a choice on their DineLA menu, so I’m excited to be able to try it again tonight!

 

FullSizeRender9

10914356_705754306211526_991855004_n

Last, but certainly not least, Republique served two dishes: a smoked eel fritter and their famous warm brioche bomboloni with hazelnut gelato. The eel fritter was my favorite bite of the night, besides the bomboloni! Republique definitely won my heart, and I already have a reservation for the first Saturday in February for an early Valentine’s Day dinner.

For the full list of this year’s winners, visit http://www.lamag.com/thebestnewrestaurants/best-new-restaurants-2014/.