Bikini Season: Raw Zucchini Noodles with Olive, Garlic and Lemon Tapenade

The time has finally come...BIKINI TIME! The dreaded season when women shed their clothing and prance around in less than their underwear for all to see! No matter how fit or slim you are, every self conscious thought pops into your head, especially those first few days of display when you awkwardly let winters many layers drift to your bedroom floor. Generally, by the end of the season you could care less about prancing around in your bathing suit its just those first few weeks that take you down that psychological journey in which you consider your abdominal muscles, question your glutes and generally start thinking about your diet. 

Gone are the moments of, well its winter: one more serving won't hurt and I shoveled today so 3 pieces of pizza is acceptable and in strolls salad galore. Lucky for us, bikini season corresponds with fresh veggie season and suddenly we say hello to arugula, zucchini, peaches, strawberries, tomatoes that taste like tomatoes and more. 

As you know, alkaline eating is all about moderation with a heavy dose of vegetable power and I try my hardest to keep that philosophy running strong through the many endless months of cold weather but even I start leaning more towards the naughty side of eating as winter drags on.  So what can you do now that summer has shown, your bathing suit is staring you down and you've spent the last three weeks telling yourself that tomorrow you will get back on the bandwagon?  

Spend a little time eating raw! Raw food, mainly fruits and vegetable is the quickest and healthiest way to alkalinize, feel lighter and look great. Spending one week drinking fresh juices or smoothies, sticking to easily digestible veggies and eliminating carbs and dairy will have you feeling like strutting your stuff in that bikini. It will also cleanse your body of those bad cravings and force you to get creative in the kitchen.

Eating raw foods doesn't mean chomping on carrot sticks all day, although they are a great snack, instead it forces you to focus on flavor combinations and super fresh delicious produce. This dish does just that, it combines some great spicy arugula, zuccini noodles, salty kalamata olives, garlic, lemon, and juicy tomatoes to create a refreshingly satisfying meal that can be made in 15 minutes. Give it a try!

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Raw Zucchini Noodles with Olive, Garlic and Lemon Tapenade

Makes 2 servings

2 Zucchini, spiralized into noodles

1 handful of Arugula

2 Tomato, chopped

1/2 cup Kalamata Olives

2 Garlic Cloves

1/2 cup Walnuts

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/2 Lemon, juiced

1 tso Dried Basil

1tsp Dried Oregano

1tsp Dried Parsley

To make the tapenade, combine the olives, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, herbs and walnuts in a food processor. Pulse until well blended, adding more olive oil if needed. Place the arugula, zucchini noodles and tomatoes into a large bowl, add the tapenade and stir to combine. Divide between two plates and enjoy!  

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Raw Sprouted Lentil and Vegetable Collard Green Burritos

The end of fall is always a hard time for me and this year has been no exception. Life sometimes has a way of letting you down, bringing you down, or creeping up on you. As you can tell, that is a lot of different directions to be pulled in! Often in these times when I am not feeling well emotionally I start to indulge in food and drink that does not do my body good so instantly I also do not feel well physically. 

This happened in the past few weeks. I was indulging in too much whiskey, sweets, and other unsavory items. My body was feeling sluggish and I needed a reset. No one is perfect nor will they always eat perfectly but as someone who is conscious of what I am eating, I can easily recognize that it was effecting my mood and my self-esteem. Winter hadn't even started and I felt like I had packed on my winter weight. 

So what do you do? You do a juice cleanse combined with raw foods, well at least that is what I do! On Sunday after gorging on pizza and cake, I came home and took our my juicer and got to work. I have a slow juicer so the juice lasts for a number of days, I made a big batch of apple and turnip green juice as well as a beet, carrot and ginger juice so that I had some variety. 

Let me tell you, after the first day you feel so much lighter and remarkably better physically. This in turn provides a mental boost as well. Now, I don't want you to picture me drinking juice all day long. In the morning I have a smoothie so that I can blend in my Green Vibrance and for lunch I drink juice. Throughout the day I snack on fruit if I am still hungry and for dinner I eat a raw meal. This means that I eat vegetables uncooked and no this does not have to be boring! 

The recipe here is for my Raw Collard Green Burritos that are stuffed with zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, and spices - essentially its like eating a chunky veggie filled salsa inside of your collard wrap and it is insanely delicious. The best part is that if I wanted to eat 3, I totally could! After 4 days of juicing and eating this way, I feel more like myself. I hope that you enjoy!

Raw Sprouted Lentil and Vegetable Collard Green Burritos

1 Zucchini, chopped

1/2 Onion, Chopped

1 Garlic clove, Chopped

1 Green Pepper, Chopped

1 Poblano Pepper, minced

1 Jalapeno Pepper, minced

2 Tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup Corn

1/2 cup Sprouted Lentils

1 tbs Cumin

1 tbs Chili Powder

2 tbs Olive Oil

1 tsp Honey

1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt to taste

Large Collard Green leaves

In a large bowl, add the chopped vegetables, lentils and spices, stirring to combine. Taking 2 collard green leaves, remove the tough inner stem. Place them dark green side down with the stem sides overlapping in the center. 

Add a heaping portion of the veggies and lentils to the center of the leaves. Tuck the short ends in and roll up burrito style. Cut in half and enjoy!

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