Summertime (almost) and the Grillin' is Easy

Truth: I'm not the one actually doing the grilling BUT I am definitely preparing everything.  Ok, that's a lie too - my skinny grilling efforts have been shared but I think that makes it less stressful for all parties and you both can relax a little and spend some QT together.  Awwwww.

Grilling is the perfect way to get great tasting and very healthy dishes.  Plus, sitting outside with a cocktail is pretty spectacular this time of year.  Here’s a recipe that is SUPER simple, low-calorie and pretty damn tasty.  For a side, just grab one of those bagged salads from the store, I added some nuts, avocado and light feta and it was the perfect side to a spring(ish) night. I also got a new Braggs ACV Ginger-Sesame salad dressing and it was AWESOME. Oh, and if you have extra shrimp you can eat it for lunch on a salad the next day! Look at that - healthy recipes AND saving you some dough. 

Grilled Shrimp Skewers:

- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon

- ¼ teaspoon of paprika

- teaspoon of chopped cilantro

- 2 tablespoons lemon and lime juice (each)

- 2 tablespoons of tequila

- 3 tablespoons of EVOO

- 1 red and 1 green bell pepper

- 1 yellow and 1 green zucchini

- ½ Red Onion

- 1 LB of peeled shrimp

Basically, mix all of this together (minus the shrimp and veggies).  Cut the veggies into big slices.  Chuck all the goodies (veggies and shrimp) into a big ass bowl and mix together.  Put your stuff onto skewers, salt and pepper and throw those bad boys onto the grill (3 minutes-ish on each side).

Photo Credit: JG Photography :)

Pair with a nice glass of wine or prosecco. Or even a Skinny Peach!

Xo,

zo

Taqueria del Sol

Well, it's official, I ate (somewhat) healthy at Taqueria.  For those of you that know me, know this was an extremely hard task as my past meals at this local taco joint consisted of chips and multiple bowls of queso and guac with a sugary margarita (they have the best in town).  So this was a daunting task from the beginning, not just because they don't have a ton of healthy options but my will power goes to shambles the minute I enter the door.

So, could I have ordered healthier? Yeah, I think so.  Was I proud of myself for not devouring an entire bowl of chips and queso myself? Most definitely.  I will have to try this place again but in the meantime...

My Order:
- 1 Grilled Chicken Taco (this was a special so you wont see it on the menu all the time)
- 1 Fish Taco (no tartar sauce)
- 1 Side Salad
- Guacamole
Optional Cocktail: Regular Margarita (I couldn't help myself, everyone makes mistakes).

Take the taco goodies and place them on top of the salad. Use the guac as the dressing.

xo,
zo

Treehouse

You would think that by my 6th year in Atlanta I would have gone to Treehouse by now (in Peachtree Hills).  And maybe the middle of the Atlanta summer isn't the best time to sit outside but they had great fans, and good healthy food.  There were a lot of healthy options on the menu so I may even need to make a second trip.  I will say, we got there a little earlier but at around 9 on the weekends it becomes a scene so make sure to get there early if you want a good table.

My Order:
- Tequilla-Lime Hummus to share (sub fresh veggies for the pita chips)
- Grilled Salmon Sandwich w/ Avocado (no wasabi-mayo, sub white bread with whole wheat)
- Side salad w/ Cilantro-Lime vinaigrette
Optional Cocktail - Glass of Pinot Grigio

Not the best picture I've ever taken but it was yummy!

 xo,
zo

Green Sprout

Fried Rice, Lo Mein, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Fried Spring Rolls, Mongolian Beef and Sesame Chicken.  All of the makings of a pretty unhealthy Chinese delivery order. But alas, I still occasionally get the craving for Chinese food.  What I don't get the craving for is the MSG, extra oil, sugary sauces and not so fresh vegetables.  Enter Green Sprout, the best (in my eyes) vegetarian Chinese restaurant in all of Atlanta.  The vegetables are super fresh, their sauces are delish and not too heavy and their meat, well, it's mock (i.e. "chicken" and "beef" made from vegetable protein).  This place isn't just a restaurant that has vegetarian options this local gem doesn't have one spec of meat in the whole place!

I've been ordering delivery, that's right...they deliver, for the past 6 years and not once have I been dissatisfied with my order.  They have traditional Chinese items like the ones above but also have pretty interesting chef specials if you eat-in.  One thing to note, remember that portion control is another way to become or stay a Skinny Peach. They give you a LOT of food so pack a bunch up and bring it for lunch and maybe even the next nights dinner. 

Check out their menu!

My Order:
- Spicy Sauteed String Beans (light sauce)
- Sesame Tofu (light sauce)
- Brown Rice

 

One of my favorite parts of this particular order...

Amen!

xo,
zo

Healthy Hangover Helper

So you're hungover. Headache, little queasy and majorly dehydrated.  What's next? Many people just head straight for grease hoping that it will soak everything up. Although a greasy hashbrown and a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit does taste mighty good, it's not the most nutritious option to help your body heal.

Here are a few healthy hangover tips that will get you on the road to recovery:

1. Hydrating Liquids - I go with Powerade Zero to replenish electrolytes.  It has zero calories which I obviously love and vitamins B3, B6 and B12.  I also drink a small serving of coconut water. Zico tastes good and so does Vita Coco (I like the one with pineapple, it tastes kinda like a Pina Colada). You can pick up a pack at Publix or WholeFoods.  The cool thing about coconut water is it has tons of potassium, zero grams of fat, is usually all natural and has tons of essential electrolytes like sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium and phosphorous. 
2. Caffeine - This always just helps my headache a little.  Make sure you are not drinking this alone though because caffeine can make you dehydrated so it's best to combine hydrating liquids with this.
3. A nutritious breakfast that's not going to make you barf.  I usually choose Rocky Mountain Toast on low sodium Ezekial bread.  One piece of bread with just the whites and the other the entire egg. Just poke a hole in the bread drop the egg in and cook on both sides.  Ezekial bread is great because it contains no flour but has 4 grains and 4 beans. The eggs provide protein, amino acids and the yolks contain choline which helps regulate the brain, nervous and cardiovascular system.

Take a shower and get some sleep. Cheers to feeling better you party animal!

xo,
zo

Road Trip Snackin'

Got back Tuesday night from a ridiculously amazing week long road trip through North Carolina and Virginia. Eating healthy on the road is sometimes a challenge which is why you should usually try and plan your stops in advance and bring a ton of healthy snack options.  The healthy snack part I have down pact. Scoping out places to eat that don't start with Chic and end in Fil-a is the hard part.

My Go-To Road Trip Snacks:

• Trader Joes non-salted pistachios
• Banana Coconut gRAWnola (This stuff is legit. It's a combination of banana and coconut along with the gRAWnola core ingredients of pumpkin seeds, apples, dates, almonds and walnuts)
• Aged White Cheddar Pirates Booty (I could - and may have done so a few times - eat this entire bag by myself it's THAT good. It's 100 times healthier than ripping into a bag of chips or candy. It's all natural, baked and gluten free)
• Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew KIND bar. This little bar rocks my world. It's the perfect blend of salty and sweet while providing antioxidants and a few key vitamins.
• Apples 

  gRAWnola - available in 3 flavors: Banana/Coconut, Original and Sweet & Sour

Pirate's Booty: Available in 5 other flavors. Only 130 calories per serving!



Vitamins A, E & D! Check out there website for other KINDS of snacks.

xo,

zo

Top Flr

Ah the group dinner. It's always so dang hard to stick to healthy eating when everyone around you is getting duck confit pizza or deliciously gooey mac & cheese.  But, if you're motivated enough (oh I dunno, by having to fit into a teeny bikini in Miami next weekend) it's not that difficult, especially at Top Flr.

I love this little place. The food is not super expensive. There are a ton of healthy and vegetarian options. They have good sized portions and really wonderful cocktails. It's really the perfect local restaurant. The downstairs bar is kinda dark or you can cozy up at a corner table and sip on unique cocktails or old standards. This is a great Atlanta date spot if you're looking for a place to help you seal the deal.

My Order:

• Red & Golden Beets, Chevre, Pecans and Orange Vinaigrette (ask for this on the side)
• Tuna Tartar, Sardinian Flat bread (a really thin cracker), Thai Miso Pesto, Avocado and Lime Aioli (make sure you ask for light aioli)
• Optional Cocktail: Lillet on Ice
  

Beets are an antioxident, anti-inflamitory and support detoxification &
Tuna has natural Omega 3's - Super Heart Healthy.

1 ounce of Lillet is only 20 Calories!

Other Options:
-  White Bean Hummus
-  Orange-Apple Tofu, Baby Bok Choy, Japanese Eggplant Miso


XO,
zo

HomeSICK

I have a pretty big camping/climbing/hiking trip coming up on Wednesday and after 3 days of

that we are driving to see my fam in the metropolis known as Williamsburg, VA.  In light of this trip I've been taking all of the necessary precautions to NOT get sick (washing my hands, sleeping a lot, eating healthy, getting exercise) but I woke up today and didn't feel super awesome.  I think my body is telling me it's been too long since I've been home. Time to call in the troops.

See below for my go-to list of things to ingest to ward off the sick monster.

- Ardens Garden Grand Slams. The benefits of this little drink are huge. These little shots detoxify, fight illness and boost your immune system. A grand slam is a shot of Wheatgrass Juice, Ginger, Lemon Juice and Cranberry Juice.  Each of the 1oz shots have their own awesome qualities filled with vitamins to keep you healthy. Note: I ask for a pineapple juice chaser for after.

 

- Green Tea, Green Tea and more Green Tea.  Major antioxidants.
- Odwalla Mo'Beta (Antioxidants, Beta Carotene, Vitamins C & E)

- Water (tons of it)
- I've also heard that chewing on raw garlic helps.  Maybe I'll try that tonight.
- Mom's chicken & matzoh ball soup (hopefully I will be better by the time I'm  home but this marvelous concoction works EVERY time).

Wish me luck.

xo,
zo

Seasons 52

So Seasons 52 doesn't win the award for local restaurant with the most character (it's a national chain) but it IS a great place to share a good glass of wine with a friend, catch up and have a pretty healthy dinner. Not to mention that if you sit at the bar you have the pleasure of listening to a true Michael Bolton look-alike play the piano and he take requests.

They use natural cooking techniques (wood-fire and brick oven cooking) and promise that nothing on the menu is over 475 calories. But just because something is low in calories doesn't mean it's nutritious for you.  Pick your entree wisely (i.e. whole grains, tons of veggies, low sodium, lean protein).

My Delicious Order (Click Here to view the full menu):
- Farmer's Market Vegetable Plate: Summer Corn, Grilled Tofu, Carrots, Roasted Golden Beets, Almond Tabbouleh. I asked for grilled asparagus and broccoli instead of the tomato tapenade and gave my mushrooms away (gross). 

Make sure to specifically ask for no salt.  They tend to get a little aggressive with the sodium.
(380 Cal, 17g Fat, 11g Fiber, 15g Protein)

Optional Cocktail: We ordered a bottle of the Schug Pinot Noir and it was really good.

Awesome Tip: Our waitress told us it is now legal in Georgia to take your unfinished bottle of wine home from a restaurant.  She corked it up, threw it in a bag and sent us on our merry way. Please note - it's obviously still illegal to drink and drive.

xo,
zo

Take me out to the Ball Game!

But good lord don't make me eat the food! I thought a Braves baseball game would be a great place to find some hidden healthy treasures to talk to you all about but lord was I mistaken. Let me rephrase, there are healthy options, but they do NOT taste so awesome.  Case in point, the veggie dog (see below). This so-called veggie dog has a similar consistency of a hotdog, but was anything but.

Not even Ketchup could save this veggie dog.

I tried to find a veggie burger but after walking around for 15 minutes and asking at least 6 vendors I gave up only to find that if you get lucky and get to tag along with someone who has awesome seats (thanks J) you can order a black bean burger with avocado and grilled veggies! The one caveat is I think you have to be in the Henry Aaron section to get this.

Our Awesome Seats!

 My one awesome find: Gluten Free Stand!  It looked like the grilled chicken sandi was the best but how cool is that for all you gluten free gals (the logo is my fav).

So, after all of this my suggestion for Braves games...bring your own food! It's the healthiest and cheapest way to eat at the ball park.

Suggestions:
- Publix whole wheat wrap with tons of veggies and little light honey mustard
- Subway sandi. Always whole wheat and go for turkey, veggie burger or veggie. They have avocado now too!

xo,
zo

Freezer Burn

Did a little light grocery shopping a few nights ago for breakfast, lunch and snack options for this week.  I usually shop on Monday because I have a better idea of what I'm doing for the rest of the week so it helps me save money and not waste food if I know I'm going out.  This trip was more about navigating the freezer section (i.e. how to steer clear of the frozen pizzas).

So here is my list of healthy and nutritious staples that I like to have around my freezer (and a few extras). 

• Veggie Patch faux chicken nuggets (4 Nugs - 190 Cal, 8g fat, 3g fiber 10g protein)
• Avocados
• VitaTops Egg, Cheese & Veggie (150 Calories per Sandi!)
• Silk Pure Almond Milk in Dark Chocolate (90 Calories and perfect for a snack)
• Butter lettuce
• Low Sodium Ezekial Break, i love this stuff (1 slice - 80 cal, .5g fat, 4g protein, 0 sodium)
• Morningstar Soysage (80 cal, 3g fat, 10g protein)
• Almond Breeze Unsweetened Milk (40 Calories)
• Green Giant Healthy Heart Steamers (90 cal, 2.5 fat)
• Kashi Spicy Black Bean Enchilada (260 cal, 7g fat, 8g fiber, 8g protein)
• Morningstar Lasagna (270 Cal, 6g fat, 20g protein)
• Organic Pasture Raised Half and Half (for my coffee)
• Egg Whites

Non-Bootcamp Bootcamp

 Does the image below make you nervous? If so, please continue reading!

I feel pretty confident saying I'm not the only one that hits the gym hard when I know I have a pool or lake trip planned.  It seems as though the best option would be bootcamp but I'm not such a big fan. I'm not knocking it at all, I've tried a few in the park and it's just not for me. Let me explain...I don't like when people yell at me when I'm working out. I usually don't even like positive reinforcement because I like to motivate myself with thoughts of me in a bikini (gasp) or hard core rap music (word).

So when I tell you all about this, keep in mind, it's not your normal bootcamp, it's SO much better!

Who: Anyone that wants to look and feel fit and active. Instructors James and Amber are both awesome local personal trainers.  I take a bootcamp class with James at Urban Body Fitness and although I thoroughly dislike him during the class, I thank him repeatedly when I go to the pool.

What: Tough Love FIT(Functional Intense Training).  This isn't just push ups and crunches.  The instructors focus on body sculpting and endurance.

Where: John Howell Park on Virginia Avenue in the Highlands.

When: 4 classes a week (1 hour). Classes Start July 1.
- Mondays 6:30pm
- Tuesdays 5:45am
- Thursdays 5:45am AND 6:30pm

Rates:
1 session: $35
4 sessions/month: $120/month
8 sessions/month: $230/month
Unlimited Sessions: $300/month

Why: ummm duh. Remember the picture above?  I'll pass on the anxiety attack.

To register just email: agoppert@gmail.com

xo,
zo

It's Not a Spritza!

I've been on a mission to find the perfect low-cal summer cocktail for a while.  Something that is refreshing, light and contains alcohol.  I tried skinny margaritas last summer. The real skinny, not the one with agave nectar. The real skinny is a shot of patron, shot a triple sec and a LOT of limes. The problem with these are I would have one and be done for the night (whoopsie).  I don't do mocktails. It's really not worth the sugar. So if alcoholic beverages aren't your thing go for iced green tea with lemon or soda water with lime.  The Skinny Peach is one of my favorite cocktails to drink poolside, at the lake or at one of Atlanta's many summer festivals.  Ok, so maybe it's kind of a spritzer, but I'll never admit it! :)

The Skinny Peach:
- 1/2 can of Fresca Peach Citrus (0 Calories)
- 1/4 cup of white wine (100 Calories)
- Ice
(if you're at the bar you can try ordering with Sprite Zero but it's not gonna be as delicious).

Cheers Skinny Peaches!

xo,
zo