Not Your Average, Delicious Green Juice Inspired by Sōw

Today I had the pleasure of trying a not so average, delicious, Green Juice at Sōw in San Francisco. Sōw is a fresh juice company in San Francisco that showcases seasonal, organic produce from local farmers. Like many new institutions in San Francisco, Sōw started as a Pop-Up Shop inside the Pause Wine Bar on Market Street on Saturdays, but starting on February 2nd, they have found a permanent home at Yield Wine Bar on 3rd Street. You will soon be able to get your fresh pressed juice fix almost every day of the week (except Thursdays and Sundays).

Grain Free & Gluten Free Vegan Zucchini Bread

One of the biggest battles I've been fighting this pregnancy is some killer sugar and chocolate cravings. I'm pretty sure that its most likely related to mineral deficiencies. I've been doing more research on the topic and found this fascinating article linking sugar and chocolate cravings, specifically to a magnesium deficiency. After taking magnesium transdermally only once (via magnesium oil spray), I didn't have any cravings all day and couldn't even look at chocolate for the first time in months.

Since I was feeling so great, I decided to do some baking, but since I've been eating so much sugar and chocolate, I decided to bake something that's low in sugar and healthy. So I've come up with a grain-free, gluten free & vegan zucchini bread, made with olive oil and chestnut and hazelnut flours. Chestnuts are high in Vitamin C and Vitamin B6 and also contain other minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. Hazelnuts are very high in magnesium, iron and manganese.

I also added unsweetened chocolate bits to the recipe just because it sounded good. The bread turned out to be deliciously nutty and naturally sweet from the nut flours. Additionally, the psyllium husks and chia seeds make for a very moist cake. Finally, the olive oil adds a nice savory flavor. The best part: my daughter's been gobbling it up!

Homemade Tom Ka Gai (Spicy & Sour Coconut Chicken Soup)

My favorite take out meal has got to be Tom Ka Gai, a sour and spicy fragrant Thai soup made with coconut milk, lime juice, and thai spices like galangal, kefir leaves, lemongrass, and chilies. Every restaurants' version of this soup is a little different. Having now made this soup at home, I've come to realize that some restaurants add cream to their soup and others add flours to thicken it. If you have food allergies, make sure to ask the server about possible additives in your soup. Otherwise, you can use my recipe and safely make it at home without any worries.

Confessions of a Natural Health/Food Blogger

I have to confess that I have not been 100% truthful in my story and my intentions when I started my 21-day detox cleanse. The fact is, I started the cleanse because I had a miscarriage. I can admit this because today I am 13 weeks pregnant with my second child. I couldn't admit it then because I wanted to keep it private.

Paleo Dinners: Golubtsy aka Stuffed Cabbage

Growing up, we had golubtsy, or stuffed cabbage, weekly. Golubtsy means "little pigeons" in Russian. I tried to find out why they are called that, but haven't been able to find anything conclusive. In most languages of the former USSR, the name for cabbage rolls translates to "little pigeons," so it must have some sort of culture significance. I'll update this post if I ever learn what it is.

Golubtsy are one of my favorite meals to this day. My mom's stuffed cabbage was always filled with delicious flavor, lamb, and lots of rice. I've created an a paleo version of her recipe that I wanted to share with you today. It makes for a delicious, filling dinner or lunch and is of course grain free.

Paleo Dinners: Easy Stuffed Sea Bass

I've been on a "it better be easy kick," meaning if I can't cook it in 35 minutes or less, I'm not attempting it. One of my favorite quick paleo meals is oven baked easy stuffed sea bass. I picked up a beautiful sea bass from Avendano's Market in San Francisco and stuffed it with carrots, celery and onions, squeezed a bit of lemon juice on it and drizzled it with some Italian olive oil and Voila! Dinner! Please excuse the craptastic photos, my DSLR was charging.

Happy New Year from A Crafty Gourmet

One of my biggest fears when I started this blog would be that I would not be able to keep up with it. And unfortunately, this past month my fears have come true. It's been a really hectic month at my 9-5 (more like my 7am-1am) and with the holidays (Hanukkah, my 30th birthday, Christmas, and New Years), I couldn't find a way to balance all of my responsibilities and my favorite activity, my blog, went to the wayside.

Many warned me that I had been taking on too much, but I refused to listen because I love taking the time to share my experiences and recipes with my readers. I have gotten great satisfaction from connecting with my readers and fans. I can't imagine not doing this. I can't promise that I will continue posting 4-5 times a week like I had been, but my goal is 3 times a week. I hope you haven't missed me too much and are excited to get back reading my posts.

And so I would like to wish you all a very happy new year. I hope that this year brings to each of you a renewed sense of self, a greater passion for taking care of your needs, and a zeal for health. I will be here leading the way!