Busy Schedule? Here's some tips!

Want to eat healthy, but your not sure how with a busy schedule? Below are some tips I have learned along the way to not be overwhelmed and stay on track.

Tip#1: Juice Prep in the Evening
If you want to make fresh juice in the am, but time is a bit of a crunch, prep in the evening by:
-Wash all your greens, vegetables & fruits
-Prep your ingredients by cutting cucumbers, celery, lemons, etc before bed.  Fruits tend to spoil quickly so leave things like apples or pears until the morning and have the cutting board & knife out and ready to go
-Set up the juicer
-Have jars or containers to hold juice ready to go


Tip #2: Prep & Cook Ahead
There is plenty you can do on a Sunday afternoon to prepare for the week.  These are some of the things I've learned over the years.

-Salads!  I wash and chop veggies like, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, etc ahead of time and store them in glass containers in the fridge.  Then all I need to do is throw my greens (I use the organic triple washed as much as possible)  into a bowl, pull my containers out of the fridge and add which veggies I want.  The more delicate salad adds, like avocado or tomato, I cut when I make the salad.  Cut lemon, and squeeze half over my salad
-Want salad for lunch?
Leave a bowl at the office.  Prep as above & add to large ziploc bag the night before.  I used to make a salad at home and carry in a glass container, but it got to be too heavy walking around the city so I switched to this plan.
-Cook ahead of time. Quinoa, baked sweet potatoes, roasted veggies, steamed veggies and more can all be made in advance.  I would usually make stuff on Sunday to get me through midweek then do a little more if needed.  Plenty of raw dishes can also be made ahead of time

Tip #3: Shop to Save time
My husband and I only go to the grocery store when no one is around! One of us would go on a Saturday or Sunday as soon as the doors opened or on a weekday evening around 8pm.  This means you can go in and out fast with carts not crowding aisles or long lines.
Go with a list.  This will cut down on your shopping time.

Tip #4: Take a Helping Hand
This can mean many things depending on your needs.  Here are a few things I have discovered over the years to help me out:
-Sprouts & Microgreens.  I love them, but I don't have the time, space or green thumb to grow them.  My local farmstand grows sprouts.  I have gotten on a schedule with them so once a week I pick up my sprouts
-Local CSA.  If you don't have time to go to the farmers market, join your local CSA and have fresh veggies & fruits delivered weekly.
-Purchase things like fresh homemade guacamole if you don't want to make it yourself (or while you are waiting for your avocados to ripen!).  Don't want to fuss with a dehydrator?  You can purchase things like raw macaroons or kale chips online, from your local raw food cafe, or from grocery or health food store

Sexy Summer Spring Rolls!

I'm taking on the challenge of creating a Sexy Summer Spring Roll  from Kimberly Snyder's Recipe Assignment for this week!

I've been so inspired, that I will be posting more recipes for this over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for nut based & dessert wraps.  In the meantime, enjoy this evening's creation.

Ingredients:
Curry or plain Coconut Wraps (or sprouted grain tortilla, collard green, or wrapping material of choice)
Carrots
Pea sprouts (or you favorite sprouts, micro greens or other greens)
Guacamole (I took a helping hand and used Wholefoods homemade guac)
Salsa (your favorite kind) - optional for dipping sauce

Step #1:
Get your wrap set!  I love the Curry wraps from Pure Wrap.  If you can't find them, Amazon sells the Paleo coconut wrap.  If you haven't had them before they have a mild flavor and won't overpower.

Step #2: 
Add your guacamole!  Leave some space for when you roll it up.  I spread a nice layer over 3/4 of the wrap

Step #3:

Julienne carrots and add to wrap.  This peeler set from Bed Bath & Beyond is amazing!  Don't have a julienne peeler?  That's ok.  Use a regular veg peeler and make some ribbons.

Step #4:

Add your nutrient dense sprouts (micro greens, greens or a combo).  Want to know more about why sprouts are so good for you?  See Kimberly's blog post on sprouts & micro greens packed full of info!

Step #5:

Roll it up!  Use some guacamole along the edge as "glue" to seal the roll.

Step #6:

Cut in half & plat it up with your favorite salsa for dipping.  Enjoy!

A special thank to my husband who took the photos as I was making my version of Sexy Summer Spring Rolls.

I'm back!

Hello everyone!

I took some time off from creating in the kitchen to creating with watercolors, pastels, & acrylics!

I will be posting new recipes again. Please enjoy them and if you would like to see what I've been up to for the last few months, you can check out my art website jencolombo.com

xoxo
Jen