If you live in the NYC/northern New Jersey area, and you’re interested in learning more about simple and delicious healthy cooking, what it means to eat “clean,” and living a long-term, sustainable healthy lifestyle, a few courses I’ll be teaching may bring a perfect opportunity for you to embark on a life-changing healthy lifestyle journey.
A
ll of the recipes taught throughout these courses will be Fit Soul and Spice originals. Students will be educated in what exactly defines “clean eating,” how to incorporate more whole foods into your healthy lifestyle, cooking with vegan/gluten-free/raw foods, and how to use clean, healthy alternative ingredients in place of processed, unnatural, unhealthy options.
Students will be able to take home leftovers, as well as copies of all recipes made throughout that day’s course.
Here is some upcoming course information*, and additional course options will be coming soon.
Pasta-Free Italian: Friday, April 24, 2015
Your favorite Italian flavors can be made healthy without sacrificing flavor with some easy-to-learn techniques! Learn to make ‘noodles’ out of zucchini (zoodles) and sweet potatoes, create healthful sauces for each and a layered polenta lasagna. Finish off the meal with a banana and coconut tiramisu for dessert. Whether you eat a gluten free diet or want to learn healthy twists on Italian favorites, this is the class for you.
Gluten-Free Kids’ Favorites: Sunday, May 3, 2015
Join us for an evening of kid-friendly recipes recreated to be gluten free, including a cauliflower crust cheesy pizza, crunchy mozzarella sticks, zucchini “spaghetti” noodles and chocolate chip cookies for dessert!
Create Your Own Party
For groups of six or more! (Includes bachelorette parties, couples nights, birthday parties, and more.)
*Dates are tentative and may be subject to change.
To sign up for a class, go to Hudson County Community College’s Culinary Arts Institute.
Here’s one recipe we’ll be baking during the Gluten Free & Loving It course:
Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about one dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 to 2/3 cup extra dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips made with cacao (depending on how much chocolate chunk you’d like!)
Coconut oil spray (Trader Joe’s has a good one)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine coconut flour, coconut palm sugar, and baking soda.
3. In a small-medium sized mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla extract.
4. Add wet ingredients to large mixing bowl. Mix either electronically in a mixer on low, or by hand with a fork.
5. Once all ingredients are combined, add dark chocolate chips and mix until combined evenly throughout.
6. Grease a large cookie sheet with coconut oil spray.
7. Using a spoon, drop scoops of dough onto your cookie sheet and flatten slightly with your palm.
8. Bake for 15 minutes, or until bottoms are dark golden and tops are hardened.
If you’re interested in any other information, please comment below or contact me via fitsoulandspice@gmail.com.
Christine Florio A city girl at heart, Hoboken-based Christine Florio writes about food, fitness, and the beauty and simplicity of healthy living based on one’s individuality. With a BA in English and a minor in Media Studies from Quinnipiac University, she has always had a deep passion for writing, communicating with others, and creativity. Currently an early childhood teacher, she recently earned her Masters in Teaching while simultaneously launching Fit Soul and Spice, a lifestyle company committed to helping and inspiring others to stay fit, cook mouth-watering, healthy, alternative food, and maintain a positive outlook and attitude towards a simply delicious lifestyle. A lifelong foodie raised around the culinary arts, Christine fell in love with the art of cooking at a very young age. You’ll find her happily experimenting in her tiny Hoboken kitchen, creating recipes using clean, natural ingredients that cater to both a healthy lifestyle and a love of tasty, savory food. When Christine isn’t at work in what she now calls the “FSS kitchen,” you’ll find her on foodie adventures, working out, traveling, by her house at the beach with friends and family, or blogging with some foodie TV and a glass of wine. She hopes to continue building Fit Soul and Spice, writing cookbooks and hosting a healthy alternative web series. Learn more by visiting www.fitsoulandspice.wordpress.com. You can follow Fit Soul and Spice on Facebook, as well as @fitsoulandspice on Instagram and Twitter. Christine can be reached at fitsoulandspice@gmail.com.
