Ingredients

1 large bunch of kale, approximately 12 cups
2-3 T. extra virgin best quality olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Remove the ends of the stems of the kale and rinse well. Dry the leaves well using a salad spinner or towel. Tear the leaves into bite size pieces.
2. Place the dried kale leaves into a mixing bowl. Pour the olive oil and massage into the leaves well. Place leaves on a baking sheet – might need to divide between two baking sheets. Season the leaves sea salt and pepper to taste and then place them into the oven to bake.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the leaves are crunchy and slightly browned—not burned—around their edges. Let cool on rack for 30 minutes before munching!
Serving size: 1 cup. Calories: ~50

Ingredients
5 T. unsalted butter
1 cup large-diced fennel bulb, tops and core removed
2 pounds celery root, peeled and (¾-inch) diced
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and (¾-inch) diced
3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and (¾-inch) diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup good apple cider
¼ cup low fat 2% milk

Directions
1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a shallow pot or large sauté pan. Add the fennel, celery root, potatoes, apples, 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. 2. Sauté the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cider and tightly cover the pot. Simmer over low heat (I pull the pot halfway off the heat) for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft. If the vegetables begin to burn or they seem dry, add another few tablespoons of apple cider or some water.
3. When the vegetables are cooked, add the milk and cook for 1 more minute. Transfer the mixture to a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade and process. (You can also use a food processor but the texture will be smoother than with the food mill.) Taste for salt and pepper and return to the pot to keep warm. Serve warm.
Serves 8-10. Serving Size: ½ cup.

Here are five small steps that will help you get fit and lose those pesky holiday pounds…you know that five to ten pound plus weight gain that seems to be hovering right about above your pant line to create a horrifying muffin top. These steps may seem small, but I promise if you implement them daily you’ll see some big results—faster than you think!

1. Climb the stairs. Climbing stairs is one of the best ways to green your lifestyle and burn a few extra bonus calories during your day. According to this American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) study conducted, you’ll burn about .11 calories climbing up each stair, and .05 calories descending each stair. This approximates to burning 10 calories per minute. Plus, although elevators do not expend much electricity (approximately 5 kWH per floor), everything DOES add up—or every little bit helps save our planet. For example walking up and down 3 flights of stairs instead of using an elevator saves 15 kWh a day or 450 kWh per month. That’s enough to power a 37″ Plasma TV for 3 hours. Or if you live in a high rise in a densely populated city, primarily using stairs will save your car the energy equivalent of more than 1 gallon of gasoline per month.
2. Add an extra ten minutes of cardio to your regular cardio routine. On average most people will burn about 80 calories in ten minutes. Multiply that times three to four times per week and you’ll increase your calorie burn by roughly 250 or an extra 1,000 calorie per month.
3. Lift weights to lose weights. Weight lifting helps build and maintain lean tissue. On average lean tissue burns six calories per pound per day (defined as your Resting Metabolic Rate) versus two calories for a pound of fat per day. Plus, lean tissue takes one-fifth the space of fat—not to mention the positive aesthetics of having a sleek, defined physique.
4. Curb your alcohol consumption. Most cocktails have 350+ calories per glass. Alcohol is a simple sugar flavored with highly caloric sugary syrups and/or juices, which are digested first by your gut. As your gut can process about 600 calories per meal (and most meals are about 500 calories), you’ll be storing on average 300++ calories of FAT every time you have a cocktail with your meal. If your goal is to lose weight, I recommend you limit your wine to a four once pour or cocktail to only two drinks per week. Stick to the “Skinny Cocktails” that are flavored with lower calorie alcohol and sugar free sweeteners such as my Skinny Margarita.
5. Eat on a salad plate. Today most plates are twelve inches in diameter. That’s three inches more than they were twenty years ago. In other words we’ve super-sized our appetites—and waistlines too! Most salad plates are seven inches in diameter, so eating your meals on a salad plate will automatically portion control your intake by roughly one third. (Just make sure you don’t pile your plate.)

THE MATH: Weight loss is a mathematical equation. Food consumed daily + (-) calories burned exercising – daily calories burned (~2,220) = Weight Loss (or sadly gained). So let’s deduct and then add up all the calories my five simple steps listed above will approximately save you in a week:

STEP 1: Figure 10 minutes/day climbing stairs x 7 = 700 calories/week
STEP 2: Figure ~300 calories/week
STEP 3: Adding 15 minutes of weight lifting 3 times/week will help you burn ~500
calories/week
STEP 4: -350 calories x 4/week and switch to 2 skinny cocktails (100 calories
each) = -1,200 calorie debit
STEP 5: Eating on a 7” plate will delete ~1/3 from your daily caloric intake or
1,500 calories/day versus ~2,200 calories/day keeping you status quo.
This will yield a -700/calorie/day or -3,500/week debit.

These steps will equal a ~6,200 calorie loss per week or approximately a 1 ¾ pound weight loss per week. So what are you “weighting” for? Get stepping NOW and good luck:)!

Ingredients

1 T. fresh ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cardamom

Directions

Mix all spices together well and store in an airtight small container. When making your coffee, it’s best to place a ¼ tsp. of the mix in the bottom of your coffee cup, and then pour the coffee over it. To keep it calorie conscious, add non or low fat milk and a calorie free or low cal sweetner.

Winter Solstice Spice Blend, $6.95 per half-pound. Available at all Groundwork stores and on the website.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups unbleached cake flour
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ ginger
¼ tsp. cloves
½ cup canola oil
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
½ 15 ounce can or 1 cup canned pumpkin (preferably organic and make sure it’s not pumpkin pie mix)
3 medium sized apples, such as pink ladies or fuji
2 tsp. pure vanilla
2 T. packed light brown sugar
1T. butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray 9-inch spring form pan with light cooking oil spray. Cut and place parchment paper on bottom of pan. Wrap aluminum foil to entirely cover bottom outside of pan. Melt 1 T. of butter in small glass bowl, and then spread evenly on bottom of pan. Combine ¼ tsp. cinnamon and brown sugar in bowl and spread evenly over butter on bottom of spring foam pan.
2. Sift together all flour, baking soda, and remaining spices in medium sized mixing bowl.
3. Combine vanilla, canola oil, sugar and eggs (adding one at a time). Beat for three minutes or until fluffy. Next, add pumpkin.
4. Gently fold in sifted dry ingredients.
5. Coarsely grate one apple and then fold into mixture.
6. Peel and thinly slice remaining two apples length-wise. Layer slices beginning in center outward in slightly over lapping circular pattern. Pour batter over layered apples. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out dry. Remove aluminum foil immediately. Allow cake to cool for 30 minutes on rack before unmolding.

Serves: 8 to 10.

Sales of fake trees are expected to approach 13 million this year, a record, as quality improves and they get more convenient, with features like built-in lights and easy collapsibility. All told, well over 50 million artificial Christmas trees will grace living rooms and dens this season, according to the industry’s main trade group, compared to about 30 million real trees.

Kim Jones, who was shopping for a tree at a Target store in Brooklyn this week, was convinced that she was doing the planet a favor by buying a $200 fake balsam fir made in China instead of buying a carbon-sipping pine that had been cut down for one season’s revelry. “I’m very environmentally conscious,” Ms. Jones said. “I’ll keep it for 10 years, and that’s 10 trees that won’t be cut down.” But Ms. Jones and the millions of others buying fake trees might not be doing the environment any favors.

In the most definitive study of the perennial real vs. fake question, an environmental consulting firm in Montreal found that an artificial tree would have to be reused for more than 20 years to be greener than buying a fresh-cut tree annually. The calculations included greenhouse gas emissions, use of resources and human health impacts. “The natural tree is a better option,” said Jean-Sebastien Trudel, founder of the firm, Ellipsos, that released an independent study in 2009 year. The annual carbon emissions associated with using a real tree every year were just one-third of those created by an artificial tree over a typical six-year lifespan. Most fake trees also contain polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, which produces carcinogens during manufacturing and disposal.

Ellipsos specifically studied the market for Christmas trees bought in Montreal and either grown in Quebec or manufactured in China. Mr. Trudel said the results would most likely differ for other cities and regions. Excessive driving by consumers to purchase real trees could tip the scales back in favor of artificial trees, at least in terms of carbon emissions. Over all, the study found that the environmental impact of real Christmas trees was quite small, and significantly less than that of artificial trees — a conclusion shared by environmental groups and some scientists. “You’re not doing any harm by cutting down a Christmas tree,” said Clint Springer, a botanist and professor of biology at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. “A lot of people think artificial is better because you’re preserving the life of a tree. But in this case, you’ve got a crop that’s being raised for that purpose.”

Makers of fake trees argue that the environmental evidence isn’t quite so clear-cut. “If you buy an artificial Christmas tree and reuse it for at least five years, it’s absolutely a green thing to do,” said Thomas Harman, founder and chief executive of Balsam Hill, a maker of premium artificial trees. Mr. Harman said that the average amount of car travel by consumers to buy a real Christmas tree outweighed the added energy and pollution costs of buying an artificial tree from China. The American Christmas Tree Association, the main trade group for artificial tree makers and retailers, says its own study found that it took 10 years of use before a fake tree became better for the environment than a real one, at least in terms of carbon emissions. Yet the trade-offs are not immediately apparent to consumers and even some tree growers.

On a bitterly cold afternoon at the Winter Market at New York City’s Union Square this week, Lizza Stanley browsed for Christmas trees with her husband, Brian. They wondered if an artificial tree would be better for the environment because it could be reused time and time again. The tree seller, Rob Rodriguez from Van Houten Farms of Orangeville, Pa., was of little help. “I don’t even know for sure,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “I would guess natural?” The balance tilts in favor of natural Christmas trees because of the way they are grown and harvested. Close to 400 million trees now grow on Christmas tree farms in the United States, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, which represents growers and retailers of real trees. About 30 million trees are harvested annually. The living trees generate oxygen, help fix carbon in their branches and in the soil and provide habitat for birds and animals, Mr. Springer said. Christmas tree farms also help preserve farmland and green space, particularly near densely populated urban areas where pressure for development is intense. “It allows people with land that may not be the best farmland to have a crop that they can actually make a profit on, and not be under pressure to sell out to developers,” said Mike Garrett, owner and operator of a Christmas tree farm in Sussex, N.J.

After the holidays, real trees can continue to serve a purpose. New York City, for instance, offers free curbside recycling for trees, which are turned into compost. The city’s parks department also provides a free mulching service for trees at several locations after the holidays. In 2009, nearly 150,000 trees were composted or mulched in the city. Artificial trees, by contrast, are manufactured almost exclusively in Asia from plastic and metal and cannot be recycled by most municipal recycling programs. After six to 10 years of use, most will end up in a landfill. Melly Garcia, who bought a six-foot fir on the Upper East Side of Manhattan this week, said she was certain that the real tree was the correct environmental choice. “The trees are coming from a sustainable place, and if you dispose of it properly, it goes back to the earth,” she said. “So I’m at peace with that.”

Jami Warner, executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association, the group promoting artificial trees, said that neither kind of tree had much of an impact on the environment — “especially when compared to something that most of us do every day, like drive a car,” she wrote in an e-mail. On that point, Mr. Trudel of Ellipsos agrees. “When you really consider it, if you exchange a couple of days of commuting by car with carpooling or riding a bicycle, you’ll completely overcompensate for whatever the impact of the tree is,” he said. “It’s not such a big deal. Enjoy your tree, whichever one you prefer.”

1. Winter Wonderland by Eurythmics 3:34
2. All I Want for Christmas Is You by Michael Bublé 2:51
3. Deck the Rooftop by Glee Cast 2:29
4. The Christmas Song by Bing Crosby 2:45
5. Drummer Boy by (feat. Busta Rhymes) Justin Bieber 3:45
6. Last Christmas by Wham! 4:45
7. White Christmas by Bing Crosby 2:57
8. Jingle Bells by Harry Connick, Jr. 5:26
9. The Christmas Song by Nat “King” Cole 3:08
10. Do They Know It’s Christmas by Glee Cast 3:25

Ingredients

1 pint fat free vanilla frozen yogurt
¼ cup canned pumpkin
1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions
1. Take yogurt out of the freezer and allow to it soften for several minutes. Next with big spoon, combine the canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice is thoroughly mixed well. Refreeze until hard and serve. Recommended serving size: ½ cup.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
3 T. unsulphered molasses
¼ cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. real vanilla extract
¾ cup low fat buttermilk
¼ cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds
scant cayenne powder
1 tsp canola oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a separate blow, place pumpkin seeds, scant cayenne powder and 1 tsp. oil and toss well until the cayenne coats all the seeds.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil, and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and real vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.

5. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

All you need to know about pumpkins. While you can certainly make pumpkin desserts with fresh pumpkin, canned pureed pumpkin that you can purchase at the grocery store is much more convenient and consistent. Most dessert recipes call for canned pumpkin, which is made from a different kind of pumpkin than your typical jack-o-lantern. The pumpkins you buy to carve at Halloween are watery, mealy, and not great for recipes—they’re best suited for decoration or festive containers for soups or stews. Sugar pumpkins, on the other hand, are smaller with a bright-orange skin and thick flesh that has much more flavor. Sugar pumpkins don’t just look like a late fall harvest—they taste like it, too. Their solid texture turns creamy with roasting, steaming, sautéing, or pureeing. And their sweet-savory flavor works as well with sweet ingredients—such as honey, maple, brown sugar, and molasses—as it does with savory creations. Some savory dishes will call for cubed fresh sugar pumpkin, as opposed to pureed canned pumpkin.

How to buy a pumpkin. Choose small sugar or pie pumpkins that feel heavy for their size. Avoid pumpkins with cracks or blemishes. For pumpkin desserts, it is much easier—and will produce a more consistent product—to use canned pureed pumpkin that you can purchase at the grocery store.

How to use pumpkins. To prep a pumpkin as a container for cold dips or spreads, simply cut off the top and scoop out the inside. To use it as a bowl for hot dishes, bake the pumpkin first, to take away the raw flavor. Fill a roasting pan with one inch of water. Cut off the top of the gourd (but do not discard) and remove the seeds and stringy membrane. Brush the inside with melted butter. Place on a baking sheet and set the top alongside. Bake in a 350° oven for half an hour, or until just they are just beginning to soften. To prepare a pumpkin for a savory recipe, cut off the stem, scoop out the stringy membrane, peel the pumpkin, and then cut it into wedges or cubes.

How to roast pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds have a light, nutty flavor once they are removed and roasted. When sold under their Spanish name, pepitas, their white outer hull has usually been removed and the green seeds are available either roasted and salted or raw. Remove the seeds from the pumpkin and rinse, cleaning away any strings and pulp. Mix them with a little oil and salt, and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. (Try adding a scant amount of cayenne to add a kick of spice and heat.) Bake stirring frequently, 15 to 30 minutes in a 350° oven, until pale golden. Let stand until cool.

How to store pumpkins. Store pumpkins at room temperature for up to a month.

Roasted Pumpkin & Kale Late Harvest Soup

This recipe is almost as hearty as a stew. I like occasionally adding some healthy low fat, mini-turkey or soy-vegan meatballs that I buy from Trader Joe’s to this soup. One of my friends said that Costco has some great tasting mini-turkey meatballs. Adding ready made frozen meatballs is part of my 70/30 healthy fast food cooking rule. That is 70% fresh made from scratch and 30 store bought and made. This soup also freezes well in individual containers. Just make a big batch and then freeze. How fast and easy is that?

Ingredients

4 cups peeled and 1 ½ inch cubed sugar pie or baking pumpkin
2 cups peeled and 1 ½ inch cubed celery root
3 tablespoons best quality extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
2 red or yellow bell peppers, coarsely chopped
3 to 4 cups low sodium, fat-free vegetable stock or water
3 cups cleaned and chopped kale (I like the black kale best)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 T. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 T. fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 T. fresh sage, chopped
Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Chop vegetables making sure to keep them all the same size. Place pumpkin and potato in a large roasting pan and toss with oil, garlic and herbs. Roast for about 30 minutes, uncovered.

2. Add remaining vegetables to roasting pan except kale. Then, roast for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until vegetables are browned and caramelized—but not charred to a crisp!

3. Remove pan from oven. Place roasted vegetables and stock in a large stock pot. Season to taste. Heat over medium-high heat until pumpkin begins to soften and combine slightly with stock. Add chopped kale and cook over medium heat until done, about 10 minutes.

Nutritional Content: Serves: 8 to 10. Per Serving: 130 calories (50 from fat), 5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 3g protein, 19g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 5g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 280mg sodium

Roasted Pumpkin and Green Apple Soup
Ingredients

1T. butter
3 T. good quality, extra virgin olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
1 T. mild curry powder
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
5 pounds sugar pie or best quality baking pumpkins (2 medium)
1 pound green apple (2-3 apples)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good cider or juice

Directions
1. Peel the pumpkin, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the pumpkin into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks. Combine the pumpkin and apples in a large bowl. Toss with 2 T. of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place pumpkin and apples in a very large baking sheet pan. Roast in a 400-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the squash and apples are very soft.
2. Warm the olive oil, butter, onions, curry powder and pumpkin pie spice in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add 2 cups of water and roasted pumpkin and apples mixture to pot and continue cooking for 10 more minutes.
3. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
4. Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper for desired taste, and then serve hot.

Low Fat Healthy Pumpkin Muffins Topped with Toasted, Spiced Pepitas. Click here for recipe.

Fat Free Pumpkin Spiced Frozen Yogurt. Click here for recipe.