As the months get cooler, I tend to transition from smoothies to juices. I find them more comforting during the winter, especially when using seasonal ingredients such as ginger, apple and carrots. I got so excited when I was asked to review this product, because I’ve been through many juicers in my lifetime. I love seeing how products such as juicers evolve in function and aesthetic!

The Omega CNC80S Compact Nutrition System is a multi-purpose, low-speed masticating juicer. It can be used to make fruit and vegetable juices, nut and soy milks, nut butters, baby foods, desserts, pasta and more. It comes equipped with different nozzles, which are easily adjustable in the preparation of different recipes.

The first thing I noticed about this juicer was how compact it is. The juicers I’ve had in the past have been quite bulky, which isn’t very conducive to living in a small New York City apartment. I put the Omega on my little kitchen counter and got to assembling. The assembly part is straightforward, since the five attachments that form part of the juicer are all self-contained. There are two assembly options; one for juicing and one for homogenizing. When homogenizing, you have the option of selecting one of five nozzles, which is how you’re able to create various things including pasta, ground coffee, nut butters and other really cool foods.

Once assembled, I decided to give the juicer function a go, and whipped up three fruit and vegetable tonics (recipes below). Produce such as carrots, apples and beets have to be cut into small chunks, since the chute opening is relatively small. The first thing I noticed after flipping the on button was how pleasantly quiet this juicer was. There aren’t any loud motor or grinding noises. You also don’t have to apply much pressure once the foods are in the chute. They pass easily, and you’ll start seeing the juice being expelled into the container. You also see the fiber coming out, and in this juicer, the fiber was completely dry, which means no juice going to waste here!

Once I prepared my juices, I easily took apart the juicer. I set aside the fiber to incorporate into stews and soups, and let the removable parts soak in warm soapy water. The juicer came with a small brush for easy cleaning, and within five minutes, everything was clean and set out to dry.

I would definitely recommend this juicer, especially for people living in smaller spaces.  It’s very easy to use and can prepare a variety of foods.

3 Immune-Boosting Fall Tonics

Each recipe serves 3

Instructions: Start by washing all of your produce.

Spicy Carrot Juice

Ingredients

• 3 medium carrots, tops removed
• 1 medium apple
• 3-inch piece of unpeeled ginger

Directions

1. Cut the carrot and ginger into smaller pieces that will fit through the juicer chute.
2. Discard the apple stem, core and seeds, and cut into chunks.
3. Juice all of the ingredients. Enjoy!

Sweet Beet Juice

Ingredients

• 1 medium beet
• 1 medium pear
• ½ lime

Directions

1. Discard the pear stem, core and seeds, and cut into chunks.
2. Cut the beet and pear into smaller pieces that will fit through the chute.
3. Juice just the beet and pear, and then finish with a squeeze of lime juice. Enjoy!

Citrus Green Juice

Ingredients

• 1 cup kale, including stems
• 1 small cucumber, about 6 inches
• 1 medium orange

Directions

1. Chop the kale and stems, and cut the cucumber into pieces that will fit through the chute.
2. Peel the orange, cut into segments, and put all ingredients through the juicer. Enjoy!

The post A Small-Scale Juicer That’s Big on Quiet appeared first on HealthStylz.

This Food & Nutrition Test Kitchen recipe, developed by Stone Soup blogger Wendy Lopez, MS, RD, CDE, is a simple and light option. Follow the recipe exactly, or make it your own by swapping ingredients or adding new flavors!

Butternut Squash Arugula Pita Pizza

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 cup peeled and chopped butternut squash
• 1 100-percent whole-grain pita round
• ¼ cup tomato sauce
• ¼ cup sliced red onion
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ cup fresh arugula
• 1 ounce feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Black pepper (to taste)

Directions

1. Add squash to a pot of boiling water and cook 10 to 15 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F. On a baking sheet, place pita round and spread tomato sauce onto it.
3. Evenly distribute squash on pita and top with sliced onions.
4. Drizzle olive oil over pita and bake 15 minutes.
5. Finish by topping with arugula, feta, balsamic vinegar and black pepper to taste.

The post Butternut Squash Arugula Pita Pizza appeared first on HealthStylz.

Aside from being delicious, butternut squash is a nutrition powerhouse!  It is jam-packed with vitamins A and C and also is a good source of potassium. So, other than as a pizza topping, how do you incorporate more butternut squash into your diet? Personally, I love to throw it into soups and stews. It is a great addition to smoothies, and you also can mash it up and enjoy like mashed potatoes.

Butternut Squash Arugula Pita Pizza

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 1 cup peeled and chopped butternut squash
• 1 100-percent whole grain pita round
• ¼ cup tomato sauce
• ¼ cup sliced red onion
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ cup fresh arugula
• 1 ounce feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Put squash into a pot of boiling water and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until tender but still firm. Drain and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F. On a baking sheet, place pita round and spread tomato sauce onto it.
3. Evenly place butternut squash chunks onto the pita bread and top with sliced onions
4. Drizzle olive oil over the pita and bake for 15 minutes.
5. Finish off by topping with fresh arugula, feta cheese, balsamic vinegar and black pepper to taste.

The post Butternut Squash Arugula Pita Pizza appeared first on HealthStylz.

Product Reviewed:
JK Adams Strata Slate Server

The JK Adams Strata Slate cheese board offers a unique surface for serving cheeses and hors d’oeuvres. With a deep gray color providing a natural and rustic look, it comes equipped with a dust-free chalk pencil for writing labels of the cheese you’re eating right on the board. However, the surface was not the smoothest, which made it something of a challenge to write clearly.

This cheese board is designed for parties: lay out your favorite cheeses and invite friends and family over to enjoy. This is precisely what I did! I paired some of my favorite cheeses — thyme goat cheese, herbed Gouda, Pecorino Romano and a local white cheddar from New York — with herbs, black olives, nuts and crackers. I just used a cheese knife for cutting and organized the cheeses and accompaniments and placed them neatly onto the board. Note that cheeses should be cut on a cutting board, and not the slate.

Now, cheeses need no help in looking appealing, but presenting them on a beautiful slate board made them that much more appealing. Plus, it is very easy to clean. Simply hand wash, rinse and dry. The size of this slate cheese board works very well for those of you who are limited in kitchen space. I was able to store it discreetly in my tiny New York City kitchen.

The post Cheese Board with a Natural, Rustic Look appeared first on HealthStylz.

Keep in mind that each Cocoa Date Ball counts as a serving. As good as they taste, try not to go bonkers and eat all of them at once! Also note that the recipes calls for unsweetened varieties of cocoa powder and coconut flakes. The dates do a fine job at bringing in all the sweetness needed for this recipe.

The post No-Baking-Required Cocoa Date Balls appeared first on HealthStylz.

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Yellow zucchini is so flexible in the kitchen and works well in stews, sautés and salads. For this recipe, I used a spiralizer to create zucchini noodles. One serving of this Thai-inspired dish provides more than 70 percent of your vitamin C needs for the day, along with fiber and other important vitamins and minerals. 

The post Zucchini Pad Thai That’s Ready in Minutes appeared first on HealthStylz.