Sometimes, convenience is the #1 factor in a guy or gal’s decision-making process. You’ll join a gym–if it’s within a 5 block radius of your apartment. You’d totally go vegan–if you had a personal chef. And you only deep-clean your living space when someone you like is coming over–two birds with one stone, if you will.

Hey, there’s nothing wrong with convenience. Sure, sometimes it’s a mask for laziness, but other times, an unwillingness to spend a lot of time on certain things just means you’re living a full life and focusing on your real priorities–right? Either way, the real benefit of convenience is that it helps you get the best of both worlds. A streamlined toiletry routine lets you spend more time with your morning coffee. Wearing a facial mask while you update your blog is just plain smart. And foods that are both healthy and quick help you to keep the bounce in your step without constantly slaving away in the kitchen.

Here’s where this lighting-fast green smoothie comes in. Absolutely every ingredient is pre-packaged from Trader Joe’s, and you can literally whip it up in minutes. Okay, so you’re not using dripping bunches of farm-fresh kale with rich black loam still clinging to their stems, but when you’re hustling so hard that you’re thinking about the $1 McDonald’s breakfast menu again, the sheer convenience factor of this smoothie just might sway you in the right direction.

Here’s what I used to make a nutrient-packed smoothie in about three minutes: *

• pre-cut, bagged kale
• bagged spinach
• coconut milk
• frozen pineapple
• frozen mango
• Trader Joe’s frozen Very Cherry Berry blend

* I clearly used all Trader Joe’s brand ingredients, because I find them cheap and incredibly convenient. Of course, you can use whatever brand you want!

Toss the greens into a colander and give them a quick rinse. It’s hard to overstate how convenient that pre-cut kale is. Quality-wise, I probably wouldn’t use it in a salad (it’s a little dry), but it’s perfect for flinging into a green smoothie.

Pour in about a half cup of coconut milk (thick and creamy–great for smoothies) and a half cup of water. Blend up in your handy-dandy Vitamix blender.

I don’t want to start sounding like a salesgirl here, but I have yet to find a store with cheaper frozen fruit than Trader Joe’s–and the variety can’t be beat. The frozen mango chunks are my go-t0; they cost about $2 and sweeten up the most stubborn of greens.

Toss in frozen fruit according to how sweet and thick you want the smoothie. If blending gets tough, add more water or coconut milk.

Quickly rinse out your Vitamix blender. Pour the smoothie into fancy cocktail glasses… just because

Aren’t hotels magical? You go away for the day and you come back to ironed sheets and clean towels. Not to mention new bottles of conditioner and maybe a chocolate on your pillow.

Keeping your bedroom neat may not be quite as luxurious as having a full hotel staff do it for you as you lounge outside on the beach, but it’s incredibly helpful when it comes to your own personal and healthy sleep cycle. Take it from me, who spent finals week in grad school sleeping on a mound of chocolate wrappers and print-outs of literary criticism. Mess = stress.

(Missed Kitchen & Bedroom tips? Read up on them here.)

For the closet…

1. Invest in skinny hangers. I haven’t yet, but my friends swear by them for maximizing clothing space in a tiny closet. They’re especially helpful for those living in tiny apartments, where a bulky dresser just isn’t an option.

2. Knot scarves over a towel bar for quick access.

3. Hang shower curtain hooks over your closet’s clothing pole and use for purses, briefcases, backpacks, belts, and hats.

4. Divided drawers or see-through containers are a must if you have a lot of craft/art/gift-wrapping supplies and you need easy access.

5. Color-code and group, group, group. This applies to everything from gardening supplies to cashmere sweaters.

6. Don’t just keep your suitcases stored away–store things inside them, too (spare sheets, winter coats, etc.).

For the bedroom…

1. Keep your technology elsewhere! Move that desk to the living room now. You’ll sleep better for sure.

2. Keep your jewelry or other accessories and small items in bowls, teacups, or hanging from slim nails on the wall.

3. Store as much as you can under the bed… and then get a dust ruffle.

4. Turn a large bookshelf into a headboard. It looks super-cool–and you won’t need a bedside table.

5. Always reading? Keep your books and magazines in artful stacks on the floor. You can even throw in a plant or two, and you’ve got a chic tableau.

6. Enviable shoe collection? Display it–color-coded or otherwise organized–on a bookshelf. You’ll free up some closet space and you can pretend it’s modern art.

7. Feng shui tip: keep your bedroom clothed in light colors with soft lines (as opposed to a room that’s dark with heavy, sharp edges). It’ll keep you relaxed–just like you’d feel inside a hotel room.

photo attribute: www.wheretostay.com

We’ve spent a lot of time rhapsodizing about the conceptual part of spring cleaning–have fun with it! un-pack-rat yourself!–but now it’s time to talk basics. Nitty, gritty basics, like do I need a separate bookshelf for each literary genre? (No.) And are Mason jars really as awesome as Pinterest would have me believe? (Yes.)

For the kitchen…

1. Display your cookbooks and spice jars. C’mon, those things are made to be gorgeous!

2. Put simple shelving or drawer units in your bigger, lower cabinets (like the ones under the sink) for more storage space.

3. Don’t be afraid to keep equipment out on the counter, if you want/need to use it more frequently… oh, did someone say juicer? Keep that thang out! And keep it clean. No one likes dried-up veggie pulp.

4. Keep cooking items near the stove (pots and pans). Keep dining items (plates, cups, bowls) grouped together, too. Hey–do you need all those plates? Just checking.

5. Throw away old birthday candles and cupcake liners and “fun” straws if you’re just not that type of party-thrower.

6. Keep tools like spatulas, stirring spoons, and whisks in a jug or jar on the counter, like a bouquet of kitchen utensils. Looks cute, and makes it easy to grab what you need when your over-easy egg is getting over-hard on the stove-top.

7. Keep containers and their lids in the same drawer or cabinet, but bunch the containers together and the lids separately. You’ll save more space that way than if you stored the containers with their lids already on.

For the bathroom…

1. Tiny bathroom with no cabinet space? Use a hanging shoe rack–the kind that goes over the back of the door–to store toiletries and bathroom products. You can even use a plastic/waterproof hanging shoe rack in the shower, hung over the shower pole, if you’re the type of person who uses a million conditioners and scrubby things.

2. Nail spice racks to the wall to store products, makeup, or nail polish.

3. Fill a cute bucket with everything you need to clean the bathroom (a sponge, a soft rag for the mirror, a spray, a toilet cleaner) and keep it behind the toilet. Voila–now you can easily clean up quick messes.

4. Too poor to replace that moldy shower liner? Toss it into the washer on a gentle/cold cycle with a lot of soap, or hand wash.

5. Bigger bathroom? Use a small bookshelf to display extra rolls of toilet paper, products, candles, etc.

6. Combine similar products to free up shelf space. Two half-empty conditioners can be poured into one, two body scrubs can be mixed together, and so on.

7. Use mason jars (I know, I know!) to hold bath salts, Q-tips, cotton balls, bobby pins, and anything small and annoying.

photo attribute: www.maldivesreviews.com

They’re strong, they’re stinky, and they’ve infiltrated all of your favorite savory dishes.

Meet the Alliums: otherwise known as the “onion genus,” this family contains some of the most powerful ingredients, both flavor- and health-wise, that you’ll find in your kitchen, your local farmer’s market, or the peaceful aisles of your grocery store.

The Allium family is marked by two characteristics: a bulbous body and the presence of sulphur. This sulphur is what gives Allium members that distinct onion/garlicky flavor and odor, although the intensity (the “sulphurousness”, if you will) varies between members. Hundreds of different plant species fall under the Allium heading, from ramps to black garlic, and the subtly different flavor profile of each member makes this family a foodie’s dream. But Alliums are more than just punchy flavor; they’re lauded for their amazing health benefits, too. While health benefits for each individual type of bulb vary slightly, they more or less all fight for the same righteous causes: reducing risk for breast and colon cancers, powerfully antioxidant, lowering bad cholesterol, and preventing heart disease.

When adding Alliums to your dishes, cook them lightly to maintain maximum antioxidant benefits. Of course, I’m not one to turn down a pan of onions caramelized over low heat for 40+ minutes…

Want to break away from the onion-garlic dichotomy? Look for some of the lesser-known members of the Allium family at the next farmer’s market. You might smell them before you see them. Some of these include:

Chives: these delicate greens look like bunches of thick grass, and have a milder flavor than onions or garlic. They’re perfect sprinkled over baked potatoes or folded into scrambled eggs.

Ramps: I raved about these foodie-friendly, super-flavorful wild onions here. Recipe included!

Garlic scapes: very young garlic, or “green garlic,” produces a curly green shoot called a “scape” that’s available at farmer’s markets around June. The flavor is like a milder, springier incarnation of garlic.

Shallots: I’ve often seen shallots’ flavor compared to a cross between garlic and an onion. To me, cooked shallots are sweeter and subtler than both–when roasted, they’re practically dessert. Raw shallots, like the other larger members of the Allium family, are still pretty intense.

Leeks: although they look like large green onions, leeks have their own fabulous identity. They’re one of the mildest Allium members, and add a sweet, earthy flavor to dishes when sauteed (like yesterday’s Crunchy, Warm Spring Salad).

photo attribute: flickr.com

Looking for the perfect salad to take to a late-spring barbeque or rooftop dinner party? This warm, bright, textured salad uses spring’s heavy hitters–asparagus, strawberries, leeks, and peas–and it ain’t half bad for your heart, either. The quinoa provides a kick of protein and a warm backup to the sweet and savory flavors that are going on in this bowl. Pairs well with crisp white wine and a group of good friends.

The Health Benefits

Asparagus is powerfully anti-inflammatory and packed with vitamin K. Strawberries are great for your cardiovascular system and one of the best antioxidant sources around. Peas contain healthy omega-3 fats (random, right?), lots of vitamin K, and fiber. And leeks pair many of the same benefits as their Allium cousins (onions and garlic) with a softer, sweeter flavor profile–they’re full of vitamin K and good for cardiovascular health, too.

The Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 leek
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 cup strawberries
• 3/4 cup fresh peas
• 1 cup fresh parsley

The Recipe (adapted from Oh She Glows)

Prep your ingredients: slice the leek into tiny half-moons, mince the garlic, cut the asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces, dice the strawberries, shell the peas, and roughly chop the parsley.

Bring the quinoa to a boil in 1.5 cups of water, reduce heat, cover and cook until the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes). As the quinoa is cooking, saute the leeks in the olive oil for about 3 minutes, then add the peas and asparagus and saute just until the asparagus is tender, but no longer. Add the garlic at the very end and stir frequently for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.

Stir the sauteed veggies into the quinoa, and add the strawberries and parsley. Top with dressing of your choice, or use one of the recipes below.

The Dressings

If you’re a lover of all things sweet, try the lemon-maple dressing below. Otherwise, a simple balsamic vinaigrette is a natural pairing for luscious, ripe strawberries.

Lemon-Maple Dressing

Whisk together 3 tbsp olive oil and 3 tbsp lemon juice. Add 1/2 tbsp maple syrup and salt and pepper to taste.

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Whisk together 3 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Stir in a clove of minced garlic and season with salt and lots of black pepper.

After making the dressing of your choice, pour over the warm salad and stir gently.

photo attribute: ohsheglows.com

For me, yesterday was the type of day that arrives far too often in most twenty-somethings’ lives: moving day. Oh, moving day–characterized by stress, not enough packing tape, and how-did-my-fridge-get-so-gross? syndrome. I seriously dislike moving–who doesn’t?–but yesterday, I did it like a champ(ion juicer).

I woke up promptly at 10 a.m. (whoops) and thought about going on a coffee run, but decided to juice every last veggie in my fridge instead. Not only would juicing give me a boost of natural energy, but a mega-dose of vitamins was exactly what I needed, since I always get sick during big transitions. Plus, it would be the last time I could use my roommate’s awesome Champion juicer, and I wasn’t about to let that amazing machine go without a proper goodbye.

Making a huge vat of juice was an amazing way to start off a day of packing, heavy lifting, selling furniture, and cleaning out scary dust bunnies from beneath the bed.

Here’s what I found in my fridge:

–two whole packages of organic carrots
–a small bunch of basil
–one green pepper
–part of a jalapeño pepper
–one grapefruit
–two heads of broccoli
–four apples
–a few handfuls of slightly old spinach

(Not pictured or juiced: a bunch of chives. Great on baked potatoes, anathema to juice.)

I washed everything as fast as I could, peeled the grapefruit, chopped up the pepper, broccoli, and apples, and cut the ends off the carrots. Within minutes, I was ready to juice. Thankfully, since most the ingredients were fairly firm, they juiced quickly. When it’s moving day, you just don’t have time to deal with difficult veggies (I’m looking at you, hard-to-juice kale).

After juicing as fast as possible, I rinsed everything off, said goodbye to the juicer, and assessed how much juice I’d just created. Spoiler alert: that bowl of veggies made a ton of juice.

Two huge mason jars full of carrot-grapefruit-spinach-apple-broccoli-green pepper-jalapeño-basil juice, oh my! Plus, it was a perfect excuse to use up the last of my bright plastic straws.

This juice tasted incredible–the sweetness of the apples and carrots perfectly balanced out the veggie-ness of the broccoli and green pepper, and the basil and jalapeño gave it an amazing je ne sais quoi. I drank both jars throughout the morning as I ran around town on last-minute errands.

The verdict? Still tired and sore, but not a cold or sore throat in sight. Best moving day decision I’ve ever made!

But, alas, buying organic produce can be super pricey – especially if you’re juicing often and going through pounds of fruits and veggies every week. The good news is that each year, the non-profit agency Environmental Working Group (EWG) provides a list of the worst offenders in terms of residue. Dubbed ‘The Dirty Dozen,’ this list includes the fruits and veggies that we should be shelling out extra cash for and buying organic. I find that carrying this list with me to the grocery store is immensely helpful. Not only do I save some money on the items that I can get away with buying conventional, but I can more easily plan out my meals and juices.

Below is the most recent ‘Dirty Dozen’ list for 2013. Take a look and see if some of your favorites are on the list. If so, seek out purveyors who grow organic produce or even ask your local grocer to carry more organic options. Chances are, others in your community are looking for the same healthy options for their families too.

Dirty Dozen 2013

Apples – Number one on the list for a while now, these almost always test positive for pesticide residue. Good news is that organic ones are generally easy to come by.

Strawberries – Buy organic cartons of this fresh fruit when it’s in season in the summer. Not only will they be better for you, but they’ll be tastier, too.

Grapes – Based on the research conducted, one single grape tested positive for no fewer than 15 pesticides. Ew.

Celery – Since celery doesn’t really have any skin to protect itself, it tends to be sprayed extra heavily.

Peaches – Usually imported, peaches rank 5^th on the list

Spinach – After a bout of e.coli from infected spinach last year, I always buy organic no matter what. I advise you do the same.

Sweet Bell Peppers – The good news is that bell peppers pack a lot of flavor in a small amount so just buy 1-2 organic ones per week to add a shot of nutrients and color to your juices.

Nectarines – Similar story to peaches.

Cucumber – As a staple in any juice heads’ fridge, make sure you go organic with cucumbers.

Potatoes – This one is surprising. Try to not only buy organic, but also choose Sweet Potatoes for higher nutrient value.

Cherry Tomatoes – These are best bought at a local Farmers’ Market in the summer, or grow your own tomatoes!

Hot Peppers – Another surprising member of the Dirty Dozen, organic peppers may be hard to come by in a conventional grocery store. Get them at your local Farmers Market if possible.

Photo credit: http://www.majic.com

We all resolve to do it, but week after week, our pantries are somehow mysteriously packed with cookies, chips, and other things that come smothered in plastic wrap and “stay-fresh” packaging. They may seem colorful and fun–even harmless!–but packaged food is full of bizarre ingredients (Crushed bugs for red dye? Sand in Wendy’s chili?!) and toxic preservatives that nobody wants in their system. Here are some simple, straight-forward ways to get you on the path to purer food.

1. Read the labels.

I’m not talking about counting calories here. Read the list of ingredients! How long is it? If it’s longer than 4-5 ingredients, put it back immediately. How many of these “ingredients” would stump you on a spelling bee? Avoid anything scary-looking and unpronounceable.

2. Look out for sugar.

If high fructose corn syrup or another sweetener is listed as one of the first three ingredients, put it back on the shelf (that’s a little tip from Michael Pollan). In fact, try to avoid high fructose corn syrup in general, and be warned that you’ll find it in everything from ketchup to crackers. While high fructose corn syrup may not be worse for you than regular sugar, it’s a good indication that the food you’re about to eat has been highly processed. So just say no.

3. Shop local.

You can score some hyper-processed Wonderbread at the grocery store… or you can snag a loaf of fresh-baked bread made with five ingredients max at your local bakers. You can get wilted, pre-packaged vegetables flown in from Mexico… or you can hit up the farmer’s market. Not only is locally-grown and locally-made food a thousand times more delicious than supermarket fare, but it’s also less processed, better for the environment, and generally in season.

4. Make junk food–yourself.

Try these wise words from Michael Pollan on for size: “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” Not only will this limit your junk food consumption (try whipping up a homemade deep-fried Twinkie), but you’ll control the ingredients that go into each treat–no high fructose corn syrup or L-cysteine in this batch of cheese crackers, please! Smitten Kitchen has lots of great healthy junk food recipes that she whipped up for her toddler son.

5. Eat whole foods.

No surprise here, but I just wanted to reiterate it. Lentils! Arugula! Garlic! Shallots! Raspberries! Do it.

photo attribute: tumblr.com

I’ve already blogged about ways to use up bags and bags of organic carrots I often find leftovers in my fridge. Besides making delicious juices, carrots can be transformed in so many ways. When boiled or roasted, their sweetness and soft texture lends itself well for soups, spreads, and this awesome sauce I’ve  concocted. It’s always best to buy carrots at your local farmers’ market or organic grocery store. While not technically listed on the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list of fruits and veggies with the most pesticides, carrots are still best when fresh and grown locally by responsible farmers who care about the health of both their customers and the environment. The good news is that most large grocery store chains now carry their own line of certified organic goods and oftentimes carrots are available in this category. In the wintertime, I buy mine this way and find that they inexpensively augment my diet in so many ways.

Now to the sauce…

Ingredients

1 box of bucatini pasta or any variety you prefer
1 2lb bag of organic carrots, washed
2 cloves of garlic
Soy non-dairy creamer as needed (substitute plain almond milk if you’re watching calories closely)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Salt to taste

Directions

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta to an al dente texture following the directions on the package. Meanwhile, cut the tops and ends off of each carrot (leave the skin on) and slice again into 3-inch pieces. Drizzle the carrot ‘logs’ with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a foil-lined cookie sheet and roast in a 400-degree oven until the carrots are soft and slightly browned. In a separate pan, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté roughly chopped garlic cloves until soft and aromatic. In a blender or food processor, blend together roasted carrots and garlic with non-dairy soy creamer (or almond milk) until a thick, creamy consistency. If it looks like baby food, add a touch more liquid and blend further. If it’s the consistency of runny soup, you’ve gone too far and will be eating carrot soup for dinner!  Toss the cooked and drained pasta with your carrot ‘sauce’ and salt and pepper to taste. Roughly chop the fresh rosemary and sprinkle on top. Mangia!

Photo credit: www.weelicious.com

Surprisingly, bananas also contain a pretty good amount of B-6, a vitamin more commonly found in animal products. B-6, also called pyridoxine, helps in the formation of new cells all over the body.  What’s not to like about that?

While bananas are perfectly delicious all by themselves, turning them into dairy-free ice cream takes things to a whole new level. I discovered this phenomenon while trying to make a breakfast smoothie despite having very few ingredients in the house. I blended up frozen bananas with some almond milk, and voila! I was left with a creamy, dreamy and cold treat that was better suited for a bowl and spoon than a glass and straw. This recipe is perfect for those hot Summer nights when only ice cream will do. Enjoy!

Ingredients

- 2 whole bananas, peeled, cut into 1″ rounds and frozen
- Unsweetened vanilla almond milk to taste
- Agave nectar or honey to taste

Break out your Vitamix or regular blender and blend the frozen bananas with just enough almond milk to keep things moving. Blend until silky smooth and top with a drizzle of agave nectar. Additional topping options include: a dollop of peanut butter (my personal fave), dark chocolate shavings, unsweetened coconut, or chopped walnuts. If your banana ‘ice cream’ gets too runny while making, just pop it back in the freezer for another 20 minutes and let if firm up a bit before eating.

Photo credit: www.foodiewithfamily.com