This recipe was taken from At Home Cooking with Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

We are doing a 6 week Spring detox in April, please email me if you are interested in participating.  This will be an evening class.

The details: pomegranate is an ancient aphrodisiac which helps release dopamine, the pleasure neurotransmitter.  Quinoa is rich in B vitamins which helps sustain energy levels. Fennel contains the phytonutrient, oestragole, which boosts libido. Cilantro, mint and dill all increase circulation to the brain and peripheral tissues.

Enjoy this dish whenever you need to cast a lust spell…

If you’re not up for cooking, check out last year’s amusing V-day date ideas.

Three beautiful LOVE events this week – no V-Day spectacles, more self exploration.

1. Gabrielle Bernstein’s Medi-dating launch – Tonight 6:15pm

Kicking it off tonight at Deepak’s Homebase, Gabby Bernstein launches her 11-track love-meditation album to help overcome fears in relationships, break sabotaging ‘love’ patterns and bring balance and harmony back into your life.

Recommended: if you Facebook and Google stalk your ex, ex’s girlfriend/wife/kids etc; think marriage and kids on Date 2; your date (or you) does the New York fade

Personal experience: Last year I attended a 4-week course with Gabby to help release some of my own fears (being in front of the camera, publicly going against conventional nutrition wisdom and… love).  Let’s just say that I’m the happiest I’ve ever been…

Where: ABC Home’s Deepak Homebase 888 Broadway at 19th St, $10 (includes a copy of the CD) – 6:15pm – 8:00pm tonight  – www.gabbyb.tv

2. Make Love NYC – Saturday February 11; 10:30am – 5:00pm

Three of NYC’s hottest girls, Erin Stutland, Margaret Nichols and Erika Shannon, are bonding together this Saturday to bring you a day full of love, clarity, movement and spiritual exploration.  Like Gabby, it’s about replacing fear with love and setting intentions and rituals to manifest a beautiful life.

Recommended: if you want to make your life awesome; be empowered by your feminine sensuality and be aligned with the Universe.

Personal experience: I have lots of love to give, and… I love Erin Stutland. She’s one of the most spiritually (and physically) beautiful woman I have met. She wants nothing more than the best for you.  When I’m not consulting on Wed evenings, I’m taking Erin’s Intensati class at 6:30pm in Chelsea – it’s dance, yoga, boxing and positive affirmations.

Where: TACT Studio, 900 Broadway at 20th St – $95 – Saturday February 11; 10:30am – 5:00pm  www.makelovenyc.com

3. Erotic Scavenger Hunt with Mice at Play – Saturday February 11; 3:30pm

More than a foray into Kiki de Montparnasse and Agent Provocateur, the Mice at Play girls explore the art of seduction and flirtation. You’ll be surrounded by Brits, Frenchies, Americans and Australian women. Loads of fun.

Recommended: if you want to look and move like Dita Von Tesse, you know the difference between sexuality and sensuality (or want to); you prefer a bare back to cleavage.

Personal experience: I’ve hiked, danced, made ice-cream and taken feng shui classes with the girls at Mice at Play. I’ve also given various nutrition classes for the group and we are wrapping up our 6-week Cleanse program with transformational results!

Where: Mice at Play Salon- 236 Lafayette Street, #2 , Soho, $45, Saturday February 11;  3:30pm www.miceatplay.com

So much love, so many beautiful successful New York woman.  No wonder I love this city. Bring it on girls!  And boys… you just sit back, be men and watch it all unfold.

Me – a GF, DF nutritionist who would be a raw vegan if she didn’t like fish and the occasional steak so much. Him – a talented cook whose culinary skills were acquired from French chefs and butter means better.

It was Saturday night and I was on home-turf. The menu was up to me.  It started with cumin carrots over mixed greens with sunflower seeds, progressed to halibut over a citrus salad and culminated in a cacao, coconut & avocado pudding.

The dessert rocked. The avocado gave the pudding a deep creamy texture and replaced the need for dairy. I could have added a banana or even silken tofu to make it more velvety but neither was necessary. The raw cacao powder provided an intense chocolate flavor and paired with coconut sugar (very low GI) and coconut cream it just melted in your mouth. Adding some cayenne pepper or chili gave it a spicy but subtle bite.

My antagonist put down his sword, bowed and said he had a lot to learn.  And I’m only too happy to teach.

Each serving is about 250 calories.

This dish is very simple to make and tastes exquisitely good.  The tofu soaks up the cilantro pesto and gives it a fresh, spicy finish. The addition of the noodles makes it a comforting Winter dish.  Either green tea or soba noodles could be used for this dish. The green tea noodles have only 12 calories and 3g of carbs so are ideal if you a following a low-carb/anti-Candida diet.  Sea Tangle green tea noodles are my favorite. Soba noodles are rich in manganese which helps promote radiant skin.  If you are gluten-free, make sure the soba noodles are 100% buckwheat (often they are buckwheat and wheat). Alternatively, the tofu can be served over asparagus or green beans.

Cilantro can help to decrease abdominal bloating and is a great detoxifier. It’s particularly good with helping to remove mercury from the body.  So if you’ve been eating too much tuna or Chilean seabass lately, make up an extra large serving of the cilantro pesto.  Ginger could also be added to the pesto to warm it up a bit.

Experiment and have fun with your food!

But today, I am being a cheap woman.

I’m ditching the store-bought almond milk ($3) for an at-home version that sets me back less than a buck. In reality, I’m not that frugal.  The real impetus for the at-home version – not frightening my neighbors with a 7am dash to the bodega in my pj’s when I’m out of almond milk, and my desire to be the uber multi-tasker. While making the almond milk (it takes less than 3 minutes to make), I can set-up my French press for freshly brewed coffee.

The home-made almond milk has the added benefit of no carrageenan, a questionable preservative, often in the pre-packaged almond milk, and you can choose your preferred sweetener. One day it might be date, the other agave and the next yucca. Or perhaps maple syrup is calling you.

What’s more, if you are out of almonds, you can substitute them for raw cashews, hazelnuts or Brazil nuts.  And if you wanted to be a little decadent, you can throw in some raw cacao nibs for chocolate almond milk – delicious!

So, be a little cheap occasionally… And tell me all about it. Post your nut milk photos on our Facebook page for all to see.

Last year I committed to going to yoga once a week for the entire year. And I did it! Here I am in Mexico, 12 months later, on a yoga retreat doing 4 hours of yoga per day… Who would have thought?

This year, I’m taking the Meatless Monday challenge of going vegetarian one day per week. As I like to push things a little further, my aim is to make it a raw vegan day (which also means black coffee for the day – the toughest part). The inspiration? Helping out the environment and getting more creative with vegan recipes. I’ll post the best on this blog.

Here’s the first one for 2012 – Raw Avocado and Cilantro Soup. It’s a preview recipe for my sold-out 6-week detox and clean eating program starting on 9th Jan.

The recipe is for 2 servings. Make up both as it’s so delicious you’ll want to eat it as your next meal. Don’t be fearful of the avocado. 1/2 an avocado is only 160 calories and it will keep you satiated for hours as well as supply an abundance of Vitamin E and skin beautifying phytonutrients.

2. Amp up your antioxidant levels. Air-travel exposes you to an enormous amount of free radicals. Counter this by seeking out a green vegetable juice. In New York, try Lucky Duck, Organic Avenue, Liquiteria, Juice Press and even Wholefoods in Tribeca sells Blueprint Cleanse juices. Green juices are everywhere – it just takes a curious mind to seek them out. In Paris, Bob’s Juice Bar sells them and in London, Crussh Juice Bars will customize a green juice for you.

By green juices, I don’t mean the Naked Green juice which is just fruit juice with spirulina, but juice made from green vegetables such as cucumber, romaine lettuce, celery, spinach and kale. If you can’t find a green juice, a large green salad will work but you’ll get more antioxidants and phytonutrients with a juice. It’s also dressing free and tastes sweet.

3. Clear out the mini-bar. Call ahead and have the hotel do this for you. Stock it with sparkling mineral water, fruit and chopped vegetable crudities.

4. Live like a local. Find healthy places to eat and grocery shop.  The bio-dynamic (organic) aisle gets my pick in foreign locations. Use your e-pals, Google/Twitter/Facebook to guide you. Everyone loves to tell you their favorite insider’s spot.

5. Be ruthless with room service. Insist they don’t bring bread. Lie and say you’re gluten intolerant. Every language understands ‘gluten’. You meal will be sufficient enough and bread is an unnecessary accompaniment (no matter how good it may taste).

6. Go x-free. If you’re going to be indulging, go something-free. Perhaps it’s sugar-free, if alcohol will be abundant. We don’t need bread, wine AND dessert even when we are on vacation. I recently went gluten and sugar-free while in Tuscany as I knew my wine consumption was going to be rather excessive. I had decided that saying no to wine would prove more challenging than saying no to dessert. If I had not made that commitment, I would have had gelato, tiramisu and almond biscotti every night under the guise of “I’m on vacation in Italy”.

7. Exercise. Travel doesn’t preclude exercise. Pack a pair of running shoes and explore your destination. It’s amazing how much you can take in by being active. Here’s a sample of things I’ve done by exercising – run through villages in Burma; trekked through rice fields in Bali; run up and down the stairs at the Sacré Coeur in Paris; run through the Tuscan hillside; cycled through villages in Provence; danced until 4am in Mykonos; run barefoot along the beach in Tulum; kayaked in Sydney harbor; and attempted laps in the Aegean Sea. If I hadn’t packed my training gear I wouldn’t have these wonderful memories to draw upon.

8. Enjoy yourself. Don’t stress too much. You won’t be able to control your environment and what you are eating as much as what you do at home. But it’s only a week or two and you can be more spartan when you return home. This is you life, so enjoy it!

Check out Confessions of a Travel Junkie Part 1 and Part 2

For all of you nutritional nerds out there (like me) see below for the nutritional breakdown.

Blackberries are notable for their high nutritional contents of dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate acid, and manganese. Blackberries rank highly among fruits for antioxidant strength. The seeds contain omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) and -6 fats (linoleic acid), dietary fiber, carotenoids and ellagic acid.

Avocados have 35% more potassium than bananas. They are rich in B vitamins, as well as vitamin E and vitamin K. Avocados have a high fiber content of 75% insoluble and 25% soluble fiber. Avocados serve as a natural antibacterial component, are currently being researched as having anti-cancer activities and the ability to treat hypertension. Enjoy!