Recipes – The Luxi Look

By Amy Zhang June 23, 2020 in Lifestyle, Recipes 2 Comments

Detox Pomegranate & Apple Kale Salad Recipe

This girl is ready to get back on track! After months of quarantine and admittedly eating more dessert and drinking more wine than usual, it’s officially time to get back in shape. For me, working out and eating healthy isn’t about being a certain size, but is rather about feeling good in my body. I have more energy, my digestion is better, my skin is clearer, and overall everything is just better when I eat well and exercise.

As weird and at times stressful the last few months were, I really tried to be kind to myself and not too hard on what I was eating or drinking. I’m slowly laying off the nightly dessert and the more-than-occasional glass of wine, and opting for more greens, lean protein, and whole grains overall. I made a commitment to try to eat greens at every meal (one of my favorite health tips) and have been trying to eat a salad every day for lunch.

Salads don’t have to be boring or leave you hungry! I like to eat salads that are filling – these have the right amount of healthy fat, protein, and crunch in them so you aren’t starving afterward. In fact, this kale salad below has become my new weekday go-to salad. It’s super light and refreshing for summer, and you can easily add or subtract any ingredients you have on hand. It’s also gluten-free and vegan. However, you can customize the recipe and amounts to fit your diet! I’ve eaten this Pomegranate & Apple Kale salad every day for the past week and haven’t gotten bored. Read on for the recipe and other kale salad combination ideas.

{ Detox } Pomegranate & Apple Kale Salad

Salad Ingredients – serves 1

+ 2-3 cups of kale

+ 1/2 avocado

+ 1/8 cup pomegranate seeds

+ 1/2 apple, chopped

+ 1/4 cup nuts (raw pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pecans, or almonds all work well)

Lemon Vinaigrette

+ 2 tbsp lemon juice

+ 2 tbsp olive oil

+ 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

+ 1 teaspoon maple syrup

+ 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

+ Salt and pepper to taste

I usually just eyeball all of the salad ingredients and mix together in the bowl. You don’t have to be so precise when making a salad! The salad dressing is more done to taste, so you may want to play around with the ratio of ingredients. After mixing all of the ingredients together, I’ll mix in a few tablespoons of homemade lemon vinaigrette.

Lately, I’ve been toping with a veggie burger patty for a little extra protein. Other mix-ins I like to add: cucumber, tomato, red onion, dried cranberries, chickpeas, boiled egg. It’s such an easy way to eat your fruits and vegetables and it is so good for you. Your skin and digestion will thank you for eating lots of greens.

Some other kale salad combinations I also love:

+ Kale Caesar (Sweetgreen inspired): romaine, kale, cherry tomato, avocado, parmesan crisps, Caesar dressing

+ Greek salad: kale, tomato, cucumber, red onion, chickpeas, olives, feta

+ Goat cheese: kale, pecans, apple, dried cranberries, goat cheese

By Amy Zhang June 18, 2020 in Lifestyle, Recipes 2 Comments

Easy Everyday Vegan Iced Matcha Latte Recipe

Easy Everyday Vegan Matcha Latte | by The Luxi Look

One of the bright spots of quarantine has been learning to make my own matcha and coffee at home. Matcha lattes are surprisingly easy to make at home and the recipe below tastes exactly like the coffee shop versions. Making my own matcha lattes has become part of my morning ritual and something I look forward to doing every morning. I’ve also been trying to drink matcha over coffee when I can. I prefer mine iced, but you can easily make the recipe below hot (make sure you whisk the matcha!).

I realized that I was spending about $6 or more on iced almond matcha lattes at coffee shops (eek) and could easily make them myself. Matcha has so many health benefits as well if you find that coffee makes you jittery, I highly recommend trying matcha for a caffeine boost that’s filled with antioxidants. You can find high-quality matcha in grocery stores or online, I like DoMatcha and get mine on Amazon.

Benefits of drinking matcha

+ Matcha is high in antioxidants

+ Boosts brain function

+ May help prevent diseases including cancer and heart disease

+ Boosts your metabolism

Easy Everyday Vegan Iced Matcha Latte Recipe

+ 2 tbsp high-quality matcha powder

1 cup milk of choice (I prefer almond, but oat is yummy if you want something a little heartier!)

+ 1/2 cup water

+ 1 tsp honey (sweeten to taste)

+ Drop of vanilla extract

Vegan Iced Matcha Latte

Instructions

Add matcha powder, milk, water, honey, and vanilla to blender. Blend for 30 seconds, pour over ice. You can whisk the matcha with the water in advance (for hot or iced versions) but I’ve found that blending everything together works in a pinch and is much easier. If you have a milk frother, you can also use that to give your latte more of a cafe quality.

By Amy Zhang April 30, 2020 in Lifestyle, Recipes 4 Comments

The BEST Spicy, Skinny Margarita Recipe

Now that the weather is heating up and we’re still social distancing at home, I’ve turned to making my favorite drinks at home. I’m not the biggest cocktail fan as I generally find them to be too sweet, but I absolutely LOVE a skinny spicy margarita. These are not your typical syrupy and overly sweet margaritas you get at your local Mexican restaurant. These are light and refreshing, I honestly don’t even care that they’re “skinny” – I just prefer my margaritas this way! I swear these also don’t give me any hangovers (as long as you don’t have too many!).

A spicy skinny margarita my go-to drink for girl’s nights, date nights, sitting outdoor, honestly so many situations! It’s the ideal drink, in my opinion. The best part is how easy they are to make! I am the furthest thing from a mixologist but I can whip one of these up within minutes. They are SO good with chips & salsa/guac and just scream summertime. Perfecting our recipe at home has been a game-changer. I’ve had so many variations of this drink over the years, I honestly avoid it at most places unless I know they do it well. There are so many things that can go wrong with a margarita, so once you find a recipe you like it’s worth asking the bartender very, very nicely if they’ll make it the way you prefer. So with that said, here is my insanely easy but so refreshing spicy (skinny) margarita recipe.

The BEST Spicy Skinny Margarita Recipe

The key to a good skinny margarita is to go easy on the sweetener and use FRESH juices. It’s a little more effort, but honestly SO worth the squeeze. The secret ingredient in ours is freshly squeezed orange juice rather than orange liquor (typically Triple Sec or Cointreau). It’s a small change but you will notice the difference immediately – I promise you won’t miss the liquor AT ALL. You’re also cutting out the added sugar and alcohol, which is a major bonus in my book.

The second change is to go easy on the sweetener. If you’re at a bar or restaurant and don’t want to drink tequila on the rocks (the “skinniest” drink but not the easiest to consume), you can always ask for a margarita with lots of fresh lime juice and to go easy on the sweetener. If you’re a little more particular, you will want to be specific about how much sweetener. I make mine at home to taste and don’t usually measure the amount of sweetener (we use agave), but I would estimate it is about a teaspoon, if that.

Most margarita recipes call for 1 ounce of sweetener per drink – that is A LOT of sugar, think a shot glass worth. All of this sugar is what ultimately leads to hangovers and major headaches the next day. Cutting down on the sweetener and using freshly squeezed fruit juice – which also has sugar, I have to add – which be a lot easier on your body.

Spicy Skinny Margarita Recipe

+ 2 oz tequila – I like Casamigos Blanco for my margaritas, but Espalon is good for cocktails as well and really affordable.

+ 1/2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice – I usually use 1/4 of an orange

+ 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice – I usually use 1 medium-sized lime

+ 1 jalapeno, sliced (to taste)

+ 1/4 – 1/2 oz agave nectar or sweetener of your choice

+ Salt for the rim – I like Tajin, or none at all

+ Lime wedges

+ Ice

Instructions:

If you like salt on the rim, do this step first. Rub a lime wedge around the top of your glass and dip it in salt. Chile lime salt or Tajin compliments a spicy margarita very well. If you’re looking to go easy on the salt you can skip this step entirely or just do half of the rim.

To make the cocktail: muddle jalapeno slices and lime in a cocktail shaker. Adjust the amount of jalapeno depending on your spice preference – I like mine extra spicy so I always use at least 1/2 of a jalapeno. Go easy to start, you can always add more! Add agave, orange juice, and tequila. Shake and strain over ice – garnish with a lime wedge and jalapeno slices.

You can easily adjust this recipe for different margarita variations by adding different fruit juices to the mix or muddling fresh fruit in place of the jalapenos. Some ideas: fresh watermelon, mango, passionfruit, raspberries. The possibilities are endless!

By Amy Zhang March 5, 2020 in Lifestyle, Recipes 2 Comments

Easy Weeknight Airfryer Salmon Recipe

I’m not the greatest chef and truthfully prefer not to spend all of my time in the kitchen. But, I’ve found that healthy and delicious meals don’t have to take much skill or time. I’m also not the biggest fan of kitchen appliances, but one that I absolutely cannot live without is our air fryer. Initially a skeptic, I’m now officially converted. As far as foolproof cooking tools go, this is it. It’s virtually impossible to mess up a meal in the air fryer, and you can cook almost anything in it. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen me cooking salmon with it – I make this meal at least once a week. It’s so easy, delicious, and good for you.

My Easy Weeknight Airfryer Salmon Recipe

I love salmon and could eat it every other day. A few reasons I love salmon? It’s full of omega-3s (healthy fatty acids that are good for your hair and skin), protein, B vitamins, and potassium. I buy the BBQ cut filets from Trader Joe’s or, if we’re feeling fancy, we’ll get them from a local fishmonger. This entire meal takes about 15-20 minutes. All you need:

+ Salmon filet (4-8 oz serving per person)

+ Salt and pepper

+ Good olive oil

+ Lemon

Dry off salmon filet and place skin side down on a plate. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle spices and herbs generously over – you can use whatever you have on hand. Sometimes all I’ll use is salt and pepper! I also like adding garlic and red pepper flakes. You can honestly use most spices and herbs!

Preheat air fryer or oven. If you’re using an air fryer, many models will have a “fish” setting (as I said, it’s foolproof cooking) that will set the time for you – it’s usually around 15 minutes. For the oven, you can broil the fish for a similar result. This will take about 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the filet.

Once the salmon is cooked, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the top. Serve with a salad or your favorite vegetables. Some ideas – roasted broccolini, sautéed spinach, arugula salad, avocado, or roasted sweet potatoes. Enjoy!

By Amy Zhang March 11, 2019 in Recipes, Wellness 2 Comments

The Best Refreshing, Low-Cal, Vegan Afternoon Snack: Watermelon with Tajin

Every year as the weather gets warmer, I automatically crave lighter and healthier foods. It’s almost as if hibernation is over and my body is naturally telling me to start moving again, get some Vitamin D, and put down the box of Girl Scout Cookies (fun fact; Thin Mints are vegan). Now that I’m looking for healthier and more natural snacks, I’ve started to look for ways to make fruits and vegetables a little more exciting. That’s where watermelon with Tajin comes in. If you’ve never had watermelon with Tajin, you’re honestly missing out.

It’s one of my favorite guilt free snacks for so many reasons. Watermelon is high in fiber and filled with water, which makes it the perfect hydrating summertime snack. Add some Tajin and lime and you have a little salty, a little sweet, and a little eat. The IDEAL healthy and easy snack that you’ll want to eat all the time. I buy this from the fruit carts around LA and make it at home myself. It’s literally the easiest thing to make (my kind of cooking is “non cooking”). And although I crave it even more in the summer, I’ll eat it all year long. I love fruit and vegetables with Tajin so much. Honestly, I travel with a little bottle of Tajin in my bag. No shame there.

What is Tajin?

It’s a popular Mexican seasoning used to give foods a chili lime flavor. Tajin ingredients are simple – chili peppers, salt, dehydrated lime juice, and silicon dioxide. If you’re worried about silicon dioxide, you’ll be relieved to know that it is commonly used in foods without any side effects. According to the EPA, it falls on the second to lowest degree of toxicity rating scale. Tajin has no artificial flavors, no sugar, and no weird ingredients. If you’re worried about the ingredients in Tajin, you can replicate yourself with chili powder, salt, and fresh lime juice. Personally, I can’t get enough of the tangy flavor of Tajin. I want to put it on everything! Which brings me to my next point…

More Tajin Seasoning Uses

Truthfully, you can put Tajin on anything you would put seasoning on. The best part is, it can be used with sweet AND savory foods. It’s slightly salty and spicy, but not so much that it’s overpowering. Also, if you love the chili lime flavor, you will like it on pretty much anything. The most popular use is on fresh fruits and vegetables. I love it with watermelon the most, but it also is amazing with mango, oranges, other melons, jicama, coconut, and cucumber. For my favorite spicy fruit salad with Tajin, check out this post.

Anytime you use chili powder, salt, or lime in a recipe, you can add or substitute Tajin. The spicy seasoning also works as a marinade for seafood or meats. It also works well with Bloody Marys and Micheladas. As far as seasonings go, Tajin is SO versatile. It adds spice and flavor to so many dishes. You can get it at pretty much any grocery store – try it for yourself, and let me know what you think!