Santa Cruz Foodie

Vegetable frittata with sweet potato crust from The Healthy Way

Santa Cruz business The Healthy Way recently achieved two milestones—30 years as a Santa Cruz business and serving 10,000 clients!—and owner Cheri Bianchini is celebrating with a fun, informative food and health fair Saturday that’s free to the public.

The event, Sept. 10 from noon to 4 p.m., will feature lots of healthy food sampling and activities. There will be tastes of Ginger Carrot Soup, Emily’s Apple Bars, Plum Cobbler, Almond Dip with assorted crackers, Healthy Way Chocolates, and Gourmet Balsamic Vinegars, all prepared by Chef Julie of The Healthy Way. Chef Adrienne Meire will do a cooking demo of Healthy Way Harvest Salad, Vegetable Frittata with Sweet Potato Crust (see recipe below and photo above) and Curry Quinoa Salad, all of which can be sampled. Sugar-free chai will also be available.

Also, Crown Café Catering from Scotts Valley Market  will offer “Jambalaya the Healthy Way” and Cauliflower Rice. Earlier this year, Bianchini began a partnership with Crown Catering, who now supplies all of the fresh and prepared foods available for sale at The Healthy Way. Bianchini will expand this partnership in the future; plans include a nutrition class series and a market labeling program geared toward people with diabetes, inflammatory conditions, and those looking to avoid gluten and/or dairy. “We are thrilled to be partnering with The Healthy Way,” said Ron Clements, owner of Scotts Valley Market. “We have long respected the work of Cheri and her team at The Healthy Way, and we are excited to assist them in helping the Santa Cruz community achieve better health.”
Workshops will be given on Yoga, Qi Gong, mindfulness eating, and hypnosis for weight loss and stress reduction, and a panel of clients will share their success stories. See schedule below. There will be information booths on topics such as nutrition and acupuncture for appetite control. People can have their blood pressure checked, and B-12 and fat-burning shots will be available. Special pricing on The Healthy Way programs will be offered. Music will be provided by KPIG; the station will broadcast live from 1–3pm in The Healthy Way parking lot.

A raffle with $5 tickets will benefit Hospice of Santa Cruz County, an organization The Healthy Way has been supporting for many years.

Read more about the event here.
Sept. 10 schedule:
12-4pm: Ongoing cooking demos and food sampling
12:15 -12:45pm: Yoga for Health with Cheladee Bianchini
1:00-1:30pm:  Qi Gong for Weight Loss with Shelley Purdy, CFT
1:45-2:30pm: Panel: Meet the Experts with The Healthy Way Success Stories
2:45-3:15pm: Mindfulness Eating with Karin Leonard, CHT
3:30-4pm: Hypnosis for Weight Loss and Stress Reduction with Rainya Dann, CHT
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 10, noon to 4 p.m.

Location: 3251 Mission Drive, Santa Cruz, near Dominican Hospital

Sweet Potato Crusted Frittata recipe, serves 4 to 6 

from The Healthy Way

2 medium sweet potatoes

vegetable oil spray or coconut oil spray

2 cups baby spinach

1/2 cup onion chopped

1 cup chopped zucchini

1/2 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup low fat milk (or unsweetened almond milk for vegan version)

1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper

4 large eggs

2 egg whites

1.5 oz crumbled feta (or Myoko’s vegan brand ricotta cheese 1.5 oz)

Preheat oven to 375F

-Peel and evenly slice sweet potatoes very thinly, with a mandolin or sharp knife

-Coat a 9” round pie dish with cooking spray and fill bottom of dish with a layer of sweet potatoes.

-Cut the potato rounds in half and flare around the edge of the dish to create a pie crust

-Spray potatoes with more vegetable oil

-Bake for 20 minutes

For the filling:

-In a fry pan, spray vegetable oil and add chopped onion until translucent. Add zucchini and mushrooms. Cook till tender. Add spinach till wilted. Remove from heat.

-Pour cooked vegetables into prepared sweet potato pan.

-Combine with a whisk the milk, salt/pepper and eggs and pour over vegetables.

-Sprinkle with feta or the vegan cheese alternative.

-Bake at 375F for 35 minutes.

– Let stand 5 minutes and then enjoy!

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