Author Archives: Cherylanne Skolnicki

Lemony Angel Food Cake with Honey Yogurt Sauce

My husband’s grandmother adores angel food cake. It makes an appearance at nearly every family gathering upon her request. I love that a woman who has mothered 11 children (yes, eleven!) and grand-mothered nearly 40 more (you can’t make this stuff up) can have her favorite dessert every time her brood convenes for a celebration. And since we convene fairly often, we see our share of angel food cake in a year!

If you need a little twist on the original, here’s a delightful version that would be a great addition to your Easter table. With all the chocolate that’s sure to be on hand this weekend, I think a nice citrus dessert is just the thing to cap off your holiday meal. This one uses lemon juice and lemon zest for great natural flavor, and then the cooled cake is drizzled with a simple glaze made of yogurt, honey, and a little more lemon juice. The combination has a great balance of sweet and tart and the finished cake on a glass stand looks oh-so-pretty next to a basket of dyed eggs and a bunch of fresh tulips.

Happy Easter one and all!

 

Lemony Angel Food Cake with Honey Yogurt Sauce

adapted from www.foodnetwork.com

serves 8

Ingredients:

12 egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest, plus extra for garnish

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup cake flour

fresh mind sprigs for garnish

For the sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

 

Directions:

1. Place your oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer. Beat on medium speed until frothy. Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 to 4 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks, about 2 minutes longer.

3. Sprinkle the flour over the egg white mixture. Using a spatula, carefully fold in the flour until incorporated. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch nonstick angel food cake pan.

4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and a skewer inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall of the pan comes out clean. Cool cake inverted on a wire rack for 1 hour.

5. For the sauce: Whisk together the yogurt, honey, and lemon juice until smooth. Pour into a small serving pitcher.

6. Gently loosen the cake around the sides and the middle with a spatula. Release the cake and place on a serving platter. Cut into slices and drizzle with the sauce. Garnish with lemon zest and mint sprigs.

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Finding focus

It’s awfully easy to get overwhelmed. By work, by volunteer commitments, by family obligations, by debt, by clutter. When you’re overwhelmed by unpleasant things it’s often so uncomfortable that seeking relief is automatic. But when you’re overwhelmed by amazing, exhilarating, exciting things, it’s much more difficult to recognize the need for change. You’re every bit as far under water, but it’s so darn fun that you don’t even realize you’re drowning.

I know. I’m there right now! There are so many incredible opportunities popping up for Nourish and for me that I’m having a hard time staying on top of them all. I need focus. In fact, I CRAVE order. But I’m afraid that if I say no to any of these swirling, flashing, sparkling opportunities, I’ll miss my chance. And I hate missing chances. Don’t you?

I need to do it though, and do it soon! Otherwise I risk neglecting really important things as I chase these unproven but exciting new  things. I need to find my focus.

When I need to focus, I usually work on coming back to the present moment and giving my full attention to the most important things – one thing at a time. I choose a task on my list – any one task- and do it to the very best of my ability. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” I have a lot of roles – wife, mother, daughter, friend, entrepreneur, manager, coach, volunteer, student, writer, and many others. I can’t be all of them in any one moment. But I can be the very best at whatever I choose…for just a moment.

Focus is so powerful. When you need to stop the swirling, bring yourself to the present moment. “Whatever you are, be a good one.”

 

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Confessions of a Former Sugar Addict

Note: This is a guest post by Dr. Stefanie Stevenson, our Nourish Integrative Physician.

Are you addicted to sugar? Do you believe sugar can be addicting in the same way as nicotine or cocaine? If you would have asked me these same two questions five years ago my answer would have been “no”. (But I would have also been eating my Starbucks scone, drinking a Diet Coke, and wondering why I didn’t feel well). I was reminded of this last night when I watched a new movie called Hungry for Change. I encourage you to click the link I’ve included here, where you can watch it for free until March 31st.

I am a doctor and I clearly learned in my training the devastating effects of smoking, drinking alcohol, and using illegal drugs, but nowhere along the way did I learn about the negative consequences of the typical American Diet. My med school classmates and I ate our pizza, drank our Diet Cokes, and gobbled down our massive muffins as we studied pathophysiology, not realizing we were doing to our liver exactly what we were studying – making it fat.

It is a strange disconnect that we have between our health and what we eat. I finally made this connection a few years ago after attending a conference on nutrition and health. It was hearing the information in an informative manner and not in a disapproving manner that let the message sink in – it was like a close friend pointing out that drinking Diet Coke and eating a Hershey’s chocolate bar was bad for me. The other huge difference that week was being fed tasty, healthy food for the five days that I was at the conference. I was amazed by how great I felt and I was anxious to live that way every day. I can honestly say I no longer wake up craving a pumpkin scone like I used to.

If you are ready to break your sugar addiction as well, our team at Nourish can help. The answer lies in getting good solid information and learning how to fill your daily diet with healthy, real food, to crowd out the desire for sugary treats. You can reach us at info@nourishyourself.com or 513-245-4224 to schedule a FREE consultation and get on the path to thriving well-being!

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