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If you’ve been to the APOGEE Café in White Plains or Bedford Hills, you’re familiar with our fresh, convenient food: You can pick up a nutritious natural meal or snack after class and be home, at work or running errands with no worries about your diet or energy level. You know you’re eating fresh, natural whole foods.

This month, we’re revamping our smoothie menu: These new, cool drinks are packed with nutrition, providing a balance of macro-nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fats) with the micro-nutrients your body needs for optimum health. We can’t think of an easier way to provide you with fast, portable, tasty nutrition and energy. Our menu will feature gluten-free and vegan smoothies, too, so everyone can find a drink to suit them.

How do we pack so much nutrition into 16- or 24-ounce cup? The key is quality ingredients.

Protein: Our smoothies contain rice protein powder, almond butter, almond milk, or kefir made from low-fat milk. These are easy to digest, gluten-free sources of protein. Protein is especially useful to aid recovery after exercise. Our signature smoothie, “The APOGEE,” contains rice protein; our Nutty Monkey has almond milk and butter; the Super Green Machine is mixed with almond milk.

Fats: Many of our smoothies contain coconut milk or flax seed oil, which are natural, heart-healthy fats. Both of these fats also have disease-fighting properties and they contribute to a creamy, satisfying smoothie. Flax seed oil and coconut milk give our Apogee smoothie a nutritional punch; the Calypso Colada gets its rich flavor from coconut milk.

Fruits and vegetables: We use fresh berries, kiwi and wheat grass, providing antioxidants that help with every aspect of health, including detox and repair. Some smoothies also contain Metagenics organic greens and berries powder, which delivers the benefits of fresh fruits and greens in a concentrated, whole food form. Our Super Green Machine, Anti-Oxidant Cleanse and Apogee smoothies are packed with powerful fruits.

Probiotics: Probiotics are cultured foods that contain the beneficial bacteria essential for digestive and detox system function. Our smoothies that contain the probiotic kefir deliver multiple strains of bacteria. We’re offering both low-fat dairy kefir and coconut kefir, for vegans. Jennifer’s Kiwi Pick-Me-Up is a vegan option, with coconut kefir and wheat grass juice; low-fat dairy kefir gives the Orange Creamsicle and Calypso Colada their creamy texture.

Filtered fresh and iced water: Your body needs water to function at its best! Our smoothies will help keep you hydrated.

Read more about probiotics and kefir here.

by Jennifer Vagios, R.D.
APOGEE’s Dietitian

It’s rare that I can recommend one food that can be so many things: a tasty side dish, a high-fiber breakfast, a gluten-free option for those with celiac disease, a high-protein addition to salads, a balanced amino-acid staple for vegetarians and vegans. And this versatile food cooks in 15 to 20 minutes. Superfood? I think so!

Quinoa (keen-wah) is native to South America. Each little grain has a tail that unfurls when it’s cooked so it’s fluffy; the grains are also slightly crunchy. Like rice or other grains, quinoa has a mild flavor. The pale beige or translucent variety is the most common; the red and black varieties have a slightly nuttier flavor. Use quinoa as you would rice or couscous: as a side dish or base for a salad or in burritos or casseroles, in soups and stews, or added to muffins, as you would oatmeal.  You can also grind quinoa into flour and use it in baked goods. I love it as a breakfast grain, with chopped almonds, fruit and cinnamon. You may have seen quinoa in the APOGEE Café in salads, or even muffins.

The most nutritious grain: As versatile as it is, the real benefits of quinoa come from its nutritional profile. It contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein—the best amino acid profile of any grain, nearly as complete as an egg. A quarter cup of red quinoa has 6 grams of protein, 170 calories and 5 grams of fiber, making it a good source of fiber.

But there’s more: Quinoa is also a good source of potassium, which helps control blood pressure; magnesium, which helps to relax blood vessels, possibly reducing the frequency of migraines as well as protecting cardiovascular health; and Vitamin B2 or Riboflavin, a vitamin necessary for proper energy production within cells, also shown to possibly reduce the frequency of attacks in migraine sufferer; the amino acid lysine, essential for tissue growth and repair.

Quick to cook: You can buy quinoa in a bag or in bulk. Store it in an airtight container, as you would any grain. Before you cook it, rinse to remove a dusty residue known as saponin—just run cold water over the seeds in a fine mesh strainer. (The saponin is natural coating that actually protects the grain and helps it fend off pests). Look for quinoa from such brands as Bob’s Red Mill, Eden, Indian Harvest and 365 (the Whole Foods house brand). Ancient Harvest markets quinoa flakes as a breakfast cereal.

To prepare, add one part of the grain to two parts liquid in a sauce pan.  Allow the mixture to come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. You can also dry-roast the seeds before cooking for an even nuttier, toasty taste. Add your favorite dressing: lemon juice, olive oil, toasted sesame oil, and ginger will all complement the grain.

Let me know how you like quinoa—or, if you’re already a fan, how you use it. You can post a comment on my Facebook page or share your comments with APOGEE’s growing online community.

Now that the bright colors of fall have faded, you might think that seasonal eating has become dull, too. Not so: Enter the pomegranate. These ruby red fruits from California are in season November through February and are packed with flavor, crunch, and nutrition. Pomegranates started appearing in salads at the APOGEE Cafés this week. “Pomegranate add seasonal spirit,” says Myong, who creates the café’s dishes.

Jewel red and juicy, pomegranates deliver vitamin C, potassium and powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. The potassium and C help you recover from exercise and resist colds and flu; polyphenols help fight cancer and heart disease. And do eat the crunchy seeds inside each fruit section—they deliver 5 grams of fiber per 80-calorie half-cup serving

Getting to the delicious parts of a pomegranate can be a puzzle. Under the tough red skin are hundreds of fruit sections in membrane-lined pockets. There are several ways to remove the fruit: You can cut the whole globe into halves or quarters and ease out the fruit by peeling the membrane; or cut them in half, score the skin and then tap the outside with a rolling pin and catch the seeds in a bowl (here’s a video of de-seeding a pomegranate).

Once fruit is out, sprinkle the sections in salads or add them to sauces; they’re also a sweet-tart topper for oatmeal or granola. Or, drizzle them with orange juice and eat them with a spoon as a nutritious dessert. Myong adds pomegranate to butternut squash with pine nuts for a vegan treat in her Thanksgiving catering menu. Enjoy the season!

We hear it again and again: Good food and physical activity create a deep well of energy that you can draw from all day. Christine Corvalan has been discovering just how true this is. Christine has type 1 diabetes, and, since starting to work at APOGEE in March 2009, she’s been exercising regularly and eating the fresh, whole foods from the APOGEE Café in White Plains.  “It definitely makes a difference in how I feel,” says Christine. Her healthy habits help create a natural energy balance so the 23-year-old often needs less diabetes medication.

November is American Diabetes Month, a time to build awareness of the disease. Type 1 diabetics, like Christine, are born without the ability to regulate blood sugar naturally. They lack insulin, the hormone that moves blood sugar into cells where it’s used for energy. Type 2 diabetics develop the disease as adults; they either no longer produce insulin, or their cells have lost the ability to use it. Both types must monitor blood sugar several times a day. High levels mean they must take insulin to lower their blood sugar as excess blood sugar damages organs.

Christine has found firsthand that exercise is powerful medicine. “When I take a Pilates class at 5:30 I need a very small dose of short-acting insulin with my evening meal, if any at all,” she says. Exercise lowers blood glucose and improves the body’s ability to use insulin. The effect is the same for everyone, including type 2 diabetics and people who don’t have diabetes. Regular workouts create balanced, healthy energy and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The APOGEE Café’s soups and whole-grain based salads are also a boon to Christine’s control of the disease. Christine must eat regularly to balance her blood sugar and having such healthful foods available is a real plus. The whole grains deliver fiber, which slows absorption of food; the protein and good fats in the salads also create a steady stream of energy into the bloodstream. “Quality grains require less insulin coverage,” says Christine. “The fiber and the mix of proteins and fat have less of an effect on my blood sugar. “ A fiber- and nutrient-rich diet is another way that everyone can provide their body with steady energy and reduce their risk of developing diabetes.

Now working as APOGEE’s marketing coordinator, Christine knows firsthand how the company’s wellness philosophy translates into a healthy life.

Acai berries are available in the form of juice, pulp or capsules since the plump berries spoil too quickly for wide distribution.

The heat is finally on this summer, and the perfect, healthy way to cool off is with a cold, thick, creamy fruit smoothie. Myong blends some of the best smoothies in Westchester at The APOGEE Café. They’re made with your choice of all fresh seasonal fruits added to a soy milk and banana base, but more and more members have also been requesting APOGEE’s special smoothies made with Acai, an exotic ingredient that’s received a lot of media buzz recently.

Acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee), a small purple berry native to the Brazilian rainforest has been dubbed the new “super fruit.” With an unusually high concentration of antioxidants and other nutrients such as omega fats, amino acids, calcium, iron and replenishing electrolytes, acai has the potential to boost the immune system, fight aging, prevent cancer, lower cholesterol and provide a caffeine-free boost of energy. There is even some evidence that it can aid in weight loss. And it delivers all this with a berry-with-a-hint-of-chocolate flavor.

Too good to be true? While scientific research to support these claims is still in the early stages, the personal testimonials are overwhelmingly positive. According to Myong, “More and more of our customers are telling me how much better it makes them feel—especially those who make acai a part of their daily diet.”

If you’re looking to stock up, the APOGEE café sells MonaVie Active—acai juice enhanced with plant-derived glucosamine, which promotes healthy joints. Or, treat yourself to a super healthy acai smoothie before or after your workout. But, be forewarned—it’s deliciously habit-forming.