Pure LOVE in a Honey Stick Form with Absolute Xtracts Edible Products

As the United States inches towards the full legalization of weed, high end marijuana is finding its way into the world of practically everything, including the foodie world.  This isn't the bygone days of pot brownies made with Duncan Hines mix; instead we have entered the world where VICE does high end cooking show entitled Munchies, ES gets pitched by press friendly marijuana companies, and the possibility that Bon Appetite or the New York Times covering edibles is an imminent reality.  So with a tip to mind expansion being built into the product, Edible Skinny made the conscious choice to enter the world of marijuana edibles coverage with Absolute Xtract’s THC Honey Straws.

 

It's simple, Absolute Xtract’s THC Honey Straws just make life a little sweeter.   From a little dab in your morning tea to pouring the whole stick on your Mama's baklava recipe, this honey is pure LOVE in drizzle form!  Edible Skinny chose to rock in the New Year with a few drops before four hours of Kirtan (yoga chanting) and it was a fantastico way to greet 2016, experiencing relaxed euphoric mindful connectedness.

Absolute Xtracts’ Honey Straws are available in Indica and Sativa varieties, in quantities of 20 mg or 40 mg. This California grown cannabis is paired with natural, local honey to yield that pure, scrumptious flavor.  Absolute Xtracts' cannabis oil is sourced in a PFC-certified lab and created with a supercritical C02 method.Absolute Xtracts strains are lab tested for mold, bacteria, and pesticide residues. The strains contain no additives. 

Absolute Xtracts caters to those with a medical marijuana card in the state California as well as Oregon.  Like all Absolute Xtracts products, THC Honey straws are designed to provide high potency THC at a low price. Honey Straws are sold individually and range in price from $5-$8.  (Totally worth the cost of a cup of coffee!) 

So if you're looking to tap into the world of pure LOVE in a honey stick form we cannot recommend enough Absolute Xtract’s THC Honey Straws.

Produce Driven Fast Casual Comes to Culver City with Picnic LA

Last month Edible Skinny was lucky enough to experience the new delectable world of Picnic LA.  Picnic LA is a fast-casual, produce-driven concept by Brad Zions (Lemonade), Elliot Silver (Vice F&B), and Noah Ellis (Vice F&B, Red Medicine) located at the corner of Culver Blvd. and Duquesne Ave. in downtown Culver City.  From Roasted Beets with Cara Cara Orange, Black Currant, Fried Garlic, and Shiso (a fabulous combination with a super tangy bite to it!) to Mary’s Chicken Leg “Tagine” with Caramelized Lemon, Tahini-Leek Sauce, and Parsley this is the world of the craft flavor profile combination.    If Restoration Hardware ever decided to start a restaurant, Picnic LA’s food would be their dishes!

The blue and white bedecked restaurant features a menu of elegant foods prepared simply, with an emphasis on seasonal veggies and composed salads, along with roasted free-range chicken, beef, and other proteins.  Its menu is dynamic, seasonal, and features flavors seen across the diverse city we call Los Angeles.  

 

Chef and partner Alex Resnick (not to be confused with Alex Reznik of Top Chef) previously worked with Ellis at Red Medicine and is heading up the seasonal, largely market-driven menu full of ins and outs in flavors and styles.  Resnick takes food seriously the way an IRS agent would approach doing his own taxes.   For Resnick, it’s all about the details. 

My absolute favorite dish was their Green Lentils Du Puy with Spicy Mustard Vinaigrette and Crispy Shallots, while my guest (Miss Julia Reed Nichols) adored the Farro & Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pickled Shallot, Peanut, Thai Basil, and Mint.  These are dishes as intricate as the Alt-J song they’ll accompany at the Hollywood Bowl. 

The masterfully branded eatery will also feature a retail component with picnic kits and accessories, foodstuffs, wines, and other specialty items curated by Silver and Ellis.  Leveraging the latest in hospitality technology, the restaurant is designed from the ground up to make in-store ordering, order ahead, and pick, and delivery as fast and convenient as possible for guests.  “Picnics on Demand” are available for take-out and delivery, making it easy for guests to picnic at the beach, the Bowl, or the back yard.  

And don’t forget to leave some room for dessert!  Picnic LA’s Pineapple Clafoutis was fantastically moist and peppered with thyme for that perfect sweet savory combination.    Other sweet tooth offerings included Picnic LA’s Key Lime Pie Bar with Graham Cracker Crust and made with Sour Cream and Dark Chocolate Pot de Crème made with Valrhona single origin dark chocolate, toasted coconut, and crunchy feuillentine.  Yummm (with 3 Ms!!!)!

So if you’re looking for that perfect 20 minute meal (other than Chipotle…) or require the perfect symphony of flavors for your trip to the LA Philharmonic, Picnic LA just might be the local neighborhood spot for you!  

Upgrade Yourself Science Wise with the Bulletproof Diet Cookbook

By Omid Vojdani
Edible Skinny Health and Wellness Editor

As a personal trainer who taught himself to cook, I understand nutrition now, but it wasn’t always that way. I spent the last five years going through many different diets and seeing what would work for me. Many of them were too strict, and others were just weird (I’m looking at you raw vegans). Some diets just plain made me feel low energy all the time, but were supposedly ‘healthy.’ 

Which means I get it when clients come to me confused, quoting conflicting news articles and way too much bro science about nutrition. How does anyone start to understand it all? Well, it all started for me when I came across a video of some silly guy putting butter in his coffee, promising unlimited energy, mental agility, and even a six pack without working out! Already having tried many diets and disliking most of them, I gave it a go, and became hooked on The Bulletproof Diet.

Pioneered by Dave Asprey (that silly guy in the video), the Bulletproof Diet focuses first and foremost on getting enough healthy fats into the body to not only help us lose weight and turn off food cravings, but also turn on our brain and mitochondria (what gives us energy through the day). On top of that, this diet also recommends a minimum of 6 servings of veggies a day, and upwards of 11 if you can. Dave believes that food should be something that not only tastes good, but also makes us feel the best that we can, not rob us of energy and give us crashes through the day. Through the last two years being Bulletproof, I’ve resorted to personal research, the Bulletproof Forums, and many failed experiments in the kitchen in attempts to feel like a million bucks. I quickly discovered that certain foods dubbed healthy by the American Medical Association (I’m looking at you, quinoa) led me to feeling lethargic and ‘hangry.’ After exhaustive online research and many a spreadsheet, I hit my stride, finding out that Dave Asprey really does deliver on all he promised with his revolutionary diet. I started leaning out without changing my workout regiment (hello abs without crunches), raising my mental clarity and even kicking my addiction to coffee (yup, one cup for all day energy).

In December, Dave Asprey finally released his Bulletproof Diet Cookbook. Now, I can tell my clients they can skip the five years of experimenting and exhaustive spreadsheets, and simply select any of the 125 Bulletproof recipes cleanly detailed out in the book. Recipes like: Steamed Artichokes with Salmon and Vinaigrette, or Cauliflower-Bacon Mash. Do you like rice, but always heard it’s too many carbs? There is a recipe and simple instructions to make low carb rice with honey. Like sweets? How about Bulletproof blueberry Gelato (only need a blender and an ice cube tray).

If you haven’t heard of the Bulletproof Diet before, or are new to nutrition, the first 50 pages of this cookbook is a beautifully written summary of how it works, and even tips for eating Bulletproof on the road. It gets scientific (yay science!), but Dave does a great job of boiling down the science into easy to understand and digest vocabulary and analogies. The book also has beautiful color picture of many of the 125 recipes.

I look forward to trying many of the recipes I haven’t had a chance to try yet, and if our readers would like, I can write up specific recipes with detailed pictures and grocery costs. But for now, just know that the Bulletproof Diet is all about using our food to make us perform better, kick more butt in life, and eliminate food cravings for good!

Oil & Vinegar, a Palate's Delight

Edible Skinny was lucky enough to visit the newest location of foodie specialty store Oil & Vinegar at the Del Amo Fashion Center during the Holiday season!  From a fierce Moutarde Royale, a fantastic mustard made with Cognac, to freeze dried Bruschetta which is perfect for a weekend camping trip (just add water), Oil & Vinegar has gourmand delights for every palate.   

 

Oil & Vinegar is an innovative and interactive Gourmet Specialty Retail concept store filled with a vast range of exclusive private labeled products.  Originating in Oosterhout, the Netherlands the brand has 109 stores worldwide, 23 which are located in the United States.  As Oil & Vinegar says, “you can taste the Mediterranean sun in all of their ingredients.” 

 

The Torarance location at the Del Amo FashionCenter location, which has been open since December 7^th, offers a variety of bon vivant Oil & Vinegar products such as herb mixes, dressings, olives, sundried tomatoes, mustards, sauces, pestos, pastas in various forms and colors, and a large variety of olive, nut/seed oils and balsamic/wine vinegar.  Comment dit on: YUMMM!!!!

Oil & Vinegar’s specialty is their “on-tap” oils and vinegars which consists of a vast variety of options including Peach Pulp Vinegar, Lemon Olive Oil, and Tomato Vinegar.  They also offer some fun sweeter options with items such as their divine Crema al Caffé, a sweet Sicilian cream with coffee.  

So if you looking for that perfectly fabulous hostess present or you just want that perfect gourmet gift for yourself, Oil & Vinegars is the perfect place to delight any palate.