Consolation Prize!

Mango Smoothie

Have you ever had one of those days?

One of those days that gets so aggravating that you want to buy a half gallon of ice cream (preferably chocolate with all sorts of chunks in it) and go somewhere quiet and eat it all yourself?

Well today, more specifically earlier this evening was it for me. I don't eat sugar nor do I eat artificial sweeteners so I would have had to make major compromises eating the ice cream.  I decided that I didn't want to do anything self-destructive, it wouldn't change anything and would actually make things worse.

So I made a Mango Smoothie instead, it doesn't look like much but it was wonderful. I took 1 ripe mango, 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup of milk and 1 cup of ice and whipped it up in the blender. And I actually shared. 

Old habits die hard and one of my old habits was to use food for comfort, it works in the short term but then you are left with the original problem compounded by a new one.

Roasted Broccoli, Squash, Onions & Carrots

 I'll admit that I never really liked broccoli. I would eat it of course, I just never really liked it. That is before I started roasting it. I am in favor of making sure you have raw fruit and vegetables in your diet but there is something to be said about cooking food. And your cooking method can really make a difference.




 Roasted Broccoli

3 bunches of fresh broccoli
3 cloves of raw garlic, pressed
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper

The roasted broccoli was simple to prepare. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Rinse the broccoli. Cut the florets off of the broccoli stalks and place in a bowl, cut the tender part of the stalk into pieces and add to the florets.  Add pressed garlic and toss. Place in a roasting pan that has been sprayed with oil and drizzle olive oil over the broccoli. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper and roast for 25 minutes or until the edges get a little crispy and enjoy. I have also done this with frozen broccoli, you follow the same process and don't worry about defrosting it first. Be careful not to burn it, the pieces are smaller in the bag.  You can follow this method for a variety of vegetables, the only thing you may change is the seasonings and the length of time you roast.

I served this with Squash, Onions and Carrots.

1 - 32 oz bag of frozen yellow squash
3 large carrots
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 TBSP virgin coconut oil
2 tsp cardamom
2 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste

Slice the carrots and cook for 5 minutes in coconut oil, add onion slices and saute for 3 more minutes. Dump the bag of frozen squash on top, turn heat down and place lid on pan. Allow the squash to steam until completely defrosted. Take off the lid and turn up the heat to reduce the liquid in the pan. Add spices and cook until the squash starts to brown a little.

This meal served 4 with no leftovers.

Black Bean Chili with Polenta

Here is the a picture of the recipe featured in the cooking video. Here is the recipe:


Black Bean Chili

4 TBSP olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans
1 16oz. package frozen bell pepper mix
2 tsp cumin
2 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp Chipolte chili pepper
2 TBSP garlic powder
1 tsp salt

Polenta

3 TBSP olive oil
2 cups of polenta (yellow corn grits)
2 cups of milk
4 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese (you can use parmesean or cheddar instead)

For directions, please see the video.

Resurrection Sunday Dinner

I don't post many meat recipes because I am really trying to encourage people to eat more vegetables, fruit and fish.  We generally don't need a lot of encouragement to eat meat. While I am not a vegetarian, I only eat red meat maybe once per month.

Well this past Sunday we had a real treat for dinner, lamb.

It was surprisingly easy to cook so I thought that would share the recipe.

1 Easy cut loin of lamb (this was great, because it is pre-cut, it made serving it after cooking a breeze.
1 lemon cut in half
several sprigs of fresh rosemary
several cloves of fresh garlic
salt
pepper.

You cook the lamb in a shallow roasting pan on a rack fat side up. But before cooking, flip the loin over and into each cut push a clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 of the lemon all over the meat on this side, then sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Turn the lamb over and and squeeze the other 1/2 of lemon all over the meat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place meat in oven and turn it to 325 degrees (don't pre-heat the oven first). Cook for 30 minutes per pound of meat for medium rare. Once cooked let the meat sit (rest) for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

I served this with green beans with potatoes, rice and lamb gravy. And for dessert we had
Whole Wheat Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with fresh whipped cream.

Here is the recipe for the cake:

2 TBSP Butter
2 tsp nutmeg
Fresh pineapple slices
1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup brown rice syrup or 1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of whole wheat flour

In a frying pan melt 2 TBSP of butter once melted place fresh pineapple slices on top of the butter and sprinkle with nutmeg, let this simmer. While the pineapple is simmering, place 1/2 cup of honey and 1/2 cup of brown rice syrup into a mixing bowl (I don't use sugar but you can use 1 cup of sugar if you do) add 2 eggs and beat together. Add 1/3 cup of virgin coconut oil and continue mixing as you add the milk. Mix the baking powder, salt and whole wheat flour together and add quickly to the liquid. As soon as the flour is mixed with the liquid turn off the mixer, do not beat! Mix it 1 more time by hand to make sure that there are no lumps, you want to mix the flour as little as possible. Too much mixing and the cake will be too tough to eat. Pour the batter on top of the pineapples and place into a 350 degree pre-heated oven. Bake until done, about 35 minutes. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Note: This is not a very sweet cake, if you make it with the sugar instead of the honey and brown rice syrup it will be a little sweeter but not very. You can add sweetener to the cream when you make the whipped cream but I do not. By not making it very sweet everyone is satisfied with a piece and they do not feel compelled to keep eating it, sugar usually has the effect of making you eat too much dessert.

Eating Well When the Power is Out

You have probably heard that NC was hit with some pretty devastating storms. Our home was mildly damaged (we have to have the roof replaced) and we were without power for 4 days. Our home is totally electric so that means no water as well. This made life a little interesting but we are avid campers and had supplies to keep us going. We also have great friends who brought over a generator when they found out that we were without power after a day and a half, this kept us from losing everything in the fridge and freezer and it also allowed us to get our water running. We could not run the stove off of the generator so we used the grill and the camp stove. Here is a fish recipe that turned out great on the grill:

White Ruffy with Peppers

1 White Ruffy fillet (this would probably work with any white fish, white ruffy is what we had on hand).
1/2 cup Yellow, Red and Green Bell Peppers cut into strips (we used frozen, but fresh would work as well).
1 tsp. Olive oil
1/2 tsp. dill
1/4 tsp. sea salt
dash of red pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly milled black pepper
cooking spray

Start grill, when it is ready spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray.  Place the White Ruffy fillet on the aluminum foil and drizzle the fish with the olive oil. Next sprinkle on the dill, salt and both peppers then top with the bell pepper slices. Fold the aluminum foil together on the top of the fish and then fold the sides. Grill for 10-15 minutes, do not overcook the fish!

We served this with some leftover whole wheat penne pasta: we melted 2 TBS of butter in a sauce pan, tossed in the leftover pasta and grated Parmesean cheese on top.

Black Bean Burgers

My son made these for dinner, oh my goodness they were wonderful. I told him next time he is not allowed to make them again unless he doubles the recipe. Check them out, you will love it.

More With Pasta! - Quick Pasta Parmesean

Pasta is so popular because not only is it delicious and comforting, it is quick and easy as well.
Here is a  recipe to try when you are super hungry and super short on time.

Quick Pasta Parmesean 

1 8oz.  package whole wheat spaghetti or use 1/2 of the 16 oz package.
1 16oz. package frozen green pepper/onion mix
1 12 oz. small container fresh mushrooms, sliced (I like Portabellas)
3 cloves of garlic diced or put through a garlic press
4 Tbs. Olive Oil
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesean cheese
leftover chicken or other meat cut into strips and reheated (if desired)

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Saute green pepper/onion mix in olive oil until most of the water has evaporated and the liquid in the pan has become thick (don't let it dry out). Add the mushrooms and continue to cook adding a little water if it becomes too dry. When mushrooms are soft and no longer look raw add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add the pepper/onion/mushroom/garlic mixture onto the pasta and toss (add meat if you are using it and season with salt and pepper). Place on a platter or into a bowl and grate the Parmesean cheese on top. You can find small wedges of Parmesean cheese in the deli (more expensive) or the dairy (more reasonable) section of the supermarket, it tastes much better than the powdered stuff you find in the grocery aisle and it looks a whole lot nicer as well.

This recipe serves three, at my house three of us sit down to eat and there is none left (that is why I cook 8ozs of pasta not 16). I also serve it with tossed salad and some fruit.