Wednesday, September 26

Mu Shu Pork Wraps

This recipe is perfect for those who are living a grain free lifestyle (me, at least until my wedding on Nov. 9th) as well as those who love pork (me again.)

I was able to whip up the filling and leave in the fridge before work, then throw it back on the stove for a few minutes upon arriving home. Although I enjoy the process of cooking dinner I did less snacking in the short amount of time it took "reheat" the filling and toss it into lettuce wraps. I also consumed less wine;)

Ingredients:
1 small head iceberg lettuce
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp dark sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1 (8 ounce) boneless pork loin, trimmed
1/2 cup carrots, diced
4 mushroom caps, thinly sliced
2 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup sliced green onions
3 tbsp water
2 tsp minced fresh garlic


Directions:
Combine soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch. Cut pork crosswise into 1/4 inche thick slices. Stack several slices vertically; slice into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Repaeat prodcudre with remaining pork. Add pork, carrots and mushrooms to soy sauce mixture; toss.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, onions and garlic; saute 30 seconds. Add pork mixture; saute 3 minutes or until done. Place pork mixture in each of 6-8 lettuce cups.

Friday, September 21

Chicken with Honey Beer Sauce

When I started this blog last year I titled my before and after pictures "beer" and "vodka soda." Friends thought I was being clever (and perhaps I was) but I was also being 100% truthful.

Two years ago my lifestyle was very different than it is now. On the average weekday evening I could be found either at taco tuesday (two for one tacos/beer) or "South", the bar down the street from my apartment (fried pickles, tator tots and, of course, beer.) Sundays consisted of playing kickball, which really meant sitting in a softball dugout drinking beer, followed by a trip to the local watering hole to play flip cup (beer) and beer pong (more beer).  And did I mention my favorite sport is baseball (beer) especially watching live games (more beer) and traveling to Scottsdale every year for spring training (the most beer.) So, as you can see, cutting beer completely out of my diet for three months and drinking it only on occasion now is one of the most dramatic lifestyle changes I have made.

 That said I was thrilled to have an excuse to buy a six pack and then proceed to split all but the 1/2 cup we needed for this recipe with Dave. (We couldn't let it go to waste;) I think this can also be considered cheating on my grain free diet. But it was worth it!

Ingredients:
2 tsp canola oil
4 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
tsp salt
tbsp thinly sliced shallots
1/2 cup wheat beer (I used Hoegaarden from TJs)
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Sprinkle chicken evenly with pepper and salt. Add chicken to pan; saute 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add shallots to pan; cook 1 minutes or until translucent. Combine beer and next 3 ingredients (through honey) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add beer mixture to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduce to 1/2 cup. Return chicken to pan; turn to coat with sauce. Sprinkle evenly with parsley.

Wednesday, September 19

Chickpea and Tomato Casserole with Poached Eggs

No I don't have a family to feed. Sometimes I don't even have a soon-to-be husband to feed. But that clearly doesn't stop me from making an enormous casserole and spending the next several days eating it. (Note: these leftovers make a great breakfast:)

My favorite thing about this recipe is the fried eggs on top. And by fried eggs I mean fried egg YOLKS. In the past year I have become accustomed to purchasing egg whites by the carton and ordering my omelettes sans yolk. (Which is more expensive by the way. Less egg apparently = more money. The same way our tiny bikinis cost twice as much as a pair of board shorts. Hmph.)

My least favorite part of this recipe is the cilantro. If you insist upon it be my guest but those who know me know I wouldn't let cilantro so much as occupy space in my refrigerator let alone touch my food;)


Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 jalapeƱos, seeded, finely chopped
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely crumbled feta
8 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (optional)




Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeƱos; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add chickpeas, paprika, and cumin and cook for 2 minutes longer.
Add crushed tomatoes and their juices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle feta evenly over sauce. 
Transfer to baking dish. Crack eggs one at a time and place over sauce, spacing evenly apart. Bake until whites are just set but yolks are still runny, 5–8 minutes. Garnish with parsley and cilantro (if you insist).

Thursday, September 13

Spicy Mango Chicken Salad

Trying to savor every last moment of mango season, I scoured my cookbooks and magazines for yet another mango-friendly recipe. Of course this was a week ago and by last night the groceries I had bought for said recipe were long gone. Lettuce had done double duty in salads and wraps, cucumber slices had been used to flavor water and frozen mango slices had perished in my morning smoothies. But, determined to make this work I grabbed a fresh mango from the produce mart and set out to wing it! Here is what we (Dave was instrumental in this one) came up with....

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
8 oz Thai Red Curry sauce (Trader Joe's)
 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Mango peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 cucumber (diced)
1/2 red onion (finely chopped)
Greens (I mixed spinach and kale)
Olive Oil

Cut  the chicken breasts into long, thin slices. Saute olive oil in a pan and brown the strips on either side, then add the red curry sauce. Add the yogurt to cucumber, red onion and mango slices and toss gently.
Tear the greens into bite size pieces and arrange on two plates.* Spoon the mango mixture over the top, add the warm chicken strips and serve immediately.

*I massaged a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and flax seed oil into the kale 15 minutes before serving to soften it. I then tossed with the spinach before plating.

Friday, September 7

Duck, Clementine and Spinach Salad

One of the most memorable traditions of my childhood is my parents taking me out to a "fancy dinner" (it was my choice and could range anywhere from The Olive Garden to Black Angus;) on my birthday each year. I could order anything I wanted and, more often than not, it was a steak. This is something I couldn't get at home and the bright red, delicious slab of cow filled me with wonderment.

Through my teens and early 20s I experimented with vegetarianism but ultimately went back to eating the way I had been raised - mostly lean white meat with red meat on rare (pun intended) occasion. I admit, there is a difference between the taste of a ground beef burger versus turkey burger or carne asada taco versus chicken taco. Hmmmm. . . could the amount of saturated fat have something to do with it?

As discussed here previously saturated fat is one of the "bad" types of fat (transfat being the other) and increases our "bad" cholesterol levels and chance of heart disease. Lean beef (strip steak, tenderloin, T-bone) boasts a whopping 4 grams of saturated fat per 3 oz serving. Meanwhile, the same size serving of chicken contains less than a gram (0.5g) of saturated fat. Clearly the healthier choice, correct?

Enter duck meat. Although no where near the low fat content of chicken, duck (without the skin) contains less saturated fat than beef at 3.4g. In addition, duck contains very high levels of a monounsaturated fat (one of the "good" types of fat) called oleic acid. This is the same type of fat that olive oil contains in abundance and that many studies have shown to lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and other diseases of aging.*

I found this salad recipe to be a great way to sample duck meat. And combined with the spinach, green beans and olive oil it makes for a very healthy meal.

Enjoy!

Ingredients: (Serves 4-6)
3 duck breasts (each about 8 oz)
10 oz green beans, trimmed
3 clementines, peeled and segmented
4 cups of spinach

Dressing: Juice of two clementines, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim the skin from duck breasts, place in a skillet and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Transfer the duck to a baking dish and place in the oven for 5 minutes until cooked through. Remove from oven, cover with foil and set aside.
Blanch the green beans in lightly salted boiling water for 2 minutes until cooked but still firm and bright green. Drain and refresh in cold water. Transfer the beans to a large salad bowl with the clementine segments.
Make the dressing by beating together the clementine juice, vinegar and oil in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the spinach to the beans and clementines, drizzle the dressing over it and combine well. Slice the duck meat, combine it with the salad and serve immediately.

*Despite these benefits, meat containing this level of saturated fat should be consumed sparingly (once or twice per week.) 


Wednesday, September 5

Crab Napoleon Salad

I tend to prefer my crab rolled in rice, with a side of ginger and a big glass of red wine. But this "salad" was too cool to pass up.

It's also super quick and doesn't require any "cooking" although you will have to toast the pita bread.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 4 inch whole grain pitas
Olive oil cooking spray
4 red vine tomatoes, divided
2 yellow vine tomaotoes
2 tsp avocado or extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp low fat olive oil mayo
1 tbsp grainy or Dijon mustard
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
8 oz cooked lump crab meat
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 firm ripe avocado peeled, pitted and sliced into 8 thin slices
Fresh mozzarella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a small, sharp knife, split each pita into 2 single layer rounds. Mist both sides of each round with cooking spray and transfer to a large baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until golden and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a baking sheet.

Meanwhile, prepare vinaigrette: Cut 1 red tomato in half crosswise. Over top of a small bowl, squeeze out as much juice and seeds as possible and collect in bowl. With a small spoon, scoop out tomato pulp and add to juice. Mixture should total 1/3 cup. If not, repeat with 1 additional red tomato. Stir in oil and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine mayo, mustard and lemon juice; fold in crabmeat, salt and pepper and set aside. Slice remaining 2 red tomatoes and yellow tomatoes crosswise into 1/2 inch slices.

Divide pita rounds among serving plates. layer each with avocado, yellow tomato, basil, mozzarella, crab mixture, red tomato and additional basil and crab mixture. Drizzle vinaigrette over top and around each, diving evenly. Garnish with basil sprigs. 

Stand Up Paddle Boarding


As you may have noticed I've been slacking on my fitness posts. Training for the Nautica Malibu Triathlon the past few months has left me little time to explore fun new workouts and there is only so much I can say about swimming, biking and running!

Last weekend I finally had the opportunity to do something I've been dying to try. . . stand up paddle boarding! I had scheduled my lesson in Santa Monica and was excited to "ride" the waves rather than diving under them. However, due to high surf, the lesson was rescheduled for the calm, still water of Marina Del Rey.

Although an easier place to learn, I worried that I wouldn't get the workout I was hoping for in the bay. But within a few minutes of paddling I could feel my core engaging. If you have ever stood on a bosu ball, you know what I'm talking about. (And if you haven't stood on a bosu ball imagine the feeling you get in your abs while laughing.)

Later I thought hmmm. . . I'm starting to feel this in my arms, and shoulders, and back. And, although the water was mostly flat, BOY was I flexing my glutes to stay on that board every time a boat passed by!

We had planned to have a race at the end of the lesson to give us a little extra cardio. But two hours in we had split into groups and were too busy chatting or sight seeing to break a sweat. A very relaxing workout or "active recovery" as the athletes among us would say. But, athlete or not, I highly recommend this fun alternative to your regular fitness routine.