The Bite Me Kitchen

Vegan Mac+Cheese with Butternut Squash

2012-01-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

Growing up my mom kept our diets pretty clean and I was deprived of this magical food. Maybe it was the deprivation, maybe it's just that mac and cheese is so damn good, either way, as I've grown up - it's been a favorite of mine. High class versions, sleazy boxed versions, baked, stovetop, whatever - it's all good in my world. All good, except for the cheese. And the milk. Sad face.

I've tried various versions and felt there was always something missing. Either the color was wrong, the flavor was off or it was just made up of fake cheeze. This scrumptious version came from a beautiful site called Oh She Glows. The recipe is not only a vegan way to enjoy macaroni and cheese, but a great way to sneak in additional nutrients thanks to the roasted butternut squash. I love that the recipe uses natural, healthy, real ingredients instead of relying on anything "fake" for a synthetic taste. If you're gluten-free, simply use brown rice pasta!

Click HERE for the recipe and enjoy!

Raw Vegetable Slaw with Peanut Dressing

2012-01-04T07:43:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the easiest way to make old things new again is a new technique. We eat lots of zucchinis, carrots, peppers and snap peas, but by thinly shredding these vegetables into a slaw we discovered a new way to get raw, fresh veggies in our diet.

This handy tool is a great way to julienne all kinds of vegetables into thin strips in mere minutes. It's a nice way to make quick work of a slaw without tons of obsessive compulsive slicing. Combined with the easiest dressing known to man, you have yourself a stellar slaw full of fresh ingredients!

Serves 6 side salads
INGREDIENTS:

2 zucchini, julienned
2 carrots, julienned
1 bell pepper, finely sliced
handful of snap peas, finely sliced
handful of mixed fresh sprouts (sprouted lentils, broccoli sprouts, sunflower sprouts, etc)
2 Tbsp cilantro, minced
Juice of half a lime
1 spoonful Peanut Butter
splash of water
sririacha, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk lime juice, peanut butter, splash of water and sririacha in small bowl. Add more sririacha as necessary.
Combine vegetables in large bowl, toss to combine. Add dressing and toss to coat.
Serve with additional lime wedges as desired.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Red Pepper + Garlic Soup

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

What is it about roasting vegetables that turns them from good to flat out INCREDIBLE tasting? I can't think of a single vegetable that isn't greatly improved by a turn in the oven. Not only does roasting bring out incredible depth of color, but the flavors of vegetables really ripen in the oven. This simple soup is made by roasting butternut squash, red bell peppers and garlic until softened. The roasted vegetables are pureed with a bit of broth, and a pinch of sea salt, cracked pepper and thyme. That's it. Reheat to your liking, freeze for later, or use as a light sauce on pasta.

We served ours alongside a simple panini-style sandwich (post to come)! This soup is a great way to get three highly nutritious vegetables into your meal without added fat, dairy, or the same old side of steamed veggies heaped on your plate.

Enjoy!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium butternut squash, halved, ends trimmed off and seeds scooped out
3 red bell peppers, each with a tiny slit cut in the side for ventilation
1 head garlic
3 cups vegetable broth (or more as necessary depending on thickness of soup desired)
pinch each of thyme, sea salt and cracked pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425' and line two baking sheets with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.
Rub squash and bell pepper with a little olive oil and place on baking sheet (squash cut side down).
Place head of garlic in middle of a little square of foil. Drizzle with olive oil, and wrap up in foil. Place on baking sheet.
Roast all vegetables in oven. Turn bell peppers every 10 minutes. Remove from oven once they are lightly burnt in parts and softened. Remove garlic after 25-30 minutes when package is soft when gently squeezed.
Remove squash when it is tender when pierced with a fork about 45-55 minutes.
Squeeze garlic from bulb or use fork to pry individual cloves out and place in blender
Stem and seed bell pepper and place in blender with garlic.
Add 1 cup of broth and puree until smooth. Pour into a pot.
Remove squash flesh from skin with fork and add flesh to blender. Add another cup broth and puree in batches as necessary.
Stir all roasted, puree in pot and add more broth if necessary to thin. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Reheat if desired.

Mediterranean Panini: Tapenade, Tofu, Roasted Pepper

2012-01-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

Lately we've included a weekly sandwich/soup dinner and it's been more delicious than I expected! Sometimes the simplest dishes are the best. A variety of vegetables, some pan-crisped tofu, briny tapenade and slightly crunchy bread make for a hearty meal that takes moments to prepare. The warm, slightly crispy tofu almost mimics warm mozzarella. Just enough to transform this sandwich into something extraordinary.

I find most jarred tapenades far too oily and packed with useless fat calories. It takes about 2 minutes to make your own, and it is worth the time. Of course, if you're crunched for time, use prepared tapenade, but drain the excess oil and blot with a paper towel to remove even more oil.There's really no need for it!

Like all meals, the finer the ingredients, the better the finished product and good bread makes a big impact in this dish! I've found a bread company I like so much that I am inspired to start baking my own bread this weekend. If you're in the So Cal area, keep an eye out for Old Town Baking Co. bread.

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:

4 slices good bread
2 sandwich-sized slices of extra firm, pressed organic tofu
garlic powder
small handful kalamata olives, pitted
small handful of water packed artichoke hearts
3 oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced (or roast your own!)
1 handful fresh spinach leaves
1 Tbsp nayonaise

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat large pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
In food processor, pulse olives, artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes into a tapenade. Set aside.
Pat tofu dry and season with garlic powder. Spray pan or skillet with cooking spray. Add tofu to pan and cook about 3 minutes per side until slightly crisp and golden brown. Remove tofu from pan. Keep pan on heat.
Assemble sandwiches: Spread tapenade on bread, top with spinach, tofu, jarred peppers, spread nayonaise on other slice of bread and place on top.
Spray pan with cooking spray and gently add sandwich to pan. Press down on top of sandwich slightly to squish. Cook until bread is golden, about 1-2 minutes then spray top of sandwich with cooking spray and gently flip. Cook other side about 1-2 minutes.
Remove to a plate, slice in half and serve.

Gnocchi with Tempeh Sausage, Chard + Cannelini Beans

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

I've been on a kick using mashed tempeh in lieu of fatty sausage in a handful of old recipes that have been shelved since we changed over to a plant-based diet. Shelved no more! Tempeh is outstanding stuff - particularly when steamed and mashed with spices and seasonings. Hello high-protein, low fat, crumbly sausage substitute.

This meal is simple, requires little chopping and no special tricks. The end result tastes like something that has been slaved over and simmered for a long afternoon. Sometimes the simplest dishes truly are the best.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 package shelf stable (dry packed) gnocchi, wheat or regular
1 package tempeh, torn in chunks
1 tsp fennel seeds, dried basil, dried oregano
1/4 tsp chili flakes
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp sun dried tomato oil from jar (can use olive oil too)
2 sun dried tomatoes, diced
half onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup broth (vegetable or bouillon based)
4-6 cups chard or spinach, torn
28oz can diced San Marzano tomatoes
1 can cannelini or northern beans
additional chili flakes for garnish, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

Steam chunks of tempeh for 10 minutes
Remove tempeh from steamer
Heat 1 Tbsp sun-dried tomato oil in large pot over medium high heat
Add tempeh chunks, oregano, red pepper flakes, basil, fennel seed, garlic and diced onion
Mash with potato masher and saute until lightly browned and fragrant about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove to bowl and set aside.
In same large pot, heat 1 Tbsp sun dried tomato oil . Add gnocchi and stir to coat. Saute 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup broth, cover and steam until mostly tender.
Add 1 large can diced tomatoes, chopped chard, and 1 can cannelini beans and sun dried tomatoes.
Cook until greens lightly wilted.
Stir in “sausage”.
Serve and scatter additional chili flakes on top.

Vegan Grilled Cheese with Crispy Garlic Tofu

2011-12-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

When I think of my early twenties I think of beer and grilled cheese sandwiches. Ah, the carefree days of youth! There's little more comforting to me than crispy bread and gooey cheese. Except...I can't eat cheese. In fact, it was making me sick for thirty years. When I finally made the choice to go dairy-free I felt better every day going forward, yet I missed grilled cheese. So I set out to make a good substitute. Simply using a vegan cheese like Daiya wasn't going to cut it. That just screams fake cheese!

Lately we've been hooked on this extra firm tofu from Mother's Market by Wildwood. It's a pressed, vacuum packed, sprouted, organic, extra-firm tofu. This means it's super dense and you don't have to spend time (and endless paper towels) pressing and draining it. It slices nice and thin and cooks up perfectly. Even my mother who thinks she hates tofu loves this tofu!

The secret to this grilled cheese is a thin slice of garlic powder dusted and pan crisped tofu along with a thin layer of daiya and a thin layer of nayonaise. Find a good bread for this - nothing too dense, something airy that won't overwhelm the filling. I used Old Town Baking Co.'s Roasted Gilroy Garlic Sourdough and it was delicious!

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:

4 slices of good bread
cooking spray
1/3 cup +/- Daiya cheddar
2 bread-sized slices extra firm pressed tofu
garlic powder
1 Tbsp Nayonaise

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat cast-iron skillet or large frying pan over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray
Sprinkle both sides of tofu with garlic powder and add tofu to pan. Cook about 3-5 minutes until golden and crispy. Flip and cook other side.
Remove tofu, but keep pan hot.
Spread Nayonaise on one side of bread, top with tofu, sprinkle Daiya on top, cover with second piece of bread.
Spray pan with cooking spray and carefully set made sandwich in pan. Cook until bottom of bread is golden and crispy. Spray TOP side of bread with cooking spray and gently flip sandwich.
Cook other side of bread until golden and crispy.
Slice in half and enjoy!

Oats with Quinoa, Apple + Walnuts

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

The word weekend has a different meaning in a two-triathlete household. Instead of 48 hours of lazing about, watching movies, drinking cocktails and socializing till 2am, weekends mark the biggest chunks of training time we put in. Now before you start thinking, "Oh how dreadful! Hours of working out? What's wrong with these people?" you got to realize that it usually means being outside in sunny California at the beach swimming in the gorgeous ocean (often with dolphins or sea lions) and running or riding along the coast or through the rolling hills of Santiago Canyon with friends. Now, that's not so bad, is it?! We love what we do, and in order to do what we love, we must start the day right.

When I come up with a meal I usually go through a few key components. Each meal must contain (examples shown):

Healthy fats

Nuts and seeds

Carbohydrates

Whole grains, fresh fruit

Protein

Whole grains, protein powder, soy/tofu, psuedograins, beans

The traditional serving of breakfast oatmeal would contain oats, milk, sugar and maybe even some butter or cream to finish it. You could lighten it up by using light milk or non-fat and maybe a reduced calorie sweetener, but it's still just mostly carbohydrates. To really make this meal worth eating we completely change the ingredients. Quinoa, rolled oats, a fresh apple, cinnamon, flax seed, coconut or soy milk, walnuts and maybe a dash of maple syrup.

Quinoa is a psuedograin that is a complete protein full of minerals, nutrients and amino acids. Rolled oats are a great whole grain source of fiber (to keep you full) and minerals. Apples are a natural sweetener, sugar source and also have phytonutrients and fiber. Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory properties and enhances flavor. Flax seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids and minerals. Coconut or soy milk is a great non-dairy substitute that provides protein without the saturated fat. Walnuts are a great source of Vitamin E, anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. Lastly maple syrup is a great all natural sweetener that's full of vital minerals, make sure to buy organic and Grade A.

I know this is a lot of nerdy nutrition talk about something as simple as oatmeal, but the biggest difference in what you get out of your body is what you put into it. Eating the basic oatmeal with sugar and milk is a far cry from eating this superfood oatmeal. Always ask yourself how you can add more value into your dish! If you need more protein, you can easily whisk equal parts protein powder and water and stir into cooked oatmeal at the end.

This is a LARGE portion meant for before a long workout day. If you're not doing anything special, I suggest halving this for two people. Nutrition data is shown for a large serving.

Serves 2 large or 4 small

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup quinoa
2 cups coconut milk (such as So Delicious) or soy milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 medium apple (I used a Honeycrisp), cored and cut into chunks
1 Tbsp flax seeds, ground
2 Tbsp walnuts
2 Tbsp maple syrup

DIRECTIONS:

Combine cinnamon, coconut or soy milk and apples in medium pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Add oats, quinoa and flax and stir to combine. Simmer covered until oats are tender and most liquid is absorbed about 20-25 minutes over medium-low heat.
Divide into bowls, top with maple syrup and walnuts.
Enjoy!

Carnival Squash with Chanterelles, Greens and Wild Rice

2011-12-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

Stuffed squash is a cool-weather favorite at our house. It's easy to prepare, looks beautiful and contains a wide variety of nutrients. One of the easiest ways to make sure you get a range of vitamins and minerals is to aim for variety - different colors, different vegetables, and different grains. By making sure that every ingredient counts for something, you can take a meal from being filling to being nutritious. Think of a stuffed baked potato - sure, it's filling, and it's delicious, but mashed white potato with sour cream, chives, bacon bits, butter....not so nutritious. In contrast, this dish has squash (high in carotenoids, Vitamin A, C, and fiber), wild rice (high in protein, lysein, and fiber), spinach (Vitamins A, K, C, maganese, iron, and folate) and mushrooms (tons of minerals, B vitamins, including the elusive B12). As you can see, by altering the ingredients to those of high nutritional value, it's easy to transform the idea of a "stuffed something" into a meal that is not only filling, but good fuel for your body.

If you can't find carnival squash, try acorn squash or any grapefruit sized round squash. Any type of dark green may be used such as kale, spinach, beet greens, chard or a combination of a few! I always recommend using wild rice as it is actually an aquatic grass instead of a grain and offers significant health benefits (textural and flavor too) over brown or white rice. If you can find fresh chanterelle mushrooms, they are outstanding in this dish, but any fresh wild mushrooms or even criminis will do.

Enjoy!

Serves 4 (each person gets one squash half)
INGREDIENTS:

2 Carnival squash, halved, seeds scooped out
1/2 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 generous handfuls chanterelles (or mixed wild mushrooms), chopped in large pieces
6 cups greens (spinach, chard, kale)
1/2 cup dry sherry
generous pinch of dried thyme
Cracked salt + pepper
Olive oil
(a little under) 2 cups broth
1 cup wild rice
handful of breadcrumbs or panko
2 oz Feta cheese or daiya mozzarella *optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'
Line baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray. Rub cut sides of squash with a little olive oil and place cut side down on foil.
Roast in oven for 40 minutes or until mostly tender when pierced with fork.
While squash is roasting, cook rice by placing 2 cups broth and 1 cup rice in pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes or until grains have split open and are tender.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large pan over medium high heat. Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute another 3-5 minutes.
Add sherry and turn heat up so that it's at a rapid simmer, stir occassionally until the alcohol is cooked off and most of the liquid is gone about 8 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium-low, add greens and saute until just wilted.
Season with salt, pepper and thyme.
Remove from heat and stir in rice.
Divide filling among squash halves, packing it in as necessary. Top with breadcrumbs or panko and a pinch of cheese (or daiya) if desired.
Turn heat up to 425' and place filled squash back in oven for 5-8 minutes until breadcrumbs are lightly browned.
Serve!

Vegan Caesar with Homemade Croutons

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

I always chuckle to myself when people order Caesar salad at restaurants. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just that it's the simplest salad possible. Most people don't know why they like it, but they are drawn to it time and time again. Crisp, torn romaine. Bright, sweet tomatoes. Still-warm homemade croutons. Tangy dressing. It just goes to show that sometimes, simple is best! Yet what most people don't know is that Caesar dressing contains a raw egg yolk, a few jarred anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, raw garlic, and a few other key ingredients. I giggle because most of the people I know who love Caesar salads would NEVER order anything with anchovies or raw eggs!

This veganized version uses neither and tastes just as tangy and unique and it has hidden protein (silken tofu) in the dressing! After realizing how simple it is to make your own croutons, you will vow to never go back to those horrendous crunchy cubes that come in a box. Please? Please make that vow. If you can toast a slice of bread, you can make croutons. And the difference is a thousand-fold.

Enjoy!

Serves 4 as a salad course, serves 2 as a main (add in some grilled tempeh or tofu!)
INGREDIENTS:

1 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 slices wheat, whole grain or sourdough baguette, cut into chunks
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
sea salt

Dressing

3 Tbsp blanched, slivered almonds
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
a little under 1/2 lb. silken tofu
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 heaping tablespoon capers
2 teaspoons caper brine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Place almonds in blender or food processor and puree until sandy in texture. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend to combine. Pour into dish and allow to chill, covered.
Preheat toaster oven or oven to 375'. Toss cubed baguette with olive oil, garlic powder and sea salt. Place on foil lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown and crispy, about 5-8 minutes, tossing occasionally.
Toss romaine with Caesar dressing, divide among four plates. Top with tomatoes and croutons.

Millionare Breakfast Bake

2011-12-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

No big surprise that some of my best childhood memories center around the kitchen. One dessert, in particular, that comes to mind is a carrot-cake variation called Millionaire Cake. I know that it included pineapple, carrot, zucchini and copious amounts of sugar-laden frosting and it was delicious. By removing the frosting, the nutrient devoid boxed cake mix, 2 cups of sugar and a cup of oil or butter, we are left with the heart and soul of the cake. Finely shredded vegetables, minced tart pineapple, freshly ground flours and a hint of natural sweetness. This bake comes out of the pan with a perfect crumb and flecked with the zesty colors of carrot and zucchini.

This variation uses the same nutrition-dense ingredients as our other bakes (see here for detailed info) and is easy to prepare. We enjoy a serving either as a hearty post-workout breakfast or I eat it in the afternoon as a snack before I embark on a post-work long run. Either way, it's the perfect fuel for your body with 9 grams of fiber, 11 grams of protein and only 272 calories per serving. Oh, and it's CAKE.

Serves 4 (or can be doubled easily for 8)

INGREDIENTS:

.75c ground buckwheat groats
.25c rice bran
.5T baking powder
1T stevia or other natural sweetener
4T chia seeds, ground
2 bananas
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
.25c each shredded zucchini, shredded carrot and crushed pineapple
.75c rice milk, soy milk or nut milk
1/3c chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375' and spray 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
Grind buckwheat and chia in coffee grinder or food processor. Whisk in rice bran, baking powder, stevia, and nuts.
In blender (or by hand) combine banana, eggs, vanilla extract and milk. Mix until smooth. Stir in shredded zucchini, carrot and pineapple.
Combine wet and dry ingredients until combined. Stir in walnuts.
Pour in prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until center of cake is firm and lightly brown.
Let cool, remove from pan and cut into four pieces. Enjoy!

Veggie Soft Tacos + Quinoa with Corn

2011-12-20T09:22:00.000-08:00

Tacos are a staple in our house! Who doesn't love a warm tortilla layered with delicious goodies?! Our favorite Mexican restaurants always serve tacos alongside a heaping serving of cheese-coated refried beans and perfectly cooked Spanish rice. While it certainly tastes good, the refried beans and rice don't offer you very much nutritionally. We've cleaned it up a bit by adding corn-studded quinoa and grilled squash and zucchini. The corn naturally sweetens up the quinoa and a dash of zingy Spike lends a delicious flavor to really simple squash.

TVP (or textured vegetable protein) is a scary sounding name for a not-so-scary product. It's the natural result of defatting soy flour. When the soy oil is extracted, the resulting stuff is formed into a porous, dehydrated high-protein that not only stores well, but re-hydrates into a fantastic ground meat substitute. We like to mix ours with minced vegetables and spices to not only increase the nutrition profile, but to give it a more interesting texture.

I love using non-fat plain Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream (and it doesn't bug my stomach in limited amounts), but you can always skip it for a full on vegan feast! The variations possible on this meal are endless! Feeling daring? Skip the avocado and olives and tuck in a little kimchee and pickled cucumbers for a Korean flair or mix in some black beans to make the tacos taste even richer.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 4

1 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)
1 cup broth (seitan, vegetable or not-beef)
1 Tbsp olive oil
5 florets cauliflower, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 white or cremini mushrooms, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
generous sea salt and pepper
8 corn tortillas
1 avocado, pitted and sliced
handful of chopped ripe olives
sliced cabbage
non-fat greek plain yogurt (optional)
hot sauce (optional)

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
pinch salt
1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)

2 zucchini, sliced
2 summer squash, sliced
Spike or other natural spice blend

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare quinoa by combining quinoa, water and salt in pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover with lid. Cook for 15 minutes, checking every once in awhile, until the water has evaporated, quinoa is transparent and fluffy. Stir in corn and set aside, covered to keep warm.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower, garlic, onion, and mushrooms. Saute until very tender about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile bring broth to a boil.
Combine TVP and spices (chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder). Stir in hot broth and cover with a lid. Keep covered for 5 minutes.
Salt and pepper the cauliflower mix and stir in TVP. Adjust seasonings as necessary. Keep on medium-low to remove excess liquid.
Preheat grill pan or outdoor grill over medium-high. Spray with cooking spray. Toss zucchini and squash with a generous shake of Spike (or spice blend) and add to grill pin.
Grill until marks appear on one side (about 5 minutes) then flip and grill until marks appear. Remove to plate.
Heat tortillas in microwave (wrapped in damp paper towel for 30 sec) or on warm grill pan.
Fill with TVP mixture, avocado, cabbage, olives and top with yogurt and hot sauce (optional).
Serve quinoa and grilled veggies alongside!

Cherry, Almond, Chocolate Bake

2011-12-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

Ever since we started making breakfast bakes it's been consecutive weekday mornings of awesomeness. Due to our insane triathlete lifestyle, most mornings begin well before dawn and include at least an hour of exercise before breakfast. After that, a full work day, and often times we pack in at least another hour of training before dinner. This makes morning a hungry, hungry time. Our bodies crave real, nutritious, easy to convert into energy food. We need to both supplement our glycogen starved muscles and kickstart our metabolism for the rest of the day.

Studies show that having a healthy breakfast is one of the key ingredients to a successful weight loss / healthy living strategy. Too often we make dinner our biggest meal of the day and we head to bed with full bellies. Our bodies are busy trying to break down and digest too much food and get to sleep at the same time. It just doesn't work. Doesn't it simply make sense to give your body the best food possible right up front in the morning? Better yet, we bake these the night before (usually two days worth) and they are ready to heat up in the morning at work and they taste like cake!

Most of the bakes come in around 350-450 calories and are substantial in size! Fresh ground grains, nuts, fresh seasonal fruit, chia seeds, flax seeds, no added fats or refined sugars mean that you're getting a wide variety of nutrients first thing in the day! I don't mean just protein, healthy fats and fiber, check out the micro-nutrient chart below for some serious food nerding.

These bakes are made with buckwheat, which is not wheat at all - in fact, it's a seed from the rhubarb family! It contains eight essential amino acids and is gluten-free.We also include rice bran in the bakes as it is a concentrated source of many nutrients that exist in brown rice. Many of those nutrients like iron and an assortment of B vitamins are a little hard to find in a plant-based diet. Rice bran is a quick way to squeeze a bit more nutrition in per serving! It also has 18 grams of protein!

Serves 4 (can easily be doubled for 8)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup buckwheat groats, ground (use a spice grinder or food processor)
.25 cup rice bran
4 Tbsp chia seeds, ground (use a spice grinder or food processor)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp stevia or other natural sweetener
2 bananas
4 tsp almond extract
4 large eggs (or flax eggs, mix 4T ground flax with .75c soy or nut milk)
3/4 cup soy or nut milk
1 cup cherries, halved and pitted
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375' and spray 8x8 glass pan with cooking spray.
Grind buckwheat and chia using a spice grinder or food processor until sandy or fine.
Combine buckwheat flour, rice bran, chia, cocoa powder, baking powder and stevia and whisk in large bowl to combine.
In blender (or by hand) mix bananas, extract, eggs and milk until smooth.
Mix wet ingredients into dry.
Stir in cherries, almonds and chocolate chips.
Pour batter into pan and bake for 45 minutes until firm in the center and slightly puffed.
Allow to cool in pan, remove from pan and cut into four pieces.

*Best served slightly warm, so we microwave ours the following morning for breakfast for 30-40seconds.

Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crumble

2011-12-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

I love all kinds of winter squash - butternut squash soups, stuffed roasted acorn squash, and of course, pumpkin. Since cheesecake is out of the question for me, I was delighted to find a vegan cheesecake! My only hitch with vegan baking is that it often relies on substitutes that are just as processed and far removed from their natural source as the non-vegan versions. Vegan cheesecakes usually call for Tofutti - which sounds ok...but when I looked at the ingredients I realized it's water, sugar, corn oil, corn syrup solids, soy protein, THEN tofu, and a bunch of flavoring, coloring and preserving agents. And, it's pricey.

This wonderful recipe from Post Punk Kitchen lets you make your own vegan cream cheese filling with ingredients that you are familiar with and are a bit more natural - cashews, bananas, silken tofu, coconut oil, pumpkin, etc... Now that is something I can be okay with! I realize it's dessert, but why put junk in your body if you can put in natural, whole food?

While it took me a bit longer to bake (60-75 minutes), it set up beautifully once refrigerated overnight. The topping is essential and I would make the crust a bit denser next time (maybe make 1.5x the crust recipe) since it was so thin it disappeared under the wetter filling. Other than that, it was absolutely flawless! We were so busy taste testing that it hardly made it to the dinner table!

Please visit Post Punk Kitchen for the recipe :)

Tempeh Wellington with Mushroom Gravy

2011-12-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to lie to you Reader, this year for Thanksgiving I made an incredible meal that just so happened to be vegan. Our diet is mostly plant-based now, with the exception of the odd sushi dinner and a few eggs here and there. Both of us have noted how healthy, happy and strong our bodies feel. We have felt the benefits in our triathlon training, our recovery time, our lack of GI issues and our overall energy levels. I had no idea how much meat and dairy was slowing me down and/or causing me pain! Our bank account is pretty happy too, as we spend significantly less money at the store even with buying organic, high-quality ingredients.

Every once in awhile I still pretend I can eat cheese and it really messes me up. Our diets have changed, my stomach is happier and it's a bad call to slip back into old habits for the sake of holidays. With that in mind, I came up with this wellington idea. A wellington has four parts: pastry, duxelle, pate, and meat. It's pretty easy to see where I'm going here! Vegan puff pastry, mushroom duxelle, sunflower seed pate and a tempeh loaf made from scratch. The duxelle and pate can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for 1-2 days. The tempeh loaf could be made ahead, but really, it only takes 20 minutes (5 active minutes), so why bother?!

Simple, comforting, delicious, satisfying, rich, flavorful home style amazingness. Each step is easy to do and can be done in stages if necessary. Doing the steps ahead makes it ideal for a dinner party or holiday dinner. You'll be able to quickly assemble and bake the wellington to the awe of your guests. It slices beautifully and pairs perfectly with a simple mushroom gravy. Since the wellington tends to be a bit rich, I opted for a raw kale salad and caramelized cipollini onions to go alongside.

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

Duxelle

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb cremini or white mushrooms, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
cracked pepper, salt
small handful of parsley, minced
1/4 cup of daiya mozzarella or thick cashew cream

Sunflower Seed Pate:

1 cup finely ground sunflower seeds
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 tsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 cup finely grated potato
1 1/3 cups water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard

Tempeh:

16oz package of tempeh, torn into chunks
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 sheet vegan puff pastry (will need approx one 12" x 8" rectangle)

Onions + Gravy:

1 Tbsp olive oil
6 cipollini onions
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp Earth balance or olive oil
1 cup red wine
2 cups veggie broth or seitan broth (saved from making seitan)
cracked pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp arrowroot powder

DIRECTIONS:
*Note - if you're doing this all at once, make sure you thaw your puff pastry while the pate is cooking. It can take some time.

Prepare sunflower seed pate by mixing dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Rinse the grated potato in a sieve to remove starch. Drain and squeeze potato until it is very dry.
Add the remaining ingredients along with the potato to the dry ingredients.
Preheat your oven to 375'.
Spray glass pie pan with cooking spray and pour the pate mixture into it.
Place in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 350. Bake 35-45 minutes until set, but still slightly damp in middle.
Let the pate cool for an hour, then chill it as you do everything else (or overnight). (This also freezes well — cut it into wedges and wrap in plastic wrap.)
Next, prepare the duxelles by heating 1 Tbsp oil in medium saucepan over medium high heat and add the mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Saute until softened about 10 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and continue to saute until the liquid has evaporated - roughly another 10 minutes.
Gently press mixture to release excess moisture and wipe liquid out of pan. Transfer mushrooms to bowl, stir in thick cashew cream or daiya and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Prepare tempeh by placing torn chunks in a steamer basket and steaming over high heat for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to touch. Mash tempeh with soy sauce and nutritional yeast with a potato masher or fork. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 450'. Spray foil lined baking sheet with cooking spray.
Lay out your puff pastry on foil. You're going to make a layered loaf in the center. You will need enough pastry to wrap over the loaf, so depending on the size of your pastry sheet, that will determine the size of your loaf!
First layer on sunflower pate, about 1/4" thick, leaving enough room for folding over the finished loaf.
Next, top with a layer of duxelles, pressing into the pate, to form a firm loaf.
Third, form a rectangular loaf of the tempeh, about 1"-1.5" thick and press on top of the duxelles.
Fold short edges of pastry in, fold larger edges over to seal completely.
Flip over carefully so that seam is on the bottom.
Bake at 450' for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375' and continue to bake for 25 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove and let stand before cutting.
Meanwhile, make gravy by heating 1 Tbsp olive oil in pan over medium high heat. Add cippolinis and saute about 10 minutes, flipping occasionally until soft and browned.
Remove onions from pan and keep covered in pot or bowl and add flour and earth balance to pan and cook until lightly browned (forming a roux for the gravy). This will take about 5-6 minutes.
Add red wine slowly and whisk to blend roux into wine. Turn heat up to high and lightly boil strong alcohol flavor off for about 5 minutes. Whisk in broth, thyme and pepper.
Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until thickened about 20 minutes. Add mushrooms to gravy and stir in arrowroot if additional thickening is desired.
To serve, slice wellington and top with gravy, onions alongside.

Tempeh-Kale Macro Bowl with Miso-Tahini Dressing

2011-12-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

Macrobiotics - sounds fancy, doesn't it? Let me reassure you, it's nothing complicated. Macro (large) and bios (life) makes for something rather positive - large life food? Okay! A macrobiotic diet consists of eating primarily grains and fresh vegetables and avoiding processed food. Sounds...well....normal, if you ask me.

Moving away from packaged, processed food can be the first step of many towards an evolved diet and balanced spectrum of health. Simply put, the more processes the raw food has to go through to become what's in a package, the less value it has to your body and the more taxing it is to break it back down. Your body wants simple things - carbohydrates, healthy fats, easy to use proteins, water, nutrients. It doesn't need stuff that you cannot pronounce, preservatives, flavor enhancers, or grains that have been stripped of nutrients and then enriched with other nutrients. It just wants fresh, natural, easy to use fuel.

The more work that our bodies have to do to break down complicated packaged meals, process often difficult to digest dairy products and attempt to deal with meat that hangs out in the digestive tract for a long time, the less energy your body has to power the rest of it's work. Your body requires energy to heal your sore muscles, build up your immune system to ward off colds and diseases, to power your workouts and keep your brain functioning. The less your body has to work at digestion, the more resources are available for everything else! Once I grasped this concept, my idea of food as fuel shifted entirely!

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

1 cup short grain brown rice (cook per your rice cooker or these instructions)
pinch of garlic powder or dried garlic
2 heads of kale, rinsed and chopped
4 small handfuls of sauerkraut, rinsed and pressed dry
1 package whole grain tempeh (8oz)
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 spoonful sweet white miso
2 large spoonfuls tahini (sesame seed butter)
2 spoonfuls of water
cracked sea salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Cook rice with a pinch of garlic powder according to either rice cooker or stove top directions.
Preheat oven to 400'. Line baking sheet with foil, spray with cooking spray.
Combine soy sauce and water in a zip lock bag.
Slice kale in half so you have two thin sheets. Cut these sheets into four pieces each for a total of 8 pcs. Place in ziplock with marinade and set aside while doing everything else. Turn occasionally.
Scatter kale over baking sheet. Mist with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.
Bake until wilted and slightly crisping at edges about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Combine sweet white miso, tahini and 2 spoonfuls of water and either use an immersion blender or whisk by hand until smooth! Set aside.
Heat pan or stovetop grill pan and coat with cooking spray over medium high heat. Add tempeh to pan and cook about 5 minutes per side until lightly browned. Flip and cook the other side, basting with the reserved marinade as necessary.
Divide rice between four plates, top with kale, sauerkraut, tempeh and drizzle with plenty of sauce.

Wheat Spaghetti with Kale, Sun-Dried Tomato and Poached Egg

2011-12-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

The holidays are so frenetic and busy that some nights it seems I hardly sit down before it's time for bed. Add in that it's my busiest work time of the year and training for a half-marathon and there's even less time! Eating a healthy, simple to prepare dinner is at the top of my wish list. Sometimes simple food can be transformed into something special by using a different technique. Roasting kale brings out the best of it's character - slightly crispy, definitely tender and full of flavor. A few minced sun-dried tomatoes add a burst of sweet to balance out the slightly bitter kale. Wheat spaghetti, sauteed shallots and a delicately poached egg round the dish out.

If you're 100% vegan, opt for a slice of grilled or baked tofu - it would stand in nicely for the egg. If you are using eggs, make an effort to find local, cage-free, organic grain-fed eggs. You are what you eat, and if you are putting crap into your body, you're going to get poor results!

Remember to always get your water boiling, as there is nothing more frustrating than watching it boil while everything else sits ready! For a really easy way to poach eggs, check out these Poach Pods.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz whole wheat spaghetti
1 head of kale, chopped into small pieces
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
2 shallots, sliced
4 jarred sun-dried tomatoes
1 tsp oil from sun-dried tomato jar (*full of flavor!)
salt, cracked pepper
2 eggs

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400' and line a baking sheet with foil.
Spread kale on baking sheet and spritz with spray oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake for 10 minutes or until tender and slightly crisp on edges. Remove from oven and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a pinch of salt also bring a small pot of water to boil (large enough for 2 eggs or 2 poach pods). Begin to cook spaghetti according to directions while doing step 5.
In sauce pan, heat 1 tsp sun dried tomato oil over medium high. Add garlic and shallots and saute until tender, about 8 minutes.
Drain pasta when done and return to pasta pot. Add sun dried tomatoes, kale, and garlic-shallot mix and toss to coat. Keep warm on stove.
Spray poach pods with a little oil. Crack an egg into each pod and gently place in the boiling water. Cover the pot and let water boil gently for about 5 minutes. Remove pods from water.
Divide pasta between two plates, place one egg on each plate and serve!

Honey-Thyme Roasted Pear Salad with Spiced Walnuts

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

This simple but elegant salad is sure to impress your guests with its delightful presentation and perfect blend of fall flavors. Local organic honey is brushed onto a thinly sliced pear and dusted with a touch of thyme before being roasted until tender and warm. Walnut pieces get a healthier and tastier version of "candying" by taking a quick flash in a frying pan with some spices, some natural sweetener and a spritz of cooking spray. Full flavor, but much less wasted fat and calories than candied spiced walnuts! Served on a bed of spinach with a drizzle of high quality balsamic vinegar, this is one remarkable dish. Feel free to add or omit the goat feta as desired.

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:

1 ripe pear
4 cups spinach
1/4 cup walnuts
pinch each of cayenne, sugar (or xylitol), salt
honey
pinch of fresh or dried thyme
cooking spray
high quality balsamic vinegar
2 oz feta (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

preheat oven to 400'
Halve pear, use a teaspoon or melon baller to neatly scoop out seeds. Place pear cut side down and using the knife at an angle, slice the pear from 1/2" from the stem all the way through the bottom so that it can be slightly fanned out.
Transfer to a foil lined baking sheet coated in cooking spray.
Brush pears with honey and sprinkle with thyme.
Bake 10 minutes until tender and golden.
Meanwhile, make spiced nuts by placing the walnuts in a pan over medium heat. Toast for 2 minutes, then scatter with cayenne, salt and sugar. Spritz with cooking spray lightly and toss nuts to coat. Continue to toast for 1 more minute, remove to a plate.
Arrange spinach on two small plates, drizzle with nice balsamic, scatter walnuts and feta (if using) over the spinach. Top with pear and slightly fan out over spinach.

Poblano-Corn Chowder [Vegan]

2011-11-18T10:14:00.001-08:00

Pardon the crappy cell phone shot!

I'm really excited to post this recipe as it's changed my little non-dairy world. I'm a girl on a mission when it comes to soups right now. We're making 1-2 soups a week for a friend in need. Fresh, organic, plant-powered soup is easy on the body while providing quickly assimilated nutrients. Think that vegan soups are limited to watery, tasteless noodle soups and bean stews? Not any more! We've found a way to make cashew cream so smooth and so creamy, that it will fool even the most suspicious taster. This isn't "good for being vegan" it's just plain GOOD.

I've remade one of my favorite soups Poblano-Corn Chowder with Shrimp except I removed the bacon, the shrimp, the creamed corn (lots of HFCS), the milk and the cream. You might ask the same question my curious mother did, "So...then...what's left in it?" What's left? Magic. Diced vegetables, mild poblano chilies, fresh corn, tender potatoes and a rich, creamy broth. I added in diced tofu for protein and the cashew cream adds a touch of healthy fat and a little protein. Serve with a side salad tossed with a pepita dressing for a complete meal!

Serves 8 - [hint: make extra, this freezes beautifully in ziplock bags!]

INGREDIENTS:

1 T olive oil
3 stalks celery, diced
5-7 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
3 large poblano chilies, diced (*looks like a large dark pointy bell pepper)
5 ears fresh corn or 4 cups frozen organic corn (or last resort 2 cans organic corn)
4 medium white rose potatoes diced into 1/2" cubes
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 cup cashews
2 cups water (for cashews)
1 T chili powder
1-2tsp seasoned smoke from Trader Joe's or a pinch liquid smoke (last resort, use 1 T bbq sauce for smoky flavor, but if you can get the TJoe's stuff - it's the bomb)
2 tsp arrowroot or cornstarch
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and diced into cubes
handful minced cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Turn off heat, put cashews in hot water and cover for 10 minutes. This helps soften the nuts if you didn't soak overnight (which I never remember to do).
The best method is to place the nuts and liquid in an immersion blender cup and use the immersion blender to liquify the nuts. It takes forever but we got the smoothest consistency this way. Or use your Vitamix. If you've just got a regular blender or food processor, just process the HELL out of this. It will seem chunky and gritty, keep blending. It will eventually be smooth, slightly foamy cream. Don't give up ;)
Place potatoes in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until just barely tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In large stock pot, heat 1 T olive oil. Add celery, garlic, onion and poblanos and saute until fragrant, about 8 minutes.
Add corn, potatoes, vegetable broth, water, chili powder, and seasoned smoke. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add tofu and cook another 8 minutes.
Whisk in the cashew milk.
Remove 1 cup of liquid and stir arrowroot or cornstarch into it.
Whisk into the soup and bring the temperature back up to simmering.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Roasted Butternut + Caramelized Onion Galette

2011-11-13T19:35:00.001-08:00

This rustic fall vegetable galette is the perfect entree for a chilly November night. Flavorful kalamata olives stud the biscuit-like crust and offer a nice balance to the sweet roasted squash and caramelized onion filling. We added a handful of crumbled veggie sausage and a touch of feta for added flavor. To make this vegan, opt for a scattering of vegan cheese or omit altogether!

Get the squash roasting first thing, so that it's cool enough to handle by the time your crust is ready to be filled. The whole dish is "rustic" meaning that your crust does not have to be perfect! Allow the natural flavors and textures of the season to shine in this comforting dish. Never made dough? This is more akin to a pie crust than a pizza dough. Expect it to be slightly crumbly and a little dry! Indulge in a generous sized piece after enjoying a spinach salad with honey-thyme roasted pear (coming soon)!

Recipe is based on this Eating Well recipe

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 spoonful honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped pitted Kalamata olives
1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
1 onion, sliced
1 T extra virgin olive oil
cooking spray
1/2 package Gimme Lean breakfast style veggie sausage, broken up into small pcs
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp ground sage
cracked pepper
sea salt
2oz feta or goat cheese (I used goat feta) or vegan sub (*omit for vegan dish!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400'. Spray foil lined baking sheet with cooking spray and place halved squash cut side down on the sheet. Spray top with cooking spray and place in oven. Bake for 45 minutes, check for tenderness and cook longer if necessary. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool to touch. Place pizza stone in oven to preheat. (If you don't have a pizza stone don't worry.)
Meanwhile, prepare dough by whisking flours, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Whisk honey, water and olive oil in separate bowl. Form a well in the center of the flour and slowly whisk liquid in, stirring.
Add chopped olives and continue to knead by hand to incorporate dry ingredients add small amounts of water and/or oil as needed. It will be crumbly, but you will want it to stick into a ball and hold shape, but a little dry and crumbly is ok.
Form dough into a ball and place in ziplock bag or saran wrap and set in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Heat 1 T olive oil in small saucepan. Add onions and a pinch of salt and cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or until golden brown and soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat cast iron skillet or pan over medium-high and spray with cooking spray. Add veggie sausage and brown about 3 min per side. Remove and set aside.
Scoop squash flesh out from skin shell and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Mash gently with potato masher or fork.
Remove dough from refrigerator and place on lightly floured work surface. Roll dough out using a rolling pin (or a floured bottle of wine works in a pinch!) until it is roughly 12" diameter.
Spread mashed roasted squash on dough, leaving a nice 2" border around the edges. Top with caramelized onions and sausage. Fold edges of the crust over the filling decoratively or messily (however you prefer).
Gently transfer galette to pizza stone or to foil lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes. Scatter goat cheese or feta on top and bake another 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before slicing!

Rainbow Roasted Veggie Pilaf

2011-11-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

Consider this dish the "little black dress" of your culinary repertoire. Guys, it's your wingman dish. It works as a side, it works as a base for food on top, it looks good, it tastes good, it can be made days ahead, served hot, eaten cold. Everyone loves it.

It's not always easy to get in a variety of nutrients as we tend to grab the same 2-3 vegetables every time we breeze through the produce section of the market. Steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots? Again? A little variety not only excites the palate, but provides you with a full array of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. The easiest way to do this is to "eat the rainbow" and I'm not talking about Skittles. Grab things you've never eaten before - make it a goal to try stuff you've never had!

Red: Beets, red chard, radishes

Orange: Carrots, bell peppers, sweet potatoes

Yellow: Bell peppers, onions, yellow beets, summer squash

Green: Chard, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, zucchini

Purple: some types of kale, purple peppers, purple potatoes, rutabaga, turnip

Brown: Mushrooms, yucca root

White: Garlic, onion, parsnip, cauliflower

Roasting is the easiest way to prepare a big vegetable medley like this. Chop everything roughly the same size, toss with a tiny bit of olive oil, a generous crack of salt and pepper and roast on baking sheets until golden and tender. To amp up the value of this dish I combine it with a mixed grain pilaf. I choose 3-4 high nutrient grains and cook them separately. Don't stick to just rice! Try wild rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth, or wheat berries! Sometimes I throw in a handful of something quick-cooking like cous cous (regular or pearl) for a textural difference.

I serve this as a side dish to marinated and grilled tofu, underneath a perfectly cooked piece of salmon, with scrambled eggs, with chunks of homemade bean sausage or cold as a healthy snack. Add something BBQ'ed and a few crispy shallots. Add a little soy sauce and some furikake. Add feta and a little dill. It works with everything.

Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:

3 beets (golden or purple), stems trimmed off and washed
2 medium carrots, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1-2 large crowns broccoli, diced
1/2 head cauliflower, diced
1 onion, diced
15 Brussels sprouts, stem trimmed, and quartered
1 head kale, chopped
1 large zucchini, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper
1 cup wild rice
1/2 cup wheatberries
1/2 cup quinoa
1/3 cup millet
1/2 cup cous cous
water
Furikake (My favorite types are Shiso and Nori ) - optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425' and line two baking sheets with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.
Place beets on foil and spray with olive oil. Wrap tightly in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake on bottom rack for 30 minutes and check if tender with knife. If not, re-wrap and bake 15 minutes longer.
Place carrots, bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, onion and zucchini in one bowl. Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil. Toss to combine and spread out on baking sheet. Place in oven on top rack and bake for 10 minutes or until softened slightly. Remove from foil and place in large bowl.
Toss Brussels sprouts with 1 tsp olive oil and place on same baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes until browned. Remove and add to same bowl.
Scatter kale on baking sheet and spray with olive oil and a dash of cracked pepper and sea salt. Bake 10 minutes until softened and/or lightly crisp. Add to large bowl with other veggies.
Meanwhile, bring 2 cups water to boil and add 1 cup wild rice and a pinch of salt. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cover for 45 minutes. When tender, add to bowl with veggies.
Bring 2 cups water to boil. Add quinoa and millet. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 15-20 minutes until millet is tender and quinoa is translucent and fluffy. Add to bowl with veggies.
For cous cous, bring a little over 1/2 cup water to boil with a pinch of salt. Add cous cous, cover pan and remove from heat. Allow to sit for 15 minutes covered. Add to bowl with veggies.
Now you have a large bowl of roasted veggies and mixed grains. Taste and season with salt, pepper, furikake or fresh herbs. Nuts or seeds may be tossed in for added nutrition and crunch!

"Cheese" Enchiladas, Spanish Rice & Non-Refried Beans

2011-10-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Being born and raised in Southern California means that my exposure to quality Mexican food started in the womb. Comfort food, for me, is a generous serving of well-salted tortilla chips, tacos or cheesy enchiladas and an huge heap of re-fried beans and Spanish rice. Not only is that not exactly par for the course of my diet, it's just...SO much fat and cheese. I set out to make the best faux Mexican food I could make. While you don't see a whole lot of healthy fresh veggies on the plate above, it's a ton lighter than standard Mexican fare and scratched the comfort food itch!

The "cheesy" filling is crumbled tofu mixed with nicely melting Daiya cheddar and a few jarred jalapenos for flavor. You honestly won't know that it's tofu! It just seems right. Warm, cheesy, deliciousness. Enjoy.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

8 small corn tortillas
1-2 cups enchilada sauce
1 block firm tofu, drained and crumbled
3 cloves garlic, minced
Taco Seasoning: 1 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin,1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup Daiya vegan cheddar, divided in half
1 small can sliced ripe olives
small handful cilantro, rinsed and chopped
2 cans pinto beans
2 cloves garlic, minced
Handful of pickled jalapenos, diced
1 c canned, diced tomatoes
1/2 c jasmine rice
1/4 c onion, diced
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
1/2 c water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'
Begin with the rice by sauteing 1/4c diced onion in 1 Tbsp olive oil until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp chili powder, bay leaves and rice. Cook over medium about 2-3 minutes.
Add water and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook, covered for for 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until excess moisture is gone. Remove bay leaves. Cover and keep warm.
Prepare pinto beans by draining can into a bowl (reserve bean liquid separately from beans).
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in pan over medium high and saute 2 minced cloves garlic until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add beans and mash with potato masher or fork. Add bean liquid a little at a time until it's the right consistency (I only used about 1/2 cup liquid). Stir in a touch of diced pickled jalapenos. Cover and set aside.
In large pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute minced garlic for 2 minutes. Stir in crumbled tofu and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Stir in taco seasoning mix to combine. Add rest of diced jarred jalapenos and 1/2c Daiya cheddar.
Coat 9x13 glass pan with cooking spray. Pour 1 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of pan.
Warm tortillas in microwave for 0:30-1:00 until warm and pliable.
Spoon filling into center of each tortilla, wrap up and set seam side down in glass pan and repeat until all tortillas are gone. If you have extra filling, just stuff it in the ends of the enchiladas in the pan.
Top enchiladas with the rest of the enchilada sauce. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil, top with rest of Daiya cheddar and olives and bake 5 more minutes.
Serve 2 enchiladas per plate, a serving of rice and beans and garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Nutrition: For a "comfort meal" not too shabby!!!!

Pulled "Pork" Sandwich [Seitan]

2011-10-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

Oh. Yeah. You might be asking yourself, "Self, is that sandwich as good as it looks?" and the answer would be HECK YES it is. Since we've been on the seitan making train for awhile now, we're coming up with more and more ways to use this amazingly cheap, satisfying, meat-alternative. BBQ pulled pork? With homemade BBQ sauce? Yes please.

Nothing too fancy here, we made this BBQ Sauce (seriously, it's easy, do it), then sliced our seitan, made a quick coleslaw, and put it all together. I don't know about you, but I could eat this every day. I've made pulled pork, and I like pulled pork, but this just takes about 80% less time than pulled pork and it tastes about 100% as good!

Makes 4 sandwiches
INGREDIENTS:

1/3 c (or more) The BMK BBQ Sauce
1/3 recipe of Homemade Seitan
1/2 red onion, finely diced
pickle relish
4 whole grain buns
1 cup red cabbage, finely sliced
1 large carrot, shredded
1/3 c non-fat plain Greek Yogurt (or vegannaise)
splash water
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Slice seitan into under 1/4" slices and then cut into strips crosswise.
Heat BBQ sauce in pan over medium-high heat. Toss seitan with sauce and warm.
In bowl, whisk yogurt or vegannaise, water, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and lemon juice. Stir in cabbage and carrot to coat.
Toast or warm buns
Assembly sandwiches - spread a layer of pickle relish, top with onions, pulled pork and coleslaw.

The BMK BBQ Sauce

2011-10-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

BBQ sauce...smoky, sweet, spicy and downright delicious! There's a few condiments in life I cannot live without - BBQ sauce and pickle relish being my top two. Unfortunately, when you look at the ingredient list on a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, ketchup or marinade, a boat load of sugar is usually the key ingredient. It's as if they make simple syrup and then figure, eh, what the heck, toss a few tomatoes in. Never mind all the ingredients with confusing chemical sounding names!

I'm going to start preparing and bottling our favorite condiments to have on hand in lieu of funky store-bought varieties. The goal was to have this bottle (above) for some time, but...um...we dusted that thing in a few days. What's in my crazy concoction? The secret ingredients are high quality canned crushed San Marzano tomatoes and whiskey. Sure, there's other ingredients, but the whiskey really makes it special. And not in that "drank too much whiskey and are stumbling around" kind of special.

Make a bottle, make a vat, whatever suits you! Keep an eye out for a super-freaking-amazing BBQ Pulled Seitan Sandwich coming tomorrow! Want to know where to get a handy glass bottle for your awesome-sauce? We save most good glass bottles and jars we buy, sanitize them in hot water and store for later (like now)!

Makes 1 bottle

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
15 oz can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
1.5 c water
3 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp molasses
1/4c apple cider vinegar
1/4c lemon juice
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4c whiskey

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil over medium-high in saucepan. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder and saute another minute. Add remaining ingredients, whisk thoroughly, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.
Use immersion blender to blend thoroughly.
Allow to cool and bottle.

Kale Chips

2011-10-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

I laugh every time I see people snatching up bags of kale chips at the market for $7 or more. Hah! Suckers. I know, kind of mean, but come on folks - it's kale. The green leafy stuff they line the fish display case with. It's been relegated to the "decoration" section of the food world up until a few years ago when someone baked it and discovered it's totally freaking amazing when baked. Capitalizing on your laziness, they introduced organic kale chips in bags at stores. But, really, at the end of the day? That's just kale. Baked. Bagged. And they sell kale at the market, for something around 99 cents. Try these out, then join me in snickering at poor suckers at the market.

What's that? You don't like kale? Join the club! No one thinks they do. Adam didn't like it. No sir. Didn't want ANY kale in our house. He'd indulge me with beet greens, Swiss chard, and spinach but not kale. Until I made some kale chips and behold a convert! A little olive oil goes a long way, so does some salt, pepper and garlic granules. Feel free to experiment with the spices!

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch kale
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
a few cranks of a sea salt grinder
a few cranks of cracked pepper grinder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'
Wash kale. Lay kale out on towel. Roll towel up (to dry kale).
Tear or cut thick center rib out of kale leaf and discard.
Tear kale leaves into chunks.
Toss in bowl with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
Line baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.
Arrange kale on baking sheet(s) in a single layer and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy.
Laugh at the suckers, it's ok. I won't judge.

Seitan Philly Cheesteaks

2011-10-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Is this genius or what?! I'm not even going to be shy about how damn good these "cheesesteaks" were. Nothing cheesy and nothing steaky, it's more of our amazing homemade seitan sliced up and sauteed with mushrooms, onions, peppers and a little seasoning. This sandwich is downright sinful tasting, but so much healthier than the traditional version which consists of steak, onions, bread and cheez whiz! Cheez whiz? For real?!

We don't adhere to any strict diet, so we used London Pub's Steak and Chop sauce because it's freaking yummy but it does contain anchovies, HFCS, and a handful of other crap that I wouldn't recommend eating. It's hard to find around here as well, so I am going to attempt to make a homemade version that omits the junk and keeps the flavor. I will keep you posted on that!

It's pretty simple to make and an unbelievable way to use seitan! Granted, you're going wheat product on wheat product here, so reserve it for a carby splurge meal and sneak a salad alongside. Don't eat too many carbs or you'll end up like this guy.

Our "fluffy" Maine Coon, Francois. This is how he sleeps!

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

1/3 lb of seitan from this recipe, sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 ea small red and green bell pepper
1 small onion, halved and sliced
5-7 mushrooms, thickly sliced (cremini or button)
2 Tbsp steak sauce or for now, google a vegetarian steak sauce recipe (until I've got mine up)
sea salt, cracked pepper
4 whole wheat rolls
4 slices provolone, non-dairy cheese or yogurt cheese, cut in half

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high and add onions, bell peppers and mushrooms. Saute until onions are golden brown and everything is slightly tender, about 5 minutes.
Add steak sauce, salt and pepper. Add seitan and stir to combine and heat thoroughly.
Slice buns lengthwise, but not all the way through. Warm buns in oven or toaster oven at 300'.
Stuff with 1/4 of filling and top with one cheese slice, cut in half (two triangles).
Place back in oven to melt cheese and serve.

Cornmeal Crusted Tofu + Raw Kale Salad

2011-10-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

Another quick weeknight meal - this cornmeal crusted tofu is simple and delicious. I highly recommend serving a little BBQ sauce alongside the tofu for dipping as plain, the tofu is a little bland. We rounded out this dish with some mashed roasted sweet potatoes (with skins on). Not only are roasted mashed sweet potatoes easy, they are high in Vitamin C, B6 and potassium. Don't let the raw kale salad deter you - it's super easy to make and is a fantastic way to get some nutritious greens in your day. While kale is usually a bit tough when raw, marinating and rubbing the chopped kale with a little olive oil tenderizes the leaves and enhances their flavor. I suggest using a high quality oil for this - we used the Koroneiki olive oil from Oliver's in San Clemente although, I could see where using a truffle oil or a walnut oil would work fabulously as well. Kale is such a nutrient dense vegetable that I've been attempting to include it in our diet 2-3x a week! A single cup has over your RDA for Vitamins K and A and almost all your RDA of Vitamin C in addition to fiber, minerals, flavenoids, and almost no calories.

The raw kale salad is garnished with a handful of hemp seeds for added crunch and nutrition. Maybe you haven't heard of hemp seeds or the very notion of "hemp" conjures up your extra-curricular activities in college...but before you call me crazy let me tell you a little about this special seed. Hemp seeds are just like any other high nutrient seed that you might be more familiar with such as flax or chia. They are high in protein, omega-3 fatty acids and are an excellent source of zinc, magnesium, phosphorous and iron. For those of you who are veggie/vegan iron can be a hard thing to get enough of so here's a great source!

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

1 package of extra-firm organic tofu
1/4 cup cornmeal, ground finer in coffee or spice grinder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
BBQ sauce for serving alongside tofu

3 large sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise
cooking spray
1/4 cup soy or almond milk

4 cups kale, ribs removed and leaves chopped
1/2 small red bell pepper, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
squeeze of lemon (from about half lemon)
1/4 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp hemp seeds
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375' and line baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray and place sweet potatoes cut side down on foil. Bake until tender, about 30-45 minutes.
Remove from oven and place in bowl with soy milk. Mash with potato masher or fork and set aside, covered, to keep warm.
Prepare salad by combining kale and 1 Tbsp olive oil in large bowl. Massage oil into kale for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except hemp seeds) and toss. Set aside to marinate while you do the tofu.
Drain the tofu and press with paper towels to remove excess water.
Combine the cornmeal and spices in shallow bowl.
Slice the tofu into 8 pieces and lightly coat in cornmeal mixture.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and add tofu. Pan fry each side until golden brown about 2 minutes per side.
Serve tofu with BBQ sauce alongside, kale salad (garnish with hemp seeds) and mashed sweet potato.

Mexican Lasagna

2011-10-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, we eat healthy, clean, surprisingly vegan meals most of the time. Yet, every once in awhile, we crave something a little dirty and splurgy. My mom's made this recipe for as long as I can recall and it's one I learned to make at a young age. It's really versatile - don't eat cheese? Use daiya. Don't like meat? Use TVP or smart ground. Don't like Mexican food? Okay, there's no help for you (sorry).

This is not the same recipe as we started with, as I can't help but lighten it up some! IF you can eat only your serving (1/8th of the pan) then the calorie count is awesome. The problem lies in not shoveling in two servings.... Good luck.

Mexican Lasagna makes a full 9x13" pan, freezes and reheats perfectly, tastes good even when it's cold and is a good dish to whip up for a hungry group. As always, adjust the recipe to your tastes. I'm going to write in the ingredients as used in the standard recipe with suggestions alongside. To keep it simple, it's basically chili layered on tortillas with some kind of a cottage cheesy layer in the middle.

Serves one (kidding, makes a 9x13 pan - serves about 8)
INGREDIENTS:

12 corn tortillas
1 T olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef (or turkey, chicken, TVP meat mixture or smart grounds)
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T chili powder
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 (15oz) can pinto beans
1 handful frozen corn
1 bell pepper, diced
1 jar (15oz) chunky salsa
1 (15oz) container of non-fat cottage cheese (or non-dairy sub)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 t oregano
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
handful sliced ripe olives
handful sliced jarred jalapenos
1 cup shredded cheddar (or Daiya)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'
Heat olive oil in large pan. Add meat (or meat sub), brown meat until it's no longer pink about 8-10 minutes over medium-high heat. Drain any fat off.
Add garlic and onion. Saute until tender, 2 minutes more.
Add chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, pinto beans, corn and salsa. Stir to combine and bring to a thorough heat over medium.
In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs, oregano, salt and pepper. Add cottage cheese and stir to combine.
Spray bottom of 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas overlapping slightly in bottom and slightly up sides of pan.
Spoon half of chili mixture over tortillas. Gently spoon all cottage cheese mixture on top of chili mixture.
Layer with 6 more tortillas. Top with rest of chili mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove foil and top with cheese, olives and jalapenos. Bake 5 more minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 5 minutes. Cut and serve!

Vegetarian Gyros

2011-10-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

I better get a move on with blog posts! I have thirteen outstanding recipes to write and publish. Eeeeek, I'm getting behind. It's hard work having a full time job, a crazy triathlon habit, four cats, and two blogs to write. Who knew?! This was Seitanic Meal #2 from the first batch of seitan I made the other week. What a great use for seitan too! The seitan gets a little herb rub and then is crisped on a cast-iron skillet (we use a large 2-burner lodge pan, but you can use anything). Our tzatziki was made using nonfat Chobani greek yogurt, but you can use or make your own vegan version and is a perfect zingy compliment to the warm pita and spiced seitan.

Super easy to make and it travels well for lunch the next day!

Makes 4 Gyros
INGREDIENTS:

1/3 of the seitan from this recipe (or roughly 16 hand-sized slices)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp+ cayenne (add more if you like it hotter)
1/4 tsp salt
4 pitas or flatbreads
thinly sliced romaine
thinly sliced tomato
16 kalamata olives, pitted and diced
1 c nonfat greek plain yogurt or vegan yogurt
handful of diced cucumber
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp fresh dill, minced
pinch garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare tzatziki by combining yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, dill and garlic powder. Set aside.
Combine spices (paprika through salt). Preheat cast iron skillet or non stick frying pan and coat with cooking spray. Add slices of seitan and cook until browning and crisping, respray and flip seitan and repeat process on other side.
Warm pita bread or flatbread in microwave or over flame until warm and slightly pliable.
Arrange 4 slices of seitan on pita, top with lettuce, tomato, tzatziki and a few kalamata olives.

Hoisin-Seitan Spring Rolls

2011-09-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

A week ago I posted this seitan recipe and we whipped up three fantastic recipes. Then we had this little old Half-Ironman that got in the way of me posting! Spring rolls are one of my favorite foods. Light, cool, and full of fresh herbs and vegetables they are a perfect vehicle for peanut sauce. Here we use seitan in lieu of sliced pork, and you'll hardly notice a difference! On a nutrition note, spring rolls are a great way to sneak a variety of veggies in to a handheld snack or appetizer. Don't limit yourself - shredded zucchini, cucumber strips, shredded beets, the possibilities are endless.

Spring rolls may seem complex at first, but don't let it fool you - a little preparation and you're off and rolling (sorry) in no time. A lot of recipes will tell you to dip the rice paper wrappers in boiling water, but I've found that they shrivel up to nothing when I do that. Instead, I run them under hot water until they feel pliable. We ate these with a side salad of diced mango and cucumber with a little red chili and ginger. Seitan was the perfect substitute for sliced pork and we used a thin layer of hoisin to add a rich flavor to the seitan. As I mentioned in my original seitan post, it's a little bland so a touch of sauce truly transforms it!

If you end up with extra filling, this is also delicious as a cold salad. Simply toss noodles with vegetables, setian and the peanut sauce! The rolls will keep (refrigerated) 1-2 days and travel well to work for lunch. Most grocery stores will carry rice paper wrappers and hoisin in the asian foods aisle. These are based on my original version (with shrimp) here.

Makes about 10-12 rolls

INGREDIENTS:

1 carrot, shredded
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/8 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar (we use xylitol*)

1 garlic cloves, smashed
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 tsp sririacha
1/4 cup coconut milk

10-12 8" rice paper wrappers
3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
mint and basil leaves, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large bunch sunflower sprouts (or butter lettuce)
Roughly15-20 slices of seitan (I used about 1/3 of the seitan recipe for all 12 rolls)
4 oz thin rice noodles

DIRECTIONS:

In a bowl, toss the carrots, onion, 1/8 cup of the vinegar and 1 tsp sugar. Let stand 30 minutes.
Boil water for the rice noodles, cook per instructions on box or boil for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain in colander.
In a bowl, mix the remaining vinegar and garlic. Microwave at high power for about 30 seconds, until the sugar is dissolved. Mash with fork.
Add peanut butter, sriracha, and coconut milk stir to combine. Adjust to taste.
Set up your work area by placing all bowls in a row: noodles, mint and basil, sprouts, seitan, and bell pepper. Also place hoisin in small bowl nearby. Have a platter handy for your finished rolls and a clean work surface to roll on.
Gently rinse 1 rice paper wrapper under hot water (bearable to touch) until the wrapper is pliable and clear. Stretch gently into a circle on your work surface.
Arrange 1-2 pcs of seitan on the lower third of the rice paper and brush with a touch of hoisin.
Top with some mint and basil. Top with some of the yellow pepper, sprouts, rice noodles and the pickled vegetables.
Fold in the side ends sticking the paper to itself. Roll up tightly.
Place the roll on a platter and repeat with the remaining ingredients. Halve the rolls and serve with the sauce for dipping.

*Xylitol: Naturally occurring sugar substitute. About half the calories of refined sugar. Low glycemic index of 13 compared to glucose's 100 (making a good alternative for diabetics). Safe for teeth! We use this for almost all of our cooking/baking in lieu of refined sugar. It tastes just the same to me.

Homemade Seitan (aka wheat meat)

2011-09-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

As omnivores and chefs, playing with our food comes naturally to us. We've been experimenting a lot in the kitchen with meat alternatives as a way to decrease our meat consumption and increase our plant intake. Not to mention that meat products tend to be more expensive, have short shelf lives and tend to be high in fat. While tofu and tempeh are fun, we've been on the hunt for something that can stand in for sliced or shaved meat. Ta-da! We bring you SEITAN! I can't believe it's not meat! This stuff is amazing!! Our first try at making seitan ended up a bit ... chewy. Then we found a good recipe from Native Foods and it worked perfectly.

What is seitan!? It's a meat substitute that can be sliced, shaved, cubed, sliced into steaks, marinated, baked, stir-fried, broiled and more! It's made from wheat flour, all purpose flour, vital wheat gluten and a richly flavored broth. Since I try to remove as much processed foods from our diet, deli meat is one of the things that is reserved as a special treat. It's easy to assume that the ham, chicken, and turkey you buy at the local deli is just that - ham, chicken and turkey, right!? It's just sliced, right?! WRONG. Even those packages of deli meat labelled "All Natural" are still heavily processed. The average deli meat is packed full of fat, filler, grain, water, chemicals and then pressed into the over-sized turkey breast shape you see in your deli counter. Hardly a healthy source of protein!!

So, here we are with a really unique wheat based meat that is supremely versatile, high in protein (due to the vital wheat gluten), extremely cheap to make, and lasts up to 3 weeks in the fridge or indefinitely in the freezer with NO funky ingredients, preservatives or chemicals. In your face Boar's Head!!! I personally recommend a second cooking (stir-fry, bake, broil, pan-crisp) before eating as it's pretty plain straight out of the pot. Next batch we will incorporate some spices into the dough to pump up the flavor a bit as well!

We used our meat slicer to shave the loaf into nice even slices for a week's worth of dinners and lunches! We are getting about 12 servings out of this loaf and each serving gives you about 195 calories, 8g protein and 4g fiber with no fat which means you've got plenty of room for healthy fats (avocado anyone?!).

Recipe from the highly recommended Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook

Makes 12 servings (We turn this into 3 meals for four!)

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup vital wheat gluten
2-2.5 cups water
1/2 tsp ea spices - cracked pepper, salt, oregano, garlic powder

Setian Broth:

10 cups water
2 cups soy sauce (or 1/2 cup soy sauce and 1-2 vegan bouillon cubes)
8 peeled cloves garlic
4 bay leaves
3 2" slices fresh ginger

1 12"x12" square cheesecloth and some kitchen twine

DIRECTIONS:

Bring broth ingredients to a boil and keep covered, simmering while you do everything else.
In large bowl, whisk flours and gluten to combine. Form a well in the middle and slowly add water in the center of the well, whisking to combine flours and water. Continue adding water until you have to switch to kneading.
Knead, adding more water or flour as necessary. It will be a sticky dough.
Turn it out onto a floured counter and continue to knead until the dough (about 70 times) until you have a smooth ball. Place the dough in a bowl and allow to rise for 20 minutes.
Place the bowl with the dough in it in the sink and gently rinse the dough ball with water, kneading gently to "rinse" the milky starch away. It will take awhile of kneading and rinsing to get the water somewhat clear.
Form a rough oval with your dough ball and place it on the cheesecloth. Wrap the dough up in the cheesecloth forming a loaf and tie ends closed and maybe a few loops around the midsection.
Place the dough into the simmering broth, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat back to a simmer. Cook for 1 1/2 hours.
Remove from pot, allow to cool and slice for cooking or refrigerate for keeping!
SAVE the broth!! We freeze it in zip lock bags and use it as stock and deglaze for recipes (coming soon)

Per serving (1/12th of loaf)

Korean Tacos (Meatless)

2011-09-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Korean tacos - either you love them or you've never had them. I refuse to believe anyone doesn't like them! We originally made a quick-pulled pork version here and recently came up with this meatless version that's absolutely delicious (and takes less time)! If you're not familiar with Korean food this is a great opportunity to dive in to the unique flavors of Korean-fusion cuisine. Think - sweet and spicy gochujang, sour-hot-effervescent kimchee, and a multitude of textures from the crunchy cabbage to the crumbly "meat" filling.

If you don't have a well-stocked Asian market near you there are plenty of substitutes for the kimchee and gochujang. If you can't find kimchee, you can make it or make a quick pickle similar to this one. Granted, a pickle won't have the same flavor or health benefits of fermented kimchee, but it's better than nothing! If you can't find gochujang (fermented hot pepper paste) you can substitute this homemade mix or if you can't find miso paste, simply mix sriracha with a dash each of honey, soy sauce and sesame oil.

For our meat substitute we used textured vegetable protein (TVP) which is simply defatted soy flour that can be easily reconstituted in water (or broth) and has the same protein content as meat. We found the TVP in the bulk section at Mother's Market and it's also sold by Bob's Red Mill (bagged products). Like any good meat substitute it absorbs the flavor of what you cook it with making it perfect for something as nicely flavored as Korean tacos! If you can't find or don't like TVP, try any kind of smart ground, or crumbled tofu or diced sauteed vegetables! On the side I served a simple slaw of finely sliced carrot, cucumber, daikon, snap peas, and cabbage dressed with a a pinch of white miso mixed with rice vinegar.

Serves 4 (2 tacos each)

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp sesame oil
6 mushrooms, finely diced
1 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2-4 Tbsp gochujang (or 2-4 Tbsp mix of above alternatives) to taste
1 cup kimchee
8 tortillas (we used a corn-flour tortilla)

DIRECTIONS:

Saute minced mushrooms in 1 tsp sesame oil over medium heat, until tender.
Reconstitute TVP by combining water, TVP, soy sauce, cayenne and garlic powder in same pot with mushrooms. Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Allow to sit 10 minutes.
Bring back to warm over low heat and stir in 2-4 Tbsp gochujang mixed with a touch of water. Add more gochujang to taste.
Warm tortillas in microwave or over flame.
Fill each tortilla with TVP/mushroom mixture. Top with kimchee!

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Bake

2011-09-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to catching up on a ton of posts I've got piled up in queue once my first half-ironman distance triathlon is over next Sunday. There's been a lot of healthy, fun food going on in the Bite Me Kitchen and I'm looking forward to sharing some great recipes. We don't really get seasons on the west coast, but that doesn't stop me from conjuring up Fall in my imagination! I saw a few lonely cans of pumpkin puree on the baking shelf at the store and scooped them up in my excitement to start the holidays early. I presented my find to Adam and begged for a pumpkin spice breakfast cake!

If you're not familiar with our breakfast cake - it's packed with high value nutrients! Ground buckwheat groats, maca root, chia seed, flax seed, and pumpkin. No refined flours, no refined sugars and no added fats. Since we usually bang out a brutal workout before breakfast, having a filling and nutritious breakfast is our first step towards recovering our bodies and starting the day out right.

Here's a quick run-down on the benefits of some of the ingredients in our breakfast cake:

Maca Root - Has been harvested and used for it's medicinal properties in the Peruvian Andes for centuries as a natural remedy to increase energy and stamina. Extremely high in minerals and vitamins. Considered to be an adaptogen meaning that it aids the body in adapting to and reducing stress thus boosting immune system function, recovery and performance.
Pumpkin - High in carotenoids and antioxidants which help prevent heart disease, some kinds of cancer, and aid in the growth of healthy cells.
Chia Seed: Both chia and flax are high in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, minerals and vitamins. Due to their high fiber content and their unique gel-coating that occurs when saturated, chia seeds keep you full longer!
Buckwheat: A gluten-free fruit seed (not a cereal grain!) that has been linked to reduced cholesterol and blood pressure thanks to the presence of flavonoids which protect against disease by acting as antioxidants. Also, thanks to the high fiber content of buckwheat, this breakfast will keep you satisfied for hours.

Serves 4 (We make enough for 2 days of breakfast for 2 people)

INGREDIENTS:

1 - 15oz can pumpkin
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1/4c applesauce
1c coconut milk (not the kind in a can, the beverage type OR use any other non-dairy alternative)
1 1/4c raw buckwheat groats, ground*
1/4c chia seeds, ground*
1/8c flax seeds, ground*
1/8c maca root powder
1/4c xylitol (or other natural sugar or sugar derivative)
pinch ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp baking powder
small handful golden raisins
small handful pecans

* = we grind our seeds and flours in a coffee/spice grinder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'.
Whisk all wet ingredients in one bowl (pumpkin through milk).
Whisk all dry ingredients in another bowl (buckwheat through pecans).
Combine the two mixtures and gently stir until combined thoroughly.
Spray 8x8 square glass baking dish with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is browned and the cake feels firm to the touch.
Allow to cool, slice into quarteras and serve.

Vegan Sausageroni

2011-09-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

I know, vegan pepperoni? What!?!? I've always felt of two minds when it comes to psuedo-meat products. Some of the meat (and dairy) substitutes are so processed that you may as well be eating Spam. Worse yet, is sometimes you look at the ingredients of "meat-free" meat and find something like casein (milk-protein). Huh?!

Skip all the confusion. Make your own perfect sausage or pepperoni at home with ingredients you know! This recipe is entirely vegan and completely delicious. I found this recipe here and a whole lot of other variations on the same concept here. It's primarily a magical mixture of mashed beans, spices and vital wheat gluten all wrapped up in foil and steamed until sausagey. I found it a bit too gummy/chewy after just steaming, so we sliced the sausageroni and pan fried it. A little crisping and it was the perfect topping to a vegan pizza pita! I'm hoping my genius gluten-free baking triathlete superstar of a friend Julia can come up with some substitutes for the vital vital wheat gluten in this recipe for all you gf folks out there!

Vegan sausageroni, daiya cheddar, peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, pita!

Makes three 6-8" sausages

INGREDIENTS:

*reduce pepper flakes and peppercorns if you don't like spicy food!*

1/2 cup of white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cold water (I used vegetable broth)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp liquid smoke (I used Trader Joe's South African smoke grinder)
1 tsp HP sauce, or BBQ sauce
1 tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp whole anise seed
1 tsp red peppercorns
1 tsp green peppercorns
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten

DIRECTIONS:

Add water to a large pot that fits a steamer (or colander) in it. Bring to a boil.
Mash the beans with a fork or potato masher.
Add water, oil, liquid smoke, HP or BBQ sauce, paprika, cayenne, salt and sugar and mix well.
Roughly grind anise seed, peppercorns, and red pepper flakes with a mortar and pestle (or blitz a few times in spice/coffee grinder)
Add into mixture. Add in wheat gluten and mix well with a fork.
Divide dough into three equal portions. Shape each into a tube and wrap like a tootsie roll in heavy duty aluminum foil.
Make sure to wrap it tightly by twisting the ends. Heavy duty foil is needed to keep the pepperoni from bursting out of the wrapping when cooking.
Steam for 45 mins. Cool and slice what you plan on using. Pan fry before using for best results!

Spinach Tofu Manicotti - Top 10!

2011-08-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

This meal is easily in my Top Ten favorite recipes after it's debut this week in our kitchen! Adam and I are right in the middle of our training for Orangeman (our first Half Ironman - 1.2mi swim, 50mi ride, 13.1mi run) and time is at a premium. The menu is written up on Friday night, we buy groceries Sunday and we cook all meals and pack them up for work every night. Our commitment to eating whole, natural, fresh food has rewarded us with health, strong immune systems and speedy recoveries from insane training days. More and more we're choosing plant based proteins over animal proteins. Regardless of your dietary regimen, including a few meat-free meals in your week is a great way to give your body a break from processing animal protein, be environmentally friendly and mix up your nutrition.

Our fridge, packed for 3 days meals!

This meal is SO easy, the ingredients are inexpensive, it can be easily doubled or frozen, and tastes like a decadent Italian dish. I like to chop and wilt fresh spinach because it has more texture and flavor, but frozen spinach could easily be used. *Updated to add, we made this with a combination of green things (Brussels sprout leaves, kale, beet greens and spinach) and it was even better!!!! Hard to believe it's only 427 calories per serving and has 27g protein. Enjoy!

Serves 4 (about 3 manicotti each)
INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 package Firm Tofu, drained and crumbled
1/3 white onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
Handful chopped: broccoli florets
1 bunch kale, chopped
1/2 can artichoke hearts, chopped
sea salt, cracked pepper
pinch nutmeg, ground
1 box manicotti shells (I used organic Garden Time Semolina Manicotti)
dash of olive oil
1 - 28oz can of crushed tomatoes (look for San Marzano tomatoes, amazing flavor!)
4 oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1 jar roasted bell peppers, drained
pinch of dried basil
pinch of crushed red pepper
pinch of oregano
1 cup Daiya Mozzarella

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'
Boil pasta according to box directions. (Boil water, add a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil. Add noodles, cook until tender about 8-10 minutes. Drain hot water out of pot, fill with cold water and let noodles rest in cold water (so they don't stick together)).
In large pot, combine onion, garlic and spinach over medium heat. Add spinach, kale, broccoli, cover and wilt about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and press out any liquid from greens. Place in large bowl. Add artichoke hearts. Season generously with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
Drain tofu and press with paper towels to remove excess water. Crumble into bowl with greens and add 1/2 cup Daiya Mozzarella. Stir to combine thoroughly.
Puree bell peppers and sun dried tomatoes. Make sauce by heating crushed tomatoes and bell pepper puree with red pepper, oregano and basil over medium heat in small pan.
Ladle 1/2 of tomato sauce into bottom of 9x13 glass baking dish. Stuff manicotti shells with tofu spinach filling by gently packing filling into each tube. Place in baking dish and fit them in tightly until it's full.
Ladle rest of sauce over top. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes.
Remove foil and scatter remaining 1/2 cup of Daiya on top. Bake 5 more minutes.

Weeknight Pizza Pita

2011-08-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have no time! I have no money! I can't cook! I'm on a diet, but want to satisfy my cravings!

Does that sound like you or anyone you know?! This recipe is your new best friend. It takes about 10 minutes, costs about $1 per serving, takes no special skills and is under 400 calories and 22g protein per serving.

We make and bake four pizzas, and take the leftover two pizzas for lunch the next day at work. I like to serve these with a small side salad - a few handfuls of mixed greens or spinach, a few cherry tomatoes, slices of cucumber and a sprinkling of red wine vinegar. Everything is easily replaced on this to suit your diet. Gluten-Free? Look for gluten-free flat breads. Vegan? Vegan flat breads, Daiya "cheese" and a vegan sausage crumble (such as Field Roast Sausages). Use your imagination!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

Sausages (we used about 1.5lb of chicken-basil sausages)
4 whole wheat pitas (about 6" diameter)
1 jar roasted red peppers (such as Trader Joe's)
handful of chopped onion
5-6 mushrooms, sliced
1 small bell pepper diced
4oz feta cheese (or non-dairy sub)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400'. Place baking sheet on bottom rack to catch any drippings, as pizzas will sit directly on oven rack to crisp!
Prepare sauce: Drain jar of roasted peppers and puree peppers. Simmer to thicken slightly in pan over medium-low heat.
Crumble sausage into large pan and cook over medium-high heat until sausage is browned and thoroughly cooked. Remove sausage to bowl.
Add onion, mushrooms and bell peppers to pan with any remaining fat from the sausage (if there's more than 1 Tbsp grease, remove excess first).
Saute onions, mushrooms and peppers until slightly softened about 2 minutes. Remove from pan to a separate bowl.
Prepare each pizza by spreading top with roasted pepper sauce, sausage, pepper/onion/mushroom mix and top with a little feta cheese.
Bake until cheese is softened slightly and pizza is golden and slightly crisp about 5-6 minutes.

Miso Glazed Tofu with Roasted Vegetable Pilaf

2011-08-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

This simple and nutritious meal has quickly become a staple at our house. I've been playing around with a mixed grain pilaf for some time now, but this version Adam swears he'd eat every night. It's best to make a big batch of it, and then modify it throughout the week. In this version, I added a bunch of roasted chopped vegetables (kale, bell peppers, onion, carrot and broccoli) and topped it with a mix of tempeh and tofu. We had one package of each and made extra for lunch the following day, so we figured why not have a little variety!?

The pilaf can be made gluten-free as we did the other week when we had GF company. Keep a close eye on packaging and seek out GF 'grains' such as quinoa, wild rice, millet, and amaranth. Interesting to note that the gluten free grains tend to be the most nutritious! I personally like to use quinoa, wild rice and pearl cous cous as it's a nice blend of textures and tastes. Whatever works for you, but I suggest making the majority of the pilaf something with a high nutrition content like quinoa.

The glaze is Adam's genius (as are all things sauce-related here at The BMK). We use this miso paste, local organic honey, mirin, and water. For those of you omnivores or pescetarians, this glaze is great on black cod.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

large spoonful of white or yellow miso paste
large spoonful of organic honey
1/4c mirin (rice wine)
water - if needed to thin out and make glaze creamy

2 packages extra firm tofu (or tempeh, see notes below)
1 bunch kale, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 head broccoli (fist sized) chopped
1/2c quinoa + 1c water
1/2c wild rice + 1c water
1/4c pearl couscous + 1/2c water
sea salt, cracked pepper
cooking spray

INGREDIENTS:

In small pan, bring 1c water to boil. Add wild rice, cover with lid and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until rice is tender and just beginning to split open about 25-35 minutes. When done, remove from pan and place in large bowl.
In small pan, heat 1/2c quinoa and 1c water to boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered until water is absorbed and quinoa is translucent and fluffy about 15 minutes.When done, remove from pan and add to wild rice.
In small pan, toast 1/4c cous cous over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add 1/2c water and simmer uncovered stirring occasionally until water is absorbed. When done, remove from pan and add to grain bowl. Stir all grains gently. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400' and make miso glaze.
Whisk miso, honey, and mirin until miso is dissolved (or you can use an immersion blender). Add water as necessary to thin out glaze or adjust with more miso to your tastes. Pour into shallow bowl.
Line two baking sheets with foil (spray foil with cooking spray). Scatter all chopped vegetables on baking sheets. Mist with spray oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until browning on edges and tender, about 10 minutes. Remove and toss with grains.
Remove tofu from package, drain and press with paper towels to remove extra water. Cut into slices or cubes.
Heat grill pan or grill. Mist with cooking spray. Dip each tofu piece into glaze and add to grill. Grill tofu until browned with grill marks showing. Brush tops and flip over to cook other side. Grill until grill marks show. Remove from heat.
Plate equal serving of pilaf, top with tofu, drizzle with additional glaze.

Want to use tempeh!?: Bring small pan of water to boil. Add tempeh. Boil for 5-8 minutes. Remove and cool to touch. Slice in half (so it's thinner), and then cut into slices or squares. Follow the rest of instructions as for tofu.

Green Eggs and Ham Quiche

2011-07-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Growing up my mom made an outstanding quiche. It had a flaky, buttery crust packed full of spinach, ricotta and bacon (and a few eggs too)! With cream, whole eggs, parmesan, ricotta, bacon and a regular pie crust - this quiche was very far from healthy despite the spinach and seemingly way out of our dietary realm. I found organic whole wheat frozen pie crusts at Mother's Market and bought a few for future use.

Using a mix of wilted fresh spinach and chopped chard, cubed smoked turkey and a mix of whole eggs and egg whites, I managed to make this quiche fit within our caloric requirements! It's a little high in fat, but there's just no substitute for a pie crust. I think next time I might try using more egg whites in lieu of whole eggs and maybe just chard instead of spinach. The chard tends to have a bit more texture to it that I like. We also topped the quiche with a few slices of Applegate Farm's Yogurt Cheese (which doesn't bother my lactose intolerance even though it's milk-based).

The best thing about this quiche is that it's good hot from the oven or at room temperature the next day for lunch. Given how busy we are, it's mandatory that dinners can double as lunches the following day! Enjoy this lightened up recipe!!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole wheat organic frozen pie crust
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced smoked turkey
2 big bunches chard (or kale, spinach, etc...) chopped
1 Tbsp dried basil
4 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 cup soy milk
3 slices yogurt cheese
cracked pepper, ground sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'
Add 1 tsp olive oil to large pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic and turkey and saute until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove and place in large bowl.
Put pan back on heat, lowering heat to medium. Add greens, cover and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally Remove from heat and squeeze excess water from greens.
Add to bowl with ham and onions.
Whisk eggs, egg whites, soy milk, basil, and a generous amount of fresh pepper and salt.
Whisk egg mixture into ham mixture to combine.
Pour into pie crust. If it's too much filling for the crust, stop before it spills over and bake the rest separately in a greased ramekin or baking dish (sometimes you get a bonus fritatta!)
Top with yogurt cheese and place on baking sheet in oven and bake 45 minutes or until puffed and light golden on top.
Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Coconut Pancakes with Grilled Pineapple

2011-07-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

It's not often that we get to sleep in on Sundays and indulge in real pancakes. Weekends are for long runs or ocean swims and 3-4 hour bike rides. We usually have fiber and protein packed Breakfast Cakes or Protein Pancakes, but never just fun pancakes. Coconut + Pineapple + Pancake = Happy. Quickly diced pineapple turns fantastic once thrown on the grill and seared till sweet perfection. My pancakes tend to be on the fluffy side, so the coconut shreds added a nice tropical crunch!

These pancakes are still based off a lighter recipe than usual pancakes and I do use all whole wheat flour, but they are still quite the treat! If you have a batter recipe you prefer, use it and fold in some unsweetened coconut and top with grilled pineapple.

Serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons xylitol
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 large egg white
small handful shredded coconut
Cooking spray
diced pineapple

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 250' and place baking sheet on middle rack.
In mixing bowl, whisk both flours, sugar, baking powder & soda, salt, and ginger to combine.
In separate bowl mix egg, egg white, vegetable oil & buttermilk.
Pour egg mixture into flour mixture stirring gently to combine. Set aside.
Heat cast iron or frying pan over medium high heat on stove. Coat with cooking spray.
Ladle pancake mix onto pan in even circles.
Cook pancakes for 3-5 minutes (check bottom for brownness level).
Gently flip and cook on other side for 2 more minutes.
Place on baking sheet in oven while you prepare remaining pancakes.
Turn heat up to high and respray cast iron pan or skillet with cooking spray. Add pineapple chunks and grill (or saute if you have no grill pan) until golden and warm.
Top pancakes with pineapple and serve!

Mixed Bean and Tofu Curry

2011-07-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

In my ongoing research into the field of nutrition one food that keeps cropping up under every nutritional benefit field is legumes. Beans, lentils, peas, and alfalfa are just a few types of legumes. Even within the 'bean' category there are tons of choices - black beans, pinto, adzuki, fava, garbanzo (or chickpea), black eyed peas, cannellini, soy beans... on and on! So what's the big deal?? The biggest thing legumes have going for them is that they have a combination of high protein and high fiber. This magic mixture means that they promote digestive tract health and regulate blood sugar by moving through your system at a moderate pace. We all know sugar goes too fast through the digestive system causing spikes and crashes. Fat moves so slowly that it clogs up the body. Legumes with this protein/fiber mix move just right, providing your body with a steady rate of energy and helping to keep your guts clean from funk.

While canned beans are convenient, there's no real substitute for cooked dried beans - the texture, flavor and richness are unmatched by their canned counterparts. We found a unique dried heirloom bean mixture at Whole Foods and built this recipe around it. Beans rightfully deserve the spotlight - they don't have to play second fiddle to a protein source! They are packed with folate, fiber, protein, omega-3s, tryptophan, and phytonutrients!

How do you cook dried beans? Start the night before by sorting through the beans for any pebbles and then place beans in a large bowl. Cover with about 3-4 inches of water. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. The next day, drain the water. Put the beans in a large pot. Cover with 1" of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook partially covered for 40-60 minutes stirring occasionally. 40-60 minutes is the perfect amount of time to do all your other chopping or things to do after work!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dried beans (look for a mix or mix your own - navy, pinto, adzuki, chickpea, fava...)
1 package medium tofu cut into cubes
1 tsp oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red chili, minced (or less if super hot chilis are used!)
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp curry paste
juice of 1 lime
3 Tbsp fish sauce* (veggies - use vegetarian fish sauce, a light soy sauce or salty water)
2 Tbsp xylitol or fine sugar
handful cilantro stems/roots chopped
28 oz can diced tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
3/4 c light coconut milk
1 bunch green onions, green parts sliced into long strips

DIRECTIONS:

Cook beans as per directions in last paragraph above, drain and set aside.
Heat olive oil in large stock pot. Add onions, garlic, chili, cilantro and curry powder. Saute over medium-high heat about 2-3 minutes.
Add lime, sugar and fish sauce. Stir and cook 4 more minutes.
Add tomatoes and curry paste stir to mix well and cook for 10 minutes. Add beans and coconut milk and cook 15-20 minutes over medium low.
Stir in green onions and cook just until wilted.
Spoon into bowls and serve. Ideally with a side of delicious naan!

Baked Rolled Tacos: Spinach, Mushroom, Tofu

2011-07-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

I've made spinach, mushroom and tofu enchiladas for a few years now, and they are pretty good. The other night I got a wild and crazy idea to make rolled tacos since the enchiladas lose something by being soggy. The result? TOTAL WIN! These were so good!

Healthy, easy, vegetarian, and full of nutrition.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 block extra firm tofu (drained, pressed, and crumbled with your hands)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 white onion, diced
3-4 tsp chili powder
cracked sea salt + pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
6-8 large white mushrooms, sliced
6-8 cups fresh spinach
about 8oz salsa verde (green salsa) - we used Mrs.Renfro's Jalapeno Salsa which was HOT (but good)!
1/2 cup Daiya (vegan cheese, optional)
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
12 corn tortillas (these are freaking mind-blowing if you can find them! We buy @ Mother's Market)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425' and spray 9x13" glass pan with cooking spray.
Heat large pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil, onions and garlic. Saute until fragrant about 3 minutes.
Add mushrooms and tofu. Saute 3-5 minutes until mushrooms are slightly tender. If pan is too dry, add 1 Tbsp water.
Add spices and 1/4 cup salsa verde. Stir to combine. Add spinach and stir. Cover with lid and wilt spinach, about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once spinach is lightly wilted, stir in nutritional yeast and Daiya (if using).
Warm tortillas until pliable (can be done in microwave for 10-30 seconds or in pan).
Spoon filling in center of tortilla and "pin" closed with wooden toothpick (make sure there's no plastic tassels on your toothpicks!). Place in baking pan upright. Continue with rest of tortillas.
If there's extra "stuffing" place alongside tacos in pan. Mist tacos with cooking spray and bake until golden brown and lightly crispy on the edges about 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven!)
Remove toothpicks and serve, spooning extra filling on plate. Serve with extra salsa.

Nutrition per serving (3 tacos with extra stuffing):

Calories: 460 Fat: 14g Carbs: 42g Fiber: 4g Protein: 26g

Sweet + Sour Stir Fry with Quinoa

2011-06-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's shown above with shrimp and scallops but you can use anything you'd like - tofu, chicken, scallops, fish, tempeh...the possibilities are endless! This was a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner. While stir fry is usually served atop white (or brown rice, if you're lucky!) we opted for something a bit more nutritious - quick cooking quinoa. As we head into our summer training for our first Half Ironman, nutrition becomes even more important. Two hungry athletes require a lot of healthy, fresh food! The stir fry above uses multi-colored bell peppers, fresh pineapple chunks, and thick slices of carrots but any variety of vegetables can be used.

You can marinate your protein while you prepare the rest of the food. I prefer using quinoa as a grain as it's fast cooking and brings a lot to the dinner table. Quinoa is an ancient 'grain' that is more akin to leafy greens like chard than actual grains. It is a complete protein (offers all nine essential amino acids) and is a good source of numerous minerals. Quinoa can be prepared simply with just water and a pinch of salt or by substituting the water with a mix of any of the following: broth, spices, a dash of oil, citrus juice or citrus zest, or even a can of tomatoes (with juice).

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 lb protein (shrimp, chicken, etc.. or 4 generous servings worth of tofu, tempeh)
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp raw organic honey
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp minced red chili (or more if you like it hot!)
2 large carrots, sliced
2 large bell peppers (orange and green), diced into 1" chunks
1/2 pineapple, cored, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 small onion, diced into 1" chunks
2 Tbsp cilantro, minced
1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
pinch orange zest*

DIRECTIONS:

In plastic bag or bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic, and chili. Add protein and marinate 30 minutes up to 2 hours.
Prepare the rest of vegetables and set aside.
Place quinoa in saucepan. Add about 1 3/4 cups water, orange zest and a pinch of sea salt.
Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and crack the lid a bit. Simmer 15-20 minutes until the quinoa is transparent and tender. Remove from heat and keep covered until serving time.
Heat large pan or wok over medium heat. Add marinade and protein contents to pan. Stir fry until protein is cooked thoroughly (shrimp are pink and curled, chicken is firm and no longer pink in the middle, tempeh and tofu are done to your liking).
Add onions, carrots and bell peppers. Stir thoroughly. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Uncover and stir in pineapple. Bring up to a rapid simmer.
Divide quinoa among four plates, top with stir fry and sprinkle with cilantro.

*Tip: When produce is on sale, I grab a handful of lemons and limes! I freeze both the zest and the juice separately for future use!

Mmmmm Sauce (Raw/Vegan/Mmmazing)

2011-06-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

I first read about Mmmm sauce over at Peas and Thank You and made a little mental note to try it. Anything that gets such rave reviews is worth a shot, and the ingredients sounded interesting. I keep moving this big bag of nutritional yeast out of the way in our pantry and every time I think, I need to find a use for that and it just so happens, Mmmm Sauce calls for it! The final push happened yesterday when a friend emailed me the recipe and said that I absolutely had to try it. Ok, ok, I get it Universe...time to make this sauce!

Quite often, having high hopes for a first time recipe ends in disappointment, but every once in awhile, a gem sneaks through. This recipe is fan-freaking-tastic. What can you put Mmm Sauce on? What can't you put it on!? It's something you'll have to taste to believe. We topped our Lentil, Kale + Sausage dinner with it and tonight we're going to make a peanut variation to top a Thai Tofu Noodle Salad with! Of course, since it's raw and vegan and dairy-free you can get crazy with the raw/vegan food too! The recipe is easily doubled and can be jarred and refrigerated for 7-10 days.

We cut the oil in the recipe down, increased the water and are going to continue to play with the original recipe amounts to cut down on the needless fat. It is important to have a diet rich in healthy fats, but we try to be reasonable about it as well ;) Plus, it justifies eating massive quantities of it!

Modified From Peas and Thank You
Makes about 1-1.5cups
INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp canola oil (or oil of your choice)
1/4 c nuts (we used cashews)
1/3 c + 3 Tbsp water (add more if too thick)
1/4 c chickpeas
1/4 c nutritional yeast
2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cilantro (dried or fresh)

INGREDIENTS:

In high speed blender, blend oil, water, chickpeas and nuts until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. If too thick, add more water
Spoon, drizzle or toss with your favorite foods!

NOTE: This is a great base for a billion variations! Try using different beans, different nuts, coconut milk in lieu of water, different oils, you name it!!

Chocolate Chia Pudding

2011-06-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

Sure, you've heard of flax seeds but have you heard of chia? Yes! Just like the ch-ch-chia pets of the '80's! This powerhouse of a seed packs a serious nutritive punch and has a unique quality that makes it perfect for smoothies and puddings. Chia seeds are hydophilic meaning they retain a crazy amount of water once soaked. The seed can hold over 12 times its weight in water and they work to keep your hydration levels high. Both chia and flax seeds are used in this rich dessert-like pudding and it's packed full of nutrients to keep you feeling full, energized and like you got a treat!

Are chia seeds the new super-food? Yes and no. They are super, but they are anything but new. Chia seeds have been a major part of the diet of Aztecs, Mayans, Tehuantapecs and Native Americans across North and Central America. In most of these cultures it was considered a sacred food and used primarily by warriors, runners and athletes needing nutrition for endurance feats.

Chia and flax are known for being high in Omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. Since Omega-3's aren't always easy to get (usually from fish), chia's a great way to sneak them in your diet.What can Omega-3's do for you? Here's a short list: reduce inflammation, lower bad cholesterol, prevent excessive blood clotting, inhibit thickening of arteries, reduce risk of obesity, prevent growth of cancer cells, reduce symptoms of depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and more!

All I know is that Adam perfected this recipe and it tastes like dessert. I prefer mine slightly sweeter, so I sprinkle the finished pudding with a touch of xylitol. We prefer our chia ground as it negates the somewhat icky texture of each seed surrounded by a gel and just gels the whole mix to a pudding consistency. Making it the night before is a huge bonus! We pack these for work and they are a perfect pre-workout afternoon treat.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp chia seeds
1.5 Tbsp flax seeds
2 tsp raw cacao powder
1/2 c Greek non-fat yogurt
1 c water (or I really like using organic tart cherry juice!)
1 large scoop (35g) chocolate protein powder (we use Muscle Milk)
Fresh berries as garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Grind chia and flax seeds in coffee or spice grinder until fine.
Whisk water and other liquid in until thoroughly combined.
Whisk in cacao and yogurt.
Divide into two containers, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Garnish with fresh berries and sweetener if desired (taste first to check!)

Lentils, Kale + Sausage

2011-06-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

*Edited 6/22/2011: We removed the red wine and use all broth instead and added sun dried tomatoes - huge win!

While reading a smattering of nutrition books, two ingredients keep leaping out at me. Kale, which I know to be healthy and lentils, which I haven't given much thought. Lentils? Small, coin-shaped beans, sort of flavorless and meh, right? Wrong! While these little legumes don't pack a ton of flavor of their own, they do soak up the surrounding flavors quite well. Packed with 6 important minerals, two B-vitamins, protein and almost no fat, they make a worthy addition to any meal. Kale, of course, is popping up everywhere (particularly in overpriced health store "kale chips" - hint, make your own!). Kale offers Vitamins K, A and C and has a triple-awesome dose of anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer nutrients. It's pretty hard to beat!! With just these two ingredients you are knocking out a whole slew of things your body needs to function.

I added some chicken sausage for flavor, texture and added protein, but if you're veggie/vegan, feel free to use a sausage-substitute such as Field Roast or crumbled extra firm tofu! The sun dried tomatoes and spices bring a surprisingly rich flavor to the dish. You must top this with Peas + Thank You's "Mmmmm Sauce".

Recipe modified from Eating Well

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 12-ounce package chicken sausage, removed from casing
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 cup water
3 cups broth (chicken, no chicken, veg whatever)
5 sun dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped
1 cup lentils, preferably French green
12 cups chopped kale leaves (about 3 bunches)
1/4 tsp+ chili flakes (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Mmmmm sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 1 tsp oil in large pan. Add sausage and brown until cooked thoroughly. Remove from pan.
Heat 1 tsp oil and add garlic, onion and red chili flakes. Saute until fragrant over medium heat until golden about 10 minutes.
Add water and broth and bring to a boil. Add lentils and sun dried tomatoes and reduce heat to simmer. Cook, partially covered about 40 minutes.
Add kale, salt, pepper and cook covered, stirring occasionally until lentils and kale are tender, about 10-15 minutes more.
Add sausage and heat through.
Serve!

Blueberry Pancakes of Champions

2011-05-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

I like pancakes A LOT. Pancakes in all their fluffy carby sugary glory were taken off our menu, until I found a healthy pancake recipe I could work with. Training for triathlons requires the right mix of nutrients, carbohydrates, protein and fat and these pancakes provide enough energy for our long weekend morning workouts! Speaking of workouts, if you want to check out all things related to our triathlon adventures, check out Rose's blog here!

The original recipe calls for low or non-fat cottage cheese, but we ran out last time and subbed in some of the Most Amazing Yogurt in The World, Chobani plain non-fat greek yogurt and we liked the texture better. Sometimes we add fresh blueberries and lemon zest and other times we mix in crushed pecans and sliced bananas, either way, they are a fantastic start to the day! Keep in mind that these are thicker and denser than regular pancakes, a bit more muffin-like in texture. 3 good sized pancakes makes one hearty meal and falls within a good nutritional profile!

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:

1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup non fat plain greek yogurt
4 egg whites
1/2 cup soy milk
2 large scoops plain or vanilla protein powder
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1 Tbsp xylitol or splenda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 handful fresh blueberries
pinch lemon zest (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300'
Place all ingredients in blender or food processor. Blend until combined, but still somewhat lumpy.
Preheat large pan or smooth surface of cast iron skillet over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray.
Pour batter into 1/3 cup large pancakes. Allow to cook until the bottom side is golden brown and bubbles are appearing on surface.
Flip pancakes and continue to cook until the other side is lightly browned.
Place pancakes on baking sheet and keep warm (and finish baking) for about 5-8 minutes (these tend to be thicker pancakes and need extra baking in my opinion).
Serve with a little maple syrup!

Banana Nut Breakfast Bake

2011-05-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

It's that good!

I barely stopped in time to take this one measly cell phone picture for you! Why yes, I do eat my breakfast with a titanium Backcountry.com spoon. You should see my sweet spork too! Anyhow, these buckwheat breakfast cakes are pretty much all we eat every morning. They are so nutritious, so delicious and easy to make before hand. Grinding your own buckwheat takes two seconds in a coffee grinder and is well worth the effort.

So far we've made blueberry, chocolate, cherry almond and this fantastic banana walnut bake! Up next? Pumpkin pie! Enjoy!

Makes 2 (we use large ramekins)
INGREDIENTS:

2 large ripe banana, mashed
3 heaping spoonful applesauce
2 egg whites
2/3 cup soy milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp raw buckwheat groats, ground into flour (use coffee grinder)
pinch nutmeg
small handful of golden raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp walnut pieces

DIRECTIONS:

Spray ramekins with cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 350'.
Whisk all wet ingredients to combine. Whisk in dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.
Evenly divide into ramekins.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned, puffed up and firm in middle.
Remove from oven and allow to cool, uncovered. Enjoy!

Sausage, Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna

2011-05-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers! We are still cooking and eating! Things have been a bit too hectic for photo taking, so I'm posting this without a photograph. I hope to update it soon. This lasagna is from the archives, and it's a delicious and healthy rendition of a classic! I'm not sure at all how Eating Well managed to wheedle the calories and fat in something as luxurious as lasagna down this far, but they did. The emphasis in this dish is on vegetables and fresh marinara, not cheese and fatty meats. Surprisingly easy and fast to prepare, we make one batch and freeze half for another time! We get 2 dinners and 2 lunches out of each half, so it's well worth the time it takes to bake.

We had some zucchini and squash laying around the refrigerator aging, so we sliced them up and added them to the layers. Don't like mushrooms? Add something else! Eggplant and kale? Okay! Vegetarian?? Use tofu or soy sausage! Remember, a recipe is just a template.

Serves 8
INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 pound lean spicy Italian turkey or chicken sausage, casings removed
4 cups sliced mushrooms, (10 ounces)
1/4 cup water
1 pound frozen spinach, thawed
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably chunky
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese, (2 cups)
8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups), divided (now I'd use Daiya Mozzarella)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until not quite tender, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain; return the noodles to the pot, cover with cool water and set aside.
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and water; cook, stirring occasionally and crumbling the sausage more, until it is cooked through, the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Squeeze spinach to remove excess water, then stir into the pan; remove from heat.
Mix tomatoes with basil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
To assemble lasagna: Spread 1/2 cup of the tomatoes in the prepared baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, trimming to fit if necessary. Evenly dollop half the ricotta over the noodles. Top with half the sausage mixture, one-third of the remaining tomatoes and one-third of the mozzarella. Continue with another layer of noodles, the remaining ricotta, the remaining sausage, half the remaining tomatoes and half the remaining mozzarella. Top with a third layer of noodles and the remaining tomatoes.
Cover the lasagna with foil and bake until bubbling and heated through, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove the foil; sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is just melted but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

*Note: We use our own homemade marinara that we make in a large pot and then freeze in 2 cup portions. Fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, bell peppers, carrots, and chili flakes all chopped, sauteed and simmered.

Tofu Taco Salad

2011-04-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Not the prettiest picture, but hey - it's a quick weeknight recipe! Tofu is a great base ingredient - it quickly absorbs the flavors of seasonings and can be prepared in countless ways. In search of a fast weeknight meal, I diced up some extra firm tofu, seasoned it with organic taco seasoning and crisped it up in a pan. The key to getting slightly crunchy tofu isn't frying, it's in pressing all the water out of the tofu before you season it.

My favorite dressing base lately has been non-fat Chobani Greek yogurt! You'd think we were sponsored by them (sadly, we're not). Equal parts Greek yogurt and salsa - voila fake Tex-Mex Ranch dressing! Feeling hungry? Add a handful of black beans. Craving salt? Add a few chips. The possibilities are endless, enjoy!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

14oz package organic extra firm tofu
2 Tbsp organic taco seasoning (try to find something natural)
2 cups each chopped romaine and iceberg
handful cherry tomatoes
half yellow bell pepper, diced
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
4 mushrooms, sliced
pinch or two of Daiya cheddar
2 spoonfuls non-fat Greek Yogurt
2 spoonfuls salsa

DIRECTIONS:

Drain tofu, slice into 1/4" slices and set on paper towels. Layer with more towels and press until dry.
Toss tofu with taco seasoning. Spray large pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high.
Add tofu and cook until crisp and lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Stir Greek yogurt and salsa. Dress lettuce to your liking.
Divide lettuce between two plates, arrange other ingredients between the two plates.
Top with tofu and Daiya

Asparagus + Potato 'Cream' Soup

2011-04-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

I've always shied away from creamy pureed soups as they tend to be low in nutrition and heavy in fat. When I saw this soup in Eating Clean, I snagged the opportunity to experiment with it and make it extremely low lactose*! I'm still not eating any dairy (except eggs and greek yogurt) and my body feels so, so, so much better!!

We used a combination of plain soy milk and fat free Chobani Greek yogurt as the "cream". I think it really allows the spring fresh flavors of the asparagus to shine. Topped with succulent crab (or not if you're vegetarian), minced bell peppers and a few peppery home-made croutons this was a perfect dinner.

Serves 6 (first course 1 cup servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 lb asparagus, bottoms snapped off and rest of stalk cut into 1" pcs
3 medium white rose potatoes, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 tsp dried basil
1 Tbsp wheat flour
2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 cup water
salt and cracked pepper to taste
1/2c +/- soy milk
1/2c +/- greek yogurt (plain non-fat, we recommend Chobani because it's awesome)
Optional Garnishes : lump crab meat, minced bell pepper, homemade croutons (baguette+pepper baked), chickpeas, possibilities are endless!

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in pan over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes.
Add flour and stir 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
Add asparagus, potatoes, broth, water and basil. Bring to a boil.
Cover and keep at a high simmer until potatoes are tender.
Remove from heat and carefully transfer to food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Add soy milk and greek yogurt (add more milk if a thinner consistency is desired) and puree until blended.
Transfer back to pot and rewarm over medium heat.
Serve and garnish as desired!

*Vegetarian/Vegan: Simply omit crab meat and greek yogurt!
*Greek Yogurt is extremely low lactose and does not bother my stomach. Everyone's different :)

Pasta with Arugula, Sausage and Tomatoes

2011-04-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy! We're smack dab in the middle of our training and we've got a little over a month until our first race of the season (OC International Triathlon). Want to know more? Head on over to Eternal Recess for rambling journal entries detailing the exciting life of triathlon.

We found ourselves with a huge box of arugula leftover from something we made earlier in the week. I tend to think of arugula as a bit too peppery to eat much on it's own, but it transforms into something else entirely when cooked! Who knew? This meal is a keeper and it takes 10 minutes.

Vegan? Use vegan sausage! Vegetarian? Feel free to use real cheese. Dairy-free like me? Use Daiya Mozzarella!

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

12 oz wheat pasta shells or spirals
1 pkg chicken or vegan or vegetarian sausage, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups cherry tomatoes
8 cups arugula
1/2 cup Daiya Mozzarella
1 cup reserved pasta water
1 Tbsp balsamic mustard (or use 1 tsp dijon and 1 tsp balsamic)

DIRECTIONS:

Bring water to boil for pasta. Cook pasta according to directions. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid. Drain pasta and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat 1tsp olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onions and garlic and cook until browned on both sides of slices, about 5-10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add tomatoes and arugula. Cover and cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally until arugula is wilted.
Toss pasta with sausage mixture.
In small pan, bring reserved pasta water to a simmer over high heat. Whisk in daiya cheese and mustard until melted.
Quickly stir into pasta and heat through until warm.

Thai Meatloaf with Noodle Salad

2011-03-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

That's right...meatloaf! You're either groaning in disgust or reminiscing about the comforting version your mom makes, right? My mom made really good meatloaf. Yet, meatloaf is often comprised of fatty meat than anything good for you, so how can this be on our blog? The geniuses at Clean Eating came up with a unique twist on this home-cooking classic and lightened it up. We made a few changes over two trials and we've got a perfect version for us.

Because we cook for dinner and for lunch the next day, a 4-person serving is what we use. However, we made a double batch this time and wrapped up the second half (after cooking) and sent it to the freezer for a night off cooking! Lean ground pork mixes with whole wheat panko, cilantro, ground peanuts and fresh ginger for a zingy vegetable and protein packed dish that will blow your (and your mom's) socks off.

Keep in mind, meatloaf isn't a precise art. If it's too wet, add more panko. Too dry? Add some more liquid. There's no right or wrong way, you are looking for the mixture to be able to hold it's shape when patted into a ball.

Serves 4 (or double and freeze half for later!)

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 lb lean ground pork
1 cup whole wheat panko
1" pc ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 carrot, shredded
5-6 mushrooms, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/2 chili, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 egg, beaten
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sriracha
1/4 cup peanuts, toasted and crushed
5 mushrooms sliced for garnish
4 oz egg or wheat noodle
handful snap peas
1 carrot shredded or julinned
garlic powder
sea salt
pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.
Combine all meatloaf ingredients from pork through sriracha. Mix to blend with hands. Form into log and transfer to loaf pan.
Top with sliced mushrooms and crushed peanuts.
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Continue to bake until done, about 20 more minutes.
Meanwhile, boil noodles according to directions. Drain and set aside.
In wok or pan, heat 1 tsp sesame oil over medium high heat. Add snap peas and carrots and stir fry until peas are tender-crisp.
Add 1-2 tsp garlic powder, a dash of salt and pepper and noodles.
Heat through and keep warm, covered, until ready to serve.
Slice meatloaf and serve with noodle salad.
Cooked meatloaf can also be wrapped tightly and frozen to be reheated later!

Pizza - Mushroom, Sausage & Onion

2011-03-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe on Ashley's fantastic blog The Edible Perspective and due to our recent forays into the land of buckwheat, I thought I'd give it a go! The crust is gluten-free and is a buckwheat-millet mix. What the Buck? No seriously, it's GOOD. I baked it in a pie pan, and it was a little too thick and muffiny/bready for us, so I think next time we will bake it on a flat baking sheet and aim for a thinner crispier crust.
Since we're not gluten-free, we tossed a bunch of psuedo Italian sausage into the food processor and pulsed it until it was in sausagey crumbles. Those were browned lightly in a pan with onions and combined with canned diced tomatoes and a ton of herbs for a thick pizza sauce. A handful of mushrooms and bell peppers and a scattering of Daiya vegan mozzarella and we had a damn good dinner!
I liked the Daiya cheese, Adam did not. I kind of have a thing for processed fake cheese flavor (shh don't tell) so I thought it was okay. Plus, it's melty and it doesn't have dairy. Win! We'll definitely be making variations of this pizza over and over again!

Note: The recipe calls for grinding your own buckwheat groats and millet. It's super easy to do in a spice or coffee grinder and you get tons more flavor than pre-bought flours.

Serves 2
Recipe from The Edible Perspective (link above)
INGREDIENTS:

1/2c raw buckwheat flour [ground from raw buckwheat groats]
3/4c millet flour
1c water
1Tbsp olive oil
1Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/2tsp garlic powder
2tsp oregano
1tsp rosemary
1.5tsp basil
1tsp thyme
1/4tsp sea salt

Toppings:

6 mushrooms, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced or diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 links (or about 1/4c each) vegetarian Italian Sausage (or chicken or pork or whatever)
14oz can diced tomatoes
pinch each basil, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper
Daiya Mozzarella Shreds (or real cheese)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375
Whisk all crust ingredients together until well combined.
Grease a parchment lined 13x9 pan or baking sheet (original recipe calls for 8-9" round pan, but I like it thinner)
Pour batter into pan.
Bake on middle rack for 30min if baking thinner or 40min in round 8-9" pan. Edges should be slightly brown and pulled away from the pan. The top will be cracked.
Remove crusts from oven and gently remove from pan (invert onto plate and then invert back onto baking sheet.
Top with toppings and bake on your oven rack/baking sheet/etc until ingredients are heated through and cheese is melted.

Diet, Nutrition + Changes

2011-03-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the recipes around here have been using some interesting ingredients! Chia seeds? Buckwheat flour? Non-dairy cheese? Greek yogurt in everything?! Where are the martinis and the french fries!!!!

What you're witnessing is our efforts to figure out what the heck is wrong with my stomach. We enjoy a wide and varied diet of all kinds of things, yet certain foods are losing their place in our diets. To make matters short (and not totally disgusting) I've always had a sensitive stomach that's prone to causing me quite a bit of problems. I'm lactose intolerant and like to ignore this and eat copious amounts of cheese, sour cream and milk on occasion. A pesky stomach ache never got between me and a wedge of brie before, and I had no intention of ever stopping eating dairy.

Yet, my body is changing. I think part of it is age, but I think a huge part of it is triathlon training and our squeaky clean daily diet. Everything about what we put into our bodies has changed. Everything about what we're asking from our bodies has increased exponentially. On the upside, we both feel fantastic, energetic, healthy and ready for life every single day. On the downside, my stomach reacts so strongly now to anything not healthy that I finally dragged myself to the doctors and have taken a bunch of tests to try to figure out what is wrong with me. I'm pretty certain it's all food related and that I can be free of pain through diet alone.

So far, we've discovered that I:

Can't eat dairy (including milk, cream, whey protein, soft cheeses, sour cream)
Must limit alcohol intake
Selectively choose and/or limit chocolate intake (no white chocolate/milk chocolate)
Can't handle fried foods (learned that after indulging in egg rolls and a Vietnamese crepe)
Can eat non-fat Greek Yogurt, some goat cheeses, and eggs
Must be wary of what I eat when I go out or feel like treating myself

It's not surprising that as we are pushing our bodies to become these clean-fuel burning, healthy, endurance machines that our bodies are pushing us back demanding decent fuel. It's not rocket science! I'm continuing to test and sort out what works and what doesn't. Will I go 100% vegan, gluten-free or vegetarian? Probably not, but we do like to experiment with food and our bodies tend to know what they want. What our bodies want is nutritious whole food, easy to breakdown and use energy, more plant-based sources of complete proteins, and fresh, unprocessed ingredients.

If you have any questions or have stomach troubles yourself feel free to email me or post comments below!

Blueberry Muffin Cake

2011-03-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

If you're not making breakfast cake where have you been?

Amazing. Nutrient rich. High in fiber, protein, nutrients and low in fat. Gluten-free, diabetic-friendly and easily made vegan (use egg sub)!

No time for fancy pictures these days, so a quick snapshot at work is all you get! I did some tinkering on the original recipe and made a phenomenal blueberry muffin style cake!! You can use a ramekin, a soup crock, a small casserole dish, a mini loaf pan, anything you can think of to bake it in. We use a 4" ramekin.

Next up? Finding a healthy struessel topping for it!

We make these the night before and then reheat for 45 seconds in the microwave at work.

Serves 2- easily halved for one!
INGREDIENTS:

1 cup low sugar applesauce
2/3 cup soy or almond milk
3 tsp almond extract
2 Tbsp orange zest
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp raw buckwheat groats (ground in spice or coffee grinder into flour)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp xlyitol
1 tsp baking powder
2 egg whites
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350'
Line baking dish with parchment paper, spray with cooking spray
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Divide between two baking dishes.
Bake for 33-35 minutes.
Enjoy!

Yogurt Frosting - Perfect for Breakfast Cake

2011-03-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we brought you a jaw-dropping Breakfast Chocolate Cake. Today, a delicious (and low-cal!) frosting to smear all over it!

Yes, I said frosting! And we're still talking about a healthy, nutritious breakfast meal. It's only 68 calories for a huge serving, no fat and, oh YEAH, it has 6 grams of protein!! This stuff is magical! Incidentally, we are in love with Chobani fat-free greek yogurt. It's incredibly versatile, and we use it in creamy salad dressings, as a mayo substitute, in pancakes, in desserts, and now as cake frosting! It's thick, creamy, and delicious, and you'd never guess it's fat-free! Heyyy Chobani - we're totally open to sponsorship!!

Frosts one Breakfast Cake generously (makes 1/4c)
INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup Chobani greek nonfat plain yogurt
1/4 cup freeze dried fruit (we used bananas today, tomorrow...strawberries!)

DIRECTIONS:

Blitz freeze dried fruit in a spice grinder, coffee grinder or bash the heck out of it until it's powder.
Stir into yogurt.
Cover and refrigerate until firm (about 1 hr or overnight).
Spread like frosting :)

Breakfast Cake

2011-03-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKEEE!

This cake is phenomenal. It's healthy. It will make your life complete.

First, have you seen Hyperbole and a Half? Have you read her post on The God of Cake? If not, get your butt over there and bask in the hilarity.

Then, pop back over for a recipe.

Back? Hilarious, no?! I keep a firm grip on our weekly menu, so when I told Adam we were having not only cake for breakfast, but chocolate cake, he thought he was dreaming. A friend referred me to Edible Perspective's genius Buckwheat Bakes. I scanned the recipe and then double checked her nutritional math. No WAY cake could be good for you. Yes, yes, it is.

It's good. It's filling. It's healthy. Easily veganizable (use an egg substitute or flax egg). Top with a huge assortment of things! Coconut and dried bananas, tart marionberry jam, yogurt frosting... Not sure what chia seeds are or what the health benefits are? Check here. In short form- they are magic. More omega-3s than flax seed, high fiber, staunch hunger, loaded with antioxidants, and more!

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:

1/2c ground raw buckwheat groats [grind to soft powder in blender or spice/coffee grinder]
2 Tbsp raw buckwheat groats
1 large banana, mashed
3 tsp vanilla extract
2/3c unsweetened almond milk or soy milk
4 tsp maple syrup
5 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 egg white or 1 flax egg [2.5T warm water + 1T ground flax meal, whisked]
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350*
If making flax egg - whisk flax egg together and set aside for ~3-5min.
In a small bowl mash banana. Mix in all other ingredients.
Mix in flax egg or egg whites.
Lightly grease a small oven-safe dish, add mixture, smooth, and bake for 30 minutes. I used two large ramekins lined with parchment paper, but any soup crock or bowl will do. These are approximately 4.5" round.
We made these the night before and re-warmed in the microwave in the morning! Enjoy!

Ancient Grain & Apple Porridge

2011-03-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

It was a busy night, pardon the cell photo ;)

You've heard about ancient grains such as quinoa, millet, kamut and spelt, but you're not too sure what do with them, right?! You're not alone!

What makes them special? Unlike most of the refined grains in the American diet, these grains (actually, seeds) have serious nutritional value. Quinoa, for example, is an amino acid-rich more closely related to kale and spinach than a grain! Not only high in protein, but it has all nine amino acids making it a plant based complete protein. Millet, quinoa and amaranth are also high in minerals such as magnesium and phosphorus which aid in muscle tissue repair and metabolizing fat. Hello, my new best friends.

Eating a healthy, high fiber, high protein, low fat breakfast is just a good idea. We're crazy and had an hour swimming and an hour bike before breakfast, so desperately needed a hearty breakfast - this porridge definitely provided it! I like to make a batch up the night before, so it's ready to go in the morning with a quick reheat.

Side Note: Most recipes require the quinoa to be rinsed and drained and rinsed again, but I'm lazy and I can't tell the difference so I just put it all in a pot with the water. :)

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:

1/2c quinoa
1/8c millet
1/8c amaranth
1/4c soy milk
1 cup-1.5cup water (start with 1c add more if too dry)
1 medium red delicious apple, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp xylitol
10 pecan halves

DIRECTIONS:

Combine water, soy milk, millet and quinoa in pot. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary.
Add apple, amaranth, cinnamon and xylitol and cover. Simmer on low for 8 more minutes or until apple is softened and quinoa is cooked (should be tender with only a slight crunch to it). Stir occasionally.
Take off heat and allow to cool slightly. Divide into two containers (or bowls if eating immediately) and top with 5 pecan halves each.
Refrigerate (and reheat later) or enjoy while warm!

Nutritional per Serving: 400 calories, 12.5g protein! , 10g fat, 14g fiber

Banana Oat Muffins

2011-03-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

No time for the fancy camera last night!

The word muffin sounds dirty doesn't it? Like you're really getting something good. These muffins will not only trick your mind into thinking you're getting a treat, they will trick your palate too!

I came across this lovely site and have been pleased with the recipes so far. I made added in plain soy protein powder to increase the value of these muffins a bit, but the possibilities are endless. I love that there is no added fat and no added refined sugars. If you're not using xylitol already, give it a try! It's a natural sugar derivative and is easily swappable for refined white sugar (a.k.a. The Devil).

We need a quick snack in the mornings before our swim sessions and something to staunch the hunger-panic after a two hour workout. These delicious muffins are the perfect solution! They are even better when warmed up a touch.

Makes 1 dozen regular sized muffins
INGREDIENTS:

3 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed in bowl
1 cup soy milk (or almond, etc...)
3 cups old fashioned or rolled oats (I used McCann's Quick Cooking Oats)
3 scoops plain soy protein powder
1 Tbsp xylitol
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 eggs
3 Tbsp dark organic chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'. Line muffin pan with parchment paper squares, liners or cooking spray
Mash bananas in bowl, add all other ingredients except chocolate chips and stir to combine.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin pan
Bake 20-30 minutes until lightly browned and firm to touch. Remove from oven and cool.

Per 1 Muffin: 150 calories, 7g protein, 11g fat, 3g fiber

Etouffee with....Alligator

2011-03-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

Etouffee with alligator??? Somehow we wound up with frozen alligator in our freezer due to a frozen item swap with a neighbor. Being from Southern California, I've never encountered alligator, but that didn't stop me from trying it out! I've discovered some delicious foods by being daring (escargot, spot prawn heads, tiny baby squid, uni, etc...) but I can firmly say that alligator is not really my thing. We sliced and pounded the meat thin, so while I could get through the chewy texture, I couldn't handle the swamp flavor.

Tastes like chicken...that's sat in dirty mud for days.

The etouffee, on the other hand, was phenomenal! I took my scissors to the original recipes (that call for not one, but TWO sticks of butter) and lightened the whole thing up a bunch. Spicy and ideal with shrimp (or chicken) and rice! It's not a traditional recipe, but for the low calorie, low fat bunch of you, this is a keeper.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup shrimp, fish or chicken stock (we used homemade fish/shrimp stock)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
2 Tbsp minced parsley
1lb peeled, deveined shrimp

Creole Seasoning:

2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/3 tablespoon paprkia
1/4 tablespoon garlic powder
1/3 tablespoon black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

DIRECTIONS:

Melt 1 Tbsp butter in large skillet over medium high. Add celery, onion, garlic, bell pepper and green onions. Saute until fragrant and softened, about 7 minutes.
Whisk in flour and cook 3-5 minutes.
Add creole seasoning and stir to coat. Stir in a little stock at a time, just enough to form a paste.
Whisk in the rest of the stock slowly, stirring continuously until all stock is in.
Increase heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and add tomatoes, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
Simmer 30 minutes until thickened to your liking.
Add shrimp and parsley and cook until shrimp are cooked through and pink (about 5-6 minutes).
Serve over white rice or with a baguette. Garnish with extra parsley!

Crispy Chicken Sandwich - Fake Junk Food!

2011-02-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

Oodles of research and thousands of dollars have gone into researching consumers taste preferences for fast food. After all, the big junk food purveyors have more of your money than they know what to do with! Even though it's junk, there's something that is so undeniably good about fast food. We crave it. We want it. Some of us even need it! Even with all the scientific data and research about the insane calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium in junk food meals, most people can't stop. So we set out to discover what makes it so damn good!

When I think of a crispy chicken sandwich I think of Carls Jr. and Chick-fil-A. Hardly anything that is on our stringent triathlete fueling diet. We thought back to this recipe which is both a fantastic way to use leftover pickle juice and tastes phenomenal. Phenomenally like the fast food chicken flavor. Bingo! All we had to do is take our favorite chicken ever, coat it in panko and bake it till tender and crispy. Instead of a fat-ladden mayo-based sauce we used our favorite yogurt ever (plain, non-fat greek yogurt) mixed with homemade pickle relish, ketchup and a dash of mustard. Our sandwich was finished with a few crisp leaves of lettuce, a thick slice of an heirloom tomato and an orowheat sandwich thin bun.

Organic, natural, healthy(!), protein-packed, low fat, crispy chicken sandwich. You're welcome :)

*NOTE: Must brine the chicken a few hours or overnight!*

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into four even pieces (if you can find Rosie chicken, try it! if not go organic, free range)
1-2 cups pickle juice (save your jars!!)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 cup panko
1 tbsp garlic powder
4 orowheat sandwich thins or reduced carb buns
4 leaves crispy boston lettuce
4 thick slices tomato
1/2 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp pickle relish
1 Tsp+ mustard
cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken and pickle juice in a zip lock bag. Seal. Refrigerate for 3 hours to overnight.
Preheat oven to 400'
Line baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.
Remove chicken from bag (discard juice) and pat chicken dry.
Lightly tenderize chicken with mallet (or fists after a rough day)
Dip chicken in egg white and press chicken into panko, coating all sides. Set on baking sheet. Spritz with cooking spray.
Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Flip chicken over, spritz with cooking spray and bake another 12-15 minutes.
Stir yogurt, ketchup, relish and mustard. Adjust to your liking.
Lightly toast sandwich thins. I just throw them on the same baking sheet for a minute or two with the chicken.
Assemble sandwiches: bun, sauce, tomato, lettuce, chicken and top bun!

Shameless and Unpaid Promotion (*ahem* we do accept free chicken and free yogurt...):

Chobani Yogurt: It's incredible. We eat a non-fat fruit yogurt daily and it tastes like dessert, no joke! Rich, creamy, and for an 8oz serving there's only 100-ish calories, 0 fat and TONS of protein, calcium and probiotics. Total win. We buy ours at Mother's Market.

Rosie Chicken : Another Mother's Market find. I thought how in the heck can chicken cost so much!? Then, we ate said chicken. And vowed to never buy another chicken ever again. I think you can only realize how unchickeny and how freakishly mutated most chicken you buy is once you have a free-range, air cooled, organic, grain fed chicken that is my namesake.

Lighter Chicken Parmesan

2011-02-14T16:45:00.000-08:00

You know what the best part of running a half-marathon in the midst of triathlon training was? Hearing the words carb load the night before. Sure! Heck yes! Damn straight I will carb load! I am good at that! Running, not so much, but eating carbs? Easy peasy!

While I've never actually ordered Chicken Parmesan in a restaurant, I love my recipe for it. It's not traditional, it's not super cheesy, it's not what your momma made you. It is, however, a good source of protein, carbs, veggies and low in fat. I prefer to pan-"fry" the chicken and bake it with no marinara, I like the crispy outer layer, but if you prefer your stuff soggy, by all means, smother it with marinara before baking...I won't judge you.

We use our homemade marinara which we make in a huge amount then freeze in 2 cup portions. Garlic, onions, celery, carrot, tons of ripe tomatoes, chili flakes, basil, oregano, salt and pepper - with the help of the sweet food processor my mom gave us for Christmas, it only takes a minute! You can use jarred stuff too, but check the ingredients. Make sure there's nothing funky or high fat in there. If the second ingredient is HFCS, put that jar down!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 chicken breast halves (8oz ea if you're being a pig) or 1 large chicken breast cut into 2 pcs (4oz each)
1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten to blend
1 cup panko
1/4 cup parmesan, finely grated (reserve 2 tbsp for garnish)
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt, cracked pepper
2 cups broccoli florets
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup cremini mushrooms, quartered
2 cups marinara
2 servings whole wheat spaghetti (about 3-4 oz total)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350'
Toss broccoli florets with olive oil and a healthy sprinkling of salt and cracked pepper.
Place on foil lined baking sheet misted with cooking spray.
Bake in oven 10 minutes while doing everything else.
Bring water to a boil for pasta.
Prepare chicken by gently pounding thinner with fist or mallet. No need to get crazy, just tenderize the meat.
Combine all but 2 Tbsp parmesan with panko on a plate.
Toss chicken with flour to coat evenly.
Dunk chicken in beaten egg.
Press chicken into panko, coating all sides. Set aside.
Warm marinara and add mushrooms to sauce, keep heated over medium low.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large pan over medium high.
Add chicken and pan fry until golden brown, flip and cook other side until golden brown.
Remove baking sheet with broccoli from oven. Flip broccoli.
Add chicken to baking sheet and return to oven.
Bake 10-15 minutes. Remove broccoli if cooking too fast.
Meanwhile, add pasta and cook until tender. Drain and divide between plates.
Top with sauce, chicken, broccoli and a sprinkle of parmesan!

Crispy Calamari with Roasted Pepper Sauce

2011-02-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

Some people crave chocolate, but I crave fried salty things. When I saw this in Clean Eating I wanted it. Lucky for me, Adam whipped it up on Friday night alongside a big salad. Easy to make and easy on your body with crispy panko and a non-fried preparation.

The roasted pepper dipping sauce had enough habanero heat to keep it interesting, although we whisked in a little ketchup for salt!

Serves 4 as appetizer (or with side salad)

INGREDIENTS:

olive oil cooking spray
2 red bell peppers
7 cloves garlic, un-peeled
1 habanero chili, chopped (or less if you do not like heat!)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c panko
1/4 cup stone ground cornmeal*
1 tsp garlic powder
black pepper
1 egg
1lb cleaned squid (tentacles and bodies)
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
lime wedges, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Turn broiler on and place rack 8" from heat source. Halve bell peppers and remove seeds and cores. Place cut side down on foil lined baking sheet and broil until skin is blackened about 10-12 minutes.
Remove from heat, place in bowl and cover tightly for 5 minutes.
Peel peppers and chop.
Preheat oven to 400'.
Place garlic on piece of foil and mist with cooking spray. Pinch corners of foil together to form pouch and place on baking sheet in oven and bake 15 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.
Squeeze garlic out of skins and combine with bell peppers and habaneros in blender. Puree until smooth. Transfer to bowl and stir in salt (and ketchup if desired).
Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and mist with baking spray.
Place panko, cornmeal*, garlic powder, salt and pepper in large gallon zip lock bag.
Beat egg in separate bowl.
Slice squid bodies into 1/2" thick pieces, including tentacles and pat dry.
Dip squid in egg and then toss into panko bag. Seal bag and shake to throughly coat all pieces.
Spread squid on baking sheet in single layer and bake until opaque and slightly firm about 15 minutes.
Transfer to platter and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and sauce.

Calories: 215 * Fat: 2g * Carbs: 25g * Fiber: 3g * Protein: 24g

* We have a hate-hate relationship with cornmeal. We keep trying to like it, but we hate the grit factor. We will be using a full cup of panko and no cornmeal. It's up to you though! Do what you like!

Filet Mignon Stroganoff

2011-02-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

I never ate beef stroganoff growing up, so I have little to compare this version to. Adam, on the other hand, grew up eating his mother's recipe (as most people did). The traditional recipe includes a cheaper cut of meat, full fat sour cream, butter, flour caked meat fried in a pan, and all kinds of calories. Surprisingly, we were able to cut this classic comfort dish into a slender 448 calories per serving. The taste? Phenomenal!

This is so damn good. Since you're only using 12oz of meat, make the effort (and expense) to buy the nicest fillet mignon you can. It's worth it!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

12oz fillet mignon
1.5 lbs cremini mushrooms, quartered
4-5 shallots, cut in large slices or chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup sherry
salt and cracked pepper
2 tbsp white whole wheat flour (or all purpose)
3 tsp + 1.5 tsp olive oil (separated)
1 cup beef broth
1.5 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1.5-2 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard
1.5-2 tsp parsley, minced
1 cup low fat sour cream
2 cups whole wheat pasta shells, spirals or cavatappi

DIRECTIONS:

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside.
Heat 3 tsp oil in small pot over medium-high heat and whisk in flour. Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute.
Slowly whisk in beef broth in slow stream. Whisk constantly while bringing it to a simmer and allow to simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce, Dijon mustard, sour cream and the parsley. Season to taste with cracked pepper and salt.
Prepare fillet by slicing into thin bite sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat remaining 1.5 tsp oil in large fry pan over high heat. Add fillet pieces in an even layer. You will notice that they begin to brown on the bottom immediately. Pretty much as soon as you get all the meat in the pan, you will begin flipping the first pieces you put in. These only need light cooking! Once meat is browned on surface, but still pink inside, remove meat to a bowl and set aside. It will continue to cook as it rests, hence the extremely short cook time.
Add shallots and garlic to pan the meat was in and cook, stirring until softened and browned about 8-10 minutes. Add water by the tablespoon if the skillet is too dry or browning too much.
Add mushrooms and sherry. Cook mushrooms until softened and reduced, about 15 minutes. The longer you cook them, the more flavor they will have.
Put beef back in with mushrooms, including any juices that have accumulated. Stir in sauce and heat through.
Divide pasta among plates, top with stroganoff, garnish with extra parsley.

Calories: 448 * Fat: 17g * Carbs: 37g * Protein: 35g * Fiber: 4g

Sweet & Hot Glazed Shrimp Stir Fry

2011-02-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

This recipe caught my eye due to the simplicity of it's ingredients: seafood, vegetables, noodles, and a glaze comprised of soy sauce and preserves. While I don't usually go for sweet glazed things, I thought I'd give it a try. It was a good start, but in the future I think I would confine the sweet glaze to the seafood only and do a simple stir fry on the vegetables. I'd also use pepper jelly instead of apricot, the apricot didn't come through and it could use the heat to balance the sugar.

Nonetheless, it's a good recipe and it's always nice to mix up whatever your standard throw everything in the wok stir fry recipe is.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp oil
1.5 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
9 oz bean thread noodles
1 cup snow peas
1/2 cup pepper jelly
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
sriracha (to taste)
lime wedges (to garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

Soak bean thread noodles in extremely hot tap water for 8-10 minutes. Drain.
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add onion, garlic and shrimp. Saute until shrimp are opaque and curled about 5-8 minutes.
Add broccoli and bell pepper and stir fry until cooked, about 5 minutes.
Stir pepper jelly and soy sauce and stir into shrimp/vegetables.
Season to taste with sriracha.
Plate noodles, top with shrimp/vegetable stir fry and garnish with lime wedges.

Bell Peppers Stuffed with Chicken Sausage & Beans

2011-02-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

My sister started making these stuffed peppers a few weeks ago. The moment I laid eyes on them, I wanted to make some of my own. The possibilities are endless! Beans, rice, quinoa, corn, vegetables, soyrizo, meat, barley, anything you can imagine will work! I used a combination of chicken sausages and stuff we had on hand: black beans, pinto beans, red quinoa, corn, jalapeno and a leftover 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes that was in the freezer.

They turned out delicious and pack a lot of nutrition for under 400 calories. Easy enough to make ahead of time, we ate two halves each for dinner and packed up two more each for lunch the next day. I'm a huge fan of anything you do ahead of time! Quick time saving tip: Freeze everything. Trash nothing. Got 2 tbsp orange zest leftover? 1/2 can of diced tomatoes? Juice of a lemon half? A glass of wine? Shells from shrimp? You get the idea... almost anything can be frozen and it comes as a huge win later!

Serves 4 (each person gets a whole bell pepper)

INGREDIENTS:

4 even sized bell peppers
cooking spray
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large chicken sausages or 4 small
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
handful frozen corn
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup quinoa
7oz diced canned tomatoes
4 Tbsp low or no-fat sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425'. Halve bell peppers and scoop out seeds. Set on baking sheet coated with cooking spray cut side down and spritz with cooking spray. Bake for 10-15 minutes until softened. Remove from oven and reduce oven temp to 350'.
Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and quinoa in small pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is tender and most liquid is absorbed, 12-15 minutes. If needed, add more liquid.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large pan. Remove sausage from skin and saute with onions, garlic and jalapeño until cooked through (5 minutes).
Add corn, beans, oregano, chili powder and quinoa/tomato mixture. Stir to combine and heat through.
Evenly divide filling among bell pepper halves. Return to oven and bake until set about 5-8 minutes.
Divide 1 Tbsp sour cream over both halves, plate and serve.

Seafood Chowder

2011-02-01T12:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay, it's not technically chowder, but with a little make-believe it is close enough! Chowder requires bacon, cream, flour and quite a bit of butter. Definitely not something you'd think of as a healthy dinner option! I based this recipe off a Clean Eating recipe I found a few days ago. I changed a few things to ramp up the flavor without messing with the nutritional profile. Results? A huge, hearty bowl of soup with no guilt.

A single bowl contains about half of your protein requirement for the day, most of your Vitamin A and heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids in the shellfish! Enjoy!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
2-3 celery ribs, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, minced
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp thyme
salt and cracked pepper
1 lb white potatoes, diced
3 cups chicken broth, low sodium
3 cups frozen corn
1 cup low fat milk
1 tsp+ chilli powder
1/2 lb deveined and peeled shrimp
3/4 lb sea scallops (if really large, halve or quarter)
3 scallions green and white parts sliced only

DIRECTIONS:

Place potatoes in pot and barely cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until just beginning to get tender. Remove, drain and rinse with water to stop cooking.
In large pot, heat oil over medium-high.
Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and saute until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
Add jalapeño, paprika and thyme. Stir to combine and saute 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Add 3 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Add potatoes, corn and milk and bring back up to a high simmer.
Use an immersion blender (or remove 3 cups soup) and blend to add body to the soup. Leave some of the soup still chunky!
Bring soup back up to a high simmer, add chili powder, shrimp and scallops.
Cook until scallops are opaque and shrimp are firm and pink, about 5-8 minutes.
Ladle into bowls, garnish with scallions.

Per Serving: Calories: 421 Fat: 6.25g Carbs: 56.25g Protein: 35g

News at The BMK!

2011-01-31T15:38:00.000-08:00

After thinking I was off my rocker last year, Adam's switched tactics and joined me in the sport of triathlon. He went from "hating running" to whooshing past me on the trail. We went from straggling along in the pool at our gym to 5am swim sessions with our local Master's Swim group. Lazy Sunday beach cruiser rides have been replaced with fast paced cycling around the bay and beyond. Now we're signed up for the OC International Tri, I'm doing the Escape From Alcatraz, and we'll be doing the Pacific Coast Tri later this year!! Needless to say, the diets have changed.

Athletes need fuel. I'm poking at my post-Portland-trip-pot-belly thinking, "Athlete?!". Seriously though, regardless of how much you exercise good, clean, unprocessed food is the best fuel you can provide your body. For those of us with twice a day workouts 6 days a week, what we put in our bodies is the deciding factor between health and injury, strength and weakness, recovery and exhaustion. Calories are the gasoline your body needs to run. Fat is necessary to help your body recover and heal. Protein is needed to build your muscles. Fiber to keep you full! Vitamins and minerals to aid in recovery, growth, a strong immune system and balancing your body out.

Last year we struggled to keep posting as I went through the insane rigors of triathlon training. This blog started as my means of keeping track of recipes. I use it as my online catalog, and being reticent in my blog posting hurt me worse than my readers! We may end up short on words, but we will make our best effort to get a pretty photo up and a delicious recipe. Most of the stuff we're cooking these days is coming through or modified from a few excellent sources: Clean Eating Magazine and Eating Well (online). I can't recommend these sources enough (especially Clean Eating)!

If you're interested in following along with my side of the triathlon training check out my other blog over here!

Thanks for your support and keep your eyes open for some new recipes headed your way!

Salmon with Blackberry Glaze over Cous Cous

2011-01-23T16:33:00.000-08:00

I've met a lot of people who don't like salmon or couscous and I'm on a mission to change that! My love for couscous developed out of my inability to cook rice the way that I like it. Couscous? Boil water. Add seasonings. Turn heat off. Add couscous, cover. Done in 5 minutes. Works every single time.

Sometimes we think we don't like certain foods only because we've had them prepared in a limited fashion. If your parents fed you less than farm-fresh or canned vegetables, you may think you don't really like them. If you dined on an older or cheaper cut of fish, you might abhor the "fishiness". Or you had just steamed Brussels sprouts and never experienced the mind-blowingness of roasted crispy slightly salty Brussels sprouts. The point is, you could be missing out on a whole range of deliciousness based off a bad experience or two!

Be bold, be brave, try something new!

You can't go wrong with blackberries, a hint of orange zest in the couscous and a scattering of fresh greens.

Clean Eating July/Aug 2010
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:

2 pcs salmon filet, about 1/3 lb each
cooking spray
handful of asparagus tips, sliced diagonally
1 cup blackberries, divided
1 tsp raw honey
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/8 cup fresh orange juice
3 cups mixed wild greens
2 scallions, sliced on the diagonal
1/4c cous cous
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4c plus 1 Tbsp water
pinch salt

DIRECTIONS:

Steam asparagus tips over boiling water until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Mash half of blackberries with honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and orange juice. Set aside.
Cook cous cous by bringing 1/4c plus 1 Tbsp water to a boil with pinch of salt and zest. When boiling, add cous cous and cover. Remove from heat. Allow to sit covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.
Preheat oven to 400'. Mist baking sheet with cooking spray. Place salmon on baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes until it flakes with fork, but is still pink inside.
Toss greens with half of mashed blackberry dressing. Arrange greens on plates. Top with cous cous.
Arrange salmon on top of cous cous and drizzle with rest of mashed dressing. Scatter dish with whole blackberries, asparagus tips and sliced scallions.

Vegetarian 'Beef' Stew

2011-01-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

There's something indescribably satisfying about a steaming bowl of stew, chock-full of vegetables and hearty chunks of savory meat swimming in a thick, savory broth. Unless you're a vegetarian; then the experience can leave you quite unsatisfied.

As omnivores with herbivorous tendencies, we often cook vegetarian and sometimes vegan. Living in Southern California means that while our cost of living is absurdly high, we live a stone's throw from a handful of markets specializing in healthy diets. Adam emerged from his few years as a vegetarian with a roster of favorite items. One item in particular, Vegefarm Vege Beef Chunks makes its way into our weekly menu in anything from stir fry to this stew! If you can find them, they'll be in the frozen food section at Mother's Market (or your local healthy grocer) and very closely resemble tender chunks of slow-cooked beef.

Honestly, when Adam told me he wanted to make a 100% vegetarian stew, I was skeptical. Could it really live up to the richness and depth of a beef stew? Would it satisfy, or would it be a hollow reminder of its meaty cousin? With Adam's magic for soups, stews, and sauces, the answer is YES. It's freaking amazing!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp olive oil
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped roughly
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
5 small potatoes chopped (about 2 cups chopped)
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 container cherry tomatoes
48 oz no-chicken chicken stock
4 bay leaves
4 Tbsp thyme
salt and cracked pepper
1 Tbsp marjoram
1 can beer
2 packages Vegefarm Beef Chunks
1/4 cup flour whisked into 1/2 cup soymilk
3 Tbsp cornstarch whisked into 1/4 cup soymilk
4 Tbsp Worcestershire

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot over medium-high to high heat, add olive oil and sauté onion, carrots, garlic, celery, and potatoes until lightly browned.
Add Vege Beef Chunks, bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes, and continue to sauté the mixture until nicely browned, 15-20 minutes or until onions begin to caramelize and fall apart.
Reduce heat to medium-low and deglaze with the can of beer, scraping up all browned bits.
Add Worcestershire. reduce until sharp smell mellows.
Add stock, marjoram, bay leaves, and thyme.
Simmer until broth thickens a little about 20 minutes, then stir in the flour/soymilk mixture.
For extra thick and hearty stew, add cornstarch/soymilk mixture, and simmer at least 5 minutes before service.
Season to taste with salt and black pepper!

Salmon Wellington

2011-01-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers!

Hopefully everyone had a lovely holiday and started 2011 on the right foot! Our postings dwindled to a trickle around Thanksgiving, but have no fear, they'll be picking up speed again now that we're on the other side of the calendar. So, Happy New Year, everyone!

In my opinion, you can improve almost anything by wrapping it in puff pastry. I also adore the enriching properties of duxelles, and will add it in just about anything. Any dish that wraps those two ingredients around fresh, sustainably-caught wild salmon is a guaranteed win in my book!

When you buy your salmon, buy half of what you expect you'll need. You really, truly, honestly only want a reasonably small piece (think the length of your hand and the width of two fingers). The pastry puffs up and produces a rich, luxurious meal. Unless of course, you've got tons of cash for a sweet piece of salmon and you're feeling a wee bit gluttonous. Then, by all means, indulge.

Serves 4
(Inspired by an Epicurious recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

4 pcs salmon (4-6oz ea, all roughly same thickness)
8-10 cremini mushrooms finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp herbes de province
cracked pepper and ground sea salt
2 oz goat cheese
1 - 17.3oz package puff pastry
1 egg beaten to blend

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425'
Set out puff pastry sheets to thaw
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, shallots and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms have reduced in size and everything is a very soft reduced consistency, about 10 minutes.
Combine with goat cheese, stirring to blend.
Season salmon with sea salt and cracked pepper.
Roll out each pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 12-inch square. Cut each in half, forming four 12x6-inch rectangles.
Place 1 salmon fillet in center of each rectangle, about 3 inches in from and parallel to 1 short edge.
Top each salmon with 1/4 of mushroom-goat cheese mixture.
Brush edges of rectangles with some glaze. Fold long sides of pastry over fillets. Fold short edge of pastry over fillets and roll up pastry, enclosing fillets. Seal edges of pastry.
Place pastries, seam side down, on baking sheet. Brush with glaze.
Bake pastries until dough is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

Vanilla Maple French Toast with Berry Coulis

2010-12-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

Pardon the carboholic kitty in the photo. He has a penchant for baked goods. Favorite food? Graham crackers and now, this french toast!
Christmas morning at The Bite Me Kitchen is lazy pajama-time! Which isn't all that different from the other non-work day mornings. We were left with a few cartons of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries and instead of making a healthy smoothie, we whipped up a quick batch of french toast and a gorgeous mixed berry coulis.
Use what you have - any bread, any liquid, and any seasonings you desire. This batch used soy milk (we were out of regular milk), maple syrup, a dash of vanilla and some sourdough bread!
Oh, and have a Happy Christhannaukawannzafestivus!
Serves 4INGREDIENTS:

8 slices bread (2 ea person)
4 whole eggs
1 cup milk (or soy milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups mixed berries
1/4 c sugar

DIRECTIONS:

For sauce, place berries in medium pot and cook over medium high heat until softened, mashing as they cook. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add 1/4c sugar and continue to simmer 5 minutes. Blend in immersion blender or mash thoroughly.
For french toast: Preheat oven to 300'. Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla and maple syrup. Heat skillet (we use a flat 2-burner cast iron skillet, but any pan will do), over medium heat and melt 1 tbsp butter on it.
Place bread slices in egg mixture for 30-60 seconds a side, flip over for another 30 seconds.
Place dipped slices on skillet and cook until golden brown and bubbly about 1-2 minutes per side.
When browned on both sides, place french toast in oven on baking sheet to keep warm.
To serve, arrange french toast on plate, sift powdered sugar over, top with warm coulis.

Winter Salad of Roasted Squash, Pomegranates, Pistachios

2010-12-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

The weather has finally turned the corner from fall to winter here in Southern California and we're using our oven with wild abandon! Our house is old, drafty, and prone to quickly dispersing heat, so keeping our oven full of roasting and baking goodies is a great way to keep the kitchen (and the chefs) warm!

The holidays are here and we all strive to find ways to pack more activity into less time. As always, we prioritize eating a variety of seasonal, fresh, nutritious fare. We find preparing ahead (when time allows) lets us reap the rewards on a busier date! Our freezer bulges with neatly labeled baggies of seasonal, fresh food that's been prepared and sealed for later use. This winter squash salad is the perfect excuse to dice up squash, roast some and freeze some for later!

We used the frozen squash the next time to make this same salad again. With a little forethought and very little time, it's easy to divvy up extras for later. If you live alone, or only cook for two (like us), this is a great way to maximize your dollars and be kind to Mama Earth by not tossing the excess food.

This recipe calls for pomegranate molasses, which is a fancy name for heavily reduced pomegranate juice. Make a bunch all at once - it keeps sealed in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months. Use it in dressings, dessert sauces, glazes for chicken, pork, lamb, etc...!

Recipe ~Eating Well
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp minced shallot
1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses (see Note)
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
2 tsp water
1 small winter squash, such as butternut, kabocha, acorn, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-sized chunks *For recipe you only need small handful each. Freeze extra chunks on baking sheet, then seal in ziplock bag*
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
cracked pepper
3 cups mixed greens (radicchio, frisee, curly endive, etc.)
2 Tbsp pomegranate seeds (see Note)
1/4 cup pistachios or walnuts
1-2 oz blue cheese or feta

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375°F.
To prepare vinaigrette: Mix shallot, pomegranate molasses, vinegar, lemon juice, thyme and salt in a small bowl. Whisk in oil.
To prepare squash: Place squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 teaspoons oil and toss to coat. Spread in a single layer and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Roast, stirring once or twice, until fork-tender, 15 to 25 minutes (depending on the type of squash).
To prepare salad: Divide greens between plates or bowls. Add the vinaigrette and gently toss to coat. Top with squash and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, nuts and cheese.

Pomegranate Molasses: Bring 4 cups pomegranate juice to a boil, simmer uncovered 45-50 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Will make about 1/2 cup.

To seed a pomegranate: Fill a large bowl with water. Lightly score the fruit into quarters from crown to stem end, cutting through the skin but not into the interior of the fruit. Hold the fruit under water, break it apart and use your hands to separate the seeds from the white pith. Discard the pith. Pour the seeds into a colander. Rinse and pat dry. Seeds can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Mamma Mia Meatballs

2010-11-30T16:55:00.000-08:00

The odd jacket our meatball wears is farm cheese - I accidentally grabbed instead of burrata... Oops!

There were so many potentially wrong titles for this post; consider yourself lucky I spared you punny commentary involving large balls. You're welcome! Now, on to the post.

These aren't your mother's meatballs. Heck, they're not even MY mother's meatballs. They are, in fact, Alessandro Pirozzi's Mother's Meatballs and a fantastic appetizer at his Cucina Alessa restaurants in Newport, Huntington and Laguna Beach. They are also love at first bite for any carnivorous lover of Southern Italian fare! We aren't frequent meat-eaters, so when the inner predator stirs, we make it count! A tender, melt-in-your-mouth blend of ground veal and spicy Italian sausage, topped with creamy burrata, all dressed in a simple homemade marinara take this iconic dish to new heights of deliciousness.

The best part about these meatballs? They are even better when simmered straight from the freezer! Split one as an appetizer or serve with a few twirls of pasta and a side salad for a complete meal. Mangia!

Makes 6-8 really large meatballs

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 c red wine
1 Tbsp tomato paste
4 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1-2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp salt

2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 large egg
3 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
1 lb ground veal or ground pork

DIRECTIONS:

Begin the sauce by heating 2 Tbsp olive oil in large pot over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic and saute until golden and fragrant about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, wine and tomato paste. Reduce to medium-low and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.
Stir in salt, chili flakes, basil and parsley. Simmer 10 minutes - until meatballs are ready.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil baking sheet.
Mix crumbs and milk in medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
Mix in Parmesan, onion, basil, egg, garlic and pepper.
Add sausage, ground meat; blend well.
Using wet hands, form mixture into 3-inch balls. Place on baking sheet (freeze balls on parchment lined sheet that you're not eating, then transfer to ziplock bag).
Bake until meatballs are light brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes, turning once.
Add to sauce. Simmer, covered, 1 hr until tender, spooning sauce over and turning occasionally.
Serve in shallow bowls or over pasta for a more filling meal. Top with burrata or parmesan.
Freeze extra sauce in portions in sandwich bags.

To reheat frozen meatballs: thaw sauce in pot. Add meatballs. Simmer over medium heat 1-1.5 hours. Test for doneness by cutting one open. Serve!
Freezer Tip: We freeze leftover wine (or wine we didn't particularly like) for cooking later! We also freeze extra lemon juice, lime juice and tomato paste (separated into tablespoons) for handy use.

Roasted Garlic & Sweet Potato Soup

2010-11-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

Simple. Delicious. Packed full of vitamins and minerals! What more could you ask for?! I've had a number of people ask me how to roast garlic and it always blows my mind. It's something I take for granted. Roasting garlic is easy to do and can be used to add flavor to everything from soups to spreads to pasta and dips!

We served this soup as a side for our insanely good tuna melt and it was a match made in heaven! This would be an easy soup to use as a first course for Thanksgiving, which is here (how did it get here so fast!?).

Serves 4 - appetizer or first course

INGREDIENTS:

2 large sweet potatoes
1/2 large cooking onion, chopped
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 head roasted garlic (skin ON! leave whole)
1 cup vegetable broth
1-2 cups of water
1 tsp dried sage leaves, crumbled
cracked pepper and sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Slice potatoes in half lengthwise.
Rub cut surfaces with olive oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet.
On the same baking sheet, place a whole bulb of garlic and drizzle with more olive oil.
Bake uncovered in center of oven until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile heat olive oil in a sauté pan.
Add chopped onion and sauté until clear and soft. Place in food processor.
Remove potato pulp from the sweet potatoes and place in a food processor. Squeeze the roasted garlic into the food processor until a smooth purée forms. Place purée into a large saucepan.
Add broth and water until desired consistency. Cook on medium until thoroughly heated.
Season to taste with pepper, salt and dried sage.

Fig, Walnut & Balsamic Tapenade with Goat Cheese

2010-10-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Looking for an easy and unique appetizer you can make ahead of time for holidays? This is for you! Elegant and flavorful, the combination of sweet dried figs, salty kalamata olives, and piquant goat cheese will please everyone; even picky eaters! I've served this to people who think they don't like any of the ingredients, and seen the magic of this flavor combination light up their faces with surprise!

As always, the most important part of this dish is the quality of ingredients. Splurge on good balsamic vinegar and you will be paid back in rich, full flavor every time. Indulge in premium olives or a special type of dried fig. Not sure what to serve with this appetizer? Check out Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's epic dictionary of all things food/beverage - What to Drink with What You Eat.(separate post on that coming!)

Makes roughly 1 cup of tapenade (original recipe here)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup chopped stemmed dried Calimyrna figs

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon drained capers, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 5.5-ounce logs soft fresh goat cheese cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (or serve in log shape, with cheese knife)
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Sliced, toasted baguette or crackers

DIRECTIONS:

Combine chopped figs and 1/3 cup water in heavy medium saucepan.

Cook over medium-high heat until liquid evaporates and figs are soft, about 7 minutes.
Transfer to medium bowl. Mix in olives, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, capers, and chopped thyme.
Season tapenade to taste with salt and pepper.
(Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
Either serve goat cheese, tapenade and baguette toasts plated separately or pre-make each toast for passed appetizers by spreading a smear of goat cheese on each toast, topping with a dollop of tapenade and garnishing with a few extra walnut pieces or thyme sprigs.

Tuna Melt - Under 400 Calories!

2010-10-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than two slices of bread, spread with butter, stuffed with melty cheese, fried in a pan. NOTHING. Okay, maybe a side of macaroni and cheese. It's awful, my obsession with these two foods. I can make almost anything, but in my heart of hearts, I want grilled cheese and/or macaroni and cheese. I want it after a nice long workout. I want it in the middle of a long run. I want it at the beginning of my day and at the end. It's more than love, it's a sickness.

I've relegated things like grilled cheese to the list of items saved for special occasions (or nasty hangovers), but then... then... I saw a recipe for a low-calorie, high-protein tuna grilled cheese. Most tuna melts are laden with butter (on the bread), full fat mayo (in the salad), tons of fatty cheese, maybe even some avocado, useless white bread and can top out over 1000 calories each. Quizno's Tuna Melt contains 1420 calories, 118 fat grams and 1535 mg of sodium. So much for that healthy lunch! Yikes!

Our tuna melt comes in under 400 calories and will blow your mind.

Prepare to fall in love.

You're welcome.

Oh, and that amazing looking soup in the photo? It's a perfect fall roasted garlic and sweet potato soup. It's coming soon!

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
Note: some ingredients are approximated as how "wet" you like your tuna salad is a personal thing!

4 slices of Ezekiel sprouted grain bread (or other healthy whole grain bread of your liking)
1 5oz can white albacore tuna packed in water (drained)
1.5 Tbsp light mayo, veganaise, or even plain non-fat yogurt!
1.5 Tbsp sweet pickle-relish
2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard or dijon
1 tomato (preferably heirloom) thinly sliced
1/2 cup reduced fat Irish white cheddar (check out Kerrygold's!)

DIRECTIONS:

In bowl, combine tuna, mayo (or substitute) and pickle relish. Mix together.
Spread one side of each piece of bread with mustard.
Top two pieces of bread with tuna mixture, sliced tomatoes and the cheese.
Top with the other two slices of bread (forming two sandwiches). Mustard sides IN, non-coated sides OUT.
Heat a large pan over medium heat. Spray top of each sandwich with cooking spray.
Place sandwiches in pan cooking spray side down and cook, covered, about 1-2 minutes (until golden).
Spray top of sandwich with cooking spray and flip carefully. Cook, covered, 1-2 minutes longer until that side is golden.
Serve immediately.

Breakdown: 382 calories, 10g fat, 23g protein, 53g carbs, 7g fiber

Mexican Lasagna - Spinach, Tofu, Mushroom

2010-10-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

For me, this is comfort food of the highest order. Mexican Lasagna was a childhood favorite of mine, and no one made it better than my mom. It's the kind of recipe originally torn out of the local paper's food section, extra ingredients appended in my mom's angular script; a rare artifact discovered in an old shoe box, spattered with cooking oils, threatening to disintegrate like the Dead Sea Scrolls. A recipe loved and cherished for decades past and decades to come.

This healthy, vegetarian cousin of our family classic is easily convertible to vegan by substituting vegan cheese, and provides enough servings for a dinner party or (my personal favorite), a few ready-made lunches for the week! Play with the ingredients - swap kale for spinach, roasted root vegetables for mushrooms, add fire-roasted chilies, have fun!

Unlike most lasagna, this dish was born of an enchilada recipe - so there is no cheesy layer - making it a breeze to assemble! Feel like a challenge? A little more traditional assembly? Put the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and spinach in one layer and the tofu and creamy cheese into another. The options are endless!

Makes one 13"x9" glass baking dish (approx. 8 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of corn tortillas (you will need about 18-24)
cooking spray
14-16oz block of extra firm organic tofu, liquid squeezed out (use paper towels) and crumbled
1 large bag organic baby spinach (about 4 large handfuls)
15 medium cremini mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp each cumin, chili powder, oregano
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz light cream cheese
1 small jar salsa verde (8 oz)
1 cup shredded light cheddar, jack or pepper jack

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375'. Coat 13x9 glass pan with baking spray.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large sauté pan over medium. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until fragrant 2-3 minutes.
Add crumbled tofu and spices. Sauté about 3-5 minutes. Coat with cooking spray if tofu is sticking.
Add mushrooms and spinach. Fold spinach into the mixture so that it wilts.
Stir in cream cheese and turn off heat. Adjust spices if necessary.
Arrange 6 tortillas on bottom of dish, overlapping slightly and slightly going up the sides.
Top with half of mushroom-tofu-spinach mix.
Arrange 6 more tortillas on top of that. Top with balance of mushroom-tofu-spinach mix, and one more layer of 6 tortillas.
Spread a generous layer of salsa verde over the top of lasagna and tent with foil.
Bake at 375' for 25 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle cheese on top and bake for another 7-10 minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Cut into individual portions and serve!

Oak Smoked Salmon over Mixed Greens, Feta & Marinated Mushrooms

2010-10-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Leah gave me a stove-top smoker as a birthday present last year, and it shames me to admit it sat unused until this dish. In my defense, I've never smoked anything (well, at least nothing I ate afterward) and I was intimidated. I usually tackle new challenges right away, but I balked at smoking. Leah regaled me with tantalizing dishes created in her cooking class: smoked garlic, smoked vegetables for salsa, smoked fish, and on and on! All indoors, fast, and with little added fat.

Anyone with news or facebook has heard that it's been hot in Southern California; serious, Sahara hot. We've been craving fresh, cool salads and cringing at the thought of twisting oven knobs. I recalled a fantastic salad I've had many times at a local eatery and set myself to its recreation.

I smoked wild-caught salmon over alder chips until the fish flaked into sheafs of soft, creamy layers, all in only 25 minutes. Both Adam and I were suspicious of the Camerons' "no smoke in your house" claim, but lo and behold, we stood amazed at a near-smokeless experience. The kitchen merely smelled faintly, pleasantly, of flavorful smoke. I dressed up some plain white mushrooms, marinating them in a little grape-seed oil, sesame oil, and yuzu rice vinegar. I balanced the smoke's sweetness with a mild acidity from a quick sugar-salt-rice vinegar pickle of thinly shaved onions. Combined with super-salty fresh feta and cool mixed greens, this salad was a winner!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:
Components:

2/3 lb wild-caught salmon
2 Tbsp alder or oak chips
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
2 large handfuls mixed greens
1/4 white onion or sweet onion, thinly shaved (use a sharp knife or peeler)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1/4 tsp (or just a few drops) sesame oil
6-10 white mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or if you can find it yuzu rice vinegar)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp grape seed oil
4 oz high-quality feta, crumbled
daikon sprouts or radish sprouts

Dressing

sesame seeds
1 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp yuzu rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
dash of sugar or agave syrup if too vinegary

DIRECTIONS:

Follow directions for your stove-top smoker! Ours requires us to put the chips in the bottom, lay the pan on top, then the grate, then the fish. Season fish with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cover and light heat under smoker. Smoke on medium for 25 minutes.
Check fish. When done, turn off heat and allow to cool, covered.
Meanwhile, prepare onions by combining onions with 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp rice vinegar and 1/4 tsp (or just a few drops) sesame oil.
Prepare mushrooms by combining sliced mushrooms with 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or if you can find it yuzu rice vinegar), 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp grape seed oil.
Whisk all dressing ingredients.
Toss lettuce with dressing, mushrooms and onions. Divide between two plates
Flake fish by hand and top salad with fish. Garnish with daikon sprouts, sesame seeds and feta.