Posts from — February 2010

Another yummy quinoa recipe! I found this one using the Whole Foods app on my iphone. The quinoa, shrimp, and cashews in this recipe give it protein while the inclusion of asparagus means we get our glorious green in there!

Serves: 4
An unfried “fried” rice of sorts, made with golden quinoa and tender asparagus. The shrimp provide bounce to your bite. Try adding 1/2 pound diced firm tofu for even more protein and texture. From The Whole Foods Market Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, not reconstituted, julienned
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup roasted cashew pieces
• 6 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Directions:
In a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and continue to cook for 1 more minute. Add broth, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir in quinoa and simmer on low heat, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until quinoa is almost tender.

Arrange shrimp on top of quinoa in pot and simmer for 3 minutes. Add asparagus and peas on top of the shrimp and simmer for 3 more minutes. Top with cashews, green onions and parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Source: Whole Foods

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My husband really like Brussels sprouts, and I love mushrooms, so this was an easy choice for the first recipe to try from my new cookbook. It was tasty, but I wonder if we missed out by not using the rosemary or tarragon (didn’t have any and didn’t want to buy it just for this). The flavor of each ingredient was good but the flavors didn’t really mix. Strategically taking bites that incorporated different items helped.

I used rough math to reduce the recipe by 1/3, and we ended up eating about half of what I made since I didn’t serve it with anything else.

One thing I really loved about this recipe was that once I put it in the oven I could clean up while it roasted…I do enjoy the more complicated dishes that require constant attention, but I also love the chance to clean as I go, so that by the time we sit down to eat most of the clean-up is done!

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs Brussels sprouts
• 4 shallots, quartered
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 lb shiitake mushroom caps
• 1 large fennel bulb
• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon or rosemary—omitted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Prepare Brussels spouts by cutting away tough root ends and removing any blemished outer leaves. Slice in half through the base and place in large bowl. Add shallots, garlic and mushroom caps.
3. Prepare fennel by trimming off dried root end and slicing bulb thinly widthwise. Add to vegetables and toss with olive oil, vinegar, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Place in a 9×12-inch glass or ceramic baking dish and roast uncovered 25 minutes. Stir vegetables and roast 25 minutes more. Remove from oven and serve.

Source: Clean Food

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I was excited to try these, not only because I love dark chocolate, but because I have been craving coconut for the past month or so, but not being a big coconut eater most of the time I haven’t had a lot of chances to have it.

I got organic reduced-fat grated coconut (not shredded) to use for the Dark Chocolate Truffles, and figured that would work for this too but I am not sure it turned out as well as it could have. I used dark chocolate “chips” (they are little rectangles) from Whole Foods and they were delicious (yes, I popped some into my mouth when I opened the package!) and they melted well but 1 cup did not yield enough melted chocolate to make 32 cookies…maybe the shredded coconut instead of grated would have made the overall volume a lot higher!?

After I used about half of the ingredients, I added a few drops of peppermint extract to the rest so I could make some mint dark chocolate coconut cookies. Lesson learned there…the addition of mint was yummy, but a few drops was MORE than enough. The mint cookies are a little overpowering!

These turned out well–kind of like chocolates you’d get in a box, more so than like cookies–but I think using the shredded coconut next time would make them better. And, of course, these are a little more guilt-inducing than the “Babies” since they actually use chocolate (which contains sugar) rather than fruit to make them sweet, so I won’t be making them too often.

These simple but delicious cookies are reminiscent of the no-bake cookies you may have eaten as a child, but without the oatmeal.  They’re sure to satisfy your sweet tooth while providing some of the health benefits of both cocoa and coconuts, as long as you’re sure to choose a low-sugar dark chocolate and unsweetened coconut.

Time to table: 30 minutes
Serves: 16
Healing Nutrient Spotlight: Source of iron and fiber

Ingredients:*

• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

* Choose organic ingredients for optimal nutrition.

Preparation:
Place chocolate chips in top of double boiler or in a stainless steel or glass bowl that will fit on top of a saucepan of water.  Heat the water to a slow simmer then place the chocolate chips in the container on top of the hot water.  As the chips begin to melt, stir them rapidly to prevent the chocolate from burning.  Lift the bowl off the pot of water and stir the coconut into the melted chocolate.  Drop the mixture by tablespoonfuls onto an oiled cookie sheet and place into the refrigerator to set up. Makes 32 cookies, 2 per serving.

Source: Cameron Rupprecht

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OK, these are really awesome, especially if you are a fan of Lärabars. I’ve mentioned these a few times now…they are snack/energy bars that are literally made from unsweetened fruits, nuts, and spices…and nothing else. I’ve recently spent some time in the snack/energy/protein bar aisle checking them all out, because I was curious…do you know how many ingredients are in most of those bars? Even the “all-natural” ones? It’s craziness!

Lärabars, on the other hand, have like 3 ingredients. And they are delicious. It was a very happy day when I was at Whole Foods and they were giving out samples of 5 or 6 different flavors. So far my favorites are Peanut Butter Cookie and Cinnamon Roll.

But back to the point of this post…today I tried out the recipe for “Babies” from “Chocolate-Covered Katie” and was very pleased to discover that I had basically made my own bite-sized Lärabars. Now that I have made 5 different varieties in tiny form, I am going to choose my favorites and make bar-sized versions every so often for snacks.

Here are the recipes for what I made, but be sure to check out Katie’s site and her recipes as well. The instructions for all are the same–mix the ingredients in a food processor and then mold into whatever shape and size you want. I found it worked best for me when I put the nuts in first and chopped them up very small, then added the dates (quartered) and any other ingredients. These batches will make 8-12 balls, depending on what size you make. The main ingredient is pitted dates, which I bought in 227-gram bags at Whole Foods. I used my food scale and found that 80 grams was about 15 dates. For the nuts, I used my food scale, and I used all raw, unsalted nuts…remember, raw nuts are the most nutritious.

Chocolate Fudge
I rolled these in raw cacao to make them more like truffles!

• 80 grams dates
• 30 grams (total) cashews and walnuts
• 1 Tbsp. raw cacao powder
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate Mint

• same as above, but add 1/8 tsp. peppermint extract

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

• 80 grams dates
• 30 grams cashews
• approx 1 tsp. dark chocolate chunks (chopped with nuts)
• 2 Tbsp. rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• approx. 10 milk chocolate chips (added at rolling-into-balls stage)

Peanut Butter Cookie
Check out the photo…we did a taste test and mine were very similar to the Lärabar! (mine’s on the left, the end I cut off of a Lärabar is on the right)

• 90 grams dates (just throw in an extra 2 or 3)
• 5-6 raw unsalted peanuts
• 1/2 Tbsp. natural chunky unsalted peanut butter (Trader Joe’s)
• 1/2 Tbsp. natural creamy salted peanut butter (Trader Joe’s)
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Cinnamon Roll

• 80 grams dates
• 30 grams (total) walnuts, cashews, and almonds
• 3 pitted prunes (because I did not have any raisins)
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• approx. 1 tbsp. cinnamon

Source: ChocolateCoveredKatie.com

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I have a tiny little chopper (not even sure if it can be called a food processor) that I use mainly for copping up nuts for various recipes like toffee, and I was surprised how well it worked for this. I did cut the prunes and dates into quarters before I put them into the chopper, but then it worked just fine.

These turned out very yummy (and pretty!)

I made them a little bit smaller than the directions said, so I ended up with 16 or so.

Prep and Cook Time: 15 minutes

Makes 12 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pitted prunes
• 1/4 cup pitted dates
• 3 Tbsp. almond butter
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup finely grated unsweetened coconut

Directions:

1. In a food processor, drop the prunes and dates through the feed hole one by one. Scrape the processor bowl and run until the prunes and dates are smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients except for the coconut. Run until smooth and scrape the bowl as needed.
3. Roll the mixture into 12 one-inch balls and roll in coconut to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

Healthy Cooking Tips:
If you don’t have a food processor, this recipe may be done by hand, which, of course, will take longer (but well worth it). Cut dates and Prunes in quarters. Toss with 1 TBS of the cocoa and chop the mixture until minced. Chopping with the cocoa keeps the mixture from sticking together. Place the chopped mixture in a mixing bowl and combine with remaining cocoa, almond butter and maple syrup. Knead the mixture on your cutting board until well combined. This version will be chunkier than those prepared in the food processor. Continue with the recipe described in step 3.

Source: Cameron Rupprecht

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OK, anyone who has been feeling remotely sorry for me because of all of the things I have given up, you can hereby stop. Today I spent hours in the kitchen making gooey delicious concoctions that make me feel sorry for anyone who hasn’t tried them!

I wanted to use my fairly free weekend to try out a bunch of recipes, and since Cameron encouraged me to eat what I really want for a while, I decided to include some treats that I had previously not even peeked at (she sent me some recipes a while back). I also found a blogger who discovered how to make “Babies,” which are treats that are basically homemade Larabars, in a bunch of delicious varieties, and since I recently fell in love with Larabars, I just had to try those, too.

First, I made Cameron’s “15-Minute Dark Chocolate Truffles,” which are actually pretty similar to the “Babies.” Then I made 5 different varieties of “Babies,” and then (after a break to get dinner into the oven) I made “No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Cookies.” Oh, I also made the 2 layers of yellow cake for my husband’s birthday on Monday…from a boxed mix, because that is his favorite. Sad, I know.

I’m going to post each of the recipes for the treats separately. I’m excited about how they all turned out, and considering they are nearly all sugar-free and are all wheat-free, I am feeling zero guilt and very confident my “skinny jeans” will still fit come Monday. How cool is that?

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I am not usually a fan of salads with fruit in them, but I enjoyed this! I cut the recipe in half for the most part, but had trouble judging the greens so we ended up with pretty big salads, which was ok by us! I also omitted the raisins, broiled the fish instead of grilling it, and reduced my serving of fish because 6 oz. is a lot for me.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Serves: 4

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup organic extra virgin olive or macadamia nut oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
• 1 clove garlic, pressed

Salad:

• 1 large apple, cored and chopped
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 package (10 oz.) prepared salad greens—I used baby spinach and arugula
• 1 navel orange, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1/4 medium red onion, sliced very thin
• 1/3 cup slivered organic almonds
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 4 (6 oz. each) wild salmon fillets—serving pictured only has about 4 oz. fish on it
• 2 teaspoons organic extra virgin olive or macadamia nut oil
• Sea salt
• Organic black pepper

This recipe can made using a grill, a heavy nonstick skillet, or a ridged stovetop grill pan. If using a charcoal grill, start the coals before proceeding. Note: I broiled our salmon in the oven for about 7 minutes, with just a little bit of fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper on each piece.
Directions:

1. Mix dressing ingredients in small bowl; set aside. Place chopped apple and avocado in a large salad bowl. Drizzle with lemon juice. Add salad greens, orange, onion, almonds, and raisins; mix.
2. Rinse salmon under cold water; pat dry with paper towel. Heat a heavy nonstick skillet or oiled, ridged stovetop grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of salmon with oil. Place salmon on oiled grill grate OR in heated skillet and cook, uncovered, 3 to 4 minutes. (Shake pan occasionally to keep fish from sticking.)
3. Turn salmon over and season with salt and pepper. (If using a pan, cover it tightly and reduce heat to medium.) Cook salmon an additional 3 to 4 minutes, until fish is opaque throughout.
4. Divide salad among four plates; place salmon portion on top of each. Drizzle with vinaigrette dressing.

Source: Cameron Rupprecht

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Today I was reading the introductory section of Clean Food and came across more wise words about what this way of living and eating really is…one phrase she used was “Eating for Balance,” which I love.

More wise words I found in the book today:

“Before you walk into a grocery store, a restaurant or even your own kitchen, pause, take a deep breath and connect with the intention to select only foods that serve you.”

Later, in her list of 9 Ways to Improve Health and Well-Being, she revisits this in #6, “Listen To and Honor Your Body:”

“At the end of the day, as you rummage through the kitchen looking for the perfect snack to fill that elusive need, ask yourself: ‘Am I hungry or thirsty, or do I need connection, touch, an emotional outlet, some pampering or sleep?’ Answer these questions instead of reaching for the snack and discover how to truly nourish and nurture your inner self. Sometimes a massage, a foot bath, time along with a journal or early to bed will do the trick; other times a bite of chocolate is simply the only answer!”

I haven’t even tried a recipe from this book yet (this weekend I will though!) and I already love it.

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Tonight after our awesome quinoa dinner, I had a sweet craving. Instead of going for an apple or cinnamon tea like usual, I decided to have what I really wanted: hot chocolate. But I made it using this healthy recipe from Cameron, and it hit the spot! I followed this recipe but added a couple drops of organic peppermint extract (careful, it’s STRONG) and enjoyed it immensely, and without guilt.

• 2 cups plain almond milk
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened dark chocolate powder (or, even better, raw cacoa powder)
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar (or more or less depending on how sweet you want it)

If you have a Vitamix blender, then it is beyond easy to stick all of the ingredients in the blender and turn it on and voila! Vitamix blenders will literally heat up the mixture and make your hot chocolate for you.

If you don’t, just put the almond milk and chocolate powder in a sauce pan and stir. I like to add in the agave at the last minute so you don’t literally cook it. If it does not seem to want to mix, then put it in a regular blender for a bit and back into the sauce pan.

Source: Cameron Rupprecht

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Yesterday and today I exchanged a few very helpful emails with Cameron, who is officially an awesome coach, in case I haven’t already said that.

I wrote to her because I was having a rough week. Basically despite eating all the “right” things and resisting some serious temptations over the weekend, I spent several days feeling pretty low, energy and mood-wise. I was looking for some encouragement, motivation, and well, confirmation that I wasn’t a total failure or fraud.

I mean, I keep telling people how awesome this new way of living and eating is, and for three nights in a row I watched other people eat desserts and breads while I munched things like celery and apples and “splurged” on a cappuccino, and all the while I told myself and everyone around that I was A-OK with it. Eating that way made me feel good. Yet in the morning, instead of feeling awesome due to everything I didn’t eat, I felt kind of blah and immediately associated that with what I did eat and couldn’t stop wondering what the point was of not having what I “really” wanted, and feeling guilty because surely I ate something I shouldn’t have.

Cameron’s words of wisdom really helped me see that how I felt probably had nothing to do with what I ate (or didn’t) but rather my mental state about it all. Somehow I went from enjoying the cooking and meal planning and exploration to feeling like I was just on a diet. I got stuck waffling between guilt (for the splurges like the coffee) and pitying myself and feeling deprived.

There were plenty of perfectly good explanations for why I was feeling blah, but I let myself get so fixated on my diet as the driver of my mood and energy level that I basically sabotaged myself. Cameron reminded me that “metabolism–the driving force of health, well-being and energy–results not only from how you digest the food on your plate, but also from thoughts, feelings, emotions, experiences, etc.” Her advice was to get back into cooking, and to spend the next week making the food choices I want to make, not just the ones I think are healthiest.

That made me feel better but it also freaked me out a little. Eat what I want? Really? I want chocolate! But then I realized, I can have that. And although I want it, I want it in a healthy form and quantity. Basically if I stop thinking of food in terms of “can have/can’t have,” in theory, I’ll make the right choices naturally, especially with the things I have learned already.

And if I “mess up?” I’ll learn from it and move on. It’s time to find that middle ground between ignorantly eating things that don’t make me feel my best, and restricting myself so much that I can’t even enjoy the benefits of all the great stuff I am eating because I’m obsessing over what I’m not.