Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Monster trucks, church, football are all part of Sundays.  So are laundry, homework, nursing hangovers, and grocery shopping.  Most people have a Sunday of some kind - a day where you have some time to get some things done.  A time that denotes the end of the "weekend". 

Organizing your time
And it's imperative that you set aside a few hours to pick your recipes, make your list and grocery shop. The more you do it, the better you and more efficient you become. I have a friend who uses Pinterest and will "pin" recipes that she wants to try and will plan her week that way.  And even if you don't have the time or the money that you need to get a whole week's worth of shopping done, at least plan it out and then shop for the few recipes that you plan to cook early in your week. It will help keep you on budget (both calorie and financial budget). One other thing about organizing time - there are times of the day when it's a zoo at your grocery stores and there are times when it's practically empty but then so are the shelves.  Just keep that in mind.

Servings
Most recipes are organized to serve 2, 4, 6 or 10 people (in my experience.)  Much of the time you can double recipes to feed your family and still have some left overs the next morning. (However, you will want to experiment with this. I've had a few instances where it didn't taste as good.) If the recipe makes 6 and you only need 4, you can reduce the recipe. Often we just make the serving amount and then freeze the extra servings or eat it a few days later (so that we don't end up eating the same thing 3 meals in a row).  If it's a 6 serving recipe and we only need four, and it's low calorie enough (like a salad or pork dish) we will just divide those extra two servings into 4 servings. 

This week - we've picked out 6 recipes:

• Hearty Lentil Soup (Clean Eating Mag.)* with sausages (local, already made.)
• Sweet & Sour Pork with Bell Peppers & Pineapple (slow cooker recipe - Clean Eating Mag)
• Fall Vegetable Curry (MyRecipes.com)
• Millet Patties with Roasted Garlic Aioli (Clean Eating Mag)
• Ginger-Lime Kale with Roasted Butternut Squash & Chickpeas (Clean Eating Mag)
• Quinoa Salad with Shave Brussels Sprouts (original acquisition is unknown, but this link is the same recipe)

* This version of this recipe uses green lentils - we use the red lentils as the original recipe calls for.  We have made a few other changes:

1/2 tsp instead of 1/4 tsp cumin, ground
1/2 tsp instead of 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (we leave them whole)
1/2 cup of WILD rice instead of 1/4 cup of brown rice


Review

One of the new recipes we tried last week was the Thai Chicken Curry. It was so very delicious and hardy (filling) that it could easily be a vegetarian dish by taking away the chicken or lower the calories by taking away the rice.  This was a winning recipe.  Winning recipes are copied into an Excel spreadsheet (with a link to the recipe or the magazine issue and page number recorded) so that we can eat it again later.  This one will definitely be showing up on our dinner tables in the future. Yums.

Snacks!

Snacks are almost just as important to your weekly meal planning as the lunches and dinners you make! Snacks hold you over between meals.  They also keep you from making poor choices - when you're not hungry you less likely to reach for that vending machine snack of chips or candy bars.  Many, if not most, magazines, websites, and blogs will suggest 100 calorie snacks (assuming that you're consuming 1,800-2,200 calories a day with your meals consisting of 350-500 calories.)  My opinion - snacks should be enough to satisfy you but not so much that they detract from your next meal.  

Some of my favorite snacks include: 

• fair trade almonds
• bananas
• apples
• mixed nuts/trail mix/other dried fruit and nut mixes
• hard boiled eggs
• peanut butter & celery (or apple slices)
• hummus and peta chips (one serving of each)
• a slice of toast with peanut butter, honey, butter and jam
• granola bars
• smoothie

Other snacks include a serving cheese, yogurt, rice cakes with topping, etc. 

In my opinion, it's important to keep yourself to the serving size - make it easy to measure out.  I want some chips and hummus because dinner isn't ready and I'm very hungry.  For example, the serving size may be two table spoons of hummus and 15 chips.  I measure those out, putting them on a plate - that portion should be enough to hold me over.  It's not dinner (sometimes it is, but not in this case.)  Measuring out your food prevents you from over eating and also starts training you to think of snacks (and other foods) in portions.

When life hands you lemons... err ginger!

Make ginger beer!

Happy New Year! was the way I started most of my communications today - everything from emails to my greeting to my coworkers and building mates.  However, the day got away from me, as Mondays do.  It was 1,073 little things like: the Monday morning sardine packed bus, the 1.5 hours I spent on the phone with the internet company.  (How does this happen?! How can they do that?) The email I didn't sent.  I became crabby.

And though working out always helps (it really, really does) I decided I would go home and make ginger beer!

There are a gazillion recipes and I just picked the one that seemed like a good starting point. The Roasted Root talks about different types of fermentation, the importance of temperature and letting things sit for a bit before bottling.  It's a long process for sure, but I think it's going to be worth it!  

Two tips 

• Organic ginger is the BEST.  It is so much spicier than non organic ginger. It is absolutely worth it!
• You can peel ginger by scraping it with a spoon (thanks Martha Steward for that tip!)  We have the perfect soon that had been eaten a few times in the garbage disposal.  It still measures and it's rough end makes it perfect for this task.

Ginger Beer recipe from The Roasted Root:

Ingredients

9 cups spring or well water (or Britta filtered water in my case)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup fresh ginger, peeled and grated
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup cane sugar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
You Also Need:
1 2-liter plastic bottle with screw top (soda water bottle that has been carefully cleaned work great).
A medium to large sized pot for heating water

Instructions

• Add the cream of tartar, lemon juice and fresh ginger to a large pot along with 4 cups of the water. Bring it to a full boil.
• Turn the heat down to medium, add the sugar and lemon juice and stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.
• Add the rest of the (cold) water to the pot and allow it to cool to around 75 degrees.
• Add the yeast, stir and cover the pot with a kitchen towel.
• Place pot in a dark place for 3 hours.
• Using a fine strainer, strain the liquid into a pitcher to remove all the bits of ginger.
• Pour the brew into one clean 2-liter plastic bottle ( or 2 1-liter bottles) but do not fill up the bottle all the way because the fermentation will yield carbon dioxide, causing gases to build in the bottle.
• Place the bottles in a dark, warm room for 2 to 3 days (two days if you want a sweeter ginger beer, and 3 days if you prefer a drier ginger beer).
• One to three times a day, carefully loosen the caps to relieve some of the pressure (without opening the bottles all the way). Be very careful in this process and do not point the bottles at anyone’s (or your own face).
• Once the ginger beer has finished brewing, store it in the refrigerator to chill. This will also slow the fermentation process.

Kicking off the New Year with a plan for the week!

Phew!  The holidays are finally over and it's time to get back on track and back on budget (both financial and caloric) and plan all of our meals for the week.  We plan lunches and dinners for Sunday night through Friday lunch. As a two-person household it's relatively easy for us to cook a dinner that serves 4, eat 2 portions for dinner and save the other two portions for lunch the next day.  We usually go out on Friday nights (boxing-n-beer for example) and Saturdays can be up in the air and hard to plan around as weekends are full of adventures.

We picked our recipes based on three variables:

• How busy our week will be?  Do we have after work meetings, practices, events, visitors, or other engagements that will take up cooking time? 
• Is there something we're craving?  Is there a new recipe that we tried out recently that we would love to try again?  Do those asparagus at the market look amazing?  
• Is there something we have to use up/eat soon?  Is there a bag of chicken or veggies in the freezer that looks like it may lose the battle to freezer burn?  That head of lettuce starting to wilt?  That remaining cauliflower from a recipe last week... can it find a new home in a delicious dish?

If we're going to have a busy week, we will allow ourselves to pick out only one new recipe.  Too many new recipes will be overwhelming and discouraging.  Pay attention to the prep time listed with the recipe.  And though there is nothing inherently wrong with making the "things you know how to make" all of the time, we all need to remember that variety is the spice of life and you don't know what you're missing until you try something new.  (Lara was reluctant to try this Winter Dal recipe - and it's now one of her absolute favorites.)

This week we decided to go heavy on the vegetarian. Here's what we came up with:

January 4th - January 9th

We recently received a new issue of Clean Eating Magazine and were excited to try a bunch of them:

Thai Chick Curry (Clean Eating Mag)

Chickpea Tagine (Clean Eating Mag - see bottom of post for the recipe.)

Warm Quinoa Salad w/Clinatro & Black Beans (from the book: Melissa's 50 Best Plants on the Planet - see bottom of post for the recipe.)

Indian Lentil Burgers with Mango Chutney (Clean Eating Mag)

Butternut Squash Risotto (Clean Eating Mag)


Once we choose our recipes, we make a grocery list.  To make it a team effort - one of us reads out the ingredients and the other one looks to see if we have that item. (This could be something you could do with kids.) You can sort your list based on "spices, veggies, meats, snack, misc" or whatever works for you.  You can also type it into your phone. We hang our notepad on the refrigerator door so that if we run out of things during the week, we can jot a quick note on the pad and our list for the next weekend is already started.  

Now you have a fridge full of food and enough meals for 5 lunches and dinners during the week.  YUMMY!  Here we go 2015!


Warm Quinoa Salad with Cilantro & Black Beans
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium- large red onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced 
1 C dry white quinoa
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 - 15 oz can black beans, rinsed, drained well or 1 1/2 cups cooked beans 
1/2 C chopped cilantro
4 C baby spinach
1/4 C crumbled feta cheese

Garnish (optional) 1 papaya, seeded, peeled, cut into lengthwise slices, 6 lime wedges.

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat.  Add the onion and bell peppers.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the quinoa, paprika, cumin, chili powder, and salt; stir to combine.

2. Add 1 1/2 cups water and increase the heat to high.  Bring it to a boil.  Cover and reduce the head to medium-low. Simmer, covered, until the quinoa is almost softened and most of the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.  Add the beans and half the cilantro; cook until they are heated through, uncovered, and no water remains, about 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Place the spinach on a platter or divide it between six plates. Top it with the quinoa mixture.  Scatter the feta on top.  Garnish with the papaya, reserved cilantro, and lime wedges.


Clean Eating Chickpea Tagine with Couscous

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp unsalted tomato paste
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground tumeric
1//2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces on an angle
1/2 small head cauliflower, cut into 2-inch florets
1/2 lb butternut or Hubbard squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed - or  1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
3/4 cup whole-grain couscous
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil on medium.  Add onion and saute, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic and ginger and saute for 30 seconds.  Add tomato paste, paprika, cumin, tumeric and cinnamon and saute, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.

2. Add broth, sweet potato, carrot, cauliflower, squash, salt, black pepper and cayenne.  Partially cover, bring to a simmer and cook until squash and sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add chickpeas and simmer for 5 more minutes.

3. In a small, heat-proof bowl, add couscous. Remove 1 1/4 cups cooking liquid from chickpea mixture and pour over couscous.  Cover with a plate and let stand for 5 minutes.  Add cliantro and fluff with a fork.  Serve tagine with or over couscous.

Serves 4.  Hands-On Time: 20 minutes.  Total time: 45 minutes.

For the love of beans... and pressure cookers

Our bulk beans are stored in jars.

Many of us have a tough relationship with beans.  For some, beans are the "magical fruit - the more you eat them, the more you toot!" Others "just don't like them." However, for those of us who don't have issues with beans or can get it past it - they're a rich source of fiber and protein, filling and satisfying.  They're also very inexpensive! I love beans.

You can purchase a can of beans for $1 or less at most grocery stores. There are thousands up thousands of recipes that use beans and they're staples in many countries' cuisines - like Mexico and India.

Some of favorite bean recipes:

Zesty Wheat Berry - Black Bean Chili

Winter Vegetable Dal

Gluten Free Taco Bowl

Pressure cooker singin' while oatmeal is cookin!

However, you can get beans to go even further by purchasing a pressure cooker and buying dried beans in the bulk section of your grocery store or from a co-op like Azure Standard. Modern pressure cookers have safety valves and other features that prevent beans from ending up on your ceiling. Pressure cookers can quickly cook far more than beans - you can save time cooking rice, meats, other grains - there are even recipes specific for pressure cookers.

We have gotten into the habit of only buying in bulk. For example, we will buy 25 lbs of dried black beans from Azure Standard. Those 25 lbs of dried beans equal 100 cans of BEANS!  Plus you don't have the environmental impact of 100 can - from the actual steel can to the coating on the inside of the can and the extra ingredients needed to preserve the beans color and texture/firmness. 

Here's the math:

1/2 cup dried beans = 1 can

2 cups of dried beans = 1 lb (or 4 cans of beans)

20 cups of dried beans = 10 lbs (or 40 cans of beans)

50 cups of dried beans = 25 lbs (or 100 can of beans)

50 cups of dried beans = 100 cans of black beans

This saves you $75 in the long run - which just covered the cost of my pressure cooker and then some.

"But I have to remember to soak the beans!"  Yes.  That is true.  However, if you're using beans in your recipe for dinner, you can soak them when you're working or overnight.  Using the pressure cooker, you can turn your soaked black beans into ready-to-cook beans in just 2-3 minutes - less time than it takes to brew your morning coffee or tea.  It's really a habit you can get into - just like brewing coffee or brushing your teeth.  Check your recipe for the evening and put the amount of beans you need into a bowl and cover with plenty of water.

Toot! Toot!

Dairy Free Breakfast Smoothies! Yum!

A few years ago, it was suggested hat I give up yogurt completely. I had discovered that I had become lactose intolerant upon my return from Cote d'Ivoire after my two year stint in the Peace Corps. (I didn't eat dairy for two+ years.)  It made even more sense when my gallon-of-milk-a-day brother also suddenly couldn't eat or drink dairy anymore.

Quitting yogurt cold turkey was hard.  And sad.  I was super crabby about it. I had convinced myself that yogurt had a different make up (which it does) that I could still digest. But I couldn't.  Luckily it was December and steel cut oats held me over for a few week until I could find some smoothies that worked out. 

Here are three of my favorites.  They all make about 2 servings. I'll follow the recipe and then I end up drinking one for breakfast and freezing the other in a jar. When I need breakfast, all I have to do is pull one down from the freezer and put it in the fridge the night before.  It will be mostly thawed in the morning.  

Raspberry & Avocado Smoothie.

I first found this recipe from Eating Well.  I've made a few changes:

1 ripe avocado
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup cheery juice
handful of spinach or mixed leaves (like kale/spinach combo)
1/2 cup water (depending on how thick you like your smoothies)

Peel the avocado, remove the pit.  Slice it into small piece and blend with the orange juice and cheery juice until smooth.  Add your greens and blend until smooth.  Lastly add your raspberries.  You may have to take a spoon or spatula to mix it up so that you can finish blending it.  Divide the servings into two.  It will be thick.  You can always add some water to change the consistency. Drink one now, put the other one in the freezer for another day.


Kale Apple Ginger Smoothie

Again, I found this one in Eating Well.  It's super delicious but I've also changed it up a bit.

1 ripe banana
1 apple
1/2 cup apple juice/cider
1/2 cup water
1.5 - 2 cups chopped kale
1 tbsp. grated ginger*
6 ice cubes

Peel the banana and put it in the blender with the juice.  Slice up the apple, add to the mixture and blend.  Add the kale and the ginger and blend until smooth.  I will end up adding up to 1/2 cup water to get the desired consistency.  Then toss in the ice cubes.  Again, divide in half and freeze one and drink the other.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie

I just recently stumbled on this delicious smoothie in Clean Eating magazine! So yummy!   I altered this one just for one serving size as I found it was too much liquid to blend comfortably.

• 1 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1 large bananas, peeled and halved
• 1 tbsp natural unsalted creamy peanut butter
• 4 pitted dates
• 1 cup packed baby spinach
• 1 cup unsweetened plain coconut milk

Blend the coconut milk, spinach and banana.  Add the peanut butter and dates.  Lastly add the frozen fruit.  Again, you may need a spatula to mix it up to get it the consistency that you desire.  This makes about 1 serving.

* splurge on organic ginger.  It's spicier than non organic.

Snacks!

I thought it would be fantastic to start off my food blog with snacks!  Energy bars or granola bars are great for after working out, while hiking, or to pop in the kids' mouths when dinner isn't quite ready or the grocery store line is taking longer than expected.

The problem with energy bars and other snacks bought in the grocery store is that they're filled with all kinds of stuff that I don't know that I would feed anyone.  Not to mention they're expensive and have so much packaging.

Below are two tasty recipes for snacks! Pictured above on the right are the Coco Cherry Sporty Balls and the ones on the left are "No Bake Energy Bites".

CocoCherry Sporty Balls (yes, that is what my friend Megan calls them)
1 cup almonds
8-10 medjool dates (or other dates)
1/2 cup dried cherries
3 Tbsp dark chocolate chips
1/4 pecans (or walnuts)

Mix almonds, dates and dried cherries in food processor for 30-45 seconds until mixtures gets sticky but still has appealing flecks of almond. Pulse in dark chocolate chips and pecans (or walnuts if you don't want them too sweet.) Refrigerate a bit and then roll into balls. Good for cooler weather. 

Choco Chip Cooke Dough Sporty Balls (variation on a theme)
1.5 cups cashews
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dates
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp chocolate chips

Mix cashews, salt, dates and vanilla in food processor until sticky. Add dark chocolate chips. Really do taste like cookie dough. (I have not made these yet but sound yummy just the same.)


No Bake Energy Bites
1 C dry oatmeal
1/2 C chocolate chips
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C ground flaxseed
1/3 C honey
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all of the dry ingredients in one bowl: oatmeal, chocolate chips and flaxseed.  Combine the rest in another bowl: peanut butter,  honey and vanilla.  Fold the dry ingredients into the peanut butter.  

Of course, if you're vegan or have certain food allergies, you can change out any of the ingredients and try different combinations to keep it interesting and exciting.

I tried to make these various balls once a week and just keep them in a small plastic container and will grab a few for a post workout treat or for a mid afternoon snack.  Yum!