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Tag: healthy

12 Aug

Baked Falafel

nom you very much

At least once a week, I like to make something vegetarian for us. I am always looking for some creative ways to do so! So when I spied these falafels at Chow Vegan a few months ago and knew I had to try them! They are BIG on flavor and HUGE on taste! I could seriously eat all 10 that I made…and then some!

They satisfy that protein craving and they are perfect for someone who is watching their waistline!

(ahem, moi)

EXTRA PLUS: They were a snap to make!

I started with some canned garbanzo beans…

rinsing beans

Mashed them up with a potato masher- it’s easier!

smashing!

Lined them up on an oiled cookie sheet

piles of falafel

I made a greek cucumber yogurt dip with lemon zest, yogurt & cumin

making a dip

Here they are!

hello there!

I served them with pita, hummus, cucumber yogurt dip, lettuce & tomatoes from our garden.

what it was served with

I had feta, but I didn’t think remember to put it in and totally didn’t miss it.

It’s soo good when you slather a bit of chili sauce in the pita pocket!

especially good with some chili sauce

You won’t be disappointed!

you tasted gooood

I am sooo gonna make these repeatedly!

Baked Falafel

(recipe Chow Vegan)

Makes about 10 balls

1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans
1 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Put in a medium sized bowl and smash with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Form into small balls, about 1 1/2? in diameter and slightly flatten. Place onto an oiled baking pan.

Bake for 15 minutes on each side, until nicely browned (since it’s baked, only the part actually touching the pan will be browned and crispy).

Serve with mini pita pockets, hummus, tahini sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and/or cucumber.

07 Aug

Jicama & Orange Salad

jicama salad

My neighbor makes this and it is EXCEPTIONAL! I improvised this afternoon and it turned out pretty good.

Jicama & Orange Salad

-1 large jicama- the size of a cantaloupe (peeled & chopped up into cubes)
-5 clementine oranges (3 for the salad and 2 for the dressing)
-handful of chopped cilantro
-juice of 1 lime
-3/4 teaspoon chili powder
-salt to taste

Mix it all up and devour. It’s very crunchy and the sweet spicy salty balance is the BOMB. I have the aftertaste in my mouth right now and it is delightful. I plan on serving it with some grilled chicken tonight!

***You could use regular oranges, I just didn’t have any! Because these clementines were soo small, I didn’t bother cutting them into segments. It tasted just fine!***

01 Aug

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Tabbouleh

dinner tonight

I’ve been holding onto the summer issue from Everyday Food for awhile now….I have A LOT of the recipes marked but haven’t gotten around to making anything UNTIL tonight. This is one of those recipes that required very little and fortunately I had all of the ingredients! Boy do I love when that happens.

tomato pluckage

I even got to use some of my tomato harvest from today too!

This meal was very very tasty. Casey and I agreed that we could have easily eaten EVERYTHING on the table. Everything is so light and refreshing that it takes awhile to feel full. Which I guess is a dangerous thing… But it’s all pretty healthy so why feel guilty?

summer summer summer eatin

I paired the chicken & tabbouleh with some grilled Lavash bread & some feta. They were excellent pairings!

I like to put a bit of every ingredient on a piece of the lavash bread and gobble it up!

a perfect bite

I think you’ll like making this too. It’s super simple and very good for you!

Grilled Chicken with Tabbouleh
(recipe EVERYDAY FOOD)

- 1/2 cup bulgur
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 English cucumber, halved, seeded, and chopped
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grill
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)

Directions

1. Heat grill to high. In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to a simmer. Add bulgur, season with salt and pepper, and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 10 minutes; fluff bulgur with a fork. In a medium bowl, combine bulgur, parsley, cucumber, tomato, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon oil; toss tabbouleh to combine.

2. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Clean and lightly oil hot grates. Season chicken with salt and pepper; grill until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Brush chicken with lemon mixture and serve with tabbouleh.

20 Jul

Thai Watermelon Salad

I made this salad tonight for dinner! It is soooo the epitome of summer.

The salty sourness of the dressing is PERFECTLY balanced by the sweetness of the watermelon.

thai dressing

The crunch of the radishes and the peppery arugula add such a nice kick! The feta brings a nice bite & texture to the party and the rest is history.

I will make this at least a few more times before summer is over!

stir fest

It’s health on a plate! Thanks to Jamie Oliver, I got a HUGE dose of fruits & veggies today. And it’s husband approved, so what could be better?

a sea of cilantro

And look at all of those herbs! Your mouth will thank you. The aftertaste is overwhelmingly good. I am tempted NOT to have dessert tonight because I still have that minty-ness lingering… You think I can hold out? We’ll see……

Thai Watermelon Salad

(recipe Jamie Oliver’s Family Dinners)

Salad:
1/4 of a watermelon
2 handfuls of fresh cilantro leaves
2 handfuls of arugula
2 handfuls of fresh mint leaves
1 small bunch of radishes, finely sliced
a handful of peanuts or sunflower seeds (i used sunflower)
4oz feta cheese

Dressing:
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 red, 1 yellow and 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
1 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
juice of 3 or 4 limes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the skin from the watermelon and cut the flesh into small cubes, removing as many seeds as you can.

When you pick the cilantro leaves, remove the stringier part of the stalks but keep the finer ones, as they are nice to eat. Place in a bowl with the rocket, mint, watermelon and radishes. Put the ginger, chilli, soy sauce, olive oil and sesame oil into a smaller bowl and add just enough lime juice to cut through the oil–the number of limes you use will depend on how juicy they are. Season to taste and make sure the dressing is well balanced.

Place your peanuts or sunflower seeds in the oven or in a pan and warm through, then roughly pound them up in a pestle and mortar or in a metal bowl using the end of a rolling pin. Dress the salad really quickly. (You can use more dressing if you wish, but any left over is great to keep in the fridge to use the next day). Divide between the plates, sprinkle over the hot peanuts or sunflower seeds and crumble the feta cheese over the top.

16 Jul

Quick Chicken Stir Fry

note to self: make this again

winner winner chicken dinner!

I am not sure all the steps that went into this…as I was trying to

1. feed bebe
2. clean up kitchen
3. unload dishwasher (ugggh dread!)
4. unpack bag from work

So here’s a short list of what’s involved:

Chicken:
Boneless thighs marniated in Trader Joe’s Soyaki overnight
(it’s their version of the Soy Vay Teriakyi sauce that’s super good)

I grilled it on the grill– about 5 mins per side.

My Stir Fry included:
-1 large red onion
-1/2 head cabbage
-2 green onions
-1 clove garlic chopped
-handful of green beans chopped
-handful of shredded carrots
-a few dashes of vegetable oil
-splash of soyaki
-splash of Sriracha (momma likes heat)
-2 beaten eggs scrambled in the mix

all topped on some brown rice.

mmmm burps soo good

insert big burp here ___________

08 Jul

Vegetable Minestrone

Hubby with cold+
Fridge full of veggies+
Fresh beans from neighbor=
Veggie Minestrone!!

So now that we’ve figured out that equation, here’s what I am eating for lunch today:

lunch today

Here are the veggies to chop:

assemblage

Watch it simmer in the pot:

souping

I am enjoying a bowl of it while my baby naps!

hello!

The best part about this soup is that it is easy adaptable. You can add whatever veggies you have on hand.

Enjoy with a crusty piece of bread! And know that you knocked down a HUGE chunk of your vegetable requirement for the day!

Summer Vegetable Soup

-1 large onion chopped
-1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
-32 oz. container chicken stock
-3 zucchini chopped
-1 1/2 cup shredded carrots (that’s what I had on hand- you can chop up like 2 carrots or so)
-1 16oz. can cannellini beans
-1 cup chopped green beans
-3 large cloves garlic smashed
-1/2 cup macaroni (short elbows)
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 tablespoon curry powder
-1 dash of cayenne pepper
-salt & pepper to taste
-a quick glug of red wine vinegar

TO DO:

Saute onion & garlic in the olive oil in a large soup pot until translucent on medium high heat. Add chicken stock, curry powder & cayenne pepper. Add vegetables and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. Add beans. If the soup looks too thick- with not enough broth, add a bit of water to thin it out. Taste to see if it needs salt & pepper. 5 minutes before you are done, add that glug of the red wine vinegar. It will add a nice little tang to the soup. The whole process should take less than 40 mins.

Enjoy!

07 Jul

Chocolate Sherbet

lil scoops

A glimpse inside my brain:

“Ok I am making baby food, cooking dinner, fighting off hungry cats, cleaning up my mess in the kitchen, feeding Cooper–what else can I do?? Well here’s a post of a Chocolate Sherbet recipe…hmmm…I have all the ingredients….I’ve already made a mess in the kitchen- WHY NOT MAKE SOME SHERBET IN ADDITION TO EVERYTHING ELSE I’M MAKING?! Come on Tracy! The mess will be worth it!!!”

So yes, I did just that. Because I decided to make it at 7pm last night, we didn’t get to enjoy it until today. It was worth the wait! The chocolate is DECADENT and rich.

The lack of heavy cream or a custard based ice cream makes it very very light. It doesn’t make you feel weighed down and guilty- like WHAT DID I JUST DO TO MYSELF. It’s more like “Oh! That was delightful. That jolt of chocolate is just what I needed.”

used the small scoop

I used a small cookie scoop to fill my little dish. It was a perfect amount of chocolate.

It will give you that fix you are looking for.

adding some bananas on top

My goal this summer is to have a banana split party– this was just a prelude. The banana slices on top gave me a lil glimpse of what’s in store for me when I take that dive into bananasplitsville.

You can find the recipe here. Thank you David! You are a genius.

29 Jun

Tuna & White Bean Salad

tuna salad

While cleaning up a corner of my craft room the other night, I found a lil recipe snippet from Sunset magazine for a very nice tuna salad. This salad is what started my lil love affair with tuna & white beans. You can see how I adapted it here.

mixing it up!

Just looking at the picture in the magazine of the crisp, brilliant bright green celery slices made me WANT that soo bad for lunch today. So I did it. And here it is. It’s really easy and what you see below is “my” version of their recipe.

Tuna & White Bean Salad

(adapted from Sunset Magazine)
-1 can tuna in olive oil
-2 ribs celery sliced thinly
-1 can white cannellini beans (drained)
-1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley chopped
-1 big glug olive oil
-1/4 red onion chopped
-a splash of red wine vinegar
-juice from half a lemon
-salt & pepper to taste

Drain the tuna- put in bowl with all the rest of the ingredients. MIX MIX MIX. Add on top of grilled bread and you have yourself a nice lil bruschetta!

Sometimes I add a little bit of toasted walnuts for extra crunch. I have also been know to just eat it directly from the bowl…..

15 Jun

Carrot, Orange & Radish Salad

Big PROPS to Gabrielle who steered me in the right direction! Tonight, I made this radish salad that she recommended. Two words—OH BOY.

sir mix a lot

Let me start by saying that this salad is BOLD. The citrus kick and the mint!!! Oh lord! It totally cleanses the pallette. In a good way of course…. It’s absolutely refreshing. The flavors are soo interesting- they all go so well together. It’s seriously like a party in your mouth. I decided to grilled some chicken and spoon some on top! I also think it would also be fabulous in a sandwich with grilled steak…or maybe with some grilled fish?

tonight's dinner

MMMM tasty.

sooo refreshing

Carrot, Orange & Radish Salad

(Recipe by Tyler Florence)

-4 carrots
-6 radishes (or 4-inch piece daikon radish)
-1 handful fresh mint leaves
-1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
-2 navel oranges
-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon sugar
-1/2 lemon, juiced
-1 teaspoon orange flower water
-Kosher salt

Directions:

Slice carrots and radishes as thinly as possible and add to a large bowl. Add mint and cilantro. Remove the peel and pith from the oranges. Working over a bowl to catch the juice, cut between the membranes to remove the orange segments; add them to the carrots. Squeeze the membrane to extract the rest of the juice and add the cinnamon, sugar, lemon juice, orange flower water, and salt, to taste. Mix to dissolve sugar and salt. Pour over the carrot mixture and gently toss to coat. The salad can be served immediately but allowing it to sit for 1 or 2 hours will help the flavors to blend. Just before serving, taste and adjust seasoning.

27 May

Dijon Potato Salad

prepare to eat!

So light.
So refreshing.
So crisp.
So tangy.
So easy.
So good.

So that’s all I have to say about it. Adding to my current Summer rotation now.

Turn this….

rinsing

Into this!

prepping

Dijon Potato Salad

(recipe from Everyday Food)

-1 1/2 pounds red new potatoes, scrubbed and halved (quartered if large)
-1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
-1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
-Coarse salt and ground pepper
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Place a steamer basket in a saucepan filled with 1 inch water. Bring to a gentle boil. Add potatoes. Cover, and cook just until tender, 15 to 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.

2. In a serving bowl, combine vinegar and Dijon; season with salt and pepper. Add hot cooked potatoes; toss. Let cool, tossing occasionally.

3. Add oil and parsley to cooled potato mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and toss.