Slump Busting

I’ve been in a slump. I haven’t been posting here. I haven’t been drinking enough water and I’ve been eating too much junk food – too much sodium, too much restaurant food. 

The last six weeks have been very stressful – some work, some family, some general life stuff. Annyka started judo twice a week, I got a new (to me) car, we redid the floors and paint in the main part of our house, spring break was in there (which wasn’t a break for me, but a shake-up in the routine nonetheless)…it’s been a little crazy. 

The final piece of the painting should be done today though. The new furniture can come in and things can get back to “normal.” So my health needs to get back on track too. 

I got up and drank two glasses of water right off the bat today. Also, for the next several weeks – until we go to San Francisco – I’m only eating foods that are on the top two tiers of Michi’s Ladder. I’ve already built a skeleton meal plan and done the shopping for the next week or so. 

Next week, I’m going to start P90X again. And I’m going to graduate this time! If you want to join me in your own fitness challenge, or would like more information about my meal plan, let me know.

Chopped-worthy dinner dish

I feel like tonight’s dinner was almost Chopped worthy. It had a variety of ingredients that I wouldn’t normally think to combine but it worked. Here’s what went in it: 

Sweet potato puree

Chorizo

Gala apple

Frozen mire poix

Garlic

Cajun seasoning

Almond milk

Brown rice

 

I made a sauce that I put over the rice. It was inspired by a soup recipe in a magazine, but I didn’t feel like soup, I wanted something a little heartier. 

First I made the brown rice. 

I chopped one peeled gala apple and combined it with a little bit of olive oil and two cloves of minced garlic. If I hadn’t already browned my chorizo a couple nights ago, I would have put the apples and garlic in with the chorizo. However, since the sausage was already done, I sautéed apples and garlic for just a little bit, then added about half a bag of frozen mire poix and some Cajun seasoning. 

Then I added the browned chorizo and sweet potato. I had some cubes of frozen sweet potato puree in the freezer leftover from when I made chili a couple weeks ago. I threw four cubes in the pot with the apple and veggies. I tossed in a couple tablespoons of almond milk to the sauce. 

I brought everything to a simmer and let it thicken a little bit. Then I spooned it over the brown rice. 

It turned out pretty yummy.

Breakfast casserole...GF and vegan

I love other bloggers that post gluten-free recipes. They make me happy. A friend - thanks, Dee - posted a gluten-free oatmeal casserole on Facebook. I'm not saying it is the same as a hashbrown casserole with eggs and cheese and sausage and all that jazz, but it's got to be better for me, right!?

So I tired it out. I followed the recipe closely this time, but next time I'll make a few changes. Here the blog that had the original recipe is below. The recipe I will post will include the changes I will make next time. I baked this, then put it in the fridge. Each day for the past few days, I've cut a piece and warmed it up in the microwave. It only takes about 1 minute, 30 seconds to be warm and yummy.

http://alwaysamrsforeverakidd.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html

Baked Oatmeal Casserole
2 cups gluten free oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup fruit - I made it with mixed berries last time, I want to try it with diced apples or diced peaches
2 cups almond milk
1 "flax egg" (1 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp water. Mix together then let sit about 5 minutes until it gels a bit)
3 tbsp melted vegan "butter" or coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375. Spray casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients together. Place the oat mixture in the casserole dish. Mix wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Pour wet ingredients over the oats. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips before serving if you prefer.

I thought the chocolate and bananas in the original recipe were too overpowering. I think this would be awesome with apples and butterscotch chips though....

The mother grain

Quinoa...have you tried it yet? It's good stuff. I tried quinoa for the first time a little over a year ago and now we always have it in the house.

Quinoa is technically a seed rather than an actual grain, but you can use it in just about any recipe that calls for rice or oats. It has a nutritional profile that is very close to milk - with more protein than other grains. I have friends that use it in place of meat in tacos. Since quinoa takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it or mix it with, you can make it just about any way you want.

I had a bag of sugar snap peas and baby carrots in the fridge that I hadn't figured out what to do with. I've been eating out a lot the last several days so I felt like I needed to stick to the veggies today.

So for breakfast, I had GF baked oatmeal, Shakeology with a banana for lunch, an apple for a snack and for dinner I made a Asian quinoa salad with a cup of miso soup.

Asian Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 ready to steam bag sugar snap peas and baby carrots (or other veggies of your choice)
3 tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar

Bring water and quinoa to boil in a medium sized pot. Reduce heat to low and cover for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and leave covered about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam veggies and mix with tamari, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Add quinoa and toss. I tossed some sliced scallions on top and added some sriracha for heat as well. I bet the leftovers will be even better for lunch tomorrow.

Rough week...good weekend

This past week was a tough one. A week ago, last Sunday night, something with the steering broke on my van. That's bad enough, but toss in the fact that we've only had one working vehicle that we can use for the last several months. In both of our names we actually own several vehicles - two mini vans, a cargo van, a two-seater convertible, a 15-ft box truck...but only one of those mini vans is operational in such a way that it can be used for the family.

So anyway, we had a crazy busy week with me going to Chicago on Friday, Annyka having a judo trial on Wednesday and the normal getting to school and work each day to deal with. Did I mention I've also been nursing a muscle strain in my back all week?

I did get to take my little trip to Chicago though and see a good friend who lives across the country now and got some rest. Plus I was also able to purchase another vehicle so hopefully this week will be a little better - I have two doctors appointments, we have judo and a spring music performance.

So I only cooked once all week last week. Thursday night I had enough time to make tomato soup.

I came across a recipe for an easy tomato soup and decided to try it. Of course I doctored it up a little bit. The rest of the fam got garlic bread as well. I think I'm going to make some pasta to have with the soup tonight.

Easy Tomato Soup

1 24-oz jar of tomato-based pasta sauce
24-oz of chicken broth
1 15-oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
8 oz baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
10 oz baby spinach, torn
olive oil

In a large pot, saute the onion in a little olive oil until transparent. Add garlic and saute for about a minute. Add mushrooms and spinach. Stir for about a minute. Add pasta sauce, broth and beans. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Family Date Night: Iozzo's

Scott and I have decided to start instituting family date night in our family. One of our first family date nights was for my birthday at Fogo da Chao. The kids were well behaved and didn’t mention farting or spill anything during dinner – with two elementary-aged kids that is considered a success.

About every two months, we plan to take the kids to a new restaurant. We’ll dress up, make reservations and we make sure they understand this is an event to be on your best behavior. They will learn how to use good manners and we hope to encourage them to try new foods at the same time. Scott and I both tend to enjoy locally-owned and often ethnic restaurants  so this weekend we went to Iozzo’s Italian Garden on South Meridian in Indianapolis.

Italian seemed safe since we know our kids love pasta with tomato sauce. One kiddo ended up with pizza, the other with chicken tenders. Sigh. But they still tried a few new things regardless. Wilson had some clams, both tried edible flowers that were used as garnish – which Wilson loved – and Annyka had some grilled vegetables. I’m not sure what was so great about it, but the salad was amazing. It was a simple salad – mixed artisan greens, tomato and cucumber slices and house-made balsamic vinaigrette. I don’t know of the mixed greens were especially good or if it was the dressing, but it was delicious.

One of the ways I often judge a restaurant is on their approach to allergens – specifically gluten-free dining. Iozzo’s was great. I had noted when I made the reservation that one person in our group was gluten-free. They asked about it before I had a chance to say anything and the server was well-versed in what he needed to point out on the menu. They had quinoa pasta and they let me know that all sauces were GF. I had the Chicken Diavlo. It was very spicy and I love the sauce that seemed to be made from fresh tomatoes. Next time I may have to try one of their fish dishes though – they specialize in Southern Italian seafood.

We have a list of other restaurants we would like the kids to experience:

            Machu Picchu (Latin American)

            Abyssinia  (Ethiopian)

            Barcelona Tapas (Spanish)

            India Garden

            Tata Cuban Café

            Greek Islands

            Saffron Café (Moroccan)

I can’t wait for April’s family date night! We’ll probably be celebrating two 8^th birthdays that evening!

It's a sweet potato fiesta!

Do you eat sweet potatoes? I’m not sure I’d ever had a sweet potato until a few years ago. I grew up having russet baked potatoes frequently, but not sweet potatoes. Recently I’ve been trying to eat more of this orange variety. I don’t like them as much as regular potatoes, but the nutritioinal benefits can’t be denied – They have tons of vitamin C, calcium, folate, potassium, and beta-carotene (which the body converts into vitamin A). At least one scientific group considers the sweet potato the most nutritious vegetable.

In addition, another reason sweet taters are so great is because they are a low-glycemic food. That seems a little weird to me considering the fact that glycemic stems from a word for sugar and this is the sweet version of the potato. But it’s true – sweet potatoes do not spike your blood sugar the way white potatoes do. The energy provided by a sweet potato will last longer than the quick energy you will get from a russet potato.  

I have a few friends who will eat a half of a sweet potato, with a little coconut oil and cinnamon, as a dessert to satisfy their sweet tooth.

This past week, I chose to have sweet potatoes with a tex-mex flair. I had originally planned to just bake my potatoes whole, but we ended up getting home later than planned, so instead I made them a little differently – cubed and roasted. I tossed them with homemade taco seasoning and them topped them with a black bean salad once they were done.

Fiesta Sweet Potatoes

2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 batch of homemade taco seasoning – see below

1-2 tsp olive oil

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 Tbsp lime juice

½ cup whole corn kernals

1 tomato, diced (or ½ cup mild salsa)

¼ medium onion, diced

Salt, to taste

Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil. Set aside about 1 tsp of taco seasoning for the bean salad. Toss the oil coated potatoes with the rest of the taco seasoning. Spread potatoes on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Potatoes should be easily pierced with a fork and will browned around the edges.

While potatoes are roasting, combine beans, lime juice, corn, tomato, onion and remaining taco seasoning.

Once potatoes are done, top each serving with bean salad. Add salt IF needed. The salt in the taco seasoning may be enough.  A little sour cream or guacamole may be good with this as well, but I didn’t have any handy.

Taco Seasoning

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp dried oregano

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp Himalayan salt

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp chipotle pepper powder

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or spice shaker.

Most taco seasoning recipes call for chili powder and paprika, but I replace those two with chipotle pepper powder. Chipotle powder is smokier than regular chili powder, but it is also spicier. If you’d like the smokiness without the heat, try smoked paprika instead of the chipotle powder.