Baked Falafel with Kale

 

Well hello hello! Happy Saturday! Anyone have any fun plans this memorial weekend? We have a fairly quiet weekend planned but we hope to work out in the yard (in between the bouts of rain forecasted), maybe get a bike ride in, and get a few other things done around the house. It should be a productive and relaxing weekend yet again.

I can happily say that I am officially out of my food funk. I know that if I want to continue to be creative in the kitchen I need to take a small amount of time and PLAN out our meals before the week, buy the appropriate groceries, and be realistic when planning. I find it realistic to have three meals planned out for the week(days) so that I’m not overwhelmed at the thought of making some thing every night, and then on the nights where I have nothing planned, we can eat leftovers or do our own thing. This has been working out really well.

The last recipe on my meal planning agenda for this past week was…

Baked Falafel

Falafel is a traditional Middle Eastern food made from ground chickpeas, herbs, and spices formed into patties, which is often deep-fried, and usually served in a pita or flatbread and topped with veggies and a tahini sauce.

I love these little patties, but you all know I’m not about to go deep-frying my falafel, so I decided to bake them in the oven instead.

I used a family recipe as a guide to my falafel recipe, and created some seriously delish and extraordinarily healthy little bites.

I started by thoroughly rinsing and draining a can of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas). Then I tossed them into my food processor along with parsley, cilantro, garlic, almond flour (I made them gluten-free), lemon juice, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and the special guest ingredient….KALE. I had to sneak just one more veggie in there. 😉 I pulsed these along in the food processor until they reached a paste-like consistency. Detailed recipe below.

Using my hands, I shaped small handfuls of the mixture into patties which I placed on a lightly sprayed cooking sheet. I sprayed the tops of the falafel with olive oil spray and popped them in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes, turning the little guys half way through.

We didn’t have any pita pockets or wraps at home, and we were running low on lettuce too, so I made an impromptu base for my falafel using the remains of an iceberg lettuce head, broccoli slaw, tomatoes, and green olives.

I plated the falafel on top of the salad, spritzed it with some fresh lemon juice, and topped it with yogurt sauce. The yogurt sauce was made from Greek yogurt, cumin, garlic powder, and lemon juice, but I actually wasn’t really feeling it so I ended up taking it off hence the reason I’m not going to share that recipe with you all. Sorry.

The flavor of the falafel was right on point. The texture was slightly soft, and the flavor combination from the herbs and spices tasted perfect. I enjoyed them on the salad, but next time I make these I really want to throw them into a whole grain tortilla and top it with tomato, lettuce, possibly some pickled veggies, and maybe a drizzle of tahini-based dressing. But really, I can’t complain about the way I ate them last night, because they tasted great.

baked falafel baked falafel

baked falafel

Baked Falafel with Kale (GF)
Print
Serves: 2-3
Yields 12 falafel
Ingredients
  • 3 garlic cloves, quartered
  • 3 Tbsp cilantro
  • ¼ cup parsley, chopped
  • ½ cup kale
  • 2 cups chickpeas (or 1-15 ounce can)
  • ¼ cup almond flour
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • ½ Tbsp ground cumin
  • ¾ tsp paprika
  • a pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil and a light coat of olive oil.
  2. Add all ingredients into food processor and process until mixture resembles a paste-like consistency.
  3. Use hands to shape small handfuls of mixture into falafel patties and place onto prepared pan.
  4. Spray the tops of the falafel with olive oil.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes, turning once half-way through baking time.
  6. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before plating.
  7. Serve on top of a salad, in a whole grain pita wrap, or in a whole grain tortilla with tomatoes, lettuce, and tzatzilki sauce if you wish.

 

These could also be enjoyed as an afternoon snack! They can be eaten warm or cold and the leftovers taste just great as the first day you made them.

Question of the day: Did you make any fun recipes last week?

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Spicy Beef Barbacoa

Every now and then I get a craving for beef. I usually take it as a sign that my body is needing it and I do my best to listen to my body’s needs and nurture them as best as I can.

Well, the other day this craving hit as I was browsing through Pinterest. I stumbled upon a recipe for beef barbacoa from this site, and I knew I had to give it a shot. This particular recipe I found has you braising the beef in the oven all day, but since I was going to be at work and that wasn’t possible for me, I pulled out the trusty crock pot to get the job done.

I used some pieces of this recipe and some from this one to create my spicy beef barbacoa.

The preparation was so simple. I began by pureeing together chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, garlic, lime juice, and red wine vinegar. Once that was all pureed and blended together I set it aside.

On the stove top, I did a quick pan-sear on each side of the 1.5 lb chuck roast over high heat, using tongs to rotate the meat. Once all sides were seared, I placed the meat into the crock pot, topped it with the chipotle sauce, and then added the rest of the seasonings (recipe below) as well as a touch of chicken bone broth. I was so close to opening up a container of beef broth to use in this recipe but decided against it as I had a whole container of homemade chicken bone broth waiting for me in the fridge, plus I only needed a small amount of broth.

Next is the easiest part. I covered the crock pot, and set it on low for 8 hours. I gave it 2-3 stirs throughout the entire cooking process. After 8 hours, I removed the meat and placed it on a cutting board, removed excess fat, shredded the meat, then added back to the crock pot.

We charred up a few corn tortillas over the stove, plated the tortillas, topped them with beef barbacoa, cilantro, diced white onion, and tomatillo salsa.

Then it was go time. Spicy go time!

beef barbacoa beef barbacoa beef barbacoa beef barbacoa

These were incredible. The flavors were so vibrant and a medium amount of spicy kick really made the dish exciting. We felt like we were eating straight out of a professional food truck!

These are so simple to make but present themselves as fancy and time-consuming. This would be a great meal for entertaining, just make sure your guests can handle a little bit of heat!

Beef Barbacoa
Print
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1½ lbs chuck roast
  • 6 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 1 Tbsp of extra adobo sauce
  • ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 Tbsp cumin
  • 1 Tbsp oregano
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ cup chicken bone broth
  • corn tortillas
  • white onion, diced
  • cilantro, chopped
  • tomatillo salsa
Instructions
  1. On the stove top, pan sear each side of the roast over high heat.
  2. Transfer roast to crock pot.
  3. In a mini food processor, blend together chipotle peppers, sauce, vinegar, lime juice, and garlic. Pour into crock pot.
  4. Add cumin, oregano, cinnamon, bay leaves and broth to the crock pot. Cover and turn on low for 8 hours.
  5. Remove roast from pot and remove excess fat if desired. Use two forks to shred the beef, then add it back into the crock pot.
  6. Arrange tortillas on a plate, top with beef, next diced onion, cilantro, and salsa. Devour.

Recipe adaptation from these two sites: tablespoon.com and abitchinkitchen

Can you handle a little heat?!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

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Sweet Orange Chicken

Well this weekend just like every other weekend, flew by very quickly, but it was packed with a lot of productivity and relaxation too!

A few scenes and tidbits from the weekend

A little change-up to my standard pb and banana breakfast. I made bananas with strawberries with a spoonful of homemade almond butter. This batch of almond butter turned out perfectly and I am so diggin’ it.

fruit and almond butter

Throughout the course of the weekend I munched on a couple of these ALT bars by LARABAR which they so kindly sent me last week. This is their new protein bar made from pea protein that has 10 grams of protein. These bars are absolutely delicious and satisfying. So far I’ve had the peanut butter cookie (obviously I chose that one first) and the lemon pound cake. I let Dana taste test too and we both gave them two thumbs up.

 

larabar alt

 

Oh the joy of finding a package of these bars on your front step when you aren’t expecting it! I don’t think I could ever get tired of it.

larabar ALT

Dana and I actually sat down and watched a movie on Friday night. We have been wanting to see Silver Linings Playbook for quite some time, and by chance I checked out our local RedBox and it was actually there!

Holy cow, have you seen this movie? If you haven’t seen it, please do. It was a little dark but there was humor throughout the entire movie which lightened it, and the ending made me happy. I seriously loved it. And I love Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

bradley

 

This weekend we worked on the yard: we pulled weeds, cut the grass, planted flowers in the window boxes, mulched around one of our front trees, painted the exterior trim that needed touching up, planted herbs in pots, and hung up a decorative piece above our garage door. It felt great to be so productive and the house is really shaping up!

This weekend we celebrated my father-in-law’s birthday. The weather was beautiful that evening. We grilled burgers and sat outside for a while and soaked up the sun. It felt like a summer evening finally! We finished off the birthday celebration with Dairy Queen ice cream cake which I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

 

burger dinner

To end the weekend, I threw together a sweet and tasty dinner in the wok…

Sweet Orange Chicken!

In the wok I cooked one large chicken breast in a touch of sesame oil. I then added the veggies, some orange juice, coconut aminos, ground ginger, garlic, rice wine vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper. I let it all cook through for a while (more detailed recipe below) and then served it up!

I was going to chop up some iceberg lettuce and have that as a base under the orange chicken but I completely forgot. You could serve this just as I did, or with cooked quinoa or  brown rice.

orange chicken orange chicken orange chicken orange chicken orange chicken

It was sweet with a little hint of salty which is a flavor combination I adore.

Sweet Orange Chicken
Print
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, or 2 small, cut into chunks
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¾ cup carrot, diced
  • 1 cup sugar snap peas, chopped
  • 1½ cups broccoli
  • ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
  • sprinkle of dried ground ginger
  • 2 Tbsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
  • 1-2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 Tbsp orange zest
Instructions
  1. In a wok or large sauce pan, heat sesame oil. Add chicken and cook for about 6-7 minutes until almost completely cooked through.
  2. Add vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add in remaining ingredients; let cook and boil for 4-5 minutes.
  4. Turn off heat, use microplane to grate 1 tablespoon of orange zest over the chicken and veggies. Serve warm with brown rice, quinoa, or enjoy by itself!

 

You can use up whatever veggies you have on hand for this recipe. It is truly so easy (like the majority of my recipes) and it was something fun and different from your standard stir-fry!

Did you cook up anything nummy this weekend?

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Fresh Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

 

 

Happy Saturday! So, yesterday when I was driving to work, it dawned on me what day it was. It was May 17th which means it was Moose’s 5th birthday!  Our little guy is now 5 years old which is just pure craziness! We celebrated by giving him a couple of pieces of cheese with his pain meds and antibiotics last night and he got to lick the end of the peanut butter jar. 🙂 Lucky guy, huh?

mooser birthday

Another thing I was remembering while driving was that last year at this time we were in the Boundary Waters with my brother Scotty and his girlfriend Nicole. The weather was a whole lot different last year and we were actually bathing in the water! It was cold, but it was tolerable. It was definitely an adventure I will never forget. If you want to reminisce with me you can check out this boundary water post!

I’m slowly pulling myself out of my food rut and I got creative in the kitchen again last night! It was a Vegetarian Spring Roll night in our casa!

I began by prepping my veggies: cutting cucumber, red bell pepper and carrots into strips, chopping up fresh cilantro, and opening up a bag of broccoli slaw.

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

Next, I prepared the peanut sauce. Into the bowl went 1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of hot water, the juice of half a lime, 3/4 tablespoon coconut aminos (you could use soy sauce instead), and 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil. After I made all of the rolls up I decided I should have added some heat to the sauce, so I recommend adding either red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce to the peanut sauce!

 

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

Next, we submerged the rice paper into a hot water bath one by one, rotating it until it becomes slightly floppy and pliable. Don’t be intimidated by rice paper, it is really SO easy to use! I placed the paper onto the counter and smeared on the peanut sauce and piled on the veggies (broccoli slaw, red bell pepper, cucumber, carrots, and cilantro).

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

I rolled the long side over first, then tucked each side over, and continued the rest of the roll.

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

And the end result is these gorgeous spring rolls!

 

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

You could also use the peanut sauce as a dipping sauce on the side instead of inside the wrapper, but I was in the mood to tuck it inside.

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

Aren’t they gorgeous?! They tasted so fresh and delicious and they were actually very satisfying as well. The best part about these rolls is you can use up whatever you have on hand as the filling. The last time I used these rice papers to make rolls I made a warm baked Santa Fe version and they were super good too! The kids would love these rolls especially if you served them with a dipping sauce.

Have a fabulous day! I have to go get Insane…

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Grilled Cauliflower Steaks with Marinara and Parmesan

Well, my creativity level in the kitchen has been at an all-time low this week. I had zero motivation to make anything, especially for dinner, and wound up eating lots of taco chicken leftovers from Mother’s Day as well as quite a few snacks for dinner types of evenings.

taco nacho salad trail mix

 

 

 

 

Note: The peas are frozen in this photo but defrosted by the time I ate my salad. Just in case you were wondering. 😉

chicken leftovers

 

Not my proudest week of creativity but I guess we all have our moments. I did however make my best attempt to get out of this rut by using up a cauliflower head that was in the fridge and making it into…

Grilled Cauliflower Steaks with Marinara and Parmesan!

The original plan was to use the cauliflower to make homemade cauli pizza crust, but since the lazy vibes were still lingering I thought I would go a more simplistic route.

After washing and drying one head of cauliflower, I cut into it vertically and made four “steaks” out of it. I made sure each piece had a little bit of the cauliflower stem attached to it to keep the steak intact. The two middle steaks held together a lot better than the outer ones because of the stem.

I sprayed each side of the steaks with olive oil, then sprinkled them with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I threw them on the grill where they cooked for 6-7 minutes on each side.

cauliflower steaks with marinara

Meanwhile, I pulled some leftover marinara out of the freezer from a couple of weeks ago when I made roasted veggies with marinara sauce and heated it up on the stove. The sauce already had cooked Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, garlic and some added herbs, but I went one step further and added chopped green olives and capers. It was so nice having the sauce pretty much ready to go so that all I needed to do was heat it up and use! The beauty of the freezer.

In case you haven’t noticed, I sort of LOVE red sauce. When we were in Italy for our honeymoon, I ordered marinara sauce on everything. It was so darn good but the heartburn that coincided wasn’t so great. It probably didn’t help I was also drinking red wine and eating hearty meals late in the evening. All things I recommend staying away from if my clients are experiencing heartburn. 🙂 When in Rome though, right? Literally. Ha! I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be fun to do a food recap from Italy? I didn’t take a TON of food photos (that was before my blog days) but I know I have some I could show you. I also kept a food journal so I could remember what I ate! I just may have to do that.  Keep your eyes peeled!

Anyway, back to the cauli. After we pulled them off the grill they looked like this…beautiful.

cauliflower steaks with marinara

I grated fresh parmesan cheese over the top so that it melted into the crevices.  Then I spooned on a large portion of the leftover marinara sauce and dug in.

Icauliflower steaks with marinara cauliflower steaks with marinara

The cauliflower was cooked perfectly and took on a whole new flavor and texture from the grill. The texture was slightly “meaty” especially in the stem, and it was satisfying and fun way to eat cauliflower! Between the cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower fritters, and cauliflower steaks, I’m finding that this is the veggie that keeps on giving. What will I come up with next?

Grilled Cauliflower Steaks with Marinara and Parmesan
Print
Ingredients
  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • garlic powder
  • parmesan cheese
  • marinara sauce
Instructions
  1. Preheat grill.
  2. Keeping the stem attached, cut cauliflower head vertically into 4 steaks (make sure each of the pieces has some of the stem so that the steaks stay intact).
  3. Lightly spray olive oil on each side of the steaks, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place on grill.
  4. Grill on each side for 6-7 minutes.
  5. Remove from grill and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Top with warmed marinara if you wish and enjoy!

 

Happy Friday!

Do you ever get into food ruts? What do you do to pull yourself out of them?!

Continue Reading Grilled Cauliflower Steaks with Marinara and Parmesan

Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Thank you for all of your sweet thoughts and kind words yesterday. Moose is doing very well! His swelling has gone down dramatically and after I posted yesterday, the vet actually called me back after having talked to a dental specialist who said a little swelling was absolutely normal especially on bigger dogs, so I didn’t need to bring him back in yesterday after all. They told me to keep an eye on the swelling for the next 2-3 days and if it doesn’t go down, then we would have a problem, but otherwise it’s totally normal. And since it’s gone down I am not worried at all!

He did some doggy modeling for me yesterday…

moose moose

Gah! Love him. While we were outside yesterday I wandered over to our garden and spotted one beautiful little flower peaking on its own. It was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, the wind was so intense that by the evening it was completely ruined, but at least I got to enjoy it for a short amount of time.

flower

The temperatures crept to about 98°F yesterday, but since the air was so dry and there was quite a bit of wind, it didn’t feel very hot. So instead of thinking about making ice cream, or popsicles, or chomping on some watermelon, I thought it would be fun to bake up some cookies. Totally not normal I realize. The heat wasn’t going to stop me from my chocolate craving.

I got my inspiration for this cookie recipe from acouplecooks.com. Naturally, I steered towards a healthier cookie, and I knew I wanted to make it gluten-free too.cookie

There is a secret ingredient in these cookies that might surprise you but you will be surprised to find out that you can’t taste it at all and it also packs in some protein and fiber into this decadent dark chocolate cookie and makes for one heck of a soft and fudgy cookie.

chocolate cookie gluten free

chocolate cookie gluten free

Have you guessed the secret ingredient yet? If you guessed black beans you would be absolutely correct. Don’t wrinkle your nose until you try them! I’m telling you–you can’t taste the beans at all and it does wonders for the texture of the cookie and when combined with the cocoa powder, gives these cookies a deep dark chocolate flavor.

IMG_2719

I know you’re intrigued. Here is what I came up with!

Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cookies (Gluten-Free)
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Ingredients
  • 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained (or about 2 cups cooked from dried)
  • 1½ Tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • ¼ cup applesauce
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup honey
  • ¾ tsp vanilla extract
  • 5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips or more (I used Enjoy Life dairy-free, soy-free)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking pan with a non-stick mat, parchment paper, or non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. In food processor puree the beans along with the oil, applesauce, egg, honey, and vanilla. Puree until smooth.
  3. Add cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt into wet mixture; blend to combine. The consistency will resemble brownie batter.
  4. Remove blade from food processor and stir in chocolate chips.
  5. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let sit for five minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. Store in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

 

What are you waiting for? Get baking!

Question of the day: Have you ever baked any sweet treats with beans or any other wacky ingredients? What did you think?

Continue Reading Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Pure Happiness

Happy happy hump day!

Since I decided to post about my new adorable Ellie workout gear yesterday, I failed to update you on my nummy day of eats from Monday. Since I had a major lack of food photos yesterday (zip-zero), I am going to catch you up to speed from Monday.

Breakfast

Breakfast was a piece of toasted almond bread with organic natural peanut butter and raw honey, served with a cup of coffee with my new favorite cream!

This picture makes me so happy. Photographed is one of my favorite foods: peanut butter, my favorite morning drink that comforts my soul: coffee, and gorgeous yellow roses that my mom gave to me: love and friendship. Pure happiness.

pb toast and coffee

Lunch

A bed of mixed spring greens topped with deviled eggs, red bell pepper, celery, olives, peas, avocado, sunflower seeds and Annie’s Green Goddess dressing. Way good!

salad

 

I ate it outside in the sunshine which probably made it taste even better!

Dessert

Driscoll’s beautiful organic raspberries. Nature’s candy.

 

raspberries

 

There was definitely more snacking that happened in the afternoon. There are no pictures of it but I am guessing I had some mixed nuts, some carrots, and maybe an apple. 🙂

Dinner

For dinner I roasted up brussels sprouts and broccoli with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. To go on top of the veggies I made a marinara sauce using Ragu No-Sugar-Added spaghetti sauce, with one Italian turkey sausage, and sautéed onions, mushrooms, and garlic. I sprinkled in some dried basil and oregano too!

roasted veggies with marinara roasted veggies with marinara

To plate it up I started with a layer of veggies, next I grated some fresh parmesan cheese, and then finished it with a huge serving of the sauce which in my opinion is the best part!

roasted veggies with marinara roasted veggies with marinara

 

I wasn’t loving the brussels sprouts that night. I had bought them fresh and then froze them, and feel they take on a bit of a different flavor once I use them out of the freezer. Anyone else experience this? Anyway, I still enjoyed the dish and ate all but three bites.

************

Alright, it’s time for me to go pack up my lunch and think about what I want for breakfast! I am so food-minded; always prepared for moments when I may need to eat. 🙂 The hardest part is not knowing what I will be in the mood for come lunch time. I usually pack myself a couple of options so that I can pick and chose what sounds good.

I am super excited that thunderstorms are possibly going to happen this afternoon. I LOVE a good thunderstorm, as long as no one gets hurt and no damage is done of course. They remind me of being young and hanging out with my family in our safe home. As the thunderstorm approached we would watch the news and make sure we didn’t have to go to the basement. Then, as it whooshed over us I would watch safely out the window as the lightning struck and the thunder rolled (Garth Brooks anyone?) and it would make me so thrilled! I still feel that way when a thunderstorm rolls around! My mom also loves watching storms; she must have passed that gene down to me. 😉

Watch, we won’t even get one now that I got all hyped up about it.

Do you enjoy thunderstorms?

Have a great day my friends!

 

Continue Reading Pure Happiness

Chicken Curry Salad in Endive Boats

Happy MAY day! 

tulips

 

This is obviously not a MN scene but I think this is such a gorgeous photo and it makes me smile looking at this photo and thinking about the day when flowers will be popping up around here. Hopefully soon. For now, we are in a Winter Storm Warning. Yup…but anyway!

Some exciting news! Today is the last day you will see the old butcher block countertops in my photos because today we are getting NEW KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS! You know you are grown up when you get so incredibly excited about home improvements.

The butcher block countertops have been in the house for goodness knows how long, and they are terrible when it comes to stains and I don’t want to even think about any possible bacteria in the crevices.

banana pb

After much price shopping, stone shopping, and style shopping, we have decided on granite countertops. We went with a gray with specks of gold and red. It will be done by the time I get home this afternoon and I am ecstatic. I can’t wait to show you the refurbished kitchen later this week!

Lunch yesterday was a bunch of small meals throughout the span of 11:00 and 2:00. Here’s one of them…

egg

The afternoon included a lot of food prep time. In the morning I started two large chicken breasts (thawed) in the crock pot, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, and a cup or so of homemade chicken bone broth. I covered the pot, set it on low and the chicken was done in three hours.

On the dinner menu: Chicken Curry Salad in Endive Boats!

Once the chicken was cooled I pulled it apart and set it aside. I got started on my curry sauce experiment; adding a sprinkle of this, a touch of that, and tasting along the way. This was part of my other small lunch meal. After some time, I came up with what I think is a VERY delicious Chicken Curry Salad recipe!

The chicken and the curry sauce before it was mixed together (not the most appetizing photo). Later I mixed in cilantro, green onions, and raisins too.

curry chicken

The kitchen sure took a beating with all of this food prep!

Note the white backsplash next to the yellow paint–we removed the wooden backsplash to prepare for our new counters and the new backsplash of course. Also, Dana loosened the countertop in preparation of removal so that all we had to do last night was pull it up and out of there. This ended up being a bigger task than we were expecting, but we got it out of there nonetheless.

kitchen mess

After the chicken was mixed with the sauce, I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for 4-5 hours. This helps the flavors blend together and “get to know each other.”

Once dinner rolled around, I gave the chicken one last stir, added in the celery and almonds at the last minute because I didn’t want to risk them getting soggy, taste tested it one more time, and scooped it on to some beautiful endive leaves. We went super classy with the Dixie paper plates last night because of the kitchen demolition.

curry chicken salad curry chicken salad

You could enjoy this chicken salad on a whole grain wrap, in a lettuce cup, with endive boats, celery, zucchini, or on a lettuce salad. It was a really nice change of pace dinner!

Chicken Curry Salad
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Ingredients
  • 3 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
  • 2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
  • 3 Tbsp. green onions, diced
  • ⅓ cup raisins
  • juice from ½ a lime
  • ¾ cup Greek yogurt
  • 3 Tbsp. Light Mayo
  • 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp. mustard
  • 1½ tsp. honey
  • 1½ Tbsp. curry powder
  • ¼ tsp. garlic powder
  • ½ tsp. ginger powder
  • salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup celery, diced
  • 3 Tbsp. almonds, sliced
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl combine chicken, cilantro, onion, and raisins. Set aside
  2. In a small bowl mix together lime juice, yogurt, mayo, vinegar, mustard, honey, curry, garlic powder, ginger, and salt and pepper.
  3. Pour over chicken and stir until chicken is evenly covered in sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-5 hours.
  4. Remove from fridge, add almonds and celery, stir, and test for seasonings. Adjust if needed.
  5. Serve in endive leaves, in a whole grain or gluten-free wrap, whole grain or gluten-free bread, in lettuce cups, or on top of a lettuce salad.

 

This was super tasty and what’s great about it is all of the prep can be done ahead of time so that once dinner rolls around, all you need to do is throw it on a wrap and eat it up! Also, research is showing that curry (namely the main ingredient turmeric) may have some health benefits such as aiding in alzheimer’s prevention, reducing inflammation, easing digestion, boosting immunity, and more.

Have a happy Wednesday my friends!

Do you ever cook with curry? How do you usually use it?

Continue Reading Chicken Curry Salad in Endive Boats

California Cheeseburger Salad

April Fitness Challenge Recap

Today is the last day of April which means that today is the last day of my April Fitness Challenge. If you will recall, at the beginning of April I challenged myself to work towards the goal of being able to do at least one solid chin-up by April 30th.

chin up pull up bar

 

We bought a pull-up bar, I hit the weights but not nearly as much as I should have, and I began Insanity workouts about two weeks ago.

I have to report today that unless a miracle happens in the next 24 hours, I am still not able to do an unassisted chin-up. However, I refuse to claim this challenge as a fail because I have seen major progress in my attempts and I know it won’t be much longer before I am able to do one.

And yes I use my legs to help shimmy myself up–I don’t care if that’s considered cheating.

chin up

Am I disappointed? Actually I’m not, not at all. I am very happy with my progress and excited to keep reaching toward my goal. It has been very helpful having a pull-up bar in our house so I can give it a go at my leisure.

You WILL be hearing from me as soon as I reach that goal! I think I will be rolling this goal over into May. Yea, I like that idea.

Anyway….changing tracks. I have a super tasty meal to share with you all from last night.

This dinner was extremely easy, it came together in about 15 minutes or less, and it was SO delicious!

I made what I like to call California Cheeseburger Salad!

What usually comes on a California burger? Tomato, lettuce, avocado, and mayo right? Well I excluded the mayo but used the other ingredients. In addition to the California burger, I also incorporated an all-American classic: the cheeseburger. Instead of a bun, I turned this concoction into a salad.

california cheeseburger salad

 

Let’s break it down…

I began by sauteing about 1/4 cup of diced onions on the stove top. I then added 1/4 pound of lean ground turkey, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and let it brown.

Meanwhile, I chopped up the lettuce, tomato, avocado and arranged them on my two plates.

Next, I made a mustard dressing which was simply deli style mustard (about 2 tablespoons), apple cider vinegar (about 1 tablespoon), garlic powder, onion powder, and a little water. I gave it all a good stir and then drizzled it over the salads.

After the turkey was finished browning and fully cooked through, I shredded 1/4 cup of natural cheddar cheese over the hot meat in the pan. I let it melt and then used a spatula to scoop it onto our salads.

california cheeseburger salad

 

You put it all together and what do you get? California Cheeseburger Salad! So very simple and it was the perfect dish for a warm spring evening.

California Cheeseburger Salad
Print
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup onion, diced
  • ¼ lb lean ground turkey
  • salt and pepper
  • As much mixed spring lettuce as you wish, chopped
  • ½ small avocado, diced
  • 1 Roma tomato, diced
  • 2 Tbsp deli mustard
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • a sprinkle of garlic powder
  • a sprinkle of onion powder
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. In a small pan sprayed with olive oil, sauté onions for 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add ground turkey, season with salt and pepper, and let brown.
  3. Meanwhile, arrange lettuce, avocado, and tomatoes onto two separate plates.
  4. Prepare mustard by mixing together mustard, vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, and water in a small bowl. Drizzle over plated lettuce.
  5. Once meat is finished cooking and lightly browned, sprinkle cheese over the top and let melt. Once melted, use a spatula to transfer the meat on top of the salads.
  6. Enjoy!

 

You could easily make this vegetarian by substituting pinto beans or black beans instead of the ground turkey! Give it a go tonight! You won’t regret it.

Have a fabulous Tuesday my lovely readers!

What are your go-to summer dinners?

I notice that once the warmer weather rolls around, my meat consumption goes way up because we are grilling so much more. In the summer our go-to dinners are probably grilled chicken or turkey burgers and grilled veggies or a huge veggie and bean salad.

Continue Reading California Cheeseburger Salad

Insanity: Week One Completed

Happy Earth Day my friends! If you ask me, we should be celebrating this everyday…

earth day

Some things we can do to help preserve our earth:

  1. Use reusable bags when shopping
  2. Walk or bike instead of driving when we can—I’m so guilty of this one
  3. Take shorter showers and really watch our water usage—guilty
  4. Use cold water more often when washing clothes
  5. Recycle–DUH! I am huge on this one. Someday I hope MN is as posh as Colorado is in terms of their recycling habits.
  6. Use refillable water bottles more often versus throwaway plastic bottles
  7. Use energy-saving light bulbs
  8. Turn off lights in the house when you aren’t using them
  9. Unplug appliances when they are not in use

That’s just a short list! Even if we all start making a few changes it can make a HUGE difference! Don’t forget about our future generations and their well-being.

How are you helping to preserve our planet?!

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This is definitely going to be an odds and ends kind of post. As you may have noticed, I took the weekend off from the blog and had a couple of lovely guest posts for your enjoyment. In case you missed them you can check them out:

I pretty much gave the camera a break the whole weekend–it needs time off too. 😉 I did manage to snap a couple from last night so here are a couple of photos for those of you who enjoy food photos as much as I do…

For dinner last night we had the salmon dish that made me start liking salmon. Simply grill the salmon with pepper and then top it with an almond caper drizzle that is made on the stove top using:

  • about 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1/4 cup or less of sliced almonds
  • 1-2 tablespoons of capers
  • 1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil

You want the almonds to turn slightly toasty but this whole process only takes about four minutes.

salmon salmon

It’s definitely my favorite way to eat salmon.

Check out our super healthy stocked fridge. It is filled to the brim with fruits and veggies and I love it!

fridge

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Insanity: Week One Completed

I told you this was an all-over-the-place post. Next up, I have finished week one of Insanity! I thought it might be interesting if I shared my progress week by week for anyone who might be interested in dabbling into the Insanity workouts, and also to do it for my own accountability and to really take the time to notice any progress I might be feeling or seeing.

Body and Strength Changes

Although it has only been a week and some may say you can’t see changes in a week, I am definitely feeling more toned already. I’m still working towards being able to keep up with the push-ups in the videos, but I do notice my strength is improving. After week two we will be completing another Fit Test which tests your stamina and strength, and helps you to note your progress. I will be anxious to see how that goes.

I am very excited to build my core and back strength. I feel this will really help alleviate some of my back problems.

Weight Fluctuations

No changes in weight.

Soreness, Fatigue, or Aches

After the first couple of workouts, I thought I was going to vomit (TMI?) but now I feel really good after a workout–no more nausea. My calves were tight during the first few days as well, but that has since subsided.

Right after a workout I feel pretty exhausted, but after I shower and get ready for the day I am finding I am highly energized.

Overall Thoughts and Feelings

I want to mention that although Insanity suggests you workout 6 days in a row and then take the 7th day for rest, if you feel like you need a break on any day in between, by all means TAKE A BREAK. Continue to listen to your body. Let your body recover to avoid injury, and get back at it the next day. Life happens, and there are days when you may be unable to get a workout in. That is okay but again, just start on up the next day.

I am doing my best to follow the program and follow it’s recommended schedule, but I am going to be throwing in days of rest and there will be days where I may be running instead and taking the day off from Insanity, but mostly I a sticking to the plan.

I love the trainer, Sean T. He is an excellent motivator and super easy on the eyes too. 😉 He really pushes you but not to the point where it’s annoying. He reminds you that it is okay to take quick rests during the workouts and that water breaks are super important!

I am so loving the fact that my hubby is doing this workout too. It always helps to have someone else going through the journey with you and we help to keep each other accountable and motivated.

I continue to eat a clean diet full of protein, fruits, and veggies which helps me fight through the workouts and recover from them quickly.

So far I am feeling GREAT!

Bring it on Week Two!!

Continue Reading Insanity: Week One Completed
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