Bypassing Convenience

I have regretfully neglected polenta and plum for several days. My father underwent emergency triple bypass surgery this past weekend. He came through fine and is recovering well, but I was required to give all of my spare time to my family. Over the past few stressful days, all I wanted to do was run get a quick burger or buy something from a vending machine. I suddenly realized that eating in that way, during that time, would be, well, really dumb! My father had to have life-saving surgery because of his life-style. He is a potato chip, ice cream, soda loving kinda guy. This close call with my family made me realize just how important keeping up a healthy diet is. It isn’t about fitting into size 4 jeans or looking great in Facebook photos. It is about living healthily and happily. More yummy and healthy recipes to come this week!

 

Quick and Easy Cheesy-Broccoli-Chicken Quinoa

This is a super easy recipe. It takes about 20 minutes; cutting board to table. This recipe is also a great way to fit in veggies without even trying.

Ingredients

1 clove fresh garlic, minced

2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped

1 small carrot, chopped

¾ cup quinoa, dry, rinsed well

2 cups organic fat free chicken broth

½ cup + 2 tbsp. low fat cheddar cheese, shredded

2 oz. white meat chicken, no skin, shredded

1 tsp. sea salt

pepper to taste

Instructions:

1)      Be sure to rinse the quinoa well. If not, it can taste a little funny.

2)      Bring broth, salt, pepper, garlic, broccoli and carrots to a boil.

3)      Stir in quinoa and bring back to a boil. Cover and turn heat to medium-low.

4)      Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until most liquid has cooked out.

5)      Uncover and gently fold in cheese and chicken.

6)      Plate and top with remaining cheese.

7)      Serve immediately.

Serves 2

Nutritional Info Per Serving: Calories: 423, Fat: 11 g., Carbs: 51 g., Protein: 28g, Fiber: 7g.

You may easily substitute any vegetables you have on hand. I have also made a similar dish with parmesan and asparagus! The combinations for a quinoa stir-fry are endless!

Full of protein and relatively low in calories, this dish will keep your family full all night!

I paired this dish with a Chardonnay. Delish!

An Easy Rainy Day Meal: Roasted Chicken and Vegetables over Garlic-Parmesan Polenta

Polenta is one of my favorite meals, as you might have guessed! It is cheap, hearty and healthy. Best of all, it is incredibly easy to prepare.

Ingredients

½ cup (dry) polenta

     2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves fresh garlic

1 ¾ cups organic chicken broth

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

¼ tsp. dried thyme

4 oz. roasted white meat chicken, shredded*

½ small zucchini, chopped

¼ small yellow onion, chopped

2 large white mushrooms, chopped

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

4 sun dried tomatoes, chopped

*Use whatever recipe you would like to cook your chicken or pick up a rotisserie chicken if you are in a hurry!

Instructions

1)      Grease a medium sized skillet. Brown garlic.

2)      Bring broth, sundried tomatoes, thyme, red pepper flakes and ½ tbsp. olive oil to a simmer.

3)      Stir in polenta and bring back to a simmer.

4)      Cover skillet and turn heat to low. Cook polenta for 8-10 minutes.

5)      While polenta is cooking, heat additional olive oil in a small skillet and sauté zucchini, onion and mushrooms until soft. Add pre-cooked, shredded chicken and warm for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

6)      Once all liquid is cooked out, remove cover from polenta and fold in 1 tbsp. parmesan cheese.

7)      Plate polenta and top with sautéed vegetables and chicken.

8)      Drizzle balsamic vinegar over dish. Top with remaining parmesan.

9)      Enjoy immediately.

Serves: 2

Nutritional Info Per Serving: Calories: 337, Fat: 9g, Carbs: 37g, Protein: 25g, Fiber: 4g

I like to pair this dish with a nice Pinto Grigio.

Fiesta Time: Easy and Healthy Tostadas!

Pinto Bean and Pepper Jack Cheese Tostadas with Roasted Corn and Fresh Pico De Gallo

Ingredients

2 White Corn Tortillas

1 Cup Re-fried Pinto Beans

2 oz. Pepper Jack Cheese, Shredded

½ Cup Frozen Corn

1 TBSP Olive Oil

1 ½ Cups Romaine Lettuce, Shredded

2 TBSP All Natural Sour Cream

 

For the Pico De Gallo

2 Roma Tomatoes, Chopped

½ Yellow Onion, Chopped

5 Springs Cilantro, Chopped

½ Jalapeno Pepper, Chopped

1 TBSP Lemon Juice

¼ TBSP Sea Salt

Instructions

1)      Preheat oven to 375.

2)      Brush tortillas very lightly with Olive Oil on both sides.

3)      Place tortillas directly on oven rack for 6-7 minutes.

4)      Take tortillas out of oven and place on a baking sheet.

5)      While tortillas are in oven, heat remaining olive oil in skillet and roast corn until slightly blackened.

6)      Top tortillas with beans and then cheese.

7)      Place tortillas, on pan, back into the oven for 3-4 minutes, until cheese is melted.

8)      While the tortillas finish up in the oven, mix together all ingredients for pico de gallo.

9)      Remove tostadas from oven and plate them.

10)   Top tostadas with roasted corn.

11)   Then top with romaine, pico de gallo and sour cream.

12)   Serve immediately.

Serves 2

Nutrition Info Per Serving: Calories: 470, Fat: 18g, Carbs: 56g, Protein: 22g, Fiber: 9g

If you have the time, making your own re-fried beans would be smart and a very healthy alternative. I used a can of all natural.

These would also be incredible with some homemade guacamole.

Whole Wheat Linguini with Zucchini in a White Wine-Mushroom Cream Sauce! Yum!

I am an absolute pasta lover! I swear, I may have the look of a Swede, but deep down I must have some serious Italian heritage. I could probably eat pasta for every meal, every day. Though pasta is one of my favorite foods, the dish can be a calorie ridden one if done incorrectly. This take on a classic white wine cream sauce over linguini is about as healthy as they come.

   =

Originally, I wanted this dish to contain asparagus. The asparagus at the market looked small and soft, so I decided upon zucchini instead. Sometimes we must improvise!

Ingredients:

8 oz. Whole Wheat Linguini Pasta

1 Small Zucchini, Sliced

1 oz. Parmesan Cheese, Shredded

15 Sun Dried Tomatoes

For The Sauce:

¼ Cup Pasta Water

6-8 White Mushrooms, Sliced

1 Cup Skim Milk

½ Cup Organic, Low Sodium, Chicken Broth

½ Cup Chardonnay

1 ½ TBSP Flour

6 Cloves Garlic, Minced

2 TBSP Olive Oil

½ TSP Dried Oregano

1 TSP Sea Salt

2 oz. Asiago Cheese, Shredded

Instructions:

1)      Boil linguini 10 minutes or until desired texture is reached. Save ¼ cup of the pasta water for sauce.

2)      While pasta is cooking, slice zucchini and mushrooms, and mince garlic.

3)      Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Let garlic brown for 2-3 minutes. Be careful to not burn garlic.

4)      Add sliced zucchini and mushrooms to skillet. Also add tomatoes. Let soften for 3-5 minutes.

5)      Add pasta water, chicken broth and chardonnay to skillet.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.

6)      Stir in skim milk.

7)      Stir in oregano and sea salt.

8)      Let sauce simmer, stirring constantly, cook sauce for 2-3 minutes.

9)      Slowly stir in Asiago cheese.

10)   Slowly stir in flour until desired consistency is reached.

11)   Coat linguini with sauce.

12)   Plate pasta and top with shredded Parmesan.

13)   Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Nutritional Info per Serving: Calories: 408, Fat: 13g, Carbs: 57g, Protein: 17g, Fiber: 8g

This pasta sauce is easy and delicious. The entire dish is incredibly filling!

This meal can be perfectly paired with a glass of white wine and a fresh Caesar salad. Delish!

If I made this dish again, I would add more Asiago cheese and several more sun-dried tomatoes!

Something to Look Forward to: How I Meal Plan

In my opinion, meal planning is one of the most important aspects of healthy and budget friendly eating. By planning meals out (breakfast, lunch and dinner) one is able to shop more efficiently and use ingredients already in the fridge, before they go bad. Some people think meal planning is far too time-consuming, but I disagree. I think it is crucial to save time and money.

Each week when I sit down to make my meal plan, I physically look in my fridge, freezer, pantry and fruit basket. I write down the items which will go bad in the next week. I also look into the amount of meal “foundations” I have remaining, like brown rice, pasta, quinoa and beans. I plan my meals around these items first. This significantly cuts down on the amount of food our family buys and wastes.

My meal plan and shopping list for next week:

Breakfasts

Monday: Bacon, Egg and Cheese “McMuffins”.

Tuesday: Kashi Go Lean with Banana and Berries.

Wednesday: Oatmeal with Fruit and Almonds.

Thursday: Healthy Cheesy-Bacon Breakfast Muffins.

Friday: Healthy Cheesy-Bacon Breakfast Muffins.

Saturday: From Scratch Blueberry Pancakes with Chia.

Sunday: Bacon, Egg and Cheese “McMuffins”.

Lunches

Monday: Brown Bag Lunches with Turkey Sandwiches, Berries, Celery and Granola Bars.

Tuesday: Brown Bag Lunches with Salads, Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Celery, Oranges and Healthy Brownies.

Wednesday: Brown Bag Lunches with Roast Beef Wraps, Celery, Berries and Rice Cakes.

Thursday: Brown Bag Lunches with Salads, Ham and Cheese Wraps, Grapefruit and Celery.

Friday: Brown Bag Lunches with Roast Beef Sandwiches, Celery, Oranges and Pretzels.

Saturday: Salads with left over produce.

Sunday: Left Over Pasta.

Dinners

Monday: White Wine Cream Sauce over Whole Wheat Linguini with Asparagus, Mushrooms & Sundried Tomatoes.

Tuesday: Pinto Bean, Pepper Jack & Roasted Corn Tostadas with Fresh Pico De Gallo.

Wednesday: Curry Chicken with Pineapple & Prunes over Brown Rice.

Thursday: Quinoa & Chia Stir Fry with Fresh Garlic, Asparagus, Green Peas, Asiago and Parmesan.

Friday: Dinner Out for Cassandra’s Birthday!

Saturday: Homemade Spicy Amatriciana Pasta Sauce over Whole Wheat Penne.

Sunday: Cheesy Black Bean Taquitos with Cilantro Cream Sauce.

My grocery list for next week: Cilantro, Tomato, Asparagus, Onion, Jalapeno, Mushrooms, Bell Pepper, Linguini, Celery, Berries, Bananas, Romaine, Milk and Eggs.

Yes, you counted right. That is fourteen items for a week’s worth of healthy meals (twenty meals for two people; eating one meal out). I can do this simply by keeping basics stocked and strategically meal planning. I predict my total grocery costs for this week will be approximately $35.00. I buy primarily organic. I also try to buy produce on special.

I am looking forward to preparing all of these delicious meals and posting them. Stay tuned!

My Top 10 Clean & Delicious Snacks

If your body is familiar with eating more sugary or processed foods, these snacks may not sound like your cup of tea right now, but just try them! You may fall in love with them. These snacks may also spark some new snack ideas you can create yourself.

(Yes, I eat full-fat cheese in moderation. It is delicious.)

–          ½ Cup Celery, Carrots & Bell Peppers with 2 tbs. Hummus

–          5 Medium Strawberries with ½ oz. Sharp Cheddar Cheese

–          20 Pistachios with 10 Green Grapes

–          ½ Cup Organic Greek or Goat Yogurt with ¼ Cup Chopped Fruit and 2 tsp. Pure Clover Honey

–          ½ Grapefruit with 1 tsp. Stevia

–          15 Almonds with ½ Cup Mellon

–          ½ Cup Oatmeal with 1 tsp. Honey and 15 Blueberries + a few Sliced Almonds

–          ½ oz. Double Cream Brie with ½ Apple

–          Smoothie with ½ Cup Greek Yogurt, ¼ Cup Skim Milk, ¼ Cup Blueberries, 1 cup Kale, ½ of a Medium Banana.

–          2 tbs. Homemade Guacamole on 2 Celery Stalks

Pre-cutting your vegetables and fruits so they are super easy to grab and pack up for the day is a great way to stay on track. Also, pre-weigh your cheeses on a scale and portion them out into Ziploc bags or Tupperware. Prep work is crucial! This is true in all aspects of cooking and eating!

If you are feeling a little overly “clean” when you read these snack ideas, there are a few things you can do to spice these up!

1)      If you are not used to eating raw veggies and you don’t like the taste of them, stir-fry your veggies in some olive oil with some seasonings like chili powder and fresh garlic.

2)      Make sure the fruit you are eating is ripe. If fruit isn’t ready to be eaten, it won’t taste great! Also, buy seasonal fruit!

3)      Try different types of nuts and find your favorite. Alternatives to plain nuts are flavored varieties, like sea salt and even cocoa. Just make sure what you are buying is all natural!

4)      Can’t get used to the thickness of goat yogurt? I think you eventually will come to love it, but until then, mix the yogurt with a little bit of skim milk to thin it out.

5)      If you don’t enjoy the tartness of citrus fruit, try cutting the fruit in half and broiling it for a few minutes in the oven. Instantly delicious and more sweet.