Strange Food Week

I hope everyone is having a great start to the week! This week is my finals week, so I apologize for the random food posts that will be surfacing in the next few days.

You can be sure there will be lots of creative "dishes" coming your way in my attempt to eat all of the food in my refrigerator/ pantry before I leave to go home next week.

So, to start this week off right, I present you with some Black Beans

And yes, I mean black beans from a can. We're not even talking "fancy" black beans that you have to soak the night before and then let cook for an hour before you can do anything remotely delicious with them. Just old fashioned, straight from a can black beans.... low sodium please!

One Pot Black Beans

Print this recipe!

Like most savory recipes I come up with, this one also calls for sautéing diced onions in 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized pot. Cook until translucent and slightly browned.

Before

After

When the onion look the above picture, dump in your can of black beans. You don't rinse the beans, you just dump everything in the pot, liquid and all.

Next, add 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of salt. And add some fresh squeezed lime for good measure.

Allow the bean mixture to cook down for about 15 minutes, or until the liquid is slightly thickened. 

And that's it! A one pot wonder! These beans are perfect as a side dish, or just eating on their own!

PS: Don't you love my Lilly Pulitzer coasters?!

Breakfast for Warriors

As you are reading this, Staci and I will be participating in the...

 WARRIOR DASH!

Even though it is almost May and has been 80 degrees in Texas for a good long while, Mother Nature decided it wanted to throw a curve ball and have it be COLD!! Projected Forecast:

Just the normal 53 - 57 degrees outside (not cool...haha). But really, it seems like every time I place to compete in a race in this state, it decides to be cold the day of the event.

Nonetheless, I am super excited about tomorrow!! But thinking of the cold, really just makes me want to curl up in my pajamas on the couch, eating a hot, toasty bowl of healthy oats. 

But normal oats are boring... I'm talking some tasty oats that feels more like dessert than breakfast. 

Enter: Strawberry Banana Oatmeal

Trust me, it is even more delicious than it looks. At it has the added bonus of sneaking in some protein to give it an extra healthy kick that will help you to feel fuller for longer.

Recipe for success? Start with 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk and 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan over medium heat.

don't forget the water too!

And drop a banana in the pot...

Now chop up your banana into a million little pieces with your wooden spoon. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be in many small pieces.

Now, let that mixture come up to a simmer. It will look like this:

Nice and bubbly... and the banana magically disappeared!! It's still there... no worries.

Now, back the heat down to medium low and add in your 1/4 cup rolled oats.

 Now cook your oats on medium low for about 10 minutes or until they are nice and tender. Next comes the protein part... Egg Whites!!

The packaged kind really do work better in this situation than egg whites from a "real" egg.

To add these 1/4 cup egg whites to your hot oat mixture, you will need to take your little pot off of the hot part of the stove. Stir the oats around to get some steam (and heat) out.

VERY SLOWLY, pour your egg whites into the oatmeal mixture, and stir the oats vigorously as you go. A little coordination is required for this maneuver.

If you thought your oats were a little too wet for you, they definitely will NOT be runny after the egg white addition. The egg whites bulk up the oats a bit and add to a nice fluffy texture.

Once all the egg whites have been combined, you are ready to serve your oats for one! Garnish with strawberries, brown sugar, chopped nuts, or whatever else you might like!

Chocolate would also be a good addition... :) 

Turkey Time!

I know I showed you last time how to cook your turkey burger with vegetables, but this time I am going to show you how to make the burgers!

Using turkey is a great alternative to using beef in your burger grilling extravaganza. You are able to get a nice lean portion of meat that is a lot lower in saturated fat than beef (Remember: saturated fat is the stuff that can clog your arteries!).

I know, I know you can buy very lean portions of ground beef now as well, however it can end up a little dry. The best thing about lean turkey? You can impart lots of flavor in the burgers using a few trick (I'll show you!) and lean turkey is typically cheaper than super-lean ground beef!

I'd call that winning...

Now on to the good stuff:

Print this recipe!

Spicy Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

• 0.75 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 of a small onion, diced
• 1/4 of a small red bell pepper, diced
• 1 egg white
• 2 heaping tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 dash of salt

Directions

Place the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, sauté the onion in the pan until is becomes semi-translucent and just a tad brown around the edges. At this point, put in your red bell pepper and sauté until everything is soft and golden brown in color. This should take about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

When it looks like this, add the bell peppers!

In a medium bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients. When the onions and peppers and cool enough to touch, dump those in the bowl as well.

Throughly combine all of the ingredients together with your hands. If the mixture is too wet, add a little more breadcrumbs so that everything will come together.

Shape burgers into 3.5 - 4 ounces a piece (or divide mixture into four equal portions).

Sorry, it was dark!

Grill until completely done!

Easiest Way to Eat a Serving of Vegetables

Vegetables

[source]

They are an essential component of the diet. Vegetables not only give you vital nutrients your body needs to function properly, but they also give you a nice dose of fiber to keep you full.

Although they are necessary in the diet, they are often not all that easy to eat. The typical excuses:

1. They are bland
2. They do not taste good
3. Take too long to prepare

Well, I have a solution to help you tackle ALL of your vegetable excuses.

Enter: Roasted Vegetables

Roasted Vegetables are the easiest thing to prepare in the kitchen and there is virtually no clean up involved with this method of preparation. Not to mention, roasting imparts TONS of flavor so they are certainly not bland!

Try it next dinner meal and your body will thank you!

Print this recipe!

Easy Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 small squash, cubed
• 1 small zucchini, cubed
• 1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1.5 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon rosemary

Directions

Cut all of the vegetables, making sure they are in bite sized pieces, about 1/2 - 1 inch pieces.

Put all of the chopped vegetables into a large plastic bag. Put remaining ingredients into bag as well. Throw/ massage the bag so that everything is evenly coated.Let marinade for at least one hour (this can be done up to 24 hours ahead of time).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Take a cookie sheet, line it with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Dump vegetables onto pan and spread out in a single layer.

Roast in oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until tender and crisp on the outside. Stir vegetables 2 - 3 times throughout the cooking process.

sorry, it's not pretty.... but they taste delicious!

Serve immediately!

Print this recipe!

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 medium yukon gold potatoes 
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon rosemary

Directions

Chop the potatoes into bite sized cubes, about 1/2 inch in length.

Take a large plastic bag, and put the potatoes and the rest of the ingredients in the bag. Throw/ massage the bag around to make sure all potatoes are evenly coated. Let marinade for at least one hour (This can be done up to 24 hours ahead of time).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Take a cookie sheet, line it with foil, and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Dump potatoes onto pan and spread out in a single layer.

Roast in oven for 20 - 30 minutes or until golden brown on the outside. Stir potatoes 2 - 3 times throughout the cooking process.

Serve warm!

Salsa Time

 Let's talk about tomatoes for a sec...

You know when you leave them in the refrigerator for too long, and they are on their last leg and you are this close to throwing them in the trash?

Well DON'T!

Instead, chop them up and make them into salsa! Salsa is the easiest thing to make and it is a great way to use that produce you might have just thrown away.

doesn't it look tasty?

Print this recipe!

First you will need some very ripe tomatoes. Any kind will do....they should be slightly soft. I had a red heirloom tomato and half of a yellow heirloom left over.

Now, chop up your tomatoes very finely! They should be very juicy. Important: Save All of the Juice!! The juice will make the salsa the right consistency.

See! Very liquid-y! Put your chopped tomato with juice in a glass bowl.

Finely chop up some fresh garlic (about 2 cloves) and a whole jalepeno pepper!

Finely chop the garlic and add to bowl

Finely dice as well

Remove the seeds for the flavor, but less heat

It should look like this once chopped

If you want to score bonus points with your salsa, add a bit of chopped mango. Extra Refreshing!

Do you have everything dumped into the bowl? Good!

Finally, squeeze the juice from half of a lime all over everything. Stir to combine. Don't forget to add some salt! Just a pinch!

Tada! You made it!

 You can consume right away if you wish, but the flavor get better with time. You should really let it marinade for a few hours before enjoying!

Dessert for Breakfast

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Why?

Because anything goes! If you want pancakes, have pancakes. If you want cake, eat cake. If you want a steak, because breakfast isn't your thing...well by all means go ahead.

Which brings me to my most favorite breakfast dish I have ever created...

Apple Pie Oatmeal 

Seriously, it tastes exactly like a big slice of apple pie, but for breakfast!! BONUS: it's super healthy too! (and super simple to make)

Print this recipe!

First you need an apple! 

Peel and core apple, and chop the flesh into bite sized pieces

And you'll need some oats! About 1/2 cup

 

Put the apple and oats into a small sauce pan. Add 3/4 of a cup of unsweetened almond milk + 1/2 cup of water to the pot.

In goes 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon next!

 You will also need three heaping teaspoons of brown sugar...it makes it tasty

Make sure everyone is in the pool!

 Cook in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low for 10 - 15 minutes or until apples and oats are tender.

Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and serve.

Eat and be happy you made a healthy choice for breakfast!

Healthy Dinner

The weeks after a nice break are always the hardest, don't you think? You've just had a relaxing break from work, but you are now thrown directly back into the normal, daily routine very abruptly and its hard to find your daily pattern.

Well that exactly describe last week for me. Trying to find my normal routine again posed a bit of a challenge, but I'm back and ready as ever to give you all yummy recipes! I'll start with this one:

Stir Fry Tempeh

This meal is super delicious and nutritious! Colorful vegetables provide the nutrients while tempeh provides a lean source of protein.

Not too familiar with tempeh? Well it is made from soybeans that have been fermented via a special process. It is a great meat alternative and has A LOT more texture than tofu (personally, I've never been a fan of the stuff). It is super simple to marinade (Example) and easy to incorporate into any recipe!

So if you're in the mood for an asian inspired dish but don't want to shell out the bucks for chinese takeout (or wasted calories on white rice and deep fried everything), take this recipe for a spin! From start to finish, this took only about 20 minutes to make....WAY faster than delivery! 

Print this recipe!

Stir Fry Tempeh

Ingredients

• 1 - 8 oz block tempeh
• 1/2 pound asparagus spears (or other green veggie of your choice)
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 3 tablespoons stir fry sauce, divided
• 2 teaspoons agave nectar 
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 avocado
• brown rice for serving

Directions

Take your block of tempeh and cut it into 1/4 inch thick strips. Each strip will be thick so cut in half lengthwise.

In a shallow dish, combine 1 tablespoon stir fry sauce, agave nectar, garlic, red pepper flakes, ginger, and pepper. Toss the tempeh in sauce until evenly coated and allow to marinade for about 10 - 15 minutes (For extra flavor, double the amount of marinade and allow tempeh to marinate for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through).

In the mean time, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. Sauté your vegetables and bell pepper, until they are tender, about 10 minutes.

Once the tempeh has had some time to marinade, push the vegetables to the sides, and add the tempeh to the middle of the pan. 

Try to get all of the tempeh directly touching the pan and not on top of the vegetables

Allow to cook for about 2 - 3 minutes per side or until it looks golden brown and heated through. Once browned, remove the pan from the heat and add 2 tablespoons of the stir fry sauce and stir to evenly coat.

sufficiently browned! add the sauce!

Serve with a side of brown rice and garnish with a few slices of avocado. Douse on the hot sauce (optional) and enjoy your healthy, flavorful meal!