Saturday, February 9, 2019

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Salad is on the top right side of plate. I did not think about pictures until I was eating...


Most of you may be aware we have gone on a healthy kick. I wanted to integrate more healthy food choices into my diet, so I chose to start with a quinoa salad. I had marinated some chicken souvlaki, so it made sense to stay mediterranean.

I found the recipe on Pinterest:https://cooktoria.com/mediterranean-quinoa-salad/ and it looked straightforward.

I really have not worked very much with quinoa, and apparently its like rice, so when I read the recipe :1/4 cup of uncooked quinoa, I was like, "No way that is enough!" so I times'd it by 8...Holy Macaroni did I make A LOT of salad! So maybe you could double it, but I ended up with a GIANT mixing bowl full...like it tastes good, but no way in hell can I eat that much before it goes bad, so I will gift this out.

I never seem to stick to what it asks, so I ended up skipping the olives as I don't like them, as well as roasted peppers. I did add peppers, but did not see the point in having to roast some and then leave some uncooked? Like WTH?

I also added cucumber (1 large one), and sliced up cherry tomatoes (Probably 2-3 cups)

The salad is definitely tasty and I would make again, but in a much smaller amount...unless I plan on feeding an army or something.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Never Stop Eating This Chicken

I had all the ingredients for this recipe at home. 


The recipe calls for chicken thighs but Mike doesn’t like dark meat so I used 4 chicken breasts instead of 12 thighs. 



I don’t have chicken broth so I made some with a package of chicken flavoured bovril.  I probably  should have used two packs. 



I forgot to buy pineapple juice so I just used a orange pineapple blend that I happen to have at home.



In future I would double up the soy sauce as the flavour doesn’t come through as the pineapple has an abundance of flavour to work around.



All the liquids are well mixed and ready to go into the slow cooker set on low for 5 hours. I would suggest 4 hours as my chicken breasts are very dried out. 



After 5 hours take a scoop of liquid out of the crockpot and mix it very smoothly with a couple tablespoons of cornstarch. Then pour it in and  turn it up to high and leave it for 30 minutes to thicken up.



I should have made some rice to go with the chicken the recipe doesn’t call for it but it would have soaked up the sauce nicely. This was a great recipe I would definitely make it again but add more soy sauce.



I found this recipe on Pinterest 

http://www.dawnnature.com/2019/01/the-slow-cooker-pineapple-chicken-that.html 


Thursday, January 24, 2019

Experimental Carrot Cake

So I decided to try making a carrot cake recipe that I have made many times, but with a few alternative ingredients.  I'm feeling like I could have pushed it further with my replacements but didn't want it to be a total flop as I haven't played with enough alternatives to get comfortable yet - so I am going to keep playing with things.  I could have tried a recipe on Pinterest that is already modified, but I wanted to try a recipe that I already know and love, as ultimately I would like to be able to convert some of my personal favourite recipes into healthier or less processed versions (be it lower in calories, lower in sugar, trying gluten free or whole grain flours, and incorporating more fruits and veggies as natural sweeteners, as well as honey or syrup vs. white/brown sugar and corn syrup, etc.  I haven't quite figured out what I am doing yet, but I feel the need to start experimenting!

I am using an old recipe I printed off AllRecipes back in 2009.  The link doesn't work anymore, so I've typed it up for you.

Ingredients:

Cake:
3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk (I subbed unsweetened almond milk with 1 TBSP of vinegar)
3/4 cup of vegetable oil (I think I could have tried a combination of applesauce and coconut oil instead - maybe next time depending on how this turns out)
1 1/2 cups white sugar (I used Splenda 1 to 1 ratio)
2 TSP vanilla extract
2 TSP cinnamon
1/4 TSP salt
2 cups all-purpose flour (I substituted a gluten free flour for cakes/baking, etc. 1 to 1 ratio)
2 TSP baking soda
2 cups finely shredded carrots
1 cup flakes coconut (I used unsweetened shredded coconut)
1 cup chopped walnuts (I didn't have any so I skipped)
1 (8oz) can of crushed pineapple with juice (I pureed tidbits with juice and used 1 cup)
1 cup of raisins (I soaked them first in hot water to plump them)

Icing:
1 brick (8oz) of cream cheese - room temperature
6 TBSP of unsalted butter - room temperature
2 1/2 cups of confectioners' sugar (I used a product called SWERVE that is an icing sugar replacement with a 1 to 1 ratio - I found the texture to be weird at the 2 cups mark, so I didn't add the last 1/2 cup)
1 TSP vanilla extract
2 TBSP lemon juice





















Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8X12 inch cake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
4. In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.
5. Using a large wooden spoon or very heavy whisk, add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well.
6. Pour into prepared 8X12 inch pan, and bake for 1 hour.  Check with toothpick for light crumb.
7. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes
8. Prepare icing, cream together the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl, slowly add the confectioners sugar and beat until free of lumps. stir in vanilla and lemon juice. (mine required a hand mixer and was still quite thick - so I iced while the cake was still somewhat warm)
9. Once cake is cooled, frost and serve.  You can sprinkle additional chopped walnuts or arrange walnut halves on top if you choose.

Serves 15


So I think the cake needed to cook a bit longer even though it wasn't testing as undercooked...it seemed a bit wet in the middle (but that could have been my modifications).

It didn't get as fluffy as it normally would with regular flour and sugar, but it tasted good.









The icing was super sweet (we haven't been eating much for sweetened items other than fruit, honey and syrup...so I would prefer it without icing) also, the icing had a weird aftertaste to me - like it was good, but like that minty aftertaste from gum...but there is no mint - so it must have been the new sweetener.


All in all it is okay, but I wouldn't make my modifications to this recipe again (I'm glad I didn't modify it further!)























Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Two weeks into my new lifestyle

My last post was on January 6th and so much has changed!

We completed our 7 day sugar detox and I am happy to report that it was a wonderful educational experience and was WAY easier than I thought it would be - probably because I knew it was only for 7 days!  We learned so much about hidden sugars, natural sugars, sugar replacements/artificial sweeteners, how the body processes sugars, and tools to kill cravings.

We started a new nutrition focused style of eating on January 14th and we have been really enjoying it, and haven't had any trouble sticking to it!  Our sugar cleanse definitely helped set us up for success, and we haven't felt deprived at all!  We are focusing on making good food choices rather than counting calories - mindful eating helps us find balance and our goals keep us focused and on track.

Don't get me wrong - we haven't been living in a fairytale land where we have had perfect nutrition and exercise!  We have gone out for dinners and lunches, thrown back some beers with friends, and even had ice cream birthday cake!  The difference is that we are being more mindful of what we are eating when we go out to eat - we are applying what we learned in our sugar detox and trying to meet our nutrition goals each day, so it helps keep us focused.  Some of the changes are that we skip the bun on the burger, choose lean meats where possible - limit the sweet sauces and over the top cheese, and go lighter on the sides (fries, rice, pasta, etc.) and choose more complex carbs like veggies, sweet potatoes, brown rice/quinoa, etc.  I try to avoid ordering drinks that are heavy on the sugar (juices, soda, syrups) and unless it is a special occasion, I probably won't indulge in dessert - but if I do...that's okay too - each day is about making choices and me being in control!

I have come to terms with the fact that I do not LOVE salads, especially not the healthy ones! LOL

In the past I have tried to follow nutrition plans that are heavy on the salads and I always ended up failing in the end as salads were always a bit underwhelming and left me wishing I could eat other stuff.  Don't get me wrong, there are some yummy salads out there, and in the summer I tend to feel like eating salads more frequently - but my body much prefers eating cooked vegetables and food made with love - I just can't eat baked chicken and salad every day!

So what have we been doing differently...

1. EXPERIMENTING Eating lots of roasted and steamed veggies - we are trying new things each week now that our pallets seem to be finding most vegetables super sweet.  New combinations, new seasonings, getting creative with making old favourites with vegetables instead of their usual ingredients (e.g. cauliflower pizza "bread" that is basically cauliflower and cheese and egg. ) Some veggies are also pretty high in sugar, so we count those ones as carbs (e.g carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, and tomatoe sauce)

2. SUBSTITUTING! Trying new recipes for incorporating more fruits and veggies into baking and other traditional meals (e.g. meatloaf with hidden veggies in it, mashed yams and cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes, baking with carrots, bananas, avocado, zucchini, and apples, using honey or maple syrup as sweeteners or cutting the sugar in recipes or experimenting with sugar alternatives like Splenda, Stevia, etc., using oats, coconut flour or other gluten free flours instead of white flour.)

3. CARBS! Eating more complex carbohydrates instead of simple carbs - things like sweet potatoes, yams, beans, lentils, brown rice, quinoa, whole grains, and oats vs. white rice, potatoes, regular pasta, white flour based things like breads, sauces.  The reason for this is that complex carbohydrates break down much slower in your body and don't cause insulin spikes (sugar highs) like simple carbs do...so they also help your body stay full longer!  Also, eating a protein (e.g. meat, yogurt, cottage cheese) or healthy fat (e,g avocados, almonds, cheese, natural peanut butter, almond milk) with your fruits/veggies/carbs helps your body slow down the processing of the sugars and stabilizes your insulin levels so you don't yo-yo up and down and keep helps keep you feeling full longer.

4. HYDRATION!!!  We need to drink half of our body weight in ounces of water per day (e.g. if you weigh 180 lbs, you should drink 90 ounces of water each day!). And being properly hydrated takes weeks to achieve...so consistently drinking this much is required to maintain hydration.  Most people walk around hydrated and don't realize that it is contributing to their feeling tired, getting headaches, having food cravings, muscle cramps, poor sleeps, etc. so if you learn anything from reading this - it is that you need to drink more water...and when you think you have drunken enough - drink more!

5. EXERCISE!  I started out with a goal of 5 minutes per day, building up to 20 minutes per day, and after 3 days of gradual increases, I was able to reach my goal of sustaining high intensity exercise for 20 minutes a day!  I have been doing this 6 days a week for two weeks now and even though I am not always feeling motivated to get it done, I figure it is only 20 minutes and I spend way more time than that sitting on my ass playing with my phone...so 20 minutes of doing something that is beneficial to my health and makes me feel proud when its done, so it is totally worth the effort!  Every step you take, every move you make - its better than doing nothing...so don't beat yourself up if you don't think you can do much to start with.  Start with 1 minute or 3, or 5 and build at your own pace, even if it is stretching or marching in place - its better than doing nothing!!!  Try doing squats or marching in place while cooking or waiting for the microwave, whatever.  Just move your body!

I will post a few recipes that I have tried - Ive been sharing them with my new Facebook Accountability group, but realized I wasn't sharing them with everyone, so I will share some of the things I've been trying!


Friday, January 18, 2019

Chicken Cordon Bleu Cassarole

I got my ingredients for the recipe from Save On Foods. I found this recipe on Pinterest a while back and have wanted to make it for a long time. I love classic cordon bleu and am excited to see how this turns out. I have made a few changes to this recipe in order to reduce the calories a bit.



The first thing I did was to bake the chicken at 350 for 40 minutes but as I have a convection oven it cooked in 30 minutes. I took the chicken out of the oven and let it cool for a bit until I could handle it.


I chopped up the chicken really small.


I spread out the chopped chicken on the bottom of the pan, in future I will cook 4 chicken breasts as I barely cooked enough to cover the bottom of the pan.



The recipe did not call for onions and mushrooms but I feel that it was going to need some so I fried up a small onion and 2 cups of mushrooms.



I chopped up the ham into small chunks I could have left them a little bit bigger but oh well. I chose to use pepper ham instead of regular ham as it’s very tasty and I thought it would make it tastier.



I layered the mushroom and onion mixture then I layered on the crumbly ham trying to keep it all evenly distributed.



The recipe says that you should use your blender to mix the butter (I used half calorie margarine), the cream cheese (I used low fat), wine,  lemon juice and dijion but I hate dragging mine out it’s so big I didn’t feel like fighting with it and it blades today so instead I just used my hand mixer and it worked perfectly. The cream mixture is very thick and hard to spread I imagine if you left the ham slices whole you’d be able to spread it properly evening it out as mine was a little sparse in places.



See what I mean about it not being spread out correctly.



It was easy to layer the Swiss cheese as it was pre sliced. I put it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes but as usual it cooked much faster.



All cooked the first thing I did was to cut it up and I was astonished by the fact that the pan was half full of liquid so I didn’t think too much about it so I let it sit for 5 minutes thinking it might set up but no my casserole was runny.



I scooped out my portion and realized that it was the mushrooms and onions that made it all runny so buyer be ware that if you are a mushroom fanatic like me you could sprinkle some flour on the mushroom mixture before cooking it and that should mop up the excess liquid.



Pan’s all juicy.


Well Mike and I both really enjoyed this recipe it was tasty and the ham to chicken to cheese ratio is just about perfect. If you’re looking for a high protein meal with very few carbs here it is more than 60 grams per serving. I really suggest that if you like traditional chicken cordon bleu try this recipe out for yourself!

https://joyfilledeats.com/chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole/ 

Friday, January 11, 2019

Broccoli & cheddar Quinoa Bites



I got my ingredients for the recipe from Save On Foods.

I made the quinoa as directed on the box. It makes much more than 2 cups.


I finely chopped the broccoli shredded the cheese and measured out my parmigiana.



I spread out the hot cooked quinoa on my cutting board to hurry up the cooling process. 




I  mixed the cheese and the broccoli together and set it aside then I whipped up the eggs and spices to make it yummy.





I poured in the eggs and used a table spoon to mix the batter. It’s takes some strong muscles to mix it so it’s a good thing that I have been working out.




All baked and resting for five minutes before I take them out.



They were very hard to remove from the pan without crumbling.
These are very strong tasting of broccoli too much so. I did not like them very much and won’t make them again.







Sunday, January 6, 2019

Cauliflower tater tots


I had a family BBQ this weekend and was looking for an alternative to potatoes, rice or pasta, to serve as a healthier option.  I ended up making smashed potatoes with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on them and decided to also try these cauliflower tater tots.  I found the recipe on Pinterest, but this is it in a nutshell.

1 head of cauliflower (2 cups of riced cauliflower)
8 tbsp of parmesan cheese *
1 tsp of butter
1 egg
1/4 tsp of onion powder (or more to taste...I don't measure usually)
salt and pepper to taste

*shredding your own is best or make sure there is nothing added to the preshredded - lots contain cellulose or things like flour to get the shredded cheese to not stick to itself

1. Chop up and steam the cauliflower florets and then toss in the blender to "rice" them into smaller bits (you could buy riced cauliflower and steam it instead).  You should end up with approx 2 cups of riced cooked cauliflower. place cooked cauliflower in a medium mixing bowl

2. Cool the cauliflower in the fridge for approx. 20 minutes.  Preheat oven to 425 F 

3. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl of cauliflower and mix it all up.

4. Portion out onto a parchment lined baking sheet using a tbsp or medium cookie/ice cream scoop.

5. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes (tops will start to brown).

This recipe made approximately 20 "tots" and had a nice cheesy taste and make a good alternative side dish in place of a carb you would normally serve...and went nicely with BBQ Hamburgers.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Salad is on the top right side of plate. I did not think about pictures until I was eating... Most of you may be aware we have gone on...