Cuban Papaya Salad…. so yummy, and clean!

The weather is so hot out here, I haven’t cooked for awhile so I needed to get back into the kitchen!  So, what could I make that was ‘home made’ but wouldn’t heat my kitchen up like crazy! (By the way, SO thankful for central a/c!)

Going through some past issues of Clean Eating magazine and came across this gem from June 2011.  I’ve made it a few times, but it’s funny how you forget how wonderful it tastes – and how easy it is – until you make it and taste it again, like it’s the first time.

Rich tastes, fresh ingredients, filling.  What could be better?  So, are you ready?  Let’s get started!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

2 TBSP slivered unsalted almonds
1 TBSP olive oil
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (5-6 oz)
pinch of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup Israeli couscous
1 cup diced red onion (about 1 small) (divided 3/4 + 1/4)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water (use the broth! so much better!)
1 cup cooked black beans rinsed and drained – I use President’s Choice Blue Menu – yummy!)
2 packed cups fresh baby spinach
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp raw honey
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cups diced papaya
1 lime cut into wedges, optional

Let’s start with the almonds – in a large non-stick skillet on med-high toast the almonds, not too long, just until they are fragrant. Remove them and set aside.  Add the olive oil to the skillet and cook the chicken breast (season it with salt/pepper on both sides first).  Be careful not to overcook the chicken, you don’t want it tough… just so it’s not pink anymore – so about 5-6 minutes per side.  Remove it, set aside. When it’s cooled a bit, shred it using two forks, and set aside.

Add the couscous and 3/4 cup of the red onions.  Toast the couscous lightly and the onions are soft. Add the broth and cook until the liquid is all absorbed (about 4 minutes or so).  Add the black beans and cook for another minute. Add the spinach and stir in until it’s a bit wilted (1-2 minutes)  Stir the chicken into the mixture, as well as the cubed papaya and the dressing. Toss it all together with the toasted almonds and the remaining onion. Serve… while still warm and enjoy!!!   You can put the lime wedges on the top for a visual appeal.

**Dressing: mix the lime juice, cumin, red pepper flakes and honey together**

This makes about 6 cups….  it’s very filling so you can serve it between 2-3 people as a main dish, or as  delicious 1 cup sides, perhaps, for a bbq’d dinner?  For my husband and I… it’s a full meal, with enough left over for my lunch the next day!

Thank you – and acknowledgements to “Clean Eating Magazine”, and Tosca Reno for being my inspiration!

So until next time – happy noshing!

Morning Berry Strata

It’s been a while.  How have you been?  Me?  Oh, thanks for asking. I’ve been pretty busy.  Not much time to update, so I apologize.  I hope this recipe makes up for my silence!

Today is Victoria Day here in Canada and that of course means we’re off work.  Woo hoo! We had a hot sunny weekend where I live… too hot… can’t believe i said that… and I had my adorable husband working in the garden (my job was to supervise… I did that so well!)  Today though, not so much. So I got up, and make coffee, which we had on the back patio under our new insanely large umbrella. Our daughter and her husband were coming over later in the morning and so we planned a ‘brunch’ for their arrival.

I made scones – yes – two different types.  I also made a beautiful strata from the “Eat Clean” *cookbook. Funny though, a dear friend gave me an apron (which I wore) that declared “Will cook for shoes… lots and lots of shoes.”  After a morning of baking/cooking – I see NO new shoes!  The apron is obviously flawed!

So, the strata.  Here we go.  I’ve made several types of strata over the years but this was the first without any type of meat.  It was nice, not too sweet, and very yummy.  Strata as you know are prepared the night before and popped in the oven in the morning.  This makes it a great dish to prepare, especially if you have young children at home – or just don’t want to make it in the morning!

Using a lasagna pan or something similar in size, coat it lightly with olive oil and set aside.

Start with 9 egg whites and 3 whole eggs.  Whisk those together and add 2 cups skim milk, a pinch of ground pepper, and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.  Whisk it all… and set it aside for now.

Next using yogurt cheese (I actually just used 1 cup plain no fat Greek yogurt) and 2 tbsp of fig jam – again I didn’t use fig, I used apricot – a very good quality jam (i.e. don’t use the light ones). mix those together and set that aside too.  I know… lots of setting aside… I think that’s for those of us who have short attention spans.  Do one thing and stop.  Do one thing and stop.  Yep.  Um… where was I? Oh yes….

Next prepare the fruit – 2 cups fresh berries (Blueberries, sliced strawberries, blackberries, raspberries… whatever… rinsed and ‘picked over’) mix those with 1 tsp lemon juice. PLEASE use fresh lemon juice.  It tastes better and it has nothing in it except lemon juice, cuz it comes straight from a lemon.  duh.  Ok, sermon over.  and also add 2 Tbsp maple syrup – again, real not aunt Jemima’s… do I need to preach again?  Set aside.  Surprise!

Now, Layer bread… oops, forgot that.  Okay – use 16 slices of sourdough bread, crusts removed. Now…. layer 8 slices in the bottom of a lasagna pan, making sure that all the empty spaces are filled in with bits of bread. Spoon dollops of the yogurt mixture on top using about 1/2 the mixture.  Don’t spread it, leave it in dollops.  Spoon 1/2 the berry mixture on top. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp of slivered almonds.  I didn’t have any slivered, so I chopped up some whole almonds – left them fairly chunky.  Then repeat.  So that means the other 8 slices of bread, dollops of the yogurt mixture, fruit mixture, and almonds.   Then, whisk the egg mixture one more time and slowly pour over the entire beautiful berry creation you just made.  Cover it and pop it in the fridge over night.

In the morning, uncover, and bake in a preheated over (350) for about 45 minutes.  Keep an eye on it in the last ten minutes – if it’s browning up nicely and puffs up, it’s done.  Let it sit for a few minutes before cutting.  And then serve!  SO yummy!!

I served it with some fresh fruit (orange slices, grapes, cherries, and whole strawberries) and yes the oven fresh scones as well!

With a fresh pot of coffee, and some flavoured sparkling water (Perrier with a slice of cucumber and 1/2 a strawberry dropped in), we had a delightful Victoria Day brunch on the patio.

Try it!  Let me know what you think.

Happy noshing!

 

* Eat Clean Cookbook (Tosca Reno, 2009. Robert Kennedy Publishing)

Buckwheat Berry Crepes

This morning, day 2 of the 2-week plan, we had Buckwheat Berry Crepes for breakfast.  Yes, I got up very early and got started!

The crepes are a delicious blend of both buckwheat flour and unbleached white whole wheat flour, eggs, unsweetened Almond Milk, a touch of orange zest, a touch of olive oil and sea salt.  Whisked together and cooked in very small batches on a flat griddle (8″ circles, very thin) these crepes cook up very quickly, as do all crepes.  One minute on one side, flip and 30 seconds on the second.  Fold them into quarters and arrange on a plate.

But the best part….   the berries!  Now, the recipe said to use blackberries and blueberries.  I only had blueberries, so that’s what I used.  Actually, I used 1/2 frozen (thawed) wild blueberries from last summer (yum!) and 1/2 fresh blueberries from my local supermarket.  With 1/4 c of water and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, I brought these to a boil and immediately turned the temp down.  When the berries “broke” I stirred in 1/2 tsp or so of orange zest and 1 tsp of arrowroot powder.  When it thickened up, it came off the heat and I kept it warm until I was ready to serve.

Ah, piecing it together!

Four crepes (folded in quarters) on a plate, spoon some plain no-fat greek yogurt over top, top with the warm berries and drizzle with maple syrup.  Don’t use imitation syrup!  Too full of icky sugars. Treat yourself and use the real deal!   Serve warm.

Did we like this?  You bet we did! The full recipe can be found in the June 2012 issue of Clean Eating Magazine. I need a better camera!  The picture doesn’t do it justice.  This was yummy – oh so yummy – AND CLEAN!

Happy noshing!

Eating clean and feeling full!

My latest issue of Clean Eating magazine arrived in the mail last week.  It’s the one magazine I read cover to cover.  Full of wonderful recipes, exercise tips, health tips and – a two-week eating plan to help you slim down and pump up your health!

This month I decided to give the two-week plan a whirl.  To prepare, the plan comes complete with a shopping list making it easy to get everything you need for the week.  A full week.  Seven days.  And then another shopping list, another plan, and seven more days.  Kind of like “lather, rinse, repeat” for foodies!

Anyway, armed with my reusable grocery bags and my shopping list (already noting what I had in the kitchen) off to the grocery story I went.  My cart was loaded – seriously – with so many fresh veggies, herbs, fruits, lean proteins, etc.  Nothing junkie!  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  Tempting – nachos… did not give in!  I couldn’t fail before I started!

And so I began.  I posted the plan for week 1 on the fridge door so I would have it handy and know exactly what I was making. Starting with making my lunch for today, I prepped exactly what I needed for a mid-morning snack, my lunch, and a mid-afternoon snack.  Packed it all in my cooler bag and popped it in the fridge.  So far, so good!

This morning, I made the first breakfast on the plan. I scrambled 2 egg whites – well actually FOUR egg whites (I doubled everything to allow Scott to enjoy my two-week eat clean plan as well! Lucky guy!) I steamed some swiss chard and served it over the egg whites, and then added 1/4 cup of light Monterey Jack cheese on top.  I know what you’re thinking – YUMMY!  But wait, it didn’t end there!  Our eat clean breakfast also included 2 wedges of cantaloupe.  Now go ahead, say YUM… good.  Let’s move on.

I won’t bore you with the two snacks and lunch…. let’s move on to dinner.

Black beans and rice.

Really!

This was made by taking 1 jalapeno pepper (fresh) and removing the seeds, then dicing.  3 oz of turkey sausage (casings removed and crumbled), 1/4 white onion chopped – sauteing these all together until the sausage is browned evenly and the onions/pepper is soft. To this add 1 cup cooked brown rice and 1 cup black beans (drained and rinsed).  Heat through and serve!  Now, I’ve given you the ingredients for ONE – I made it for two people and so doubled everything!   Also, alongside this bean-rice dish, the plan said to use 1 cup “Pacific Natural Foods Organic Light Sodium Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato All Natural Soup.”  Ya, I couldn’t find that anywhere!  I substituted PC Blue Menu Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper soup. It was yummy too!

So far: Day 1 Eat Clean Plan – success!

Tomorrow – breakfast is Buckwheat Berry Crepes – Can’t wait!  I’m all prepped and ready for the morning!

Until next time,

Happy noshing!

 

Apple-Almond Tuna Salad – Delicious and “clean”

Last year I was in a panic over my daughter’s wedding and “the dress” I couldn’t find!  When I did find it, (thank you Nordstrom’s) and ordered it, it was on backorder!  ugh.  When it came – in May – eleven weeks before the wedding, it wouldn’t zip up!  What the…???  I loved the dress and was determined that if I lost about 20 pounds it would fit!  So determined was I, that I wouldn’t eat carbs!  And by carbs I mean bread, potatoes, rice, bananas.  I lost 3 pounds the first week and then nothing the next week.  All that did was make me crave carbs more!

While I lamented to my dear friend Lynne, she told me about a book and a plan of eating – The Eat Clean Diet.  I figured it couldn’t hurt.  And so, I jumped right into it with 9 weeks and 20 pounds to go.  What did I have to lose? It worked!  The weight started to drop off and I wasn’t feeling deprived!  In fact, I was eating 6 times a day!! And, in quantities that kept me completely satisfied. I lost 19.5 lbs in just 9 weeks! The dress zipped up.  And I felt very beautiful!!

My husband and I took the week post-wedding off and went away for a few days to unwind. I fell off the Eat Clean wagon during that time.  I’m back to where I started pre-wedding!  So, now, after posting lots of yummy, but not very eat clean friendly, recipes lately, I decided to share some wonderful treats with you that will (a) keep you satisifed (b) taste delicious and (c) are easy to do!

Here we go!  Today as part of a two week meal plan, I made a yummy Apple-Almond Tuna Salad.

You will need:

3 oz Light tuna packed in water
1/2 c Greek yogurt (I used non-fat)
1/2 cup chopped apple (one small)
2 tbsp almonds chopped (I left them whole… should have warned my husband!)
1/2 tsp chopped parsley

Mix all these together and you can serve it on a bed of lettuce.

This is what you get:

The recipe should be shared between two people – OR, you can have 1/2  now and pack up the other half for your lunch tomorrow!  It’s light, delicious, and very filling!  You won’t need to add any salt/pepper to this.  The sweetness of the apple and the tangy-ness of the yogurt do the trick!

I’m back on track!!!

Enjoy a “CLEAN” lunch!

Until next time,

Happy noshing!