Recipe Friday - Reboot Doubles

Today I have not one but two recipes to share for Recipe Friday. My cute husband is currently on Day 5 of the Standard Reboot Program. This program consists of 5 days of eating, blending and juicing only whole fruits and vegetables; followed by 5 days of just juicing; followed by 5 days of eating, blending, and juicing whole fruits and vegetables. We decided to try this program because I have heard so many great things about it and people are seeing great results - improved health and weight loss being just a few of the benefits but the ones that applied to Mark. We thought it would be the perfect plan to jump start his weight loss and help with motivation and energy to get back into working out. In the past 11 months, he has had a dislocated shoulder and 2 back-to-back shoulder surgeries all on the same shoulder. This was enough to put the exercise on the back burner for many months. So he is "rebooting" his health and fitness.

One thing we really like about this program is that it gives you all the recipes that you need for all 15 days. I made a very long shopping list and headed out last Sunday to buy all the fruits and veggies for the first 5 days. Wow - our fridge looked like a garden exploded. We love veggies in our house and you will always find them in our fridge but this looked like we were feeding an army of vegetarians! Each day we prep the things he needs for the following day. To be honest, some of the recipes didn't sound very appealing but we have been very pleasantly surprised at how good a lot of them really taste. We both agreed that we would add many of them into our recipe list for dinners. I am going to share 2 of our favorites with you all today. I have listed the recipes below but you can also find these and many more on the Reboot website.

Apple, Parsnips and Sweet Potatoes
We omitted the parsnips because we didn't have them on hand. Therefore our opinion of this recipe is based on cooking it without the parsnips. This was a really great dish! I would have never thought to pair apples with onion and garlic but it was a delicious blended flavor.

Vegetable Soup
This is a great hearty soup packed with vitamins and nutrients. It would be great to serve anytime but if you are ever feeling under the weather, a big bowl of this soup would be sure to perk you right up.

Cooking and making healthy life-style changes are all about taking chances sometimes. Take a chance and try that new fruit or vegetable. Never heard of leeks? - pick some up next time you are at the store and use them in a recipe. Don't let your mind and preconceived notions about food hinder you from making those needed health changes!

Apple, Parsnips and Sweet Potatoes

4 Parsnips, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
2 medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 small Onion, sliced
2 Apples (try fuji or gala) cored and diced
2 cloves Garlic
Black Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Place sweet potatoes, parsnips and apples with garlic and onions in a covered baking
dish and spray with olive oil, add pepper to taste.
Roast for 40-50 minutes until tender.
Makes 4 servings
Per serving:
Calories: 219
Protein: 3.5 g
Fiber: 1.5 g

 

Vegetable Soup

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 large Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 medium Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
3 Tomatoes, chopped with juice reserved
1 medium Zucchini, cut into half moons
1 cup Green Beans, trimmed to 1 inch pieces
3-4 handfuls Kale or other leafy green such as Chard or Bok Choy, chopped into small
pieces
6 cups Water
3/4 Tbsp. fresh Thyme, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh Oregano, chopped (or 1/2 Tbsp. dried)
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground Black Pepper
In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion,
garlic, carrots and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, green
beans, water, salt, pepper, thyme and oregano; stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the
heat to a simmer and cook the soup for 10 minutes. Add the chopped kale or other
leafy greens and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste with the salt and
pepper.
Makes 4 servings
Per serving:
Calories: 185
Protein: 4 g
Fiber: 5.5 g

Recipe Friday - Summer Veggies with Quinoa & Cilantro-Pistachio Pesto

Whatever the reason may be, there are so many people who truly believe eating healthy is too expensive. They feel that just because their budget is tight, the only options are fast food or meals that come packaged in the freezer. But friends I have to tell ya - it doesn't have to be that way! You CAN eat great, fresh, real food on a budget.

One of my favorite food blogs is Poor Girl Eats Well.  Kimberly Morales, a single woman living in Sacramento, started this blog several years ago. She describes herself as having "champagne taste on a 2-buck chuck budget." She loves to eat well and refuses to settle for poor-quality food, even when she only has a few dollars to last. What I love about reading her blog is that 1) she is very creative 2) she always provides you with the per serving cost of each meal and 3) whether you are counting pennies or counting benjamins, you will love the fabulous, original recipes on her blog.

I have been anxious to try out one of her recipes and decided that my girls' night dinner last weekend was the perfect opportunity. I decided on a dish that sounds so perfect for summer - Summer Veggies with Quinoa & Cilantro-Pistachio Pesto. Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I really have a love affair with quinoa. It just delights me to use it in a meal. I also love to cook it for friends who have never tried it before, such was the case at our girls' dinner.

The whole meal turned out great and each friend agreed that the recipe was blog-worthy. The cilantro-pistachio pesto was so delicious and mixed great with the quinoa. I know that it seems that most people either love or hate cilantro and when I arrived at my friend, Anne's house, she actually informed me that she did not really like cilantro. I was worried at first because there was no way to omit the cilantro for one plate but we agreed that I would just add a conservative amount to the quinoa and then let everyone add more if they desired. Turns out that Anne loved the pesto and added more to her meal. I was also so thrilled a couple of days later when Anne, who is a single woman and a self-described non-cook, texted me to say that she was cooking and cooking quinoa! I was inspired by Poor Girl Eats Well and Anne was inspired by my meal - it always makes me happy to see people making positive changes in their life.

It doesn't matter if you are single or married with a family, poor or rich - anyone can learn to cook good, healthy meals and enjoy the process.

Photo from Poor Girl Eats Well blog

Ingredients
1 ½ c cooked quinoa
1 large carrot
1 medium zucchini
1 medium summer squash
1 c shelled fava beans
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
2 t olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 t thyme
Salt & pepper to taste

Cilantro-Pistachio Pesto:
2 ½ c (packed) cilantro, both leaves & stems
1 c pistachios
2 cloves of garlic
1 c olive oil
3 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 t salt

Amy's Changes

* I didn't add the fava beans
* I used a yellow onion instead of a red onion (personal preference)
* I started cooking the onion at the beginning instead of the end because I like my onions cooked well

See the full recipe and cooking instructions here at Poor Girl Eats Well

Recipe Friday - Summer Vegetable Ragout with Zucchini, Green Beans & Corn

Hello all,

I know it has been awhile since my last post and I apologize for my lack of posting. Life is crazy sometimes! But the good news is that I am back on track and excited to share so many great ideas for health and wellness, as well as many great recipes! To incorporate a new posting schedule, Recipe Thursdays are now becoming Recipe Fridays and today I have a fabulous new recipe for you all.

I recently stumbled upon a new cookbook, Fast, Fresh & Green by Susie Middleton (Chronicle Books, 2010). The tag line of "More than 90 Delicious Recipes for Veggie Lovers" caught my attention because I am definitely a veggie lover and always looking for new, creative ways to cook up some yummy greens. I know that some of you are thinking "well I like some veggies but I wouldn't call myself a veggie lover!" I was that exact same person at one time. I am a prime example that we can retrain ourselves and our taste buds to love foods that are good for us. But that's another post for later!

Back to the cookbook - I was so pleasantly surprised by this cookbook because not only does the author provide lots of wonderful recipes but she also gives great information on all things veggies: shopping, storing, and preparing. I think it is a great book to have on hand in the kitchen.

One of our favorite recipes has been the Summer Vegetable Ragout with Zucchini, Green Beans, and Corn. (although I substituted asparagus for green beans) It is a great side dish with lots of great flavor. My husband really liked it the first time I made it! This is always a bonus because we are always tweaking recipes to make them better after the first attempt. In the cookbook, the author provides an option to change up some of the ingredients to give the dish more of a Thai flavor. This is how we prepared ours.

As always, I will list out the ingredients from the original recipe and then provide below any substitutions that I made. Usually I provide a link to the full recipe but this recipe is not online and therefore I will include the cooking instructions, as stated in the book, below. The recipe is for 4 servings. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 tsp Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 tsp finely Grated Lime Zest
1/4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 Cup low-sodium Chicken Broth
2 tbsp Coconut Milk
1 tbsp Canola Oil
1 Cup Fresh Corn Kernels
3/4 Cup Sliced Baby Zucchini
3/4 Cup Sliced Green Beans
1 Cup Medium-Diced Yellow Onion
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Finely Chopped Fresh Garlic
1 tbsp Chopped Fresh Herbs (Cilantro/Mint)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Amy's Changes

* I used Vegetable Broth instead of Chicken Broth to keep it vegan
* I used asparagus instead of green beans because that's what I had on hand
* I used grape seed oil instead of canola oil - just my preference
* I only used cilantro but will definitely add the mint next time

Cooking Instructions (from the cookbook)

1) Combine the lime juice, lime zest, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. In a liquid measure, combine the broth and coconut milk. Set these aside.
2) In a 10 in saute pan with a lid, heat the oil over med-high heat. Add the corn, zucchini, green beans, onion and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bottom of the pan is browned (this is from the starch in the corn) and some of the vegetables are just beginning to brown, 4-6 mins. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, just until well combined. Turn the heat to low, add the broth-milk mixture, stir well to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and cover. Simmer, stirring once, until the liquids have reduced to 1-2 Tbsp, 3-4 mins.
3) Remove the pan from the heat, uncover, and stir in the lime juice mixture and most of the fresh herbs. Season with pepper and stir again. Transfer to a serving dish or individual bowls and garnish with the remaining herbs.

Organic or conventional fruit & veggies - how to decide

One of the things that I hear most often from people about organic food is that it is too expensive. Ideally we want to buy everything organic to limit our exposure to chemicals. However, I am realistic and like everyone else, I have to work within a budget to buy food. So I want to get a good deal on fruits and vegetables but I also want my family to be healthy. Therefore I refer to the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen guidelines. These very helpful lists tell you which fruits and vegetables hold the most pesticides and should be bought organic and which ones hold the least pesticides and can be bought conventionally. Anything not mentioned is somewhere in between and your best bet would be to go organic.

According to the Environmental Working Group, consumers can reduce their pesticide exposure by 80% by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating only the cleanest.

Dirty Dozen (+1)  Buy organic, whenever possible to eliminate exposure to chemicals

1) Celery
2) Peaches 

3) Strawberries

4) Apples

5) Blueberries

6) Nectarines

7) Bell Peppers

8) Spinach

8) Kale

9) Cherries

10) Potatoes

11) Grapes

12) Tomatoes

13) Pears

Clean Fifteen - These are the least likely to be contaminated with pesticides

1) Onions

2) Avocados

3) Sweet Corn

4) Pineapple
5) Mangoes
6) Sweet Peas
7) Asparagus
8) Kiwi
9) Cabbage
10) Eggplant
11) Cantaloupe
12) Watermelon
13) Grapefruit
14) Sweet Potatoes
15) Honeydew Melon

Happy Shopping!