Friday, October 28, 2011

Coconut...Kefir?

I attempted to make coconut yogurt last night and succeeded in making a layer of thin yogurt over a layer of coconut water. Hm. It's got the tangy taste and smell of yogurt but it's quite watery. I'm drinking this batch and will try again this weekend. 

I think I went wrong by watering down the coconut milk. The can I have - A Taste of Thai Organic Coconut Milk - is as thick as sour cream, so I was afraid to use it full strength. I mixed it with a can of Goya Coconut Milk (which I'll never buy again - it's so watery and tastes adulterated with chemicals and added fats and is very dilute), and added some water. I heated it per usual, cooled it down, and mixed with a packet of Yogourmet starter.

The end product separates into a creamy liquid top layer, a watery layer underneath, and a thin layer of sediment at the bottom even after I've stirred it together.

It is, however, delicious. :)

Will try again and post results!

Pumpkin Curry

Fall is absolutely my favorite season. Not least because pumpkins are in such abundance!

My love for coconut, spice, and pumpkin prompted this yummy recipe....



Pumpkin Curry
- Put the juice of one orange, or 1/4c concentrate, into a saucepot on medium high
- Add diced/chopped vegetables of your choice - I used 1 yellow onion, bell pepper strips, and mushrooms. Saute until onions are translucent and veggies are softened to your liking.
- Add 1 cup of cooked chopped pumpkin or butternut squash, 1 cup chopped cooked tofu or chicken breast, and 1 can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained) and heat until warmed through.      **option: you can use uncooked chicken and cook with the veggies
- Add either 1 can of light coconut milk, or 1/3 can of coconut milk plus some water, and 2 tablespoons of curry seasoning powder. Add a few handfuls of fresh spinach. Simmer a few minutes until flavors are well combined and spinach is wilted.
- Turn the heat off. Add a splash of low sodium soy sauce or tamari. 
- Garnish with fresh basil leaves and enjoy!!!


*May be served over rice or pasta, but is excellent alone

Thursday, October 20, 2011

The Yellow Rose of Texas

I made up a smoothie this morning for breakfast. It's delicious. 


Into the blender:
1/2c milk - any variety (I used coconut)
1 banana
1 mango (or pineapple)
a splash of rose water
some ice


blend to smoothie perfection.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Pollock and Spinach Salad

Post-workout lunch:

4oz pollock, thawed for 2 minutes under cold running water

Heat cast iron skillet to medium high, add a tablespoon of olive oil and the pollock. 
Sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning or other spices of choice. 
Add piece of bacon if desired. 
Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until desired "done-ness". 
Put over a bed of baby spinach. 

Mmmmm


Also ate an apple. 


Still going strong on Fitocracy.com - awesome. Did 50 each pushups, squats, crunches and bicycle crunches after BJJ today to get more points - that's some serious motivation!


PS - I've lost 5 pounds since starting this project. And Drew says I'm getting abs!  ^_^

Thursday, October 13, 2011

A Golden Dinner for One

My splurge at Whole Foods yesterday included a handful of hauntingly beautiful chantarelle and royal trumpet mushrooms, a half dozen blue hand picked chicken eggs from free range chickens (that eat bugs, not corn), and some wild salmon among other things.

Dinner tonight:

Melt a tablespoon of good butter in a pan over medium low heat. Add a handful each of sliced mushrooms (I, of course, used my Chantarelles and Royal Trumpets) - slice the stems into coins and the tops into strips. Saute until golden and aromatic - not more than 5-6 minutes. 

Keeping the pan hot, add a little more butter and put in 4oz salmon, skin up. The pan was big enough for me to crack one of my nice eggs in next to it. Sprinkle both with a little rosemary and white truffle oil. Flip over after 2-3 minutes (or however done you like your fish and/or eggs). 

Plate some fresh spring greens, a sliced tomato, and top with the mushrooms, salmon and fried egg. Be sure to drizzle the leftover butter-rosemary sauce from the pan over the greens. 


HEAVEN. Wish I had my camera for a picture. Beautiful. And the mushrooms.....and that egg....I've never had yolk so rich or mushrooms so flavorful. Twas a good splurge. 

xxoo

PS - Two weeks Paleo and going strong. I don't miss packaged food when I'm at home, and when I think about dinners like what I just ate I don't find it difficult to pass up the giant cookie frosted with melted candy bars and topped with chopped up candy bars sitting in the break room at work. 
A cheap candy bar has nothing on the buttery earthy wholesomeness of real food.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Coconut Peach Smoothie

Celebrating 1 full week of healthy eating, healthy living, and a happy heart. Fitocracy.com is definitely helping motivate me to keep exercising...to the tune of I ran THREE MILES today! Only been able to do that one other time in my life, over two years ago. Amazing.

It's been fairly easy this time around to avoid temptations...lesson learned from prior attempts? Eat enough! and eat food that is delicious! No need to ever starve yourself. 

I read someone's web page the other day - he is a medical doctor no less - who's brilliant approach to health was, and I quote, "Remove anything from your diet that you enjoy."  What...   Absolutely ludicrous. I pity the man and his subconscious hatred for food and happiness. 


My breakfasts have been looking something like this  - 
Eggs over easy, sauteed mushrooms and banana peppers, and bacon, with a little salsa on the side.

mmmmm....



Today being a special Sunday with my man at home - I made a brunch spread of pepper/broccoli/spinach egg frittata,  fried plantains, turnip home fries, and bacons. Yay!


Dinner was leftover chicken with marinara sauce.



Signing off with a quick yummy smoothie I made for dessert today:

1/4c coconut milk
3/4c almond milk (Silk, unsweetened)
1/2c frozen fruit mix: peach, pineapple, mango, strawberry

blend. enjoy.   :)

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Roast Beef Hash

A spin on the Turnip Home Fries

I put a package of stew beef in the crockpot last night on low with a little olive oil and completely forgot about it until this morning when I woke up to the smell of beef (maybe better than coffee...) Anyway - I had forgotten to add onions or carrots or seasonings or anything, but I had a bag of turnips in the freezer so I decided to eat it for breakfast and make some Roast Beef Hash!

Roast Beef Hash


1 lb roast beef cooked and shredded
1/2 bag frozen turnips
Thyme, Salt, Pepper


Put the turnips in the skillet on high and stir often, when they begin to brown - instead of adding olive oil like we do for the home fries - add the roast beef with all its liquid and fats. If there is not enough fat also add some olive oil. Cook them together with a few pinches of dried thyme, pepper and salt and viola! Fresh, hot, delicious breakfast. I ate it with an egg over easy :)




(Yes that's how much I eat for breakfast)


Jiujitsu tonight!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Quick Asian Chicken

Day 3 - 10% there!

And doing well, despite the random craving I had today for an oatmeal cream pie/nutella/peanut butter sandwich. (Thanks love for putting the idea in my head).

I made this very quick chicken for lunch today and it came out MUCH better than expected- really delicious actually!

Quick Asian Chicken


Put chicken breast (already cooked) in tupperware/glass to-go container.
Sprinkle with sesame oil, and add 1-2 tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce.
Sprinkle with powdered ginger.
Add vegetable of choice (I used a banana pepper).


Microwave when ready - 2-3 minutes. 


SO GOOD - the oil/sauce acts as a marinade I guess because the chicken was beyond tender and the flavors, while simple, were elegant. Totally will make again.




Breakfast: 2 eggs + bacon - bacon came out much better today when I let it cook on 3 for 30 minutes instead of 9 for 2 minutes...patience pays off
Snack: banana
Lunch: Quick Asian Chicken + baby carrots
Snack: apple + cashew butter (post workout)
Dinner: smoked salmon + whole milk ricotta.  (I know cheese is not Paleo but it's a good wholesome food and I wasn't about to throw away perfectly good (really really good actually) ricotta when cleaning out my fridge. I won't buy any more though.) (PS - this combo was DELICIOUS)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Turnip Home Fries

I just watched "I, Caveman" - a documentary following a group of people trying to survive 10 days in the Colorado wild with only paleolithic supplies and tools. It was hard - 2 people quit, but the rest really managed to make it work! They built shelter, purified water, hunted small game and even managed to bring down an elk. The whole experience made me both want to try it myself, and really appreciate my stove! In homage, I'm sharing my awesome recipe for turnip home fries - they're super delicious, low cal, and low glycemic index. And...it's quick!

Turnip Home Fries

1/2 bag frozen turnips
A couple tablespoons of olive oil
A pinch of salt and pepper, or Mrs. Dash :)

Put the turnips in a pan and cook on high, stirring often, until melted and beginning to brown. Add the olive oil and the seasoning, turn to medium high, and stir often until golden brown all over! Probably 15 minutes total cook time. 


So yummy with eggs for breakfast, or with steak for dinner! Only thing - they're best hot out of the pan. 




Day 2 of Paleo experiment - going beautifully.


Breakfast: 2 fried eggs + 2 strips bacon
Lunch: chicken breast over salad, with carrots in balsamic vinegar and rosemary
Dinner: rest of the chicken leftover from lunch with almond butter on it, plus rest of Spanish Style Mussels from last night, and some delicious home fry turnips!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Spanish Mussels

A recipe from the Spring 2011 issue of Whole Foods' "Meals for 4 under $10"

Spanish-style Mussels with Spinach

Serves 4 (I halved the recipe)

2 lbs Mussels 
2 jalapeno peppers
1 lime
1.5 c coconut milk (unsweetened)
10 oz frozen spinach
1 bunch cilantro
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
2 tbsp dried oregano
Pinch black pepper


*I used a pinch of cayenne instead of the peppers, 1/2 c fresh collards instead of the spinach, omitted the cilantro, fresh tomatoes, and fresh oregano.


Scrub mussels under cold running water, discard any open or with broken shells.
Wash and slice jalapenos in half, removing seeds. (wear gloves to do this)
Wash and zest the lime, and cut it in half.


In a medium pot, add coconut milk and frozen spinach, cook 3-5 minutes until the spinach thaws and separates. Stir in cilantro, jalapenos, and lime zest. Squeeze the lime juice into the pot and throw the whole lime in (discard the lime after juicing if you want less bitterness). Add the tomatoes, oregano and pepper and bring to a simmer. Add the mussels, stir, and cover the pot. Let cook 4-6 minutes until the mussels have opened - discard any which don't open. 


Viola! Very quick, very delicious, very nutritious!

Cultivating a Fresh Crop of Happiness

Phew...it's been a long time since I've written. And for those paying attention, I took a long break from Paleo for a few reasons - mostly due to the stress/lack of time/lack of finances associated with finishing 3rd year of Medical school and beginning my 4th. Not an excuse...I know. 

So...I'm beginning at the beginning. :)

To cultivate a fresh crop of happiness, you have to start with a good soil.
  1. INTENT: I spent three weeks doing a meditation challenge to remember Who I am, What I want, and What is my dharma. (I came up with some wonderful, and surprising, answers)
  2. NUTRITION: I've cleaned out my cabinets (once again) of all things processed. 
  3. ACTIVITY: I joined a gym - not a hit-the-elliptical-for-an-hour gym, but a Brazilian Jiujitsu gym!  And I joined Fitocracy.com where I can log all my exercises, earn points and 'level up' - hooray for motivation!
  4. SLEEP: I blacked out my room, and I go to bed 10 hours before I absolutely must get up.
One step at a time. We're building a healthy life! The sleep has been amazing - occasionally I sleep all ten hours, but in general I've been waking up well before that last minute alarm goes off. Beneficial because I get up on a natural sleep cycle (not rudely interrupted in the middle of REM) and I get extra sleep if my body needs it.


The jiujitsu has been an amazing change for me. I'm a very social being so I love meeting up with the same group of people every week, and it's keeping me honest! If I don't show up, people notice and ask about me. If I don't exercise and stretch on the off days...well let's just say practice isn't nearly as fun, and I end up with a lot more bruises :p


Now that I've been working these changes for a few weeks and really keeping up with them, I'm ready to fix the diet again. So...Day 1 of another 30 day Paleo challenge!


Exercise: 1 hour BJJ, 1.2 mile run, 30 min walk


Breakfast: omelet with spinach, tomato, and bacon, and some pan-fried potatoes.
Snack: Fresh pineapple
Lunch:  Chicken chili - crockpot x12 hours on low: chicken breast, kidney beans, green chiles, onion, potato, spices
Dinner: Spanish-style mussels