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!  ^_^

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.

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!

The Bagged Lunch Dilemma

To bring, or not to bring? The classic question. Why do we feel so much freedom regarding dinner, and so limited regarding lunch? Many workplaces have access to both a refrigerator and a microwave. Even if you have neither - you are not relegated to a PB&J with a bag of doritos!

My happy accident today: I have no food. Well, very little. Literally: old potatoes, lettuce, some tofu, the bottom of the almond butter jar, and frozen fish, plus random pantry items. So I sadly decided I would have plain oatmeal for lunch. But wait - are those unsweetened coconut flakes? 
::brain wheels turning...::


I ended up with a tupperware with the following dumped into it: piece of frozen salmon. 2 tbsp almond butter. 1/4c unsweetened coconut flakes. A dash of garlic powder. A dash of sriracha chili sauce. A dash of soy sauce. A splash of water. ::fingers crossed::  ...microwave x4 minutes. 
Viola.  Thai Coconut Salmon.
Delicious, wholesome, nutritious, very fast, lunch. That was not plain oatmeal. And took less time to do than a pb&j. 


Bottom line - get creative with your lunches. There is no excuse to eat pre-packaged garbages that do nothing for your body and eat away your soul! I'll write more on this topic later and try to come up with some quick delicious bagged lunch meal ideas. 


"When you already know you're on the right track, all you have to do is keep walking."

Shrimp and Sea Scallop Orecchiette

After the walk back from the library through the chilling rain, I was crying out for something warming and reminiscent of sunshine. Shrimp always reminds me of hanging with my dad on the Outer Banks - heading up to Carawan's for fresh seafood to compliment veggies from his garden. Unless of course we caught mullet that day...but I'll save the fresh fish tacos recipe for when I'm down there making them with him!

So today it's shrimps with scallops, tossed with orecciette (oh-raykh-ee-eht-ay) and zucchini in a tomato parmesean sauce. Yum.

1. Cook the orecchiette as you would any dry pasta - in a pot with plenty of well-salted water at a rolling boil, until al dente (done, but still firm and holding its texture). 
2. Once done, drain the water, add tomato based sauce of your choosing (I had a Cabernet marinara on hand), along with peeled and de-veined shrimp and scallops (raw) and slices of zucchini or other green vegetable. 
3. Cover and cook on medium until the shrimp are that pretty sunset color and opaque throughout. 
4. Turn off the heat, Add freshly grated parmesean and basil (dry or fresh) to taste, and let the flavors blend and the dish cool for five minutes.
5. Serve with a hearty bread and olive oil - and, as always, enjoy with friends if possible.

 

Bon Appétit!

With Love,
Elizabeth