I'm really not planning on this being a recipe-heavy blog, but I had to get this one out before winter ends, and today we had one of those not-so-horrible winter days that reminds you that yes, spring will come eventually...
I make a big batch of this stuff a couple of times a month in the wintertime. I love it, and it's super healthy. I freeze some individual portions and I have lunch for days. I make it a little bit different each time, depending on what I have on hand, thus the name.
This is the very basic recipe along with a number of options that I mix and match - feel free to throw in your favorite spices, leftover veggies, meats (I like it as a veg dish but it certainly doesn't have to be), whatever. You really can't mess it up. Make it up quickly to eat right away (it takes about half an hour), or in a crockpot before you leave for the day and come home to deliciousness.
2-5 cloves garlic, sliced
splash of olive oil
1 large can of tomatoes (crushed or diced)
1/2 can of corn (use the whole can if you like)
3 cans beans, rinsed and drained (literally any kind you like - I like garbanzo, kidney, black)
1 Tbs chili powder (or so - I never measure)
optional: 1/2 cup to 1 cup of kale (or spinach or any other veggie you like, fresh or frozen)
optional: the rest of that jar of salsa sitting in your fridge
optional: one package diced and pan-fried turkey sausage or cooked meat of choice
optional: up to 1 cup as needed for extra liquid if it's too thick (chicken or veggie; I use bullion)
optional: salt, pepper, other spices to taste (if you like spicy - add dried chili flakes)
optional: something starchy to serve it over; some of my favorites include: a baked/peeled sweet potato, quinoa, brown rice, and pasta.
optional: toppers: cheese, sour cream, greek yogurt, diced tomatoes, jalepeños, bacon bits
Lightly brown the garlic in olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or pot. Add the tomatoes, beans, corn, and chili powder and any optional ingredients (except for the last two) you like. Simmer over medium heat until heated through. (Crockpot variation: brown the garlic in a frying pan and then put all of the ingredients in a crockpot at least long enough to get hot - you can hardly overcook it.) Serve over something starchy if you'd like, and top with cheese and/or other toppers, or just enjoy as is.
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Coconut Oil: Healthy Dessert Ingredient or Beauty Treatment?
I doubt you'll be surprised to hear that my answer is, "both." If you google coconut oil, you can find dozens and dozens of uses for this wonder stuff. When shopping for coconut oil, look for virgin, organic, and cold-pressed. Here is an article with more detail on how to choose a coconut oil.
One of my favorite uses is this easy, healthy, hearty, satisfying dessert recipe. It's got no added sugar (outside of the chocolate, which you COULD skip, if you're crazy, that is) and no artificial sweeteners. It's gluten-free, and if you use a non-dairy milk, it's vegan too. I found this simple recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie, an awesome healthy/chocolate recipe blog. Here is the original recipe: Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal, but I have tweaked it to my own tastes and I call it Banana-Oat Bread Pudding. Because I love bread pudding, but that's not exactly known for its health properties. Katie offers a lot of variations, and here is what I've settled on for my own tastes:
Banana-Oat Bread Pudding:
1/2 cup oats
a little over 1/16 tsp salt
1 small, very ripe, mashed banana
3 tbps milk (I use 1%)
1/2 tbps coconut oil
splash of vanilla (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
1 tbsp (or so) of dark chocolate chips (optional, I SUPPOSE)
Preheat oven to 380 degrees. Combine the oats and salt, then mix in the wet ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour into small greased (I use coconut oil and give it a thick coat) baking pan and bake for 20 minutes (or until edges are golden brown). This makes one very generous portion. You'll want to eat it hot out of the oven, of course.
So as long as you have the coconut oil in the house, try experimenting with some of its other uses. Personally, I use it as a cuticle conditioner at night. I use it as a body lotion on my legs after shaving. I also deep condition my hair with it, pre-shampoo, a couple of times a month. The most effective way to do this is to apply some heat, so I work a handful into my hair before my workout and cover my hair with plastic wrap. The heat from my exertions does the trick. I wouldn't recommend this at the gym, however, unless you enjoy weird stares from your fellow gym denizens. ;) You could simply wave a hairdryer at it for a while once you have the plastic wrap in place, or sit under a hood dryer if you own one. Just be sure to wash the coconut oil out thoroughly. It also makes a nice hairdressing; simply rub the tiniest bit between your hands and gently skim it over your hair to tame flyaways and impart softness. An added bonus to using coconut oil as a beauty treatment? You will smell ever so slightly like a tropical beach vacation. :)
Have you discovered any fabulous ways to use coconut oil?
One of my favorite uses is this easy, healthy, hearty, satisfying dessert recipe. It's got no added sugar (outside of the chocolate, which you COULD skip, if you're crazy, that is) and no artificial sweeteners. It's gluten-free, and if you use a non-dairy milk, it's vegan too. I found this simple recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie, an awesome healthy/chocolate recipe blog. Here is the original recipe: Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal, but I have tweaked it to my own tastes and I call it Banana-Oat Bread Pudding. Because I love bread pudding, but that's not exactly known for its health properties. Katie offers a lot of variations, and here is what I've settled on for my own tastes:
Banana-Oat Bread Pudding:
1/2 cup oats
a little over 1/16 tsp salt
1 small, very ripe, mashed banana
3 tbps milk (I use 1%)
1/2 tbps coconut oil
splash of vanilla (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
1 tbsp (or so) of dark chocolate chips (optional, I SUPPOSE)
Preheat oven to 380 degrees. Combine the oats and salt, then mix in the wet ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour into small greased (I use coconut oil and give it a thick coat) baking pan and bake for 20 minutes (or until edges are golden brown). This makes one very generous portion. You'll want to eat it hot out of the oven, of course.
So as long as you have the coconut oil in the house, try experimenting with some of its other uses. Personally, I use it as a cuticle conditioner at night. I use it as a body lotion on my legs after shaving. I also deep condition my hair with it, pre-shampoo, a couple of times a month. The most effective way to do this is to apply some heat, so I work a handful into my hair before my workout and cover my hair with plastic wrap. The heat from my exertions does the trick. I wouldn't recommend this at the gym, however, unless you enjoy weird stares from your fellow gym denizens. ;) You could simply wave a hairdryer at it for a while once you have the plastic wrap in place, or sit under a hood dryer if you own one. Just be sure to wash the coconut oil out thoroughly. It also makes a nice hairdressing; simply rub the tiniest bit between your hands and gently skim it over your hair to tame flyaways and impart softness. An added bonus to using coconut oil as a beauty treatment? You will smell ever so slightly like a tropical beach vacation. :)
Have you discovered any fabulous ways to use coconut oil?
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Healthy and Delicious and Possibly Green Smoothie Recipe
I have struggled with my weight since high school. I love to eat, and I have a major sweet tooth. But lately, I have stopped struggling and just calmed down about the whole thing. I exercise, I eat a lot of healthy foods, and I still eat some not-so-healthy foods - a girl's gotta have her chocolate (every day). I try to follow two very basic premises: eat when you're hungry (and don't eat when you're not); and fuel your body primarily with real food. And my weight has settled in a comfortable place. Not skinny, not fat, but I am fitter than I was in my 20s. And I can live with that.
So I wanted to share a recipe I made up. It's nothing revolutionary, just a basic smoothie that can be whipped up in a few minutes for a quick and healthy meal or snack. I don't really measure the ingredients; I only did so for the purposes of writing it out here. Every ingredient can be changed to suit your tastes, but this is a good jumping off point if you're looking to get into smoothies.
This recipe makes a BIG smoothie, plenty enough to hold me until lunch. I drink it out of a 24 oz tumbler myself; it won't fit into anything smaller in one pour. I really don't count calories, but I did a rough count here and if you follow it as written originally, it'll be under 300 calories. And it tastes like a delicious, sweet treat.
Possibly Green Smoothie:
1/2 cup unflavored non-fat Greek yogurt (If you want it sweeter, use flavored yogurt of your choice. But try to stick to Greek; just a half cup has about 11 grams of protein. Use more yogurt if you want more protein or if you like a yogurt-y taste. At this amount, you can hardly tell there is yogurt in the smoothie.)
1/2 cup blueberries (Or literally any fruit you like. Blueberries and other dark berries make the smoothie purple. If you want your smoothie to be an attractive bright GREEN, then use a yellowish fruit, like pineapple, pear, peach, mango, apple, cantaloupe, honeydew, or mandarin oranges. Those little individual fruit cups they sell for kids' lunches are perfectly sized; I buy the no-added-sugar-or-sweetener kind and throw the whole cup in, juice and all.)
1/2 banana (Even if you're not a huge banana fan - I'm not - but half a banana is just enough to add sweetness and creaminess.)
1-2 cups fresh kale - (Do not pack it in. If you use frozen, which is already condensed, I'd use a lot less; maybe half a cup. You can also use any other sort of green: spinach, chard, or whatever floats your boat.)
1/2 cup seedless grapes (You may want to use red if your other fruit is a berry of some kind - they tend to be sweeter and offset the berries' tartness. You can use green grapes if you're going for a really green smoothie.)
1/2 cup ice and/or water (If you're using all frozen fruit, you can use little to no ice; if you're using fresh, then make it all ice.)
Have water (or milk/juice of your choice) handy to pour in if your smoothie is too thick.
Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed. I like my Vitamix but you certainly don't need such an expensive blender for a smoothie. I like that it totally pulverizes the ice, makes the kale invisible (I don't find green flecks appealing) and gives me a really smooth texture.
I drink this for breakfast all year round, even in the winter. I alternate with sips of coffee (I know, I know - but it really does taste fine) to avoid getting chilled. Ha!
Enjoy!
Edited to add: A friend pointed out that the latest research indicates that eating too much raw kale may interfere with thyroid function. Just in case, I've stopped using raw kale every day. I generally either cook the kale first, or use another green like spinach.
Do you have any favorite, tried and true, healthy and totally delicious recipes?
So I wanted to share a recipe I made up. It's nothing revolutionary, just a basic smoothie that can be whipped up in a few minutes for a quick and healthy meal or snack. I don't really measure the ingredients; I only did so for the purposes of writing it out here. Every ingredient can be changed to suit your tastes, but this is a good jumping off point if you're looking to get into smoothies.
This recipe makes a BIG smoothie, plenty enough to hold me until lunch. I drink it out of a 24 oz tumbler myself; it won't fit into anything smaller in one pour. I really don't count calories, but I did a rough count here and if you follow it as written originally, it'll be under 300 calories. And it tastes like a delicious, sweet treat.
Possibly Green Smoothie:
1/2 cup unflavored non-fat Greek yogurt (If you want it sweeter, use flavored yogurt of your choice. But try to stick to Greek; just a half cup has about 11 grams of protein. Use more yogurt if you want more protein or if you like a yogurt-y taste. At this amount, you can hardly tell there is yogurt in the smoothie.)
1/2 cup blueberries (Or literally any fruit you like. Blueberries and other dark berries make the smoothie purple. If you want your smoothie to be an attractive bright GREEN, then use a yellowish fruit, like pineapple, pear, peach, mango, apple, cantaloupe, honeydew, or mandarin oranges. Those little individual fruit cups they sell for kids' lunches are perfectly sized; I buy the no-added-sugar-or-sweetener kind and throw the whole cup in, juice and all.)
1/2 banana (Even if you're not a huge banana fan - I'm not - but half a banana is just enough to add sweetness and creaminess.)
1-2 cups fresh kale - (Do not pack it in. If you use frozen, which is already condensed, I'd use a lot less; maybe half a cup. You can also use any other sort of green: spinach, chard, or whatever floats your boat.)
1/2 cup seedless grapes (You may want to use red if your other fruit is a berry of some kind - they tend to be sweeter and offset the berries' tartness. You can use green grapes if you're going for a really green smoothie.)
1/2 cup ice and/or water (If you're using all frozen fruit, you can use little to no ice; if you're using fresh, then make it all ice.)
Have water (or milk/juice of your choice) handy to pour in if your smoothie is too thick.
Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed. I like my Vitamix but you certainly don't need such an expensive blender for a smoothie. I like that it totally pulverizes the ice, makes the kale invisible (I don't find green flecks appealing) and gives me a really smooth texture.
 |
| The green version, with mango instead of berries |
 |
| Sorry, I'm not a food photographer - this does taste better than it looks! |
Enjoy!
Edited to add: A friend pointed out that the latest research indicates that eating too much raw kale may interfere with thyroid function. Just in case, I've stopped using raw kale every day. I generally either cook the kale first, or use another green like spinach.
Do you have any favorite, tried and true, healthy and totally delicious recipes?
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