Lentil, Swiss Chard, and Chicken Soup

Most people know that I love soup. It was probably in the 90s today and I made soup. I had my first bowl of this over a small organic sweet potato (Sarah Frankel bday girl style, just for you babe)! It was very yummy. Quality of pictures is poor because my batteries were going dear - and I think this directly effects the quality of zoom, lighting timing, and macro shooting.

Here you go: (and it is part of whole food month)

1 cup lentils, rinsed

4 cups water

4 cups homemade chicken broth (I cooked a whole chicken and used this)

pinch of sea salt

1 onion, chopped

4 large cloves garlic, chopped

evoo

1 bunch of swiss chard, stems removed, chopped

large pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 lemon (juice)

pepper

3 cups chopped chicken (from a whole raw chicken)

Cook lentils in broth, water, and salt until done but not mushy.

Saute onion in evoo for about 5 minutes, then add garlic and red pepper flakes. Add chard and cook for about 3 minutes. Add to lentils and cook for about 10 minutes. Add chicken, lemon, and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Whole Month Day 1

Alright - here we go. Sorry for people whom this might bore, but this is a good way for me to talk about whole eating and how I'm doing on this challenge for the month of May. Here we go:
1. Knowing I am doing this challenge (and trying the cash envelope system for my food budget) made me shop differently in the grocery stores today. I didn't pick up snacks which would be different if I weren't doing this challenge.

Here we go:
Breakfast - at Flying Biscuit Cafe in Cameron Village (Raleigh) - shared a meal with Rachael. Biscuit with their homemade cranberry butter. 1/2 piece of french toast with vanilla creme anglaise and raspberry sauce. 1 egg, 1 piece of their chicken sausage, 3/4 piece bacon, 1/2 bowl of their homemade creamy grits.

Shopped at Fresh Market: rainbow chard for some soup and asparagus bc it was on sale

Lunch - at Watts Grocery in Durham - small bowl of local granola, local yogurt with fresh fruit. Housemade english muffin with blueberry preserves.

Shopped at TJ, Whole Foods, and Target: bananas, apples, green lentils.

Snacked on 1/4 cup trail mix (goldfish, life cereal, craisins, peanuts, m&ms) - I was making them for our teacher training tomorrow at church.

Dinner: 1 red potato and 1/2 small onion - roasted with evoo and s/p. 1/2 beefsteak tomato with some sea salt. Looking forward to that dinner.

That will be it! So, halfway decent - but better than I've done the whole month - especially with sharing the meal at Flying Biscuit. Gotta do it again tomorrow.

EAT LOCAL! EAT FRESH! It is easy!

31 Whole Days Challenge

Praise God April is (almost) over. Its been a great month, but not for the eating/exercising/weight part of it. May will be different!
I love starting new things, having goals, etc.
Happy Herbivore is doing this and when I saw it - I thought I could do this. It is not RAW, but unprocessed - I think there is a difference.
My friend Sarah is doing it and she has made her own tweaks to make this be balanced and work for her.
So, this month:
1. Going to keep a food journal and really assess how easy or hard it is to eat whole, unprocessed foods (with receipts).
2. Going to apply this wholly while I am at home, but slack some while at restaurants. Try to eat as whole as possible out, but knowing I can't control everything on a menu.
3. Will keep up with my recipes from magazines and will try to just bake then I can give them away and not eat them. I don't have any whole, unprocessed magazine recipes.
4. Will post the highlights and lowlights each wknd for the month of May.

Looking forward to the challenge. Are you up for it?

Couscous Chicken Salad with Vegetables (2010.16)

I really like couscous and I like chicken and I like vegetables. Thought this would be good. That's about it - it was good.

Here you go:

This is from Easy Summer Meals (Cooking Light)

1 1/2 cup water

1 T evoo

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup couscous (uncooked)

1 yellow pepper, diced

1/2 finely chopped zuk

1/2 cup chopped mushroom

1 1/2 cup chopped chicken (I cooked mine and saved the broth for some soup I am going to make this wknd)

1/2 cup diced carrots

3 green onions, chopped

3 T dried currants

1 T dried chopped mint (or fresh)

pepper

Dressing:

1 cup plain ff yogurt

3 T lemon juice

1 T honey (less because it was really sweet, or Agave nectar)

1 T apple cider vinegar (or what you have)

Chop all veggies. Chop chicken. Cook couscous according to directions. Mix up dressing. Combine all. Best served over mixed greens for a light lunch.

1 1/2 cups: 368 cal, 8 fat, 4 fiber

Two Bean Italian Soup (2010.14)

Does a recipe ever surprise you? This was my question when I tasted this soup this afternoon - shortly after it perfumed my apartment with wonderful smelling-ness!

BHG's February 2008 magazine gave me this Tuscan Bean Soup. I only made 2 alterations to it. And, it is very yummy. I could drink the broth by the gallon!

So easy too. Don't be afraid of soups in the spring/summer...

1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped

1 smallish onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 T olive oil

2 cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (or make your own)

1 can great northern beans

1 can garbanzo beans (both beans, drained and rinsed)

3 tsp italian seasoning

1 pkg spinach

black pepper

Saute first two in olive oil till softened, add garlic. Then add the broth and the beans. Let simmer. Add the spinach and cook for about 30 seconds - then it is done. How easy and surprisingly healthy and good.

Baked Grits - 2010.13

My Dad is from the South and he loves grits. So, when I knew he was staying for a few days to help me get settled here in Raleigh, I knew I wanted to make this recipe. I halved the recipe and glad I did because their serving sizes are huge! This was rich, creamy, nutty (due to Parm cheese). So good. Cooking Light has a winner here.

2 cups milk (I used skim, in a glass, from a local farm: delish)

2 cups water

pinch of salt

3/4 cup quick cooking grits (scant, I just like them thicker)

2 oz grated parm cheese (about 2/3 cup)

2 1/2 egg whites

pinch of black pepper

2 T chopped fresh chives

pinch of salt

Bring milk, water, and salt to boil. Stir in grits, turn down to simmer, cover and let cook, stirring occassionally, for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, grate cheese, seperate egg whites, chop chives.

Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks (don't over beat) with pinch of salt. Add chives, pepper, and salt to grits when they are done. Fold in the egg whites (don't deflate them). Pour in greased 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. Lightly browned, little wobbly in middle.

Enjoy. I cooked some eggs and decorate the plate with remaining chives.

About 200 calories - and worth it!

Roasted Orange Chive Salmon

Is oatmeal a meal? Good, I agree. Its not. Therefore, my first real meal I cooked was SO GOOD. I told my Dad while eating it - that it was the best salmon I have ever had second only to the time I was in Craig, Alaska and had it right off the boat.

zest of one mandarin orange

1 tsp chopped fresh chives

8 oz fresh atlantic salmon (w/skin, got it from Whole Foods)

evoo

s/p

425 degrees. Place aluminum foil on a small baking sheet. Spray with pam.

Pat dry salmon. Drizzle with evoo. Zest orange and chop the chives over the top. Bake for about 15 minutes, maybe a little more till the fish easily flakes.

Enjoy. I served mine with roasted asparagus and roasted new pototoes.

Lemon Bars (Gluten and Dairy Free) - SO YUMMY!

I love hanging out with other healthy foodies. I learn so much. My friends Jenny and Michelle and I hung out for lunch today. Michelle has a hard time with her diet - trying to figure out what her body will and won't "accept". She made these amazing bars! I loved how full of protein they were and how amazingly delicious they were, also.
My Papa would love them - never knowing they were healthy for him.
I will definitely be making these - so incredibly good to take on a picnic or somewhere during the summer because they are tangy and summer-y!

St. Patrick's Day Green Smoothie

This was so yummy! :) Maybe my fave green smoothie to date!
At Whole Foods on Sunday, I bought a little packet of this stuff. I had tried it in there one day, didn't want to pay a TON for it, so then I saw this little packet - that's my style. Added good nutrients to my already good for me smoothie.
Also in the smoothie was 1/4 cup of this yummy stuff! More nutrients and added good smooth texture! Got it at Whole Foods too!
Also normal stuff: 1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries (from Huber's last year), 1/2 red pear, 16 oz water, 1/2 banana, 1 1/2 big handfulls of spinach.

This was so good. I drank half and will drink the other half for breakfast this morning. I anticipate being full until my lunch at Cheesecake Factory!

Product Review: Two Moms in the Raw Blueberry Granola Bar

Love the perks of knowing the baristas at your neighborhood Starbucks. They give you samples. My friend broke into the new items - Two Moms in the Raw granola packs - and gave me a sample.
Here are my thoughts:
1. I know its healthy for you. All natural and organic ingredients. All raw and sprouted. There are definitely health benefits.
2. It is way expensive.
3. It you are going to call something blueberry granola, then the product better taste a whole lot like blueberry. This didn't. The only ingredients in the list after blueberries were agave, cinnamon, and sea salt.
4. Good crunch for the granola bar.
5. 220 cal 9 fat 4 fiber
6. Good for those who are allergic to wheat or gluten or dairy.
7. I wouldn't trade any granola bar I've had so far for it. Kind Bars are great and Starbucks has started carrying those.

Two Moms in the Raw - any other products I can review? I am always up for samples. And from past experience, just one disappointing food adventure doesn't always lead to others.

Week of Oats: Day 4 - Chocolate Banana

Since I am definitely feeling under the weather I went for a tried and true recipe this morning as I dragged myself to work.

1/3 cup oats
1/2 cup water
2 tsp chocolate peanut butter dreams
3/4 of a banana (the other 1/4 of it was bad)

So good - especially laying on my new couch while eating it! Washed down with a glass of water and some vitacraves gummy multivitamins.

Check back for my last day of oats tomorrow.

Week of Oats: Day 2 - Egg White Oats

One thing about reading food blogs - you make things you would never even DREAM of making. I tried a new bowl of oats this morning. Honestly - it wasn't my favorite - but I might try it a little different at least one more morning.

1/3 cup oats
2 egg whites
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp pb (from Trader Joes - crunchy salted. Just nuts and salt. Good stuff! Actually tastes like peanut butter)
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cook oats/eggs/water for about 1.35. Stir well the other ingredients into it. Eat. These are filling. Just not sweet enough for me. We'll see... Any tips? These are very healthy too:
227 cal, 6 fat, 6 fiber = 4 points

Pinto Bean Soup

I got inspired for more soup - and a cooked bag of pinto beans that I needed to use.
So, I threw this together last night when I got home from Chicago and look forward to eating it this week - and I froze a tub of it too.

5 cups cooked pinto beans (or however many you like)
2 cups chicken broth (a cool whip container of homemade broth)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can of stewed tomatoes
cumin
red pepper flakes
pepper
sea salt
1 cup medium picante sauce

Mix all and heat through till boiling. I took a potato masher to it to make it a little thicker. Pretty good. You can add some hot sauce or some sausage would be a good way to change this soup up. Cheap, healthy, good.

Week of Oats - Day 1

This week I'm trying something I did last week with smoothies - week of oats - where I eat oats every day this week for breakfast and see how it makes me feel. Just saying that I feel like the pit of despair in the Princess Bride. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway, first day:

1/3 cup oats
2/3 cup water
1 T dark chocolate pb
1/2 banana

SO GOOD! Filling - hmmm, we'll see. Maybe I'll try some steel cut oats or maybe egg white oats...

Day 5 Green Smoothie and Recap

Ok - here is my last smoothie for the week of smoothies:

1/4 apple
1/2 banana
1/2 cara cara orange
1 1/2 tsp ground flax
1 1/3 cup water
1 cup spinach
3/4 cup kale
3/4 cup frozen strawberries

Mix all.
Very good - not too sweet.

I like the low-cal, heavy fiber, portability of green smoothies.
I like the quickness of them in the morning.
I like all the veggies and fruits you are getting first thing in the morning.
I would like more protein in mine - I usually pair it with pb on a thin or something. PB in the morning is so good.
Now, for the week of oats.

Day of Green Smoothie - 4

This one was so quick this morning - and yummy and healthy - because I woke up late. Already drank half of it before leaving the house (with oats in a jar/ 1/2 banana) and sipping on the other half in my SBTS insulated tumbler.

1/4 red apple
1/2 naval orange
1/2 banana
2 small pieces mango
3/4 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup spinach
2 stalks kale
1 1/2 cup water

You know what to do. Blend away! Enjoy!
150, .5, 7 fiber = 2 points, and a ton of veggies!

Chickpea Burgers

These really should have a different name. I considered Hummus Pancakes or something fun like that, but ok - I'll leave it at that.

Always skeptical, but I shouldn't be. I love chickpeas. What I really love about these is their nutrition benefit and healthiness, the green onions, and their simplicity.

I got inspired by the recipe on Heather's blog - thanks for the recipe!

Makes 8 patties - 8 servings

2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

4 scallions, chopped

1 egg

3/4 cup water

2 T flour

scant 3/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

spray olive oil (instead of regular - saves fat and calories)

I start with dry beans. Last week I took the time to cook (and mostly peel) a bag of dry garbanzo beans. Takes over night soak (no hands on time) and about 80 minutes to cook them. I really like that I can choose how done I want them. With cans, you worry about doneness and sodium.

Put all ingredients into a food processor. Let it go till combined. Spray flat griddle with olive and using a ice cream scoop - scoop these out and shape into "burgers".

Flip them after a few minutes - you'll know when they are ready - and then keep checking doneness.

These are really good and I'm going to have my first one (not just sampling) tonight for dinner.

235 calores, 4 fat, 11 protein - so filling!

Day 3 of Green (Blue) Smoothies

This morning my smoothie ended up being blue - blueberries are potent! Mine was thick and sweet. The blender seemed extra loud to me this morning, so I didn't mix it as much. Still so good - and I cranked it all into a calculator - 145c, .5 f, 6 fiber! I also had a pb thin which was good and so I'll be full for a good bit!

1/4 red delicious apple
1/2 banana
1/2 naval orange (I used the juice of it last night for some scones, recipe coming later)
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1 1/2 cup spinach
2 small stalks kale
1 1/4 cup water

Mix all. Enjoy.

Since I forgot the ground flax seed - I sprinkled some on my pb thin this morning - added a little texture!
Happy Breakfasting no matter what color your smoothies!

Day 2 of Green Smoothies

I am trying Green smoothies for 5 days in a row this week. So far, yesterday, I was fuller all day (which basically means I needed less to fill me up once I got hungry again - if that makes any sense at all).
Here was my smoothie this morning
1/4 red delicious apple
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 small banana
2 small branches kale
1 1/2 cups spinach
2 tsp ground flax
1 1/2 cups water

Not as sweet as yesterdays, but good - and healthy for me.

My first green smoothie

Actually, it is just my first time making it in my own kitchen. I had one back in November from my friend Rachael in Wake Forest, then I made one for my Dad over Thanksgiving. But, I used my brand new red black and decker blender I got at Kohls after Thanksgiving for 27$. Much cheaper than a VitaMixer for right now.

My friend Becca was coming over. This thing is so healthy and good for you and filling and low in points (if doing weight watchers). I've also listed the health benefits of what I threw in:

1/2 large red delicious apple:

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-apples.html

1 cara cara orange from tree in parents yard:

http://www.paramountcitrus.com/fresh_citrus/cara_cara_oranges

1 small banana:

http://thetaoofgoodhealth.com/6-awesome-health-benefits-of-bananas-9/

3/4 cup frozen strawberries (picked from Huber's this summer and frozen):

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=32#healthbenefits

1/8 cup cut mango:

http://www.freshmangoes.com/aboutmangos/index.html#b

2.5 stalks of kale:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38

3 cups fresh baby spinach:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=43

1/2 cup water:

http://www.health-benefit-of-water.com/

1 T ground flax seed:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=81

I blended the water and apple first, then did it all in that order till it was ready to go! My blender worked fabulously!