Healthy Every Week: Cook at Home

I started cooking at home almost daily a few years ago to save money, and through preparing food for myself, I became interested in the health benefits of food. So cooking at home this past week was not an issue for me. I used this week as motivation to make some favorites as well as try some new recipes.

Ellie Krieger’s Three Bean and Beef Chili is my boyfriend’s favorite meal, ever. He reminds me every time I cook this up so this is a winter staple for us. My alterations are upping the cumin to 1 Tbsp, adding 2 tsp chili powder, and adding an extra chipotle chile and an extra teaspoon or two of the adobo sauce, we like our chili spicy! I will also sprinkle each bowl with a bit of shredded cheese if I have some on hand.  The leftover chipotle in adobo freezes well and keeps in the fridge for about two weeks, which is great because I like to add this to any sort of tacos, naked burritos, quesadillas, or other suitable recipes for some flavorful heat. To stretch this meal, cook up some while-wheat noodles or brown rice and top with the chili. I will do this for next-day lunches to break up the monotony of eating the same thing twice in a row as well.

I always have pizza makings available, whether pre-made crusts or frozen homemade dough. This week I used whole-wheat pre-made/pre-cooked thin crust with leftover pasta sauce, 2% mozarella cheese, and sliced green peppers, onion, and mushroom.  The toppings I chose don’t need to really cook, so this pizza is done in under 10 minutes in the oven. This is a quick dinner that cooks up super fast, which we need when we come home ravenous from our weekly after-work soccer game.

Winter is a great time to take advantage of the slow cooker, and nothing beats coming home to a cooked dinner! This week I tried Eating Well’s Pulled Pork with Caramelized Onions in the slow cooker (they also include a recipe for the leftovers!), which is yet another use of that leftover chipotle in adobo used in the chili.

Yet another new recipe I tried was Cooking Light’s Stilton Burger, though I used regular crumbled blue cheese. This came out SO delicious. I am not a burger person at all, but I woke up the next morning eager to get to work so I could have a leftover burger at lunch! I ate this on toasted whole wheat bread, which the flavorful meat and cheese stands up to well.

Overlooking my week of new and beloved foods, I can’t believe I ate so much meat! That is usually a less than once a month occurrence for me. I am happy that I have some new meat recipes in my repertoire, because I am sure I could count all my meat recipes on one hand. Also, I am eager to dive in to my favorite section of the grocery store: the produce isle! This week we are eating more fruits and vegetables. I generally eat more vegetables than anyone I know, but I hope to try something new this week!

Healthy Every Week: Eat More Whole Grains

Whole grains are my default for basic things such as bread, pasta, and rice. I also enjoy whole wheat couscous and quinoa from time to time. This week I just utilized some of my favorite recipes incorporating whole grains. I planned to try new recipes and grains, but it has been a busy week (events including my birthday, football, and an exciting FSU basketball upset over UNC!) so I kept with the challenge by preparing foods I knew how to make.

I love using brown rice, mostly because I love the ease of my rice cooker. If you buy in bulk like I do, I use a 1.5 water to 1 part rice ratio. One of my favorite recipes is my Mexican in a Bowl recipe. This week I omitted the sour cream and added some leftover minced chipotle in adobo to amp up the spice.

Oatmeal is such an easy and yummy way to get whole grains into your day even before lunch! Last week’s post outlined the various ways I like my oatmeal, and I ate oatmeal almost every morning this week. On the other mornings I ate cottage cheese on whole grain water crackers. I also did some basic pastas, such as my Easy Peasy Pasta, and homemade pizza with whole wheat crust.

One thing I wish I would have had time to try this past week is brown rice risotto. It still fits in with the new week’s challenge, so I hope to blog my recipe soon!

This week’s challenge: cook at home. I prepared by planning out meals and grocery shopping for the week. The week has started out well and I look forward to sharing more recipes with you!

Healthy Every Week: Breakfast Every Day

I. love. breakfast. But when your morning goes unexpectedly awry and you have, say, zero seconds to get out the door, you will just have to skip breakfast, right? Wrong! This week’s challenge for me was to have fruit and healthy food on hand and ready to grab for those hectic mornings. As it was the first week if the year, there were many of these days.

A list if quick breakfasts that saved me this week:

• Fruit: apples, bananas, etc naturally come in single serving packages that you can grab and eat on your way to work
• Cottage cheese on whole grain crackers: This is a filling, easy start to the day
• Good ‘ol cereal. Low sugar cereal with lowfat milk and some fresh fruit mixed in? Yes.
• Oatmeal. I start with basic rolled oats and add in whatever I have on hand (See below). In addition, I keep some oatmeal at work for a working-late snack or rushed mornings.

A normal morning for me consists of waking up, starting the coffee, and putting the oatmeal in the microwave before getting ready. I use rolled oats, it is extremely economical to purchase a large canister of these, not single serve instant packets. Rolled oats are done in the microwave in 5 minutes at 50% power. I mix in whatever I have available with 1/3 c oatmeal and 2/3 c water before microwaving. I think cooking the add-ins with the oatmeal infuses the meal with more flavor. I add in nuts and honey at the end if desired. Some of my favorite mixins:

• pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
• dried fruits: raisins, apricots,  cranberries, etc.
• banana: this makes a creamy, flavorful oatmeal!
• walnuts or pecans
• honey, if necessary

I have already given my Ode to Eggs, which no one has to pull my leg to cook up on the weekends. Tell me, how often do you eat breakfast?

This week’s challenge is to eat more whole grains. I love them, and am excited to try new ways of using them.

Take a look at the other participants’ week one of the Healthy Every Week Challenge!

Healthy Every Week: January Challenge

Happy 2012! I will begin this year by participating in Food Network’s Healthy Every Week challenge. For the month of January, there is one healthy habit introduced each week. I, along with other bloggers, will write about our experiences and recipes on each week’s topic. The goal is to introduce healthy habits into your lifestyle in a reasonable way. This is a more effective and long-lasting way to get healthy, rather than say “I will lose 10 lbs this year!”.  So join me in a healthier 2012!

In addition to the weekly challenges, there are tips every day. I will also try to post about these throughout the week.

The week one challenge is to eat breakfast every day. I will post about my experiences after each week, so grab a banana, cook up some oatmeal, and I will see you soon!

A Christmas Treat: Peanut Butter Cups

I made these peanut butter cups as a gift for my family when I visit them for Christmas. These peanut butter cups are great because they are easy to make, taste delicious, and have none of the additives of the store bought brands! I had seen many versions of this recipe, but I made my own because I didn’t think these needed any of the extra ingredients (sugaring up the peanut butter, buttering up the chocolate, etc). The NutritiousDaily version has two ingredients, chocolate and peanut butter! And believe me, they come out GREAT… worthy enough to gift to my family (who cares naught for the health factor of their candies). Use whatever chocolate you enjoy eating for this recipe since we won’t be mixing it into any other ingredients. I like the home-made look of these, so I didn’t try to hard to make them look nice!

INGREDIENTS

• 8-10 oz chocolate of choice, chopped or morsels (I did mostly semi-sweet but added in a handful of milk chocolate)
• peanut butter of choice (I like natural or just ground peanuts)

PROCEDURE

1. Place mini muffin liners in a 12-muffin mini muffin pan
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate on HIGH for 2-3 minutes, stirring after 1 and 2 minutes. Do not overheat. Chocolate may not be completely melted until stirred.
3. Spoon a layer of the chocolate into each muffin liner. It should cover the bottom by 1/4 inch or so.
4. Spoon a dollop of peanut butter into the center of each chocolate-filled liner.
5. Cover with more of the chocolate, making sure to cover peanut butter, pressing down to flatten the peanut butter if necessary.
6. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to set, then you can bring back to room temperature before serving.

Cook with Ellie: December

On Sunday I participated in my first “Cook with Ellie” on twitter. The first Sunday of every month she cooks a meal “with” the participants on twitter. Just get the ingredients beforehand, pour some wine, log in to twitter, and wait for the evening to begin! I had a lot of fun and was really happy when she answered questions throughout the cooking process. Who wouldn’t want a famous nutritionist answering your questions as you cook (for free!)? Here are responses I got from Ellie:

Ellie_Krieger: I want a bigger kitchen too! But you can make gr8 food in little spaces! RT @michkair: I already need a bigger kitchen! #cookwithellie

Ellie_Krieger: Chix should be mostly cooked thru- but will more in the oven. RT@michkair:Should chicken be cooked through at this point? #cooKwithellie

This week we cooked a light chicken and biscuit pot pie out of her new cookbook, Comfort Food Fix. Mine turned out GREAT and I definitely recommend that you try it. It does take a bit of time to prepare, but since I was cooking “with” Ellie, I was having a blast the whole time! Just follow the link to the recipe below, I didn’t make any alterations for this recipe, especially since I was getting it straight from the source!

Ellie’s Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie

Nutrition News: EWG Exposes Sugary Cereals | Healthy Eats – Food Network Healthy Living Blog

Very eye-opening statistics here…  I knew that a lot of these cereals had a lot of sugar, but this is insane!

Nutrition News: EWG Exposes Sugary Cereals | Healthy Eats – Food Network Healthy Living Blog.

Fall Faves: Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash soup in the fall is one of my favorite things. A bowl of this immediately brings falling leaves, pumpkin picking, and cornucopias to mind, even here in Florida! The amount of stock in the following recipe is completely dependent on how thick/thin you like your soup. As long as you can cover your squash for boiling, you can always stir some more in at the end! Enjoy and happy Fall!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2.5 lb Butternut squash
• 5 c low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• pinch red pepper flakes
• one medium sweet or Vidalia  onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• salt
• pepper

PREPARATION

1. Peel butternut squash, cut in half and remove seeds and pulp. Cut into ~1 inch cubes.
2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, salt, pepper,  and cook until softened.
3. Add garlic, followed by squash, stock, red pepper flakes, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, simmer for ~30 minutes, until squash is soft.
4. Remove from heat, blend in immersion blender or in regular blender.

Makes ~6 servings

The Ultimate Brown Bag: Dal

For my final post of the brown-bag challenge, I am posting about my ultimate favorite brown-bag lunch: dal. Dal is made from red lentils and is extremely healthy! I add in veggies and serve atop rice, I doubt this dal is traditional, but I love it and actually crave it if I haven’t had it in a while. I had such a great time participating in the brown-bag challenge, and don’t see myself going out to lunch in the near future! I saved plenty of money, and had wonderful inspiration for lunches from other bloggers! I leave you with my favorite brown-bag lunch, I hope you enjoy it!

The recipe I use for my dal is Everyday Red Lentil Dal. While it is cooking, I roast veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and zucchini under the broiler with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. I also cook the rice (usually brown) in mt rice cooker according to the rice’s specifications. I stir the veggies in at the end.

The best thing about this dish as a brown-bag lunch is that it tastes even more delicious with time in the fridge because the spices become more incorporated with time. Therefore, I like to make this on a Sunday evening to pack for the week. I urge you to branch out and try this dish if you haven’t, it is SO delicious!

Tip: If you want to add heat, cut a jalepeno in half and throw it in the pot with the lentils.

Check out the final posts from my other brown-bag friends!

Easy Peasy Pasta

You know those nights when you just want dinner to make itself? When lying on the couch with a glass of wine is all you can foresee for your evening? Well those are the nights I make Easy Peasy Pasta. It contains two of my “to the rescue” staples: frozen peas and canned pasta sauce. The key here is to read the contents of the pasta sauce to make sure you aren’t getting any surprise ingredients. Also, check the calories! I had two cans of pasta sauce in the pantry that had the same ingredients, but one had twice the calories and fat! I am fairly certain it is because of the amount of olive oil in the heavier sauce. There are only three ingredients, and everything goes in at the same time. No cutting board, knife, measuring cups, or preparation while still getting veggies and nutrition! The following makes about 2 good-size servings

INGREDIENTS (sorry, I truly don’t measure here!)

• 1/2 jar of pasta sauce
• ~1.5 c of peas
• ~1.5 c of whole wheat pasta (I like smaller pasta shapes for this)
• Parmesan, for sprinkling

PREPARATION

1. Cook pasta according to box directions
2. Meanwhile, put pasta sauce and peas in a small saucepan over medium heat.
3. When pasta is done, drain and add heated sauce.
4. Sprinkle with Parmesan