2014 Weekly Challenge #29: A Salad A Day

Summer is the perfect time for salads. The veggies and fruit are so tasty and fresh, and it is usually just too darn hot to heat up the kitchen.

One of our very own Mamas, Kim Box, has written a cook book all about the beauty of the salad. Here's a little bit about her:

Kim Box is an inspirational leader, writer and speaker. Kim is passionate about creating gourmet meals that are simple and healthy. Salad Inspiration was a collaboration with her daughter Nicole who did all of the photography of the salads. Kim has also written a book on leadership and the power of diversity – Woven Leadership. Kim is an inspirational speaker on leadership, diversity and living a life that is aligned with your passion and purpose. She is active in the community serving on various nonprofit boards and as Executive Director of the non-profit Pathway to Prevention. She lives in Granite Bay, CA with her family and achieves life balance by pursuing her passions of watercolor, creative cooking, and competing in triathlons.

Your challenge this week: Make and eat a salad a day! We suggest using these yummy recipes from Kim, but any healthful and nutritious salad will do.

Day 1: Spinach with Mandarin Oranges, Walnuts & Feta This salad is one of my ‘signature’ salads. It is a favorite at every gathering, and a recipe that has been shared with many of my guests. The dressing is a sweet and sour flavor that ties all of the ingredients together. There is one short cut that I’d like to share. If you like fresh red onion, you can skip the step of cooking the onion and leave it uncooked without the brown sugar.

15 oz fresh baby spinach
1 15 oz can of mandarin oranges
4 oz crumbled feta
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 small red onion
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Sweet & Sour Salad Dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
3 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon celery seeds

On a baking sheet, roast walnuts in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes then set aside to cool. Slice red onion about 1/4 inch thick. In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Put the onions in the pan and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes until onions are wilted. Cook until slightly translucent, but do not overcook or they will caramelize. Remove from heat and place on a paper towel to dry and remove excess oil.

Combine the dressing ingredients and stir well with a whisk. Place in the refrigerator to chill. In a salad bowl place the spinach then layer the mandarin oranges, feta, walnuts and onion. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Drizzle on the dressing before serving. Serves: 10-12.

Day 2: Aloha Caesar The Aloha Caesar is an inspiration from vacationing in Maui. We’ve enjoyed many tropical holidays with my sister, Leslie, and her family. Fresh pineapple and Maui onion are so delicious; along with the roasted macadamia nuts which bring together all the flavors of the island. The dressing below gives a tangy flavor or you can use a classic Caesar dressing.

1 head romaine lettuce
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, chopped coarsely
1/2 cup fresh mango, chopped coarsely
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1 small Maui (sweet) onion, sliced
1/3 cup parmesan, shredded

Dressing:
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 egg
1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon finely grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced Maui onion

Mix together the dressing ingredients and chill in the refrigerator. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the macadamia nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until just starting to brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Put the lettuce in a salad bowl, top with the remaining ingredients. Pour dressing over salad and serve immediately. Serves: 8-10.

Day 3: Seared Ahi Salad This is a very special salad inspired by Hailey Holesapple, a friend of my daughter Nicole. Hailey was describing a salad that she thought would be very good for the book. So, I got the ingredients and she supervised while I put the salad together based on her inspiration. When it was completed, it met Hailey’s approval and was even better than she expected. Thanks for the inspiration Hailey!

1 lb ahi (uncooked tuna)
12 oz baby greens
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 red or orange bell pepper
1 small red onion
1/3 cup of pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup sesame seeds
4 oz goat cheese
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

Dressing:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar

Mix the dressing ingredients and put in the refrigerator to chill.

Prepare ahi by slicing into long steaks that are 1 inch by 1 inch around to prepare to sear. Place the greens on four dinner plates (or 6 salad plates for smaller portions). Core the bell peppers and thinly slice, thinly slice the red onion. In a large frying pan heat the tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Sauté the peppers and onion in the frying pan, stirring constantly, add the balsamic vinegar (1 tablespoon) and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Sauté until vegetables are wilted, but not caramelized – about 8-10 minutes. Remove the vegetables onto a couple layers of paper towels to cool and let some of the oil absorb. Lay the sesame seeds out on a plate and roll the ahi on the seeds to coat all sides. Using the frying pan that the vegetables were cooked in, turn the heat to high. Sear about 5 to 10 seconds a side so the outer sides are cooked, but the inside is still raw. Remove from the pan onto a cutting board. Slice the ahi about 1/4 inch thick. Layer the sautéed vegetables on the greens, then the goat cheese, then the kalamata olives. Lay the ahi in a row on each salad. When ready to serve, drizzle with the dressing. Serves: 4-6.

Day 4: Raspberry, Tarragon & Chive Salad
This salad is great for a fresh summer meal or any season. The fresh tarragon and chive give the salad a unique flavor. The raspberries and goat cheese finish it off with a nice blend over the butter lettuce. The dressing is light and tangy. A perfect blend of flavors!

Salad Ingredients:
10 oz butter lettuce – loosely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives – cut to 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
2 oz chevre/goat cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts

Dijon Dressing:
3 oz extra virgin olive oil
2 oz red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Put the lettuce in a salad bowl; layer each of the salad ingredients on top of the lettuce. Next, mix all of the dressing ingredients with a wire whisk. Chill the dressing until ready to serve. Before serving, mix the dressing then drizzle it onto the salad and enjoy! Serves: 6-8.

Day 5: Spinach & Orzo Salad If you are looking for a perfect companion to your grilled meat (chicken, pork, beef, or whatever sounds good for dinner!), this salad can complete the meal with the great array of vegetables and a little bit of pasta. It is also a wonderful lunch salad with fresh bread. You can add sliced roasted turkey to make the salad a main meal as well.

1/2 lb (1 cup uncooked) Orzo pasta
1 large bunch of fresh spinach or 2 bags of baby spinach
1/3 cup julienne sun dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
4 shallots, thinly sliced
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook orzo according to directions on package, leave to cool down. In large bowl combine all the remaining ingredients, mix well. When orzo is close to room temperature, combine with the other ingredients. Mix well; the spinach should wilt a little bit from the orzo. Serve immediately or refrigerate to chill before serving. Serves: 10-12.

Day 6: Avocado & Tomato Salad This salad is one that is a staple at my family’s dinner table. We are fortunate to have tomatoes and avocado all year round but the tomatoes are definitely best when they come from our summer garden or the local farmers market.

12 oz field greens
2 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded and sliced
6 medium tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 shallots, thinly sliced

Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of dried oregano or 2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

Place baby greens in salad bowl. Layer the tomato, avocado, feta, pine nuts and shallots on top of the greens. Chill until ready to serve.

Combine all of the balsamic vinaigrette ingredients and mix with a fork or wire whisk. Chill until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, drizzle on the vinaigrette and enjoy! Serves: 6-8.

Day 7: Spring Greens with Strawberry Vinaigrette We are so lucky to have fresh strawberries all summer long in our region of Northern California. I can’t get enough of this salad and it’s fresh set of flavors. It is so easy to make and always a favorite with guests!

10 oz spring greens
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup almond slivers
1 apple, sliced with a touch of lemon juice

Strawberry Vinaigrette
1 cup fresh strawberries (halved)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend the vinaigrette ingredients, mix well. If you want to make the salad in advance, put the sliced apple in the vinaigrette as well so the flavors can mix and the apple will stay fresh. Place spring greens in a salad bowl with the dried cranberries, almonds and apple (if you haven’t already put them in the vinaigrette). Pour vinaigrette over the salad and serve. Serves: 6-8.


Eat and enjoy a salad a day. Your body will love you for it!

2014 Weekly Challenge #26: Eat LOCAL!

You hear it all the time: Eat Local! But why?

Here are 8 reasons to eat local foods (taken from about.com):

1. Local Foods Are Fresher (and Taste Better)
Food that was picked within the last few days tastes way better than food that was picked (unripened) and trucked thousands of miles to get to you. And fresh food lasts longer, too.

2. Local Foods Are Seasonal (and Taste Better)
It must be said: Deprivation leads to greater appreciation. When does a cozy room feel best? When you've come in from out of the freezing cold. Fresh corn in season tastes best when you haven't eaten any in 9 or 10 months--long enough for its taste to be a slightly blurred memory that is suddenly awakened with that first bite of the season. Eating locally means eating seasonally, with all the deprivation and resulting pleasure that accompanies it.

3. Local Foods Usually Have Less Environmental Impact
Those thousands of miles some food is shipped? That leads to a big carbon footprint for a little bunch of herbs.

4. Local Foods Preserve Green Space & Farmland
The environmental question of where you food comes from is bigger than its "carbon footprint." By buying foods grown and raised closer to where you live, you help maintain farmland and green space in your area.

5. Local Foods Promote Food Safety
The fewer steps there are between your food's source and your table the less chance there is of contamination. Also, when you know where your food comes from and who grows it, you know a lot more about that food.

6. Local Foods Support Your Local Economy
Money spent with local farmers, growers, and artisans and locally-owned purveyors and restaurants all stays close to home, working to build your local economy instead of being handed over to a corporation in another city, state, or country. Since the food moves through fewer hands, more of the money you spend tends to get to the people growing it.

7. Local Foods Promote Variety
Local foods create greater variety of foods available. Farmers who run community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs), sell at farmers' markets, and provide local restaurants have the demand and the support for raising more types of produce and livestock. Think Brandywines, Early Girls, and Lemon Boys instead of "tomatoes."

8. Local Foods Create Community
Knowing where your food is from connects you to the people who raise and grow it. Instead of having a single relationship--to a big supermarket--you develop smaller connections to more food sources: vendors at the farmers' market, the local cheese shop, your favorite butcher, the co-op that sells local eggs, a local café that roasts coffee.

Your challenge this week: Eat LOCAL by shopping at a Farmer's Market near you. Take a look around and choose food that is seasonal, local, delicious and healthy. Your body will love you for it!

To find a Farmers' Market near you, visit: www.cafarmersmarkets.com

2014 Weekly Challenge #22 - Start your Day the RIGHT Way!

You know that old saying "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day?" Its an old saying for a reason - its TRUE!

Breakfast is just that - time to break your fast. After not eating for at least 10 hours (because you closed the kitchen well before bedtime, and you're getting plenty of sleep, right?) your body is ready to refuel with healthy food. And you might find - as I do - that starting the day eating clean makes it a little easier to eat right all day long!

Here's a great clean meal that will get your calorie-burning engine going and set you up for a successful and energy-full day. As a bonus? It is delicious and will leave you satisfied!

*********************
OatMEAL!
1/2 c Olf fashioned rolled oats/1 c hot water
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 banana

Scrambled Eggs:
1 whole egg
2-3 egg whites
*add pepper for flavor

12-16 oz water with a packet of Emergen-C

Total Calories: 320-340
Total Fiber: 5 grams
Total Protein 19-34 grams
More than 100% of your daily vitimin C requirement
Includes potassium (banana), which is important when exercising
*****************

Your Challenge: Start EVERY day with a healthy, nutrient-rich, breakfast!

Remember: breakfast like a queen, lunch like a princess, and dinner like a pauper.

Eat your (clean) breakfast - your body will love you for it!

Apple Recipes

This week's challenge is to remember to eat an apple.  I thought I would provide a few fun ideas getting your apple a day eaten in case you want to eat it in some other form and need a little variety.

• Core the apple whole, then slice it in rounds, spread a little peanut or some other nut butter, then sprinkle with a few chopped nuts and maybe a couple of chocolate chips for a sweet treat.
• Take an 8 oz container of vanilla Greek (or regular) yogurt, mix in a heaping table spoon of peanut butter, sprinkle cinnamon and then use it to dip apple slices.
• On Sunday, when prepping your veggie bags for the week, chop about 5 apples, toss with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon (you can even do less sugar and more cinnamon).  Pour it into a greased baking dish and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  Each morning you can heat some up to eat with oatmeal for breakfast or eat it on it's own.  Or even eat it cold with some chopped nuts and yogurt.

Enjoy apples!

2014 Weekly Challenge #18 - An Apple a Day

You know that old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" Turns out it might be more true than you thought!

Apples are the perfect snack food. They are crunchy, sweet (but not too sweet) and delicious and also chock full of nutrition. Apples are low on the glycemic index which helps stabilize your blood sugar. They are also high in fiber which is not only good for your digestive system, but also helps you feel satisfied. As an extra bonus, apples don't need to be refrigerated and come in their own "wrapping" making them the epitome of a "grab and go" snack.

Your challenge: Eat an apple a day. When you do your grocery shopping, branch otu and try more than one variety of apple. Pay attention to what your favorites are, and make this challenge a part of your regular eating routine throughout the year. Be sure to come back to the blog and post a comment letting us all know what your favorites are so we can all try them too!

Have a great week, and remember: An apple a day DOES keep the doctor away, and so much more.

Spring Vegetables: Artichokes

Here in California we are so lucky to have so many wonderful vegetables available to us almost year round.  And one vegetable that is very distinctly California, especially since 99% of the entire nation's supply is grown here in California, is the artichoke.  I LOVE artichokes.  On a recent trip to Monterey, where I passed through Castroville, the home of artichokes, roadside vegetable stands sell them 7 for $1.  ONE DOLLAR!!   Artichokes are actually the official vegetable of California.  And of course they are a healthy green veggie, but they actually have a specific health property; they can aid in digestion, protect your liver and lowers triglycerides and cholesterol.  A large artichoke is only 25 calories and contains no fat.

Here's how I love to prepare artichokes- I take the time to trim the leaves, cutting all the sharp points off the leaves, I remove some of the tougher outer leaves, but I certainly don't strip it down to the lighter color tender leaves like so many recipes call for.  Then I cut it in half lengthwise, use a small paring knife, cut out all the purple, fuzzy part and then wash it well to get the fuzz out and the leaves clean.  Then I take several pieces of foil, cut large enough to suite the size of the artichoke(s) and set two halves on top.  I liberally squeeze lemon juice, season with a combo of salt, pepper and garlic powder and drizzle with olive oil.  I wrap it up on the foil to be like a pouch.  Then I place it on the grill.  It's the first thing I do before grilling anything else, like chicken or other veggies.  It needs plenty of time, like 20-30 minutes.  I usually move them to not be over a high flame, the could get a burnt, with a gas grill I have it on low.  The only way you  know it's done is to just check them, open up the foil pouch and see if a leaf pulls off easily.  You can eat them with all the delicious sauce that has been created while cooking.  You can also do this same cooking method in an oven if you can't use your grill.

For more about artichokes and more recipes, you can read more on my blog, www.e-mealplanning.com

2014 Weekly Challenge #14: Veggie Bags (aka Grab-n-Go)!!

Even if you only just started Mama Bootcamp, you know that one of the cornerstones in our nutrition training is eating veggies. Lots and lots and lots of veggies.

You'd have to have been living under a rock to NOT know that a healthy diet must include lots of vegetables. But let's get real - even though we all KNOW it, we don't all DO it every day. For me, a big factor is the time - those veggies have to be washed, dried, and cut before I can eat them!

The small time investment is more than made up by the benefit. By eating your veggies, you are not only loading yourself up with vitamins and minerals that are essential to healthy living, you are giving yourself so much more. Veggies not only help your body function better, but they can help you lose weight, look younger and even help prevent cancer. Sounds like a good deal to me!

Your challenge this week looks (and sounds familiar): Eat your veggies! But this week, let's work on making it part of your regular routine and making it EASY (and fast, too!). You should be eating 7-9 servings of veggies every single day. With one serving the equivalent of .5 cups, you can fit a whole day's worth of these health-making beauties into one quart-size plastic bag.

Your challenge: Make your Grab-n-Go Veggie bags. By 7pm on Sunday, have your veggie bags for the week ready to go. Pick out several different veggies, and try to be sure to cover as many "colors" as you can. Dark green, light green and red are my favorites, with a little white thrown in, too. Chop them up into the size you like best, and fill up your quart-sized bags. Put them in the fridge so they're ready to go (maybe pair them up with your favorite dip - hummus is mine).

With just a small time investment, the "work" is done for the whole week! On your way out door every morning this week you can grab a bag full of yum! Snack on it all day long, and enjoy the awesome results.

One of my favorite quotes is: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Veggies bags are a perfect example of planning to meet your goal of eating 7 to 9 servings of veggies a day.

Put together your veggie bags and eat them up!  Your body will love you for it.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Our Main Mama with her Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili!

At a recent Make Ahead Meal Session we prepped a delicious and healthy meal that is so easy.  Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili.  It's really good!  You could eat it in a bowl just like any other chili, you could serve it over brown rice, you could also scoop it up with a slotted spoon to remove some liquid and wrap it in a tortilla.  Like any chili, you can adjust the heat to your own liking to make it mild or spicy.  To prep this ahead of time like you see in the photo, place the chicken into a freezer safe zipper bag or wrap with plastic wrap.  In a separate zipper bag add all the other ingredients.  Then place that bag and the chicken into another freezer safe zipper bag.  The night before you want to cook it, place in the refrigerator to begin the defrost.  The next day, put everything into your slow cooker, even if it's still frozen.  When it's cooked you can stir it all together and if you need to, pull out the chicken to shred it.

Recipe:  Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

I also highly recommend using this homemade taco seasoning mix to use in the recipe.  It's very easy to make and tastes great.  Plus it's clean eating!  Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix Recipe

Kale Salad with Quinoa

Photo of Kale with Quinoa Salad from Mountain Mama Cooks

I'm excited to share this recipe with you this week because it's such an awesome complete meal.  Dark leafy greens, whole grain protein, anti-oxidants, and plenty of nutrients.  Not to mention, it can be made in advance and then eaten throughout the week.  So easy!!  Feel free to improvise and add other ingredients.  Macadamia nuts can be pricy, raw or even roasted almonds could be used instead.  I definitely love to have the crunch of nuts in my salads and for this one, if you intend to make enough to eat over several days, just add nuts to your serving.  The same goes for avocado.

Kale Salad with Quinoa by Mountain Mama Cooks

Try a Grain- Wheat Berries

This week's challenge is to try a new grain.  So here's another recipe you should try.  It's very flexible, he provides suggestions for other root vegetables to use and even other grains. It's a hearty, "rustic" salad that you can enjoy with a protein like roasted chicken or even as a meatless meal.

Roasted Root Vegetable and Wheat Berry Salad

2014 Weekly Challenge #11 - Try a New Grain (or Two)!

Eating healthy, fiber-rich grains is a great way to improve your diet. Not only are they delicious and good for you, but whole grains also make you feel more satisfied and stick with you a lot longer. Because they are more filling, you usually eat less than you would a white, or refined, grain so you end up consuming fewer calories.

Your challenge this week: Try a new grain.

Here's a simple recipe to help you get started:

1/2 cup quinoa (be sure to rinse it well first, then cook it like you would rice), 1/4 cup each avocado and tomato, 1/8 cup of black olives, and 2 TB of Gerards Greek Feta Dressing and only 195 calories! BIG bang for your nutritional buck!

Post a comment here to let us know which grain you tried, how you cooked it, and how you liked it!

Eat your grains!  Your body will love you for it!  Have a GREAT week!

Blood Orange Salad

We have warm sunshine!  Spring will soon be here. But we are also still enjoying delicious winter citrus.  This is a great salad from the beautiful blog, Skinny Taste for a Blood Orange Salad with Gorgonzola, Pecans and Baby Greens. This is a great lunch salad or side dish with your dinner.  Dark leafy greens, the citrus and nuts provide anti-oxidants, Vitamin E and Vitamin C.  It's a delicious source of good nutrition.  You could even add chopped turkey or chicken for protein and make it an entree salad.

Enjoy Blood Orange Salad with Gorgonzola, Pecans and Baby Greens!

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

These are uncooked and have marinara sauce added on top

Earlier this month Lorri Ann featured this recipe on her Fox 40 Mojo Monday segment.  We also made this recipe at our most recent Make Ahead Meal Session.
You can view the video of that segment here- Heart Healthy Meal For Your Loved One

You can learn to make other great meals like this one at our monthly Make Ahead Meal Sessions.  Space is limited so sign up today! Be sure to click on the Events tab to see the information on an upcoming session.

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
By Erika Huckaby, adapted from http://damndelicious.net/
This meatless high protein meal is incredibly simple to assemble and leaves plenty of opportunity to adjust to your tastes.  You can increase the heat adding chilies or more chili powder.  Depending on the time of year, you can use fresh cut corn and tomatoes for a fresh and sweet taste.
Ingredients
•    3 cups cooked quinoa
•    1 cup corn kernels
•    1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
•    1/2 cup petite diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
•    1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
•    3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
•    1 teaspoon cumin
•    1 clove garlic, finely chopped
•    1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
•    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
•    6 bell peppers, tops cut, stemmed and seeded

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, corn, beans, tomatoes, cheese, cilantro, cumin, garlic, and chili powder, salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Spoon the filling each bell pepper cavity. Place on prepared baking dish, cavity side up, and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through, about 25-30 minutes. Serve!
To make ahead and freeze:  Wrap each cooked and cooled pepper in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer safe bag.  Defrost and warm as needed.  Or, wrap each filled pepper uncooked and place in a freezer bag.  Then you can defrost and cook as written in step 3.

2014 Weekly Challenge #8: Eat your (VEGGIE) Soup!

One of the the best things you can do for your body is fuel it right, and there's nothing better than veggies.

In the winter, at least for me, it gets a little harder to get in all 7 to 9 servings of vegetables my body needs. When it is cold and rainy outside, and all I want is comfort food, a salad or crunchy carrots just doesn't seem to fit the bill.

That's where this soup comes in. Warm and delicious, and versatile enough to enjoy as a snack or a full meal, veggie soup is comfort good that it good for your body.

Your challenge for the week: Cook up a big pot of veggie soup on the first day of the challenge. Add your favorite veggies, or add some protein to make it a complete meal. Eat it when you need a snack, or a meal, or just something warm and delicious. Enjoy your comfort food, and know that you are doing something great for your body and your health.

Have a great week!

VEGGIE SOUP
1-2 cloves fresh garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
3-4 (or more) cans chicken broth
1 onion
1 head of cabbage
3-4 carrots
3-4 celery stalks
1 red bell pepper
1-2 yellow squash
1-2 green squash

Chop all the vegetables and saute all but the squash in a big soup pot with a little oil and add 2-3 cloves of fresh chopped garlic. Saute for about 15-20 minutes until the veggies are starting to get soft. Chop and add the squash and 1 can of diced tomatoes. Then add 3-4 cans of chicken broth, or more if you want it soupy. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for about 30-40 minutes.

You can add whatever vegetables you like to this soup. To change it up use a can of Rotel tomatoes with mild green chilies, or add a can of kidney beans, black, beans, garbanzo beans, pinto beans or potatoes. You can also add turkey or chicken for a change.

Healthy Breakast Options

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  But somehow it seems to be the hardest meal for many people to eat.  They don't want to eat in the morning or they are too busy.  Kids too, they get up and rush to get dressed and off to school.  This week I wanted to offer some breakfast ideas and I also wanted to provide a clean eating option for creamer in your morning coffee.  I compiled a list of breakfast ideas on my blog, E-mealplanning.com.  You can find the list of healthy breakfasts that you can eat on the go, here.  You can also look back at all of the breakfast related posts here on this blog.

So often we are brain washed to think that fat free, sugar free is better for us.  If a food in it's whole, natural state is fat free and sugar free, then yes, it probably is.  But processed and chemical-laden food that is created to be fat free and sugar free is often no good.  Taste good?  Maybe.  Good for you?  No.  So after seeing so many Mamas listing in their food logs processed coffee creamers I went in search of alternatives.  What I discovered is that it's so easy to make something yourself!  And it's less calories and clean eating!  Creamy half and half mixed with skim milk, sweetened with sugar or honey and a little bit of vanilla extract.  Simple, not processed and 25 calories in 2 tablespoons.  Coffeemate French Vanilla creamer (liquid) is 35 calories in 1 tablespoon and contains partially hydrogenated soybean oil.  Hydrogenated oils contain trans fats.  In a single tablespoon it's less than 1 gram.  If you use 2 tablespoons in your coffee it becomes 1 gram and if you have that every day, it can add up.  So here is a recipe I found for clean, simple Vanilla Coffee Creamer.

Do you want non dairy?  Its simple to just swap out for any non dairy milk.  Or if you don't want to make it, Organic Valley has great products and they make a non-dairy coffee creamer.

If you need more ideas/inspiration or have questions, please comment here or email me at erika@e-mealplanning.com

A Quick and Easy Weeknight Meal

This is a recipe where it's really just about the method; the ingredients should be whatever lean protein and healthy green veggies you want to use.  Increase the nutrition with super-veggies like spinach and kale.  Make it meatless using tofu or cooked quinoa.  It's easy to just increase the quantities of everything to feed more people or to ensure you have plenty of leftovers for lunch.

The basic recipe with photos can be found here- e-mealplanning Recipes or you can copy it from below.


Cheap and Easy Turkey Stir Fry

Ingredients

2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp vegetable or canola oil
2-3 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 green onion, diced
1 lb ground turkey
1 zucchini sliced and then cut into match stick size pieces (julienne)
1 carrot julienne sliced
½ lb French green beans (these are the thin kind, fresh or Trader Joe’s sells them frozen and they’re great)
1 clove crushed garlic
2 tbl fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbl hoisin  or teriyaki sauce (flavors are different, just use what you prefer)


Directions
In large skillet or wok, heat oils and crushed garlic over medium heat until fragrant.  Add turkey, thoroughly break up and cook until browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.
Turn heat up slightly to medium-high, add vegetables and sauté until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add turkey back, combine thoroughly, add onion and hoisin or soy sauce, continue to stir to incorporate keeping heat up so a slight bit of carmelization occurs.  Add parsely and soy sauce, stir for one more minute and then serve with steamed brown rice with extra soy sauce on the side.

 Serves 4- Recipe as written has 274 calories per serving, 13g of fat

Slow Cooking

The slow cooker, aka the Crock Pot can be such a helpful tool in your kitchen.  Especially if you are very busy and have little time to spend cooking.  But here's the thing, there are so many recipes out there for using the slow cooker that are not clean, healthy eating.  Also, there are many recipes that require some pre-cooking like browning meat on the stove first.  As someone who understands food and the science of cooking, I completely understand why a recipe will yield better results with that method.  As a busy mom, who hates dishes, I feel like it defeats the convenience of the slow cooker.  So this week I wanted to bring you some great recipes that are very easy to assemble and they are healthy. 

Clean Eating Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken- This recipe suggests eating the cooked chicken over chunks of raw zucchini.  But there are plenty of options for serving this.  It would also be easy to eat it over brown rice.  Or in butter lettuce cups or with tortillas as filling in a wrap.

Chicken Fajitas- This is a simple recipe for chicken fajitas that you can prep in advance, put in a freezer bag to freeze and then just defrost the night before you want to cook it.

Ingredients
2 peppers, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 pound chicken breast
1/2 cup chicken broth
1  taco seasoning packet (or 1 tablespoon of Homemade Taco Seasoning)
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt

Directions
1.    Put all the ingredients in a large freezer bag. (Make sure you label the bag with instructions.)
2.    When it’s time to cook it, dump it all in your slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
3.    When it’s cooked, shred the meat and add it back to the pepper mixture and serve on warm tortillas and your favorite toppings.


Vegan Crock Pot Polenta Lasagna- Instead of layers of noodles, this recipe uses polenta.  Because it is vegan, it includes a recipe for a vegan cheese sauce to layer with the vegetables and polenta.  You can easily just use shredded part skim mozzarella and ricotta cheeses.

Healthy Party Foods

In the next couple weeks you may be faced with hosting or attending a football party, or an Academy Awards party.  I put together a few suggestions for healthy options for party food.  And actually, you will love these so much you will just want to make them "just because"!

Obvious things like fruit or veggies platters are easy, but people often pass over that for the fatty and sugary foods.  But you can make them more attractive with a delicious and healthy dip.  Hummus, of course is something we often suggest on meal plans and food logs.  Take it up a notch with Avocado Cilantro Hummus.  Another fantastic dip to serve with veggies and baked pita chips is 5 Layer Greek Dip.

Instead of a green salad, try this protein and nutrient packed Black Bean Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing.

My own recipe for Tomato, Avocado and Corn Salsa is awesome for eating with grilled chicken, tortilla chips or adding on top of salad.

Looking for a hot appetizer?  Try these Low Fat Artichoke Spinach Dip Stuffed Mushrooms.  The recipe uses baby portabellas, you could use smaller mushrooms for bite size appetizers. 

Need more recipes or ideas for clean, healthy eating?  Email me at erika@e-mealplanning.com

2013 Weekly Challenge #48: Pick Your Day!

Tis the season for parties, celebrations, get togethers...food is everywhere all the time this time of year, and it isn't always the healthy stuff.

The bad news: the average person expects to gain weight during the holidays, and does so.
The good news:  YOU don't have to!

This holiday season, make a deal with yourself:  Do your best to eat healthfully and clean six days out of the week.  And pick ONE day a week to indulge.

Now let's be clear here, indulge does not mean "eat the entire cheesecake followed by a chocolate fondue chaser with a bottle of champagne to wash it all down."  Nope, not gonna happen.  Right?

What I do mean is: decide that you will have a small piece of that cheesecake, enjoy a glass of wine, and take a day to not count calories.

Of course even on an indulgent day you will still want to get those veggies in and hydrate - in fact, you should hydrate extra to get the extra sodium flowing right out of your body.  But take a day to indulge, and celebrate.

Happy December :)

2013 Weekly Challenge #43: Close the Kitchen

Late night snacking can sneak up on you when you don't even see it coming. That last bite of something left on the kitchen counter, a few cookies during the evening news, a cup of hot chocolate... Because you are slowing down for the day, late night calories don't get burned off. Instead, they go to bed with you, stowed away as fat.

To avoid late night munching, try "shutting down your kitchen" right after dinner:

• Put away leftovers and do the dishes
• Wipe down the counters
• Close the blinds and turn off the lights

Once the kitchen is closed, brush your teeth. This will further discourage you from snacking!

Creating a simple evening ritual of closing the kitchen can help you to avoid excess calories and bring an organized end to busy days.

This week:  Close your kitchen right after dinner!  Your body will love you for it!