Brunch

When I started this healthier me journey (almost three years ago), I was worried about all the wonderful food I would be giving up. The reality is that I haven’t given up any food just added more wonderful foods to my list. I love creating and trying to new recipes. I love playing with flavor combination. Today’s brunch menu was no exception to this. Everything was pretty, flavorful, and each piece was 100 calories or less.

The menu-
Mushrooms stuffed with spinach
Eggs and salmon with asparagus & red pepper
Granola cups with yogurt & fruit
Mini huevos rancheros using quail eggs



Mini huevos rancheros using quail eggs
small corn tortillias
quail eggs
vegetarian refried beans
salsa
a very small amount of cheddar cheese

Put about a small amount of beans on each tortilla. Make a hole in each mound of beans. Crack eggs into each hole. Bake for about 4 minutes or until eggs are set. Garnish with salsa and cheese.

Eggs and salmon with asparagus & red pepper
8 eggs
8 oz of salmon
1 package of frozen asparagus
1 red pepper
garlic
pepper
thyme
basil
olive oil
Sauté in about a tablespoon of olive oil red pepper, garlic, and spices about 2 minutes later add the salmon. When the salmon is half way cooked add the asparagus. Cook until asparagus is hot and salmon is cooked through. Divide the mixture between 12 muffin tins. I use the square ones just because I like the way it looks. Beat eggs with some water. Divide over the mixture. Bake until eggs are set about 12 minutes.

Granola cups with yogurt & fruit
This is the only recipe I did not make up. I got the recipe from here-
http://www.mommiecooks.com/2012/01/09/granola-bars/

Stuffed Mushrooms
12-large mushrooms
1 package of frozen spinach
1 cup of TVP prepared according to the package
olive oil
¼ cup chopped onion
fresh garlic minced
1 vegetable bullion
sage
brown sugar
clove
black pepper
red crushed pepper
Bake the mushroom caps for about 10 minutes. In about a tablespoon of olive oil add garlic and onion. Cook until onion is done. Add the TPV and spices (I don’t measure things so you’re gonna have to guess). Add spinach cook until heated. Stuff into caps and bake for another 10 minutes.

This and That (Oh and I might be losing my mind!)

Here are the top three things on my mind today.
1. Job searching SUCKS big hairy donkey balls!
2. Hello my name is Kim and I am addicted to soda pop. It’s been about two weeks since my last drink.
3. Vegan Black Bean Brownies is something more people should try.

Let’s start with #1 job searching is a very horrible experience. I have over a 100 resumes out there in the world. I have filled out countless applications for teaching, substitute teaching, and well everything else. It’s lonely. It’s boring. It’s depressing.

#2, I keep hearing that pop is bad for you both diet and regular so I decided to give it up. I am drinking iced ginger green tea unsweetened. I like it a lot but it’s not coke. I freakin want a freakin coke! I thought I could stop anytime I wanted but this habit is freakin hard to break!

#3, I know it sounds weird but these are really good and good for you. The recipe I used is a combo recipe off of different recipes I found on-line. For example, one recipe I read called for all bananas the other for all applesauce. I only had two bananas and some applesauce, so I used both. I used oat flour most recipes call for regular flour. Anyway you get the point. Try them. They are healthy enough you can eat them for lunch or breakfast and sweet enough that you feel like you are getting a treat!

2-cans of sodium reduced black beans rinsed well
2-bananas
1-cup of apple sauce
1-cup of oat flour
2/3 - cup of agave nectar
½ - cup of dark cocoa powder
2-Tbsp. of Cinnamon powder
1- Tbsp. of vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 12x8 pan. In a food processor mix everything except for flour until smooth. Stir in flour. Bake for 30 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely before cutting! Enjoy they are good for and if you cut them into 12 squares each square has less than 200 calories.

Spicy quinoa with black beans and spinach topped with salmon and mango salsa

It is no secret that I love cooking. I love experimenting with flavors and coming up with unique combinations. I love Ethiopian, Mexican, and Indian foods. These foods use lots of flavors and spices. They give me inspiration for when I make my own creations. The following recipe I made for Lavender and I the other night. It’s full of flavor and healthy. If you are worried about it being too spicy take out some of the red crushed pepper. If you are looking for a vegan dish, leave off the salmon. This is the first time I created this but I will make it again.

Spicy quinoa with black beans and spinach topped with salmon and mango salsa (serves 4)

Make the mango salsa first.
2 fresh mangos peeled and chopped up
Handful of cilantro
4 garlic cloves minced
1 jalapeño pepper
3 Tbsp. of lime juice
Black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and store in the refrigerator until time to use.

Next start the quinoa

1 pablano pepper chopped
4-6 garlic cloves minced
1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of water
½ tbsp. of olive oil
1 tbsp. crushed red pepper
Onion powder and black pepper to taste
Sauté pepper and garlic in the olive oil. Add water and let boil and quinoa and the rest of the ingredients. Lower heat, cover, and let sit for about 15 minutes.

Salmon

1 pound of salmon cut into four 4 oz. pieces
2 tbsps. Of freshly grated ginger
6-8 curry leaves
Black pepper
Rub ginger and pepper on salmon. Place salmon in foil packets with 1 ½ -2 curry leaves. Bake at 425 for 14 minutes.

And finally….

Black beans and spinach
1 can of black beans
1 vegetables buillion cube
1 tbsp. of crush red pepper
½ tbsp. of onion powder
3 cups of spinach
Heat up the first 4 ingredients then add the spinach cook just until the spinach is wilted.

Now put it all together!
Put 1/4 the quinoa on plate, 1/4 the black beans and spinach, 1 piece of the salmon on top and finish with the mango salsa.

Enjoy. Your mouth will be happy.

Quinoa!

I love quinoa. Below is my basic recipe for it. I use this as a side dish or stir in some easy add-ins for the main dish. Tonight I added cooked adzuki beans and served it with zucchini, avocado, and baked corn tortillas topped with fresh salsa. Another thing that I love doing with it is adding sautéed mushrooms, red pepper, and a bag of fresh spinach. I hope you will give it a try. Quinoa is a bit expensive when it comes to grains but stores like Whole Foods sells it in bulk. Quinoa is rich in nutrients and it is a complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids.

Ingredients
1- Cup of quinoa
1- Can of tomatoes (I buy the salt free ones) or 3-4 chopped tomatoes
1- Jalapeño pepper, diced
1- Poblano pepper, diced
1- Lime
4- Garlic cloves, diced
Fresh cilantro

Directions
In a medium non-stick pan (so you don’t have to use oil) slightly cook the peppers and garlic over medium heat for about five minutes. Add the quinoa and 2 cups of water bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and let that cook for about 15 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook all the juice out, about five more minutes, stir in cilantro and juice from one lime. Enjoy!

Black-Eyed Pea Masala

I was looking for something easy and healthy. I combined several recipes I found on line for Black-Eyed Pea Masala to make this recipe. I took out the oil, added extra garlic, and simplified it. I was very happy how it came out and my family all seemed pleased with it. The only thing that would have made it better would have been fresh ginger and cilantro.
Ingredients

1 can of green chilies
8 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons of ginger
2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder or
2 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup of salsa
salt, to taste
1 package of frozen black-eyed peas
2 tablespoons cilantro


Cook black-eyed peas accaroding to package directions adding in the above ingredients. Serve with brown rice.

Food!

It is no secret that I love cooking. I love feeding people. I love food. I love creating things in the kitchen. I like flavor and pretty presentations. When I first started my healthy new me one of the hardest things was cooking. I thought I was going to give up my love. I didn’t know how to cook without butter and oil. One of my favorite dinners included an entire pound of butter.

These days I hardly ever use butter. I am still cooking with the same bottle of olive oil I bought last year. My big surprise is I still love cooking. I find it a whole new challenge and joy. All of my recipes are new and exciting. When I cook dinner now, I worry about taste, nutrient, fat, and calories. I want the people that I am cooking for to leave the table feeling good about the tasty meal they just enjoyed.

I don’t eat a lot of meat or dairy anymore. So, I cook a lot with my new favorite food- Black Beans. We have black bean tacos, black beans and (brown) rice, black beans and eggs, and one of my new favorite recipes poblano peppers stuffed with black beans.

Poblano Peppers Stuffed with Black Beans
1 can of Bushes Fiesta Black Beans
1 can of Black Beans (please look for the low sodium ones)
1-2 table spoons of garlic chopped (I love garlic)
1-jalapeno pepper chopped
6-poblano peppers with their seeds removed
Fresh cilantro
Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray the bottom of a pan. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Stuff the mixture into the six peppers. Cook for about 20-25 minutes. They are done when the peppers are tender. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
These are good by themselves but can become a nice dinner by topping with shrimp and served on top of rice.