Egg Salad

English muffin 

1/4 cup chickpeas 

1 egg 

1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise 

Olive oil 

Toss chickpeas in olive oil and salt&pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Place egg in a pot of cold water. Simmer egg for 13 minutes when the water is finally simmering. Peel shell off and use a cheese grater to shave egg. Add the mayonnaise and mix together. Add salt and pepper. Toast English muffin and place the egg salad on top. Cover egg salad with roasted chickpeas. 

Enjoy!!

Grilled Chicken Thighs

Boneless chicken thighs 

Toasted minced onion flakes 

Broccoli 

Escarole 

Spinach 

Heart of Palm 

Why chicken thighs? The dark meat from chicken is dark because of the increased blood flow to this area during the chicken's life. The muscles are worked more in the thighs than the breast. When you work a muscle more blood flows there more. The dark coloring is a result of lots of blood depositing iron and other nutrients. More nutrients=more flavoring. The boneless factor is more of me buying what was on sale, but if you do leave your bones in remember that it will take longer to cook bone-in. 

Rub your minced onion on your chicken thighs along with salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through and serve with plenty of vegetables. 

The escarole is wilted because I steamed it with the broccoli. I took a perforated pot and placed broccoli on the bottom and covered it with escarole leaves. The pot under the perforated pot place a small amount of water in. Cover with a lid. Keep your heat on high until the escarole begins to turn transparent. By the time the escarole is transparent your broccoli will be cooked perfectly. 

The raw greens on my plate are spinach and red leaf lettuce. I was feeling rebellious and threw in a few croutons and everything! This may look like a lot of food, but your green vegetables will condense pretty fast in your stomach, so don't be afraid to eat until you are good and full. 

Enjoy!

Pasta with Sugar Snap Peas

Olive oil

1/4 lb pasta 

4 stems heart of Palm 

1/2 cup sugar snap peas

1/2 bunch asparagus 

2 tablespoons roasted garlic 

1/2 can chickpeas, roasted (see other recipe) 

Sauté asparagus in olive oil with roasted garlic purée. Remove when fully cooked and add sugar snap peas. Cut asparagus into bite size pieces. Quickly sear off the heart of Palm. Add cooked pasta to the peas, asparagus, and heart of Palm. Add roasted chickpeas. 

Enjoy !

Baked Spaghetti Squash

12 pieces asparagus 

1/2 spaghetti squash 

1/4 cup spinach 

1 cup tomato, whole canned 

1/4 lb oyster mushrooms 

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon thyme, fresh and chopped

1/4 cup red wine (pino noir is what I used)

2 tablespoon roasted garlic purée 

Take the stems of the oyster mushrooms and place them in a pot with the seeded squash. Add enough water to cover the entire squash. Simmer for 20 minutes until tender. 

Take the canned tomatoes and place in a pot with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon roasted garlic purée. (See recipe). Add 1/2 teaspoon thyme, chopped. Add wine and simmer for about 15 minutes. 

Sauté mushrooms in a small sauté pan with canola oil and salt and pepper, until properly browned. After they cool chop into smaller pieces. 

Remove the squash from the rind with a spoon. Mix with grated cheeses and mushrooms, saving some cheese to sprinkle on top of the squash.

When mixed thoroughly add the sauce. 

Mix carefully. Take your spinach and roughly chop it. Add to the mixture. 

Mix together evenly, then add the rest of the cheese on top. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 

While the baked squash is cooking place asparagus in a sauté pan with canola oil and 1 teaspoon roasted garlic purée. (See recipe) season with salt and pepper to taste. 

This vegetable-happy meal is perfect for someone who is trying to cut meats from their diet. Not only for vegetarians, eating more vegetables is incredibly good for the average American. On average, Americans eat meat for more than half of their plates for dinner. Cutting down on meat in tiny amounts is good for the environment and for your health. 

Enjoy! 

Duck on Duck on Duck

Duck is a fun bird to cook. It is safer than chicken, so there is no reason to fear undercooking it. It has much more flavor than chicken as well, which is satisfying. It's hard to buy whole fresh ducks, so it's okay to buy a frozen one. 

1 duck

4 cups canola oil

Salt and pepper 

1 case blackberries (2 cups) 

I broke down the duck and took the carcass and put it in the oven at 450 degrees. The point of this is to brown the bones, helping to develop more flavor. After golden brown (about 30 minutes) remove from the oven and place in a pot of cold water. Bring the water up to a simmer and let it cook for three hours, adding water as needed. 

Take all of the skin from the duck (except that on the breast) and place in a pot with about 3 cups canola oil. Render out the fat from the duck skin on medium/low heat until the skin appears crisp. I like to feed the crispy skin to my dog, as they have lost most of their flavor from removing their fat. Take the dark meat pieces of the duck (thighs, legs, wings) and place in a small hotel pan.  Salt and pepper the duck. Use the rendered oil to completely cover your duck meat. Wrap in foil and place in a 250 degree oven for four hours. 

The duck confit will be falling apart tender, and so delicious you will be unable to stop snacking on it. Because of the fat we cooked it in, it is high in fat, so try to only eat about 2 or 3 tablespoons worth at a time. It is more delicious warm, so make sure you warm up your left overs before digging in! 

Take your breast and season with salt and pepper. Place skin side down in a pan lightly coated in canola oil (or in the oil you cooked your duck in). Start in a cool pan, and turn the heat up high after placing the breast inside. The skin should begin to crisp up and turn golden after about 6 minutes. Flip onto the other side and sear that as well. Remove the breast and slice after allowing to rest about 8 minutes. 

Take the duck stock and remove the bones. Strain out any particulates. Reduce until about a cup remains. Take 2 cups of blackberries and use a juicer to remove the juice. Add blackberry juice to duck stock. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!! 

 

Egg White and Spinach Sandwich

Before my morning run I like to eat a small breakfast. This spinach and egg white sandwich is perfect for giving me carbohydrates to keep me running. The protein from the egg whites are helpful for building new muscles. 

Enjoy!

Potato Egg Drop Soup

1 new or waxy potato, rough dice 

1 egg

1/4 cup spinach 

1 tomato 

2 cups chicken stock 

Simmer the potatoes in stock until tender. After about 8 minutes add the tomato, roughly chopped. Simmer a few more minutes. Add spinach. Scramble the egg with a fork and drop it into the soup. Season with salt and pepper. 

Potatoes get a bad reputation because of the French fry. Full of starch and minerals, potatoes are actually healthy for you in moderation (depending on cooking techniques). This soup is hearty and filling, don't feel bad about going back for seconds!

Enjoy!

7 Whole Grain Soup

For this recipe I used the kashi 7 whole grain pilaf packages. Inside are the following grains: buckwheat, triticale (cross between durum and rye), rye, hard red wheat, barley, oats, brown rice, and sesame seeds. 

1/2 package kashi 7 whole grain pilaf 

2 cups chicken stock 

1/2 tofu block (diced medium)

1/4 cup spinach 

1/4 cup escarole 

8 shitaki mushrooms 

Separate the stems from the tops of the mushrooms. Add the stems to the stock along with the grains. Cook about 8 minutes on simmer. Remove the stems then add the tops after cutting them into quarters. Cook about 4 more minutes. Add the escarole, tofu, and spinach and simmer for about 4 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Easily reheated, this soup is hearty and filling. 

Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

1/2 spaghetti squash 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1 can whole tomatoes 

12 cherry tomatoes 

Dash oregano 

Dash thyme 

1 onion 

Chop up the tomatoes in your can. Simmer your can of whole tomatoes. Add the cherry tomatoes and oregano and thyme. Simmer about 1 hour. 

Chop up onion and toss into a large pot of water. Cut squash into small sections, remove the seeds, and place in the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and allow the squash to cool in the water for about 30 minutes. Remove the insides with a spoon, gently scraping the strands out. Toss the squash with the cheese. 

Place sauce on the bottom of a pan and place squash and cheese on top. Add the rest of the tomato sauce to the top and bake in oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Lower carbs and more nutritional! 

Enjoy! 

Clam Sweet Potato Chowder

1 sweet potato 

12 clam chowder clams

8 shitaki mushrooms

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup fat free milk 

Wash your clams with a brush. Drop in a pot of boiling water. When your clams open fully remove them. Take the meat out of the shells and chop roughly. Place the shells back into the water and simmer for 2 hours. Remove the shells and place the clams in the water. Your liquid should have evaporated until you have about 4 cups left. Simmer your clams for 1 hour with the shitaki mushrooms. Peel the sweet potatoes and roughly chop them. Try and keep them around the same size so they cook evenly. Drop them into your soup about 10 minutes before you want to eat it. Finish with your fat free milk. Season to taste. 

Note: taste before adding salt as the clams are salty already. 

I used sweet potatoes in place of regular ones because they help balance the salty clams and earthy flavor of the mushrooms. If you would perfer you can use regular Idaho potatoes. I also finished with skim milk but if you would prefer you can use heavy cream. 

Even though there are few ingredients to this dish the flavor is really powerful. In any dish if you start from scratch and take your time developing the flavor then there is no way you could go wrong! The soup is light and refreshing, but it is hearty and filling at the same time. 

Enjoy!

Grape Compote

So I have a large bag of grapes that are starting to go bad. The easiest thing would be to juice and drink them, but I am feeling creative today. I picked them all off their stems and placed them in a pot of water. I used enough water to completely cover them. I added a tablespoon of raw honey. I simmered them about 2 hours, until there was little liquid left. The result is a grape compote that is sweet and delicious. 

I used this compote in plain Greek yogurt. Swirling this into yogurt is delicious and nutritious. My mother likes to use the compote on her angel food cake. If I am feeling hungry late at night I sometimes have frozen yogurt with this compote on top like a topping! 

Enjoy!

Baked Avocado Fries

1 avocado, sliced

1 teaspoon salt 

1 egg white 

1/2 cup flour 

1/2 cup bread crumbs 

1 lime 

Drizzle olive oil 

Take your egg white and whip it until fluffy. Add your salt and whisk again. Squirt in 1/2 lime. Mix together flour and bread crumbs. Dip avocado slices into the egg whites and then into the flour. Arrange on a sheet tray and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes - Until golden brown. 

Feel free to dip these fries in hummus or lime mixed with mayonnaise. I eat these by squirting lime on top of them. 

Enjoy! 

Gluten free Granola

1/4 cup hazelnuts 

2 tablespoons honey 

1/8 cup rolled oats 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Dash salt 

1 tablespoon instant quinoa 

Blend hazelnuts in food processor until you form flour. If you blend long enough you create hazelnut butter. Add oats and quinoa. Blend for a few seconds before adding honey and vanilla. Finish with a dash of salt and lay on a sheet tray. Bake in 450 degree oven for 5 minutes. Depeniding on how hot your oven you may need to bake less. 

Add granola to your yogurt or ice cream. Use as a cereal in the morning or as a garnish on your salads. 

Enjoy! 

Escarole Soup

This soup is hearty and filling and takes less than 10 minutes to make. Full of protein from the tofu and chickpeas, this soup is perfect after a morning of working out. 

1 cup chicken stock 

1 lime 

1/4 cup chickpeas 

1/2 square tofu (medium dice)

1 cup escarole (rough chop) 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Drizzle olive oil 

Bring your stock to a simmer and add your escarole. I wouldn't worry about over cooking this. The main issue with over cooking your veggies (especially greens) is that you have your nutrients seep out into your cooking liquid. In this case you are going to be drinking the soup anyway. 

Dice up your tofu and add to your soup. Take your chickpeas and drizzle olive oil on them. Toss in salt and pepper and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Any color the chickpeas get will be transferred into your soup. Add the roasted chickpeas to your broth. Finish with lime and s&p. 

Variations: 

This can easily be made vegan or vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock for the chicken. If you like having meat with lunch feel free to substitute grilled chicken for the tofu. 

Enjoy! 

Grilled Chicken Salad

Salad Greens: kale, arugula, and romaine lettuce 

Salad ingredients: 

4 oz grilled chicken (salt and pepper only)

1 hard boiled egg (whites only)

1 slice fresh mozzarella cheese 

1/2 roasted red pepper 

2 sticks heart of Palm 

Roasted red pepper:

Place pepper on the grill until heavily charred. Place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Leave until pepper is cooled. The skin should peel right off with minimal effort. 

Enjoy! 

Artichoke Spinach Hummus Tofu Sandwich Bites

First let me warn you: these little pretzel bites are highly addictive. Fun to eat as a snack, as an appetizer, or as a small lunch, these bites are super cute and super delicious! 

Hummus:

1/2 can chickpeas

1 tablespoon tahini 

4 artichoke hearts (Canned is easiest) 

1 handful spinach leaves 

1 tablespoon roasted garlic purée (see previous recipe) 

1/2 fresh lime, juiced

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped 

Olive oil to consistency 

Salt and pepper to taste 

To make the hummus you take a can of chickpeas and rinse them. I only made half of the can because it makes a lot of hummus. Purée the spinach, chickpeas, Artochoke hearts, lime, roasted garlic, and tahini. Continually drizzle in olive oil until the blender is running smoothly. Make sure your texture is smooth and silky. Taste your hummus and add salt and pepper to taste. Your hummus will appear a pretty bright green for the first few hours, but will turn a dull green by the next day. The color won't effect the flavor, but for appearances you might want to use it the same day you make it. 

The tofu I lightly seared in some olive oil that is infused with garlic. The garlic just brings out the flavor of the hummus. Remember to salt and pepper your tofu on both sides to add maximum flavor! I like to serve these while the tofu is still hot, so the hummus heats up nicely. You can eat them cold as well, but I find the tofu lacks flavor. 

On a side note: I have served these without tofu before. Another version of these have a goat cheese and feta crumble on top! These I pop in the broiler for about 3 minutes until the cheese is warmed and gooey. Feel free to use your imagination for this recipe. Be your own cook! 

Enjoy ! 

Green Tea Sweet Potato Salad

After waking up early to go for a run I find myself utterly exhausted around noon. I need something with caffeine and plenty of energy to keep me going. I brew myself some green tea and I actually use that to simmer sweet potatoes in. The flavor of the green tea infuses into the potato, making it taste more floral and exotic. Sweet potatoes don't take long to cook, so I simmer them only for about 8 minutes. After 8 minutes I remove the skins and slice into pieces. I place them on a sheet tray and bake in the oven for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. 

I take a handful of chickpeas and roll them around in a drizzle of olive oil. I take about a teaspoon of garlic powder and toss them. Bake them in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, rolling them around every 4 mins or so. 

I took some romaine and kale and tossed them with the chickpeas and potatoes. I also sliced up 3 stalks of fresh asparagus. 

Enjoy! 

Honey Roasted Tofu and Apple Salad

Salad greens: 

Kale 

Green Leaf Lettuce 

Red Leaf Lettuce 

Radicchio 

Arugula 

Rough chop all greens and toss together. 

Honey Roasted Tofu:

1/2 block Tofu cut into squares 

2 tablespoons honey 

1/2 lime 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Toss tofu in honey lime and salt and pepper. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. When you take it out toss in a small amount of honey. When you roast the tofu you are going to lose a lot of the juices, so putting honey on it will make the tofu soak it up. 

Cut a Granny Smith apple into slices. If you cut it too early leave it in some water with a dash of salt and sugar. That way it doesn't brown! I used strawberry balsamic on this salad but feel free to use whatever dressing you like. Something with a little sweetness will complement the apples and tofu.

Enjoy! 

Tiramisu

First of all let me warn you: this is NOT a healthy dessert. Sometimes you just need to pull out the big guns when you are going somewhere and they expect you to bring a fabulous dessert. I did use low fat ingredients and I infused vanilla bean into the sugar, which made me need less. Despite this, I would still recommend only eating a small piece. 

8 oz mascarpone

2 oz cream cheese 

1 cup espresso

1/4 cup kahlua

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 cup vanilla-infused confectioners sugar 

1 package lady fingers 

Dusting of coco powder 

Vanilla-infused sugar:

Okay, so you are going to have to get your hands on some vanilla beans. If you cannot find any then you can add vanilla extract to your tiramisu instead of this sugar. If you are lucky enough to have some vanilla beans then this is what you do: 

Take your vanilla bean and cut it in half lengthwise. Use the back of your knife to scrape out those precious vanilla beans. Set these aside for later. Take the pods that are now empty and store in confectioners sugar, keeping the bean submerged. Place in an airtight container in the fridge. Let sit for at least one day before using the sugar. 

Here is a fun tip about using vanilla infused sugars: use it as much as possible. I always save my vanilla bean pods in some granulated sugar. Vanilla infused sugar gives the illusion of it being sweeter than it actually is. Meaning: you can use less sugar if it is vanilla infused and it will taste just as sweet as if you used more of the regular stuff! Vanilla bean is useful for tricking your brain into thinking what you are eating is actually sweeter than it is. 

Tiramisu: 

Lay down a row of lady fingers. Take your espresso and kahlua and pour until the cookies are soaked. In a separate bowl whip the mascarpone with the cream cheese, cinnamon, vanilla bean, and vanilla-infused sugar. (Tip: have your cheeses at room temperature in order for them to be easy to work with). Taste your filling after adding half of your sugar. Everyone has a different pallet for sugar, I like to use less. Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar. Spread your filling over your lady fingers. Lay another row of lady fingers on top. 

Use the rest of your coffee kahlua liquid to soak the top layer. Spread the filling on top and dust on some coco powder. Refrigerate overnight to let everything soak together. 

Enjoy ! 

Grilled Shrimp and Asparagus Salad

I normally try to avoid eating shrimp as it is one of the most wasteful fishing industries. Did you know for every pound of shrimp caught five pounds of bycatch are killed? Bycatch is the fish that end up stuck in the nets that were not intended to be caught. These were farm raised shrimp, so they were a tad better for the environment. 

1 handful red leaf lettuce

1 handful green leaf lettuce 

1 handful kale 

1 stalk heart of Palm 

5 or 6 black olives 

7 asparagus stalks 

1 tablespoon roasted garlic purée (see  recipe)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper 

Rough chop kale, green leaf, and red leaf lettuces. Toss with olives and sliced heart of Palm. Set aside. Rub olive oil on shrimp. Sprinkle a touch of salt and some pepper on them. Shrimp are already salty - so try not to add too much. Rub the garlic paste in, trying to evenly coat the shrimp. Take your asparagus and toss in a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Grill the asparagus and shrimp, putting the asparagus on a few minutes before the shrimp. 

Be careful when grilling the asparagus not to let them all fall through the cracks! Shrimp are tricky to grill because they cook so darn fast. Cook them for maybe 2-3 minutes on one side. They should appear to be changing from clear to opaque about halfway up the shrimp. Turn them over to finish grilling them. 

All in all the shrimp should only take about 5 minutes to cook. You may not even have time to develop a pretty grill mark on it. You can eat this salad while everything is still warm (as I did) or you can chill everything. Chilled shrimp salad is delicious, and I plan on having that tomorrow for my lunch (with my left over shrimp) 

Enjoy! 

B.A.T. Sandwich

Whole wheat toast

3 slices of bacon (turkey if you'd like) 

1 tomato

1/2 lime

1/2 avocado 

Hummus or chickpea purée 

I use hummus instead of mayonaise, which saves us some fat. The good news is we are still getting plenty of fat from our avocado - the best kinds of fats though. I also didn't use any salt on this sandwich because the bacon has plenty. You can substitute tofu for bacon if you'd like, which I've done before. I do love tofu, but today I was craving bacon. Everything is okay in moderation! 3 slices of bacon will not ruin your entire day of healthy eating. Treat yourself to things that you like, even if they are not good for you. Dieting isn't effective for me because it's not possible to continue living that way for the rest of your life. A healthy lifestyle is easy to maintain because you still give yourself treats and little things that you deserve. Moderation :) 

Artichoke Kale and Romaine Salad

I pan fry the artichoke hearts in this dish. If you are truly opposed to using a little bit of olive oil then you can use raw artichoke hearts. 

1/2 romain heart

1/2 can artichokes 

2 leaves of kale

Flour 

1 egg

Olive oil - enough to lightly coat the bottom of your pan

Carter and Cavero strawberry balsamic 

Cut your artichoke hearts in half (or in quarters if you prefer). Beat one egg and have your flour in a bowl. Dip your artichoke heart in egg then coat with flour. Pan sear them in olive oil until golden brown. Slice up your lettuce and kale and plate with your artichoke hearts.

Drizzle with strawberry balsamic, or any balsamic you prefer. The bottle I photographed is what I like to use. 

Don't be afraid of the artichokes being too unhealthy for you if you do pan fry them. The entire can is only about 90 calories, and if you add a little flour and oil you aren't adding too much fat. Remember that everything is good for you in moderation. Keep in mind that there have been many study's showing that carbs can be worse for an under-active person than fats. Never fear fat or oil or carbs, as long as you are not overdoing it in every meal. We also did not use any oil in our dressing, so you can imagine that you just transferred your oil into your artichokes and out of your dressing!

Enjoy :)