Breakfast Smoothie 1

This is my stand-by clean eating breakfast smoothie. I usually eat oatmeal for breakfast. Yep, the old fashioned- steel cut, simmer for a half hour- kind your grandma would have made. And I like it..with a little  bit of Truvia or brown sugar of course ;-)  .. love it with blueberries, and heaven forbid strawberries tossed in! But once and awhile I get wild and make myself a smoothie in the morning. I know.. I'm sure there are earthquake tremors somewhere because of this ;-)
It's pretty basic and since I am not the most early bird riser, I dump all the dry ingredients into the blender the night prior. This save's on time and get's me out the door just a smidge faster. :) Plus you can eat breakfast in the car or at your desk. I'm not above spilling so I bought these great cups from Tupperware that come with lids with a hole in the top for a straw. Makes my 'gotta have' list!

Eat Clean Breakfast Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1/4 scoop whey protein powder. (I use vanilla on this one)
4 tsp dry oatmeal
3 TB water (or milk)
1 tsp almond butter (or nut butter of your choice)
1/4 frozen banana (opt)
1/2 TB unsweetened applesauce
3/4 tsp flax seed
3/4 tsp wheat germ
4 ice cubes

Combine all above ingredients into a blender and enjoy!

Nutritional Info:
Calories 275
Calories from fat 31
Protein 8 g
Carbs 55 g
Fiber 6 g
Sugar 28 g
Sodium 37 g


Special thanks to Tosca Reno. Recipe adapted from her Eat Clean-Diet Cookbook 2007.

Crepes

An all time favorite- Crepes! I love walking to the local Farmer's market downtown and eating them for breakfast on a warm summer morning.. yummy!

Basic Crepes

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour (I substitute whole wheat flour)
2 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 TB butter, melted

Directions:

Step 1:  In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and the water, stirring to combine. Add salt and butter. Beat until smooth.

Step 2:  Heat a pan or griddle to medium heat. Pour appx 1/4 cup batter into pan and swirl in a circular motion so as to make a round crepe.

Step 3:  Cook the crepe on both sides until it's light golden brown. Remove from heat. Fill with appropriate toppings.

Note:
The use of whole wheat flour will make a more sturdy crepe. It won't be as light and airy as it normally would. But it's still quite tasty.

Topping suggestions:
Fresh fruit
Whip Creme
Apple Cinnamon Crepes: apple slices or apple pie filling, cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered sugar.
Breakfast Crepes could include veggies, eggs or a combo of those with/without breakfast meat.

My all time fav is to duplicate the Farmer's Market Crepe's. They spread a good size dab of cream cheese on the warm crepe, then toss some fresh sliced strawberries down the center (maybe even banana's if you're getting totally crazy!). Finally they top it off with dollops of whipped creme. Is your moth watering yet?! :)

Meat Samosa’s

One of my newer favorite treats are Samosa's. I was only introduced to them during this past year but find myself craving them! For awhile I was going the convenient route and purchasing a frozen brand at the grocery, which I thought was awesome. But now that I've made my own at home, I find those are "just ok". :) I have apparently spoiled myself lol. Check out the recipe below and how easy it is to make them yourself! Time consuming.. but doable :)


 
Meat Samosa's

Serves: 4

• 17 ½ oz minced lamb /chicken (1 lb +)
  
• 4 TB Oil , for frying the lamb/chicken (as needed)
  
• 1 tsp salt , or according to taste
  
• 2 tsp garlic paste
  
• 2 tsp ginger paste
  
• 1 tsp chili powder
  
• 2 tsp ground coriander
  
• 2 tsp ground cumin
  
• 2 tsp garam masala powder
  
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
  
• 1 ½ medium onions , peeled and finely chopped
  
• 1 small bunch fresh coriander leaves , chopped
  
• Flour and water mixture , for sealing samosa pastry
  
• 1 packet samosa pads or filo pastry
  
• 2 tomatoes , chopped- ¾ large can diced tomatoes (if carefree use entire thing!)
  

Step 1: Fry the Onions

Heat the 4 TB of oil in a large frying pan. Put the onion in and stir fry gently for 1 minute over a medium heat. Add garlic and ginger paste when onions are getting done.

 

Step 2: Add Spices and Meat

Add the spices and salt and simmer for a minute, then add tomatoes. Stir. Then add the meat.

The spices and tomatoes have just been added here.

Now I've added the ground meat to the mixture.

*If you're observant you'll notice I had to transfer to a larger pan! Lol..

 
Step 3: Cover and Cook

Stir, cover and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes until the meat is cooked. Make sure it is all chopped up finely. Taste mixture to make sure all is well.

Step 4: Make the Samosa Cone. Fill.

Check out the link below to a YouTube video on how to fold the Samosa's. I watched it over and over until I got the folding down. And I still didn't do them all exactly the same! :)
(The music in the background is pretty catchy too!)
 

"How to Fold Samosa's in 30 Seconds"

All my little Samosa's! Don't worry.. it took me forever to fold them all too!

 
Step 5: Deep fat fry or bake. I bake mine for appx. 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in a convection oven (if they are frozen) May need less time if baking immediately after making fresh. Turning over half way through to brown both sides. Serve warm!

Finished Samosa's. I bake mine because I am health minded. I like them better this way. My family's consensus: baking was better than deep fat frying.

 
Notes

*You may freeze the prepared Samosa's for later use. Lay separated until frozen so they won't freeze in a clump.



When my friends heard I was making Samosa's they all wanted in on the meal. I'm sure you'll be the most popular person on the block too once word gets out! Good luck!! :) 


Recipe source: A combination of a few recipes from the web. Unknown at this point. Will cite if I locate them.
 

Cassava Fritas!

Today I start with my first posting.. Cassava Frita's! I am very excited as it was my first venture into making something with this vegetable! :) 

First let me tell you a little bit about cassava. Cassava, or also known as yucca, is a a woody shrub that produces a starchy tuber root. It is most common in South America and Africa and supplies a main source of carbohydrates for these area's of the world. The leaves are a the main nutritional aspect but the root plays a main role in the diets within these societies. I became familiar with this little guy awhile back and then soon after had a meal at a dear friend's house where it was used in an African soup type dish. It was quite scrumptious!  There are many other things they do with this root such as grind it up into flour, keep it whole in flakes to use later, or process to use for tapioca. This last one is my favorite! I absolutely LOVE tapioca and never knew growing up I was eating something that had such an interesting background to it!

So there you have it.. a little background info.. who knew this was going to be so educational ;-) Hope you enjoy the recipe.. and the experience! Best of luck..

Cassava Frita's

Ingredients:

• 7-8 pieces cassava
• pinch of ground annatto seeds  (I did not have these so I opt'd out)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 green onions, course chopped
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1 tsp cominos (cumin)
• pinch of salt
• 1 qrt of water (enough to cover cassava in pot)
• Opt: May add Azafran or Saffron in the boiling process as well. See notes below.

Step 1:

Soak cassava in water at least one day. This will remove the starch and if you have the bitter cassava vs the sweet one it will remove the toxins. The bitter cassava contains the toxin cyanide if not prepared properly. I decided better safe than sorry, right?! I soaked mine at least 3 days.. but more because I didn't get around to making these frita's ;-)

Step 2:

Place all the above ingredients (except cassava) into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Then place cassava into pan. Lower the heat and simmer for appx 45 mins or until the cassava is tender. You can easily place a fork into it. Drain cassava's in a colander. Cool.

*Note: For a pleasing yellow color add Azafran to step two. Using saffron will change the flavor and color. :)

Step 3:

Slice cassava into finger bite pieces. Remove and discard the woody pulp centers as you do this. Heat oil in a pan and place pieces of cassava into pan. Turn to brown both sides. Remove when light golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Serve immediately!

 

I found frozen cassava at the Latino grocery. They said they'd have fresh mid week but I've read it's difficult to peel and doesn't last long for storage. The packages ranged in price from $5-$8 dependent on brand.

 

Frozen Cassava

(I forgot to take a picture of the soaking and boiling steps- oops!)

 

On the left, cassava waiting to be fried in oil.

On the right, cassava frita's just from the pan.. golden brown! Yum yum!!

  

These are Cassava Frita's made with Saffron,

salted and touched with butter. Note the difference

in color from the ones above. Umm.. and the sinful taste!

I think it took me as long to write this first post as it did to cook the frita's! And after talking of tapioca I'm craving it big time. I just might have to make some tomorrow!

Stay tuned for my next post.. Samosa's! I made these little gems over the holidays and now I don't seem to like the store bought ones. I've ruined my convenience taste buds and can only eat the homemade ones from now on I guess lol.. Til next time!

Special thanks to: Nikas Culinaria for the base recipe.