Thai Tonight!

Although it's not quite grilling season where I live, I'm not afraid to hope wishful thinking might drive the snow away! This Satay recipe will be great to use the first time you break out the grill! Don't forget to soak the scewers in water before you start, so you're ready for the first peep of summer sunshine! 

Chicken Satay

Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp garlic finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger finely chopped
• 2 TB green onions
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp white pepper (I omitted only because I didn't have any)
• 1 tsp sesame seed oil
• 1 tsp light cooking oil
• 2 TB honey
• 2 TB soy sauce
• 1 TB lime juice
• salt to taste

Chop all your ingredients as directed above. I clean and chop my veggies when I get home from the grocery and store them in air tight containers so they are ready to go at a moments notice. You can throw together a healthy meal in no time if most of the prep work is done!

Marinate chicken with all the ingredients for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.

Place chicken on skewers and grill until done (Chicken will run clear juice vs pink when it is done cooking. Removing just when done will ensure your chicken isn't tough and dried out from being over-cooked)

Spicy Peanut Sauce

• 1 cup cashew butter (much healthier than peanut butter)
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 TB red chilies finely chopped
• 1 TB farlic finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 TB soy sauce
• 2 TB lime juice
• 1 TB sesame oil
• salt to taste

Heat the oils and fry the onions, garlic, and chilies until tender and aromatic.

Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until it starts to give out oil, stirring constantly.

Serve the skewers immediately from grill with room temperature peanut sauce. Garnish with slices of cucumber and a splash of lime juice. Sit back and enjoy the warm weather!!




Thanks to Hooked on Heat for this spicy little dish!

Jazz Up Your Cottage Cheese

I read in People magazine today Kate Gosselin (formerly of Jon & Kate Plus Eight television series) has a new focus on eating healthy and one of her fav's includes cottage cheese sprinkled with sunflower nuts. I've always been a fan of mixing my cottage cheese with some odd things, but that was one I hadn't heard! I came home and tried it for lunch and loved it! Yum Yum!!

Here are some other cottage cheese mixers:

• I like to add tuna to mine. Everyone I tell this to turns up their nose but.. they always come back surprised at how good it was! I grab those one serving packets of albacore tuna (Sunkist brand I think) and mix it right in with a half cup cottage cheese. I prefer Anderson Erickson brand- it taste the best to me!
• A friend of mine adds yogurt. I wasn't as fond of this variation but it was edible lol.
• Chop up some fresh veggies (peppers, green onions, etc) and toss 'um in!

What other foods do you add to cottage cheese to change it up? Write a comment below to share with everyone! The healthy masses want to know :)

Cereal Treats with a Twist

Quick Tip:  Try making rice krispy treats with dates instead of marshmallows.
The dates will provide the stickiness for holding it all together. Dates are full of fiber and they are also a natural sugar vs. the white processed sugar that is in the marshmallows. Plus these are halal and you can use up your dates post Ramadan! :)

Combine 1/4 cup of "butter"
1 cup "sugar"  (Who out there totally exclaimed "Yay-Truvia!")
1.5 cups of chopped pitted dates

Cook the above over low heat, stir until paste like.

Add:
1 tsp of vanilla
2 cups of your choice of cereal.  (Fiber One is the Bomb! When I first started eating it I joked that it looked like dog food. But I dispute that it tastes great! And there are so many uses for it if you're eating a healthy lifestyle!)

You can even add in some yummy extra's like shredded coconut, chocolate chips or anything you like. SIMPLY AMAZING!

Servings:
About two dozen bars

Nutritional Info:
Only around 105 calories per serving, depending on what cereal you use.

Popeye the Sailer Man

Spinach- Will this leafy green do as much for you as it did for cartoon character Popeye? Perhaps.. but not because of the iron content it was once thought to have. Spinach provides an array of nutritional benefits as it's packed with carotenoids, antioxidants, vitamin K, coenzyme Q10, B vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, polyphenols, betaine and plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids. To name a few!

Read some of the disease prevention benefits these little green leaves pack:

• Cardiovascular disease including stroke and coronary artery disease
• Cancer including colon, lung, skin, oral, stomach, ovarian, prostate and breast cancer
• Age related macular degeneration (AMD) (a disease related to the eyes, usually in the elderly)
• Cataracts

Researchers believe it's the supply of vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytonutrients that help prevent age related issues such as cancers, eye health disorders or cognitive decline.  So not only was Popeye strong.. he was pretty darn smart too! ;-)
Need more reasons to eat your spinach? Vitamin C, beta-carotene and a few other nutrients join together to prevent cholesterol from building up in the vessel walls. Folate, B6 and betaine lower serum levels of the amino acid homocysteine. It also contains potassium and magnesium. All in all what this means for you.. a happy heart!

In the recipe below I also included fresh oranges. The outside of an orange is called the peel and is made of two distinct parts. The zest or the 'orange part' and the pith or 'the white bitter interior'. I removed the zest of the orange but not the pith. I did this by taking a sharp knife and carefully slicing just under the zest at an angle to remove all the 'orange' of the peel. (Place the zest in your garbage disposal. You''ll instantly have a fresh citrus scent in your kitchen!) One of the main nutritional aspects of using these outer coverings is that they contain the phytonutrient herperidin. This flavanone has shown to decrease blood pressure, lower cholesterol and has strong anti-inflammatory properties. All of these items increase your cardiovascular health.

Check out my creation this morning. It was green. It looked yucky. But it tasted oh so delish! (you couldn't even taste the spinach) And based on the above information it seems to indicate your mom was right- eat your fruits and veggies. Try taking this smoothie to the office. It will certainly provoke immediate attention and conversation!

Spinach Smoothie
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (plain would be more ideal if you are wanting to cut out sugars)
1 tsp+ vanilla flavoring
1 tsp flaxseed
1 tsp wheat germ
1 scoop orange whey protein
2 whole oranges roughly chopped, remove the zest but keep the pith remaining
2/3 cup water (or so)
Organic baby spinach- two to three handfuls (fill blender to 3/4 full appx)
5-6 ice cubes
*I also included a couple teaspoons magnesium powder. You can purchase this at your local natural and organic market/section. It provides tons of benefits.

Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend on high speed to liquify. Pour in a BIG cup and enjoy!

Servings:

This made appx 36 oz. Waaay more than I could finish- super filling!