Banana Nice Cream

I have been reading around on some raw and whole food foodie blogs about the miracles of frozen banana ice cream.  Apparently bananas have some sort of bizarro-land properties to them that make them turn into the texture of soft serve if you prep them right.  I didn't believe it.  Then I did it for myself. Holy crap, it really does.

The trick is to cut your banana into chunks, and freeze them ahead of time.  In the food processor, blend the frozen chunks for about 3 minutes.  You will need to open the top and scrape down the edges every 30 seconds or so.  At first. the chunks will knock around, then it becomes a powder almost; when it starts to melt is when the magic happens and the substance comes together. It really is like soft serve.

The first time I made this, I did 2 bananas, and covered the top with a tablespoon of almond butter (about 300 cals), but the almond flavor was lost in the pure banana goodness.

Tonight, I did 1 banana, and after I went through the process and it was in ice cream form, I added 2/3 cup of frozen pineapple, and 2 oz. of frozen plain non-fat Greek yogurt and blended for a bit longer.  I think I have died and gone to heaven.  Over the top I spooned on 1.5 tablespoons of coconut butter, which hardened up on the cold surface, so it was like having Magic Shell

Calories on this bowl of fun were 341.

Gratuitous food-porn closeup shot:

Grilled Baby Artichokes with Caper Vinaigrette

This is an excellent side dish that would go excellently with some nice steaks thrown on the 'que next to them.   Most of the work is in the prep.


Grilled Baby Artichokes with Caper Vinaigrette
12 baby artichokes
for the vinaigrette:
2 lemons
2 TBS Dijon Mustard
2 TBS Capers
salt
pepper

Pre-heat your grill to med-high heat.

Prepping the artichokes: Snap off the outer leaves at the base.  Keep snapping off leaves until the inner ones are green on the top and fade to yellow towards the bottom.  Cut off the top 1/3 of the chokes, making sure you get rid of all the purple. Cut off the stems.  Slice the chokes in half.  Rub all cuts with half of one of the lemons right away to avoid discoloration.  Boil the chokes in well-salted water for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, pull the chokes out of the water immediately, and put into a cold water bath to stop the cooking.

Lightly spray the chokes with cooking spray.  Place on the grill, cut side down and grill for 5 mins, flip, and grill another 4-5. 

Combine the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk.  Toss the grilled chokes with the vinaigrette.  Tastes great right away, and better an hour or two later.

About 20 calories per half choke.

Eric's Dinner: I made him burgers on the grill.  On sliced white bread.  With Cheddar. And nothing else.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Broiled Cod

This is super delicious, terribly easy-to-the-point-of-criminal recipe.


Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Broiled Cod
skin on deboned cod fillets, about 4 oz each
for the marinade:
juice of 1 lemon
2-3 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Put everything in a gallon zip lock bag for 2-3 hours. Spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Lay your cod skin side down in the pan.  Dispose of left-over sauce. Broil under high heat, 6-8 inches from the flame for 10-15 minutes.  Eat.  Yes, it is that simple.

Cod is a mere 30 cals per cooked ounce if you don't eat the skin, and the marinade is about 0. Eat up.

Eric's dinner: Box of mac 'n' cheese.

Whatevs BBQ Veg Salad over Black Beans

This is one of my go-to meals.  Use whatever you have in your veggie drawer and follow the general idea here.  This particular mix is super good as is though!

BBQ Veg Salad over Black Beans

1 medium squash, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

2 large red bell peppers, large slices

2 Japanese eggplants, cut the long way into 1/4 inch slices

1 oz non-fat feta

for the vinaigrette:

1 TBS olive oil

3 TBS red wine vinegar

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 TBS Dijon mustard

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Combine your vinaigrette in a large bowl, whisking ingredients thoroughly.   Toss your sliced veggies in the vinaigrette. Reserving the remainder of the dressing one you remove them, BBQ your veggies over medium heat for about 15 minutes, turning after 10. Veggies will be slightly blackened when done.  Allow to cool, then chop into 1/4 inch pieces.  Return veggies to reserved vinaigrette, toss with feta.

Served over warmed black beans seasoned with garlic, salt, and pepper.

Calories will vary with veg used, but you are looking at about 110 per cup, not including beans.

 

Eric's Dinner: Juice.

New York Strip Steak with Cardo y berza con garbanzos, Roasted Salsa, & Spinach Tortillas

Dinner was awwwweeeesome.  I have a pic to add later, so for now, just enjoy my drivel.

I was in a south o'the border mood already, so when this recipe came through my reader, originally called Espinacas con garbanzos (Spinach and Chickpeas); I knew it would  satisfy the craving and I could avoid  nachos or something equally blase.  Once I figured that much out, the rest pretty much fell into place.  Since my tortillas involved spinach, and I had a bunch of collard greens (berza) that were getting wilted and a fresh bunch of chard (cardo) come in my organic delivery, I decided to do some substituting, which at this point is less a decision and more a force of habit :)  From the original blog post, apparently this is a Spanish comfort food; I'd never heard of it (being about as whitey McWhite White as they come...) but I am so happy I it gave it a try!

Cardo y berza con garbanzos
6g coconut oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp of cumin
3/4 cup all natural tomato sauce
1 bunch collard greens, stems removed and chopped
1 bunch chard, any variety, stems removed and chopped
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
juice of 1 lemon
few dashes of Tabasco, to taste
salt, pepper

In a large, deep, sauce pan with fitting lid, sautee onion and garlic in the coconut oil, until just translucent.  Add cumin and saute until fragrant. Add chard, collards, chickpeas, and  tomato sauce; cover and let greens wilt.  Add some water, and continue to saute, covered, checking frequently for doneness.  When greens are tender, saute uncovered until liquids have all but evaporated.  Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice over the top before serving.

Yields 5 cups, 140 calories per cup

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I can't believe I made my own tortillas, but I did it! This is another great recipe from VeggieWiz, and I changed very little; I also tweaked the directions slightly to reflect my personal experience with the dish.

Spinach Tortillas
1/2 cup corn flour (NOT corn meal)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 cup spinach, boiled and drained, reserve the liquids

Puree the boiled spinach in a blender; you will need about 3/4 cups puree.

Mix the corn flour, wheat flour, salt and baking soda together. Knead into a dough by slowly adding the spinach puree. Add the reserved liquids if needed. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 balls and pat each ball into a thin roundish tortilla using the corn flour to help with sticking. Make as thin as you can.

Heat a griddle or skillet over high heat (do not use oil). Gently place a tortilla on the hot pan, and cook for 40-50 seconds on each side; longer if your tortillas are a little thick. You should see little bubbles forming, and it should get lightly toasted. Eat them fresh; for leftover5s, wrap in aluminum foil and refrigerate,

Yields 6 tortillas, 79 calories each.
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Salsa is a pretty simple affair, but I made a pretty good batch, so figured this would be a good time to report it.

Roasted Salsa
4 jalapenos
8 plum tomatoes
2 Anaheim chilies
1 large red onion, rough chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4c. lime juice (about 4 small limes)
2 tsp. cumin
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Place jalapenos, tomatoes and chilies on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven under a high broil turning once until blackened and blistered on all sides. Allow to cool. Remove skins taking care with the jalapeno to avoid getting spice on your hands.

In a food processor, take turns chopping onion and garlic to a fine chop; chilies jalapenos and tomatoes to a chunky consistency. Add all remaining ingredients together and toss. Season to taste.

Yields 4.5 cups / 65 calories per cup
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I'll go ahead and assume you know how to grill a steak...

Eric's Dinner: Box of White Cheddar Shells Pasta-Roni

Mango Ahi Ceviche with Black Bean Plantain Fritters

I swear something must be aligning in the universe for me in the kitchen the past few weeks.  I made another amazing yummy dinner, and another first.  I have never made Ceviche before, but I have had it, so I know what the general point is.  I went online and read 4 or so recipes in random places and got the main idea for what to do.  The following is the result of cobbling together what I thought would work best, and then threw in two surprises: mango and avocado. So frakkin good!

I needed a side that wasn't tortillas or rice or chips. I started thinking about beans, and plantains, and didn't really just want a pile on my plate, so figured I would try some sort of bean patty situation.  I think that had I not been watching the fat and calories, I would have fried these which I encourage you to do if calories aren't an issue for you. Through trial and error, I figured out that baking these were a good alternative.  They are really yummy and are really really tasty next to the Ceviche.

Mango Ahi Ceviche
1.5 lbs of sushi grade Ahi Tuna, cut into chunks
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin (whites only)
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1 tbs fresh ginger root, minced
2 serrano chilis, roasted, de-seeded, skin peeled, and minced
3 small tomatoes, roasted, skin peeled, and chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
4 limes, juiced
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, leaves only, minced
2 tsp salt
1 packet sweetner
1 fresh mango, peeled and cubed same size as the tuna
1 fresh avocado, peeled and cubed same size as the tuna

Place everything in a bowl EXCEPT the mango and avocado. Mix well. Cover and let marinate in the fridge for 3 - 4  hours.   Add mango and avocado just before serving and mix again.

1058 calories for the whole batch.  0.66 calories per gram (pictured: 2/3 cup serving at 101 calories)

Black Bean Plantain Fritters
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 plantain, peeled, cut into chunks
1 jalapeno
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 egg whites (or 1/3 c. of egg whites)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Cut plantain into chunks and boil for 20 minutes, or until softened.  Blend everything in your food processor until all chunks are broken down, and a relatively smooth paste is formed.  Form pattied on the cookie sheet by plopping down a large spoonful of the mixture, and spreading out slightly so each patty is no more then 1/2 an inch thick.  Bake for 10 minutes, flip over, and back an additional 10-15 minutes.  Dollop the top with non-fat Greek yogurt.

This whole batch is 782 calories.  1.18 calories per gram (pictured is two 3-inch patties at 142 calories )

Eric's Dinner: nothing, he was still full from his pizza at lunch

Ruby Tostada with Jicama-Mango Salsamole

I was feeling south of the border and decided to make a veggie version of a taco, which morphed into a tostada.  These recipes came out terrific; one of those things where I sit back and wonder how the hell I come up with stuff.  Needless to say, both me, and my belly, are quite happy!

Ruby Tostada
2 c yams , peeled, and diced
2 c beets, peeled and diced
2 TBS water or veggie broth
7g coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c red bell, diced
1 c green bell, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp each: cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne, onion powder
2 tsp salt
makes 5 c/ 161 calories per cup

In a microwave safe casserole dish with lid, add yams, beets, and water/broth.  Cover and nuke for 3-8 minutes, until just cooked, but still a bit of crunch left.  Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, add garlic and saute for a couple minutes.  Add peppers, and allow to slightly caramelize.  Drain off any liquid from beet/yam mixture, and add remaining ingredients.  Heat through.

Assemble whole wheat tortilla, filling, Jicama-Mango Salsa (recipe below), and a dollop of n/f Greek plain yogurt.

Jicama-Mango Salsamole
1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
1/2 c red onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed
1.5 c jicama, peeled
1 mango, peeled
2 avocado, destoned
2 lime, juiced
2 lemon, juiced
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp each: cumin, chili powder
makes 4 cups / 204 cals per cup

In your food processor, blend each fruit and veggie individually, then add to a large bowl - I preferred mine a little chunky.  When all is blended, mix together with the citrus juice and seasonings. 


Eric's Dinner: chicken strips from Safeway, on a Safeway Asiago bagel, with bottled BBQ sauce.

Beet Hummus

This recipe came courtesy of VeggieWiz, a great blog for fun vegetable recipes. Check it out :) I made only very small changes, mainly to slightly lower the calorie count, and upped the flavor somewhat (extra garlic and lemon).

Beet Hummus
1/2 c. tahin
1 16 oz can garbonzo beans
1.5 c. beets, peeled and chopped (2 medium)
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice - 1.5 small lemons
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
2 TBS EVOO
4 TBS water (if needed)
salt to taste

makes 721 grams = 1.9 calories per gram. I had about 3/4 c. serving at 289 calories


Roast beets in oven for 20-30 minutes at 350, or until softened. When beets are done and slightly cooled, add everything into your blender or Cuisinart. Add water as needed to loosen the mixture; this is a less oil version than the original and needs the moisture. Serve with fresh crunchy veggies or pita bread.

 

Eric's dinner : Sponge Bob Square Pants mac'n'cheese.

Shepard's Harvest Pie

In my PlanetOrganics delivery this week I ordered some ground beef from the fabulous Eel River Ranch .

I am still sitting here stunned by how good my crazy concoction came out.  I took the typical Shepard's Pie, reduced the fat, and the starchy carbs, and added loads of veggies (hence the 'harvest' part).

Let me say I have never made Shepard's pie before, nor have I ever eaten it.  In fact, the closest I have come to a Shepard's Pie in the past was an episode of Kitchen Nightmare's where the Pie was, "just a big ball of grease" and then Chef Ramsey vomited...  DRAMA QUEEN.

After eating my version, I really don't know that a traditional version could be better.  My mouth and tummy are so happy right now, I am bouncing in delight.  This can also really easily be changed to a vegan version, just by substituting tofu and/or mushrooms for the beef, or made even lower cal by using ground turkey or chicken.

Shepard's Harvest Pie
topping:
2 cups winter squash, peeled, de-seeded, and cubed
5 small cloves garlic
2 TBS broth
1 tsp each: salt, white pepper, paprika, horseradish
1 c. corn kernals
6 oz n/f greek yogurt
1TBS coconut butter, warmed
1/2 oz shaved parmesean

filling:
1c. onion, chopped
1/2 TBS coconut oil
1lb ground beef 90/10
2 TBS wheat flour
1 TBS tomato paste
1 c. veggie broth, plus water as needed
1 tsp each: salt, thyme, marjotam, paprika, parsley
2 c. baby brocoli, chopped
1 bunch Chard, chopped

preheat oven to 350

For the topping: Put squash, garlic, broth and seasonings in a microwave safe dish and microwave for 10 minutes, or until cooked and softened.  Meanwhile, saute your corn kernels until they are slightly browned.  Add corn, squash mixture, yogurt, and coconut butter to a large mixing bowl and use hand blender to puree (or use a Cuisinart or blender).  Set aside.

For the filling: saute onion in coconut oil.  When slightly caramelized, add beef. Cook until browned. Add flour, tomato paste, broth and seasoning.  Boil until broth is a gravy consistency.  Add broccoli and chard.  Cover and let simmer until chard is wilted.  Adjust seasoning as needed. Uncover and let simmer until much of the liquid has evaporated.

Add filling mixture to the bottom of an oven safe casserole dish. Top with the squash mixture and carefully spread, completely covering the beef.  Bake for 20 mins.  Switch to broiler, and broil for 5 mins, or until browning starts.  Cover with the shaved Parmesan and broil a few moments longer until cheese starts to brown.  Let rest before serving.

The whole dish is 1569 kc. Split into 4 meal-sized serving s= 392 calories per serving

Eric's dinner: juice (2nd night in a row...)

Also, look how pretty all the colors are:

Whispers from the East Slaw & Salmon Veggie Bake

I know, I know, it's been ages.  I have 6 or 7 recipes lined up, it's just a matter of getting them from there to here... transported (sorry, I just channeled Dr. Horrible and I think I am gonna leave it as it happened).

Anywho!  I had a cabbage left over from last week's PlanetOrganics delivery and knew I needed to eat it before tomorrow when my next delivery arrives.  So I came up with the following slaw.  Super yummy!  I also had another Salmon-Veggie bake (yellow squash, shitake mushroom and red bell) which came out so good, as it always does.  And a big ol' bowl of mixed veg salad - I even took the time to cook up a couple of yellow beets to add to it mmmmmmmm

Whispers from the East Slaw
1 small head cabbage (6.5 cups), shredded
2 large carrots, shredded (1 cup),
6 green onions, sliced
dressing:
2 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 TBS cashew butter (or other nut butter)
1 TBS ground fresh ginger
1 sweetner, or 4 drops stevia, or 2 tsp sugar
1/3 c. rice vinegar


Add your cut veg into a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients until incorporated.  You may find microwaving the cashew butter helpful.  Add to your veg and toss.  Enjoy.

Makes  7.5 cups / 68 calories per cup


P.S.  I don't think I have ever dissected what my mixed veg salad's consist of.  For the record, tonight's salad had; baby spinach, arugula, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, yellow beets, baby carrot, shitake mushroom, Japanese black radish, fresh basil, cucumber, red bell pepper. My dressing was half a lemon's juice (my usual dressing), and a dollop of fresh chipotle salsa I got from the health food store. Yes, this is typical, and I eat it twice a day, pretty much every day.

Eric's Dinner: he actually let me cook for him tonight!  I made Chicken (free range) Alfredo (from a jar) and topped it with shredded Parmesan and added some Parmesan wafers (from a box). Behold:

Dog Food

Yes, we cook for our dogs.  Twice a month we make large batches of fresh food following the best we could find as as far as nutritionally appropriate foods for our pups, which are the only children we have any interest in.

The ratio of meat to vegetable and starch for a dog food is 40-30-30.  We generally add organ meats (liver, gizzard and hearts) every other time, and since taking this picture a few months ago have switched their starch to a pasta and oatmeal mixture. 

And then to top it all off, we add about a tsp of olive oil to their bowls at each meal (they get 1/2 cup of food, twice a day).  The result is that 1) we have peace of mind (we KNOW what they are eating - and if you did a moments searching into what is actually in commercial, cheap dog food, you would vomit), 2) we have no fear of dog food recalls 3) our dogs are super healthy 4) they smell terrific, even when wet; they simply don't have that "dog" smell or the yucky wet dog smell at all 5) their fur is soft as a bunny, and they don't shed nearly as much and 6) they don't poop copious amounts.

I have had discussions with people about using the RAW diet, but for us that is not an option;  the dogs sleep in our bed (and Fuji sleeps on my pillow, at my head) and there is the danger of bacteria and other nasties leaving the body when you feed uncooked meats.