Food In Many Forms

Back in 2015, I adapted a curry chicken salad recipe to my own specifications. I left myself a note for the next time that, "it would be interesting to substitute some of the sour cream or mayonnaise for Greek yogurt." So yesterday, I tried out the recipe with Greek yogurt, and twice as many almonds. Still hits the spot! Ingredients 1 1/4 pounds Chicken, cooked and diced 4 whole ribs of organic celery, chopped 1/2 cup sliced almonds 3 Tbsp mayonnaise 3 Tbsp 2% fage greek yogurt 1/3 cup Nut Pods coconut almond milk creamer 1 Tbsp curry powder Salt & pepper, to taste Directions Mix together mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, almond milk creamer, curry powder, salt and pepper until well combined. Combine chicken, celery, and almonds in a large bowl, Pour curry dressing over the top. Fold together with a rubber spatula. Make sure it's all combined, then add more of whatever it needs. Chill for several hours. Serve on lettuce, or with juicy grapes on the s...

We had our first dusting of snow last week, which means it's casserole season. Baked ziti, lasagna and baked macaroni and cheese bring me comfort on cold days. They give me an excuse to heat up the house, and stand in the warm kitchen for most of the evening.   At the store the other day, I came to the blog to find a ziti recipe, and was surprised to find nothing I had actually tried myself. I had wanted to try out a recipe a while back, but never actually did it. So, I found a new recipe, and adapted it to my preferences. I used a penne pasta with added flax seeds that was absolutely delicious the night I made it, but not as great after a few days. Next time I want to see how it works with a true whole wheat pasta, or one of the new high protein lentil, quinoa or chickpea pasta options that are coming out.  Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce Serves 4-6 Ingredients 1 1/3 lb ground turkey, 93% 2 tsp Italian seasoning 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 4 cl...

Last night I was thinking about all the flour sealed away on the top shelf of my fridge, and I figured it was about time to try my muffin recipe again. When I woke up this morning, I laid out all my ingredients, and was excited to find I had fresh lemons, which I had said I wanted to try using back in July, as well as dried orange peel. I still had to run to the store for buttermilk, but that gave me the opportunity to buy cranberries! I made a batch of the Triple Berry muffins first. The last time I made them, I ran out of sprouted wheat flour, so I could only get about 1/2 cup. This time I split the flour content more evenly - 1 cup sprouted wheat flour, 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour - and I added about half a lemon's worth of zest when I added the berries. Unfortunately, I was impatient to eat and I didn't defrost the berries enough. Then I didn't hear the timer go off. So now I have burnt, under-cooked berry muffins (flavor is still good though!). I ate a ...

As much as I love Baltimore, one of the frustrating aspects of living here is that the grocery stores don't seem to carry a lot of whole grain products. It's hard to find whole wheat bread that doesn't taste terrible, whole grain baking mixes are nonexistent, and whole wheat pancakes are available from just one brand ( Kodiak Cakes - I highly recommend them!). I've made a few attempts now to adapt baking mixes to make muffins and breakfast breads, but the results have been just okay. And who wants to feed their friends average baked goods? So, I've decided to go in search of my perfect muffin recipe. Ideally this recipe would: Taste good Be whole grain Work well as muffins, and as a breakfast bread Be adaptable to different flavors (i.e. berry, banana, pumpkin) My initial thoughts were to use ingredients like white whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, sprouted wheat flour, almond flour, flax meal, and rolled oats. This recipe does not incorpo...

How do I find time to cook at home?  How do I prevent getting bored of the same foods when I am cooking for one? How do I incorporate seasonal produce into my food routine? These are typical questions that come up during a nutrition counseling session. My clients often want easy answers at first. They want a meal plan; they want to be told what to eat. But the more they learn about good nutrition, and the more they prepare their own food, the more they learn to eat their own favorite foods in different ways and to plan out their meals in a way that works for them.  Let me tell you about my experience when I first was learning to cook and feed myself. I remember when I started this blog, back in college, around 3-4 pm, I would start running through the mental inventory of the food in my fridge. Would I start with rice, pasta or tortillas? Did I have a good protein? Did I have leftovers I needed to use up?  By the time I was walking home after class, I...

I was sitting at home at 4 o'clock in the afternoon today contemplating what to do with some leftover corn tortillas, when I found a cooking light recipe for "Smoky Potato and Greens Tacos". Although the resulting tacos were a bit different, they were quite tasty. Cooking Light recommends potatoes, radishes and greens with fresh cheese. I substituted sweet potatoes and used lightly cooked onion instead of radish to give me the same crunch. The queso blanco was also delicious as an appetizer all by itself until I could pull everything together.  Ingredients 2 corn tortillas 1 medium sweet potato 1 cup spinach/ arugula/ your favorite greens 1/2 cup sliced onions 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro 1 oz queso blanco Salt and pepper, to taste Fresh lime juice (optional) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Poke holes in the sweet potato, and bake for 45 minutes. Dice sweet potato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute onions and mix in greens prior to taking it off...

I'm in week 2 of meal planning for the new year. But I realize after week, that I really only need two or three recipes to hold me over for the week. Last week it was tuna antipasto, French lentils, and homemade hummus. This week, I have quinoa salad and avocado sandwiches planned, which may be plenty since it's also restaurant week :) This Mediterranean edamame salad was super delicious - but maybe next time I will buy the pre-shelled edamame. Ingredients 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained 1 cup water 1 package frozen edamame 2 medium tomatoes, chopped 4 cups fresh arugula/ spinach mix 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp lemon juice 1/2 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese Dried basil, salt, pepper, to taste Directions In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer on low for about 15 miutes or until quinoa is tender and liquid is absorbed, adding edamame the last 4 minutes of cooking  In sm...

I didn't have all the ingredients for the original recipe from Kitchn - "Tomato-Braised Lentils with Broccoli Rabe" - so I just made the lentil part and served them with brown basmati rice. I would have liked more tomato flavor, and I think next time, I would add more tomato paste, and even maybe some canned diced tomatoes. This year, I'm also going to change the way I estimate cost. Since I love to shop at Aldi, and their prices are amazing, I'll be saving my receipts, and using their prices whenever I buy from them. So the prices may seem a little lower, but they are completely realistic. Ingredients 4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups green French lentils 1 tablespoon tomato paste 3 cups stock (chicken or vegetable) 5 cloves garlic, crushed 3 medium tomatoes, chopped Salt and pepper, to taste Directions Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Sweat the onions over low heat...

I'm easing my way into a more vegetable, fish and legume focused-diet. This recipe can serve a family of 4 or become lunch for a few days during the week. As long as you wait to add the salad greens, the tuna salad should only grow in flavor. Ingredients 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed 2 6 oz cans of chunk light tuna, drained and flaked 1 large bell pepper, diced 1/2 cup onion, diced 1/2 lemon, juiced 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil Ground pepper, to taste 8 cups mixed salad greens Directions Combine beans, tuna, bell pepper, onion, parsley, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with pepper. Divide the greens among 4 plates. Top each with the tuna salad. Adapted from : http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252451/mediterranean-tuna-antipasto-salad/ Allergens : fish Nutrition (1/4 recipe) : 264 kcal, 12 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 8 g monounsaturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 334 mg sodium, 362 mg potassium, 17 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 22 g protein, 69% vitamin A, 82% vitamin ...

Looking back at 2017, I had so many financial goals, and food just became an obstacle to them. I ate foods that were not the best for me in the interest of cost-savings. I became a believer in Aldi, and I ate whatever Aldi provided (which was not much, sometimes). I stopped trying to follow recipes because you could never find all the ingredients there, and instead just improvised.  When my favorite Mexican spot next to my office closed, I cooked canned black beans with cumin and garlic and layered them over shredded lettuce and Mexican cheese on tostadas. When my guy came over for dinner, I covered naan bread in caramelized onions, sauteed spinach, shredded parmesan, and fresh mozzarella, and baked it until golden brown. But when I decided to take a graduate class this fall, I realized why I loved to cook so much in college. It was an escape from homework, and tests, and a time I could socialize with my roommates. When the pressures of school returned, so too did my desire...