lettuce eat

It's been a week and two days I've been on a strictly clean diet and I'm feeling nothing short of amazing.  To be honest I haven't really struggled at all which is definitely promising, but I am still in the early stages.  Allotting time to prepare meals is probably the trickiest part of the whole transition, but I've been making larger meals that can last me through the workweek, like the Coconut Curry Chili I wrote about in my last post.  Sadly I finished the last of it today and was completely bummed the second it was gone.  I could literally eat it every day (and have for the last 4!). 

Before I start to post some of the clean recipes I've been making I have two in my archives that were awesome (and surprisingly almost clean) that have to be posted.  This one is going all the way back to Superbowl Sunday, which happend to fall on my birthday this year. I love when that happens!

My game day snack was something both delicious and nutritious that didn't lose that interactive, party-food feel.  Lettuce wraps! My dad would beg to differ on those notions and would ask why we couldn't just have regular tacos and if there's lettuce instead of shells then we should at least be eating beef.  But alas these beauties were made with ground chicken, which really picks up all the seasonings nicely.

The only elements making this dish "unclean" are the Asian chili sauce and the hoisin, and within those it's mainly the sweeteners that are to blame.  I'd still definitely recommend making this dish regardless--it's such a crowd pleaser and I'm sure a simple Google search will yield results of how to make your own sauces, clean as can be (usually using honey in place of any other sugar additives)!

This is a super easy and satisfying recipe.  You're going to start by simply cooking your ground chicken in a skillet with just a few spritzes of nonstick spray while making sure to break up the pieces of meat as they brown so you have manageable bits to stuff inside the Bibb lettuce.  Take time to chop your veggies while it cooks.  (Note: I didn't have green onion when I was making this, so I added shredded carrots instead.  I'd add them again next time in addition to the regular ingredients--they added a nice pop of color and some natural sweetness to the dish.)

When it's almost cooked through you're going to add in all remaning ingredients with the exception of the water chestnuts, green onions, lettuce (duh) and sesame oil, which get delayed a few minutes.  Add the chestnuts and onions and stir for about 2 minutes or until the onions start to wilt.  When the chicken has browned up nicely, finish the mixture off with the sesame oil for flavoring and they're ready to serve! I do suggest doubling up on the lettuce, however.  It's much sturdier to eat with two leaves as opposed to one (plus you can stuff more taco meat in there)...and a few extra greens are never a bad thing!

Enjoy!

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squeaky clean

Tuesday marked Day One of my clean eating lifestyle change, which means tomorrow will be a week down!  This is something I'm really excited about for multiple reasons.  First, it forces me to cook more, which I've been needing.  I work a lot and it's hard to find the time, but it's there, I just need to utilize it effectively.  Secondly it allows to me to eat lots and lots of fresh fruits and veggies along with anything organic I can get my hands on, not to mention cutting out any and all processed foods as well as white sugar, dairy and flour.  I love all kinds of foods, so to have to focus solely on super healthy dishes isn't something that comes as difficult.  If anything it's liberating to try new takes on classic dishes.  Thirdly it's going to be just what I need to get me in tip-top shape for the upcoming summer.  I'm also jetting off to florida for a week at the end of the month so that's some motivation in itself.

All in all it's been a great week full of delicious and healthy foods, but starting a few of those days with a green smoothie made it sweeter.  I'll add organic frozen fruits, a huge handful of greens (kale, spinach, etc) and water with a splash of unsweetened vanilla almond milk before blending it together.  It's so great to have a nutritious breakfast that lasts me my entire 35 minute commute to work!

All that being said I have lots of new recipes to post!! I still have a few that I made before this little change that I definitely want to add as well so those will be filtered in.  But right now I have to tell you about something I found that changed my life: Powdered Peanut Butter.  No joke. Just Great Stuff is the brand on this stuff and let me tell you it's nothing short of amazing.  Not only is the nutritional difference drastic (200 vs 45 calories, 15 vs 1.5 grams of fat - per 2 tablespoons), but it's versatile! You can add it to smoothies, oatmeal, or mix it with water and eat it plain.  I've been having it with apples and adding cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.  Heavenly.  I've also been having it (with or without spices) with banana and unsweetened shredded coconut.

Such a great snack that really sticks with you. I have unsweetened shredded coconut on hand (which is very hard to find, I might add) since I made these amazing clean coconut cookies that I'll be posting very soon. I've made them twice within the week, but in my defense I brought almost the whole first batch into work to share with coworkers.

Tonight I did some more grocery shopping to prepare for my week ahead and whipped together a Coconut Curry Chili with Sweet Potatoes, Bulgar Wheat and Green Bell Peppers in honor of Meatless Monday.  Take a look at this recipe because, my god, it was delicious.  Super filling, too! Unfortunately my camera has been on the fritz so I wasn't able to take photos of it but trust me on this one.  I'm still full and already can't wait to eat it again tomorrow for lunch.  I didn't alter much in the recipe but I did add about a tablespoon of corn starch at the end to aid in the thickening process, and I used hot curry paste.  Love me some spice.

I'm going to do my best to get all of these great recipes up in the next few days.  And I'd love to hear about any clean recipes you've made...I'm always interested in trying new things!

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veggie nice

With the holiday season now safely behind us, we find ourselves reflecting on 2012 and eager to forge through to twenty-thirteen.  I know I've personally made resolutions, both public and private, that I'm hoping to accomplish during these next twelve months.  Most of them are completely feasible if I can manage to reach an agreement with my frenemy, willpower. We've had our ups and downs over the years, resulting in this love/hate relationship, but I'm feeling pretty confident that we'll be able to set our differences aside and achieve some great things.

A goal that always weasels its way into most resolutions is the ever-present quest to "eat healthy and work out".  This is magnified during the first month and a half of the new year when people young and old flood to any and all workout facilities and take up your favorite machines. We all know it's going to happen, but it's still a genuine shock when it does.  Just the other day I walked into my gym and couldn't help but laugh at the obscene amount of attendees, bouncing around on cardio machines and lifting too-heavy-for-you weights in an effort to feverishly work off every unwanted calorie from Halloween onward.  Now I'm not saying that striving for a healthy lifestyle is an unwise decision, because it's quite the opposite, but I just don't see the need to come out guns blazing.  Looking around at a room full of hares, I acknowledged the few tortoises who would undoubtedly still be there once the glow of their new neon apparel started to fade.

In an effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle and continue to grow my recipe collection I found myself on pinterest, scrolling through boards upon boards of fresh ideas and recipes to try.  Now pinterest, albeit a fantastic outlet for creativity to flourish, is a procrastinators promise land.  Filled with tips and ideas that never even came close to crossing your mind, it's hard to look away.  That being said I went on with a mission to find a tasty, filling dinner that wouldn't be laden with cheese or cream or any other kind of figure un-friendly food, and low and behold I came across these cannellini bean meatballs that looked too good to pass up.  They were super easy to make and definitely well received, even by my Dad, who's my harshest critic when I make him eat anything healthy.

This recipe doesn't call for any oil or butter, just a little non-stick cooking spray that I was even able to avoid with the help of parchment paper.  The list of ingredients isn't terribly long, either, and with a cook time of 30 minutes it's sure to become an easy weeknight alternative to classic spaghetti and meatballs.  

You're going to start by preheating the oven to 350°, followed by draining and rinsing 1 1/2 (15oz.) cans of cannellini beans.  This is going to be your "meat" (I used a little more of everything since I wanted to stretch out the recipe. Don't be afraid to tweak it while you're working, cooking doesn't require the precision that baking does for you to get amazing results). To the beans you're going to add 1 roasted red pepper, roughly chopped. 

Add these two ingredients into a food processor and pulse until chopped.  You don't want to puree them or they won't retain enough body to hold together (without adding a ton of breadcrumb).

My food processor is pretty small so I had to do this in two batches, which worked perfectly.  Transfer the "meat" into a medium sized bowl and get ready to add in all remaining ingredients.

Italian parsley, grated yellow onion, oregano, minced garlic, one egg, breadcrumb and salt & pepper are all these veggie meatballs need before they're mixed up and ready for rolling.  Feel free to add more breadcrumb if you're feeling like the consistency isn't quite thick enough for you, although remember that they obviously won't be as firm as regular meatballs.

They go into the oven for 15-20 minutes (I went for a bit over 20) or until they're firm to the touch and golden brown.  In the meantime you're going to heat up your sauce--mine was a mixture of Tomato Basil and Spicy Red Pepper--and boil your pasta water.  Not being a huge pasta fan I don't usually choose to eat it, but something about angel hair never disappoints.

I also took this time to chiffonade some fresh basil for garnish
because, well, who doesn't love fresh basil?

When the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce for about 10 minutes and let it thicken up.  Be very careful with this step as they are prone to squishing.  I personally don't think you even need to do this if you just let them cook for a bit longer in the oven.

Plate up the pasta followed by the meatballs and (as you can see) generously spoon on the sauce.  And there you have it! Meatless meatballs that will give your regular ones a run for their money.  Feel free to add some fresh Parmesan cheese for garnish, or if you like some heat like me you can toss in some red pepper flakes.

Enjoy!

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the eggplant experiment

With a perfectly picked eggplant and a few hours to kill before work I decided to throw together something I've been wanting to make for a while now--eggplant burgers! Since these little gems contain no cheese, minimal amounts of oil, and plenty of everything else I love they turned out to be a delicious and nutritious meal that will be sure to last me a few days.

Besides the fact that they look absolutely fabulous they are also super easy to make, which is always a plus.  Prep and cook times total up at a little over an hour, but 45 minutes of that is spent patiently waiting for them to bake to perfection--I took this time to shower and do some laundry so the timing worked out quite nicely.

You're going to start by preheating your oven to 450° and lining a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Slice the eggplant into quarter-inch rounds and brush each side with olive oil before sending them off to roast for 15 minutes- but be sure to flip them after 10.

While they're in the oven, dice one red onion and sauté over medium heat until soft.  

Add the onions into a large bowl with 1/4c chopped fresh parsley, 1/4c bell pepper (I used yellow since I love the sweetness), 1 T pine nuts,  1 clove of garlic (crushed), a 14 oz can of cannellini beans, 1 tsp ground cumin, sea salt, and your perfectly roasted eggplant rounds.

Give the mixture a stir to break up the eggplant before adding in 1/2c of hummus (I used garden veggie...the more, the merrier, right?) and transferring your burger base to a food processor. It should only take about 15 seconds for your veggies to smooth out--when this happens, transfer back to the bowl and work in 1c panko breadcrumbs to give it some body.  

With a fresh nonstick-spray-coated piece of foil on your cookie sheet, form 6 patties and throw them in a 400° oven for 45 minutes, flipping halfway through.  If you like them crispier don't be afraid to up the time a bit--they're still very moist and it seems as though it would take a lot to dry these bad boys out. 

While they were cooking I whipped together some tahini to top them off with.

1/3c sesame tahini, 1/3 c water, 1/4c lemon juice, salt, and 2 cloves of chopped garlic
go into a food processor until fully combined

Drizzle a bit over the top & enjoy!

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