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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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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barley & me

My aunt made this great salad a few months ago for my birthday and it was absolutely delicious.  The simple, fresh ingredients paired with hearty barley keep you full if you're having it for lunch but can also be great as a side dish (hot or cold) with a nice lean protein for dinner.  If barley or arugula aren't your favorite ingredients feel free to use quinoa, wheat berries, or spinach to suit your tastes. 

Bring 1 1/4 cups of water seasoned with salt to a boil.  Add 1/2 cup uncooked pearled barley and turn heat down to low.  Let it cook for  20-30 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed.  The barley will be soft but still have a nice bite to it. Set aside. 

Heat 1 tsp of EVOO in a skillet and add 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes with 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic.  As you can see I was a little too ambitious and decided to leave my tomatoes whole.  They didn't give out as much juice as I would have liked but squishing them with the back of my wooden spoon helped a bit.  (I recommend cutting them first so your garlic has some extra liquid to simmer in) 

After some juices are released (2-3 minutes) add in the cooked barley along with salt and pepper to taste.  If there's a decent amount of tomato juice make sure to simmer the mixture on low until all of the liquid is absorbed. 

Add 3 cups of baby arugula and combine.  I find using tongs makes incorporating leafy greens a little easier and moves the wilting process along.  

Remove from heat and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil.  Add lemon zest to taste and give it all a good stir. 

There you have it! I decided to drizzle on some balsamic vinegar to finish it off which gave it an extra little zing.  I prefer this dish cold and am looking forward to taking some for lunch tomorrow after the flavors have had a chance to meld.  Enjoy the salad and don't forget to halve your tomatoes!

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tuna, meet frank

After a non-stop day of eating yesterday (and thinking it was physically impossible to ever be hungry again) I awoke this morning still feeling full.  I knew a much needed trip to the gym was in my future so I forced a yogurt on myself and decided to get it out of the way.  I wasn't 5 steps out of the gym post workout when hunger consumed me.  I knew it was too good to last.  Wanting something healthy & light (and not covered in syrup or made with breakfast meats) I set my sights on a tuna sandwich.  Feeling like mayonnaise was on the heavy side of condiments to use after my aforementioned gorging I decided on one of my favorite ways to make a tuna sandwich: Frank's Red Hot!

I love spicy foods and any chance I have to add a little Frank's to the equation is good for me. In this case I like to use Frank's Thick since it has a little more body then its counterpart (plus it's milder so it won't make the sandwich overpoweringly hot) and will hold the fish together, similarly to mayo.  Another favorite addition to tuna is apples.  Strange, I know, but the sweet balances out the sandwich (with or without mayonnaise) nicely and gives a good crisp.  In this case it's a great sidekick for Frank.

Chop up some sweet red apples (I used Jazz apples...if you haven't heard of/tried these beauties I highly recommend it) and add it to the tuna with about 1 T (or to taste) of Frank's Red Hot Thick

I lightly toasted some rosemary & olive oil Italian bread and added a slice of lettuce and american cheese for good measure

Accompanied by some fresh strawberries and leftover apples slices this sandwich was light, refreshing and had just the right amount of sweet heat. If you're skeptical about having hot sauce with tuna I urge you to give it a shot.  If this doesn't sound like something for you at least try throwing in apples when you make it traditionally. You won't be disappointed!

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roll, baby roll

Everybody who's anybody knows that on the rare occasion you have lobster and there are actually leftovers (yes, that can happen) there's only one thing to do: make lobster salad! I was lucky enough to have just about a whole lobster left- chilled, de-shelled, and ready to be made into a scrumptious Saturday sandwich.  Having made this a few (dozen) times before I have definitely learned that the less-is-more principle applies here.

Things you will need:

Chilled, chopped meat from 1 lobster

2 T mayonnaise
1tsp dried dill weed (or to taste)
1 T fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper (to taste)

Ahh, the taste of summer!

That's it! Simple, fresh, and delicious.  I let mine sit in the fridge for about an hour and a half to let the flavors meld before I dove in.  Portuguese rolls from my local deli I had lying around sufficed (I cut a deep V in the top of the roll to ensure it would all pack on top nicely) and after it was lightly toasted I lined it with a crisp piece of iceberg lettuce and stuffed every sweet piece of meat on top.

Next time you find yourself with some leftover lobster meat make sure to try this easy, impressive salad!

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