Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Hummus

Hummus?  What's exciting about hummus?  WELL... it makes carrots taste delicious that's what.  I've made a lemon garlic hummus that I found a recipe a few times but was not in love with it.  This time I decided to try roasted red pepper hummus.  Only I didn't have any roasted red peppers.  I did have green and yellow peppers though....
 
My first attempt at roasting them went horribly wrong:
 
 
 
But I had a lot more peppers... so I started over.
 
 
The second round of peppers came out much better.  The rest of the recipe was pretty simple:
 

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 2 cups


Directions
  1. In an electric food processor, combine garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, and lemon juice. Process until the mixture is smooth. Add roasted peppers and basil; process until the peppers are finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer hummus to small bowl, cover and chill until you are ready to serve. 
 
It came out OK... a little tart but good.  I'm waiting to see how it is once it chills for a while.  Also... using red peppers probably would have made it sweeter.  The green and yellow are not as sweet I guess...
 
 

Monday, May 27, 2013

Back on the running bandwagon

Ok so I love like running.  When we were training for the 1/2 marathon I got into a groove and really enjoyed it.  Then the 1/2 marathon happened.... I knew I could run 13 miles... and I kind of started slacking off.  Other than a few races we've run in the last month I haven't really run. 

Tom got me a micoach for my birthday last year and it was great when we were training.  For more about the micoach check out their website: https://micoach.adidas.com/.  This weekend I started browsing through their "be fit" workouts found a plan that looked great.  Every third day is a 30 min blue zone day (blue zone is a very slow heartrate zone)... that's basically a built in dog walking day.  Perfect.  The workout plan is basically a day of sprints, a long-ish run (40 or 50 min) and then the blue zone day.  I started it up again Saturday and am excited to get back in the groove.  Saturday was a sprint day and despite stuggling A LOT it felt good to be outside running.  Today I'm doubling up since I didn't do my 40 min run yesterday.  So today I'll run 40 min and then do the 30 min walk. As soon as I take a nap I'll go run... promise.

Weekend Cooking

So much yumminess this weekend I don't know where to start... Thursday night (I think) we had BBQ chicken with mashed cauliflower.  The BBQ sauce is all natural from Dinosaur BBQ in NY.  Here is the cauliflower recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1 medium head cauliflower
  • 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/8 teaspoon straight chicken base or bullion (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon salt)
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.
Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels.
In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, chicken base, and pepper until almost smooth.
Garnish with chives, and serve hot with pats of butter.
 
 
 
 
Then on Friday I was determined to get into the holiday weekend spirit by making burgers on the grill.  Tom vetoed the grill idea because it was about 50 degrees outside (seriously... whats up with this weather????  Instead, we made the burgers and cooked them on the George Forman. 
 
Turkey burgers stuffed with blue cheese.... ummm.... YUMMMMMM.  They were very delicious.  My brother and sister in law gave us a very cool contraption that shapes the meat into a circle with an indent so you have some place to put the stuffing... then you put the two halves together.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Now its Sunday morning and for a whole host of reasons I was having a crappy morning.  What cures crappy mornings... pancakes!  I love the recipe I have for PB and J pancakes but I decided to try something else.  I had printed this recipe out a while ago but never tried it...
 
1 cup of Dry/Uncooked Rolled Oats (plain, unsweetened)
6 Egg Whites (3/4 cup)
1 cup of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt
½ tsp of Vanilla Extract
½ tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp of Honey
Purée everything in a blender until smooth. Heat a non-stick skillet and spray lightly with olive or canola oil. Pour batter into the pan and cook on medium heat, turning once — just like regular pancakes.
 
 
Of course I added chocolate chips to half the batter.  Actually they are Carob chips and they are not as delicious.... must keep searching for chocolate chips with natural sugar instead of processed sugar.

 
 
 
Then today for lunch I decided on a good old fashioned tuna melt.  I didn't have time to go to whole foods this week so the mayo I used actually has 1 preservative in it, but oh well.  
 
 
 
I have peppers roasting in the toaster oven right now to make some roasted red (actually... green and yellow) pepper hummus.  More on that later.  :)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Thins I wonder...

Questions that come to the surface when you think about eating unprocessed:

1. Will I ever find an unprocessed version of Doritos?

2. If I find such a thing... will they be as delicious? (NO)

3. Will I ever be able to say no to processed chocolate in the teachers lounge in favor of unprocessed dark chocolate? (NO)

4. Do I really care about number 3?

5. How come I've made unprocessed cookies twice with 2 different recipes and they are still not as delicious as Nestle's recipe?  (I don't think I've quite figured out the molasses to sugar ratio for brown sugar substitutions... its frustrating).

6. Why does anyone buy bread?  Seriously.  Go buy a bread maker.  Homemade bread is the most delicious thing ever.  Well not ever (see number 3, 4,  and 5 for my chocolate/cookie obsession).

7. Is eating unprocessed effecting my health at all?  I'd like to think yes but there is really no proof of that?

8. Did I use effecting correctly or should it have been affecting?

9. Why haven't I gone running in weeks (other than the couple races I've done).  Come on Jessi... get moving! (Yes, I just referred to myself in the 3rd person in a blog post).

10. How come hot fries are a huge weakness of mine?

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Sesame chicken take two....

Today was probably the most productive day I've had ever.  I literally did not stop moving from 7 am until 7:30 pm.  I moved furniture, hung pictures, vacuumed, mopped, pulled weeds in the garden, walked the dogs... and of course did some cooking to get ready for the week. 
 
On the agenda today was:
Bread
Breadcrumbs
Granola
Cookies
Sesame chicken
 
The bread and the granola is not that exciting so I won't waste too much time on them.  Although I will say that the smell of fresh baked bread is one of the best things in the world. 
 
After that I made some breadcrumbs.  I want to make mashed cauliflower and meatloaf for dinner later this week.  Last time I made meatloaf it was unprocessed except for the breadcrumbs... so this time I want to fix that.  I had half a loaf of Italian herb bread leftover from last week so I cut it up and poured melted butter with pepper over it.  Baked for 15 minutes on 350 and I now have homemade breadcrumbs!!!  Yay.
 
Then onto the yummy part... the cookies.  A coworker emailed out this recipe last week and I was planning to try it on the night of the broken vanilla extract bottle....
 
I did not follow the recipe completely.  I used regular butter instead of vegan, stevia instead of sugar, stevia and molasses instead of brown sugar, milk not water.
 

VEGAN BANANA OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Full Recipe
½ Recipe
1 cup vegan margarine, cold (Earth Balance)
½ cup
1 ½ cup tightly packed brown sugar
¾ cup
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup
1 ripe, mashed, ripe banana
½ (or slightly more) banana
3-5 teaspoons vanilla (be generous)
2-2 ½ tsp
2 tablespoons water or soy/rice milk
1 tb
2 cups all-purpose or whole-wheat flour
1 cup
1 teaspoon baking powder stirred into flour to guarantee dispersion
½ tsp
2 ½ cups rolled oats (quick oats or regular)
1 ¼ cup
2 ½ cups vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life, Chocolate Dream or WF 365 Vegan chips)
1 ¼ cup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and prep cookie sheet with cooking spray or parchment paper.

 Mix together the margarine and sugars.  Add the well-mashed banana and mix well.  Then add the vanilla and the liquid.  Water will try to separate so keep mixing with figure eight motion and then add the dry ingredients, in order, bit by bit.

 The final batter should appear almost too moist to hold the chocolate chips; If it isn’t, then add more flour and/or oats.  If the batter is too wet, the cookies will flatten while baking and turn out too hard and flat.

 Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cook longer if you prefer a harder cookie, but be careful because these can turn out hard as a rock!  Let them cool on the sheet to firm up then transfer to a cooling rack or plate before putting them in an air-tight container for storage.  They taste even better after they sit overnight or in the fridge.
 
 
 
The cookies are good... very moist.  But the weird thing was that the chocolate chips just seem to be sitting on the cookies instead of actually being part of the cookie.  Either way... they are yummy.  Just a little weird to look at.
 
More productivity in the afternoon and then I decided to try the sesame chicken again sans broken glass.  Here's the recipe again:
 
I seriously cannot express to you how delicious this is.  I loved it.  I'm excited about the leftovers already.  Does it taste exactly like a Chinese restaurant... not quite... but still, it is very good! 
 
 
 
 Now I am enjoying a glass of wine... and contemplating going back for another cookie... or two. 

Cooking today

This is my cooking list for today. Giving the sedans chicken another try... keep your fingers  crossed for me! Updates this evening I promise!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Well my intentions were good....

Let's start with yesterday... I had planned on Chipolte for dinner, but when I got there with my neighbor, the line was literally out the door.  My need for a burrito is not that serious.  Instead, we went next door to famous footwear... but I digress.  So we get home and my neighbor offers me some baked chicken she made earlier.  I ran home to get my dogs, and when I got to her house she had a gorgeous salad prepared.



Grilled chicken with a rub, carrots, onions, apple crisps, almonds, cheese, honey balsamic dressing.  All I can say is yummm. 
Other than the Ritz crackers I ate with my salad, it was an unprocessed meal.  I even skipped on the Rita's I knew she had in the freezer.  Go me!

Now lets talk about today.... I was supposed to go to happy hour at Gordon Biersch with some lovely ladies from my grad school classes.  I ended up bailing (even though I was looking forward to their company, as well as chicken and shrimp pot stickers) because it was sunny out and my grass desperately needs to get cut.  Halfway home... the skies opened up and it started to pour.  So much for cutting the grass.  Meanwhile, in the car I had run over a tire that was in the middle of 95 North,d and its stuck under my car.  I had to pull to the shoulder to back up and get it unstuck.  Ugh.  So amid all of this nonsense, I decide I wanted Chinese food for dinner.  Then, I decided that I should make my own.  I made a trip to Aldi for some chicken and found a 25 minute sesame chicken recipe:

http://www.food.com/recipe/sesame-chicken-44321
Ingredients:
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pat dry with paper towels
  • 1/2 cuphoney
  • 1/2 cupsoy sauce
  • 1 cupwater
  • 2 tablespoonscornstarch
  • 1/2-1 teaspoonground ginger (fresh is better)
  • 1/2-1 teaspoonred pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 tablespoontoasted sesame seeds
  •  

    Directions:

    1. Cut chicken breast into 1 inch strips or bite size pieces.
    2. Heat a large non-stick skillet that has been sprayed with Pam, over medium-high heat.
    3. Cook chicken for about 6 minutes or until no longer pink.
    4. Mix together honey, soy sauce, water, corn starch, ginger and red pepper flakes.
    5. Whisk until no corn starch lumps appear.
    6. Pour sauce mixture into skillet with chicken.
    7. Cook until sauce thickens slightly.
    8. You can add more water if sauce is too thick.
    9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
    10. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken starts to soak up the sauce.
     
    Sounds delicious.  So I got started. 
     
    I cooked brown rice to go with the chicken and also got some hard boiled eggs going so that I have some afternoon snacks for the rest of the week.  Eggs done.  Rice done.  Chicken smelling delicious. 
     
    AND THEN.....
     
    Broken vanilla extract bottle!!!!  Glass all over the kitchen.  Luckily all the things I was cooking were covered.  However, UNLUCKILY, the wooden spatula I was using was out and I totally forgot to wash it before I stirred the chicken.  SOOOOOO..... into the trash went all the hard work I had spent the last hour doing. 
     
    And I cried... and cried... and called my mom... and cried.  Ugh.  Some of the crying might be because I'm on fertility drugs but a lot of it was because I was really looking forward to the sesame chicken. 
     
    So instead I had leftover ground turkey with taco seasoning and Doritos.  Yes I know, Doritos are not unprocessed but desperate times call for desperate measures.
     
    Typing this blog post has been pretty theraputic... however, I will warn you that if anyone asks me how my sesame chicken turned out I might punch them in the face (not really but I might cry). 

    Tuesday, May 7, 2013

    Teacher appreciation week does not appreciate my diet

    Don't get me wrong here... I AM DEFINITELY NOT COMPLAINING.... but teacher appreciation week is doing nothing for this unprocessed diet. 
     
    Monday: Show up at work and there is a Snickers bar in my mailbox with a note "You're the best bar-none."  Too stinking cute.  Didn't eat it though bc I have a coworker who is terribly allergic to peanuts.
     
     
    Tuesday: Coffee cup in mailbox with a note saying there is coffee and doughnuts in the staff lounge.  Now I wanted the coffee... but ended up with two half doughnuts too. 
    Then at lunch there were still goodies left over, so I had half a blueberry muffin with my salad.... woops.  Cut to after school... snickers bar is still sitting on my desk staring at me and the teacher who is allergic was out today.  I had to eat it.  It was a no brainer.  AND NOW... I am typing this as I wait for my neighbor to walk her dogs so that we can go get Chipolte for dinner.  Who doesn't love a BOGO?  I don't feel too bad about the chipolte.  Other than the soft shell, everything else there is probably unprocessed.
     
     
     
    It's only Tuesday?????  How am I doing so horribly?????  I just got back from NY on Sunday and vowed that now that I was back home I was going to get back to business.... 
     
    More thoughts on sticking to this in a seperate post later... Chipolte awaits :)