I am currently in love with Yoplait Greek Yogurt. (NO, I have not been contacted by Yoplait for this. I was curious about this yogurt, paid for the yogurt with my own money)
Back to the yogurt....Let's run through some impressive stats on the plain variety: 100 calories, 0 grams fat, 9 grams sugar, 14 grams of protein!!! That is not a typo. This yogurt contains more than 2x the amount of protein in regular yogurt and has 35% of your daily calcium.
This yogurt comes in two flavors: plain and honey/vanilla. The honey vanilla had a tinge of that artificial vanilla flavor. My favorite was the plain. After experimenting with add ins I came up with a delicious, healthy and all natural way to eat it. This yogurt has a thick and very creamy texture. It is more of an adult yogurt than some of them with tons of sugary fruit mixed in. REMEMBER: plain yogurt makes a great substitue for sour cream in any dish. You will never know the difference and you will add a lot of protein to your favorite mexican dish or even baked potatoes.
Honey Date Yogurt
1 60z cup Yoplait Greek Plain Yogurt
1 handful of my fruit/nut mix (see below)
1 TBPS of clover honey
First mix up the yogurt to mix. Then stir in the fruit/nut mix. Stir in half of the honey to mix the sweetness throughout and then drizzle the remaining honey on the top.
About the Fruit and nut mix. My husband an I were grocery shopping. We are always lured in by the scent of new marketing (hence the reason I tried the yogurt) and we saw all the new nutrition packs of nuts and fruits manufactured by a predominate nut company. You've seen them. In Northwest Indiana these little containers cost $6.59 each! We really wanted to try them so my hubs had the great idea to make our own.
Fruit/Nut Mix
16 oz bag of walnuts ($6.99)
18 0z container of Dole 100% natural raisins ($3.19)
8 oz container of Dole 100% natural dates ($2.29)
Mix together and store in an airtight container. Makes a great quick snack to curb hunger as well as yummy yogurt topping. Make sure you spring for the 100% natural fruits. The other kinds I looked at all had added sugar and tons of chemical preservatives.
Fruit/Nut Mix
We are big fans of Hummus. Even Bailey loves it. I use a recipe that I found years ago in a Weight Watchers cook book as the starting point for mine. Today I substituted the normal plain yogurt I use with the Yoplait Greek Plain and the result was a very smooth and creamy hummus.
Greek Yogurt Hummus
1 15 oz can of Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1TBSP olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1TBSP water
Salt and pepper
Cumin (not essential)
Mix all ingredients together in food processor or blender until smooth. Serve with steamed artichoke leaves, celery, carrots, tomato slices, or pita.
Steamed artichoke leaves??? I was skepical. I have only eaten the hearts until this point. Hubs bought a few at the produce market because he remembered eating the leaves as a kid. Here is the recipe that I followed. They are awesome. Dip the end into the hummus and scrape away the flesh. YUM!
Hope you enjoy all these great recipes. They each took less than 5 minutes to do and are healthy snacks to enjoy all summer long!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Re-purposing! I love this solution for draining canned foods
I was at Target today, my home away from home, and needed to grab some quick lunch. Instead of the Pizza Hut that I wanted, I grabbed one of those Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers. Well...it was ok. Nothing spectacular. Too much sodium and not enough taste.
The holy grail of the lunch was the container it came in. For those of you not familiar with this product, it is a plastic container roughly the s
ame grade as a Glad container. The lid is full of holes so you can drain the water for the pasta.
In my mind, I was thinking, I bet I can reuse this for something but not sure what. I washed it and kept it. THEN I started making dinner. I was using canned black beans for the nachos. I normally just microwave them in their sauce and then drain them. The nasty black sauce they come in is then scorching hot. VOILA! The Fresh Mixers container!!! I grabbed it, put the black beans and their sauce in there and microwaved for 2 minutes. I then drained off that nasty black sauce while it was hot--without burning my hands. I had perfectly drained black beans and a container to dish them out in.
What a perfect solution! Here's a picture so you can see what the container looks like.
Fresh Baby Food? Not from a jar? YEP
Have you seen the amount of sodium Gerber puts in their Gerber Graduates products? I don't know about you, but I don't think that any kid friendly food should contain the equivalent of the amount of sodium in two medium size McDonald's fries! Go ahead...click the link, read it. I will be here when you get back.
Even though the beginning stages of baby food do not contain that kind of salt, why not just give the baby good healthy food that you buy in the produce section of the grocery store instead of a jar in a dark aisle. We need our children to grow up in that section of the store and not the convenience food section like my 30 something generation did.
How did I get started? Well, I talked to my pediatrician who totally supported the decision. This doctor also supports my choice for cloth diapering--even thought I am the only patient he has ever had that uses them. I just read a stat that up to 43% of new parents are choosing cloth to save money in the tight economy....but hey, I'll save that for another blog post some day.
After discussing making my own baby food with the doctor, I started searching for material online. I found a very quick and easy resource at babycenter.com. The list is organized by age of baby and what they should be eating. I check it every few months to add new things to his diet and make sure that we are on track.
I started out with a very inexpensive food mill that I bought in the baby food aisle. It is nothing fancy. You can spend as much or as little as you like but really all you need is to get the food mashed. One thing I have learned--we normally eat our veggies steamed but still crisp. In order to properly mash in a food mill they need to be soft. Put in your fruits or veggies that you want baby to eat and smash. Instant baby food with no additives. The leftovers can be frozen in individual storage containers and just defrost before serving to baby.
Not only is Logan eating a wonderful and healthy variety of fruits and vegetables, I am raising a baby that knows what real food tastes like and my hope is that he will eat this way forever. I am imagining a kid eating things like avocado, asparagus, broccoli and spinach without complaining.
My pediatrician was shocked to find out that Logan would even eat asparagus. He told me that many people in many countries grow up without Gerber and Logan will grow up to eat the strong varied diet that these other people do. That made me feel like I was doing something right!
Logan is eight months old now. He doesn't have any teeth but he has decided he has no interest in anyone feeding him. I chop his food in small bite-sized pieces and he feeds himself. In each of my recipe blogs in the future, I will devote a paragraph to what Logan ate out of the meal. Sometimes I do specially prepare his food before adding sauces, certain spices, added fats, etc. I will be sure to note this as much as possible.
The cost savings alone has been worth this adventure for us. These are all foods that I normally purchase at the grocer so I am not spending any additional money. Each two pack of Gerber costs .97 in my area. Those little containers add up fast.
NOTES: I am not telling you how to feed your baby, just what has worked for mine. I am not providing medical advice in any way. Please check with your doctor and research making baby food to get all the details and decide if it is right for you. I introduced foods two at a time to check for allergies and I never give him nuts, shell fish, cows milk or any other item that babies under age 1 should be exposed to.
Even though the beginning stages of baby food do not contain that kind of salt, why not just give the baby good healthy food that you buy in the produce section of the grocery store instead of a jar in a dark aisle. We need our children to grow up in that section of the store and not the convenience food section like my 30 something generation did.
How did I get started? Well, I talked to my pediatrician who totally supported the decision. This doctor also supports my choice for cloth diapering--even thought I am the only patient he has ever had that uses them. I just read a stat that up to 43% of new parents are choosing cloth to save money in the tight economy....but hey, I'll save that for another blog post some day.
After discussing making my own baby food with the doctor, I started searching for material online. I found a very quick and easy resource at babycenter.com. The list is organized by age of baby and what they should be eating. I check it every few months to add new things to his diet and make sure that we are on track.
I started out with a very inexpensive food mill that I bought in the baby food aisle. It is nothing fancy. You can spend as much or as little as you like but really all you need is to get the food mashed. One thing I have learned--we normally eat our veggies steamed but still crisp. In order to properly mash in a food mill they need to be soft. Put in your fruits or veggies that you want baby to eat and smash. Instant baby food with no additives. The leftovers can be frozen in individual storage containers and just defrost before serving to baby.
Not only is Logan eating a wonderful and healthy variety of fruits and vegetables, I am raising a baby that knows what real food tastes like and my hope is that he will eat this way forever. I am imagining a kid eating things like avocado, asparagus, broccoli and spinach without complaining.
My pediatrician was shocked to find out that Logan would even eat asparagus. He told me that many people in many countries grow up without Gerber and Logan will grow up to eat the strong varied diet that these other people do. That made me feel like I was doing something right!
Logan is eight months old now. He doesn't have any teeth but he has decided he has no interest in anyone feeding him. I chop his food in small bite-sized pieces and he feeds himself. In each of my recipe blogs in the future, I will devote a paragraph to what Logan ate out of the meal. Sometimes I do specially prepare his food before adding sauces, certain spices, added fats, etc. I will be sure to note this as much as possible.
The cost savings alone has been worth this adventure for us. These are all foods that I normally purchase at the grocer so I am not spending any additional money. Each two pack of Gerber costs .97 in my area. Those little containers add up fast.
NOTES: I am not telling you how to feed your baby, just what has worked for mine. I am not providing medical advice in any way. Please check with your doctor and research making baby food to get all the details and decide if it is right for you. I introduced foods two at a time to check for allergies and I never give him nuts, shell fish, cows milk or any other item that babies under age 1 should be exposed to.
WOW! How life has changed!
Excuse the explicative: HOLY SHIT! We just left the city and moved to the suburbs! Not just the suburbs, a really cute small town about 45 minutes from the city. Back Home in Indiana and all that. The best part...we have a half acre yard. What a shock it is to go from a 1000sq. foot condo on the 10th floor with a balcony to a 2000+ sq foot home with a huge yard that has lots of trees and woodland creatures. It has been almost two months now so we are getting used to it. I have a large well appointed kitchen with tons of cupboard space but I am still all about my philosophy of keeping things simple, easy and delicious.
On top of baby Logan growing every day--he is eight months old now, my wonderful Bailey is in a soccer league that practices/plays four times a week AND I have started working from home 20 hours a week. Add in laundry for four and cleaning up after everybody and you quickly realize that now more than ever, easy meals are a must! Wooh, I am tired just thinking about my day.
Thanks for keeping up with me and the family! Love Torry
On top of baby Logan growing every day--he is eight months old now, my wonderful Bailey is in a soccer league that practices/plays four times a week AND I have started working from home 20 hours a week. Add in laundry for four and cleaning up after everybody and you quickly realize that now more than ever, easy meals are a must! Wooh, I am tired just thinking about my day.
My boys: Logan and Bailey. Big brother worship has set in!
I have so many pictures and recipes stored up. I am going to bombard the blog with as many as I can in the next few weeks to try to get everyone caught up with what I have been cooking.Thanks for keeping up with me and the family! Love Torry
Grilling Season: Grilled Chicken Dinner
I could seriously use the grill every single day for cooking! It makes things so easy. Tonight I took a lot of help from a bottle marinade. I like to experiment with them and then if I like them I take the main ingredients and try to make my own out of it. Tonight's was Kikkoman Honey and Mustard 20 minute marinade . They recommended for fish or pork so I used it on chicken thighs. ;-) The marinade was really easy to use--but beware:
it caused a huge flare up on the grill! Overall, I will say the marinade was good but soooo not what I expected. It didn't taste like honey or mustard. It tasted like soy. I guess coming from Kikkoman I should have expected that.So what was on the menu? Grilled Chicken thighs, Bailey's fav Chicken broth flavored rice and a protein filled salad.
The chicken was easy enough. I marinaded it for about 45 minutes in a big freezer bag and then put it on the grill. This was bone in, skinless. I had a hard time controlling the heat and the flare ups so I ended up turning on my two end burners full blast and leaving the two middles off to cook indirectly. It took an hour this way but saved the fireman from coming to save my cedar trees from being up in smoke!
Bailey's Fav Chicken Broth Rice
The chicken was easy enough. I marinaded it for about 45 minutes in a big freezer bag and then put it on the grill. This was bone in, skinless. I had a hard time controlling the heat and the flare ups so I ended up turning on my two end burners full blast and leaving the two middles off to cook indirectly. It took an hour this way but saved the fireman from coming to save my cedar trees from being up in smoke!Bailey's Fav Chicken Broth Rice
This too is super easy but gives wonderful flavor to white rice and you will never have rice stuck together!
Just substitute chicken broth for the water and follow the package directions. I have noticed it sometimes takes about 3-5 additional minutes to soak up the broth so just be patient. You will not need butter or salt when serving.
The Salad
This was a clean out the fridge kind of salad. I still had grated carrot and left over Boston lettuce from the Lettuce Wraps the other night (see previous blog entry) so I chopped up the lettuce, tossed in the carrot. I added in hard boiled egg, a whole sliced avocado, grape tomatoes and cheese. I could have lived without the cheese but hey...Bailey finally will eat salad if it has cheese so we had cheese. :-)
The best part about this meal is the left overs! Since the chicken did not taste anything like honey mustard, I am going to use it tonight and make chicken nachos (see previous blog entry). Great way to use up the chicken and we will throw the rice in with the black beans and use that as a topping too. I'll post some pics but I pretty much always go back to my stand by nachos on this blog. I am thinking about adding some spicy salsa to the cheese sauce to make it more of a queso....
NOTE: Adding salsa to the queso was a success! I added 1/2 cup salsa and 1T red pepper flake. Delicious queso for the nachos!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tilapia
What did you have for dinner? Ours, if I do say so myself was delicious! I wanted to showcase some wonderful fresh herbs that I bought this week at our veggie market. I used fresh basil, rosemary and chives in this meal. Everything was delicious and went well together. Hope you enjoy!
Don't use Tilapia a lot? Why?? It is just like chicken. It takes on any flavors that you pair it with in your dish. That is where this meal idea came from. We all love Rosemary lemon chicken so lets try it with fish. Phil said he liked it better with the fish than he does with roasted chicken!
We had Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tilapia with Garlic Smashed Potatoes and a Tomato "caprese style" salad.
Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tilapia
1 lb. of Tilapia (this was 5 pieces)
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
Zest of a whole lemon
Kosher salt (to your taste preference)
Fresh cracked pepper (to your taste preference
2 whole eggs, beaten
Mix the panko, rosemary, lemon, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Keep the eggs in another dish. Dredge the fish in the egg and then in the panko. I didn't want this coating to be super thick so I did not dredge in flour first. Use a little elbow grease to push the crumb mixture onto the fish until it sticks.
Put a small layer of extra virgin olive oil in pan and let heat. Cook fish on both sides for about 3-4 minutes.
Garlic Smashed Potatoes (I make these all the time)
10-12 red potatoes quartered with skin on
8 oz sour cream (can definitely use light or fat free)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large handful of chives, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Boil potatoes until for tender (about 10-12 minutes) DO NOT overcook. Drain and return to hot pan to get rest of water off. Use a hand masher (you want lumpy and chunky potatoes) to start to mash. Mix in sour cream, garlic and chives and continue mashing. Add s&p to taste.
Caprese Style Tomato salad (Idea stolen from my brother Neil)
1 lb of heirloom tomatoes, different colors all cut to a similar size
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 large handful of basil, chopped
4 oz. mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
s&p to taste
In a small bowl add balsamic vinegar and s&p. Wisk in a small amount of olive oil until it looks like salad dressing and you like the taste. Add dressing to tomatoes, basil and shallots and stir to coat. Refrigerate for minimum of 1 hour. Add mozzarella to each bowl as you serve. DO NOT mix mozzarella in this salad if using balsamic vinegar. The mozzarella will turn a gross shade of brown!
Don't use Tilapia a lot? Why?? It is just like chicken. It takes on any flavors that you pair it with in your dish. That is where this meal idea came from. We all love Rosemary lemon chicken so lets try it with fish. Phil said he liked it better with the fish than he does with roasted chicken!
We had Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tilapia with Garlic Smashed Potatoes and a Tomato "caprese style" salad.
Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tilapia
1 lb. of Tilapia (this was 5 pieces)
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
Zest of a whole lemon
Kosher salt (to your taste preference)
Fresh cracked pepper (to your taste preference
2 whole eggs, beaten
Mix the panko, rosemary, lemon, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Keep the eggs in another dish. Dredge the fish in the egg and then in the panko. I didn't want this coating to be super thick so I did not dredge in flour first. Use a little elbow grease to push the crumb mixture onto the fish until it sticks.
Put a small layer of extra virgin olive oil in pan and let heat. Cook fish on both sides for about 3-4 minutes.
Garlic Smashed Potatoes (I make these all the time)
10-12 red potatoes quartered with skin on
8 oz sour cream (can definitely use light or fat free)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large handful of chives, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Boil potatoes until for tender (about 10-12 minutes) DO NOT overcook. Drain and return to hot pan to get rest of water off. Use a hand masher (you want lumpy and chunky potatoes) to start to mash. Mix in sour cream, garlic and chives and continue mashing. Add s&p to taste.
Caprese Style Tomato salad (Idea stolen from my brother Neil)
1 lb of heirloom tomatoes, different colors all cut to a similar size
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 large handful of basil, chopped
4 oz. mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
s&p to taste
In a small bowl add balsamic vinegar and s&p. Wisk in a small amount of olive oil until it looks like salad dressing and you like the taste. Add dressing to tomatoes, basil and shallots and stir to coat. Refrigerate for minimum of 1 hour. Add mozzarella to each bowl as you serve. DO NOT mix mozzarella in this salad if using balsamic vinegar. The mozzarella will turn a gross shade of brown!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
So many recipes!
I have so many recipes that I need to share! I took the summer off of the blog because I had a hard time with the pregnancy. Now I have a wonderful two month old son and tons of recipes to share. When I would make something new and delicious this summer I would photograph it for the blog. I am going to try to get these new ideas up here within the next few weeks.
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