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rosewater yogurt with white peaches and blueberries
I spent the morning looking for inspiration for these gorgeous white peaches—the first I had ever found that actually tasted as beautiful as they looked. I searched through all my cookbooks, and dozens of magazines, but couldn’t find anything that didn’t require baking something. As much as I love baked goods, I was feeling a bit fat that morning, so anything baked would have taken me over the edge.
leafy greens, avocado, and blackened chicken salad
Every cookbook library should have a nice, sharp pencil handy. So often, the best recipes are the direct result of improvising on another recipe.
The seasoning I used for this blackened chicken is made up of the ingredients I had in my cupboard: paprika from my local Indian store, ground dill and thyme.
You could, by all means, make a rub with a more cajun flavor, using white pepper and onion powder. It’s up to you. But I didn’t have those things, so I made it my own way.
whole wheat oatmeal pancakes for power food friday
Three congregations (we call them “wards”) meet in our church building on Sunday, and each year our wards are assigned a different time. Some years church has been at 9:00, or worse—8:30 am. As a single mom (and even as a wife of an airline pilot), getting three kids clean and dressed—which all my kids mysteriously forget how to do on Sunday—before 9:00 is insane.
Luckily for us, this year our ward meets at 1:00. You’d think with so much more time we’d always be on time, but sadly, no. It could be due to the fact that since I think we have a lot of time, we dawdle a bit. Well, more than a bit. Usually my kids get out every stuffed animal in the house to play school, then they get out every chair and blanket to make a tent village. Then they yell at each other. Then I try not to yell at them to stop yelling (I usually fail).
chia seeds for power food friday
Apparently chia seeds are for eating, not just growing in pottery shaped like porcupines. I’ve been doing a bit of reading about chia seeds lately, and was thrilled to see them in the bulk section of my grocery store.
They are our new favorite ingredient. My daughter loves them—which is saying something. She loves to mix them into yogurt and smoothies, or just eat the runaway seeds from off the counter. My favorite way to use them is to grind them up in a spice grinder
You might wonder, though, what is so great about chia seeds, the latest trend in the health food scene.
pan-seared salmon with lime and dill
Okay, so technically it isn’t Friday anymore, but I had a long day. Besides, it’s still Friday in California.
This is just a quick post—I’m sure most of you know how to cook a salmon fillet, but this is my favorite way to eat it, and I thought maybe you’d like to know.
But first I’ll plug the salmon. Salmon—wild caught is best—is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, carotenoids, B vitamins, and vitamin D, among other nutrients. It’s widely available across the country, and the best part: every kid in my family loves it. Even my daughter.
vanilla almond granola
I’m curled up with my laptop watching The Prince of Persia. Somehow, seeing Jake Gyllenhaal on my TV screen makes me feel a little less lonely on a Friday night. When I first saw him in October Sky, I remember thinking, “Wow, I didn’t know they made them like that.”
Anyway, enough of that. I was going to talk about power foods, and granola.
This granola is not that different from the lemon scented cherry granola I posted a couple of years ago. I took out the fruit and lemon this time, and added in almond flour and flax meal.
As far as nutrients go, the almonds add protein, vitamin E, and calcium, while the flax meal holds a wealth of B vitamins and fiber. The oats, which are probably my favorite grain, have both insoluble and soluble fiber, which can help lower cholesterol and balance out the blood sugar.
power food friday: whole grain macaroni and cheese
Hmm, perhaps power food and macaroni and cheese don’t exactly go together. And maybe they don’t.
But let’s face it, the worst part about dieting is letting go of some of the warm comfort foods that we crave during the winter months. It’s kind of cruel when you think about it—that everyone should feel the need to diet in January—amongst raging blizzards and ice storms—and then feel guilty if they eat anything richer than a bowl of quinoa.
So I am here with a recipe to warm your soul and make you feel pretty good about your diet at the same time. The people at Weight Watchers sent me some of their cheese, and asked me to make up several recipes with it. Each week for the next few weeks, I’ll be posting a new recipe with the cheese, so stay tuned.
Though I was skeptical to use a reduced calorie cheese, I tried their Natural Mexican Four Cheese Blend (worth 2 points per serving), and found it to be much better than I thought.
I first tested it for taste. I found the cheese to be mild, and spot on for flavor compared to other full fat cheeses of the same variety.
Secondly, I tested it for meltiness. Twelve seconds in the microwave showed it melted just as nicely as regular cheese, lacking only in the grease film on the top. I’d say that’s a plus.
Once it checked out on those two points, I knew I could cook with it, so I put it right to work and made this whole grain macaroni and cheese.
power foods cookbook
While I was posting the Twelve Days of Christmas, I was ready for the holidays to be over. Not because I don’t love Christmas, but because I was on my way to gaining about thirty pounds.
But then I was asked to review the new cookbook Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients
s’mores granola bars
I posted these scrumptious looking things on Babble.com today, and wanted to be sure you all got a look at them here first. I made these with the sole purpose of creating granola bars that taste like s’mores. They’re very chewy, and very messy, and I think you and your kids will love every bite.
I started with a blend of five rolled grains I found at my local health food store. I would have used plain oats, but since no one in our house is allergic to wheat, I thought the addition of some other rolled grains would give us added health benefits, not to mention help them taste more like graham crackers.
healthy and easy pad thai
Yes, my friends. That’s what good Pad Thai is: pure happiness.
When my friend Julie and I were in England a couple of summers ago, we discovered how important it was to make reservations at restaurants on Saturday nights. Unfortunately, we learned a little too late. After we had sat in the Loch Fyne in Henley-on-Thames for about an hour, we realized getting a table might just take until the next morning. We left and wandered in the drizzle to a nearby Thai restaurant. Looking back on that night, I realize the Pad Thai we ordered was not that great, but since we were so hungry, and so tired, it tasted like food from the gods.
The very first time I ate Pad Thai was when Shannon made it for me. She followed the recipe in America’s Test Kitchen’s The New Best Recipe
However, since I can easily down the full recipe by myself in one day, I decided it would be better to make with whole grain noodles instead of the traditional rice stick which is made from white rice. I also cut back on the sugar by replacing it with Agave nectar.
The way I make this is a mixture of what I learned from that book, how I saw Shannon make it, and how I have adapted it myself over the years. I hope you enjoy making it.
The ingredients I list can be hard to find, but some of them are really crucial to the taste. Since that is the case, I’ll give you links to some of the products for those of you who don’t have a nice Asian store to buy them.
fish sauce
chili sauce
tamarind
The only other real option for substituting tamarind is tamarind paste. It will make your noodles darker, but it tastes okay. Here is a link for it
