Monthly Archives: July 2012

Coconut Curry (Protein Power) Bowls

When I’m in the kitchen, I completely zone out, tuning out my surroundings and letting my instincts guide me. Some of the best meals are created that way. Thinking back to a few years ago when I didn’t trust my cooking capabilities and followed recipes to a T, no wonder I didn’t like cooking. There was no love in the food. It wasn’t my creation.

Today, my cooking guideline/motto is something like, “Just start tossing things in the pan and hope for the best” It hasn’t failed me yet. Except for the time when I tried to make pizza dough out of coconut flour. That was not a shining moment.

Coconut Curry (Protein Power) Bowl
Serves 4
Mildly spicy and subtly sweet, inspired by Quinoa-Rice Protein Power bowls.

Ingredients/Directions

2.5 cups cooked rice
1 cup cooked quinoa (I used leftover rice/quinoa)
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 small onion, diced
1 zucchini, quartered
2 kale leaves, stems removed, shredded
1 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp turmeric
2-3 tbsp curry powder
salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, set aside

In a large frying pan on medium heat, melt 1 tbsp coconut oil. (Since coconut is one of the main flavors, I don’t recommend subbing it)

Sautee the onion and garlic for two minutes, then add the spices, chickpeas, zucchini, bell pepper and kale. Continue cooking until veggies are tender and chickpeas are beginning to crisp. Add more coconut oil if needed. Now stir in rice and quinoa, followed by the salt. Adjust spices if necessary. Once rice and quinoa have heated through, remove from heat and stir in the shredded coconut. Serve immediately.

Protein power meal!

LMG Meal Plan July 30-Aug 6

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Yep. The above pretty much sums up my internal thoughts. Haha!

Check out this outdoor dining set Court built. He made it out of recycled pallets! Pretty amazing, huh? I want to host dinner parties every night in our backyard.

New-to-me green juice that tastes like sunshine: kale, cucumber, spinach, carrot and orange.

Do you like green juice, or does the color make your stomach turn? Lucky for me, I don’t pass judgement until I taste something. Unless it’s sea urchin topped with raw quail eggs. Dislike x 10000.

Here’s what’s on the menu for next week:

Monday: Homemade BBQ Veggie Pizza (cooked on the bbq). We are trying Bobs Red Mill gluten-free pizza crust mix for the first time. I hope it’s good!

Tuesday: BBQ Honey Miso Glazed Salmon + Chilled Zucchini Ribbon Sesame Salad

Wednesday: Black Bean Tacos

Thursday: Shrimp, Strawberry & Feta Salads

Friday: Wing it

Saturday: Wing It

Sunday: Mango-Jalepeno Glazed Chicken + Veggies

What’s on your meal plan for the week?

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

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Am I ever in love with the vegetarian sloppy joes I made for dinner a few nights ago. “These don’t even need meat!” Court happily proclaimed. He is a meat lover through and through and when it comes to meal planning, I try to find a balance that will please both of our taste buds. The thing is, I’m more into flavors, and ‘meat’ just doesn’t really do it for me, whereas texture plays a huge part in Courts preferences. He enjoys American cuisine – burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, so any meal that I can serve in a bun is usually a husband-pleaser.

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes
Serves 3-4

Gluten free option: Udi’s Hamburger Buns. I didn’t want to spend $8 on buns, so I served mine over brown rice.

Ingredients/Directions

1 cup dry red lentils, cooked according to directions. While the lentils are simmering, prepare:

1 medium onion, diced (reserve approximately 1/4 of the diced onion)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 red jalapeno, seeded and diced
In a large frying pan on medium heat, sautee the above ingredients for 4-5 minutes.

While onion mixture is cooking, prepare the sauce:

1 can tomato paste
1.5 cups crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp chili spice
4 tbsp BBQ sauce (I hate BBQ sauce, but I don’t mind Amazing Dads BBQ Sauce – it’s gluten free and made by Honey Bunny)
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp Chipotle Tabasco sauce
salt & pepper, to taste

After onion mixture is done, reduce heat to low and stir in the sauce. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly. Once lentils are done, add them to the sauce, and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Prior to serving, stir in the remainder of the onion.

Serve sloppy joe mixture on a toasted bun or over rice.

His:

Hers:

Meat and veggie lovers, rejoice.

Do you and your partner share the same tastes? How do you compromise in the kitchen?

Hit The Trail Mix Cookies

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Favorite winter activity: lounging on a tropical beach.

Favorite summer activity: Hiking!

The weather in the Waterton was perfect on Sunday – calm, sunny and 28C. Excellent hiking weather! Court and I filled our backpacks with coconut water and snacks, laced up our hiking shoes, then hit the trail.

Some scenes from along the way:

Lunch on the lake – at the Canadian/USA border. We snacked on wraps, bananas, cherries, hard boiled eggs, a peach, almonds, cucumber slices and no bake trail mix cookies.

Trying to psychologically prepare myself to take the plunge into the icy stream.

Getting out was tough – the water is so cold that my legs were numb and quivering. I think that means you’re developing gangrene.

Court was more adventurous than me – he jumped off this suspension bridge a few times. I tried, but I couldn’t get past my (irrational?) fear of jumping from heights. I stood up there for at least 10 minutes, almost jumping once, and then grabbing back onto the bridge at the last moment. It’s only a 20 ft drop – which is nothing to most people, but a big deal to me. Court kept telling me to conquer my fear, I had to face it, and that I would be disappointed with myself for not jumping. I agree to a certain extent… maybe my fear is irrational and silly, but I know myself well enough to realize that jumping off the suspension bridge wasn’t going to remedy it. Plus, I was getting attacked by deer flies, which added to my emotional stress.

After Court and I spotted this black bear, we embarked on the most fascinating conversation. I’m fairly certain Discovery or National Geographic is going to be calling any day now.

“Why are they called black bears if some are brown?”
“Because only some of them are brown”
“Yeah, but why would they name them black bears, then?”
“Most of them ARE black, but some are brown”

……….

10 minutes of my life. Gone in the blink of an eye.

Hey, about those trail mix cookies I mentioned earlier. No bake. Ready in 2 minutes. Perfect hiking fuel.

Hit The Trail Mix Cookies
Yields 1/2 dozen

In a bowl, mix together:

1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 cup peanut butter
handful of raisins
1 tbsp hemp hearts
2 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
dash of cinnamon & salt
tiny splash of water – just enough to form into cookies

Form into cookies, and lightly press flat. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Where are some of your favorite hiking trails?

Green Juice Recipes + LMG Meal Plan 7/23-7/29

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I’m really excited about my recent shopping trip to the grocery store. I spent $49 – my lowest grocery haul YET. Keep in mind that includes everything required to prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for two very hungry/athletic people. For a week. Not bad, hey? Especially considering I try to buy everything organic.

Currently, the garden is providing us with an assortment of lettuce, spinach, peppers, herbs and strawberries. There’s nothing like harvesting a summer meal from your backyard. Now, if only we could enjoy this year round… in Hawaii

Here’s what’s on the menu for next week:

Monday: Red Lentil Sloppy Joes (I haven’t made these before – I’ll post the recipe if it’s a success)

Tuesday: Grilled Fish Tacos

Wednesday: Roasted carrots, potatoes and onions, rice & baked tofu

Thursday: Shrimp Salads

Friday: Asparagus & Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Veggies

Saturday & Sunday: wing it

Lets talk juicing. Are you into making your own fresh squeezed vegetable and fruit juices? It’s been on my ‘to-do’ list for quite a while, and it’s just something I’ve recently gotten into. Summer is a great time to add some extra vitality to your diet with juicing. Produce is fresh, prices are lower, and people typically gravitate towards fresh food during the summer months.

I eat a LOT of fresh veggies and fruit, which make me feel great, but since I’ve incorporated just 1 daily juice into my diet, my energy has increased, my blood sugar is stable, and I haven’t had my usual cravings for things like frozen yogurt or ice cream.

Here’s a few favorites from the week.

‘Pineapple Ginger Lime‘ (Fave)

1 cucumber, 2 large handfuls of spinach, 1 celery stalk, 1 cup frozen pineapple, 1 lime, 1″ chunk of fresh ginger

‘Green Lemonade’
6 kale leaves, 1 cucumber, 1 celery stalk, 1 green apple, 1″ chunk of ginger, 1 lemon

‘Swamp Water‘ (Tastes like V8… but better)
2 Roma Tomatoes, 2 celery stalks, 1 red bell pepper, 2 kale leaves, 1/2 a lemon. After juicing, I added 1/2 tbsp chia seeds, salt, pepper & a splash of jalapeno Tabasco. Mmmm… spicy.

‘Zest For Life‘

4 large carrots, 1″ chunk of ginger, served over ice

Court likes juice that are a little sweeter and here’s his favorite creation:

‘Just Beet It’:
4 large carrots, 1 green apple, 2 small beets with beet stalks (yes, you can eat them!) 1″ chunk of fresh ginger

I always stir some of the pulp back into the juice, to prevent a major blood sugar spike and to give it some staying power. The remainder of the pulp gets composted, or used for flavorings in things like marinara sauce (carrot pulp is a great addition) or salad toppings.

Since I’m a newbie, are there any juicing tips or tricks I should try? Or recipes?

Berry Banana Yogurt Pops

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A little glimpse into Court’s birthday earlier in the week…

Blueberry ‘Birthday’ Pancakes to start the birthday boys day!
(I made a strawberry ‘syrup’ by watering down Crofters strawberry preserves.)

Court’s Mom took us out for dinner to State & Main, and we started our meal with a round of drinks. She took 800 blurry photos of us with my iphone. Oh Moms…

I really liked that State & Main has a Gluten Sensitive Menu, although it’s nothing to get overly excited about. It’s the same menu as the regular one, with a note underneath each item that says, “Ask for no bread”. I ordered mahi mahi ‘tacos’ in romaine leaves instead of tortillas. The food was just ok… my favorite part was the wine and the company.

After dinner, we went home and stuffed ourselves with chocolate-peanut butter frosted cake and chocolate chips. (!!!) The cake was from our favorite bakery, Crazy Cakes. When placing the order, I told them Court is obsessed with their chocolate/pb cupcake and to make a giant version of it…. loaded with chocolate chips.

It’s kind of hard to see, but the middle layer had peanut butter frosting AND chocolate chips in it. Court was in heaven. The peanut butter frosting was to die for – it was like eating cookie dough! Crazy Cakes also does gluten-free substitutions. Love love.

Recipe Time!

Berry Banana Yogurt Pops

Ingredients/Directions

4 strawberries, thinly sliced
1/2 a banana, thinly sliced
1/4 cup blueberries
1.5 – 2 cups plain goat yogurt (or yogurt of choice)
opt: sweetener of choice – stevia, raw honey, or even a little fruit juice sweetened jam

Drop a few pieces of fruit into popsicle mold, fill the mold half full with yogurt, then drop a few more pieces of fruit in. I took a chopstick and stirred everything around a little before placing the sticks in. Freeze for a few hours and enjoy!

Current Summer Faves: Pina Colada Smoothie

Butterscotch Banana Bread Donuts

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Good Morning!

I’ve been going through my Hawaii photos and have a video to share of sunrise along Hawaii’s east coast. I used to get up around 6am, brew a cup of Kona coffee, then walk along the lava bluffs, watching the ocean swell.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk_45Ty8Krk&w=560&h=315]

I miss Hawaii!

Remember a few months ago where I went through that banana bread obsession? It all started when I created my own version of Buddha Belly Bakers ‘Bomb Banana Bread’.

During that banana bread phase, I made donuts with the recipe! Except I tossed in a couple handfuls of butterscotch chips.

Using my Banana Bread Explosion recipe, I poured the batter into a donut pan and baked for approximately 20-25 minutes until the sides started to brown.

Tell me….

Where have you found the best donut shop? (Don’t say Tim Hortons )

For me, Punalu’u Bakery on the Big Island…

Popcorn Shrimp + LMG Meal Plan 7/16-7/22

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Look at these cute little guys that have popped up in my backyard. Aren’t they precious? I hope to see Mario & Luigi hopping over them someday…

I have a lunch/dinner idea to share, then it’s time for meal planning.

I can’t take full credit for this meal, as Leanne is the genius who created the (gluten free) breading for her amazing chicken strip recipe. It is one of the best recipe finds EVER. (I know I’m annoying and talk about it all the time, but it’s seriously life changing.)

Following the same recipe, I subbed chicken for shrimp and reduced the cooking time to 18 minutes.

While the shrimp were in the oven, I sauteed zucchini, carrots, broccoli and yellow bell peppers in coconut oil, then tossed the veggies with fresh garden greens, followed by the shrimp.

For dressing, I used homemade apricot rhubarb chutney. SO GOOD!

As usual, we found the cat eating the leftovers from the baking sheet. It’s his favorite recipe, along with hemp crusted salmon. We are a family of foodies!

Monday – Dining Out (Court’s birthday!)

Tuesday – Almond, Bean & Grain Burgers (I’m going to sub the bulgur wheat for oats or quinoa)

Wednesday – Sauteed Spicy Tofu stir fry

Thursday – Yam Quesadillas with Roasted Corn Salsa (with a chicken variety, for Court)

Friday – BBQ Maple Glazed Salmon & Roasted Green Beans

Saturday- wing it

Sunday – wing it

I’m really low on groceries (except for veggies) so here’s what I’ll need to replenish ‘The Staples‘ along with a few randoms for the recipes:

strawberries
bananas
cherries
nectarines/peaches
shallots
red onion
tomatoes
cucumber
artichoke hearts
tomato sauce
wild salmon
organic chicken breasts
organic firm tofu
frozen ground bison
almonds
almond butter
coconut milk, coconut milk creamer
plain goat yogurt
goat cheddar
jalepeno tabasco
whole wheat & udi’s hamburger buns

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends!

Living Mint Green

a holistic living blog