So Far, So Good and Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
January 5th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hello~
I hope you’re having a fantastic first week of 2011! Do you still have a “fresh start” buzz, or has it already worn off ? I hope you still have it. Ideally, we should wake up each morning with a fresh start buzz, regardless of whether it’s the first week of January or the last week of December. Am I right? That’s a rhetorical question. Of course I’m right.
So, as I mentioned in my last post, I’m removing dairy from my diet for 21 days with the hope that doing so will help me finally kick this bug that’s been plaguing me since early fall. It’s going pretty well so far. I’ve come to realize that I haven’t been eating a whole lot of dairy lately. I do miss milk in my coffee, and I’m sure I’ll be wanting a piece of pizza on Friday night, but for the most part I haven’t felt deprived in the least.
Here’s a sampling of what I’ve eaten these last few days:
Breakfast
Oatmeal with banana, peanut butter, golden raisins and cinnamon; Sprouted grain raisin toast with peanut butter and sliced banana.
Coffee with almond milk
Snacks
Lara bars, apples, vegan macaroons, blueberries, roasted chickpeas with jerk seasoning*, Naked green superfood juice, dairy free dark chocolate, pretzels
Lunch
Veggie burger with avocado, hummus and spinach on sprouted grain toast; Leftover brown rice with Daiya, avocado and roasted chickpeas; Vegetarian burrito bowl at Chipotle
Dinner
Vegan tamale, brown rice with sautéed onions, garlic and broccoli; Whole wheat pasta with baby spinach and marinara
Hot tamale
Frozen hot tamales
Roasted chickpeas with brown rice, avocado and daiya
(*I’m a fan of the roasted chickpeas! To make them, I opened a can of chickpeas, dumped them in a strainer and rinsed them off, dried them with paper towels and then tossed them with some olive oil before roasting them at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. When I took them out, I added sea salt and pepper and plopped them into my bowl of rice, avocado and Daiya (I gave Daiya another shot, but I’m still not crazy about it). I had quite a few leftover chickpeas that didn’t fit into my rice bowl, so to spice them up a bit I sprinkled on some Jamaican Jerk Seasoning. Spicy, salty, crunchy…a really tasty upgrade from potato chips or pretzels thanks to the protein and fiber in the chickpeas.)
So. So far, so good. PCRM provides a daily menu, but I’ve been using what I already have in the house and improvising. I’m going to the grocery store tomorrow and plan to pick up ingredients for some new vegan recipes that PCRM has supplied. I definitely need more leafy greens.
Have you made any changes this week with the hope of improving your health? How is it going?
I’ll leave you with a link to today’s Daily Candy video featuring Dr. Frank Lipman. I’m not too familiar with Dr. Lipman, but from what I’ve seen and read, he seems to support ”my” type of eating (whole, organic food). If anything, he gives some good grocery shopping tips!
Mom’s Club Recipe: Moroccan Chicken with Chickpeas and Cumin
November 11th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Here’s a recipe submitted by Shari (click on picture to enlarge):
Source: Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook
Notes from Shari:
A few caveats from my experience:
- I’ve used both boneless and bone-in chicken thighs with equal success and I also think it would probably still be good with chicken breasts
- I had to turn it on “high” for a while to make sure the chicken cooked. I don’t think you can really overcook this meal so go ahead and turn it up if necessary.
- I’ve been very generous with the peanut butter and have added it in before the very end so that the flavor really mixes in.
- Don’t forget to serve with fresh cilantro at the end- YUM!!!!!!!
(I haven’t made this yet, but I plan to very soon! – pwa)
Mexican Mix-in Bowl
June 28th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
As I mentioned in the previous post, I had two sick boys on my hands last night. Neither of whom was in the mood to eat dinner. But, dagnabit, I was in the mood for dinner and I had a hankering for a little Mexican! (No, not you Miguel! Food! A little Mexican FOOD!) And if there’s one thing I go out of my way to do, it’s satisfy my hankerings. I considered delivery or take out, but then I started looking through the kitchen and found that I had the fixings for a Mexican mix-in bowl, aka “burrito bowl” or a “naked burrito.” Just the guts, hold the skin. (That reminds me of Dexter. I really miss that show. My husband won’t let me watch next season. He says it’s “evil.”) So, anyway, I cooked up some brown rice, heated up some jarred salsa and a combination of chickpeas and black beans, threw it all in a bowl and topped it with a few dollops of plain yogurt and some diced avocado. I just realized that I had corn in the freezer that I could’ve added, too. That would’ve been good. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Of course chicken or beef could be added, as well as some shredded cheese, lettuce…whatever floats your barca.
Mexican Mix-in Bowl
Serves 2, more or less
1 cup brown rice
1 cup bean of your choice (black, chickpeas, kidney, or a combination), drained and rinsed.
1/2 jar salsa (or make your own)
1/2 cup frozen organic corn kernels, defrosted
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (or sour cream)
1/2 avocado, diced
1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. When there’s 10 or so minutes left until the rice is done, heat the beans, corn, and salsa in a skillet, stirring occasionally until hot.
3. When rice is done, place some in a bowl and top with bean mixture, yogurt, and avocado. Mix it up and dig in. Or, if you have tortillas, you could wrap it all up to make one big honkin’ burrito.
It hit the spot! All that was missing was a margarita–believe me, after spending 4 days and nights with a sick 2 1/2 year old, my soul is crying out for a margarita. My poor little buddy. Keep your fingers crossed that he feels better tomorrow. I hope my big buddy is feeling better, too.
“If You Like Chana Masala…
June 27th, 2010 § 2 Comments
…and getting caught in the rain…” I sing that song every single time I make this Indian dish. Weird Al watch your back. Aahh, well, I have two sick and cranky boys in the house, so this is going to be quick. I made this Chana Masala dish last week (and a million times before that), but forgot to take a picture of it. (My blogging cred is going downhill so fast it’s scary! ) This recipe is from the October 2000 issue of Martha Stewart Living. It’s easy, pleasantly spicy, and all you need is some brown rice (and maybe a small green salad) to make it a meal.
CHANA MASALA
Serves 4
Garam masala, a blend of dry-roasted spices, can be found in the international section of most large supermarkets.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I always use olive oil)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 small onions, finely diced (1 1/2 cups) [Here Gordon Ramsay demos how to properly chop an onion]
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups crushed canned tomatoes
2 15 oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and very finely diced
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add cumin seeds, and cook until they begin to pop, about 30 seconds. Add onions, and cook until they begin to brown. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute more.
2. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, jalapeno, garam masala, and salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro, and serve.
Keeping with the Indian theme, try your hand at Jamie Oliver’s Mango Lassi:
Ingredients
- 9 fluid ounces (255 milliliters) plain yogurt
- 4 1/2 fluid ounces (130 milliliters) milk
- 4 1/2 fluid ounces (130 milliliters) canned mango pulp or 7 ounces (200 grams) from 3 fresh mango, stoned and sliced
- 4 teaspoons sugar, to taste, or feel free to try salt and cardamom seeds
Directions
Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend for 2 minutes, then pour into individual glasses, and serve. Feel free to try salt and cardamom seeds. The lassi can be kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours
I hope you’re having a good weekend and a great start to the summer!
