Salsa

Chances are the people reading this (and by people, I mean my Mom) know how obsessed I am with spicy food, including salsa! Here are a couple of my favorite salsa recipes:

Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:

• 4 raw tomatillos
• 1/4 jalapeno
• handful of cilantro
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Blend together in a food processor.

Creamy Avocado Salsa

• cup of plain greek yogurt
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 jalapeno
• handful of cilantro
• 1/2 lime
• 1/2 tsp of garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Blend together in a food processor.

Entomatadas

My momma’s delicious recipe, with a twist of my own. 🙂

Ingredients:

• whole grain tortillas
• chicken
• havarti chipotle cheese
• 1 can tomatoe sauce
• chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• 1/4 of chicken boullion cube

1. Cook the tortilla.

2. Shred the chicken and place chicken and cheese in tortilla.

3. Combine tomato sauce, chipotle pepper (with adobo sauce) and salt/pepper.

4. Place tortilla with chicken and cheese in pan and cover with tomato mixture.

5. Spinkle cotija or queso fresco on top of tortilla and enjoy! 🙂

Foodie Finds

I thought I’d share a few of my absolute favorite foods I’ve discovered while living in Austin. Hope you enjoy them!

• Central Market Whole Grain Tortillas- Made fresh daily at the in store bakery, These little guys are amazing.  I grew up eating flour tortillas but as I got older, I realized they aren’t the healthiest (darn!).  However, these whole grain tortillas give you the best of both worlds-nutritional value AND great taste.

• Mara Natural All Natural No Stir Almond butter- I could (and have) eat this by the spoonful.  Compared to peanut butter, Almond butter has more magnesium, iron and calcium.  Almonds are a good fiber source and also contain protein. Almonds contain high monounsaturated fat content, and are considered a healthy food choice. Almonds or almond butter provide healthy fat not typically found in foods high in saturated fats.  It’s a no brainer.  I enjoy putting a tablespoon or almond butter in my fruit smoothies or on top of toast topped with bananas and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

• Grandma’s Humus- I first tried this hummus on a friend’s boat in Lake Austin. I was instantly hooked and couldn’t stop eating.  Grandma’s humus is made locally right here in Austin, Texas at a local restaurant called The Mediterranean Chef.  One of my favorite things about this humus is how amazingly fresh it tastes.  It’s made of only a few natural ingredients-garbanzo beans, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, crushed red pepper and olive oil.  Garbanzo beans do not contain any cholesterol or saturated fats and are rich in protein.  This is a great dip to have with carrots, broccoli or any other veggie/chip you enjoy.

• Beanitos- A chip made out of beans? Sounded weird to me at first, until I tried one of these.  DELISH.  They are made out of beans so they of course have a high fiber and protein content.  They are also preservative free, and non GMO (genetically modified organism) certified.  My favorite flavor is nacho cheese.  It tastes like a dorito, except better, AND healthier.

Snack Time

Those of you who know me know I’m a BIG snacker.   Eating smaller meals more often throughout the day can help fire up your fat-burning furnace. Susie Akers, director at the Aamoth Family Pediatric Wellness Center at MetroHealth and gastroenterology dietitian, recommends you consume at least three to four times a day instead of only one to two times to keep your metabolism up and avoid excessive portions with large meals.  However, it is important to keep these snacks healthy! I typical snack on nuts, fruit, and veggies.  Below is a list of my favorite snacks:

• Almond Butter on Toast, sprinkled with local honey and cinnamon (This one satisfies my sweet tooth)
• A handful of berries (strawberries, rasberries and blackberries are packed with Antioxidants) and a serving of mixed nuts (heart healthy)
• Organic Greek Vanilla Yogurt (I buy Stonyfield brand since it has the least amount of sugar), plus a tablespoon of ground flax seed, which is an excellent source of protein) or granola
• A banana and 2 tablespoons of almond butter
• Veggies (brocolli or carrots are my personal favorite) and 2 tablespoons of hummus or tzatziki sauce.

I also drink black tea in the morning and either 2-3 cups of green or black tea throughout the day.  Black tea kick starts your metabolism when consumed in the morning.  I will have a light breakfast, one snack mid-morning, a small lunch, and 2 afternoon snacks before dinner.  Frequent snacks keep me from starving and consequently over-eating during meals.  Portion control is key.  Listen to your body, it will tell you when you’re full.  Eating slowly and drinking water BEFORE meals will also make you fuller, faster.  Hope you enjoy these snacks as much as I do 🙂

http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/weight-maintenance/11-ways-rev-your-metabolism/slide/11

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/why-tea-makes-you-happy–healthy–and-smart-194141810.html

Turkey Quinoa Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey
• 1 cup finely chopped brocolli
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• tomatoe
• cilantro
• 1/2 lime
• tsp of minced garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 slices reduced fat havarti cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 175 F
2. Combine 1 Chipotle pepper + tsp of adobo sauce, tsp of minced garlic, 2 tomatoes, juice from 1/2 lime, cilantro, salt and pepper.  Puree in food processor.
3. Cook turkey as directed, seasoning with salt and ground pepper to taste.  Pour in broccoli to cook about 5 minutes.
4. Cook quinoa as per package instructions and undercook by 4 minutes
5. Pour Quinoa in a large baking dish. Add cooked turkey and broccoli over the quinoa.  Pour the prepared chipotle salsa over the turkey and cover with slices of Havarti cheese.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.
7. Serve hot, adding salt/ ground pepper, or extra salsa and lime as desired. Enjoy! 🙂

This salsa is easy, quick, and oooh so yummy!!

Cilantro Avocado Dip

This dip is great on tacos or with carrots, broccoli or any other veggie you like.

• 2 avocados, pitted and chopped
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• juice from half lime
• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream or plain greek yogurt

Directions:

Using the food processor, puree avocados, sour cream, cilantro, garlic, and lime juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  If you want to spice it up, you can add 1/2 jalapeno or serrano pepper.  I’ve also added just about a tsp of siracha to this dip to give it a little kick.  Serve cold and enjoy!

Mini Ham, Cheese, And Spinach Frittata

These little guys are delicious, practical, and healthy!  I personally use low-sodium turkey breast and reduced fat Havarti cheese but you can add anything you wish 🙂  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 organic, brown eggs
• handful of spinach
• 1 tomatoe, chopped finely
• 2 slices of turkey breast or ham, chopped into small cubes
• 2 slices of havarti cheese (or any other cheese you choose), chopped into small cubes

1. Preheat your oven to 375
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl
3. Line each muffin cup with oil
4. Pour the mixture in muffin cups, three fourths full (it will rise a little)
5. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.  Add more cheese to the top once they are out if you wish!

This recipe should make about 6 mini frittatas.  You can get creative and add any ingredients you usually add to eggs.  Serve warm and ENJOY!

Oh the Wonders of Tea…..

Those of you who know me closely are well aware of the love I have for tea.  I start every morning with it.  If I travel or spend the night somewhere other than my home, I make sure and pack tea.  I stay away from any kinds of sodas or processed drinks, but was getting kind of jaded and bored of drinking h2o 24/7.  So I started trying green teas a few years ago and instantly became addicted.  Some of my favorite green teas are pomegranate and mint.  As far as black tea goes, I usually drink Organic Chai (Tazo) or Earl Grey (Central Market brand) . I LOVE LOVE LOVE this new tea I tried a few weeks ago, it’s by Yogi and It’s called Vanilla Spice Perfect Energy.  I drink it in the morning to kick start my day.  Sometimes I add some almond milk to make it a (healthy) latte.  I typically have about 2-3 cups of hot tea a day (iced in the summer time).  During grad school, I had several stress-induced restless night, so I started drinking Chamomile to take advantage of it’s natural sleep aids.  Health benefits of drinking tea are endless– I have included a link which speaks about benefits associated with drinking Green Teas.  As I first started drinking tea I began to notice that it also suppressed my appetite a bit (~30 minutes, which is lot since I eat every 2 hours).  Plus-who doesn’t love warming their hands to a cup of fresh, hot tea?  I hope you jump on the Tea Train, you won’t regret!

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea

Enjoying some tea on a terrace in Santorini, Greece. Vacation Tea Time is always the best tea time.

Spectacular Smoothies

Let’s face it-most of us don’t consume as much fruits and veggies as we are supposed to.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that as a 26 year old female who exercises between 30-60 minutes a day, I should be consuming 2 cups of fruit and 2.6 cups of vegetables every day.  What’s the easiest way to get in these fruits and veggies-in a smoothie! It’s tasty and fast.  Here are my favorite recipes for fruit and green smoothies.

Fruit Smoothie:

• 1 banana
• handful of blueberries
• tablespoon of almond butter
• tsp of local honey (eating local honey is said to help alleviate allergy symptoms, and if you’re an Austinite-chances are you could use this help)
• 3/4 cup of almond milk- again, an estimate. I’m not really one to measure most of my ingredients-sorry!

If you prefer, add some ice cubes. If your berries are frozen, no ice cubes are needed. I use a magic bullet to blend the ingredients together and voila! Fresh, healthy, and so yummy.

Green Smoothie:

• handful of spinach
• handful of romaine lettuce
• about 4-5 whole mini carrots
• juice from 1/2 lime
• Leaves from 2 Brussels Sprouts (just take off the leaves, don’t put the whole thing in there, it’s too dense and won’t taste good)
• 2-3 strawberries (just to add some natural sweetness to your smoothie)

Mix in your blender or magic bullet.  Sometimes the ingredients get stuck in the Magic Bullet so I remove the cup and mix and re-blend.  As a side note, I use all organic veggies and fruits.  Organic foods are free of chemicals and pesticides, which rob the fruits and veggies of their nutrients and benefits.  What’s the point of eating fruits and veggies if we can’t get 100% of the nutritional benefits these foods provide?  Here’s a link which explains the nutritional and environmental benefits of organically grown food.

http://www.stonyfield.com/healthy-people/health-tips-advice/why-eat-organic

Saturday Morning Almond Butter Banana Pancakes

The joy I feel on Saturday mornings is unparalleled to any other day of the week…The weekend has just begun, and along with it lie endless possibilities.  I like to start my Saturday mornings with a cup of hot tea (usually a Black tea to get me going with some caffeine!), some bible study, and some morning sunshine.  This Saturday, I decided to try a new and simple recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 2 eggs
• About 2-3 tablespoons almond milk (I didn’t measure, so this is an estimate–oops!)
• 1-2 tbsp of Almond Butter
• Local Honey
• Cinnamon

Directions:  Smash the banana, add egg, almond milk, and almond butter and mix well.  I sprinkled in some flax seed as well to add some extra fiber.  Line a pan with some oil (I always choose organic extra virgin olive oil), and pour on a little baby pancake.  Like normal pancakes, bubbles will start to form when it is ready to be flipped.  I added some honey and sprinkled on some cinnamon to the pancakes when they were done.  The pancakes were a little mushy…but this was probably because there wasn’t any kind of flour in them.  If desired, you could add some whole wheat flour to add a thicker consistency to the mix and pancakes.  But I liked them as is…simple, healthy, and pure.