Food

Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup

October 7, 2015

Since it is getting cooler outside, people are starting to cozy up and make soups in their crock-pots. Most soups can be high calorie and make you feel like hibernating after eating them… so here is how we avoid that feeling by boosting the nutrients in our soups!

Most people assume you need noodles, rice, or potatoes to have a soup… but you can actually use quinoa instead! Find out why quinoa is one of my favorite grains HERE!

So here is my recipe for one of our favorite fall soups made in a crock-pot.

INGREDIENTS:

4 organic chicken breasts, whole
2 containers of organic chicken broth
3 stalks of organic celery, chopped
1 organic leek, chopped
5 organic carrots, sliced
1 cup organic red quinoa
1 organic lemon, sliced
1/2 tbsp. organic dill weed
salt/pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Place all chicken and broth into your crock-pot. Add celery, leek, carrots, lemon, and dill to your crock-pot and let cook on high for 5-6 hours or until chicken is done.

After adding all of your ingredients to your crock-pot, place your quinoa in a bowl of water off to the side to soak as shown below. I will also add extra water to the crock-pot depending on how much broth I have. Here I used both containers of broth and about 1 cup of water.

After your chicken has finished cooking, take out all chicken and shred chicken with a fork. The chicken should just fall apart as you scrape it. Once shredded, put it back into your crock-pot.

Strain water from your quinoa and add quinoa to your crock-pot 30 minutes before you plan to eat.

**Note: I always use red quinoa because it does not get mushy.

Please feel free to salt/pepper to taste. And 30 minutes later, voila! You have a healthy and flavorful soup!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post and please feel free to share using the social media icons below!

What’s the Deal With Spaghetti Squash?

September 17, 2015

One question I get often is “what’s the deal with spaghetti squash?” Is it good or bad? And is it REALLY better than pasta??

So here is what I know about spaghetti squash as well as my opinion on the matter!

Spaghetti squash is technically a fruit (we use as a winter vegetable) and is used in place of pasta often due to its stringy consistency. It can be baked, boiled, steamed or my favorite, microwaved (just because its quicker).

So for the first question:

IS IT GOOD OR BAD?

I think it is a great food to choose when finding a pasta replacement. Here is a side by side of the nutrition analysis for spaghetti squash vs. plain cooked pasta.

As you can see above with my analysis from the USDA Food Database, spaghetti squash is a way to get more food for less calories and carbohydrates.

Pasta is very starchy and high calorie. It tends to spike blood glucose levels in diabetics and increase weight in the average American. A serving of pasta is usually around 1/2 cup cooked. It is rare that only a 1/2 cup of pasta is used during an entire meal. Usually when pasta is cooked, it is used as a filler being the largest portion on the plate.

Spaghetti squash however is very low calorie, contains lots of vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber! It should prevent the roller coaster blood sugar spikes especially when prepared with a protein.

So to answer the last question:

IS IT REALLY BETTER THAN PASTA?

My opinion is yes!

It is low calorie, all natural, loaded in nutrients and is so easy to make!

So here is a quick tutorial on how to make your spaghetti squash fast!

First slice it in half and remove the inside pulp/seeds with a spoon.

Then you’ll want to put the halves on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Put them in the microwave for about 10-12 minutes depending on the size of your squash.

Once your time is up, touch your squash with a utensil to see if it is soft. Don’t use your fingers because it should be VERY hot. If it is, you’re ready for the next step!

Begin scraping the insides of the squash with a fork to remove your spaghetti squash. This helps keep the squash stringy. And once you’re done scraping, you are ready to serve!

Spaghetti squash is a great way to still have that “pasta feel” in a healthier way.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and learned something new! Please feel free to share this post using the social media icons below!

Pico De Gallo Recipe!

September 3, 2015

Pico de gallo is a great side that adds tons of flavor to a dish! It is so easy to make and stays fresh for days. So here is a quick recipe to help you make your very own pico from home! Preservative free!

INGREDIENTS:

4 roma tomatoes
1 banana pepper
1 poblano pepper
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded
1 lime, juice
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Dice your tomatoes, garlic and peppers into very small pieces and put them in a mixing bowl. Then add your chopped cilantro and mix well. Next, slice your lime and squeeze both halves over your pico mix. And you’re done!

Apple Chips Recipe!

August 12, 2015

If there is one food we love having at home, its apple chips! We throw them in our trail mix, take them on the beach or road trips, or have them at home for a quick snack. They are so simple and easy to make as long as you have a dehydrator. So I’ll walk you through the steps!

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz of 100% lemon juice
1 bag of granny smith apples

TOOLS:

Dehydrator
Apple corer
Slicer

DIRECTIONS:

First wash your apples well. You’ll want to core them one at a time to make sure you’re only using what will fit in the dehydrator. Once you remove the core of your first apple, you’ll want to slice it. Grab a bowl, and fill it with 8 oz of water and 8 oz of lemon juice.

This is your Apple Corer, Mandoline Slicer(over a bowl of your lemon juice solution), and first rack of your Dehydrator. When you core your apple, it should be a straight hole all the way through the apple. Don’t worry if there are seeds left inside. They will come out during the slicing.

Corers make life SO much easier when making apple chips!

I set my slicer on the thickest slice setting. If you want extremely thin chips with extra crunch, you may want thinner slices. The reason for the lemon juice is to keep the apple slices from oxidizing and turning brown. Once you’ve dunked all of the slices into the lemon/water solution, let them sit for about 30 seconds, then begin moving them into the dehydrator.

You’ll want to lay them on your dehydrator spaced out fairly well. If you slightly overlap other pieces of apple, its okay. They will shrink in size as they dehydrate. Once all of your racks are full of apple slices, set your dehydrator to run for 8 hours at 135 degrees Fahrenheit. This time and temperature work for the thicker apple slices. If you are choosing to make thinner apple slices, you may not need to run your dehydrator for 8 hours. Check on them about 6 hours into your dehydration process.

And 8 hours later, there you have them! Nice crunchy all natural apple chips! Chop them up and put them in salad or add them to your trail mix! Enjoy!

It’s Truly Tabouli!

August 4, 2015

Some of you may be wondering what tabouli is… So let me give you some background.

It is a Middle Eastern vegetarian salad that can be spelled tabouli or tabbouleh. Most tabouli recipes will include bulgur (wheat) or quinoa. I decided to leave both of those out so this can be a lower carbohydrate salad.

Tabouli has many benefits… It is low calorie, high in fiber, and loaded in vitamins and minerals! For this reason, it is considered a superfood in many countries. By adding quinoa over bulgur, or leaving out both as I have done, it can be considered gluten-free.

This nutrient rich dish makes a great snack on romaine lettuce leaves, eaten alone as a salad, or even on top of protein sources such as meats, eggs, or beans.

So lets get started making some tabouli!

First you will need:

2 cups curly parsley, chopped
1/4 cup mint, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Chop your parsley, mint, tomato, cucumber and green onions. Put them in your mixing bowl.

Then add your salt, lemon juice, and olive oil.

And finally, toss all ingredients to make sure everything is mixed well.

And your finished product will look like this!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! And a BIG thank you to Cheryl who introduced me to this superfood!

Italian Tuna Salad

August 2, 2015

Tuna salad is one of the quickest things to take for lunch during the week, but depending on how you make it, calories can add up fast! Between all the mayonnaise, pecans and crackers, your “healthy lunch” may not be so healthy after all.

So how do you make tuna salad healthy? How can you give it a different taste so it’s not so boring?

Luckily, I have the answer!

First you’ll need to gather these ingredients:

1 can of tuna packed in water
2 Tbsp of plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp basil pesto
3 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
6 black olives, chopped
1 cucumber

Directions:

Add your drained can of tuna, Greek yogurt, and basil pesto to your mixing bowl. Once thoroughly mixed, add your chopped sun-dried tomatoes and olives!

Slice your cucumber into small slices to use for dipping. And voila! That’s it!

You have a quick guilt-free lunch!

Enjoy!

Back Deck Gardening

July 23, 2015

There are tons of reasons to garden! It’s relaxing, rewarding, and gives you fresh ingredients without the trip to the grocery store. The only problem is, when we think of gardening, we may think constant weeding, mosquito bites, tilling, fencing, pests, and sunburns. So how do you garden so it’s fun, easy, and gratifying?

By using pots on the back deck!

This is a very minimalist way to garden that requires very little attention and can still provide you with great produce or herbs. For our climate in Alabama, tomatoes grow like weeds. They do require watering every few days, but that’s about it. It is also important to try and pick your ripe tomatoes within a day or two of reddening so they don’t get eaten by other critters (especially if you don’t want to use pesticides).

But there is something truly exciting about growing your own food. It is extremely gratifying to make your own pico de gallo with fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, and garlic right from your garden.

For many of my patients, they use gardening as a way to get exercise and improve their vegetable intake in their diet.

But for me, I use it as a way to relax. A way to provide fresh produce to my friends and family. Especially when I have a great turn out. Now that’s gratifying.

And if back deck gardening still seems like too much work, visit your local community garden or Food Bank. There are always people in need of fresh food and the feeling you get helping people is beyond satisfying.

This is definitely one way to feed your mind and your belly!