tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71990085390820204852024-02-18T19:34:40.466-08:00Food ResolutionsNicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-47972688981687592552012-10-11T15:56:00.005-07:002012-10-12T15:15:59.339-07:00Autumny Cauliflower Soup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHiYi-XwiN2P25kjslycF_i2ztM34g27kJJdR5cssgSwQMkimnSN5PEv2-880McHdgSEm8VJrvIfwnRUCPsV-uxhmALfxeSwAbZUZJSNbRfvZFTf5SIzBRC9bMRd2Eiub9iOBgJau04c/s1600/IMG_2791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHiYi-XwiN2P25kjslycF_i2ztM34g27kJJdR5cssgSwQMkimnSN5PEv2-880McHdgSEm8VJrvIfwnRUCPsV-uxhmALfxeSwAbZUZJSNbRfvZFTf5SIzBRC9bMRd2Eiub9iOBgJau04c/s640/IMG_2791.JPG" width="640" /></a>
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I woke up early today to get my house ready for babysitting a 10 month old. After unplugging all the plugs, barricading the plants and breakables, and vacuuming up all the swallowable debris. I deemed the house sufficiently baby ready and ended up with a little time to spare. I probably should have used that time to do some sort of exercise or read scriptures, but instead I decided it was going to be soup making day. The weather here is beginning to turn into a crisp chilliness that makes you crave soup, hot apple cider, and candles that smell like cinnamon. So I took a peek in my fridge and saw that I had two heads of cauliflower that needed to be used in......soup!<br />
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So here is what I came up with, and I must say it is the best darn cauliflower soup I have ever tasted.</div>
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Ingredients:</div>
<div>
1 T. olive oil</div>
<div>
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped</div>
<div>
2 cloves of garlic, smashed</div>
<div>
1 large head of cauliflower, cut into large chunks</div>
<div>
1/2-3/4 c. white wine</div>
<div>
4 c. vegetable broth</div>
<div>
1 bay leaf</div>
<div>
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp.dry</div>
<div>
1/2 t. fresh ground nutmeg</div>
<div>
Salt and pepper to taste</div>
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<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNWaZ4M34udtmHogVt7GQH_0GkID9c5-JSvJKDLKa-UXykHUcQ70e8pAXuHQZESsfa-dYYvvvn_zCKnJL_ezOMwxw7GtkWUVHfpiNFzJKfGAZkYajsWV3PK_YS_1BCv20B5hXFSC5bCk/s1600/cal_Caul_soup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNWaZ4M34udtmHogVt7GQH_0GkID9c5-JSvJKDLKa-UXykHUcQ70e8pAXuHQZESsfa-dYYvvvn_zCKnJL_ezOMwxw7GtkWUVHfpiNFzJKfGAZkYajsWV3PK_YS_1BCv20B5hXFSC5bCk/s1600/cal_Caul_soup.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*for 8 servings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Start off heating the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add in the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are softened, stirring often so they don't brown (about 5-10 mins). Once, onions are soft and you can smell the garlic, deglaze the pot with the white wine and then let it reduce to cook out the alcohol, make sure to scrape up the good bits at the bottom of the pan. When the wine has cooked down, add in the rest of the ingredients and turn the heat down to med-low. Simmer for 30-45 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. P<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">ull out the bay leaf and the stick from the rosemary (the leaves will have fallen off unto the soup) and transfer to a blender. Blend that yumminess until it is velvety smooth. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">There you have it. This is basically the easiest soup recipe ever. The final product is thick and creamy and warms you right up on a chilly day. I love how rich and creamy this soup tastes without having to worry about the calories you would normally get from a cream-based soup. I hope you try it out and love it. </span></div>
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Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-12901289904749492622012-04-18T10:06:00.002-07:002012-04-18T10:25:16.349-07:00Fast and Easy Potato Lentil Stew<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhgZJ52iRsAScHYoPPWj4b_aw2yzXOeuVt69iXK9Ow_EUlyxYfrE6CsIPXbcJYZjWaJj1XmnzK2VDIWlE6UTWoUkMt3ODNLMu2N-bqISqFv6XXVNBoX0bx9TJ6_AsfmRuie4HwKx3nU0/s1600/potato_lentil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhgZJ52iRsAScHYoPPWj4b_aw2yzXOeuVt69iXK9Ow_EUlyxYfrE6CsIPXbcJYZjWaJj1XmnzK2VDIWlE6UTWoUkMt3ODNLMu2N-bqISqFv6XXVNBoX0bx9TJ6_AsfmRuie4HwKx3nU0/s640/potato_lentil.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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We spent the weekend in Phoenix with J.R.'s sister and her family. What does this mean? Well I'll tell you what it means: An empty fridge upon our return. So when I finally remembered that food is an essential part of functioning around 1 o'clock in the afternoon yesterday, the choices were slim. And what do you do when choices are slim and you have just finished reading the "Hunger Games" books? You make a stew. So I scavenged through the cupboards and found lentils, potatoes, and vegetable stock. Eureka!<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Ingredients:</div><div>1 T. oil (I used grape seed oil this time)</div><div>1 yellow onion diced small</div><div>2 cloves garlic, minced</div><div>3 medium potatoes, peeled and medium diced (about 1 centimeter cubed)</div><div>4 c. low-sodium vegetable broth</div><div>2 cans of lentils, or 3 cups cooked lentils (drained and rinsed)</div><div>salt and pepper to taste</div><div><br />
</div><div>So this is really easy: You heat the oil over med-high heat in a pot. Then add in the onion and potatoes. Once the onion is softened and translucent, add in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Pour in the vegetable stock making sure to scrape up any yummy brown bits and reduce heat to med-low. Let the soup simmer until the potatoes are softened to about potato salad consistency. Add the lentils in a couple minutes before the potatoes are done just to heat through. That's it folks. It is fast, filling, good, good for you, and a great way to stretch a buck. I ate mine with some delicious toast we had left over from the previous week's <a href="http://foodresolutions.blogspot.com/2012/02/whole-wheat-multigrain-bread-using.html">whole wheat multigrain bread</a> recipe.</div></div><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoodresolutions.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F04%2Ffast-and-easy-potato-lentil-stew.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-iauWb84H29U%2FT474UJNfqxI%2FAAAAAAAAAL8%2Fcq0rC4lLiV0%2Fs1600%2Fpotato_lentil.jpg&description=Fast%20and%20Easy%20Potato%20Lentil%20Stew%3A%20a%20great%20quick%20to%20prepare%20vegetarian%20stew"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-11429241646981677352012-03-02T23:43:00.007-08:002012-03-02T23:52:58.641-08:00Monkey Style Vegan Brownies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-ssNR3nkX81I74M648N_xcSLrsVLmnyqkQTAAPKL6fOMJYzTmv6ye4k73NWWm-GuHl78vDsQxtHrRKrt7n0c373A0kMzzoXQCEe0KYeWEjOYfTcdLdL6R2Gj38uSjVCHu-oozoa6F9g/s1600/IMG_1516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-ssNR3nkX81I74M648N_xcSLrsVLmnyqkQTAAPKL6fOMJYzTmv6ye4k73NWWm-GuHl78vDsQxtHrRKrt7n0c373A0kMzzoXQCEe0KYeWEjOYfTcdLdL6R2Gj38uSjVCHu-oozoa6F9g/s640/IMG_1516.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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Lately, I have been focussing on trying to reduce sugar and other processed sweeteners from my diet. This has led me to revamp my <a href="http://foodresolutions.blogspot.com/2012/01/not-so-bad-for-you-but-super-tasty.html">original vegan brownie</a> recipe to get rid of the sugar and bring in the bananas :) I made these last night for dessert and they turned out great, so I decided to share.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeG2uMyuUlTBQqdTBtfQkjEGpJiieBw6vy0fko58jm9V8ySC2ysZsvKZ1YbQITvRPM0ILZQpPEqWbhrXSbB9p-nrErguLd9BzSKCfC8Vns2BNTnmBXXrVVsmMfDMf42B8KV0F2V4jgtlE/s1600/IMG_1608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeG2uMyuUlTBQqdTBtfQkjEGpJiieBw6vy0fko58jm9V8ySC2ysZsvKZ1YbQITvRPM0ILZQpPEqWbhrXSbB9p-nrErguLd9BzSKCfC8Vns2BNTnmBXXrVVsmMfDMf42B8KV0F2V4jgtlE/s200/IMG_1608.jpg" width="200" /></a>Ingredients:<br />
3/4 c. whole wheat flour<br />
1/3 c. cocoa powder<br />
2 tsp. baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp. baking soda<br />
1/2 tsp. salt<br />
1 tsp. ancho chili powder (to amp up the chocolate flavor)<br />
3/4 c. ripe bananas, mashed<br />
3/4 c. unsweetened apple sauce<br />
1 tsp. vanilla extract<br />
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0VIWhyphenhyphenI09Vidrd6xY3kv5avrXxIF96QJqmtNOVuqJ1JN7iu-McLXoZXi9Lzv2IJqzNvKDgXhg9mpSEPRQmLEzIOcLXfDj6gO72uhM3mspmIzqHtTgVp0n162JmZ1x7HPjm4rk0GAGdE/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-03-02+at+11.29.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0VIWhyphenhyphenI09Vidrd6xY3kv5avrXxIF96QJqmtNOVuqJ1JN7iu-McLXoZXi9Lzv2IJqzNvKDgXhg9mpSEPRQmLEzIOcLXfDj6gO72uhM3mspmIzqHtTgVp0n162JmZ1x7HPjm4rk0GAGdE/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-03-02+at+11.29.33+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serving size is one 2x4 inch brownie</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add in all of the we ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Once incorporated, stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the baking dish and smooth into an even layer. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the baking dish.<br />
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Once the brownies are done baking, place them on a wire rack and tent loosely with foil. The trick here is to keep them as moist as possible. Let the brownies cool for 15-20 mins before eating. Make sure to store these in the refrigerator since they have banana in them. I like to put my brownies in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to warm them up before eating. These brownies are moist and fudgy with the perfect level of sweetness and the slightest hint of banana. Makes 8 huge brownies.<br />
<hr width="100%" />J.R. and I were both busy in the kitchen tonight and didn't realize that our cats (mainly Champ) had found a roll of toilet paper and proceeded to do their best to destroy it.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4d0PmJ27O8UyXv512wY0qMHDwT5i4xqQogV5wpMWVCsgl4vwocoBa_WvvugStimBhLNT7FTinzg3D0JNyxSJJYkr1Jo-1fZZYPHJlzqt2IRLENfzYKfkxTBiTHObY3utBFAZu3ZBNQxI/s1600/IMG_1618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4d0PmJ27O8UyXv512wY0qMHDwT5i4xqQogV5wpMWVCsgl4vwocoBa_WvvugStimBhLNT7FTinzg3D0JNyxSJJYkr1Jo-1fZZYPHJlzqt2IRLENfzYKfkxTBiTHObY3utBFAZu3ZBNQxI/s320/IMG_1618.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J.R. presenting the evidence, you can also see bits of<br />
toilet paper all over the living room floor<br />
in the background.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-BBB4pP32tpXytUpJsNwI9yG1yS9RnDVSdkY6yCwgWFcq86tm6kiMwgvZbuREvhVTFAba7wjtWaOgNk9-xTQP_woSG8vuce6z5DClMUEkt0mKfYwHzHgVrnDZFliJHYB55Mna8oZn3w/s1600/IMG_1621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-BBB4pP32tpXytUpJsNwI9yG1yS9RnDVSdkY6yCwgWFcq86tm6kiMwgvZbuREvhVTFAba7wjtWaOgNk9-xTQP_woSG8vuce6z5DClMUEkt0mKfYwHzHgVrnDZFliJHYB55Mna8oZn3w/s320/IMG_1621.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Champ's mug shot with exhibit A. He is also not supposed to be on the table and he knows it. So this is his, "oh crap, I'm caught!" face.</td></tr>
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I have been seeing a new trend popping up online where people take frozen bananas and puree them into banana ice cream. It looked interesting so I decided to give it a try and fell in love. Here is my technique for how I have made this simple treat my own:<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
1 c. frozen banana slices from ripe bananas (brown spots are a good thing here)<br />
2 T. cocoa powder<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUnEuDrvks3lPCSgPgqXobu9Tr0vl5x1oBZAEpfoSz4nbNv2TgVrszNgjLDzZtuWTkdcOG6-chxV0pXEwr5WPnti0aEYk1QwsGGG2JEBo91HFq1G-MTbmi85IDl0b-xVFgFuJmWNCHAY/s1600/IMG_1611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUnEuDrvks3lPCSgPgqXobu9Tr0vl5x1oBZAEpfoSz4nbNv2TgVrszNgjLDzZtuWTkdcOG6-chxV0pXEwr5WPnti0aEYk1QwsGGG2JEBo91HFq1G-MTbmi85IDl0b-xVFgFuJmWNCHAY/s200/IMG_1611.jpg" width="146" /></a>1/2 tsp. ancho chili powder (optional)<br />
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Slice the bananas into 1/4 inch coins, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer and freeze until solid. I like having bananas at the ready, so I usually slice up an entire bunch of bananas and keep them in a bag in my freezer. <br />
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Add the bananas, cocoa powder, and ancho chili powder in a food processor and let it rip until the mixture reaches an ice cream consistency. Sometimes the bananas will clump into a ball in the food processor. If this happens, just squish them down with a spoon and continue processing.<br />
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That's it! I like mine topped with toasted almond slices. My husband likes his with marshmallows because he says it takes like rocky road ice cream. The best part for me is that the banana ice cream is so reach and creamy that a half cup serving is more than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpqUSuZ63NfZktW5G9Jpf0RbzdNG7yu_TtPseUOVgdQCgC1ckiAFGfF63LhSFqL50_GLojgsOhYY-tVLA26eJeLqbAkBbgZUkdKvlB492YURmZzrDM3i0Cr_XN49ioThURzc9y146W-s/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpqUSuZ63NfZktW5G9Jpf0RbzdNG7yu_TtPseUOVgdQCgC1ckiAFGfF63LhSFqL50_GLojgsOhYY-tVLA26eJeLqbAkBbgZUkdKvlB492YURmZzrDM3i0Cr_XN49ioThURzc9y146W-s/s640/Untitled-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><hr width="100%" /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJnZ-h8NYqZz0hqAYpgMWaE04mk9sblidZP4ZY-A59I8f0DctVcyVzgLQOk1af4T69ZKY_k59lLiyDFy65aYPGrii4kVEXuevSaEdYKHCcW_2b4C5nrSRrAD_sLkSD4AaO6V5o8Ma7sw/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-03-01+at+11.22.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJnZ-h8NYqZz0hqAYpgMWaE04mk9sblidZP4ZY-A59I8f0DctVcyVzgLQOk1af4T69ZKY_k59lLiyDFy65aYPGrii4kVEXuevSaEdYKHCcW_2b4C5nrSRrAD_sLkSD4AaO6V5o8Ma7sw/s320/Screen+shot+2012-03-01+at+11.22.35+PM.png" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*2 servings not including almonds</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9p69ZuAGUdzSTAsFX5jHQjS2ra3zs3UY-V5aPjBw7JeHnuO8tiQr5jXXN9_XVDKkYElxQTZZZe88PGbbtfLhX6Snbj1za-wrET3ojWoSENoIEY332DAt9QttithfPqMeLoxe3R6bgAVQ/s1600/IMG_1613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9p69ZuAGUdzSTAsFX5jHQjS2ra3zs3UY-V5aPjBw7JeHnuO8tiQr5jXXN9_XVDKkYElxQTZZZe88PGbbtfLhX6Snbj1za-wrET3ojWoSENoIEY332DAt9QttithfPqMeLoxe3R6bgAVQ/s320/IMG_1613.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Fun Fact:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Banana peels have many useful uses</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://knol.google.com/k/how-to-use-banana-peel-for-skin-care#">How to Use Banana Peel for Skincare</a></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.curbly.com/users/diy-maven/posts/3629-10-alternative-uses-for-bananas">10 Alternative Uses for Banana Peels</a></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody> </table></div><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoodresolutions.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fgoing-bananas-forbananas.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-_ubhg1KoT8E%2FT1B0f7csMwI%2FAAAAAAAAAKg%2Fxd51nxv7lCI%2Fs1600%2Falmonds.jpg&description=Vegan%20banana%20ice%20cream%20recipe%20plus%20fun%20uses%20for%20all%20those%20left%20over%20banana%20peels.">Pin It</a><br />
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Ingredients:<br />
1 c. yogurt whey or skim milk plus 1 c. water<br />
1/2 c. polenta<br />
1/4 c. parmesan cheese (optional)<br />
1/4 c. chopped parsley<br />
1 t. olive oil<br />
1/2 onion, medium sized slices<br />
2 garlic cloves sliced thin<br />
1 t. red pepper flakes<br />
1 bunch of beet greens, washed and chopped into large pieces<br />
1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped into large pieces<br />
1/4 c. vegetable stock<br />
3 tomatoes, large dice<br />
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Start by boiling the water and yogurt whey in a medium sized pot. Whole the water is coming up to a boil, chop up your veggies and begin sautéing the onion on the olive oil on medium-high heat. When the onions are translucent, add in the garlic and cook until fragrant then deglaze with the veggie stock. Add in the beet greens and kale and cover with a lid. Turn heat to low and simmer for ten minutes.<br />
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When the water/whey liquid starts boiling, add in the polenta and whisk constantly for 3 mins. After 3 minutes, reduce heat to low and cover with a lid. Allow the polenta to simmer on low (stirring occasionally) for 30 mins until thick and creamy. Stir in parsley and parmesan just before serving.<br />
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Once the greens are softened, remove lid, add in tomatoes, and allow any liquid to cook out. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_seDwI44y4Tx2TcI0V7prA28IpbIqeeOZYObbJnRucBRjJI7ICIEOvac771MMkwnuBWLvTRIclaBoKZ1wr_1VTvuUSM0BdRQq3u6Uq7Ci6wSjbNEqcjKf1mrV5stMWNXG7dmp-joL1yc/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-22+at+3.38.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_seDwI44y4Tx2TcI0V7prA28IpbIqeeOZYObbJnRucBRjJI7ICIEOvac771MMkwnuBWLvTRIclaBoKZ1wr_1VTvuUSM0BdRQq3u6Uq7Ci6wSjbNEqcjKf1mrV5stMWNXG7dmp-joL1yc/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-22+at+3.38.52+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Based on 4 servings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Serve the sauteed greens over the polenta. <br />
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A couple of notes:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I saved the stems of the parsley, kale, and beet greens to use in a green monster smoothie later. A great way to use the whole veggie.</li>
<li>Quinoa would also be a great with the sauteed greens if polenta isn't your thing or if you want more protein in your starch.</li>
<li>This is a great use for the leftover yogurt whey that you get when you make <a href="http://foodresolutions.blogspot.com/2012/02/homemade-greek-yogurt.html">greek yogurt</a>.</li>
</ul></div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-86855476247997860892012-02-09T10:29:00.000-08:002012-02-09T10:29:28.243-08:00Whole Wheat Multigrain Bread using Yogurt Whey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2K-1WuSAxKSDscB8AE5kncqYBV1q_h1Ifx8NTKyvg1B9bMX6HKDsqFN3_kkJSTRZD0Iw-5tS4VUcE3zxFJOMBdT9aKDmQJY9L6CimZFm-dXHHZEzljIfT10UK_9iE7Aox5ig-MAMDBY/s1600/IMG_1488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2K-1WuSAxKSDscB8AE5kncqYBV1q_h1Ifx8NTKyvg1B9bMX6HKDsqFN3_kkJSTRZD0Iw-5tS4VUcE3zxFJOMBdT9aKDmQJY9L6CimZFm-dXHHZEzljIfT10UK_9iE7Aox5ig-MAMDBY/s640/IMG_1488.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I made this week's bread with yogurt whey from my <a href="http://foodresolutions.blogspot.com/2012/02/homemade-greek-yogurt.html">yogurt recipe</a>, all whole wheat flour, and substituting olive oil for the butter. It turned out great! Here is the updated ingredient ratios if you have some yogurt whey to use (the process is the same as in the <a href="http://foodresolutions.blogspot.com/2011/11/little-back-story-and-multigrain-bread.html">original multigrain bread recipe</a>):</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIy1uNrb0gRDOXpKj-PpgwbWxXLfVC9YS1Z7nYyFkk9lFaBt_wuyzfld0vMhvvv2mDr7YAKJlpBgNQACt-12tFMAFSjz4YseosZ0fYhO8Jy3-rwfN-K9aAg-3aXvK3ODbC9MpjqYrNqk/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-09+at+10.04.18+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIy1uNrb0gRDOXpKj-PpgwbWxXLfVC9YS1Z7nYyFkk9lFaBt_wuyzfld0vMhvvv2mDr7YAKJlpBgNQACt-12tFMAFSjz4YseosZ0fYhO8Jy3-rwfN-K9aAg-3aXvK3ODbC9MpjqYrNqk/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-09+at+10.04.18+AM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Based on 22 slices per loaf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>1 1/4 c. seven-grain hot cereal mix </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">1 1/2 c. boiling water plus 1 c. yogurt whey</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">1/4 c. honey</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">1/4 c. olive oil</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">2 1/2 t. instant yeast</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">4 1/2 c. whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">1 T. table salt</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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There you have it. The calories are the same as the original recipe, but you get a little more bang for your buck with added protein from the yogurt whey, harder for your body to break down because of the whole wheat, and a better kind of fat from the olive oil. <br />
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</div></div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-64771281846678906052012-02-07T09:41:00.000-08:002015-01-12T10:18:12.246-08:00Pineapple Fried Quinoa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I basically have been hanging out with the same crowd of people since high school. Our lives have certainly become more busy and hectic over the years and girlfriends/boyfriends and spouses have been added into the family, but we still manage to meet up every Monday for "wing" night. <br />
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Wing night started in high school where we would basically go out to this one wing place and eat wings, simple. Well we finally got sick of going to the same place all the time, so we started changing it up. Wing night at Thai, wing night at Mexican, wing night at Greek...... for some reason we never thought/wanted to change the name. So wherever we go or eat, it is still wing night regardless. </div>
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This week, wing night was at Chez Blackham and we had Chinese-ish. One of the dishes I made was pineapple fried quinoa and it was delicious. <br />
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Ingredients:</div>
<div>
1 carrot, diced small</div>
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1/2 medium yellow onion, diced small</div>
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1 T. sesame oil</div>
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1 c. quinoa, rinsed and dried</div>
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1 clove garlic, minced</div>
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1 c. vegetable broth, plus 1/2 c. water (can omit the veggie broth for all water)</div>
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1-2 T. low-sodium tamari (gluten free soy sauce)</div>
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Siracha to taste</div>
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2-3 egg whites scrambled (or more if you are crazy into eggs)</div>
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1/2 c. pineapple, large dice</div>
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1 green onion, sliced small</div>
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1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds</div>
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Get Cookin':</div>
<div>
Heat sesame oil in a pot over med-high heat. Add in the carrots and onions and saute until onions are translucent. Add in the quinoa and garlic and toast until you can smell the garlic, stirring constantly. </div>
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Deglaze the pan with the veggie broth/water and allow the concoction to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 15-18 minutes until cooked through. While you are waiting for the quinoa to cook, place the egg whites in a microwave safe bowl and cook for one and half to two minutes. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZmWwLBOx4pTZyuXl-LbkuUhlFThBbZKbMLFNG0GCj4Iuew_zJ6LsOlj-EWD8XhN1Gz2cDUI3dOU6RZ8Yza_y5eoovAemZkZlofZEBbd77CJFmw7g9FE-SBp-bz92AxPjH9etLzrMrMw/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-07+at+9.53.15+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZmWwLBOx4pTZyuXl-LbkuUhlFThBbZKbMLFNG0GCj4Iuew_zJ6LsOlj-EWD8XhN1Gz2cDUI3dOU6RZ8Yza_y5eoovAemZkZlofZEBbd77CJFmw7g9FE-SBp-bz92AxPjH9etLzrMrMw/s320/Screen+shot+2012-02-07+at+9.53.15+AM.png" height="320" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ooooo look at that dietary fiber!</td></tr>
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When the quinoa is done cooking, fluff with a fork and add in the rest of the ingredients (tamari, siracha, egg, pineapple, green onion, and sesame seeds). </div>
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Lastly, and most important, enjoy the yummy!</div>
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Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-54737878297412413102012-02-05T14:14:00.002-08:002012-03-02T00:09:43.251-08:00Homemade Greek Yogurt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPORPKhQqtLZFd46IPV2otgwAH652yJWJTjHMyf9v3MbWW6GCmyVNi31osN1PwWt1dK78YgA6May57NsneWrd_u2p3j4QuH65ExC8TPrA0zqWwLgix3z0LiqlkQBHdIy3Pc5ioZZwD_0/s1600/IMG_1552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPORPKhQqtLZFd46IPV2otgwAH652yJWJTjHMyf9v3MbWW6GCmyVNi31osN1PwWt1dK78YgA6May57NsneWrd_u2p3j4QuH65ExC8TPrA0zqWwLgix3z0LiqlkQBHdIy3Pc5ioZZwD_0/s640/IMG_1552.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoodresolutions.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F02%2Fhomemade-greek-yogurt.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-GJKvnxZIkJM%2FTy8EGmNSFZI%2FAAAAAAAAAIo%2FFvLhiScECiE%2Fs1600%2FIMG_1552.jpg&description=Homemade%20greek%20yogurt%20recipe.%20%20This%20recipe%20is%20so%20easy%20and%20inexpensive%2C%20I%20will%20never%20buy%20yogurt%20from%20the%20store%20again!">Pin It</a></div><script src="http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CDN Thermo Probe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I really like greek yogurt. It is a great way for me to incorporate non-meat protein into my diet. It is also incredibly versatile and tasty and keeps me from eating a lot of otherwise super fatty creamy alternatives (like mayo, sour cream, and cream cheese). What I don't love about greek yogurt is how much it costs. I recently purchased some organic greek yogurt from Whole Foods for a whopping eight bucks. That is two dollars a cup!<br />
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"Riiiiiiiidiculous!" I said to myself. "I bet it wouldn't be that hard to make it myself." This thought prompted me to do a web search into the process of making greek yogurt and guess what, I found out that it is actually incredibly easy and inexpensive to make. So I headed on down to the market, bought a gallon of organic skim milk and got started.<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
6-8 cups of organic skim milk (depending on the size of your yogurt maker)<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO0gdlNiSxK3ywS0wtqg5HGs4NtRPGaiBLAswcqJnq9Xs8M0XX8Qfu7PLII67q60OdqFd47g_GB6QIP0JdsUB2ml_jSDBnk88HALQk0mo1hGnAVHdMS-5NO2Z_Rjb2gPmeL41AASLNk8/s1600/IMG_1548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO0gdlNiSxK3ywS0wtqg5HGs4NtRPGaiBLAswcqJnq9Xs8M0XX8Qfu7PLII67q60OdqFd47g_GB6QIP0JdsUB2ml_jSDBnk88HALQk0mo1hGnAVHdMS-5NO2Z_Rjb2gPmeL41AASLNk8/s200/IMG_1548.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Euro Cuisine yogurt maker<br />
Don't forget to use the lid :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>1 T. of fresh plain yogurt with active cultures<br />
cheesecloth<br />
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So here's what you do.....<br />
Place the milk in a pyrex bowl and microwave on high for 16 minutes (stirring every 4 minutes) until the milk reaches a temperature of 175-200 degrees. Then let the milk cool down to 110 degrees (about half an hour). I use a thermometer that has an alert built in so it just yells at me when the yogurt has dropped down to the right temperature. If any skin has formed on the top of the batch, make sure to skim it off at this time this will make sure that your final product is nice and creamy. Whisk in the fresh plain yogurt and place the mixture into a yogurt maker for 8-12 hours.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirE38DJEJbNQrGMTku0gpwjelNjiSsEW5udlstPPH7SkJD3fFBgSJ0KPkkL_C7wvuaQ1tuScQcpg7QlNB2I3P1s9baYnca1PzkKyk5DgOUvo13Rp2Uf0Tbkr2pXqqTzC03yIINth3QWiY/s1600/IMG_1555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirE38DJEJbNQrGMTku0gpwjelNjiSsEW5udlstPPH7SkJD3fFBgSJ0KPkkL_C7wvuaQ1tuScQcpg7QlNB2I3P1s9baYnca1PzkKyk5DgOUvo13Rp2Uf0Tbkr2pXqqTzC03yIINth3QWiY/s200/IMG_1555.jpg" width="192" /></a>While I highly recommend owning a yogurt maker, some people don't, so you can also put the yogurt in an oven at 100 degrees (covered) or just outside (also covered) if it is a hot day. The main goal is to keep the yogurt at a steady temperature of about 100 degrees. If your oven doesn't go down to a hundred degrees or it is the middle of the winter, you can use the technique on <a href="http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/skinny-secrets/healthy-homemade-greek-yogurt">this</a> blog.<br />
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The way I test to see if the yogurt is done is to take a scoop out with a spoon. If it holds up on the spoon pretty good then it is done. It will kind of have the consistency of flan. You can let the yogurt ferment longer if you like it to be a little more sour. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIt9mXpTMaEvrMj4-EzrIdHHgfwzIHT4PKzgJ1M8TAR86h43hCO_HToeDdUdfoZVXfuhMMp8YQ4bZuNl-cKO0lm6Sg-y1-cp31KdOn0yk1dwKdT0AGE-aarMpyvXdlzRLxpB7GDJYrTQ/s1600/IMG_1558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIt9mXpTMaEvrMj4-EzrIdHHgfwzIHT4PKzgJ1M8TAR86h43hCO_HToeDdUdfoZVXfuhMMp8YQ4bZuNl-cKO0lm6Sg-y1-cp31KdOn0yk1dwKdT0AGE-aarMpyvXdlzRLxpB7GDJYrTQ/s200/IMG_1558.jpg" width="200" /></a>When the yogurt is done, line a mesh strainer with a thick blanket of cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Then scoop the yogurt into the strainer and allow to drain for about 20-30 minutes depending on how thick you like your yogurt. <br />
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Once your yogurt has reached the desired consistency, scoop it back into the original bowl and whisk until smooth. There you have it, greek yogurt at a fraction of the cost :)<br />
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Note: If you let the yogurt drain overnight, the next morning you will have yogurt cheese which you can use to replace cream cheese in just about any recipe. Do I hear a low-fat cheesecake experiment coming on?<br />
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Double Note: Make sure to save the liquid (whey) that strains out. It is full of wonderful nutrients and lots of protein and also has many other uses such as:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyITRJl8CXKOetQEaaIfHrQmmcJhE12_L9gBbsvrXj_8nih_eA10xgomGO62hK_ORSvA72Mquj73-MlqKrfv4bJS2cv_098yQHPFtr7AyS_Wta4JVIYBjowkoKhmNlKzQl9ynVQDS8gvE/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-05+at+2.12.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyITRJl8CXKOetQEaaIfHrQmmcJhE12_L9gBbsvrXj_8nih_eA10xgomGO62hK_ORSvA72Mquj73-MlqKrfv4bJS2cv_098yQHPFtr7AyS_Wta4JVIYBjowkoKhmNlKzQl9ynVQDS8gvE/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-05+at+2.12.07+PM.png" /></a><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Substitute for buttermilk</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Substitute for water or milk in baking and cooking (I am going to use this instead of water the next time I make <a href="http://foodresolutions.blogspot.com/2011/11/little-back-story-and-multigrain-bread.html">multigrain bread</a>)</li>
<li>Stir it back into the yogurt to thin up the consistency and add tang</li>
<li>Instead of protein powder, use yogurt whey to make protein shakes</li>
<li>Boil it down to make ricotta (best if you are making whole milk yogurt)</li>
<li>Use it to soak your beans or steel cut oats before cooking</li>
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</div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-91291671960228881282012-02-05T00:58:00.000-08:002012-02-05T01:02:37.218-08:00Quinoa Burgers with Baked Sweet Potato Skins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SCzNxgiG_LOIEzdW6v7jGgPdd16lgDYiL5csTZ1EUv815PJwOb6X0BqP7Ec_NNMdWABx82mP0htkC1vcNeD0cmM1IGQHOZ7a3lrp1TSn-M3fRalwOtVCxknFY5MumUbfahNVb13g3_c/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SCzNxgiG_LOIEzdW6v7jGgPdd16lgDYiL5csTZ1EUv815PJwOb6X0BqP7Ec_NNMdWABx82mP0htkC1vcNeD0cmM1IGQHOZ7a3lrp1TSn-M3fRalwOtVCxknFY5MumUbfahNVb13g3_c/s640/photo+4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoodresolutions.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F02%2Fquinoa-burgers-with-baked-sweet-potato.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-RxgNmI-DVHY%2FTy44_5MvZPI%2FAAAAAAAAAHo%2FLP-K00wQwTU%2Fs1600%2Fphoto%2B4.JPG&description=Quinoa%20burgers%20with%20sweet%20potato%20skins.%20%20Great%20vegetarian%20alternative%20to%20burgers%20and%20fries.%20%20Delicious%20and%20healthy%20%3A)">Pin It</a><br />
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I may or may not have developed a slight obsession with Pinterest lately. I recently stumbled across two recipes in my pinning adventures that I felt would go together very well and it turns out they did. The original recipes didn't really fit in with my current dietary restrictions, so I did a little bit if an overhaul:<br />
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<b>Quinoa Burgers (10 servings/patties)</b><br />
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First, cook the quinoa:<br />
1 c. quinoa, rinsed well (I get it in bulk from Costco. They carry a good organic brand.)<br />
2 c. water<br />
1/4 t. salt<br />
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Bring the water and salt to a boil over high heat, then add in the quinoa and turn the heat to low and cover. Let the quinoa simmer for 18-20 mins. <br />
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Now for the burgers:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMLzt35QRGouoI8j2pytkI-B2hLuWyOo0o73cjwzOFdVe-De7p1xMumu7fOwSWbLy1AcmePor00pt5oS2_58w5E35-sGXsNOxPax7v8EKyYO4sFBbo4jJ4GFMX11pvbBstBN-PNT1iJg/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMLzt35QRGouoI8j2pytkI-B2hLuWyOo0o73cjwzOFdVe-De7p1xMumu7fOwSWbLy1AcmePor00pt5oS2_58w5E35-sGXsNOxPax7v8EKyYO4sFBbo4jJ4GFMX11pvbBstBN-PNT1iJg/s320/photo+2.JPG" width="320" /></a>Cooked quinoa (above)<br />
1/2 c. fat free organic cottage cheese (blended smooth)<br />
1/4 c. parmesan cheese (optional)<br />
1 large carrot shredded fine (or 1 c. zucchini, lightly salted and drained then squeezed)<br />
1/2 c. egg whites (I am imagine you might be able to use flax a water instead of eggs here)<br />
3 T. whole wheat flour<br />
2 green onions sliced thin<br />
2 cloves of garlic minced fine<br />
1/4 t. pepper<br />
1/4 t. salt<br />
1/2 t. cumin<br />
1/4 t. cayenne pepper<br />
oil with high smoke point<br />
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Preheat a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat with oil. I use grape seed or avocado oil spritzed on with a misto. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Scoop out 1/2 c. servings of the mixture into the skillet and form them into patties with a spatula. It is best to treat these kind of like pancakes, you want them to be pretty well set before you try to flip them or you will just have a big mess. Also, it is a good idea to mist some more oil on the uncooked side before flipping. Cook until they are golden brown and crispy on each side. <br />
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Serve them with any normal burger toppings you like. I ate mine with sliced tomatoes, avocado, and a little geek yogurt with dill mixed it. It was super duper good :)<br />
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<b>Baked Sweet Potato Skins (4 servings)</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzAvaQguRNSKXD2l4LAoGdmXpmzE-Qc9GgAf-Hi2ALjYrHNSqKKVGfqnlYqwVTnBNU8VmYlomk-GrUcwuKsDuimdg1us4RU3OiAnWGbpRqpluvJ3QqCPqyWRgaausbxyStNBMRAjPXRM/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzAvaQguRNSKXD2l4LAoGdmXpmzE-Qc9GgAf-Hi2ALjYrHNSqKKVGfqnlYqwVTnBNU8VmYlomk-GrUcwuKsDuimdg1us4RU3OiAnWGbpRqpluvJ3QqCPqyWRgaausbxyStNBMRAjPXRM/s320/photo+1.JPG" width="320" /></a>It is great to get this started as you are waiting for your quinoa to cook.<br />
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4 medium-sized sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean<br />
1 t. Italian Seasoning blend<br />
1 T. avocado, grapeseed, or olive oil<br />
salt and pepper<br />
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Preheat over to 400 degrees, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with oil. Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and place them cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 mins. until tender. Set potatoes aside to cool. <br />
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While potatoes are cooling, set the oven rack so that it is 6 inches from the top of the oven and preheat the broiler. Combine the Italian seasonings, oil, and salt and pepper in a small bowl.<br />
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When potatoes are cool enough, scrape out about half of the flesh from each potato half (keep scooped out flesh for a sweet potato mash at another date). Cut the sweet potato skins lengthwise into 1/2 inch strips. Place the strips on the baking sheet. Brush the skins with the oil/herb mixture and place them in the oven. Broil the potatoes until they are well-browned. <br />
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<div>Nutrition Facts: Quinoa Burger Nutrition Facts: Sweet Potato Skins<br />
<div class="separator" style="align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHABK-XE2QyQpnz0YGYhvH8eX79XaiAQhb-juWsiHnmIZK2sAAxms61ljdQgKBe9PPIxRI9hAWILD1Y5jG4sZEisv9js71kQ9TFyVgt5v3M0mc4kyVv4bqTqTxbvEASc7Deklm6tKy5E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-02-05+at+12.18.58+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHABK-XE2QyQpnz0YGYhvH8eX79XaiAQhb-juWsiHnmIZK2sAAxms61ljdQgKBe9PPIxRI9hAWILD1Y5jG4sZEisv9js71kQ9TFyVgt5v3M0mc4kyVv4bqTqTxbvEASc7Deklm6tKy5E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-02-05+at+12.18.58+AM.png" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-i33-LAynrewtlbbyFxNq01O2UxcjjMP7e7LdYQxtX45xWEZLQB_ePpEat1jGn6Z94t5IkAeR88sQZeKaGFA3r8lwbfNGSk75sMR6MqKhngI3SiYHRA6vP4-Ue7p7zPc1AflcklYazI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-02-05+at+12.47.20+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-i33-LAynrewtlbbyFxNq01O2UxcjjMP7e7LdYQxtX45xWEZLQB_ePpEat1jGn6Z94t5IkAeR88sQZeKaGFA3r8lwbfNGSk75sMR6MqKhngI3SiYHRA6vP4-Ue7p7zPc1AflcklYazI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-02-05+at+12.47.20+AM.png" /></a><br />
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I went through a phase a couple months ago where I was making these vegan brownies from the <a href="http://peasandthankyou.com/2010/06/28/summer-bummers/">Peas and Thank You</a> cookbook just about every single day. Yes, they were that good, and yes, they are low-fat enough where I could make them a lot. I hadn't made them in a while, so I decided to make them tonight :)<br />
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Now let me set your expectations. These are not going to be super ooey gooey brownies. If you find a recipe that produces that kind of brownie with no oil or sugar, please let me know. These brownies are going to be kind of fluffly, but there are a couple tricks I use to make sure they are super moist, uber chocolatey, a still pretty fudgy.<br />
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The original recipe calls for sugar, but I can't really have sugar, so I use agave nectar. I have also been amazed by how far sugar free chocolate has come. I didn't use sugar free chocolate in this recipe because my nephew ate my last bar, but using sugar free chocolate would also be super good and would decrease the calories by a good amount as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUWLxbOAfFr6_jARuujpPCFngvxWcX2yt23uXZaVPyo6iGxGkhRErYxiUprtzQIwcBYqgDxFK6oqYe-R7pBXWqH_T4OkY2TE3ovyOkcn4asWyp7uqoTufVHb8BvHUUZ_ES0Zb5998qQk/s1600/IMG_1511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUWLxbOAfFr6_jARuujpPCFngvxWcX2yt23uXZaVPyo6iGxGkhRErYxiUprtzQIwcBYqgDxFK6oqYe-R7pBXWqH_T4OkY2TE3ovyOkcn4asWyp7uqoTufVHb8BvHUUZ_ES0Zb5998qQk/s200/IMG_1511.jpg" width="200" /></a>So here is the recipe:<br />
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3/4 c. whole wheat pastry or white whole wheat flour<br />
1/3 cup dutch processed cocoa powder<br />
2 t. baking powder<br />
1/2 t. baking soda<br />
1/2 t. salt<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOptCZGc9X807rlDkeyxoGVdtky_uCO1Xk5xbwOqBuh-1mRqlgv4F3cjZvCddNCa4vzdwzSwDPr4Kt5R8pd20VYpUnMqY67tp57ZfAE2cKKjJSjs0CdHcDYvPwcXkcueiOq1UREFPLu0/s1600/IMG_1512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOptCZGc9X807rlDkeyxoGVdtky_uCO1Xk5xbwOqBuh-1mRqlgv4F3cjZvCddNCa4vzdwzSwDPr4Kt5R8pd20VYpUnMqY67tp57ZfAE2cKKjJSjs0CdHcDYvPwcXkcueiOq1UREFPLu0/s200/IMG_1512.jpg" width="200" /></a>1 c. unsweetened applesauce (I recommend making your own, it is very easy.)<br />
3/8 c. agave nectar<br />
1 t. vanilla extract<br />
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips (or sugar free chocolate chopped)<br />
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together (except chocolate chips). Add in all of the wet ingredients and stir until well combined. Add in the chocolate chips and stir until well incorporated.<br />
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Pour the ingredients into the baking dish and back for 18-20 mins until the edges start to pull away from the pan.<br />
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Now here is the trick to keeping the brownies moist. Pull the brownies out of the oven and onto a cooling rack. Cover brownies with aluminum foil, this traps in the moisture as they cool down. Let the brownies cool to room temperature then slice into 2x4 inch brownies. <br />
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You can substitute 1 c. of mashed bananas for the applesauce to make banana brownies which are also very tasty. <br />
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Quick Tip: If they make it to the next day, I heat my brownie in the microwave for 10 seconds to melt the chocolate chips before devouring :)<br />
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<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaovUxnzF8JCaMDAKc0SkCXPXMUs5EdMypi2lRsJEiNgJJkfvOKpBuFX6clcLg1yTGlZ0737UXHg90peJaBYf6taIRYGF1nBWdDWkF2_TKTJhmbk8Y1OdciXkflJ4iyiCBXHmeLpkPNg/s1600/brownies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaovUxnzF8JCaMDAKc0SkCXPXMUs5EdMypi2lRsJEiNgJJkfvOKpBuFX6clcLg1yTGlZ0737UXHg90peJaBYf6taIRYGF1nBWdDWkF2_TKTJhmbk8Y1OdciXkflJ4iyiCBXHmeLpkPNg/s320/brownies.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>So yeah, they get a c- score on nutrition. But they are a dessert :) and 3.1 grams of dietary fiber is not too shabby. Especially since you can't even tell that they are made from whole wheat flour. These are the nutrition facts for using regular chocolate. I wonder what they would look like with the sugar-free chocolate. hmmmmm......</div><div><br />
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Tonight I was faced with the question every person dreads. What should I make tonight for dinner? At least I dread it because asking myself this question means that I didn't plan a meal and now I have to come up with one on the fly using stuff I already have in the kitchen. So in my search for inspiration, I came across some butternut squash that had been sitting in the fridge for a while and needed to be used. "Liiiiightbulb", I said to myself. I remembered that I had read some research on PCOS and found that reducing meat consumption is a good thing. So yeah! Go me for listening!<br />
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I have never made butternut squash soup before and I was too lazy to look for a recipe online, so I decided to wing it. Here is what I got:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9-EzZ14PzoiKp5gvnVGYmzAE2oJaO6N1HnYxT63U3B-wVJ0l1xmOMelW0pASOsmELF1cWfdq4hspHAwGyv0xstDSG3hwPABgrXdsSLuDeBF3VOtyHsumMV0JVOP72V2RVg5L_OK4AE4/s1600/IMG_1497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9-EzZ14PzoiKp5gvnVGYmzAE2oJaO6N1HnYxT63U3B-wVJ0l1xmOMelW0pASOsmELF1cWfdq4hspHAwGyv0xstDSG3hwPABgrXdsSLuDeBF3VOtyHsumMV0JVOP72V2RVg5L_OK4AE4/s200/IMG_1497.jpg" width="200" /></a>1 large yellow onion, large dice<br />
3 cloves of garlic, smashed<br />
1 T. olive oil<br />
64 ounces of butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed<br />
8 c. low-sodium vegetable stock<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
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Heat a large pot on medium-high, add the olive oil and onions and cook until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook until you can smell it.<br />
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Next, add in the butternut squash and vegetable stock and allow to simmer until squash is tender. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg026ON38tiDGKAhOVLi50BoOfttue9NZmSySibb1ZFUBIAHJQPoPeor41Up1zJqKozUDB7gLKqG04uju3Hg5MlWhxrvprsMZ8AuTMcZIM5kv-XN_0k3pKPduUkSk1mJNLZhRVilbMpvY/s1600/IMG_1505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg026ON38tiDGKAhOVLi50BoOfttue9NZmSySibb1ZFUBIAHJQPoPeor41Up1zJqKozUDB7gLKqG04uju3Hg5MlWhxrvprsMZ8AuTMcZIM5kv-XN_0k3pKPduUkSk1mJNLZhRVilbMpvY/s200/IMG_1505.jpg" width="200" /></a>Now comes the fun part. You can puree the soup in a couple of ways. You could blend is in a blender, or run it through a food processor, orrrrrr you can bust out the fancy immersion blender your husband bought you for Christmas. I chose to bust out my new immersion blender because I hate dirtying stuff if I don't need to aaaand I wanted to show my husband how much I loved his gift.<br />
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Using the immersion blender also allows me to puree the soup in the pot and then salt and pepper to taste. If I were to use a blender or food processor, I would have to season each batch separately. Not fun.<br />
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The result is a naturally creamy, nutrient packed soup that is only 73 calories per serving. Whhhhhaaaat!?! Yes that's right, only 73 calories. And in each bowl, you get 100% of the vitamin C you need in a day. Plus loads of other beneficial nutrients. You can check them all out <a href="http://www.wholeliving.com/134734/power-foods-butternut-squash">here</a>. And did I mention that it tastes awesome and is basically the easiest soup in the world to make. You seriously can't go wrong here. <a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoodresolutions.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F01%2Ffive-ingredient-butternut-squash-soup.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-FoKU7-mQTP0%2FTx-Jn3Pu5xI%2FAAAAAAAAAHA%2F_w8jeCBJuNQ%2Fs1600%2FIMG_1506.jpg&description=Easy%20and%20yummy%205%20ingredient%20butternut%20squash%20soup%20recipe.">Pin It</a><br />
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Martha Stewart puts out a killer food magazine. The best part is that she includes the calorie count for all the recipes in said magazine. So I was reading through this month's issue and came across a recipe for an avocado chicken sandwich. This is nothing like her recipe, but I did feel inspired to make my own version and it tasted a-mazing. I made it again for my brother-in-law and he agreed. So now I am going to share this awesomeness with the world:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfaroadRcjr6JSkSUlTmKFMLf5xD7L9xWk1QDuuFNgs6UHJHDR1fWU9defSaDENwlAWMdGFv7brPyviEGZ1af-5QoT0GRBtqa4r7VgxfNldp6ytbSpI_sMZL4uuc16SAeB3OuJmUoRDo/s1600/avocado_chicken_sand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfaroadRcjr6JSkSUlTmKFMLf5xD7L9xWk1QDuuFNgs6UHJHDR1fWU9defSaDENwlAWMdGFv7brPyviEGZ1af-5QoT0GRBtqa4r7VgxfNldp6ytbSpI_sMZL4uuc16SAeB3OuJmUoRDo/s320/avocado_chicken_sand.jpg" width="320" /></a>1 avocado, cut in half, pit removed<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">2 T. greek yogurt</div>1/2 lemon, juiced<br />
salt and pepper<br />
1 chicken breast cooked and shredded<br />
1 green onion, sliced thin using only the white and light-green part<br />
1 stalk of celery, small dice<br />
alfalfa sprouts<br />
4 slices <a href="http://foodresolutions.blogspot.com/2011/11/little-back-story-and-multigrain-bread.html">multi-grain bread</a> toasted<br />
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Take half of the avocado and smash it up in a small bowl, add the greek yogurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix all together. <br />
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Take the other half of the avocado and cut it into cubes then add to bowl of mixture. Add in the chicken, green onion, celery. Mix everything together and spoon on top of bread slices. Add the alfalfa sprouts on top to make open-faced sandwiches. Makes four good sized servings at about 261 calories each and goes really well with <a href="http://foodresolutions.blogspot.com/2011/12/so-what-if-im-too-cheap-to-run-heater.html">vegetable soup</a> :)<br />
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1 egg plus 2 egg whites beaten<br />
1 big handful of fresh spinach<br />
2 T. red onion, small dice<br />
1/4 c. greek yogurt<br />
salt and pepper<br />
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1 heat resistant rubber spatula<br />
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Heat a 6-inch non-stick pan on medium-high heat. Spray in some cooking spray and sauté onion until translucent. Rinse the spinach and place it in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 30 seconds, take it out of the microwave, and allow to cool. Once the spinach is cool, squeeze out all the water. <br />
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Turn the heat down to medium-low and add eggs. Using the tip of the spatula, pull in the sides of the omelet slightly and and tip the pan so that the runny part of the egg fills in the gap made by the spatula. Work your This will make your omelet fluffy and will also help to cook faster. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.<br />
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Once the omelet is no longer runny on top, add the spinach and flip in half. Cook on each side until the inside of the omelet is fully cooked. About a minute before cooking is complete, spread the yogurt on top of the omelet to warm up a little bit. <br />
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And that's it. Super tasty omelet action and only 170 calories, yes!!!!!</div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-53979847255417533992011-12-13T00:57:00.000-08:002012-01-18T12:00:10.316-08:00Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscSDIMFVzk8hPh4pmgqW-DtKanxPEzUPvcVm_ydyv-oxf2JDpwasndP5IqqxpoKSxVMhqyc60qu-WBg86C8-16ogOHYGPbo_PW6txhgX4GhZLAOSfA258X9lrQmnXcjCeyJEArfut664/s1600/photo+1-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscSDIMFVzk8hPh4pmgqW-DtKanxPEzUPvcVm_ydyv-oxf2JDpwasndP5IqqxpoKSxVMhqyc60qu-WBg86C8-16ogOHYGPbo_PW6txhgX4GhZLAOSfA258X9lrQmnXcjCeyJEArfut664/s320/photo+1-1.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter Ingredients:<br />
2 oz. (1/4 c.) of mother starter (see previous <a 11="" 2011="" foodresolutions.blogspot.com="" href"http:="" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7199008539082020485&postID=5397984725541753399&from=pencil" mother-starter-success.html"="">starter recipe</a>)<br />
6 oz. (1 1/2 c.)whole wheat flour <br />
4.5 oz. (1/2 c. plus 1 T.) warm water<br />
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Wheat Wheat Sourdough Ingredients:<br />
sourdough starter (above)<br />
1 oz. (1 1/2 T.) honey<br />
12 oz. (1 1/2 c.) warm water<br />
1/2 oz (2 T.) oil<br />
10 oz. (3 1/2 c.) whole wheat flour<br />
1/2 oz. (2 t.) salt<br />
1 1/2 t. yeast<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89cdgdNjK0Tu3B6dlIe-UIZxZ1hMqh96VqDIfEr8zXjLsXN8ThVSxizsPlpSyDmbtoZ0ndbTiBPVcGxdltAMOkLQeek1LWZc7hgYuLlPHK9p-qT3Gs2oEpYXr1FnEs4Th64ptBkPCixg/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89cdgdNjK0Tu3B6dlIe-UIZxZ1hMqh96VqDIfEr8zXjLsXN8ThVSxizsPlpSyDmbtoZ0ndbTiBPVcGxdltAMOkLQeek1LWZc7hgYuLlPHK9p-qT3Gs2oEpYXr1FnEs4Th64ptBkPCixg/s320/photo+2.JPG" width="320" /></a>Mixing the starter:<br />
On a clean surface, make a crater of the whole wheat flour. Take the mother starter and break it up into a couple pieces, place pieces in the crater. Add some of the water to the crater making sure it doesn't overflow. Soften the mother starter pieces in the warm water by mixing gently with your fingers. <br />
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Begin bringing in the flour from the sides of the crater and slowly add in the rest of the water. Until all the ingredients are mixed into a slightly sticky ball. <br />
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Place the starter ball into a clean, lightly oiled container, cover loosely with saran wrap, and leave the starter out to ferment for 6 to 8 hours until 1 1/2 times original size. You can then either use the starter immediately or place it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I let it ferment in the refrigerator to build more sour flavor.<br />
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Making the dough:<br />
Pull the starter into a bunch of pieces (10-12) and places them into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add the warm water, honey, and oil to the bowl and stir on low speed to soften. Next add in the flour, salt and yeast and mix until all ingredients are combined and form a crumbly dough. Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.<br />
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After 5 minutes, turn the mixer to medium-low speed for 5 more minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky and supple. If the dough it too dry, add in a little water. <br />
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Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and fold it onto itself starting back to front, front to back, and then the sides. Form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl for 10 mins. Repeat the folding process three more times for a total of four times. After the last fold, form the dough back into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with saran wrap and refrigerate for up to four days (at least 8-10 hours). <br />
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Pull the dough out f the refrigerator at least 4 hours before baking. Shape the dough into a loaf and place on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Spray dough lightly with oil, and cover to let rise. Uncover dough about 15 minutes before baking and score with a knife. <br />
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About 30 mins before baking, place a deep metal pan into the very bottom rack of the oven, place the top rack in the middle positions, and turn the oven to 500 degrees. Just before baking, pour 1 cup of water into the meta pan on the bottom rack and place the sheet pan with the dough on the top rack. Bake for 35-45 mins until the dough reaches an internal temperature of 195 degrees and sounds hollow. <br />
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Let bread cool on a wire rack for at least one hour before slicing (preferably 3 hours). I snuck in a taste as I was taking the photos and oh wow! This is good sourdough bread. <br />
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<div><br />
</div><div>Soup is easy, quick, filling, and healthy (as long as it isn't loaded with sodium). The soup I made for dinner last night was all of those things plus an added bonus of tasting amazing.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Ingredients:</b></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMFYe2CeMo-TvUqfR9uzfBmI_mtxkkO-wpiOlU5dC_I8BCO3g3NJOQJxqG1NyDy9VdiXUsXj5UfBhOAkdalgy1Svf1P2C0qfspr5MbAWafROqyhOXCx_TnJ2cyaJQx10yZGlVwNwbpjA/s1600/IMG_0929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMFYe2CeMo-TvUqfR9uzfBmI_mtxkkO-wpiOlU5dC_I8BCO3g3NJOQJxqG1NyDy9VdiXUsXj5UfBhOAkdalgy1Svf1P2C0qfspr5MbAWafROqyhOXCx_TnJ2cyaJQx10yZGlVwNwbpjA/s320/IMG_0929.jpg" width="320" /></a>1 T. Olive Oil</div><div>2 medium carrots (small dice)</div><div>2 stalks of celery (small dice)</div><div>1 medium yellow onion (small dice)</div><div>3 garlic cloves (minced)</div><div>1 t. dried thyme</div><div>salt and pepper to taste</div><div>2 15oz. cans of cannelli beans (rinsed and drained)</div><div>1 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes</div><div>4 c. low-sodium vegetable stock</div><div>1/4 c. fresh parsley (chopped)</div><div>grated parmesan cheese (optional)</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Directions:</b></div><div>Heat olive oil a large pot on medium-high heat. Add in the carrots, celery, and onions. Cook until onions are translucent. Add in the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and cook until you can smell the garlic. Add in the rest of the ingredients (beans, tomatoes, stock, parsley) and bring the soup to a boil then turn to low and simmer until vegetables are tender (20-25 mins). Serve the soup with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top. Makes four servings at 300 calories each.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Other ingredients that would taste good:</b></div><div>Kale (added in with tomatoes)</div><div>Spinach (added in the last couple of minutes of simmering)</div><div>Garbanzo beans (in place of cannelli beans)</div><div>Zucchini (added in with garlic)</div><div>Potatoes (added in with carrots)</div><div><br />
</div><div>The best part is that it takes less than an hour to make :)<br />
<br />
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</div></div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-87399655632613948282011-12-06T09:21:00.000-08:002012-02-05T21:20:02.013-08:00OMG These Are Soooo Good Chocolate Chip Cookies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK8XmANMDBS9vrTFRJNA2Ib-Xumo-DN8k1hd2IFpw4r4BSv8B1PZJbxrjFUApXxcNisC3KKP0q-Q0xI5fW9F1rihuDLXF6T4fRTY60b0DVuRTVmPc5yN91qm1mwyP2i9ZpYrrRYJrHp8/s1600/photo+3-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK8XmANMDBS9vrTFRJNA2Ib-Xumo-DN8k1hd2IFpw4r4BSv8B1PZJbxrjFUApXxcNisC3KKP0q-Q0xI5fW9F1rihuDLXF6T4fRTY60b0DVuRTVmPc5yN91qm1mwyP2i9ZpYrrRYJrHp8/s640/photo+3-2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoodresolutions.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F12%2Fomg-these-are-soooo-good-chocolate-chip.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F--yZScZkCB0U%2FTxmwsQwI3_I%2FAAAAAAAAAEY%2FTrnD3x412LM%2Fs1600%2Fphoto%2B3-2.JPG&description=These%20chocolate%20chip%20cookies%20are%20a-mazing!%20%20The%20recipe%20comes%20from%20America's%20Test%20Kitchen%2C%20so%20you%20know%20it's%20gonna%20be%20good.">Pin It</a></div><script src="http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript">
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I have been mainly focussing my recipes on healthier food lately. But I have to be honest and say that my husband and I do not eat uber healthy all of the time. I wish I could say that, but we really just don't have the will power. So we have instituted something called "Cheat Day". This glorious day is what keeps our healthy eating habits alive. One day a week we go a little crazy and then it is back on the bandwagon by Monday, in theory. In actual practice, sometimes cheat day spills over into Monday. This week has been a double-cheat week and with good reason:<br />
<br />
OMG These Are Soooo Good Chocolate Chip Cookies<br />
<br />
Sunday night at 11:30 pm my husband turns to me and says "I want some cookies!". He knows that cheat day is about to end and he wants to squeeze in one last cheat. Cookies sounded good to me so I obliged. After a little bit of research, I came across what is in my apparently not so humble opinion, the world's best chocolate chip cookie recipe thanks to America's Test Kitchen. I made it again last night for my friends and the response from them was "Oh My Gah.....! These are so good!". So with two stamps of approval (we made them two nights in a row) I decided to post this not so healthy, but good for the soul recipe. The ingredients are the same as any old recipe, but the ratios and execution make all the difference.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbiVZkjk6jIMWw5i-HopOFLLDGsWh3HD4l3mNf4q_gl2IpjIRR11trtrrga0OKWGoC0HlAbZ4tz3OcMnCpouuEwXFFG-wa20T45DRe8ekr5MApwhrfj0Zq_MIr85QMMvAAXjgMARzQ4c/s1600/photo+2-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbiVZkjk6jIMWw5i-HopOFLLDGsWh3HD4l3mNf4q_gl2IpjIRR11trtrrga0OKWGoC0HlAbZ4tz3OcMnCpouuEwXFFG-wa20T45DRe8ekr5MApwhrfj0Zq_MIr85QMMvAAXjgMARzQ4c/s320/photo+2-2.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
2 c. flour<br />
1/2 t. baking soda<br />
1/2 t. salt<br />
12 T. unsalted butter (melted and cooled slightly)<br />
1 c. packed brown sugar<br />
1/2 c. granulated sugar<br />
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk<br />
2 t. vanilla<br />
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and place the oven racks in upper-middle and lower middle positions and line two cookie sheets with parchment. Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, mix butter and sugars on med-low speed until well blended. Turn the mixer down to low and add in the eggs and vanilla until they are roughly combined and then turn the mixer up to medium until well combined. Turn the mixer to low again and add in the dry ingredients. Once the dry ingredients are incorporated, add the chocolate chips until they are well dispersed in the dough (about 10-15 seconds).<br />
<br />
Now these cookies are big! I describe them as "Brian Size" appropriately named for my friend Brian who esteems quantity just as important as quality in his food. So keep this in mind for the next step.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7hwG-nImN9gUbdHwGQLDSkPKA6qKTH5nhzWVlOBkDmx12H1RPEwE7K-LyWb-iajY7x-JLOvLtgGZhmHtCTwR3RZyqjApNaWcOxz5JE-hVfKogJUIoIN4ed5nCT-mlnpPrmKxrzPUJef4/s1600/cookie_instructions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7hwG-nImN9gUbdHwGQLDSkPKA6qKTH5nhzWVlOBkDmx12H1RPEwE7K-LyWb-iajY7x-JLOvLtgGZhmHtCTwR3RZyqjApNaWcOxz5JE-hVfKogJUIoIN4ed5nCT-mlnpPrmKxrzPUJef4/s320/cookie_instructions.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge ;)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Take a 1/4 c. of dough and roll it into a ball. Then pull the ball into two equal pieces to create two balls with one side of rough surface. Bring the balls back together, rough sides facing up to make one big cookie again. Make sure that you do not compromise the structural integrity of the rough parts when you bring the dough back together. The purpose of this step is to create a nice crumbly surface on the cookie, do not skip this step, it is so worth it. These cookies put Mrs. Fields <i>AND</i> Pepperidge Farms to absolute shame.<br />
<br />
Place dough balls on cookie sheets and give them plenty of space, at least 2 1/2 inches apart.<br />
<br />
Bake until the cookies are lightly browned and the edges are a little crispy (about 15 minutes for gas ovens and 18 minutes for my jenky electric oven). Switch and rotate the baking sheets half way through. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4nU1LPl3JgxQwfbv-cA7BrP3U7ya84c1Z4QWsO2Lr7BCk5rjidK8fKAHsrbDImb5e9RUygehH1L1ZSZqCU4A69MjKe_AtTj03LsVd1NIkBUU-b1VuFHX5yHDw2Q8MfJbvhCAqTLUU5Q/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4nU1LPl3JgxQwfbv-cA7BrP3U7ya84c1Z4QWsO2Lr7BCk5rjidK8fKAHsrbDImb5e9RUygehH1L1ZSZqCU4A69MjKe_AtTj03LsVd1NIkBUU-b1VuFHX5yHDw2Q8MfJbvhCAqTLUU5Q/s200/photo+2.JPG" width="150" /></a>Now when these beauties come out of the oven, you will be tempted to eat them right away because they are soooo pretty. You will also be tempted to put them on a cooling rack. Don't do either of those things. Take the cookie sheets out, place them on a heat-safe surface and leave them alone for as long as you can stand it or 10-15 mins. <br />
<br />
Good luck! and feel free to post comments or questions if you have them. For all my Church friends, I am bringing these to the Relief Society activity tonight so you can try before you buy :)<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Baked Potatoes:</b><br />
Russet potato clean and poked with a fork<br />
Plain nonfat yogurt<br />
Your favorite salsa verde<br />
<br />
Place the baked potato in a microwave safe glass bowl with a couple teaspoons of water. PLace a plate over the bowl and cook on the baked potato setting or for about 5-6 mins.<br />
<br />
Top the potato with a couple tablespoons of yogurt and salsa verde, salt and pepper to taste.<br />
<br />
This was my favorite meal in college and a great quick goto for dinner or lunch. Depending on the size of the potato, this meal clocks in around 240 calories. I don't recommend trying this out with sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes and yogurt are not friends as far as I can tell.<br />
<br />
<b>Chicken Salad Melt Open-Faced Sandwiches:</b><br />
1x can of chicken or 1 chicken breast chopped into small pieces or tuna if that's your thing<br />
1 T. dijon mustard<br />
1/4 c. greek yogurt<br />
1 oz. grated cheddar cheese<br />
1 stalk of celery (chopped into small pieces)<br />
Pepper to taste<br />
4 slices of whole wheat bread (plain or toasted)<br />
<br />
Mix chicken, mustard, yogurt, cheese, celery, and pepper in a bowl until well combined. Spoon over slices of bread. If you have a toaster oven, you can toast these on the highest setting until they get all melty. I like them cold. This recipe makes four open-faced sandwiches.<br />
<br />
I made this for lunch today, soooo good. It is a great way to use those packages of canned chicken you buy from Costco for food storage and only costs about 200 calories per sandwich :) Eat them with your favorite soup or a salad and you have yourself a very fulfilling and super nummy meal.<br />
<br />
<b>Yogurt with Granola and Sugar-Free Jam:</b><br />
1/2 c. Greek Yogurt<br />
1/3 c. granola<br />
1 T. sugar free jam<br />
<br />
Use your favorite granola and sugar free jam. We really like the mango-passion granola from Trader Joe's and pear jam. <br />
<br />
The protein in the yogurt makes a great breakfast that will sustain you all the way to lunch for only 189 calories :)<br />
<br />
<b>Other Uses:</b><br />
Replace sour cream with greek/plain yogurt in tacos<br />
Use greek yogurt in mashed potatoes instead of butter and milk<br />
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</div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-4723383798326172422011-11-27T10:46:00.000-08:002011-11-27T10:50:47.179-08:00Mother Starter Success!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I actually read the directions this time and managed to create a successful mother starter. The trick was not to put it by the window :)~ Here are the instructions for creating a purist mother starter:<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Seed Culture</span></b><br />
<b>Phase 1:</b><br />
In a small glass or plastic bowl, combine 1/4 c. filtered water or unsweetened pineapple juice with 3 1/2 T. whole wheat or unbleached white flour. (I used filtered water and white whole wheat flour).<br />
<br />
Cover the seed culture with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for two days. Come back and stir the culture with a wet spoon two to three times each day. I kept track or my stirring by writing on the plastic wrap with a permanent marker.<br />
<br />
<b>Phase 2:</b><br />
Add 3 1/2 T. flour (white or whole wheat) plus 2 T. filtered water and stir to combine. Put the plastic wrap back on and let sit at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours or until mixture becomes very bubbly (It kind of looks like a pancake around flipping time). Again, make sure to stir the mixture 2 to 3 times each day with a wet spoon.<br />
<br />
<b>Phase 3:</b><br />
Add 7 T. flour plus 2 T. filtered water and stir with a spoon. Place the mixture into a larger bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the mixture sit for 24 to 48 hours making sure to come back at least twice a day to sitr the mixture with a wet spoon (this process aerates it and makes sure that mold doesn't form). <br />
<br />
The mixture should be very bubbly and expanded after after 48 hours. If it does not do this, wait another day or two, continuing to stir a couple times per day. If your house is very warm, it could take less than 24 hours. If it does, move to the next phase immediately.<br />
<br />
<b>Phase 4:</b><br />
Seperate the seed culture into two 1/2 c. portions. Throw half away or give it to a friend :) Add 10 1/2 T. flour plus 2 T. water to 1/2 c. seed starter. Cover with plastic wrap, let sit for 4 to 24 hours until it doubles in size. If your starter doesn't rise after 24 hours, let it sit at room temperature until it does and aerate twice per day.<br />
<br />
At this point, you can either turn the seed culture into a mother starter or place it in the fridge for up to 3 days.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Mother Starter</span></b><br />
Split the seed culture into two equal portions again (each portion should be about 3/4 c.). Throw out half of the seed or give it away to a friend, or save it to make a backup mother starter.<br />
<br />
Combine 2 3/4 c. flour, 1 c. water, and 3/4 c. of the seed starter together in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low until it forms a smooth ball. <br />
<br />
Place the starter in a clean, lightly oiled nonreactive container. I used a ziplock gallon bag, make sure not to close the bag completely so the gas can escape. Leave the starter out at room temperature for 4 to 8 hours or until it has doubled in size. <br />
<br />
Degas the starter by kneading it a little. Close the bag completely, or cover tightly and place in the refrigerator. After a few hours, release any gas that may have built up. <br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Refreshing the Mother Starter</span></b><br />
The starter will be good for up to 5 days. After that, you would have to refresh it. The easiest way is to take 4 ounces of the starter and repeat the mother starter instructions above.<br />
<br />
Good luck! I will post some recipes for the starter in the next couple of days.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-8374379790712247772011-11-17T01:07:00.000-08:002011-11-17T01:07:23.420-08:00Tortilla Epiphanies and The Worlds Easiest Shredded Beef Tacos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Sometimes I will be perusing the aisles of Costco, eye the Pico, and a smile will appear across my face. This means that I have had a wonderful idea that the time is right for Shredded Beef Taco Night. This glorious occasion was invented while I was in college and is therefore inherently an easy meal to prepare. It is so good, that I can attribute it as one of the reasons my husband fell in love with me and decided I should be his girl forever. Because we all know that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. This is especially true with my hubby.<br />
<br />
Anyhoo, tonight was not only another amazing night of shredded beef goodness, but also proved to be a momentous occasion in the history of this meal. A day that we will all look back on as the day Nicole made her first homemade tortillas and never bought packaged ones again.<br />
<br />
So here are my recipes for an epic (I hope I am not giving this too much hype) and easy shredded beef taco night......<br />
<br />
Please note, that preparing this meal my way means owning two crock pots, one big one, and a little one. If you don't have two, then you can just simmer the beans on the stove according to the package directions.<br />
<br />
In order of preparation...<br />
<br />
<b>Pinto Beans (start this the night before):</b><br />
1 bag of dried pinto beans, rinsed and picked through<br />
1 small crock pot (about an 8 c. capacity)<br />
water<br />
salt<br />
whatever else you like to put in your beans (jalapeno, onion, garlic, pepper, limes, etc.)<br />
<br />
Soak the beans in the crock pot over night. In the morning, empty out the soaking water, rinse the beans, and add in 6 cups of new water and salt according to preference. Cook on low until dinner (about 8-9 hours).<br />
<br />
Note: I usually also add in dried onion and garlic and squeeze in two limes. I bet a bay leaf would also add some good flavor and maybe even some chili powder or cumin. The idea is to put in whatever you want to flavor your beans. I usually also add in some cilantro just before serving.<br />
<br />
<b>Shredded Beef:</b><br />
1 chuck roast (or pork shoulder) with extra fat trimmed off<br />
1 big container (or two small ones) of pico de gallo (I really like the pico from Costco, but you can make your own if you are feeling like an over achiever)<br />
<br />
In the morning, throw the chuck roast in a crock pot (don't literally throw it unless you are having a bad morning) and dump the pico on top. Cook on high until dinner (about 8-9 hours). Pull the roast out and shred it with two forks just before serving.<br />
<br />
<b>Corn Tortillas:</b><br />
Now for the best part, Tortillas. I usually buy my tortillas from the store. What a foolish mistake! It is ridiculous how easy it is to make corn tortillas and how much better they taste than store bought. Here is the ridiculously easy recipe:<br />
<br />
2 c. masa harina (corn flour)<br />
1 1/2 c. hot water (This amount depends on where you live, drier climates may need more water)<br />
1 lime (zested and juiced)<br />
1/2 t. salt<br />
<br />
Mix all of the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl (The dough should be firm springy and not dry or sticky), cover and let rest for one hour. Separate the dough into 12 equal sized balls. Place each ball between two pieces of wax paper or parchment sprayed with pam. Roll the dough out into 6 inch circles. I used 1/8 inch evendough bands on my roller to make sure I did it right.<br />
<br />
Once all the dough is rolled out, cook each tortilla for about a minute on each side in a pan preheated on med-high (cast iron is best, but I used an enamel pan and it worked just fine). Keep tortillas in an aluminum foil pouch until ready to eat. To make an aluminum foil pouch, take one big piece of aluminum foil and fold it in half and then fold in the sides a little bit :)<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span></b><br />
<b><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Rice:</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">My husband loves rice flavored with lime. I am not much of a rice person, but I make it to make him happy. So for the rice, make as much brown rice as you might need for your family following the instructions on the box adding in some dried garlic and onion with the cooking liquid. At the fluff with a fork stage, add in some lime zest, lime juice, and chopped cilantro. Yummy!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></b><br />
<b>Condiments:</b><br />
Now for the condiments. Obviously, you are going to put whatever it is you like on your taco, on your taco. But here are some suggestions to keep it low-cal and still yummy:<br />
<br />
1. Substitute sour cream for greek yogurt (believe me, you wont even miss the sour cream)<br />
2. Substitute the cheese with avocado or guacamole<br />
3. Dabble on some salsa verde<br />
4. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on that baby<br />
4. Add a squeeze of lime on top<br />
<br />
This meal clocks in around 700 calories (two tacos).</div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-64605957449968362762011-11-15T10:57:00.000-08:002011-11-15T10:57:40.290-08:00Good and Good For You Banana Bread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">My husband has a funny....quirk? I guess you would call it that. Whenever we go the the store, he insists that we buy bananas. The reason this is a funny quirk is because he never eats a single one. He always says that he plans on eating them, but I really think that he just wants them to go overly ripe and force me to make banana bread, which I do.<br />
<br />
I was recently discussing this with his sister and my overall plight to eat "clean" and she mentioned a wicked awesome banana bread recipe that she had come across. She sent it over and I gave it a try, adding in a couple tweaks here and there:<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour<br />
1 t. baking powder<br />
2 t. cinnamon<br />
1/2 t. bakind soda<br />
1/2 t. table salt<br />
1 T. ground flax<br />
2 T. water<br />
9 T. agave syrup<br />
1/2 c. greek yogurt<br />
1/2 c. canola oil<br />
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 2 bananas you can probably mashed them in your mixer before adding in the other ingredients and save dirtying other utensils with which you would mash bananas)<br />
2 t. vanilla extract<br />
1/4 c. chocolate chips<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray bottom of 8x 4 inch loaf pan or muffin tin or mini bread loaf pans ( I use them all because I quadruple the recipe since I usually have an entire bunch of bananas to get rid of).<br />
<br />
In the bowl of your stand mixer add in the, flax, water, agave syrup, yogurt, oil, banana, and vanilla and mix on med-low until combined. Add in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and mix until almost combined. When your mixture is almost combined, add in the chocolate chips. You don't want to form too much gluten, so make sure you mix it as little as possible to get everything together. Gluten formation = tough and chewy. You may want that in a baguette, but not in your banana bread. So tell that gluten to chill out and wait until your feeling frenchy.<br />
<br />
Pour the batter into your prepared pan. If you are making muffins or mini bread loaves, fill each one until it is about 2/3 full.<br />
<br />
Bake big loaf for 60-70 mins, muffins or mini loaves about 30 mins until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.<br />
<br />
The result is moist, tender, yummy, and not too sweet and only 90 calories per slice if you slice it up super thin :) For the muffins, it is about 134 calories, mini loaves will depend on the size of pan you use.<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-89643033025524223952011-11-13T10:31:00.000-08:002011-11-13T10:34:27.033-08:00Going Vegan and Blueberry Streusel Muffins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Am I converting to Veganism? Absolutely not! While I deeply respect other's decisions to do so, I do not personally have the will power to give up steak for good. But, I think it is a good idea for both my health and the planet to incorporate at least a couple non-meat meals in my diet per week. So I bought a vegan cookbook from Costco that looked pretty interesting and started going at it.<br />
<br />
I brought some vegan blueberry muffins to a crafting activity yesterday and they seemed to be well-liked (I know I liked them) so I feel I should share. What is great about these muffins is that they are not overly sweet or oily. Which means they don't give me heartburn. So if you like yourself a super sweet, oily muffin, you have come to the wrong place my friend:<br />
<br />
Muffins:<br />
1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (I use white whole wheat flour from trader joe's, it's cheaper)<br />
2 t. baking powder<br />
1/2 t. baking soda<br />
2/3 c. soy milk (plain)<br />
1 t. vanilla extract<br />
1/3 c. orange juice (I used no sugar added grape juice)<br />
1/3 c. canola oil (while I sued canola oil, I feel this could be replaced with unsweetened apple sauce, so I am going to try that)<br />
1/2 c. sugar (I am not supposed to have sugar, so I use agave syrup making sure to account for the sweetness difference)<br />
1 c. fresh blueberries<br />
<br />
Streusel Topping:<br />
2 T. brown sugar<br />
1 T. sugar<br />
2 T. Whole Wheat Flour<br />
2 T. vegan margarine (I am going to try to omit this on my next tray by using agave syrup instead of sugar and then no lipid)<br />
2 T. old-fashioned oats<br />
1 t. cinnamon<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spray muffin tins or line with muffin cups and set aside.<br />
<br />
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for blueberries, and stir until just barely combined. Fold in blueberries just before filling the muffin tins.<br />
<br />
In a small bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients and with a fork until everything is mixed and crumbly.<br />
<br />
Spoon the batter into muffin tins until they are 2/3 full, top with 1 teaspoon of streusel.<br />
<br />
Bake for about 20 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean.<br />
<br />
If you follow the original recipe, the muffins are 173 calories each. Not sure about my frankensteined version, but it is probably pretty close to the same.<br />
<br />
The original recipe can also be found on the <a href="http://peasandthankyou.com/2010/04/14/muffin-wife/">peas and thank you</a> blog. This woman is a genius, I recommend reading her blog and buying her cookbook.</div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-39476560870828760832011-11-13T10:04:00.000-08:002012-02-09T10:20:10.504-08:00A little back story and multigrain bread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2K-1WuSAxKSDscB8AE5kncqYBV1q_h1Ifx8NTKyvg1B9bMX6HKDsqFN3_kkJSTRZD0Iw-5tS4VUcE3zxFJOMBdT9aKDmQJY9L6CimZFm-dXHHZEzljIfT10UK_9iE7Aox5ig-MAMDBY/s1600/IMG_1488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2K-1WuSAxKSDscB8AE5kncqYBV1q_h1Ifx8NTKyvg1B9bMX6HKDsqFN3_kkJSTRZD0Iw-5tS4VUcE3zxFJOMBdT9aKDmQJY9L6CimZFm-dXHHZEzljIfT10UK_9iE7Aox5ig-MAMDBY/s640/IMG_1488.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoodresolutions.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F11%2Flittle-back-story-and-multigrain-bread.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-31MgiVfHIWM%2FTxsgMw7mM-I%2FAAAAAAAAAGA%2FX-ojzpfqBak%2Fs1600%2FIMG_1488.JPG&description=Easy%20multi-grain%20bread.%20%20This%20bread%20is%20so%20soft%20and%20perfect%20you%20completely%20forget%20that%20it%20is%20good%20for%20you.">Pin It</a><br />
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I found out pretty recently that I have PCOS which has a number of symptoms including making it very difficult for me to lose weight. Having PCOS also means that I basically <i>have</i> to lose weight, so interesting dilemma I am facing here. It also also means that in order for me to lose weight I have to severely cut back on anything that is easy for my body to breakdown. So fun......<br />
<br />
I already went through all of the stages of denial and have finally reached acceptance. So here I am, doing what I can to make the best of a super lame situation. <br />
<br />
I have been sharing a multigrain bread recipe with some friends and neighbors and they all seem to like it, so I decided to share (my apologies to Steph for not getting this up sooner):<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4j-f8R9LnIZhALX2fj4Th0PGvPYs8B6FSwZm-6faCN_fCv3NzejNVTu2tKG35PsonCgCFDT43o1is-u03xsNeimfRZ5sjVzuehQAad3WUeGCbqdGBb4jUV_m-rgrf9KKtJD8VlpcL6uM/s1600/IMG_1461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4j-f8R9LnIZhALX2fj4Th0PGvPYs8B6FSwZm-6faCN_fCv3NzejNVTu2tKG35PsonCgCFDT43o1is-u03xsNeimfRZ5sjVzuehQAad3WUeGCbqdGBb4jUV_m-rgrf9KKtJD8VlpcL6uM/s200/IMG_1461.jpg" width="200" /></a>Ingredients:<br />
1 1/4 c. seven-grain hot cereal mix (you can also use 10 grain, the only one I have found is by Bob's Red Mill. You can find it in the oatmeal section or in bulk foods. It basically looks like steel cut oats)<br />
2 1/2 c. boiling water<br />
4 T. honey<br />
4 T. unsalted butter melted and cooled (optional)<br />
2 1/2 t. instant yeast<br />
3 c. unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for dusting<br />
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour<br />
1 T. table salt<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRd3rXgA6n4gcsOLKkqxpxbX3MUySj1Az-in8jc5iiwC9WGPLDuz_CQ8RPGypHmmHI67nASdvSVkVGlIUUx3PRvS1G9nEmDxCZCMdt1dLnT7-oO4COKyPjozyv8TkbwbOOsN9iZjH-sC0/s1600/IMG_1463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRd3rXgA6n4gcsOLKkqxpxbX3MUySj1Az-in8jc5iiwC9WGPLDuz_CQ8RPGypHmmHI67nASdvSVkVGlIUUx3PRvS1G9nEmDxCZCMdt1dLnT7-oO4COKyPjozyv8TkbwbOOsN9iZjH-sC0/s200/IMG_1463.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Optional Ingredients:<br />
3/4 c. unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds<br />
1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats<br />
<br />
I use a Kitchenaid to make just about everything and I highly recommend getting one, they happen to be on sale at Costco right now.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqRPs-4-3OaVBHjdVc_rHMdSjzDAGqQ6z38-RzK7bDaM2Nde5Kh_W_iKme0-7RIQbeRO3fxI-LqEjo5NWwA4TpyxSVbZyLuHpm-cCa96791KY9qLruhu7ul-ya_4IbxqEGVDGVTZ0W8s/s1600/IMG_1465.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqRPs-4-3OaVBHjdVc_rHMdSjzDAGqQ6z38-RzK7bDaM2Nde5Kh_W_iKme0-7RIQbeRO3fxI-LqEjo5NWwA4TpyxSVbZyLuHpm-cCa96791KY9qLruhu7ul-ya_4IbxqEGVDGVTZ0W8s/s200/IMG_1465.jpg" width="200" /></a>In the mixer bowl, place cereal and boiling water and fit with dough hook. To boil my water, I just stick it in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave for 8 minutes. Let the mixture sit in the bowl for about an hour until the temperature goes down to 100 degrees. Go back to it once or twice to give it a stir.<br />
<br />
Add in the honey, butter, and yeast and turn the machine onto low for about half a minute. Add in flours half a cup at a time while mixer is still on low. The original recipe tells you to whisk the flours together ahead of time, but I am too lazy to get out another bowl so I just alternate 1 c. white flour with 1/2 c. wheat flour three times :)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdQb753rvsvHLkvZCwJ3zQpOVH4Vl9aqNtntUQE5meVtlnDcEIuMZJw2eohyphenhyphenCRqsWPgjPE_G2Mv5S6s3c-fFNgXvsZ4XM0WHdyeGzXaDmh_N0DitDOxQ407BdbSSFKg3l3oxDQmZGzUk/s1600/IMG_1468.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdQb753rvsvHLkvZCwJ3zQpOVH4Vl9aqNtntUQE5meVtlnDcEIuMZJw2eohyphenhyphenCRqsWPgjPE_G2Mv5S6s3c-fFNgXvsZ4XM0WHdyeGzXaDmh_N0DitDOxQ407BdbSSFKg3l3oxDQmZGzUk/s200/IMG_1468.jpg" width="200" /></a>Let all of that mix for about 2 minutes and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 mins.<br />
<br />
After naptime, remove the plastic wrap, add in the salt, and mix on medium-low until the dough clears the side of the bowl (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add more flour if a tablespoon at a time if the dough still sticks. Continue mixing for 5 minutes longer.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Aj9LqYwXicgN7VKuzx1nCP-AKItSaUj1ejxLHsirWXDPOWZTE_gEhYmCEPN5olOmoYyKbwHQB3P6Lpjk42GUCmuwhDnp3mfH5_uPbWF6WNG_5CVYjg-23eRDLxDX71cPH_Xte1395Ww/s1600/IMG_1472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Aj9LqYwXicgN7VKuzx1nCP-AKItSaUj1ejxLHsirWXDPOWZTE_gEhYmCEPN5olOmoYyKbwHQB3P6Lpjk42GUCmuwhDnp3mfH5_uPbWF6WNG_5CVYjg-23eRDLxDX71cPH_Xte1395Ww/s200/IMG_1472.JPG" width="200" /></a>The original recipe calls for pumpkin seeds and rolled oats, but I have found that they add no extra flavor and only extra calories, so I omit them. But if you really want to get your pumpkin seed action on, do it now! and knead the dough for 15 more seconds.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlcuGe9vYRhhvrU4ZNCR01fWfGvzn3UUoWZdKmnrwqS0hCzNMRHMOJl3-RfYa9cO0-SBkZnzXZnCyvhpiNNteIJ32JCIfWyHEb35K9gLbhfT2uVK8e94AUn8M2fB53jhHf1dGtkPR_jg/s1600/IMG_1473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlcuGe9vYRhhvrU4ZNCR01fWfGvzn3UUoWZdKmnrwqS0hCzNMRHMOJl3-RfYa9cO0-SBkZnzXZnCyvhpiNNteIJ32JCIfWyHEb35K9gLbhfT2uVK8e94AUn8M2fB53jhHf1dGtkPR_jg/s200/IMG_1473.JPG" width="200" /></a>Take the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead into a smooth ball. Place the dough into a large bowl that has been sprayed with Pam. I put the dough in right side down and then flip it so that I can get some PAM on the top of the dough and it wont stick to the plastic wrap. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (I use the sheet from earlier throughout the whole process).<br />
<br />
Let the dough rise for 45 to 60 minutes. When that's done, take the dough out onto floured work surface and pat it out into a 12 by 9 inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half to make two 6x9 inch pieces. Starting at the farther end, roll the dough into a tight log and pinch the seams. Repeat with second piece of dough.<br />
<br />
If you would like to sew your wild oats at this time, spray the loaves with water or pam and roll them in the oats.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmTI1xB66Twdsr5ub9hXrTrbQLOQyJUgZmE48B9JgauLTxTDfLSBs2N2LIivtJQJpNn3LiGhpyUQ7atQKUYinx-WT4mnbOskvUQ_i1XpkKFk1boqiSYp0jcQGcj9pl5Kl1c8RHSKd8KcU/s1600/IMG_1479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmTI1xB66Twdsr5ub9hXrTrbQLOQyJUgZmE48B9JgauLTxTDfLSBs2N2LIivtJQJpNn3LiGhpyUQ7atQKUYinx-WT4mnbOskvUQ_i1XpkKFk1boqiSYp0jcQGcj9pl5Kl1c8RHSKd8KcU/s200/IMG_1479.jpg" width="200" /></a>Place the loaves into two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans that have been sprayed with PAM. Press the dough gently into the corners. Cover the pans with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees about 20 minutes before the dough is ready to be baked.<br />
<br />
Remove plastic wrap and bake the bread loaves until they reach an internal temperature of 200 degrees (about 35 to 40 mins). <br />
<br />
Now for the hardest part, remove the loaves from the pans and place them on a cooling rack for 3 hours before slicing. You will go insane because this bread smells amazing, but you must resist the urge.<br />
<br />
Slice it up! If you go with quarter inch slices, it's about 70 calories per slice. I love to toast my bread and eat it with almond butter and some homemade, sugar free jam. Yummy!<br />
<div><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIy1uNrb0gRDOXpKj-PpgwbWxXLfVC9YS1Z7nYyFkk9lFaBt_wuyzfld0vMhvvv2mDr7YAKJlpBgNQACt-12tFMAFSjz4YseosZ0fYhO8Jy3-rwfN-K9aAg-3aXvK3ODbC9MpjqYrNqk/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-09+at+10.04.18+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIy1uNrb0gRDOXpKj-PpgwbWxXLfVC9YS1Z7nYyFkk9lFaBt_wuyzfld0vMhvvv2mDr7YAKJlpBgNQACt-12tFMAFSjz4YseosZ0fYhO8Jy3-rwfN-K9aAg-3aXvK3ODbC9MpjqYrNqk/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-09+at+10.04.18+AM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Based on 22 slices per loaf</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://di1-1.shoppingshadow.com/images/pi/70/54/c5/101991175-260x260-0-0_Bob+s+Red+Mill+Bobs+Red+Mill+Cereal+7+Grain+Hot+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://di1-1.shoppingshadow.com/images/pi/70/54/c5/101991175-260x260-0-0_Bob+s+Red+Mill+Bobs+Red+Mill+Cereal+7+Grain+Hot+25.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What the cereal packaging looks like</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199008539082020485.post-9190348913398175912011-05-24T20:56:00.000-07:002011-12-21T17:13:53.597-08:00New Resolution<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I recently started cooking again. I am not sure why I ever stopped. If it was due to buying our house or too much work, who knows? Probably too much work. Anyway....I have rekindled my love for cooking/experimenting with food yet again (hooray!) and have come up with some pretty yummy stuff. So I figured I would share.<br />
<br />
Tonight's dinner was pretty darn tasty so here are the recipes:<br />
<br />
Caprese Salad:<br />
This one is pretty easy, buy yourself some fantastic fresh buffalo mozzarella (Costco has a pretty decent one, you want the stuff that comes in the water), pick some basil from your herb garden, and slice up some vine ripened tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and spread around some fresh cracked pepper. If you are feeling really fancy, pour some balsamic vinegar in a pot and boil until it lightly coats the back of a spoon. Voila! you have a sweet and tangy balsamic vinegar reduction to add to your salad. Just a couple drops here and there should do the trick. <br />
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To go with the super easy caprese salad, slice up some sourdough into thin 2 inch pieces, drizzle it with copious amounts of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle on some garlic powder, salt, and pepper and bake in an oven at 375 for 15-20 mins. Now you have a beautiful platform upon which you may eat your salady goodness. I cut some of the bread into smaller pieces and made it into garlicy croutons for my soup which was.....<br />
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Pureed Carrot Soup:<br />
Take about 4 carrots peeled and sliced and throw them into a saute pan with some olive oil and a quarter of a diced onion. Saute them on medium high until they caramelize a bit. Add in two cloves of garlic at the end and let it cook until you can smell the garlic in the pan. Next, dump all of that into a blender with 2 cups of hot chicken stock, blend and salt and pepper to taste. <br />
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It creates a super creamy, low fat yet hearty soup. Sprinkle your croutons on top and you are set.<br />
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Lastly, saute another diced quarter onion with 3 sliced carrots in olive oil. Add in a clove of garlic, diced small after everything else has turned yummy and brown. When you can smell the garlic, add in one can tomatoes, a tablespoon of sugar, salt and pepper. Let that stew for about 10 to 15 minutes then attack the sauce with a potato masher. Once everything has been smashed into tiny bits, add in a handful of diced fresh herbs (Mine consisted of chives, marjoram, thyme, basil, oregano, and parsley) and a very generous handful of finely grated parmesan cheese. Mix it up with about a quarter cup of olive oil and pour it over a half pound of whole wheat spaghetti. <br />
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Here's a good cheese tip. I buy my cheese from Costco. Which means, in bulk. The way I keep it from going bad is by cutting up the cheese into smaller chunks and feeding it through the grater plate on my food processor. I then take the gigantic amounts of cheese and store it in freezer bags, and throw it in my freezer. When I need cheese, I just pull it out and sprinkle away. It usually doesn't stick to itself, but if it does, you can bang the bag on the counter a couple of times to loosen it up.<br />
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Now you may ask yourself, "why doesn't she just buy pre-shredded cheese?" The answer is that it is more expensive and just as easy to take five minutes to shred it myself. I also do this with hamburger and turkey meat so that I know what is really going in my burger. You just cut up the meat into 1x1 cubes, freeze for 10-20 mins and then pulse it in the food processor. It makes perfectly ground meats with no mystery.</div>Nicole Blackhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503204905313118649noreply@blogger.com0