Resolution One and Cashew Cream

I mentioned that I have an arsenal of resolutions this new year. One of my biggest is to significantly reduce my intake of meat and animal products. Like as in... stop buying them.

I've never been a big meat eater, mostly a chick-a-tarian, the occasional bacon-y product, cured meats popular on wine bar tapas menus, etc. And of course, fish has always been my friend. You can see the blog history for yourself.

As someone who's had a mind on healthy eating and... well let's be honest... calorie intake....since I was 13... I've always understood from various websites, reading, weight-loss groups, and the like that lean meats, chicken breast, non-fat dairy, and egg whites were your best of friends. Lean protein! Eat as much as possible! You need more protein! It's carb-free! Super low-fat! Carbs are evil. You need to eat more meat. Have some whey protein. EAT MORE PROTEIN.

There are groups and advocates that will argue to the death that this is the best thing for you - protein protein protein! Why are we so protein-obsessed? When did we (the American nutrition mind) decide that protein HASTOBE an animal product? A person can derive just as much if not more than necessary daily protein intake from plant sources. MIND BLOWN.  PS don't use cavemen as an argument. They didn't have desk jobs, SUV's, and meat processing plants. Pipe down.

I know nothing of science. I know a lot about printing? And I could write a marketing textbook fresh out of grad school. So I'm not going to stand on a soap box and regurgitate Vegan/Vegetarian propaganda, which is probably just as puffed up as the other end of the spectrum. But I don't need a science credential to understand this logic:  the meat industry is a huge waste of resources (we raise crops, process said crops, feed said crops to animals, raise animals, kill said animals, process said animals, distribute animals). This is not a sustainable system.  Also, the meat and dairy industries are as influential and powerful as Big Tobacco and use that power to support their lobby (did you know milk is not the best all-around source of calcium? But what about all those commercials and TV ads?). Why is ground beef so cheap, and organic spinach is a rip? Finally, as someone who reads a lot of news about the food processing industry professionally, I am unsettled by the...ahem... harvesting of both meat and dairy animals. Especially poultry... oh it's horrific. It's just not something I want to support personally.

Plus I really want to have a pet pig one day and I don't want a terrible guilt cloud hanging over me the whole time. 

So I'm resolved to stop buying animal products at the grocery store. Will I keep this up eating out/holidays/dinner parties/etc? Probably not 100%, but I am not trying to be perfect. Just trying to do better. And I've got to learn to be happy with doing better over perfect in many facets of life. I guess that's another resolution.

So here's a condolence recipe for reading my rant.

Garlic Cashew Cream
makes about a cup

1/2 c. raw, unsalted cashews
1/4-3/4 c. warm water
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic
s+p to taste

First, I give you options. Pick one.
1. Soak cashews overnight in fridge in enough water to cover +1 inch. Drain soaking water before blending.
2. Simmer cashews  in enough water to cover +1 inch for 25 minutes. Drain water before blending.

I chose boil.

Drain, as directed, and transfer cashews to a blender. Not a food processor! A blender. Start with 1/4 c. of water and add as you get the consistency you want. Blend for about 30 seconds to a minute, or until a sour cream like consistency is attained.

Add nutritional yeast and garlic. I use raw garlic cause I like the bite and I'm single. You could roast garlic first for a more mellow, nutty sauce.

Blend another 20 seconds or so. Season to taste. Cashew cream keeps very well in the fridge for up to a week!

Tune in later for something veggie-licious to put it on! (other than the obvious- crudites, pasta, potatoes, pita chips, veggie benedict...mmmmm)

Perfect Baked Potatoes

This one is not for the sodium conscious.

But ohmagawd it's soooo good! This whole thing started with a big bunch of green onions about to go bad. So when you have extra green onions, what do you do? Make baked potatoes - duh!

So I googled "perfect baked potato" and epicurious to the rescue!

The cooking times on that recipe were way wrong, but the idea was way right.

Salt-Crusted Baked Potatoes


4 russet potatoes
1 egg white or 3 tbsp egg white substitute
3 tbsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425 F
Scrub potatoes clean and pat dry. Pierce each potato with fork tines about four times.

In a bowl, toss potatoes with egg whites. You want them well coated.

Place potatoes in a foil lined baking dish and sprinkle with salt. Pick up each potato and rub the salt around. Note: not fun if you have paper cuts!

Bake for 90 minutes.

The salt and egg whites will form this magical sodium crust on the outside of the potato. You can crack off extra salt crust when you serve, but trust me, you'll want some of that crispy saltiness.

Top with anything. I suggest that pile of green onions in your fridge.

Stuffed Chicken Breast and Lemony Polenta

Chicken breast can get super boring unless you can stay super creative. I think this is the precise reason why "they" made Pinterest. You could look at about three bajillion different ways to cook chicken breast and never get bored. When I get sucked into the Pinterest vortex I get to the point where my hand starts cramping from scrolling on my trackpad. I try using my left hand for a while, but then I realize that it's probably a physiological indication that I need to back up from the internet machine. Sometimes I get so pathetic that I just hit the space bar to page down. This is real life.

The moral of the story is this: when life hands you left over arugula, make the following meal.

This recipe can serve as a template - change what you stuff the chicken with, change how you flavor your polenta, go bonkers. But this polenta...you must try it this way at least once.

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Creamy Lemon Polenta
for 4


Chicken

• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2" thin
• Salt and pepper 
• 4 oz. smoked mozzarella, sliced into 1 oz. slices
• 2 c. fresh arugula
• 1/2 c. roasted red bell peppers, drained
• 1/4 c. sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained
• 1/4 c. chicken broth

Polenta

• 1 1/2 c. 1% milk
• 2 1/2 c. chicken broth
• 2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c. polenta
• 1 tbsp lemon EVOO (or 1 tbsp EVOO + 1/2 tsp lemon zest)

We will start with chicken and once it is in the oven we will start the polenta. It's all about timing when you're trying to look pro. 

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a food processor, process red bell peppers and sun dried tomatoes until it's a tapenade-like consistency.  Note: You could substitute a jarred red pesto for an easier way. TJ's version has basil and my guinea pig dinner company was allergic. 

Profess your love to this cheese.

And set up an assembly line. Note the cute little birdy toothpick thingy.

On the inside of each chicken breast, season with S&P and layer 1 tbsp red pepper/sun dried tomato mixture, slice of cheese, and bunch of arugula. Roll up and secure shut with 2-3 strategically placed toothpicks.

Heat EVOO in a frying pan over high heat and sear chicken on all sides until golden.

Move chicken to a baking dish. Deglaze the frying pan with chicken broth. Pour broth magic over the chicken, then top each roll with what is left of the pepper/tomato mixture.

Nestle any extra arugula around the chicken and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breasts. When time is up, either sacrifice once to check for doneness or use a meat thermometer to confirm thorough cooking.

Moving on to polenta.

I follow the recipe on the bag for proportions, but have my own method. Once the liquid is boiling, it actually only takes about 5 minutes to finish the polenta. So time yourself accordingly.

My new crack dust:

Bring milk, chicken broth, lemon pepper, and salt to a boil.

Pour in the polenta.

Pay attention when trying to take the above shot, because you might burn your hand, flinch, and fling polenta all the eff over the kitchen.

Bring back up to a boil, then reduce heat to super duper low (I remove from heat for 10 seconds, then back on for 10 seconds). And stir, stir, stir. You can't walk away from polenta. It will come together quick! Once it's thick, swirl in EVOO and stir briskly. Remove from heat, and serve immediately.

Fun fact: I bought that bag of polenta in 2010. It has lived in three cities with me.

Sweet Potato Chips

I don't feel like you've eaten enough potatoes recently, so here's another recipe.

Spiced Sweet Potato Chips
2 servings


2 large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp EVOO
2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black peppet

Turn broiler on high, or oven to 400F
Slice sweet potatoes into 1/4" slices

Toss with other ingredients

Line a baking sheet with foil
Spread out potatoes in one layer

Broil or bake on each side for 20 minutes
Turn, then repeat
Repeat this process in 10 minute increments until you have chips!

It's time consuming, so make sure you have something else to do so you don't get impatient and eat floppy potatoes.

These are excellent with nonfat plain greek yogurt to dip em in!

Purply Potaty's

Potatoes are one of those foods that are hard to get behind.

They have little nutritional benefits. They're white and starchy. And they taste best deep fried, covered in ketchup, and in a red and yellow container with golden arches.

But alas, we have purple potatoes!

You know how you always hear nutritionists say "eat the rainbow!"?  Well, that's no joke. Purple potatoes, unlike their white counterpart, are a source of the antioxident anthocyanin! These little buggers can help lower blood pressure, but more importantly, they let you get that 'merica potato-fix with just a little less guilt.

Here' a good way to enjoy them.

Roasted Potatoes

 for 6

2 lbs potatoes of choice

3 tbsp EVOO

1 tbsp dried rosemary

2 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400F

Wash and scrub your potatoes. Nobody likes roasted dirt.

Slice your potatoes into bite size pieces

In a bowl, toss all ingredients together

Spread potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet
Bake for 25 minutes, flip potatoes, then bake for another 25 minutes.

Perfectly roasted potatoes every time.

Brussel Sprouts

Have you ever noticed how brussel sprouts look like tiny brains?

They totally do! This doesn't deter me from eating them, oddly enough. It's funny how brussel sprouts are presented in pop culture as the most detestable vegetable yet they are very popular on menus right now. Probably cause they're so good with bacon. What's not?

I roasted mine with a meyer lemon olive oil, hawaiian sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper.

They really don't need anything more!

Except a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end!

Simple Roasted Brussel Sprouts
for four


Ingredients

• 4 cups whole brussel sprouts
• 2 tbsp flavorful EVOO
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 lemon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F
• Clean up brussel sprouts by trimming off the base, splitting in half, and removing any imperfect leaves
• Place in a big bowl and drizzle with EVOO, salt, and pepper
• Toss until well coated
• Spread on to a baking sheet lined with foil (easy clean up!)
• And roast for 30 minutes, flipping sprouts every 10
• When finished roasting, squeeze fresh lemon juice over them and serve

If you don't have a fruity flavorful EVOO, add some lemon zest! 

Ps, check out the new Shopping List page on my blog! It's a quick list of go-to healthy foods to have on hand at all times!

Cashew Slaw

Today I learned one thing: Wine in a bag isn't that good.

I tried the Eco Vino from Trader Joe's in cabernet sauvignon flavor.

Pros:

• 2 bottles of wine in one package
• portability - if you drop it, it won't break!
• $12.99
• awesome little spout that aerates as it pours
• handle?

Cons:

• taste

Deal broken.

Luckily I had dinner to look forward to, cause wine time was hugely disappointing. This one is super flavorful, salty, spicy, sweet, nutty, yummy. Also, healthy! Duh.

Cashew Slaw

six servings

Ingredients

• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 2 cups broccoli slaw
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 large red pepper, julienned
• 1/2 c. shelled edamame
• 4 green onions, diced
• 1/2 c. cilantro, chopped
• 3/4 c. cashews, chopped
• 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter or cashew butter
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 c. seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 2 tsp hot chili sauce

Instructions

• In a large bowl, toss cabbage, broc slaw, carrots, pepper, edamame, green onion, and cilantro

• In a bowl, combine PB, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and hot sauce

almost as good as sriracha

• If you happen to have an almost empty peanut butter jar, take advantage of it!

• Whisk or shake all ingredients well
• Pour dressing over salad
• Toss

• Add chopped nuts right before serving
• Serve with a garnish of lime

You could also add protein like grilled chicken or shrimp to make this a complete meal. I had a side of pan fried gyoza and a cup of miso soup. No wine.

I like cashews for their flavor, but also because you can get these bombtastic Thai lime and chili ones from Trader Joes. I die. They taste like tom yum soup... on a cashew. So... they taste like heaven.

 Oh! I also learned a new trick. Hopefully I'm not the only idiot with this problem. I always buy ginger root and then forget to use the whole thing. It sits in the fruit drawer of the fridge and rots, or gets so soft and soggy I don't want to use it. Apparently you can store ginger in the freezer! Not only does this preserve it but it also keeps it nice and firm for efficient grating! The more you know...

Now, stop drooling and enjoy your weekend.

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

Apparently cauliflower is one of those vegetables that just does what you tell it to. That cauliflower crust pizza a couple weeks ago?  Bomb.dot.com

Cauliflower itself really doesn't have much flavor. At least I don't think so. I've seen it on a lot of menus recently with curry or roasted as a side dish. It picks up the flavor of whatever you put on it. When I was a kid my mom used to steam a head of cauliflower and top it with this mayo-cheese-mustard mixture which sounds absolutely terrible but was absolutely not. The last time I had this I was probably 7, so what I'm saying is that it was so good that I remember it 18 years later. That shouldn't be surprising... I did say "cheese".

Anyway, I've heard that cauliflower can be mashed just like potatoes and I had to be the judge myself. I had some red potatoes that needed to be used, so I'll be honest: I didn't go 100% cauliflower. Now, if you're craving mashed potatoes, I don't think this will cut it. However, if you want a creative vegetable side dish, then this is the ticket.

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
Serves 8 hungry hippos


Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 4 small red potatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 c. greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp earth balance or butter
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese of choice
• S&P to taste

Instructions

• In a pot, cover potatoes and cauliflower with cold water

• Boil until fork tender (you stab it, it falls off the fork)
• Reserve 1 cup of starchy water
• Strain potatoes/cauli
• Replace into pot
• Add remaining ingredients

• Mash mash mash! 
• Add starchy water to thin until you are happy with the consistency

• You could also put all ingredients in a blender and puree for baby food.... i mean..... fancy food

You could take this recipe and go 100% cauli or 100% potato. The mash-ins were superb. Greek yogurt adds extra protein and tart flavor. The rest of the ingredients are just savory and cheesy enough without being super guilt-inducing (like cream cheese, full fat sour cream, etc). 

Give 'em a try!!

Get Your Free Salad Template HERE!

Life's been super stressful recently. I've wayyy overbooked myself and it's go go go. On March's schedule, I am balancing class, internship, 3 vacations, and a project expo at school all while trying to exercise 4 times a week and blog at least 3 times. I'm really sucking on those last two...
So naturally, I don't have time to go grocery shopping and I reallllly don't have time to make anything from scratch. Luckily, you can usually make a meal out of what you have in the fridge and pantry as long as you get a little creative. I've made a salad like this before, but I decided to provide a template for this recipe since it is SO versatile.

Template Salad
 Six servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups grain/noodle of choice 
• white rice
• brown rice
• wild rice
• bulgur
• couscous
• quinoa
• orzo
• mini pasta
• wheatberries
• 3 cups chopped fruit and/or veggies 
• tomato
• bell pepper
• cucumber
• carrot
• zucchini
• red onion
• avocado
• mango
• kiwi
• strawberry
• grapes
• 1/4 cup dressing (bottled or freshly made)
• asian
• greek
• oil+vinegar
• lime juice
• EVOO
• 1/4 c. chopped herbs (optional)
• basil
• cilantro
• italian flat leaf parsley
• dill
• 1/2 c. cheese (optional)
• crumbled feta
• fresh mozzarella
• extra sharp cheddar
• goat cheese
• If you want to make it a one dish meal, then add 2 cups of protein
• grilled chicken
• salad shrimp
• crab
• cubed steak

Instructions

• Cook grain according to instructions, let cool.
• Add other ingredients
• Serve!

Easy!

I made mine with red onion, tomato, bell pepper, mango, cucumber, and avocado. I dressed it with hot chili oil, EVOO, seasoned rice wine vinegar, and lime juice. Amazing!

I also used Israeli Couscous, which is so yummy, you MUST try it. 

before

after!