Kale Fennel Salad

Fresh fennel...ever have it? This is my first time. A friend of mine was enjoying some crunchy fennel at work last week and it sparked my curiosity. Once fennel was on my mind I saw it everywhere - fennel pizza, fennel in the grocery store... ok that's about it, maybe "everywhere" was an overstatement.

Some observations on fennel:

- It has a similar texture to celery - crunchy and refreshing. 

- It has a spectacular black licorice aroma and a mild black licorice taste. I really dislike black licorice and I enjoy fennel (this is my proof that the taste is quite mild, so you believe me now, right?).

This is fresh fennel (isn't it pretty?):

I was a little hesitant to have fennel on its own so I decided to pair it with my trusty favourite, Kale.

This salad is full of flavour and tang and is probably not for the faint of heart.

Recipe: 

Ingredients: 
3 cups of kale
1/2 bulb of fennel, sliced thin
1 handful of fresh, chopped parsley*
Juice of half a lemon**
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
Ground pepper

* I bet fresh dill would also be great.
**This is a very tangy salad, which I love, but if you're not into extreme tang you may want to reduce the lemon juice to a little less than half a lemon.

Directions: 

1. Remove and discard the middle spine of the kale. Chop the leaves into thin strips. 

2. When preparing fennel remove the tall stalks and eat the bottom bulb. You also have to remove the inner heart of the fennel. For a quick, helpful video on chopping fennel look here. 

3. Combine the kale, fennel, and parsley in a medium bowl. 

4. Mix together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and pepper. 

5. Pour dressing over salad, toss, and enjoy. 

Go ahead, be crazy, try something new.

Rebecca

You wanna have a pizza party?

Ah, the versatility of pizza. I've talked about it again and again, and now it's time to talk about it once again. Pizza can be full of fat and sodium which can lead to health problems galore and general feelings of yuckiness and tiredness. Thankfully, this doesn't mean that pizza is off limits or that it can't make a regular appearance in your kitchen. When you make your own pizza you are in control. 

Here are four tips that I like to use when choosing to be in control of my pizza and my health: 

1. Choose whole grain whenever possible. Whether you're making it from scratch, buying a
pre-made crust, using a pita or tortilla opt for the whole grain variety.

2. Pack on the vegetables. I add a little more and then a little more. This will fill me up with vitamins, minerals and fibre instead of calories, sodium, and fat.

3. Choose protein choices that are lean and low in sodium. Beans, lentils, skinless grilled chicken,
extra-lean ground beef, and tofu are all great options.

4. Easy on the cheese. Sprinkle it on little by little and stop as soon as you think you have enough to be satisfied. Any leftover grated cheese can be popped in the freezer for use at a later date (a delightful time-saver!).

The pizza below was made on whole grain store-bought pizza crust, black beans, sautéed kale, red peppers,  onion, and avocado, and sprinkled with feta cheese and red chili flakes. 

Wishing you a pizza-night success,
Rebecca

I'm kind of a big dill.

I love a good food pun. Thank you pinterest for making me smile :) 

Lima Beans

With my vow in place to transition from canned beans to dried beans I hit the grocery store and got up close and personal with some new legumes. Lima beans caught my attention right away and I quickly decided that these lovely white beans would come along on a cooking adventure with me.

Before soaking these little guys I checked out the nutrition facts table (a best practice for all those interested in improving their health) and saw that half a cup of lima beans has 19 grams of fibre. Hold the phone - 19 GRAMS OF FIBRE! That's insane! And it is in fact insane. After some research I realized that a 1/2 cup of dried lima beans has 19 grams of fibre but once soaked they expand and less beans fit into a cup. This was a relief as 19 grams of fibre in one sitting would be tough for any digestive tract to handle.

The Nutrition Facts are impressive - 1/2 cup of cooked lima beans bring about 114 calories, 0 grams of fat, 7 grams of fibre, 8 grams of protein, and just 2 mg of sodium. To summarize:  lima beans are incredibly nutritious, promote good heart health, keep your digestive tract healthy, and will help you feel full for hours after your meal.

Lima  beans have a very unique taste and texture. They have a very mild taste, much like a potato. Since they have a very bland flavour seasoning with herbs, spices, and citrus is a must.

Not having had any lima bean cooking experience I hit the world wide web to see what other folks like to do with their lima beans. I saw a lot of sautéing with tomatoes and spices - so I followed suit and came up with this little recipe:

Recipe:

Prep: Soak lima beans in water overnight or during the work day.

Ingredients:
1 cup lima beans
2 tomatoes, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 habarnero pepper, chopped*
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pinches of red chili flakes
black pepper
2 basil leaves, chopped (optional)


Directions:
1. Soak lima beans in water for 8 to 12 hours. Once soaked, rinse, bring to a boil, and let simmer for about an hour or until beans are soft.
2. Once beans are cooked add chopped veggies to a skillet and sauté in a small amount of oil until almost cooked. Add drained lima beans, garlic, red chili flakes, and black pepper. Sauté for about 5 - 7 minutes.
3. Serve and enjoy.

*note: if you have a low spice tolerance omit the habanero pepper.

Wishing you a wonderful week,
Rebecca 

A Fresh Start

This month's Recipe Redux is dedicated to the ever important, ever scrumptious breakfast. In my mind there are two types of breakfasts: the week day morning "oh-man-I-probably-shouldn't-have-pressed-snooze- that-last-time" breakfast and the weekend morning "roll-out-of-bed-nothing-but-time-on-my-side-let's-do-something-special" breakfast.  

I have a few go-to quick and nutritious weekday breakfasts but this is Recipe Redux, it's time to do something special - weekend breakfast it is. 

My wonderful coworker hooked me up with eggs from a small local farm. Look how beautiful they are: 

With these lovely eggs I decided to make an omelette. 

Omelettes are great, not only because of their versatility and taste, but because it's an awesome way to add a serving or two of vegetables to your day. 

I sautéed mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and kale. Piled them high on top of my eggs, held my breath and made the flip. Success. 

I must admit that I enjoy ketchup with eggs. Instead of smearing cheap ketchup all over this beautiful omelette I opted to make bruschetta. For this I combined one clove of garlic, a chopped tomato, a pinch or two of basil and some olive oil.  Simply delightful. 

Recipe: Omelette

Ingredients:  

3 medium eggs

Milk

Pepper

Red Chili Flakes 

Kale

Mushrooms

Zucchini

Red Onion 

Directions: 

1. Cut and sauté veggies. I like to cook the mushrooms and onions first. Once they are nicely browned I add the rest of the veggies. 

2. Scramble eggs with milk, pepper, and red chili flakes. Pour on a separate, oiled, heated, medium frying pan. Cook on low-medium until egg solidifies. 

3. Add sautéed veggies to one side of the egg and carefully and quickly flip the remaining half of the egg over the veggies. This can take practice and patience, but you can do it! Good luck.

4. Let the omelette cook like this for a few minutes, serve and enjoy. 

Tip: If you flip your omelette and your egg or filling needs to be cooked some more pop your frying pan into the over at 300F and bake for 5 to 10 minutes. 

Recipe: Bruschetta

Ingredients: 

Tomato

Garlic

Olive Oil 

Basil 

Directions: 

1. Chop tomato, add one glove of garlic, about 1 Tbsp of olive oil and about 1 Tbsp of basil. Mix. 

2. Top omelette with bruschetta. 

Before leaving, take some time to look through the breakfast recipes below created by other recipe reduxers.

Wishing you a fresh start to your day,    

Rebecca 

Recipe Redux:

I've bean thinking...

Today I'm talking beans.

I'm a big bean eater. It's the main source of protein in my diet and black beans are my absolute favourite. Canned black beans are quick and certainly fulfill my bean needs, however dried beans really are a step up when it comes to taste, texture, and price.  They take some extra prep time but they're well worth it.

Prepping and cooking: 
Dried beans need to be soaked for 8 to 12 hours before cooking. I soak mine overnight or during the work day. They then need to be cooked (boiled) for about 1-2 hours, depending on how much you are making. Yes, this prep time is pretty long, but beans are great leftover so I make a big batch and enjoy throughout the week.

I must admit, at this point in my life I am not a huge planner so I don't use dried beans as much as I would like to, but I sure am going to try to change this....starting today!

Benefits of dried beans:
- no preservatives
- sodium free
- high fibre
- high protein
- delicious
- incredibly inexpensive
- versatile (think stir fry, pizza, salad, soup, anything to do with a tortilla, and yes, even dessert)

If you're looking to learn more about dried beans, peas, or lentils check out this great cooking guide with all the official info.


Supper last night was deliciously simple: every veggie in my kitchen was chopped, sautéed, topped with leftover black beans and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I sautéed the veggies in sesame oil which gave the dish a wonderful asian flavour. I splashed it with a small amount of rice vinegar and then chowed down.

Wishing you great success on all your bean adventures,
Rebecca

It's 2012, let's do this

Happy new year!!! January 2012 is here and I'm happy as pie. My holidays included ocean, family, friends, food, laughter, pictures, and dancing. As wonderful as it was, it's always nice to get back into the swing of things with some reliable routine. 

I love the January vibe. Collectively we move more, eat less, get stuff done, and simply strive to do better. It's the one time of year when we all decide to start over. What's not to like about a new, fresh, hopeful beginning? (answer: nothin' at all).

With holiday indulgence behind me, I am ready to get back in the kitchen and make nutritious, warm, wholesome meals. With a big bushel of kale and a couple of portobello mushrooms in my fridge I got moving. 

Kale Portobello Tacos (with a Tzatziki twist)

Ingredients: 
Portobello mushroom
Red Onion
Kale
Zucchini
Tofu, firm
Whole wheat tortilla, small
Tzatziki
Garlic
Ground black pepper
Chili powder
Red chili flakes
Parmesan cheese, fresh

Recipe: 

Sauté portobello mushrooms and red onion until browned*. Add kale and zucchini*. Sprinkle with garlic, ground black pepper, and chili powder. 

In a separate pan, cook strips of firm tofu until brown on both sides. Sprinkle with ground black pepper, red chili flakes, and garlic. 

Warm a small, whole wheat tortilla on the pan and spread 1 tablespoon of tzatziki down the middle. Add tofu and vegetables, sprinkle with fresh parmesan and enjoy!  

* A couple of important reminders:
1. A lesson from Julia Childs - give your mushrooms space to cook. It makes a major difference in the taste and texture.
2. Take the spine out of your kale  (it can be tough and bitter).

Wishing you a year of happiness, health, and motivation, 

Rebecca