One of my goals this school year is to foster a greater love of vegetables in my kids. They eat fruit of all types, but in terms of veggies, it's limited to carrots, cukes, the occasional green salad, and sweet peppers. (I don't count corn, potatoes, or ketchup as vegetables!) I am hoping that by preparing different curries and sautes with flavorful sauces, or by dousing them in grass-fed butter, I can inspire the boys to try more variety. It's good for the adults, too, as we get bored with salads and the usual fare.
To kick off my efforts, I created this hybrid recipe last night. We have been on a bit of a Thai jag in the family lately, and I'm thrilled to discover that my kids both enjoy Thai cuisine. Sadly, I have a ways to go in terms of learning how to cook it at home in such a way that it is as tasty as it would be in a restaurant. I made Pad Thai a few nights ago, and as a side dish, made a simple salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions) and a Thai-inspired dressing from the Moosewood Cookbook. The original recipe is made from peanut butter, but it can easily be made from other nut butters if you are strictly primal and avoiding legumes. Looking in the pantry and fridge last night, I discovered baby greens and sweet potatoes and decided to create a saute. Once done, I pulled out the nutty dressing and drizzled it over the whole mess. I also ate some oven roasted red cabbage on the side. Delicious, veggie-ful, and satisfying. In terms of what the kids thought, one ate the saute with no sauce and tolerated it, while the other would only try the roasted red cabbage, which was also tolerated. No love, but tolerance is a step in the right direction. The adults thoroughly enjoyed all of the above. Saute: 1 onion, sliced thin 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced 4 cups fresh greens (I used baby greens) salt and pepper to taste Plenty of fat for cooking - I used olive oil, 4-6 Tbsp 1. Put fat in pan and heat over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until onions are soft. 2. Add sweet potatoes. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Both the onions and sweet potatoes will caramelize nicely, but stirring is important to prevent burning. 3. At this point, if the pan looks dry, add 1/4 cup of water and stir. This will de-glaze the pan and provide moisture for steaming the greens. Add the greens and cook 2-3 minutes or until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Nut Dressing: (Taken from The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen, with a few tweaks) 6 Tbsp nut butter 3/4 cup boiling or very hot water 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp sugar or honey pinch of cayenne 1-2 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp rice vinegar 2 Tbsp oil 1. Dissolve the peanut butter in hot water. Stir until fully combined. 2. Add rest of ingredients. Stir well. Allow to chill, then serve.
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I love vegetables. I really do. I try to eat them at every meal. But you know what? Sometimes salads get boring. Sometimes I get tired of crunching through a plate of greens or raw veggies like a rabbit. And so, every once in a while, I need to do something different like a stir-fry or a veggie-heavy quiche. I have also found that I like to have something warm around lunch time, but rarely feel like "cooking" in the middle of the day. I love soup, but don't care to buy pre-made soups, due in part to expense, processing, and, in the case of canned soups, the BPA that is released from the can lining into the soup itself.
I have been using this relatively easy method for making a creamy, veggie-rich soup when needed. It stores and reheats well. It's a great way to get 3 or 4 servings of vegetables without eating 3 or 4 cups of greens which, every once in a while, is a nice alternative. The best part is you can throw in any vegetables you have hanging around that you need to use up. So far, I have used the following (sometimes all in the same pot): tomatoes, zucchini, onions, broccoli, white cabbage, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, summer squash, spinach, red pepper...you get the idea. My inspiration for this came from a desire to make a lentil-free, lower-carb version of Turkish red lentil soup, which I blogged a recipe for a few months ago. I find this soup to be equally satisfying. It requires a food processor or blender, and I haven't tried it, but I imagine an immersion blender would work, as well. You can easily play around with seasonings - ginger and cinnamon, or curry powder and cumin, or oregano and basil. I use a splash of milk or cream at the end to add a little extra creaminess, but this could be skipped altogether or substituted for with coconut milk/cream. In terms of broth options, I use bone broth if I have a batch available, but generally I only use water, butter, and salt. I am not a fan of any form of bouillon, as most brands contain MSG or other sketchy additives/flavorings. Keep in mind that food packages can list "natural flavorings" on their ingredient list to refer to MSG. Ingredients 4 cups of chopped vegetables 2 Tbsp butter 2 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp minced garlic black pepper Other seasonings as desired 4 cups water or broth 1. Melt butter and olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add vegetables and seasonings. Cook gently for 5 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, heat 4 cups of water in kettle to boiling. 3. After cooking for 5 minutes, add boiling water. Allow veggies to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the toughest vegetable (often carrots) are tender when pierced with a fork. 4. Pour entire mixture into blender or food processor. If desired, add a splash of milk or cream for extra creaminess. Blend until smooth. Ready to serve or store. I appreciate the gym, the dependable asphalt of the roads around my home, and my handweights and yoga mat for the daily, maintenance-style exercise I need to do to stay strong, flexible, and fit. But it does get tedious and boring some weeks, and sometimes one just needs to get out of town. Yesterday, upon seeing a bit of sunshine after a loooonngg week of rain, we made a spontaneous decision to head to the White Mountains for a hike. We have woods all around us and certainly could have hiked somewhere closer to home. (For those of you who are local to southern New Hampshire, Wason Pond in Chester, Pawtuckaway in Nottingham, and the fire roads around Lake Massabesic all offer great, woodsy walking, biking, and riding.) But it's hard to beat the White Mountains. There is something magical that happens once we get north of Plymouth. The landscape continues to change, the air feels cleaner, and I relax. Maybe it's a conditioned response: the only time I head that far north is for recreational purposes. But it feels great, and amazingly, in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, we can be in Franconia Notch, Mt. Lafayette and its neighbors towering above us to the right, and Canon Mountain and Profile Lake on the left. It's gorgeous. Yesterday we opted to hike Lonesome Lake, highly family friendly, with rewarding views at the top. It's only 2.4 miles round trip, making it non-torturous for small children, especially a certain 9-year-old, and therefore for us. It's a moderate climb, with an elevation gain of maybe 800-1000 feet. At the top is a beautiful lake and an AMC hut. There are great picnic spots, and, on a clear day like yesterday, a breathtaking view of the Lafayette Ridge. We hiked the loop around the lake, adding about a mile to our total distance. The loop trail is mostly boardwalk made of hewn logs, and it takes you through a beautiful ecosystem comprised of wetlands and lush, mossy forest. There were many nerdy family moments as we discussed the biology behind everything we were taking in. A huge pile of moose scat was one of the highlights. :) Hiking uphill is a highly beneficial activity. It utilizes some of the largest muscle groups in the body, making it a great calorie burn. It tends to be interval-like naturally - a long, straight, steep climb, stopping for 60-90 seconds to catch your breath, then climbing again - which cranks up the fat burn and keeps your metabolism elevated for hours after the activity. If you carry a pack, you add on a nice upper body workout to your activity. Going down the hill uses a whole new set of muscles, giving you a great total body workout. Another benefit to hiking? Just being in the forest. Mark Sisson wrote about a concept called forest bathing a while back - it's an intriguing concept, and worth a read. Check it out here. As it turns out, just spending time in the forest reduces stress, even long term. Think of it like sunbathing, but in a forested environment. Even just 20 minutes appears to confer benefits! And, of course, these benefits could be gleaned from a more local, woodsy environment. My breakfast meal nearly always consists of an egg and vegetables in one form or another. I love to get a serving or two of veggies in at breakfast. The vegetables provide ample energy and nutrients, without a lot of carbohydrates. Over the last 4 years, I have found a number of ways to make tasty breakfasts, some quick and easy, others more elaborate. This is a more elaborate option. I made the caprese salad first and put it in the fridge to chill while I prepared the omelette. The flavors of the omelette, the onions, the cheeses, tomatoes, and fresh basil were great together. This is definitely a variation we'll have again. (I have been dairy-free since January 2014. This meal could easily be made without the cheeses and still be delicious.) Caprese Salad 1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half, or other tomatoes chopped into bite-sized pieces 8-10 leaves of basil, chopped 1 ounce mozarella cheese, diced 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 Tbsp olive oil dash of salt and black pepper Mix everything together in a bowl. I find that smaller chopping makes for tastier salads. Let chill for 10-15 minutes. Omelette 1/2 yellow onion, sliced into thin strips 2 Tbsp fat (I used half grass-fed butter and half olive oil) 3 large eggs 1/4 cup ricotta cheese dried or fresh herbs of your choice (I used 1 tsp of dried herbs de provence) salt and pepper to taste 1. Over medium heat, heat fat and onions. Allow to cook until onions start to look light brown, about 10 minutes. 2. Turn heat down to medium low. In a bowl, beat the eggs. Pour beaten eggs over onions. 3. Mix ricotta cheese with herbs in a small bowl. 4. Once eggs are cooked on one side, flip over. Spread ricotta cheese mixture over half of the cooked egg, then fold over. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. Eat the omelette and salad side by side. Delicious! I have been in such a rut meal-wise. With moving and starting 2 new jobs, life has been busy and meals have been more about survival than creativity. I don't get nearly as excited about the daily maintenance form of cooking as I do about trying new things, but most weeknights, that just doesn't happen. To try to get out of this rut, I took advantage of school vacation to pick up a few cookbooks at the library. I chose a Barefoot Contessa book, as I have heard good things about Ina Garten in the past. The cookbook is lovely, using whole foods for ingredients, and most of the recipes are highly adaptable to my preferred primal-esque style of cooking and eating.
Due to making an angel food cake for Noah's birthday, I had a bowl full of 12 egg yolks sitting in the fridge, waiting to be used. I was going to make a quiche, but decided to try a recipe entitled potato basil frittata instead, in an effort to break out of the above-mentioned rut I've been in. It was one of those unusual moments in which I just happened to have the necessary ingredients on hand, including 2 items I don't always have - half a tub of ricotta cheese and fresh basil - to make the recipe without cutting any corners. I did substitute sharp cheddar for the Gruyere cheese called for in the original recipe, as I did not have Gruyere on hand, and am not entirely sure the kids would like the strong taste. This frittata turns out wonderfully. Where quiche can be a bit too eggy for my liking, this recipe is almost cake-like in consistency - dry and slightly spongy, but in a good way. The fresh basil added a crisp, clean flavor, which complimented the heaviness of the eggs and cheese. The fried potatoes on the bottom added a nice savory flavor to the whole thing. We had it for our evening meal, with a generous helping of fresh, green salad drizzled with balsamic and olive oil. I definitely plan to add this in to our regular meal rotation. I like that it's meat-free and lower carb. I tweaked the recipe to make it gluten-free, as well. I'd like to experiment with different flavors - sundried tomato, feta, and fresh thyme? Onion, peppers, and olive? How about sweet potatoes on the bottom instead of white? I will update with any successful experiments! Ingredients 4 Tbsp butter 2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced 8 extra large eggs (I used my 12 leftover yolks and added 2 more whole eggs) 15 oz ricotta cheese 8 oz cheese, grated 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves 1/4 cup brown rice flour (or all-purpose flour if you're not gluten free) 3/4 tsp baking powder 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a cast-iron skillet or other oven-proof omelet pan (10 inch) over medium low heat. Add the potatoes and fry them until cooked, stirring often, about 10-15 minutes. 2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Stir in ricotta, grated cheese, salt, pepper, and basil. Sprinkle flour and baking powder on top and stir in. 3. Pour the egg mixture over the cooked potatoes and place in oven. Bake until brown and puffy, about 50 minutes. A knife inserted into the middle will come out clean when it's done. This tastes great reheated, too. Cut into slices and store individually wrapped portions for breakfast on busy mornings. We all know and love the shish kabob, right? Beef, chicken, shrimp, veggies - a staple of American summertime fare. It's a classic middle Eastern food that has made it to the mainstream of the American diet, much like hummus, pita bread, yogurt, and olives. (Yum - that list made me hungry...) When we moved to Turkey, we realized what shish kabob really is, and did we ever learn to appreciate it. Called "sis kebap" (the s's should have little commas hanging off the bottom, meaning that they say "sh" as opposed to plain old "sss"), the word sis refers to the stick that meat or vegetables is grilled on. It is available ubiquitously in a number of forms - chicken, ground beef or lamb, whole chunks of beef or lamb, with a bunch of vegetables also threaded on as desired. There was even a form which consisted of chunks of sucuk, a kielbasa-like sausage, alternated with blocks of cheese. We learned to love sis kebap, which was almost always served with plenty of grilled vegetables, some salad made of fresh vegetables, rice pilaf, and bread. Lots of bread. There were kebap joints aplenty throughout Istanbul, and it was a delicious and affordable way to eat when we were out and about. Until now, I felt that it was a recipe I would never be able to duplicate at home, but I am happy to report that I have found a marinade recipe that works really, really well. I used it on both beef and chicken with great results. Tonight, I will prepare this for friends. Alongside the grilled meat, I am going to serve a carrot-yogurt salad, "shepherd's" salad, and a rice made with tomatoes, butter, and onions, literally called "tomatoey rice" in Turkish. We'll skip the bread, making this a nice primal meal. All of the recipes are below. (To make kebap from ground meat, follow my Turkish meatballs recipe from another post, and simply press the meat mixture onto a skewer, then grill.) Kebap Marinade 1 cup plain, whole fat yogurt 4 Tbsp tomato paste 1 onion, grated 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cumin add black pepper, cayenne, and garlic as desired generous drizzle of olive oil Mix all ingredients together. Cut meat into bite-sized chunks and mix in with the marinade. Let sit at least 4 hours, longer if possible. Thread meat onto skewers and grill until cooked thoroughly. This amount of marinade is adequate for 4-6 pounds of meat. Carrot Salad 1 lb carrots, peeled and grated 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp sugar 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 cups plain, whole-fat yogurt 2-4 cloves crushed garlic 1. Saute grated carrots in olive oil over medium heat. Mix in sugar and salt. Cook about 10 minutes, or until the volume has decreased by about half. 2. Set aside and let cool. 3. In a bowl, mix together yogurt and garlic until smooth. Pour over grated carrots. 4. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight if possible. Garnish with parsley. Shepherd's Salad 1 pound fresh tomatoes 1 big bunch fresh parsley 1-2 green onions or 1/2 of a red onion 1-2 green peppers 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup lemon juice 2-3 Tbsp olive oil 1. Chop all of the fresh veggies into small dices or pieces (this is very important). Put in a bowl all together. 2. In a small container, mix together the salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss with the vegetables right before eating. This salad will be heavier on the parsley than we're accustomed to here, where parsley is mainly used as a garnish. Be generous with it - it's delicious. Also nice with other fresh herbs, such as fresh dill or mint, mixed in. Domatesli Pilavi (Tomatoey rice) 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped 1 onion, chopped 2 Tbsp butter 2 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups long grain white rice, uncooked 4 cups water 1. Over medium heat, heat butter and olive oil in a saucepan. Add tomatoes, onion, and salt. Cook gently until onions are soft and tomatoes start to break down. 2. Add 2 cups of rice and 4 cups of water (or bone broth, if you have it). Bring to a simmer. 3. Cover, turn down heat, and allow to cook until rice is done, 20-25 minutes. |
AuthorI'm Emily. I currently work in online education management, but I also have a Masters degree in Nutritional Sciences (my true passion). In addition, I am a mom, cook, avid reader, novice gardener, and enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. On my blog, you will find articles on food, fitness, weight management, and eating issues. ALL recipes on my blog are gluten-free. Many are low-carbohydrate. Most are grain free. Enjoy! Categories
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