Vegetarian Chik'n Tikka Pizzas

I found the original recipe for this leafing through a Cooking Light magazine during our recent trip to my bf's parents' lake home in Minnesota. One of bf's favorite things to eat is pizza and mine is Indian food so it seemed like the perfect thing to satisfy both of our needs - and of course I took my own steps to reduce the calories in it. The result was an extremely happy boy and girl. This can be made vegetarian or not, take your pick!

Vegetarian Chik'n Tikka Pizzas

Serves: 2 hungry people

Ingredients

• 2 Joseph's multi-grain flatbread* or 4 whole wheat pitas
• 1 12 oz. package Quorn Chik'n Tenders [12 oz. diced chicken breast can also be used**]
• 1/4 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
• 3 tsp garam masala***, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1 tsp finely minced fresh, peeled ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 2 10-oz. cans Rotel diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream
• 3/4 to 1 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese [We also sprinkled crumbled gorgonzola cheese on top]
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Exotic Dragon Fruit Cocktail

On my last trip to the local farmer's market I was feeling adventurous and of course the pretty pink thing in the corner caught my eye -- the dragon fruit. The best thing to compare a dragon fruit in to in terms of taste and texture is a kiwi. It's sweet and filled with tiny black edible seeds.

A few things to know about dragon fruit: a. the pink skin is not edible and b. selecting a ripe fruit is much like selecting ripe kiwi: squeeze it lightly and it should give, but not too much and look for fruit that is brightly and evenly colored with yellow to yellow-green leaf tips and stems.

Exotic Dragon Fruit Cocktail

Serves: 2

Give In to the Asian Persuasion + Lotus Root Chips

I cook a lot of Asian dishes - they're easy to make vegetarian and the varieties and options are endless. And, as the "foodie" culture has grown, so has the availability of ethnic ingredients at your standard grocery store. If you're really into cooking authentic dishes however, you're going to reach a point where certain ingredients become hard to find. That's when you make your first trip to an Asian or other ethnic market.

Vinh an Oriental Market in North Miami Beach

In Miami there isn't a huge Asian population so you won't find as many markets as you would say, the West coast, where there seems to be one on every block. In fact only 1.5% of the population in Miami-Dade is Asian (compare that to Seattle with 13% of the population). Either way there are several great markets in the area.

Champagne and Strawberries & Strawberry Margarita Jell-O Shots

Strawberry Margarita Jell-O Shots - a new Cinco de Mayo tradition

These are an absolute hit wherever you take them! In fact, I even took the champagne and strawberry shots to an event where the average age was 3x my own and they were the talk of the evening (I dragged the poor bf to this and he was wide eyed when we showed up, "you said they were older, but I didn't think you meant THAT old!! WHAT DID YOU BRING ME TO?!" Let me add that by the end of the evening he was thoroughly enjoying himself and realized old people can be fun too).

 Champagne and Strawberries

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pints of strawberries
• 1 small box strawberry Jell-o (sugar free of course)
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 1/4 cups sparkling wine, very cold - you will have left overs in the bottle so make sure you have someone to drink the rest :)

Fried Riced Cauliflower

This dish is absolutely amazing, you would never miss the rice or oil and it tastes just like real fried rice. On top of that 1 serving clocks in at only around 200 calories.

Servings: 4

• 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 package lite firm tofu, drained and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 onion chopped
• +Any other veggies if desired - I sometimes add zucchini
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 egg lightly beaten or 1/4 cup liquid egg whites or egg beaters
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• About 1/2 cup vegetable broth for sauteing and extra flavor

Mexican Pad Thai

A work in progress but turned out good nonetheless. A traditional Pad Thai recipe with added taco seasoning, avocado, black beans, corn and Mexican Rotel tomatoes. It will get there some day...

'Naptown: Annapolis, MD

I took a nice long weekend up to Maryland, Virginia and DC a couple of weeks ago, and my god I didn't think you could fit so much into a weekend!

First stop on the trip was Annapolis, MD, where my bf considers "home." I'd been hearing since the day we started dating how much better the crab cakes are in Maryland so there was a lot of anticipation and suspense leading up to the trip.

My boyfriend was the master tour guide this weekend and made the most of our 18 hours in the town. We stayed at the Marriott Annapolis Waterfront, probably one of the best places to stay if you really want to see everything Annapolis has to offer (one of the nearby bed and breakfasts would also be an excellent choice). From there, you can pretty much walk anywhere and one of the prime watering holes, Pusser's, is located within the hotel.

This is how we spent our time in Annapolis:

McGarvey's Saloon & Oyster Bar, 8 Market Space: bf worked as a bus boy and bar back here. Supposedly great any time of day for food and late night for drinking. I had my first vegetable crab soup here which was good. We also had the steamed shrimp which is a long time fav of the boy, but shrimp really isn't my thing.

Pusser's Happy Hour: live music, on the water, great crowd and $6 for two beers!

Bodybugg: Estimating your daily calorie burn

I won a Bodybugg calorie management device through a work fitness competition a few weeks ago and have been excited to try it out. I probably never would have bought something like this since a heart rate monitor just seems to make so much more sense for me but hey, it was free!

The device is worn around your left arm throughout the day and it uses sensors to measure 4 points: your motion, heat flux or the amount of heat your body gives off, galvanic skin response or your skin's conductivity and your skin temperature. The product is used in conjunction with a web-based application that allows you to enter in information about your body's parameters, your goals, activity levels and lifestyle. In addition, the web account allows you to enter in your meals for the day to track the calories consumed, gives you meal and nutritional suggestions based on the parameters you entered and offers resources to help you achieve your goals.

Villa Azur, Miami Beach

Unfortunately for Villa Azur, I think the fine dining snob in me was stirred up by my experience at Pied a Terre the other week (which was absolutely phenomenal!). Living in Miami there is no shortage of high-end restaurants but what you end up becoming accustomed to is the horrible service that goes along with your $40 entree. Pied a Terre reminded me of what it's like to actually have decent service, actually probably some of the best I've had.

This last weekend we decided to try Villa Azur, one of the restaurants on our notorious "list." The restaurant is located in the Palm Court building, where the Miami Beach Parking Authority formerly held their offices. Built in 1926 and renovated in the 80's, the last time I was in this building I must say it was a dump. With Villa Azur, they did a complete remodel of the interior which is very impressive - light and airy yet warm and comforting, the type of atmosphere I could come back to over and over again.

Entryway: Before and After*

Boozy Watermelon Lemonade

A refreshing cocktail perfect for summer & adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Watermelon Lemonade recipe. This cocktail has made it to the beach, a pool party, family gathering and as of Sunday, a Marlins game. Let me forewarn you though, the booze in this will sneak up on you as evidenced by the fact that I lost my apartment keys, had the MLB logo spray painted across my stomach (so classy), conned my way into the Clevelander to avoid a $10 cover and proceeded to eat half of a full-sized bag of potato chips. My roommate's experiences weren't nearly as fortunate.

The Ingredient List: Soy Lecithin

You hear from plenty of nutritionists and nutrition enthusiasts to read the ingredient labels on food and "don't buy anything with ingredients you can't pronounce or know what they are." Sounds easy. But the fact is that just about any food that goes through a decent amount of processing is going to contain ingredients we aren't quite familiar with. (On a side note, just about every food is "processed," what really matters is the degree of processing to get that final product. For example, frozen vegetables are processed in the sense that they are washed, cut and frozen. Bread is processed by combining ingredients, allowing the dough to rise and baking. Cheetos obviously go through a more complicated process to get their final form.)

To get to my point, while deciding between two snack bars today I was looking at the list of ingredients on each package and noticed that soy lecithin was an ingredient they both had in common. I am always up for learning something new, so here it is quick and dirty:

Dictionary definition of lecithin: "A substance widely distributed in animal tissues, egg yolk, and some higher plants, consisting of phospholipids linked to choline." (Note on choline: it's B vitamin that has been linked to brain development, reducing risk of heart disease and numerous other health benefits.)

Body Composition and Calorie Burn

Interesting estimates on the effects of body comp on metabolism...

Estimates for my height and age - 5'3" & 25 years old

The Body Mass Index (BMI) obviously has it's flaws and does not account for muscle mass and other body composition factors.

The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) assumes you did nothing but rest all day, it is purely supposed to represent the calories required to maintain your body functions (i.e. breathing). (Here the Mifflin-St. Jeor equations for BMR were used)

At 110 pounds:
BMI: 19.5 (Healthy)
BMR: 1,213 calories/day

At 120 pounds:
BMI: 21.3 (Healthy)
BMR: 1,258 calories/day

At 170 pounds:
BMI: 30.1 (Obese)
BMR: 1,485 calories/day

At 250 pounds:
BMI: 44.3 (Obese)
BMR: 1,848 calories/day (Picture this: laying in bed all day and eating about 14 pounds or 28 heads of broccoli to maintain your weight)

[Indian] Homemade Paneer

Whenever I ordered a paneer dish at an Indian restaurant (that tofu-like cheese curd) I always imagined it was made by some mysterious complicated process. That was until I asked my Indian coworker who exclaimed that it was in fact one of the easiest things to make. She explained it to me like this: boil milk, add lemon juice, allow to curdle and press in a cheese cloth. Now doesn't that sound easy?

Ingredients:

• Half gallon milk (whole or 2% reduced fat will give the best flavor)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Dried spices of your choice (you can get creative here, I used parsley)
• Cheesecloth & strainer

Modern Communication: Technology and the Human Connection

I haven't listened to many TED Talks but I found this one to be very interesting and thought provoking. Sherry Turkle considers how technology is changing the way we form and manage our relationships with one another and also how we are so afraid of being alone that we neglect to make time for solitude.

A Calorie is Not Just a Calorie

In the news this week there has been a lot of talk about the study released by JAMA and how the type of calories you consume, in addition to the amount, affects your weight. It's an interesting topic that I definitely think is worth considering, especially for those who are interested in maintaining their weight.  The results of this study showed that a low-carb, high fat diet helped people maintain their weight by reducing the caloric expenditure of their bodies the least.

Food Politics: Does Where Calories Come From Matter to Weight Maintenance by Marion Nestle - Marion's summary of her interpretation of the Journal of the American Medical Association's (JAMA) study published June 27th.

Low-Carb Diets May Burn the Most Calories on MSNBC Today.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Just about every recipe for roasted brussels sprouts uses oil so I decided to try out half of the recipe using just a little non-stick spray and a non-stick pan and the other half with olive oil. The result was very little or no difference in taste or texture so save yourself the calories and nix the oil altogether.  In short: You don't ALWAYS have to use oil when you cook as recipes would have you believe.

Based on a recipe from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• salt
• pepper
• Balsamic vinegar

Recent Culinary Explorations - 6/2012

Enchiladas

In this post: Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas - Low Carb Cauliflower Pizza Crust - Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas - Adapted From Penzy's Spice Catalog

The first time I made this I stuck to the recipe (which was horribly written & hard to follow - I'm surprised they actually published it that way in the catalog). The second time I changed it up a little by using butternut squash instead of potatoes and I made half with baked tofu and the other half with ground beef for the non-veggie head. I also used 2 minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and some canned enchilada sauce. Unique and tasty, it can be a very healthy meal. Cook the squash/potato chunks in the microwave to save time.

Carrot & Apple Soup

Served with Sun Dried Tomato Cream Pasta

This soup was light, sweet and savory and incredibly simple to make. I reduced the amount of butter called for but I would imagine replacing it with a quick spray of non-stick cooking spray would do just fine as well. Using sweet potatoes or butternut squash in place of the carrots would probably be an excellent variation of this soup.

 

 

 

Carrot & Apple Soup 

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 large golden delicious apples, peeled and chopped into 1" chunks
• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2" chunks
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sweetener such as Splenda (or sugar, agave nectar, etc.)
• 1 tsp peeled and minced or grated fresh ginger
• 2 cups water
• chives, chopped for garnish, optional
• half & half or creamer for garnish, optional, I used one of the individual half & half tubs compliments of my office :)

The Western Diet

"The number of people with cancer is set to surge by more than 75 percent across the world by 2030, with particularly sharp rises in poor countries as they adopt unhealthy "Westernized" lifestyles... said the paper from the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France." From the article: Cancer cases to surge 75 percent worldwide by 2030

Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse

Another OMG YUM! dessert. I'm starting to think that there's no such thing as a bad dessert for my taste buds. But what makes this one even better is that it is super low calorie (113 cals/slice - not including the chocolate shavings) and has many potential options for greater yumification.

Be sure to thaw for about half an hour before trying to cut or serve.

Ingredients

• 1 container fat free whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed & divided
• 1 1-oz package Jell-o sugar free, fat free chocolate fudge pudding
• 1 1-oz package Jell-o sugar free, fat free cheesecake flavored pudding
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk