Matt is always asking for Chinese food, but I am definitely not into the sodium laden dishes served at the local takeout place.  My compromise is to make dishes with Asian flavors at home. Here is a dish that is a winner- healthy veggies & shrimp with a savory sauce.  This made 2 servings.  

Cabbage & Shrimp:
8 oz uncooked shrimp, peeled & tails removed
1 cup uncooked brown rice 
1 head napa or regular cabbage, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
Peanut Sauce:   
Whisk together 1 tablespoon each of the following:  
creamy peanut butter
reduced-sodium soy sauce
honey
lime juice
                                                                   add a few dashes of srichacha or other hot sauce

Sautee the chopped cabbage & onions in a large pot in a little olive oil, season with salt & pepper.  Once the veggies begin to soften, add the uncooked rice and broth.  Cover & cook until the rice is done.  I use instant rice, so this usually takes about 10 minutes.  Add the shrimp, cooking for about 2 minutes until it's pink and no longer raw.  Top with peanut sauce and serve.    

 

Sometimes on a cold morning, there is nothing better than a big bowl of hot oatmeal.  It's possible to make good natural oatmeal in the microwave- don't cave and buy the flavored packets!  Here is my method:  

Sometimes I surprise myself with how much my food tastes have evolved since I started eating whole foods.  There was once a time in my life when I said I didn't like kale, and cringed at the thought of eating beets or tofu.  Now- these are some of my favorite foods! 

This salad was created as a way to use up a bunch of kale I had in the fridge- half my creations stem from my quest to not waste food.  Being cheap sometimes leads to good things, right?  As a former kale hater, I still have trouble eating it raw.  For this salad I briefly cook my kale to take the bitter edge off, but if you enjoy raw kale then by all means just keep it raw.     

This salad turned out so well.  I was craving the beet & feta combo, but I didn't have lettuce on hand to make my regular Beet Feta & Tofu Salad.  In the end, I actually liked this kale version better.  The hearty steamed kale, creamy feta cheese and sweet beets made a fantastic base for a crispy tofu topping.  Mmm!  

I love cutting my tofu into bite-size pieces and using it as a topping instead of croutons.  If you are new to tofu and aren't sure where to start, check out my tofu tutorial for help.       

Beet & Kale Salad with Tofu 

Ingredients for 4 servings:  
1 bunch kale 
2-3 large beets 
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 
1/4 cup chopped walnuts 
vinaigrette of your choice 
1 block extra firm tofu 

Roast your beets by wrapping them in foil, then baking at 350 degrees for at least an hour, or until tender.  I do this on the weekend to save time.  Once beets have cooled, peel and chop into bite size pieces.  

Drain and press your tofu, then cut into pieces and sautee in olive oil.  Cook tofu on each side until nice and golden.  See my tofu tutorial for help. 

Wash kale, then remove stems and chop into bite size pieces.  Place kale in a pot with about an inch of water, then cook briefly until the kale just starts to wilt.  Drain the water, then toss kale with your favorite vinaigrette- I used Gazebo Room Lite.  

Assemble the salad by dividing the kale, roasted beets, feta, and walnuts among four bowls.  Add the tofu croutons and enjoy warm.      

Whenever I'm making something like this soup that requires 2 steps, I like to do the roasting on the weekend when I have more time.  It then becomes easy to make a homemade soup quickly during the workweek.  Here is my version of this soup, based on the recipe from the Cook This, Not That cookbook.  Depending how hungry Matt & I are, this makes 3-4 servings.   





Step One:  Roast the Squash   
Cut a large butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, drizzle with oil, salt & pepper, place on a baking sheet.  Roast at 350 degrees for at least an hour, turning halfway.  It should be very soft when done. Scoop out the flesh & store in the fridge if you're doing the roasting ahead of time like I do.  

Step Two:  Make the Soup
Ingredients:  
roasted butternut squash 
onion, roughly chopped
apple, cored, peeled, roughly chopped
chicken broth, at least 2 cups  
1 T grated fresh ginger
salt, pepper, nutmeg  
sour cream (optional) 

In a large soup pot, saute onion & apple in a little olive oil until soft.  Add in ginger and cook for about a minute until incorporated.  Dump the mixture in your food processor or blender, adding squash and a bit of broth.  Blend well, scraping down the sides occasionally until you have a uniform mixture.  Add broth as needed if it's not blending well,  I have to do this step in 2 batches since it won't all fit in my food processor.  Put blended soup back in the soup pot, adding broth until it reaches your desired consistency.  I like this soup nice and thick, so I usually end up using about 2 cups of broth total.  Add salt, pepper, & a pinch of nutmeg to taste.  Once the soup is hot, it's done!  Top with sour cream if desired.   

One of my favorite parts of the fall season is cooking with root vegetables.  I peel the vegetables & cut them into cubes, drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper, and roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Stir once or twice to prevent burning.  Golden brown & crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. 

Pictured here is a combination of sweet potatoes, carrots, and parsnips.  I also like to use turnips or regular potatoes if I have them on hand- I didn't when making this batch.  If you like things a little sweeter, you can also drizzle a spoonful of honey along with the olive oil when roasting.  I never used to eat turnips or parsnips until I started the Spiral Path Farm CSA, but now they are a staple of my fall & winter diet.  If you like carrots & potatoes, I promise you will like this fall veggie mix.      

The good news:  this bread is seriously delicious.  The bad news:  I plowed through both loaves in less than a week.  Whoops!  I was looking for a pumpkin bread that didn't have gobs of sugar, and I found this recipe on a registered dietitian's blog.  Seems like the key is adding banana for sweetness.  I made a few substitutions:  1/2 cup brown sugar instead of the maple syrup; 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice instead of the separate cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg; added a handful of dark chocolate chips.        

The batter made two loaves in 9x5 loaf pans.  I started checking them after about 45 minutes of baking, I didn't want my bread to be too dry.  This is definitely a make again.           

Lancaster Brewing Company in Harrisburg serves up a great lunch.  The pizza was exactly how I like it; a nice thin, crispy crust with lots of toppings- mushrooms, spinach, ricotta, truffle oil.  I had half the pizza and a Winter Warmer Ale.  Seasonal beer is the best, especially in fall and winter when the beer is spicy & dark.  Yum!      

I eat a greek yogurt every day, and really like adding something sweet & crunchy.  I used to buy Kashi GoLean Berry Crumble cereal for my yogurt, which was an easy lower calorie option.  Even though Kashi uses natural ingredients, there are still a LOT of ingredients listed on the side of the box. 

 Last spring when I was visiting my sister Rachel, she had homemade granola available for us to eat with our yogurt.  I figured that I should be making my own too, and have experimented to come up with this simple recipe- only 8 ingredients!  Pictured here with a Chobani Pineapple yogurt. 

Easy Granola:   
2 cups rolled oats                     1 t vanilla
1 cup sliced almonds                1 t cinnamon
2 T brown sugar                        1/2 t salt
2 T canola oil
2 T honey

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, toss until almonds & oatmeal are coated.  Spread mixture out onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil.  Bake in a 300 degree oven for 40 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes.  Once cool, store in a ziplock bag or tupperware container.  This recipe usually lasts me 2 weeks or more. 

I work full time and pack my lunch almost every day- an egg salad sammy with a side of fruit is a typical packed lunch.  Egg salad is on the menu at least once a week- it's yummy and packed with protein.  My egg salad is not complicated, it just contains the ingredients listed below. Most of my product choices are once again based on information from the "Eat This Not That" book series.    

Olive Oil Mayo- I subscribe to the idea of eating healthy fats, and usually opt for items with olive or canola oil.  
Bertman Ball Park Mustard- This is a Cleveland thing.  Matt & I both grew up in Ohio, and we love this mustard.  My mom brings it to us from Ohio when she visits.  
Cage Free Eggs- Watch the documentary "Food Inc."  My sister Rachel told me about it, and it changed the way I buy and consume food.  It's crazy scary.  Those poor chickens.  
Martin's Whole Wheat Potato Bread- Tastes great, and contains the most protein & fiber for the least amount of calories I have seen.

I don't have a set amount of each ingredient that I use, this should be adjusted to taste. Each sammy usually contains 2 eggs, a spoonful of mayo, a little mustard, salt & pepper.     

Traditional collard greens are usually made with smoked meat like bacon or ham.  In order to make this vegetarian, I tried a new meat substitute- sausage.  The sausage ended up having a nice flavor and added some zing to the greens.  I served this with rice & beans on the side.  I'm thinking that the leftovers of this meal will be good with an over easy egg on top.  Even though he didn't like the idea of soy sausage, My husband begrudgingly agreed this was pretty good.     

The ingredients I used below made enough for 4 servings.  

1 bunch collard greens, stems removed & chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 the roll of sausage style meat substitute
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed
olive oil, salt & pepper

In a large skillet with a lid, cook the sausage in olive oil until browned, breaking up with your spatula so it crumbles like real sausage.  During the last few minutes, add the onion & cook until soft.  Remove sausage & onion from pan & set aside.  Add the greens to the pan, then add water until they're covered.  Simmer with the lid on for about an hour.  During the last 15 minutes of cooking, make the rice according to package directions, except also adding the can of beans when you add the rice.  Drain the water from your greens, then add the greens, sausage & onion, and a little more oil to the hot skillet.  Sautee until everything is hot, season to taste, and serve.