Skinny Tipper

Seafood Chowder

2011-01-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

It's official 2011 is not going to be our favorite year. It started out with my wife and her Mini Cooper being involved in a hit and run accident. A deer jumped in front of her and she missed that one, but the second one got her. Annette is fine and the deer got up and left the scene of the crime, but I bet he was a in a little pain. The Mini had to go to the car hospital, but it held up pretty well for a small car.

On Thursday she came home and our house was cold. We called the heating people and they came out on Friday. Our 2 year old Trane heat pump had a leak in the pipes. This would not be that bad but this is the second time and the unit is only 2 years old. That was $600 to fix. We had actually arranged for the heating company to come out next week and check out the units (we have 2 one for upstairs and one for downstairs). As long as they were at the house they decided to do the inspection. When they looked at the upstairs unit the heat exchange was not working and they found a carbon monoxide leak. Luckily it was a small leak and we were within the safe range still. We went ahead and replaced the upstairs unit. They also installed a carbon monoxide detector for us at no additional charge. We are hoping the heat pump things counts as 2 events since they say bad things come in threes.

Now for a good thing.

Seafood Chowder
1 tbs olive oil, divided
1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 small potatoes, small dice
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
32 oz broth
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 fish, chopped into bite size pieces I recommend a white fish, but I ended up using salmon

Heat a pot over medium heat. When the pan is hot add 1 tsp of the oil and the onion and carrots. Cook until the onions are soft, then add the potatoes and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, just to start the potatoes cooking. Turn the heat to high and add the tomatoes and the broth. When the potatoes are done cooking add the fish and shrimp. Cook until the Fish and shrimp are cooked, about 5 minutes.

Remodel is Done

2011-01-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

"Anyone that's ever had their kitchen done over knows that it never gets done as soon as you wish it would.” Ronald Reagan

The dust is still settling, I wonder when it will stop, no one has ripped down, built up or removed anything that shouldn't be moved in over 2 weeks. The results are beyond anything we could have imagined, every time I look in the direction of the kitchen I smile. Our kitchen is now truly the heart of our home.

The old kitchen.

In the process of remodeling the kitchen 2/3 of our house got some kind of an upgrade. The living room gave up a little space to make room for the larger kitchen. The living room also got painted and new window treatments. The dinning room, entry room and upstairs hallway got new paint jobs. Our house is very open on the first floor, so there are no natural places to stop painting. We also have a 2 story entry way so when the downstairs got the paint it had to go upstairs as well.

The goal of the remodel was to give us more storage space and more work space. I can say that we achieved that. The island work space more than doubled. We went from 19 cupboards to 29, plus a new pantry and a desk and drawers. It is so nice having enough space to work and not bump your elbow on a wall or the person next to you. If you notice we did not remove any of the old cupboards, that is why you will see a difference in the color of the cupboards in the pictures. In a year or so the new ones will change color and become darker to match the old.

We also added a ton of lighting. Before the remodel we had 5 lights in our kitchen area, now we have 14. Last night an airplane mistook my kitchen island for a runway and tried to land on it. The island is made up of pieces of granite, one about 2 feet wide and the other one is a large chunk that weighs in at around 1,000 pounds.

The floors are made of cork and are considered to be a green product. We donated the old appliances, table and chairs, drawer pulls, some small appliances and pots to charity. The sink is made from recycled granite. The new appliances are all energy efficient. So hopefully our new kitchen is a little more environmentally friendly.

Asian Tuna Steaks and Vegetables

2010-12-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in my den writing this recipe listening to the sounds of saws and pounding. At 8:00 this morning the demolition crew arrived to start demolishing my kitchen. Santa Clause decided that I was a good boy and I am getting a new kitchen for Christmas. When I tell people this the first thought is what kind of an idiot rips his kitchen apart 2 and 1/2 weeks before Christmas. I have to agree with them, we have already decided that the amount of Christmas candies, cookies, etc. would be greatly diminished this year. What we didn't think about is when you pull everything out of your kitchen it has to go somewhere. Our dinning room has become our new back up kitchen (all of the major appliances will remain in the existing kitchen). Our music/entry/exercise room has now taken on the dinning room responsibilities as well. Our living room contains everything that doesn't fit in the other rooms. Does anybody know any microwave holiday recipes? Sorry about the kitchen photo it was taken with my cell phone, since I download my pictures to the printer which was located in the breakfast nook in the kitchen.

Last week when I made this tuna it was warm and I could grill out, now that I am getting around to publishing it we had an inch of snow on the ground and 3 days of below freezing weather, not exactly typical North Carolina weather. I am not complaining though I was born and raised in Michigan, so freezing and 1 inch of snow are something I grew up with. Back to the recipe, it is based on an Alton Brown recipe.

Asian Tuna Steaks and Vegetables
Tuna Steaks, about 1 to 1 1/2 thick
Sesame seeds, I start with 1/4 cup and add more as needed
Soy Sauce, just enough to get the tuna steak damp so sesame seeds stick to it.
Mixed veggies about 1/2 pound per person, I used yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, red onions, garlic and red and yellow peppers. Cut your veggies into bite size pieces.
1 tbs honey
1 tbs Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Oil
Depending on how many tuna steaks and veggies you are making you may need more of the honey, soy sauce and sesame oil mixture. Because the sesame oil is strong I try to keep it to about a third of the amount of honey and soy sauce.

Preheat grill to high.
Coat tuna steaks in soy sauce and then roll in the sesame seeds. Grill for 2 minutes per top, bottom and 2 sides for a total of 8 minutes this should give you a tuna steak that is still good and pink in the middle.
Put the veggies in a bowl and coat with soy sauce, honey and sesame oil mixture grill until they are cooked until desired doneness, this will vary by the veggies that you select to use.

Mexican Chicken Soup

2010-11-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

Last week I posted my mysterious Mexican Chicken recipe. A few people asked what I used the chicken for besides burritos and enchiladas. At the bottom of the Mexican Chicken recipe is a picture of something I threw together, for a better picture. My "action photo" of the Mexican Chicken. All I did was toast 3 tortillas until they were crisp. Then stack the chicken and a little sour cream on the bottom layer. On the next layer I spread refried beans and shredded cheddar cheese. then on the top layer I spread guacamole in the center and sour cream around the outside. Then topped with black olives and salsa.
This weekend I took the chicken and made a soup. It is very simple, easily made as a weeknight meal if you have Mexican chicken on hand.

Mexican Chicken Soup
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed
1 pkg frozen corn
1 28 oz can Diced tomatoes
1 lb Mexican chicken
enough chicken broth to make the soup as thick as you desire.

Heat olive oil in pan, when it is shimmering add onions. When the onion is soft add the garlic and let it cook for 45 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients Let it cook until everything is heated through. I garnished with sour cream, crumbled up Tostitos and a little guacamole.

Mexican Chicken Like Restaurants

2010-11-14T17:03:00.000-08:00

That was the name it was given when the recipe was passed on to me. How I got this recipe is a strange story. I used to post in a cooking chat room. One day someone had made a comment about Mexican food and I replied I would love to get a good chicken recipe that I could use for burritos and other Mexican dishes. The next day I received an email with this recipe, no comments, no mention of who it came from, etc. I replied back to the email thanking them and asking who they were but I never got a reply. I am not sure if this is an actual restaurant's recipe or one that the sender made up. All I can tell you is that it is good and fairly easy. My family aren't big chili heads, so I usually use 5 or 6 peppers as my bunch, the exact number depends on the kind of chilies I can get from the market. I usually use Jalapenos and Serranos, but you can use any combination of any kind of chiles you want. Another odd thing is that the recipe never mentions chicken, other than you need enough water to cover it. I determined that the 2.5 pound bag of chicken breasts my grocery store sells was a good amount.

Mexican Chicken Like Restaurants
1 bunch of chiles, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs olive oil
salt to taste
water, to cover chicken
2.5 pounds of chicken breasts
1 can green chiles
1 can enchilada sauce

In a big pot over medium heat add the onions, garlic and chilies. Cook until onions are soft. Add the chicken breasts and cover them with water. Add the salt. Cover and bring to a slow simmer. Simmer just until chicken is just done (opaque all the way through, but still very soft). Remove the chicken and shred the meat. Strain the broth. I keep the broth for future soups. Add the onions, garlic and chiles to the blender. Blend with a cup of broth or so. Add the enchilada sauce. Add the sauce mixture and the shredded chicken back to the pot. Simmer until the chicken absorbs a bit more of the sauce. Add the chicken to tacos, burritos or whatever Mexican dish you have that calls for spicy shredded chicken.

Grilled Chicken Soup

2010-11-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

Chicken soup is that recipe that haunts me. Every time I make it I feel like it should have been better. I keep tweaking it and never seem to get the final results that I want. I am looking for that chicken soup that is comforting on a cold day, makes you feel better when you don't feel well and tastes like chicken not the canned stuff. I decided to try a different approach today, I grilled all of the ingredients. Well almost all of the ingredients, the pasta and broth were made on the stove. This turned out to be a really good soup, not the comfort food cure your cold soup but good enough to make again. I didn't really measure with this recipe, just dumped in the veggies, the meat, the pasta, broth and cooked away. Add enough broth to cover the veggies and meat by a good inch and 1/2 since you will add pasta and that will absorb the broth. If to much broth is absorbed add more.

Grilled Chicken Soup
1 zucchini, cut into bite sized pieces
1 yellow squash, cut into bite sized pieces
1 red pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
6 large white mushrooms, cut into bite sized pieces
1 small egg plant, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 small red onion, cut into small dice pieces Claudia you have my permission to leave this out
2 small chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs dried Italian herb mixture
2 cloves garlic, minced
enough stock to cover veggies and chicken by 1 1/2 inches
1 cup of small pasta or rice

Start the grill and heat to medium.
Place all of the veggies and chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle with olive oil. Toss the mixture to coat with oil. Mix in herbs and salt and pepper. On the grill use a grill pan or cover grates with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray. Cook until done.
In your favorite soup pot put a tsp of olive oil and the garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant then add the veggie mixture. Add the broth and bring to boil. Add the pasta and cook until pasta is done, around 5 to eight minutes for most pastas (check your instructions on the pasta box). Serve and enjoy.

The Brat and The Brats

2010-10-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

The Brat
Not only do you get a recipe for brats you get to hear about my oldest brat Lynn. This past weekend my oldest daughter got married, one of the 32,000 weddings on 10/10/10. Of course hers was the best wedding of the day. Here is a picture of Lynn and Rouz.

The Brats
Now for the brats. Normally I would marinate the brats in beer and then throw them on the grill. When you are in a hurry, you come up with short cuts. So I threw threw the brats directly on the grill. Now what do I do with the peppers and onions? Well I made a pouch out of aluminum foil put the peppers and onions in and added 1/2 a bottle of beer. The peppers and onions cooked quickly and the brat still ended up with that beer flavor.

I also sliced a large potato tossed it in olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and grilled the slices.

Hasselback Potatoes

2010-10-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is a great side dish for a steak or when you want something that looks a little more elegant than a baked potato.

Hasselback Potatoes
2 potatoes
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

With a sharp knife slice the potatoes every 1/8 of an inch taking care not to cut all the way through. Rub 1/2 of the oil over the potatoes, then salt and pepper to taste. Place the potatoes in a small shallow baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with a little of the olive oil and then with the bread crumb/cheese mixture. Put back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes until the bread crumbs are nicely browned.

Braised Scallops with Tomatoes & Fresh Basil

2010-09-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

I was looking for a new way to make scallops, so I pulled out my copy of James Peterson's Fish and Shellfish The Cook's Indispensable Companion. I don't usually make recipes from this book, but it is full of buying and storing seafood advice and has some recipes that have inspired me to go off and do my own thing. When I saw the braised scallop recipe I knew I had to make it. What a wonderful and new way to use tomatoes and fresh basil. Let me tell you this is my new favorite scallop recipe and if my wife would stop licking the bowl I am sure she would agree. As usual I did use James recipe as a base, but modified it. I did not make court bouillon as Peterson suggests for the stock and I added bacon as a garnish.

Braised Scallops with Tomatoes and Fresh Basil

8 large sea scallops (about 12 oz), small white muscle removed, cut into 1/2 inch disks
salt and pepper
10 fresh basil leaves
2 tsp olive oil
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled seeded and finely chopped (I used grape tomatoes cut in 1/2 about 1/2 pint)
1 or 2 slices of bacon, optional
1 shallot, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 sprigs of thyme
2 tbs, parsley
1 bay leaf
4 black peppercorns, crushed
1 cup water
1/2 cup dry white wine

In a pot place the shallot, celery, carrot, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, water and wine. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Strain mixture through a sieve and keep liquid.

While the broth is simmering dry the scallops with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Toss the basil in a little olive oil and chop into fine ribbons. By coating the basil in olive oil and then cutting they will not turn black. If using bacon cook until crispy.

When the broth is strained put the scallops in a pan and then slowly add the broth until it is up to the top of the scallops but not covering them. Over low to medium heat simmer the scallops for 3 minutes. Remove the scallops from the pan and place in shallow bowls. If you like place the bowls oven until broth is done, but make sure you have oven proof bowls.

Now add the tomatoes to the broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in the basil and simmer for 1 more minute. Add salt and pepper to broth if needed. Ladle broth over and around the scallops. If using bacon sprinkle over the bowls and serve immediately.

Lemon Spaghetti

2010-08-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

You all know spaghetti, long skinny tubular noodles covered in tomato sauce. Well, I wanted to show you a delicious recipe that is fast and easy and not like any other spaghetti you have eaten before.

This recipe came from Giada De Laurentiis. This recipes can be cut down without any problems, I made a 1/4 of recipe for Annette and I.

Lemon Spaghetti

1 lb spaghetti
2/3 cup Olive Oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbs lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.

Unstuffed Peppers

2010-08-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

I picked my first yellow and red pepper today. I was the only one home and knew I couldn't eat 2 stuffed peppers, so I took the ingredients and made them into a rice dish. When my wife gets home we can have the rest of the dish for dinner one night. Yes I even cook when I am the only one home. How about you, do you cook for yourself or only when there is a crowd?

Unstuffed Peppers

1 Red Pepper, chopped into small pieces reserve a couple of large pieces for garnish
1 Yellow Pepper, chopped into small pieces reserve a couple of large pieces for garnish
1/4 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 Italian Sausage, casing removed and meat crumbled (I used a hot Italian turkey sausage)
1 tbs mixed Italian herbs (basil, oregano, marjoram and fennel)
I tbs olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
3 cups cooked brown rice

Put a pan on over medium heat. Add the oil, when it starts to shimmer add everything but the rice. Cook until meat is cooked and veggies are tender. Mix with the rice and sprinkle the cheese on top. Add the garnish (I cooked the large pepper strips for the garnish with the other veggies).

Cherry Tomato Salad with Polenta Croutons

2010-07-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

If you're like me and have 3 Sweet 100 cherry tomato plants, you either need a bigger counter to store tomatoes on or you have to come up with a way to add tomatoes to everything you eat. The good news is if the heat keeps up I will be growing sun dried tomatoes.

Cherry Tomato Salad with Polenta Croutons

1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 tbs olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Basil cut into fine ribbons
Leftover polenta made into 1 inch cakes

If you don't have any leftover polenta, here is a link to the recipe that I use.

Heat a pan over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot add the tomatoes and the garlic. Cook until the tomatoes start to pop. Pour the tomatoes over the polenta cakes and garnish with the basil.

Lemon Sorbet

2010-07-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

When Foodbuzz offered to donate $50 to Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) for every Foodbuzz featured blogger who posted a banana split recipe, I had to do it. The problem is I mainly post healthy recipes. I decided to post my version of ice cream and do a sorbet. Foodbuzz picks the Top 9 recipes each day and on Monday the entire top 9 will be "banana split recipes" in order to show support for OCRF. You can help to by going to http://www.kelly-confidential.com/foodbuzz and build a virtual banana split. So as soon as you are done reading this click on the link and go help the cause.

Lemon Sorbet

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbs lemon zest finely chopped
Sprig of mint for each serving

Combine sugar & water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce to low and simmer until sugar dissolves. Cool completely. I usually put it in the freezer to cool quicker. When completely cool add lemon juice & zest. If you have an electric ice cream maker, turn the machine on, pour lemon mixture into the freezer bowl and mix until thickened. If not, pour into a freezer-safe bowl and freeze until thickened.

To serve put in bowl and garnish with mint sprig and/or lemon slices. Or you could add fresh berries. If you wanted to serve to adults but a scoop in a glass and fill with prosecco. This recipe is based on one that came with my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker.

Grilled Tuscan Tuna Steaks

2010-07-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

The internet is an amazing thing, you are often surprised with what you find. The other day I was searching for some useless piece of trivia and after clicking on a couple of links I ended up on a recipe for Grilled Tuscan Tuna Steaks. I was not looking for anything cooking related, but ended up on a recipe that I decided I must try. The second surprise was that it was a Rachael Ray recipe. I don't own her books and generally don't watch her show, but found this recipe to be very good. Thank God it wasn't a Sandra Lee recipe then I wouldn't have even been able try.

Grilled Tuscan Tuna Steaks
2 Tuna steaks
1/2 lemon, zested
1 tbs fresh rosemary
1 tbs flat leaf parsley
1 cloves garlic, chopped
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for cooking

Preheat the grill medium high heat.

Rinse the tuna and pat it dry. Place zest, rosemary, parsley, garlic salt and pepper in a pile on a cutting board. Cut the mixture until it is finely chopped. Drizzle just enough olive oil over the tuna steaks to coat each side. Rub herb and garlic mixture into fish, coating pieces evenly on each side. Let stand 10 minutes.

Grill tuna steaks 4 minutes on each side, if you like your tuna pink at the center.

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

2010-06-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Growing up in MI my parents had a place at a lake about 100 miles from our house. Every weekend we would make the trip. We would stop at the farmer's road side stands and buy whatever was in season that my dad felt like cooking that weekend. Over the years dad learned which farmers had the best produce and we would stop and get the fruits and vegetables for our weekend feast. Most of the time the fruits would be sprinkled with sugar, except the melons which got a sprinkle of salt then we would eat them raw. Juice running down your chin and arms, but every bite was better than the last.

Then one day my dad discovered he was diabetic. We didn't stop visiting the farmers road side stands, but the fruit we bought changed a little. How we ate the fruit changed, no more sugar and no more salt. Just fresh fruit and veggies letting the flavors of the fruit and veggies speak for themselves. This salad is a tribute to that memory.

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

1 zucchini, cut into long skinny strips (I use a mandolin or a vegetable peeler)
1 yellow squash, cut into long skinny strips (I use a mandolin or a vegetable peeler)
15 cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything in a bowl and server. You could add basil or parsley or other fresh herbs.

Pesto!

2010-06-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well it's good to be back. After we came back from Ashlyn's graduation and downloaded all of the pictures our camera died. We took it to the camera repairman and after 10 days he said it was beyond his abilities. He sent it to the manufacturer and they are working on it. We should have it back in a week or so. After calling him almost every day and seeing this was going to be long term, he finally gave in and gave me a loaner camera. I can finally post recipes again.

This weekend Annette, my wife, went to Virginia to meet my 2 daughters, Lynn and Ashlyn, to shop for wedding things. Lynn is getting married in October. That left me home alone for the weekend. So like all normal guys do when they are home alone, I made pesto. At least my wife tells me normal guys make things, she also mumbled something about a garage. I am not sure what you could make in a garage, it doesn't even have a stove or refrigerator.

You might wonder why I put pesto in a healthy food blog, since it is high in fat. Pesto is high in fat but the fat comes from the olive oil and the pine nuts, both of them are high in good fats. The key is eat it in moderation. This is easy to do because pesto is so full of flavor a little goes a long way. Pesto can be frozen (I put a tablespoon in snack size plastic bags to freeze) or you can put in in the refrigerator in a bowl with a tight fitting lid. It will last a couple of weeks in the refrigerator if you pour enough olive oil over it to completely cover the top.

Pesto

2 cups fresh basil
3 garlic cloves, peeled rough chopped
2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano- grated
1/2 cup Pine Nuts, toasted
pinch of kosher salt
2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the better the olive oil the better the pesto

Add the basil and garlic to a food processor. Pulse it a couple times to break the basil down. Add pine nuts and pulse until incorporated. Next add the cheese and pulse until cheese is mixed in. Add the salt. Now while the food processor is running (still on pulse, you want to see the pieces of basil) drizzle the olive oil in slowly. Stop when the pesto is at your desired consistency. I like it when it is wet and shiny but not still holding together.

Grilled Mediterranean Chicken and Vegetables

2010-05-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

This last week has been a busy week at our household. First we went to Atlanta to watch my youngest daughter graduate from Emory University. She graduated with highest honors and had a dual degree one in Spanish and one in Mathematics. Then when we got back my oldest daughter announced that she was engaged. The bad news for the week was that my camera died, so I am borrowing one for these pictures.

Grilled Mediterranean Chicken & Vegetables
1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2 moons or 1/4's depending on size
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/2 moons or 1/4's depending on size
4 oz mushrooms, cut into slices
1/2 red onion, cut into larger pieces
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, leave whole if small cut in 1/2 if larger
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. Italian seasoning
2 tsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp lemon zest
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained

Put everything, except the parsley and zest, in a large bowl and toss to coat. You may need to add a little more olive oil.
Put Chicken on grill and let it cook until it starts to turn white, then add zucchini, squash and mushrooms. After about 3 minutes add onion and tomatoes. let this cook until meat is done and vegetables are cooked to your liking.

Put the beans on a platter, then top with grilled chicken and vegetables. Garnish with lemon zest and parsley.

Tilapia Topped with Shrimp, Asparagus and Spinach

2010-05-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a recipe and just knew you could do it better? A while back I saw a recipe where the person fried fish, shrimp and asparagus and then stacked them on top of each other. This weekend I decided to see what I could do to improve this dish and here is my results.

Tilapia Topped with Shrimp, Asparagus and Spinach

2 tilapia fillets
12 shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup baby spinach leaves
4 to 6 asparagus spears, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tsp butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 lemon, juice and zest
2 tsp parsley finely chopped
Non Stick Spray
1 cup cooked brown rice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 2 individual baking dishes with non-stick spray. Place 1 tilapia fillet in each dish. Top fillet with 1/2 of the spinach, then place the 1/2 the asparagus on top of that. Top the whole thing with the 1/2 the shrimp. Then sprinkle with 1/2 the lemon juice and dot with the butter. Bake for about 20 minutes, until shrimp and fish are done.

Remove from oven then remove fish from dish. Add rice to the dish and mix with the butter and lemon left in the dish. Place the fish on top of the rice and garnish with the parsley and zest.

White Bean Salad

2010-05-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

This was a side that was born on the spot. No measurements were taken, just dump and stir. I made dinner the other day and we talked about having a side dish but realized we were out of some of the ingredients. I went ahead and made the dinner an just before we went to sit down realized I never came up with a side to replace the one with the missing ingredients. So I pretended like I knew what I was doing and opened a can of white beans and started mixing ingredients. The results turned out to be rather tasty and will be on our table in some form or another again.

On the Spot White Bean Salad

1 can white beans, I used Great Northern
2 scallions, green onions whatever you want to call it cut into little rings
1/4 of a red pepper. diced
1/4 of a yellow pepper, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbs olive oil

Drain and rinse the beans. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and serve. You could add some fresh herbs or basil.

Tuscan Tuna

2010-04-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

As spring arrives, my wife and I have taken to eating outside on our deck. This is a favorite light lunch of ours. Best of all you can eat it as a salad served on a bed of lettuce, as a sandwich or by itself with some good read. This is one of those recipes where I eyeball everything and never measure, so I am guessing measurements. Go with your taste on this as there is no right and wrong.

Tuscan Tuna
1 6.4 oz package Chunk Light Tuna in Water
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in 1/2
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tsp red onion, finely chopped
2 tsp olive oil, plus some to drizzle This is the place for the good stuff.
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Mix it all together. Drizzle with a little olive oil right before serving.

ps I have a confession. In all of my photos I take the pictures and never retouch them. In these photos the tuna looked very bland so I chopped a little more onion and tomato and sprinkled a little on top as a "garnish" to jazz up the photos. Even though it isn't pretty it does taste good.

Granola

2010-03-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

When I went to Michigan a couple of months ago, I bought some dried cherries. They were by far the best dried cherries I have had since moving to North Carolina. My brother still lives in Michigan and is coming down to pick up a treadmill that I am going to get rid of. When he asked me how much I wanted for it I told him no money, just bring me dried cherries. Does that mean I have become a true foodie when I sell things for food instead of cash?

Granola

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup of nuts I switch between chopped pecans, sliced almonds and chopped walnuts or a combination of them
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 to 2 cups dried fruit, I use blueberries, cherries, raisins or cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Coat jelly-roll pan with no stick spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine nuts and oats.

In a large heat proof measuring cup mix apple sauce, sugar and syrup. Heat in microwave until boiling.

Stir in salt and vanilla. Pour 1/3 of mixture into bowl with nuts and oats and mix.

Pour in another 1/3 of liquid and mix. Then add last 1/3 and mix until oats and nuts are coated evenly.

Spread mixture evenly over the jell-roll pan. Put in oven for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and carefully mix to turn and evenly cook granola. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and return to oven.

Cook 10 minutes more remove and mix. Repeat until granola is starting to darken and getting a little crisp. Remove from oven and let cool. Add the dried fruit and mix with granola.

Chipotle Salmon with Black Bean and Corn Salad

2010-03-24T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is a fast and easy recipe with lots of flavor going on. The salad is a salad that my daughter and her roommate make. My daughter attempted to give it to me over the phone. I am sure we left out a few things but it was still very good.

Chipotle Salmon with Black Bean & Corn Salad

For the Salmon:
8 oz salmon fillet
1 tsp Chipotle powder or any other hot spice or spicy spice mix

For Salad:
1 can corn, rinsed or 2 ears corn on the cob kernels removed from ear
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 small bunch cilantro
1/4 red onion, finely diced
10 to 15 cherry tomatoes 1/2 or 1/4 depending on size
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp olive oil
You could also add a clove or garlic minced or a jalapeno finely chopped.

For the salad mix it all in a bowl and toss to make sure oil and lime juice get mixed through out. Let it set while you grill the salmon so flavors can meld.

For the salmon rub spice on the salmon and grill to desired doneness.

Honey Lime Shrimp with Tropical Couscous

2010-03-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

My youngest daughter just returned from a cruise, so I have been thinking about the Caribbean. I had to make something that seemed tropical to me so Honey Lime Shrimp was created.

Honey Lime Shrimp with Tropical Couscous

For the Shrimp:
16 shrimp
1/4 c lime juice
1/4 c honey
1/4 to 1/2 tsp hot sauce, or to taste

For the Couscous:
Make couscous according to package, but substitute 1/4 to 1/3 of liquid with orange, lime or lemon juice
1 tbs shredded coconut
1 tbs almonds, finely chopped or slivered almonds
1 tsp zest lemon, lime or orange
2 to 3 oranges, limes or lemons, cut into sections If using oranges you may want to only use 1 and cut sections in 1/2

For the shrimp: mix ingredients together in a bowl or resealable plastic bag. Add the shrimp to the bag and allow them to marinade. Don't leave them in the bag for more than 1/2 hour, you don't want the acid to cook the shrimp. After they are done marinading grill them for 2 to 3 minutes per side.

For the couscous add the coconut, almonds and zest and mix it in. Top with the fruit sections and shrimp. You can sprinkle additional almonds and coconut on top as a garnish.

Shrimp, Sausage and White Beans

2010-03-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

Shrimp, Sausage and White Beans

1 tbs Olive Oil
1 tbs Onion, finely chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Italian Sausages, casings removed
1 15 oz Can White Beans, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz Can Diced Tomatoes
24 shrimp, peeled and deveined
Drizzle of Olive Oil, for garnish
4 Basil leaves, rolled together and cut to make ribbons for garnish

Add the olive oil to a large saute pan and heat over medium high heat. When hot add the onion and cook until translucent.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add the sausage and stir it to make sure it get broken up.
When sausage is browned add the beans and tomatoes. Cook until they heated through.
Add the shrimp and cook until they are pink.
Plate and garnish with basil and a drizzle of olive oil.

Chicken and Mushroom Quesadilla

2010-03-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

For the first time since last year the temperatures went into the 60's this weekend, a sure sign spring is coming and that grilling season is here. The first thing I discovered is that the ignitor is going on the gas grill, I had to go old school and use a match. Then went in to let the Quesadilla making begin. Even though I made one for my wife and myself, I had to tell her to fix herself a dang quesadilla. Thanks Napoleon.

Chicken and Mushroom Quesadilla

1 chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tsp Chipotle powder or other Mexican spice mix
8 mushrooms, sliced into 1/3's or 1/4's depending on size
1 oz of frozen spinach, cut into small pieces
1 scallion, chopped finely green and white parts
4 tbs mexican blend shredded cheese or your favorite cheese for Mexican food
2 Tortillas
toppings such as salsa, guacamole, sour cream

Preheat the grill to medium.

Sprinkle the chipotle or other seasoning on the chicken pieces.
Cut the vegetables.
Take a piece of aluminum foil and spray with no stick spray for the grill. it will keep all of the little veggies and chicken from falling through the grill grates.
Add the chicken first and let it grill for a minute then add the mushrooms. After 2 more minutes add the onions. When the meat and mushrooms are about finished add the spinach, it only needs 30 seconds.
Remove chicken veggie mixture from the grill and set aside.
Spray the tortillas with no stick spray and throw them on the grill, when they start to get some color flip them over.
As soon as you flip the tortilla sprinkle 1/2 with cheese then add the chicken and veggie mixture. Fold the 1/2 of tortilla without cheese and meat mixture over the 1/2 with the mixture and remove from grill. This is a good place to use a large spatula if you have one. Cut them into smaller pieces. Plate them and and add the toppings.

Sausage and Potato Soup

2010-03-01T17:54:00.000-08:00

Do you want a nice hearty soup to keep you warm on these cold winter days? This is a soup I put together because I wanted something a little more filling but still on the healthy side.

Sausage and Potato Soup

3 Italian Chicken or Turkey Sausages, casing removed and formed into bite sized meatballs
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 potatoes, diced
3 cups broth, chicken or vegetable, low sodium and low fat
3 cups water
1/4 tsp each fresh rosemary and fennel
1/2 tsp each marjoram and thyme
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach
Salt and Pepper

Brown the meatballs, you may have to add a teaspoon of the oil. Remove meatballs after they brown and set aside. Add the rest of the oil, onions, celery and the carrots. Cook until onions are transparent, then add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add the herbs, potatoes, broth and water. Cook until potatoes are soft, then add the meatballs and spinach. Cook this until meatballs are heated through and potatoes are cooked.

Shrimp Alfredo Pizza

2010-02-24T18:20:00.000-08:00

When I come up with ideas for new recipes one of 2 things usually happens. I make it and it fails miserably and you never read about it, I do have to threaten Annette never to mention it or I will make it for her again. Or I make it and it turns out good enough for me to publish and I don't have to hide behind things the next time I see you. Shrimp Alfredo Pizza was one of those recipes that I thought you may never see in print, but it actually turned out to be very good. My main concern was making an Alfredo sauce that would not be thin and run off the pizza and all over the stove. I used shrimp, asparagus and spinach on this pizza. You could use all veggies (any combination that you want) or chicken instead of shrimp.

Shrimp Alfredo Pizza

Alfredo Sauce:
1 5oz can of 2 % evaporated milk
3 oz low fat, low sodium chicken broth
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbs butter
3 tbs all-purpose flour
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pizza Crust:
Make your favorite crust or buy one

Toppings:
2 tsp olive oil
12 oz shrimp
1 oz frozen spinach, finely chopped (you can use fresh)
6 small stalks asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
I cut some basil into ribbons and sprinkled on top for a garnish.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If you have a pizza stone make sure that is on the center shelf, so it heats up.

Sauce: put milk, broth and garlic in a microwave safe bowl and heat until steaming, about 3 to minutes. Remove and let this cool for a minute or 2 before using. In a large sauce pan over low heat add butter. When butter melts add flour and whisk until mixed with butter. Then add the milk mixture slowly and whisk it while adding. Whisk this mixture until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Add the parmesan and whisk until Parmesan is melted and incorporated into milk mixture. Poor this back into bowl and set aside.

Toppings: in the sauce pan heat olive oil. Add asparagus and cook for 2 minutes, add the shrimp and spinach and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat.

Spread the sauce over the pizza crust. Then spread the toppings over the sauce. Then place the shrimp over the other toppings. Cook for about 10 minutes. When it comes out sprinkle with basil if using.

Seafood Risotto

2010-02-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

This was the main course for Annette and my Valentines Day dinner. It was the best risotto that I have ever made or eaten. I based it on a recipe from Emeril Lagasse. The best part was there was enough left over for 2 more meals. It was like BIll Murray in Groundhog Day, but we just got to keep eating the same really good meal over again. I thought this wouldn't be very healthy but one of the sites I post on automatically calculates the nutrition information and they say this only has 347 calories, 6.72 gr of fat (2.72 gr of saturated) so I posted it.

Seafood Risotto

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 cups seafood stock*
2 cloves minced garlic
1 pound Arborio rice
1 pounds assorted shellfish and seafood, I used lobster tail, scallops and shrimp cut into bite side pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 tablespoons chopped green onions, green part only
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

* I did not have any seafood stock, so I improvised and took 2 containers of chicken stock added an onion that I cut into quarters, 2 carrots and the lobster and shrimp shells and boiled for 1/2 hour. Then strained broth and it made a very good improvised substitute.

In a large saute pan, heat the oil, over medium heat. Add the onions. Season with salt and pepper, and saute until the onions are slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Now add 6 cups of the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the rice and simmer for 12 minutes, stirring constantly. Add additional stock if needed.

Season the seafood pieces with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 7 minutes. Stir in the butter, half and half, cheese, and green onions. Simmer for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. The rice should be soft, with a little bite, if so remove from the heat. Spoon the risotto in the center of a shallow bowl. Garnish with parsley.

Nutella Ravioli

2010-02-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry about my absence from posting lately, life sometimes changes our plans for us. But I am back and I hope you like the results, I know my wife and I did.

I normally don't make desserts, but decided for Valentines I needed to create a somewhat healthy dessert that Annette and I would both eat. Raspberries and chocolate are a must. Then I notice the unopened jar of Nutella in the pantry and the wheels in my head started spinning. Here is the result:

Nutella Ravioli

5 oz frozen raspberries
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbs Nutella
2 tbs plain low fat yogurt
3 egg roll wrappers, cut in 1/2 (you could use wontons, but they maybe smaller so you may want to leave whole)
1 egg
1 tsp water
Fresh raspberries for garnish
powdered sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a small pan put the frozen raspberries, sugar and cornstarch. Over medium heat warm the berries and smash them with a spoon. this will create a juice. When the juice starts to boil it will thicken because of the cornstarch. Pour it through a sieve to strain the seeds out. Use this is used to dribble on the plate as a garnish. Set this aside to cool.

In a small bowl mix the Nutella and the yogurt. Make sure it is completely mixed as you want it to taste like Nutella not yogurt with Nutella in spots. Set this aside.

Take the egg and crack it in a small bowl. Add the water and mix together.

Take the 1/2 sheet of egg roll wrapper and on 1/2 of that put 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of the Nutella mixture. Then take the the egg wash and spread around the Nutella. Now fold the other half of the wrapper over the Nutella and seal. Start by pressing close to the Nutella and work outwards to get rid of air pockets. Then take a fork and press down on the edges creating a patterned edge that will seal the Nutella in. After you have made all six of these place on a cookie sheet and place in oven. Bake until wrapper starts to brown, about 8 minutes. Note the egg roll wrappers get crispy, next time I am going to try a different type of wrap to see if I can get one that is not so crisp.

Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar, raspberry sauce and raspberries.

Shrimp and White Beans

2010-01-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

It's Saturday late afternoon and after running around all morning and house hold chores, I sat down and started reading Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Then I started making my first batch. Before I knew it, it was dinner time and I had not got anything out. This is the result of my throwing together a few things from the pantry, to make a delicious meal.

Shrimp & White Beans

2 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 tbs onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
12 to 16 shrimp depending on size
2 oz spinach, you can use frozen or fresh but cut into smaller pieces
Olive Oil for drizzling
Crusty bread to eat with this

Put a nonstick pan on medium low heat, after the pan is hot add the bacon and let the fat render. Add the onion and let it cook until translucent. Add garlic and let it get fragrant 30 seconds to 1 minute. Now add shrimp and cook for a minute of 2. Add the beans and spinach and cook until shrimp are done and beans are heated through. Plate the mixture and drizzle with a good olive oil and eat with the bread.

Shrimp, Broccoli and Pepper Stir Fry

2010-01-20T22:49:00.000-08:00

This is a simple recipe that I put together on a Saturday evening, when I was in the mood for something different. The formula is about 1 pound of vegetables to 1/2 pound meat, if you are looking for something on the healthy side. I used broccoli, mushrooms and red and yellow peppers for the one pictured here. I selected that combination for 1 reason only, that is what I had in the refrigerator that needed to be used up. If you use a vegetable that is bigger or harder like broccoli, carrots, cauliflower you will want to cook them a little before adding them to the stir fry or you can throw them in the wok first cook for a few minutes and then add them back when it is time to add the veggies. The same thing with meat heftier cuts like beef and chicken can go in first and be removed and added back at end or add at beginning and never remove them. The formula for the stir fry is based on a formula from Pam Anderson's The Perfect Recipe. The sauce is from an Emeril Lagasse recipe.

Shrimp, Broccoli and Pepper Stir Fry

2 tsp canola oil
1/2 pound broccoli
1/4 pound mushrooms
1/4 pound red and yellow peppers, I used small ones and cut them into rings
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
4 tsp sesame oil
Rice for the stir fry to be served on. I use brown rice.

Heat the wok, when hot add oil. The oil should shimmer but not smoke. Then add the broccoli, stir for 2 minutes. Add the other vegetables. Let them cook for 2 to 3 minutes. While you are cooking the veggies you can make the sauce. Mix soy Sauce, Honey and Sesame oil in a small bowl.
Add the shrimp to the veggies and cook until the shrimp are almost done. Add a little of the sauce at a time, I only used about 1/2 of the sauce recipe for my stir fry.

Put the rice on the plate and top with the stir fry mixture. In the pictures I was just trying to make it look pretty and different, as soon as the photos were taken I mixed it all together and ate it like a normal person. I am not a chef, I only play one on the internet.

100 Calorie Snacks

2010-01-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed how 100 calorie snack packs are always foods that aren't good for you. Here is a list of 100 calorie snacks that are healthy. I tried to pick a wide variety to include sweet and savory snacks. I will post more of these periodically.

1. Apple medium size 95 calories
2. Banana small 90 calories
3. 3 Hershey's Kisses Dark plus 1/3 cup cherries 90 calories
4. Oscar Mayer Fat Free Turkey Breast plus 1 oz Cabot's 75% Light Cheddar 102 calories
5. 2 medium stalks of celery each stalk filled with 1 tsp peanut butter 74 calories
6. 1 cup low sodium Vegetable Soup 83 calories
7. Graham Crackers 2 squares plus 1 tsp peanut butter 85 calories
8. 10 Baked Tortilla Chips plus 1 Tbs Salsa 78 calories
9. 2 stalks celery, 2 carrots and 24 grape tomatoes 102 calories
10. 1 Rice Krispies Treat Bar 90 calories

Barbecue Baked Beans

2010-01-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

This is a recipe that I modified, the original came from Healthy Cooking Magazine. Annette and I love the tangy quality of these beans. They seem like they should have a lot more fat and bad stuff in them. I am making some Carolina Pulled Pork today and these would make a good side dish for that. I think I included this recipe in the notebook I made of healthy recipes and gave to some of you. This recipe uses barbecue sauce, I use KC Masterpiece original, I like the smokiness. If you don't have a smokey barbecue sauce you can skip it or add liquid smoke, just be careful not to add to much.

By the way this recipe is so easy Annette made the beans for a church pot luck, I just photographed them.

Barbecue Baked Beans

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup Canadian Bacon, diced
¼ cup tomato paste
¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup barbecue sauce
14 ½ ounces pinto beans, 3 cans rinsed & drained, I use white beans if that is what I have on hand
3/4 cup water
¼ cup cider vinegar, I like mine tangy so I add a little extra
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot, combine olive oil, onion, garlic and Canadian Bacon. Cook on medium-high for 4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes. Add brown sugar, barbecue sauce and beans, mix well. Cook for 4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving, if desired.

White Bean Soup

2010-01-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

This is a recipe I decided to make today so I could use up some spinach, so don't look to closely and notice I forgot the spinach. It is only coincidence that my brother Bob asked that I post a bean recipe on the day I make bean soup. Everybody knows if he would have asked for it before I decided to make it I never would have made it, that's what brothers are for. I am submitting this soup to Souper Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen. Watch for it there along with many other delicious soups.

This is Not for Bob but it is for Susan White Bean Soup

1 tbs olive oil
1 cup carrots, cut into coins
1 cup celery, cut into 1/2 moons
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 15 oz can white beans
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 oz spinach, chopped
Optional
2 turkey sausages, removed from cases and broken up into small pieces
1 zucchini or yellow squash, diced

Add olive oil to a dutch oven or other deep heavy pot heated to medium high. Then add carrots, celery, zucchini or squash if using and onion heat until onions are transparent. Add sausage if using and cook until browned. Now add beans, tomatoes and garlic let this cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the chicken or vegetable broth and bring to boil. Turn down to low and add spinach. Let soup simmer until ready to serve.

New Years Resolutions

2010-01-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

If you look up the word resolution one of the definitions is "the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones". It seems funny to me that the the number one resolution is to go on a diet, but it seems like just the opposite is true. The goal is to lose weight about a simple of goal as possible, but when you try decide how to go about losing weight it gets about as complex as possible. Do I want to go on low carb, low fat, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig? Do you exercise? What kind of exercise? Where will I find the time? how will I get my spouse, children or significant other to join me or at lest support me? The simplest of goals has just become complex, for those that don't really want to diet their excuses are there for them before they even start. For those that will succeed the this is just one hurdle in a long line of hurdles that they will over come.

I think one of the main reasons that I succeeded with my life style change was that I planned everything out before I set out to do it and then I set goals for my self. From trying diets and failing I knew that my wife would whine about diet food, she still does even though she has seen the results. I just have to ask her if she wants me to go back to eating the old way and she always quickly responses with a big NO! I ended up following a Mediterranean diet, with my own twists. If you want to do low carb, Weight Watchers or the eat 3 candy bars a day diet then go for but find something that you will follow and stay with.

After you have your diet worked out, set mini goals that are attainable but not real easy to reach. For instance decide to lose 2 pounds a week for the first month. Do some research and see how many calories you will have to cut out to lose 2 pounds (7000). If you can't cut that many calories then figure out how much exercise you will need to add to your routine to burn off the 7000 calories.

If you start with a plan you can do this.

Number 1 Reason People Don't Exercise

2009-12-29T06:16:00.000-08:00

According to recent research the number one reason that people don't go to the gym is...They are embarrassed working out and sweating in front of younger, healthier, muscular gym patrons and health club staffers. http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100251767
I have this feeling that if the younger, healthier person is at the gym working out, they are there because they are into working out and are focused on their workout not you. I had a friend who was probably 200 pounds over weight. After I lost my weight he talked to me a few times and decided he should join a gym. At first he said he felt like people were watching him, but after a couple weeks they saw him keep showing up and making progress. He said the first week he started with the exercise and couldn't make it through the warm up. But eventually he got into the actual exercise, slowly progressing. People started encouraging him when he showed up. I guess my thought here is nobody has ever died from embarrassment, but we can't say the same about obesity.
What do you think about this? Are you embarrassed? Lazy? Don't need to work out? No time? Whats your reason? Reply to this post and we will see if we can overcome some or all of the reasons.

Curried Vegetables Served Over Whole Grain Couscous

2009-12-20T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here is a fast and easy weeknight dinner.

Curried Vegetables served over Whole Grain Couscous

1 tbs olive oil
8 oz cauliflower crowns
4 oz button mushrooms, sliced into 2 or 4 pieces depending on size
1/2 red pepper, cut into small dice
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/2 moons
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2 moons
1 can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tbs curry powder, more or less according to your preference
1/2 cup couscous

Heat olive oil in pan. When pan is hot add cauliflower and cook for 2 minutes, then add mushrooms. Cook until they start getting browned. Add the red pepper, squash and zucchini, cook for 2 minutes then add Chickpeas, tomatoes and curry powder. While veggies are cooking make couscous. When Cauliflower is cooked you can server over the couscous.

Salmon with Mixed Pepper and Tomato Salad

2009-12-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a dish that I invented this weekend when I looked in the fridge and saw a couple of peppers, a handful of cherry tomatoes and the salmon my wife said she wanted for dinner. Simple, but very flavorful.

Salmon with Mixed Pepper and Tomato Salad

For the salmon:
1/2 pound of salmon
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in 1/2
1/4 roasted red pepper, diced
1/4 roasted yellow pepper. diced
1 tbs olive oil

Heat a nonstick pan to medium high heat. Cover Salmon in olive oil and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat in pan until salmon gets crisp on edges then flip salmon over and heat for another minute or 2 until cooked to your desired doneness. Remove salmon from pan and set aside.

Add olive oil, tomatoes and peppers to pan. Cook until the peppers and tomatoes are heated through.

I made brown rice with this. I put brown rice in 4 oz ramekin and then inverted ramekin onto center of plate. When you lift it you will have a nice hill of rice in center of plate. Cut salmon in 1/2 and put 1 piece on the pile of rice, do this for each plate. Then spoon the tomato pepper mixture over the salmon.

My Story

2009-11-29T10:21:00.000-08:00

This is a revised version of the guest blog I made on Chow and Chatter in September, so it may sound familiar to some of you. I am starting this blog because of the feedback that I have got from the Chow and Chatter and because so many people have asked me how I did it. Thanks Rebecca for helping me come out of the formerly fat closet.

On my 45th birthday I decided that my life was about to change, so I might as well make the change for the better. The company I had been working at for the last 12 years decided to outsource my department. I went from the newbie to managing the department and had 27 people reporting to me. My day typically began at 5:30 AM and went until 11:00 PM. The job was IT related so I sat in front if a computer all day long. My weight went up to 311 pounds; my blood pressure was so high that when I went into the doctor’s office for a physical the doctor called for a portable EKG machine to decide if they should admit me to the hospital. I ate a bottle of Tums every couple of weeks in addition to the prescription to Zantac the doctor prescribed for my stomach issues. My dad had passed away but before he did he was diagnosed with diabetes and my brother was also diagnosed with diabetes. In short I am not sure what was keeping my body from having some kind of malfunction, I was a heart attack/diabetes/ulcer waiting to happen.

As I was trying to decide what to do with my life since my job was about to be terminated, I decided to take a good look at my whole life and decided I was heading for disaster. My wife and kids deserved better than that. I started researching diets but was not fond of any of the diets I found. They all seemed to be based on somebody else making money off from me getting skinny. I talked to my doctor at my annual physical and she told me that I did not need to go on a diet. I needed to get a new lifestyle. I needed to change just about every aspect of my health. So I switched gears and started a new approach to my “diet”. I went out to the government’s food pyramid site and started studying what I needed to do. In January I started my life style change. In a nutshell I lost 75 pounds the first year and 50 pounds the second year. The third I have been working on toning up and have actually put on about 15 pounds but it is muscle not fat. I haven't been on the medication for my stomach issues in over a year. I took 2 medications for my blood pressure, I am completely off one of them and the other one I take 1 pill once a day instead of twice a day. I am hoping that I will be able to come off the blood pressure medication completely when I go for my physical in December.

Now that I have bored you, I will tell you the stuff you wanted to hear to begin with. I may say a few things that will surprise you. Remember if you are going to lose weight you should consult a doctor not me, I have no medical training, nutritional training or initials of any kind after my name. The things I tell you here are simply things that worked for me, they may or may not work for you.

I don't like the word diet; anything that starts with the word die is just too intimidating. I usually use lifestyle change, even though that is very cliché it is what you need to do if you are going to lose a lot of weight. If you have a better phrase please let me know but Chocolate Deprived, Calorie Deficient and Feed Me I am Starving have already been tried and weren't found to be very inspiring.

Go for the Goal! The first thing that I recommend is setting goals. In the past I have set out to lose 25 pounds and always made that goal, then a year later I was back at the original weight plus some additional weight. This time I did not set a goal for total weight that I wanted to lose, other than to lose as much weight as possible. Instead I set smaller goals like to lose 8 pounds this month or 1 pound this week. Little goals give you more victories and more victories inspire you to keep going. If you meet a monthly goal reward yourself a new book, CD, workout clothes, a piece of chocolate whatever will make you happy. Losing weight is about you and what you really want, if you do it for someone else the weight will come back. Remember it is considered safe to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. You may lose more weight in the beginning but eventually it will even out.

Write on. Track everything that you can. Write down what you eat, how many calories it has, when you eat it and how you were feeling when you ate it. Yes how you were feeling, you will probably see a pattern in your eating fairly quickly, something that you might not have realized before. You will notice that you eat when you are bored, when you are angry, when you are by yourself or when you are with a specific person. Then you can use that information to avoid those triggers. Also keep an exercise log. Track how long you ran, how many repetitions you did of each exercise, how many calories you burned. There are many online sites that will allow you to input a food or exercise and find out about calories burned or consumed. Start a blog and publish it for the world to see, you will be more committed to your goal if everyone you know is watching.

Size Matters. Before you start your lifestyle change weigh yourself and keep weighing yourself at a regular interval weekly, daily or once a month. I started out daily to keep myself on track but after I lost the weight I only check weekly now. Your body weight will fluctuate naturally influenced by the food you eat (salty foods will make you retain weight) etc. so don’t panic if you gain a pound but ate correctly. Besides weighing yourself measure your neck, each arm around the bicep, your waist and each of your thighs. Track these measurements weekly. You may have a week where you don’t lose weight but you may drop inches. I suggest measuring each arm and leg because they may lose inches at different rates. The more ways you monitor your body the more chances you have for victories and victories keep you inspired and on track.

Play with your food! I know your mom told you not to do this but it is important. In order to lose weight you will cut back on the fats you eat. Fat adds flavor to food. If your new food has no flavor you won’t stick to your diet. So you have to replace the flavor from the fat. Add spices, herbs, lemon or try low fat versions of foods but find someway to get flavor into your food. By the way some no fat foods add a lot of chemicals to get rid of the fat; you may be better off going with low fat or small quantities of the full fat versions.

Eat More Meals. This sounds weird, but it works. By eating your 3 regular meals and then sticking in mini meals between breakfast and lunch and then another between lunch and dinner your metabolism does not slow down. The extra meals are not real meals but healthy snacks. Examples of the extra meals could be a piece of cheese and a piece of fruit, nuts and dried fruit, celery with peanut butter, etc.

Don’t Trust Your Loved Ones. The people that will gain the most by you succeeding will be the ones who will tempt you the most. Here try a bite, Aunt Martha won’t let anybody turn down her Death by Chocolate Triple Fudge Cake, One piece won’t hurt you, Try it you’ll like it. You will hear them all, how you react will determine your lifestyle change success. That does not mean you have to turn everything down, it just means you have to learn to take bites not pieces, how to eat less and how to eat better at other meals if you know you are going to be tempted at another meal. It has been proven that when people get a craving for a specific food the first bite is the one that counts the most in satisfying them and by the 5th bite the craving is completely gone. Learn to satisfy the craving without indulging. That's right I am saying you can eat the foods that tempt you, just don't do it daily and plan to eat less at the meal before and after if you need to make up the calories. I believe you should eat everything in moderation and not eliminate foods or whole categories of foods, like carbs. Diets that restrict foods or food types are usually diets that eventually fail. Lifestyle changes are a way to deal with what you eat everyday and will last a lifetime, diets have a beginning and an end are only temporary.

The Dreaded Plateau. Everyone will eventually hit a plateau, when people tell me they are at one I always say congratulations. A plateau is your body realizing what you are doing. Your body is programmed to protect itself and if you start losing too much weight it will go into protection mode to preserve itself and start storing calories. You need to change your exercise plan and/or diet when you get to the plateau. Run further or longer, lift the weights for more repetitions or lift heavier weights, change something about your diet, but change what you are doing. In a couple of weeks you should have it figured out and be back on track.

Make sure you measure up. Learn portion sizes. Practice serving correct portion sizes. Use measuring cups, scales etc. but learn the right amounts to eat. After a while you will get so you can estimate by looking at the food, but in the beginning measure the portions out. Not learning portion control is one of the main reasons diets fail.

The next section is a few thought that I have about current food trends.

100 Calorie Packs. Did you ever notice that nothing healthy comes in 100 calorie packs? Do you know why that is? 100 calories if carrots would be approximately 1 pound, it would last you a week! It has been proven that people who eat the 100 calorie packs tend to eat more because they view 100 calories as a small amount, so it is ok to eat more. If you can hold yourself to 1 pack then use the 100 Calorie Packs to satisfy your craving.

But Wait That’s Not All. This is the new trend in food. Take something that is not healthy for you and add something good to it. For example sugary cereals with fiber added or soda with vitamins added. Adding something good for you to something that is not good for you does not make the bad thing good for you. Besides that, do you really want fish oil added to your milk so you can get Omega 3 fatty acids?

Well I'll stop babbling on now and save something to post for another day.