Grits are a typically Southern food used mostly for breakfast dishes sort of like oatmeal or cream of wheat. Grits are basically ground corn, white or yellow, with water and salt. Usually cooked up with animal fat, like bacon, or fried with oil and butter, grits aren't often considered a health food. But prepared without those things, grits can be a good base for a nutritious meal when you serve with protein and more veggies. Grits contain little to no sugar and are rich in Vitamin B and Iron. Iron is important to help the body transport oxygen and create energy. B Vitamins break down nutrients and help the body use food for fuel. Good stuff! When shopping for grits look for enriched and unsalted to get the biggest health benefits for your buck. Try some tonight! The Shrimp and Grits recipe I just posted make a warmy, yummy, comfy meal in no time.
Shrimp and grits!! I did it! As Southern as I could get it way up here in the Pacific Northwest. I asked A. what he wanted for dinner and this was his vote. A challenge he was surprised I was willing to tackle:) Warm and comfy.
Easy Shrimp and Grits With Sweet Peppers
(Recipe adapted from one at Whole Foods Markets)
3 slices Bacon - Yup! Bacon! Use what ever kind you like, pepper, turkey, whatever.
1 cup white or yellow grits (I used white grits)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 small yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green or red bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced
1/3 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp (fresh or frozen and thawed)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons hot sauce, plus more for serving (optional)
Directions:
Cook bacon in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, flipping once, until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off and reserve all but one teaspoon bacon fat from skillet. Set aside off heat.
Meanwhile, bring 3 1/2 cups salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Whisk in grits, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until thick and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. (Some grits have different cooking times, so adjust water and cooking time as needed.)
Reheat the one teaspoon bacon fat over medium-high heat; add onions, garlic, peppers, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Move onion mixture to one side of the skillet and add another teaspoon bacon fat. Add shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Add lemon juice and hot sauce. Toss shrimp and onion mixture together. Spoon hot grits into bowls and top with shrimp mixture. Crumble bacon over the top and serve with additional hot sauce on the side.
Seriously, simple, pretty cheap, wicked quick and darn tasty!! I can't remember the last time I ate baco. My, my, what a treat!
Spice up your carrots! I love this Moroccan flavor on warm, perfectly steamed veggies. Take a bunch of carrots and chop them into good sized rounds or use baby carrots to simplify like I did. Steam the carrots to perfection - however you like 'em! Then toss the carrots in a mixture of olive oil, about 1 TBSP (or less), 1 clove crushed garlic, 5 or 6 cloves. Sprinkle in 1/2 TBSP Cumin, 1 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, a bunch of chopped parsley and/or cilantro and the juice of one whole lemon. Warm this up while you are finishing the rest of dinner. Goes great with 5 Spiced Chicken and Moroccan Couscous. Now only if I could stay up for dessert.
Moroccan Couscous
This dish is really fun becuase there really aren't any rules. Do what you like. Use what you have. Here's my version.
Cook couscous according to directions. I like to cook mine in half water, half broth to add flavor.
Mix with 1/2 cup garbonzo beans (chick peas)
Add raisins, almond slivers, diced green onions, diced red onion. The juice of one orange and fresh mint if you've got it. I didn't have any so I tossed in more cilantro. I mean really how can you use that whole bunch without it going to waste?? Well, here's how.
5 Spiced Chicken, Spiced Carrots and Moroccan Couscous served to friends and family with a bottle of your favorite red:)
I baked my second ever chicken. Such a fun thing to prepare for company. So homey. So tasty. I wanted to style the bird and meal totally un-Thanksgiving-like. Andrew and I traveled for the holiday so we didn't get any leftovers and I wanted some of those too. Here's what I did.
5 Spice Chicken:
Sift together
1 TBSP Cumin
1/2 TBSP Curry Powder
1/2 TSSP Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 450° F. Rinse and dry the bird. Place in a roasting dish breast side up. Stuff a bunch of cilantro and/or parsley in the open cavity.
Spread the spice mixture all over the bird. If you want to get fancy you can gentle pull the skin off the breasts and thighs and spread the spice directly on the meat. This would flavor the meat much better but it takes more time than I felt like spending. I know, lazy.
Roast for 20 minutes. Add 1 cup water or broth to pan and roast until the chicken is cooked through and the thigh meat registers 180° F on a meat thermometer, about 40 minutes more.
Remove fro oven and let the bird chill out for 10-15 minutes before carving. I saved the drippings and drizzled a bit over the meat on the plates.
Serve with Spiced-up Carrots and Moroccan Couscous. (Up next)
What sounded better after the Thanksgiving gorge-fest than a nice, yummy bowl of soup, easy on the tummy (and the thighs)??!! My family and I were joking about the upcoming 'cabbage soup diet' before we'd even sliced into the bird! (We'd been sampling the sweets for several days, and toasting their success with plentiful glasses of red wine.) Truly, there is little better on tcold wintery nights that a steamy bowl of hearty soup. There are a few rules for me though...I don't like a runny soup (plain and creamy) and I don't like rice in my tomato. My favorite soup bowls are filled with fragrant, chunky chilies, stews and filling veggie meals. Give your body a digestive break by warming your food so you can save the heating for frosty toes and hands. Here are some of my favorites this year.
Lentil Soup (I've posted this one before -it's GOOD)
1 lb dried lentils, ~2 1/2 cups
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 med onion, chopped
2 carrots,slice thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp cayenne
3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp salt
8 c water
Put all ingredients in lg pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover.
Simmer gently ~45 min, until lentils are tender. Stir occasionally, if
it looks too thick, add water.
Wicked Simple Kale and Turkey Soup
Ingredients
8 cups chicken broth
1 bunch kale, rinsed and sliced
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
1 pound diced fully cooked turkey ham
4 cloves garlic, chopped
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Measure the chicken broth into a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. When it comes to a boil, add the kale, potatoes, ham and garlic. Season with ground black pepper. Simmer covered over low heat for 1 1/2 hours.
Dreamy Fish Stew http://remywright.blogspot.com/2011/04/dream-do-come-true-choppino.html
And here's what I've been whipping up all week for lunch:
2 cups low-sodium chicken or veggie broth
1 cup sprouts
1 cup frozen spinach
1/2 c diced tomatoes (from a can)
1/2 chopped white onion
2 stalks chopped celery
2 sliced carrots
a few dashes of hot sauce (go for it!)
seal salt
pepper
ginger
garlic
This is souper light lunch time dish. I've been eating a bowl or two every afternoon with two rice cakes topped with 1/4 avocado and a drizzle of honey. I'll add all natural turkey or ham to complete the meal and fill me up until dinner time.
I have a lot of fun in the kitchen making things up. There are tons of perfectly good breakfast bar recipes out there, I know I've eaten them! Often, I have every intention of following the recipe but then I just get into the groove and go a little cooking crazy. It's like a game, inventing things, hoping I come up with something fantastic! I much prefer having a slight (relatively good) idea of what I'm trying to make and then let the spirit move me. I got super inspired after Thanksgiving to get this household's eating habits under some sort of control. (If I make my own cookies that's better than certain people eating Snickers or Oreos at night, right?) Truth is, it is. You can make a healthy cookie. A nice, sweet treat, that tastes good and packs a nutritional punch. (Look for dark cocoa cherry chip cookies coming soon!) We don't need all the junk that makes sure 'good-for-you' granola bars and protein bars stay 'fresh' on the shelves of the grocery store. Preservatives don't work the same for our bodies as they do for packaged foods. Nope. But, whipping up a super food bar can make you feel and look fresh as the ingredients you use.
Here's my first version with notes:
In a big bowl combine...
1 cup non-fat greek yogurt
1/4 cup pumpkin
4 scoops hemp protein powder
1 TBSP cocoa powder
1 TBSP sunflower seeds
1 TBSP Chia seeds
1 TBSP Flax seeds
1/4 c honey
3 egg whites
1/2 c Oats (If you think you need more go for it)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp apple pie spice (or something like it)
Mix it all up and press it into a baking dish. I used a casserole dish about 4x9. Cook for about 20 minutes at 400 or until the edges pull away and slightly brown. I sliced the final product into 5 good sized bars
I think these turned out pretty well. Not too sweet. Crunchy, with a good consistency. If A. was cooking he'd add another 1/4 cup of honey and some sugar. "No sugar in this kitchen!" If you want sweeter bars add some almond butter or a natural sugar substitute. I ate one serving this morning for breakfast with an apple and felt great. Energized and full until my next feeding:)
You can play with this recipe too! Add raisins, nuts, almond butter...have fun! If it doesn't turn out well...give it me, I'll eat it:)
I spent the holidays in grand fashion this year. I don't think I've ever sat at a table with that many family members! Growing up as an only child, holidays were relatively small, usually just three of us and maybe a Auntie or two. This year A. and I spent a few days in Salt Lake City with my aunt, uncle, 2 cousins, mom, 98 year old grandpa, and nearly a dozen other friends and family from Utah. So cool! One afternoon after a nice jog to the park I drifted off napping on the couch. The sounds of my family laughing and talking in the kitchen filled my heart with more peace and love I though it could contain. A delicious, fat-free moment that represents what the holidays are really about.
We ate and drank all the wonderful foods we always have at Thanksgiving: turkey, stuffing, yams, brussel sprouts, and cranberry sauce. My Mommy even whipped up her 'famous' green bean casserole and homemade cranberry jelly - Thanks, Mom! As the family health nut I felt it my duty to provide a splendid veggie dish, surprisingly healthy without the holiday heft of butter and sugar. Success! My roasted treats were a hit!
Do it yourself. Easy-peasy.
Cauliflower with onions spiced with dried mustard and curry. Roast at 425 for 40 minutes.
Butternut squash with shallots spiced with rosemary, cumin and cinnamon. Same thing.
Happy Holidays!
