New Snack/’Chip’ Find

Posted on March 4, 2014 by melsmosaic

I was in the deadly Wegman’s the other day roaming through the aisles and an aisle-end product display caught my eye. The main ingredients/flavors were things I like, the nutritional value was good, so I had to give them a try. The product — Lesser Evil’s (love that name) Super 4 Snacks, White Bean, Quinoa, Lentil, Chia, with Kale & Roasted Garlic. And, after visiting their site, I noticed a product I’d tried before that’s addictive, the Chia Crisps.

A serving has 46 pieces — that’s a nice amount to be able to eat! And has 110 calories, 3g fat, 2g monosaturated. There are 18g carbs per serving, with less than 1 of the grams being sugars.

The pieces you eat are light and hollow, the shape of ziti. They just sort of float in your hand, they weigh so little!

Very flavorful. They were a little bit salty, and going back there are 220g of sodium per serving. Overall though, addictive… There are a couple other flavors of them, too — Roasted Red Pepper and Cheesy Nacho. And, on the back of the bag, they nicely note, the product fits into a lot of (positive) categories:

-all natural
-gluten free
-beans are low glycemic
-kosher
-corn free
-good source of fiber
-no MSG
-baked not fried
-not genetically modified
-empty calorie free
-no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors
-no milk hormones

Kale Salad with Cashews and Lime

Posted on January 21, 2014 by melsmosaic

I love getting my Bon Appetit magazine each month and there is one recipe in there I’ve been eyeing for awhile from the January issue. Finally got around to making it last weekend while watching (yelling, screaming, cheering, crying, and finally celebrating) the Seahawks game. It was the Collard Green Salad with Cashews and Lime (they mention you can easily substitute kale for the collard greens, which I did). Delicious, filling, vegetarian, can make it lactose-free (as in non-cow milk).

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted, roasted cashews, divided (love being able to buy in bulk at my Whole Foods)
4 tablespoons finely grated Pecorino, divided, plus shaved for serving (I used Manchego! — tastes just as good and I can eat it)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 anchovy fillet packed in oil, drained, finely chopped (I used anchovy paste — I didn’t want to open a whole can of anchovies for 1 fillet)
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (just used bottled, was lazy)
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns, crushed, plus more for serving (didn’t get that fancy)
½ bunch collard greens, ribs and stems removed, leaves coarsely torn

Directions:

Process ½ cup cashews, 2 Tbsp. grated cheese, and 3 Tbsp. water in a food processor (I used a mini prep — fun!), thinning with more water as needed, until a smooth, creamy paste forms; season with salt and black pepper. Set cashew paste aside.

Whisk anchovy (paste), oil, lime juice, 1 tsp. pink peppercorns (for those who follow recipes to the dot), and 2 Tbsp. grated cheese in a large bowl; season with salt and black pepper.

Coarsely chop remaining ½ cup cashews. Add nuts and collard greens to large bowl.

Toss to coat, gently massaging dressing into leaves with your fingers to bruise and slightly wilt. (Spread some reserved cashew paste onto each plate and top with salad and shaved Pecorino; sprinkle with more crushed pink peppercorns.)

This salad was delicious! Very hearty and lots of flavor. Next time I make it I think I’ll throw some garlic in there, too.

Calamari Steak

Posted on January 21, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was roaming around Whole Foods the other night looking for something to make for dinner and came across something I hadn’t seen before — Calamari Steak. I’ve had rings and thin calamari tubes, but this stuff was amazing. About 1/2″ thick and 1/2lb per steak. Had to give it a try.

Unfortunately neither of the guys at the seafood counter had any idea how to cook it so did a little research while waiting in line to check out. I found info that said season and pan sear for about 1 minute per side. That sounds easy enough. I just used for garlic salt and Florida Seasoning from Penzey’s for seasoning.

To pair with this, I also sauteed some kale and mushrooms in sesame oil.

When I was at Whole Foods I also came across some Manchego that was on sale. Love Manchego because I can actually eat it because it’s made with sheep’s milk vs. cow’s milk. Lactose intolerant folks can bear it!

So, with all said and done, enjoyed a great meal of calamari steak — which was a bit chewy, in a cool way, kale & mushrooms, manchego and olives. Not too shabby, at all.

Wrap-up Dinner

Posted on December 2, 2013 by melsmosaic

The long weekend is over. Time to get back to ‘normal’ life. I wanted to make a healthy meal that both used some of the leftover turkey and would give me some lunch for the week. I remembered a recipe a friend passed along a few years ago and it was perfect for this time of year. It doesn’t actual call for turkey, but throwing the meat in at the end was a great addition. I used Ellie Krieger‘s Lemony Lentil Soup with Greens (from her So Easy, Luscious Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week cookbook, 2009). It’s basic, nutritious and pretty quick. I made HALF (of all the noted quantities) and have tons. You could also easily make this a vegetarian dish by using veggie vs. chicken broth.

Ingredients

2 tsp canola oil — used olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. green lentils
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
6 cups chopped kale leaves (about 6 oz)
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Directions

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring until softened and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the carrots, celery, garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add 12 cups of the broth, the lentils, basil, thyme, and salt and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low, add the kale, and cook until the lentils are tender, 30-35 min, adding more broth as necessary.

Stir in the lemon juice and zest, and serve. At this point I also threw in leftover turkey and let it heat through.

Nice and hearty! I plan to eat this for the next couple days at lunch (and likely dinner based on how much I have, even with half the recipe).

Kale Mary!

Posted on June 26, 2013 by melsmosaic

Summer is here, temps are high, so cooking extreme meals isn’t really the most appealing thing to do. I love kale chips but right now don’t feel like turning on the oven so was looking for something else to do with that health-benefit-bearing kale. Though I don’t really enjoy it raw when it’s in large pieces, I learned a couple years ago to take it to the food processor!

Was trying to clear out some stuff from my kitchen and came up with the following combo based on my mood:

-kale
-frozen mangoes (chunks — love the ones from Trader Joe’s)
-peanuts
-basic seasoning of garlic, onion powder, lemon juice, S&P, olive oil

So, I just put the kale (stems removed) in the food processor bit by bit to get it to the texture I like. Then I threw the frozen mango chunk in there and just pulsed a couple times and it got them into smaller, yet still good size pieces. Threw the spices in and perfect. Removed it from the food processor and stirred the peanuts in. Then tossed in some canned tuna. So good, very filling and healthy.

What’s great about this quick recipe is that there are so many options. You just need the base of kale and can change the rest around:

-Any fruit, fresh or dried (have used apricots and cherries before)
-Any nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc)
-So many spices!
-So many meats, if you even want them. How about a nice grilled chicken breast or seared tuna steak to serve on the side?