It is the New Year and like many people I indulged and enjoyed in glutenous baked goods and enjoyed many, many, many savory appetizers at holiday parties. I didn’t want to be rude and not eat. So I am feeling a little bloated and am looking to lighten up my diet up a bit so feel healthier and more energetic.
In an effort to try and feel less bloated I decided to try this smoothie I saw featured on YouTube and wow – it is really, really good. The original recipe was featured on Miss Glamorazzi’s channel where cookbook author and blogger Claire Thomas shared several recipes that were quick and healthy. You can see the video featured here that also has other delicious recipes. In the meantime, here is the recipe for the Oatmeal Cookie Smoothie that is amazing! Enjoy!
Oatmeal Cookie Smoothie
Ingredients
1 frozen banana
1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp. chia seeds
2 T. agave nectar (I didn’t have this so I used brown sugar – YUM! (perhaps why I have gained some weight…))
1 pinch of salt
1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T. flax meal
1/3 c. gluten free oatmeal
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup crushed ice
Directions
Put all ingredients in your blender for about a minute and enjoy!
I have mentioned several times that I love one pot meals and one of my favorite one pot meals is Emeril Lagasse’s Turkey and White Bean Chili. It is amazing! I actually can’t believe that it has taken me so long to blog about this dynamite dish since it is my all time favorite chili recipe. I have made this for football parties, for lunch on a rainy day and when I need a weeknight meal on a busy evening. The other plus to this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time and the longer it sits the better this chili gets.
So let’s talk about the ingredients. I love that the main protein in this chili is turkey, you could use ground beef, however I absolutely love the clean, lean taste of turkey. The addition of white beans is another clean flavor that really makes this chili recipe different from other chili recipes. Then there are the spices, from chili powder to red pepper and many flavors in between there is some serious flavor going on. One of the last ingredients I was very surprised to see is the addition of corn meal that acts as a binder to thicken the chili up. I think this is a genius addition since corn naturally complements chili so well.
I hope I have sold you on making this chili. It is delicious, healthy and the perfect chili to serve your friends and family.
Ingredients
4 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons minced jalapeno
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2 tablespoons Emeril’s Southwest Essence, recipe follows
1 2/3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons cornmeal
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 (10-ounce) cans Ro’tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles (original), undrained
2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles, undrained
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro stems
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, for serving
Tortillas (optional)
Emeril’s Southwest Seasoning:
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Directions
In a skillet, heat the oil and saute the onion and jalapeno until soft and beginning to caramelize, 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the ground turkey, Southwest Essence, chili powder, salt, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until turkey is browned and cooked through, 6 minutes. Add the cornmeal and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, canned tomatoes, canned chiles, and cilantro stems and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. After it has cooked for 30 minutes, add the cannellini beans. Add the heavy cream and cilantro leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes longer.
Serve the chili in deep bowls, garnished with cheese and cilantro.
Have you ever slaved over a meal to only have your family either not eat it or simply give you that indifferent look while they force it down? If you haven’t you’re lucky, however unfortunately I have had this scenario happen to me more than once. So, I can’t begin to explain my shock when I made this Super Simple, Fast, Budget Friendly Spaghetti Bolognese that my crew loved. In fact they claimed this was the best bolognese I have ever made. Uh, ok…noted, I will never slave over my more complex bolognese sauces in the future.
So let me explain how this easy recipe came to be. I became discombobulated and dizzy on Monday. I thought I was just experiencing a bad headache, however when I continued to feel like I was on a moving boat on Wednesday I decided to go to the doctor. I can’t tell you how relieved to find out I had vertigo. All I can say is I was sooooooo relieved to be diagnosed with a medical condition and know that this was not all in my head.
Since I wasn’t able to get to the grocery store for some fresh ingredients (and because my family had not had a home cooked meal in days) I decided to throw together a spaghetti bolognese. Ingredients are simple pantry staples with the exception of some basil, garlic and parmesan I had on hand. There is no lengthy simmering of sauce and because I used 93% lean ground turkey the meal was low fat as well.
So here is my recipe for Super Simple, Fast, Budget Friendly Spaghetti Bolognese. I hope you enjoy
Super Simple, Fast, Budget Friendly Spaghetti Bolognese
(serves 4-6 people depending on how hungry your crew is)
Ingredients
1-2 T. olive oil
1.25 lb. lean ground turkey
1 – 28 oz. can tomato sauce
1-4 garlic cloves minced (I use 4 and it is super garlicky so you may want to start with 1 to be safe)
1 beef flavoring packet from Top Ramen (remove beef flavor packet and either discard the noodles or save noodles for later)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 – 1 tsp. crushed red pepper, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
basil to chiffonade
parmesan
1 lb. spaghetti*, cooked according to package directions (reserve about a cup of the cooking water)
*I use gluten free, but use whatever you have on hand
Directions
Heat large saucepan over medium-high heat with olive oil. Brown ground turkey (after it cooked, because the meat is so lean I do not drain the fat out, but you certainly could if you’d like).
Add tomato sauce, garlic, beef flavoring packet, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. Simmer on medium low heat about 10 minutes and taste with salt and pepper. If sauce reduces too much or is too thick to your liking, add a bit of the reserved pasta water.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Place in pasta bowls or plates and sprinkle with basil and parmesan cheese.
One of my favorite parts of cooking, besides of course eating, is to be able to recreate a delicious dish from a restaurant. Even better is when I am able to make that dish just as good. I recently was at a Thai restaurant where I tasted a Larb dish that was spectacular. In an effort to recreate this dish I perused the internet and came across Giada De Laurentiis Turkey Larb recipe.
The Larb I ate at this restaurant was savory, spicy and very fresh thanks to the addition of what seemed to be a generous amount of lime juice. Once I came across Giada’s recipe I knew that I had a winner. I loved how the ingredients were fresh, simple and my favorite part was the citrus based dressing which brings the perfect amount of tart freshness that I absolutely love.
While I have yet to perfect other Thai dishes such as Pad Thai and Panang Curry that are favorites, this Larb is super simple and delicious. My deep love of Thai food will keep me on the hunt and working towards making the perfect Thai dish, however in the meantime this one is a keeper and one I will continue to make over and over.
Giada De Laurentiis Turkey Larb Recipe
Ingredients
Dressing
1/3 cup fresh lime juice, from about 5 limes
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons fish sauce*
2 tablespoons honey
Larb
3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/2 red onion, diced
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 (4-inch) piece lemongrass, minced (about 1/4 cup)*
1 Thai chile, such as prik kee noo, or 1 serrano chile, stemmed and thinly sliced*
Kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey, preferably dark meat
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated
1 cup brown rice (this is not part of Giada’s recipe, but I served mine with brown rice and loved it)
Directions
Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lemon juice, fish sauce and honey. Set aside.
Larb: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, lemongrass, chile, and salt, to taste. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the turkey and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the meat and vegetables are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the dressing to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the mint. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Spoon the turkey mixture onto the lettuce leaves and arrange on a serving platter. Serve with sticky rice.
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I am a little obsessed with Jennifer Lopez. It is amazing how she has managed to actually age backwards. Looking at pictures of her from ten years ago, I can’t believe how much better she looks as the years have gone on. So, while I was perusing the July 2015 issue of InStyle magazine and came across her recipe for a green smoothie I knew that I had to try it.
The smoothie features her BodyLab Vanilla Whey Protein Complex which I unfortunately did not have on hand so I opted for my Trader Joe’s Whey Protein in vanilla. I am guessing they are pretty similar, so I moved forward with the recipe. The smoothie includes rice milk, spinach, banana, chia seeds, sunflower butter and protein powder. This was a convenient recipe for me since I usually have all these ingredients on hand. Not having too many ingredients was very helpful.
Now for the taste, it was surprisingly good. I honestly wasn’t sure how the sunflower butter would marry with the rest of the ingredients but the banana and sunflower butter take over most of the flavor and the spinach adds a freshness without being to overpowering. I may even actually pick up a container of the BodyLab protein powder when I am done with my current protein powder to see how the BodyLab version compares to the Trader Joe’s variety.
I would definitely recommend trying the recipe for this shake. Looking at J-Lo, there are many things she is doing right and I will try one of them to see how it works continuously. Not only is it delicious, but if this is one of the items J-Lo is eating I am going to give it a try as well.
*For an additional Maca smoothie recipe as well as an extremely knowledgable post about Maca and all the amazing benefits, check out this article on superfoodliving.com. Some of the benefits noted are increased libido and hormone balance (something I could definitely use, especially a few days a month).
J-Lo’s BodyLab Green Smoothie (1 serving)
Ingredients
1 cup rice milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1 handful spinach
1 frozen banana, sliced
2 T. chia seeds
2 heaping teaspoons sunflower butter
1 dry scoop BodyLab Vanilla Tasty Shake Complete Whey Protein Complex (I used Trader Joe’s Vanilla Whey Protein)
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Serve.
