I have tried a few recipes lately, and keep meaning to post them on my blog, but I never get around to it.
We are on a menu plan from the Clean Eating magazine - our favourite food magazine. Most of the recipes I am trying lately are Clean Eating recipes. Some of them have been tweaked a bit depending on the ingredients I have here at home.
Here are some new favourites that have been successful for my family:
We've never tried poaching salmon before, and it was so good! The sauce was very good on the veggies as well.
Low-Cal Poached Salmon with Herbed Cucumber Sauce:⅓ cup yogurt, plain
¼ cucumber, English, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon parsley, fresh, coarsely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons dill, fresh, coarsely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons mint, fresh, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon lemon juice
¼ tablespoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup vegetable broth
½ cup water
2 5-oz salmon fillets
1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
ONE: In the bowl of a mini food processor or blender, combine yogurt, cucumber, parsley, dill, mint, lemon juice, pepper and salt, and process until smooth, scraping bowl as necessary; set aside in refrigerator.
TWO: In a medium skillet over medium heat, bring broth and water to a gentle simmer. Add salmon, adjust heat to maintain barely a simmer, cover and cook, 5 to 6 minutes. Add carrots, nestling them into liquid. Cover and cook 3 minutes or until carrots are tender and salmon is barely opaque throughout.
THREE: Use a slotted spatula to remove salmon and carrots and arrange on plates. Top with chilled yogurt-cucumber sauce and serve.
These lentil burgers were an interesting alternative to meat burgers. They are so full of grains and protein - you don't need a bun at all. And they are perfect when topped with chopped avocado and tomato.
Meatless Burgers:1 cup lentils, dried green, rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cups onion, yellow, diced
2 stalks celery, minced
¼ cup leeks, finely diced
2 tablespoons flaxseed, ground
5 teaspoons mustard, Dijon
3 tablespoons tomato paste, unsalted
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin, ground
1 cup rice, long-grain brown, cooked
2 tablespoons oil, olive
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cook lentils according to package direction.
2. In a large bowl, mix garlic, onion, celery, leeks, flaxseed, Dijon, tomato paste and spices. When lentils are cooked, mash them with the back of a fork, leaving some whole. Add mashed lentils and rice to bowl. Mix all ingredients together.
3. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. While oil is heating, form lentil-rice mixture into 6 lentil patties. Add them to pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until light brown. Transfer patties to prepared baking sheet and cook in oven for 15 minutes to warm through. Serve with a side salad and topped with diced tomatoes and avocado, if desired.
Another new thing I hadn't tried before - Quinoa. Apparently, it has a ton of protein in it. And it's very tasty. Jaymi loved it.
Minestrone Soup with Quinoa:2 tablespoons oil, olive
2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 1/20inch dice
1 cup fennel, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup onion, red, diced
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons thyme leaves, fresh, chopped
¼ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 ½ cups cooked cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained
2 cups tomatoes, fresh plum, peeled, seeded and diced
⅓ cup quinoa, uncooked
sea salt
pepper
1 cup spinach, fresh, cut chiffonade
3 tablespoons basil leaves, fresh, thinly sliced
2 ounces cheese, Parmesan, finely grated
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots, fennel, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and fennel seeds, and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add 6 cups water, beans, tomatoes, and quinoa. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently until quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves and season with salt and pepper. Stir spinach and basil into soup just before serving in warm bowls. Garnish each with 1 tbsp cheese, if desired.
These lettuce wraps were awesome. 3 of them makes a perfect lunch.
Seafood Lettuce Wraps:4 oz shrimp (precooked and frozen)
1/4 cup avocado
1/8 cup carrots
1/8 cup cucumber
1/8 cup navy beans (cooked or canned), drained
1 tbsp Asian Dressing (1/2 cup sesame oil, 1/2 cup o.j., 1/4 cup finely diced shallots, 1/2 tsp finely grated ginger, 1/4 cup cilantro, salt & pepper & honey)
1/8 cup plain yogurt (low-fat)
3 iceberg lettuce leaves
1. Combine defrosted shrimp, avocado, carrots and cucumber together in a mixing bowl. Gently mix in beans, dressing and yogurt.
2. Lay lettuce leaves on countertop. Divide mixture evenly among leaves.
3. Roll it up like a tortilla shell. Fold the bottom up, fold in the two sides, and roll.
These muffins are the best! It's so hard to eat just one or two.
Coco Cran Nut Muffins:1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
1 medium apple, peeled and diced
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted pecans, chopped
3/4 cup 1% buttermilk
1/3 cup yogurt, plain
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1/2 cup honey
1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare muffin tin with paper liners or cooking spray.
2. In medium bowl, combine spelt and whole-wheat flours, oats, cocoa powder, salt, apple, baking soda, baking powder and pecans. Stir until combined.
2. In large bowl, mix together buttermilk, yogurt, vanilla, egg whites and honey. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir until moistened. Then, gently stir in cranberries. Fill muffin cups halfway. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes.
This oatmeal is so full of ingredients, and I love all of the textures in it. Mark wasn't thrilled about the rice in it, but I thought it was very good.
Eat Clean Crockpot Oatmeal:1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
1 /2 cups brown rice
1/4 cups wheat germ
1/4 cups Ezekial 4:9 cereal
2 cups milk
4 1/2 cups water
1/4 cups dried cherries
1/4 cups chopped dates
1/4 cups raisins
1/4 cups dried blueberries
1/4 cups dried cranberries
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
Place all ingredients in crockpot, stir and cook for 4-5 hours on low.
Makes 8 1-cup servings.
