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Cherryaki Marinade

2010-06-26T19:15:00.001-07:00

Since I no longer eat anything with sugar or honey, I've had to get a bit creative with sweetening my foods. I absolutely love teriyaki sauce, but because there is sugar in it, I can no longer eat it. That is what lead to me creating this "Cherryaki" sauce, using cherries instead of sugar, which is much healthier than traditional teriyaki sauce.

You may use this recipe to replace anything that calls for teriyaki sauce or to marinate any kind of meat; Turkey, beef, chicken, or even meatless recipes for you vegetarian readers, or anything else your tastebuds desire with teriyaki can be used. I like to grill my teriyaki marinated meat, but any other cooking method you desire may be used.

One of the foods I have also stopped eating is soy sauce. Since cutting this out of my diet, I have discovered a product called "Liquid Aminos" made by Bragg. This is a delicious soy sauce substitute; It tastes just like soy sauce if not better and is available at most grocery stores and whole food markets. It's much better for you than regular soy sauce; There are no additives or artificial ingredients and is organic, not fermented like soy sauce, and contains 16 different amino acids. You may use soy sauce if you'd like, but I would highly recommend trying the liquid aminos.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup cherries, pits and stems removed
- 1/3 cup Bragg liquid aminos
- 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp. grapeseed oil (or any other oil of your choice)

Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend/process for a few minutes.

To marinate, pour sauce into a plastic bag or bowl with food to be marinated, tightly cover (or seal/close bag) and let meat sit in marinade in refrigerator for at least 45 minutes (or longer) before cooking.

(Shown in photo above: I marinated chicken breast tenders and put them on the grill to cook.)

Breakfast Burritos

2010-06-16T14:54:00.001-07:00

High in protein and nutrient rich vegetables, breakfast burritos are delicious and a great idea for breakfast when you have leftover vegetables and meat from your dinner the night before. If you do not have any leftovers, then you can saute some vegetables until tender and/or meat until fully cooked.

Be creative:. You can use leftover taco mix, chunky pasta sauce, any kind of cooked vegetable or lean meat; Chop it up into small chunks and mix it in a bowl with eggs. Because of cholesterol in eggs, I use one full egg combined with 3 egg whites. Depending on your diet, you may decide to use whole eggs, just egg whites, or a combination of both like I do.

Scramble the eggs until cooked. Put the cooked egg mixture onto a whole wheat or corn tortilla wrap or taco shell. Top it with sugar free salsa, wrap it up and enjoy.

Super Healthy Taco Mix

2010-06-09T20:30:00.001-07:00

When I first started eating gluten free, I had trouble finding a taco seasoning mix that didn't have either wheat flour or MSG, which was very frustrating to me. I made up this taco seasoning recipe, which tastes much better than packaged mixes, and with all the vegetables in there, it's much healthier than any other recipe I've tried. This recipe is gluten free and sugar free, and super healthy for you!

Recipe:

- 3 tbsp. grapeseed oil (or other oil of your choice)

- 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced

- 2 pounds of lean ground chicken, turkey, or beef

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 2 medium bell peppers, chopped

- 2 medium-large tomatoes, chopped

- 1/2 cup water

- 2 tbsp. chili powder

- 2 tsp. ground cumin

- 2 tsp. paprika

- 2 tsp. oregano

- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Coat the bottom of a large saute pan with oil. Add ground meat, garlic, onion, and peppers, and brown until cooked. While that cooks, combine chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. When meat is cooked, drain fat an add in tomatoes, spices, and water. Cook for another 10-15 minutes on medium-high heat, until tomatoes are tender and most of the liquid has simmered out. Let cool, and serve.

I usually put this mix in either a whole wheat tortilla wrap or corn taco shell and top with lettuce, salsa, and (Chobani) non-fat plain yogurt. (The yogurt is a healthier option fo people who usually like sour cream on their taco.) Be creative, and as always, check your ingredients for "junk," such as white flour ("unwhole wheat") and sugar.

For my vegetarian friends, use 1 lb. tofu and 1 lb. beans instead of the ground meat. Skip the browning the meat part of the recipe, and just saute the peppers, onion, and garlic by themselves. Add in tofu and beans and continue with recipe.

Fruit and yogurt smoothies, tasty and so good for you!

2010-06-05T13:42:00.001-07:00

Being someone who has suffered from digestive problems for just about my whole life, I find a bit of relief in eating yogurt. Yogurt contains Probiotics, which are healthy and beneficial live organisms that help maintain the healthy bacteria (also known as microflora) in your intestines, helping with digestive and immune function. When I stopped eating dairy products 6 weeks ago, the only thing I didn't stop eating was yogurt because of the benefits of the Probiotics in it.

When choosing a yogurt, you have to be careful with which one you purchase. Although you may think light yogurt is your best option if you are trying to lose weight, you need to realize that often these yogurts are not good for you because of additives and sugar substitutes that they may use in them such as Aspartame, Splenda, and Saccharin. I feel that to prevent buying these types of yogurts, your best bet is to buy a yogurt that is plain, and contains only cream or milk and "live active cultures." To flavor the yogurt, you may add your own fruit, nuts, or even some Stevia to sweeten it up. (the only sugar substitute that I will use, but keep in mind, only use it in moderate amounts because since it is so new to the market, it has not been thoroughly tested yet)

The yogurt I use is Chobani non-fat plain yogurt. I choose this because if you read the label, you will see that the only ingredients it contains are "nonfat milk and five live active cultures." That's it. No junk, no sugar, no sugar substitutes; just milk and Probiotics.

RECIPE:

- 2 cups fresh fruit (use whatever you'd like. In the photo, I used blueberries, strawberries, and cherries with the pits removed obviously)

- 1 1/3 cups plain yogurt (or one 16 oz. container)

- 1/3 cup rice milk

- 1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

Prepare fruit by peeling, removing pits/seeds, removing leaves (from things like strawberries), or any other part of the fruit that was not meant to eating. Pour into blender. Add yogurt and rice milk. (and vanilla if desired) Blend to desired consistency. Some people like their fruit a bit chunky, others like it very smooth. Pour into a glass and drink. Yes, it's that simple. If the smoothie isn't sweet enough for you, a small amount of stevia may also be added (I used PureVia brand) to the smoothies. This recipe makes 2-3 servings.

Another idea: if you plan ahead, freeze the rice milk in ice cube trays. This will make it more like a frozen smoothie, extra chilly, and great to drink on hot days or after a hard workout.

Enjoy!

Homemade pasta sauce, HEALTHIFIED!

2010-05-26T13:29:00.001-07:00

So in my search for a tomato sauce to put on my pasta, not eating ANY sugars, I was very discouraged by what's available at the grocery store. I'm not the type to let sauce simmer all day, I like things quick, so that's why I developed the following recipe.

When choosing a pasta, I always use either whole wheat or brown rice pasta. White flour and white rice pasta is just "filler food," no nutrients. Why eat something if it's not nutritional? I definitely don't.

Ingredients:

- 3 tbsp. grapeseed or olive oil (or any other oil you'd like to use)

- one medium-large onion, chopped (I like to use Vidalia onions because they're sweet)

- one medium-large bell pepper, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced

- 4 large tomatoes, diced into half inch cubes

- 1-2 lbs. of ground chicken or diced chicken breast, cooked

- 1 tsp. oregano

- 1 tsp. parsley

- 1 tsp. basil

- 1/2 tsp. salt (optional)

- 1 six ounce can tomato paste

- Whole wheat or brown rice pasta

To begin, start water for pasta. While that is going on, you will be making your sauce. On high heat, pour oil into large saute pan and add garlic, onions, peppers, spices and (optional) salt. Once veggies start to sizzle, turn heat down to medium high. Let cook for about 10 minutes, tossing every minute or so, or untl veggies start to get tender. Turn heat down to medium, then add in diced tomatoes. Let cook for another 10 minutes or until tender, tossing every minute or so. Then add in cooked chicken and tomato paste, and keep the heat on medium, until everything is nice and hot.

Let cool for a few minutes and serve on top of pasta.

Chicken Chow Mein... HEALTHIFIED!

2010-05-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

Forget the Chinese food take-out and try this homemade Chicken Chow Mein recipe. (or if you'd like, you can make it with any other meat/seafood of your choice) It's delicious, good for you, and no worrying about eating tons of fat, calories, or additives, like you do when ordering take-out.

With all my allergies, I get very nervous when I get take out or go out to eat, so I solve that problem by simply not going out to eat. It's somewhat difficult to do, but I really don't know what they're feeding me in those restaurants, so I just don't bother, overpriced food is just not worth getting sick (or fat!). One of the things I miss the most from Chinese take-out is Chicken Chow Mein, which inspired me to make up this recipe. It was delicious, so I'm passing it on to you all.

Be careful when choosing a soy sauce for this recipe if you have any allergies or are trying to stay away from sugar, like I am. I found only one soy sauce on my grocery store shelf that did not have sugar, but unfortunately it did have wheat. It was a name-brand low-salt soy sauce, I don't like to give brand names, but I'll tell you that. Just want to note as well, that for people who are on the candida diet, it is recommended that you only consume soy sauce occasionally. But all in all, I would just say to listen to your body, and it will "tell you" if it disagrees with something you've eaten.

You may consider getting a wok to make this recipe; there's a lot of ingredients to saute, and it's good to have a large wok to fit them all in. (remember, the veggies will "shrink" as they cook)

Ingredients:

- one small head of cabbage or bok choy
- 2 stalks of celery

- 1 sweet bell pepper (I used orange, but any color may be used)

- 1 small onion

- 1 tsp. sesame oil

- 3 tbsp. grapeseed oil (or other oil of your choice)

- approximately 1 lb. of chicken (or other meat), fully cooked and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I recommend grilling the meat, to "cook out" most of the fat, but baking or other methods are also okay if you'd like!)

Sauce:

- 3/4 cup water

- 2 tbsp. soy sauce

- 3 tbsp. corn starch

Before you begin, be sure to decide what you are going to serve with the chow mein: I usually make rice with it, but it can also be made with Chinese noodles, or with chow mein noodles sprinkled on the top. (be careful not to have too many of these chow mein noodles, because they are usually fried in fat, and not so healthy for you!) Cook the rice while you make the chow mein, so that everything will be done at the same time. Awhile back ago, I purchased a rice maker. It makes cooking rice so simple: You just measure the rice and water, and just click the button. The rice cooks, and the button clicks back up when it's finished. Seriously, it's that simple. You can get small ones for about $10 or a large one for about $20-25, they're usually available at any department or grocery store, or sometimes drugstores sell these as well. (That's where I got mine.)

Now on with the directions for the recipe:

To begin the chow mein, pour sesame oil and grapeseed oil into wok and move wok around to coat the surface with the oil. Cut cabbage half and then slice thin (about 1/8-1/4 inch thick), place cabbage into wok, breaking it into pieces as you place it into wok, so that it looks like thin strips. Slice celery into 1/4 inch slices and add to wok. Slice onion into thin slices and cut pepper into thin slices, then cut pepper slices into 3 shorter pieces, add both of those ingredients to the wok as well. Turn heat on high, and then turn down to medium when you hear it start to sizzle. Cook for approximately 25 minutes, tossing every 2 minutes, until vegetables are wilted and start to tenderize. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan, turn on heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk (or fork, if you do not have a whisk), and let boil for one minute (continue stirring constantly). While making sauce, add chicken to vegetable mixture in wok, keeping heat set to medium, and toss for another 5 minutes. Then add sauce to wok, toss to combine and serve.

YUMMY HEALTHY! - Russet Potatoes with Zucchini, Red Peppers, and Onions

2010-05-05T04:28:00.001-07:00

I apologize for by absence. I've been spendng the last few months trying to figure out a new diet/lifestyle. I have to make pretty drastic changes to my diet, by cutting out all sugars, white flours/white rice (I eat brown rice instead), citrus fruit, and any other acidy food because I just recently found out from my allergist that I have a candida overgrowth problem; This problem is thought to be the cause of many cases of MS (multiple sclerosis), Lupus, Celiac's disease, mental illnesses, Cancer, and many other health, autoimmune, and chronic illness problems. I'll talk more about that some other time, let's get to the recipe.

The followng is a recipe that is within the guidelines of the candida albicans overgrowth diet, and is gluten free, soy free, and dairy free. Very healthy, and great if you're trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight. Use your own judgement as far as how many potatoes you would like to add into this recipe, depending on your set daily carb intake, add/remove potatoes accordingly.

The recipe is as follows:

- 4 tbsp. grapeseed oil (or other oil/butter you'd like to use, I use grapeseed oil because it's very good for you and tasty)

- 2 tsp. Adobo seasoning salt (or any other sugar/MSG free seasoning salt of your choice) For people with blood pressure or cannot consume a lot of salt, use Mrs. Dash

- 3-6 zucchini squash, depending on size, cut into 1/2 inch slices

- 1 medium-large onion, thinly sliced (I love Vidalia onions this time of year, very sweet!)

- 1 large red pepper, sliced into thin strips (or any other color you'd like)

- 4 medium-large potatoes, baked (most newer microwaves have a "potato" option that will cook a potato. I like to do this on hotter days, because it doesn't heat up the house like the oven does)

Bake the potatoes and while doing that, steam the sliced zucchini until fork tender. (start the potatoes earlier if you are doing them in the oven) When potatoes and zucchini are almost done, pour grapeseed oil into large saute pan, then throw in pepper strips and onion, and sprinkle on one teaspoon of seasoning salt. Saute onions and pepper, until onions are almost clear, keeping heat on medium, so they do not burn. Then add in zucchini, saute for another 2-3 minutes. Cut potatoes in half the long way, then cut the other way into 1/2 inch slices, so that you have nice "half circle" chunks. Add potatoes in, and sprinkle the other one teaspoon of seasoning salt, then mix well. Serve with some lowfat meat, like chicken or turkey.

2009-12-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Don't throw away those leftover whole chicken bone and I'll tell you why...

Don't know what to do with that leftover chicken bone? If you have a few hours at home, why not make some chicken stock? It is very simple to do, and makes a great base for a homemade chicken soup.

The following process is often referred to as "boiling down the bone." It can be done with not only chicken bones, but other meats like beef, turkey, and ham.

What you'll need is a large pot that is a bit larger than the bone you will be boiling, a slotted serving spoon, and a mesh colander/strainer.

First you must separate the bone from the meat. Put the meat into a bowl for later, and all parts that you do not plan on eating, such as bone, cartilage, fat, etc goes into the pot to be boiled. If desired, you may also add vegetables to the water as well, such as onions, carrots or celery for flavor. Fill pot with water, being sure that all chicken parts are covered with 2-3 inches of water.

Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium and let simmer for approximately 2-3 hours. During the simmering process, make sure bone and other parts are completely covered with water. If the water level goes down so low that the chicken parts are above the water line, add more water and once again bring to a boil. Once boiling again, turn heat down to medium and continue simmering.

Once finished boiling, turn off heat. Let sit for about 20 minutes so it is cool enough to handle. Once cooled, using a large slotted spoon, remove large pieces from the liquid and dispose of. When the large pieces are removed, strain liquid in a fine mesh colander to strain out any small pieces of bone or other parts. Pour mixture into an appropriate sized pot, bowl, or saucepan and cover. Let chill in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. After stock has chilled, you will notice that there is a "skin" layer on the top. This is the fat from the stock, since fat is less dense than the stock, it floats to the top and when cooled, it creates this skin. If you'd like to remove this fat layer (which I always do), scrape with a spoon to remove and dispose of.

Now you're done! The stock is ready to use for your recipes, as a base for a homemade chicken soup, or freeze for use later.

Oven Roasted Whole Chicken

2009-12-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

Delicious Roasted Chicken is so simple to make...

This recipe takes a few hours to cook, but so delicious. You can get a whole roaster chicken on sale for as low as 89 cents a pound. Get yourself a nice roasting pan with a lid and a good quality turkey baster and you're ready to get roasting.

I am going to provide you with a simple rosemary lemon pepper recipe to season your chicken with. Although this is my favorite recipe to flavor chicken with, you may use any flavors or spices that you'd like.

I usually use a 6-8 pound chicken when making this for my family. This is enough for a family of four and then enough to make a recipe such as chicken pot pie or chicken soup with the leftovers. I've seen chickens as small as 3-4 pounds at the grocery store, but when shopping for a chicken use the same rule as when you purchase your Thanksgiving turkey; one pound of bird per person.

To prepare your chicken for cooking: If chicken was frozen, be sure that it is thoroughly thawed. If still a slight bit frozen, rinse in your (clean!) kitchen sink with warm water for a few minutes. Before you cook your chicken, it must be rinsed and the insides must be removed. When I say insides, I am referring to a small bag of parts called "giblets" and sometimes a neck. These two items can be found inside the rear (or sometimes front) cavity of the bird. Now this is where you have to get a bit dirty, and if touching raw meat bothers you, get yourself a pair of gloves. You must reach your hand into the bird and remove the giblets (and neck if included).

Now before I go on with the preparation of the chicken, let's talk about giblets and necks for a bit. Many people like to fry or bake the giblets and mix them in with their stuffing. I, personally, do not enjoy this part of the bird so I usually hand it off to my husband and he gives it to the dog to eat, outside of course! Dogs can eat this raw and they can actually eat the raw chicken/turkey necks as well. Eating raw turkey necks was actually recommended by our dog trainer because it cleans their teeth believe it or not. Interesting! But never ever give a cooked poultry bone to your pet, once cooked, they become brittle, and can break and cut your pet's mouth! Now, enough about giblets and necks, lets get back to roasting that chicken!

After cleaning out the insides and thoroughly rinsing out the bird, place it into your roasting pan with rack. Be sure you place the bird in the pan breast side up. (legs should be pointing up)

In a bowl, mix your seasonings. I often use the following recipe. Depending on your taste buds, you may decide to omit or add a thing or two:

Lemon Garlic Pepper Seasoning

- 1 tbsp. grapseed or olive oil

- 1/2 tsp. ground pepper

- the juice of one lemon

- 1 clove garlic, finely minced

- 1/2 tsp. salt

After mixing ingredients, hand rub or spoon mixture all over bird. Place bird in roasting pan, uncovered, into a preheated 350 degree oven. After it has been in the oven for 45 minutes, you must start keeping an eye on the color of the bird, checking and basting it once every 20 minutes. Once the skin of the chicken has turned golden brown, it is time to place the lid onto the roasting pan for the remainder of the cook time. By placing the lid on the pan, the chicken will continue to cook, but will not brown much in color because the lack of airflow inside of the roasting pan. You may leave the lid off as long as you'd like, a shorter time for people who like a softer lighter skin or for someone who likes crispy brown skin on their chicken, you may leave the lid off longer. Just FYI, I usually place the lid on the roasting pan approximately 45-55 minutes after placing it in the oven.

Usually the full cook time of the chicken is 20 minutes per pound. So if you had a 6 pound chicken, you would multiply 6 x 20 minutes, and get a cook time of 120 minutes. These times are only approximate, and during the whole cook time, you should be keeping an eye on the bird and basting it at least every 20 minutes. For those of you who are not familiar with basting. To baste the chicken, remove it from the oven (try to do this fairly quickly so you do not interrupt the roasting for too long) and tilt the pan so that the drippings collect in one side of the pan (to make them easier to pick up). Fill up your turkey baster (or a basting brush may also be used) and squeeze (or brush) the drippings over the whole surface of the bird. Chicken is complete when it has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Some chickens come with a pop-up timer, but I always use a thermometer to be sure, because sometimes the pop-up timers can go up too early. Be sure to let the chicken sit for about 2o minutes out of the oven to cool before handling.

Interested in making gravy with the drippings? In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of drippings with 2 tablespoons of corn starch while stirring with a whisk. (make sure your whisk is heat proof before using, if not, a fork may be used) Bring to a boil, and then simmer on medium hat for 2 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

Always wash your hands and your preparations tools and surfaces with antibacterial hand and dish soap after preparing raw meat.