My Food Revolution: Easy Caprese

There are times when nothing sounds better than sitting down in front of the television and popping a snack while mindlessly watching whatever is on at the moment. But snacking doesn't have to be filled with processed foods that are bad for you, so here's another new and incredibly simple snack to try. The same friend who introduced me to the 'Italian Style Salad' made these for the appetizer. So have at it, and don't tell me you didn't try it because it was too difficult to make!

Easy Caprese:

1 toothpick

1 Cherry Tomato
1 Basil leaf
1 Mozzarella ball

*Repeat
**If you're feeling adventuresome drizzle a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a dash of salt and pepper.

My Food Revolution: Grilled Stuffed Zucchini Rolls

I find my inspiration for new recipes from many places, most of which do not come from the internet. Childhood meals, digging through my cabinet for anything that could be thrown together and most recently celebrity inspired. In an issue of US Weekly they showed what 'diets' certain celebrities partake in and two of which I was most intrigued with used food services to cook and send their fresh food so they never had to lift a finger. Certainly makes dieting easier.

As a source of inspiration I turned Sunfare and checked out what they had on their menu. Several items caught my attention, and here is one of them. From Sunfare's 'Signature Diet' menu the Grilled Stuffed Zucchini Rolls.

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini Rolls

Slice Zucchini about 1 cm thick the long way

Grill on both sides until fully cooked

Place a small scoop of herbed Goat Cheese in the middle

Roll up - use toothpicks to hold the ends together if necessary

My Food Revolution: Traditional Caprese

When my parents came back from Italy they could not stop talking about how they loved Caprese and ate it everywhere they went. When they came to visit they made the dish as an appetizer and I too fell in love with its rich flavor. It's easy to make and the ingredients are all great for you. We may not be in Rome, but let's do as the Romans do!

Traditional Caprese:Ripe Tomatoes
Fresh Mozzerella
Fresh Basil diced
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Slice the tomatoes and the cheese. Please the tomato on the bottom topped by the slice of fresh mozzerella. Stick in the oven until warm. Sprinkle fresh diced basil on top and pour Balsmic Vinaigrette over. I recommend eating with a fork and knife.

My Food Revolution: Broccoli Chicken Pasta

When I was younger my Dad was told he had to either give up beer or change his entire diet to avoid Type II Diabetes. Being the beer lover that he is, my father kicked up his exercise and made the whole family change their diet. I feel like most people would pick the same thing if given the choice, so I try not to begrudge him for making me eat more whole grains. One of the dishes my Dad loved to make was an easy summer pasta, it was delicious and paired with a cucumber salad it just hit the spot on summer days. So here's my take on their dish, there are two types of chicken I used, and I've linked both.

Broccoli Chicken Pasta
Frozen Broccoli (Green Giant Steamers is probably the best, no need to dirty a pot to cook the broccoli in water.)
1 box of noodles
5 pieces of pan cooked chicken (not chicken breast, chicken thigh is about the right size)
2 pieces of oven baked garlic pepper chicken (not chicken breast, chicken thigh is about the right size)

Parmesan cheese
2 Shallots
3 Garlic Cloves
Garlic salt and Garlic pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I tried two different chicken recipes as I wanted to see which one I liked best. Turns out I liked the pan cooked chicken for this recipe better than my tried and true oven baked chicken. Cook noodles, bake and pan cook chicken with garlic and shallots, microwave broccoli. Mix all together and drizzle more Extra Virgin Olive Oil on top. Grate some fresh Parmesan on top of finished dish.

*For even better results do what my parents did and get whole grain cracked pepper noodles. They're typically longer and look like Fettucine noodles. That would eliminate the need to make two different types of chicken and allow you to only use the pan cooked.

My Food Revolution: Pan Cooked Garlic Chicken

I saw this recipe on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution tv show. He was showing the kids of a single Dad how to cook a meal in under 40 minutes. The way they made the chicken looked easy enough and I decided I would try it out just for fun. I made mine a little more salty, because I have an addition to garlic salt, but season as you wish.

Pan Cooked Garlic Chicken
Chicken thighes (I use grass fed, free range)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Shallots
Garlic Cloves

Drizzle EVOO, add chicken, chopped shallots and garlic cloves. Cook until done. I add garlic salt at the beginning, just lightly for a little extra taste as I didn't use a sauce in the pasta dish I used this for. While still cooking I also pulled the chicken into smaller pieces. For more taste, add more shallots and garlic cloves.

My Food Revolution: Light, Crisp Salad

Taken from another former roommate's mother who had us over for dinner and supplemented a filling dinner with this light, fresh salad that was devoured. What I love about this salad is it's another great alternative to eating creamy salad dressing (filled with salt, fat and sugar.) Every salad you can get away from the Ranch or Bleu Cheese is good for you.

Light, Crisp Salad:


Hearts of Romaine lettuce
Salt and Pepper to taste
Either 6 drops of lemon juice or a slice of lemon squeezed
Extra Virgin Olive Oil to taste
Add favorite vegetables (Cherub Tomatoes, Baby Corn, Onions, Olives, etc.)

My Food Revolution: Sweet Potato Fries

There are a few things that are as satisfying as a burger and fries. Pair that grass fed, free range beef OR bison burger with a whole grain bun from Great Harvest and you're on the right track. But the fries can make or break the meal, so here's three different ways to make sweet potato fries.

Extra Sweet, Sweet Potato Fries
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Peel the potato(es) and then slice in half.
Cut the halves into smaller rectangles, I try to make them 1 cm on each side (the smaller the crunchier)
Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the fries (I also then take my Misto and spray the potatoes with more Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Sprinkle 1/4 Cup of Light Brown Sugar over the fries.
Cook for 20 minutes before turning the fries over. Cook until desire crispiness.
Season with salt and pepper before serving.
Sweet Potato Fries
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Peel the potato(es) and then slice in half.
Cut the halves into smaller rectangles, I try to make them 1 cm on each side (the smaller the crunchier)
Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the fries (I also then take my Misto and spray the potatoes with more Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Season with Cracked Black Pepper (not regular dinner table pepper, you want this to have a kick - you'll use less salt this way) and a teensy bit of salt. More pepper than salt.
Cook for 20 minutes before turning the fries over. Cook until desired crispiness.

Kick You in the Pants Sweet Potato Fries
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Peel the potato(es) and then slice in half.
Cut the halves into smaller rectangles, I try to make them 1 cm on each side (the smaller the crunchier)
Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the fries (I also then take my Misto and spray the potatoes with more Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Season with Red Chili Flakes, Paprika, Chili Powder, Cracked Black Pepper (not regular dinner table pepper, you want this to have a kick - you'll use less salt this way) and a teensy bit of salt.
Cook for 20 minutes before turning the fries over. Cook until desired crispiness.

My Food Revolution: San Antonio Style Guacamole

While visiting San Antonio for a wedding a few years back we went to every Mexican restaurant there was. Most had awful guacamole, you could find better stuff at Chipotle. But one spot, Bordeau's had great guacamole they made at your table. Here's the recipe in case you're looking for a great little treat. Experts recommend eating one half of an avocado a day due to its healthy nature. But beware of the food we typically add it to (tortilla chips and pre-packaged tortillas.) My sister makes her scrambled eggs with a little milk, salt and pepper and then adds either sliced avocado on top or sometimes a bit of rough guacamole. This would be the perfect guacamole recipe to use!

Bordeau's San Antonio Guacamole
1 Avocado - if ripe you should be able to take the pit out with the knife.
1/4 of a Orange - squeeze in the juice
1/2 of a Lime - squeeze in the juice
1 Tablespoon of chopped red onions (orange 'juice' lessens its sourness)
1 Teaspoon Kosher Sea Salt
2 Tablespoons of stewed tomatos (theirs had been marinated a certain way)

My Food Revolution: Summer Strawberry Salad

There's nothing better than the sun shining down while eating on the back porch with good friends and family. Nothing. BBQs are likely to be in full force by now and if you're looking for a great salad to hopefully cut down on the kids' (and let's be honest, you too) intake of the potatos chips this salad is so delicious you'll be reaching for seconds or thirds.

Summer Strawberry Salad:

Spinach leaves
Sliced Strawberries
Feta Cheese
Semi-crushed Pralines (or sugared walnuts)
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Option 1: Put each ingredient in separate bowl and allow guests to mix together.
Option 2: Two bags of spinach leaves, 3/4 of a container of sliced strawberries, 20 crushed Pralines, half a package of Feta Cheese.

My Food Revolution: Almond and Mandarin Orange Salad

Salad that tastes good enough to pass as dessert? Yes please! This recipe was taken after eating at a former roommate's parents' house. They brought this salad out and you can believe that it was gone before the end of the meal. It's tasty and a nice little treat. The dressing is available at Macy's, in the Cities it's available at the Ridgedale Macy's.

Oriental Salad:


Spinach Leaves & Romaine Lettuce mix
Mandarin Orange slices
Sliced Almonds
Warmed Sesame Dressing from Macy’s

My Food Revolution: Homemade Pasta Sauce

This was my first time making my own sauce so I turned to Teresa Guidice's 'Skinny Italian' for help. While I didn't use her actual recipe for the sauce I did use her canning tomatoes information. Even though I'm telling you how I did it here, it's worth the book just for her sauce recipes. I can't wait to try them!

1. First you'll need to buy some good Roma Tomatoes, for 1 lb of meat I'd get at least 10 good sized tomatoes. Wash tomatoes and place in a large pot bring water to a boil. I put tomatoes in before it was boiling.
2. Once the skin cracks on the tomatoes you will need to dump the hot water and run the tomatoes under cold water. I ran this for about five minutes. (While doing this I put my lean, free range and grass fed ground beef in a skillet on the lowest setting.)
3. Once the tomatoes had cooled a bit I grabbed the skin and pulled it off of all the tomatoes. (I would highly recommend doing this as it gets MESSY once you start to get rid of the seeds)
4. After all the tomatoes were skinless I grabbed a knife and cut off the top where the tomato would have connected to the vine. From here you'll see a white/yellow coloring form an I down the middle. I cut parallel to the I and then slightly squeezed the tomato over my sauce pan. I prevented seeds from getting in there an
5. just let the juice squeeze out of the tomato into my sauce pan. Then I finished cutting that part of the tomato off and put it in the pan and scooping the seeds out and throwing them in the plastic bag the tomatoes came in. Turn tomato over and repeat.
6. Once all the tomatoes were in the sauce pan I bought over to the stove and turned on low heat. I added a light sprinkle of garlic salt to the meat and flipped it over.
7. Heading back to the tomatoes I dug back in and broke up the tomatoes with my fingers. After I rinsed my hands off I added two tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, one diced shallot, a nice helping of Red Chili Flakes and a sprinkle of Garlic Salt. I let simmer.
8. Once the beef had finished cooking I drained it and added to the sauce. At this time I turned the sauce up to a medium low and stirred in the meat.
9. I put on a pot to boil water for the noodles. Afterwards I added a few small chunks of mozzarella to the sauce and stirred it in.
10. Once the noodles were finished I spooned the sauce onto a plate and grated some Parmesan on top. I used baked ciabatta bread to sop up the excess sauce after I finished eating.

To say this was the best Italian food I've had in awhile is an understatement. The sauce makes all the difference. :)

My Food Revolution: Gorgonzola Salad

The wider variety of food we eat the better off we are; diversification is good for us and that includes changing up the veggies we eat. Different foods give us different nutrients but more importantly changing it up hopefully means you won't get sick of the good stuff and head back for the unhealthy foods. Here's another salad recipe I love eating.

Gorgonzola Salad:
Hearts of Romaine
Purple Onion - 2 slices of the onion then chopped to desired size
Cherub Tomatoes
Gorgonzola Crumbles
Pepper to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette to taste

I threw this together for my family one time and ever since then I'm in charge of making the salad when we get together for holidays. It's easy, light, simple and even healthier for you than my favorite salad.

My Food Revolution: Simple Salad

Who doesn't need an easy, healthy salad in their recipe book that is easy on the budget? Here's a great one for just that.

Simple Salad:

Mixed Baby Greens

Cherub Tomatoes

Salt and Pepper to taste

Homemade Croutons
Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette to taste

I called this my 'Simple Salad' but it's also known as my 'running low on ingredients' salad or maybe 'running low on cash' salad. Fewer ingredients, easier to make, it's a good alternative if you're a little lazy but still want a good salad to eat. It's a good idea to only have Ranch (or whatever your naughty salad dressing is) once a day. If possible, once every few days. The more often you can use Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette the better.

My Food Revolution: More of What I'm Eating

Earlier this month I told you what I was eating, and I thought two weeks later might be a good time to share some more recipes I've been using with you. The more I learn about what I'm eating the easier it is to keep eating healthy. I found that many homemade dinners can be easily altered with a healthy substitute that tastes fabulous and isn't processed. Here's a few pointers.

Ditch the Texas Toast:

Ever look at the back of your garlic toast box and look up the ingredients? It's not pretty and what's even worse is how coated in yellow the toast is. It's probably not even butter but whatever it is, it sure is delicious. How are you supposed to cut that out of your diet? Easy enough if you have the right tools.

Garlic Ciabatta Bread

Healthy Snacking:
Every good intention can be undermined by buying pre-made snacks. Forget the calories, count the ingredients. If there are more ingredients than the number of fingers or toes you have it's probably not the best thing for you. The best snacks are ones that are simple and delicious. It's not always so easy to bring fruit with you so grab something else that's great for you! For a great on the go alternative make your own trail mix.

Courtney's Trail Mix

When I told you about LARABAR I didn't tell you they were about $1.50 - $2.00 each. For some people that's just not doable. The other recipe I was given is a little more putzy than this one which I found on Prevention.com so I share it with you now.

Prevention's Granola Bars
When I was little I used to call asparagus ass-per-gas and refused to eat it. Then one day a friend's mom made a quiche with bacon and asparagus in it. I cut a small slice and was determined to eat it to be polite. After the first bite I was hooked, I loved asparagus. While I've had asparagus in the quiche several times since, I've only recently ventured out to eating it in a healthier way.

Asparagus

Change is CONSTANT:
Even after two weeks I continually change what I'm eating. I've replaced Lay's Potato Chips with homemade Popcorn, an apple and string cheese at lunch. For an after dinner treat I eat organic strawberries and blueberries OR I hanker down with Haagen Daz Chocolate Ice Cream and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Why Haagen Daz? Each ice cream previously mentioned has five to six ingredients without compromising taste. This is old fashioned style ice cream, the kind that even your grandmother's grandmother would recognize as ice cream when reading the ingredients. It's so rich and heavenly you can eat less and feel satisfied. It's a win-win.

My Food Revolution: Asparagus

Asparagus:
Asparagus Tips
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Black Pepper

To make this in oven place the asparagus on some aluminum foil over a cookie sheet. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle the olive oil, garlic salt and black pepper over the asparagus. Bake for fifteen minutes.

*To make this on the grill combine the asparagus, olive oil, garlic salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well. Place on the grill, turning over once one side has browned. Average cook time is five minutes.

My Food Revolution: Prevention's Granola Bars

Prevention's Granola Bars:


2 C Granola
3/4 C Almonds
3/4 C Chopped Dried Fruit
1/2 to 3/4 C Dark Chocolate Chips
1/3 C Sugar (half brown, half white)
2 Egg Whites
2 TB Whole Wheat Flour

Pre-heat the oven for 300 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together before placing on aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, let cool before cutting into bars.

*Make on Sunday to enjoy the following week for breakfast while running out the door to work.
**Try mixing and matching as shown in the picture.

Check out the video from Prevention.com here.

My Food Revolution: Trail Mix

Courtney's Trail Mix:

- Almonds

- Dark Chocolate Chips

- Dried Plantane (what we assume to be dried Banana)

- Raisins

- Peanuts

- Sunflower seeds (without the shell)

*Add the amount of ingredients which you desire.

My Food Revolution: Garlic Ciabatta Bread

Garlic Ciabatta Bread:

One loaf of take and bake Ciabata Bread
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the Ciabatta bread on aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil and brush all over the top. Sprinkle garlic salt on the top. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
*After bread has cooled cut leftover bread and then wrap in tinfoil before placing in the freezer for later use. When you want to eat it again simply let it defrost. Voila! You have bread that isn't stale!

My Food Revolution: What I'm Eating

So I tweeted last night that I had lost weight and even dropped two inches in the ribcage area. Most of my friends asked for a few simple recipes I've been using. If you read some of my previous posts you can find my salad recipe and the type of bread I'm using. Going 'whole wheat' is not enough. Buying bread fresh that lasts 7-10 days and contains about five ingredients is what you need to be doing. I've switched to free range, grass fed beef and chicken as well as eggs. I am eating organic fruits and vegetables and try to buy local at all times.
For breakfast I eat a banana and granola bars (which I will be replacing!), for lunch I have my new bread w/naturals peanut butter, honey from a glass jar (that's made in Minnesota), string cheese, chips (Lay's only have potatoes, oil and salt), and a salad. I eat something listed below for dinner and then try to have grapes or an apple for dessert before eating a piece of chocolate or making on the stove popcorn (I use olive oil to pop it and then real butter with salt to top it.)

By removing fast food, soda and 'Lean Cuisines' I have felt better, enjoyed eating, and as noted dropped weight. This isn't a diet, this is a lifestyle change. It's time we take our health back and tell the food industry we are worth it.

So here are some simple, recipes anyone can do.

Garlic Pepper Chicken

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Sautéed Summer Squash

Oven Roasted Potatoes with Summer Vegetables

Oven Baked Salmon

My Food Revolution: Oven Roasted Potatoes with Summer Vegetables

Oven Roasted Potatoes with Summer Vegetables:
Potatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and summer squash in a pan, preheat oven to 400 and lightly drizzle olive oil. Season w/pepper, garlic salt, etc. Heat for at least 45 minutes.
*Or grill on low for an hour on top of aluminum foil or in a Reynold's Aluminum Foil 'bag'.
**Feel free to add additional vegetables.