Smoke Salmon Lentil salad

Sometimes a simple side salad is not comprised of lettuce. this is a very quick and easy recipe to add to a spring or summer meal for freshness

1 cup dried lentils

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cored/chopped Red bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 Lemon

1 medium chopped red onion

4 OZ smoked salmon chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Cook Lentils in Vegetable stock on low medium heat, to prevent from over cooking.

Lentils should not be soft all the way through.

Rinse/strain lentils, in cold water, after cooking to remove excess skins and to chill.

Add chilled lentils to all other ingredients in large salad bowl.

Squeeze lemon over mixture and slowly fold the mix to distribute the lemon juice.

Swai with Peach Salsa

Some people, myself included, have been searching a lifetime for that fish that doesn’t taste or smell like FISH.
I have found the best option to date.

Tilapia was high on my list for this because of its very light texture and light fishy flavor. But, the health world says Tilapia is not really good for you due to the amounts of Mercury and other toxins that are absorbed into the fish from their environment.

So the search goes on…and lo and behold….SWAI, or Basa, or Vietnamese catfish, or White Roughy. It is called many things by many different cultures that use it. This fish is so light it will take any seasonings you throw at it and come out tasting exactly like the seasoning. Fluffy, flaky and oh so tasty. It is not the highest in omega-3’s and not the lowest in toxins. But it is safe to eat 2-3 times a week, and frankly, that is all the fish I can eat.

So here is one recipe from this past week:

1 Swai filet (about 6 oz)
Zest from 1 medium lemon
1 medium peach-peeled, seeded and diced
¼ cup Jalapenos-seeded and diced
¼ cup red onions-diced
¼ cup Cilantro-finely chopped
2 tsps Brown Sugar
2 Dashes of salt
2 Dashes of pepper
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of cinnamon
2 cups precooked white rice(preferably Jasmine rice---great flavor)

Method:

In a separate container, combine diced peaches, jalapenos, onions, cilantro
Garlic powder, cinnamon, brown sugar and 1 dash each of salt and pepper. Stir with wooden spoon until
Thoroughly mixed.

Preheat 10” frying pan to Medium heat.
Spoon Peach salsa mixture into the pan to cover a space large enough to lay the fish on top of.
Season the fish on both side with remaining dashes of pepper and salt.
Lay fish on top of peach mixture in frying pan. Cover fish with remaining peach mixture.
Continue to cook fish on each side for about 3-4 minutes at medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low
For about 1 minute per side.

Plating:

Place ½ cup of precooked rice on one side of plate. Place ½ of fish on other side of plate.
Pour peach mixture over rice and fish.

Makes two full meals.

Zucchini and Asparagus

Ok, probably my two most absolute favorite vegetables...seriously.
Last night, I didn't really feel like cooking, but being at home, I have to make some thing wonderful and delicious for my wife...right?
This is strictly a vegetarian dish, but either one could be added as a side dish for any meal.

Ingredients:
4 good sized Zucchini Squash(about 1 1/2 " in dia by about 6-8" long)
1 lb(or bunch) Asparagus
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
a dash of salt(literally a pinch between your fingers)
1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 tbsp grated light parmesan cheese
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Blend

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the Zucchinis in half long ways. Trim the asparagus to have no white on the stalks, just the most tender parts.
In a 9X12 glass baking dish, arrange the asparagus on one end, to take up about one fourth of the baking dish. First, sprinkle the olive oil over the asparagus, then dash of salt, then fresh black pepper.  Work the asparagus so that all stalks are slightly coated with oil, salt and pepper.
Arrange the Zucchini to fill the other 3/4 of the baking dish. Sprinkle the Zucchini with the parmesan cheese, then sprinkle the Mrs. Dash over the entire baking dish.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil to trap heat, which will steam the veggies.  Place in pre-heated oven for not more than 15 minutes. Remove foil, and change oven to broil for 5 minutes or until parmesan cheese is golden brown.

Makes 4 generous servings.
I did not calculate nutritional info on this dish because, frankly, no additives, no preservatives, fresh vegetables, and seasonings is pretty healthy.
Tip:
Make sure you use the 'light' parmesan cheese to keep the fat down. 1Tbsp has 85 mg of sodium, so if you break that out into 4 servings, you get 21.25mg of sodium from the cheese, and the dash of salt is fairly negligible, but we'll call it 40mg...which brings us to 31.25 mg of sodium per serving...well below Dr. recommended intake of 140 mg per serving.
Also, remember, some vegetables have natural sodium, like tomatoes, and asparagus, and corn, so when you are working on a low sodium meal, take those veggies into account as well.

One more thing; If you are on a "six small meals a day" type of diet, this will go great as a mid afternoon snack.

Turkey Sausage

Here we go.  The Taquitos called for Turkey Sausage:

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey(93% lean gives the best flavor to fat ratio)
1 tsp ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Spicy Blend
1/2 tsp Sage
1/4 tsp Poultry Seasoning
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Salt

Method:
Place all dry ingredients(herbs and spices) into a spice blender or pestle for grinding.
Grind spices until at a fine dust consistency. (almost to what the sage was before you added it)
Place 1lb ground turkey into large mixing bowl. Sprinkle spice mixture onto ground turkey and begin to mix by hand.  Mix thoroughly so that spices are well blended into ground turkey.
Cover and place into refrigerator for one hour.  This will give the spices time to "set in".

Preparation:
This can be molded into about 12 individual pattys or links for a traditional breakfast, or mixed with eggs in the following recipe for Taquitos.


Enjoy!

Easy Breakfast Taquitos

Ok.  Since everyone will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, what better place to start than there.  I had to do some research on this one so I could bring you all of the nutritional facts, so that you could see this was a healthy alternative to a traditional southwest style breakfast.  Keeping in mind that nutrition is only part of the battle, i.e. if you eat 5 taquitos, you are exceeding the recommended serving size, and therefore are consuming many more times the quantities quoted for each serving.  So, without further ado or explanation:

Ingredients:
1 dozen white corn tortillas
1 lb Turkey Sausage (recipe will follow)
8 Large Grade AA cage free eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
cooking spray

Method:
Beat 8 eggs and buttermilk in a large mixing bowl with hand beater.  Beat until slightly foaming, or on the verge of whipped. (you want the eggs really fluffy.)
Lightly spray a heated skillet with cooking spray.  Scramble eggs in skillet until almost completely done, then add Turkey Sausage.  Continue to cook and stir until eggs are completely done, and sausage to egg ratio is about 1-2.
Spoon about 2-3 tbsp of egg/sausage mix into each tortilla.

Makes:
12 Taquitos of which each is 1 serving.

Nutritional facts:(per serving)
Calories---149
Fat---6g
Sodium--131mg
Sugars---0
Calories from Fat---50

All of this nutritional information was gathered from each of the products themselves and then calculated to the servings size that I suggest.
Fruit is an integral part of every days food intake, and with few exceptions is generally not bad for you at any time in any way.
If you add half of an apple or half of an orange, or some other fleshy tree fruit to this breakfast, you will feel satisfied, and have energy from the natural sugars provided from the fruit.
Diabetics, of course, need to be cautious about their fruit consumption through the day as they monitor the total sugar  intake.

I hope this gets some of you off to a good start tomorrow morning, I know it will me.
Good luck, and good eating.

Healthy alternatives to Traditional recipes

Right now with the swing towards eating more healthily, which I agree with, I have had some requests for   traditional favorites, but healthy versions.  This is a very difficult task.  Healthy for who? is the first question.  Many different requirements across the board for healthy eating: low fat, low sodium, low sugar, low potassium, low carb, high protein...take your pick.
The best thing I can try to do is combine as many of these needs into a single days menu, and let you work out the variety of options for the main protein and side dishes based on your needs and desires.
So with that in mind, I leave you with this thought: dieting is for the birds, and any Doctor who is really concerned about your health will tell you: crash diets don't work. The best way to lose weight and keep it off is with exercise and the right amounts of the right types of food at the right times of the day for your lifestyle.
So coming soon, I hope later today, I will have the first installment of a daily menu that focuses on healthy, portion conscious, ingredient conscious meals.
See you soon.