Wednesday, February 29, 2012

GRAPEFRUIT WITH GINGER SYRUP & MINT


To everyone who took time to vote about which recipe you'd like to see more of on this site, thank you!  I will try to add more breakfast options.  Most of the time I eat breakfast in my car, & I tend to grab the same things every day: 

FLEXIBLE, HEALTHY, DELICIOUS GRANOLA


Granola is so easy to make, I often wonder why anyone ever buys it pre-made.  I make a modified version of "the absolute best healthy granola" recipe from The Family Chef.  See the "More" section below for substitution ideas & serving suggestions.  This can be made gluten-free if gluten-free oats are used.  My version is gluten-free.


GINGER SYRUP

The first time I ever had ginger syrup was when I made ginger gelato last November.   The recipe called for ginger pieces simmered in simple syrup for an hour.  The pieces went into the gelato, & the sweet/spicy ginger-infused syrup was left over.  I used it on pancakes, in oatmeal, in green tea, & with plain yogurt with fruit.  Now, if I have ginger root left over from preparing a meal, I make ginger syrup.  Ginger syrup can be used to make easy ginger ale, & the pieces can be used in baking (for example, Lemon-ginger walnut bread), in granola, making ice cream, or as a simple treat.  

Monday, February 27, 2012

TURKEY (OR TOFU) CURRY with POTATO, CARROT, & GREEN PEAS

I used to love yellow curry with potato, carrot, & chicken from Thai restaurants.  A while ago my coworker described a simple meal her mother-in-law makes which tastes similar to my favorite Thai dish, but doesn't have coconut or chicken.  I made it from memory for dinner tonight with ground turkey.  If you prefer chicken, roasted turkey, tofu, or no meat at all,  you can use my recipe as a starting point.  If you don't have the exact ingredients or quantities, use what you have; this is a very flexible recipe.  





INGREDIENTS (Yield = 6-8 servings) 

Sunday, February 26, 2012

AWESOME WORKOUT by BODYROCKER TEE

Tonight I did a rep-based workout made up by a Bodyrocker.  It can be done using a dumbbell, kettleball, or weight-filled bag if you don't have a sandbag.


TEE'S 1000 REP WORKOUT
100 high knees with jump rope
25 pushups with 2 knee tucks

CAJUN SALMON SALAD WITH TANGERINES & PECANS



I love this salad!  The spicy salmon is beautifully offset by the sweet tangerine & toasted pecans.  This can stand alone for a meal, & also goes well with rice on the side.  When I first served this to my salmon-hating brother, he told me he liked it.  I wish I could find the original recipe to give credit, but I cannot find it anywhere.  

Saturday, February 25, 2012

BEET GREENS, CARROT, & HERB SALAD

I threw a salad together for lunch today, & it turned out delicious.  If you don't have these ingredients, improvise with what you have.  I have a 5lb bag of carrots I'm working on, & beet greens left over from roasted beets I made earlier in the week*, so I used them in this salad.  I like to make dressing in a bowl, then add all of the salad ingredients to that bowl.  

INGREDIENTS (1 serving)

BAKED PEARS WITH CURRANTS, CRANBERRIES, & PECANS

I started making this dessert from Bon Appetit a few years ago for holiday family gatherings.  It's easy, flexible, delicious, & perfect when food allergies or Celiac disease are an issue.  It's a great dessert, but it also is wonderful with oatmeal for breakfast.  I always make a few extra so that I can have breakfast pears!  The version I'm posting contains pecans, but typically I do not use nuts in this recipe.   


INGREDIENTS (yield = 6 pears)

Friday, February 24, 2012

ZUZANA'S CARROT GINGER SAUCE (or soup) WITH TURKEY, B+ modified

I wish I could say this was a Jessica original, but that would be a lie.  It is a modification of one of the tastiest meals I've ever had: Zuzana's chicken in ginger carrot sauce.  I first made this meal before beginning to eat per my blood type.  Four of the original recipe's ingredients (chicken, chicken broth, coconut milk, & cinnamon) are foods that I am supposed to avoid, so this has been on my 'to modify" list.  Organic carrots were a STEAL at the grocery store this week, so last night I did a makeover on Zuzana's awesome recipe.

This sauce can easily be a soup if you prefer; just add more liquid.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

QUINOA PRIMAVERA

A well-stocked kitchen has advantages.  If you forget to defrost meat (like I did today), but have quinoa & some fresh vegetables, you have ingredients to make a healthy, balanced meal.  Tonight I used quinoa, fresh vegetables, & herbs from my balcony to make what I'm calling Quinoa Primavera.  If you don't have the exact ingredients I used, use what you have.  This was an improvised meal, so change it to suit your supplies &/or taste!


Monday, February 20, 2012

INTERVAL WORKOUTS

When I don't have time to look for a workout online or I forget my workout log at home, I make up my own routine.   Here are some interval workouts I've made up (I'm sorry that there aren't pictures or videos). 

2/2012: PARK WORKOUT
Equipment: Mat & Timer
PART 1 & 3
10/30 x 6 rounds
= 4 min per Part
PART 1
PART 3
1
2
1
2
1-leg side hop + side kick, alternating




side burpee + knee tuck




Reptile + leg lift
(lift up for glutes)




PART 2 & 4
3 min countdown, maximum reps of:
PART 2
PART 4
1 rep = 
10 jump lunges à plank Ã 
2 push-ups à rollover à
10 knee hugs à roll over & power up



REP CHALLENGE WORKOUTS

Sometimes I make up my own workouts.  Here are some of them.  I don't have videos or pictures to accompany these...sorry!  

5/17/2011: MAY PARK WORKOUT 
Equipment: Timer, Jump Rope, Mat
Time Challenge: Finish all exercises as fast as possible with good form.   Do 2 rounds for time
TIME
1
2
TOTAL



Jump Rope, med intensity
100 jumps
Side Plank Twist w/3sec hold
20, alt
Forward-Backward Lunges
15/leg
Jump Rope, high knees
100 jumps
Jump Rope, high knees
100 jumps
Sumo Squat with overhead press
15
Push-ups
15
Jump Rope Jacks
Each jump apart = 1 jumps
50 jumps
Jump Rope Jacks
Each jump apart = 1 jumps
50 jumps
Tricep Dips + leg lift, alt
20

9/14/2011: I LOVE MY NEW FITBALL! WORKOUT
Equipment: Timer, fitball or medicine ball/dumbbell
This is a great at-home quiet workout that I did barefoot.
As a bonus, do 1 round.  For a workout, do 3 rounds.
Reps
Exercise
Time
300
Ball pulse squeezes (Lie on back, knees bent with ball between knees.  Squeeze knees together & squeeze glutes, lifting butt off the ground.

50
Reverse plank knee tucks, hands on ball

20
1-arm on ball push-up alt (knees)

20/leg
1-leg squat with other foot lightly balanced on ball

30
Ball pass (lie on back, pass ball from hands to feet)

25 per leg
1-leg bridge leg lift on ball

10
1-arm on ball push-up alt (knees)

15
Ab Chopper with ball


Get your workout gear here.

Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of this site regarding workouts posted on this site. 

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Sunday, February 19, 2012

WALNUT ENCRUSTED ORANGE ROUGHY WITH HERBED MILLET & GREEN BEANS

Tonight I made a fish recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Family Chef.  I barely modified the original recipe, changing only the recommended spice blend.   We ate our wild-caught fish with organic green beans sauteed in a little olive oil & garlic with herb-garlic millet.  My meat-&-potato-loving-husband has been very patient with my kitchen adventures & the new grains showing up on our dinner plates.  We both really enjoyed this meal!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

TANGERINE GINGER BAKED SALMON (with BROWN RICE, MILLET, & PEAS)


I am still working on my tangerines.  Tonight I used them with salmon, & was very pleased with the result.  I wasn't sure how to make a tangerine sauce, so I consulted my new favorite book, The Improvisational Cook.  I didn't find anything obvious in there that said, "tangerines are great paired with these flavors," so I decided to get creative.  This is delicious with either fresh or powdered ginger, but having made it twice, I recommend

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

TANGERINE VINAIGRETTE

My Grandmother grows the best tangerines.  Recently she sent me home with more than I can eat.  This is my first attempt to turn them into something else beside a snack.  

Sunday, February 12, 2012

ROASTED TURKEY BREAST & BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Saturday night I had a half turkey breast, butternut squash, & fresh herbs waiting to be made into a meal.  I roasted them all together for dinner, toasted the squash seeds for a snack, & made curried soup with the left-over squash.  If you don't have fresh herbs, dried will work too.  

Friday, February 10, 2012

BLUEBERRY PINEAPPLE SMOOTHIE-TINI

Who says gin, vodka, & vermouth are the only liquids worthy of a martini glass?  I made a post-bike ride/pre-workout smoothie the other day & decided to drink it from this funky glass (which has never had a martini in it).  This is the simplest smoothie I make.  It has only 4 ingredients & makes a wonderful breakfast or snack.  For breakfast, I would double the ingredients listed below.  Everything about this is flexible, so add or subtract as you see fit. :)  

Thursday, February 9, 2012

BLOOD TYPE GENETICS

Tonight someone asked me if you can determine your blood type based on that of your spouse & kids, if you know all of theirs, but not your own.  If someone reading this can answer better than my attempt, please correct me or add to this post!  

I dusted off an old biology text book & looked for the section on blood type genetics.  (Campbell, Neil A. Biology. 4th Edition. Riverside, CA; The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. 1996.)

Basically, there are 4 blood types: O, A, B, & AB.  Blood type is determined the absence or presence of a blood protein on your blood cell.  Which protein you do or do not have is controlled by multiple alleles of one gene.  There are 3 alleles: i (recessive), Ia (co-dominant with Ib) & Ib (co-dominant with Ia).  You get one from each parent, & the combination of the two alleles is your genotype.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

DELICIOUS CABBAGE SALAD

Once in a while I buy lunch from a delicious Armenian restaurant.  The main reason I go there is to have a refreshing, light, lemony, cabbage salad.  Tonight I successfully recreated my favorite lunchtime side dish!  I made a gigantic batch because I plan to share. I used twice the ingredient quantities below.  

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

EASY & DELICIOUS OATMEAL PANCAKE


Most mornings I rush out of my apartment with something healthy I can eat in my car & wonder if I'll ever be a "morning person."  Days that I don't have to work, I like to spend more time making breakfast.  Oatmeal pancakes are one of my favorite things to make.  While I'm not a fan of diets, some of them have great recipes, & the South Beach Diet Oatmeal Pancake is no exception.  The only thing I change about their version is that I use 2 whole eggs rather than 4 egg whites, & I always add fruit.  Today I added 1/2 banana to the pancake batter, dropped frozen blueberries into the pancake,  & served with honey the other banana half sliced.  I plan on going for a long bike ride, so that's why I added banana & honey.  Sometimes I top the pancake with 100% maple syrup, just honey, mashed berries, or apple butter. 

EATING HEALTHY WHEN YOU'RE BROKE & PRESSED FOR TIME

Tonight I went to Bodyrock.tv to log my workout scores for today, & instead have ended up writing a new post.  The first thing I read in the recent comments was a question I used to have to answer for myself all the time:  how do you eat healthy when time & money are scarce?