grain and simple

I'm taking a class this quarter in school called "Food for Fitness". It literally is as if this class was made for me - we learn about all different foods and ingredients, their health benefits, and then we cook using them! I was given permission to take pictures of the food we make in class, so I'm really excited that I can share the recipes here!

Our first unit is about whole grains - those that contain all three parts of the kernel (the bran, the germ, and the endosperm). During the refining process, the bran and germ are removed, stripping grains of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Processing adds back some vitamins and minerals to enrich refined grains, but whole grains are healthier - naturally - and provide much more protein, vitamins, and minerals. Also, whole grains reduce risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

In the brown rice pilaf we made in class today (take notice of the different kitchen and equipment!) there were lots of health benefits. The brown rice provides manganese, which helps produce energy from protein and carbohydrates and is involved in the synthesis of fatty acids, which are important for a healthy nervous system and in the production of cholesterol. Brown rice is also rich in fiber and selenium, which is fundamental to metabolic pathways, antioxidant defense systems, and immune function.

The olive oil used helps lower bad cholesterol and is high in antioxidants, the onions give a good boost of vitamin C (which helps the immune system), the celery freshens breath and acts as a "natural aspirin", carrots improve vision, teeth and gums, cleanses the body, and helps with anti-aging, and the parsley is rich in vitamins and flushes out excess fluid.

This recipe is very basic and very simple, and if I were to make it again I would either add spices to it, hot sauce, or a balsamic reduction.

Here's what you need:
yields 4 servings
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, minced
2 cups short grain brown rice
1/4 cup vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste (and added spices or dressings)

1. Wash, dry, and chop vegetables. Mince parsley.

2. Heat oil in a large sauce pan.*

3. Saute the carrots, onion, green pepper, and celery for 5 minutes until tender.

4. Add brown rice and cook for another minute.

5. Add vegetable broth and cook until it's absorbed.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add minced parsley.

7. Enjoy!!

*Make sure the oil doesn't heat up too much. Something I learned in class today is that when heating up oil, if it starts to smoke it's been heated too much because molecularly it has changed and becomes a carcinogen.

orange you excited?

Lately I've been super busy.. getting back into the swing of things at school and trying to get all my college applications done. I love being busy though and I love knowing I have a full week ahead, even though I have to be at school tomorrow at 6:30 to make something up in my bio class. That's why this breakfast is perfect - it's super easy and pretty filling.

For on-the-go mornings, this hidden green smoothie is tangy and delicious, and you would have no idea there's spinach in it... except that I just told you.. oops!

Smoothies are a great way to start your day if you're one of those people that doesn't like to eat breakfast. This smoothie is packed with everything you need to get you going; the berries offer many vitamins and minerals, as well as disease-fighting antioxidants and fiber for digestion. Orange juice, although sugary, provides a significant amount of vitamin C, protects against inflammation, and decreases bad cholesterol levels. Spinach - the not-so-secret ingredient - is one of the most nutritious foods there is. Low in calories and high in vitamins, spinach is something called nutrient-dense, which means that for the amount of calories, it is very rich in nutrients. Spinach also improves cardiovascular health, has cancer-fighting antioxidants, and improves brain function.

Here's what you need:
yields 2 servings
1 cup orange juice 
2 cups mixed frozen berries
1 1/2 cup loosely packed spinach 

1. Add all ingredients to the blender. Blend on "liquify" until all chunks and green specks are gone. 

2. Enjoy!

References: http://www.livestrong.com/article/2700-facts-health-benefits-spinach/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/403822-health-benefits-of-orange-juice/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/524539-nutritional-values-of-blueberries-strawberries/

shuka it up

As I promised when I got back from Israel, I have here a recipe for the sauce that goes with a very popular breakfast there, called Shakshuka. The tomato sauce is filled with vegetables, and it's very easy to add anything that you want to it. So far my family has made this with zucchini in it, and with okra. 

In order to make Shakshuka (which I haven't done yet), poach an egg and place it in a bowl of this sauce. It's a perfect breakfast and is certain to keep you full until lunch. The egg is a great source of protein, and the vegetables start your day off well. Tomatoes, which are the main ingredient, are good for weight control, immunity, heart disease, and osteoporosis. This is also just a great way to fit tomatoes into your diet if you don't like them (like me!). No matter how much I try, I can't get myself to eat a slice of tomato; making such a good sauce like this makes it easy to eat tomatoes though!

You could either make this as a side dish with the vegetables in it (zucchini, okra), you could make

Shakshuka out of it, or even just put this homemade tomato sauce on pasta and call it a dinner!

This recipe is very flexible, and if you want to add more or less of certain ingredients, you can! It's up to you to shak[e] it up however you want!

Here's what you need:

yields a lot of sauce

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce (no salt added) 

5 garlic cloves

2 small onions

8 oz mushrooms

crushed red pepper (as much as you want)

1. Cut up onions and mushrooms. Mince garlic.

2. In a large pan or Wok, saute garlic and onions, then add in mushrooms and saute. 

3. Add in fire roasted tomatoes, then crushed tomatoes, then tomato sauce and mix all together. Add in crushed red pepper. Simmer until all the flavors have come together.

4. Enjoy!

Resource: http://www.livestrong.com/article/408302-tomato-health-benefits/

stepping into my roll

Summer is coming to an end, and with the beginning of school comes all the roles I have to fit into again. Student, club leader, college applicant (yikes!), and of course blogger! Before summer ended though, I had a potluck dinner with some of my friends and my role was to bring a side dish. So I decided to bring southwestern spring rolls; something different and new to try, plus loaded with veggies!

I've learned through each potluck I cook for that if we all make super filling dishes, none of us end up feeling good at the end of the night. That's why I thought these spring rolls would be good. All of my friends have learned not to make super heavy dishes (and to make healthy ones!), and that way we all can enjoy everything without feeling guilty for it afterwards.

Another successful potluck!

These spring rolls are packed with vegetables and spices, and although I wouldn't make these often (it's tedious to roll them one by one), I found it interesting to learn how to. I also wouldn't make them often because I don't like to used pre-packaged wrappers - they were a little higher in salt than I would like but I didn't have the time to make my own wrappers from scratch.

*I'm not sure if all spring roll wrappers follow the same instructions, but I just followed what the back of the package directed me to do

Here's what you need:
yields 12 spring rolls
1 cup canned corn
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
5 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dried
3/4 cup cheese blend (I used Monterey Jack)
2 ounces (1/2 can) chopped green chilies, drained
2 green onions
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 package spring roll wrappers 

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients (except the wrappers).

I microwaved my spinach for 20 seconds to thaw it out 

2. Fill a tin with warm water and submerge the wrapper  for 15 seconds. Once it's sticky, dry it in a towel and fill it with a spoonful of the vegetable mixture. Fold sides toward the center over filling and roll tightly to seal.

Look really closely and you can see the wrapper on the towel

I used the knife to cut off some of the extra wrapper, I think it was too big 

3. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Make sure not to remove from baking sheet until they've cooled a little bit (the thin wrappers will open up!)

4. Enjoy!!

drinking too much coffee causes a latte problems

Yesterday ended all the traveling I've done for the summer, and as great as the places I went were, I'm happy to be home. The main journey of my summer was to Israel, the first time I've visited another country! Now that I'm home though I've brought back a lot of recipes with the Mediterranean style which I really liked while I was there!

SPOILER: In Israel they eat a lot of vegetables (my favorite), so get ready for plenty of new Mediterranean dishes coming up!

One of the not-so-healthy treats that I loved to get while I was in Israel though was their iced coffee. Instead of just making coffee and sticking ice cubes in it, Israeli iced coffee is more of a slushy type drink. There's one chain of cafes (I would sort of compare it to Panera Bread) called Aroma and they have the best iced coffee in Israel.

Now that I'm home and missing the delicious drink, I tried making my own version of it. Of course it's not as perfectly sweet because I didn't add all the sugar in, but it tastes good and it's easy to make! Plus I'm still trying to enjoy the last bits of summer, and this frozen coffee is perfect for my denial that summer is ending.

 I'm not a huge coffee drinker because I don't let myself drink it so much - I don't want to get hooked on it (because I know I will!) not yet at least! There are a lot of benefits from coffee though. It can help with both long- and short-term memory improvement, lower risk of diabetes, boost your metabolism, and there are actually a lot of antioxidants in coffee (more than in some fruits and vegetables!). Drinking coffee in moderation (and without all the added sugars and creamers) can be very beneficial to your health!

Here's what you need:

yields 1 mug iced coffee

1 cup of coffee (as you like it) - I used vanilla almond milk to make it sweeter

1. Make your cup of coffee in a mug you can freeze.

2. Freeze the coffee for 6 hours, mixing it around halfway through.

3. Enjoy!

Resources: http://www.livestrong.com/article/557242-how-drinking-coffee-could-improve-your-health/