Meal plan

This afternoon I spent a few hours making some lunch/dinner options for myself. The H has a short business trip this week, so I made this curried cauliflower soup (spicy!) and a double batch of my beloved kale-quinoa to get me through most of the week without having to think too much about food prep. We had "House Chipotle"** for dinner, one of the little guy's favorites, which means 2) HE ATE SOMETHING and 2) I now have four more 2-cup portions of black beans in my basement freezer.

The dinner parts of our week will look like this:

Sunday - House Chipotle (**seasoned black beans, cilantro-lime rice, and shredded cheese...with diced tomatoes, salsa verde, and soft corn shells for The H and me)

Monday - tortellini in red sauce for the little guy, one of my soup portions for me with a hunk of naan

Tuesday - eggs on toast, fresh fruit, decaf coffee (after running group)

Wednesday - split pea soup with diced lean ham in the slow cooker

Thursday - GF pancakes for my men, one of my kale-quinoa bowls and an ahi tuna steak for me after running and yoga

Friday - GF pizza (excellent pre-long-run fuel!)

I've been enjoying real oatmeal with nuts, a fruit, chia seeds, and pure maple syrup for breakfast, but also bought a bag of spinach and some bananas so I can make a green shake to mix things up once in awhile. Happy eating!

Food prep day

I didn't really plan it, but this afternoon I did a giant amount of food prep while the little guy napped. It started with a trip to the farmer's market this morning, where I got some beautiful rainbow-colored Swiss chard. I was inspired by the cold salad a friend made for our post-run meal last night. When I got home to put away my colorful produce (also including peaches, corn, cucumbers, and salsa), I remembered the beets I'd bought last week. They were quickly prepped for roasting, though sadly I waited too long and the greens weren't good to use like I have before:

On to the chard...

Ten stalks of chard got washed, trimmed, and sauteed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then mixed with sauteed mushrooms, a chopped carrot, a green onion, freshly minced garlic, dried thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes. All of this was mixed with precooked quinoa, and stashed back in the fridge. Dinner side dish/lunch-to-go done.

As the chard-quinoa was mingling flavors and warming through, I started a batch of adzuki beans. They don't require presoaking like many dried beans, and they cook in just about an hour. Great to have available for any number of midweek meals! I'm looking forward to making these burgers, since I also have a few partially-used bell peppers in the crisper.

While the adzukis simmered away, the beets finished roasting. They were gorgeous! Each one just bigger than a golfball, and such a beautiful shade of magenta. I've been craving one of my summer favorites, this beet salad, for a few weeks. For the first time since I started making it, today I toasted the walnuts in a dry skillet before I added them. What a great difference! I used crumbled bleu cheese instead of feta, tossed in some organic celery, dressed it all with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, pink sea salt, and fresh black pepper, and returned it to the refrigerator. Lunches/snack for me done.

While I was poking around in the fridge, I realized we were out of rice. Thanks to the rice cooker, another batch (plain, white--to feed the gastrointestinally-challenged dog) was ready in a half an hour. Right around this time, two hours after he'd gone down, the little guy woke up. While the rice cooked, I prepped some steaks for The H to grill and stirred up another summer favorite, cucumber-sweet-onion salad. Those two things just get thinly sliced and simply dressed with a mixture of plain yogurt, white balsamic (or red wine) vinegar, evaporated cane juice, sea salt, and pepper. The H and I enjoyed this with dinner, and I was a little bummed I didn't think to make leftovers. Tangy, cool, and refreshing-- the candy onion I used isn't halitosis-inducing at all. Definitely buying more of those at the market! Another dinner side dish done, dog supplement done.

Once the rice was ready, I piled some into the dog's bowl with a scoop of pumpkin and some plain yogurt so he could go to town. The H brought in the steaks, and we sat down to eat. Just then I realized it was the first time I'd sat down since the little guy and I got home from our morning/afternon errands, and my feet were pretty darn tired. But I felt so accomplished! It's a great feeling to have these goodies and makings of meals, along with a stash of my beloved kale-quinoa-chickpeas, in the fridge heading into the weekend. Happy Friday!

Sorry, Wednesday

I just now realized that I entirely skipped over Wednesday in my "mini meal plan" post. I must have really been lacking inspiration. Turns out my fortuitously-timed cooking mood from yesterday solved that problem nicely; the quinoa-adzuki burgers we had were delightful. Even for the little guy! The H said they lacked flavor, to which I took minor offense (I thought they were *great*) until he later confessed that, due to lingering sinus issues, he couldn't even taste the hot sauce he put on his. If Frank's isn't even coming through, I know I'm not responsible for tasteless veggie burgers. Phew.

Know what else I skipped on Wednesday? A run. Really! One of my knees has been feeling a little cranky and I didn't want to aggravate it too much before Sunday. So tonight, rather than a post-run picnic, I'm going to make honey-baked chicken, a recipe from the friend I was going to run with. We've been calling it Chicken Yum Yum; hope you don't mind, Mrs. E. :)

Oh, and I'm thrilled to report that the little guy, whose tastes can often be called particular, didn't notice any difference in the way his milk tasted yesterday at dinner or today on his Chex. Thank you, meijer instant milk powder. I'm pleased to say he also ate one-and-a-half adult sized servings of Adzuki Cake and still asked for more. So there's a win for Wednesday after all!

Adzuki Beans and Rice

Seriously good (the little guy ate two helpings!). Seriously non-photogenic.

I'm not really sure what led me to purchase adzuki beans, other than perhaps flipping through a blog that used them in a recipe and realizing they don't need to be soaked before cooking. The next time I went to our local health food store, I was determined to find them. They look like this:

(source)
After much research regarding cooking times and suitable meals to make with these brick red beauties, I decided on this recipe, with a few very minor changes.

First, I halved it. I had no idea how my men would react to this dish and didn't want to have 4-6 portions leftover. Second, I used spicy Italian turkey sausage, which my store happened to have on sale. Finally, I subbed organic, no-MSG, gluten-free beef stock concentrate for the bouillon cube. Other than that, we made it as directed.

But really. There was no chance I'd post a picture of it, and you all know how low my photo-quality standards are. Just try it. Take a big forkful and fill your belly with the mildly spicy deliciousness. Maybe close your eyes first.

Mildly Meaty Monday

Score another win for Branny Boils Over. As I was wracking my brain to come up with a meal plan for the week, I scooted over to my Google Reader for inspiration. And there I saw Beef and Bean Fajitas--the perfect way to get me out of the "chicken and blank" rut I found myself in.

Because I didn't have quite the amount of beef called for (I wanted to use up some leftover steak from Saturday rather than thawing a whole new hunk of cow), I added some baby portobello mushrooms and sliced bell pepper to make up the rest of the weight; thus, mildly meaty Monday. I'll let Branny's recipe and original source speak for themselves; other than these extra fillers I didn't change a thing about the meal.

I served mine on a whole grain tortilla (with some faux sour cream--organic yogurt, strained through cheesecloth for about half an hour) and The H's on the last few corn tortillas from this meal. The little guy is not a fan of steak, so I made him a cheese quesadilla on the same kind of wrap I used, and he ate his black beans on the side. We each also had an ear of corn on the cob--super sweet!

We finished the meal with some of the biggest strawberries I've ever seen. My son, a notorious berry-fiend, couldn't finish two!

Coconut Curry Chickpeas

Earlier this week I *finally* buckled down and made this recipe that has been on my to-try list for several months. The combination of coconut milk (I've never used it before) and curry powder (one of my favorite "no H around" ingredients) sounded super-tasty, and the fact that this comes together in only 10-15 minutes was extra appealing.

Sad to say, though, this didn't quite live up to the expectations I had for it, and I'm not quite sure why. I served it over rice noodles and added some Sriracha once I tasted it and found it lacking something... but that still didn't hit the spot I was looking for.

Perhaps I will add some lime juice when serving next time, and increase the garlic and basil. The silver lining to this semi-flop is that it only makes two servings, so I'm not left with a zillion cups of a disappointing recipe.

Coconut Curry Chickpeas
from The Best of Clean Eating
serves 2

Olive oil cooking spray
1 cup napa cabbage or bok choy, sliced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup coconut milk (be sure to shake the can first)
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp curry powder
3/4 cup cooked chickpeas
1/4 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat a nonstick frying pan (I used a cast iron skillet), lightly coated with olive oil spray, over medium heat. Add cabbage and saute until it shrinks down. Add onion and pepper; saute for 2-4 minutes.

2. Add one tablespoon of the coconut milk, along with the garlic, ginger, and curry powder; saute another 2 minutes. Add chickpeas, remaining coconut milk, and salt and pepper; heat through. Add fresh basil and serve.

Chicken & White Bean Soup

Also known as, "How to make a week's worth of lunches and clear out some leftovers at the same time"...

Last Tuesday before running group, I started a CrockPot full of white bean & leek soup from The Eat-Clean Diet cookbook. Because I was so pleased with the rutabaga from this frittata, I thought I'd add one to the soup. More veggies = good, right? Well, only if you take into account the size/texture of said veggies, and give your recipe long enough to cook.

I did not.

Thus, we came home after running to find a slow cooker of delicious-smelling, hearty-looking, mostly-inedible soup. ::sad trombone:: The rutabagas were downright crunchy. I cranked it back up to HIGH while The H put the little guy to bed, after which the two of us raided the leftovers-for-lunch stash for our own dinners. Two hours later, the soup was ready. Too bad it was 11pm. The H had a small serving, declared it very good, and helped me portion out the rest for *more* leftovers.
 
This soup just keeps getting better. Yesterday when I reheated some for lunch, I added a sprinkle of Penzey's Parisien Bonnes Herbes, a salt-free seasoning blend I got for Christmas. Next time I make the soup I'll add some of that to begin with! What a great complement. I was fascinated to see that the rutabagas turned more golden as the soup aged; they almost looked like butternut squash yesterday. 

This was the perfect meal to have waiting for me after a frigid (-2 with the windchill) 6 mile run! I love refueling with filling, clean food.
 
Chicken and White Bean Soup
from The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno
makes 12 cups

Ingredients:
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
4 leeks, whites and centers only, chopped (rinse very well and drain in a colander)
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage or 1/2 tsp dried sage
6 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock
2 cups water
2 cups cooked white beans (I used cannelini)
2 lbs chicken breast, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
8oz package frozen spinach, thawed and partially drained (I omitted this)

Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Add leeks and onion. Cook 5 minutes, or until clear and softening. Add sage and cook 2 more minutes. Add broth and water; bring to a boil. Stir in chicken, beans, and spinach. Continue cooking until heated through.

Nutrition info per serving:
Calories - 176
Protein - 22g
Fat - 4g
Carbs - 16g

U-G-L-Y this pie ain't got no alibi!

It's ugly (whoop whoop!) it's ugly! 

Told ya: 

Oh, and delicious.

This was our token slow-cooker meal for the week, assembled in the afternoon and eaten when we got home from running group. Topped with a little sour cream (Greek yogurt, if you have it, would be perfect) and Frank's RedHot, it was worthy of seconds--something I rarely opt for these days.

I'd never used foil "handles" in the CrockPot before, so I wasn't sure if I did them right, but it's pretty hard to do wrong. I think. :z The recipe never stated if the corn tortillas were supposed to be soft or hard, so I took a gamble that if they'd meant hard, they would've been listed as such. Perhaps I'll try hard ones next time. My softies kinda disintegrated on me, as you can see.

Mile High Enchilada Pie
from Incredibly Easy Gluten-Free Recipes
serves 4

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 jar (12-16oz) salsa of choice
1 can (or homemade equivalent, about 1 2/3 cups) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup shredded cooked chicken (I used 2 pressure-cooked and shredded boneless breasts)
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheese
Fresh cilantro and sliced red pepper, optional


1. Prepare foil handles for 3-4qt slow cooker* and place into the crock.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together salsa, beans, chicken, and cheese.

3. Place a tortilla on top of the foil in the bottom of the crock. Top with a scoop of chicken mixture; spread almost to edges of tortilla. Continue alternating tortillas with chicken mixture until both are used up.

4. Cover, cook on low 6-8 hours (mine was in for about 6 hours before we ate, and I think it was too long--you can see how some of the beans burnt at the edges. I'd say 4hrs would be about right, since both chicken and beans are cooked through already) or on high 3-4 hours. Remove with foil handles. Garnish with optional pepper and cilantro, if using.

* Tear off two 18x2 strips of foil and fold lengthwise to double their thickness. Cross pieces in an "X" on the bottom of the slow cooker crock, bringing excess up the sides of the crock and out the top.

Yes, it's ugly. But it's good. So close your eyes if you have to, and go make one.

CHALLENGE update: Tortillas, chicken, beans, salsa, cheese, and sour cream were all purchased at Ken's Fruit Market. We did not use cilantro or bell pepper.

Chickpea Soup

This recipe originally looked like this, but of course I made some modifications. Below is what I ended up with. Sorry, no pic (unless I update this tomorrow after lunch...), but just imagine a good, hearty chicken noodle soup, minus the noodles. It could easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock and omitting the chicken.

Chickpea Soup
modified from this recipe on allrecipes.com
serves 6-8

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped potatoes
2 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped
2 ribs celery, scrubbed and chopped
6 cups chicken stock or broth
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
1-2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat and saute the onion, potatoes, and garlic until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.

2. Add carrots, celery, broth, bay leaves, basil, thyme, and paprika. Cover and bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, brown chicken in a large skillet. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

4. Stir chickpeas into soup and taste for seasonings; adjust as needed.

5. Dish up individual portions, adding chicken to each bowl desired. Serve with clean eating whole wheat bread. Don't eat the bay leaves!

Nutritional information for the unaltered recipe can be found at the original link above.

As the Bean Sprouts: HARVEST!

OK so really I've been "harvesting" the beans here and there since they started springing up, but I finally had too many to keep up with eating fresh. I'm not about to pretend that I'm ready for adventures in canning/preserving, so I asked my sister--gardener extraordinaire--about blanching them.

Using some very simple instructions, I was able to save over 20 ounces of fresh, beautiful beans for future use.



What looks like a heap of dirty dishes is actually all you need for this simple process (I didn't use a metal colander inside the boiling pots).



I packaged my beans into 7-ounce portions, sucked the air out of each bag, and stashed them in the freezer. They'll be good up to 9 months from now, but somehow I don't think they'll last nearly that long. This was a super-easy process that I was able to complete while the little guy napped--I even ran out to pick some SUPER fresh beans to make sure my harvest was completely up to date.

Load up!

This is one of the tastiest, no-cook meals I've made in a long time. For the minimal effort that goes into it, the flavor return is immense. The only "cooking" I did was to slow-cook the black beans (but of course you can use canned) and use my rice cooker for the quinoa. This meal is great way to keep extra heat out of your kitchen on a summer night! My modifications follow the recipe.



The Loaded Bowl
from Clean Eating Magazine, Sept/Oct 2010
serves 12

Ingredients:
3 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups cooked black beans)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (more or less according to your taste)
2 fresh avocados, pitted, peeled and diced
Fresh lemon juice to prevent avocado from browning
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Juice of 4 limes
Zest of 1 lime

Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Prepare quinoa according to package directions. While it is cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, and cilantro.

3. Dice avocados and drizzle with lemon juice. Set aside.

4. Combine all dressing ingredients in a bullet-style blender. Pulse until garlic is incorporated and dressing appears creamy. Set aside.

5. Fluff quinoa with fork and add to bean mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Add lime juice and zest; toss to combine. Top each serving with avocado pieces and dressing.



This salad will keep well, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days. Without the avocado, it could last up to 6 days, and may be frozen. Feel free to substitute brown rice for the quinoa, or add grilled chicken to make a heartier meal.

I made a lot less quinoa (my rice cooker only holds so much--I think 1 cup uncooked?) but still used the full 2 cups beans, pint of tomatoes, 2 avocados, 2 limes and the zest of one, and the full dressing recipe with 2 cloves garlic. We had about 1/2 cup cilantro to use up, and it was plenty. We did not portion this individually, but served it family-style with the quinoa on the bottom and the colorful goodies spread out on top.



This served four adults generously, with one portion leftover for my lunch. We didn't use all the dressing, but it was nice to have the extra on the side for those who wanted it.

Nutrition information per 1-cup serving:
Calories - 293
Fat - 12g
Saturated fat - 1g
Carbs - 39g
Fiber - 6g
Sugars - 1g
Protein - 9g
Sodium - 59mg
Cholesterol - 0mg

As the Bean Sprouts: SUCCESS!

Check it out! Our beans are GROWING! After about 7 weeks since I planted them, we have big, beautiful, sweet green beans right in our own yard!



So far I guess my experiment is only about 25% successful, since only one of the four beds I planted has yielded anything, but the potted sprouts may yet become something edible. The other two beds--back by the raspberries and next to the tomatoes--are a complete wash.



The fence area has by far the most seeds planted, which I suppose is good. It's a great location, and I'm glad we planted there.



Maybe by tomorrow I'll have enough to make a decent side dish for dinner. That is, if I can keep the little guy from eating all the ones he helps me pick!



On the way back into the house I snapped a pic of this guy--I have no recollection of planting sunflowers last year, so it was a surprise to see a volunteer (actually, two) springing up!

As the Bean Sprouts: Week 4?

I think this is either Week 4 or Week 5; I kind of lost track when I forgot to take pictures one Friday. The important thing is that we have progress! Thanks to the little guy and The H for watering these when we haven't gotten a good rain in awhile.

Bed #1: Neighbor's fence--looking good!



Bed #2: Potted--still hanging on. Kind of.



Bed #3: Raspberry patch--no beans here! Too accessible for rabbits?



My morning glories are starting to climb, though!



Bed #4: Back 40--well, there are a few sprouts...



AND my cute little tomato plant!



We've had quite a few little Romas off this plant, and a cherry or two from the one next to it (not pictured). Since I took these pictures, the plants by the neighbor's fence have taken off even more--we now have little white flowers and the leaves are getting bigger by the minute, it seems. You'll see in the next update!

As the Bean Sprouts: Week 2

Poor beans. They had to deal with a lot last week--massive downpours, undrained pots, brutal heat and humidity. Well, maybe they liked that last one, but the others weren't kind.

Here are the sprouts as they appeared two weeks after planting.

Bed 1: Neighbor's fence

These beans are the best-growing so far. I pulled out a few that weren't sprouting as much, to give the bigger ones more room.

Bed 2: Potted

Oh, my sweet, sad little flooded pot. I'm so sorry that I forgot to drill drainage holes in you. And I'm sorry that I forgot to move you to the back porch when Noah's Ark floated by in the storms.

Bed 3: Berry patch

Only one of the three seeds I planted here has grown to anything worth writing home about. The line of Morning Glory seeds I threw in the back is doing well, though. I think. This is the bed that shares space with my raspberry bushes, on which I found these:

Bed 4: Back 40

Oh THERE they are! I'd been watering the wrong area. Whoops. I planted two tomato plants from a friend back here as well. So far, still green. Woot!

Next update in two weeks.

Brought to you by the letter "B"

I felt like a Sesame Street character as we sat down to dinner tonight, pointedly showing the little guy that his dinner was Basmati rice, Boston Baked Beans, and Barbecue chicken. Yes, it was coincidental. Also delicious.

Branny gave us a home-run with the beans; I've been wanting to attempt something like this for a while but didn't know where to start. Thanks, Branny! We loved 'em. I cooked them in a 2.5qt slow cooker. Cutting the recipe in half (using 1 pound dried beans) yielded enough beans for three dinner servings, two leftover portions, and enough to freeze for a future dinner-for-3. I used cranberry beans since that is what I had, and omitted the bacon called for in the original recipe (see link).

The chicken was simply grilled and basted with Trader Joe's BBQ sauce, my personal favorite. The rice was a basmati-wild-rice blend I've had for awhile; it has dried vegetables in it. I cooked it in homemade beef broth, leftover from when I pressure-cooked stew beef for my curry last week.

The little guy ate his entire ramekin of beans, punctuating a few bites with a pipsqueaky "Mmm, I love Bos'on beans." He ended his Letter B Dinner with a gluten-free Brownie. What else? :)

As the Bean Sprouts: Week 1

This is the first weekly update (originally I'd said two weeks, but things moved faster than I expected) on my bean experiment. My mother-in-law noticed green sprouts coming up in Bed #1, by the neighbor's fence, on Tuesday night. I went out and took some pictures this morning.

By 8pm tonight, when the little guy and I got home from the bookstore, they were even larger, and more had sprung up. They've grown so quickly, it's almost as if we could watch them sprout. Amazing!

So far this is the bed with the most progress. The only other one (of the four) to show any promise yet is Bed #4, the one in the overgrown back garden.

Stay tuned for next Wednesday's riveting edition of "As the Bean Sprouts." :D I hope the vicious rain that is forecast tonight doesn't hurt them too badly... perhaps I will move Bed #3, the potted one, to the back porch tonight.