Steak Salad

This is a nice, fancier-than-ordinary meal for a weeknight. With a glass of wine (well-chilled pinot grigio, to be exact) it hits the "TGIF!" spot just right, without having to deal with the lines and sodium content of a restaurant meal.

One of my favorite parts of this meal was the dressed vegetables that go on top of the salad. I told The H that I'd like to serve those as a side to another meal sometime, never mind the rest of the salad! Although very good, this is a bit time consuming--not one to try last minute.
 
Grilled Steak and Potato Salad
slightly modified from this recipe on allrecipes.com
serves 4

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp minced garlic (I used 2 large cloves)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp granulated sugar (or clean substitute of your choosing)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1 lb boneless sirloin, NY strip, or Delmonico steak
1/2 lb fresh green beans
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
1/2 lb white mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (I left this out)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and halved (I left these out)
Salad greens of your choice

1. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, thyme, pepper, sugar, and oil. Place beef in a shallow dish and pour 1/3 of the marinade over. Turn to coat. Marinate at least 30 minutes.

2. Place potatoes in large pot and cover with cold water; add a palmful of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender, 12-15 minutes. Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl; pour half the remaining dressing over and stir gently to coat.

3. Microwave beans on high power for 2 minutes, or until just tender. Add to potatoes, along with mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, and tomatoes (if using).

4. Prepare grill pan, cast iron skillet, or broiler for cooking the steak. Remove steak from marinade, discarding the remaining marinade, and cook until desired doneness is reached. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing against the grain into thin strips.

5. Arrange salad greens among four plates. Top each serving with potato-vegetable mixture and a portion of sliced steak. Drizzle with remaining dressing.

I was so busy in the kitchen that I didn't know what the little guy was up to until The H brought me some pictures:



That's the hazard of keeping fresh fruit (sort of) within small hands' reach!

Something new

Back in January I mentioned that I was looking at a few new cookbooks. Every once in awhile it's good to shake up "the usual" and make something new. With that in mind, I have some exciting news!

Does the word GIVEAWAY mean anything to you?

This will be a big "first" for Clean Eating Machines.

Stay tuned...and tell your friends!

Buffalo chicken salad

Every so often when asking for healthy lunch options, a person might hear, "A salad topped with grilled chicken." Well, that sounds kind of boring to me. So I added hot sauce. 

There's no real recipe for this baby. I combined some romaine lettuce, a sliced tomato or two, half a sliced bell pepper, and some boneless, skinless chicken breast marinated in Frank's RedHot, and a yogurt-based Ranch dressing. It came together very quickly, since the chicken was cooked before I marinated it briefly in the sauce. To make the chicken less saucy but still fully flavorful, I baked it at 350* for 10 minutes before adding it to the salad.

Simple and tasty! The H used the leftover components in a (gluten-free) wrap for lunch.

Mustard-Marinated Beef

Tonight's dinner was brought to you by the game "Rummage in the freezer 'til you find something that won't take too long to thaw, marinate, and cook.. ready? Go!" Aaand we have a winner!

A quick allrecipes.com search led me to this recipe, which I modified a bit (shocker, I know). We served it over brown rice, with roasted garlic-lemon broccoli on the side. Here is my version.

Mustard-Marinated Beef
modified from this recipe
serves 4

1 lb sirloin steak, sliced against the grain into thin strips
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (some brands contain HFCS--read the labels!)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus 1 Tbsp for the pan later
2 Tbsp (two big squirts) prepared yellow mustard
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Brown rice

1. In a shallow dish, whisk together Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp olive oil, mustard, and pepper. Place steak strips into mixture and marinate at least 30 minutes.

2. Cook rice according to package directions.

3. Heat a medium skillet (cast iron works great!) over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil. Swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Add marinated steak strips to pan; discard unused marinade. Cook steak 3-5min per side, or to your desired doneness. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Next time I make this, I will double the recipe to make sure we have leftovers for lunches. The beef was very tender and flavorful. The original recipe calls for onion, which I didn't have, but I can see how it would be a tasty addition to this dish, perhaps even with a sliced bell pepper.

What IS clean eating? A refresher course

It was brought to my attention tonight that, after nearly two years of living a (mostly) clean-eating lifestyle, The H is unclear just exactly what "clean eating" means. Can you say "FAIL" on my part? Without further ado, here are what I believe to be the ten most important principles of clean eating, paraphrased from a cut-out section in every issue of Clean Eating Magazine:

1. Eat five to six times a day--each meal or snack should include lean protein + complex carbohydrates.

2. Drink at least two liters of water a day--bust out your pretty and reusable bottles!

3. Choose foods with one or two ingredients--if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it (edamame and quinoa are exceptions). ;)

4. Avoid processed and refined foods--ditch the white flour, sugar, bread, and regular pasta. Use whole grains instead. This is the heart and soul of clean eating for me.

5. Skip the bad guys--avoid foods that are high in saturated fat, trans fats (note: if a food contains hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, it DOES contain trans fats, regardless of what the per-serving nutrition info says), things that are high in sugar, and anything fried.

6. Shop carefully--try to purchase local and humanely raised meats if possible. Produce that is in season is tastier and usually more affordable.

7. Some fats are good--the body needs essential fatty acids daily.

8. Eat proper portion sizes--pretty self-explanatory.

9. Take your time--slow down and savor your meals.

10. Be prepared--pack a cooler for work and/or outings so you are armed with clean-eating foods even when you're not at home.

In the future, I'll try to be better about describing the "why" behind some of the choices I make, rather than assuming everyone (even those in my household...) understands what I'm doing.

Which aspect of clean eating is most important to you?

Worth the wait

This morning I couldn't decide what I wanted for breakfast, but I knew I didn't want it to be the Chex and Rice Krispies that my men were enjoying. While I sipped my first cup of coffee (half caff with half-and-half, same as always), I had a piece of locally-made wheat toast spread with Earth Balance to stop my belly from grumbling and to buy me some time until I figured out what I really wanted. Not oatmeal. Not pancakes. No pumpkin to make a protein cake with... it took awhile, but I finally came up with a scrambled egg + egg white, spinach, and Sriracha wrap in a sprouted wheat tortilla. YUM. Warm and filling with just a hint of spice (should've increased the hot sauce), and perfect with my second cup of coffee. It wasn't that appealing looking, so no pic, but I'm pretty pleased with it--oh, and the fact that I successfully avoided putting fresh homemade whipped cream into my coffee. ;) Happy Friday!

Derailed: update

(This is an update to my gripe last Thursday)

One week, four runs, 27.5 miles, and 2,169 calories (burned by running) later, I'm happy to say my jeans are fitting better... but then I split a piece of Cheesecake Factory flourless Godiva chocolate cheesecake with The H after dinner tonight. Oh, and I made fresh whipped cream to put on top. Insert big sigh here. I've never done that before. Why is self-sabotage so easy?

On the plus side, my running this past week has been strong and very enjoyable. I've gotten to run with some good friends that I haven't run with in awhile. Oh, and I've mostly stuck with our meal plan for the week, aside from a junky lunch with the little guy today and GF, egg-free pancakes for dinner instead of my planned spaghetti squash. That makes tomorrow's dinner a no-brainer, AND gives me a meal for Sunday.

Maybe I'll take the dog for a nice long walk tomorrow...