Healthy Recipes 360 » Healthy Eating

Hot & Spicy Chili Pepper and Steak Burrito

admin — Sun, 01 May 2011 08:12:08 +0000

If you have a craving for something hot and spicy, then this is the perfect recipe! It’s a hot and spicy burrito with grilled steak and 5 different chili peppers – and not just any chili peppers! It uses serranos, habaneros and jalapeños to supply the hotness plus it has Anaheim peppers and mini peppers for added flavor. It’s pretty hot, but its good!

This recipe is similar to the steak fajitas recipe elsewhere in this website. The main difference is that this recipe calls for skirt steak instead of flat iron steak. Try to get a good cut of lean meat — preferably grass-fed beef. If it isn’t so lean, then spend the time and trim away all the fat you can manage. You want the steak to be really lean for two reasons. First, it makes for better flavor and second, it is healthier with less fat.

The hot & spicy burrito is also prepared with guacamole. The recipe for guacamole can be found in the sauces and dressings section of this website.

Hot & Spicy Burrito Ingredients:

2 lb lean skirt steak, sliced into thin strips
12 serrano peppers, cut lengthwise thin strips
12 mini peppers, cut lengthwise thin strips
6 habanero peppers, cut lengthwise thin strips
4 jalapeño peppers, cut lengthwise thin strips
2 Anaheim peppers, cut lengthwise thin strips

Marinade:

Juice from 2 limes
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (include the stems)

Misc:

flour tortillas
guacamole
salsa

1. Marinate the skirt steak:

Trim all the fat off the skirt steak and cut into thin strips about 2-3 inches in length. Add marinade ingredients to a bowl, stir and add sliced skirt steak pieces. Allow to marinate for about 4 hours or even overnight. Meanwhile, slice peppers and onions lengthwise into thin strips (about 1/8 – 1/4 inch slices). Add to a large bowl and toss the sliced peppers to mix them up.

2. Cooking the steak:

Grill the steak on a gas grill. Arrange the grill grates by laying them one on top of the other in a staggered fashion so the spaces between the grates are narrow to keep the meat from falling through. Use grilling tongs to turn the meat. Place cooked meat into a bowl when cooked.

3. Cooking the peppers and adding the cooked steak:

Add a few drops of cooking oil to a large skillet and add about half of the sliced peppers to the skillet and heat over a medium-high flame. Toss the sliced peppers with the grilling tongs until about three-quarters cooked. Add in some of the grilled meat and continue tossing the meat and peppers until the peppers are just a bit crunchy (not quite soft and translucent).

4. Serving:

Add some of the cooked mixture to a hot flour tortilla and garnish with guacamole and salsa. Roll the tortilla around the ingredients and enjoy! Serve immediately. Optional: serve with brown rice and refried beans. Thrilling!

Shown below is a photo of all the ingredients. Starting in the back and going left to right: ground cumin, skirt steak, olive oil, habanero peppers, limes, Anaheim peppers, cilantro, jalapeño peppers, mini peppers, garlic and serrano peppers.

First, prepare the marinade so you can get the meat marinating. You want to marinate it for at least 4 hours. You can marinate it until the next day if you want. Start by selecting a small bunch of fresh cilantro. Chop it up and include some of the stems.

The preparation of the meat is similar to the steak fajitas recipe elsewhere in this website. It uses the same marinade and you grill the steak on an outdoor gas grill. The only difference here is that we’re using skirt steak here instead of flat iron steak.

Next, chop the jalapeño pepper and 4 cloves of garlic.

You can use a chopper or a chef’s knife for the job.

Add the cilantro, olive oil, jalapeño pepper and garlic to a bowl.

Next, add fresh squeezed lime juice. I use a lime juicer because it’s fast, but you can use a regular glass citrus juicer if you want.

Add the ground cumin …

Now stir everything to mix it all together. We are ready to add the meat to the marinade.

Cut the meat into thin strips about 2-3 inches in length. Skirt steak is perfect for this because you just follow the grain. You want small, bite-sized pieces.

Add the skirt steak to the marinade and mix everything together so that the marinade covers all the meat. Cover and place in the refrigerator. Marinate the meat for at least 4 hours or even overnight.

Next, slice all the chili peppers. Start with the Anaheim peppers if you want. First cut off the ends.

Next, split each pepper in half lengthwise like the photo below. Remove the ribs and seeds for these peppers. Just scrape them out with your fingers. It’s really easy.

Now, slice each pepper lengthwise in thin strips – about 1/4 inch.

You’ll do this with all the peppers, basically. Slice them all lengthwise like this. Slice the smaller peppers in thinner slices than the big ones.

Slice the jalapeños next. Start by cutting off the ends just like the Anaheim peppers.

Split each one in half lengthwise.

Split them all first.

Now cut them all up lengthwise into thin slices.

All the jalapeños are sliced up.

Next, do the same thing with the habaneros. These are small peppers, so you’ll make the slices thinner than the others.

Slice up all the habaneros.

Next, slice the serrano peppers.

Just like the other peppers, start by cutting off the ends and slice them lengthwise in thin strips.

Now all the serranos are sliced up.

Finally, slice up the mini peppers.

Either cut off or pinch off the stems and slice each one in half lengthwise, first, and then into thin slices just like all the other chili peppers.

Now all the mini peppers are sliced up. It doesn’t take too long. It goes fast with a chef’s knife or a Santoku knife like the one shown. You’ll get the hang of it.

Now, put all the sliced chili peppers into a bowl and toss them real good to mix them up.

When the steak has finished marinating, cook it on a gas grill using tongs to turn the meat. Stack the grills one on top of the other with the top one turned upside down over the other. Arrange the grill bars in a staggered fashion this way to close the gaps so the meat doesn’t fall through the grates.

Place the cooked meat in a bowl and set aside for now.

Place about half of the sliced chili peppers into a large skillet with a few drops of cooking oil to keep them from burning and sticking. Heat over a medium-high flame for about 3 to 5 minutes, tossing frequently with the tongs. It’s like stir-frying. You want it to cook fast over high heat, but you have to keep tossing it.

When the chili peppers are about 3/4ths cooked, add some of the cooked steak.

Keep tossing until the vegetables are done. You don’t want to overcook the peppers. They should be just slightly crunchy and definitely not soft and translucent.

Now everything is cooked. We’re ready to make the burritos.

Place some cooked steak and peppers onto a large flour tortilla.

Add salsa and guacamole. Believe it or not, I use mild salsa because it has a better flavor. You can also add salt to taste if you like.

Note: Prepare the guacamole ahead of time with the guacamole recipe found in the sauces and dressings section of this website.

Fold the tortilla over on one end like the photo below.

Now fold each side over to make a wrap with one end open. That’s a burrito.

Serve immediately. Optionally, serve with brown rice and refried beans. It’s healthy and it’s good!

Man, this is hot stuff! Whoa!!!

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Quickest Vegetable Soup Recipe

admin — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 03:58:24 +0000

This is the quickest vegetable soup recipe that I know. It is delicious and low in fat, yet very fast and easy to make. Most soups take a lot of time to make and usually you wind up making enough to feed a small army. You can make a half-batch of this recipe if you like (all the photos I shot were a half-batch).

So with this recipe you can make it fast plus you can make it in small batches. Those are two big plus points … and another plus is that it is healthy! We try to use all organic ingredients – organic broth, organic basil and oregano, organic carrots, green beans and cabbage.

The secret to this recipe is that you start with vegetable broth and beef broth. They come in handy 32-oz containers. That’s what saves the time. We only use organic broths because we want to make sure they are healthy to begin with. You simply add in fresh vegetables. It only takes a few minutes to chop them. Using fresh vegetables always ensures you’re getting good food. That’s important.

Ingredients:

4 carrots, sliced
2 large stalks celery, sliced
2 cups sliced cabbage
4 garlic cloves, minced or 3/4 tsp crushed garlic
4 cups beef broth
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup fresh or frozen green beans
2 tbsp tomato paste or 4 tbsp tomato puree
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
*1 teaspoon salt
1 cup diced zucchini

* Amount of salt depends on whether or not the broth is a low sodium variety.

Add broth to a medium sized saucepan and heat over a medium flame. Add tomato paste (or tomato sauce) and stir until dissolved. Next, add cabbage, carrots, celery and green beans. Stir in minced garlic (or crushed garlic) and then add seasonings – basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Stir thoroughly and then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, add diced zucchini and cook for another 15 minutes or so until all the vegetables are cooked. Serve hot.

Shown below is a photo of the ingredients. Starting in the back row and moving left to right: pepper, salt, crushed garlic, organic beef broth, organic vegetable broth, oregano, basil, sliced celery, sliced cabbage, diced zucchini, tomato paste, frozen green beans, carrots.

Note: In these photos I’m making a half-batch.

Start by adding the broth to a pan.

Next, add the tomato paste and stir it in real good to dissolve it. Make sure it is completely dissolved before proceeding.

Add the sliced cabbage …

Add the celery and sliced carrots …

Add the green beans …

Add in the crushed garlic …

Add the seasonings …

Note: Be careful when adding the salt. The amount will depend on whether or not the broth you are using is a a low-sodium variety.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 15 minutes …

Now add the zucchini … we cook for awhile before adding the zucchini because we don’t want to overcook it.

Cook for another 15 minutes or so and you’re done!

Serve hot. This is really good soup. It’s quick and easy and you can make it in small batches, plus it’s healthy.

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How to Make Water Kefir

admin — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 02:32:28 +0000

Water kefir is a delicious and easy-to-make probiotic drink that you can make yourself at home. I find this to be a very inexpensive way to culture your own probiotics. Just make them yourself from a live culture – like water kefir – and use the living culture to repeat the process over and over.

Ingredients you will need to make your own water kefir: dehydrated kefir grains, palm sugar, spring water, 2 qt mason jar and organic cane sugar.

Most of the websites that show how to make water kefir either sell the hydrated, living kefir grains from their websites or advise that you obtain the kefir grains from someone else who has a growing culture and can spare some kefir grains that have multiplied.

In this article, I will show you a different way. You can buy your own dehydrated water kefir grains on the Internet and then rehydrate them yourself. Rehydrating kefir grains will take just a few days and, following that, you can make regular, running batches of water kefir from them.

Kefir Grains

Kefir grains are a culture of bacteria and yeast similar to yogurt or milk kefir. They have a gelatinous texture and a translucent color. Kefir grains tend to multiply after making batches of water kefir. They consume sugar and give off carbon dioxide gas in the process (CO₂). The CO₂ becomes infused into the water kefir, carbonating it in the process. The fermentation process also creates a small amount of alcohol (less than 1%).

Kefir grains need care and attention, though. They don’t like chlorine and don’t do well when they come into contact with metal. Always use plastic utensils and a plastic strainer when rinsing them. Use bottled spring water (not distilled water). The kefir grains need some mineral content to properly grow. That’s the reason to use bottled spring water. I even rinse the kefir grains with bottled spring water after each batch of water kefir.

Kefir grains tend to grow best at room temperature. If stored in the refrigerator, their growth will slow down. Never store kefir grains outside sugar water, otherwise they can starve and die. Always make sure they have a fresh supply of sugar and fresh water.

Kefir water should culture at room temperature in 24 to 48 hours. After that time, the kefir grains should be rinsed with fresh spring water and a new batch started. If you want to store them for awhile, keep them in the refrigerator in a jar of spring water with sugar for up to a week, but no more, then rinse them and give them some fresh water and sugar.

If properly cared for, the kefir grains can be used over and over, indefinitely in batch after batch of water kefir.

Part I – Rehydrate Kefir Grains

I bought my dehydrated kefir grains from Amazon.com, but you can just as well buy them directly from the supplier. The product is available from the Cultures For Health website. They even offer a “starter kit” complete with an assortment of plastic strainers (http://www.culturesforhealth.com/water-kefir-starter-kit.html). I would go for the starter kit because it is reasonably priced and it can sometimes be hard to find a plastic strainer from a local store.

When you rehydrate kefir grains from the Cultures For Health packet, the instructions say to add 4 to 6 tbsp of sugar to 4 cups of water, stir until sugar is dissolved and then add the kefir grains. Wait for 3 to 4 days to allow the grains to plump up and then make the water kefir according to the recipe. In the photo below I am adding 5 tbsp of organic cane sugar to 4 cups of spring water.

Caution! Never use tap water because it will contain chlorine. Chlorine will kill the kefir grains. Only certain kinds of filtered water is safe. Generally speaking, water filtration systems using granulated charcoal or carbon blocks are inadequate. These kinds of filters only reduce, but do not eliminate chlorine. Certain kinds of reverse osmosis (RO) water filtration systems are safe to use, though.

Stir thoroughly to dissolve the sugar …

Empty the contents of the packet into the jar …

Place a folded paper towel, napkin or paper coffee filter over the top of the jar and secure it with a rubber band to keep out insects while the kefir grains rehydrate.

Caution: Never use an air-tight lid when making or storing water kefir. The fermentation process gives off carbon dioxide gas. This could cause an unsafe build-up of pressure and and may cause the glass jar to explode and cause damage and/or injury.

Shown below is a photo of the jar three days later. The kefir grains are plump and fully reydrated. Notice that the color of the water is lighter. That is because the kefir culture has consumed most of the sugar in the process. You can also taste the water after rehydrating. It should be slightly tangy and less sweet than it was at the start. These are both signs of a healthy, active culture.

Strain the kefir grains into a bowl with a plastic strainer.

Caution! Never use a metal strainer, metal spoon or metal lid. Kefir grains do not like metal! Do not allow metal to come into contact with the living culture.

Shown below are the strained, rehydrated kefir grains ready to make water kefir.

Part II – Making Water Kefir

The following recipe for making water kefir – adapted from GreenMomZoe.

Basic Formula:

1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp kefir grains
1 cup water
some dried fruit

Working Recipe:

6 tbsp kefir grains
6 cups water
4 tbsp organic cane sugar
2 tbsp palm sugar
3 sun-dried unsulfured dried apricots
1 sun-dried unsulfured dried Calimyrna fig

Equipment Needed:

2 qt mason jar with plastic lid
plastic strainer
plastic measuring spoons
plastic spatula

Start by bringing together all the ingredients. You need a 2 qt Mason jar with 6 cups of bottled spring water, kefir grains, organic cane sugar, coconut palm sugar, sun dried, unsulfured apricots and sun dried, unsulfured Calimyrna figs. All of the ingredients are available from you local health food store.

Ingredients: Sun dried unsulfured apricots and figs, Mason jar with 6 cups of bottled spring water, organic cane sugar, palm sugar, kefir grains.

Shown below is the Mason jar with 6 cups of spring water.

Add 4 tbsp organic cane sugar. Note: Use plastic measuring spoon.

Next, add 2 tbsp palm sugar.

Stir thoroughly to dissolve the sugar. Note: Use a plastic spatula.

Add the kefir grains.

Then add 3 dried apricot halves and 1 Calimyrna fig.

Cover with a folded paper towel, napkin or paper coffee filter and secure with a rubber band to keep the insects out.

Shown below is the finished water kefir after 2 days (48 hours). The fermentation process could take between 24 and 48 hours depending on the conditions. You may find that after a few batches, some batches will be done in 48 hours, some in 36 hours and perhaps some will be done after 24 hours.

Get a bowl and a plastic strainer.

Empty the contents of the jar to strain everything. Separate the fruit from the kefir grains and discard.

Pour the strained water kefir into a clean Mason jar and close with a plastic lid. Plastic lids are available for Mason jars. Store in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, rinse the kefir grains after separating the spent fruit. Use bottled spring water to rinse them.

Shown below are the rinsed kefir grains ready for the next batch of water kefir. Repeat the previous steps to make the next batch.

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Pesticides Cause Obesity and Cancer

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 07:10:50 +0000

Pesticides are used by the U.S. food industry on crops to kill insects. Conventional growers use pesticides, but organic food producers do not use them. Exposure to foods grown with the use of pesticides has been linked to many health problems. Pesticides are harmful. It is much safer to buy organically grown food than conventionally grown food.

Pesticides are toxic chemicals and can lead to obesity and otherwise seriously damage your health. Although the government plays a role in protecting its citizens from pesticide exposure, it is no guarantee for our safety. People must still remain vigilant in how we select and prepare our food.

Pesticides should be avoided wherever possible. You need to protect yourself and your family from pesticides by avoiding foods that contain them or by removing the pesticides by washing and scrubbing whenever possible.

The EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulating the use of pesticides. The EPA does recognize that pesticides are harmful and sets limits on the amount and types of pesticides that can be used in growing food and also sets limits on the amount of pesticides that can remain in the food when you buy it. Following are some quotes from the EPA website:

Laboratory studies show that pesticides can cause health problems, such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time.¹

Birth defects … nerve damage … cancer, and more. Certainly, it is important for people to be aware of pesticide contamination of the food we consume.

(The) EPA sets limits on how much of a pesticide may be used on food during growing and processing, and how much can remain on the food you buy.²

Although the EPA sets limits it still acknowledges there are pesticides that remain on the food we buy. It is clear that the government is aware that over our lifetimes, pesticides will accumulate in our bodies and potentially cause harm to our health.

Pesticides Contain Neurotoxins

Some pesticides contain neurotoxins act on the nervous system of insects. Basically, it’s chemical warfare against the bugs. These neurotoxins remain as residue on the foods that are sold in the U.S. and they accumulate in the body and cause nerve damage to people over time.

Pesticides Cause Obesity

Recent studies have revealed that chemicals in the environment cause obesity. Among these are chemical pesticides and chemicals in food containers. The chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), used in plastic food containers and in the linings of canned foods, has been linked to obesity. These findings were discussed in 2007 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. You can have a hard time losing weight when pesticides are consumed.

Foods With The Most Pesticides

Some foods contain more pesticides than others. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes an annual “dirty dozen” list of the most contaminated foods. They estimate that consumers can reduce their exposure to pesticides by as much as 80% simply by consuming only the most healthy foods. One of the worst foods for pesticide contamination is coffee. This is because many of the coffee beans used to make conventionally grown coffee comes from countries that do not regulate the use of pesticides. This is a big reason to buy organic coffee. Two more are strawberries and peaches. Strawberries and peaches were also mentioned on a Dr Oz Show segment in 2010 among the worst foods contaminated with pesticides. You can view the current “dirty dozen” list of foods here at this web page.

Healthy Food Spray For Washing Produce

The Dr. Oz show aired a segment on pesticides where he showed a simple formula for a healthy food spray that you can make yourself from common household items that you can use to clean your fresh fruits and vegetables. Visit this web page for the formula.

Give Your Body a Fighting Chance

The body should be able to detoxify naturally and get rid of accumulated toxins by itself. As long as it is strong and healthy and not overwhelmed, it should be able handle some measure of toxicity. Toxins can accumulate in the body in many ways – not just from pesticides. One should always endeavor to follow a healthy eating plan. But when you take into account lifestyle factors like stress, smoking, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, junk food in addition to food additives and nutritionally empty or harmful substances like trans fats, refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, harmful chemicals like BPA plus pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), milk laced with rbST (rGBH – genetically-engineered bovine growth hormone), antibiotics and hormones in chicken and beef then one can understand that the body can soon face a losing battle. The point is to do whatever is in your power to give your body the best possible chance of being strong and healthy by making the most intelligent and most healthy choices.

Sources:
¹http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/food/risks.htm
²http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/food/govt.htm

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Avoid Genetically Modified Foods

admin — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 07:42:45 +0000

In December, 2010 Dr. Mehmet Oz did a segment on the Dr. Oz Show about genetically modified foods. The subject of GMO foods or “Genetically Modified Organisms” is an important topic for the everyday person to understand because GMO ingredients are used in most processed foods.

Much of the corn, soy and canola grown in the United States is genetically modified. These three crops are used in many derivative ingredients such as HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) a sweetener found in “processed foods and beverages, including breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments” (source: Wikipedia). Ingredients made from the soybean is also widely used – soy oil, textured vegetable protein, animal feed, etc. Canola oil is a major ingredient in the food industry.

WATCH VIDEO

Are genetically engineered foods safe? Dr. Oz leads an investigation to find out. See how you can protect your family. Click here for more…

GMOs Are Unnatural

GMOs are not bred by natural means. Natural means of breeding, like cross-breeding, has been the only way to create new plant varieties until recently and has always involved organisms of the same species. GMOs, on the other hand, are made in the lab and is not limited to organisms within the same species. GMO foods are created by unnatural processes. Despite their wide distribution and consumption – mostly by an unsuspecting public – there have been no studies that track the long term effects on humans. GMO foods have been given a pass from the authorities here in the U.S. without sufficient study as to the possible health effects they may have on the human body or to possible genetic effects in the environment.

Avoid GMO Foods

When you shop for your food, be careful and read all the labels. Currently, there are no regulations that require food producers to label food products that contain GMOs. Any product containing corn, soy or canola food products (such as high fructose corn syrup, corn oil, soy oil or canola oil) can be considered to be genetically modified if they are not organic. The easiest way to avoid them is to buy organic foods. According to the USDA, they certify that organic foods are completely natural and are not permitted to be bio-engineered in any manner.

Consuming GMO Foods May Cause Obesity

Now there is even concern that GMO foods may be the cause of the obesity epidemic in America. In a video at the naturalnews.tv website, a solid argument is put forth that obesity in America may have actually been caused by GMO foods because obesity has been on the rise ever since GMO foods were first introduced into the American food supply in the mid 1990s. You can view the video at the naturalnews.tv website and judge for yourself.

Become Knowledgeable

At any rate, take the time to learn about GMO foods and make sure you are buying good, healthy, natural food – in as natural a state as you can manage. It is true that people lead very busy lives and it can sometimes be a struggle to buy healthy food and prepare it properly. But a lot is at stake. Your health is important and it is important to know about these things for you to stay strong and healthy.

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Herb Roasted Chicken

admin — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 03:38:14 +0000

Ahhh, tasty herb roasted chicken with crisp skin! You can cook this yourself with some basic ingredients in about an hour and a half. Buy a whole chicken – preferably pasture raised (as organic as possible … not corn fed and not fattened up with hormones and antibiotics). I try to buy chicken that doesn’t contain any hormones or antibiotics, but it can be tricky getting the correct information.

Currently, there are some chickens being peddled as “Free Range” which are pretty much meaningless. The term, “Free Range”, does not mean it was not fed with corn laced with chemicals, and the terms “no added hormones or antibiotics” doesn’t mean that the growers didn’t add the chemicals into the food, so caveat emptor, “Let the buyer beware.”

Hormones and antibiotics make chickens grow much larger than they do naturally. Good, healthy chickens that weigh around 3 lbs. or just over that is about as big as they should be. I am suspicious of gigantic chicken breasts being sold as “Free Range.” If the chicken looks too big, it was probably given hormones and antibiotics. I like the chickens from Mary’s Pasture Raised Chickens. They are available locally at Whole Foods Markets.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, about 3 lbs or so
thyme
basil
oregano
rosemary
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 425°. Leave the skin on the chicken and place it in a baking pan breast side up. Liberally season the outside and inside with thyme and basil and sparingly with oregano. Liberally season the inside only with rosemary. Then sprinkle outside with salt and pepper. Place in preheated oven on the top rack and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

This will make a tender and juicy bird with a crispy skin.

Note: Adjust cooking time depending on the weight of the chicken – for example 1 hour and 10 minutes for a 3 lb chicken.

Shown below is a shot of the whole chicken in a baking pan with all the seasonings – thyme, basil and oregano, rosemary along with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 425°. Liberally season the outside and inside with thyme and basil and a little bit with oregano. Season the inside only with rosemary, then sprinkle with salt and pepper to your preference.

Place in the oven and bake for about an hour and 10 minutes. Adjust cooking time according to the weight of the chicken.

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Baked Chicken Breast

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:29:41 +0000

This is a relatively quick and easy recipe that you can make in about 20 minutes. Chicken breast is a staple food for people who wish to lose weight, but it can get really boring. If cooked carelessly, it can turn out very dry and tasteless. This recipe will make a very tender and juicy baked chicken breast that is seasoned well and is very tasty.

I prefer range-free chicken that doesn’t contain any hormones or antibiotics. These additives make chickens grow large, and, unfortunately, I believe that they can make people grow large as well. We are able to get range-free chicken at a reasonable price from Trader Joe’s here in Southern California.

Baked chicken breast can be served as a main dish or you can cut it into pieces that you can toss into a green salad.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2 breasts)
Thyme
Basil
Oregano
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425°. Place chicken breasts in a baking pan and season liberally with thyme and basil and sparingly with oregano. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in preheated oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. Adjust cooking time according to the weight of the chicken, more or less time for more or less weight. Serve hot, tender and juicy.

Shown below is a shot of the chicken breast in a baking pan with all the seasonings – thyme, basil and oregano, along with salt and pepper. We prefer range-free chicken because it is healthier than chicken raised conventionally. Preheat oven to 425°.

Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Adjust cooking time according to the weight of the chicken.

Serve hot with sliced vegetables. Below it is shown with sliced radish, cucumber and tomato.

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Fat Free Ginger Turkey Curry with Brown Rice

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:51:26 +0000

This is a delicious curry recipe that is relatively easy to make. You will need some turkey stew meat (turkey breast with all the fat and skin removed), fresh ginger root, Anaheim chili pepper, onion, garlic, fat-free plain yogurt, fresh coriander (cilantro), chicken broth and some curry powder. We buy our curry powder by the pound because it is more economical than what is available in grocery stores.

This recipe makes about 4 servings. It can be served by itself, but is best when served over brown rice. This isn’t exactly a core food because it is made with a dairy product (yogurt) but it is still good for keeping your weight down. It is made with good, whole, natural foods.

Ingredients:

2 cups sliced onions
1 chopped green chili pepper (Anaheim chili)
1 tbsp. fresh ginger root, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. turkey stew meat, bite sized pieces
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped coriander (cilantro)
5 tbsp. plain fat-free yogurt

cooked brown rice

Start by cooking the brown rice. Use a rice cooker or tightly covered pot. While the rice is cooking, slice the onions into thin slices. For large onions, you can quarter them first. Chop the chili pepper, then finely chop the ginger and garlic (peel the ginger root before chopping). Add the sliced onions, chopped chili pepper, garlic and ginger to a large skillet along with about 1/2 cup of water, then cook over a medium flame until the onions are soft and slightly translucent (about 10 minutes). Add water if needed to keep from burning.

Cut the turkey into bite size pieces and add them to the skillet along with the curry powder. Mix thoroughly and cook for about 2 minutes until the curry is distributed evenly and the meat is slightly seared.

Add the chicken broth to the skillet, bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Do not overcook the turkey.

When the chicken broth and curry are a smooth consistency, turn off the flame add the yogurt and coriander (cilantro), then stir to thoroughly mix everything.

Serve in bowls over brown rice.

Shown below is a photo of all the ingredients: starting in back and going left to right – chicken broth, fat free plain yogurt, cliantro (coriander), curry powder, turkey meat, onion, garlic clove, ginger root and Anaheim chili pepper. Start by cooking the brown rice. I like to use a rice cooker.

Next, cut up all the vegetables. Start by slicing the onion. This is a large onion so I am going to cut into quarters first.

Slice the onion into thin slices. This recipe works better with sliced onions rather than chopped onions. It makes for a better texture.

Now all the onions are sliced up…

Next, prepare the chili pepper by removing all the seeds and ribs.

Start by cutting off the end, then by slicing the pepper down the middle.

Scrape out all the seeds and ribs by hand.

Slice each of the pepper halves into long thin slices.

Arrange the slices into a bunch, then chop the pepper into small chunks.

Now the pepper is all chopped up …

Measure out the curry powder into a dish.

Measure out a cup of chicken broth …

Chop up the fresh coriander (cilantro). Fresh coriander goes bad real fast even when kept in the refrigerator, so only buy as much as you need.

Measure out the chopped coriander into a dish and set aside for now …

… Same thing for the yogurt … measure it out into a dish and set it aside for now …

Next, chop up the garlic clove and fresh ginger root. Here I am using a chopper, but you can do it just as easily with a good chef’s knife. Peel the ginger first.

Now the garlic and ginger is all chopped up ….

Cut the turkey meat into small bit sized chunks.

Now the meat is all chopped up and ready to go …

Now that the vegetables and meat have all been sliced and chopped and all the ingredients have been set aside in dishes, it’s time to cook. Start by adding the onions, chili pepper, garlic and ginger to a skillet. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the skillet. This is the fat-free way to cook it.

Cook over a medium flame stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 10 minutes or so until the onions are soft and translucent.

Next, add the turkey meat …

… followed immediately by the curry powder. Keep cooking over a medium flame.

Stir everything together until the curry is evenly distributed and the meat is slighty seared. This should take about 2 minutes. Don’t overcook or burn the turkey.

Then add the chicken broth …

Cook for another 5 minutes or so. Again, don’t overcook the turkey. Cook until the sauce is of a smooth consistency.

Now turn off the flame and add the yogurt and coriander.

Stir everything together until all is thoroughly mixed. Now it is ready to serve.

Place some cooked brown rice into a bowl.

Cover with a serving of the cooked ginger turkey curry.

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Portobello Mushrooms with White Wine

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:13:52 +0000

Portobello mushrooms are very popular and readily available in most local grocery stores and supermarkets. They are high in niacin, potassium and selenium. This is a delicious recipe that you can make very quickly and easily. It is cooked with white wine. You can make a non-alcoholic version simply by substituting the juice from 1/2 lime plus about 1 tablespoon of water instead of the white wine. The wine I used in this particular recipe was very inexpensive (Charles Shaw – also known as "Two Buck Chuck").

This is a good side dish and goes well with fish or meat as the main dish. They will make an excellent meal when served with steak, lamb or fish along with a tossed green salad or sliced tomatoes.

Ingredients:

4 Portobello mushrooms
1 lg onion
6 cloves garlic
1/3 cup white wine
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt

Cut Portobello mushrooms into 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch cubes. Chop the onion. Chop garlic cloves and place in frying pan. Sauté over a medium heat until garlic begins to look toasty. Add olive oil and turn heat down. Continue to sauté until garlic is soft and light brown in color, then add chopped vegetables to the pan. Salt to taste, then add white wine. Vegetables will be done when soft and brown.

Alternately: Use juice from 1/2 lime plus about 1 tbsp of water in place of the white wine.

Shown below is a photo of the ingredients: One large yellow onion, four portobello mushrooms and six cloves of garlic.

First, chop the garlic … not too fine and definitely not minced.

Slice each mushroom into 3/4 inch slices.

Cutting crosswise, make additional 3/4 inch slices to make 3/4 inch cubes.

Then chop the onions.

Add the chopped garlic to the pan and sauté the garlic over a medium flame.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil and continue to sauté the garlic until it is soft and light brown in color.

Next, add the cubed mushrooms.

Then add the chopped onions, followed by the white wine.

Continue cooking for about 8 to 10 minutes.

Continue cooking until all the vegetables are soft and brown.

Serve immediately.

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Fat Free Refried Beans

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:21:13 +0000

This is my recipe for fat free refried beans. There are numerous recipes for refried beans. Most of them use ham and lard or other variations containing a lot of fat. Refried beans are excellent for healthy eating or for losing weight – providing they are prepared without adding fat or fatty meats.

First you will need to cook the pinto beans. You should soak the beans in water overnight, then on the following day it takes about 3 hours to cook them. This recipe uses some chili powder, cayenne pepper and other seasonings to add spice. You will sauté some chopped onions in water (that’s the fat-free way to cook them), then add crushed or minced garlic, then add seasonings to gradually infuse more and more flavor. At the end of the cooking you will add some fresh squeezed lime juice. You add it at the end to keep from cooking away the flavor.

Note: This recipe calls for 4 cups of cooked beans. If you cook 3 1/2 cups of dried beans it will divide up into about 2 batches of 4 cups of cooked beans.

Fat Free Refried Beans

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked beans
1 cup chopped onions (about 1/2 large onion)
1 tbsp minced or crushed garlic
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice (about 1/4 lime)

Mash the beans in a bowl with a masher and set aside for now. Add chopped onions to a heavy skillet and cook until soft and beginning to brown a little. Add 1 tbsp of water at a time to keep skillet moist and to keep from burning the onions. Then add garlic and continue cooking until the onions are a light brown color. Add mashed beans to skillet and mix thoroughly, then stir in the chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt. Continue to cook the beans in the skillet and stir with a spatula until it is a thick paste. At that time, add the lime juice and thoroughly mix it into the cooked beans. Turn off the heat once the lime juice is mixed in to avoid cooking away the lime flavor.

Shown below is a photo of all the ingredients. Starting in the upper right corner and moving counter-clockwise: crushed garlic, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, onion, lime and dried pinto beans.

Start by cooking the pinto beans. Please see this post for complete instructions. After cooking the beans, use a masher to mash them while in the pot.

Chop the onions …

Place the chopped onions in a large skillet.

Measure out portions of the other ingredients and set them aside in dishes. Shown below (left to right): all the dry ingredients in the dish on the left (ground cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder and salt), then crushed garlic in the middle dish followed by fresh squeezed lime juice in the last dish.

Sauté the chopped onions in water, gradually adding more water as necessary – about a tablespoon at a time – to keep the onions from sticking to the skillet or burning. After cooking for about 8 minutes, add the crushed garlic.

Continue to cook the vegetables for about 2 minutes more. Just infuse the flavors into the vegetables.

When the onions and garlic are cooked, add the mashed beans.

Use the masher or wooden spoon and continue to cook the vegetables and mashed beans together. After a minute or two, add the dry seasonings (ground cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder and salt).

Continue to cook and stir the mashed beans with a masher or wooden spoon for another minute or two, then add the fresh squeezed lime juice.

Using the masher, thoroughly mix the fresh squeezed lime juice throughout the mashed beans. When everything is all mixed together, the refried beans will be done.

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