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31
May
2011
 Healthier Buffalo Chicken



I guess I really like spicy foods because this Memorial Day I decided to make a buffalo chicken salad. Most buffalo sauces tend to be high in sodium, and made of a bunch of processed ingredients. I finally found one that was slightly lower in sodium.

But, you can always make your own Buffalo sauce:
Combine salt, pepper, smart balance/margarine spread, a hot sauce or cayenne pepper sauce, and splash of white wine vinegar. You can add extra seasonings like garlic powder if you like.

After grilling the marinated chicken breast, I sliced it and put the chicken on a bed of romaine with sliced red onions and a yogurt-based creamy dressing.

It turned out delicious, and is a healthy alternative to the fried processed buffalo chicken you get at restaurants. Yum! And perfect for the warm weather–it is supposed to be an average high of 95 this week in Atlanta. Yikes.

26
May
2011
 Spicy Cumin Quinoa



Ever since I discovered that I loved cumin with quinoa, I had been wanting to try a new recipe. I came across an Ingrid Hoffman recipe on Food Network, and modified it.

Spicy Cumin Quinoa
Makes 6-8 servings.
Ingredients:
  • 1 3/4 C Quinoa
  • 2 1/2 C Water
  • 1 TBSP. olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 green pepper, sliced
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp. Mrs Dash Chipotle seasoning
  • 1 tsp. chipotle pepper spice
  • 1-2 Tbsp. ground cumin
  • 2 tsp. canned chopped green chiles
  • 1/2 C fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

  • Rinse quinoa in a mesh colander with very fine holes to get off the bitter saponin coating. 
  • Place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Simmer, with lid on for about 15 minutes.
  • While quinoa is hot, stir in spices and seasonings.
  • While quinoa is cooking, saute the onion and green pepper in a large saute pan. Add salt and pepper. When almost finished cooking, add green chile peppers and garlic.
  • Stir in the cooked quinoa into the onion and pepper mixture.
  • Top with chopped parsley.

I ate mine with a drizzle of this Lizano sauce from Costa Rica. We brought the sauce back from our vacation because we loved it so much. It has a hearty cumin flavor that goes with everything. It’s like ketchup for Costa Rica!

And then I added a dallop of light sour cream because I found the dish pretty spicy.

20
May
2011
 Tasty China



My favorite Chinese restaurant in the Atlanta area is Tasty China because their food has depth of flavor, and most of it is eye-watering spicy.

We ordered takeout, and watched Black Swan which was an excellent movie (doesn’t leave you will a happy feeling, but is well made).

Anyway, my favorite dishes from Tasty China are the basil chicken, the cashew chicken was good (see below), and their soups are all excellent so far. They have this one soup, it’s basically a hot and numbing wonton soup with chili oil, and it is delicious. Anything with hot and numbing peppers actually numbs your mouth in a strange way. Maybe so you don’t feel the heat?

Most of the food is very oily though, so a small portion fills you up quickly. For example, Mr Triathlete (who I now may refer to as Mr Cyclist…) and I share one of those entrees and always have leftovers.

Pictured above is the dry fried eggplant. It is rated as one of the top 50 foods to eat in Atlanta. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it wouldn’t actually be fried, but regardless, these eggplants were coated with oil. Pretty greasy. Even so, they had excellent flavor, and were very spicy! These will not make my favorite list, and I am not sure that I would classify them as one of the top 50 foods in Atlanta.

Anyway, I wouldn’t call Chinese restaurants health food dining, but it’s a great way to try new foods.

16
May
2011
 My First Road Bike



The last time I had been on a bike was when I was about 16 years old. I had a nice little mountain bike that got me to and from my babysitting gigs.

After listening to my triathlete/cyclist boyfriend talk on and on about how he loves cycling, I started to think about if I would like to ride a bike again. I used to ride a bike all the time as a kid, why not now? Makes total sense, and it’s another fun, new way to get exercise.

So, after eating lunch with Mr Triathlete, and watching him eat this ridiculously funny portion of pizza and salad, we went to go search out a bike.

I don’t really know a whole lot about the bike I got. I guess I should, but I am still trying to learn everything I need to know. I will get there. I got a Giant Avail something? And Mr Triathlete mentioned how I need 105 components, and I just said, ok. I really have no idea about bikes.

I felt so dorky when I got everything on. Everyone said I was crazy for using clip-less peddles, and told me I would fall down. Well, I fell down. But, I was in the apartment, and on the carpet. So, it was no big deal–yet. I have a good teacher.

Looking dorky

I am still scared about crashing, or getting stranded somewhere with my bike messed up. And I’m afraid that I won’t be able to make it up a hill, or that I will look like a dork. But, I am more excited to feel the wind in my face, glide around more quickly than I can run, and see different scenery more quickly than I can run.

So, here’s to the start of a new hobby/exercise where I have no idea what I am doing. And that’s what life’s about :)

15
May
2011
 Make at Home Gourmet Sandwich



I don’t make a whole lot of sandwiches at home because there is something tasty about a sandwich that someone else makes for you.

But, today I had all the key ingredients for making a gourmet, at-home sandwich!

  • Pesto from Costco: Delicious! And the first ingredient is basil. Now of course this is a high calorie item, but contains all healthy monounsaturated fats from olive oil and pines nuts. And you only need 1-2 tsp.
  • Whole wheat bread
  • Tomato slices
  • Trader Joe’s herbed turkey (nitrite free!)
  • Spinach leaves
  • Cheddar dill cheese (from Farmer’s Market)

And voila! You have an at-home gourmet sandwich.

14
May
2011
 Quarter Century



On Friday the 13th, I turned a quarter century old. The week before I was starting to feel old, and thinking about where I am in my life. And then, I remembered, I am only 25–it’s not like I was turning 50 or 75! No need to have a quarter life crisis.

When I went to work, my coworkers were so sweet, and surprised me with mini cupcakes.

So nice. And they thought about portion control!

For dinner, we went out to Eclipse de Luna, a tapas restaurant. We got calamari, olives, nuts, various salads, a cheese plate, mussels, shrimp, and wine!

Oh yeah, and I got a new camera! Finally! Nothing too fancy, but a million times better than the old camera I had before. It’s a Canon PowerShot ELPH 500 and looks like this:

I will now have better pictures for blogging :)

8
May
2011
 “Healthy” Trans Fat Ice Cream



I took a trip down to Florida with Mr Triathlete and his Mom to be his cheerleader at one of his races. On a hot day we came across what appeared to be a “healthy” frozen yogurt store called D’Lites Emporium. They advertise ice cream that is low in sodium, sugar, fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol free, and a healthier alternative to regular ice cream.

“What harm can it do to try it?”, I thought.

The one on the left is creamsicle; the right is peanut butter brownie.

The advertise that 1/2 Cup (which is what we got) is only 50 calories, 1.5 g fat, 1 g saturated, 6 g carbohydrates, 3 g sugar, 1 g protein.

I asked the store manager what the ice cream was made of, and he said, “only skim milk”. I thought that was strange because skim milk does not have any fat. Where did the fat content come from? I was stumped.

So, we ordered the ice cream, and the texture was like a mousse. It seemed like one of those sugar free mousse products. D’Lites tastes like it contains sugar alcohols, but I found out it does not. It does not have much flavor, and it not very sweet. It is not tart like frozen yogurt.

The Scary and Shocking Real Ingredients:

SKIM MILK, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL, BUTTERMILK SOLIDS, WHEY SOLIDS, ARTIFICIAL VANILLA, MONO AND
DYGLYCERIDES, GUAR GUM, CELLULOSE GUM, POLYSORBATE 80 AND CARRAGEENAN.

Trans fat? Seriously, people? And it is one of the first major, main ingredients! 1/2 cup probably has 0.5 g trans fat. Just great. Most people don’t just get a tiny 1/2 cup. If you eat larger amounts of this on a consistent basis, this “treat” could actually raise your cholesterol and lower your HDL (heart healthy cholesterol).

Everything they advertise is correct, and they never call themselves “healthy” which is a term that is highly regulated. They advertise themselves more a dietary, lab-created product for those with strict dietary needs. Do not be tricked–they are not a health product by any means. I will stick with Yoforia, or some other healthy fro-yo place.

What to learn from this: never believe foods are trans fat free unless they state it, or you read the ingredient label.

Random sunset picture from the trip.

4
May
2011
 Spice Up Your Organization



So, apparently the previous location of my spices above my stove and oven was not a smart idea. The heat destroys the spices as the oven and stove heat up. Alton Brown would frown upon that. And I am not tall enough to reach all the spices in that cabinet.

I decided to get creative, and tried to devise a magnetic wall system of organization.

So far it works pretty well, but I was doubtful at first because the magnets did not seem strong enough. It probably cost me $40-$50 to do this project, but it looks ten times better.

Here are the supplies you will need if you do this on your own:

  • Magnets ($5)
  • Adhesive to glue the magnets to containers
    • I used a hot glue gun
  • Light-weight containers ($6)
    • I used BPA free small Tupperware containers
  • A metal board ($35)
    • I ordered a metal bulletin board. I would recommend just getting a plain sheet of metal that is stronger and used for workroom organization like this:
      I am not sure if this is actually a whole lot cheaper than other methods of spice organization. We shall see if it comes crashing down from the wall one day!

    Update: The little magnets keep coming off the containers. I must find a better adhesive! I have tried a hot glue gun and super glue. Thought about Velcro. Not sure what else to try, but I will keep trying to make it work because it is still much better than those other expensive and cheaply made (for what you have to pay) magnetic systems.

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