Add Cashews for Delicious & Nutritious Meals

July 26th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Kitchen - (0 Comments)

A few weeks ago we experimented with cashews in an Indian-style dish. I often order Thai food that has cashews cooked in, and have always enjoyed it. They have great texture; the cashews become nice and tender.

Cashew Chicken with Korma Simmer Sauce

Plus, think of all the nutrition benefits you get from cashews:
Cashews are loaded with copper. Copper is a key enzyme for SOD (superoxide dismutase). SOD is a powerhouse of an antioxidant. Without copper, SOD does not function so well. Copper also functions as an enzyme for other antioxidants. As a bonus, copper helps to maintain healthy blood vessels, bones, and joints.

Next time you are making a stir-fry or casserole style dish, try adding some cashews to your saute ingredients! I recommend buying raw whole cashews (bulk grocery stores including Whole Paycheck will carry these).

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Food Obsessions

April 29th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week | Food Review - (1 Comments)

I go through phases of things that I am obsessed with. OK, it’s not healthy to have food obsessions–more like here are a few of my favorite things.

#1: Espresso
Not really a food… I have stopped getting coffee and milk-filled lattes at Starbuck’s and coffee shops, and now just getting shots of espresso. It’s cheaper anyway. Sometimes with  a tiny bit of soy milk. Starbuck’s also sucked me into their rewards program. I have 21 points to go to get their gold card. So silly, but it will end up saving me money. This is what I tell myself.
Their protein snack plate is pretty good. Although, it’s more like a lunch pack. Natural peanut butter, boiled egg, apple, grapes, muesli bread thing, and 2 wedges of cheese. The fruit was surprisingly fresh tasting. The entire thing is about 380 calories. I like that it is mostly all natural (although I am sure there are a few preservatives for the egg). Love it.

#2: Almond Butter
I have been eating almond butter almost every morning. Usually on some toast, a wrap with banana, or a spoonful, and then grab some fruit on the way out the door. I highly recommend almond butter to those who haven’t tried it yet, but enjoy natural peanut butters. It is a great way to get some clean healthy fats in your day!
Don’t forget to store it upside down so that when you stir it, the oily part is on the bottom, and it makes life easier. And stock up! You don’t want to run out and be forced to pay for the expensive $10 almond butter at conventional grocery stores. Trader Joe’s sells it for about $4.99/pound and Costco sells it for about $7 (?) for a larger jar. However, I like the taste of the Trader Joe’s brand and I can get the raw unsalted crunchy variety.

#3 Wine
OK, this is not an obsession like you might think. It is more of an obsession with trying out different wines and seeing what I like best. I drink wine only every couple nights and usually just a 4-5 oz. portion.  Portion control, people. I guess you could call it an increasing fascination. I am my Dad’s daughter, after all. I would call my Dad a wine connoisseur.
Stocked up anyway since Mr. Non-Cycling Cyclist is going to come home soon from the dry wine land that is Thailand and India. He can help me enjoy some of these.

#4: Trader Joe’s
I got way too much food at Trader Joe’s this weekend. Probably because I went grocery shopping after a spin class. NEVER do this. If you must, make sure you have eaten some food on your way over or you will double your grocery bill like I did. Hehe.
Tried these new chicken skewers:
They are so easy to cook. I make one and then eat it with some veggies, or cut up and put on a salad.
 Made a taco chicken salad… sort of.

I mostly like shopping at Trader Joe’s because there are so many options for the health conscious shopper. There is a focus on more whole foods and less preservatives. It’s a way to buy more convenient food items that have fewer processing steps.

OK, well, time to start the new week!

Here are some more meal ideas for the week:

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Wheat Pizza Dough: Take 2!

March 5th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review | Recipes - (1 Comments)

I have baked with wheat pizza dough plenty of times before, and have always struggled for it to come out the way I like: crispy and crunchy. Wheat dough is usually more doughy and spongy. I like the hearty flavor (and improved health)–it’s just a texture thing.

So, I tried again with Trader Joe’s wheat pizza dough and made a nice amoeba-shaped pizza.
I have come to realize that it doesn’t matter the shape of the pizza so long as it fits on the pizza stone. Who cares? Still tastes good. The most important thing is to get the dough as thin as possible without any holes. That is the key to using wheat dough. The second most important thing is to cook the pizza as long as possible without burning your crust. I recommend using a pizza stone to get the dough nice and hot.
Then enjoy (mine, with a glass of milk).  This pizza was made with pizza sauce, broccoli, fat free ricotta, sausage, some herbs and basil, and mozzarella.

Earlier that day… I went shopping with my Mom and sister and picked up some fancy healthy trailmix at HomeGoods. Did you know TJ Maxx and HomeGoods sells specialty health foods at lower costs? Yup, they do. But, of course is all dry goods.
I gave this Natierra trail mix a try since it had goji berries–something different. We are waiting on more research on the goji berry to better understand its potential as a super fruit.  You mostly find them dried in the bulk sections of health food grocery stores or in trail-mixes.

But, you barely get anything in the bag:
Only 2.5 oz! For $4. I should have read the packaging before purchasing. Not a good value. And it retails for $10! Craziness. Oh well, it helps with portion control because I ate the whole thing and it was only 300 calories. Not bad for trail mix which can rack up 500 or more calories easily.

Enough of that! Here are some meal planning recipe ideas for this week:

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A Few of My Favorite Things: Vegetarian Fajitas & Dark Chocolate Raisinets

January 16th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week | Food Review - (0 Comments)

I went to Clemson this weekend to visit a friend, and help her move into her new apartment. We have been friends since high school, but haven’t talked much since college until just recently, so it was great to be able to meet up again!

Went to dinner and shared some vegetarian fajitas… and queso!
I was impressed with how loaded up in veggies these were.

Got an after dinner/movie snack:
Did you know that they now make a peach/pear La Croix?! I saw it at Ingles grocery store, and I am going to make sure to get some next time I see it.

The next morning we stopped by Starbuck’s and I got one of these new raw bars (along with my nonfat misto) they sell just to try it out:
This bird food looking bar is made by Two Moms in the Raw. The only drawback is that the bar has 18 grams of sugar which mainly comes from agave and blueberries. The bar is pretty good, but I won’t be buying it again because there is too much agave in there for me. I like as little added sugar as possible even if it is a natural source.

I know, I know, and then I go and eat raisnets. Haha. The difference is that I don’t eat raisinets all the time, but I eat granola, oats, and bars like that more frequently. It’s all about what you do 80% of the time. The 20% doesn’t count–or that is what I say ;)

After I said goodbye to Valerie…
I got some new snacks on the way home.
Some Brazil nuts that Valerie got me into. I have always liked them, but didn’t realize you could buy Brazil nuts only. Brazil nuts are very high in selenium which is a potent antioxidant, but surprisingly research shows that if you supplement, you are at greater risk for non-melanoma skin cancer and possibly type 2 Diabetes. So strange. I will have to research this more…

Also purchased some pomegranate arils (so convenient, but pricey), and little tuna packs for snacks or work lunches.

Up next in the next few days: a new tasty quinoa recipe!

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