Recipe: Almond Butter

Anybody that knows me, knows that if I can make it at home, from scratch, I will. 

One of the luxuries I get to enjoy during prep is almond butter. If you haven't noticed already, almond butter is so expensive! I'm talking about the all natural ones. So I've decided to make my own. Raw almonds when you buy them in bulk are (relatively) so cheap. I figured, I have an awesome food processor, if I want an all natural no other stuff I don't want added to my almond butter, I could just whip that stuff up myself! 

Plain Almomd Butter:

Ingredients:

Raw Almonds 

(I left mine with skin on, I was kind of lazy today. If you like them without the skin, you can buy them without the skin or you can do it yourself if you want to save money. Just boil some water, add raw almonds and boil for one minute. After a minute wash the almonds in cold water, blot dry with paper towel and squeeze the almonds from the skin) 

Preheat your oven to 350. 

Place raw almonds on a baking sheet.

Put in the oven and let it them bake for 10 minutes. (The toasting part is optional,  I just prefer them a little toasted. It brings out more nuttiness. This also brings out the natural oil in the nut that helps make the almond butter very creamy so you don't need to add additional oil)

Add the almonds in food processer and let it do it's thing. Every couple of minutes or so you may need to scrape the side. Let it run until the consistency is very creamy. This took about 10 minutes on my processor, it may be vary depending on what kind of food processor you have. 

And there you go! Delish homemade cheap almond butter! 

I divided mine into three (approximately a cup and a half each container) and added flavor to the other two.

For the Cinnamon, I just added a tablespoon of ground cinnamon. You can adjust this according to your taste. I like cinnamon so I don't mind a lot of it. Great flavor and no added calories, sugar or fat! 

For the Chocolate, I added two tablespoon of 100% cacao powder (make sure it's the one that has no sugar). I also added one packet of stevia for sweetness. 

Enjoy! 

Recipe: Almond/Peanut Butter Cups

With my new found love for peanut butter, I knew I wanted to try Reese's peanut butter cups and see if I would like them; but you know me, if I can make it at home, I would. So these were on my list to make after the show. These are super delish, super easy to make and waaay healthier and better than Reese's and without all the other crap.

Enjoy!

200g of organic dark chocolate chips

200g of all natural pure peanut butter or almond butter

2 tbsp of organic coconut oil

12 Cupcake liners

Melt chocolate with 1 tbsp of coconut oil in double boiler

Pour a tbsp of melted chocolate in each cup

Put in fridge for about 3 minutes for chocolate to set

 

Mix remaining coconut oil and almond butter

Spoon a little bit in set chocolate, put in the fridge for another 3 minutes to set

 

Spoon another layer of chocolate on top and put in the fridge to set until ready to be eaten! Try to be patient and not eat all of them in once seating! 

 

Recipe: Turkey Quinoa Stuffed Pablano with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This was inspired by an old recipe that I had (http://ronnielascano.blogspot.com/2010/10/chicken-chile-relleno.html)for chicken relleno.

This version is much leaner, lower in fat and calories but just as delish!

4 large poblano peppers
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red (or orange, yellow, green) bell pepper, finely chopped
1 lb of ground lean turkey (ground chicken works as well)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-1/2 tbsp dried sage
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp ground mustard 
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1½ cups cooked quinoa

¼ cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth or water
Salt & pepper to taste

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
4 red bell peppers
1 cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth or water
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat grill and oven to 350 degrees. Once the grill is hot, place pablano and red bell peppers on the grill and roast until blackened on all sides.

 

Put in ziploc bags for 10 minutes then carefully peel the skin off the peppers. 

Using small sharp knife, carefully slit peppers open along 1 side. Remove seeds, leaving stems attached and set aside.

 

Meanwhile, brown ground turkey in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, red peppers and dry seasonings. Cook until turkey is cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Add cooked quinoa and chicken broth, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Remove from heat.

 Stuff the pablano peppers with the turkey mixture placed on a baking dish.

In the meanwhile take peeled and seeds removed red bell pepper and transfer to a blender. Add roasted garlic and chicken broth (or water) and blend until smooth.

 Pour over the stuffed pablano peppers and bake in the oven for 25 minutes and serve hot! 

Note:
Ingredients listed in red above is my own mixture for italian seasoning. You can easily buy Italian chicken sausage in lieu of turkey and added seasoning. I prefer to do my own so I know exactly what goes in my food. It's also one of the benefits of having a well stocked pantry. :)

Recipe: Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I'm 10 weeks out and a lot of people are really noticing the changes with my body and I am too. People are always asking me what I eat and assumes that I'm eating nothing but boiled chicken and broccoli! BOILED CHICKEN!?? That's just silly! I cook clean, healthy and delicious food whenever we have people for dinner and quite a bit of them are asking for a lot of my recipes or suggest that I put together a recipe book. Not sure if I'm quite ready for that but I've always preached that healthy doesn't mean lack of flavor or grilled chicken and broccoli.

Yoko suggested that I create a food blog. I could be the Asian Julia Childs with clean recipes! It's definitely a thought but for now, I'll stick to this until all the things I have going on calm down a bit and maybe I'll start that! For now, I'll stick to this blog and share recipes whenever I can.



Turkey Lettuce Wraps

1 lb ground turkey or ground chicken (if you prefer)
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 carrots, julienned 
1 cup of chopped  mushrooms
Salt & pepper (to taste)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and julienne
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 1/2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce (tamari for gluten free option)
1/2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. natural peanut butter
1 tbsp. vinegar
2 tbsp. chili garlic sauce
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
romaine lettuce

It's all about flavor. Garlic, Onions, Ginger

Heat a large, non-stick skillet on high. Add ground turkey, stirring often to break up the meat and cook until it's done, drain if necessary. Set aside.

Add onion and garlic until onion is almost translucent. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Add turkey back in the pan.

Meanwhile, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, vinegar, chili garlic sauce and pepper in a bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add to skillet and stir to combine. 

Add green onion, carrots, ginger and water chestnuts into the skillet, then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through.  

Serve with cold lettuce leaves and a side of Siracha if desired. Unsalted peanuts are optional for extra crunch as well!

Recipe: Cravings (Spicy Chicken & Broccoli Recipe)

Another craving I had was beef and broccoli so with ingredients I had in hand, I whipped up a delish and healthy to satisfy my Chinese food craving.

I used 2 boneless and skinless chicken breast and cut into 1" cubes instead of beef, seasoned with salt and pepper.

I preheated my pan and heated 1 tsp of coconut oil. Added 1 medium chopped onion and sautéed for about 2 minutes. Add 4 cloves of chopped garlic and 2 tbsp of chopped ginger. Sautee for another 2 minutes.

Move aromatics to the side and brown chicken cubes on both sides.

Once the chicken is brown, I added my veggies. I had a head of broccoli in the fridge and some more snap peas. So I threw those in there.

I let it cooked for about 2 minutes then added my tamari and chili sauce mixture. (2 tbsp of low sodium tamari and 1 tbsp of chili sauce). This is where you would usually add 1 tbsp of cornstarch to help thicken the sauce but I'm not sure if cornstarch is allowed in my diet at this time so I omitted it.

Mix it well and let it cook for 2 minutes, add 1/2 cup of water and cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes. 

And done! I served this on a bed of quinoa/brown rice mixture and a side of extra chili sauce. 

It was delish! Vince thought that it'll probably be good if we added unsalted peanuts at the end for extra crunch and I agree. I didn't have any in the pantry. Maybe next time. 

Cravings (Chicken Masala Recipe)

This week, for some reason, has been hard when it comes to taming my cravings. Maybe it's because it's been really cold and I've been resting (nurturing my fat as I call it, lol) but I have been craving a lot of things that I can't necessarily have. Mostly savory dishes. Luckily, I'm not a really big sweets person.

Yesterday, since I was feeling a whole lot better, Vince took me out to the movies to watch The Hunger Games. We ate dinner before we left the house so we would not be tempted to eat unhealthy (and expensive) stuff from the theater. When we were walking to the theater, I immediately smell the savory and delish aroma of Indian Food. Vince and I usually eat at this restaurant (one of my favorite Indian food Restaurant) when we are around this area. My mouth was watering and I was still thinking about it when we got out of the theater. 

On the drive home, I was thinking about how I could make a clean and healthier version of chicken curry/masala which is usually loaded with heavy cream and butter. By the time we got home, I had a plan! 

I took the chicken breast out of the fridge, trimmed the extra fat off and cut it into cubes. I marinated the chicken with 1/2 cup of non fat Greek yogurt, freshly grated ginger root and minced garlic and a tbsp of curry. I covered it and let it marinate in the fridge overnight. 

The next day, we had breakfast and cleaned up the apartment. I timed cooking the masala so by the time it's done, it's time to eat lunch! 

I finely chopped medium onion, 5 cloves of garlic and ginger (we always have ginger root and garlic in our house). Set aside. On a pan, I heated 1 tsp of coconut oil and toasted some ground cumin for a couple of minutes. I added my aromatics and cooked until the onions are translucent. I then added 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of chili powder and 1 tsp of curry powder. I let that cook for two minutes. The aroma of spices cooking was amazing! Vince was getting hungry smelling it! 

I then added the marinated chicken and let it cook for about 8 minutes until the chicken are golden brown. 

I then added about 1 cup of water, about 2 tbsp of garam masala and 3 bay leaves. I turn the heat down to medium low, covered it and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. 

I knew that I needed to get my greens in somehow so I looked into our fridge and see what kid of veggies I had on hand. Perfect! Snap peas! It'll add a beautiful color, crunch and nutrition to the dish!

I cut about 2 cups of snap peas in half and added to the dish along with 2 tbsp of Greek yogurt to thicken the sauce a bit. I let it simmer for about another 3 minutes (I don't want to over cook the snap peas, I like them crunchy).

I made sure that I portioned out the right amount of chicken and veggies for my meal on top of quinoa. 

It was delicious and packedful of flavor.

I was able to satisfy my craving for Indian food and still stayed with my diet and saved money! I had everything I needed to make this dish at home! 

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep your pantry stocked with dried herbs and spices. Most dried herbs and spices have no calories and the ones that do are so insignificant that you probably burn those calories cooking that delish food! They add so much flavor without all the calories and fat.