Monday, August 16, 2010

Healthy Post

Hello everyone!! My, my, my, it has been too long since my last post. Not to worry, I do have much to talk about in this post, and in the posts to come.

Eating healthy...ugh. I always try not to think of anything negative with this. It's about flavor for me, not quantity. Most healthy foods to me taste the same. However, buying lean meat, vegetables, and seafood is extremely healthy, unless you drown it in butter of course. Cooking a great piece of tilapia is one of my favorite healthy meals (recipe below). When eating healthy, you should never ever be afraid of your spice cabinet. Did you know spices have ZERO calories? Did you just do a double take? That's right, zero calories on all spices. So adding flavor to any dish is easy, however that's where your own creativity comes in. Another good tip is, imagine your plate, and now divide it into 4 quarters. In 2 of the quarters fill half with vegetables, in another quarter fill with your starch, and the last quarter protein. You will be full more with vegetables, thus making it better for yourself. Put down that salad, and eat like everyone else at the table, but with better portion control.

So for the past month or so, I have been meaning to post this wonderful recipe. Being busy and all, I couldn't find time, so now I'm making time. I made Summer Squash Sloppy Joes. Oh my YUM! I already have a great recipe for Sloppy Joes, but this one has so much more stuff in it!! It's all vegetables and sweet meat. I hope to make it again very soon before summer is over.

Summer Squash Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:
-1 pound ground lean beef or turkey
-1/2 onion, finely chopped
-1 carrot, chopped
-2 summer squash, diced small, zucchini or yellow squash
-Half of a red bell pepper, diced
-1 6-ounce can tomato paste
-1 cup of water
-3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
-1/4 cup of brown sugar
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-1 tablespoon mild chili powder
-A pinch of red pepper flakes
-1 teaspoon paprika
-1 teaspoon dried oregano
-Salt and Pepper, TT
-6 hamburger buns

Directions:

-Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
-Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the ground meat first with the garlic. When it is almost browned, add the carrot, squash, and bell pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the onion and cook for another 5 minutes.
-Stir in all of the tomato paste and add the water a little at a time. The tomato paste should be dissolved, and the consistency should be the perfect sloppy joe consistency.
-Add all of the spices and salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the mixture has thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.
-Divide the hamburger buns, and toast in the oven for about 4 minutes.
-Pile up a good helping of the sloppy mixture on a warm toasty bun. Serve and enjoy!
-A great side to have with this is sweet potato fries. Julienne the fries, add a little cayenne, pepper, and salt, and cook at 350 for 30 minutes. Delish!
-If there are any leftovers, or your kids are a little picky, add it to mac-n-cheese.


Pan-Fried Tilapia with Edamame and Rice

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-2 teaspoons seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay Seasoning
-1 teaspoon of cayenne
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
-1 1/2 pounds fresh tilapia fillets
-4 tablespoons canola oil (2 for fish, 2 for edamame)
-2 tablespoons butter
-2 garlic cloves, minced (1 clove for fish, 1 for edamame)
-2 tablespoons lemon juice
-2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 (10-ounce) bag frozen shelled edamame, thawed
-1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of butter


Directions:

-Heat the oven to 300 degrees.
-Add rice, water and butter to a pot, and cook.
-In a shallow baking dish combine flour, seafood seasoning, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Add the tilapia and lightly coat each side.
-Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Shake off any excess seasoned flour and place in the skillet. Brown on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place tilapia on a baking sheet that is lined with a paper grocery bag or paper towels and keep warm in the oven while you prepare the sauce.
-Turn down the heat to the pan the tilapia was cooked to low and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the garlic, lemon juice and parsley and sauté for 2 minutes. Place the fillets on serving plates or a platter, top with the sauce and serve.
-Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, to taste and sauté for 2 minutes. Add edamame and sauté for 4 minutes until edamame are heated through and onions are tender.
-Serve and enjoy.
-The edamame and onions taste great with soy sauce or even the sauce you made for the fish.


So you see, healthy eating can be lots of fun. Just remember vegetables and portion controlling is your best friend. I'm trying myself to eat healthier. I know it is hard. I always like to sneak in large portions and lots of sugar, but it takes a little self-control. I wish you all luck, and myself luck.

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2ooo of something."
-Mitch Hedberg