Initially, I was going to include a disclosure with this blog post.  I was going to tell you that while this is supposed to be a healthy food/lifestyle blog, most of the food you were going to see was by no means healthy, and something that should be consumed on a regular basis.  And then I realized, the dinner I had was mouthwateringly delicious, satisfying and each and every morsel was savored.  Thus, there was no need for an apology or a warning.

Image Source – flickr.com

A couple of weeks ago, FHC (Father Healthy Chow) invited me, Patrick, my sister and her boyfriend to dinner out in Chinatown.  While I love me some Chinese food (not Chinese-American food), I have a tendency to go a bit overboard and stuff myself silly.  It’s really quite hard to have self-restraint when everything tastes so dang good!  Plus, I like seeing the proud look on FHC’s face when he knows he’s ordered too much and then has to listen to us all moan, “Oh man!  How in the world are we going to be able to eat all of this?”  And then, I love watching him laugh when all of the dinner platters have been cleared – completely.

Being that there are so many restaurants in Chinatown, and to be perfectly honest with you I can’t tell the difference between them all, I let FHC make the selection.  He chose New Golden Gate Seafood Restaurant.  We had all been there before and had a wonderful meal, so no one had any objections to this being our dining destination.

The place was crowded!  Fortunately, FHC knows the management of the restaurant and was able to get us a big table.  Score! The waitstaff was rushing around taking orders and bringing out food, as their hungry patrons slurped up their meals and warmed up their bellies.  I pretended to peruse the menu, even though there was not a snowball’s chance that I was going to do any of the ordering.  FHC knows what we like, and we know we’re in good hands when he’s at the food ordering helm.  And while I was chitchatting with my sister and her boyfriend, I must have stopped paying attention for a split-second because all of the sudden, I saw an enormous sea creature coming towards me.

The one and only FHC!

People gettin’ their grub on!

They don’t call it a ‘king’ for nothing…

Oh yes!  It was an Alaskan King crab!  This is most certainly a delicacy (and an expensive one at that!), and one we only devour enjoy on special occasions.  This crustacean was big enough to feed a small army.  It was served three different ways: steamed with garlic, wok-fried with ginger and scallion, and poached (in its shell) with egg and pork.  They were each unique, and insanely scrumptious in their own right.

Steamed with fresh minced garlic

Wok-fried with ginger and scallion

All together…

Poached with egg, ground pork and scallion – ah-may-zing!

A lil’ bowl o’ deliciousness…

Next, came the vegetable (sadly, the only veggie of the night, but at least it was good!).  It was sautéed Chinese broccoli with Chinese sausage.  Chinese broccoli tends to be a bit more bitter than its American counterpart.  However, the Chinese sausage was salty and mildly sweet, which complemented the veggie quite nicely.  And if we didn’t have enough seafood already, soon arrived our deep-fried flounder.  My sister and I had asked for it to be steamed, but the waiter declined and advised that having it fried would serve as a much tastier version.  OK, twist my arm! The flounder was soft, succulent and fried to perfection.  Along with some soy sauce and fresh scallion slices, this could have been dinner on its own (but lucky for us, it was NOT!).  And just when we thought there was enough fried goodness to last us a lifetime, there was more in the queue.  However, Michelle and I requested our final dish to be ’sweet and sour pork’, and FHC heard ’salt and pepper pork’.  Not that the salt and pepper pork was something we’d send back to the kitchen, but the sweet and sour was something to which the table was looking forward.  This dish was a tad too salty, and really tasted more like batter than pork.  But who am I kidding?!  I ate it anyway!  Hehehehe!

Chinese broccoli with Chinese sausage – love that shade of green!

Crispy-fried flounder – hey fishie, fishie, fishie…!

Salt and pepper pork

At least I was eating off of an appetizer-sized plate!

We shared all of the dishes, as they were served family style.  There isn’t any ‘excuse my reach’ or ‘can you pass me that?’ going on at this dinner.  We simply Chowed and grabbed what we wanted to eat.  Dinner with FHC is usually relaxed, entertaining and filling.  That night’s dinner was no exception.  The food we enjoyed was exceptional, and the service we received was fast and attentive (I think FHC may have had something to do with that).  But, my favorite part of the night was seeing my dad and spending time with him.  He truly is one-of-a-kind.

Hi Dad!

To end our meal, we were served a warm and sweet red bean soup.  If you’ve never had this, you’re missing out.  It’s made with azuki beans, tangerine peel and brown sugar.  The combination may sound odd, but once you taste it and feel the warmth inside your tummy (and on top of all that food), you won’t find anything strange about it.  In fact, it’s said to aid in digestion.  Perfect!  And of course, no Chinese meal would be official without the fortune cookie.  Both of these sweet treats were a great way to finish our savory dinner.  I was happy as a clam (which is yet another dish FHC tried to order, but we quit while we were ahead)!

Warm red bean soup – good for digestion and for your taste buds!

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the actual fortune!

I hope you appreciated my recap of all the indulgent and delectable dishes we feasted upon in Chinatown.  It’s such a treat when I am able to dine like this, and I always look forward to it.  I get to have dinner with some of my favorite people, happily gorge myself on lip-smacking good food and enjoy a fun family night out.  When the night is filled with such wonderful things, how can I be sorry?

***Would you like a chance to win a new kitchen accessory?  If so, check out Meghan’s blog for her incredible giveaway!***

Do you like seafood?  What’s your favorite kind and your favorite way to prepare it?  If not, why not?

Namasté,
Nicole

Doh!  Just when you think you’re done posting all of your recipes for Christmas, a little birdie chirps and tells you…”Hey!  When the heck are you gonna post your recipe for that pumpkin lasagna you made?”  I totally forgot!  I blame it on the cookies…

When it’s time for the holidays, all I can think of is food.  And the more, the better!  It’s not like anyone in my family is going to go hungry if a certain dish isn’t present at the table, but for whatever reason, I just feel better knowing it’s there.  Call it what you want (insanity, cray-cray, loca, nuts, bonkers, lights are on – nobody’s home), but it’s just how I roll… For that reason, I decided we needed to have a lasagna at Christmas dinner.  Even though I knew there was already going to be a turkey and a roast beef and all the fixings present, I just couldn’t resist bringing a pasta dish.  But instead of going the traditional route, I decided to spice things up a bit and put a new spin on the ordinary lasagna.

Pumped-Up Pumpkin Lasagna
Inspired by Food Mayhem and Taste of Home
Makes a 13 x 9-inch tray

• 1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 TSP of olive oil
• 1 lb. of Sweet Italian Style Chicken Sausage, chopped (I used Trader Joe’s brand, about 7 links)
• 1 pound 5 ounces (or 21 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided
• 1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 TBSP of buttery spread (or butter)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 15 oz. cans of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 3 TBSP of light brown sugar
• 1 TBSP of agave nectar (or pure maple syrup)
• 1 TSP of  cinnamon
• 1/4 TSP of nutmeg
• 1 TSP of dried sage leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• pinch white pepper
• 8 regular lasagna sheets (I used Barilla brand, NOT the no-bake kind)

1) In a large skillet on medium-high heat, sauté the mushrooms, onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt in olive oil until tender, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Then, add the chicken sausage and cook until the sausage starts to brown a little (the sausage is already fully-cooked, so you are just heating up).  Turn the heat down to medium and heat everything together for another few minutes.  Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese and 12 oz. of the mozzarella cheese.  Set aside.

3) In a medium-sized pot, melt butter on low heat.  Add garlic and brown lightly.  Stir in pumpkin, brown sugar, agave nectar, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried sage, salt and pepper.  Stir until it’s all warm.  Remove from heat and set aside.

4) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4) Spray your baking dish with cooking spray.  Smear a thin layer of the pumpkin mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

5) If you’re not good at eyeballing things (like me), divide your remaining pumpkin mixture, your ricotta cheese mixture and your meat mixture into two equal portions.

6) Top the thin layer of pumpkin mixture with 3 lasagna noodles going lengthwise and 1 going widthwise (you’ll have to break/shorten this in order for it to fit).  Using one of the reserved portions of the ricotta cheese mixture, smooth it over the noodles.  Using one of the reserved portions of the meat mixture, top the ricotta cheese.  Repeat this process again starting with one of the reserved portions of the pumpkin mixture, then the noodles, then the ricotta cheese mixture, then the meat mixture and then end with the pumpkin mixture.  Top the final layer of the pumpkin mixture with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese.

7) Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

One word for this dish.  OK, maybe two words.  Delicious and hearty.  I think some of my family members were a tad concerned when I told them what was on the dining room table was a pumpkin lasagna.  I’m not sure if they envisioned a dessert-like version of the multi-layered noodle treat or if they just thought it was weird that I would change up a classic and add something as odd (to them) as pumpkin.  But their faces definitely expressed some doubt and hesitation until they took a chance and finally took a bite.  Once they tasted this dish, they were pleasantly pleased (as was I).  One of my relatives actually said, “this tastes just like a regular lasagna, but only spicier and better.”

In fact, this recipe does taste very similar to a traditional lasagna, except not as acidic and a bit sweeter.  The dried sage definitely gave this lasagna a nice kick in flavor and complimented the subtle sweetness of the pumpkin.  All of the rich flavors and layers helped to make this recipe quite the filling one.  Just a tiny piece was enough to make a meal (even though I had a big piece along with turkey, roast beef, caesar salad, stuffing…but heck, that was so last year!).  And while this dish tasted great with the flavoring from the sweet Italian chicken sausage, it could easily be made without meat or with meat-free sausage.  As a side note, I used the regular lasagna noodles in this recipe.  I just put them in the recipe uncooked and baked them.  They turned out great, and not hard at all.  Actually, the noodles were perfectly al-dente.  I have found that boiling the noodles and then baking can sometimes produce a mushy lasagna.

I will definitely make this recipe again.  However, next time I’m going to make a mental note to make more than the suggested amount of pumpkin purée mixture.  Or, perhaps I will try to thin out the mixture a bit?  It seemed that I had trouble evenly spreading the pumpkin during the layering process and felt as if I was going to run out.  But if you’re a fan of this fibrous orange gourd like I am, then lather it on thick and make this dish pleasantly plump and you’ll be pumped to have this grace your dinner plate.

***And if you need another reason to try out this recipe, just check out what’s #11 on this list (thanks Kevin!)!***

After baking my cookies the other day, I noticed there were slight stains left on my baking sheet.  I didn’t spray any cooking spray or use any grease on my sheet before baking and the cookies had no problem sliding off.  Anyone know why this would have happened?  The baking sheet is pretty good quality, too. Your thoughts?

Namasté,
Nicole

Does anyone other than me love appetizers?  Especially ones that are hot and oh-so-tasty?  I have trouble staying focused when I’m at a party or special event and all I can see are trays full of bite-sized food being walked around.  Maybe it’s just that things look better when they’re miniature, served on a platter and being handed to you with a cocktail napkin?  Whatever the reason is, I love a good hor d’oeuvre and when they are done right, it’s time to party!

Image Credit – picasaweb.google.com

That said, I wanted to create a delectable hot appetizer as one of the dishes I would bring to Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner.  However, I wanted the appetizer to not only be finger lickin’ good, but I also wanted it to be something that I could easily put together.  Because I had already committed to cooking a main entrée, a lasagna, a vegetable, a dessert and an appetizer for both days combined, I really couldn’t take on something that would involve much time or that would require much effort.  After searching through my cookbooks, and seeing the same old recipes and not being entirely thrilled by them, a light bulb finally went off in my head!  I remembered Kerstin’s recipe for Cranberry Pecan Brie Bites and how amazing they looked, not to mention how simple they were to prepare.  And within a few short moments, I knew exactly what I was going to make!

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, Bacon and Gorgonzola Bites
Inspired by Cake, Batter and Bowl and Pillsbury
Makes 24 bites

• 1 can (16.3 oz.) of Pillsbury® refrigerated Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits or 1 can (12 oz.) of Pillsbury® Grands!® Jr. Golden Layers® refrigerated biscuits
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 large vidalia onion, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 2 TSP of chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 TSP of dried thyme
• 1  TBSP of light brown sugar, packed
• 2  TBSP of white wine or chicken broth
• 1  cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 5 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled into tiny pieces
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and thyme and cook 8 – 10 minutes, stirring
frequently.  The onions will shortly begin to soften.  Then, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 7 – 9 minutes, stirring constantly.

2) Once the onions are completely softened and caramelized (brown), stir in brown sugar and wine.  Cook for another 2 – 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until liquid has evaporated.  Add the mushrooms.   Set aside.

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Open the can of biscuits.  If you’re using the Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits (I couldn’t find the Grands!® Jr. Golden Layers® refrigerated biscuits), you will need to roll out each biscuit and cut out three 2 1/2-inch circles from each biscuit (I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to cut out my circles!).  If you can’t cut out three, cut two and roll together the remaining biscuit dough to cut out additional circles.  You will need a total of 24 circles of dough.

*If you are lucky enough to find the Grands!® Jr. Golden Layers® refrigerated biscuits, all you need to do is split each biscuit into two even layers in order to get your circles.

4) Press each circle into the ungreased cups of a miniature muffin pan.

5) Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the onion and mushroom mixture into each cup.  Top with a few crumbles of the Gorgonzola cheese and then top with bacon.

6) Bake 14 – 17 minutes or until golden brown and the cheese starts to bubble.  Let cool slightly for about 2 minutes and remove biscuit bites from the pan.  Place on a platter and serve to all your guests!

First and foremost, I want to thank Kerstin for giving me the inspiration to make these bite-sized bundles of joy!  I really liked the idea of using the mini muffin pans to make something other than muffins/cupcakes.  Plus, using a pre-packaged refrigerated dough was a whole heck of a lot easier than making my own dough from scratch.  My hot appetizer was definitely a crowd pleaser.  But when you pair buttery biscuits with sweet caramelized onion, Gorgonzola cheese and bacon, how can you go wrong?  Even though this recipe wasn’t the ‘healthiest’ or ‘lightest’ fare, they were bite-sized and consuming one or two was more than enough.  It was just enough indulgence to keep your mouth and taste buds happy, but to also leave your tummy with room for more.

Image Credit – media.photobucket.com

I must admit that I did panic a tad when I realized the biscuits I bought were not going to be as easy to use as the Jr. sized-version.  However, instead of running back to the grocery store in a frenzy to find the Jr. size, I improvised.  Rolling the biscuits and cutting my own circles was actually fun.  I don’t often get the chance to roll out my own dough (I don’t bake too many cookies or breads) and being able to be hands-on with my recipe was quite entertaining.  And then to see my creation come to fruition (when I had anticipated for a split-second that it was going to be disaster) and hear my family ooh and ahh, I was definitely on cloud nine.  Now instead of watching and eating the passed hot appetizers at parties, I look forward to watching people eating and enjoying the hot appetizers that I made.  And that’s a feeling I will never be able to pass up.

What’s your favorite appetizer?  Do you have willpower or are you like me and can’t pass up a hot app?

Namasté,
Nicole

While I’m doing well finding my way around the kitchen, there are still some things that ‘freak’ me out a bit.  Among those things are baking my own bread with yeast, boiling a live lobster, deep frying anything (I don’t like splatter.  TWSS!), fileting a fish, making my own cheese and cooking a very large piece of meat (whole chicken or turkey, ham, prime rib, etc.).  I’m not sure why I have these nutty fears over such silly little food-related things (maybe I’m just cray-cray?)  But a few weeks ago, I decided that I had enough of being scared and decided I was going to conquer one of my fears head-on.  And what better time to bite the bullet than on a big holiday?  Healthy Chow says there isn’t any!

That said, when my brother-in-law announced that he was going to be holding Christmas Eve dinner at his apartment, the rest of the family volunteered to pitch-in and help out with the menu for the evening.  Since my mother-in-law was bringing a lasagna, my sister-in-law was bringing an appetizer, a vegetable dish and dessert, and my brother-in-law was supplying an array of finger food, the thing that was missing was a main entrée.  Ding, ding, ding, ding!!!  Do you hear the bell?  It’s telling Healthy Chow to buck up and make the main course.  And being that it was Christmas Eve, a traditional baked ham would be the perfect idea.  Take a deep breath, Healthy Chow, the plane is at the perfect altitude and it’s time to jump…

Baked Ham with Tangy Honey Citrus Glaze
Adapted from Allrecipes.com and Cooksham.com

• 1 (10 lb.) fully-cooked, bone-in ham, spiral-cut (I used a Cook’s ham)
• 1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup pineapple juice (reserved juice from the canned pineapple – I used Dole brand)
• 1/2 cup honey (I used Nature’s Promise brand)
• 1/2 medium orange, juiced and zested and 1 medium orange sliced
• 1/3 cup of orange juice
• 2 1/2 TBSP Dijon mustard (I used Grey Poupon)
• 1/4 TSP ground cloves (I omitted these, but I’m sure they would be delish)
• 1/4 TSP of ground ginger
• 1/4 TSP of cinnamon
• 2 TSP of cornstarch mixed in 1/4 cup of warm water(to thicken glaze)
• 3  20 oz. cans of pineapple rings, in pineapple juice (for covering ham while baking and for garnish)
• toothpicks
• 1 lb. bag of carrots (for a make-shift roasting rack)
• fresh parsley for garnish
• meat thermometer

1) Make sure to take your ham out of the fridge to let it sit at room temperature two hours prior to cooking.  This will help to ensure even cooking.

2) Take the wrapping off of the ham and discard the glaze (you’re going to be making your own!).  Give it a quick rinse and gently pat dry with paper towels.

3) Preheat oven to 275.  Since I don’t own a large roasting pan or roasting rack, I used a disposable aluminum pan and lined the bottom of the pan with carrots.  The carrots acted as a mechanism to lift the ham from the bottom of the pan.

Mighty carrots!

4) Place the ham in the roasting pan, face down on the carrots.  Cover the ham with pineapple rings by inserting the toothpick into the ham and then letting the pineapple ring suspend from the toothpick.  Cover as much of the ham with the pineapple rings as possible.

A big hunk o’ meat!

Ain’t she festive?

5) Cover the pineapple-covered ham loosely, but not entirely, with an aluminum foil tent without letting the foil touch the ham.  I poked a hole in the foil with a toothpick to prevent this from happening.

The ham in playing peek-a-boo with me!

6)  In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, pineapple juice, honey, freshly squeezed orange juice, orange zest, orange juice, Dijon mustard, ground ginger and ground cinnamon.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

Not sure why my Dijon wouldn’t dissolve?

7) Bake ham in preheated oven for 2 hours.  Remove ham from oven, and brush with glaze (after 1 hour and 15 minutes of cooking).  Bake for an additional 45 minutes, brushing ham with glaze every 10 minutes.  When glazing, make sure to cover the entire ham; don’t be afraid to get into the crevices of the pineapple rings and ham.  You want the glaze coating everything!

Gettin’ all glaze-y!

Healthy Chow in action!

8 ) When it’s done (thermometer says 140 degrees), take the ham out and let sit on counter for a few minutes.  Baste one more time with glaze and cover with foil until serving.

All done!

9) Heat the remaining glaze on medium heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture.  Keep stirring until the glaze begins to thicken.  Once thickened to your liking, remove from heat.

10) When you are ready to serve your ham, remove the pineapple and toothpicks (I discarded the pineapple).  Garnish your platter with the orange slices and parsley.

The garnish is ready…!

11) Since this ham is pre-sliced, it’s easy to cut and ready to eat!  Drizzle the glaze over the ham and serve with pineapple rings.

Technically, this isn’t actually ‘baking’ a ham.  Since this ham is already pre-cooked, it’s more like ‘reheating’.  Thus, you don’t have to be afraid of the ham being undercooked.  It still will take about two hours to reheat the ham thoroughly (for a 10 lb. fully cooked, bone-in ham) and there is preparation for the glaze.  Therefore, in my opinion, this IS cooking.  I know hams often times come with their own glaze, but I wanted to make mine from scratch.  This glaze recipe had just the right amount of citrus, tang and sweetness.  I also liked the flavor the Dijon mustard added to the glaze – it gave it a unique kick.  It was a delicious glaze to use on the ham while baking and it was just as good as a gravy.  Trust me, it may seem like a ton of glaze, but you will want to have more than enough on hand for leftovers.  The tenting method of the aluminum foil helped to cause a steaming effect while the ham baked.  It wasn’t dry at all and in fact, was really moist.  The pineapple rings covered in the glaze helped to nicely caramelize the ham.  The saltiness of the ham combined with the sweetness from the glaze and pineapple created the ultimate sweet and savory combination.  It was a definite hit!

Image Credit – happierhomes.com

Adding the garnish of the orange slices and parsley definitely probably wasn’t necessary, but in my mind, presentation is key.  I like garnishing dishes with an ingredient that’s in the dish.  Thus, the orange slices fulfilled that goal and added a nice punch of color, along with the fresh parsley, to the platter.  Don’t forget, we do tend to eat with our eyes!  And while our eyes were happy seeing the ham, our stomachs were even happier with this dish in them.  I made more than enough ham (and glaze) for our Christmas Eve dinner, but having leftovers certainly wasn’t a problem.  We made ham and cheese sandwiches, ham and spinach omelets and of course, cold ham straight out of the fridge was a popular choice.  It was another gift that kept on giving!

If you can’t already tell, I was more than pleased with my baked (reheated) ham.  My fear of cooking a big piece of meat was one that was conquered and one that is now just a fleeting memory.  I can’t believe I was so intimidated?  But when you do your research, are prepared and realize that this is only as hard as you make it, it’s not so bad.  Actually, it was pretty damn great, if I do say so myself.  That said and my new found cooking confidence in me, you just might see some of my other cooking fears being conquered on this blog.  Now, who’s in the mood for some deep-fried Oreos with a loaf of homemade sourdough?  Hmmm….

Do you like to research and review recipes (I’m a fan of reading the readers’ comments) before making something or do you just like to wing it?

Namasté,
Nicole

If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll know that I’ve been sampling POMx Iced Coffees and you’ll probably think that I’m getting obsessed with finding new ways to consume these little bevvies.  Hehe, I don’t have OCD or anything!  Well, I really don’t, but sometimes I wonder… Anyway, in my last post, I cooked with the iced coffees and put a new twist on some breakfast favorites.  While I was experimenting with my breakfast, I realized that I was missing something.  I had made oatmeal, pancakes, french toast and a frozen treat but I didn’t make the one thing that all you lovely bloggies seem to keep pumping out and tempting me with on your wonderful blogs.  Any guesses as to what it is?  And no, I didn’t make iced coffee covered tofu (although that does some quite interesting)!  I finally made my first batch of pumpkin muffins of the season!  But I decided that they weren’t going to be any ol’ pumpkin muffins.  Nope.  That’s not how Healthy Chow rolls…I gave my muffins a kick, or maybe I should say, a buzz!

Buzzy Spiced Banana Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from Cooks.com
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins

For the muffins:

• 1 medium sized banana, ripened
• 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin (I used Libby’s brand)
• 1/2 cup of evaporated cane juice (I used Florida Crystals, feel free to use dry sweetener of your choice)
• 1/4 cup of POMx Chocolate flavored Iced Coffee
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
• 1 TSP of Greens Plus Omega³ Chia seeds, mixed with 2 oz. of water
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
• 2 TSP of baking powder
• 1 TSP of pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 TSP of salt

For the topping:

• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of dry oats
• 1 oz. of pecans, chopped (I used Green Valley Pecans)
• 1/2 TSP of pumpkin pie spice

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

2) Mash your banana by hand or mix in a blender until you get a 1/2 cup.

3) In a bowl, combine your mashed banana, pumpkin, evaporated cane juice, iced coffee, applesauce and chia seeds.  Mix until everything is well-blended.

4) In a separate bowl, combine your all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix until everything is well-blended.

5) Combine your wet ingredients with your dry ingredients. Again, mix until everything is well-blended.

6) Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins or liners (I used aluminum foil liners).  Make sure the batter is evenly distributed.

7) Top each muffin with 1 tablespoon of the spiced topping.

8 ) Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

9) Let muffins cool in tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

10) Remove muffins from tins and eat!

These muffins were surprisingly good! Sometimes, when I make ‘healthier’ substitutions in my cooking and baking, I tend to get worried that the flavor will be lost.  Not true in this recipe!  The muffins were moist from the banana, pumpkin purée and applesauce.  You couldn’t tell that there wasn’t a hint of butter or oil in these little guys.  Also, the chia seed replacement for the egg worked amazingly.  It’s great to know that you can have the taste and efficiency of an egg without the added cholesterol.  In addition, you can add some omega³’s and some soluble fiber to your breakfast.  The brown sugar in the topping mixed with the chopped pecans and pumpkin pie spice was what really made these muffins sing!  I loved how the brown sugar got caramelized in the oven and made this recipe perfectly sweet.  While the POMx Chocolate Iced Coffee flavoring wasn’t very apparent, it did add a subtly unique flavor.  Plus, who doesn’t like getting an added punch with their breakfast?

As you can see, there are a number of ways you can incorporate the POMx Iced Coffee into your cooking and baking.  And, did you know you can make cocktails with these iced coffees?  Just check out what the ever-so-creative Kerstin cleverly made! Insane!  At first I had no idea what I was going to do with all my free samples and now, I’m wishing I had more (Blue – hint, hint)!  The possibilities are endless! Just as the POM Wonderful company was able to turn regular iced coffee and pomegranate juice into something extraordinary, with a little creativity and thought, one can turn a simple baked good into something un-POM-mon.  Buh-duh-bump!

Did you get a jumpstart on your holiday shopping and take advantage of Black Friday?  Or, are you going to wait around like me and procrastinate?

***Today’s the last day to participate in my jewelry giveaway.  You have until 6pm ET tonight to enter!  The winner will be announced on Monday, November 30th.  Good luck!***

Namasté,
Nicole

***Have you entered my earring giveaway yet?…***

So if you read yesterday’s post, you’ll know that I was recently given samples of POMx™ Iced Coffee to taste and review.  While I really enjoyed the flavor of the iced coffees, I don’t think I’ll be rushing to replace my morning cup of black coffee with the POMx™ Iced Coffee anytime soon.  Sorry! They’re just a tad too sweet for me to have so early on in the day as my first consumption of caffeine.  Plus, I’m already sweet enough (*sarcasm*)!  So what did I do with the rest of my samples, you ask?  Did I throw them away?  Did I give them to someone else to finish (that would be a bit gross)?  Did I just drink them for the heck of it?  No.  No.  And no!  Since Healthy Chow isn’t one for wasting things, I decided to make good use of my free samples versus just letting them sit and and take up precious space in my fridge.

So, you wanna know what I made…?

Well, if I wasn’t going to be drinking these little ‘wonderfuls’ as part of my breakfast, I figured the next best thing was to cook with them!  Because I love the rich and decadent taste of each of the flavors, I imagined they would be the perfect component in my breakfast foods.  Now, I’m not right a lot of the times, but when I am, I hit the nail exactly on the head (she pats herself on the back)!

Are you ready to find out yet…?

Blueberry Cheesecake Oatmeal POM-erized
Serves 1

• 1/2 cup of dry oats (you can use quick oats or old-fashioned style)
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 TSP of chia seeds (I used Greens Plus brand)
• 2 TBSP of nonfat cottage cheese
• 1 TBSP of POMx™ Vanilla flavored Iced Coffee
• 1/2 TBSP of chopped raw almonds
• small handful of blueberries, fresh or frozen

1) In a small pot, bring water to a rolling boil.  Once boiling, add the oats and chia seeds.  Stir to make sure the chia seeds are well-blended with the oats.  Reduce the heat to medium/medium-low and let cook for another 3 minutes.

2) Add your cottage cheese and iced coffee.  Stir.

3) Remove oatmeal from heat and pour into a bowl.  Top with blueberries and chopped almonds.

4) Eat with a spoon, but you won’t be able to stop thinking that this is a piece of blueberry cheesecake!

Yum-to-the-O!  This was incredible! The cottage cheese made the oatmeal fluffy (and cheesy) while the chia seeds added to the thickness.  The vanilla iced coffee sweetened this whole little number and the chewiness from the almonds made me think I was eating a graham cracker crust.  And of course, the blueberries accentuated the entire recipe.  If this breakfast was a whole cake, there wouldn’t be a slice left!

POM-errific Chocolate Banana French Toast
Serves 1

• 2 or 3 slices of bread (I used Trader Joe’s Sprouted Flourless Whole Wheat Berry Bread – 2 slices and 1 end)
• 1/4 cup of POMx™ Chocolate flavored Iced Coffee
• 1/3 cup of liquid egg whites
• few shakes of pumpkin pie spice
• few shakes of cinnamon
• few shakes of nutmeg
• pinch of brown sugar
• 1/2 of banana, sliced
• sprinkling of organic dried coconut (I used Woodstock Farms brand)
• sprinkling of cocoa powder

1) Mix the iced coffee, egg whites, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar in a shallow bowl.

2) Dip each slice of bread in the iced coffee/egg white mixture.  Let each piece absorb the mixture for about 1 minute.

3) Spray your frying pan or griddler (or in my kitchen, the C.G.) with cooking spray.  Turn your heat to medium.

4) Place your dipped slices of bread on the frying pan/griddler.  Heat each side for about 2-3 minutes or until the edges start turning that nice golden brown color.

5) Flip each piece of bread and cook for another couple of minutes.

6) Serve with sliced bananas, cocoa powder and dried coconut sprinkles.  Devour!

This french toast recipe was so tasty! There was just enough chocolate flavoring from the iced coffee to give this dish a unique flavor without it being overly sweet.  Coupled with the smashed banana slices (the banana was previously frozen) and the dried coconut, this french toast didn’t even need maple syrup.  I wish I had made more than the the 2.5 pieces I inhaled!

Oatmeal POM-tein Pancakes
Serves 1

• 1/3 cup of dry oats (you can use quick oats or old-fashioned style)
• 1/4 cup of POMx™ Vanilla flavored Iced Coffee
• 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites
• 1/2 TSP of baking soda
• few shakes of cinnamon
• few shakes of nutmeg
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• maple syrup or agave nectar

1) In a small bowl, mix together the oats, iced coffee, egg whites, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.

2) Pour the mixture into your blender.  Add your sliced banana.  Blend until you get the consistency of a thin batter.

3) Spray your frying pan or griddler (or C.G) with cooking spray.  Turn your heat to medium/medium-high.

4) Pour your batter onto your pan or griddler.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes.  Once the pancake can be moved without sticking, flip.  Cook the other side for another 2 minutes.

5) Serve with maple syrup or agave nectar.  Enjoy!

Ohemgee!  These protein-packed pancakes tasted more like banana bread than flapjacks.  They were so delicious and aromatic; I couldn’t believe this breakfast was actually healthy! The vanilla iced coffee and banana kept these pancakes moist and more than flavorful.  I’m glad no one was watching me eat these because I seriously was licking the plate clean.

POM-tastic Banana Coffee Soft Serve
Serves 1

• 1 frozen banana
• 2 TBSP of POMx Café au Lait flavored Iced Coffee

1) Place the  frozen banana and the iced coffee in your blender.  Blend until you get the consistency of soft serve.  You might need to stop the blender intermittently to scrape down the sides and then blend again.

2) Pour into a dish and savor your frosty treat!

Not only did I love this but Patrick seemed to be quite fond of it as well.  He kept asking me what was in his soft serve and couldn’t believe that it was just a frozen banana and a couple of splashes of iced coffee.  The coffee flavoring gave this frozen treat a more gourmet taste than the usual banana flavor.  While we ate this for dessert, it could definitely be a fun breakfast.  After all, it is just fruit and coffee!

When I first tried these iced coffee samples, my first reaction was that they were good.  They were a bit sweet for my liking, but they were definitely tasty.  However, after I began cooking with the iced coffees, I really fell in love.  I guess that goes to show that when life (or Blue) gives you slightly over sweet iced coffee, you need to make perfectly sweet breakfast!

Do you prefer cranberry sauce from the can (the kind where you can still see the indentations from the can) or do you prefer the homemade stuff?  Or are you like me and don’t like either?

***Don’t forget!  You still have until Friday, November 27th at 6pm ET to enter my jewelry giveaway.  After all, we could all use some sparkle in our lives…***

Namasté,
Nicole

If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll know I met a new orange gourd, fell in love and now we are running off and having a gang of gorgeous gourd-y babies.  Hehehe, I don’t know, but sometimes I think Healthy Chow is losing her mind! Anyway, I recently prepped and baked a kabocha and with the cooked and well-seasoned pieces, I made some meals that were reminiscent of these posts.  If convenience is king (or queen), then I’m a huge fan of the Royal Family.  You really can’t beat whipping up a fantastic tasting and healthy meal in under 30 minutes.  Hey, no wonder that Rachael Ray is so dang popular (I promise I won’t say ‘ee-vee-oh-oh’ or ‘into the hot tub these kiddies go’ in this post)!

OK, so let’s recap what I already made with my first ever kabocha.  After baking the cubed kabocha in olive oil and a ton of spices and seasonings, I made a simple whole wheat pasta dish with baby spinach, cannellini beans and ricotta cheese.  And, with almost the same ingredients I used in the pasta dish, I converted the recipe into omelet form.  But what else can one do with a squash? Hold onto your socks and I will show you…

Wrapped Up with Kabocha

If you like pressed sammies, paninis, wraps or toasty burritos, then this little delight is for you.  On a Joseph’s Flax, Oatbran and Whole Wheat Flour Tortilla, I spread 2 tablespoons of Cedar’s Roasted Red Pepper Hummus along with a Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese wedge.  Then, I layered a handful of baby spinach and a few cubes of my cooked kabocha.  I rolled it up in a burrito-style fashion and toasted it on my panini press for a few minutes until the top started getting all roasty toasty.  Once the cheese starts oozing out and sizzling on the panini press (actually, don’t wait for that!), remove your wrap and cut in half to allow some of the heat to escape.  Once cooled, it’s time to devour! Oh me, oh my!  The warmed kabocha against the creamy hummus and swiss cheese was sensational.  I didn’t think a wrap as simple as this could taste so extraordinary.  Plus, how can you not love those colors together?

Everything in the Pot Kabocha Stir-Fry

With my last remaining pieces of kabocha (sniff, sniff), I decided to not only polish off my orange fibrous gourd, but I also decided to use up the remnants of anything else I could find in my fridge, freezer and cupboards.  That said, I began my hunt for anything that would taste good (fingers crossed) with my kabocha in a stir-fry.  I found about 4 oz. of Trader Joe’s firm tofu, about a cup and a half of Trader Joe’s frozen broccoli (thawed), some sliced white mushrooms, some raisins and a macoun apple.  In a large frying pan, I heated up 2 teaspoons of Smart Balance Light.  Once melted, I added my macoun apple, which I chopped into bite-sized pieces.  I then added some more spices and seasonings (it couldn’t hurt, right?): ground ginger, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, white pepper, curry powder and dried cilantro.  Once the apple pieces began softening and drowning browning in the pool of spices and seasonings, I added the mushrooms.  Once those cooked up a bit, I added the rest of my ingredients.  After everything has been stirred together and warmed, it’s done.  If you could have only smelled the cooked apple with cinnamon, nutmeg and curry – to.die.for.  And was this ‘everything-but-the-kitchen-sink’ stir-fry a success?  Uh, hell to the yeah! It was everything I could ask for in my final kabocha dish.  What a way to go out!  Gangstah!

Roasty Toasty Kabocha Seeds

And finally, do you remember the mess of kabocha seeds and pulp I had from my prepping experience?  Well, those teeny babies did not go to waste.  Healthy Chow has issues with wasting food (sound familiar, Allie? ) and thus, decided to make use of every bit of her kabocha.  You should see what I did with the green peel…I made a really groovy hat.  Just kidding, folks! But let’s get back to biz’nis, shall we? After rinsing the seeds and getting rid of all the stringy pulp, I used the same tray (and aluminum foil) that my kabocha pieces were cooked on and spread out my seeds in a single layer.  I sprayed the seeds with some cooking spray (you could use olive oil) and sprinkled them with salt.  Then, since the oven was still hot, I turned down the temperature to 325 degrees and cooked my kabocha seeds for 10 minutes.  And if you forget to take your seeds out of the oven (like me), have no fear because they start popping like popcorn kernels and will scare the bejeezus out of you.  Once they are cooled, you are free to eat.  They are great as is or feel free to use them as a topping for your oatmeal, soup or yogurt.  Just store them in an air-tight container and they should keep for quite some time, if they make it that long!

I know that from one kabocha I was able to make quite a few meals.  However, I was actually wishing there was more once my last bite of this delicious squash was gone.  The tender texture and sweet taste of my new found love was more than mildly addicting (OK, that sounded weird).  I’m just so happy that I took the time needed to properly prepare and cook my gourd.  After reading some of the instructions online, I was worried that this krazy little thing called kabocha was not going to be worth the trouble.  Boy, was I wrong! I guess if you just take the time to learn about something and are patient during the learning process, good things will come your way.  But the first step is to try.  Besides, I think when you make something on your own, it has the tendency to taste better – even if you aren’t a Food Network star.

What’s the biggest disaster you’ve ever had in your kitchen?  How did you react?  What did you do to recover?

Namasté,
Nicole

Remember that scary moment a few weeks ago when there was that pumpkin shortage?  Well, thankfully, that rough patch is over and Libby is back!  Life can now resume, as well as fall baking.

However, when the shortage was still going on in full force, I became desperate and decided I was going to look for another gourd to gussy up my gastrointestinal goings-on (how’d you like that one, Sarah?).  I had read so much about the kabocha squash in the blogoshere like here, here, here and here, that I knew I just had to try it.  I love me some gourd and orange fiber, so I knew this was going to be right up my alley.  Plus, if I didn’t end up eating it, it was a super cute fall decoration for my home.  Resourceful (or ‘ree-zource-full’ as I heard someone saying the other day), eh?

But just finding this darn thang was a project in itself!  I looked at various grocery stores, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Russo’s and I could not find this squash.  I saw some things that resembled the kabocha, but none were actually called ‘kabocha’.  Then, I was enlightened by the ever so lovely and intelligent, Katharina, who mentioned to me that kabocha is also referred to as ‘buttercup’ squash and that if I was having trouble finding kabocha, the buttercup is a very close cousin and tastes pretty much the same.  DUH!  I think I’ve seen the buttercup at just about every store I visited and never once did I think they were the same.  Jeezums.

After purchasing my squash-y and bringing it home, I realized that I had to cut it before I could have the chance to savor its sweetness.  But just how do you cut into this tough skin?  I mean, I have some good knives (OK, they probably could be better), but I’m not sure if they could handle cutting through this harder-than-diamonds outer shell.  Armed with the help of my friend (aka Google), I believe I found the easiest way to tackle a kabocha.  You can read about it here.  Or watch it live (not really) here:

Kutting and Kleaning a Kabocha:

1) Wash the green guy thoroughly.  I used my trusty Veggie Wash and sprayed it generously all over the kabocha.  Then, I massaged the kabocha and gave it a good rub down for about 30 seconds.  Once cleaned, I gave it a good rinse and dried it off.

2) Using the tip of a sharp knife or a large and sharp fork, begin making several cuts/stabs/pricks all over the kabocha.  This will help to allow steam out of the kabocha while cooking and will help to avoid an explosion in your microwave.

3) Once covered in small punctures, place the kabocha in the microwave and microwave on high in increments of two minutes.  I cooked mine for a total time of six minutes.  It’s ready when the skin can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife.

4) Be careful when you take the kabocha out of the microwave.  It’s going to be very hot!  I put on my oven mitts after trying to be a hero and grabbing the kabocha bare-handed and failing miserably.  Or, you could be patient and wait for the kabocha to cool down before handling it.

5) Once cooled, cut the kabocha.  You can cut it in half or be like me, and cut it into thirds (I’m not quite sure why I did this).

6) With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and the fibrous stringy pulp.  You can toss the seeds if you want, but they are divine in their own right and can be a scrumptious snack.  Start cutting the now softened green skin off from the lovely orange flesh (imagine what you’d do with a butterNUT squash).  Or, you could leave the skin on, as some like to eat the skin as it is highly nutritious.

7) You can then slice your kabocha into whatever shape you would like.  I chose to cube mine since I wanted small, bite-sized pieces.  You could also cut it into crescent moon shapes (think cantaloupe smiles).

8 ) You are now free to do whatever you want with your kabocha.  Imagine that?  To see what I did with my kabocha, keep reading…

Spiced and Roasted Kabocha

1) After my kabocha was kut, kleaned and kubed (did you see what I did just there?), I coated all the pieces in about a tablespoon of olive oil.

2) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a big bowl, I mixed together a million few spices and seasonings.  I used a generous amount (lotsa shakes) of the following: cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, dried cilantro, ground ginger, onion powder, paprika and ground black pepper.  And a pinch of brown sugar and sea salt.

3) Mix the olive oil coated kabocha pieces in your spice/season mixture.  Make sure the pieces are evenly coated with the mixture.  Then, on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil (spray the foil with cooking spray), spread out your kabocha in a single layer.

4) Bake your kabocha for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through the cooking time, or until your kabocha starts browning at the edges.  Enjoy the orange goodness!

The baked kabocha comes out sweet and soft, quite similar to a butternut squash, but has a more earthy, nutty taste.  It also seems to hold its shape better than a butternut during the baking process and has a less fibrous (stringy) texture.  I absolutely loved it!  While I had a hard time stopping myself from munching on the cooked pieces straight off the baking sheet, I managed to save some for some future meals and dishes.  BTW, cooked kabocha tastes great cold right out of the fridge.  It’s almost like a dessert…a healthy and low calorie dessert!  In addition to it being a cold and sweet treat, I used my cooked kabocha in a series of fast and convenient dishes.  Wanna know how?  Keep reading…

Kreamy Kabocha Pasta

After cooking and draining about 2 cups of whole wheat pasta (and reserving a cup of the pasta water), I added a big handful of baby spinach to the pot with my cooked pasta.  Once the spinach cooked down, I mixed in about a 1/3 of a cup of nonfat ricotta cheese.  Because the pasta seemed a bit dry, I added a few splashes of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up.  Then, I added a 1/2 of a cup of cannellini beans, salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley.  I mixed that together until well-blended and then added some of my cooked kabocha.  Since the kabocha is already cooked, it just needs to be warmed.  Once everything has been warmed together, serve immediately and top with parmesan cheese.  Hmmm, hmmm, good!

‘Omelet’ the Kabocha Take Over

If you liked the pasta dish but don’t want to be weighed down with all those extra carbs, why not try making the same dish in omelet form?  I made my omelet by pouring a 1/2 of a cup of egg whites onto a small heated frying pan.  Once the egg whites started bubbling, I added a few dashes of salt, cracked black pepper and adobo powder.  Then, I dropped down a handful of baby spinach and a few of tablespoons of nonfat ricotta cheese.  As soon as the spinach started wilting down, I added a few cubes of my cooked kabocha.  Once everything was heated through, I folded over my egg whites.  After another few minutes of cooking, the omelet is done.  Transfer to a plate and top with some salsa.  Ta dah! Kabocha with some added protein, minus the extra carbs.  This is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  I loved it!

Hooray! I finally did it!  I am so glad that I finally tried the kabocha squash and was successful at prepping it and cooking it.  I have a tendency to shy away from the things people rave about and the things that seem to be the latest trend (remember this post?).  However, kabocha was just too good to resist (sorta like Justin Timberlake IMHO).  I love the versatility of this squash and the fact that with or without the seasonings and spices, it still is wonderful (just like Justin).  Perhaps opening up a can of Libby’s is a bit more konvenient than kleaning, kutting and kooking up your own gourd, but then again who wants konvenience when you can have kabocha?!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post when I show you part II of My Little Buttercup, the Kabocha…

Have you tried kabocha squash yet?  If so, what is your favorite way to prepare it?

Namasté,
Nicole

Do you ever assume you’re doing something right and you keep doing and doing it until finally one day, you have this inkling to check and you’re totally wrong?  (No?  No one?  Tap, tap, tap, is the mike on?…)

Well, I had one of those moments happen to me the other day and I was completely taken by surprise.  I love eggplant and have always enjoyed making eggplant parmesan, sautéing it and adding it to my pasta dishes and mixing it into a casserole dish.  However, I never knew that it was necessary to ‘prep’ the eggplant before actually cooking it.  My eggplant tasted good (to me, anyway), but something told me that it just wasn’t quite right.  It was either too greasy or had this sort of bitter taste.  But I guess you know what they say when you assume.  Not that this is such a huge tragedy and I made such a grave error, but after poking around online the other day and reading this article, someone finally arrived to a well-lit home.

It was as if the final piece of the puzzle had finally clicked in.  I never knew it was common practice to partially peel the eggplant, I just always thought that people were trying to give their eggplant more of a decorative look.  And the bitterness that I often tasted in my eggplant dishes, I just thought was more of an issue with the eggplant I selected versus my being able to do something about it.  The greasiness I figured was just from me being heavy handed with the olive oil and the other ingredients I was using in that particular recipe.  Nope!

After reading this article, I was quite eager to make a dish with eggplant so that I could put these tips to the test.  I wanted a recipe that would be on the lighter side and one that would showcase the eggplant.  Eggplant parm (or anything parm) is a sure favorite of Healthy Chow’s but sometimes with all the breading and cheese, it’s hard to actually taste the eggplant.  And, I wasn’t quite in the mood for a casserole-like dish just yet.  That said, I decided to make classic grilled eggplant.  It’s healthy, can be added to anything and everything and very simple (plus, I had all the ingredients on hand – bonus!).

If you’re like Healthy Chow and you’ve had less than stellar eggplant in your recipes, I’ve made a quick little tutorial on how to properly prep your eggplant.  And if you’re unlike Healthy Chow and prepping your eggplant was already part of your cooking repertoire, then this will be a refresher for you.

Make Your Eggplant Go from So-So to So Good:

1) Start with a clean eggplant.  Thoroughly wash and dry your eggplant as you would any other fruit or vegetable.

2) Then, with a vegetable peeler, peel off some of the skin.  You want your eggplant to end up resembling a zebra.

3) Next, cut up your eggplant in about 1/3 inch slices.

4) Lay your eggplant slices out on plates, a drying rack (I don’t own one) or in a colander.  I used my new cutting boards.  Then, generously salt your eggplant slices (have no fear, you’ll be rinsing the salt off later).

5) Now, go catch-up on your Google reader for an hour or so as your eggplant sits in the salt.  Or, go for a speed walk and sweat it out as your eggplant does the same.  Check out those beads of sweat…

6) After you and your eggplant are a sweaty mess, rinse your eggplant under cold water to remove the excess salt (feel free to shower yourself as well ).  You’ll want to sandwich each slice (or a few slices) between your hands to squeeze out all the water.  Don’t be afraid to really press down; it’s important to get out all of the moisture.  This will help in resulting in less greasy eggplant.  Then, lay out the slices between two layers of paper towels and give them a pat down for the final step in the drying process.

7) You’re now done!  Your eggplant has been prepped and it’s now ready for any recipe of your liking.

As I mentioned previously, I decided to grill my eggplant.  But before grilling it, I decided to make a quick balsamic marinade.

For one medium sized eggplant, I used:

• 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, Trader Joe’s brand
• 1 TBSP of olive oil
• s&p
• 1 TBSP of chopped garlic (or more if you <3 garlic)
• few shakes of garlic powder
• few shakes of dried basil
• pinch of brown sugar (or dried sweetener of your choice)

1) Get all your ingredients into a large bowl and give it a good stir.

2) Drop your eggplant into the marinade and let it sit for at least 30 minutes (more time for you and your Google reader).

3) After your eggplant has finished marinating, turn on your indoor grill (or you can bake them in the oven).  I used my beloved George Foreman grill.  Make sure to wipe up as much of the marinade as you can with the eggplant slices before dropping them onto the grill.

4) Let your eggplant sit on the grill for 3-5 minutes.  My eggplant wasn’t sliced too thick, so it didn’t take long for it to cook.

5) In a few hot minutes (literally), you’ll end up with this…

I don’t know if sexy ever left, but if it did, those grill marks definitely brought it back…

Paired with a humungo salad…

So so so so so so so good!

So I know prepping the eggplant requires a bit more work than just slicing and sautéing/grilling it, but it’s totally worth it.  My eggplant was cooked to perfection.  There wasn’t a slight hint of bitterness or greasiness.  Plus, because all of the moisture was taken out in the salting and drying process, my eggplant stood up quite well in my George Foreman.  At times when I grill vegetables on my George Foreman, they can end up a bit soggy or mushy.  Not in this instance – the eggplant was firm and almost had the consistency of a piece of meat.  Because all of the moisture was taken out, my eggplant was full of flavor from the marinade and not greasy from the olive oil.  This was  such a good way to bulk up my already large and in charge salad!

I still can’t believe I spent all this time not knowing about prepping an eggplant.  I was honestly taken aback when I stumbled upon this information.  It goes to show that there’s a whole wealth of knowledge available online (hint, hint)…

Random question: What’s your favorite item you buy at Trader Joe’s?  If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s in your area (I’m so sorry), what item do you read about most that people love from Trader Joe’s?

Namasté,
Nicole

In my not-so-lengthy tenure of being a healthy lifestyle/food blogger, I’ve made many observations and I’ve learned quite a few things.  But the one major thing I’ve noticed is that everyone seems to have the best looking darn breakfasts EVER!  See here, here and here for examples.  That said, I’ve decided to step up my efforts in making my breakfasts a bit more interesting to my stomach and to my eyes.  A girl (sorry, woman) can’t live on a plain bowl of oatmeal forever, can she?

I’ve been seeing various recipes for oatmeal, grits, pancakes and waffles and while I want to try all of them, the one thing I had a hankering for the other day was french toast (or ‘fr-INCH’ toast, as my husband from Western Massachusetts would call it).  Perhaps it has something to do with the sudden change in temperature around here?  Maybe it’s because I recently had all that French food?  Or, maybe it has something to do with this post I happened to stumble upon the other day.  Whichever the case may be, I decided to forego my ‘yoush’ of having a bowl of hot, plain oats and made Banana Stuffed Peanut Butter French Toast.

The Usual Suspects...

To make this little breakfast diddy, you will need the following:

• 2 slices of Trader Joe’s Sprouted Flourless Whole Wheat Berry bread
• 1 1/2 TBSP of Better n’ Peanut Butter – low sodium (of course you can substitute with any other kind of nut or soy butter)
• half of a small banana, sliced into 1/4 inch segments
• 1/3 cup of egg whites
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• few dashes of cinnamon
• few dashes of nutmeg (BTW, did you know that consuming large quantities of nutmeg can possibly make you ‘loopy‘? )
• pinch of brown sugar (or evaporated cane juice or any other dry sweetener of your choice)
• drizzle of agave nectar, Trader Joe’s brand (honey or maple syrup would also be good here)

1) Spread your peanut butter on both sides of your bread.  I went a bit on the lite side with the peanut butter but feel free to glob it on, if that’s how you like to roll…

2) Take your banana slices and layer them onto your bread.  Unfortunately, I only had frozen bananas in my house.  I just can’t seem to use the fresh ones fast enough before they start turning into a brown mess and my house becomes a fruit fly farm.  I would suggest using fresh banana slices.  My frozen ones started to get mushy once they defrosted.

For all those green monster smoothies...

Like baby food...

3) Sandwich the two slices of peanut buttered, banana laden bread together.  Set aside.

4) Add your egg whites, almond milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar together in a shallow bowl.  Whisk lightly with a fork.

Can't you just smell the cinnamon-y goodness?

5) Drop your sandwich into the milk mixture carefully.  You don’t want any bananas to fall out (hehe, Healthy Chow has a twisted mind).  Let the sandwich absorb some of the milk mixture.

Like taking a bath in milk

6) While your sandwich is soaking it all in, coat a small skillet with cooking spray and set your stove to medium.

7) Once your skillet has heated up, gingerly pick up your sandwich and place it onto your skillet.  Let it sit for about 3 or so minutes untouched.  You want the eggs to cook up a bit and give your sandwich a light crust.  You may also want to turn up the heat a bit here to medium-high.  Resist the urge to peek or flip

Check out the oozing banana, it's trying to say 'hi' to you

8 ) Then, with a spatula, flip your sandwich over.  Let the second side cook for another 2-3 minutes.  If your sandwich appears to be browning too much, turn down your heat back to medium.

Flip that french toast!

9) It’s done when both sides of the bread are lightly crunchy/toasted and have that beautiful french toast color.  Place it on your plate and then drizzle it with agave nectar.  Dig in!

Breakfast bliss...

I don't know how I waited that long before taking a bite...

YUM-MAY!

This french toast was absolutely scrumptious! It’s so basic, yet so out-of-this-world.  Why did I not make this sooner?  It literally took me ten minutes to prepare this from start to finish.  I always think that making a delicious breakfast is going to involve a lot of time and a lot of clean-up.  This proved me wrong.  There are no excuses now for not making a breakfast that is healthy, hearty and heavenly.  It’s stated that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  This could not be more true.  If one can start the day with a nutritious and tasty meal, it sets the tone for the rest of the day.  You start off feeling full of energy, feeling as if you did something to take care of your body and feeling like you can take on the world because you gave your body (and mind) the nourishment it needs and deserves.

Not only did I enjoy eating my finished product, but I also had quite a bit of fun concocting this combination.  And just think of all the other possibilities…you could use nutella as the spread, stuff the french toast with thinly sliced and softened apples, peaches, pineapple or pears and even add chopped nuts, unsweetened dried coconut, dried fruit, dark chocolate shavings, ground flax seeds or fruit preserves as a topping.  Or, you could use different kinds breads such as a cinnamon raisin, oatmeal or even brioche (maybe not as healthy, but definitely divine).  The combinations are endless!

So the next time you’re rushing around in the morning looking for something to eat for breakfast, and you consider reaching for a pop tart, I hope you’ll remember this recipe.  You can decide whether you want to stuff your face with something overly processed and filled with sugar or just simply stuff your french toast.

What’s your favorite way to start your day (a breakfast food, a hot beverage, exercise, a stretch, meditation, prayer, etc.)?

Namasté,
Nicole