Getting Healthy

Not me.  My husband. The poor guy.  Ever since I got pregnant he's pretty much been on my diet, which has consisted of whatever is in the pastry display at the cafe around the corner.  And then there's Pinterest.  Is that another Pumpkin Spiced Carmel Crumb Cobbler Strudel with a Cream Cheese Cinnamon Maple Frosting recipe?  REPIN?  Don't mind if I do.  Did you say Nutella?  PINNED.  (They're also obsessed with Mason jars and Tortilla Soup...?)  So I'm trying to be supportive of my man and prepare some healthy snacks for him to grab as he runs out the door.  Go me!

First, I found this in Health magazine:

click the picture for a larger view

Sorry, this got crumpled in my back pocket when I went to pick everything up at the store.  Basically, it's snack ideas: apple slices + peanut butter, berries + cottage cheese, crackers + black bean dip, bell peppers + hummus, broccoli + cheese (?).  When I got home with all my goodies, I cut up the fruit and veggies and put the dips in mini tupperware so it would be easy to grab and go.  Having everything precut helps me too since I don't have a lot of time to prep healthy meals while I'm taking care of the baby.  Plus, I can alternate between healthy snacks and pie and not feel as guilty as I would if I'd just eaten pie all day.  Which almost happened yesterday.

I also put these together:

Baby greens, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, sunflower seeds and dressing.  You can buy these mini ziplock bags in the beading department of Michael's.  Because the dressing and seeds are in ziplocks, you can make a few for the week and store in the fridge.

I find it's much easier to eat pie while blogging about salad.  Man, my husband's going to be super healthy!

Fresh & Easy Asian Pasta Salad + A Little Soul-Bearing

I'm a perfectionist.  There.  I said it.  That took me about 10 minutes to write because I had to make sure I said it perfectly...

Ahhhh...

Okay, now that that's off my chest, I wanted to let you know that I'm making changes.  That's right.  I'm no longer going to worry about writing the "perfect blog" or posting the "perfect recipe" or taking the "perfect picture".  Okay, maybe I will a little, but my goal is to just do something I enjoy and hope that you all like it.  Otherwise I'll be missing for weeks (Months?  Yes, months....) on end again, and that would be lame, right?

I was reading a book today about why people procrastinate, and it said something really interesting about Action and Motivation.  Which comes first?  "If you said motivation, you made an excellent , logical choice.  Unfortunately, you're wrong."  (Oops!)  "Motivation does not come first, action does!  If you wait until you're in the mood to do something, you may wait forever!"

Amen.  Hence, my absence as of late.

So, thanks for being patient.  I'm back to cooking, inventing and experimenting again, and it feels good.

And you thought you just came here to read a recipe for Asian Pasta Salad!  Ha!  Poor things.. Thanks for letting me spill my guts.  I feel better now :)

Fresh & Easy Asian Pasta Salad
Serves 6

1-16 oz. package brown rice noodles (penne or spiral)
1-15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1-15 oz. can kidney beans, drained
2 cucumbers, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
3 green onions, both green and white part, sliced thinly
1/4 cup red onion, minced
5 green olives (preferably marinated in hot oil), minced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Cook pasta according to directions on package.  Rinse and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine both beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, both onions, olives and cilantro.  Add pasta and toss with dressing (recipe below).  Serve over lettuce for extra nutrition.

*Note:  Brown rice noodles, strangely enough, tend to turn al dente when refrigerated (I didn't mind it, it just surprised me), so you may want to either eat it all in one sitting or try a different type of noodle if you want to eat it as leftovers.  The flavors marinate well though, and everything keeps its crunch.

Asian Dressing
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbs dried basil
2 Tbs agave nectar
2 Tbs real maple syrup
2 Tbs soy sauce

Combine all ingredients and whisk until everything is incorporated and consistency thickens a bit.

This dressing is so mild, making it very versatile.  You can use it on plain lettuce salads, 3 bean salads, or even as a sauce over cooked veggies.  I almost always prefer to use fresh herbs when cooking, but in this case I usually have all these ingredients on hand so it makes for a very quick dinner.  Feel free to substitute if you'd like.

This salad is perfect for summertime.   Hope you like it!

Quinoa + Coconut Milk = Genius

When you write a food blog, you tend to view every meal, every sauce, every seasoning, as an experiment.  I have to say, lately it has not been going so well in this test kitchen.  I mean, I was happy with how the kimchi stew turned out, for sure, but some other things have kind of...how should I say it...taken a wrong turn?  For instance, I recently made a salad of seaweed (the green, rubbery kind you get at the Japanese restaurant), lettuce, and a dressing mixture I swore would be bottled and sold at Whole Foods by next month.  Blah, it was awful!  The dressing was super bland, and the seaweed turned out so mushy that the texture made me gag.  Even The Boy, who would eat cardboard if it was covered in hot sauce, said it was kind of gross (but still ate it).  I did a few other stupid things like that this week but can't seem to remember the details.  Better for you, I guess.  

But every once in a while an idea comes along that just saves the day.  Today it came from my friend Kate, who posted a photo of her quinoa salad genius, along with the recipe, on facebook.  Bless your little healthy self, Kate!  I've seriously been racking my brain for a good quinoa recipe recently so I was thrilled to be able to post this.  And get this:  The quinoa is cooked in coconut milk.  Brilliant, I tell you!  I ran to the store a few minutes after seeing her post and picked up everything I needed.  I couldn't find any blood oranges so I threw in a little avocado instead.  I'd love to try it with the oranges next time though, for that extra zing and nice burst of color!

Thai Coconut Quinoa Salad
Serves 6 as a side dish

1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 english cucumber, cubed
1/2 poblano chili, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 mango, diced
7 basil leaves, cut into ribbons
10 mint leaves, but into ribbons
zest of 1 lime
2 limes

To prepare quinoa:  Put quinoa and coconut milk into a medium pot and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn heat off and let sit for 5 minutes.  Then fluff with a fork.

While quinoa is cooking, in a large bowl combine cucumber, chili, avocado, mango, basil, mint and zest of limes.  Then squeeze juice from limes over the mixture.  Toss gently to combine.  After quinoa has cooled for a few minutes, add to mixture and toss gently.  Garnish with mint leaves, or just eat directly from the serving bowl...with the large serving spoon.

What I love about this salad, aside from the delicious, refreshing taste, is the fact that it refrigerates well so you can pack it for lunch the next day.  I have a feeling I'll be making it a lot this summer.