Comunidad Health Foods

Mexican meets comfort meets health food – are there many better culinary combinations than that? I have yet to be convinced otherwise. And clearly, because I managed to find a Thirty Minute Thursday post that didn’t summon the flavors of Mexican cuisine, I had to make up for it by telling you about one that does, today.

This Mexican Lasagna is the result of leftover refried beans, cilantro, and avocado from the various other Mexican-inspired meals (mostly from Rachael Ray) that I have been enjoying recently. I chose to turn it into a lasagna because, quite simply, that’s what I have in my pantry. As the semester winds down and I prepare to move back home, I’m making a concerted effort to get creative with the food I already have in stock rather than spending boatloads at the grocery store and keeping a full kitchen. I pretty much refresh my fresh produce and yogurts each week (and make sure I always have a backup jar of peanut butter on hand for emergencies, naturally), and otherwise make due with what I have. I’ve really enjoyed the challenge, and there’s something oddly satisfying about one by one using up all of those odds-and-ends ingredients I’ve collected over the course of the year.

But back to this lasagna – this tasty, filling, spicy, comforting lasagna. Arguably the best part about this is how downright easy it is, too. When I think of lasagna, I often feel discouraged – it always seems to be one of those labor of love dishes that is best reserved for a leisurely day spent in the kitchen rather than a harried weeknight dinner fix. In that vein, this is not your typical lasagna. Also, because I made it as a single serving, the layering of the noodles got a little bit creative to fit the personal-sized baking dish that I used. If you want to scale it up for a full-size meal, simply layer the noodles as you would a traditional lasagna (and not all “fakockta-ed”  as I did).

There was a time in my adult life where I genuinely and wholeheartedly swore off peanut butter. I announced that I would never eat it again, at least not for the next month. It was an aversion that developed all at once due to an unfortunate peanut butter sandwich-mild stomach bug combination. I couldn’t smell the stuff without becoming nauseated. I was dejected, distraught that this silly little sickness had ruined my love affair with this not-nut-nut-butter for eternity.

My abstinence lasted a grand total of 3 or 4 days. If that.

Thankfully, I regained my strength and with it came flooding back my love for peanut butter. It was as though we had never been apart, the two of us – we fell back into our old habits quickly and naturally. And because of that, I was able to enjoy this very delicious, very satisfying spin on French Toast from Rachael Ray. I mean really, this PB&B (peanut butter & banana!)-meets-breakfast-treat is nothing short of amazing. It’s easy to make, healthy, and full of all kinds of gustatory pleasantries. It’s rich from the peanut butter, sweet from the banana, warm and comforting and oh so good. Please make this. Really, you won’t regret it.

 

Smoothies are really hip right now, aren’t they? It almost makes me like them a little bit less – yeah, I’m one of those people. It isn’t that I enjoy being the only fan of something, either; I just get a little put off when everyone and their mom goes gaga over one thing. I guess it’s the extremes that unsettle me. Still, even the smoothie trend that’s been sweeping over our country hasn’t been enough to dissuade me entirely. After all, there’s a reason they’re so popular – they’re delicious, and can be great for you, too! To try to buck the trend just a teensy bit without boycotting the nutritious drink entirely, I often like to go for “out of the box” flavors. At least, I’m not the kind of person to just throw random fruit together and call it a day. My smoothies need a theme. They require inspiration.

I really like to recreate some of my favorite dishes in smoothie form, which is how I got recipes like sweet potato pie smoothie and pink lemonade smoothie. My most recent creation was a work in progress, but I think I’ve nailed it: a Strawberry, Basil & Balsamic Smoothie. These flavors come together so well in salads all the time, and when I found myself with a flourishing basil plant and a bag of frozen strawberries in the freezer, I knew I had to give it a shot. I have to confess, my first attempt went down the drain, as much as it pains me to waste food and ingredients. I was too exuberant about the balsamic and even I couldn’t stomach it in the end. Round 2 went much better, and what I have for you today is a very sophistical smoothie. It’s mildly sweet with a tang that doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the drink. It’s certainly not a smoothie for everyone, but if you like these flavor combinations, consider trying it out. You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Past Smoothie Recipes: Pink Lemonade, Raspberry Linzer, Sweet Potato Pie, Strawberry-Mango

You may also have noticed that I’m writing my recipes a little differently. I read a blog post summarizing some tips on how to write a better recipe, and I think it made some valid points. Notably, I’m going to be trying to incorporate a brief summary of the recipe at the top along with prep and cook times. I hope you like the new format!

…Radishes, that is!

I’m sorry, I had to. L’s affinity for puns is rubbing off on me. Six years of listening to puns will do that to a person.  But anyway, about radishes. Have you ever had them? I overlooked them for the longest time. They struck me as the kind of vegetable that would be bitter (up until about a year ago this was the kind of thing that actually bothered me, because my taste buds were still normal). And I didn’t know how to eat them. They were just a little too weird for me, and it took until I started to like slightly weird food to want to actually give them a shot.

Imagine my surprise when I did and discovered that they’re downright delightful! They aren’t bitter or weird; in fact, they’re kind of fantastic. I like biting into them raw with a little dab of whipped feta on them. I like them chopped up and mixed into a yogurty dip and spread on those nifty rice puffs from Wegmans. And I really, really like them drizzled with olive oil and roasted to within a near inch of their life.

One of these days, I need to write a catch-all “Guidelines for How to Roast Any Vegetable” post. But for now, since I didn’t change a darn thing about the original recipe (I even sprinkled salt on them! Can you imagine?), I’ll simply say that you should click on over to Beloved Greenfor the details. Just know that it’s easy, stupid easy in fact, and tastes like Springtime curled up for a nap in your oven for 20 minutes and took on a carmelized crust while it was in there. You know, if seasons could do that sort of thing.

Happy Almost Earth Day!

 I need to start this post on a little bit of a downer (well, maybe – it might be a good thing in the end): I’m not sure how much longer I can keep up with these 30 Minute Thursday posts. It isn’t that I’m getting close to having cooked my way through Rachael Ray’s entire book – I most certainly haven’t. However, the recipes that I haven’t made and am actually interested in making are dwindling quickly, and I almost feel as though the recipes that I do make and write about are mostly variations of the same meal. Case in point: another Mexican recipe for today, even though I’ve told you about fiesta salads and chicken fajitas and green chile quesadillas up the wazoo. And I’m not even done yet! I have another Mexican-inspired meal in the line up already. Don’t get me wrong, they taste good – I just worry that I’m falling into a rut that you aren’t too interested in following me into. I can’t say that I blame you if that’s the case.

I haven’t made any decisions yet, and likely won’t definitively until after the semester ends (which, by the way, is a frighteningly short 3 weeks away – when did I get to be old enough to graduate?). So for now, 30 Minute Thursdays continue. But I may scale it back to every other week or once a month, and eventually I’ll move on to my next cookbook victim (I wonder which one will come next?). If you have any strong feelings about these posts, please share them! I cook for myself but I do write with you in mind, so I would definitely take your thoughts into account when I make my final decision.

If you’re bored of Fiesta Floptimism, you may want to stop here. If not, though, I have another decent, back-pocket meal for you today. This recipe in the book is called a Make Your Own Burrito Bar, but seeing as how I cook for myself and no one else, the “bar” really just turned into me making a black bean burrito with my choice ingredients like I would any other night. Not so festive, but it worked.

To the glass-half-empty chef, this meal may very well have been a total disaster. I fumbled to get the tomatoes charred the way I wanted them, then I overcompensated and charred the burrito so long that it got a little too stiff to roll and I had to eat the whole thing with a knife and a fork. I added greek yogurt (aka the Floptimism version of sour cream) to the burrito after I flipped it once, which heated the yogurt and actually made it coagulate a teensy bit. It was a hot mess to eat, to say the least.

But to the glass-half-full chef, as I aspire to be, this was a star performer recipe. Eating a burrito with a fork and a knife is no tragedy, nor is it something new for me since I habitually overstuff my sandwiches to the point where eating with my hands is not an option. I actually liked the way the yogurt cooked slightly – it imparted a pseudo-cheesy flavor and worked really well with the other flavors. As a whole, this was a mildly spicy burrito full of flavor, and definitely full of fun. What’s not to love about that?

With Spring finally here – beautiful weather and all – I find myself drawn more to clean, fresh flavors. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a burst of flavor or a robust sauce every now and then – I am still me, after all – but when Spring first arrives it just feels natural to me to scale back on the complexity of my meals and a eat a little more simply.

This recipe for fresh herbed turkey burgers was just the kind of meal I was craving: a modest serving of very lean meat, thinned out with a healthy quinoa filler and an array of fresh herbs. Unfortunately, I left my box of quinoa at my parent’s house the weekend before, and with it being Passover, my hands were tied in terms of being able to swap in any other grains. So, this was just a straight-up turkey burger with a combination of fresh and dried herbs. I did really like it, but I’m still curious as to how the quinoa would have changed it. I feel like it would have been just a little lighter, a little bit less carnivorous. However, the flavors were excellent so if you find yourself in a similar bind, don’t fret! In fact, because I can’t officially vouch for how it would/will turn out with the quinoa, I haven’t included it in the recipe below. If you’re interested in adding it back in, the recipe simply called for 1 cup, cooked according to the package instructions, mixed into the burger along with all of the other ingredients.

I rested my burger on top of a plate of arugula and topped it with a swirl of whipped feta, and called it a meal. The flavor of the feta paired so well with the herbs in the burger! However, feel free to leave that out if you’d like – I also don’t have the recipe for the whipped feta (it was part of a Passover potluck from the weekend before), but I’m sure you could find a recipe online or simply sprinkle a few plain feta crumbles over top the burger in the end. It would also, of course, make a nice sandwich, though I chose to eat it without the bun.

Vegetarianism and veganism fascinate me. Although I don’t ever see myself completely ruling out animal products, I can’t help but be drawn into all of the inventive and novel ingredients, preparation methods, and recipes that make being a vegetarian or vegan so vibrant and exciting. I especially love incorporating these concepts and ingredients – and, often, full recipes – into my own diet and cooking, just to add variety and embrace all of the incredible options we have before us for nourishing ourselves.

One of my more recent purchases has been nutritional yeast flakes. I’m sure I’ve mentioned them before in recipes from this past year. I think I’m still getting used to how to use them properly – I tried adding them to homemade popcorn and they all just fell to the bottom of the bowl, and I’ve scorched them more than once believing I could use them as a faux-cheese topping under the broiler (at least I didn’t think they would melt, but I still don’t know exactly what was going on in my head with that last one). But one recipe I just made was spot on, and I still can’t get over how deliciously savory the whole meal was.

I need a catchy name for this (I’m open to suggestions!), but for now, we’re going to go with the Cheesiest Cheeseless Omelet on Earth. This omelet bites back with its hot sauce and black pepper, and then it apologies for its enthusiasm by offering up a comforting, cheesy flavor that really could fool you if it weren’t for the fact that melty strings of cheese don’t get stuck between your fork and the plate. Feel free to add more vegetables – broccoli in particular would taste phenomenal – but personally, I kind of liked the simplicity of eating it as is. The only other change I would recommend would be to reduce the oil (and, therefore, the calories) if you plan to eat this with a side of some kind – toast, home fries, etc. A full tablespoon for one serving is no laughing matter, but it’s also not something to be too afraid of (think of all those heart healthy fats you’re getting!), especially if you’re eating this omelet on its own without tons of other accompaniments.

A while back, I decided to spring at the grocery store and I bought wonton wrappers to play around with. After using them once for ravioli, I froze the extras since I knew I could never go through a full package on my own in time. When I thawed them for a second attempt at ravioli, I was nervous that refreezing them would wreak havoc on their chemical structure and just ruin them. So, I needed a way to use them, and use them quickly.

Enter these adorable little breakfast wontons, filled with banana and cinnamon and brushed with honey before being baked to warm, golden perfection. They were simple and easy, yet absolutely delicious – and they do freeze well once baked so making a large batch is no problem. I don’t think they needthe honey drizzle – they’re plenty sweet without it – and would love to try brushing them with olive oil instead to get a crisp golden finish. I also wish I had added some chopped walnuts for a little extra oomph, but should really experiment with that a little bit before just guessing at quantities and ratios for you to try. I would imagine that maybe ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts for the full batch would be the upper limit, but I’ll let you know if I try it again. For now, I’ve just been sprinkling a handful of nuts on top of them before eating. When there’s a will there’s a way, right?

Oh, and definitely don't let the name limit you - these aren't just for breakfast. They make a perfect snack or healthy dessert, too!

 

I think next year I’ll kick Passover off with a post about what I like to eat during the holiday to stay healthy and satisfied. It slipped my mind this year, and by the time someone suggested it to me, I wasn’t sure my advice would be particularly helpful – after all, in just over 24 hours we can all eat grains again. This year has been particularly challenging for me, as I left my box of quinoa at my parent’s house – talk about low carb meals! I admit that it has forced me to make some less healthy choices than I would like – as excited as I get about a successful and filling low carb meal here and there, I don’t like actually following a full on “low carb diet” – and I am very, very much looking forward to dinner tomorrow night. I’m not sure what I’ll make yet, but the box of lasagna noodles in my pantry is looking mighty fine right about now.

Then again, so does this recipe for grilled chile quesadillas! I know, I know, I just told you about quesadillas – how repetitive of me! But hear me out. First of all, it’s National Grilled Cheese Day, and I still don’t have a legitimate grilled cheese recipe for you so I want to make do with what I have. Second of all, this one speaks to all of the vegetarians out there (I haven’t forgotten about you!), whereas yesterday’s recipe contained chicken. I thought it would be a nice 30 Minute Thursday post to follow up a very unconventional quesadilla with a much more classic one. Plus, I ate it with a side of succotash salad, which – if you don’t follow the corn rule – could actually be eaten on Passover. So I like to think that this post does a good job of pleasing everyone this week.

This quesadilla was absolutely delicious. There was a perfect amount of cheese and using the smoked cheddar was incredible. All I would change next time would be to increase the amount of chile peppers slightly. I poured a spicy salsa verde on top (which, by the way, could not have been easier to make), which I made a little hotter by not removing the seeds, so that made up for the lack of kick from the quesadilla itself.  The succotash salad was equally tasty, and even easier to make. It wasn’t overly flavorful – it made a good pair for a spicy dish because it was refreshing and cooling. All I would say with this is to choose your oil for the dressing wisely – I used sesame and could absolutely taste it. A canola oil would be much more neutral, but otherwise go for a decent quality oil with a flavor that would go well with the rest of the dish, because you can definitely taste it. Also, if you have a little leftover succotash and a little leftover salsa verde, try mixing them together - it's fantastic!

Call it a mental Passover block or some subliminal knowledge that tomorrow is National Grilled Cheese Day, but out of the blue today I got a hankering for a good grilled cheese sandwich. Just my luck! Unfortunately, the closest I’m going to get to chowing down on a good sandwich of any kind between now and Saturday is telling you about this cheesy Tandoori chicken quesadilla that I made just a few weeks ago.

This meal actually began as grilled tandoori chicken, which was easy and quick to make. It was…nice. Not at all spicy as I had imagined, though I did admittedly play with the spices slightly to better accommodate what I had in stock. Still, it was enjoyable, and it worked really well with the sautéed spinach with garlic chips that I made as a side. I only halved the spinach recipe and ate the whole thing, meaning I ate a full 2 cloves of garlic – and while the spinach wasn’t too much for me, the garlic was. So if you’re a veggie lover and think you’ll eat a hefty serving of this, consider reducing the amount of garlic (that’s probably going to be the first and last time you’ll ever hear me say that). The only other thing to say about that spinach recipe is to really stick to the 1 minute or less cooking time – spinach is very delicate, and it continues to cook even after you remove it from the pan, so flash-cooking is really the best way to get the texture right.

The next day, I used the leftover tandoori chicken in an Indian-inspired quesadilla, and that’s where the recipe really stole my heart. Naturally, I overstuffed my quesadilla, insisting on only using 1 tortilla but keeping the same amount of filling, which means that my sandwich was a little messy to eat. If that’s a turn off but you, like me, would prefer to just use a single tortilla, consider reducing the chicken by just a little bit. However you choose to navigate the tortilla-filling conundrum, this is a delicious “sandwich.” I personally didn’t add any toppings, but think that it’d be even better with them! You could go the traditional Mexican route with salsa, sour cream/greek yogurt, avocado, etc.; or – and I think this sounds incredible – you could keep with the Indian flavors and top it with some plain greek yogurt and fruity chutney.

 

It’s the Monday after a very big holiday weekend, and I’ll bet even if your celebrations occurred on Friday or Saturday, you’re still feeling the effects of all of that food-and-family time. The amount of leftovers in my fridge is astonishing, and I found myself this morning reworking my meal plan for the week before going grocery shopping to try to use more of the leftovers instead of cooking too many new things. It can be overwhelming to be presented with so much food – even if the majority is healthy.

Sometimes, after a big holiday, you just need something simple to eat. It’s even better if it’s very healthy, since many people find themselves in “detox mode” (I use that term loosely – we’re not talking about an actual detox here!) after a holiday filled with culinary indulgences. This cucumber-tomato salad and omelet is the perfect meal for the morning after a holiday – it’s easy, it’s simple, it’s good for you, and it tastes really good, too. Of course, I made this in the middle of February when no one on the East Coast of the United States should be buying tomatoes, so this meal wasn’t given the opportunity to shine as it would in, say, July. Someone really should slap the back of my hand with a ruler for even attempting it. Still, even with the lackluster tomatoes, I liked it. I have every intention of making this as tomatoes come more into season.

And maybe even before that, with all of these leftover cucumbers and tomatoes from seder crudite I have on my hands…