Healthy Eating

Ok, I know what you are all thinking….leeks….ewww! Well, I’m here to tell you I felt the same way until my father-in-law made some of this delicious soup. This recipe comes mostly from his kitchen but since he’s no longer with us, my mother-in-law is the judge and she says he’d like it.

Here’s to you Roger!

• 1/2 tsp of unsalted butter (for cooking the leeks)
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 4 medium sized potatoes (peeled and chopped. Smaller cooks faster but you’ll be mashing or pureeing them anyways)
• 6 leeks (cleaned and sliced thin-I like leeks so I use more. Most recipes call for 2-3. You decide)
• 1 cup heavy cream (most recipes call for 1/2 cup, I use a whole cup and reduce the water accordingly)
• 3 cups water (chicken stock is better, but it’s very salty unless you make it from scratch to control the sodium. I always use homemade chicken stock. Be careful, this can get salty)
• Pepper to taste

Celery is optional in this recipe but I’m including it to make this healthy. Saute the celery with butter in a saucepan for about two minutes, then add the leeks. Keep those greens moving until the leeks are limp so it doesn’t burn.

Toss the leeks, celery and potatoes into a stockpot and add water till everything covered. It’s about 3 cups, but I cook like I’m feeding an army, so feel free to pare down the amounts as needed. For some reason, soup multiplies when it’s cooked and you’ll end up with more than you’d think.

Bring to a boil then simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and soft. Add the cream. Now, here’s the fun part. When cooked, you need to puree everything down as best you can. I started by using a potato masher and just worked the soup until it was as pulverized as I could get it. My wife mentioned that we had a hand mixer and I’ve been using that ever since. If you’ve got one, great. If not, the soup will still win awards. Just get it as creamy as you can. You can use a food processor, but you really don’t have to and it’s an extra step of cleaning that I think is over kill.

30 minutes from start to finish and you are a hero! Add salt and pepper to taste, but again, be careful. Leeks have a bit of a salty taste themselves, and if you use chicken stock it could get too salty. Stay away from the chicken buillion cubes. Those are just nasty.

Here’s my guess on the nutritional info, based on other recipes.

Under 200 calories per serving, about 38 from fat.

This is SO much better than the Whopper combo you were gonna have! Enjoy.

So I do salsa, but it’s too hot. I do shrimp and you don’t like seafood. Grilled artichokes were nice but too much work and too messy. How’s a cook supposed to please you without butter and cream?! I just might have the answer……

Chicken!  Not just any chicken, but chicken with a hint of lemon. There’s lots of room to play with this, so I’ll lay out the basics and toss in some opportunities for creativity.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Juice and zest of one large lemon
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or diced small
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Now the how to…

First, pound the chicken flat between two sheets of wax paper. No wax paper? Pound em flat anyways. Nothing to pound them with? Don’t pound them. It works any way you do it but thinner is traditional in this recipe. (insiders tip: I usually use bone in, skinned chicken to make this, you just have to brown it first, it’s just not as healthy)

Quickly brown the chicken then toss in the lemon juice, zest, garlic, dijon adn pepper, give it a quick stire and cover to cook on low until done. Thicker pieces take longer so time things accordingly.

Here’s another way to get to the same place. Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken for at least two hours before cooking. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of honey if you like. Grill, bake or go crazy in the skillet because it’s all about choice with this recipe.

One more option and a traditional one with this recipe is to add mushrooms. If you are a fan of the fungi, toss some sliced mushrooms in with the chicken and cook it all down together. The lemon, the garlic and the ‘shrooms work really well together and I recommend this option if you like all the ingredients (don’t use honey with this one and pass on the dijon too).

Rice is a natural with chicken, but asparagus is great too and remember, it’s part of the A pyramid, so it’s good for you.

Let me know what YOU like and we’ll work it into something tasty next time.

BTW, this recipe clocks in at about 250 calories, about 18 from fat and 90mg cholestrol. Not too shabby.

Shirimp is great if you are trying to cut down on fat and cholestrol. It’s also reasonably priced and easy to prepare and cook. What a great way to slim down and enjoy some tasty food at the same time If you are avoiding carbs or aren’t into tortillas, try these as lettuce wraps. I cut some of the salt out of this on general principals, so taste and season to your liking.

Check out online sources such as foodtv.com for ideas. There’s literally thousands of recipes out there for you to try.
Shrimp:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound medium shrimp (21-25 count), peeled and deveined
8 corn tortillas
cilantro for garnish
several lime wedges

Avocado Salsa:
1 small onion
1 jalapeno
1 garlic clove
4 medium tomatillos, (about 8 ounces) husked, rinsed, and coarsely chopped
1/2 Hass avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

In a food processor, finely chop the onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Add the tomatillos, avocado, and salt and pulse until chopped but still chunky. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cilantro. You can hand chop all the ingredients if you don’t have a food processor, so don’t worry. I hand chopped everything for years before I got lazy.
Heat grill to medium-high. Mix the olive oil, chili powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Grill the shrimp until translucent, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side.

Grill tortillas, until slightly charred and pliable, about 20 seconds per side. A damp towel wrapped around the tortillas and put in the microwave for 20 seconds works pretty good too. Spoon sauce on the tortilla, then top with about 2 or 3 shrimp and a dash of cilantro. You can squeeze the lime into the tacos for some extra kick.

Let me know what you think!

Wraps are a quick and easy variation of a sandwich. They pack well, are highly adaptable to whatever you have on hand (I even make peanut butter wraps) and they can be a nutrcious substitute for those artery choking hamburgers. Check out this recipe that I found over a the Food Network. Note that I took out the jicama, just because I don’t care for jicama. You might, so if that’s the case, add some jicama and knock ourself out.

Artichokes are part of the perfect food triangle. What is the food triangle you may ask? Well, it’s Artichokes, Avocados and Asparagus; three foods that not only taste great but are good for you too. They are full of vitamins, minerals and oils that will keep you healthy, so go on, eat em up yum!

Now, about the artichokes, most people I know eat artichokes with either butter or mayonnaise. Either way, that’s not too healthy. Here, we pair them with garlic and some Italian dressing and toss them into the fire. Oil and Fire. Could it get any better?

• 4 small to medium artichokes (actually, you can make as much as you want, they store well and continue to marinate)
• 1 cup of low fat Italian dressing. (I use olive oil and red vinegar with a dash of salt and pepper, so feel free to be creative)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic diced (go on, toss in another 2-3 cloves, we’re all friends here and I’m not going to kiss you anyways)

Here’s the most important part. Peel the outside leaves off the artichokes, right down to the bright green leaves. Cut the pointed leaf tips with scissors or a knife and trim the stem. Boil these bad boys for about 15 minutes. If you are familiar with artichokes, we want to cook them about  of the way through. If artichokes are new to you, don’t worry, you can over cook them and they will be fine. Artichokes take a little bit of practice, so go longer rather than shorter and adjust as you learn.

Let the artichokes cool. When you can handle them, cut them in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the “hair” just above the hearts. You’ll create a nice little hollow that will hold in all the garlic and marinade. Place them in a Tupperware or other suitable marinating device. Toss in the Italian dressing and garlic and seal. Let marinate for a few hours to a few days. When you are ready to eat, place them on a BBQ for about 5 minutes to char the outside and warm the inside. Don’t let them burn! This is good stuff kids. Trust me.

This is some of the best salsa you will ever have and it is so simple to make that anyone can do it. Now, ideally, you should use what I call a “salsinator” but it’s really one of those small hand cranked plastic food mixer/choppers that you see advertised “As Seen on TV” or in the malls. Without a doubt, they make some awesome salsa. If you prefer to hand chop, get a sharp knife, but please, don’t use an electric food processor. Ready? Grab your tomatoes.

• 4 ripe Roma tomatoes (Roma’s are great for salsa because they are meaty, but any tomatoes will work)
• 1 bunch of Mexican Onions
• 1 bunch of Cilantro
• 1 can (7 oz) of El Pato salsa or another of your choosing (not tomato sauce)
• 1 Jalapeno pepper (seeded and diced)
• salt to taste

Chop tomatos to a medium consistency (ok, I like it medium, if you like it fine, keep chopping). Finely chop onion whites and green tops. Pull off a handful of Cilantro, rinse, chop and add to taste (I’m not a huge fan of Cilantro, but you do need at least some in the salsa). Toss in the chopped Jalapeno and add some of your favorite hot sauce to taste if you like. Add 1 can of El Pato and then add water to thin the mixture out to your liking.

Everything you just did takes about 5 minutes. In the salsinator, it takes about 20 seconds, and you get a quick forearm workout!

Makes a serving size bowl. You can refrigerate for several days and use it in place of dressing, sauces, etc.