OC Cooking Made Easy!

Living alone for the first time has its ups and downs, especially living off campus. I no longer have inebriated floor-mates running up and down the halls screaming when I’m trying to study for a test or sleep. My days of having to walk down the hall to brush my teeth or use the restroom are over. However, as mundane as the servery food seemed to be when I was on campus, I miss not worrying about what I have to cook tonight.

It can be a difficult transition to go from cooking nothing to cooking almost all of your meals. Being the poor college student I am, eating out for every meal is not an option. So I had to learn how to cook, but not only cook. I also had to figure out what foods were healthy, which foods I could eat as often as I wanted, and which ones to limit. I did this mostly by listening to my body at first. Does this make me feel energized or sluggish? Satisfied or starved? By listening to my body and paying attention to what foods made me feel great, I ended up (with the help of Maria of course) creating a food plan that fit my body and my daily activities.

Now to the food part! Below are some of my favorite meals, a breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I usually keep bulk ingredients for each meal in case I have a loss of cooking creativity and just need to whip something up to kill my hunger.  I don’t have exact measurements on them because I typically just add what I feel is right. Plus, everyone has different tastes, for example: I LOVE garlic so I add more than recipes call for. Don’t worry if it doesn’t taste right the first time you make it. Keep trying until you get the right combination!

Breakfast

Greek yogurt with berries and Grape Nuts©: I typically buy a pint of honey yogurt but you can also buy plain and add your own honey

Ingredients:

Greek yogurt

Frozen berries or fresh berries

Grape Nuts

Take all of the ingredients and mix together in a bowl and eat!

Lunch

Chicken salad sandwich on Pumpernickle bread: Ask anyone in the Wellness Center and they’ll tell you that I love Pumpernickle bread! Not just because of its amazing taste but it’s also a good source of fiber and has a low glycemic index. Maria suggests using roasted chicken with this sandwich because it’s healthier (and tastes better) but canned chicken is good for a backup.  I’m a real mayonnaise girl so I get the Mayo made with olive oil. My weakness is chips so I opt for veggie chips instead of potato as a side.

Ingredients:

Roasted (or canned) chicken

Mayo (made with olive oil)

Pumpernickle bread toasted

Mix the chicken and mayo in a bowl. If you want to mix it up add grapes, raisins, etc. Toast the bread and add the mix on top!

Dinner

Whole wheat pasta with garlic and tomato sauce: This isn’t the typical thick tomato sauce you think of with pasta. It’s base is olive oil so it’s very light but flavorful.

Ingredients:

Pasta

Olive oil

Salt

2 Garlic cloves

Italian seasonings

Grape/Plum Tomatoes

Mushrooms

Parmesean cheese

Boil the pasta in salted water with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Heat about half a cup of olive oil on medium heat in a saucepan. Once oil is hot, add chopped garlic cloves to oil and heat until light brown. Add tomatoes and chopped mushrooms. Cook until tomatoes have popped and juice mixes in with oil. Add sauce to pasta and serve!

Holiday Dessert Swap

It's that time of year of year again where everywhere you go it's "pumpkin" this, "cranberry" that, and "peppermint" something else. I am back at home and attended an annual Holiday Party at my old piano teacher's house. My eyes were immediately drawn to a magnificent looking peppermint pie! After taking a bite of the ultra rich cream pie, I thought to myself, there's absolutely NO way that this can be good for you.. But oh, it could be deceiving! Indeed, there's something inherently tricky about minty desserts. They seem light. It's like the mintiness sends a message straight to the brain, triggering the response, "This can't be THAT bad for me!" I quickly found the maker of the delicious pie and she informed me of the ingredients. Sugar, heavy whipping cream, oreo cookies.. Ahhh.. This was definitely not a dessert to be taken lightly.

After some quick research on the internet, I found an awesome recipe that subs out the heavy cream for fat free cool whip, which naturally sweetens without the use of oreo cookies and other sugars. Even better, there's ZERO baking involved, just some quick and easy mixing of ingredients.. and after 10 minutes of prep time, all that's left is some time for the pie to chill and harden, and voila! A minty, chocolatey healthier cream pie! Check it out!

Less than 5 grams of fat per slice? Dig in!

Ingredients:
Purchase a pre-made chocolate graham cracker crust
Filling

• 1/2 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 1 small (4-serving) box Jell-O Sugar Free Fat Free Vanilla Instant pudding mix
• 3 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed
• 3 tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 standard-sized peppermint candy canes, lightly crushed, divided
• Optional topping: Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:

To make the filling, combine condensed milk, milk, and pudding mix in a large bowl. Mix well. Fold in Cool Whip until smooth. Gently stir in chocolate chips and about 3/4 of the candy cane pieces. Once crust has cooled completely, evenly pour filling into the pan. Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 2 hours. (Overnight is best.) Sprinkle pie with remaining candy cane pieces. If you want, top with Reddi-wip just before serving. Dig in!

Here's the BEST part:

• Serving Size: 1 slice (1/8th of pie) 
• Calories: 202
• Fat: 4.5g 
• Sodium: 250mg 
• Carbs: 37g 
• Fiber: 0.25g 
• Sugars: 24g 
• Protein: 2.5g 

So, when you're thinking of a healthier option to take to the next Holiday Party, give this recipe a try! It took all of 10 minutes to whip together! So, it's super quick, easy, and it tastes delicious! Enjoy! 

Tacos-Cheap, Easy, and FAST!

So you would think with my profession that I absolutely love going to the grocery store.  But after a long day at work, a 65 lb puppy that needs attention, and frankly pure laziness on my part...I dread it and want to fly through there as quickly as possible.  Although I think that through this dread and impatience has come a good outlet of knowledge.  Having done my research, I now feel confident that my speedy trip's outcome will not do a disservice to my healthy diet.  I would like to share some short-cuts on how to have a great tasting and HEALTHY taco night! 

Cheap and Easy Tacos

1/2 pre-roasted turkey or chicken (I like Jennie-O brand, and remove the skin!)
1 package Whole Wheat Tortillas (I like the low-carb brands, they seem to have a higher protein and fiber content)
1 Green pepper
1 Onion
1 Tomato
1 bushel Fresh Cilantro
1 Avocado
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Hot sauce

Grill onions and green peppers in a well-greased frying pan (olive oil spray is a healthy choice to cook with.)  Warm tortillas in microwave for 10 secs.  Slice fresh tomato and avocado.  Chop fresh cilantro pieces.  Remove skin from roasted chicken.  Pull of about 3 oz of meat (size of deck of cards) portions for each taco.  Add grilled vegetables, fresh tomato, avocado, sprinkle cheese, and cilantro.  Add hot sauce for some spice.

Easy Cooking with Coconut Milk

So it is always an adventure trying to find something to cook with when you haven't been grocery shopping in weeks....it sparks, let's call it creativity?!  Stocking your pantry with canned items and stocking your freezer with frozen fruits and veggies can lend you a healthy back-up meal when your time is tight.

I think a great thing to stock in your pantry is LITE coconut milk.  It contains 50 calories and 4.5g of fat per 1/3 can.  It can make a great stir fry.  Below is a recipe that I threw together last night.

Curry Coconut Vegetable and Chicken

6 oz thawed frozen chicken breast
1 can lite coconut milk
2 tbs red or green curry paste (can be found in the international section at grocery stores)
4 cups chopped or frozen veggies.  I used frozen brocolli and peas.  A fresh red pepper, jalapeno pepper, one beet, and 1 cup fresh kale.
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Red pepper, pepper, garlic powder to spice

1 cup rice 

Bring coconut oil to boil in a saucepan.  Add curry paste and mix until blended.  Add chicken and frozen vegetables.  Let cook until chicken and frozen vegetables are almost cooked.  Add fresh vegetables to pan and spices, cover and let cook 10 mins.  Serve over rice and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Makes 2-3 servings--depending on your appetite!

OC Living: Family Dinner Style

So, over at the Slanty Shanty, we have decided to make every night before the start of the  new school week (typically Sunday nights) Family Dinner night. Because of Fall Break, we actually had our past Family Dinner on Tuesday night. We invited some friends over, fired up the oven, and cooked up a delicious family dinner.

There wasn’t a particular theme to the night, although in the future we’ve decided to have one.. This particular night was all about making something quick, easy, and plenty of it. We started the night off with a fiery salsa, moved onto vegetable quesadillas, Lentil soup, steamed cauliflower and finished the night with crumb cake and a homemade apple pie! Below are some photos from our family dining event. I have featured 3 of the items because I have a sneaking suspicion that the apple pie will be featured in future meals (delicious and low on sugar and super easy to make) so look for it in another OC Living: Family Dinner post in the future! 
 

What a happy family!

Delicious Lentil Soup

What was left of the cauliflower concoction

Apple Pie Delight!

JOHN JOHN'S SCRUMPTIOUS SALSA
Ingredients:

• About a pint of cherry tomatoes
• 14 oz. can of reduced sodium/unseasoned black beans
• One bunch of cilantro
• Two jalapeno peppers
• Four green onions
• Juice of two limes
• Salt to taste

Cooking Instructions:

1. Open, drain, and rinse can of black beans. Repeat rinsing process two or three times.  
2. Pour beans into a large mixing bowl.  
3. Chop cherry tomatoes into fourths or halves, depending on preference, and add into bowl.  
4. Rinse the bunch of cilantro and chop off the leafy top portion. Dice very well. Add to mixture.  
5. Wash and slice green onions finely. Add to mixture.  
6. De-seed and remove ribs from jalapenos. Dice finely and add to mixture.  
7. Add the juice of two limes.  
8. Combine ingredients until mixed.  
9. Add salt to taste. 
10. Serve with low salt tortilla chips and enjoy!

ETHAN'S CAULIFLOWER CONCOCTION
Ingredients:

• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• basil

Cooking Instructions:

1. Wash cauliflower thoroughly
2. Place in pan and brush lightly with olive oil 
3. Season to taste; approximately 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper
4. Broil in oven for about 20 minutes
5. Top with basil and enjoy

Top Secret Lentil Soup
(I had to pull some strings to get this recipe.. enjoy!)
Ingredients:

• 1 lb lentils
• 1 large yellow onion
• A little olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• Small handful of parsley
• 1 TBS smoked paprika
• 2-3 bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• 3 eggs

Cooking Instructions:

1. Boil water add onion and cook for 5 minutes
2. Add all other ingredients
3. Cook until lentils are finished (lentils will be tender)
4. Beat 3 eggs and add while stirring. Add chorizo halfway through and cook until tender. 

Stay tuned for our next adventures in cooking over at the Slanty Shanty! And as always, if you have any questions at all about the recipes, please let me know! 

OC Living: Family Dinner Style

My mother used to tell me, "If you can read you can cook." This coming form a woman who never ever consulted a recipe book, who always knew when she needed an extra dash of salt (What is a dash, anyways?) and knew when the blueberry muffins were finished baking without even using a timer. She was my idol in the kitchen, and I was here little protege. And oh was I bad. I could literally burn potatoes (Ask me about the best parsley potatoes recipe involving burnt potatoes and a whole tub of butter!) and it took me hours to get a pot of boiling water going. But my mother never gave up! As a going away present for college she gave me a full collection of Betty Crocker Cookbooks.. 

Needless to say, upon coming to College with access to the fully stocked servery, I rarely ever cooked unless it was to whip up a cup of ramen. However, my Junior year has found me off campus, living with 5 other housemates and full access to a wonderful kitchen. Although scared at first, I have decided to begin on a cooking adventure, one recipe at a time! Every week, Maria and I will post some sort of collaboration involving a new recipe to try or just general followings on our adventures in our kitchens. Whether you live on campus or off, have access to kitchen or not, we're looking to bring something here to the blog that will cater to you!

 Last Sunday, my housemates and I decided to have our first family dinner. We had a quick pow wow session on who was going to prepare what and off to the grocery store we went! We made Chicken Pot Pie and Green bean casserole. The meal went as follows:

Before...

 

 

...After

 

Needless to say, the boys tore through the delicious Chicken Pot Pie and Homemade Green Bean Casserole. Below are the recipes!

James' Famous Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 can chicken broth (Low salt preferred)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 1/2 - 3 cup diced cooked chicken
• 2 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Place crust in pie pan, pressing it down gently into the pan
2. In Medium saucepan, melt butter and cook onion until tender (2-3 minutes) Stir in flour, salt, and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, stirring constantly. Cook until bubbly and thickened.
3. Add chicken and mixed veggies and combine well. Spoon mixture into crust lined pan. Top with second crust. Fold edges over and crimp. Cut slits in top to vent.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes until crust is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

 

Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

For the topping:

• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 TBS panko bread crumbs
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• Pam

For beans and sauce:

• 2 TBS plus 1 tsp salt divided
• 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
• 2 TBS unsalted butter
• 12 oz mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
2. Combine the onions, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.
3. While the onions are cooking, prepare beans, snap off ends (we forgot to do this!) Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes. Drain beans and set aside
4. Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately. 

Stay tuned for adventures from our next cooking adventure! :)

And remember, if you have any questions at all regarding the recipe, the instructions, or suggestions for future recipes, let us know!

Cheap and Easy...and HOT!

RecipeSo this is the official start of our little nutrition blog!  Being a recent college grad myself, I know how hard it can be to cook, at school, on a budget.  I am here to prove with this blog that healthy recipes can be achieved the cheap and easy way.  Different recipes will be posted using simple ingredients.  Even if you may not like a recipe, I will also offer tips on cooking in general throughout each recipe that you can apply to your cooking skills.  Granted, I may be a dietitian, but I am NO CHEF!  This is my way to prove to students, that you can cook healthfully, no matter what your profession or skill is.  So enjoy our first recipe!

My recipes always go along with an interesting story. They are always conjured up from something that happened during the week...never from a cookbook.  This recipe came from a visit to the Houston Hot Sauce Festival held in Stafford, Tx this past weekend.  Yes, vendors from all over the country compete for the title of having THE best hot sauce in Houston. If you are a fan of spicy and want to try new and interesting hot sauce, BBQ sauce, and dip, all to the sweet sounds of a Louisiana Bluegrass band, I would suggest attending next year. I’d have to say it was a fun yet painful experience (someone dressed as a fireman gave us a taste of his “stupid hot” sauce, and after 15 minutes of crying, burning pain, I think the name was more than justified).  After downing way too many hot sauce shots on tortilla chips, you can cool down with either a cold draft beer, or some ice cream (some vendors even put their hot sauce ON ice cream, which surprisingly worked!) When we were all hot sauced out, we looked for some real food and found SpurTree, a local vendor that makes Jamaican inspired sauces.  Their Jamaican curry seasoning over some grilled chicken really hit the spot and we decided to buy a bottle and take it home. This curry is different because it has the spice of a traditional curry, but almost a sweetness to go along with it.  Its delicious!  The following recipe was inspired from that sauce, but any curry sauce from any store can be substituted.  If you are interested in supporting SpurTree, a local vendor, you can order their products by calling 281-586-7177.

Curried Chicken and Lentils

Ingredients:

2 fresh chicken breast

1/2 cup lentils

2 cups chopped vegetables, anything you like (we used carrots, zuccini, onions, potatoes, peppers)

1-2 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup curry sauce (we used a jamaican curry, you can find these at any grocery store)

Herbs and spices ( garlic powder, black pepper, tumeric, cilantro, basil)*spices are a great way to flavor your food without the salt or calories, try the suggested spices listed here–for added spice try adding Siracha, found in the Asian section

Makes four servings, around 300 calories each.

1. Wash and chop all veggies
2. Add veggies to sauce pan with 1 tbs olive oil, cover and let cook for 10 minutes over medium heat
3. Slice chicken breast *a great way to thaw out chicken quickly is to drop it into a pot of boiling water
4. Cook chicken in a frying pan with a pinch of olive oil or grill it in a George Foreman
5. When veggies are soft and chicken is cooked add them to a large pot on stove
6. Add curry sauce spices and lentils
7. Let cook for about 10 minutes or until lentils are soft

You can eat this recipe with whole wheat pita bread or plain.  Its a great source of lean protein and fiber.