Weight Loss and Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

  You may have noticed I haven't made any new blog posts in over a month. I have been on a brief hiatus to focus on my health. I am proud to say after 15 months I am finally at my pre-pregnancy weight! Getting healthy has been quite a journey for me. My weight has yo-yoed for years and I have always struggled to lose weight and keep it off. I lost 30 lbs before getting pregnant, only to gain close to 50 throughout my pregnancy with Ethan. Diabetes and heart disease are serious issues in my family so I knew how important it was for me to start living a healthy lifestyle now, before I started having issues of my own.
   I have begrudgingly tried so many diets and forms of exercise in the past; some worked, some didn't. But I never once enjoyed it enough to turn it into a lifestyle. This time has been different. I am enjoying eating clean, healthy foods and I am loving the way exercising makes me feel. I worked with a weight loss clinic for the first month, doing a complete overhaul of my diet and taking HCG injections to help me along. I drank a gallon of water everyday and lived off of only chicken breast, green veggies, and a handful of fruits. It was tough, but I felt better and better everyday knowing I was becoming healthier and cleaning all of the toxins, from the junk I had been eating the past 26 years, out of my body. Now, I am on my own, but remain eating a low calorie diet made up of lean protein, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. I love the way real food tastes now. I love feeling satisfied after a small portion without feeling like I'm going to burst because I ate so much food. I love my body again and I love having nothing to wear because all of my clothes are falling off of me!
   Of course, eating nothing but plain chicken and steamed vegetables, I had nothing interesting to add to the blogosphere last month. But fear not, I have started cooking again and look forward to sharing some delicious, healthy recipes with you!

   Tonight for dinner we had a turkey breast tenderloin I rubbed with a salt-free blackening seasoning from a local company, Dak's Bistro. I served it with a green bean salad and Crash hot sweet potatoes. I have made these sweet potatoes several times, I just changed the recipe up a little bit to lower the calories per serving. They weren't really unhealthy before, so I only made a few small changes. You can find the original recipe here .

Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4 (110 calories per serving)

2 small to medium sweet potatoes, peeled
cooking spray
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut peeled potatoes about 1- 1 1/2 inches thick. Cook in boiling water for about 10 minutes, until just tender. Drain potatoes and let cool about 10 minutes. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Use a fork to slightly smash each potato disk. Spray tops with cooking spray.
Combine sugar, salt, and spices. Distribute spice  mixture evenly amongst potato slices.
Bake on 375 for about 20 minutes. Broil last few minutes for sugars to caramelize.

In the original recipe, both sides are coated with sugar/spices and a butter/olive oil mixture is used to aid in caramelization. These have much less fat and sugar, but still taste delicious.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Asian Salad with Sesame Encrusted Chicken Fingers

    This week my vegetable box from Purple Pumpkin Produce included a head of napa cabbage and a head of red cabbage. I have never bought napa cabbage and immediately started searching for a recipe to use it in. I found a couple of different recipes for cabbage salad and decided on using this one from Farm Flavor. I have really been on an Asian kick lately so I already had most of the ingredients on hand. I changed it a little bit just to suit my tastes and the ingredients I already had in my kitchen.
   I knew these Sesame Encrusted Chicken Fingers would go perfectly with the salad. I have made them a couple of times and they are delicious. A while back,  I came across a recipe on one of my favorite healthy food blogs, Skinny Taste, and crossed it with my famous  baked chicken fingers.   They are a great spin on the traditional chicken fingers when served with Asian inspired dishes. I am playing around with even more fun twists to put on these chicken fingers. I'm thinking buffalo chicken fingers? Sounds tasty, huh?  Stay tuned for that one.

Crunchy Asian Salad with Sesame Encrusted Chicken Fingers
(chicken fingers adapted from Skinny Taste and my chicken fingers )
(salad adapted from Farm Flavor )

For the chicken fingers:
3 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce

For the salad:
1 head napa cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 small head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup matchstick carrots
4 scallions, chopped
handful Thai basil and/or cilantro
1 pkg ramen noodles, crushed (do not use spice packet)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbsp butter
1Tbsp sesame oil

For the dressing:
6 Tbsp rice vinegar
4 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Siracha
1 tsp hot mustard
1/2 tsp hoisin sauce


For the chicken fingers:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees and set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet; spray with cooking spray.
Combine the sesame oil and soy sauce in a bowl and marinate the chicken tenders for 15 minutes.
Combine canola oil, sesame seeds and breadcrumbs in a skillet and cook over med-high heat, stirring constantly, until browned. Remove from heat and let cool.
One at a time, remove tenderloins from soy sauce mixture and coat with the panko. Place each tenderloin on prepared baking pan and coat with cooking spray. Bake 10-12 minutes until cooked through.

For the salad:
Combine napa cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, scallions, and herbs in a large bowl.
Melt butter and sesame oil in a medium skillet. Saute ramen noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds until toasted. Remove from heat and let cool.
Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a mason jar and shake until well combined.

To serve:
Toss vegetables, noodle mixture, and dressing in a bowl and top with chicken fingers.

Enjoy!

Purple Pumpkin Produce and Cucumber-Tomato Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

   Alabama has more than 48,500 farms covering 9 million acres. Yet, only 5% of produce found in our grocery stores is grown in the state. That is an estimated loss of up to 50 million dollars annually. All of the beautiful produce in the picture above was grown in Alabama, so why can't you find it at your local supermarket? In the 1950's a farm bill was passed that decided state funds would only go to poultry, cotton, soybean, and beef farms. Produce farms would no longer recieve state funding. Therefore, the only way to get your hands on fresh, local fruits and vegetables is to go to the Farmer's market or find a roadside stand.
    I cook a lot of vegetables for my family. We also eat tons of fruit. I am usually dissapointed in the produce at the grocery store and I hate that I never know where it's coming from, or how long it's been since it was harvested. Did you know fresh produce starts to lose nutrients as soon as it's picked? Buying locally not only stimulates our economy, but it is also better for you, and possibly even cheaper.
   The farmer's market is a great place to buy local produce and it can be a fun family outing, too. But for me, and I'm sure many others, it isn't always the most convenient trip to make. Our local farmer's market is only open on Saturdays, in the spring and summer, for a few hours in the morning. Unfortunately, I work most Saturdays and rarely make it there. That's why I was so excited to hear about a friend's new business venture. Purple Pumpkin Produce provides fresh, local produce straight from the farm to your door. I was intrigued immediately and emailed the owner, Jake, for more information.

    I could tell right off that Jake is very passionate about about his new business venture. It was obvious to me that his primary goal is to help the Alabama agriculture business as a whole, not just to make money for himself. That was very refreshing to me and encouraged me to do the same. The sign up was quick and painless and Jake was not only professional, but also very knowledgable. There are 3 different levels to choose from depending on the size of your family and how often you cook/eat at home. I chose level one, which includes a variety of six fruits and vegetables with 2-3 serving of each. I signed up on a Thursday and received my first box the next Tuesday! They even let me know the menu a few days in advance so I could make my weekly meal plan. I have gotten two boxes so far. I have been very impressed with not only the variety of the boxes, but also the quantity. So far, I am definitely saving money, as I havent had to buy hardly any produce from the grocery store. Here is a little sneak peak of my second box from Purple Pumpkin Produce.
    

   On Tuesday afternoon, this box was hand delivered to my front door by Jake and Tiffany. They were both very friendly and told me a little about some of the farms they have been visiting. They both beamed with pride as they explained the contents of the box to me. I didn't think I could be more excited about diving into my box of goodies, but they definitely amplified my giddiness. After they left, I took the box into the kitchen to examine it more closely.

     The vegetables looked so beautiful I just had to make something with them...immediately. Enter: Tomato Cucumber Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette.

For the salad: 

1 large tomato, cut into large chunks
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 bell pepper, cut into chunks
3 green onions (green and white parts), chopped
small bunch of basil, chiffonade
small bunch of parsley, chopped

For the vinaigrette:

white wine vinegar
olive oil
dijon mustard
honey
salt&pepper

Combine salad ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine vinaigrette ingredients to taste. Pour over vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Refridgerate. Enjoy!

Ranch Pot Roast

           Pot roast makes me think of my grandma. We used to have a family lunch every Sunday at her house. The whole family would come and we would have, what my cousin refers to as, 'The Feast'. It consisted of roast, creamed potatoes with gravy and a whole smorgasbord of different side dishes. Creamed corn, fried okra, green beans, sweet peas, cornbread, candied yams, and potato salad all made appearances at one time or another. We still have family get togethers on holidays and special occasions, but I will never forget all of those wonderful Sunday dinners growing up in my family.
     This pot roast isn't the feast my grandma would serve, but it is delicious and a lot more reasonable for a weeknight or lazy weekend meal. You can serve this over mashed potatoes, or throw a few quartered red potatoes right in the pot.

Ranch Pot Roast

4-5lb chuck roast
olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 onions, halved
16oz bag baby carrots
button mushrooms
rosemary
thyme
1 packet ranch seasoning
2-3 cups beef stock
salt&pepper


Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

  Heat a couple of tablespoons olive oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion halves and brown on all sides, remove from pan and set aside. Repeat with carrots.
  Season roast with salt&pepper. If needed, add a little more oil to pan and brown roast on all sides. Add in garlic and cook another minute. Remove roast from pan and deglaze with one cup beef stock, scraping all the little bits of flavor from the bottom of the pan.
   Put roast, onions, carrots, and mushrooms back in the pan, along with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme.
   Mix ranch seasoning with remaining stock and add to pan, using enough to cover roast half way.
Put lid on and place in 275 degree oven. Leave it for 4-5 hours until roast is cooked through and tender.
   Remove roast from pan and shred using 2 forks. Serve, with vegetables, over mashed potatoes.

Yumm!
 

Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes

    This is a great side dish! It's creamy and delicious, but doesn't make you feel heavy. It is also quick and easy to put together. I served this the other night alongside my Creamy Chicken Marsala, but was just as good the next day as a light lunch. I think this would be the perfect summer side dish for a cookout. Oh wow, how good would these be cooked on the grill with a nice juicy ribeye? yumm! I can't wait for the farmer's market this summer. I have so many dishes I would like to recreate once the vegetables are at their best. Or.....how about adding sausage or chicken and making this a main dish? Sorry, I think I'm a little scatterbrained today! Enjoy!

 Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes
 ( Proud Italian Cook )
2 tomatoes
1 cup part skim ricotta
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan
small bunch chopped fresh basil
small bunch chopped fresh parsley
salt&pepper
panko breadcrumbs for topping
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve tomatoes and scoop out the seeds. Salt the tomatoes and turn upside down on paper towels to draw out moisture.

In a small bowl, mix ricotta, Parmesan, and herbs. Season with salt&pepper to taste. Fill the tomato halves with cheese mixture.

Top each tomato with panko and spray with cooking spray. Bake on 400F for 25 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.


yumm!