Clean Snacking: Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Dip

I love to snack. One of the most difficult things about eating healthily is finding something that will satisfy that after-school catharsis of an easy-to-reach for, satisfying snack. Unfortunately, normally some of my go-to snacks are chips and salsa or cheese dip, cheese quesadillas, tortillas with peanut butter (or all of the above). Fortunately, once you figure out some better stuff to put in your body, snacking can actually be a good thing as it keeps your metabolism going throughout the day.

Some easy and tasty snacks that are working for me are nuts, rice or nut crackers with almond butter, fruit smoothies, and veggies with hummus. I found a container of romain hearts this weekend, and I have really enjoyed making little lettuce boats with hummus and veggies to spice up the old hummus and veggies a bit.

This weekend I was called on to make a veggie tray for a baby shower and I made a huge batch of roasted red pepper  and almond dip so we could enjoy some ourselves at home too. This is one of my all-time favorite dips and it was a huge hit at the party. The first time I tasted it (thanks Steph) I couldn't believe it was made out of such simple, healthy ingredients. The sum of its parts so creamy and satisfying. I've been loving it this weekend on nut crackers, rice cakes, or veggies.

Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Dip
(Recipe from epicurious)

1/2 cup whole natural almonds (about 3 ounces), toasted (I chose skinless slivered almonds)
1 cup drained roasted red peppers from jar (or roast your own by broiling them in the oven until the skin is charred then removing the skin with clean towel.)
2 teaspoons red wine or sherry vinegar
1 large garlic clove, peeled (you could also roast the garlic if you don't prefer raw garlic)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


Very finely chop almonds in processor. Add roasted peppers, vinegar, and garlic; process to coarse puree. With machine running, pour olive oil through feed tube and process until puree thickens slightly. Season dip to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. (Dip can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Greek Chicken, Spinach, and Quinoa Bake

When I said I would post about some recipes later this week, I hadn't planned on coming up with one on my own. Tonight, I planned on making this recipe and adding in some chicken and black beans. But on Friday night, before my sister left and before we started this, I made a dish inspired by a recipe that I literally snapped a picture of in a magazine from the rack in Publix (is that illegal?), and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. What I made was a variation on this recipe from Clean Eating Magazine for Spanakopita Casserole. If you're not restricting gluten or dairy, you should make it this week but add some shredded rotisserie chicken like I did. It was awesome.

So, a little cilantro-ed out, and still dreaming of the greek chickeny, spinachy goodness, I devised a plan. I took the basic flavor profile of the casserole, a little of this and that from the fridge, some techniques from another grain-based casserole, and voila! This comforting dish totally satisfied my craving!

Greek Chicken, Spinach, and Quinoa Bake

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup carrots, diced (I used a handful of baby carrots)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 9 oz bag fresh spinach

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1/2 cup feta*

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

1 tsp dried oregano

2 eggs

salt

pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Get your quinoa going. If you have already cooked quinoa left over, use that. You could also use brown rice. Anyway, cook the quinoa according to package instructions with the mix of chicken stock and water and generous pinch of salt.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion and carrot with a pinch of salt until the vegetables are tender and translucent, adding the garlic about halfway through. Add the spinach a handful at a time so you can fit it all in the pan and cook until all the spinach is wilted. 

Transfer the vegetables to a bowl. Add the quinoa, chicken, mint, oregano, and a few cranks of black pepper to the bowl. *(If I wasn't avoiding dairy I would 100% add feta at this step.) Taste and add salt if needed. Mix in two eggs and transfer to a round or 9x9 inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until it is bubbly and beginning to brown on top. Let it cool and settle for 5-10 minutes. Serve. 

A Clean Start

A favorite photo from Scotland my sophmore year of college.

This week Keith and I are embarking on a 4-week clean-eating routine. One of my favorite things about being more intentional about what I eat is that I end up trying a lot of new foods and recipes, which I hope to share here. I also thought I'd blog about our 4-weeks for some accountability and mutual support. First, here are some things I'd like for you to know going into it.

My current relationship with food:

I have pretty much bought into the whole-food, clean eating basic idea for the past year or so. (My husband is an organic urban gardener for crying out loud). At this point, I don't feel particularly compelled to completely eliminate any entire food group from my diet permanently. In general, I think sugar, refined wheat, trans fats, processed foods, and excessive amounts of meat should be greatly limited, and I try to do that.

 I don't think healthy eating is everything, but I do think it's important. Food is not just fuel, its also something that God has given us to fellowship around, remind us of Him, and to enjoy. Having said that, I believe it glorifies him for us to be good stewards of our bodies and our family's bodies by eating, cooking, and living in a way that aims for health and balance, not JUST pleasure. It was in the context of a meal that Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me" and I believe it honors him for us to eat in a spirit of thankfulness, joy, and self-control while putting something truly good in our bodies (not in the way that I often find myself eating: out of laziness, boredom, or gluttony).

You've probably caught on to this in my years of sporadic posting and periods of blog absence, but I tend towards phases of excitement and commitment, and then swing back to apathy, rarely finishing anything I start or really making something habit. This is true in many areas of my life, and as I focus on some true discipline in the area of eating over the next few weeks, I hope to develop healthy habits in other areas as well.

What I hope to get out of this (okay fine, let's just call them goals):

• To finish something I've started
• To develop some healthy true habits, rather than phases (nutritionally, with exercise, and spiritually)
• About 8 months ago I started having some major issues with my skin, and without going into a long story about all the things I've tried to treat it, I'm hoping to either rule our or conclude whether the breakouts are food related.
• Try new vegetables and cooking methods
• Eat a vegetable with every meal and most snacks
• Run 3x weekly as I train for a half marathon in April
• Stick with a Bible reading plan
  

The basic outline of the plan: (The framework of the plan, with some of my own modifications, is from the Arbonne FreshStart plan)

• No wheat, gluten, rye, barley, or refined grains (brown rice, quinoa, and millet are some grains that are permissible.)
• No dairy
• No soy
• No sugar (small amounts of stevia or agave nectar are okay.)
• No coffee (gasp!) or alcohol or fruit juice (green tea is my new best friend)
• No pork, red meat limited to 1x weekly. 
• LOTS of vegetables
• LOTS of low-glycemic fruits such as berries
• MORE good fats found in fish and some nuts
• Run right after school twice a week and once on weekends.
• Follow the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan
  

What you can do for me:

• Comment and let me know that you're out there. I think it would be fun, and added motivation, to post recipes, tips, and track my thoughts throughout the 4 weeks. Maybe I'll even make regular posting into a habit! But I know myself, and feedback really helps keep me going in the blog world. 

Starting the Day Right

Hello Friends. If  you're not interested in reading about my breakfast habits, trust me, I understand, but you'll probably want to go ahead and move on to the next blog in your reader. However, I'd love to share with you two breakfast habits that have recently entered my routine and make me feel about a gazillion times healthier. So, if you're keen, keep reading.

Mean Green Smoothies

The first recipe hands down my favorite way to incorporate more dark leafy greens such as kale and spinach into my diet. It also helps me meet a goal of eating a vegetable with every meal and snack. Plus, they seriously taste GREAT. I recently made them for my 6th grade girls homeroom and 100% of them liked it. That is a SERIOUS endorsement.

1 banana
a cup or more of frozen fruit of your choice
juice of half a lemon
fill the rest of blender with torn kale (stems removed) or spinach
2 cups water (adjust to make it more or less thick.) (I add chia seeds to my water and let them soak for about 10 minutes before adding it to the smoothie)

Blend ingredients and enjoy!

Not Your Mama's Breakfast Cereal

This recipe is quickly giving my green smoothies a run for their money as my preferred breakfast, especially now that it is so cold! The base of this cereal is a chia seed pudding. If you haven't heard about these little miracle seeds, check them out! They have more omega-3 than salmon, more antioxidants than berries, and they are LOADED with soluble fiber (which is why they turn into a gel-like substance in liquid). The soluble fiber in them fills you up for a good long while and slows down insulin absorption. According to Aztec legend, Aztec men would carry chia seeds on long journeys and only needed a tablespoon to give them enough energy and sustenance for a whole day! Now if that's not a breakfast worthy food, I don't know what is! (You can find them at any natural foods store or in the bin section at whole foods. They are also available on amazon.com)

The night before you want to eat it, make the base:

2 tsp chia seeds
2 large spoon fulls each of: rolled oats, bran flakes, shredded coconut
1-2 cups vanilla almond or soy milk (I'm sure you could use regular milk too)

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a Tupperware or jar with a lid. Cover with at least a cup of milk. Refrigerate over night.

In the morning I like to add granola (My favorite is Nature's Path Hemp Plus) and about a 4th cup of chopped, raw walnuts. SO GOOD!



Let me know if you try either of these recipes!

Potted Herb Garden

I've been hearing a lot this year that the best time to plant a garden is Easter weekend. Which, is really kinda funny to me because Easter weekend varies a lot from year to year. But what the hey, I decided to go along with it and plant a little potted herb garden today. It'll be so nice to be able to walk out on our landing and pick fresh herbs! I don't know about you, but I always get a little annoyed when recipes call for a lot of fresh herbs. They are are so good and worth it, don't get me wrong, but I always feel silly buying herbs at the grocery store, the majority of which I know will go bad before I use them. No more! I've got all my favorites, sweet basil, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, and sage. Let's hope these turn out better than last year's garden attempts!

Contrasting ways to begin a day:

(from flickr user: minkoff)

Option one: Sleep too late, whining about how you don't want to go to work during the intervals in which you are hitting the snooze button. Throw something frumpy on because it's "comfortable" after rushing through a shower and failing to dry your hair. Eat breakfast in the car. Arrive to dreaded work late, tired, and bitter. Avoid talking to people, but when you must, be sure to mention to them just how tired and bitter you are.

Option two: Awake early, but not too early. Make yourself a breakfast delightful to the eyes and palate, which consequently reminds you of Spain, of toasted homemade bread, butter, and plum jam accompanied by french pressed coffee. Read Acts as you chip away at the block of reading you have fallen behind in by too often choosing option one. Take a shower, shave your legs, dry your hair, and wear a skirt. Arrive at work on time, and cheerfully greet your coworkers as you make your way to your cubicle, coffee from home in hand.

Today I chose option two. 

Learned: One More Reason to Enjoy Chocolate

"Two tablespoons of cocoa contain more antioxidants than 1 cup of blueberries, 1 1/2 glasses of red wine, or 4 cups of green tea."

Happy Valentine's Week!

.LUNCH.

I just ate lunch, and it was so delicious that I must blog about it right now. First of all, forget any preconceived notions you have about egg salad, because this is not just any old egg salad. What began as just a quick, something different for lunch, turned out to be just about the most delightful lunch I've had in a long time. Seriously, I wanted to lick the Tupperware. If there is one little trick I've learned about cooking this year, it's the importance of acids, especially to cut creamy or cheesy (or just plain bland), one dimensional flavors, and add something brilliant, and I really think the splash of lemon juice in this recipe makes all the difference. So here's my new favorite egg salad recipe (adapted from 101cookbooks.com--I added feta and garlic salt, and did not use chives)

SIMPLY DELICIOUS EGG SALAD (for one, Heidi has a larger recipe w/ 6 eggs, but I havn't tried that so I'll keep the proportions to what I used this morning)

2 hard boiled eggs (great tips for how to get this part right on 101cookbooks)

2 Tbs chopped celery (give or take)

1 Tbs crumbled feta cheese (also a deal maker)

1 (generous) Tbs mayo (or try plain yogurt)

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 dash garlic salt

1 dash black pepper

Break up the eggs, mix everything together in that order, and viola! I ate mine on rye crisps.  (I also want to try her curried egg salad recipe)

Opera and Produce

This weekend I discovered the Alabama Farmer's Market. If for no other reason, this place is wonderful because it is a BARGAIN. WAY less expensive than the grocery store. I will promptly make it my first stop for weekly produce and enjoy a rich tradition and colorful, local atmosphere in the process.

In other news: Last week I joined the Birmingham Concert Chorale, which sings with the symphony. I've missed singing with a choir, especially a large and talented one, and I'm having a lot of fun. And, it just so happens that the work we're working on for a concert in February contains the most intense piece of music in the history of the universe. Ever. 

SeeqPod - Playable Search

.Good Food.

So, we're a couple days into our new eating lifestyle, and I'm really encouraged. It hasn't been too hard, and once you begin filling your body with the good stuff, you don't miss the bad stuff. In all honesty, I havn't had any cravings that something we can eat hasn't satisfied. Really, the point isn't a diet, but moving towards a lifestyle of eating natural, real, and quality foods, which unfortunately in our culture takes creativity and adjusting. So far I'm still pretty tired in the afternoon, but I'm trying to pay attention so that I can see if that starts getting better. Other than that I feel great, and even if it's all in my head, I'm happy to be able to feel good about what I'm putting in my body. (Keith reports goodness as well, it's so fun do to have his partnership in this.)

As far as the details go, on sunday I cooked for about 3 hours or so, after grocery shopping. I made black bean soup, lime-cilantro vinaigrette, and ratatouille to provide for meals throughout the week when we wouldn't have time to cook. For breakfast we've been eating granola, fruit, and either organic yogurt or soy milk. I try to snack every few hours on nuts or fruit. 

And today I discovered my hero: Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com, seriously the most beautiful, thoughtful food blog I have ever seen, chock full of healthy, vegetarian, natural food goodness. 

But we have not forgotten the most important food in all of this. The kind that will never leave you hungry. The daily Bible reading plan is such a blessing, and has really been transforming my mornings. 

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." John 6:51

Things to do with an unexpected day (or two) off.

I arrived at work yesterday morning (after a morning of seriously not wanting to get out of bed and leave Keith behind on his unexpected day off) to see the parking lot completely empty and Ronny, the guy who takes care of everything, holding a sign up to the door saying that the building is closed due to a water main break. So far, it's still not fixed, and i'm still not at work. what a shame. How do I spend an expected day off?

1. Get my new Social Security card, as Elaine MacCorkle Davis. (This was a hard decision because i love my middle name, Faith. But there is so much history in a last name, especially one like MacCorkle, and i wanted to be sure it lives on.) Keith made friends with a kind old man from New York while he was waiting for me. Last time we went to the social security office, he made friends with a couple african dudes. I have such a friendly husband.
   
2. Spend hours in Urban Standard sipping a macchiato that is the closest thing i've found this side of the Atlantic to the cafe con leche i enjoyed so much in Espana.
3. Then have our friend Pat come meet us for lunch at Urban Standard. Enjoy a delectable standard chicken panino with chicken, smoked guda, caramelized onions, and balsamic glaze.
4. Go home and nap and sing and play guitar with Keith. Attempt a walk, but give up when it is too hot to breathe.
5. (day two) Watch the Bachelorette and an episode of House, managing both without having a single channel on our TV.
6. Work on a secret project for Keith. Shhhh.
7. Talk to one of your best friends from Spain on Skype for the first time in ages, and find out that he "has decided to follow Jesus." !!!! WHOO!

I dont think I'd make it for long as a stay-at-home wife, although, sometimes I wish I could. But these unexpected days off have not gone by unappreciated. Now I'm off to read a book.

Soy sauce, Will Weir, and the end of the world. An evening at the Davises'.

Last night we debuted the chicken and cashews in lettuce cups. They were rather delightful. Goal part 1 accomplished. But the really important and wonderful thing about last night is the people who sat around the table with us, soy sauce dripping down to their elbows (napkins are highly recommended with this meal). Our sweet company consisted of Kara and Ryan Hamilton, Ryan Warden, and Will Weir! Will is in town briefly after just finishing a really cool fellowship in D.C., on his way to living in a sweet huge house with a bunch of friends, community style, in the same capitol city. It was truly an honor to share a meal with this guy, and all of our friends.
Afterwards, I made a quick and easy test recipe, Lottie Moon Cookies, and we went out back to play corn hole. I was worried that this summer wasn't going to really feel like summer because not that much is changing in my particular schedule--business as usual. But I may be growing into more of a believer in summer's magical qualities. Last night we played corn hole in the alley, stopped mid-swing and gathered everything up into our hands periodically to let cars pass, and waved to our diverse neighbors as they walked to and from. It was simple and fun--even though Will and I lost miserably.
Conversation after the game wasnt simple. We, joined now by Patrick Sewell, talked about politics, literature, the environment, theology, and the end of the world. And at points I was thoroughly confused. But I'm still thinking about it today. And that's a good indicator of a good conversation.
In other news:

• I LOVE my husband and I LOVE being married. It seriously gets better everyday!
• I might have crossed over. I might like tea better than coffee. This is a big deal.
• My new (but not government official yet) last name baffles me sometimes. How do you pluralize it? Davises, no way. but Davis' just looks silly and lonely to me. Which is why i chose Davis's in the title, even though I have a feeling it's incorrect. What's a girl to do?
• *edit.* A girl is to ask Patrick. And he will solve their problems. Ladies, he's single.