This is a simple recipe that is as easy to make as tuna salad and it tastes very similar and is just as filling.
Ingredients
1/2 can of garbanzo beans drained and rised.
3 tablespoons of mayonnaise of Vegan mayonnaise.
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon or regular mustard.
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic.
1 stalk of finely chopped celery (optional).
1/2 small onion finely copped (optional).
1 heaping tablespoon of finely chopped pick (sweet or dill) (0ptional).
Salt to taste
Directions
Put garbanzo beans into a food processor and pulse several times till chopped finely but you don’t want to have a paste that way you still have a little bite to the garbanzos. Mix all other ingredients in and stir till combined. You can either eat on top of lettuce or put in a sandwich with lettuce and tomato, or however you would use tuna.
When we go to the local Vietnamese Pho restaurant we always order the Spicy Garlic Green Beans ( Đậu Xanh Xào Tỏi ) as an appetizer. They taste great but cost about $5 and we always want more. I decided to see what I can make them at home and have come up with my own recipe that tastes remarkably similar.
Mix all the ingredients but the green beans in a bowl and adjust with additional sugrar if needed. Cook the green beans by putting about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of a sauce pan and bringing to a boil. Add the green beans and cover and let steam for about 10-15 minutes till tender. Pour the water off now add the sauce into the pan and mix the green beans in the sauce. Pour onto a plate and serve.
This is my own version of a Chipotle burrito bowl. You can make this vegetarian by leaving out the Chicken or vegan by leaving out the cheese also. One meat substitute that I have not tried is to marinate tofu and grill it instead of chicken, which might turn out to be good also, if you try it you can leave a comment on how it comes out. Also if you leave out the meat you will probably want to add in guacamole.
Ingredients
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts Sliced thin (I slice each to make 3 filets)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt for marinade + 1/2 tsp for black beans.
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup lime juice
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup of canola oil
1 bunch of green onions sliced finely
2 cups of black beans (1 can rinsed or two cups of cooked black beans)
1 chipotle pepper (canned in adobo sauce) minced along with 1 – 2 tbsp of the adobo sauce
Sour cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
6 -8 cups of cooked rice
Directions
Mix the first 9 ingredients in a bowl and let the chicken marinate for 1 – 4 hours. While marinating chicken mix the chipolte pepper and adobo sauce and 1/2 tsp of salt with the black beans. Remove chicken from marinade and grill on a very hot grill so it is slightly charred on the outside and done through. Dice chicken into pieces. Now put 1 cup of cooked rice in a bowl, add cooked diced chicken, a scoop of the black bean mixture, a spoonfull of sour cream and sprinkle cheese on top. You can also add your favorite hot sauce on top also. Enjoy.
This is a great quick and inexpensive meal to make in the morning when getting ready for work and is very healthy. You get the health benefits of the oats and the cinnamon. If you use maple syrup, it is a little less refined than sugar also. You need to use the Coach Steel Cut Oats and not regular steel cut oats since they are cut differently and cook quickly.
Directions add all ingredients to a bowl with about 1″ of space from the fill level to the lip of the bowl. Microwave for 6 minutes at 40% power (On a 1000 watt microwave). Any higher setting and it might boil over.
When you get cravings for Indian food and have about 45 minutes to make this, it really tastes great and is healthy too (Low in sodium and fat). Not too much saturated fat or salt and still has a lot of flavor.
2 large boneless skinless Chicken Breast Chopped in 1 to 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 tablespoon Ginger very finely minced
1/2 tablespoon garlic very finely minced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1/2 onion chopped finely
2 tomatoes chopped finely
1 lemon juiced
1 sprig curry leaves (if you have them)
1 teaspoon Salt (more at the end to season to taste)
1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
Chopped Cilantro for topping
1 cup of water
Following ingredients will be pan roasted
1/3 cup ground roasted unsalted cashew nuts (grind in food chopper or processor)
3 Dried red chillies
1/2 teaspoon Coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon Fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
3 Green cardamom
1 inch Cinnamon stick (or 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, don’t roast if ground just add in)
2 Cloves 1 Star anise
Directions
Add the turmeric to the lemon pour over the chicken pieces in a bowl, mix and let set while you prepare the other ingredients. Put ingredients for pan roasting in a dry pan, heat on high and roast briefly till fragrant. Then transfer to a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) and grind to a powder and set aside. Add oil and mustard seed to pan and heat till starting to pop, then add in curry leaves and onion. Fry till the onion is starting to brown then add in the tomato and cook for about 10 minutes on high till starting to disintegrate then add the ground cashew and cook cook for another 3 minutes. Now add in the ground roasted spices and cayenne pepper and stir, now add the chicken and stir again and add in water. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes till chicken is cooked through. Taste and add salt, sugar, or more cayenne pepper to your taste. Serve with rice and enjoy.
This is a great quick tasty meal that is great to make on a weeknight when you don’t have a lot of time. Definitely healthier than take out.
Ingredients
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
6 Slices of Ham lunch meat one each (not really thin sliced)
6 slices of Swiss Cheese
Dijon Mustard
Bread crumbs
Salt
Pepper
Toothpicks to secure rolled up Chicken Breast.
Cooking spray for baking dish
Directions
Slice the Chicken breasts to make them thinner so that you can roll them. You can slice them down into thirds if the are really thick or you can pound them out flatter. After they are all sliced, sprinkle them with salt and pepper on both sides. Then put the flat side up and lay a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss cheese on top and then put a thick stripe of Dijon mustard on the cheese and roll up and secure with toothpicks, cheese side in. Now roll in bread crumbs lay in greased baking pan and put into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, until you can see the cheese is melted and just starting to ooze out. Serve and enjoy.
If using a can of black beans skip ahead to frying the garlic and peppers, otherwise soak beans overnight then drain and put into a pan and cover with 1 inch of water and simmer covered for about 1-2 hour till tender. Now drain and pour into a bowl and put aside. Now rinse pan and add the olive oil on medium high heat and add in garlic and jalapeno and fry for about 3 minutes till tender. Add in cumin and chipolte and fry for another 30 seconds, then add in beans and chicken broth. Cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour till beans are falling apart. Now add in salt (you can add additional salt to taste). With a stick blender, blend till it becomes a paste, but not all the beans need to be completely. If you don’t have a stick blender, put about 1/2 or all of the beans in a food processor and process, then add back into rest of beans and stir. Serve with rice and tacos, or scoop some into a flour tortilla add cheese roll up and you have a bean burrito.
You are craving something spicy and want something that will satisfy your craving, but healthy. Well this is it. Easy and quick to make, and beats buying take out. Cook, Enjoy!
Ingredients
Approx 1 lb of shrimp steamed (best deveined and shelled)
In a sauce pan add butter into a pan over medium heat and melt. Then add the olive oil, onion and garlic and fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Now add in the cajun seasoning and cook an additional 5 minutes. While cooking sauce, put about 1/2 inch of water in a pan and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and steam just until they are pink all over with no grey spots left, then remove immediately from heat. If you cook them too long they will become rubbery. Now add the cooked shrimp to the sauce and stir till coated and serve with rice.
This has an excellent spicy flavor and is a great filling meal. If goes great with cornbread (see my cornbread recipe). For a more healthy version you can use turkey bacon or cook the vegetarian/vegan version.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup of dried pinto beans
1 large jalapeno pepper, diced
4 pieces of cooked bacon, diced. (veg/vegan: Instead add 1 tsp smoked paprika instead of regular paprika)
1/2 pound lean hamburger (veg/vegan: Leave out, or use veggie crumbles)
1/2 of a large onion diced.
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon salt
~1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Soak beans overnight. Cook and dice bacon and then brown the hamburger add in onion an jalapeno and fry with the hamburger for about 3-4 minutes. Add beans into pot with hamburger and cover with 1/2 inch of water cook for about 2 hours. Now add in the bacon, salt, pepper, and paprika and cook for another hour till beans are starting to split.
Wow, this tastes great. It is nice to have a cold or frozen one on a hot summer day and is great for getting an extra kick of energy. Using the frozen fruit makes it into a frozen smoothie. If you will be hooked on it. It is much lower in calories than a milkshake and I think it tastes as good.
Ingredients
1/4 cup of blueberries
1/4 cup of raspberries
1/4 cup of strawberries
1/2 cup of packed fresh spinach
1 tablespoons honey (optional, depends if you like it slightly sweet or sweet)
1/2 to 1 whole banana (optional)
1/3 cup of water
1/4 cup of ice (crushed)
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend till smooth. You will not even taste the spinach, but it adds a great health benefit. You can use frozen berries if they are out of season. The banana will make it a little more creamy.
