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Fresh Kale, Roasted Chickpea & Apple Avocado Salad
This fresh salad made of Tri-color Quinoa (from Trader Joes) is a very easy, healthy and filling recipe. I learned about this recipe from an online nutrition educator. I made changes to her recipe according to what ingredients I have at hand. Here’s how to make this:
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of Tri-color Quinoa
2 cups Water
1 bundle of Kale, washed and removed tough parts of stalk
1/2 cup Sun-dried Tomatoes, sliced
1-2 Avocados, diced
1 small Fuji apple, diced (korean pear or plums could be used too)
1 medium Red Onions, diced
1 can Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans
4 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 large Lemon
Salt
Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Set aside and let it cool.
In a large bowl, mix the washed and cut Kale with some salt and balsamic vinegar. Massage, squeeze and/or kneed for 2-3 minutes until the leaves are soft and had turn to dark green.
Heat a non-stick frying pan to medium, then add a little bit of olive oil. Saute the red onions until half translucent, then add the chickpeas and sun-dried tomatoes. Salt to taste.
Together with the Kale in a bowl, mix the sautéed ingredients with the quinoa plus add the diced apple, avocado and lemon juice then mix well. Serve as is or top with some fried tofu, grilled fish or fried eggs.
Very easy and so refreshing to eat.
Homemade sugar-free Almond Shortbread cookies
I am an amateur when it comes to baking but I always want to try new things. Today, my eldest daughter home and is still on spring break. I thought it would be fun to make cookies with her so we can spend time together in my kitchen while creating fun time memories teaching her how to bake this very easy sugar-free recipe I learned from looking up different recipes online. Here’s how I made my own version:
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups sifted All-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Splenda (for baking)
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 2 sticks of unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1 cup raw whole Almonds
- 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
First, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Then, using a coffee grinder (I use mine to grind rice for porridge for my baby) on percolator settings, grind the toasted almonds. In a big mixing bowl, start creaming the butter, sugar substitute and vanilla until creamy and fluffy.
Slowly add the sifted dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture. Towards the end, add the ground almonds. The dough will be ready after everything is mixed well. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
When dough is firm, roll it out about 1/4 inches thick onto a floured surface. You may create any shape that you like using a cookie cutter. Half of my dough, I made round drops of cookies then we put some sugar-free jam into the center of the cookie. My daughter made her own cookie shapes (hearts, stars and weird shapes I can’t even explain).
Before baking, place the shaped cookie dough in the freezer for another 5 minutes to make sure it retains its shape while baking.
Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until light brown. Mine took about 18-20 minutes because I used a Silpat mat on my cookie sheet. You may use parchment paper to line your cookie sheet as well.
Cool in wire rack.
TOASTING RAW ALMONDS: Place the raw nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes under 350 degrees fahrenheit.
It’s crumbly and creamy and not too sweet. We love it!
Massaman Tofu Curry with eggplants and mushroom (แกงมัสมั่น)
Enjoying the rich flavor of curry is like diving into the enticing food culture of the East. The depth of flavor, the goodness of the combination of different spices and the bright color is simply appetizing.
I used to not like curry at all. I didn’t like the boring flavor I get from the kind I ate when I was young because I only knew one kind of curry then and it wasn’t the kind of curry I now know of. I’ve tasted chicken curry of many sorts but by the looks of it, it was as simple as adding instant curry powder to cut-up chicken, mixing coconut milk, potatoes, carrots and a few other variety of extenders.
This recipe I am sharing was inspired by my brother who loves to create his own vegan cuisine in his healthy kitchen. He always gives me ideas on how to cook vegetarian dishes. This version is a twist of my own taste and choice of ingredients.
I hope you like it!
Ingredients:
- Block of firm organic tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
- 270 ml. of Light coconut cream
- 3 pcs. Indian eggplant, washed and sliced in chunks
- 2 tbsp. Massaman curry paste
- 1 Zucchini, washed and sliced half-moon
- 1 can Black beans, washed and drained
- 1 Shallots
- 1 bunch Spinach with stems, washed and drained
- 1 cup Mushrooms, sliced in half
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
In a shallow pan, heat olive oil on medium high then sauté the curry paste and shallots. Add the tofu, mushrooms and zucchini and continue cooking for a minute or two. Stir in the coconut cream then add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water (depending on consistency desired). Cover the pan and cook until the veggies are almost cooked. Add the eggplants, spinach and beans then season with salt and pepper. Close the lid and let everything cook according to how you want it done.
Basa Fish Fillet cooked in Lemon sauce
Something smells fishy and savory…
I love fish. Don’t you?
Instead of eating red meat or poultry, I’d rather eat seafood. I enjoy the light flavor and the variety of dishes I can make out of the many kind of seafood in the market.
I grew up eating fish because my Dad loves to eat fish. Growing up, I remember going to the “Palengke” or wet market. Fresh caught fish, shellfish, octopus, crustaceans and even sea cucumbers and sea urchins can be bought. It’s simply a delight learning easy fish recipes but what makes me extra happy about this particular recipe is that my family gave me a high score on this 🙂
Ingredients:
- 3 pcs. Basa fish fillet
- 3 tbsp. Capers, washed and drained
- 1 Lemon
- Ginger, julienned
- Shallots. thinly sliced
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Cut the Basa fish fillet into bite sizes. Cut the lemon in half. Juice half of the lemon while slicing the other half into very thin round slices.
Into a non-stick pan, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Saute the ginger and shallots until fragrant. Add the fish, some salt and pepper, the capers and the sliced lemon. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium high heat. Add in the lemon juice and drizzle with some more olive oil. Cover the pan and cook for another minute.
Very easy!!!!
Low-Calorie Dukbokki 떡볶이
Low-carb, low sodium, sugar-free, low fat, low-calorie, all the lows and frees in the world. But nothing beats eating your favorite Korean spicy rice cake (Dukbokki). The original recipe calls for Korean rice cakes made of glutinous rice flour. For people who are on a low-carbohydrate, low-sugar diet, each bite of Dukbokki seem sinful but really, it’s not. I’ve searched online that Dukbokki is naturally low in calorie if eaten in moderation. However, for people like my husband, a small bowl is not enough 🙂
Inspired to cook a guiltless version of spicy rice cake for my husband, I created this recipe and because it does not use the original ingredients, do not expect the texture to be the same. The best thing about it is it taste as great as my original Dukbokki.
My key ingredient is Konnyaku. I first used this type of ingredient when I made sukiyaki, another family favorite. I use a similar type of ingredient called Shirataki noodles. Both are very low carbohydrate and very low calorie. To learn more about these ingredients, please read related articles below this post. One thing for sure, konyakku is guilt-free and it helps normalize blood sugar levels. One of my favorite vegan substitute for meat.
Ingredients:
- 1 pack of Japanese Konnyaku, thinly sliced according to your liking
- 4 cups Water
- 10-12 pcs. Large korean anchovies, head and innards removed
- 3-4 pcs. Flat fish cake sheets, sliced diagonally
- 1/4 cup Chopped red bell pepper
- 3-6 tbsp. Hot pepper paste
- Sliced green onions
- 1-2 tbsp. Sweet rice flour
- 1 tbsp. sugar substitute (stevia or splenda)
- Sesame oil
Boil the water and dried anchovies in a shallow pan for 10 minutes. Remove the anchovies (i leave a few pieces for texture) then add the konnyaku, hot pepper paste and sugar substitute.
Add fish cake, red bell pepper and green onions. Make sure to mix the sweet rice flour in cold water before adding to the pan. Cook until the spicy sauce thickens according to liking. Finally, add sesame oil.
Great eaten when freshly cooked!
I hope to hear from readers who will try this recipe. It’s super easy and satisfying.
Related articles:
My original Dukbokki
Maangchi‘s Dukbokki recipe
Kale Stir-Fry
I first learned about Kale when I was reading recipes for baby food back in 2004 when our eldest daughter was still a baby. It was intimidating at first because I never used or tasted this type of vegetable which was not available at the local markets when I was growing up in Manila. That’s why in my many years of learning to cook, I barely had any interest with Kale.
Making baby food out of Kale was challenging. At first, we thought the kids will not like it but actually, they did! They really did and it was their favorite homemade baby food and since our children like it so much, we should learn to eat it too. This is the start of my Kale challenge:
Here’s an easy recipe that’s not only appealing to the taste, but also appetizing to the eyes.
Ingredients:
1 Block firm tofu
1 lb. Kale
1/2 Large eggplant (North American Variety)
1/4 cup Low sodium vegetable stock
Sliced garlic
Olive oil
Chili pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper
Heat olive oil on medium low heat. Sauté garlic with a dash of salt until light brown and crispy. Add chili pepper flakes. Add a little more olive oil then cook the eggplant and tofu. Stir in the vegetable stock then turn up the heat to medium high. Lastly, add the kale and cook for a few minutes until cooked to desired texture. Salt and pepper to taste.
Related Articles:
The World’s Healthiest Foods dot ORG
DOYDY.COM 