Avocado Chicken Salad

August 29, 2014 / ktbuchs87

A few weekends ago, Adam and I went to a cookout for his grandpa’s birthday. It was great, full of family, friends, and food. Oh was there food. Now let me say that Adam has quite a large family. Nine aunts and uncles, plus their spouses/significant others, plus all their children so there needs to be a lot of food. Along with all the appetizers and side dishes, there was a mountain of chicken. I am not exaggerating. There were three different kinds of wings, grilled chicken, marinaded chicken, smoked chicken, chicken chicken… You get the idea. Long story short, we were sent home with a bag of chicken. After adding chicken to stir frys and frittatas, I wanted to come up with a simple and tasty chicken dish. Because it was uber hot, I went with a chicken salad. It came together quickly and hit the spot on a hot summer night, plus it’s healthy! So if you are loaded down with chicken, give this recipe a try!

Avocado Chicken Salad

2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 large avocado, diced
1 tbsp mustard (I used spicy brown mustard)
1 tbsp tahini (sunflower seed butter would work well too)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp almond milk
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
corn kernels/celery, optional (but they add a nice crunch!)

1. Shred your chicken and set aside. In a large bowl, mash up your avocado pieces. You want this to be fairly smooth, so make sure there are no large chunks. Add in the rest of the ingredients, except corn/celery and chicken. Mix together well.

2. Add in chicken and corn/celery and stir to coat everything with the avocado. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. You can serve this right away or let it cool in the fridge.

Pretty easy, right? This goes well over lettuce, in tortilla shells, or on your favorite type of bun. Don’t like chicken? Try it with canned tuna or salmon. Don’t eat meat? Make it with chickpeas or your favorite kind of bean. It’s a pretty easy recipe to adapt to your tastes. It is also a good one to make a big batch of and share at a party or gathering. Enjoy!

How To Make Your Own Snacks

August 27, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Snacks can be a very important part of a lot of people’s daily diets. They tide you over to the next meal, fuel you for your workout, or give you extra energy when you hit that late afternoon slump. While I don’t snack much myself, I am a big supporter of snacks as part of a healthy lifestyle. I’m not a supporter though of most of the snacks that we normally reach for. I’m talking about the ones you find in a vending machine or on store shelves. The pre-packaged, processed snacks that we often eat are not doing your health any good. Believe me, I get the appeal of these snacks. They’re easy, most of the time portable, and they taste good. They are just so convenient, but they are also taking a toll on our health. The good news is that it is really easy to make your own versions of most of the snacks out there, except these will be good for you, provide nutrition, cost less, and taste just as good if not better!

DIY Snacks

Trail Mix- This is a tricky snack item in stores. They seem like they are good for you with all their claims of organic and natural, but most of the time they are filled with sugar and other not so healthy ingredients. It is much better to make your own, plus the DIY version will cost you a lot less. Buy things like nuts (peanuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts), seeds (sunflower or pumpkin), dried fruits with no extra sugar (cranberries, raisins, cherries), and dark chocolate chips. Then just dup everything into a big bowl, mix it together, and portion it out into snack sizes. Now you have a quick and healthy snack that you can grab and go! If you can, buy all your components in bulk and that help keep the cost down.

Granola Bars- These are another one of those sneaky snacks that can seem healthy but in the end are not much better than candy bars. Luckily, it is really easy to make your own and there are a ton of recipes out there on the internet. You can make your own Nutragrain bars, Larabars, or chewy granola bars. Make them in big batches and freeze them so that you have a bunch ready to go
Chips & Dip- Chips are a popular snack because no one can resist the crunchy and salty taste! But those chips can quickly add up and soon you’re downing a whole bag along with dip. You can make your own simple potato chips using my recipe here. You can also make your own tortilla chips. Just buy some corn tortillas (I like the El Milagro brand because of the price and short ingredient list), cut them into triangles, lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet, spray with a little olive oil and salt, then bake at 375 for 12 to 15 minutes. Dips are also really easy and much healthier to make on your own. Try my avocado cream, some salsa, or another one of my favorites, hummus!
Roasted Chickpeas- I have seen a few versions of these in stores, and while some of them aren’t too bad, I’ve always found it easier to just make my own. It is a lot cheaper and you can choose whatever flavors you want! You can find my recipe here.

Don’t forget about things like fruit or vegetables as a snack too! It is really easy to buy things like celery, carrots, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes, then cut them up and portion them out at home for a quick snack. Fruits like bananas, oranges, or clementines are really easy to transport because of their skins. And who can resist one of my favorite snacks, sliced apples and peanut or almond butter. Hard boiled eggs are also a great snack that travels well.

There are a ton of simple and healthy snack ideas that you can make yourself. You don’t have to rely on store bought snacks to get you through the day. Take a little bit of time to plan and make your snacks for the week and when it come time to rush out the door in the morning, you can feel good that your snack will help you stick to your healthy eating plan!

Coconut Cashew Sauce

August 22, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I really love sauces. They can take any meal from ho-hum to totally yum. They are also a simple way to add healthy flavor to your dishes. As much as I love sauce, my husband loves noodles. Any dish that has some type of noodle or pasta is a winner with him. So when I made this sauce and decided to use it in a stir fry AND add noodles, he was in heaven. I’m pretty sure his exact words were, “The rest of this is just for me, right?” While he was kind enough to share the rest of the food with me, I don’t know if he’ll let me have any more when I make it again!

Coconut Cashew Sauce

1/3 cup cashew butter
1/4 cup liquid aminos (soy sauce or coconut aminos would work also)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
about 1 to 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp chinese five spice (can be found in most grocery stores in the ethnic food aisle)
1/4 cup full fat canned coconut milk
chopped cashews, optional for garnish/texture

1. In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients except coconut milk and chopped cashews. Once everything is well combined add in coconut milk and stir together.

2. Let sauce sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors come together. Remove from fridge and let it come to room temperature before you use. If using, stir in the chopped cashews right before using the sauce.

Now, you don’t HAVE to let the sauce sit, but it really does help the flavor to develop. I love the creaminess that both the cashew butter and the coconut milk add, plus I love how easy it is to make! My husband will tell you this is amazing with noodles, but it would also work well on top of grilled chicken or pork and it tastes really good over vegetable stir fry. So go get saucy and try this yummy coconut cashew sauce!

How To Repurpose Leftovers

August 20, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I am a big believer in leftovers. I think that they play a big role in eating good, healthy meals all week long, as well as helping keep food costs down. I only cook for two people, but I tend to cook like there are four of us and make extras to have for lunches throughout the week. One thing that I have noticed though is that people tend to get bored of eating the same thing over and over again. If you get bored with having the same food, you might be more likely to switch back to your unhealthy eating habits. Because we don’t want that, I wanted to share just a few ways that you can repurpose your leftovers and make a whole different meal with just a few minor adjustments.

Meats

This might be one of the easiest things to turn into a different meal. Summer time is the perfect time to pull out the grill and BBQ some meat. When you do this, make sure to throw a few extra pieces of whatever you’re making onto the grill. Now you have some extra meat to turn into lunches or dinners for the week.

Shred chicken or pork and make a stir fry by adding it to some vegetables, brown rice, and soy sauce.
Slice up steak or chicken and add to a salad
Use fish to make some simple fish tacos. Just add some salsa or corn, cilantro, and squeeze a little lime juice over everything
Make a chicken salad with shredded chicken, celery, avocado and mustard
Add any kind of meat to a frittata

Vegetables

If you do your meal prep over the weekend, make sure that you cook up some extra vegetables however you like. Grill, roast, or saute them and you can use them for meals throughout the week. Summer time also means the garden is full and your farmers market is in full swing, so you might be loaded up with extra vegetables. Here are some ways you can repurpose your vegetables for leftovers.

Roasted root vegetables, like sweet potatoes or parsnips, can be added to salads or cooked grains for a simple lunch
Root vegetables are also really good pureed into soup or a sauce for pasta. Add almond milk (or whatever milk you like) for an extra creamy texture
Grilled eggplant can be made into a simple baba ganush
Grilled zucchini or summer squash can be added to tomato sauce for extra texture and flavor
Cooked vegetables can be added to stir frys, soups, frittatas, or sandwiches
If you have an overabundance of cooked vegetables, you can also freeze them to be used later

Grains

Grains are a great thing to cook in big batches and then just add to meals throughout the week.

Grains make a really good bed for stir fry, vegetables with sauce, or cooked meat
Add your favorite grain to a leafy salad for a new variation
Leftover pasta? Use it up by making cold pasta salad. Toss your favorite pasta with some olive oil, seasonings, and vegetables like cherry tomatoes or avocados for a delicious summer meal
Try adding cooked grains to your lettuce wrap for extra texture and oomph

Fruit

Fruit is also pretty abundant this time of year and you can make it into a few different meals throughout the week.

Use leftover fruit salad as a cereal, granola, or yogurt topper for breakfast
Freeze leftover fruit and use in smoothies or added to water for extra flavor
Make a quick toast topping by mashing up leftover berries and adding a little honey/cinnamon
Turn frozen leftover fruit into sorbets by blending them in a high powered blender or food processor

There are a ton of ways that you can vary your leftovers so that you don’t eat the exact same meal every single day of the week. With just a little bit of prep work, you can have the makings of a healthy and new meal each day. Get creative and see what you can make out of the meals in your fridge!

Moussaka Over Toasted Millet

August 15, 2014May 16, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Moussaka is a dish that I had heard of, but never seen or eaten. I knew that it had it’s origins in Greece and other Mediterranian countries and I knew that it had to do with eggplant. That’s about it. The grocery store had a sale on eggplant recently and I was trying to figure out what to make with it. Then I remembered moussaka and started looking around for a recipe. One of the most common forms of moussaka is the one from Greece. It is made up of layers of eggplant, tomatoes, and ground meat topped with a creamy sauce. I looked around at a few other recipes and decided to lean more towards the Lebanese form of the dish and eliminated the creamy sauce and ground meat. You most certainly can add ground beef or turkey into this dish if you want and you can serve it over whatever grain you have on hand.

Moussaka Over Toasted Millet

1 large eggplant
olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb of grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup millet
2 cups water

1. Slice the eggplant into large rounds. Lay out a single layer of paper towels and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Place eggplant rounds on top of the paper towels and sprinkle with more sea salt. Place another layer of paper towels on top of the eggplant and let sit for about 15 minutes

2. While eggplant is sitting, preheat oven to 450 and put a large saute pan over medium high heat. Place the 1 cup of dried millet into the pan and toast until golden brown and fragrant. Move the toasted millet to a pot and cover with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then cover and lower to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes and then fluff with a fork.

3. Lightly brush eggplant off and cut into cubes. Place on a baking sheet and add a little olive oil and toss to coat. Roast the eggplant in the oven for about 15 minutes. Once edges are brown, remove from oven and lower heat to 350.

4. In the same large saute pan you used for millet, heat a little oil and saute the onion for a few minutes until it is soft. Add in garlic then stir in tomatoes, salt, and other spices. Add about a 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in eggplant. Take the moussaka and place it into a large casserole dish and cover with foil. Cook in oven for 15 minutes then remove foil and cook for 20 minutes. Serve over a bed of the cooked and toasted millet

I know it seems like this takes forever to make, but it actually goes pretty quickly. Plus, it doesn’t use that many ingredients and most of them you probably have on hand. This makes some excellent leftovers and you can even eat it cold the next day. If you wanted to add meat just make sure to brown it first before adding it with everything else. You could also add in extra vegetables like green pepper or zucchini and beans like chickpeas if you wanted. Enjoy!