3 Minute Quiche

This may be appalling to some, but just because you are in a hurry doesn't mean you can't have classy quiche.

Ingredients and Utensils:

1. 1 egg
2. Shredded cheese of your choice
3. Spinach (optional)
4. Mug
5. Fork
6. Microwave

Directions:

Put ripped spinach, cheese, and egg into a mug, and beat it all for about 30 seconds. Put immediately into the microwave on high for 2 minutes. The End.

My Hallelujah Diet Day. . .Plus recipes for Eggplant Steaks, Sauteed Plantains, Garlic and Rosemary Fries, and Strawberry Walnut Salad

My small group at church is learning to adapt healthy eating habits and exercise based on the Hallelujah Diet (hacres.com). This week we were challenged to follow the whole plant-based food diet for an entire day. 

I started the day with a large glass of water with lemon and chili pepper. The HD recommends that you don't eat first thing in the morning because your body needs those first few hours for cleansing. After a few hours of being awake, I ate some oatmeal soaked in almond milk with walnuts and strawberries.

I snacked on raw veggies like carrots and grape tomatoes throughout the day. Most of the Hallelujah Diet requires eating raw food (because raw veggies have enzymes that get destroyed when cooked), but you are allowed to have one cooked meal a day.

This was my cooked meal: Eggplant Steaks, sauteed plantains, garlic and rosemary fries, and a strawberry/walnut salad. 

(**Disclaimer - Below is a picture of my husband's lunch. I put Gorgonzola on his steaks, but left it off mine since it is animal product. The picture of mine is at the end.)

GARLIC AND ROSEMARY FRIES

Ingredients: Olive oil, minced garlic, one chopped up onion, rosemary, a bag of Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1/4" pieces. 

Directions: Drizzle olive oil onto two baking pans. Put potatoes, onion, and garlic into the pan and mix with your fingers till it's about even. Sprinkle rosemary and drizzle a little more olive oil on top. Broil the pans on 500 for about 20 to 30 minutes--checking every 10.

EGGPLANT STEAKS

Ingredients: Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, hot sauce, olive oil, honey, apple sauce, parsley, onion flakes, (Gorgonzola or Parmesan optional), and an eggplant cut into 1/2" slices.

Directions:  Mix the sauces and spices together so you have enough to spoon a little over both sides of your eggplant pieces. (Don't spoon yet!) Go easy on the first three sauces as they can be high in sodium. Coat one or two baking pans with a light amount of olive oil. Arrange the eggplant in the pans and spoon a little mixture on the face up side of each piece. Broil on 500 for 4 minutes. Flip the pieces over and spoon the rest of the mixture over each piece. If you want to add cheese, do that now, but be sparing. Broil for another 4 minutes. If you want the steaks more tender, cook for a bit longer.

SAUTEED PLANTAINS

Ingredients: Nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, chili pepper, olive oil, one plantain cut into 1/8" slices. 

Directions: Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and let sit over medium heat for a few minutes. Place plantains pieces into the pan and start seasoning, drizzling oil as needed, and flipping every few seconds. When they are the desired color of translucent yellow. . .stop.

STRAWBERRY AND WALNUT SALAD

Ingredients: Baby spinach, cut up strawberry, grape tomatoes, walnuts, light balsamic vinaigrette

Directions: If you don't know how to make a salad, I don't know what to tell you. . .

This was my plate. Everything is the same except no Gorgonzola.

And for dinner I will have a raw vegetable smoothie like I always do! Yay!

THE END!

Two Steps to Making an Awesome Salad Every Time

Let's be honest. Just because something is labeled "Salad" does not mean it's healthy. Most restaurants load the exact same unhealthy ingredients as on a hamburger, but since these ingredients are on a bed of gross lettuce, somehow that is supposed to make them healthy.

No.

So to make an actually healthy salad, follow these two simple rules:

1. Put on only things that you like eating. In other words, don't put on anything you want to pick off.

2. Make sure those things are 90-100% plants and 10-0% meat, cheese, dressing, and croutons. 

This may sound hard, because we Americans go to fast food restaurants to learn what "salads" are. (Think about the irony there.) However, if you just change your thinking a little bit, you can lose weight, feel clean inside, and not get sick so much. "But I only like one vegetable!" Then start with only that one vegetable. . .but try experimenting a little bit--you become a more interesting person if you can branch out.

Here is an example of what kind of salad I make for my husband and myself on a daily basis:

This one has red onions, avocado, carrots, cucumber, and tomato; all on a bed of spinach. These are ingredients that we actually like. I don't even buy lettuce anymore because even the nice green and purple stuff isn't as vitamin-rich as spinach. Plus, spinach is cheaper and more versatile for other dishes.

When they are in season, I put pomegranate seeds on which adds a delightful tart sweetness and tons of antioxidants. Other great ideas are artichokes, portabella mushrooms, colored peppers, sweet potato, cilantro, and asparagus.  You can even put on fruit, but make sure it is fresh and not canned, salted, or candied--same with nuts. Non-canned beans are also a great addition to a salad.

Whatever you put on it, make sure the salad fills up a big portion of your plate. Then add your "main course" to the plate after. I put "main course" in quotation marks because that is the American way of thinking. (Your main course should actually be the plants!) Changing these proportions, is key to losing weight and living healthier. 

I have been making these types of salads for my husband and me for over a year now and my good cholesterol is super high (even before I lost 20 lbs.), so it really works.

Calabazadillas...or UN-quesadillas

This is a recipe I posted earlier this year on Facebook.

RECIPE: Calabazadillas...or UN-quesadillas

("calabaza" is spanish for pumpkin)

Ingredients:
1. whole grain 8" tortillas
2. canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling and not with salt or anything added)
3. 1/2 onion 
4. 3 cloves of garlic
5. handful of fresh baby spinach
6. mushrooms
7. spices: chili pepper, cilantro (fresh is better tasting than dried), cumin
8. olive oil (or for even lower fat: white wine)
9. 1/2 a chicken breast (even lower fat: tofu)
10. lime juice
11. 1/2 an avocado

Also needed: medium sized cast-iron skillet

Directions:
Chop the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute them in olive oil (or white wine) in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat (cast iron conducts heat better than steel, so you can save energy by cooking at lower temperatures). Once they are just barely sauteed, add the chicken or tofu. Turn heat down to medium low and continue cooking. Meanwhile, put four tortillas on a plate. Distribute 1/2 of the canned pumpkin among the four tortillas, spreading it evenly. Cut 1/2 an avocado into really thin strips (1/2cm) and put three-ish slices onto each pumpkin covered tortilla. Sprinkle lime juice over them if you want.

Once the chicken is slightly browned on both sides, take it out of the pan and cut it into very thin strips (3/4cm). Put it back into the pan and cook a little longer adding the cumin, chili pepper, and cilantro (according to your taste). Also, add the baby spinach. Once the baby spinach starts getting nice and wilty and the chicken is completely cooked, turn off the heat. Distribute this mixture among the four pumpkin/avocado-ed tortillas. Cover each tortilla with another tortilla.

Wipe off your skillet with a paper towel. Turn the stove back on medium heat and put a little olive oil (or white wine) in the skillet. Fry each tortilla turning each of them only once (smash them down before flipping with a wide spatula to keep them falling apart). Cut each one into fourths. Wipe your skillet out again and add a little more oil if it looks dry before storing it. (Keep the patina on it. Never wash an iron skillet with soap!)

You won't miss the queso! ;o)