Roaring With Pleasure!

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 Like my zodiac twin, Leo the lion, I am roaring with pleasure!

Black rice is the newest cuisine that I added to my weekly palate.

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On Sunday, I blogged about my first time cooking it.

IMG_3467 I give it two thumbs up!

The texture and flavor are like that of brown rice and you cook it pretty much the same. I enjoyed the rice with kale and chicken breast; it was delicious.

If you enjoy the soft fluffy texture of white rice and you want the same texture, the rice needs to cook longer and with more water.

My family enjoys brown rice with the added flavor low sodium chicken broth, instead of water.

Because this was my first time cooking and eating black rice, I did not want to alter the original flavor, so I followed the package instructions and cooked it in water.  The package did not call for oil or butter, but it made sense to add oil to the rice, so I added one tablespoon to two cups of rice.  I should have added two.

Tonight (four days later), I had enough leftover black rice from the week, so you know I was dying to cook?

black rice and shrimpBlack rice, sautéed garlic shrimp, and a baby kale medley!

Seriously this perked me up. After a long day on the road, missing several meals, not drinking enough water, I was terribly off kilter.  The meal, a toasty fireplace and a forbidden glass of Cabernet has me feeling more like myself. 🙂

friday fire

Enjoy the weekend!

Try This Dish For Dinner

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My kitchen was a mess but the food was well worth the time. I’ve said it before, Pinterest is one of my favorite sites to discover new recipes.  Being a visual person, I’m attracted to the pretty images of food.  I scroll through boards looking for pretty dishes.

Today I made two new dishes and they were wonderful! The Mexican Quinoa Burger immediately snagged my attention.  I’m no professional photographer, but to me, the photo was picture perfect. Once I read the ingredients, I pinned the recipe to my Healthy Eating board, but it found it on cookingquinoa.net’s board.

The ingredients..

black beans

The recipe called for cooked black beans.  I used Shoprite organic can beans and rinsed them in cold water.

chilli seasoning

I forgot the “taco” seasoning, so I used “chili” seasoning instead.  I hated using the processed package, but used less than half the package.

onions peppers garlic

Onions, red peppers, and fresh minced garlic

panko box

I’m so glad I learned about these bread crumbs!

pepper jack

Mmm.. the flavor and kick of Pepper Jack Cheese!

salsa

Shoprite has a fresh hot salsa that is the best.  If you don’t have the time to make salsa, this is the next best thing.  It doesn’t have preservatives and spoils quickly.  It’s good on any kind of crackers or bread with cheese.

quinoa

Cooked Quinoa

smoked paprika

Gorgeous right! Lol!  Smoked Paprika! Your mouth should be watering about now.

bowl mixture

Mixing all the ingredients together.

burgers

The recipe made six hearty meatless and delicious burgers exactly like it said.

The other recipe has my mouth-watering just thinking about it.

Avocado Cilantro Lime Rice! I know where I found the recipe, but I don’t know who first came up with it.  I am just thankful that I discovered this dish on Cooking Classy! If you like avocados, limes, and cilantro… this recipe is for YOU! You have to try it; it’s so easy.  All you need is:

brown rice

Day old brown rice, but I had to cook a fresh pot of rice.

Avocado

ripe avocados and fresh lime juice.

cilantro

Fresh Cilantro

I got so excited that I forgot to take pictures of the cumin and minced garlic, but you know what that looks like.  Anyways, the final product is the most delightful and refreshing rice that I have ever eaten.

I also cooked grilled bourbon flavor chicken drumsticks for my family and grilled curry chicken breast for me.

Yeah, the hazard of eating different from your family is cooking two sets of meals (not always, but sometimes).

While cooking and making a complete mess in the kitchen, I danced to the beat of calypso and reggae music. I call it happy music because, the rhythm and lyrics are upbeat and keeps me dancing… making cooking so much more fun.  Before I know it, time has slipped by and I’ve cooked a bunch of food.

So here is what I ate and it was AMAZING!

dinner

Please visit both websites and try the recipes.  Who says eating healthy is boring? “They” haven’t tried it yet, I suggest you give it a shot.

I can’t wait to eat tomorrow’s leftovers.  🙂

The Verdict on Broiled Shrimp

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My mouth is still salivating!   No chicken today!!  Pinterest, my replacement cookbook is the best.  Thanks to All Things G & D, I have a new recipe to add to my list. Tonight I felt the need to toss shrimp atop my organic cumin flavored brown rice and green beans, so I was happy when I stumbled on ATG&D’s quick and easy recipe.

Although I used her basic recipe, to satisfy my thirsty palette for spice,  I always add a little more spice to my dish.  In addition to my freshly minced garlic, I added an abundance of granulated garlic powder, old bay seasoning, freshly ground black pepper, and crushed red peppers.  Oh and instead of Ritz Crackers, I substituted with Kikkoman Panko Japanese Style Bread Crumbs.  The bread crumbs gave the shrimp a little crunch, which I LOVED!

Food Weight

I have learned to weigh all of my food.  The nutritional piece to preparing for a figure competition or meeting any fitness goal is serious.  You can put up all the weights humanly possible in the gym, but if your diet is off… well..   You will not meet your fitness goals.  Look how many shrimp I have to eat to get to at least six (6) ounces!  Lucky  me!

broiled shrimp dinnerOoh la-la!  Oh man!  This was outstanding!! The shrimp cooked for about eight (8) minutes (four minutes each side). The brown rice and green beans were leftovers.

The recipe was quick, I didn’t need a bunch of pots and pans, it and was a nice change from my typical sautéed stove top shrimp.  Do I recommend this recipe?  Heck yeah!!

empty pan

Seriously.  After I cleaned my plate, I told my husband I wanted to lick the pan that the shrimp cooked in!

Yesterday I did legs; my quads ache, so I did good.  Earlier I did abs in the basement.  My fireplace is in full effect and, for the moment, my belly is full.  So now I’m going to sit, chill, and wait for the 10-14 inches of forecasted snow.

Enjoy your evening and thanks so much for stopping by!  🙂

The Body Is Your Temple

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The body

At 7:30 Sunday morning, I was in the kitchen cooking.  I would have rather stayed in bed, but sleeping late wasn’t an option.

Another busy week for this working mom and wife includes, CrossFit, a day or two of jogging, football, work, tutoring for my son, blogging, laundry and a few other chores mean I have no other choice but to carefully plan for each week.     All of the food pictured here I cooked Sunday between 7:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m.

When I finally sat down, I was exhausted, but relieved that the food was cooked and I wouldn’t have to turn the over, stove, or grill on for at least five days.  Heeeeey!!   Now I can focus on getting to CrossFit, the gym, and my running.  LOL!

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Two beautiful bunches of broccoli Rabe.  They are so good sauteed in olive oil with fresh garlic, and crushed red peppers.

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Mushrooms, sweet onions, jalapeno peppers, red, yellow, and orange sweet peppers. They are very good served over brown rice or Quinoa.

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Fluffy brown rice that I cooked in the rice cooker. If you eat a lot of rice, a rice cooker is worth the money , as well as a time saver.

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Boneless skinless chicken breast is much leaner that chicken thighs, breast, or drumsticks.

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Boiling my eggs in advance makes it easier to pack two-three for lunch. I usually eat only the egg white, sprinkled with egg whites. They are a great source of protein.

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Baked mac and cheese for the family, This two-pound pan will test my will power this week. I cooked it because it is one of my family’s favorite dishes.

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I tossed four pounds of kale in a pot with sweet onions, crushed red peppers, freshly ground black pepper and a little lawry’s all season salt… I can’t get enough of it.

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I found a super easy recipe for zucchini cakes on Pinterest. If you’re interested in the recipe, you can find me as “Lexa” and the recipe is posted on my board. It’s easy, quick, and healthy.

ADDITIONAL READING

Nutrition Facts, Calories in food

Power Foods:  Broccoli Rabe

The Nutritional Value of Mushrooms

Quick Saturday afternoon stir-fry

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Cooking on Saturday afternoons is not usually on my agenda.  However, since it’s such a cool, rainy/snowy Saturday afternoon, I felt encouraged to throw a little something together. 

Quick Poultry Stir-fry

 

1 lb. Pork Loin, turkey, or chicken for stir fry

1 Tbsp. Lawry’s Spoon Perfect blend chicken poultry rub

1 tsp. Lawry’s Seasoned salt

Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce *

1 medium red pepper

1 medium yellow pepper

1 medium orange pepper

1 large sweet onion

1 cup red wine vinaigrette

1 ½ Tbsp. Korean teriyaki stir-fry sauce *

1 tsp. crushed red peppers (less or none if you don’t like spice)

1 bundle of broccoli rabe

Direction

Chop onions, peppers and set aside.

Add pork loin, turkey, or chicken to stir fry pan.  Add olive oil, soy sauce, spices and slowly brown.

Once meat is thoroughly brown, add onions, peppers, stir-fry sauce, red wine vinaigrette, and crushed red peppers.  Cover and simmer on low until vegetables are tender. *Both items are still high in sodium, so use them sparingly. If I could find a substitute with even less sodium, I would use it.  But both the soy sauce and teriyahki sauce add such great flavor, I cannot resist!

You can also add broccoli, zucchini, fresh carrots, spinach or other vegetables to this dish.   At the last-minute, I found a bunch of broccoli rabe in the fridge, so I cut them up and tossed them in the pan.

We’re enjoying the stir-fry for dinner served over brown rice, cooked in 100% natural chicken broth.  It’s tasty, spicy, and has a little kick to it.  I hope that you try it and that you enjoy it.  This was a quick throw together meal, but tastes like I slaved over it.  Lol!