Real Life

Cashew Chicken

stargrace August 14, 2013 0Comment

This recipe was adapted from favfamilyrecipes.com – Crockpot cashew chicken

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup cashews

Note: I did NOT make this in a crockpot, I used the stove.

Put the flour in a resealable food bag, add chicken (diced up into small pieces), shake to coat the chicken with flour. Heat some oil in a frying pan, brown the chicken for about 1 minute on each side. Put the chicken into a pot on the stove, on low heat.

Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in a small bowl. Pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Add cashews and stir.

I served mine with diced up leeks, over soba noodles. This recipe may not be very low fat, but it was a HUGE hit, and it’s very good with the soba noodles (which are way nicer than regular plain white noodles).

Tilapia Tacos

stargrace August 12, 2013 0Comment

These delicious tilapia tacos were adapted from Fitness magazine – Eat Healthy For Less

• 1 lime
• 3 grape tomatoes, chopped
• Few sprigs of fresh cilantro, diced up
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 cup shredded cabbage (red or green)
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tilapia fillet
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 2 whole wheat (or whole grain) tortillas

Cut the lime in half, and squeeze the juice from one half into a bowl. Set the rest aside. Combine the tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno, onion, and lime juice together.

In another bowl mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, and the rest of the lime juice. Add cabbage and 2 tablespoons of yogurt sauce together. Save the extra sauce.

Heat olive oil in a large pan. Sprinkle the tilapia with chili powder and cook for 3 minutes. Turn and cook 2 minutes more.

Fill your tortilla with tilapia, cabbage mixture, and salsa mixture (the tomatoes etc). Enjoy!

These were absolutely delicious. The spicy heat from the salsa mixture along with the cool crunch of the cabbage were absolutely yum.

Two Ingredient Pancakes

stargrace August 11, 2013 0Comment

There are a LOT of two ingredient pancake recipes out there, but I first saw the recipe over on Undressedskeleton.

• 1 banana
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cacao powder (optional)
• honey (optional)
• cinnamon (optional)

These pancakes are the easiest things to make. Mash a banana. Add an egg to the mixture. Mix. You can continue to add anything you want, oats, fruit, etc. I added a bit of natural cacao powder to mine. Fry them in a non-stick skillet until they’re cooked just like a regular pancake. Drizzle them with a little bit of honey, fruit, and cinnamon, and enjoy!

Poached Egg Salad

stargrace August 10, 2013 0Comment

I was thinking to myself “I’d really like to learn how to poach an egg!” – turns out, it’s very easy. This simple recipe wasn’t adapted from anything I found online but rather from stuff I had in the fridge.

• 2 eggs
• 2 strips of bacon
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/4 a red onion, sliced
• 1 tsp honey mustard

You’ll need a pot of boiling water to poach your eggs in. There’s a few methods but I stuck to a simple one. When the water is boiling, spin a ladle in it around and around until you make a little tornado in the water. Then, gently lay your raw egg (from inside bowl or cup is easiest) into that tornado, pouring it out. The speed of the water spinning around will cause the egg to wrap around itself. Leave it in the water for 2-3 minutes and scoop it out with the ladle. You’ve just poached an egg!

The rest of the meal is just very basic salad fixings. I lay the eggs on top of a bed of baby spinach, with the other ingredients scattered around. Take the honey mustard, water it down a bit, and lightly drizzle it over. Add some chili flakes if you want a little heat.

Greek Salad with Sardines

stargrace August 8, 2013 0Comment

This salad is inspired by Eating Well – Greek salad with Sardines 

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 medium tomato, cut into chunks
• 1 cucumber, cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 3 sliced olives
• 1 can sardines, with bones, packed in olive oil or water, drained

Whisk lemon juice, oil, garlic, in large bowl. Add tomatoes, cucumber, feta, onion, and olives. Gently toss. Divide the salad into portions, top with sardines.