Cholay II (Spiced Chickpeas)

What You'll Need:

1 lb Dried chickpeas
3 tsp Cumin powder (slightly heaping)
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Ginger powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Salt (for water to cook chickpeas)
1/2 tsp Black salt
1/2 tsp red pepper (or less for mild heat)
1/2 Green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 Medium sized white onion, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
3/4 c. Cilantro, chopped
1 Tbs Lemon juice
3/4 c. Imlee (Tamarind Chutney)

What to do:

Cook dried chickpeas (without pre-soaking) in pressure cooker with 8 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt. Pressure cook (med-high pressure) for 45 mins; remove from heat and allow pressure cooker to cook and release pressure on its own. Once pressure has been released, drain chickpeas and rinse with cool water; place in large bowl.

Mix in all spices, vegetables and imlee. Garnish with fresh cilantro; serve chilled or warm.

 

Tips:
* If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can follow the directions on the package to cook the beans
*Imlee can be found at most Indian grocery stores; I'll be posting a recipe soon!

Almond Berry Smoothie

What You'll Need:
10 strawberries
1 handful (approximately 1/2 c.) blueberries
1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp honey (optional)

What To Do:
Place all ingredients in blender; blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Chicken Tikka on Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Burger

Yield: 2 burgers 

What You'll Need:
For the Chicken:
(there will be left over chicken; there will be enough for at least 6-8 burgers):
2lb boneless chicken thigh meat
1 roma tomato, chopped
1/4 c. yellow or white onion, chopped
1/8c. white vinegar
2 capfuls Liquid smoke
1 Tbs tomato paste
1 Tbs. garlic powder
2 tsp. coriander powder
2 tsp. ginger powder
2 tsp olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/4 tsp red chili powder (use less for mild heat)
1 1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp (heaping) dried parsley flakes
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala (can be found in most Indian stores)
1/2 tsp ajwain (carom) seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon

For the Stuffed Mushrooms:
2 portobello mushroom caps (flatter caps are better)
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. cilantro, minced
1 Tbs red wine vinegar (optional)
1/8 tsp lemon pepper
1/8 tsp black pepper


What To Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chicken:
In a large bowl, combine all spices, vinegar, liquid smoke and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Make sure the chicken is well coated with the spices; set aside and allow it to marinate at least 30 minutes (longer is better).

In a sauce pan, heat approximately 1 tsp olive oil over high heat. Add chopped onions and saute for about 2-3 minutes, or until they begin to turn slightly transparent. Reduce heat to medium-high (closer to medium) add in marinated chicken; cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan as necessary to prevent the spices from burning. Add chopped tomatoes; stir well. Cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes,  add 1 Tbs. tomato paste and cook the chicken uncovered for an additional 5-7 minutes to evaporate most of the liquid. Turn the heat off, garnish chicken with fresh cilantro and set aside. Note: instead of cooking on the stove top, you can also grill the chicken; leave out the roma tomato and tomato paste. (grill approximately 6 minutes each side).

                                

Mushrooms:
In a bowl, combine the bell pepper, cilantro, vinegar, spices and minced garlic.  Place mushroom caps, gill side up, on a foil-lined tray. Divide veggie/spice mixture in to two portions and spoon on to the mushrooms (including the juice). Bake for 20 minutes in the oven.

To Assemble the Burger: 
Stack the chicken pieces on top of the mushroom cap (gill side up) on a burger bun. Add condiments and/or other toppings (I like sauteed onions with reduced fat provolone cheese and low-fat mayo).

Tips:
* You will have more than enough chicken left over for lunch or dinner the next day! You can enjoy with brown rice or naan (will be posting recipe soon).
* To reduce the sodium content further, you can reduce the amount of salt in the chicken and squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken while cooking.
*To mix things up a bit you can make the burgers with just the mushroom caps or chicken; Or even serve as chicken tikka burgers with stuffed mushrooms as the side

Foil-Grilled Balsamic Glazed Potatoes

What You'll Need:
2 golden potatoes, cubed (1" to 1.5" cubes; you can leave the skin on)
1 large yam, peeled and cubed (1" to 1.5")
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
5-6 white mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1/4 white onion, diced
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs dried parsley flakes
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp hickory flavored liquid smoke
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder (optional)


What To Do:

Preheat grill (medium-high, if using gas)

Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well so that spices, vinegar and oil evenly coat all vegetables and mushrooms.  Place potato mixture on a large piece of heavy duty foil. Fold foil to create a packet; fold edges upwards and seal (note: best results when the packet is made as pictured; you can make two if needed).  Place on grill with the seam side up so the dressing doesn't leak out of the foil pack.  Grill for 15 minutes, flip the foil packet and grill for an additional 15 minutes (take care not to accidentally poke a hole in the foil packet when flipping).

Sweet n' Spicy Pineapple Salsa

What You'll Need:
1 roma tomato, finely chopped
2 Tbs white onion, finely chopped
1/2 c ripe sweet pineapple, finely chopped
1/4c red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
pinch chipotle chili
pinch of cayenne pepper
dash of black pepper
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt

What To Do:
Mix all ingredients together. Place in refrigerator for for at least an hour, to allow all flavors and juices to blend. Tastes great on grilled chicken or fish (try either one, grilled with Jamaican Jerk seasoning and topped with the salsa- yum!).

Green Smoothie

Yield: 1 serving

What You'll Need:
1 c baby spinach leaves
1/4 c fresh sweet pineapple
1/2 c. orange juice
1 small clementine
1 1/2" banana, frozen

What To Do:
Place all ingredients in blender; blend until smooth.

Nutrition Information is an estimate
 based off of an online tool

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

What You'll Need:
2 1/4 tsp all spice
2 tsp salt
2 Tbs garlic powder
2 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
3/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper

What To Do:
Mix all ingredients together. Store in airtight container. Tastes great on grilled or pan seared Chicken and fish.

Date-Nut Shake

What You'll Need:
8 oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk
3 medjool dates
3/4 banana, frozen

What To Do:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Homemade Baked French Fries

What You'll Need:
2 baking potatoes, peeled and sliced into french fry-style sticks
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste




What to Do:
Preheat oven at 425.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the spices and olive oil together.  Place potato sticks in a larger mixing bowl and drizzle oil mixture over potatoes.  Toss well until evenly covered.  Place in a single layer in a lightly greased (I used olive oil cooking spray) glass dish. Bake for 45 minutes, turning once 1/2 way through.

Tips:
*You can also sprinkle JD's hickory flavored Bacon Salt (low-sodium and vegetarian) to add a bit more flavor.
*If the fries seem like they are/almost cooked (will be soft) when you flip them, increase the heat to 425 and cook until golden brown and slightly crispy or broil on high for a couple minutes. 

Tofu Jalfrezi

What You'll Need:
1 (12 oz) package of extra firm tofu (drained and patted dry), cut into 1/2" cubes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (with juice)
1/2c. grated yellow onion (approximately 1/2 of a med/small onion)

1 green bell pepper, cut in 2" strips
1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/4 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp (slightly heaping) coriander powder
1 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 c and 3 Tbs water

What to Do:

Heat 1/2 tsp of the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.  Add uncooked, cubed tofu (right) and increase heat to medium/high.  Let tofu sit for 2-3 minutes, then saute (stirring occasionally) for about 15 minutes or until tofu is lightly golden brown (see below).  Remove from pan.

Heat remaining 1 1/2 tsp of olive oil over medium heat in the same frying pan.  Once heated, add grated onions and increase heat to high.  Saute continuously on high heat until liquid evaporates. Reduce to med-high heat and continue to saute for another 5-7 minutes, until onion begins to turn golden brown (right).

 Reduce heat to medium, add 1 Tbs water and garlic powder.  Saute onions with garlic powder and water (so it doesn't get too dry and burn) for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until garlic powder turns golden brown. Add the sauteed tofu to the onion and garlic powder mix. Saute for 3-4 minutes until spices and onion cover tofu evenly.   Add an additional 2Tbs of water and add remaining spices (salt, turmeric, coriander and cumin powders).  Continue to saute mixture over medium heat for approximately 2 minutes (right).
            

     

 Increase heat to med-high and add in diced tomatoes (with juice; see below); cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes.  Add bell pepper and 1/4c water. Cover and cook (on med-fast simmer) for an additional 7-10 minutes.

Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve over rice (I prefer brown), with naan or whole wheat tortillas.

Quick Tips:
*If you prefer, this recipe can be made with 1 pound cubed chicken breast. Omit the 1/4 c. of water.  Add in the raw chicken after sautéing the onion and garlic powder. Follow the recipe as listed, cooking the chicken for 20 minutes.