Simple shrimps over Brown rice!

I have been a lil laid back for the past one month when its come to food, however I have been lucky enough to still not gain the pounds.Starting this week I have reverted back to eating healthy again, In fact I have been supplementing my ideas in the kitchen with my mom. Of course I am learning so many more healthier tricks which I was so new to. Thanks Mom.

I made this simple shrimp over brown rice and I was so happy it was relished by my family. My mom who is very particular about her food habits took an extra serving.



Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds shrimps
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 Thai chilli chopped
1/2 cup onion chopped
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp crushed red chillies
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Cilantro chopped
1 tbsp EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste

Marinate the shrimps with 1 tbsp lemon juice, turmeric powder and salt and pepper

Heat oil over med- hi heat.Add the garlic, chillies and onion and wait until onion are translucent.Add the shrimp and cook for about 4 minutes until the shrimps curl up and are cooked. Add the cumin, crushed red chillies and the remaining lemon juice. Garnish with the chopped cilantro and serve over cooked brown rice.

Happy Eating!!

Chicken Kebabs!

Hello everybody...I know its been a really long time since I have last posted. I have been vacationing in India and I am having a fantastic time with family and friends.
I have been eating and socializing to my hearts content and will continue to do so in the months to come. I am currently pursuing a summer internship in Mumbai related to the Graduate program I'll be pursuing from this fall.

Well now on the food aspect I am serving yummy food to my brother who is my best food companion in the world.

I have been trying and making him many recipes and he seems to be enjoying all of them.Yesterday I made these yummy chicken Kebabs which I eventually modified and wrapped in a thin Roomali roti[ roomali roti is a form of Indian flat bread extremely thin] However it can be rolled and eaten on a tortilla too.I got this idea from Roni's Sausage and pepper skewers.

Ingredients:

5 chicken sausages
1/2 cup red bell pepper cut into 1"squares
1/2 cup green bell pepper cut into 1"squares
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper cut into 1"squares
1/2 cup onions cut into 1"squares.

Marinade:

2 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 tsp cumin powder
Salt and pepper to taste.



Mix and divide the marinade into two parts. First part for marination and second part for brushing when frying.

Lightly pre-cook the sausage before marinating and keep aside . Mix all the veggies and chicken with the marinade and keep aside for 10 minutes.


Arrange these on skewers and brush them with the marinade, Heat the grill with Non stick cooking spray and cook these for about 5 minutes, moving the skewers from time to time



Picture where the kebab is wrapped in the roomali roti and the grilled.



Happy eating.

Moroccan Vegetables.

I got this recipe from Betty Crocker’s vegetarian recipes. I should admit that this Moroccan recipe is very similar to the way I cook my Indian vegetables, but nonetheless it was a good experiment and my husband really enjoyed it.

Tip: This was mentioned in the book. Whenever you cannot find the Indian spices like turmeric, Garam masala and chili powder, use the curry powder blend.


½ cup carrots sliced
½ cup onion chopped
½ cup red pepper chopped
¾ cup zucchini sliced
¾ cup garbanzo beans
1 clove garlic chopped
¼ cup raisins
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp EVOO
Salt and pepper

Heat oil on medium high heat, cook carrots, onion, red pepper and garlic for about 4 minutes until onion is tender.

Stir in the other ingredients and cook for about 5 minutes until zucchini is tender. Sprinkle half the cilantro or parsley and mix. Use the rest for garnish.

Serve over rice or couscous.

For me it made about 2 servings.
Per serving: Calories- 259 Carbohydrates- 43g Fiber- 7gFat- 8g Protein- 6g

I think I can reduce or probably not include raisins for the extra Carbs they add.
Without Raisins the counts are:

Calories:204 Carbohydrates: 29g Fiber: 6.5g Fat: 8g Protein: 6 g

Healthy Irish soda bread!

With all the Green theme for the St Patty’s day going on I finally decided to make this healthy Irish soda bread. Since my husband is strictly against white flour I incorporated whole-wheat flour and almond flour into the recipe. The almond flour gave it a great texture and made it amazingly chewy. In fact I was enjoying my pre baked bread batter and was so sure that the final product would be great.

Happy St. Patty’s Day!!



¾ cup whole-wheat flour
¾ cup almond flour
¾ cup low fat buttermilk
½ cup raisins
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp orange zest
¼ cup splenda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and sift them through a sieve.

Add the raisins, caraway seeds, orange zest and Mix.

Add the buttermilk and the butter. The dough will be sticky and wet.


On a cookie sheet sprayed with non stick cooking spray, place this mixture and let it bake for about 30- 40 minutes, until a knife pierced in the center comes out clear.



Eat with butter on top….YUMM…

Spaghetti squash with spinach

Today is day 2 of lunch without husband and boy am I actually having fun cooking for myself. When I have to just cook for myself it’s a total experiment scene in my kitchen. I am a spaghetti squash fan and I was so enthusiastic about making it today. It tastes just like a nice pasta meal minus the loads of calories and unwanted carbs. I added chicken to my dish to pump the protein and make it a complete meal. The counts do include the chicken, but I must suggest you to give this a try and tell how you like it.




1 cup cooked spaghetti squash
2 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 oz chopped onions
1 clove garlic chopped
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp EVOO

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic cook till soft and smells great add the tomatoes and add the seasoning, salt and pepper. When the tomatoes are cooked a lil water and then the spinach. when the spinach wilts add the spaghetti squash. Cook for another 2- 3 minutes and done.

Made me 2 servings

Per serving:

Calories—100 Carbohydrates-9g Fiber- 2.5g Fat- 7g Protein- 1.5g

Happy eating!!

Southwestern Chicken Burgers.

I was so bored to make myself lunch today as husband is away, I thought I would probably avoid cooking. However when hunger took a toll on me I stepped towards the kitchen and it was relieving to see pre-cut peppers and ground chicken in the refrigerator.I finally tried these burgers and was so happy I made them…Obviously husband missed it heheh…they were yummy.



4 oz ground chicken
¼ cup green and red peppers chopped
2 tbsp chopped red onion
1/4 cup dry instant oats.
1 scallion chopped
Cilantro chopped
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp dry coriander powder
salt and pepper
Non stick spray



Mix all the ingredients together its just that simple and fry them in a pan over medium heat coated with non stick spray. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side.




I had no whole wheat burger buns, but I cut the whole wheat bread I had into circles and had it with some multigrain chips. Real treat!!! Yay...

Makes 2 burgers

Per burger
Nutritional information: Calories- 99 Carbohydrates-5.5 g Fiber- 1 g Fat- 4.5 g Protein-9 g

Peanut butter cookies.

Lets keep this post really short coz’ there isn’t much to say except that these simple and easy cookies are delishes and so easy to make. Just some alteration, many low carb versions of these cookies do not incorporate almond flour. I have tried it without the almond flour but they come out very crumbly. I added almond flour and it was intact and did not break. My husband was so happy with the texture and of course the taste.


Ingredients:

1-cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup almond flour
1-cup granular splenda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
Slivered pistachios for the topping

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat the egg and splenda thoroughly with an electric mixer. In a separate bowl mix almond flour, peanut butter, vanilla and the egg+ splenda mixture. Mix to incorporate the splenda mixture properly. Mix till it forms dough like consistency.

Scoop out 1 tbsp mixture shape them into balls and flatten them. Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Top each of the cookies with pistachio in the center.

Bake for about 10 – 12 minutes. Bake till the edges are light brown and the center still light.

Makes 15 cookies.

Per cookie:
Calories: 120 Carbohydrates: 6 Fiber: 1.5 Fat: 9 and Protein: 4.5