All Fooling Aside

Sometimes things try to be something they're not.  Turkey bacon for example, is not bacon.  It's no where near bacon and if you ask me, it would be better to never have bacon ever again than to eat something pretending to be bacon.  I felt the same way when my sister who was a vegetarian for a time tried to convince me that her fake vegetarian bacon was just as good as the real deal.  Not so.  Sometimes fake outs are a little less offensive.  Which brings me to today's featured veggie, spaghetti squash.  I read a ton of recipe's from various sources including fitness journals and health/exercise related magazines.  It's not unusual to find recipes that are healthy versions of typically unhealthy favorites.  Sometimes they work but many times they just don't quite do the trick.  One that seems to pop up all the time is spaghetti squash, either with tomato sauce (vegetarian option) or with meat sauce.  For some reason I just wasn't feeling it.  The thought of squash (likely imagining the taste of butternut squash) with spaghetti sauce was so unappealing to me.  More recently I've decided to give it a good try.  We like pasta (a lot!) and we like our rice too (we try to do more brown but we do love our basmati and jasmine rice too).  I figured it really couldn't hurt to find a side or a replacement to those white starches.  I made a spaghetti pie recipe (with spaghetti squash) a few weeks back that was pretty good.  I'm going to make some changes to it next time and then I'll pass it along.  The other night I made a nice little side dish to accompany strip steaks and steamed broccoli.  I started with a recipe for Warm Spaghetti-Squash Salad from Food & Wine's website.  I changed things up to our liking (we're not big olive fans here), took out the olives, added oregano and adjusted the amounts so we didn't have a ton of food. Click the link above for the original or enjoy my version at the end of this post.

There are a number of ways to cook the spaghetti squash but my preference is to just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and drizzle with a little olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet and place in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 45 min.  This squash was just shy of 3lbs and this was the perfect amount of time.  The recipe in the above link tells how to boil it.

While the squash is cooking toast 1/4- 1/2 cup of slivered almonds.  You can do this on the stove in a pan over medium heat or pop them in the toaster oven and bake at 300 for a few minutes.  Keep your eye on them so they don't burn! This is a half cup but we really didn't need quite that many.

Next make the dressing.  I used three scallions.  White and green parts.

That was bout a 1/4 cup.  Put them in your mini food processor if you have one, or whatever other chopping apparatus you may use.

Next add 1/2 tsp of lemon zest to the chopper.

Juice half a lemon, and add 2 Tbs of lemon juice to the scallions and zest.

This is where I improvised a little, adding some fresh oregano.  Anyone who read this blog knows what I fan I am of this stuff.  I'm always trying to convince you to get the fresh herbs, you can't beat them.

I used 1 Tbs of oregano.  It smells so good....

Next I added a clove of garlic and 3 Tbs of olive oil, a dash of salt and pepper and pulsed it until it was a nice smooth dressing.  The olive oil (and garlic) was another change on my part.  The recipe calls for Canola oil which is something to steer clear of (click the link to learn more) and lots of it (1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs).  Three tablespoons of olive oil worked well. You could add another Tbs if your squash is a little bigger.

Once your squash has cooled enough to handle, you just scrape at it with a fork and what do you know, it looks just like spaghetti.  Amazing.  Put your squash in a bowl for the finishing touches.

Pour your dressing over the top of the squash and toss.

Add a quarter cup of crumbled feta and your toasted almonds.

Serve warm.  This was a hit with the whole family (I'm noticing the kids are getting to like feta, which wasn't always the case).  I think I'm ready for some spaghetti squash with bolognese.

Warm Spaghetti Squash Salad (adapted from Food & Wine)

1 spaghetti squash 2 1/2 to 3 lbs
1/2 Cup slivered almonds, toasted
3 scallions sliced
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs fresh oregano 
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup crumbled feta
salt and pepper to taste

Cut squash in half, remove seeds and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet.  Bake for 45 min (or until fork tender) in a pre-heated 375 degree oven.  Set aside to cool when done.

In a mini chopper or food processor, pulse the scallions, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper to taste to a smooth dressing.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, scrape into strands with a fork and place in a bowl.  Toss with dressing, feta and toasted almonds.  Serve warm.

This was a great weeknight dinner.  You can't go wrong with delicious and healthy sides to go with some fantastic grilled strip steaks.

Easy Fall Fare

It's been quite sometime since I tried a new recipe and shared it with you.  September has come and gone like a whirlwind.  School, sports, a vacation two weeks into school, back from vacation, back to work, catch a cold and BAM.  It's October.  So, for those of you who embrace fall, love squash, pick up some squash while at the pumpkin patch, or like us, have an abundance of squash from your CSA box, I give to you Chickpea Spinach Squash Gnocchi.  The name is long but the time required to make it is not.  You will find the recipe in the link above, as I took some liberties when I made it.  See what you think, it went over really well in our house.

The first change I made was adding spicy Italian sausage, which made this nice healthy meal slightly less healthy but a little heartier.  We buy our beef and pork from a farm too and every month there are a couple of pounds of organic ground pork or sausage.  I had about a half pound leftover from making pizza's (found it while digging for something in the freezer over the weekend) so I thought I'd throw it in.  Also I thought the red pepper flakes in the sausage would do us some good since three out of four of us have a cold.  I just browned it up and then drained it on paper towels.

Next you get some gnocchi in the pan with a touch of oil and brown them up.  This was refrigerated gnocchi but not frozen.  If you buy frozen you do need to boil them before this browning step.

While those are browning up, get your squash, shallots and garlic chopped up.  This is delicata squash but you can use butternut instead.  This type is nice because you don't have to peel it so it saves a step.

Just cut in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and thinly slice.  I cut these slices down a little more.

Once your gnocchi has browned up, remove to a bowl and add a little more oil to the pan.

Add the shallots, garlic and squash to the pan along with some fresh or dried sage (I was pretty excited to use about 8 leaves off of my sage plant that is now a bush...).

After that cooks for a couple of minutes you add salt, pepper, currants (which I left out because I am totally opposed to anything raisin-like in my food) and broth.  I used a combo of chicken broth (had some to use up in the fridge) and vegetable broth which is what the recipe calls for.  I'm sure it would be good no matter which one you used.  This simmers for about 8 min or until the squash is cooked through.

While that's simmering, get some spinach rinsed and chopped.

Get some chick peas out.  Always rinse your chick peas because otherwise you will add a ton of sodium to your meal and that's the last thing we need.

Then you're going to add the gnocchi, (in my case) sausage, chick peas and spinach to the pan and mix together until the spinach is wilted.  If you feel like you have way too much spinach and you can't even find all those other ingredients that you worked on, give it 3 min and you'll wonder where all the spinach went and why you didn't add more.  It's tricky like that.  This recipe also calls for a little balsamic vinegar at the end.  I put a couple of tablespoons in there but probably wouldn't have missed it if I didn't (of course I did add spicy sausage...).

This was an easy weeknight dinner, that I would definitely make again.  If it looks good to you, click on this Eating Well link for the full recipe.  Happy October! I hope your weather is as fantastic as ours (and I'm not even being sarcastic)!

Healthy Chicken in a Curry

How many of you are struggling to stick with New Years Resolutions already?  We're only two weeks in so hopefully you're hanging in there.  I just joined a new gym before Christmas because they have some classes that I really love.  So far I've taken Pilates, Cardio-Kickboxing, R.I.P.P.E.D. and Boot Camp.  Every single class is as full as can be.  I'm curious to see if the attendance drops off in a month or so.  That seems to be the trend with a new year at the gym.  Everyone is gung ho, then things slowly fizzle out.  If you've done this in the past, try to pace yourself.  Don't expect to go from nothing to 5-6 days a week and think you won't get burned out and quit all together.  Build your activity level gradually and instead of doing nothing by March you'll be doing more.  The same is true with your diet.  Forget "going on a diet".  The idea is to change your diet, and if you do this gradually, you again, will be more successful in sticking with it.  Super Bowl Sunday is coming up in a few weeks.  If you're like me, you look forward to the food more than the game (I really couldn't care less about the game).  I have a really tasty chicken dish to share if you're entertaining for the game (or any other time for that matter).  This healthy little number is called Curried Chicken and Vegetable Pan Roast from the Food & Wine website (which I just love).  Here's how it goes:

Don't be afraid of brussels sprouts! These are my new favorite vegetable and I've only liked them since Thanksgiving (just this past one!).  Roasted until nice and brown, they are fantastic.

You'll need to halve 1 1/2 lbs of them.  A perfect job for a little helper if you have one.

You will also need to peel and dice 2 lbs of butternut squash.  Already you can tell how healthy this is, just look at those fantastic colors!

You will also need to cut 2 red onions (I used one large one) into thin wedges.

Toss your veggies in a large bowl with some oil, salt and pepper.

Spread them out over two rimmed baking sheets.

In the same bowl you mix oil, fat-free Greek yogurt, ginger, garlic, curry powder and season with salt and pepper.

Toss the chicken thighs in and stir until well coated.

Lay the chicken over the veggies and roast in a 450 preheated oven.

The recipe suggests serving with warm naan.  We used the bread machine and made some pita instead.

About 40 min in, you'll pull the pans from the oven and pour off any accumulated juices.  Pop them back in for about 20 min more, until chicken is browned and veggies are tender.

Oh my, now how good does this look!  This is enough to feed 12 so its perfect for when you have company, or you can just have leftovers on hand for weekday lunches.  These chicken pieces make a great sandwich the next day.

Serve with Greek yogurt or sour cream.  I think next time I'll make some little yogurt sauce of some kind.  That's it! Minimal work, really tasty meal and healthy to boot!

Curried Chicken and Vegetable Pan Roast (www.foodandwine.com)

2 lbs butternut squash, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 large red onions, cut into thin wedges
1 1/2 lbs brussels sprouts, halved
1 cup canola oil
salt and pepper
1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt, plus more for serving
2 Tbs minced fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs Madras curry powder (I think regular curry will work fine)
4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
warm naan or pita for serving

Preheat oven to 450 and position racks in the upper and middle thirds.  In a large bowl, toss squash, brussels sprouts, onion wedges and 1/2 cup of the canola oil; season with salt and pepper.  Spread veggies on to two large, rimmed baking sheets.

In the same bowl, combine the cup of yogurt with the ginger, garlic, curry powder and the remaining 1/2 cup of oil and season with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken and toss until thoroughly coated.  Arrange chicken on top of the vegetables and roast for 40 min rotating the pans half way through until veggies are nearly tender and chicken is nearly cooked through.  Pour off any liquid and continue to roast about 20 min longer until chicken is browned and veggies are tender.  Transfer to a platter and serve with warm naan and yogurt.