It's still hot out....and I'm hungry

So I made Shrimp Ceviche. I'm not sure if this is the correct spelling. My spell checker does not know either.  But I do know its one of my favorite things, ever. It is like a Mexican Shrimp Cocktail. But you can substitute shrimp for any white fish, that's cooked of course and cold.

I was too lazy to chop everything up into little tiny pieces which is typically how Ceviche is served, but whatever. You can chop it all tiny, or eat the pieces larger-it all tastes the same to me. Its simple and to die for.

Shrimp, cut up
Tomatoes, cut up
Onion, cut up
Cilantro, cut up
Jalapeno or Serrano pepper, cut up
Lime juice
Sea Salt

Mix it all up, and eat with some tortilla chips. I am currently addicted to Tostato's Fire-Roasted Chipotle chips-its from their "Artisan Brand" line and in reading the label-its surprisingly not bad for you. It is making a great lunch on another hot day.Wish it would stay like this tho-the more heat the better, and I have a ton of hot day recipes:)

PS If you don't want your avocados to start turning brown as mine were, sprinkle them with lemon or lime juice.

*if you are vegetarian but still eat fish, then you're good. If you are a vegetarian who eats no animal flesh, then you're SOL, same with vegan. I just don't think this would be the same with tofu, BUT I have heard of some vegan 'calamari' so there may be a vegan 'fish' product out there. Anyone know? Otherwise, no way to really alter this recipe. Avoid, or make it part of your 10%. 

WHEN ITS HOT.....

Granted, this is not the most flattering picture of Gazpacho that you will see, but don't be deceived: Sometimes the beauty of anything isn't in its appearance. That said, Gazpacho is a cold, chilly soup that a 90 degree evening matches well with. It's Memorial Day weekend and most people are doing traditional BBQing, but not me. I can do that any ole' time. I like to take advantage of how good this soup is when you are sweating (er, "glowing" for the ladies.)

Gazpacho has a traditional recipe but basically-like most things I post-you can be creative and do what you like. My base is simple-either tomato juice or V8 juice. A dash of Worchestire sauce, and whatever spice is appealing to me. I also throw a tiny bit of balsamic or apple cider vinegar in there.

Red onions, baby corn, chopped spinach, cucumber, tomatoes-whatever veggie you are willing to eat. Throw it in. Then chill it. When its super hot out, you now have a souper supper. LMAO that was totally cheesy.

* no no no to canned tomato juice and especially v8, for the sodium content alone. If you have a blender, just blend and puree real tomatoes for the base of this. If you are vegetarian but eat fish you are okay with worchestire sauce, otherwise avoid as it is made with fermented fish (anchovies).You may sub with Bragg's Amino Acid sauce, a couple splashes.  Otherwise this is totally vegan and you are free to walk about the cabin. 

VENDING MACHINES ARE EVIL

This week I've been running a bit on E, and being tired means lazy eating habits. Sometimes like the rest of the world-I dont wanna cook when I come home, or even put the effort into grabbing something to go that resembles healthy-much less prep up some snacks.

Thus, the vending machine at work becomes both my bane and my dependance. And the one we have at our work: EVIL. This motherf*cker holds ALL of the world's most evil yet tempting snacks on the planet. From a range of different flavored potato chips, Doritos (I remember when there were 2 flavors of those, now there's like, 10) and all kinds of stuff sprinkled orange sure to stain your hands for the day. There's the straight-up candy, the chocolate candy bars, and the ever-present danishes;cheese, raspberry and of course, donuts. But mine takes it up a notch when it throws in the Zingers. Zingers, a personal weakness of mine and nothing I have purchased for myself since I was about 12. Except at work. They are far superior to Twinkies, IMO. Of course lard mixed with sugar and preservatives can HAVE that effect and not a good for you snack does it make.The only "healthy" option in the whole evil machine is a bag of assorted nuts that has some m&m type candies thrown in them as some sort of trail mix. And I would be lying if I didn't say that on those lazy evenings and running-late mornings, I didn't end up giving in to this thing holding the world's evil snacks and ontop of it-paying WAY too much for them. (The profit margin on a vending machine seems to be rather good, imo.) Anyway it is smack-dab in the middle of 2 other machines, the pop machine and the coffee machine. Pop which is horrible and actually costs LESS than the bottle of water you can get as the only healthy beverage option.

So what do you do to avoid this? You have to find a non-lazy time and plan ahead. I'd say the prep time, MAYBE an hour. But well worth it. All you have to do is invest in a bunch of different baggie sizes and find some "snack" sizes of healthy items and you are good-to-go. This picture of course is very limiting in how you can snack, but there's a million options out there. All you have to do is prep the stuff-cut it up, slice it, or take the big bag of healthy crackers and empty a few into a baggie. Simple. Then stock-pile the non-perishable stuff at your work. So you will always have on hand something to eat or nibble on, in the event that you totally flaked on making any sort of real lunch the night before, and will not succomb to allowing yourself to be involved in the Wendy's run one of your co-workers is making.

If you have a fridge at work, DONT WORRY-nobody is gonna steal this stuff. Sad but true. Your fruits, veggies, hummus and cheeses are the safer items (at my work, even the yogurts get spared.) I also keep graham crackers, packets of organic peanut butter, sunflower seeds, a packet of oatmeal with some raisin boxes on hand. Don't give into the temptation of Raman soup, but if you do, throw away the spice packet as it is pure salt and shit chemicals. Spice it up yourself. That's another thing I keep in my drawer: Lots of spice stuff. Packets of tabasco sauce, soy sauce, seasonings, pepper, and Subway has packets of olive oil and vinegar. Save that stuff and spice up things yourself, make a mix of spices at home (again, baggies are a good call for things like this.) It takes minimal time and a slight investment but I think in the long run, it ends up being way cheaper and of course, much better for our health in the long run.

Linguini with Clam Sauce

This is one of my favorite meals ever, and its also one of the fastest and easiest to make. Of course, you gotta like clams. If you don't, then no amount of convincing you to try this will work. That said, here's how you make it:
Olive oil or butter (i use a little of both)
1 or 2 cans of chopped clams, depending on much you want to make
2-3 cloves crushed garlic
Fresh parsley
White wine
cracked black pepper
linguine noodles
parmesan or romano cheese

Melt the butter or add olive oil to a hot pan. To be really health conscious, omit using butter but a little pat for added flavor imo won't hurt.

 Add the garlic, careful not to let it brown. Add the can(s)of clams, including the juice. Add some fresh parsley and the pepper. Let the sauce come to a bubble. Add about a tablespoon of wine. Bring to a short boil, then simmer as you are cooking the linguine noodles. Once the noodles are done, drain, then pour your sauce over it.

For added heat you could add some red pepper flakes, but I like it just as it is. Sprinkle with cheese on top if you'd like. Simple, fast, delicious and healthy-but has a richness to it (even if you don't use butter) where it really doesn't taste like its good for you at all:)

*oye. I dont know what kind of food crack I was smoking, but the use of butter and olive oil with the cheese, coupled with the salt content of the clams alone.....yeah not so much, the healthy. If you still eat fish, then do this: rinse the clams first, getting rid of most the salt. No need for oil or butter, you can saute the garlic in some of the clam juice. Sub the clam juice with water. Keep the wine, add more veggies, use rice noodles or a noodle of your choice. of course it won't be traditional linguine and clam sauce then, but it'll still be good. Squeeze some lemon on here for an extra health and taste boost.  No cheese, or sprinkle with vegan cheese, also could sprinkle with Butter Buds sparingly.

Fresh Spring Rolls

Since it is Spring, seems as good a time as any to introduce Spring Rolls. If you are familiar with Thai food then you have an idea what they are-and in Thai places, the addition of cream cheese and a Tamarind sauce ontop is pretty classic.

Here I have adapted to my own version-and here's another place you can be creative. The hardest part is finding the spring roll wraps-typically you have to go to an Asian market to find them, but some grocery stores are progressive enough to have them (especially if you live in a large city.)

The spring roll "papers" are hard to describe. They are transparent and hard-and look like sewer covers to me. Using them requires some practice. But all you do is take the paper, and soak it in a bowl of warm water for about 10 to 30 seconds, until it becomes soft and pliable. Then you do your thing.

My thing is to make them like a hand-held salad; I use lettuces, carrots, cabbage,, avocado and cilantro. I don't advise tomatoes only because they are too juicy and mushy for the wrap which is pretty delicate. But use your imagination and fill them with whatever sounds good to you-leftover veggies from the fridge, spinach and egg-the possibilities-like the smoothies-are endless. Then you simply wrap them up, starting with one edge and roll them into a roll. I say "simply" but it's not that simple-it does require some skill to roll them up and to also roll them up tightly-(it helps to tuck the edges in as you are rolling. )Those who might roll their own cigarettes have an advantage here :)

Dipping sauces can be anything you want-a salad dressing of choice, some olive oil and herbs, even a soy sauce. Yogurt-based sauces are really great with this as well. If you prefer a more traditional roll, then cream cheese is the way to go (but that's where it teeters on "unhealthy for real" because of the fat content. You could even mix the veggies in with the cream cheese.

The spring roll papers themselves don't have a taste to me-they are versatile in that you could probably stuff these with fruits and something "sweeter" as well.

I do like to squeeze fresh lime over the filling I use to give it more of a Thai taste, and of course the addition of basil will also give it that Thai flavor.

Its a fun and unique way of eating a salad-wrap a few up, put in a bag or Tupperware and you've got a healthy snack at work!

*this is pretty right on for vegetarian/vegan. Just omit of course, any mentions of cheese, any eggs, and yogurt. For dipping sauces, you'll have to be creative. Most gyoza sauces and store based dipping sauces contain a lot of salt/sugar. Balsamic and seasoned vinegars, low sodium soy sauce-this is an arena I too am still learning about. Honestly, I'd probably allow myself a tradional dipping sauce with salt and some sugar as part of my 10% and just use a little. But if you want to be hard-core about it-and many do because for some, one little taste sends them right back like an addict to a drug, that's fine also. I will do some research but I do know there are a great deal of vegan salad no oil dressings recipes around. 

If you HATE veggies.....

 Then "Smoothies" are for you! There is a reason these things are so popular now-easy nutrition the lazy way (and what American isn't about that? ;) But not just ANY blender or juicer will do. I probably shouldn't hawk something without being paid a promotional fee, however I will just because I think everyone should get one. It's called the "Nutri-Bullet." While I don't usually find infomercial claims to be credible, this is one product where you get your money's worth, imo. For 100.00, you can make significant inroads to your health, especially if you simply hate eating vegetables and not big on fruit.

 There are 1000's of recipes out there but the reason I recommend the bullet: Easy as hell, cleaning is easy as hell, and it really extracts the most nutrients, enzymes and vitamins/minerals a veggie or fruit has to offer. When you add a "boost"-wheat germ, nuts, seeds, maca powder-its like improving your health and well being without even trying. You are just a drink away from totally improving your health and off-setting any damage you've done to it by not eating so healthy or other extra-curricular activities.

 Nope, you really don't taste the veggies., You start with a green "base"...pictured here is spinach, salad spring greens, kale. You can use whatever you want. Then you add whatever fruits you want. Pineapple, apple, orange, pear, grapes-whatever sounds good to you. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries make the familiar fruit smoothie and really mask the taste of the veggies for those who hate them. Carrots add sweetness, as well. For a creamier smoothie-add a banana or an avocado.

This is a detox-blend of spinach, apples, pear, pineapple and wheat germ. Add some water, put it on the base of the blender, whirl for 30 seconds to a minute and walla!-you saved yourself a ton of money by making your own "jamba juice." I highly recommend checking out the website or YouTube for the informercial for the "Nutribullet." The best way to get vitamins and minerals is via our foods, and what better way than a simple drink that tastes like it's not healthy? You can get very creative with the blends so its never boring-its a great breakfast drink to get you going in the morning. So for all the veggie haters out there-do yourself a favor and at least TRY it....and you can make them as thick or as thin as you want, adding ice, etc.......possiblities are endless, and especially great after work-outs to replace lost electrolytes. I can't wait to try a watermelon, celery cucumber smoothie on a really hot day-with some added mint! (herbs thrown in are also a great health boost) Raise your glass and Salute!!!

*if you hate veggies,then what the hell are you doing on this blog lol.....seriously though, you are SOL, because even juicing is not recommended as the way to get your healthy veg intake....they are much healthier in their solid natural state to eat. Sorry. 

ADD: chia seeds, flax, maca powder, tumeric, etc......

Basil Tomato Plate

I love "plates." That is, plates of food that go well together. Here we have fresh mozzarella  cheese, fresh basil, out of the garden tomatoes and a hearty garlic Italian bread. I drizzle the tomatoes and cheese with olive oil, balsamic vinegar (red wine vinegar is good, too) and fresh cracked pepper, the classic "Caprese" salad. I also put a little olive oil on the plate to dunk the bread in and you can also use "dipping spices"-usually basil, oregano, parmesean cheese, pepper and other herbs.

You can jazz this up-add olives, artichokes or prosciutto-(Italian ham). To keep it healthy though you might want to focus more on a fish (like anchovies, sardines or tuna) but I like this the way it is. If you really want to feel like you've eaten something rich-put all these ingredients except the bread in-between two slices of Focaccia bread. I prefer to eat this one at home as opposed to taking it to work, so I can also enjoy a great glass of red wine with it. This is good for you and heart-healthy, part of the "Mediterranean Diet". They say the people of Sardona, Italy often live to be well past 100. This is a great example as to why. Simple, inexpensive, yet healthy and tastes amazing-fills your belly and soul.

* I dont know about Sardona. I bet there is much more to it than their diet, however. I'm on the fence about fish because I do believe it is generally healthy and is the best way to get Omega 3's. On the flip side, finding a decent uncontaminated source may be a challenge. If you eat fish, I would limit it to a few times a month and keep it the least likely contaminated (meaning avoid tuna.) On this plate I'd also avoid the focaccia bread and would replace it with a grain bread. Ideally, you would be subbing the fresh mozzerella now for olives and other veggies. I hear rumors of some really good Vegan cheeses but I have not explored them myself. If you have, this would be a good dish to serve it with. And no olive oil but if you are a taste buds purist, you might use a dab merely for the actual taste here.