XO's Friday Foodie: Desperation Salsa and Pre-season Pesto

It's been such an early spring that it's hard to believe that fresh, local produce isn't available in abundance yet.  I've been craving fresh tomatoes and basil from the yet-to-open farmers market to make pico de gallo and real pesto (we ran out of our frozen homemade pesto months ago).  So, with over a month before the De Pere Farmer's market opens in July (waaaaaah!), I turn to my old stand-by favorites: Desperation Salsa (which I make almost weekly anyway) and what I just dubbed Pre-season Pesto which I just made this week.  Note: These recipes, of course, also fit nicely into my "Blender Bender" series of simple but tasty blended goodness. 

Ryan’s Desperation Salsa:
1 Large Can Regular Diced Tomatoes (28oz)
1-2 cloves Garlic
1 Tablespoon Cumin
½-1 teaspoon Oregano (Mexican Oregano if you’ve got it!)
½ teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/4- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne to preference (or a hot green chile with veins & seeds removed)

Desperation Preparation:
Drain & squeeze as much liquid out of the diced tomatoes as possible*. Put half the tomatoes in the blender with all the other ingredients and puree the heck out of it. Add the rest of the tomatoes and pulse a couple of times to mix but retain some texture. Eat.  *It's highly recommended to drink the tomato juice, it's way better than a V8!

Pre-Season Pesto (AKA Desperation Pesto)
1/4 cup dry basil (High Quality such as Penzey's makes a HUGE difference)
1-2 cloves Garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
Olive Oil to blend (1/4 cup or more)
Walnuts, Pine-nuts or raw skinless peanuts
Parmesan Cheese, finely grated



Place the first 4 ingredients into the blender and puree.  Add Olive Oil as needed to blend (really small batches are difficult to do in most blenders).  Taste and adjust salt if needed.  Add nuts if desired and pulse a few times until nuts are finely chopped.  Add oil to achieve desired consistency. Dab on top of pasta and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan (or other hard italian cheese like romano, asiago etc...)  You can easily freeze any leftovers.  One of my clients suggested freezing leftovers into an ice-tray for ready to use pesto-cubes.  What a great idea!

BTW: You can use the pesto to make one of my favorite fresh mozarella salads:  Combine halved grape or cherry tomatoes with an equal amount of small fresh mozarella balls and coat with pesto... YUM!!!

Enjoy!  -XO

XO Friday Foodie: Cinco De Mayo Enchilada casserole

I lived in New Mexico for several years back in the early 90's and one of the popular foods I remember fondly was stacked enchiladas.  These were corn tortillas separated with chile sauce and cheese and then broiled.  Mexican comfort food at it's finest!

More of an assembly project than anything, this recipe makes enchiladas into a healthy, tasty and filling meal (without that watery ice-berg lettuce!).  Make the 9x13 pan for lots of leftovers to freeze or make a 8x8 pan if you would like a smaller batch.

Ingredients for a 9x13 (halve for an 8x8 pan):

28 oz can diced tomatoes
1-2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon oregano (mexican oregano if you have it!)
1 can (2 cups) black or pinto beans, rinsed
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder or 1 cup fresh onion, diced.
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

18-21 corn tortillas
1/2 bag Quorn or Boca crumbles (easy) or 1/2lb ground beef, browned
2 cups shredded cheese

Blend the first 8 ingredients into a thick sauce.  Preheat the oven to 375'.  Grease your pan and spread a layer of sauce and then cover with a layer of tortillas (break them into pieces to cover the layer).

Cover with more sauce and repeat for 4 to 5 layers of sauce and tortillas.  Cover the final layer with sauce, sprinkle the boca crumbles or ground beef over the top and then cover with the 2 cups of shredded cheese.

Bake uncovered in the oven at 375' until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. 

Cut into 8 pieces.  Each piece has just 323 calories.  Fat 8g, Carbs 45g, Protein 18g and 438mg of sodium. With over 8g of fiber, each serving has 35% of  the daily recommended allowance of fiber (based on a 2000 cal/day diet)! Add a vegetable to this plate and you have a near perfect meal that would impress a dietician!

Fitness for Moms

Look Good & Feel Great no matter what age your kids happen to be!
Here's why exercise is important for all you Moms out there:

Moms-to-be
Pre-natal exercise minimizes weight gain during pregnancy and can definitely make your delivery easier.

Moms with little kids
Lose the baby fat! You spend nearly every waking moment taking care of others.
Isn’t it time you take care of yourself? A little “me time” goes a long way.

Moms with school-age kids
Like it or not, your kids are watching you, so be a good role model.
If you care about exercise and eating well it will rub off on your kids (eventually).

Moms with older kids
Now that you have some free time are you in shape enough to enjoy it?
Got any kids’ weddings to attend? You can look great in your mother-of-the-bride gown.

Grandmas
Babies are heavier than you might remember!
Can you get down on the floor to play?
Are you fast enough to keep up with your grandchildren?

XO's Friday Foodie: Sarah's Zippy Corn Chowder, now Gluten Free!

Sarah R is this week's Friday Foodie who recommended we try this delicious, simple corn chowder.   Like any soup, we tweaked it to suit the contents of our kitchen and the sensitive taste buds of our kids. I added the garlic, omitted a teaspoon of salt and skipped the optional ingredients and made it gluten free (GF) on Anne M's suggestion to use 1/2 as much corn starch as the flour originally called for.   It was the perfect warm and savory dinner for a cool spring evening. 

The recipe makes 8 cups.  A 1 cup serving has 200 calories, 3g fiber, 7 grams protein, 34g carbohydrates and just 4 grams of fat.  Using unsalted butter, I've reduced the sodium to just 300mg/serving!  Adding a diced, precooked chicken breast or other protein could easily make this a one-pot meal.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 to 1 medium green or red bell pepper, chopped (Sara advises the Red Bell Pepper!)

1 clove garlic, minced (I used 5 of Eben's tiny cloves)

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups or 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) vegetable or chicken broth

2 large red potatoes, cubed

3 cups frozen corn (an entire 1lb bag)

3 cups skim or 1% milk, divided

2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (any mustard will work)
1/2 teaspoon paprika

optional ingredients for those who like spice (and don't have kids):

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (Sarah recommends!)

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

4 green onions, chopped (AKA we didn't have these in the kitchen!)

In a large heavy saucepan saute the onion, bell pepper and garlic in the butter until tender.  Add the broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, about 10 - 15 minutes.

Next, add 2 1/2 cups milk, the corn, mustard, paprika and your choice of the optional ingredients and bring to a boil.  Mix the corn starch into the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and stir into the pot.  Simmer, stirring often, for 2 minutes until thickened.  Each person could salt to taste, but we found it plenty salty.  Being the spice guy, I added ground chipotle for a hot-smokey flavor.

I also wanted to answer the unasked question about what that mustard is doing in there.  Thanks to Ken J, I can tell you that mustard emulsifies the butter (or oil) in a recipe so it doesn't separate and float up to the top.  That explains why you see it in some salad dressing recipes.

Enjoy! 

 

Friday Foodie: Simple Spaghetti Squash

If you've never tried it, you must!!!  This week's food couldn't be simpler to make or more beneficial to add to your diet.  Spaghetti squash has just 46 calories per cup and makes a great substitute for regular spaghetti (220 calories per cup).  A great way to add vegetables to your plate, spaghetti squash can be served with many of the toppings that you might put on regular noodles although we most often just use salt and pepper and dab of butter.   

The real benefit is that neither Jack nor Jasmine complain (as much) as when we make regular squash!

Although you can bake or steam it, we almost always use the microwave oven.  Simply cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and place in a microwave dish.  I like to add a 1/4 cup water to each half and to the bottom of the dish to help steam the squash.  Cover with a piece of waxpaper or parchment paper and microwave on high for 8-15 minutes until soft enough to pull apart with a fork.  That's it!!!

We serve it plain as our vegetable allowing each person to season it to their liking. 

Do you have a favorite way of making or serving Spaghetti Squash?  Please leave a comment or email us your suggestion!

Good for You, Good for the Planet

Here are some ways to make you and the planet healthier!


1. Leave your car at home.Not everyone is lucky enough to live walking distance from their place of work. If walking is out of the question, consider biking to work at least a couple days per week. If getting to work must involve a car, think about walking from your place of work to run errands (ok, you can walk) or go out to lunch. The less you drive, the better!

2. Eat less meat.
Visit http://www.meatlessmonday.com/ for more information. According to their website: Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.


3. Eat organic foods.
Foods grown without the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, factory farming, hormone use, and antibiotics are not polluting the earth or your body.

Don't try to be perfect...instead, follow the 80-20 rule. This means eat organic about 80% of the time. You will feel good about your choices without driving yourself crazy.

4. Reduce the amount of garbage you send to the landfill.

• Eat whole foods. They are better for you than foods which have loads of chemicals and filler plus they tend to require less packaging which means less garbage heading for the landfill.
• Compost. Not sure how? Visit www.howtocompost.org. According to their website, studies have shown that home composting can divert an average of 700 lbs. of material per household per year from the waste stream. If your flower beds are clay like mine they could use some compost!

We hope that in recognition of Earth Day you will consider making some lasting changes for a healthier planet and healthier body.

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Karin & Ryanand the XO Fitness training team

http://www.xofitness.com/

What is orienteering?

Orienteering is navigation using a map and compass.

For beginners...
It’s a fun way to exercise your body and mind as you enjoy the outdoors.

For those with experience...
It's a timed race.

Do you want to learn?
If you want to learn how to read a map and use a compass contact Ryan ryan@xofitness.com  He would LOVE to help you get started! The Badger Orienteering event at  High Cliff is a great place to start. Please join us on April 21 at 10 am.