Bountiful Baskets

I picked up my basket of fresh produce from the Bountiful Baskets food co-op this morning! Check out the goods:

Vegetables:
Green leaf lettuce
Frisée lettuce
Yellow squash
Cucumbers
Red onions
Beets

Fruits:
Bananas
Green apples
Red pears
Pomegranates
Persimmons
Kiwi fruit

Getting a bountiful basket is like Christmas morning- you wake up really early and get a big box of surprises! I love that you don’t know what you’re getting until you show up. It’s a fun way to challenge yourself to develop new recipes and try new foods using local, seasonal produce. A few years ago, I tried curly kale for the first time because it appeared in my basket!

If you’re interested in getting an inexpensive basket of produce, check out bountifulbaskets.org to see if your area is served!

To purchase a basket, log onto the website on a Monday or Tuesday. The basket will cost you $15 plus a local processing fee ($2.50 in Las Vegas). You’ll choose a pickup location nearby, usually at a park or school. Pickup is always on Saturday mornings. I hope you’ll check it out!

My plans for this morning’s produce include:
Pear apple cider (with bourbon!)
Persimmon sorbet
Cucumber, red onion, and bean salad
Russian borscht (beet soup)

I’ll have to come up with some more ideas for everything else. Maybe a salad and some pomegranate dressing? Hmmm…

October 15, 2013protein, recipe, vegetables

Creamy Chicken Pasta

KarolinaChicken, Pasta, Zucchini Leave a comment

I had to make this recipe a second time to share with you. I didn’t take any pictures or write anything down the first time around because I had no idea it would be this good! This pasta sauce is perfect over zucchini noodles or short pasta.

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, sliced
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbs cream cheese
1 cup shredded chicken (rotisserie)
Several slices diced salami (optional)
2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Freshly shredded parmesan
(2 zucchini, spiralized or 2 cups cooked pasta)

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add sliced onions. Sauté for a couple of minutes before adding mushrooms and garlic.

2. When the vegetables begin to soften, push them to the side of the frying pan. Melt butter in the pan and add the flour. Mix together to form the roux.

3. Add chicken broth and white wine. Stir all the vegetables into the sauce and simmer to thicken.

4. Add cream cheese, chicken, salami, seasonings, and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine and melt.

5. Serve the sauce over spiralized zucchini or freshly cooked pasta.

I think you’ll love this dish! The flavors work together elegantly to create a creamy pasta sauce that you’ll be glad you stayed home for! It beats most restaurant pasta sauces I’ve tried. Let me know what you think of it.

October 14, 2013breakfast, recipe

Epic Breakfast Sandwich in 5 minutes

Karolinaegg, sandwich 1 Comment

I eat this amazing breakfast sandwich at least 5 days a week. It’s unbelievably satisfying for a open faced sammy! Once you get the hang of making it, you’ll be able to enjoy it with only 5 minutes of prep time.

Ingredients:
2-3 egg whites (or 1/4-1/3 cup liquid egg whites)
2 oz (1 slice) deli turkey
1 slice pepper jack cheese
1 slice whole wheat bread
Sriracha sauce
Cooking spray

Directions:
1. Start by placing bread in a toaster oven and heating a nonstick frying pan over medium high heat with a light mist of cooking spray.

2. As the pan gets hot, add the egg whites to it.

3. Immediately place a slice of cheese on the bread in the toaster oven.

4. Fold the egg whites into an omelet shape using a spatula and add turkey to the pan.

5. Flip the eggs and turn off the heat. Cut the egg omelet in half with the spatula to fit it on your sandwich. Remove bread and cheese from the toaster oven.

6. Layer Sriracha, eggs, and turkey on your sandwich and enjoy with a side of fresh fruit!

This sandwich is perfectly spicy, melty, eggy, cheesy, and toasty. I’d eat it breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could!

October 12, 2013protein shakes, recipe

Post Workout Protein Coffee

Karolinacoffee, protein Leave a comment

After a failed attempt, I worked out the kinks in this simple recipe for post-workout protein coffee! It’s perfect for mornings when you wake up really early for a tough workout and come home exhausted, cold, and lacking appetite. Colby and I are finally starting to go to the gym together! I’ve been waiting for him to be my workout partner since he started law school. Unfortunately, the only Crossfit class we can make it to together is at 6am…. Ugh. By the time it’s over, I’m ready to crawl back into bed and have no desire to eat a recovery meal. And it’s cold out so I don’t want a cold protein shake. This coffee really hits the spot when you need a jolt of caffeine and some liquid protein for recovery on a cold day!

Start by whisking 1 scoop of chocolate or vanilla whey protein isolate with 1/4 cup of milk. I like Dymatize Elite because it dissolves quickly. Be sure to do this first! If you add protein to hot coffee, you’ll end up with a chunky cup of brew.

Add hot coffee to the milk mixture slowly. If you’re hand pouring, stir the liquid in the cup as you add the coffee.

Add sweetener of choice, if desired, and serve! Now you’re ready to take on the day like a champ!

October 11, 2013breakfast, protein, recipe, treats

Barley Protein Pudding

Karolinabarley, pudding 1 Comment

Do you love rice pudding? If you do, you’ll enjoy this healthy twist on the classic dessert! Barley is chewy and packed with protein and fiber. Coupled with the creaminess of milk and nutmeg, this pudding is a winner!

ingredients:
1 cup dry barley
2.5 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups lowfat milk (or soy milk)
1 scoop vanilla whey isolate
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp brown sugar
Stevia to taste

1. Bring water and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the barley and reduce to a simmer. Cook covered for about 30 minutes. (You can do this step in a rice cooker)

2. Add milk and all remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Stir frequently for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

3. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve! Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition per serving:

Enjoy this pudding as a hearty breakfast cereal or comforting dessert.

October 1, 2013recipe

5 Ways to Boost Energy

Karolinaenergy, sleep Leave a comment

I’ve been SO tired all the time lately! I don’t know if it’s this new work schedule (10:30am-7pm) or hitting snooze on my alarm every 15 minutes for an hour every morning, but something needs to change! If you need more energy too, join me in trying these 5 tricks to feel more energized:

1. Instead of hitting snooze on the alarm, use an app that analyzes your sleep cycles to wake you up at the perfect moment. Sleep Cycle is an awesome free app for this. You plug your phone in, pick a 30 minute window for wake up time the next day, and place the phone under your pillow.

2. Wake up to natural daylight. Colby might not be a big fan of this one, but letting light in when you wake up helps your body get energized for the day. If it’s still dark when you are getting up, use CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs in your house. Not only are they more energy efficient, they also mimic daylight.

3. Do some light to moderate exercise in the morning. Early morning physical activity will get your blood flowing! Try something easy, like a 10 minute walk, to get some fresh air. A workout that’s too intense could fatigue you for the whole day!

4. Get caffeinated, but not too much. Coffee has many health benefits, and it will perk you up, but the more you drink, the more you’ll need to feel awake. Listen to this awesome podcast about the health benefits and risks of coffee drinking. (I recently joined my friends on BetaSandwich.com to bring you fun and informative science news, check it out!)

5. Get on a regular sleep schedule! Go to bed and wake up at the same time each night, even on weekends. A full sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes, so aim to wake up at the end of a 90 minute period. For example, it may be better to sleep 7.5 or 9 hours instead of 8. Remember to power down your electronics at least 30 minutes before bedtime and eat your last meal/ snack at least and hour before bed.

I’m sure I could go on and on about ideas to feel more rested during the day, but these 5 should be a good start. Can you commit to them? What’s your trick for feeling energized during the day?

September 30, 2013recipe

Balanced meals for the super busy

Karolina Leave a comment

If you’re going to eat the same thing every day, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Pick foods you love!

2. Stick with meals that are easy to prepare.

3. Make a bulk batch of food at the beginning of the week to avoid cooking every night.

4. Shop in bulk. For these meals I bought the following at Costco:
-green apples
-Coach’s oats
-ground flax seed
-whole grain bread
-sliced turkey
-pepper jack cheese
-ground turkey
-greek yogurt
-marinara sauce
-ground turkey
-frozen blueberries
-egg whites

Eating the same thing for the past 3 weeks hasn’t been too bad. I’m not sick of the routine yet:

Breakfast has consisted of egg whites, pepper jack cheese, turkey, and sriracha on whole wheat toast. I could probably eat this every day for the rest of my life.

I’ve been packing the same thing for lunch every day, too:
-Oatmeal with a scoop of protein powder, ground flax, and bit of brown sugar
-Green apple
-Plain Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries and stevia
I keep the oatmeal, protein powder, flax, and brown sugar in my office for days when I didn’t pack leftovers for lunch.

Dinner every night has been turkey meatballs with bell pepper, spinach, and La Victoria marinara sauce. This is the only thing I’ve actually been “cooking” each week. A 1 lb package of ground turkey makes enough meatballs to last a whole week.

I was excited to see that the macronutrient breakdown of these meals has been almost exactly 1-1-1 protein-carbs-fat. It’s nice to know that my diet can be balanced even when I don’t feel like cooking!

I think it’s time for a change, though!

September 28, 2013recipe, treats

Simple Apple Galette

Karolinaapple, galette, tart Leave a comment

My sister is stopping by for dinner after work today! Instead of cooking dinner, though, I baked a tasty apple galette. You should make this too! It’s a very simple and delicious dessert- flaky, buttery, lightly sweet, and tart!

ingredients:
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 packet of stevia
6 tbs softened unsalted butter + 1 more tbs
3 tbs cold water
2 tbs raw sugar

1. In a stand mixer, combine 2 tbs butter with flour, stevia, and salt. Blend until crumbly. Add remaining butter and continue to blend until the dough looks like this:

2. Add the water in gradually. Mix the dough with a spoon or spatula to pick up the dry bits of flour in the bowl. Once all the water is mixed in, the dough should look like this:

3. Use your hands to form a ball out of the dough. Flatten it into a thick disc and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

4. While the dough is chilling, chop the apples in half and cut them into thin slices.
5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until about 1/8″ thick and 14″ diameter.
6. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased baking sheet. Place apple slices in the middle, leaving 2″ all around the edge. Fold the edges of the dough in over the apples, pinching the dough every inch or so.
7. Brush the dough and apples with 1 tbs melted butter using a pastry brush. Sprinkle the buttered surface with 2 tbs sugar.
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes. The galette is done when the edges are golden and crisp. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!

September 27, 2013snacks

7 Crunchy Gluten-free Snacks

KarolinaGF, snacks Leave a comment

Sorry for being MIA over the past few weeks! Colby and I recently bought a brand new house, so we’ve been busy learning about the home-buying process over the past few weeks. I also started a new schedule at work. I’m still adjusting to starting later and coming home after dinnertime, but I think it’ll be awesome for blogging in the morning.

When I come home late in the evening and curl up with my phone or laptop to browse houzz, I like to snack on something crunchy. Here are my latest faves for munching:

Jalepeño ranch popcorn chips… Wow! Spicy, crunchy, whole grain, amazing.

The white cheddar flavor is great if you’re craving Cheetos.

Parmesan herb popcorn bursts with flavor, too.

If you’re craving a sweet snack, try cinnamon sugar kettle corn.

If you prefer crackers, try these sea salt and almond rice rounds:

Sweet potato tortilla chips boast a lovely combo of lightly sweet and salty flavors.

Finally, my top pick for salsa dipping are these blue corn tortilla chips. They’re chock-full of quinoa and flax seeds as an added bonus!

Happy snacking! I should really get back to cooking real food, right?

Karolina's Kitchen

from the dietitian to your kitchen

Author Archives: Karolina

Bountiful Baskets

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Epic Breakfast Sandwich in 5 minutes

Post Workout Protein Coffee

Barley Protein Pudding

5 Ways to Boost Energy

Balanced meals for the super busy

Simple Apple Galette

7 Crunchy Gluten-free Snacks

Share me!

Share me!

Share me!

Share me!

Share me!

Share me!

Share me!

Share me!

Share me!