Ginger, Cherry, Lime Smoothie

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 whole lime
1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt
1 Medium Banana - Sliced
1/3 Cup Crushed Pineapple in Juice
1/3 Cup Frozen Sweet Cherries
1/3 Cup Frozen Blueberries
1" thick Slice Fresh Ginger Root
1 Serving Vanilla Protein Powder
1 TBSP Hemp Hearts
1 TBSP Flax Meal
1 TBSP Chia Seeds
2 TBSP Cocoa Powder (optional)

Squeeze juice from 1 whole Lime into the blender and add Greek Yogurt, Sliced Banana, & Crushed Pineapple. Blend until smooth.

Grate Fresh Ginger Root into blender, add Frozen Cherries & Frozen Blueberries. Blend until smooth.

Add Hemp Hearts, Flax Meal, Chia Seeds, Protein Powder (and optional Cocoa Powder) and blend again until smooth.

Serve and enjoy.
NOTE: This recipe may take some manipulation of the amount of protein powder or ginger depending on your tastes. The protein powder adds sweetness to offset the lime and ginger.

Basa with Tomatoes, Leaks, Garlic, & Ginger

Ingredients:


2 Filets Basa (or other white fish)
2 Large Ripe Tomatos
2 Large Leeks
Fresh Ginger
3 Cloves Garlic
Fresh Lemon Grass
Butter
Salt & Pepper


Melt butter in pan over medium heat and add salt & pepper. Slice Leek into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick rounds and add to melted butter. Saute until soft.

Grate in 1-2 TSP Fresh Ginger and mix well. Add 2-3 cloves sliced or minced Garlic. Mix well.

Chop and add Tomato. Cover and allow to simmer until tomato is soft.

Grate in approx 1/4 TSP Fresh Lemon Grass and mix well. Simmer 5 minutes and then add fish. Season with additional Salt & Pepper to taste.

Cover and simmer until fish is cooked through.

Serves 2

Stuffed Turkey Breast

Ingredients:

Turkey Breast Cutlets
Sweet Potato
Parsnips
Brie (Optional)
Cranberry Sauce - with whole berries
Onion
Rosemary - minced fine
Butter
Salt & Pepper

Flatten the Turkey Breast to approx 1/2 thickness by placing between pieces of tinfoil and hammering with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.

Cube Sweet Potato, Parsnip, and Onion, place in a pan with the Rosemary, cover with water and cook over high heat until boiling. Turn to medium and simmer until soft. Drain, add butter and mash. 

Place the Turkey Cutlets on tinfoil large enough to roll and wrap them. Spread Cranberry Sauce on the Cutlets, Place 1/2" thick slices of Brie on the Cranberry Sauce and spread Sweet Potato mash mixture over Cranberry Sauce and Brie.

Roll the Turkey Cutlets, sprinkle with Salt & Pepper and then roll up in tinfoil, sealing the ends. Bake in 350 degree oven for approx 1 hour.

Use caution when opening tinfoil packets as steam will be extremely hot. Let rest 5 minutes, slice and serve.

Enjoy!

Salmon with Ginger, Lemon, Tarragon, & Carrot

Ingredients


 2 LB Salmon - cut into 4oz servings
1 Jars Ginger Jam
2.5 TBSP Dried Tarragon
1.5 Large Shredded Carrots
Half a Lemon
Aluminum Foil - Heavy Duty





In a medium bowl, mix Ginger Jam, Dried Tarragon, and Shredded Carrots. Squeeze the Lemon into the mixture. You don't want it to be too runny so start with less Lemon Juice and add more until you get a spreadable mixture.

Lay out a piece of Aluminum Foil that is large enough to wrap a piece of Salmon in by taking the 2 sides together and folding it down across the Salmon and then curling the 2 remaining long ends in. You are making a packet to cook the Salmon in.

Place the Salmon on the Aluminum Foil and spread with the Carrot, Ginger, Tarragon, Lemon mixture. Cover entire top of Salmon approximately 1/2 inch thick with the mixture. Create the Aluminum foil packet, sealing the edges so that the packet won't leak. Repeat with remaining Salmon pieces.

Place on a pre-heated grill and let cook approximately 15-20 minutes depending on thickness of Salmon. Open carefully as the packet will be full of hot steam.

Serve and enjoy!
8 Servings.

Rogue Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 Banana
3 Large Strawberries
1/2 c Sliced Peaches
1/2 c Crushed Pineapple
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 TBSP Hemp Hearts
1 TBSP Flax Meal
1 TBSP Chia Seeds
1/2 scoop Protein Powder
1/2 c Greek Yogurt


Blend all fruits until smooth. Add Hemp, Flax, Chia, Lemon Juice, Protein Powder, and top with Yogurt. Blend again until smooth.

Pour and enjoy!

Maybe not "rouge" per se but quite tasty! :D

Whitefish with Chili, Lime, & Veggies

Ingredients:

White Fish (Haddock, Basa, Cod)
1 Sweet Red Pepper - Cubed
3 Mushrooms - Sliced
1 1/2 Cups Swiss Chard - Chopped
2 Small Limes
Chili Seasonings - to taste
Butter

This recipe is cooked in a single pan allowing the spices to flavor both the Fish and the Swiss Chard. 


Melt butter in the bottom of a frying pan, add Mushrooms & Sweet Red Peppers. Cook over Medium heat until soft. Squeeze the juice of both Limes into the pan and add your Chili Seasonings.

Add the Fish to the pan, arrange the chopped Swiss Chard on top of the Fish, cover the pan and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the Fish and simmer until fish is done.

Turkey Burgers

I find ground turkey & chicken a bit bland so I like to spice it up a bit. This recipe makes about 8 burgers and they freeze well.

Ingredients:

2 LB Ground Turkey (or chicken or a combo of both)
4 Medium Large Mushrooms, chopped small
1 Medium Small Eggplant, chopped small
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Cup Cooked Quinoa
2 TBSP Minced Sun Dried Tomatoes
3 TBSP Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Warm the Olive Oil in a frying pan over Medium heat. Sprinkle with Salt, add the Eggplant, cover and cook - stirring occasionally - until Eggplant is soft. Once the Eggplant is soft, remove from heat and allow to cool before adding to the meat mixture.

Bring 2 Cups of Water to a boil and add 1/2 cup dry Quinoa. Lower heat to Medium and boil gently for 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. 

Add Ground Turkey, Mushrooms, Garlic,  Sun Dried Tomatoes, Cooled Quinoa, and Cooled Eggplant to a large bowl, sprinkle with Salt & Pepper and then mix well (Hands usually work best for mixing here).  Divide into 8 parts, form patties and wrap in tin foil to freeze or toss them on the grill and enjoy! If you are pan cooking your Turkey Burgers, add a little bit of water to the bottom of a frying pan, cook over Medium Low, and keep the pan covered, turning the burger once while cooking.

Green & Purple Goodness

Ingredients:

1 Medium Banana - Sliced
1/3 cup Sliced Peaches with Juice
(additional peach/pear juice)
1/4 cup Chopped Spinach
1/3 cup Frozen Mixed Berries
Juice from 1/2 of a Lime
1/3 - 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt - Plain
1 TBSP Pumpkin Seeds
1 TBSP Flax Meal
1 TBSP Chia Seeds
1 TBSP Hemp Hearts

Directions:

Squeeze Lime Juice into blender and add chopped Spinach, Sliced Peaches and Juice (if the smoothie is too dry to blend the Spinach well, this is where you add a bit more juice from the peaches), Pumpkin Seeds, Yogurt, and sliced Banana and blend until smooth.

Add the Flax, Chia, and Hemp Hearts and blend again until smooth. Last add the frozen Mixed Berries (blueberries, blackberries, & cherries) and blend again until smooth.

Makes approx 16oz

This smoothie is packed with goodness. The spinach provides Iron while the lime provides a tartness and the Vitamin C to help your body absorb the Iron. Flax & Chia provide fiber, Pumpkin Seeds, Flax & Chia provide protein and healthy fats. Hemp Hearts are packed full of good things. I started using them specifically to get more Magnesium & Manganese in an attempt to rid myself of night time leg cramps due to increased fitness training. 1 month later, so far so good! Bananas are just great all around, what I can I say? My recommendation, google the foods you are eating and learn what is in them and which foods are best for your needs.

Basa with Spinach, Mushrooms & Red Peppers

Ingredients:

4-6oz Filet of Basa (or another thick white fish)
1 Cup chopped Spinach
1/2 cup diced Sweet Red Pepper
3 large chopped Mushrooms
Salt & Pepper
Butter - the real stuff


Melt a small amount of butter over Medium heat in the bottom of a frying pan large enough to hold the above ingredients (12 - 15" pan with cover). Add the Mushrooms and Sweet Red Pepper, cover  and cook until they start to turn soft. Add the chopped Spinach, cover and cook 3-5 minutes until spinach starts to wilt. Move the vegetables to the sides of the pan and add the fish. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over Medium-Low heat, turning fish once, sprinkling again with salt & pepper, and covering with the cooked vegetables. Cover the pan and continue cooking until fish flakes apart. Serve and enjoy! Makes 1 large serving or 2 small servings.

Shake it up, Baby!

Something I eat (drink) every day: a shake! Otherwise known as a smoothie. What goes into mine? Read on to find out!

Current favorite: Spinach Smoothie
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon ground flax
1 tablespoon ground chia seeds
1 tablespoon powdered cocoa
1/2 cup mixed frozen fruit
1 medium banana
1/2 - 1 cup raw chopped spinach
(Optional - 1/2 to 1 scoop whey protein powder - typically on a training day)

Other favorite ingredients: peanut butter, cinnamon, instant decaf coffee
Thanks to Cid-Pid for the Chia Seed & Spinach suggestion! :)

And on a side note, I track what I eat using a couple of online websites - phone apps. It is important to know what you are eating especially whether you are getting the correct combination macro-nutrients, fiber, etc. I started using www.caloriecount.com but (thanks to a referral from a friend) have also started using www.livestrong.com's My Plate. Perhaps a side by side comparison is in the cards next month.