Regression and progress

I'm ashamed to say that I hit a bit of a snag recently. I hurt my feet--damn you, plantar fasciitis--and found myself snacking on chocolate chips when I couldn't find anything else to assuage my chocolate cravings. Sigh. I took some time off the cardio but kept on doing some yoga and Self Challenge workouts just to keep from becoming solid blubber.

I did try a brand new recipe from Self, though, and it was a winner! The chicken confetti pasta salad from CookingLight was not so great and I will not be posting that. But the shrimp, pea and potato gnocchi from Self truly is fabulous. I think it's the simplicity of it, plus how the rosemary smells when you throw everything into the oil.

From Self via Scott Conant's New Italian Cooking
Makes 4 servings.
3/4 lb large shrimp (about 30 pieces), peeled and deveined
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (I used dried)
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley (again, dried)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 cups frozen potato gnocchi (I used a box, all I could find)
1/4 cup fresh peas
1 tbsp thinly sliced green onion (forgot this but didn't make a difference)

Toss shrimp with 1 tbsp oil, rosemary, parsley, red pepper flakes, and garlic and refrigerate 3 hours (or if you're scatterbrained like me, 30 minutes)
Bring 8 cups well-salted water to a boil; add gnocchi. Drain when gnocchi float (about 5 minutes), reserving 1/4 cup liquid.
Combine remaining 1 tbsp oil with shrimp, peas and green onion in a large sauté pan over high heat; season with salt and pepper. Add gnocchi and pasta liquid and cook until shrimp are pink and just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Nutritional analysis per serving 332 calories, 8.7 g fat (1.2 g saturated fat), 39.9 g carbohydrates, 23.8 g protein, 4.2 g fiber

I'm reading The Skinny: How to Fit into Your Little Black Dress Forever currently. It's too soon to write a real review, but I like the basic ideas. They're not telling me to eat a percentage of this or a percentage of that, which is GREAT. Basically, it seems to be about awareness, which is the heart of creating healthy habits.

Hits and misses

I enjoy trying new recipes. If I had my way, that's what I would do for a living. But since there's not a lot of positions available for a self-trained cook/recipe-tester, I guess I'll have to finish my ConLaw reading...

This weekend, I tried two different recipes: an Apple-Ginger Oat Bran muffin from an old issue of Fitness, and a black bean and couscous salad from CookingLight. The first recipe intrigued me: it called for nearly no fat. Fat binds baked goods together--and it does such a tasty job, particularly when you use butter. Mmm. This recipe called for 2% milk (which I didn't have) and extra light olive oil.

Frankly, even if I used 2% milk instead of nonfat, this muffin still would have tasted blah. It was soft, moist...but just lacked any sort of flavor. I've made other light muffins that end up with the same calorie count (around 150) that are much more flavorful. There's a Cran-apple muffin I'll post another time that is delicious. But these just didn't hit the spot.

The other recipe is good: perfect for packing in lunches, and it survived several ingredient swaps that happened because I just wasn't paying attention: "No rice vinegar? Uh...sure, I'll just use that white wine vinegar instead! Red bell peppers are $2 a piece!? Green will be just as tasty." I'm not going to run out and buy rice vinegar to make this again, though. It's good, but it's not one of those recipes that I can't wait to make again. Good things about this recipe: large serving size (2 cups), lots of fiber, easy and quick. Despite that, I'll be making my curry chicken pitas for the rest of the week--if I can just remember to cook the chicken tonight!

As part of spring cleaning, I have been going through my old issues of Self and Fitness, tearing out recipes. I have a gnocchi and shrimp dish I hope to make this weekend. Let's hope it turns out better than those muffins!

Spring cleaning, with a side of Quinoa Caprese

I always get excited when spring starts popping up, and it's not just because we actually get more sunlight here in the Pacific NW. I get excited because I automatically eat better. I adore all the summer fruits; I love picking berries, and summer salads are the best! Olive oil and vinegar tastes good on everything, and everyone automatically feels skinnier anyway without all those bulky sweaters and coats, don't they?

In honor of the coming warm weather, I'm already breaking out my summer recipes. This one was originally in Shape magazine a while back. (In May 2006, I believe.) It's light and tasty. Quinoa is an amazing grain: it is chock-full of protein and pretty low on calories to boot. It works well as a substitute for couscous, bulgur, rice, etc, and it's pretty cheap to buy at Trader Joe's. (It can be incredibly expensive elsewhere, so be sure to comparison shop.) Equally important: WASH IT. You have to get the bitter coat off of it.

Quinoa Caprese
1 cup quinoa
14 oz. chicken or veggie broth
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
3 ounces fresh mozarella, diced (or the mozzarella balls, cut in half)
1 cup torn basil leaves2
1/2 tablespoons lemon juice1
1/4 tablespoon garlic oil (OR heat some olive oil with smashed garlic cloves in it for a few minutes)
salt and pepper

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly (IMPORTANT, especially if the quinoa isn't prewashed)
In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Add the quinoa, reduce heat and simmer about 12-15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. The quinoa should be tender. Transfer to a large bowl, let it cool down to room temperature.
Stir the cherry tomatoes, basil, and mozarella into the quinoa.
With a whisk or fork beat the lemon juice and oil together. Pour over the quinoa and toss well. Season to taste.

You can serve this over some spinach leaves; arugula would work, too. I like it without, too!

Apple Harvest Oatmeal (tweaked)

1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal (NOT those packets of instant)
3/4 cup water
1/4-1/2 Tbs. butter
One medium apple, cored and diced
1/2 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Dried cranberries, golden raisins, whatever is on hand

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add the diced apple and cook until soft, about 2 minutes.
Add the cinnamon and brown sugar; cook until dissolved.
Add the water and cranberries/golden raisins; bring to light boil.
Add the oatmeal and cook for two minutes.
Remove from heat.

For extra protein, you can add almonds. I usually add a little bit of nonfat milk.