Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Quinoa quinoa quinoa.

I’ll never forget the time my old roommate saw my bag of quinoa and asked, "What’s kweenoah?”

She’s so cute. I miss her! Hey, Jenna!

It’s pronounced keen-wah. And your body loves it. Quinoa is rich with nutrients and is one of the only grains that is considered a complete protein source. It’s gluten-free and a good source of calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, iron, and fiber. Don’t you want to eat it now? Oh, good, because I have a recipe ready for you. And it’s easy, to boot!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1 large zucchini
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
• 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation:

1. Cook quinoa as instructed on package.
2. Meanwhile, slice zucchini into 1/2-inch rounds, then quarter them. Place them in a large bowl, then add tomatoes, chickpeas, salt, and pepper.
3. Once quinoa has finished cooking, fluff with a fork. Next, add the quinoa to the vegetable mixture and toss until evenly combined.
4. Drizzle with lemon juice and toss again. Top with feta and serve warm or chilled. Serves 4.

Using the Livestrong nutritional calculator, here are the stats:

Check out the fiber and protein content. You love it. That’s the key to staying full, my friends.

While you eat this, you can daydream just like I did…about this place.

From what part of the world is your favorite cuisine?

Hearts of Palm and Tomato Salad with Feta

Ladies and Gentleman, we have a recipe!

And Boding named it for me. Say thank you to him, won’t you?

So this recipe. It’s pretty! It’s Summery! It’s tasty. You will love it.

The tomatoes used for this recipe were the last of my Summer CSA with Gruber Farm. It was bittersweet. And by bittersweet I mean I am mildly depressed that the Summer season is over, but very excited knowing that the Fall season will start at the end of August.

Yes, I said August. August 28th to be exact. What is with South Carolina being so ahead of the times? Seasonally speaking…progressively, not so much. Thank goodness our people are so friendly.

Before I go off on another tangent, let me share with you some salad.

Hearts of Palm and Tomato Salad with Feta

Ingredients:

• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 14 oz. can of hearts of palm, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• 3 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, toss together tomatoes, hearts of palm, and feta.
2. Add parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Toss until evenly mixed.

I highly recommend using local tomatoes and fresh parsley for optimal flavor. It gets better as it sits, so for best results, make the night before you want to serve it. The salad is great as an appetizer or as a side; I’ve had it both as a snack and with grilled chicken and veggies.

On Saturday, I dropped my Shun Santoku knife off at Coastal Cupboard to be sharpened and got it back today. Aside from the above recipe, this was the most exciting part of my day. The knife slices through tomatoes so easily, it’s quite scary. The moment I took it out of the packaging,  I nicked my fingernail. I would.

You know you’re a foodie when…

Chickpea Zucchini Patties with Minted Yogurt Sauce / CSA Week 3

Check out the goods from Week 3 with Gruber Farm CSA. So much color!

Included in the box:

• Swiss chard
• collard greens
• sweet onions
• strawberries
• zucchini
• squash
• red potatoes

Onto the cooking. I know what you’re thinking. Another recipe with mint?

Yes. My one and only “child” is my new mint plant and I’m taking full advantage of it before I kill it. Minted everything. Somebody come over with some rum so we can make mojitos!

Chickpea Zucchini Patties with Minted Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 (15.5-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 small zucchini, grated
• 1 small onion, grated
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 tsp.  salt
• 1 cup plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice 
• 3 tbsp. fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Directions

1. For the patties: In a food processor, pulse chickpeas until very finely chopped. Place in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in panko crumbs, zucchini, onion, egg whites, and salt. Form into eight separate patties.

2. Warm a pan that has been coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sauté patties until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3. For the sauce: In a small bowl, stir Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and mint until well mixed.

4. Serve patties warm. Top with yogurt sauce.

Calling all vegetarians! This recipe is for youuuuuuu. And when those crazies ask you if you’re getting protein, show them the stats on chickpeas and Greek yogurt. Bam.

I hope my CSA gives me more zucchini because I could eat this over and over. Joe came over for dinner and he called them my “love tarts.” That made me chuckle.

MAKE THESE!

What’s your favorite Spring vegetable? How do you cook with it?

Spicy Kale & White Bean Soup / CSA Week 2

It’s Christmas again! Err, Week 2 of my CSA with Gruber Farm I mean. Same thing, right?

Included in the box from Week 2:

• strawberries
• kale
• turnips
• snow peas
• lettuce
• a GIANT head of cabbage the size of my head
• sweet onions

Just like last week, as soon I picked up the box, I immediately washed and ate most of the strawberries. I can’t help myself.

I don’t know what happened to our “Summer” weather, so I had no problem using the massive amount of kale to make another soup.

Spicy White Bean & Kale Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound kale, stems and veins removed and leaves washed
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2  (14.5 oz.) cans white northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 cups water
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese, for topping

Preparation:

1. Cut the kale into small strips, about 1/2 inch thick. In a medium saucepan, heat 1olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook until softened, or about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.
2. Add the beans, stock, water, and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Stir in kale, salt, and both peppers. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until kale is tender and dark green.
3. Serve immediately and top with freshly grated parmesan, if desired.

Nutritional perks of kale! According to The World's Healthiest Foods, kale is an excellent source of Vitamins K, A, and C, and manganese. It is a very good source of fiber, copper, calcium, vitamin B6, and potassium. It is a good source of iron, magnesium, Vitamins B1, B2, B3, protein, and many others. Check out the full profile here.

For just a few ingredients and very little seasoning, this soup has a lot of flavor. It’s not too spicy – just a bit of kick! Kale makes me feel like the healthiest person on the block. It’s just so….green.

You should also check out these kale chips I made last year.

When I walked into work on Wednesday morning, I found that my coworker Dane had brought me 3 different cupcakes: Vanilla, Lemon Blueberry, and Red Velvet. What a sweet guy! After dinner, I had no problem devouring some (most?) of the Red Velvet.

HUNGRY MEETS HEALTHY MEETS  SUGAR. REPEAT.

I must also note that I completed my “20 Pure Barre Classes in April” that night. More on that later ;)

What’s your favorite kale recipe? Next week, I’ll have a kale salad for you. It contains many of the ingredients found in a mojito! No, not the liquor. Sorry guys.

When you have a clean, healthy dinner, are you more apt to indulge in dessert?

Beets with Yogurt and Walnuts

Last Friday I mentioned that I had borrowed a few cookbooks from the library, one being Food From Many Greek Kitchens. This book had a couple of good recipes I wanted to try, but one in particular caught my eye.

Beets.

Greek yogurt.

Walnuts.

Uh, yeah. I needed that in my life.

Beets with Yogurt and Walnuts slightly adapted from Food From Many Greek Kitchens

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pounds beets, leaves trimmed
• 1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp. coarsely chopped parsley
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 (6 oz.) contained of plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp. chopped walnuts, for topping

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash the beets well, being careful not to pierce their skins. Wrap each fresh beet individually in aluminum foil and bake for about 1 hour or until tender.

In a small bowl, whip the oil with the lemon juice and garlic.

Once beets have finished cooking, peel them. Trim away the root and cut them into chunks. Put in a bowl. Add the lemon oil, parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Add the yogurt and mix gently. Scatter the walnuts on top and serve.

You know you’re intrigued by this color. Just wait until you see what it does to your pee! (If you’re a chosen one. Sorry, Holly, this doesn’t apply to you.)

In fitness news, I’d like to share a quick treadmill workout with you. It’s quick but will kick your behind! And your quads too. Maybe more!

Now listen up: For the main part of this workout, you will be doing intervals of running with 15 second breaks. During the 15 second breaks, you can hop to the sides of the treadmill, one foot on each side while gripping the handlebars. Be so careful not to fall or you will fly backwards and hurt yourself! And then you probably will never want to come back to your gym out of embarrassment.

Though you are only doing the intervals for 20 minutes total, you will have had enough by minute 25. Trust me. Each 15 second break is enough for your heart to think “Oh, cool, we’re done...oh wait…shoot…just kidding.” Bam, you’re sprinting again. Get sweaty people!

Are you a fan of beets? Favorite beet recipe? I have a slew of recipes that readers have sent me if anyone is interested!

Do you prefer interval workouts or long, steady runs? I get so bored on the treadmill that intervals are my preference.

My Favorite Trader Joe’s Products

As you may remember, Trader Joe’s opened up in Mt. Pleasant last month. Amanda and I went to the grand opening, and I have been many times since. Many, many times. An inappropriate amount of times according to Wachovia. Here are some of my favorite products I’ve had so far.

Trader Joe’s Greek Yogurt + the Sugar, Chocolate, & Coffee grinder:

Spiral Wines Cabernet Sauvignon. For only $4.99, this wine is a steal. It’s much better than the 2 Buck Chuck. Go ahead, splurge a couple more dollars, ha.

I know soda isn’t the best thing for me, but sometimes I have my cravings. I don’t feel too bad drinking these:

Carrot Ginger Soup. It’s got great flavor, and for being low-fat, it’s pretty creamy.

Roasted Chicken Patties. These are incredibly convenient and are great on top of a salad or with a plate of veggies. I am really impressed with how much flavor they have.

Speaking of salads, this Champagne Pear Vinaigrette is awesome. It’s low in calories and fat, but it’s sweetness and chunks of gorgonzola make it an excellent salad dressing.

Lemon Pepper Pappardelle. I made a shrimp & broccoli recipe with this here.

Omega Trek Mix packets. For only 170 calories, these bags full of walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries are a great on-the-go snack.

Freeze-dried mango and banana slices. Holy heck, I could down an entire bag of each of these.

And on the sweet note, these Dark Chocolate Mints are a delightful treat.

I have bought a lot of different products, and of them all, I’ve only been disappointed in two. First up, this Dark Chocolate Bar with Caramel & Black Sea Salt. These flavors are right up my alley, but unfortunately the 70% cacao was too bitter for me.

I was psyched to see these prepared beets, but they were much too vinegar-y.

How about you? Which TJ’s products have you loved? Any I should avoid?

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Life Is So Fun

Ah! The rest of the weekend was a blast. Saturday night, we celebrated Matthew’s 30th birthday with pork, keg stands and karaoke. Yes, I said keg stands. While the boys roasted a bunch of piggy, Amanda and I went to Wal-Mart to buy her favorite game, Apples to Apples. Wal-Mart is just a weird, creepy place. Check out this card I spotted. I’m so glad I noticed this gem.How bizarre is that. I really regret not buying several of them to give out on birthdays. I mean really, who tells their lover, “Being with you is so delicious.” WHAT?!

I also noticed this game. Anyone played this before? I should have bought that, too.

Lauren took a bunch of pictures of us doing karaoke so I will have to share those once she posts them on facebook. Amanda, Courtney, and I sang “Wannabe” by The Spice Girls. At one point I just stopped singing, because my voice is just audio violence.

We also ran into a bachelor party. I don’t know why or how I got this guy to pose with this animal, but he did. His outfit is a joke, don’t worry.

Today was a relaxing Sunday. Amanda and I saw Crazy, Stupid, Love.

It was really cute! Ryan Gosling is so darn hot I don’t even care that he’s blonde – I’d still have 1,000 of his babies.

For dinner, I made my first meal using Trader Joe’s products! Woooooooop!

Lemon Pepper Papardelle with Shrimp and Broccoli

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. bag of Trader Joe’s lemon pepper papardelle
• 1 lb. uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4 cups frozen broccoli florets
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• salt & pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for one minute. Add the shrimp and broccoli, and cook until shrimp is opaque and broccoli is cooked through.
3. Add the pasta and lemon juice to the pan and toss ingredients together. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

At first I worried that this might be bland because it doesn’t have much of a sauce. However, the pasta itself has so much flavor that the lemon juice is just enough! This would be really good with peas, too.

Does anyone have any Trader Joe’s recipes they’d like to share? A few of you already have, but please let me know your favorite TJ’s products!

I hope everyone has a great week! So far I have plans to:

• Monday: Review Uno Mas’s new menu items  – Sal Parco invited me, woo!
• Tuesday: Our first book club meeting to discuss House Rules by Jodi Picoult
• Thursday: Lunch with my favorite Yankee turned Southerner blogger, Sarah

Night!

Lipton’s 100% Natural Iced Tea Review

I was recently contacted by Gen-Yknot to review Lipton’s new 100% Natural Iced Tea flavors. I am a regular tea drinker, but in this summer heat, iced tea is a much better option. I was very excited about this opportunity.

Last week I received a 15 pound package in the mail and was so confused! I had completely forgotten that I’d be receiving this shipment, but was quite relieved when I opened the box and found this inside:

Six different teas to try! How fun!

The new flavors are:

• Diet Green Tea Citrus
• Diet Green Tea Watermelon
• Green Tea Citrus
• Green Tea Passionfruit Mango
• Iced Tea Lemon
• Iced Tea Pomegranate Blueberry

The 100% Natural line contains no preservatives, no artificial flavors, and no artificial colors. They are only 50-70 calories per serving, depending on the flavor. The Diet Green Teas have 0 calories and 0 grams of sugar. Woo!

These were perfect for Margaret and me to take on the road to Destin. We enjoyed these in the car, at the beach, and on the boat! We shared them with family members, and we all agreed that the flavors were great. Of all the flavors, my favorite was the Green Tea Citrus. It was so refreshing!

Lipton recently partnered with Pandora to allow users to experience the “natural side of music.”

Do you use pandora? When/how often do you use it? I use it alllllllll day: at work, at the gym, and at home when I’m cooking.

What is your favorite channel? Not gonna lie, I love to put on "Hypnotize” by Notorious B.I.G. and just let it go from there. It provides some very interesting music. :)

Check out Lipton’s facebook page here!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Gen-Yknot on behalf of Lipton and received Lipton product samples and a subscription to Pandora One to facilitate my candid review. Gen-Yknot also sent me a promotional item to thank me for my time. For more info on Gen Yknot, visit their website as well.

Lemon Dill Salmon with Tzatziki Sauce

A couple weeks ago, I made one of the easiest healthy recipes. This fish requires such little work that it’s a great weekday meal. All I did was take a couple of pieces of salmon and drizzle them with olive oil and fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and sprinkle them with salt & pepper. In a baking dish, along with sliced zucchini, I added a bunch of fresh dill. I then roasted them for 10-12 minutes at 400*. The salmon came out so moist!

I love salmon because it’s full of health benefits. It’s chock full of vitamin D, omega 3 fatty acids, selenium, protein, vitamin B3, and vitamin B12. And because it’s full of flavor, you don’t have to baby it too much – a bit of fresh herbs will do the trick!

If you’re a saucy person (duh, I am), you may want something more. Tzatziki sauce is your best bet because it is so refreshing!

Tzatziki Sauce

• 1 small container plain Greek yogurt (<3 Fage!!)
• 1/2 of a small cucumber, grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. fresh dill
• s&p to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Allow it to sit in the refrigerator for a few hours for the flavors to blend. It tastes even better if you let it sit overnight! Another really great recipe that I’ve made using tzatziki is Greek chicken and potatoes.

And if you’re wondering what the white mushy stuff on the plate is, well, those would be turnips. I took the turnips I got in my first CSA box, boiled them, and mashed them with a tiny bit of butter, skim milk, goat cheese, and salt & pepper. They were just like mashed potatoes!

What is your favorite fish? How do you like it prepared? As of Monday night, my favorite fish is now sheepshead! I also really love mahi mahi and swordfish.

Are you a saucy person or more of  a plain-eater? I tend to douse my food in sauces – whatever the food goes well with, I want more of it. Ketchup is one of my weakness. I use an outrageous amount of ketchup packets (or tubs!) on anything I can. Except steak. That’s just nasty. :)

Moroccan Spicy Shrimp & Grits

You’d think after living here for 14 years I would have made shrimp & grits several times by now. I did tonight, though, with a Moroccan twist, using this Serious Eats recipe.

Moroccan Spicy Shrimp
From Hank Shaw

Ingredients

• 1 lb. large, peeled deveined shrimp
• 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tbsp. ground coriander
• 1 tbsp.ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. cayenne (less if you want it milder)
• Salt
• Juice of a lemon

Directions

1. Salt the shrimp well and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic. Turn the heat down to medium and sauté the garlic for 1-3 minutes — don't let it burn.
3. Add all the ground spices and stir well to combine. Cook this, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
4. Turn the heat up to high and add the shrimp. Stir to combine and cook, stirring constantly, until the shrimp turn pink. This shouldn't take more than 4-5 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and toss to combine. Serve at once.  Serves 4-6.

While I quickly cooked up some of these…

…I made a bowl of grits with diced tomatoes, onion, and garlic. All the different spices in this dish give such a simple recipe so much flavor. The whole thing took less than 20 minutes to make and would have taken even less time had I not dropped the shrimp twice, knocked over a bag of grits, and let 3 cloves of garlic burn. Clearly, I was trying to work too fast.

Speaking of speed, I have been highly irritated by all things slow today.

• slow laptop
• too many slow drivers on the way home
• too many slow people walking around the gym
• a slow woman who felt it was safe to walk in the middle of the parking lot

It’s not that I’m impatient, really. I just know that when I want something, I am on a mission and I don’t like things blocking my way. I’m like Hurricane Xtina and everyone around me needs to get on their evacuation route.But on the other hand, I absolutely cannot stand the feeling of being rushed. Does this make any sense? 

In blogger news, I met two readers this weekend! On Friday night, Jessica approached me at Trio wearing a blue wig! She was at a Bachelorette party and everyone was wearing different colored wigs. On Saturday night, I met Mo, who I didn’t know was a reader. That made me super happy. Thanks to both of you for saying hello! That’s just one of the many reasons I keep blogging. And yes, I have been absent for a few days because I needed some time to focus on other things like work and friends. Sometimes you just have to check yourself before you wreck yourself.  

What is your #1 favorite thing about blogging?

Do you ever feel the need to take breaks from blogging? What helps you regain focus?

Pearl Barley with Edamame and Peas

Looking for a really, clean recipe that’s full of protein and fiber?

Here you go.

Pearl Barley with Edamame and Peas, from Health Magazine

Ingredients

• 1 cup pearl barley
• 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 2 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt

Preparation

Bring water in medium saucepan to boil, add barley, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until water is nearly absorbed (25-30 mins.) Stir in edamame and peas; cook, uncovered, until barley absorbs all of remaining water (5-10 minutes). Turn off heat. Stir in spinach; set aside. Combine Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and sea salt in small bowl, whisking well. Pour vinaigrette over barley; stir to combine. Makes 4 servings.

Nutritionally speaking, this recipe would be perfect after the gym. The only issue was that it took quite a while to make, so I had to snack on carrots and hummus in the mean time. Oh, and chocolate.

This makes me very happy:

This does not. Talk about a disturbing bumper sticker! I mean, really, is that not morbid or what?

Do you text when you drive? Don’t lie.

Red Lentil Kofte / The Last Dinner in NYC

I promised a NYC recap but that would be pretty much impossible in one post. So, over the next week, month, year, or so, I’ll talk about it.

My last dinner was at Mundo, in Astoria, with Kaye and Justin. Owned by an Argentine man and his Turkish wife, Mundo’s menu is influenced by both South American and  Mediterranean cuisine.

After much recommendation by the owner and many reviews we read on Urbanspoon, we decided to order the Red Sonja appetizer: red lentil patties with bulgur, scallion, parsley, and spices served with lettuce and lemon slices. We all really liked these a lot and the lemon juice really intensifies the herbs – you must squeeze some on! We ended up ordering a bunch of small plates to share instead of individual entrees as there were so many things we wanted to try. Next up were falafel. BEST falafel of my life. They were so incredibly soft and moist. The ones I’ve had at home are too dry. Excuse the quality in the next three photos – totally bedroom lighting in this restaurant. We also order two empanadas: one beef and one cheese & feta. The beef grossed me out but the spinach & feta was awesome. The last dish we had was octopus carpaccio with baby arugula, Peruvian black olive sauce, red caviar, and warm pita triangles. Kaye insisted on this. I was completely disturbed by it and threw it on Justin’s plate. I did, however, swipe about 10 pita triangles in through the black olive sauce.

This place was really good and they pride themselves on having a very diverse healthy menu. The Red Sonja was my favorite part, so as soon as I got home, my mission was to remake them. After some research, I discovered the Red Sonja is actually the Turkish recipe for Red Lentil Kofte, or Mercimek Köftesi. I found this recipe on a Turkish woman’s blog and made it last night. Great news for my roomie, Lucy – this recipe is Vegan!

My kofte weren’t as red as Mundo’s (less tomato paste?), but they were just as delicious. Use the lettuce as wraps and again, make sure you squeeze lemon juice on them. The recipe makes 6 x what you see above, so either cut it in half or have a Turkish party. Why not?