Tag Archives: healthy food

3 Quick & Healthy Vegetarian Mexican Recipes

04/18/2016 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

I have been craving Mexican food lately, but since we choose not to order from food establishments, that means I have to make my own Mexican recipes. No problem, I using simple ingredients most of us have in the kitchen, it’s easy to put something healthy and tasty together in under 30 minutes. To make it easier, omit the meat for Meatless Monday and give these guys a break…..for at least one day.

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Being Monday where no one is happy about the end of the weekend and beginning of a work week, it’s good to keep meal prep nice and simple. Simple is not the same as a convenient drive-thru window at a nearby fast food chain, a little prep in your own kitchen is needed. But, this can be fun and done in less than 30 minutes.

Here’s what you’ll need:
– 1 can of fat-free refried pinto or black beans
– Reduced fat (part-skim) mozzarella cheese or cheese sticks
– Dried cilantro
– 16oz Jar of your favorite salsa
– 6 inch Corn tortillas; I prefer the Food For Life sprouted whole grain tortillas; or use butter or romaine lettuce for a grain-free option
– Garlic, Cumin, and Onion Powder
– Cayenne pepper
* Optional toppings: Shredded lettuce, sliced avocado, chopped raw onion (green, red, or yellow), and sour cream (plain yogurt is a great substitute too)

With these ingredients you can make many vegetarian Mexican-style snacks/meals. Here’s how I make easy tostadas, chips and dip, and bean burritos.

Bean Tostada

Mix the can of refried beans with your jar of salsa, cilantro, garlic, cumin, onion, and cayenne powder. Cut or shred the cheese to your liking. Spread the bean mixture on top of a corn tortilla and sprinkle about 1/2 or 1 ounce of cheese on top; toast in a toaster oven or conventional oven at 375 degrees until the edges start to turn brown and crispy. Remove from oven, let cool, add shredded lettuce, sliced avocado, and a dollop of plain yogurt if desired, and eat!

Healthy Bean Dip

Mix the beans and other ingredients like you did for tostadas, then mix in 6 ounces shredded cheese. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave 30 more seconds, stir; continue until the cheese is melted and well incorporated in the mix.

Cut the corn tortillas into 6 or 8 wedges, sprinkle with a little salt, and bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven until lightly browned (about 5 – 8 minutes).

Now you have homemade chips and dip. If you don’t want to make your own, Beanitos are a favorite chip in our home.

Mix the plain yogurt in the dip if you would like, it adds a cool and tangy taste that’s pleasing to the palate. For an even healthier option, I choose crudites like raw baby carrots, broccoli, or celery as the perfect dipping devices.

Bean Burritos

With the same bean mixture as the other two quick-fix recipes, fill the middle of a corn tortilla (flour tortillas usually contain hydrogenated oils and I do not recommend them) or use a hardy lettuce like butter lettuce or romaine for a grain-free option with about 2 heaping spoonfuls and a half ounce of cheese.

Wrap in paper towel and microwave for 30 – 40 seconds; enjoy! Since these are smaller, you will probably want more than one. They are more like flautas, only not fried and much better in my opinion.

For reference, an ounce of cheese is similar to four dice; if shredded, about a 1/4 cup.

The combination of beans and a whole grain like corn provides all essential amino acids to make a complete protein, so you will not miss the meat today. Treat your friends, family, and self to one or all of these easy Meatless Mexican meals this Monday or any day and relax.

Food, Going Healthy

Easy and Healthy Baked Coconut Salmon Cakes

03/31/2016 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Do you find yourself stuck in a rut of eating the same thing day in and day out for weeks? If you answered “Yes”, you’re not alone. But I make it a point to change things up when I can. As long as it’s tasty, healthy, and relatively quick to make, it’s fair game! Or should I say fair fish? See what I did there?

Enter these delicious salmon cakes that are both healthy and easy to make. Using canned salmon (tuna or crab would work too) makes these a convenient weeknight main course and are perfect to make extra for the next day.

So, make a double batch of these to have dinner with the family and to take to work (or just have the next day if you stay at home like me) for a healthy and delicious lunch.

Baked Coconut Salmon Cakes

Ingredients

2 (5oz) cans wild salmon in water, drained (canned tuna or crab works too)
1/2 cup Coconut Flour (If you don’t have this, rolled oats also work well)
1 tsp each of cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 T Dijon mustard
2 eggs or 3 egg whites or 3 flax/chia eggs
4 T Of your favorite salsa
1 T each dried basil and dill
Pepper to taste

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix well to incorporate. You can also mix everything in a food processor if desired. If mixture seems too runny, add oats or coconut flour 1 tablespoon at a time until thick enough to hold together.
Scoop the mix into a lightly oiled 12 cup muffin pan (I filled 9 of the 12 cups) and bake in pre-heated oven for 25 -30 minutes, depending how toasted you want the top. It should have a crispy golden crust on top.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes.
Top each cake with your favorite mustard, salsa, or even a yogurt sauce like Tzatziki; I like them plain too. Serve with steamed veggies and maybe a tasty side of quinoa curry salad.

If you love crab cakes, this is an easy and more affordable alternative to make at home. Unless you use imitation crab, but let’s not go down that road, I’ll save it for another post. 🙂

What’s your favorite seafood?

Would you like it baked into a cake like this?

Food, Going Healthy

5 Benefits of Protein + How to Make it Complete

03/22/2016 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Protein helps fuel and build us as we grow, then maintains our bodies throughout adulthood. Many of us only think of protein as something for the big, bodybuilder types, but it’s something we all need.

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Yes, protein powder is good as a supplement, but whole food sources should be our main source of this vital macronutrient. A few of the benefits provided by the macronutrient protein are:

1) IT BUILDS, MAINTAINS AND REPAIRS CELLS: As you grow your body needs protein to construct every single cell including your bones, muscles, skin ,vital organs and your blood vessels.

2) IT IS USED TO PRODUCE IMPORTANT CHEMICALS: Antibodies are built using protein and are a key part of your immune system which helps your body fight disease. Enzymes are also constructed from protein and act as a catalyst for many important reactions in your body including digestion.

3) IT REGULATES IMPORTANT BODILY PROCESSES: Your body’s cells cannot move fluid directly, instead they produce proteins which attract water. These proteins can then be sent out to areas where fluid needs to be absorbed allowing a fluid balance to be maintained throughout the body.

4) IT HELPS YOUR BLOOD CLOT: When your skin gets cut and starts to bleed, your body responds by producing fibrin, a stringy protein that forms clots. Once the fibrin has clotted, your body then produces another protein, collagen, which forms scar tissue and permanently heals the cut.

5) IT CAN ASSIST WITH WEIGHT LOSS: First, it has a greater thermic effect than carbohydrates. This means that by eating protein you burn more calories during digestion and boost your metabolism. Secondly, studies suggest that protein can suppress your appetite by helping you feel satiated longer.

Protein is made up of 23 amino acids, 8 of which that are essential. The 8 essential amino acids are “essential” because our bodies cannot produce them alone, and therefore needs to acquire them from food sources or supplements.

The 8 essential amino acids are:

– Isoleucine
– Leucine
– Lysine
– Methionine
– Phenylalanine
– Threonine
– Tryptophan
– Valine

The other 15 non-essential amino acids we can produce on our own are:

– Alanine
– Arginine
– Asparagine
– Aspartic Acid
– Cysteine
– Glutamic Acid
– Glutamine
– Glycine
– Histidine
– Ornithine
– Proline
– Selenocysteine
– Serine
– Taurine
– Tyrosine

A complete protein includes all 23 essential and non-essential amino acids. Incomplete proteins may have a few, but not all of the essential amino acids needed by our bodies. Animal products like seafood, poultry, beef, dairy, etc. are the most abundant source of complete proteins.

Complete Protein Examples

There are many vegetarian sources such as quinoa, buckwheat, soybeans, etc. that are complete as well. Don’t think you need to avoid incomplete proteins though, they can be paired together to form a complete protein.

Incomplete Protein Examples

Follow these four principles to obtain a complete protein by pairing incomplete protein foods:

1. Combine legumes with grains – a classice example is rice and beans

2. Combine nuts or seeds with legumes or grains
3. Combine animal products with any vegetable product
4. Add a small amount of meat to a meal of vegetables

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Only eating foods that are complete proteins is expensive (especially for those constantly hungry little ones running circles around us!), so the ability to combine food to provide us with all 23 amino acids is, well, essential. A popular dish that’s healthy (usually), tasty, and budget-friendly is rice and beans. This is a staple meal in many cultures and can be made to feed a crowd with little expense.

It’s worth pointing out that incomplete protein sources do not have to be consumed at the same time. In order to reap the benefits of a complete protein, just consume different sources over the course of the day.

A helpful basis to begin combining foods for a complete protein

Try experimenting with different combos to come up with your own complete protein meal. Get your kids involved by creating columned lists of different complementary foods and have them choose what to eat for lunch or dinner. Healthy fat and carbohydrates also play an extremely important role in giving our body what it needs to thrive, but without protein, we just wouldn’t be complete. 🙂

Do you have any favorite dishes that make up a complete protein meal?

Have you ever thought about the quality of protein you’re eating before?