Two Cupcakes for One

Kiddie birthday party? Nope. Sweet treats for my fully grown manchild who whines about the lack of cupcaking in our home due to my salt tooth. 

The whining reached an all time high in recent weeks so I decided to waste a ridiculous amount of oven power and bake just two cupcakes - one non-fat with applesauce, and one full-fat with margarine - to satisfy his craving. The full-fat one won out, of course, but both were inhaled within minutes. 

(Just a pic - No recipe posted since I cheated with store-bought frosting)

Avocado Toast

Sometimes the odds and ends in your fridge come together as deliciousness. This is one such delight that has me taking care to stock the fridge deliberately with the same ingredients to ensure it all gets into my mouth again soon.

It's a simple and very filling snack... or a light meal. 

Serves 1

• 1 slice of multigrain bread (I love Milton's original healthy multi-grain because it's almost completely fat-free, and there's 3 grams of fiber in each slice!)
• Monterey Jill cheese (which is a reduced fat version of Monterey Jack, or any cheese you have on hand would work)
• 1/2 avocado
• seasoning salt, to taste
• paprika, to taste

Place a slice of bread on a non-stick pan over medium-high heat (no need to oil the pan).  

Meanwhile, thinly slice as much cheese as you like. 

Flip the bread over once the side facing down is lightly toasted.  Place sliced cheese on the toasted side and allow the other side to toast while the cheese melts.  Placing a lid over the pan will speed up the cheese melting.  Reduce heat if it is toasting too quickly. 

Smush up half an avocado with a fork while you wait.  Once the cheese has melted, spread the avocado over top.  Sprinkle generously with seasoning salt and paprika. 

Avocado Greens Smoothie

With the avocado capital of the world right here in California, I'm fortunate enough to have almost more avocado than I know what to do with! ALMOST. Because there are always amazing ways to incorporate this buttery fruit packed full of fiber, potassium and vitamins! This time, I've magic bulleted it into the creamiest smoothie ever. Yum. 

This recipe also calls for a scoop of Greens+ powder, which has spirulina, chlorella, bee pollen, and all sorts of healthy stuff in an all-natural energy enhancing citrus blend. Greens+ is the brand I'm most used to, but I'm sure any of the other superfood greens powder mixes out there will do the trick for an extra nutritional boost. 

You will need a magic bullet or blender for this recipe.

Serves 1 

• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/4 cup fresh washed spinach, fresh
• 1/4 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt
• 1 scoop (13.6 gr) greens+ extra energy powder
• 1/3-1/2 cup cold water (less water for a thicker smoothie, more for a runny one)

This recipe is extra convenient when you double it. If not, you can freeze the other half of the banana for next time, and give the other half of the avocado a quick cold water rinse so it doesn't brown as easily before storing it in the fridge in an airtight container for your next smoothie. 

Slice up half of the banana into smaller chunks and scoop out half of the avocado and place into blender along with all other ingredients. 

Blend for a few minutes until smooth. Feel free to adjust water amount to desired consistency. 

Bombay Chicken Curry with Cauliflower and Potato

Apparently I think I'm Indian these days... Because here's another Indian recipe! I just can't help it. I follow my cravings, and these days, they are kickin things up an Indian notch. 

This yellow curry is coconut milk based and features my favorite Bombay curry powder from Market Spice.  Ginger, garlic, onion, and cauliflower top the list of this recipe's antioxidant-rich, cancer-fighting, detoxifying and vitamin-full ingredients. 

 Serves 4

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Chicken marinade: 

• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Bombay curry powder (or any Indian curry powder like vindaloo, madras, etc.)
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes
• dash cayenne
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 inch section fresh ginger
• 1 fresh serrano chili pepper
• 1 dried red chili pepper
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 2 tsp Bombay curry powder (or any Indian curry powder)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 cup basmati or jasmine rice
• 3 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion
• 1 Roma tomato
• 1 medium potato
• 2 cups cauliflower
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• more fresh cilantro, garnish

Trim any fat off chicken breast and cut into bite-size pieces. Add marinade ingredients to chicken, mix, and refrigerate. Marinade a few hours in advance or overnight to allow time for flavors to sink in. 

Mince garlic, ginger, serrano and dried chili peppers (seeds included for extra heat). Heat a small amount of olive oil to a frying pan over med-high. Add garlic, ginger and chilis. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, til fragrant and the edges of the garlic turn golden brown.  

Empty the can of coconut milk into a large pot over med-low heat. Add curry powder, cumin, turmeric, bay leaf, and the fried garlic, ginger and chilis to the pot and stir well to mix. Cover with lid. 

Set rice, water and bay leaves in a rice cooker if you have one, or cook on stove per package instructions.

Add small amount of olive oil to same frying pan used for the garlic mix, and cook chicken over high for a few minutes, browning all sides. Transfer chicken from frying pan to pot. Cover. 

Thinly slice the onion, then pan fry for a few minutes over med-high heat without adding any more oil. While the onion is cooking, finely dice the tomato, peel and cut the potato into bite-size cubes, slice cauliflower into small florets, and chop fresh cilantro.  

Add diced tomato to the onion in the pan and fry for another few minutes, stirring.  Transfer onion and tomatoes from pan to pot. 

Add potato, cauliflower and cilantro to pot. Stir well to incorporate all ingredients. Increase heat to medium, cover, and let simmer for 5min. The pot will start to bubble furiously - stir occasionally to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom. Reduce heat to low-med, cover, and let simmer for 25-30min, or until vegetables reach desired tenderness (30min gets you potatoes that melt in your mouth mmm...)

Serve with rice. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Palak Saag (Curried Spinach)

We were at a baby shower that was held at a beautiful Indian restaurant in downtown San Francisco on the weekend. One of the many amazing delights served was a perfect palak saag. For some insane reason, B isn't a fan of any palak (spinach)-based Indian dishes, so I created my version/attempt of palak saag on a night when he already had dinner plans (aka mystery meat in a bun at some sports arena). 

Note 1: I prefer the spinach not schloppy (pureed), so I've left it in its original cooked form. 

Note 2: This vegetarian recipe makes enough for one large dinner portion, or two smaller lunch portions. Though it would also pair well with a Chicken tikka masala (recipe: here) for a heartier meal. 

Yields 1 large dinner portion, or 2 smaller lunches. 

• 1 cup basmati rice (2 cups water)
• 1 9oz bag of fresh, washed spinach
• 2 inch section fresh ginger
• 6-8 cloves garlic
• 1 green serrano chili pepper
• 1 green onion
• 1/4 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 tsp paprika (heaping!)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 roma tomato
• 1/4 cup fresh, chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup skim milk

Cook basmati in a rice cooker if you have one, or on the stove per package instructions.

Add about 3 fingers of water to a medium sized pot and heat til boiling (not too much water required as the spinach will shrink). Once the water has reached boiling, add the 9oz bag of washed spinach and blanch for about a minute. Strain in a colander and allow excess liquid to continue to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. 

Mince the ginger, garlic and serrano chili together. Mince as finely as possible. 

Dice green and yellow onion. 

Heat small amount (about 1tsp) of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over med-high. Add ginger, garlic, serrano, green and yellow onions. Cook for a few minutes, stirring. Reduce heat to medium, then add paprika, salt, cumin, and turmeric and continue stirring for another minute or two. 

Meanwhile, dice the tomato and chop the cilantro. Add both to the spiced mixture in pan and stir for a few minutes.

Squeeze any excess liquid from the blanched spinach, then add to the frying pan, along with 1/2 cup of skim milk. Reduce heat to med-low, stirring well to incorporate all ingredients. Cover and let simmer for 5-10min.

The rice should be ready by this point. Serve alongside palak saag. Enjoy :)