Healthy Eating

Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Cauliflower and Asparagus

October 7, 2010 by Lynsey Leave a Comment

I always love trying new recipes I come across, and if they are healthy that makes them that much better…not to say that I don’t splurge every now and then too! This recipe comes from the wonderful cookbook I talked about not too long ago, Now Eat This by Rocco Dispirito. I absolutely LOVE this cookbook, it has so many woderful recipes to offer but none of the guilt!

This is another recipe from Rocoo Dispirito’s cookbook and it is so delicious. It is packed with so much flavor, and it’s basically a one dish meal with all the protien and veggies in one dish all that needs to be added is some bread and maybe a side salad. The sweet and spicy of the jerk seasoning pairs so nicely with the bright, fresh taste of the cilantro. It’s a quick meal to put together, but could easily be a dish that would impress as well.

Don’t forget to ENTER to win a copy of “Now Eat This” by Rocco Dispirito, so you can enjoy this recipe and a multitude of others! The deadline to enter is Friday, October 8th.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Cauliflower and Asparagus

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup jerk marinade ( I used Lawry’s)
2 Tablespoons Jamaican jerk seasoning
1 Pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed of fat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
4 Scallions (white and green parts), sliced thin on the biased
1/2 Bunch (about 2 cups) asparagus, trimmed and cut on the biased into 1-inch pieces
2 Cups cauliflower florets
1/2 Cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

In a resealable bag (or large bowl), combine the marinade and 1 Tbs. of the jerk seasoning. Add the chicken and coat completely with the marinade. Seal the bag (or cover the bowl) and marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat a grill or grill pan over high heat.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken until it’s charred and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a platter and coer with foil to keep the chicken warm.

While the chicken is cooking, heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, spray with cooking spray and add the scallions, asparagus, and cauliflower. Season the veggies with salt to taste. Cover and saute for 2 minutes, shaking the skillet occasionally.

Add the reserved marinade to the vegetables. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender, about 7 minutes.

Stir the cilantro into the vegetables. Shred the chicken and serve on a bed of vegetables.

Recipe Source: “Now Eat This” by Rocco Dispirito

Clean Eating Brie and Crab Pizza

October 1, 2010 by Lynsey 1 Comment

Today is National Clean Eating Day. I didn’t really know about clean eating until I read some information provided on Loves To Eat food blog, and I’m still learning about what it actually is the benefits of it. She has some great information on her blog and tons of helpful links about clean eating, so head on over and educate yourself!

When I saw this recipe on the Loves To Eat blog I knew I HAD to make it. I was literally drooling while I was reading the recipe and looking at the picture! We love pizza at our house and I’m always up for trying new and different toppings on my pizzas. When I told Spencer about this pizza he didn’t know what to think at first, but he said he was willing to try it, he’s usually not too fond of fruit on his pizza. When we tried the pizza Spencer liked it, but shocked me by saying that he would have actually liked more pineapples so the next time I make this I will add quite a few more pineapple chunks.

This pizza was absolutely delicious! It was unlike any other pizza I’ve ever had and I just LOVED it. The crust was perfect; the inside was soft and bready and the outside had a nice crunch. The pesto was out of this world, I LOVE cilantro so I could eat this stuff by itself. The toppings were rich and oh so good the sweetness of the pineapple paired perfectly with the salty, richness of the pesto and cheese and the crab topped things off perfectly.

To me, this was the perfect way to experience clean eating. There is no sacrifice in taste but it’s food you can feel good about! I can’t wait to try some other “clean foods”.

Brie and Crab Pizza

Ingredients:

1 recipe for clean pizza dough

For the pizza-

4 Ounces fresh crabmeat, cooked and coarsly chopped
1/2 Medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 Medium pinapple, diced or cubed (use about 1 cup)
3 Ounces brie cheese, sliced thick and chilled
For the cilantro pesto-
2 Cups cilantro leaves
2 Tablespoons unsalted almonds
3 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon low-fat Parmesan cheese
1 Clove garlic, minced
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 F.

Place pizza stone (if using one) in oven to get warm.

For the pesto-

In a food processor, fitted with the standard blade, add cilantro, almonds, oil, parmesan cheese, and garlic and puree. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a resealable container.

***Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

For the pizza-

Divide the dough in half. Place one ball of the dough on a flat surface lined with parchment paper. Roll the dough to the desired size and thickness and spread 2 tablespoons of the cilantro pest over the pizza. Top the pizza with crab, onion, and pineapple, making sure it’s evenly distributed.

Remove the pizza stone from the oven and transfer the pizza (along with the parchment paper) to the stone and place in the oven. Cook the pizza for 7 to 8 minutes or until golden brown and the toppings are tender. Remove from oven and top with the brie cheese and return to oven for about a minute or until the cheese is melted.

Remove from ove and slice immediately. Enjoy!

**Ours cooked about 10 minutes to cook and then another 2 minutes for the cheese to melt.

Recipe Source: Loves To Eat

Seared Tuna with Green Beans, Lemon, and Wasabi

September 29, 2010 by Lynsey 20 Comments

A refreshing and delicious recipe and…my first giveaway!!!

In March, Rocco Dispirito released his new cookbook,Now Eat This. In this cookbook he has a compilation of 150 popular dishes that have been revamped to make them healthier without sacrificing any of the taste. I saw him demo a couple of the recipes on a few talk shows before the book was released and everything looked so good, I was so excited about the release of this cookbook and I couldn’t wait to get it and try some of these recipes myself. For my birthday, one of my wonderful friends was nice enough to get this for me and I was absolutely extactic, I couldn’t wait to get home and make something!

I have a quite a few recipes bookmarked and I can’t wait to try them and share them with you. If they are all as great as this dish then look out, because your taste buds are in for a wonderful ride! I believe this tuna is a spin on Outback’s Seared Ahi Tuna appetizer, it’s packed with all of the taste but not the fat and calories. Outback’s dish is sooo good and I couldn’t wait to try this to see how it compared. I absolutely loved this tuna and the wasabi green beans were the perfect side. Next time I cook this, I will cook the tuna a little less so it will be more like Outback version. I accidentally left it over the heat a little too long but it was still oh so good, so I can only imagine how good it will be when I have it at the desired wellness.

Seared Tuna with Green Beans, Lemon, and Wasabi

Ingredients:

4 Sushi-grade tuna steaks (3 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
12 Ounces haricots verts or slim green beans, trimmed
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1 Garlic clove, minced
2 Tablespoons wasabi paste
4 Scallions (white and green part), sliced thin on the biased/diagonal
3 Tablespoons black sesame seeds (I used white)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Preheat a grill or grill pan over high heat.

Season the tuna with salt and pepper, to taste, and spray them lightly with the vegetable oil. When the grill is hot, add the tuna and cook for 1 1/2 minutes per side (for medium-rare). Trasnfer the tuna to a platter and allow it to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the haricots verts (or green beans) in the boiling water until they are tender, about 3 minutes and then drain.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, garlic and wasabi paste. Add the haricots verts (green beans) and scallions and sesame seeds. Toss to coat, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Thinly slice the tuna. To serve, fan tuna on a plate and pile a mound of the dressed haricots verts (green beans) on top or to the side of each portion of tuna.

Recipe Source: Now Eat This by Rocco Dispirito

Now on to the giveaway!

I was, and still am, so excited about this cookbook and all it has to offer that I wanted to provide an opportunity for one of my readers to have a copy as well! To enter for a chance to win a copy of this fabulous cookbook please leave a comment stating what your favorite appetizer is (can be homemade or from a restaurant)…if it’s homemade feel free to leave the recipe or link! Please leave your email address as well so I know how to contact the winner!

1 entry per person please! If you would like an additional entry you can sign up to follow my blog, once you do leave another comment stating you are now following and if you already follow leave a comment telling me so. Also, recieve another chance to win by following me on facebook! Go to my Facebook page and “like” me and then leave a comment saying you did so!

Entries will be accepted now through midnight on October 8th! The winner will be randomly chosen by Random.org. US mailing addresses only, please.

Thank you and good luck!

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