Kale Smoothie = Calcium

Ok, I can't help it, I have to launch off--- I try not to do this too often because I know my dietary beliefs are sometimes very different than others, but his one is near and dear to my heart. Since nursing my daughter, I have become even more concerned about getting more calcium in my diet because I know when you don't get enough calcium through your diet, your body will start leaching it from your bones. So, because I am not really a fan of dairy, for more reasons than just flavor, I look to my greens to increase my intake. You have to be careful when looking into calcium concumption because there is more there than meets the eye. For instance, it's not just the amount of mg/per serving, but it's the amount of mg that are actually useable and absorable to your body. An example, one cup of kale yeilds 170 mg of calcium while 1 cup of milk yeilds 302 mg of calcium. BUT- here's where is gets interesting- your body can absorb/use 50-70% of the calcium from kale (107 mg) while it can only absorb/use 30% of the calcium from milk (91mg). So, in short, greens (to me) seem to be like the wiser choice for concumption- especially because they are also LOADED with a ton of other vitamins and minerals- like vitamin A, C, folic acid, and fiber. (** Note: calcium requirements for 1 day are 800-1200 mg for an adult, and increase to 1600 when your prego). Here are some really interesting pages if you are interested in reading more. Calcium1 and Calcium2. Oh, and one more side note while we're here- a major component in ABSORBING calcium is Vitamin D3- which comes from the sunshine. You MUST have Vitamin D3 in order to be able to absorb dietary calcium, which means you should have AT LEAST 30 minutes of sunshine per day. On days when I know don't get this, I take this great suppliment called Osteo-sun. OK, so should I get to the recipe now??? HA! I try to make a kale smoothie 4 times a week, if not everyday- of course it's easier in the summer when you have more fresh fruits, but it's do-able with frozen fruit too. I use my Vitamix (my favorite kitchen appliance because it makes smoothies, soups, ice cream, sorbets, hummus, nut butters, sauces, fruit juice, baby food.... need I go on???!!) to make my smoothies, but you can also use a blender. I add a combination of the following depending on what I have on hand: 1 banana 1 orange 1 handful of frozen mango 1 handful of frozen pineapple 1 shake of frozen blueberries 4-5 frozen or fresh strawberries (with green tops!) 1 handful of frozen raspberries and/or blackberries 4-5 stems of raw kale (I pull the follage off the stem because the stems are bitter) 1 inch of juice (cranberry, orange, pomegranet, pineapple, whatever you have, of course, I think juice NOT from concentrate is better, although it's more expensive) ** If your blender gets stuck or your smoothie is too thick, add more juice. If you don't use frozen fruits, add some ice to the mixture.)

Here's what I start with, an estimation of the amount of fruit:

Then I add my Kale ( and or red cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes) juice, and flax seed:

Finished product:

See, even Emery like it!
Like I said above, I use a combination of these ingredients depending on what I have- with the exception of the kale- I always use kale!!! (You can use spinach, but your body doesn't absorb as much calcium from it due to the high concentrate of oxalate, kale has a low concentrate of oxalate). Anyways, have fun with the combinations, try different flavors and experiment! No two smoothies ever taste the same in my house- and try them on your kids, my 11 month old loves them!

GREAT CALCIUM SUPPLYING SNACK to have on hand: raw almonds! They have 750 mg of calcuim per cup! Wow-zers!

Tostada Pizza...

A few disclaimers.... it was late, I was in a cooking funk, I didn't want to eat what was on the meal plan.... so I got a bug up my nose to try to re-create a pizza I from CPK- thanks to Vali Nemetz. I pulled some ingredients together and wha-la! It turned out pretty good, in fact, my non-enthusiastic husband exclaimed "This is the best non-pizza tasting pizza I've ever had!" That's a compliment right?? Give it a whirl, tweak it, and enjoy!

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough (bobli, trader joe's, homemade, Papa Murphy's... you chose)
Shredded Chicken (cooked)
Salsa
black beans, 1/2 can
shredded cheese, you choose the flavor, about 1 cup
lettuce, thinly chopped, I used about 1 cup
tomatoes, dices, I used 1/4
green onions, chopped, I used 2 stalks
avocado, sliced, I used 1/2
sour cream, I used a few blobs
tortilla strips or chips

Directions
So simple! It is a great thing to make with left over chicken. I had made some shredded chicken in the crock pot with a jar of salsa (for a different recipe) and thought I'd use the leftovers here.

SO.... back to the recipe... take your cooked dough (like Bobli... if your dough is uncooked, cook it first without any toppings), mix your salsa and shredded chicken together, put the chicken and some black beans on top of the pizza and pop it in the oven for about 5-7 minutes to heat it up. Once it's warm, start adding the toppings, as much or as little of each that you like. First I put on the sour cream and smeared it around, then I put the tomatoes, avocado, cheese, lettuce, green onions, and then crunched some tortilla chips on top. That's it! Simple as pie... pizza pie! :)

Serve with: a green salad or by itself! I think CPK drizzles a little ranch dressing on it too, if you're a fan of ranch you could give that a whirl!

Homemade Rocky Road Ice Cream

So, thanks to Lisa, who left a request for some frozen treats on this blog- we are going to dedicate to her an ENTIRE week of SCRUMPTIOUS homemade treats to enjoy! Some of them are going to defy the rules of "healthy" but they won't lack in flavor or fun... stay tuned all week to find something that you might like to" treat" yourself with!

Entry #1 of Scrumptious Desserts:

Wow, so this is de-licious, and doesn't exactly qualify with the "healthy" motto of this blog calories-wise, but I always prefer to make something homemade, so think if it that way- you are getting just what you put into it- nothing extra in the fine print that some ice creams add! This ice cream is so yummy AND creamy AND chocolatey good, I couldn't resist including it in this weeks "Naughty Desserts" for all to enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)

1/2 cup unsweetened coco powder

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 TBSP vanilla extract

Directions:

In a sauce pan heat your milk and coco powder until it is smooth and slightly thickened (about 5 minutes). Then remove it from the heat and let it cool. Add your cream, milk, vanilla and spices (including vanilla). Stir and refrigerate until cold. Then pour in your mixture into your FROZEN ice cream canister. Last add your nuts and marshmallows and freeze until hardened.

Recipe from: the kitchen of Debbie Zaballos, my mama

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Thighs

I originally got this recipe from my sister Danika and I know she won't mind if I share. Prepare yourself for its mouth-watering-goodness. Another perk- thighs are cheaper than breasts and a nice change up if I don't say so myself :)

Ingredients:

1-2 packages of chicken thighs

Glaze:

1 TBSP cornstarch

1 TBSP cold water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Whisk these ingredients together over low heat in an small saucepan until it begins to bubble. Preheat your oven to 425. Lightly grease a pyrex dish, wash chicken thighs and cut off excess fat (warning, thighs are fattier than breasts so be prepared to trim them up a bit). After the thighs are prepped and in the dish, brush on the glaze, stick in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, turn them all over, brush on more glaze and cook for another 30 minutes (watch for them to get that yummy, dark glazed look and then they are done and ready to pull out!) You can also glaze the chicken at the 15 minute mark on each side to give them more flavor.

Serve with:

I love to serve this over a serving of chewy brown rice, the thighs are always really juicy and it's a nice compliment to the rice.

California Salad...

I thought I better through something green and raw in the mix, in case we are getting tired of soups and stews!! This is a classic and works well with big groups- like showers, parties, or potlucks!

Ingredients:

2 Heads of Romaine

2 avocados

1 cup candies pecans

1/2 cup cranberries

2 green apples or bosh pairs

4 green onions, finely chopped

2 cans mandarin oranges

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese 

1/3 chicken breast per person

Dressing: 2 options

1. Store Bought: Marston's Dressing

2. Refreshing Dressing:

     6 TBSP olive oil

     6 TBSP red wine

     2 TBSP lemon juice (fresh is best)

     1/2 tsp. salt

     1/4 tsp. pepper

     1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

     honey to taste

Directions:

Pretty self explainatory... Wash the chicken, cube it, add some olive oil to a pan, brown it, season it with S&P. Cut and wash the lettuce, chop the onions, apples/pairs, slice the avocados, throw in the cranberries, pecans, blue cheese (if desired), and mandarin oranges! Toss it all together with the dressing right before you serve it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Crock Pot)

The little saying, "Crock pots: Cooks all day while the cooks away" is enough to put a smile on anyone's tired face. How wonderful is it to come home to a yummy meal that YOU did not spend time preparing- instead- you dumped things in a pot, turned it on, and magically, when you came home, it was calling your name.... check out this simple recipe....

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts, no skin, no bones

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

* 2 serrano chilies, minced (optional)

1 49 oz. carton chicken broth

1/4 cup lime juice

Options for toppings:

tortilla chips

shredded cheese

avocado

cilantro

Directions:

Real simple: put the washed chicken breasts in the crock pot with the diced tomatoes (don't drain them, use the juice), onion, garlic, cumin, chilies, and broth. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. Remove the chicken, shred it, add it back to the crock pot, add your lime juice- let it sit for a few minutes. Then place your tortilla chips (if desired) in the bottom of your bowls, ladle soup on top, add any other toppings you desire!

Minestrone Soup...

This is right up there in the top favorites of mine!! It has a truck load of yummy vegetables, great flavor, and is perfect for a cold winters day. Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you, this soup is well worth it!  Thanks to Jennifer Stewart for sharing it with me!

Ingredients:

2 TBSP expeller pressed coconut oil

3/4 cup onion

1/2 cup leeks

1 cup carrots

1/3 head green cabbage

1 cup celery

2 cloves garlic

2 qts. chicken broth

1 small jar spagetti sauce

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups potatoes (diced)

3/4 cup peas

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can kidney beans

1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 cup small pasta

1 cup parmesan cheese

Directions...

OK, here we go. First you are going to saute over low-med. heat your "purple highlighted ingredients"- your oil, onion, leak, carrots, cabbage, celery, and garlic (assuming they have all been washed and chopped!).  Saute those for 5-7 minutes or so. Next add your chicken broth and spaghetti sauce. Bring that to a boil for 10 minutes. Add your salt, pepper, and potatoes next and cook for 10 minutes. Then you will add the "pink highlighted ingredients" from above- your peas, tomatoes, beans, parsley, pasta, and parmesan. Cook that until it's tender on medium heat. *Let your noodles be your guide, when they are ready, your soup is ready! ** One more side note, I used a can of white & a can of red kidney beans to beef it up even more, de-licious!

Serve with: warm french bread, crackers, or nothing at all!