healthy!

I went to the gym yesterday!

I know that to some, this really isn't a big deal, but for me, it's been a long time coming, and definitely a big deal.  I was able to do 2 miles on the elliptical before I felt like dying, and then I pushed through another mile after that.

I want to get to the point where I can do a 5k on the elliptical without feeling like I am going to die.

I've been working on the healthier eating.  The last few weeks at work have been pretty stressful, which really hinders that, but I am working on it, especially since the superbowl.

Keep reading, I'll have a Tasty Tuesday with my superbowl treats coming up later today!

Tasty Tuesday: Pasta with Clam Sauce

So, I may be Jewish (as can be seen by my love of latkes at Hanukkah), but, I’m also Italian, and I have an unwavering, undying love of (most) Italian food.  I don’t like ricotta cheese, so I don’t really dig on things like cheese ravioli, manicotti, or lasagna.  But… anything de pesce? Mussels? Clam sauce? Aglio y Oglio?  Meatballs? Eggplant Parm?  Alfredo? Carbonara?  Count.Me.In.

So, last night, Graham decided that he was going to stop by, and I hadn’t done anything for dinner yet.  I assessed the pantry (which, is always stocked) and decided on pasta with clam sauce (which comes together in about 30 minutes.)

You will need (feeds 2 plus leftovers):

1 pound of pasta (I used fettuccine rigate, but traditionally, my mom made this with linguine.  Any long pasta would work – I don’t recommend short macaroni, cavatelli, or mostaccolli noodles.)

2 cans of baby clams, drained (juice reserved)

2-3 carrots, grated

2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed.

2-3 anchovies

½ cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)

2 tablespoons of butter

Several turns of the pan of olive oil

First, start your water boiling for the pasta.  This is what takes the longest.

Heat your oil and butter in a large, heavy pan over medium-high heat.  Once the butter is melted, add the garlic and carrots and sauté until soft and fragrant.  Add the anchovies and sauté (they will dissolve into the sauce, leaving behind no ‘fishy’ flavor, I promise you!)

After the anchovies have dissolved, add the clam juice and white wine, and reduce.

Oil-Butter-Carrots-Garlic-Wine-Clam Juice

*If your water is not boiling at that point, turn your sauce down to LOW.* 

Fettuccine Rigate

Cook the pasta until just before al-dente.  Just before you take the pasta out, add the clams to the sauce.  Drain pasta, add to the sauce, and toss, letting the pasta finish cooking in the sauce.  If it looks dry, add some of the pasta cooking water.

Everything together, pasta finishing in the sauce.  See how a little parsley would add some color?

Sprinkle with chopped Italian parsley for color.

Can be served with an antipasto, bread, salad, you name it.

Mangia!

Stir Fry Pics!

Writing out my stir fry recipe on Tuesday made me crave it again!  Seriously, it's such an easy dish to throw together, and healthy too!  The sauce is what has the most calories, and can easily be modified by using less soy, more stock, or other seasonings such as red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic, etc., to make up for the lack of soy.

Quickly before I get to the photos, here's the nutritional breakdown:

The sauce (as I made it in my previous recipe) has 250 calories (for the entire batch.).  I don't know what this translates into in WW Points plus, but if I rejoin, I'll find out and report back!

Pork tenderloin has 122 calories per 3 oz serving.
One cup of white rice has 158 calories.

I don't count the calories in fruits and veggies.

So, my dinner was around 400 calories, if I guesstimate on the veg.  Not too shabby for a filling, hearty dinner!

Now, onto the pictures!

Sliced pork tenderloin cooking in a heavy-duty skillet.  This batch didn't come out as nice and brown as the last, because the meat was still partially frozen.

I love veggies!  This is a mix of brocccolini and Chinese greens my mom picked up at the Asian market.

Throw everything back in the pan!

Immediately after adding sauce.

Let that puppy thicken up!

Deliciousness!  You can see the rice peeking out from underneath my delicious meal.  It also soaked up all of that extra sauce-y deliciousness!

Tasty Tuesday: Stir Fry

My boyfriend has a perpetual taste for Asian flavors.  Chinese food.  Teppanyaki.  Thai.  Sushi.  You name it, he wants to eat it.  If we’re ever at a loss for what to eat or make, one of these things generally prevails.

So, in my attempt to get us both healthier in 2013 by cooking at home more, I made stir fry the other night.  I will apologize in advance for the fact that there are no pictures of my delicious meal.

Let me first say that this recipe is pretty universal.  You can use any type of protein (I would probably steer clear of fish though, it’s a bit too delicate for this application, but shrimp would work!) any type of vegetable(s) and any type of rice.  I knew I wanted a lean protein and fresh veggies, so I went to Caputo’s to see what looked good.

I decided on pork tenderloin, mushrooms, broccolini, and watercress.  I was cooking for two, but definitely bought enough to feed 4.  We had white rice at home, so I used that.  Brown rice would also be excellent.  I use a rice cooker for my rice – it’s pretty foolproof, just keep your instructions booklet which includes water::rice ratios.

Here are the measurements, like I said, will easily serve 4, or 2 with lunch for the next day:

Stir Fry:

1 pork tenderloin, sliced.

1 carton pre-sliced mushrooms.

2 bunches watercress, washed thoroughly, ends trimmed.

4 bunches broccolini, chopped into bite-sized pieces.

Sauce:

2 cups stock

½ cup soy sauce (I use light.)

1 cup warm water

½ cup water

1 T corn starch

Rice:  I used a rice-cooker to make 3 cups of cooked rice, according to the directions in the instructions booklet.

Chop all of your veg and meat into uniform size pieces.  I like bite-sized slices, so that all we need is chopsticks to eat with.  If you are using pork tenderloin like I did, be sure to remove the silver skin.

Next, prep what will become your sauce.  You can use any type of stock, depending on what protein you will be using.  In a large measuring cup or bowl, mix stock, soy sauce, and ½ cup water.  In a separate measuring cup, mix warm water and cornstarch to form a slurry.  Add to stock-soy mix, stir, and set aside.

Get a wok or sauté pan screaming hot and coat with canola oil.  I always sauté my veggies first.  Saute veg until just under your liking of done-ness (I like mine to have bite in them still, so this only takes a minute, remember, you’re going to add them back to the pan later.)  Remove, and set aside.

Re-oil the pan if necessary.  You want the meat to sizzle and sear, getting browned, not steamed, in the pan.  If you have too much meat for your pan, do this in batches to avoid steaming.  Once all of the meat is cooked, add the veg back to the pan, STIR your slurry-sauce mix, and also add to the pan.  Stir often, allowing the sauce to thicken.  When the sauce is thickened to your liking, remove from heat.

Serve with rice of your choosing.  I like to pour some extra sauce over my rice.  

The next time I make a stir fry, I'll be sure to take pictures!

resolutions

The idea of new years resolutions has never really sat well with me.  Resolving to do something different seems like a pretty lofty task, and in all honesty, unachievable.  Also, most people don’t follow through with their resolutions, and it becomes somewhat of a joke “hey, how’s that resolution going?”  You know.  I don’t want my goals to be the butt of a joke.

So, I’m not making resolutions this year, I’m making goals.  10 days into 2013, I have two for sure nailed down.

• Be healthier.  That’s pretty vague?  Yeah, I know.  But it encompasses a lot.  In order to achieve my goal of being healthier, this is what I plan to do:
• Rejoin Weight Watchers.  I still haven’t fully decided on this one, but I’m leaning toward it.
• Work out 3-4 times per week.
• Eat home-cooked meals more, and carry-out/delivery/dine-out less.
• Drink more water.

In short, I want to look like this again:

This is me, New Years Eve 2010, and thirty pounds lighter.

Pass my series 6 and 63 exams by mid-year.  This is a professional goal, and one that I’ve been told is realistic.  Passing the 6 and 63 will not only make me a more knowledgeable employee, but a better asset to our team.

These are, luckily, goals that are track-able, and I have people in my life in place not only to support me through them, but to keep me accountable to my goals.

My next step, as Graham has asked me, is to write my 2013 vision statement, which I haven't decided if I will share.  This is something we usually do for work, which I've already done professionally, but Graham has asked me for a complete (personal, professional, financial) vision statement for 2013.

Tasty Tuesday: Latkes

The holidays are a time to forget the diet, and go for what’s traditional and super tasty.  Being a (non-practicing) Jew, there are few traditions I take part in.  In fact, they include the following:

• Eating Latkes (potato pancakes) at some point during Hanukkah
• Celebrating Passover with a Seder (but not keeping kosher for Passover the rest of the time)
• Eating Hamantaschen during Purim

This year, I decided, after years of watching my mom make Latkes around Hanukkah time, that I would try my hand at them, and make Graham be my guinea pig.  I followed from memory, what I’ve watched my mom do for years.

2 boxes of potato pancake mix.  Yes, mix.  You can use Manichewitz, Streit’s, whatever.  Just Jewish mix.  Mixed to box specifications (usually adding eggs and water.)

2 large potatoes (of any kind) grated, with the excess liquid squeezed out (just wrap the potato shreds in a paper towel and SQUEEZE!)

A healthy sprinkle of salt, pepper, and dried onion flakes, to taste.

Mix it all together!  If the mixture looks a little “wet,” add some flour to bind everything together.

I used an electric skillet to make my latkes, and while convenient, the process was slow.  A cast iron skillet over a gas burner will get a lot hotter and the latkes will cook a lot faster.  This 2 box plus potatoes mixture took about an hour to fry up, tablespoon sized pancakes, five in the pan at a time.

A few suggestions:

• Vegetable oil to fry in, of course.  Make sure the oil is HOT before starting.  I test this by dropping a miscellaneous potato shred into the oil.  If it sizzles up right away, you’re good to go.
• You should have PLENTY of oil in the pan.  Enough so that it will reach ½ way up your latkes once they are in.
• Use a regular tablespoon, not a measuring tablespoon to distribute your batter.   I use the 2 spoon method to flatten them out a bit.
• Only flip them once.  When they’re golden brown on one side, flip and cook until golden brown on the other.  
• Drain Latkes on newspaper.  Much less wasteful than paper towels.
• Preheat your oven to 200*.  Keep your cooked latkes on a baking sheet in the warm oven so that everyone can eat together and your Latkes won’t be cold.
• Serve with apple sauce and sour cream.

Enjoy!  L’Chaim!

2013

Happy New Year, readers (or stumblers, stragglers, passers by...)

The end of 2012 certainly got away from me.  Over the next day or so, I'll be wrapping up my end of 2012 post and my resolutions for 2013 post.

My promise to you all in the meantime is to continue to write.  I like my Tasty Tuesday concept, so that will stay (and I'll be cooking more in 2013 than ever before!)

Stay tuned friends.