Recipe: Watermelon Gazpacho

There is only one thing better than picking vegetables from your very own garden when you are eating fresh - picking vegetables from someone else's garden. Enter my pops. He grows a terrific garden every year. And it's only a couple minutes away from my house. 

If you have two minutes, hang in the garden with me. If you hate relaxing things like nature scenes and bird songs, skip to the recipe.

A decorating blog I read on the regular, Decor8, features Liz and Jewels, two girls who cook on two continents, once a month. Jewels just posted about Watermelon Gazpacho on Decor8. That's a bit of a web to weave but hopefully it's not too tangled. I'm not a huge fan of watermelon (texture issues, I got 'em) or gazpacho, but something about this recipe made me want to give it a try. 

Jewels says to use any colorful vegetable you desire in the recipe. So I did. Let's get processing!

Watermelon Gazpacho (adapted from Decor8)

3 slices watermelon (I'll add more next time, I was a bit watermelon shy. Don't be like me.)

1/2 each of green, red and yellow bell pepper

1 cucumber

1 large tomato

1/4 red onion

1/2 cup chopped eggplant

generous handful of cilantro 

juice of one lemon

dash of salt 

goat cheese, crumbled

Throw everything except the goat cheese into a food processor (or blender) and process the heck out of it. When you reach the desired consistency, serve it up and throw a little pico de gallo (made from the left-over pieces of vege for the gazpacho), cilantro and goat cheese on top. Eat!

**Also, sorry I stopped blogging for 1.5 months. I'll not do that again.

Mrs. Dash Marinade Review + Easy Recipes!

Looking through my pantry this weekend, I found a couple of Mrs. Dash marinades that I had purchased with a coupon and promptly forgotten about. Apparently it's been a while because in looking at the website, I noticed that they have changed the packaging. I tried Garlic Lime (now called Lime Garlic for some reason) and Zesty Garlic Herb (now just called Garlic Herb). 

The ingredients list is filled with items that are food, not chemicals, that add up to 15 calories, 3g carbs and 1 g sugar per tbsp. A huge part of my turning Mediterranean is being conscious of what I put in my body. I try and stick to ingredients I recognize, can purchase separately, and can pronounce. I'm quite proud of this change as I rarely read ingredient lists before.

My old packaging instructed 10 minutes of marinating. So that is exactly what I did with a package of chicken tenderloins. And then I cooked them on a griddle. I plated up half of one Garlic Lime tenderloin and half of one Zesty Garlic Herb tenderloin with a few spoonfuls of griddle garden potatoes. 

My first thought upon on tasting the cooked chicken: this would be better if it marinated longer; not quite enough flavor. I guess I wasn't the only person thinking that - the new packaging instructs 30 minutes of marinating. Agreed, Mrs. Dash, agreed! I might purchase the Garlic Lime marinade again - it's nice and fresh and lightly lime. The other Garlic Herb didn't impress me much. 

I shredded all the remaining tenderloins and mixed the two flavors together. With a portion of the it, I made honey-mustard chicken salad and threw it on half of a whole grain sandwich round with spinach leaves for an almost but not quite Asian flavor. I used the last of the chicken on an easy cheesy pizza. Recipes below (we go through a lot of goat cheese and cilantro in the Turning Mediterranean household).

Griddle Garden Potatoes
4 fresh from the garden potatoes
EVOO
dash of sea salt
dash of pepper
dash of Slap Ya Mamma seasoning (or something else cajun)
tbsp dried rosemary

Cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Roll in EVOO, salt, pepper, seasoning and rosemary. Cook on heated griddle prepped with a thin layer of EVOO. 

Honey Mustard Chicken Salad
2 chicken tenderloins (that you marinated and precooked), shredded
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp raw organic honey, heated slightly
goat cheese, crumbled
cilantro

Mix all together. Done!

Chicken Pizza
premade whole wheat pizza crust
basil pesto 
4 chicken tenderloins (that you marinated and precooked), shredded
havarti with dill, grated
mozzarella, grated
goat cheese, crumbled
cilantro
cherry tomatoes, sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover crust with layer of pesto. Sprinkle with chicken, cheeses cilantro and tomatoes. Bake 10 minutes or until crust is at desired crispiness. Enjoy!

Recipe: Saucy Singles Egg Bake with Goat Cheese

I believe I've already mentioned (500-ish times) that I like my weeknight recipes to be easy. Just like my men! Bazinga. Here's another that fits the bill. And if you think ahead, you can get multiple meals out it. 

This may be my favorite recipe on the blog so far. It's eggy, a little spicy, fresh and comfortable. I want to put on a cable-knit sweater and eat this every day. I call it a singles egg bake because it is cooked in single-serving ramekins, but it also makes for a great single person meal. Leftover sauce can be saved in the fridge for a few days. When you're ready to eat it, break and bake, baby.

(makes 2 individual egg bakes)
tbsp EVOO
1/8 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 clove garlic, minced
3 large tomatoes, diced
sprinkle each of crushed red pepper, paprika, chili powder
1/2 tbsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp goat cheese (+ extra to top)
tbsp cilantro
sprinkle of sea salt
sprinkle of black pepper
scallion, diced
2 eggs

1. Heat EVOO in sauce pan over med heat. 
2. Cook onion until translucent. 
3. Add garlic - cook for about one minute. 
4. Add diced tomatoes.
5. Stir in crushed red pepper, paprika and chili powder. Cook about 10 min (until tomatoes are soft and sauce looks juicy), stirring occasionally. 
6. Heat oven to 375 degrees and lightly spray individual ramekins with oil.
7. Remove sauce from heat and stir in oregano and goat cheese. 
8. Place 1/2 of sauce in each ramekin. Push a little dent in the middle with a spoon. 
9. Break one egg into the dent. 
10. Bake until white is cooked but yolk is runny (roughly 10 min). 
11. Allow dish to cool. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, scallion, cilantro and extra goat cheese.

Favorite Healthy Lifestyle Things

It's too bad that I am not Oprah. If I were, I'd be giving you my favorite salad kit. Inside a new car. Obviously.

In order for me to consistently take a healthy Mediterranean inspired lunch to work, it has to be very convenient. Thankfully I discovered the Cool Gear EZ-Freeze Collapsible Salad Kit. The kit includes a collapsible bowl, freezer tray, dressing container and snap on lid. 

It only takes a few minutes to throw my fixins in and hit the road in the mornings. The freezer tray does a great job of keeping my food cool and crisp. I drizzle EVOO on my salads instead of dressing. I fully expected the dressing container to leak oil. I was wrong. If I had to find something about the kit to criticize, it would be that there is no fork (or fork compartment) included.

I found my kit at WalMart for six bucks and some change. It's BPA free, dishwasher safe and microwaveable (if you remove the freezer tray).

Recipe: Shrimp Spring Roll 3 Ways

Tonight I'm injecting a little Asian persuasion into Turning Mediterranean because I can't think of a better, or easier, way to showcase fresh ingredients than inside a spring roll. Plus. I like eating with my hands. 

Now boil some small shrimp and let's get this party started.

Note: Amounts of ingredients will vary depending on the size of your rice paper, how full you like your spring rolls and how many spring rolls you are making. I have included photos of my ingredient plates as a reference for how much of each ingredient I put in one roll. 

Gather ingredients.

One: Strawberry Shrimp Spring Roll

(Trust me. Strawberries taste good with almost everything. )

small shrimp                               unsweetened coconut flakes
sliced strawberries                     crumbled goat cheese

slivered almonds

Two: Traditional Shrimp Spring Roll

small shrimp                              cilantro

sliced red cabbage                     sliced scallion

slivered almonds                        unsweetened coconut flakes

Three: Spicy Shrimp Spring Roll

small shrimp                               lime juice

sliced red cabbage                      chili paste

cilantro                                       sliced scallion

To assemble:

Fill a shallow dish with warm water. Dip rice paper into water, one sheet at a time, for a few seconds then place on a flat, dry surface. Allow the rice paper to sit until pliable - around one minute. Place ingredients on one side of rice paper. Do not overfill. Gently pull edge of rice paper closest to filling over ingredients and firmly tuck filling under. Roll. After one or two rolls, stop and fold ends in. Continue to roll carefully but firmly to the end. 

It is best to eat these fresh as rice paper doesn't store well. If you must transport them, wrap each roll individually so that they do not stick together.

I intended to tell you which roll was my favorite but I can't! They were all so good. Tell me, how do you roll?

Recipe: Healthy Chicken Casserole

Not really a looker but...

Y'all. This healthy chicken casserole doesn't taste a bit healthy. So garlic-y and flavorful and fulfilling. This is comfort food. Fried chicken strips who? 

Plus, after a bit of prep, you throw it in the oven and take care of business while it gets itself ready for your mouth. 

Gather:
3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, brought to room temp
basil pesto
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
almond flour

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Saute chicken bites in olive oil and Italian seasoning until just beginning to brown on all sides. 
• Combine Greek yogurt and chicken in small casserole dish and drizzle generously with pesto.
• Sprinkle cheese over top.
• Add a thin layer of almond flour.
• Bake 30 minutes. 
• Eat! Remember, 1/2 vege, 1/4 whole grain, 1/4 lean protein.

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Fix Your Plate

Source of gorgeous butter lettuce: Uncle Max's garden.*
And that tasty looking chicken? Come back tomorrow for the recipe. 

Not sure how much of this or that you should be eating as you turn Mediterranean? Generally, you should fill half of your plate with vegetables (or fruits and vegetables), one-fourth with whole grains and one-fourth with chicken or fish (not fried!). 

Obviously, with half your plate being covered in vegetables, you should be consume primarily plant-based foods: fruit, veggies, whole grains, legumes and nuts. Recent research published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that eating this way can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. (Research is currently under way on the effect of this sort of diet on cancer.)

Fuhgeddabout refined sugar, flour and butter. Most of the time. I'm sure a slice of cake on your  
birthday and a helping of Aunt So-in-so's famous creamy, bread-y casserole at Christmas won't kill you unless you crossed her. 

Tips for turning Mediterranean:

• Replace fats such as butter, margarine and salad dressing with olive oil.
• Use herbs and spices in place of salt. 
• Can't give up your red meat? Limit yourself to once or twice a month. 
• Work in whole grains every day, if not at every meal.
• Simmer vegetables over low heat instead of boiling them to reduce leaching nutrients.
• Don't be afraid of eggs and dairy - just consume  smaller portions than the typical American. 
• Stick with it! Your taste-buds can change. After a couple weeks of eating whole grain bread, I stopped choking it down and started enjoying it. And fruit tastes sweeter now that I have (mostly) kicked the sugar habit. 

*Not a hipster whole foods store. My actual uncle grew it in his actual garden.