Snack Week Recipe: Vegetable Chips

Snack week continues with vegetable chips!

I generally prefer to eat vegetables raw. Wash and go. It's a texture thing - squash may be the worst offender when it comes to cooked vegetables. I can't stand the squish. 

Chips don't squish. Let's make some chips.

Gather:
Vegetables (such as potatoes, carrots, zucchini, kale, beets, fennel, squash, etc)
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil per vegetable used
1/4 tsp sea salt per vegetable used
1/4 tsp seasoning per vegetable used

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Wash and DRY desired vegetables and thinly slice (I used sweet potatoes, beets, zucchini and kale). 
• Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and seasonings (I used Cajun seasoning and dried cilantro) until evenly coated.
• Place in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake until crisp. (10 min for kale; 30 - 40 min for others, flip half-way through)

Your chips should last a few days stored in airtight container. Pop them in a hot oven for a few minutes if they feel a little soft.

The kale chips are definitely my favorite. If you try this recipe, give me a shout - let me know which you like best.

Snack Week Recipe: Roasted Chickpeas Two Ways (Salty and Sweet)

It's snack week on Turning Mediterranean! I am a snacker. I often eat snacks for meals. And snacks for snacks. First order of snack week: roasted chickpeas.

I may love chickpeas too much. I toss them in salads and mash them in sandwiches and pluck them straight from the can. With a side of hummus. In my book, chickpeas are the perfect snack food: healthy, easy and delightful to the tongue. Why am I still typing? Let's cook!

Gather:
Two cans chickpeas
1.5 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
(alternatives are offered for the following - see recipe)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Slap Ya Mama Cajun seasoning
1 tsp dried cilantro
2.5 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Step One: Crunch 

• Drain and rinse two cans of chickpeas.
• Rub peas between two paper towels to dry them out a bit. Remove any loose skins.*
• Spread chickpeas in even layer on baking sheet and place in oven. After 15 minutes, give the baking sheet a little shake to toss the chickpeas. Return to oven and bake until almost crisp (about 10 min). Leave the oven at 400 for the next step.

Step Two: Season
While still hot, divide crunchy chickpeas in half.

• SALTY: Toss half of the chickpeas with
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• garlic powder, Slap Ya Mama and cilantro (experiment! try spices such as paprika, cumin, curry powder, lime salt, black sesame seeds, etc if garlic and slap aren't your faves)
• SWEET: Toss remaining half of chickpeas with
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• brown sugar and dried rosemary (try with honey, cinnamon and nutmeg if brown sugar and rosemary isn't your bag)

After chickpeas are evenly coated, return baking sheet. Make a tin foil barrier between the two to keep flavors from mixing. Place in oven until crispy (about 10 min). Store cooled left-overs in an airtight container.

*It is entirely possible that I just eat the skins as I remove them. This is a judgement-free zone.

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.

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.

Recipe: Chickpea Salad

Sometimes your grannie's 90th birthday party starts at 5:45 and you get off work at 5:00 about 45 minutes away from party central and still have to swing by your house so you need something (a) super easy (b) healthful and (c) tasty that you can throw together the busy night before and grab out of the fridge in a mad dash to be fashionably late. During those times, you need chickpea salad.

1 cup spinach, finely chopped in food processor
4 cans chickpeas
10 oz grape tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
1 lime

Rinse and drain chickpeas and place in a large bowl. 
Add all ingredients except lime and goat cheese. Toss.
Just before serving, squeeze juice of lime and crumble goat cheese over top. Toss again.
Eat. Remark on the freshness.

(Hack: Go heavier on the tomatoes and onion and add a jalapeno pepper or two for a sort of chickpea pico de gallo for enchilada night with your Bible study group. I did.)

Recipe: Super Easy Pesto Chicken Pizza

It's possible that I forgot to photograph this pizza when it was fresh out of the oven and looking its best.
It's possible that I warmed up a slice for breakfast just so I could take a photo. The sacrifices I make for blogging.

Turning Mediterranean is not about giving up food you like to eat. It's about making food you like to eat better. It's about saying yes. Today we say yes to pizza.

Confession: I do not like pizza sauce. I've been called un-American for this very reason. Pretty sure pizza sauce is not American so I remain secure in my citizenship. For now. Basil pesto has been the basis for many a pizza in my household (the word "household" totally applies when it's just you and a cat). It's herby and garlicy and olive oily - pretty much the best things that food can be. Grab your greens and we'll hop to.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
tbsp extra virgin olive oil
tbsp chili paste
pre-made whole wheat pizza crust of your choice (I used Mama Mary's. See my crust reviews.)
basil pesto (make it fresh - your taste buds will think you the coolest)
goat cheese, crumbled
mozzarella cheese, grated
cherry tomatoes, cut into slices/chunks

Preheat oven according to directions on pizza crust.
Heat EVOO and chili paste in saute pan over medium-high heat.
Saute chicken breast strips until just cooked through.
Spread pesto over pizza crust (as thick as you like it - remember, pesto is pretty flavorful).
Sprinkle mozzarella, tomatoes and crumbled goat cheese over top.
Strategically (or not) place strips of chicken on top of the other goodness and sprinkle more mozzarella & goat on top.

Bake about 10 minutes (may vary depending on type of crust used). When the cheese is melty and the tomatoes are soft, it's time to stuff pizza in your face take sweet nibbles between healthful bites of salad.

Product Review: Premade Whole Wheat/Grain Pizza Crusts

Unfortunately, I became a pizza girl just before turning Mediterranean. Once or twice a week I would drop by the Publix Deli to pick up a ball of pre-made dough (ain't nobody got time for homemade dough) and make a sauce-less pizza. Sometimes it was a honey and walnut sitch. Other times it was more along the lines of freshly grated cheese and tomatoes.

I won't lie - the dough was my favorite part. Maybe I had a bite or two raw. Maybe the toppings were just an excuse to eat the dough.

I almost gave up on pizza as I was certain that nightmares are made of a whole wheat/grain crust, but I'll try almost anything once. Enter my first two test subjects: Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain and Mama Mary's Whole Wheat Gourmet Crusts.

Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain

If you like a doughy pizza (as I normally do), this may be your whole grain guy. Cook it not quite long enough and you end up with some nice crust love-handles. The taste isn't quite like regular pizza crust. It is good, but I didn't feel 100% satisfied by it. Maybe I'll try cooking it a little longer next time.

Specs: 16 grams of whole grain per serving, 190 cal, 5g fat, 30g carbs, 3g sugar, 6g protein.

Rating: 4 out of 5 turkey pepperonis. 
 
Mama Mary's Whole Wheat Gormet Crust

So I kinda forgot to take a photo before tearing into this baby.

 
Mama Mary's is the WYSIWYG of the pizza crust world. There is no rising. There is no spreading. Basically, you pop a little heat on it and gets a little crusty. The toppings are the star of the show. That's really not such a bad thing. A slice (or two) of pizza made with this lady won't weigh you down. As far as taste - it really didn't seem much different from a regular thin crust.

Specs: made with 100% whole grain and honey, 90g cal, 3g fat, 18g carb, 0g sugar, 3g protein.

Rating: 5 out of 5 turkey pepperonis!

Up next, a pizza recipe of course. What kind of person would I be if I left you hanging with a crust review? 

Have you tried whole wheat/grain crusts?  Tell me about it.

Recipe: Spicy Chicken Meatballs

I love meatballs and I don't want to give them up to turn Mediterranean. Enter spicy chicken meatballs. They taste wonderful + it's almost shameful how easy they are to make.

One of my exes recently gave me a bag full o' Asian delights because I am such an awesome ex-girlfriend that my exes want to do things like give me food stuffs and hire me to build websites and ask me to go to cook a specialty dish for him and his new girlfriend (no, really). Chili paste, fish sauce and fried garlic, oh my! You know what is perfect for all of these ingredients? Chicken meatballs. The chili paste adds a nice subtle heat and the fish sauce adds a salty note. If I have to explain why garlic is a good thing, you are doing food wrong. 

Gather the following:
1 lb ground chicken                                 3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 scallion, sliced                                     handfull of chopped cilantro
1/2 tbsp fish sauce                                  1 tbsp Huy Fong chili paste
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil                      pinch of fried garlic

Mix all ingredients together. Get your hands in there!
Roll into preferred size meatballs and place on greased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 minutes. Turn! Bake until they start to brown a bit.
(Cut one open to make sure they are cooked through - better safe than sorry.)

Optional Meatball Dip: Blend a block of light cream cheese with 4.5 tbsp of organic low fat milk until well combined. Stir in a bit of cilantro and the juice of two limes.

A Day in the Plate

Day one. I have a feeling I'm not doing this quite right. On the plus side, I didn't get hungry between meals and this is way healthier than I usually eat. No fried chicken, gravy or cake! Whoa. 

Breakfast: Whole grain toast w/ hummus & grapes. I tried to have coffee with just a little bit of lowfat milk and creamer but I could only drink half a cup. I only like coffee when it doesn't really taste like coffee.

Lunch: Spinach with olive oil, orange slices, hummus, salami, whole grain crackers, frozen greek yogurt and water with lime.

Supper: Baked tilapia, pinto bean puree, field peas, green beans, tomatoes, cilantro, grapes, and splenda sweetened tea.

Are you turning Mediterranean? Tell me about your meals.