Pink Grapefruit and Cashew Smoothie

This is an alkalizing smoothie.  I love this smoothie.  However, this is more like a grown up smoothie.  Atzin doesn't like it, so I don't make it often.  He doesn't like it because of the grapefruit.  I, on the other hand, love it exactly because of the combination of the grapefruit and strawberry flavor.  It is wonderful.  To me, it's subtle and perfect.  This recipe makes a very generous tall glass.  It is a hearty and refreshing combination.  You try variations of this - such as eliminating the grapefruit and adding another orange or more berries.  I really like this one.  This one is from the book Paleo Smoothies: 120 Delicious Paleo Smoothies for Alkalizing, Detoxing, Weight Loss, and Optimal Health.

1 pink grapefruit
1 cup fresh strawberries
1/8 cup cashews
1 orange
1 cup of ice

(This is 7 WW points).

Peanut Butter Monkey Smoothie

I absolutely love this smoothie, but hadn't made it for awhile.  This is a good workout smoothie.  I would make it before Atzin and I would go lift weights.  I also occasionally make it as a "breakfast" smoothie.

This smoothie is supposed to be a metabolic accelerator.  Being in weight watchers, this does take a leap of faith because if you had the entire serving it would be a whopping 15 points in the weight watchers world.  However, it was always amazing to me how when I ate Paleo, I would eat so much and think, I must have gained so much weight this week; but in fact, I would end up losing more weight.  So, although this is calorie dense because of the "good fats" in this, I wouldn't worry about it too much.  You can see that I am a mestiza even in my "diet" philosophy; pulling from various diet traditions and tools.  I think one of the reasons I was able to lose so much weight on weight watchers was because it was only one tool among many others - including switching to what Rolando, my husband, calls a Paleo inspired diet because I don't stick to it all the time.  As you will see in this blog, I am always gluten free - but not always grain free completely.

Given that last week, I got out all my desires for gluten free grains (the gluten free buttermilk pancakes, the gluten free biscuits, etc.), I'm feeling the desire for a completely Paleo day today (no grains at all and no dairy).   I am evening thinking it might be a smoothie day for breakfast and lunch with enjoying my fill of Paleo tamales this evening.

Okay, so here it is:  (Adapted from  the book 31 Perfect Fitness Smoothies)

1 Scoop of Chocolate Protein Powder
1 TBSP unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 TBSP coconut oil
1 TBSP almond butter
1 banana
1 tsp vanilla stevia
5 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in you blender until smooth and enjoy!

This makes a VERY generous 1 serving.  Usually, I make this and it makes enough for Atzin to have one whole protein shake mixer of it and I am able to have a small glass (so only 5 pts).  This morning I doubled the recipe and it was enough for all three of us to have a protein shake mixer of it - about 3/4 full.

Paleo Tamales

*This is an update to the post on tamales.  I have made this recipe a few times now, and it is my FAVORITE paleo tamales recipe.  As I discuss below, I have made this in stages or all at once depending on how much time I have.  I also want to say that although I have some recipe ideas for fillings, I have seriously used whatever is available and fast at home as well.  For example, one time, I happened to have the chipotle sauce, so I used that with the meat instead of the chile colorado, I even once *gasp* used canned beans. Another time, I used a rotisserie chicken from Costco with a green tomatillo sauce.  Improvise, have fun, and make it realistic and doable for you!

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I am going to make Paleo Tamales this week.  My strategy for making them given how busy I am is to make them in stages.  I have the cooked spaghetti squash in the fridge.  You see, part of what you have to do is take advantage of those blocks of time where you are doing something else that is a part of your routine to also do some of the time consuming steps.  I will edit this post as I make each component of the tamales.  This is my personal challenge - making tamales when I don't have a large block of time!

Ingredients:
Masa
4 cups spaghetti squash (1 medium sized spaghetti squash) - cooked and strained.
 3 1/4 cup almond flour
2/3 cup arrowroot flour
2 TBS some sort of fat (I have used lard or butter in the non vegetarian version)
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
3 eggs

Beef Filling: (This will be my mom's "recipe.")
2 lb. lean cut of beef
cumin (about 1 tsp)
garlic (2 cloves)
sea salt (about 1-2 tsp according to taste)
pepper (about 1/2 tsp)
olive oil (about 1-2 TBS)
chile colorado (about 1/4 cup added the meat when sautéing)

Notice the estimates here.  I realized that I am not good at this posting recipes for other people.  Since I don't use a "recipe" for this, I forgot to measure exactly how much I was using.  So these are estimates.

Vegetarian Filling: (My own invention) (Could be vegan, you would just need to substitute the butter).
2 lb button mushrooms
2 lb kale
2 TBS olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 TBS butter
2 TBS arrowroot powder

This filling was so delicious by the way.  It is great just as a veggie side dish too.

Chile Colorado: (Adaptation of my mom's way of making it)
10 chiles anchos
4 California chiles
2 onions
8 cloves of garlic
2 TBS olive oil
3 tsp cumin
2 cups beef stock (from the beef you cooked in the slow cooker).
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 TBS salt

Other things needed:
Corn husks, banana leaves, or parchment paper. (Whatever you are going to use as the wrapper.  In my case, I am going to use corn husks this time).

Day 1
So, Step 1: Bake the spaghetti squash.  It takes me about an hour in the morning to get ready, for Atzin to get ready, and get out the door.  So as soon as I got up, I put the spaghetti squash in the oven.  By the time I was ready to leave, I knew it would have been an hour, so I turned off the oven, removed the spaghetti squash and left it there to be dealt with later that day.  If you are worried about leaving the house and forgetting - set a timer on your phone or some other way to remind yourself.  This literally took only seconds out of my morning to do this.  It was easy and this is one hour worth of prep time.

Step 2: Scrape spaghetti noodles. When I got home, I cut it in half, using a fork, I scraped out the "spaghetti noodles" from the squash.  I put this in the fridge ready to be used for the masa.  I put this in a container and put it in the fridge.

Day 2
Step 3: Boil the beef. Before bed, I put the beef I will be using for tamales in the slow cooker.  I put the meat in slow cooker with some whole garlic cloves, salt, and pepper. I am about to go to bed and I can smell it cooking!  Sweet dreams to me.

The next day I will sauté the meat and get it ready to use as a filling.

Day 3
Step 4: Boil the chile ancho and guajillo for the chili colorado.
1. Rinse and de seed the chiles.
2. Bring 4 cups of water to boil and add the chiles.  Let these soak pushing them down with a fork or whatever else to make sure they are completely submerged in the water. Let it stand for about 1/2 an hour.  In my case I let them stand all afternoon until I got home.  I'm telling the real story.
3. In a separate pot, boil the onion.

In the morning, after dropping off Atzin at school, I come back home and finish getting ready.  It takes me about 1/2 an hour. Perfect time to boil the chiles and the onion.  Turn it off, and go.

Remember to put away the beef you cooked overnight and keep some of the beef broth for use in the chile colorado.

Step 5: Make the chile colorado

Later that day in the early evening, I finished the chile colorado, then went to pick up Atzin from baseball practice and finished some grocery shopping.

1. In your blender or food processor (I used the vitamix of course), blend the chiles, onions, and garlic. Make sure to keep some of the chile liquid for later.  

2. In a saucepan, heat the oil and add and saute the cumin. 

3. Add the chile mixture and simmer for 3 minutes. 

4. Add 1 cup of stock and 1 cup of the reserved liquid from the chiles.  The chile should look "saucy" like a marinara sauce.  

5. Add salt. 

6. Set aside.  This can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days, beyond that in the freezer.  

Then, once we had dinner (I kept it really simple so it didn't involve cooking.  A cold salad with pre-cooked chicken or salmon that I already had in the fridge).  See, I am giving you the real scoop.  Don't even think I'm doing this AND making some other dinner!  We had cut up strawberries for dessert.  

Step 6: Make the fillings

Beef
1. Mince the meat so that it is in very small pieces.  I prefer it this way and this is how I was taught by my mom.  I have seen others use larger beef pieces, but I prefer I finely minced meat.
2. Heat the oil.
3. Add the meat and spices.  I added about 1/4 cup of chile colorado.  Again, this is  unique to my mom.  Others will not add any chile colorado to the meat and put some in the tamale during the assembly.  I like to do both.  This way, the meat is really moist with the chile colorado and spread throughout.  Then, you have the added bonus of the extra sauce when you assemble the tamales.

Vegan/Vegetarian
1. Mix the butter or butter substitute (I used buttery spread) and the arrowroot with a fork until it's mixed well.
2. In a skillet heat the oil.  Add the garlic and onion.
3. Add the mushrooms and saute
4. Add the kale and spices.  Saute for about 10-15 minutes.  Stirring frequently
5. Add the butter mixture.  This creates a nice creamy texture.

Now the fillings and the sauce is ready.  Tomorrow I will make the masa and assemble!

Day 4

Step 7: Make the masa!  

1. Take the 4 cups of spaghetti squash and strain them.  I have found that best way is to use a cheesecloth and squeeze as much liquid out as possible.  The masa turns out better when you are able to get much of the liquid strained out of the spaghetti squash. Put the spaghetti squash in the food processor.
2. Place the spaghetti squash in the bowl and add the other ingredients. Mix.

Step 8: Prepare the corn husks

1.  Fill a bowl with hot water and soak the corn husks.

Step 9: Assemble and Bake

1. Place the corn husk on the palm of your hand, place a good 2 TBS or so on the corn husk and spread the masa with the back of a tablespoon.   (Make sure the corn husks are nice and moist - don't let them dry out.  The moisture helps so they won't stick).
2. Place the filling in the middle of the tamale dough and add some more chile colorado.
3. Fold over one side and sort of roll the corn husk closed, and fold the top flap down.
4. Place them in a baking pan and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Steam the tamales for about 2 hours.

I had enough filling for a second batch so I made a different masa.  Here it is:

Almond Flour Flax Meal Masa
1 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 cup flax seed powder
8 oz butter
1/2 cup chile colorado
1 tsp salt

This is the first time I made this masa and I will update this site as I modify the recipe.  It was good, but I would add more spices.

I definitely like the first masa recipe better - and I was about to celebrate, I was so sure this batch would be perfect because I've made major adjustments to the recipe - but I think they need more fat.  I will keep adjusting that first recipe as well.  I think it's almost perfect.

I didn't take any photos because this is real life folks.  My kitchen table is full of mail I haven't sifted through yet, dishes that need to be washed, and my pajamas were hanging off the chair.  I am not one of those glamorous women posting beautiful pictures of cooking in a perfect kitchen on the internet.  I'm an overburdened, overworked professor who still wants her family to eat good food.  Then, a photo would be yet one more thing to post.  I will do this for you all at some point so you can see the tamales.

I have to tell you I was regretting today that I had just spent all this time on these tamales.  However, after I got to bite into them, oooohhhh soooo gooood.  It was so worth it.  It's like childbirth.  It's so hard, but the result is very much worth it and you would do it all over again.  I think I had like 10 of them.

I couldn't believe that this evening all I had to do was make the masa and assemble.  I couldn't have done this any other way but in stages this week.  Lately my weekends just blend right into a weekday and I don't have any down time.

Well, I am going to try this again soon so that I can continue to perfect that masa.  Check back for modifications to these recipes!

Preparing for the Week by Using a Shopping List and Recipe Planning App

It's Sunday and time to get ready for the week.  This is the time that I plan for the week and a tool that I have found really helpful is a meal planning app.  Trust me, it feels like it's a lot of work at first, but it is well worth it and makes things easier in the long run.  When I am overwhelmed, tired, and have little time, the last thing I want to think about is "What am I going to make for dinner tonight." If I think of something, then I realize that I am missing some ingredient.

I use the Weight Watchers meal planning app because I had access to that as a WW member.  I looked into other apps that might be helpful and do the same thing.  Here's one I saw online and had good reviews, but I have not tried it and cannot vouch for it.  If anyone knows some good apps, let me know and I will post them for others to be able to check out.

http://www.foodonthetable.com/

Here is another one I found.  I get recipes from this site, but I haven't used any of their apps.

http://get.ziplist.com/how-it-works/shopping-lists/

It does really help when you plan this way.  Many of the apps come with recipes already in their bank.  What takes time is adding your recipes.  Start with a few of your main recipes that you really love, that are easy, and you make often.

Then, once the recipes are in your app, you can create a shopping list based on what you want to cook that week.  This is complicated for me because shopping usually requires at least three or more stores: Trader Joe's, Costco, Whole Foods, and my local market.  Having a shopping list is really helpful.  I can easily check what I already have at home, and what I might need to buy.  I might make one stop on my way home or do some of the shopping on Sunday if I have a chance.  But knowing what I need helps me figure out when I can do the shopping.

I only have to cook three to four days a week because I will make enough to have left overs on other days.

For this week I am planning on making:

Main meals:
An Indian spiced lamb stew
Rosemary lemon chicken
Paleo meatloaf
Paleo tamales (a beef version and a vegan version)

Side dishes:
Cauliflower rice
Curried carrots and kale
Broccoli-Cauliflower bake

Kiwi Pineapple Smoothie

This is one of my absolutely favorite smoothies.  I made it this morning as Atzin was getting ready for a game and I was getting ready for a run.  This smoothie turns out with a really creamy texture.  It's delicious!

1 kiwi (you can put the whole kiwi in without peeling)
1 large banana
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 TBS canned coconut milk
1 1/2 TBS flax seeds
1 3/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1/2 serving vanilla protein powder

Mix in your blender or Vitamix!

This will make 3 small servings.  However, I doubled this recipe.  By doubling it, it filled 3 of those protein shaker containers almost to the top.  This way I had enough for three of us (my husband too).

I normally make this recipe and it makes enough for Atzin, my son to fill his protein shaker container and I have about a small glass full.

Highly recommended - this is one of our regular favorites.

4 Weight Watcher points per serving

Gluten Free Fluffy Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

Yesterday, I decided that I wanted breakfast for lunch and have been craving everything buttermilk lately.  So, I made some buttermilk biscuits a previous day and had also made regular buttermilk pancakes, gluten free of course.  However, I wanted something a bit more luxurious in a pancake and this was it!  They were soooo good.

These are great plain.  I also ate them with mixed berries and tiny bit of agave.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cubs of Namaste gluten free flour*
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup of low-fat buttermilk (If you are using a non-gluten free flour 1 cup of buttermilk should work).
3 large eggs (2 eggs for regular, non gluten free flour).
2 Tbs of coconut palm sugar.
2 Tbs of lemon zest
1/2 cup skim ricotta cheese.
cooking spray (I used coconut oil cooking spray in this case just so you know).

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, beat together the buttermilk, egg yolks, coconut palm sugar, lemon zest, and ricotta cheese.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until the soft peak forms.

Add dry ingredients to buttermilk mixture until just combined; gently fold in egg whites until they are just incorporated.

Coat the nonstick griddle or pan with cooking spray; heat over medium heat.
Use about 1/4 cup measuring cup or spoon for the batter and cook each pancake.

For those of you watching your "Weight Watchers" points, these would be 5 points for two pancakes - I would say well worth the 5 points!

If you are worried about not having time, I made the batter a day ahead of time when I had the chance and put it in the fridge.  Then, this morning, I just took out the batter and cooked them.  I have a busy weekend, but still wanted to have pancakes in the morning. So this was a way to do it.



*Note:  I will specify the type of gluten free flour mix I use in a recipe because this does make a difference.  If you use a different mix or even regular flour you might need to make some adjustments.  Each gluten free flour does work a bit differently.