Chicken Ramen with Ginger Scallion Sauce

Ginger scallion sauce is a staple I keep in my fridge at all times. I learned this from David Chang. It's simple to prepare and adds alot of flavor to any dish. The recipe for my version on ginger scallion sauce is 1/4 cup neutral oil (i used extra light olive oil), 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 cups finely sliced scallions, 1/2 cup minced ginger. Add salt to taste. Mix together and refrigerate for an hour before using.

The pics below show Ramen noodles tossed in ginger scallion sauce, topped with water chestnuts, sliced chicken breast (also tossed in sauce), chopped cilantro, fresh scallion, and lime.

Kinder Delice

I tend to eat allot of sweets on and around this day (my b-day). So this morning breakfast was a little naughty and alot chocolaty with the Kinder Delice. Two chocolate cakes with a milky creme filling in between, all covered with more chocolate. The cake is very moist and chocolate very good as always from Kinder. The milk creme in the middle kinda got lost in the cake and added nothing special. In fact, I really couldn't taste anything but cake and chocolate. The Kinder Delice flavor profile can be compared to the Hostess Cupcake, but of a much better quality. Well, breakfast wasn't all that bad...The Kinder Delice chased down by a 60 gram protein shake. Now that's a power breakfast!

Pasta with Meat Ragu

One of my favorite meals of all time, pasta w/ meat ragu. I did this version in less then 20 minutes, with only 6 ingredients (pasta, ground turkey, tomato paste, tomato sauce, honey, onion). Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta (on the back burner is good enough). Chop 1 medium onion, brown in hot skillet with oil (I use light olive oil). Then add 1 lb. ground turkey, season with fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt. Lightly brown the meat, then add 2 big tablespoons of good quality tomato paste, 8 oz. can of tomato sauce (do not use jarred spaghetti sauce, simply get Hunts tomato sauce), and 8 oz water (I use the empty can of tomato sauce to measure). Bring the sauce to a boil and lower heat. At this point drop pasta into boiling pot of water. Make sure that the pasta water is well seasoned with salt. Keep stirring your sauce so it don't stick, add 1 - 2 tablespoons of honey depending on your taste. Let sauce simmer for 3 - 4 minutes then taste and correct seasoning. When pasta is cooked half way, add 2 ladles of pasta water to the sauce to loosen, then drain pasta, and add to the pan. The pasta will absorb the sauce and finish cooking in the pan. Gently toss the pasta so it does not break up. Add as much Romano cheese as you like, toss and serve. I ran out of cheese, but you can sprinkle some on top after plating. And also the pasta I used was Barilla lasagna without the curved edges. Not by choice, it's all I had in the pantry. I just broke it up into the pot and made sure it didn't over cook. 

Mallomars by Nabisco

Mallomars are Smores like cookies that are made by food giant, Nabisco. They get sold mostly on the east coast and at colder months on the west...or something like that. I heard about Mallomars from a friend who swore they're the best cookie of all time. I searched online, amazon was the only site that had them, but out of stock. I set the reminder to email me when it's in stock. MONTHS later i get an email at 4am from amazon...Mallomars 5 in stock. I order a pack (came with 3 boxes of cookies).

So here it is...The famous Nabisco Mallomars. The best cookie ever? A little too sweet (ingredients had High fructose corn syrup, Sugar, Corn syrup, and Inverted sugar). Frozen it was alot better. The chocolate is of pretty good quality..it has some crunch to it which balances the soft texture of marshmallow and cookie. Overall, if Mallomars where a little less sweet, had a better cookie crunch, and stuck with just sugar as the sweetner, i'd be a fan.

Boomi Bar Almond Protein Plus

Here's a simple little protein bar I recently had called the Boomi Bar Almond Protein Plus. Boomi Bars come in many different varieties, but I chose the Almond Protein Plus because of its high protein content (12g). It's all natural, made from almonds, honey, and whey protein isolate. It has a great chewy texture, similar to Marzipan, and tastes great. 

Thai Almond Chicken with Sweet Potato Scallion Cake and Pickled Cucumbers

The chicken went through a marinade consisting of ginger, Thai chili's, onions, limes, cilantro, fish/oyster/soy sauces. The scallion potato cake is simply shredded  sweet potato, scallion, salt and pepper. Served with a Vietnamese cucumber salad which I love so much. Adding lime and fresh herbs really brightens up the dish and is much needed. 

Persian Chicken Kebob

Organic skinless chicken breasts marinaded in lemon juice, yogurt, onions, cilantro, some seasonings. Served with red quinoa, grilled veggies, Shiraz Salad (chopped onion, cucumber, tomato, cilantro, dressed in red wine vinaigrette). Lemon on the side cause fat is flavor but acid is life.

Kinder Happy Hippo Cocoa Cream

Introducing my favorite biscuit of all time, Kinder Happy Hippo. This tasty treat is similar to Ferrero Rocher, a hazelnut based chocolate...my favorite as a child. It led me to the Happy Hippo Cocoa Cream (made by same company Ferrero). The outer shell is a crunchy and light wafer that balances the creamy filling inside. When you bite into the Happy Hippo you'll notice it's filled with two layers of cream. Milk cream on the bottom and cocoa cream on top. And to make it even better, there's black and white chocolate sprinkles applied to the bottom of the Happy Hippo, adding more texture contrast to this amazing biscuit. Made in Germany. Alot of thought and care was put into developing the Kinder Happy Hippo Cocoa Cream. You should try this biscuit, it's simply the best out there.Kinder Happy Hippo Cocoa Cream has no HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives, and no hydrogenated fats. Each biscuit is 119 calories...Link to Ferrero

Super Size Me - Full Length Video Clip

Steal Cut Oats with Clover Honey

Steel cut oats, with a banana whipped in, cranberries, raisins, sliced almonds, and clover honey. Keeps you full with lots of energy to burn.

Vietnamese Shaking Beef

Vietnamese Shaking Beef is a great dish to prepare if you're looking for something different to do with filet mignon. Marinating the beef the night before gives it full flavor you will not soon forget! This is a dish when you have all elements prepared, takes only 10 minutes.

Vietnamese Shaking Beef Recipe
2 Filet Mignon Steaks (3/4 inch cubes)
7 Garlic Cloves (finely chopped)
2 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce (Lee Kum Kee)
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Fish Sauce (Tiparos)
Black Pepper (fresh cracked)
1 Tsp. Chili Garlic Sauce (Vietnamese)
1 Tsp. Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. Dark Soy
Olive Oil

Cooking Directions
1. Cut filet in 3/4 inch cubes. Set inside a large bow.
2. Chop the garlic, add to bowl.
3. Now the fish sauce, soy sauce, pepper, and oyster sauce. Mix well. Marinade overnight or at least 2 hours.
4. In a separate bowl mix brown sugar, dark soy sauce, and chili sauce. Set aside.
5. When you're ready to cook, heat a wok or skillet high. Add oil let smoke 2 seconds, then add beef. Do not crowd the pan. Do not move the beef, let is brown for 2 minutes or until a brown crust forms. At that point, shake the pan so the beef cooks on other sides. You can use tongs to move beef as well, but "shaking" the beef is what this dish is all about.
6. When the beef has browned for about 6 minutes or so, add the chili/dark soy/brown sugar mixture to the pan. Shake the pan until the beef is fully coated with that spicy sweet sauce.
7. Serve over cabbage or any type of greens such as watercress. Top with pickled red onions and cilantro.

Coconut Curry Chicken with Sweet Potato

This coconut curry chicken recipe is a quick version of my original which takes over 2 hours and requires a whole chicken. This version takes about 20 minutes to prepare.

Coconut Curry Chicken with Sweet Potato
2 Chicken Breasts (skinless, organic)
1 Sweet Potato or Yam (small sized)
1 Onion (medium sized)
Curry Powder (2 - 3 tablespoons)
Cayenne Pepper (1/3 teaspoon)
Coconut Milk (8 ounces)
Chicken Stock (1 cup)
Olive Oil
Salt

Cooking Directions
1. Cut the chicken, sweet potato or yam, and onions even in size.
2. In a hot skillet seasoned with olive oil, brown onions and yams. Season with salt.
3. Add 1/4 cup chicken stock, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, brown the chicken in a seperate skillet in the same manner you did the veggies.
5. To the pan with the chicken add 2 tablespoons of curry powder, 1/3 teaspoon cayenne, and salt to taste. The chicken should cook with the spices for a few minutes on medium-low heat.
6. Add the onion/potato mixture to the chicken, along with coconut milk and the remaining chicken stock.
7. Simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes uncovered until sauce thickens. Season to taste. Add more spice if needed.

Chicken or the Egg?

The answer to that long debated question is finally over. The answer is...both. I made this dish for dinner last night, recipe below (serves 1). This photo was taken under a fluorescent light so it did not turn out the great. I'll update next time I make this dish.

Curried Sweet Potato Onion Mash
1 Sweet Potato (Large size)
1 Sweet Onion (Medium size)
Curry Powder
Salt (Coarse Sea Salt)
Pepper (Fresh Cracked)
Olive Oil (Light Extra Virgin)

1. Wrap the sweet potato in foil and bake in the oven 40 minutes or until soft. You can spread a little oil and salt on potato before baking, adds more flavor.
2. Meanwhile chop the onion and saute it in oil on low heat. Season with salt/pepper. The key is to caramelize the onion, not burn them. Low and slow, this may take 20 minutes or more.
3. When the sweet potato is done, remove from owen, unwrap, and give it a rough chop. It'll get mashed later so size in not a concern.
4. Stir in chopped sweet potatoes into the onion mixture in the pan and cook on medium-low heat. Rough mash the potato, keep it rustic.
5. Add a few dashes of curry powder to taste, then taste for seasoning. Set aside.

Chicken Marinade
1 Chicken Breast (Organic Skinless)
Olive Oil (Light Extra Virgin)
Paprika (Hungarian)
Cumin
Salt (Course seas salt)
Pepper (Fresh cracked)
Dry Herb Mix (Thyme, Rosemary, Cilantro)

1. Butterfly chicken and marinade in oil, paprika, cumin, s&p, and dry herbs overnight or at least 1 hour.
2. Saute in oil 4 - 5 minutes.

To Plate
1. Make sure you have veggies cooked. I chose broccoli (steamed).
2. Fry egg in butter, season to taste.
3. Place a portion of the sweet potato mash on the plate with some veggies.
4. Put chicken off center with egg on top.
5. Sprinkle paprika to serve.

Pepper Crusted New York Strip Steak

On my way home I picked up a New York steak from Whole Foods. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. High heat, crust both sides, pop in the oven for a 2 - 3 minutes. Served with a baked sweet potato and some veggies...that's dinner.

Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie Snack Bar

I've been looking for a snack bar to take with me on fishing/hiking trips, something natural and made with fruit/nuts...So I found the Larabar. The stats are very good. It's gluten free, dairy free, soy free, non gmo, vegan, and kosher. Larabar tastes very clean.  Mostly of dates and peanuts since that's all it's made of. There really was no "Butter Cookie" taste to it. Regardless, the quality is far superior to anything I've seen or tasted. Ingredient list from the Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie; Dates, Peanuts, Salt. That's it. I also have with me an Apple Pie Larabar and it reads...Dates, Almonds, Apples, Walnuts, Raisins, and Cinnamon. This one had more dimension then the Peanut Butter Cookie, but I loved them both. I'll still keep an eye open for new snack bars but Larabar is here to stay.

A Farewell to Udon Noodles

Today I woke up early and had no appetite to eat. Got on my exercise bike for 30 minutes, lifted some weights, 200 sit ups later...I need to eat. After workout, a protein shake always helps rebuild muscle, so I had that. For extra carbs I ate pumpkin flax cereal. Here's a picture of what I had for lunch; It's basically Udon noodles tossed in a ginger scallion sauce with chili garlic chicken and roasted vegetables. I sauted the chicken and vegetables separate to keep them from overcooking, then tossed it all together with the noodles. Garnished with Sriracha and toasted sesame seeds. So good. Quick and simple to make, I had many of the components ready in the fridge. The chicken had been marinating for over a day. Vegetables where leftover from yesterdays roasting, and I already had the ginger scallion sauce (made from scratch). Total of 15 minutes to prepare, made 2 servings. On a side note, I'm trying to stay away from using wheat products and this will probably be my last Udon noodle dish I make at home. At least the whole wheat version. I hope to find them made with sprouted grains, quinoa, or something along those lines.

Think Thin Creamy Peanut Butter Protein Bar

I was at my local Vitamin Shoppe picking up some Pro Complex when I saw this protein bar. Think Thin makes "natural" meal replacement/snack bars, full of protein with no sugar (sugar alcohols 11 grams). So I grabbed one to try out. To be honest, this bar is pretty bad. Not sure what part of this bar they consider creamy. It's the opposite of creamy...it's grainy and tastes nothing like peanut butter. The entire bar has a strange aftertaste I can't describe. Must be from the pyridoxine hyrdochloride or maybe the copper gluconate. I should have read the label before buying. And just because it's labeled natural, doesn't make it good for you.

Winner Winnner Chili Garlic Chicken Dinner

Tonight dinner was fairly simple. Marinate some chicken breast in a chili garlic sauce, serve with a salad or whatever vegetable I had in the fridge. I do the marinating the night before. This is necessary to give bland chicken breast FLAVOR. My chili garlic marinade includes sliced onion, sliced garlic, chopped cilantro, lite olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, Spiracha hot chili sauce, and chili garlic sauce from Tuong Ot (maker of Spiracha). This chili garlic marinade is great for a thai or Vietnamese type menu. It's tangy, spicy, and umami all the way! I love to grill this chicken and serve over a Thai herb salad, but I didn't have enough herbs and was out of fish sauce. Let's just keep it simple. Toss asparagus and sliced sweet potatoes in oil and seasoning. Place in a hot oven for about 20 minutes. Dinner is served.

Elvis's favorite recipe

Elvis probably hated oatmeal. But he did love peanut butter & banana sandwiches. So in honor of that useless fact, i present to you...Elvis Oats. The recipe is very simple to prepare, healthy, and it's great for those cold mornings. Elvis Oats starts by preparing steel cut oats cooked with soy milk (you can also use almond, rice, or moo milk). West Soy unsweetened organic soy milk is what I use. Cook oats for about 15 min, add sliced bananas, vanilla, and spice (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg). Simmer on low for another 5 min or until oats are tender. The bananas will break down into the oatmeal, giving it a nice thick consistency. Sometimes the bananas aren't sweet enough so I add a little honey or maple syrup to taste. When it's ready, pour into bowl, slice some more bananas on top, a spoonful of almond butter, some chopped almonds, sprinkle cinnamon (for pam beesly).

 














Elvis Oats
1/4 cup Steel cut oats (Country Choice organic Irish style)
1 & 1/3 cup Soy milk (West Soy organic unsweetened)
1 Banana (large, organic, sliced thin)
1/3 Tsp.Vanilla Extract (organic)
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon (dry)*
1/4 Tsp. Nutmeg (freshly grated)*
1/4 Tsp. Ginger (dry)*
Salt (pinch, course sea salt)*
Almonds (chopped, unsalted organic)
Almond butter (Barney Butter)
Honey (optional)

*The spice or any other seasoning should be added to taste. Also remember to add a little spice at a time, let it cook then taste. You can always add more, don't over season.

Cooking Directions
1. In a small non-stick pot, bring 1 cup soy milk (or water) to a slight boil.
2. Add steel cut oats. Cook on low heat for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remember that oats are notorious for burning, so you must stir frequently.
3. When the liquid is absorbed add in 1/3 cup soy milk, sliced bananas (save a few for garnish),  vanilla, salt, and spices. Simmer another 5 minutes or until it's the consistency you like. I mash the bananas so they become one with the oats, this is optional.
4. If mixture gets too thick, add a 1/4 cup more soy milk or water.
5. Taste for seasoning. If it's not sweet enough, add a tablespoon or two of honey.  Let simmer another 2 - 3 minutes, then taste again. If it tastes good in the pot, it's ready for the bowl.

Toppings:
1. Sliced bananas
2. Chopped almonds
3. Spoon full of almond butter
4. Sprinkle cinnamon 

This recipe is very simple to make. Serves 1 - 2.

Almond butter and jelly sandwich attack!

I love AB&J sandwiches. To me it's better then PB&J because i love almonds...plus they provide much more health benefits from what i read. Anyway, my favorite almond butters is Justin's Maple Almond Butter. It's all natural, heres the quick ingredients list; dry roasted almonds, maple sugar, organic palm fruit oil, sea salt. It's very good on toast, oatmeal, with an apple or banana. I like to buy the individual packets rather then a jar, because It helps me control my portions. On this day I tried a new brand called Barney Butter. The only difference in ingredients, evaporated cane juice vs maple syrup like Justin's has. Honestly I rather consume maple syrup, but ok, let's try something new. I can say it's alot smoother then Justin's which has a bit of a grainy texture. Barney Butter is much smoother and somewhat runny, similar to melted peanut butter. But the flavor is great. I spread some on sesame bread (Ezekiel sprouted grain) with a little strawberry jam and gulp!