January | 2014 | My Foodie Call | Page 3

Monthly Archives: January 2014
- Spaghetti and Lentil “Meat”Balls
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Jan 14th
  Try these healthy “meat”balls with a little surprise cheesy center.
  
  Spaghetti and Lentil “Meat”Balls.
  
  A closer look.
  
  Gather your goods. Do you have these items? If not, get shopping.
  
  And buy this too if you want the cheesy center.
  
  Spray your mini muffin tins….
  
  Scoop in your lentil mixture…
  
  Cheese cube for the center.
  
  Add more lentil mixture and bake it up….
  
  Add your spaghetti and done. Whole wheat spaghetti, of course.
  
  Spaghetti and Lentil “Meat”Balls
  
  Ingredients:
  - 1 17.6 oz package Pre-cooked lentils (Mine pictured here are from Trader Joe’s)
  - 1 chopped onion
  - 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  - 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
  - 3 eggs beaten
  - 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  - 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
  - salt and pepper to taste
  - 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
  - 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped parsley
  - 1 block of cheese of choice
  Directions:
  1. Add all the ingredients into your food processor bowl, pulse a few times and then and process 20- 30 seconds.
  2. Scoop into pre-sprayed muffin tins, but only filling half way.
  3. Add a small rectangle cube of block cheese. Top with more lentil mixture.
  4. Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
  5. Make spaghetti according the directions. Make sure it is 100% whole wheat, not multigrain…first ingredient should read WHOLE WHEAT. Add sauce.
  Devour.
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged lentils, whole wheat pasta
- What I keep in my purse. Most days.
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Jan 13th
  
  Who cares about my purse, right?
  
  Stupid title, I know. Even worse image. See below:
  
  The aforementioned purse.
  
  However, I get asked a lot what I eat… or what I feed the family…which is the reason for this blog.
  
  What I keep in my purse. Most days.
  
  The royal unveiling. A grapefruit.
  
  Why?
  
  No, not because I dabble in the shenanigans of the grapefruit diet. That’s just madness.
  
  And the My Foodie Call household does not diet, we eat clean. Or clean-ish. I have a soft spot for Menchies. Can’t believe they closed.
  
  Anyhow, I keep this baby in my purse because yes, it’s super good for you. It lowers cholesterol and is loaded with antioxidants, etc. We know….
  
  Those things are great and all, but this grapefruit is my vitamin C “insurance”.
  
  Loads of vitamin C that you just can’t get from orange juice. As everyone knows, vitamin C boosts immunity (a good thing in the winter months), but in addition to this, the vain part of me likes my vitamin C it for those wrinkles that seem to be creeping up as I approach 40. Sigh. C’est la vie.
  
  So this is my “effort”. Eat clean for health and vanity. 🙂
  
  Yes, there are plenty of times when I am just not feeling my lonely “purse grapefruit” and would much rather a Luna bar, but the vitamin C from the grapefruit builds collagen, collagen production reduces wrinkles…you see where this is going?
  
  In short, when I’m not feeling it?
  
  The vain side of me says, “Eat your damn grapefruit!”
  
  and you should too.
  
  Posted in Random stuff
- Small changes…Start buying Ezekiel Bread
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Jan 12th
  
  Have you whizzed past this at the grocery store?
  
  Have you ever seen this at the grocery store? It’s often times in the freezer case instead of the bread aisle.
  
  Why? Well, it’s expensive. Most people have caught onto swapping out white bread for whole wheat, but we can do even better.
  
  Your next step in your nutrition journey?
  
  Ezekiel Bread.
  
  Why?
  
  It’s sprouted bread. No flour.
  
  For all you low-carb people out there, I’m talking to you.
  
  No flour.
  
  Why should I care about sprouted bread? Isn’t my whole wheat bread good enough?
  
  Yes, your whole wheat bread is better than white, but sprouted bread is best. In Ezekiel bread, sprouted kernels are ground up and made into bread. In whole wheat bread, kernels are ground into flour, then the flour is made into bread (with a bunch of other stuff) See the extra steps? More processing=less nutrients
  
  Also, sprouted bread retains more nutrients, is easier to digest and has no added sugar.
  
  Sorry, whole wheat flour. You can’t make that claim.
  
  But how does it taste?
  
  True, it’s not going to be pillowy and dreamy like the Wonderbread from your youth, but give it a shot. Start slow and work it into your food rotation in your tastiest foods. Using it for french toast might be a good starting point.
  
  For our family, I pretty much always have it in my freezer and will take slices out as needed and strategically use the bread when making “kid-friendly” foods like grilled cheese or peanut butter and fluff. Yes, I have tried to make the crew hummus and veggie sandwiches on Ezekiel. Not good.
  
  I’ll leave you with this piece below that’s been floating around Facebook, because I think it’s so dead on:
  
  Posted in Small changes
- Lemon Kale Salad
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Jan 10th
  A simple lemon kale salad for tonight’s recipe.
  
  Do you shop at Trader Joe’s? If not, you should. Three words: Inexpensive, Organic, Produce. Period.
  
  If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, you have my sympathies…
  
  And I suggest you put your house on the market and move closer to one. Ya, it’s worth it.
  
  Buy this, okay? Greens are notoriously filthy and sprayed, sprayed, sprayed. Some things you can skip organic, but not in this case.
  
  Lemon Kale Salad
  
  Ingredients:
  - 1-10 oz bag chopped kale
  - 2 garlic cloves, minced
  - juice from 1 lemon
  - 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  - 1/4 teaspoon everyday seasoning
  - 1/3 cup vegan parmesan (or regular parmesan would work as well)
  Directions:
  1. In a small bowl add garlic, lemon juice, oil, salt, and everyday seasoning. Whisk it up!
  2. Chop your kale. Although the kale in the bag is already chopped, fine chop the kale again, so that your dressing can really soak into the smaller leaves and will better absorb through the fibers.
  3. Pour the lemon dressing onto the kale and toss well. Place in fridge for 1-2 hours, tossing the salad every 15 minutes or so to redistribute the dressing a bit. (This step is important because kale is a fibrous green and the dressing needs time to soak.)
  4. Add your vegan parm and toss again.
  5. Serve.
  Check out that nutrition profile. Health in a bag right here, my friends. Iceberg lettuce is so jealous.
  
  Lemon Kale Salad.
  Posted in Salads, Soups, and Sides | Tagged kale, nutritional yeast
- King Bars. A pre-workout, post-workout, or even “sitting-on-your-couch” energy bar.
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Jan 9th
  A healthy bar.
  
  We all know how to make and break New Year’s resolutions, right? Don’t give up just yet. This bar is worth hanging onto that new workout regimen. Although if you have already thrown in your sweaty towel, not to worry, you can still eat these from the couch.
  
  Here is a recipe that I have been making every so often for a few years now for Mr. Foodie Call. My original intention for these protein/energy bars were for him to use these as a post-workout snack.
  
  Why? They are loaded with protein. We all know about eating protein after a workout, right?
  
  Protein aids in muscle repair, yada yada yada…
  
  But Mr. Foodie Call started eating them before working out. Well it does have oats and chia seeds. Energy powerhouses. In short: Anytime of day would work for eating up these bad boys. Including your Bachelor viewing. That drama requires LOADS of energy.
  
  Insane.
  
  King Bars
  
  Ingredients:
  - 1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats, old-fashioned oats)
  - 1 cup puffed rice cereal (Plain jane, not the sugary kind. These bars are sweet enough on their own. Trust me)
  - 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder (I used vanilla soy protein from Trader Joes)
  - 1/2 cup peanut butter (or any other nut butter)
  - 2 tsp vanilla extract
  - 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  - 3/4 cup honey
  - 1/4 cup gogi berries (or raisins)
  - 2 tablespoons chia seeds (why do I use chia so much? A reminder here)
  - 1/4 tsp salt
  - 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips (get at least 60% dark chocolate for the antioxidants. I like Ghirardelli.)
  Directions:
  1. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients
  2. In a medium bowl mix together the honey and nut butter. Melt in microwave for 35-45 seconds. Stir in the vanilla.
  3. Pour wet mixture on top of dry and stir well.
  4. Press into a pre-sprayed pan with wet fingers, because yes, it’s sticky!
  5. Melt chocolate in microwave and spread evenly on top of the bars.
  6. Freeze for 10 mins. and cut into bars. Wrap individually. Store in the fridge or freezer. I do the freezer.
  A closer look.
  
  My dry ingredients.
  
  Stir a tad…
  
  Sticky sweetener and nut butter of choice.
  
  Combine the two.
  
  Add your gogi berries (or raisins).
  
  Next your chia. These alone will get you through the rose ceremony.
  
  Press it into your pan.
  
  Spread your melted chocolate on top.
  
  Freeze and cut.
  
  Don’t forget to grab one before your family steals them all.
  
  I wrap each in plastic wrap…
  
  Then pop them into these super professionally labeled snack bags.
  
  When to eat King Bars?
  
  Use these bars as fuel. Yes, these can be eaten whenever but ideally? Get off the couch and these are geat pre or post-workout.
  
  How to eat?
  
  Store these individually wrapped in the freezer. When you are ready to eat one, thaw it at room temp for 5 to 15 minutes, and devour.
  Posted in Snacks | Tagged chia, dark chocolate, gogi berries, oats, peanut butter
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