Immune Booster Garlic Ginger Shrimp with Quinoa

It seems everyone I know is sick right now.  I decided to make an immune boosting meal to kick start healing!  It turned out awesome!

I have never cooked quinoa before - it is high in riboflavin and phosphorus.  I am pleasantly surprised I like it, the flavor and texture packs a punch for such a small grain.  I imagined it tasting like couscous - but it is much better...and gluten free for those who like that!

Ingredients:

White jumbo shrimp 1 or 2 cups (up to you!)
1/2 cup of quinoa (or 1 cup if you are preparing for more than 2 people)
Olive oil - 2 tablespoons
Baby spinach (chopped) 1-2 cups chopped
Bok Choy (chopped) 2 stalks - chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, sliced thin
Grated fresh ginger - 1 tsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Roma tomato - 1/2 diced
Salt free seasoning - 2 tsp.
Chili powder - two dashes
Blackstrap molasses (unsulphured) - 1 tablespoon
Coarse sea salt - 1/2 tsp.

Directions:

• Prepare quinoa first.  Cooks in 20 minutes approximately.  1:2 ratio.  I used 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup water.  Add salt free seasoning to it while it is simmering.
• Saute' spinach, bok choy or about a minute in a little olive oil - set aside (just enough to lightly wilt the spinach)
• Saute' shrimp, ginger, sea salt, chili powder, & garlic.  Add the molasses, lime juice about half way through.
• Once the shrimp is finished, it is ready to serve

I plated mine as follows with fresh diced tomato, however, in hindsight I may have added those tomatoes to the cooking shrimp near the very end so they absorb the flavor and release the lycopene.  Hindsight is 20/20!

Healing properties

Ginger 
Aids in Digestion – Ginger is perhaps the best herb for digestion. It helps break down proteins to rid the stomach and intestines of gas. It also aids in the digestion of fatty foods.

Alleviates High Blood Pressure – Ginger’s warming quality improves and stimulates circulation and relaxes the muscles surrounding blood vessels, facilitating the flow of blood throughout the body.

Treats Nausea and Morning Sickness – Ginger has been widely shown to prevent as well as treat motion sickness, relax the stomach and relieve the feeling of nausea.

Lowers LDL Cholesterol – Studies demonstrate that ginger can lower cholesterol levels by reducing cholesterol absorption in the blood and liver. Its extract can help reduce the levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol in the body, reducing the risk of developing heart disease.

and more ginger benefits here.

Garlic
Garlic is an Antioxidant
Researchers have widely believed that the organic compound in garlic, allicin, which gives garlic its aroma and flavour, acts as the world’s most powerful antioxidant.

Garlic has been used as both food and medicine in many cultures for thousands of years, dating back to when the Egyptian pyramids were built. In early 18th-century France, gravediggers drank crushed garlic in wine believing it would protect them from the plague that killed many people in Europe. During both World Wars I and II, soldiers were given garlic to prevent gangrene. Today garlic is used to help prevent heart disease, including atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries (plaque buildup in the arteries that can block the flow of blood and may lead to heart attack or stroke), high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and to boost the immune system.

Garlic is rich in antioxidants, which help destroy free radicals -- particles that can damage cell membranes and DNA, and may contribute to the aging process as well as the development of a number of conditions, including heart disease and cancer. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and reduce or even help prevent some of the damage they cause over time.

Garlic Is An Antibiotic
The allicin in garlic is also a powerful antibiotic, which fights infection and bacteria. British researchers gave 146 people either a placebo or a garlic extract for 12 weeks. The garlic takers were two-thirds less likely to catch a cold. Other studies suggest that garlic lovers who eat more than six cloves a week have a 30 percent lower rate of colorectal cancer and a 50 percent lower rate of stomach cancer. Garlic helps to open clogged sinuses.


Garlic Reduces Cholesterol
In a 2012 study from the Institute of Toxicology at Shandong University, researchers analyzed data from 26 well-designed clinical trials to evaluate the effects of garlic on cholesterol levels. Overall, the researchers found that garlic was more effective than placebo in reducing cholesterol. The authors noted that when compared to control groups, garlic significantly reduced both total cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
There are many additional studies confirming that garlic in several forms can reduce cholesterol.

Garlic Is An Aphrodisiac
Garlic has the ability to increase and improve circulation and it is thought that it can stir up passions! Tibetan monks were forbidden from entering the monasteries if they had eaten garlic.

Bok Choy
High in vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, and iron.

Spinach
Spinach, like bok choy is high in vitamin C, vitamin A, and provides calcium and iron.

Molasses - nutrition breakdown here
Molasses as medicine cures:
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Depression, anxiety, and related nervous disorders
Chronic ailments, such as arthritis and rheumatism
Tumors and fibroids
Constipation
Heart palpitations
Anemia
Acne

Chicken Teriyaki Stir-Fry with Brown Rice - 30 minute meal :)

I love the idea of stir fry, because if you do it right, the vegetables retain their nutrient values.
I also love Pei Wei, but can't always afford to eat out.  So I decided to recreate Pei Wei's chicken teriyaki with brown rice bowl at home.  It turned out pretty good and it's fairly simple!

Ingredients:
5 Chicken breast tenderloins (grilled)

Green Beans (fresh)
Broccoli
Scallions
Yellow onion
Carrot
Garlic
Bok Choy
Sesame Seeds
Olive Oil
Coarse Seat Salt
Teriyaki Sauce (use your favorite brand - the thick kind, or make your own)

Brown Rice - 1.5 cups of brown rice to 4 cups of water

Directions:

Begin cooking the brown rice according to directions.  I usually add extra water and let it simmer for a while because I like it softer. As the rice is cooking...

Grill the chicken - adding teriyaki sauce to it as it grills, the cut it in strips and set aside.

Chop your veggies (I use a thin slicing mandolin for the carrots and medium slice for the onions - the rest I chop by hand)

Put some oil and coarse sea salt into your large pan.  Heat it medium high

Add broccoli, carrots, and green beans and stir fry for about 2 minutes - moving them constantly.

Add onions, garlic, and bok choy, and saute' another 2 minutes.

Add the chicken.

Stir fry for another 2 minutes and add teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds.

The rice should be finished by the time the chicken is grilled and veggies are cooked
Plate it and serve!

Twisted Hawaiian Burger with Sweet Potato Slaw

Inspired by my love of Japanese food, I decided to throw a twist into making a Hawaiian style burger.  It does take some prep time, but it was worth it!  The photo - yeah, not my best work!  The camera died before I could take a picture of the pineapple stage, and the final outcome :/.

Ingredients:

Hamburger patties

Buns (of your choice)

Pineapple rings

4 Slices of Swiss Cheese

2 Sweet potatoes (peeled, and cut julienne style)

2 TB butter (unsalted)

1 Carrot (diced small)

1 Celery Stalk (diced small)

2 Garlic Cloves (fresh)

6 Almonds (raw)

1 TB Minced Onion

1 tsp. Honey

1 tsp. Lime juice

BRAGG's Liquid Amino's or Soy Sauce

Black Pepper

Coarse Sea Salt (in a grinder)

Homemade Teriyaki (or store bought - I just didn't have any on hand)

1 C. Water

5 TB Brown Sugar

1 TB Sesame Seeds

1/4 C. Soy Sauce (or I use BRAGGS liquid amino's)

1 tsp. Ginger (fresh ground)

1 tsp. Garlic powder (I used onion powder because I am out of garlic powder)

2 TB Pineapple juice (I used the juice from the can)

2 TB Corn Starch

• For sauce - add all ingredients to a sauce pan (except the corn starch) - heat until sugar melts.  Mix the corn starch with 1/4 cup cold water and dissolve.  Add the corn starch mixture to the saucepan and continue to heat and stir until thick.

Directions:

• First, prepare the teriyaki sauce if you want to make it from scratch (directions below).  
• Next, dice the carrots, celery, almonds, and garlic very fine.
• Julienne the sweet potatoes (I used a food processor for this).
• Saute the sweet potatoes in the butter, honey, minced onion, and a dash of salt until soft with a slight crisp.
• Saute the carrots, celery, almonds, lime juice, and garlic in 1 TB of butter for about a minute or two. Set both aside.
• Heat the grill or griddle.
• Drizzle some BRAGG's (or soy sauce) and black pepper onto the hamburger patties (both sides).
• Cook the hamburgers, adding the Swiss cheese towards the end.
• Add a little butter to the griddle and brown the buns.
• Add a little teriyaki sauce to the bottom bun.
• Pile on the ingredients!
• Patty  
• Sweet potato slaw
• Carrot mix
• Teriyaki Sauce
• Pineapple Slice 

I highly recommend napkins for this one....and my camera died before I could get a final shot or one with a pineapple slice on it for that matter!  Enjoy!

    

Homemade Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

This is a family favorite that I just made up... ;).  My family loves it, it is at comfort to and it happens to be very healthy for you.

Prep time is about 10 minutes or less, and cook time is basically to your preference usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes I like to simmer it.

Some people say that nutrients are lost if you heat vegetables, this is not true, some vegetables require heat in order to release the nutrients, root vegetables mostly and some stalk vegetables. This is the reason why boiled potatoes, celery, carrots, and other root vegetables are used in soups. The nutrients are retained in the water and the stock.  Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

6 cups of water

2 chicken tenderloins

3 medium-sized carrots 

3 celery stocks

2 Cloves of garlic (minced)

1/2 sweet onion

1 bunch of chives

1 package of onion soup mix

1 can of great Northern beans

1/2 cup of white rice

1/4 cup of wild rice

1 can of sweet peas

1 can of whole kernel corn (no salt added)

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Seasonings:

Chicken poultry seasoning

Lemon pepper

Black pepper

1 tablespoon of honey

3 teaspoons of paprika

Optional seasonings:

Molasses

Pumpkin spice

Directions:

The first step is to sauté your garlic and sweet onion in the butter on medium to high for about 45 seconds to a minute.

The next step is add the chicken tenderloins

And the carrots, celery, green onions

and sauté for about one minute or less add 6 cups of water.

Add onion soup mix

At this point you let it simmer for about 10 minutes or less.  Add corn (I leave the juice in for flavor). Add wild rice, and white rice, and Northern beans (rinse the beans all in a colander until they're clear of all juice that was in the can).

Save the sweet peas for the last five minutes. Now just let it simmer on medium to low heat for 25 minutes or so.  If you are using an electric stove use the setting of about 4 1/2 or 5. And if you use a gas stove set your heat to medium fire.

As it is simmering, it is good to test it for taste. As the water evaporates, of course the seasoning will concentrate, however it is good to taste it to see if it's going in the right direction.

I forgot to add honey while the onions and garlic were sautéing and that's usually what gives a little bit of sweetness and brings out the flavor of the onions.  So I'm going to go ahead and add it while the water is boiling.

And while the water is boiling, I am going to make a batch of cornbread. I use Jiffy cornbread mix requires one egg and 1/3 cup of milk (we use almond milk). You preheat your oven to 400°, I use a glass Pyrex baking dish for this usually around one. They bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown, and while they are cooking I usually bring them out midway and put a little butter on top, and let them finish baking.

Here you can see all the vegetables and everything coming together. I also added a little bit of paprika that's why the broth is a little bit red not from tomatoes

So as it was simmering (uncovered), I decided to use the inspiration of Fall to spice it up a little bit. I added some pumpkin spice (about 1 teaspoon) and molasses (just about a teaspoon and a half), and a little bit of black pepper. It seems to really give it the last kick that it needed.  Also to thicken it up just a little bit you can add some all-purpose flour probably about 2 tablespoons, I usually dissolve it in water first and use a wire whisk to get the lumps out and then I add it, thickens up over time as it heats.  Top it off with a few sprinkles of French fried onions and you're good to go.

ANNNND.... here it is, eat up!

Baked Tofu & Almond Stir-Fry

This is an easy vegetarian stir-fry that is high in protein.

Ingredients:

Broccoli
Carrots
Baby corn
Cabbage
Water chestnuts (sliced)
Yellow onion
Tofu (firm, cut in cubes, marinate in Teriyaki sauce)
Sliced almonds
Garlic
1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil (to stir-fry veggies)

Sauce:

1 - 1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. Bragg's liquid amino's
Sea salt
Hoisin sauce (about 2 tablespoons)
Flour or xantham gum to thicken sauce

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Place tofu on a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or olive oil spray.
3. Bake until browned, turning once (about 15-20 minutes)
4. Rinse, cut, and prepare veggies.
5. Stir-fry on high until slightly tender, turn off heat (add a little sea salt to them).
6. In a small bowl or measuring cup add all sauce ingredients (except thickener).
7. Turn veggies on medium to low heat, and add half of the sauce.
8. To the other half of sauce add your choice of thickener (I use a little white flour). 
9. Add the thickener sauce to all ingredients and simmer until thick.
10. Add tofu and almonds last and toss.

Serve over brown rice.

Step 1 - Stir-fry veggies

Dairy-Free Seafood Bisque

I absolutely love a good seafood bisque, however; because I have problems with allergies and mucous...I had to come up with a dairy free bisque.  This recipe turned out really good, is low-fat, low-calorie, dairy-free, and low in carbs too, it also has high vitamin content.

Ingredients:

2 cups Almond milk (I use Almond Breeze original unsweetened, 40 calories per serving)

1/4 cup soy creamer

1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil (for sauteing veggies and herbs)

Chopped fine and fresh herbs and veggies:

Parsley

Yellow onion (1/2)

Chives (green onions - aka scallions)

Garlic

Seafood mix:

Pink raw shrimp - not peeled (boil for 3-5 minutes, rinse, drain, peel)

Crayfish tails - can be found in your local seafood freezer, or fresh if you prefer

Sea scallops - toss in with shrimp and let boil for a few minutes.

Seasonings:

Paprika

Sea salt

Cayenne pepper (just a dash)

Honey (to taste)

Bragg's Nutritional Yeast (1 TB)

Flour (1 TB) (as a thickening agent - or you can reduce it, use corn starch, or xantham gum)

Directions:

1. Prepare all veggies and herbs, saute with your chosen seasonings (I used a little olive oil, and McCormick's Smokehouse Maple.
2. Prepare seafood (as directed above)
3. Finely chop seafood, or leave whole at your discretion (I finely chop mine).
4. Add to sauteed veggie mix and toss to blend flavors.
5. In a saucepan, add almond milk, soy creamer on medium heat.  Add seafood, veggies, and herbs to the pan.
6. Add Paprika, cayenne, sea salt, and honey.  
7. Let simmer for 10 minutes or so.
8. Taste, and modify seasonings to your liking.  Add Bragg's Nutritional Yeast (see below for nutrition info on Bragg's).
9. Add thickener of your choice to consistency of your liking.
10. Enjoy!

sauteed veggies and herbs

Crayfish, scallops, and shrimp

Crayfish, Shrimp, Scallops, mixed with herbs and veggies

Bragg's Nutritional yeast is non-active yeast that has a very high vitamin count.  It adds a great cheesy flavor without the problems that active yeast provides (mucous, digestive issues, etc.).

Bragg's Nutritional Yeast Nutrition Information

Spinach, Crayfish, & Roasted Tomato Roulade

I discovered this recipe from Rose Elliot's The Classic Vegetarian Cookbook.  Although I have been working on removing cheese and eggs from my diet, this looked so beautiful in the cookbook - I had to give it a shot.  Of course I modified it...

First, I will list the original version and then note my replacements.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
4 eggs (separated into different bowls)
1 tablespoon butter
Salt - Pepper - Nutmeg

The filling

2 roasted red peppers (roasted in the oven while roulade is cooking - cored)
1 cup cream cheese
Milk (to make cream cheese spreadable or use store bought spreadable)
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400.
2. Line a 9x13 shallow baking sheet with wax paper (mine stuck a bit, so adding a little olive oil spray may be helpful), leave extra paper up the sides.
3. Rinse and saute spinach until tender (using only the water still clinging to the leaves).
4. Drain.
5. Add spinach, butter, and egg yolk to processor and blend till smooth.
6. Transfer it to a large bowl and add salt, pepper, & nutmeg.
7. Whip eggs until stiff .
8. Fold in stiff egg whites to the spinach mixture bowl.
9. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of Parmesan on the wax paper prior to pouring in mixture.
10. Pour in spinach mixture and smooth to edges.
11. Bake for 12-15 minutes until firm to touch and toothpick comes out clean.
12. While this is baking, roast the peppers on the bottom rack of the oven.
13. While they are baking, prepare your cream cheese with a mixer and a little bit of the milk until spreadable.
14. Remove roulade from oven and let cool while you get another piece of wax paper and lay flat next to roulade.  Sprinkle that piece of wax paper with Parmesan and transfer roulade face down on to the new sheet.
15. Removed the wax paper from the top of the roulade (tricky, mine was a little sticky, however I used a spatula to ease the paper away without tearing the roulade).
16. Spread cream cheese over entire surface.
17. Arrange red pepper over the top in widely spaced stripes (it will look like a red and white stripes).
18. Roll it up from the short sides (example).
19. I served mine warm over butternut squash soup.
20. Cut with a serrated knife.

The roulade refrigerates well and is good for up to a week.

My variations:

I replaced:

Butter with olive oil

Parmesan cheese with finely grated (in the food processor) raw almonds

Red pepper with Roma tomatoes.
Milk with almond milk

Added crayfish lightly sauteed with seasonings.

The next time I make this I will try out using this egg replacer instead.  It is gluten free, soy free, etc.

The butternut squash soup I used as a base can be found in your local organic section, they also have other great soups that work great as replacements for oil in sauteed vegetables or over tilapia.  The carrot ginger is one of my favorites!

Sushi ~ at home

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Making sushi at home is something I really enjoy.  It is not very complicated after you learn to prevent over-prepping the food.  When I say over-prepping, I mean it does not take a lot of ingredients to make a lot of sushi.   After much trial and error, I have come up with a simple recipe that will yield about 6 full sushi rolls, of which we normally eat only half of each roll, and wrap the other half and save it for the next day.  Sushi stays fresh in roll form wrapped in cling wrap for two days, three days is pushing it because the rice is likely to dry out and become bitter.

I worked in a sushi restaurant for almost a year, and although I learned many tricks, it is through a little practice you will perfect it.  I would like to share with you the simple side of sushi.  All of the seafood is cooked.  There is also a great website called Sushi Daddy, he simplifies the rolling process which many online videos seem to complicate.  It is a one - two - three process when rolling.  I suggest checking out his videos, they really helped me. :).

Ingredients:

Full Sheet Nori (dried seaweed)
     ~ you can find this online, or in your local Asian market.
Soy Paper
     ~ I buy this at the local Asian mart as well, but the produce line is also available online if you cannot find
         it locally.  Sushi Party
Imitation crab sticks
Cooked Shrimp
Cream Cheese
Cucumber
Avocado
Carrot
Mayonnaise
Sriracha
Sweet Chili Sauce
     ~you can purchase this at the local Asian market, or make from scratch from the recipe here
Pickled Ginger
Ponsu
Soy Sauce
Black Sesame Seeds ~ at the Asian market
Sesame Seeds ~ at your local grocery in the spice isle
Sushi Rice
Jasmine Rice (or sushi rice Nishiki you can find this is your grocery store, use jasmine rice as a substitute)
Sushi Rice Vinegar (Mitzokan or Kikkoman make a good version)
Sugar
Sea Salt

To give you an idea of the amount of sushi you can yield from very few ingredients here is a break down of what you need to make these six rolls:

Rice:

1 1/2 cups sushi rice
about a 1/4 cup sushi rice vinegar
about a tablespoon of sugar
about a two teaspoons of salt

Ingredients:

2 full size sheets of dried Nori ~ cut one in half
2 sheets of Soy Paper ~ cut one in half
1/2 a package of cream cheese
6 crab sticks (3 for making a spicy crab mix and 3 for placing in sushi roll)
1 cup cooked shrimp (1/2 for making a spicy shrimp mix and 1/2 for placing in rolls)
1/2 a medium cucumber - peeled, seeded, and cut medium julienne style

half rolls cut into pieces

Full sheets of seaweed make larger rolls.  Here I have made two large rolls and four small rolls.  As seen below you can yield quite a bit of sushi from these minimal ingredients.  The photo to the right shows the six rolls cut in half and cut into pieces.

Directions for Rice:

1. Prepare your rice.  1 part rice to 2 parts water. This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cup of rice, so add 3 cups of water, cover, and boil on a medium to low heat for approximately 20 minutes.  The rice should be somewhat sticky, but you know you have overcooked it if the it resembles mush.
2. Uncover the rice and fluff with a spatula to release some of the heat, this will help cool it faster.
3. Let the rice cool for about 5 - 10 minutes      (I sometimes put it in the freezer or refrigerator to speed up the process)  After it cools a bit, add the rice vinegar, folding it in with a rubber spatula.  Do not attempt to stir it.  Stirring will break up the rice. Add sugar and salt to taste.  Cover with plastic wrap, forming the wrap to mold to the rice as to not let any air inside, and moisture to escape.

Directions for ingredients:

1. A picture says a thousand words.
2. Cut all ingredients to look like the picture to the right.
3. For carrots, I use a vegetable peeler and create thin slices.
4. The cucumber is cut with mandolin.
5. Avocado is cut in medium to thin slices.
6. Crab stick is left whole.
7. Cream cheese is cut first in 1/2 inch, then lay flat and cut that slice in half to create long cube shaped tubes.

Directions for rolls:

• For large rolls, use a full nori sheet.
• For small rolls, cut sheet in half.

California Roll:

• Cucumber, avocado, crab, carrot

California with a twist:

• Cucumber, avocado, crab, cream cheese

A good sushi roll is simple.  So when mixing ingredients, remember simplicity.

Rolls with no names ;):

• Turmeric soy paper, cream cheese, cucumber, sweet chili sauce
• Sesame soy paper, spicy crab mix, avocado
• Nori, inside out style (rice on the outside), cream cheese, cucumber, avocado

I will post more pictures soon.  For excellent rolling instructions please visit My Sushi Daddy he is and excellent teacher!

California Crisp

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Ingredients:

1 tortilla ~ any style, I prefer low-carb or Ezekiel

6 Santa sweet tomatoes ~ sliced
1 tablespoon bacon bits ~ or faux bacon bits ;)

1/2 avocado ~ sliced lengthwise

1/4 cup shredded cheddar ~ or similar soy cheese

1 tablespoon Parmesan ~ grated

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup oil ~ for deep frying tortilla

Directions:

1. In a 2 inch deep skillet, add oil and heat.
2. While oil is heating cut and prepare veggies.
3. Perforate tortilla with fork to avoid bubbles, then deep fry tortilla until golden brown and drain oil.
4. Top with grated Parmesan, cheddar, and bacon bits.  Melt in toaster oven for two minutes.
5. Add fresh tomato and avocado.
6. Slice and serve with salsa.

Done!

Thai Peanut Shrimp, with Avocado Romaine Salad with Ranch

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For those low-carb dieters...1 serving.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup medium shrimp
1/2 cup romaine lettuce (chopped)
1/2 Haas avocado
2 stalks baby bok choy
2 tablespoons Thai spicy peanut sauce
3 cherry tomatoes (sliced)
dash of crumbled feta

Directions:

1. Saute' shrimp in peanut sauce for two minutes.
2. Prepare your veggies (romaine, avocado, bok choy, tomatoes)
3. Add all ingredients to a plate, and serve!

Easy, low carb.