Olive oil

2012 Food Log

 

Homemade Baked Turkey Cutlets

As per request from a fellow blood type O, non-secretor I will post a few daily Food Logs as well as some sample meals with photographs over the next while. Because I choose to eat well all the time, I have to be prepared for hunger! As a result, I have to ensure that my refrigerator is stocked with ready to eat wholesome foods. I have to plan ahead and spend a certain amount of time preparing. Convenience foods aren’t in the cards anymore.

Aug. 27, 2012

6:30am Wake-up but not moving until 7am, (summer holidays).

7:00am Bed Stretches

7:10 am Homeopathic Remedies + Iodine, Zinc & Vitamin D supplements. I do a few standing side bend stretches while holding two of the homeopathic remedies under my tongue, since I have to hold each for 15 seconds. I’ve learned that I can accomplish a lot in 15 seconds.

 

From my perspective supplements should be used short term.They supplement what is not working for us naturally.

My goal is to figure out why my levels are low and to use the supplements as a support while I figure out how to get my levels up to MY normal range of healthy functioning. Eating the right way should support our systems properly, which should eliminate the need for supplements (in an ideal world). For example, I was taking twice the amount of Iron Citrate, and Magnesium Glycinate almost two years ago. About six months ago, I was able to lower my daily dose to half that amount.

 

Travel Roller

Then I do my 4 minute morning routine which includes: rolling out with Travel Roller ball & roller, wall stretches, 2 modified Sun Salutation plus the actual 4 minute morning which actually takes me 5 minutes to do Week 3 – DAY 7. (I have modified this for myself since originally uploading it and will endeavour to make an update of it soon.)

This mornings routine was broken up with sorting laundry and doing Dot’s braids, puttering around etc. Adapt to change and carry on.

8:30 am 6oz. glass water

Making all breakfasts simultaneously…

8:50 am My Breakfast:

2 soft boiled eggs

5g (approx. 2 cups) steamed Spinach drizzled with EVOO & fresh lemon juice

6 Walnut halves

4 prunes

Small banana

12oz. glass water (Iron Citrate & Magnesium supplement)

 

Spinach

Steamed Spinach

 

10:00 am 12oz. glass water

Standing side stretches (30 seconds).

11:50 am My Lunch:

Sliced Turkey Breast from deli

(ingredients: skinless turkey breast, water, sodium phosphate)
Note: I’ve since found a butcher that makes sliced turnkey breast without adding any sodium.

Homemade plain Risotto (no cheese) with steamed Kale

Raw Carrots & broccoli

10 oz. glass water

Active Living

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm:

  • Dog walk with Dot to playground. I did Monkey Bars and a Sprint Tabata with dog Ruby.

Sprint Tabata = [20 seconds sprint across field + 10 second rest ] x 8 = 4 minutes

2pm Body Maintenance:

  • Stairs Warm Up
  • 60 minutes Ashtanga Yoga Standing + Seated Series up to Navasana (working on Navasana to Handstand) + Backbends then closing sequence.

3:15 pm Post Yoga SNACK:

Half small homemade baked Turkey breast

Brown Rice & Millet spaghetti noodles with butter & steamed kale

1 raw red pepper

1 avocado, lightly sprinkled with sea salt

4 Walnut halves

1 TBSP. Pumpkin Seeds (because that’s all that was left in the bag)

10 oz. glass water

4:00 pm 12oz. glass water

5:10 pm 12oz. glass water

 

6:00pm My Dinner:

approx. ½ lb. baked Red Spring Salmon, seasoned with dried dill, garlic, olive oil, fresh lemon juice

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Ginger & Lime Juice

Fresh steamed Kale

Mixed steamed brown & wild rice

Raw Carrots (while doing dishes – like a dessert)

12 oz. Water

Salmon

 

8pm – 9pm Help Dot create her first stop-motion animation film!! It took a lot longer than I thought it would. That hour was spent just collecting footage.

9:00pm 12oz. Water

10:40pm Before bed stretching routine

Lights out 11pm – aiming for 8 hours sleep.

 

 

Roasted Roots with Ginger & Lime Juice

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

with Ginger & Lime Juice

Here is the suped up version of my Roasted Winter Squash with a Twist.

In this version I use Jewel and/or Garnet Yams and/or Sweet Potatoes and mix in Butternut Squash and/or Acorn Squash (whatever is available). Although, did you know, that the “Yams” we consume in North America are actually Sweet Potatoes? To get true Yams, apparently requires some effort, one must source them from a market that specializes in Tropical produce. This link: Sweet Potatoes & Yams gives the breakdown for anyone interested in clarifying the confusion.

For me it was particularly interesting because I am exploring Eat Right 4 Your Type. For me as a type O, Sweet Potatoes are beneficial and Yams are Neutral. Turns out, the Yams I thought I was eating are actually ALL sweet potatoes (Yay!), but are labeled as Yams at the grocery store. It all kind of makes my head swim though.

UPDATE: Recently, I got the results from the Secretor Test. Turns out I am a Non-Secretor, which means that both Yams and Sweet Potatoes are neutral for me. I’ll still keep eating them, but maybe not quite as often!

Anyhow, this recipe has become quite a staple. I love it! And now that I’ve made it so often, I can whip off a batch in no time. Sadly, it disappears just as quickly. The kids will sample it from time to time when they are feeling adventurous, but mostly it’s a dish that my husband and I eat. Lucky for my husband, who is an AB – Secretor, both Yams and Sweet Potatoes are beneficial.

It’s good cold, but outstanding when served warmed up – which brings out all the flavours.

Kitchen Supplies:

  • Cutting board
  • Knife
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Bowl for mixing
  • 2 Cookie Sheets
  • Parchment paper (optional)
  • Grater

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 Sweet Potato Tubers (mix of varieties) peeled & cut into chunks
  • Butternut Squash or Acorn Squash (optional) peeled & cut into slices
  • 1 tsp. Fresh Ginger peeled and grated Or 1 Tsp. ground ginger root (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
  • 1 tsp. or less of Dried Red Chili Pepper Flakes
  • 1 – 2 TBSP. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Juice from 1/2 to 1 Fresh Lime
  • 1 Cup Fresh Cilantro, leaves plucked from stems & finely chopped
  • 3 Scallions (green onions), chopped

Instructions:

  • Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Wash, peel and cut sweet potatoes and squash into desired shapes and sizes. Enough for two cookie sheets or more for batches.
  • Place in large mixing bowl. Add approximately 2 TBSP. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I usually just make a splash with it into the bowl).

Peel & grate, 1-2 inches of fresh ginger.

I use a spoon to peel the ginger. It works much better than a vegetable peeler.

1 tsp. grated – depending how spicy you like it 🙂

Add approximately 1 TBSP. of Dried Red Chili Pepper Flakes to the mixing bowl.

Here is a picture showing 1 tsp. dried ginger, less than 1 TBSP. chili flakes and a 1/2 tsp. ground Himalayan Salt.

However, of late I’ve not been adding any salt.

Stir to combine and coat the vegetables.

Transfer to parchment lined cookie sheets.

Place into pre-heated oven for 30 minutes (depending on oven). Check periodically. I find that the sweet potatoes need 10 additional minutes for a nice roasted appearance. For the squash, I usually roast them 20 additional minutes (but turn them over when I take the sweet potatoes out of the oven), to achieve the same roasted appearance on both sides.

Once the vegetables have been removed from the oven I allow them to cool slightly before returning them to the mixing bowl.

While the vegetables were roasting I would have added to the mixing bowl:

1. Separated 1 Cups worth of cilantro leaves from their stems and chopped them.

2. Cut up the scallions

3. Squeezed the juice from 1 fresh lime

Note:  I usually only add the juice from one lime and see how it tastes. It’s easy enough to add more the next day. I’ve made the mistake of adding too much lime juice and regretting it, but easy enough to remedy by adding more roasted vegetables.

Also, I’ve noticed that not all limes are juicy, so I always buy 4 or 5 limes at a time. A few times I’ve cut open limes and though they ‘feel’ perfectly juicy from the outside, they are completely dry; it’s disappointing when you need them right then and there.

Finishing Up:

Depending on how things look I may add a splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the bowl and mix it with the lime juice, cilantro and scallions. Then I toss in the Roasted Vegetables and gently combine to coat the vegetables well. I then cover the bowl or transfer to a food storage container and refrigerate overnight or for a few hours.

Reheat before serving.

Dedicated to my friend V, whose husband isn’t fond of cilantro, but he gave the dish a try when they visited us last month – and he said he liked it. So maybe for all those averse to cilantro, give this recipe a try…(?).

Kale Chips

Baked Kale Chips

Getting your greens…

Our kids have been eating steamed Kale, Collard Greens, Swiss Chard, Broccoli and Broccolini, basically from since they started eating solid food. We joke that they’ve already eaten a lifetimes supply in their short lives.

My son recently said that he’s just Kale-ed out, but would love to eat it: Kale Chip style. I had only ever made Kelp chips for my son, which he loves; He craves them from time to time – likely his body telling him he’s getting low on Iodine!

For some reason, however, I never made Kale Chips. I guess because there was never a need – everyone was getting their daily requirement the old fashioned way.  About a year ago, my friend brought over some dehydrated Kale Chips and he still remembers liking them to this day.

Since I don’t have a dehydrator (yet!) I decided to make a batch of Kale Chips to see what might happen. I made two batches, because the first batch got over cooked slightly…they’re not great overcooked even by a margin. I tried to push them on my son – “just try one, tell me what you think?”, but he called me on it right away. “Mom, these are burnt”. So with the second batch, I kept watch like a hawk. Some were perfect while others could have used a few more minutes. So I removed the chips that were just right and kept the others on the tray and slid them back into the oven. Watching all the time.

They should look a vibrant green when cooked just right and be crispy to the touch. They still taste great if undercooked – they just lack the crispy chip crunch, fall-apart texture, which are better for storing in an airtight container…if there’s any left for storing that is! Try as I may, the batch gets eaten up before I can ever get them to the container. Not such a bad problem to have. Except, for the fact that it’s me and my husband who devour the batch. My son still prefers the dehydrated Kale Chips…Can anyone recommend a great food dehydrator?

INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 F
  • Bunch Organic Kale (Purple Kale, Lacinato Kale [also known as Black Kale or Dinosaur Kale] and Curly Green Kale…are there more varieties?)
  • Remove Kale from stem – discard stem
  • Tear Kale into preferred size for chips
  • Wash Kale
  • Spin dry with salad spinner or towel dry
  • In a big bowl drizzle a small amount of Olive Oil – careful not to use too much – 1tsp.(?)
  • Add a light sprinkling of Sea Salt
  • Use hands to massage oil evenly over Kale
  • Lay Kale on a baking sheet (I use parchment on my cookie sheets)
  • Place in oven
  • Set timer for 10 minutes
  • Do Not walk away or get distracted…this is a quick operation
  • Enough time for clean up or a 4 Minute Tabata…am I being pushy?
  • By 6 minutes it becomes obvious that Kale is cooking
  • By 8 minutes most pieces will be ready – at which point I take out the sheet and start checking for done-ness.
  • And return to oven the ones that need a bit more time.
  • Watching all the time.

(above) one bunch Organic Curly Green Kale

(above) Remove Kale from stem

-Discard stem-

Washed then dried with Salad Spinner (above)

My son’s favorite Olive Oil, because it doesn’t taste too Olive-e.

I used a small amount of this Sea Salt.

– A couple turns from my Salt Mill.

Here is a comparison photo,

Cooked Kale chip (left), raw Kale (right).

ENJOY!

Roasted Winter Squash With A Twist

This side dish has a twist…

a twist of Lime Juice.

Where I live it’s cold outside. Most days are still above zero, but I’m more of a summer person and don’t do very well eating cold vegetables in winter time. As a result, I have been making a lot of roasted squash and root vegetables this fall and winter. This is one of my new favourite dishes. I first tasted it at Whole Foods Market‘s hot food bar. It’s not everyday that all ingredients will be on my acceptable list. I think I have left out one or two spices from the original, the following is my version. It tastes equally good hot or cold. And really good the next day for sure!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Organic Butternut Squash
  • 1 Organic Acorn Squash
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Himalayan Salt
  • 1/4 – 1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley
  • Fresh Lime Juice Squeezed from half or from all of one lime, (depending on preference).

Preparation: 

  • Wash Squashes.
  • Cut stem and bottom knot from squash, discard.
  • Cut Squash length-wise into halves.
  • Remove seeds and strings, discard.
  • Placing cut side down, cut squashes into inch thick slices and cut away tough outer skins – as shown below.

Place Cut Squash pieces in a mixing bowl. Splash in:

  • 1TBSP. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a light sprinkling of Himalayan Salt
  • Stir with a wooden spoon.

  • Arrange on a cookie sheet
  • Place into 350 degree preheated oven. Or go with whatever oven temperature works best for roasting. I use Parchment Paper. (below)

This next part is the time consuming part.

  • I set my oven timer for 30 minutes and let the oven do its work, checking the squash periodically.
  • Usually, at the 30 minute mark, I add another 20 minutes AND drop the heat to 300 degrees, or lower depending on how the squash looks.
  • Depending on how the squash are coming along I either take them out and turn each piece over or I let it continue baking longer.
  • Once each piece is turned I usually bake the squash for another 30 minutes 
  • AND lower the oven temperature to 275 degrees
  • Again, it all depends on how they look. I like them to develop a little caramelized look on the edges…not burnt nor dried out.

Here’s how my batch looked after approximately 90 minutes. In hind sight, I should have doubled my batch and had two cookie sheets going.

At the time of writing this, there is none left. We ate the last of the left overs tonight.

After they have cooled, slide them into a mixing bowl. I pick up my parchment paper and allow them to slide into the bowl.

  • Add 1/4  to 1/2 Cup of chopped Fresh Italian Parsley
  • Squeeze the juice from half of one Lime. (You can always add more later if it’s not enough).
  • Mix gently. Carefully to not squash your squash!

I find that the oil and Salt that the Squash bakes in is sufficient and there is no need to add extra.

Now, doesn’t this look like a measly amount for all the time spent in the kitchen? In total it equalled about 2 Cups! For this reason, I try to make a double batch. Luckily, my kids haven’t tried it yet and don’t know what they’re missing. Believe me, I’m not encouraging them to try this one, this one is ALL MINE. 🙂

Let me know if you give it a try. ENJOY!

Oh! And I used my iPhone and the Instagram App to take all these pictures, while I was preparing the rest of our dinner.