First Food Foray

As my first attempt at a blog post, I'm going to share with you my dinner from last night.  I have to say that cooking and photography don't really mix well.  There were a few times that I forgot to take a picture before the ingredients were mixed and who wants to see a picture of a blender full of blended ingredients?

Maybe I will have to talk to my photographer husband and we can team together.

So last night we had what I call fajita salads.  It's easy-peasy.  I make Chef AJ's lentil tacos in the pressure cooker.  While that is cooking (it takes only 12 minutes) I slice up a couple of peppers and add in some mushrooms.  I didn't have any green peppers, so I just used some sweet ones.  Normal restaurant fajita salads would have onions but since Hubby has a sever onion allergy, they are forbidden in our house.  I used a half of a zucchini that I threw in at the last minute.  With the addition of a clove of garlic and a bit of cumin, this was a great topper to the salad.  Finish off with an avocado and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro & you've got a better-than-restaurant salad.  We like to top ours with salsa and I add a bit of cashew cream cuz I kinda miss sour cream.  Notice there is no cheese on this.  That's okay.  You can get by without it.  There's plenty of flavor!

 Lentil Tacos
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
14 ounces water
1 cup salt-free salsa
Salt-free seasoning, to taste

Method:
Put everything in a crock pot and cook on high for 8 - 12 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed.  This taco filling can be used anywhere you would normally use a meat taco filling, such as in taco shells and on salads.

Jan's note: I used the pressure cooker and decreased the amount of water to 10 oz.  Chef AJ uses the crockpot.  If you follow the directions for the sprouted lentils (pictured below) on the stovetop, I'm sure you'd have the same results.

Here is my attempt at a photo-journal of my meal prep.  It actually adds a bit of time to take the pictures and it was kind of a distraction.  Nevertheless, the salad was huge, filling and very tasty!

This is one of the best purchases I think I have made (with the exception of my VitaMix).  It's a six-in-one pressure cooker.  I love it and use it at least once a week.  It cooks beans to perfection and hard vegetables such as beets and potatoes are quick easy.

The lentils and the ingredients went in the pressure cooker.  Timer was set for 12 minutes and away she goes!

I picked this lentil mix up at Costco. They are sprouted so they cook quicker and give you less... ya know... gas!

 

 I found these tortillas in the fresh pasta section (near the cheese) at the local Winco.  I have to say that they were very good.  You cook them up on the stove to your desired cooked-ness.  Their only ingedients are corn, water, lime, salt and guar gum.  They fall into a category which I find acceptable for sodium content, so I went with them.  What a treat!

 Water sauteeing is the best way to cook your veggies.  No oil and you taste the vegetables and the seasonings you add, not a slimy film of oil in your mouth.  Plus, it's less messy and cleanup is simple!

 You can see that this was a large meal.  I was fully satisfied.  Satiety is important when you eat this way as it keeps cravings at bay and allows you to receive optimum benefits from the nutrients.

For dessert I had a healthy chocolate cupcake, complete with chocolate cashew frosting.

I am still trying to gain permission to re-post recipes that I have gotten from others because of copyright laws.  Please be patient with me as I go through that process.  If I can Google it and find it, I will post it, otherwise, until I hear from the major contributor, we will be on hold.  

I apologize for the odd format in which the pictures and their captions came through.  I really wanted to get this out by 9 a.m. today, so I'm rushed.  I'm still learning, so hopefully future posts will be put together a little better.

I did get permission from fellow blogger and Nutritarian, Carrie, to share her recipes, so as promised, I am going to share a dressing recipe that is useful for Asian salads and stirfry.  

Peanut Butter Curry Dressing
4-6 servings
Ingredients:
1/3 cup unsalted peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted tahini
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
3 large Medjool dates, pitted
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
1-2 teaspoons curry powder
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender and process until smooth. 

Jan's note:  I added vinegar for the dressing.  To use as a stirfry sauce, I added a little bit of Bragg's Aminos and crushed red pepper flakes.