Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

This is a great snack and I am still eating it. I posted this back in September and thought I needed to repost it since it so healthy and delicious. If you missed it last time- here it is again. I changed it a bit in keeping with the seasonal fruits,etc.

I am sharing my new, healthy snack. I eat it everyday. Sometimes even for a meal.

If it’s a snack, then I don’t use as many fruits- but if it’s a meal- I make sure to add at least five to fulfill my daily fruit requirements. It is a delicious way to incorporate a bunch of healthy things I need to eat through the day.

I use the non-fat greek yogurt- it’s creamy like whipped cream and has a good amount of protein. I like to use wild blueberries- they are a super food, even better than the regular ones. I put them in frozen to achieve a nice crunch- and they are delicious. Besides the other fruits, I add walnuts- the best kind of nut to have. Fills you up and is good for you. Raw honey is very good for you as well. I add a tablespoon of it on top- it tastes like I am eating a big bowl of dessert. I also add flaxseed mixed with dried blueberries. I buy it from Trader Joes and love the taste of it. I sprinkle it right on top- it gives the snack a nice crunch.

I am absolutely loving this concoction. I look forward to it everyday and I am thrilled with how healthy it is. Definitely give it a try- I am sure you will enjoy it as well!
Click here for the recipe… »

I try to have this chicken in my fridge all the time. It is extremely versatile. My daughter loves taking it to school wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla or homemade roti. I also add it to a cheese quesadilla for her.

I use it for salads for myself at lunch time. With lots of lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers and carrots. I add some nuts and a few raisins, a dash of hot sauce- yes you read correctly- hot sauce. I know that sounds a bit weird but it adds a nice kick and great flavor to the salad. Plus, I don’t feel the need for a lot of salad dressing- just a drop and that keeps the calories down.

It is very easy to make this chicken. It can be marinated and even frozen until you need to use it. Obviously it is ideal to marinate the meat overnight but if you don’t have time- a few hours will do.

The chicken pieces make a great dinner as well. A vegetable and a starch on the side and your meal is balanced and done.

For those who are extremely busy through the week or work outside the home, it is great idea to marinate a big batch of chicken and have it on hand. If time is a commodity- you can skip the almond part- it will still taste delicious!

• 1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
• ¼ cup almond paste- soak ¼ cup blanched almonds in ¼ cup hot water for an hour. Process the mixture till smooth.
• 2 tablespoon greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 teaspoons garam masala

Mix all the ingredients well and marinate the chicken over night or at least 2 to 3 hours.

Place the marinated chicken on a lined cookie sheet. Broil the pieces till golden brown on both sides.

This was a delicious meal. I had some tenderloin steak in my freezer and decided to use it. I wasn’t in the mood to make a regular, run of the mill steak with vegetables and potatoes (not that any thing is wrong with that). I was in the mood for something sweet, salty, sour and spicy- essentially something that will assault my taste buds- all the way.

Chinese food came to mind. I went food shopping and found great looking packs of baby bok choy. If you haven’t yet tried this vegetable, consider doing so. It is a sweet, crunchy green with a turnip like flavor- definitely one of my favorites. It is my husbands favorite as well. Sia will eat it- she doesn’t love it but she will eat it.

I marinated the steak and cooked it with long green onion cut on a bias- just like they do at restaurants. I made a sauce with orange juice, tamari, vinegar, etc. I was thinking of the orange beef served at Chinese restaurants. The problem is that it is fried and quite unhealthy- not my cup of tea at the moment. I decided to make a sauce instead infused with major orange flavor.

I sauteed the beef and added the sauce and corn starch. I cooked the bok choy separately and served it on the side. I find the green parts of the bok choy get quite wilted and soft if served in a sauce. It was delicious on the side especially with a serving of brown rice.

The healthy cooking continues… For those who want to make the dish healthier, use chicken or shrimp instead. For vegetarians, I would do a firm tofu and treat it the same way as the beef.

• 1 pound skirt steak (tenderloin steak is great as well), cut into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons cooking rice wine

Marinate the steak with tamari, garlic and the rice wine for 4 to 5 hours.

Sauce

• 2 cups orange juice

Pour the orange juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or till it reduced to one cup or even less.

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce

Mix the reduced orange juice, rice vinegar, honey, tamari and chili sauce. Keep aside.

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 teaspoons water

• 4 green onions, cut at a bias
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

In a wok like pan, heat the olive oil on high heat. Add the green onions and sauté for a minute. Add the marinated steak and sauté for 4-5 minutes till golden brown. Add the sauce and the cornstarch. Bring to a boil and cook till thickens. Taste for seasonings and serve with bok choy and brown rice.

Sauteed Bok Choy with Garlic

• 2 large heads of bok choy or 6 small ones, chopped, the greens and whites separated
• 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• Salt

In a large frying pan, add the olive oil. Add the white parts of the bok choy. Saute for 2-3 minutes on a high heat. Add the greens and garlic. Saute for 4-5 minutes or till the whites are tender. Add salt and serve.

I know what you are thinking- it’s not even two weeks into the New Year and she has already fallen off the wagon. Well, I can assure you that is not the case.

I made these for a get together. My friend serves great food and wine at her house but she is not into dessert. I can understand why- it is not so healthy for you, etc, etc. Intellectually I get it- but having a get together without a dessert is unthinkable for me.

I think that is why she assigned me the dessert. I could have bought something- there are many bakeries and stores with very good and well made treats- but nothing like homemade, right?? Well, that is what I thought too…

So, I started thinking about what to make. My friend had mentioned she would be serving finger foods- so maybe I could bring cookies or something along those lines. I started thinking of different kinds of cookies- oatmeal, chocolate chip- the usual. I wanted to make something different and started looking for Italian ones.

I found a recipe with pecans mixed in with flour, butter and sugar. I decided to use hazelnuts and dried cherries. I substituted the regular flour with white whole wheat flour ; regular sugar with raw sugar  and also added some hazelnut liquor- you can’t go wrong with any of these ingredients. The one thing I wanted to do but couldn’t since I was taking these to someone’s house- was to substitute extra light olive oil for butter… maybe next time- or if you try it with oil, do let me know.

Well, these cookies were delicious. The liquor gives the cookies a subtle yet a great nutty flavor. I know that because I only had one- yes that is right- the key is in moderation and not deprivation. So, do try these for your next gathering- definitely worth the effort.

• 1 cup soft unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• ½ cup evaporated cane sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups white whole-wheat flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1 cup hazelnuts, chopped fine
• ½ cup hazelnut liquor
• ½ cup confectionery sugar in a small bowl

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the butter and sugar until fluffy in a mixer. Add the salt, vanilla extract, flour and liquor. Mix well and add the nuts and cherries.
Mix with both hands until well incorporated. Form a ball and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on the cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool and roll in confectionery sugar.

I made this for a party recently. It is essentially seekh kebabs and I have made them many times before.

Since I had to bring a hot appetizer, and I wanted to keep it simple- I decided to make these. They are quick and delicious.

The other reason for making these is that I can make them with ground turkey. It is healthy and with all that delicious flavor mixed in- you can’t go wrong.

I decided to shape them a bit differently- into round bite sized meatballs. Instead of cooking them on the stovetop, I decided to bake them in the oven. To get a good color, you can broil them first for  a few minutes and continue baking them if the insides are not cooked yet.

Typically seekh kebab are served with a cilantro and green chili chutney. So, I decided to use a version of that chutney and add it to some low fat sour cream. It is a great condiment to serve with a number of appetizers or even entrees. I usually have some green chutney made in my fridge so making this cilantro cream was a cinch.

Overall, it was a delicious snack. My daughter had a few before leaving home- she kept saying how delicious they were. Once we got the party, she parked herself next to the table and devoured quite a few more. I had to physically pull her away so other people could get a taste as well.

While I was making these, I thought I could form these meatballs and cook them in an Indian style tomato gravy.. hmm- very interesting idea. Stay tuned- I am sure a recipe will be posted soon- whenever I get a recipe idea in my mind- it consumes me till I have made it. Enjoy!

• 1 pound ground dark turkey meat

• 1 small white onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• ½ cup cilantro

• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons garam masala

• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Preheat the oven to broil.
Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil

Makes about 15 meatballs.

Process the onion, garlic, ginger and cilantro in a food processor. Add the mixture to the ground meat in a medium bowl. Add the egg, salt, coriander powder and garam masala. Mix well with both hands and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Form 1 inch balls and place on the cookie sheet.
Broil on high till all sides are golden brown- about 5-6 minutes on both sides. Check to see if the inside is cooked. If it is not cooked fully, then bake on 375 degrees for a few more minutes.

Cilantro Cream

• 1 cup low fat sour cream
• ¼ cup cilantro chutney
• 1 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients well and keep aside. Serve with the meatballs.