Roasted Beets and goat cheese over fresh greens

For the Love of Red, White and Greens

I love love love beets. I love them roasted, pickled and my favorite over greens.  I change up this recipe adding what ever fruit I have in the house (blueberries, strawberries, pomegranate seeds etc). But my traditional salad is simply a bed of baby greens, clementine wedges, pepitas and chia seeds. I like to add chia seeds and pepitas to my salads as the are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. I highly recommend adding them to all your salads in moderation.
I generally roast up the beets the night before and keep them chilled in the fridge until ready to make the salad.  You can also make the dressing the night before and just keep chilled. Then shake up to recombine.

Roasted beet salad over baby greens

Beet Salad (serves 4)
1 bunch of fresh beets roasted per my roasted beet recipe
2 - 4 small clementines (or 2 oranges)
1 bag baby greens
2 - 4 oz goat cheese or crumbly feta or blue cheese
4 tsp chia seeds
4 tbs raw or roasted pepitas or toasted chopped nuts

Citrus Dressing
1 Lemon juiced and zested (~1/4 c juice)
1/4 small vidalia onion or 2 shallots finely minced
1/4 c good quality extra virgin olive oil (1 generally mix it up and use 1/2 EVOO and 1/2 other nut or seed oil that I have in the house ie walnut or almond oil)
1 orange juiced and zested (~1/4 c juice) - you can substitute 2 Tbs of flavored vinegar and 1 - 2 tsp honey but the OJ really makes the salad pop
2 Tbs Apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 Tbs dijon mustard
Live salt and pepper

Citrus Dressing

Instructions 
Roast the beats per my roasted beet recipe and set aside.
For the dressing - 
Zest the lemon and orange into a small bowl, then juice the lemon and orange and pour into bowl. Add the vinegar and whisk. Add the minced onion and dijon mustard and whisk. While whisking slowly add the oil to the bowl. The mustard will help bind the acid and oil so the dressing will be creamy vs a traditional vinaigrette that separates.  Once combined add salt and pepper to taste. Be generous with the salt.

To make the salad -
Place the greens in a large salad bowl and combine ~2 Tbs per serving of salad dressing. Don't over dress the greens as you want the salad to be light and not loaded down with dressing. A little will go a long way. Portion out the greens amongst 4 plates.
Peal the clementines and break up into sections cutting each section in half. Place on the greens.
Scoop ~ 1/4 - 1/2 c of beets on the dressed greens
Top with chia seeds and pepitas and dot each plate with ~ 1 oz of cheese and serve.

This dish is so clean and bright. It will delight your taste buds with the sweetness of the beets and clementines and the sour of the lemon and orange juice.

Enjoy your clean eats!!

'Simple'-ly amazing roasted beets

Red Red Beets you make me feel so fine!

Beets beets beets.. what a wonderful way to naturally detox your body. These beautiful root vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. For this reason beets are used as the primary juicing source in most detox and liver cleanses.  My juicing days are over but I still enjoy the benefits of beets and so should you.

This recipe combines the top natural detoxing and anti-inflammatory foods - beets, lemons, parsley and turmeric but tastes AWESOME!! 

If you have tried pickled beets or other roasted beet recipes and they didn't tickle your fancy, don't wrinkle your nose at this one. This is a MUST try recipe. It's simple and tastes great. You will never taste all the health benefits I promise you!!

Recipe adapted from Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Roasted beets (makes 4 ~1 cup servings)

5 – 6 medium sized beets peeled and cubed

2 tsp olive oil

Live salt

Fresh ground pepper

¼ tsp turmeric (optional for optimum detox)

2 tbs chopped parsley

1 tbs chopped fresh herbs (optional)

¼ c lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400^o F. Scrub the beets well with a potato brush and dry well. Peal the beets and chop into ½ inch cubes. Place into a bowl. Drizzle the oil and stir to coat. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and optional turmeric.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread the beets in a single layer (this may seem like a lot but they will shrink down)

Bake 20 - 30 minutes, stirring once or until tender

Cool 5 minutes and place into a glass or non reactive bowl.

While beets are still warm pour lemon juice over beets and stir to coat. It may look like this is a lot of lemon juice, but trust me the juice will be absorbed by the beets and will enhance the natural sugars in the beets. Think about how lemon juice enhances berries. :)

Add parsley and herbs and toss gently.

Serve warm or chilled

Enjoy your super detoxifying and clean eats either as a side dish or my favorite.. on a mixed green salad with goat cheese.

Natures Detox on a plate

Nutrition: Calories 113, Fat 5g, Carbs 17g (5 g Fiber, 11g Sugar), Protein 3g

Prep tips - Let the beets dry fully before pealing and cutting. I like to wash the beets the night before and place in the fridge to completely dry. Raw beets are not very juicy and if you keep the beets dry there will be very little juice to stain everything.  
Wear disposable gloves when pealing and cutting the beets. It will protect your hands and nails from the powerful beet color. 
Rinse cutting board and utensils immediately to prevent staining

Clean everyday sauteed chicken breast

Easy everyday chicken

Small batch of Everyday chicken

As part of our clean eats revolution, we try and stay away from processed and pre-packaged lunch meat. For those of you who know me.. My down fall is the holy Italian trilogy (can be French also) - Wine, cheese and salame (liverwurst/foie gras) - aka nitrates, sulfates. They take me down. I love them I used to eat and drink them all the time. The Atkins diet was my favorite.. I could eat all the cheese and salami that I wished.. Ohh not so clean eats!! So long story short.. I try and stay away from deli meats in general so I am not tempted to buy that stick of Hot Sopressata with sharp provolone or asiago fresco and wolf the whole thing down. Like a salami-aholic.. Yes, so I am outed..

Anyway  back to the quick chicken recipe I used to save chicken breasts for dinner, but then I attended a clean eating group where one of the guys had a vacuum sealer and would cook up the chicken for the week in per-portioned packages and have them through out the week for lunch, snack etc. BRILLIANT!! I too have a vacuum sealer..  No more lunch meat, no more precooked dead salt laden chicken strips. Make my own!! So here you have it. Not rocket science, just an Ahhh Haaa moment!! You don't need a vacuum sealer you can store the chicken in ziplock bags, but the vacuum sealer helps lock the juices in and keeps freezer burn out.

Once you taste one of your perfectly seasoned prepackaged chicken you will never buy prepackaged chicken strips again.

Easy everyday pan seared chicken

2 – 3 lbs hormone, antibiotic free and or organic boneless skinless chicken breast

Live Salt

Fresh ground pepper

Mr’s Dash chicken, spicy or any non salt season mix

Olive oil spray

Organic no or low salt Chicken stock (optional for packaging)

Place a non stick sauté pan over med high heat and spray lightly with olive oil.

While pan is heating up, clean/cut off any excess chicken fat and grizzle.  Place the breasts on a plate (I can only fit 3 breasts in my pan at a time). Lightly salt and pepper one side, then overly season the breast with your non salt season mix (trust me you want to over season these but not with salt). Patting the breast to make the seasoning stick. Flip the breasts and repeat.   

Once the pan is heated up place the breasts, breasts side down in the pan and cook for 6 – 7 minutes.  Do not touch or move the chicken let it form a crust.

If cooking multiple batches now is the time to season the next batch per the previous steps.

Turn the chicken making sure that if the tenderloin is attached that it is flipped out so the center of the breast will hit the pan. Let cooked for 6 – 7 more minutes.

Chicken is ready when a meat thermometer stuck into the thick portion reads 160 – 165oF. (Note - I pull the chicken at 160 as it will continue to cook as it rests) If you don’t have a thermometer, insert a knife into the thickest part and see if the juices run clear. Thick breasts may take up to 8 minutes per side.

When chicken is done place in baking dish and tent with foil.

Repeat with remaining chicken until it is all cooked. TIP – You may need to take a damp paper towel and clean out the bottom of the pan and respray with oil.  Be careful the pan is hot and using a damp paper towel can create steam. Use a set of tongs to clean the hot pan if steam is created.

Once all the chicken is cooked, let sit until cool. This is where the juices set and you will begin to see the chicken release its wonderful juices into the baking dish. You will use this juice to keep your chicken moist.  At this point you can cover and refrigerate for packaging later. 

Cooking up a batch for the freezer

Chicken cooling

 To package – you will need a kitchen scale, ziplock bags or a vacuum sealer with bags, permanent marker

Place a chicken breast on a cutting board and slice the breasts into strips, rounds or chunks depending on your preference. Placing the sliced chicken back into the juice to absorb the juicy goodness, until ready to weigh out.

Continue until all chicken has been sliced.

Place a plate on the scale and begin weighing out 2, 4 or 6 oz portions. I do both. I usually take the 4 oz and Chet has the 6 oz. Place the weighed out portions into a ziplock or vacuum bag adding some of the juice from the pan and additional 1 – 2 tsp of chicken stock if needed.  Squeeze out the air and seal.

Continue until all the chicken is portioned out. Label each bag and place in the fridge or freezer for later use.

Enjoy your chicken warmed up plain, over quinoa, on your favorite salad or right out of the bag possibilities are endless!

All sealed up ready for the freezer

Nutrition 2 oz: Calories 60, Fat 1g, Carbs 0g, Protein 13g

Nutrition 4 oz: Calories 120, Fat 2g, Carbs 0g, Protein 26g
Nutrition 6 oz: Calories 180, Fat 2g, Carbs 0g, Protein 39g

Harissa Spaghetti Squash with Quinoa

Spaghetti Squash meets Morocco 

For the love of Spice

For the love of Spaghetti squash.. Nature's gift to pasta lovers. Those chronic dieters and gluten free people like me, know and love this wonderful early fall veggie. Spaghetti squash is a great source of potassium, folate, omgea 6 fatty acid and vitamin B more.  When fresh off the vine this squash needs nothing more than a spritz of EVOO, a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper. But as I build out my culinary clean eats portfolio I like to experiment with other options and not just tomato sauce. Hence spaghetti squash has become my choice to deliver the sweet and spicy flavors of Morocco. Meet Harissa! 

Harissa is traditionally a hot pepper, garlic paste used to flavor meats, grains, stews etc. in Northern African and midle eastern cuisine. Harissa like Indian curry varries by the region. From a fiery red hot paste to a mild red or green 'sauce'.  Harissa origins  

I am still experimenting with my homemade Harissa recipes trying to take advantage of the end of summer bell pepper season. More to come on my homemade versions and our favorite splurge .. Harrisa butter.

In the mean time there are wonderful jarred versions from Mina. No added fillers and makes for a quick meal. We have tried the mild, hot and green. Hot is by far our favorite, but we like our food really hot. For those just trying Harissa for the first time, I would suggest the Mina's red mild version. (Where to find? Wegmans,  -  you can find it in the international section... Harris Teeter, Fresh Market it is next to the hot sauce)

So now for the marriage of harissa sauce and veggies. You can find this dish in my fridge at all times, as we use it for a snack or a quick add on for lunch. I first made this recipe when I had an open Mina jar in the fridge, some cherry tomatoes and a few red peppers that were too good to toss and not good enough for anything other than roasting. Feel free to add other roasted veggies as you have them available. I've added roasted eggplant and yellow squash for more of a Ratatouille taste. Enjoy this clean eats!!

Harissa Spaghetti Squash over Quinoa

 Harissa Spaghetti Squash with Quinoa

(Makes 4 - 6 servings)

1 4 - 5 Lbs Spaghetti squash

1 10 oz jar Mina Harissa (Hot or Mild)

1  medium Zucchini includes skin

1 container (~15), Cherry Tomatoes

1 Red Bell Pepper or 1 small jar of roasted red pepper (but it is pepper season so why not roast your own)

Olive oil

Salt  (I prefer Himalayan)

Fresh ground pepper

1 cup Quinoa – yields ~4 cups cooked

2 cup water

1 – 4 raw garlic clove smashed or finely chopped or add water roasted garlic and 1 tbs of garlic juice (optional) – See garlic tip below

Fresh ground pepper (optional)

Heat oven to 350^o F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds with a spoon. Place on a baking sheet cut side up. Spray with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper. Bake in hot oven ~40 -50 minutes until fork tender. Pull from oven and let cool until able to handle but warm enough to heat up the harissa sauce.

Cut raw zucchini in half – removing stalk and flower ends, place on a baking sheet cut side up. Spray with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper. Cut the red pepper in half and deseed, place cut side down on baking sheet. Cut cherry tomatoes in half placing cut side down on the same baking sheet as the zucchini and pepper and lightly salt and pepper. See cooking tips below.  Cook in the same oven as the squash for ~15 – 20 minutes. You will know the pepper and tomatoes are done when the skin turns dark and blisters. Remove from oven let cool for a few minutes.

To cook the quinoa – Rinse 1 cup quinoa in a mesh strainer with small enough holes that the quinoa will not fall through. Place quinoa in a medium pot and cover with 2 cups water, add optional fresh ground pepper and garlic and stir. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and then cover with a tight fitting lid. Simmer covered for 14-17 minutes until most of the water is absorbed and the quinoa is light and fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and then place lid back on to steam for another 4-5 minutes. You will only use about 2 cups of the cooked quinoa.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh from the skin and place in a glass or metal non-reactive bowl. Add jar of Harissa. Mixing gently cover to keep warm.

Using a spatula scrape the tomatoes and the yummy caramelized juice into the bowl with the squash and Harissa.  

Cut the zucchini into bit size pieces and combine with squash and tomatoes.

During this time the pepper skin should have steamed a bit making it easy to pull off the skin. Remove skin and cut the pepper flesh into bit sized chunks and mix into the harissa and veggie mixture.

Place ½ - ¾ cup of cooked quinoa on a plate, cover with ¼ of the Harissa and squash mixture.

Enjoy your fresh clean eats!

Nutrition ¼ Harissa recipe : Calories 240, Fat 7g, Carbs 45g (5g Fiber, 7g Sugar), Protein 5g

Nutrition ½ c cooked quinoa : Calories 110, Fat 2g, Carbs 20g (3g Fiber), Protein 4g

Cooking tips – I place parchment paper on the baking sheet that the pepper and tomatoes are baked on, as it helps with sticking and clean up. The liquid from the tomatoes will seep out and caramelize on the baking sheet making for yummy flavor if it has not baked onto the sheet. Also note.. you can roast the pepper in the traditional fashion, on the burner or grill. But I like to take advantage of the fact that the oven is already on. 

As part of our weekly mise en place, we cook up ~ 2 cups of quinoa and an extra squash to keep in the fridge. It helps cut out time on weekly diners and lunches but also keeps good clean eats on hand for snacking. This week I roasted up eggplant, squash, quinoa and cut up cauliflower. 

Partial batch of cooked Quinoa for the week

Mise en place

Roasted Garlic tip – I always keep both oil and water roasted garlic on hand in the fridge. It is very simple and easy to make your own. Peel a ramekin full of garlic toes, lightly salt and pepper and cover with either water or olive oil cover loosely with foil. Place the ramekin on a glass pie dish and place in oven before heating it up. Let it bake while the oven is heating up, and a bit longer ~15 – 20 minutes until the liquid is bubbling and a knife easily slips into the garlic. Pull from oven and let cool. Store garlic and juice in a small mason/jelly jar in the fridge. Will keep for weeks.

I use the garlic water (juice) to deglaze pans or to add flavor to my quinoa etc.

Roasted Garlic in oil