Honey Pecan Salmon

This recipe is from a Taste of Home cookbook borrowed from a friend.  I am SO excited to share this one with you!  Salmon is SO good for you, but a lot of people can't get past the more fishy taste.  Salmon is an easily digestible protein, it promotes healthy muscle and tissue development, and can help manage insulin levels and regulate your metabolism!  Ideally, you'll choose a wild salmon for this dish.  While the fish-like flavor is stronger in wild salmon, it's also less fatty and contains more vitamins and minerals than its farmed counterpart.  The honey in the recipe also helps mask the fish taste, so if your family has a more sensitive palate, they'll still most likely be able to enjoy this dish!

Ingredients:
3 salmon fillets wild caught
1/2 cup local honey
1/2 cup crushed pecans
2 Tbsp oil (grapeseed is what I used)
salt and pepper to taste

In a frying pan, heat oil and add salmon.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until cooked throughout.  For salmon, the minimal internal temperature is 145*, but I make sure mine gets to 160*.  This gives the salmon a slight brown that my family enjoys.  While the salmon is cooking, heat the honey and crushed pecans together until easily runny.  Make sure you blot the fish after you remove it from the pan to remove all excess oil and then plate, topping with the honey mixture.


My family LOVED this fish, and I have some picky fish eaters who shun most but tilapia.  We try to eat fish 2-3x/week due to the healthy fats it provides that assist in brain development!  Gotta keep my little Barys smart!!  Hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!!!

Easy Broccoli

I have been a bad little blogger lately!  SO, I'm going to make it up to you by giving you a GREAT recipe that will have even the most skeptical broccoli eaters in your house willing to give this super charged veggie another look!!  This one isn't one of my own creation- it's ALL OVER Pinterest, although it looks like it's one of Ina Garten's (The Barefoot Contessa)!  And she's a great cook, so you know this one's good!

This dark green super food is packed with tons of vitamins and contains the same amount of calcium gram for gram as a glass of milk!!  It's a great source of fiber and contains numerous nutrients show to fight cancer!  This recipe grills it almost crispy and adds a hint of garlic to the mix- which let's face it- there's no such thing as too much garlic! ;)

Ingredients:
3 cups broccoli florets- no need to neatly chop.  Just chunk it up
1-2 cloves garlic for taste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil (or grapeseed oil)
Juice of one lemon

Coat the broccoli in the oil in a bowl.  Chop up the garlic cloves finely and add to bowl.  After the broccoli has been tossed to coat, spread it onto a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Top with lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Bake in an over at 425* for 20-25 minutes.  Some pieces of the broccoli WILL brown.

Enjoy

The Prodigal Family

Having a broken foot stinks.  It's hard to get around; you can't stand for very long; and it's pretty much impossible to carry anything while you're on crutches.  I also blame my broken foot for my clean eating fall from grace.  I was sitting in my chair, having just finished putting the ingredients in my bread machine for a new recipe, and I realized how hard this lifestyle is in the beginning.  I also realized, how easy a blog makes this look.

You don't see the frustration my husband feels when I need him to cook and he has NO CLUE what to do with the ingredients in the pantry.  You can't hear my children bemoaning the loss of McDonalds at LEAST daily.  This transition in my life, has been in NO way easy.  

But I think it's important to share that part of this journey with you: to be realistic about what we're all going to go through.  My mama used to tell me, "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."  Sometimes we have the best of intentions- with very important motivations- and we still get off course.  We order pizza, we allow our husbands to buy the Kraft Mac and Cheese because it's easier than fighting anymore.  But when the pizza's gone, it's time to get back on the road.  

Each meal you prepare for your family is a new opportunity to fuel them with the best of what nature has to offer them.  So, don't give up!  If you decide you want to order pizza one day, your kids go to a friend's house that doesn't cook natural, whatever it is: remember every step towards clean eating is a healthy decision.  

Good luck with your journey!  I look forward to cooking again and sharing our story!

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Life has gotten complicated for me.  I broke my foot last week in a freak accident and its amazing how difficult it is to get a healthy, clean meal on your table when you can't walk around!  This is also the reason by the way, you haven't had recipes as regularly as before.  So, for the next week or two, I'm going to post easy recipes even I can make as I gimp across my kitchen floor.  This one makes use of frozen veggies, so it's easy to make, inexpensive and most importantly- a healthy version- of my favorite cool weather comfort food.  You can garnish the soup with a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and an avocado- which is a great source of healthy fats and even have more potassium than a banana!  They're also high in folic acid and fiber, both great for kids.  So, if your kids won't eat them sliced in the soup, feel free to mash one and mix it in to include the flavor and vitamins incognito.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast
1/2 lb corn frozen
1/2 lb mixed peppers frozen or fresh (if you use fresh, two peppers is plenty)
3 cups chicken stock- See the recipe in September's blog posts
1 1/4 cup clean salsa- you can find a recipe for this in September's posts also
3 corn tortillas shredded

Mix all the ingredients in the crock pot.  Shred tortillas first- they're more to flavor the broth- and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Shred chicken before serving.  Garnish with a small amount of mozzarella cheese and avocado.

Freezes well, so feel free to double or triple the recipe for a night you just don't feel like cooking or even for school lunches!

ENJOY!

Thai Lettuce Wraps

*Warning- this is NOT a peanut free recipe, although it can be easily adapted to be nut free

My family loves these delicious lettuce wraps.  My favorite part:  they take 15 minutes MAX to make from pan to dinner table!  That's thanks to a delicious sauce made by Wildtree foods that eliminates a good portion of the work.  I use ground chicken extra lean and I threw in some kale to increase the nutritional value of the dish.  I added crushed peanuts to the dish, although these can easily be skipped if there's a nut allergy in the house.  The Thai sauce by Wildtree foods is peanut free, so it's safe for anyone with nut allergies.  I like Wildtree sauces because they're organic, natural, and preservative free.  Even my token "picky eater" ate these- along with the kale- and asked for seconds.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground extra lean chicken
1/4 cup peanuts hand crushed
large handful cilantro
iceburg lettuce separated into "cups"
1/3 cup Wildtree Pad Thai sauce
two leaves kale chopped finely

Brown ground chicken and drain any excess liquid.  Add crushed/chopped peanuts and kale.  Cook til kale is dark green and "wilted" about 2 minutes.  Add Pad Thai sauce and stir til well coated.  Allow the mixture to warm completely through.  Remove from heat and toss with finely chopped cilantro.  Fill Lettuce cups with chicken mixture and serve warm.

Hope your family enjoys this as much as mine did!  I served ours with fresh carrot sticks and mushrooms sauteed in a little bit of teriyaki sauce (also Wildtree brand).