Chicken & Kale Soup

I'm trying to get away from bread and grains so am struggling to come up with lunch ideas that are quick, easy and not just a meal replacement shake.  Sometimes I want food, not a shake.  So I've started making big batches of soup and keeping it in the fridge to reheat as needed.  This is one of my current favorites.  It's healthy and absolutely delicious!  I won't lie that I kinda wish I had a big bowl on the table with some sort of crunchy bread to eat with it but thus far I have resisted the urge to bake it.  I make homemade chicken stock with this recipe because I think it makes it that much better.  But you certainly can just skip over the entire chicken stock part and go to the soup making part and just use a store bought rotisserie chicken instead.  I'll tell you my little cheat to make my chicken stock extra super amazing and awesome.  Instead of all water with my chicken and vegetables I add in a good quality pre-made chicken stock.   

Chicken & Kale Soup

1 whole chicken, shredded
2 boxes of (good quality) chicken stock (or recipe below for homemade stock)
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 large bunch of kale, chopped with middle stem removed

Add chicken stock to a large stock pot.  Shred the chicken, chop the vegetables and add it all into the stockpot.  Simmer on a medium-low for about 20-30 minutes or until carrots are nice and tender. 

Homemade Chicken Stock

1 whole chicken
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs thyme
small handful of black peppercorns
1 head garlic, split through the equator
2 tablespoons salt
3 rough chopped whole carrots
2 rough chopped stalks celery
1 rough chopped onion

4 c. (good quality or toss in a bullion cube) chicken stock

4 c. Water  (roughly)

Add everything into a stockpot and simmer on a medium heat for 2-3 hours until chicken falls off the bones and stock tastes awesome.  Make sure your liquid comes to the top of the chicken but doesn't have to cover it completely.  Strain the stock before using.  

Amish Friendship Bread

One of my closest friends here in Japan gave me this friendship bread.  I've never had it before and never heard of it before but the idea of it is really a cute idea.  You make a starter and it has to sit for 10 days.  You add something to it on day 5 and day 10 then you split it into 4 batches.  You keep one batch and then you remove 1 cup and place it into three separate containers that you then give to your friends with the instructions for them to keep the starter and eventually end with bread while they then do the same thing and give three of their friends a starter.  It think it has been a while since making bread here in my house so everyone was very excited.  It certainly didn't disappoint either.  It was really tasty.  It has the texture and density much like a banana bread but with cinnamon instead. The original recipe claims that you cannot use anything metal and must use plastic or wooden utensils and a plastic or glass container/bowl when making this so not sure how true it is but passing that tid bit on as well. 

Amish Friendship Bread Starter:

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir well.  In a 2 quart glass or plastic container, combine 1 cup sifted flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or the flour will get lumpy when you add the milk.  Slowly stir in warm milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Loosely cover the mixture with a lid or plastic wrap. The mixture will get bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the cycle, or the day you receive the starter.

For the next 10 days handle starter according to the instructions for Amish Friendship Bread below.

Amish Friendship Bread Recipe

Day 1 - receive the starter (the recipe for the starter is below)
Day 2 - stir
Day 3 - stir
Day 4 - stir
Day 5 - Add 1 cup each flour, sugar and milk.
Day 6 - stir
Day 7 - stir
Day 8 - stir
Day 9 - stir

Day 10 - Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Divide into 4 containers, with 1 cup each for three of your friends and 1 cup for your own loaves. Give friends the instructions for Day 1 through Day 10 and the following recipe for baking the bread. After removing the 3 cups of batter, combine the remaining cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter with the following ingredients in a large bowl:

2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
(**optional) 1 cup nuts/1 cup of raisins

Using a wooden spoon beat by hand until well blended. You can add 1 cup raisins and 1 cup nut. Grease a loaf pan with butter, sprinkle with sugar instead of flour.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick and if it comes out clean it is done.  Otherwise bake an additional 10-15 minutes until done.  If it starts getting too brown while cooking cover with aluminum foil and finish baking. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan. Makes 1 large loaf of Amish Friendship Bread.

Chocolate Almond Butter Protein Balls

I am soooo in love with these.  My kids beg for them.  My husband even eats them!  I've made these with peanut butter with pure maple syrup and almond butter with honey and I think the almond butter and honey are perfect and absolutely amazing!  They are so healthy but yet feel like a dessert cheat.  This time of year with Christmas fast approaching I always find I need cookies and desserts and these really hit the spot.  Of course, much like a cookie, you can't eat juts one so at almost 100 calories a ball the calories can add up quick but at least it is good for you, not stick to your hips and butt type of calories!

Now the version in the picture is minus the chocolate and I used vanilla protein powder just because the chocolate ones looked soooo unpleasant when it came picture time so you can totally make these vanilla or chocolate whatever you like best!   The original recipe as written below uses 1/4 c. of honey, I however prefer mine with 1/8 c. of honey so it all has to do with how sweet you like them you can add or subtract it to your preference.

Chocolate Almond Butter Protein Balls   

1/2 c. almond butter
1/4 c. honey
1 scoop chocolate (soy) protein powder (*or vanilla)
1/4 c. ground flax seed
2 tbsp. cocoa (*optional)
1 c. old fashioned rolled oats (dry)
1 tbsp. coconut oil

Makes 18 large balls or 36 bite size balls.  I'm working on the exact calorie count and nutritional information for these but it is roughly 90 calories a tbsp. size ball.




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Not Your Ordinary Recipes

The New Me

December 2012

I look back over the last year and sometimes I'm surprised at how far I've come.  Sometime between February through April I decided I was tired of being over weight and needed to do something about it.  I've said this hundreds and hundreds of times over the last 10 or so years and I never stick with anything or actually succeed with losing more than 5lbs or so before gaining it all right back and then some.  Of course pregnancy never helps that whole diet and weight loss thing either.  My oldest is now 5 and my youngest is now 2.  How long can I talk about the baby weight I'm carrying?

December 2011 -
My shameful "Before" picture!

So, I stopped making excuses and started exercising.  I started doing Insanity.  I was so out of shape I couldn't run a quarter of a mile and I couldn't finish the warm-up of Insanity.  That's right, I couldn't actually finish the warm-up!  I could have quit, I could have given up like I've done countless times before.  This time it was different.  I was determined.  How can I be an example for my kids if I'm overweight and do nothing but bake sweets and try to hid that I've eaten the entire batch of cookies or entire pan of fudge myself?  I hired a personal trainer, I found friends that had the same goals as I did.  Other military wives with children that had to workout with their children around because our husband's schedules are impossible to work around.

I am proud to say that today I am a whole new person.  I am 45lbs lighter than I was in the beginning of 2012.  I feel amazing.  I wake up every day with a smile.  I love myself, I love how I feel, I love exercise, I love my energy and for the first time in my life I love looking at myself in the mirror!  I ate healthy and worked out 6 days a week for 9 months.  It didn't happen overnight.  It wasn't easy.  I still struggle daily with my food and sometimes I'm unmotivated to exercise. As of today I run 3x's a week usually 5-7 miles.  I'm still shocked I'm a runner!  I struggled endlessly with shin splints in the beginning.  Then I still try to go to the gym 2-3 times a week for a minimum of 1 hour, including utilizing my personal trainer still one of those days. I'm now a Beachbody coach.  (http://beachbodycoach.com/newdaynewyou) I also am studying to become a certified personal trainer.   

I look back at my blog and it is a reminder to me of the fact that I basically ate nothing but cakes and cookies day in and day out.  Now I don't post.  I miss posting.  But it isn't easy to diet and exercise and still spend time being creative in the kitchen. 

2013 I plan on spending time making healthy dishes and also learning how to make my favorite Japanese dishes.  We have another 1 1/2 years in Japan and I love it and plan on making the most of it.

So stay tuned because I've got some awesome looking Japanese recipes lined up to wrap up this year and hopefully new, creative healthy dishes coming up in 2013.

Tonight I'm going to try to make homemade mochi.  Yes, mochi!  I bet many of you have no idea what that even is!  

Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake

So that time of year again when every time I go into the kitchen I come out having made something pumpkin.  Even my protein shakes have turned pumpkin these days!!  I have a protein shake almost every single day.  Sometimes it is my lunch replacement meal other times just a post workout snack.  I'm usually a chocolate peanut butter protein shake kinda gal but I was in the mood to try something different today.  Of course you can leave the oats out if you can't handle the texture it gives them but I don't mind it, I enjoy it.  I suggest keeping your pumpkin in the fridge before making this.  I don't add ice to my shakes because I have the worst blender ever so I put my pumpkin in the fridge to keep my shake cold. 

Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake

1 1/2 c. almond milk (original)
1/3 c. pure pumpkin
1/2 c. old fashioned rolled oats (dry)
1 scoop vanilla (soy) protein powder
1 ripe banana
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Add all ingredients into the blender and puree until smooth.  We as smooth as you can get a shake with oats.  The longer it sits the thicker it will get because of the oats so you may have to adjust the amount of almond milk you add to it.  Enjoy!

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Streusel Pie

When it comes to the holidays it is really hard to eat dairy-free.  Rolls, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, pies, cakes, cookies.  They all have dairy in them.  Every Thanksgiving I make a pumpkin pie.  Who doesn't?  I love, love, love Pumpkin Pie.  Well since giving up dairy the beginning of this year I've been dreading Thanksgiving.  How am I going to do a traditional Thanksgiving feast with no dairy whatsoever?!  I decided to start with a pie makeover.  I wanted to take my all time favorite pumpkin recipe and make it dairy free but I wanted every single person that ate it to have absolutely no clue in the world that it was missing all the cream and butter it normally has.  Well, I've done it.  I've knocked it out of the park and couldn't be happier!  My entire family absolutely loves it.  I think it is amazing and am thrilled with how it turned out!  My secret - silken tofu pureed in place of heavy cream! 
 

Pumpkin Struesel Pie

Pie Filling:
1 15oz. can pure pumpkin 

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

8 oz. silken tofu, drained

1 c. pure maple syrup

3 large eggs

Streusel Topping:

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 tbsp. unsalted dairy-free butter, very cold (I use organic Smart Balance Vegan Spread)

Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, flour and salt in a mixer with whisk attachment and beat until just combined.  In a blender add the silken tofu and maple syrup and puree until completely smooth.  Add the syrup tofu mixture into the pumpkin mixture and beat until well combined.  Stop and scrape down sides and add in eggs one at a time and beat until combined.  Pour into pie crust and bake 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake another 35 minutes.  While it is baking combine all streusel ingredients in a bowl and use a fork or your hands and crumble it together until the butter is about the size of peas and almost all streusel mixture is sticky and crumbly.  Take pie out of oven and sprinkle streusel all over the top of it.  Place back in the oven for another 20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before serving so pie has time to set.  The pie should still be a bit jiggly in the middle when you remove it and it will set as it cools.  A firm non-jiggly center means it is overcooked.     

Dairy-Free Pie Dough:

3 c. flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 c. shortening
12 tbsp. non-dairy butter

1/2 c. ice cold water

Place the shortening in fridge ahead of time or freezer to get it nice and cold before you prepare the dough.  Dice the butter and place it back into the refrigerator. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the very cold butter and very cold shortening. Pulse a few times until the butter is bite size. Turn the machine on and slowly add the ice water down the feed tube until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball.  Divide and press into a flat circle and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle.  This makes 2 pie crusts.  The other can be refrigerated a few days or placed in the freezer for later use.  Make sure to spray your pie pan before rolling it out though to prevent it from sticking once it is baked.   

NOTE:  Organic Smart Balance Vegan Spread is like using salted butter.  So I opt to omit the salt from my pie recipe and the pie crust. 

Katsudon

I made Katsudon last night for my first time ever.  It is one of my absolutely favorite dishes I get quite often here in Japan.  It was simply to make and so good. The fried pork cutlet on top is called Tonkatsu.  Then you have sticky rice and a slightly sweet sauce with onions and egg over the rice.  We use Japanese eggs because here in Japan they eat raw eggs quite often so they have much higher standards for their eggs.  We can cook them less or not at all if we prefer but using American eggs I'd cook it through.  You'd be surprised at how quickly you can get use to eating raw egg.  A year ago I would have said "no way", but now I do it often and enjoy it and actually sometimes prefer it that way in certain dishes.  This makes 1 bowl of Katsudon.  Just double or triple how you see fit to make as much or as little as you need.  I usually make it for two and use two separate skillets so the egg cooks for just that one bowl in that one skillet but you don't have to do it that way. 

The egg you are pouring into the liquid at the end needs to be just barely beaten.  You want it mixed but not like you do scrambled eggs.  Just enough to pop the yolk and give it maybe 4-5 mixes then you are good to go.  For sticky rice use a good sushi rice in a rice cooker on sushi setting.  You can usually find hon-dashi in the Asian section of supermarkets.  Instead of making a batch of dashi stock fresh this is the granulated way to do it.  Similar to how you use chicken bouillon for chicken stock if you don't have chicken stock or don't want to make it from scratch for just a small amount.   

Tonkatsu:

Pork Chop (Boneless)
1/2 c. Panko
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. All-Purpose Flour 

Sauce:

1 tbsp. mirin
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1/5 tsp. hon-dashi
1/8 c. water
1/2 onion thinly sliced

1 egg, very lightly beaten

Start your sticky rice.  Preheat your oil to 375 degrees.  Dredge the pork chop into flour, egg then panko and drop it hot oil and cook until golden brown and cooked all the way through.  It takes about 3 minutes a side roughly.  Place on paper towels and allow to cool while making the sauce.  Mix all sauce ingredients in a small skillet that has a lid.  Allow to come to a boil and turn down to a simmer for 5 minutes with lid on.  Cut the tonkatsu into slice and place into the simmer liquid.  Pour the beaten egg over the top and around the edges of the tonkatsu into the sauce and cover with the lid again.  Allow to cook for 45 seconds.  Remove lid and pour entire skillet of sauce, egg and tonkatsu over your sticky rice.  Enjoy!