Choices for a healthy body and healthy planet

Over and over again I find myself asking the same question... how can I make more ethical food choices? Even though I do not wish to become a vegetarian nor I would like to stop eating red meats, I do think that reducing the amount of meat we intake can help the planet in many ways. This is why a couple of times a week I will be posting savory vegetarian recipes that we will all love and will embrace meatless meals that will help reduce our carbon foot print.

Today I tried this hearty vegetarian meal an it quickly became a favorite. With simple ingredients and in just a few minutes this warm meal was in my table and ready to be devoured. I hope you like this delicious recipe taken from 100 great recipes - Meals in Minutes.

Tomato Rice With Red Kidney Beans

Ingredients for 2

1 tbsp olive oil
1 Small onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 small green pepper chopped
2 tbsp paprika (replaced with red thai curry)
1 cup of brown rice
7 oz can of diced tomato
7 oz can of red kidney bean
1 tsp of turmeric
1/2 Jalapeno finely chopped
1 tbsp of fresh cilantro chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large, deep heavy-based pan (i used a wok and it worked great) for about 30 seconds. Add onion, garlic, green bell peppers and jalapeno and cook for about 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the paprika/thai curry stirring frequently for a few minutes with a wooden spoon. Then add rice and cook for a minute or 2 to coat the grains of rice.

Once everything looks evenly mixed pour the tomatoes into a measuring cup and add watter leveling up to 3 cups. Add to the rice in the pan and season with a little salt and pepper. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil and keep in heat for about 35 min.

Drain and rinse the beans and add to pan, cover and cook for another 5 minutes or until the rice is tender and all liquid has been absorbed. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve!

Enjoy =)

Healthy lifestyle is not just running

Being on week 4 of marathon training feels as a major accomplishment as being consistent is one of my biggest challenges. I grew up in a house with no routines and where the TV was my daily entertainment, no exercise routine was followed so to keep this training going I have to change many of my bad habits. I think that so far I have the running down even though it still takes a lot of effort to get off the couch and into my running clothes to get out of the house and do it.

But running is not the one and only step to a healthy lifestyle, there is another major piece to this crazy puzzle and that is healthy eating which I consider another extreme challenge. Eating is a big part of my life, growing up in South America and with a Spanish background (Spain), eating is how we celebrate life, food fests and a recipe for every occasion, going out and eating with friends and living life though our palate.

This has come to hunt me, specially when trying to keep healthy eating habits in the household where two little ones are learning by example. In the past year and a half I broke my routine and as running, healthy eating/cooking is a hard one to get going again. So in my quest for a healthy lifestyle, weight loss and being a good role model for my 5 y.o. I am starting something new this week.

Every Sunday night a menu will be set for the following week and I am going to do my best to stick to it! My goal is the have 3 meals every day, breakfast at home, lunch to take to work and finally my favorite, a light family dinner where we can all sit down in the table and share the craziness of our day.

The challenges you may ask? Fitting this in the daily routine of a full time mom, part time step-mom, marathon runner wannabe, career woman, wedding planner and lover. It will be easy to start as my little one is on her yearly "daddy vacation" and won't be back home until mid August, hopefully I can get used to it and keep it going after she gets back.

This week starts a little off the wagon as we were off on Monday for 4th of July holiday but here we go. I am trying to create a balanced diet with fruits and vegetables, fun combinations that are easy and fast to create and can look attractive to picky 5 y.o. junk food lovers. How to make this happen? With the help of books and  Internet everything is possible.

Today's featured recipe - Cannellini-Bean & Artichoke Salad

Ingredients for 2

14 oz can cannellini beans drained

3 green onions, finely sliced

5 oz jar charbroiled artichokes in oil

2 tbsp fresh basil

5 oz baby vine tomatoes

Olive Oil (to taste)

1/2 tbsp white-wine vinegar

Salt & Pepper

A few leaves of spinach

1 3/4 tbsp of pine nuts

Place the beans with the onions in a bowl. Lift the artichokes from the jar reserving the oil and cut into quarters. Chop the basil into fine shreds and half the tomatoes.  Add to the bowl. Mix the oil from the jar with olive oil enough to make about 3 tbsp, add vinegar and season with salt and pepper to make a light dressing.

Toss the salad ingredients together with the dressing. Line 2 serving plates with the spinach leaves and spoon the salad on top. Sprinkle with pine nuts to serve and add your choice of cheese if you like, my personal favorite for this recipe is Feta.

I hope you enjoy my new blog addition and try this savory and healthy recipes with me!

Cheers to healthy living!