For the love of running... and healthy eating!

For the love of running is correct... Who wakes up at 5 am in the morning to run in the dark foggy weather? This girl right here!!!! Because now I have a roomie I can sneak out really early in the morning while everyone is sleeping and squeeze my run in... Today, 4 miles with a fellow runner friend, I can't be happier. 

My run felt so great and it was just easy, throughout the day I just felt great and I didn't have that constant worry of... will I be able to get my run in or not? Tomorrow we will do it again!  And Sophia loves it, by the time I get back I feed her breakfast, shower and have plenty of time to get ready.

One of the other things I've been working on has been nutrition, an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to having energy and successful runs. I cooked during the weekend certain home made foods that I could quickly have ready with all the healthy benefits. Below find a recipe that I brought back from Tennessee, I absolutely love it and will probably make it weekly!

Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi

This recipe literally has 2 ingredients and serves 4 portions, all you need is:

•  1 large sweet potato
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour

Some recipes call for baking the sweet potato, I instead boiled it! Peel and cut the sweet potato in small squares and boil until tender. Once it's tender puree the sweet potato and let it cool. I like using my hands but you could also use a kitchenaid, once the puree has cooled down start adding the flour in increments of 1/4 of a cup at a time. I ended up mixing only 1 1/2 cups and used the rest when making the little gnocchi balls.

Once the dough acquires the desired texture (doesn't stick to your hands) divide the dough in 4 equal balls and roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Then cut each rope into 1-inch pieces and roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer them to a baking sheet until you have finished with the remainder of the dough.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and start adding the gnocchi in small batches you will know they are ready once they start floating, cooking time should be about 5 minutes. You can now with a slotted spoon drain the gnocchi onto a baking sheet.

I then, because I was cooking for the week, proceeded to put the baking sheet in the freezer covering it with foil; that way you can freeze the gnocchi individually and they wont get stuck together. You can then separate portions in small freezer bags and have them ready to go, all you need to do is throw them back into boiling water for about 3 minutes and voila.

I made a spicy marinara to go with it which really pairs well with the mild sweetness of the sweet potato. Add a little bit of Parmesan and you have yourself a delicious, healthy home cooked meal!

Delicious Lentil Tacos

Today I tried an awesome recipe that I have been meaning to check out and boy was it good! Even Sophia ate 2 tacos, she is loving lentils and so am I. It is very simple but it takes about an hour to cook the lentils. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 tsp of canola oil
• 1 cup of dried lentils, rinsed
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2-1/2 cups of vegetable broth
• 1 cup of salsa (chopped tomato, onion & cilantro with the juice of 1/2 lemon)
• 12 taco shells
• 1-1/2 cups of reduced fat cheddar cheese
• 6 tbsp of fat-free sour cream

Directions:

In a large non-stick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano and stir for about a minute. Add the broth and bring to a broil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer until the lentils are tender (about 35 min). 

Uncover and cook for another 5 minutes until mixture thickens out. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentils into shell, top with lettuce, salsa, cheese and sour cream and go for it!

It serves 6 people and it is super healthy and low cal... this is one of those dishes that amazes all those meat lovers and keeps them begging for more!

Enjoy!

CM

Pesto Sauce and its benefits

Ingredients:

3 cups of fresh Basil leaves
1/2 oz of pine nuts
1 1/2 cup of fresh pasley
2 garlic cloves
pinch os salt
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp EVOO

Preparation:

Put basil, pine nuts, parsley, garlic and salt in a mortar and pound until you have a thick paste. For those of you lazy like me you can use a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and with a wooden spoon gradually work in the Parmesan cheese, followed by the EVOO to make a thick creamy sauce. 

Pesto is a great sauce to not only add to pasta but to plenty of other dishes. The benefits you may ask? Well herbs and spices are like anti-cancer in a teaspoon! Here are some to name a few!

Basil - This very tasty herb is packed with 2 flavonoids: orientin and vicenin which protectcell structures as well as chromosomes from radiationand oxygen-based damage. Basil has also shown to provide protection against wanted bacteria growth, its also a very good source of vitamin C, iron, calcium and potassium.

Parsley - This is the world's most popular herb and contains 2 special nutrients: volatile oils (limonene, eugenol, myristicini) and flavonoids (apiin, apigenin, crisoeriol and luteolin). Booth have been shown to block tumor formation, protect cells from oxidative damage and increase antioxidant capacity in the blood. Parsley also contains Vitamin C, Vitamin A, iron and folic acid. 

Garlic - A herb rich in powerful sulfur-containing compounds. Garlic is an excellent source of magnesium and selenium and a very good source of vitamin B6 and vitaminC. It has been shown that consumption of garic reduces the risk of cancer for the oral cavity and pharnyx as well as esophageal cancer. It also reduces risk for colorectal cancer, renal  cancer cell and laryngeal cancer.

You might ask why all these facts? I attended a cancer prevention cooking class and I got some very good healthy recipes that will help keep your body on a cancer fighting mood!

Have a healthy day =)

CM

21 day vegetarian challenge

One of my new friends who is a Holistic Health Coach just got certified from the Cancer Project and is going to start doing a 21 day plant based diet. It is supposed to be a "vegan" diet but since we are taking baby steps we are modifying it to be vegetarian.

Honestly I don't think I can give up cheese, meat I don't mind so much, but cheese? come on! So yesterday we made our 1st recipe and was I surprised! This is one of the best vegetable recipes I have ever tried, its hearty and filling and its roughly 300 calories per serving (2 enchiladas) I highly recommend you try it, I promise you will be pleasantly surprised.

Zucchini Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 2 Cans (15 oz. each) tomato sauce (we did half)
• 2 Cans (15 oz. each) no salt added diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 2 tsp. Sugar
• 1 tsp. Dried Basil
• 1 tsp. Ground Cumin
• 1/4 ts. salt
• 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 3 lbs Zucchini, shredded (about 8 cups)
• 24 corn tortillas
• 4 cups shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
• 2 cans of diced black olives
• 1/2 cups of fresh cilantro

Preparation:

In a large sauce pan saute peppers and onion in olive oil until tender. Add garlic and cook for another minute, stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chili powder sugar, basil, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for about 30 min until the sauce is slightly thickened.

In the mean time, start building your enchiladas. You can grab about a 1/3 of a cup of zucchini and place it in the center of the tortilla and top it with about 2 Tbsp of cheese and one of olives. I personally like to mix the olives, zucchini and cheese and then roll my enchilladas. Before rolling the tortillas make sure you warm them up on a pan, if not they will break. 

Place rolled tortillas side to side seam down in baking dish coated with a bit of the sauce. Pour Sauce over and sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 min. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with sour cream if desired.

Enjoy!

CM