Kale, Tofu & Sun Dried Tomato Skillet

The hubs' triathlon is just around the corner (in a few days) and I've been cooking some seriously healthy stuff during his training. I wanted to keep things light tonight for after his mountain bike ride and stick with some super healthy kale and tofu.

This is a delicious one! So here is the recipe:

Kale, Tofu & Sun dried Tomato skillet

one bunch of red or green kale trimmed and washed well
diced extra firm tofu
a handful or so of sun dried tomatoes that have been marinating in olive oil
1 red pepper chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
juice of 1/2 a lemon
olive oil
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

In a large non stick pan, drizzle in some olive oil (not too much) and sauté the tofu on medium high heat until its golden on all sides. Lower the heat to medium and add your garlic, peppers and sun dried tomatoes. Cook for just a few minutes and then add your kale and a few good pinches of salt and pepper. Bump your heat back up to medium high once you've added the kale and stir everything together. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and then add your liquids. Water & lemon juice. Give it a few more minutes to marry and cook on medium high until the kale is cooked to your liking. I like mine not too wilted and still bright green.

You can serve this over healthy brown rice or pasta...whatevah you love!

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Black Bean & Corn Enchiladas with a Simple Mexican Salad

I made these for the second time last night for dinner and have decided that this is another weeknight 'go to' dinner for our family.
Its so delicious and quick and easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.

Black Bean & Corn Enchiladas with a Simple Mexican Salad

1 can of black beans (pureed in a food processor OR already pureed in the can)
1 small yellow spanish onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 red bell pepper (diced very small)
1 cup frozen sweet corn
Drizzle of sunflower or other neutral oil
Salt to taste
i package of yellow CORN tortillas (Don't use flour tortillas. Ew)
2 cans of enchilada sauce of your choice
shredded mexican cheese (any brand/variety)


For the Mexican Salad:
1 bag of pre made iceberg or romaine salad mix of your choice (even a head of iceberg works great for this salad)
1 handful of chopped cilantro
1 avocado
2 ripe tomatoes
1 lime
2 tablespoons of neutral oil
salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 375

In a large sauce pan, drizzle a bit of oil over medium high heat and add onions, garlic and allow to cook for a few minutes before adding your peppers, corn and cumin. Cook all veggies until tender and add your pureed black beans and a few good pinches of salt. Stir well together (you can add a little bit of water-no more than a tablespoon or so if your filling seems to be way too thick. Thick is good though!).

In a large baking dish (I used a big glass dish that I often use for casseroles), dump one of your two cans of enchilada sauce in the bottom and then microwave your corn tortillas for about 20 seconds (wrap them in a damp paper towel before microwaving so they don't dry out). This will make them warm and pliable so they don't break when you roll them (it's no big deal if they do break a little bit, however). Bring your bean mixture over to your enchilada making station and get rolling!

Dip each tortilla in the sauce that is on the bottom of the baking dish to coat lightly, spoon about 2 tablespoons of your bean mixture into the tortilla and gently roll and place seam down in the pan (yes, your hands will be messy from this process so make sure they are clean before your begin). Line them up into a pretty row until the entire pan is full (It doesn't have to be perfectly uniform. This is a rustic dish). Open your second can of sauce and pour evenly over the top of the enchiladas and then sprinkle them with a very generous amount of cheese.

Cover with foil and bake about 20 minutes until bubbling and then for 5 more minutes uncovered to get the cheese a little bit golden if you prefer.

When you take the enchiladas out, let them sit and cool for a few minutes (we CANNOT do this because we must eat them immediately even though they don't keep their shape when you scoop them out of the pan right from the oven :)

While you are waiting for your enchiladas to cool, make your delicious, simple salad. In a large bowl add your bag of lettuce, handful of chopped cilantro, diced tomato, diced avocado (we love big pieces) juice from half of the lime, oil and a few pinches of salt. Toss together until it tastes delicious. Add more salt if necessary (I will taste, add what I think it needs, toss some more, taste, add again if necessary and repeat this process until the salad is perfect).

WIth a spatula, scoop your enchiladas from the baking dish onto a plate and top with a big heaping pile of mexican salad. The combo is DELICIOSO!! :)

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Shortly after the New Year, the hubs announced to me that he would be training for the Denver Triathalon starting, um, NOW and we needed to put our heads together and come up with a plan to get him on the road to uber hotness, er, I mean health. It actually has turned out to be the absolute perfect time to switch up our eating habits because of my pregnancy and feeling like I needed to really up my nutrient intake and also introduce some very nutritious foods to Phaedra.

Now the shopping bill is mainly fresh organic fruits and vegetables with whole grains from the bulk section and very few items from the 'middle of the store' such as canned tomatoes and coconut milk, chicken broth, and a few healthy items for Phae's school lunches. We are already feeling great and Kevin is making huge strides in his training while I'm making huge strides with maintaining my energy level throughout the day and only packing on a few pounds when needed to support this little baby in my belly instead of gaining weight from that mid-afternoon cupcake craving :) (although, I give in every now and then...)

This is a recipe that I made yesterday and it was super delicious and filling without giving us that heavy feeling. I've been cooking mostly gluten free meals also to see if it helps to relieve my digestive issues that I've lived with for most of my life. I must say that cutting out bread has really kept me from crashing after I eat.

An added bonus? This recipe is super kid-friendly. Phae loved scooping the turkey into the lettuce cups. Just prepare for a bit of a mess (Lou dog is our cleanup crew for meals like this).

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

1/2 red, yellow or orange bell pepper (diced)
1 large garlic clove (minced)
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 carrot (diced)
1 lb ground turkey
a pinch of red chili flake
1/4 cup soy sauce
1-1.5 tablespoons honey
3 scallions (chopped finely)
small bunch of cilantro (chopped)
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1/2 cup frozen, shelled edamame
lime wedges
1 large heart of romaine or a rinsed head of butter lettuce
a few drizzles of neutral oil (I used sunflower oil)

In a large saucepan, drizzle some oil and heat to medium low. Add garlic, ginger, chili flake, carrot, pepper and cook until tender and very fragrant. Add the turkey to the pan and bump your heat up to medium high and break the turkey into small pieces while cooking. You don't want really large chunks of meat. I sprinkled the meat with just a little salt but don't go overboard with this because the soy sauce will really boost salt content in the dish. Once the meat is looking like it's close to being cooked through, add your sesame oil and frozen edamame. Put your soy sauce and honey in a microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave for about 15 seconds. When it's heated, stir to combine and then pour add it to the meat mixture and mix well. Taste to see if the dish needs to have more of a balance of sweet/salty and if so, you can add more soy sauce or honey accordingly.

Place the finished meat and veggies in a bowl and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with your lettuce wraps and lime wedges. I also served it with sriracha hot sauce (god's gift to the universe) and a side of regular jasmine rice to add to the wraps if we so desired. Enjoy this fun meal together around your table! Yummy!