Best of 2012: My favorites and yours

As this year is winning down I have put together a round up from Eat Good 4 Life with the best of 2012 including my favorite recipes and yours.

I have started to get to know some of you, and that is what makes me most happy. I really appreciate you all and maintaining and keeping up the blog has become much more than just a hobby.

Before the year is over I wanted to let you know about a few things that are going to take place around Eat Good 4 Life tough.

For 2013 I will be having a new blog look for you. Transferring from blogger to Wordpress and having a much friendlier and better look coming around March.

Other announcements:

E-book coming in March with really good recipes, from breakfast, snacks, smoothies, gluten free, easy dinner meals, and desserts. I am working really hard on this book so I hope you like it.

Meal plans for healthy, diabetics, and gluten free meals.

Nutrition Consulting from the dietitian via phone, email or skype for:

1. Weight management
2. Diabetes
3. Cardiovascular disease
4. Health and preventive nutrition
5. Metabolic syndrome
6. Cancer
7. Gastrointestinal disorders like celiac disease. 

New site coming in March!

I am super excited to start implementing these changes to the site. I have been working really hard, so I hope you like what I will be offering in the new year to come.

              Happy new year and see you in 2013!

Mini vegetable and bacon fritatas
Skinny fettucicine alfredo

No bake mini raspberry cheesecakes
Strawberry and raspberry tiramisu

Crock pot honey sesame chicken
Blackberry, banana and mint smoothie

Sweet and spicy BBQ chicken with snap peas
Thai shrimp curry with snap peas

Peanut butter, coconut and dark chocolate bars
Dark chocolate black bean brownies

Rum raisin chocolate truffles
Lowering cholesterol energy bars

 Coconut and chocolate chip cookies
Oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate, peanut butter and banana smoothie
Spinach and strawberry smoothie

Peanut butter and dark chocolate bites
Apple and caramel coffee cake

 Irish cream and pistachio fudge
Cinnamon sugared walnuts

Whole Wheat Cranberry and Pistachio sugar cookies

Did every one had a good Christmas? We sure did.

For me Christmas is not about gift giving but being together with family and friends. My kids actually didn't get that many gifts. They got a few desired items but nothing extravagant!

I actually got a roasting pan, among other kitchen gadgets, that I had my eye on for a while, and can't wait to use.

They had the very popular All-Clad brand, but the price was more than double and the reviews were a lot worse than the one I got. I am glad I decided to get the more economical one.

Does anyone have a favorite recipe they use in their roasting pan? Please do tell.

Anyhow, these cookies come from my sugar cookie recipe. I always use this one however this time around I decreased the sugar content even further and it was perfect.

For next time I am going to substitute some more of the butter for oil. I think it will also work but will see.

With this recipe you can use any flavoring of your choice and turn the cookies into something different. I think a hazelnut type of cookie will be rather good as well as a lemon or lime ones. Just saying :-)

Well I hope you like these cranberry and pistachio cookies. Let me know if you try them.

Enjoy!

 Here you can see the cookies being cut with a cookie cutter and placed in the cookie sheet.

 ...and here they are, right after baking. They will take about 12 minutes at 350F.

Ingredients Miryam's original recipe

Yields 30 cookies depending on cookie cutter size. I think mine was a 2 inch size.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, next time I will try to add some shredded coconut to the mix
1 stick of butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup coconut oil, you can also use olive oil
1/2 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 cup raw pistachios, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in egg, oil and vanilla. Add flours, and baking powder and combine until you have a homogeneous dough formed.

Divide dough into two and flatten out with a rolling pin like in the pictures. Chill dough for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick and stamp out rounds using a cookie cutter (I roll out the dough in between plastic wrap which I find very easy to do. You can use any other cookie cutter shape you like as well).

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 2-3 minutes and transfer them to a wire rack and cool.

Tip: Dough can be chilled for up to 5 days or frozen wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap for up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw dough in the fridge before using.

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 30 cookies. 1 serving = 1 cookie.

Dr Oz morning green smoothie

I haven't posted a smoothie in the blog for a while even though smoothies are really regular at my house.

This would be the perfect morning drink or snack. It is packed with nutrition and it is extremely refreshing.

Because of the holidays, we tend to eat a bit more at gatherings and such, so go ahead and start your day with this smoothie. You are sure to be energized after you drink it and obtain certain vitamins and minerals you won't be getting by eating all of the holiday cookies :-)

Because I love ginger I actually used a bit more. If you like you can also add a banana if you think it is too bitter for you. Because I added the lemon ginger juice I found in Trader Joe's, that sufficed for us.

Two more days until Christmas. I can't believe it. I think time is going by faster as I get older :-( Not good!!

Well I will leave you with this sensational nutritious drink which I hope you venture to try sometime.

Enjoy!

Just place all of the ingredients in the blender and pulse until smooth. This will sure give you some powerful nutrition to start your day.

Ingredients

Yields 4 servings

2 organic green apples, skin on
3 cups fresh spinach
1 cucumber, pealed
3 organic celery sticks
1 Tbsp ginger root, peeled, I added more
1 oz parley
1 cup 100% lemon ginger Juice, or juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve inmediately to obtain all of the nutrients.

Adapted from a healthy kitchen

 

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 4 servings.

This is very high in Vit A, Vit C, Manganese, Magnesium, Calcium and Potassium.

Whole wheat cranberry cinnamon rolls

Wow, one week since my last post...

Sorry, but it is the season...and I am quite going crazy with all of the things that need to get done before Christmas day!!

Anyhow, I have been using cranberries lately for a lot of my desserts. I really like the tart of the cranberries mixed in with the sweetness that baking brings with them.

I am lucky enough to be able to get some organic cranberries at the store. A little bit more expensive, but never the less better :-)

For the purpose of taking pictures I used the classic sugar glaze for the cinnamon rolls however you can use maple syrup instead. It is also great with the cinnamon rolls and much better for you!

These rolls will take you a bit longer to make because whole wheat flour has less gluten thus the rising of the dough will take you longer, but be patient. This are a bit denser than the regular counter parts but they are still really really good.

Here you can see some of the other rolls I have made in the past:

Dark chocolate and hazelnut cinnamon rolls
Whole grain cinnamon rolls

I have actually frozen half of my batch, as I am going to reserved some cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. I think this would be a nice treat for the kids right before they open their presents.

Enjoy!!

This is how the dough looks like before and after the first rising. It took about 2 hours, maybe a tiny bit longer.

After the dough rises roll out the dough in a greased surface and spread the cranberry filling over it. Roll it through, making sure you don't do it tightly.

Cut the roll into little buns and place them on a greased floured 9x13 baking pan for about 2 hours until they rise again. Right picture.

This is how the rolls looked like after baking them for about 30 minutes at 375F.

These cinnamon cranberry rolls are out of this worl. I hope you get to try them soon!! and remember, you can use maple syrup in place of the sugar glaze for the rolls

Ingredients

Yields 16 buns

1 1/4 cup low fat milk 
1/2 cup sugar 
2 teaspoons instant yeast
4 tablespoons butter, softened 
2 eggs 
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
4 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour plus 2-4 tablespoons


Filling

16 oz of fresh organic cranberries
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon 

For the glaze

1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, you can also just use maple syrup instead. A much better option that we like.
3 tablespoons low fat milk, enough to make a spreadable icing


In a bowl mix all of the dough ingredients. Knead it with your hands 2 to 3 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly buttered bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let it stand for to 2 hours until double in bulk.

On the mean time prepare the cranberry filling. Place cranberries and honey in a sauce pan over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, until cranberries have soften.

Deflate the dough and transfer to a lightly greased work surface. Roll and pat it into a rectangle and spread the cranberry filling over the dough, like in the pictures.

Roll the dough into a log, and using a serrated knife cut it into pieces. Place the buns on a greased and floured pan (or parchment paper) spacing them evenly making sure they won't touch each other. Cover with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and let them rise for another 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake buns for 25-35 minutes. Remove them from the oven and after 5 minutes invert the rolls onto the rack and invert them back again onto a platter.

In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar with the the milk until the glaze is thick and spreadable. Dollop glaze over each roll and spread. Serve warm or at room temperature. You can also use maple syrup in place of the the sugar glaze for a healthier option.

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 16 rolls

Crock pot honey sesame chicken

This recipe is simply out of this world. To tell you that I have made this at least 5 times since I have bought my slow cooker says something, doesn't it?

The recipe called for 1 cup of honey but I found it to be a tad too sweet so I decreased it to 3/4 cups and I liked it better. Still sweet but not too sweet.

So far, this is the only recipe that I have tried on the crock pot but for sure I will be trying some other ones. Easy doesn't begin to describe how it is to cook in the crock pot. It is also super convenient so I am really happy I have purchased it!!

Also, I use arrowroot powder instead of corn starch, much better for you, but if you don't have any just use the old corn starch.

Well, let me know if you try this one, I think you and your family will love it. I also think this will freeze good in case you want to make some extra :-)

Enjoy!!

 Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.

Place the remainder of the ingredients over the chicken and set the crock pot to 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high.

 On the left picture you can see the shredded chicken, which I added after the sauce thickened with the arrowroot powder (you can also use corn starch to do that)

Ingredients

Yields 6 servings


2 lbs organic chicken breasts
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce, gluten free
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
3 teaspoons arrowroot powder, you can also use corn starch
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Green onions, sliced
Pepper flakes.
Brown rice to serve

Place the chicken breasts into the slow cooker. Place chopped onion scattered around the chicken.

In a medium bowl, add garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, and oil. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or on high for 2 hours until the chicken is fully cooked (when the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees).

Once the chicken has finished cooking, remove the chicken breasts and place them onto a cutting board, leaving the sauce in the slow cooker. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 teaspoons of cornstarch in 1/4 cup water, add to the crock pot. Stir to combine with the sauce. Cover and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes, or until the sauce has slightly thickened.

Return the chicken to the slow cooker and toss with the sauce. Serve over cooked brown rice. Top with sesame seeds, pepper flakes and sliced green onions.

Recipe adapted from blogchef.net

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 6 servings. I have also added the  brown rice into the calculations, 1/3 cup cooked brown rice per serving.