Life in general has been moving along like normal for the most part. I have been keeping busy with work as usual and trying my best to prepare for this transition period that is about to happen. There has definitely been some major changes taking place around our neck of the woods lately.

My pregnancy has been pretty easy, which Im extremely thankful for. I really cant complain about too much. I am amazed with how much body is changing. Right now our June Bug is the size of an ear of corn and weighing in at about 1 1/2 lbs. However, my uterus is the size of a soccer ball which is a little freaky. My cravings are all over the place... from fast food one week to all veggies the next. Im just going with the flow.

I have been wearing maternity pants for probably over a month now. When I finally switched over to them all I could think about was why didnt I do this a LONG time ago. It is so nice to actually feel like I can breathe! Also, my cousin, Leslie, gave me all her maternity clothes since she just had a baby recently. How sweet of her to do and a true blessing. I feel like I may make it through this pregnancy without spending hardly any money on clothes Ill only wear for a few months. YAY!

Remington has definitely been realizing that changes are happening and I have tried to make it very clear to him that he is more than welcome to explore those changes. Any new baby stuff we purchase goes straight to the floor for a few days for him to sniff out and discover what they are all about. I have read that keeping your dog away from baby items only makes the transition harder when the baby comes, so he has had free reign of almost everything. He has also become very clingy to me lately... always following me around and during therapy dog visits leaning his head up against my belly. All my residents are amazed at the changes they have seen in him toward me lately.

Dan and I have been hard at work shuffling our house around and getting the nursery ready. I have felt a little badly because Dan has kind of lost his space in our house, but he has been a trooper during every minute and has done nothing but try to make me happy and do exactly what I want. Im definitely the stressed and anxious one about the baby coming and he is my rock as usual. I am so blessed to have him as my partner... so so blessed.

The most amazing thing I have seen and felt these past few weeks is the amount of movement happening! I am truly shocked at how strong this little human is at just 1 1/2 lbs! One night I was sitting watching TV and our little June Bug was kicking really hard so I decided to try to catch it on video to share with Dan. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched this over and over again in pure amazement!!!

Crazy right! And just FYI... I dont have three belly button holes... two of them are from when I use to have a belly button ring :)

Anyways... more updates to come in the following weeks. Time is flying by so fast that it is hard to keep up, but I will try my best!!!! Hopefully this was a nice little update to keep everyone in the loop!

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Apparently Im on a bit of a crepe kick. Probably because they are the only vaguely bread like food I can have on this elimination diet. 

This time I went savory with chickpea flour crepes, pesto, and smoked salmon.  The fella and I were both really surprised by how delicious I was able to make these while still keeping them hypoallergenic.  The crepes themselves were ridiculously easy and a nice compliment to the salmon.  The pesto which I used pumpkin seeds in instead of pine nuts rounded out the flavors nicely.  Best of all this recipe is totally weight loss phase friendly for the French Diet.  Since it involves bean flour you can put whatever youre in the mood for in these.  So go crazy!

Since Im only cooking really simple foods that dont usually require any sort of recipe Im going to try to stop neglecting this blog so badly and just post pictures of my food to prove that I really am eating well while on such a restrictive diet.  Well see how long I can keep up that promise.

Chickpea Crepes 

1 cups chickpea flour (easily found in Indian groceries)

1 1/4 cups water

dash of salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk together all ingredients.  Heat a large non stick pan over medium heat.  When hot, spray with cooking spray and drop 1/4 cup of the crepe mix into the pan, quickly sliding around  the pan to spread out the crepe as thin as possible.  Cook for 30 seconds.  Flip and cook for 90 seconds on the other side.  Repeat with the rest of the crepe batter.

I topped my chickpea crepes with a handful of spinach, a slice of avocado, some sprouts, a drizzle of pesto, and a couple pieces of smoked salmon.  This would also be amazing with cream cheese or creme fraiche, smoked salmon, watercress, and cucumber.  (Someone eat that version and tell me all about it since I will never be able to.)

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This is what happens when Im in the mood for a new version of falafel and have been spending time lingering in Raw food blogs looking for desserts and bread substitutes I can eat. The Raw food thing intrigues me but I could never do it. Just modifying this recipe for dinner frustrated me to the point I had to tap in the fella to cook while I did dishes for awhile unmolested by the falafel that refused to blend.

The pumpkin seeds were a problem. First of all we could only fine salted and roasted pumpkin seeds which made the falafel super salty. Also pumpkin seeds are a bitch in the food processor, or at least in mine. It was not going well and when I added the rest of the sticky viscous ingredients it was even less cooperative. Eventually after much swearing (on my part) and gentle coercion (on the fellas part) we got a mixture with a nice consistency. Unlike other falafel recipes that tend to fall apart in the pan, there was no risk these doing so, once those pumpkin seeds gave it up these were some hardy balls of falafel . And aside from being too salty they were delicious. Who knew that pumpkin seeds, sun dried tomatoes and olives would go so great together.

While the fella was sweet talking the falafel mixture into submission I grilled the veggies on one of my favorite things in the kitchen, the grill pan. This is as close as I get to grilling so I would be lost at moments like these with out it.

The falafel and veggies on top of some baby spinach made for a delicious and very filling dinner. Not bad for borrowing an idea for something uncooked and turning it into a big warm salad. I am curious about the directions for an uncooked flour free tortilla and hummus made from macadamia nuts. If I can borrow a dehydrator from someone I would give his carb free breads a try.



I have no idea what sort of wine to pair with something like this so I went with what I was in the mood for. Root:1 wines from Chile are some of my favorites. The Sauvignon Blanc is a tropical fruit salad of yum. And the Cabernet is full of red fruit and spice. It isnt super complex, it just makes for good drinking when you want a big bodied red that isnt going to make you think to hard about it. My only warning is, let this bad boy open up for an hour or so before drinking. Straight from the bottle it is too tight and will punch you in the uvula, its worth the wait, I promise.

Falafel Salad with Grilled Vegetables

FALAFEL
1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped (I skipped this)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons cumin
8 sun-dried tomato halves packed in oil
3 tablespoons cilantro
1 clove garlic, coarsely shopped
2 shallots, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup olives (I used black olives)
2 teaspoon oregano
Pinch cayenne
Pinch pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Process all ingredients in a food processor until thoroughly mixed. This may require adding additional oil or lemon juice in order to get a consistency that will allow itself to be well blended.

Form into small flat rounds and brown on both sides in an oiled pan over medium heat. They should be warmed throughout but not over cooked.

VEGETABLES
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large zucchini, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 a medium red onion, sliced
1 fresh tomato, sliced

2 cups baby spinach or mixed greens

Combine oil, lemon juice, and salt in a large bag or a bowl, marinate all the vegetables, except for the spinach, for a couple of hours. If youre short on time brush marinade on on vegetables before cooking. Heat grill pan over medium high heat and place vegetables over heat in small enough batches to prevent over crowding. Cook vegetables to your preferred level off softness and set aside until all vegetables are finished grilling.

Cover bottom of individual salad bowls with baby spinach then cover with 1/4 of the grilled vegetables and falafel. Top with hummus or a bit of toasted sesame oil if you like.

Original recipe from The Raw Chef Blog.

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Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs with Natural Colby Jack Cheese, Whole Wheat Toast and Apple Slices

Mid Morning Snack

Grape Tomatoes

Lunch

Tuna Melt with Whole Wheat Bread and Mixed Vegetables

Afternoon Snack

Apple Slices

Dinner

Apple and Avocado Salad Over Mixed Greens with Feta Cheese and Organic Poppyseed Dressing

We hope you enjoyed day 209s Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan!

Please sign up via email, above todays post, for more meal plans.

Have a wonderful day!

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Today a movie changed my life.

Its terrible and cliché but true just this once. But it gets worse. It was a Nora Ephron movie. And I cried at it. A lot. Like a shameful I shouldnt even be telling you this amount. Who is this person I have become that gives into trends and likes things that “everyone” else is talking about? Oh who cares.

Yes I went to see Julie and Julia and it was freaking fantastic. Not just because all the actors are amazing and perfectly cast. Not because its about food and writers and being lost and finding your passion and the person that fits you best in the world. And not even because its about a couple living through a crazy cooking project that felt exactly like my life. Though the movie is great for all those reasons. You should probably sit down before I tell you the best thing about the movie. Ready?

Braised cucumber.

No that isnt code for something. Cucumbers cooked in butter are orgasmic. Im a convert. Never will I relegate cucumbers to salads and sushi, as nothing but an interesting texture. I may have found my new favorite vegetable. Hear that artichoke? You better shape up or youll be replaced.

Ive read about this recipe about a million times. First in the Julie and Julia Project that inspired the movie and I was quite skeptical. Then it kept coming up and I still didnt believe it even after many of my favorite food writers talked about cooked cucumbers. Meryl Streep however I couldnt ignore, I was too curious. So being the crazy foodie I am I came home from the movie, let the dog out, took the gianormous cucumber out of the fridge and braised that sucker.

Oh my good god! Ten minutes later I was wandering around in circles in the kitchen muttering to myself. Its really really good.

Obviously butter makes everything amazing but it was more than that. Somehow the heat completely changed the flavor profile of the crunchy tangy cucumber into a buttery slightly soft salty creation. It reminded me of one of those rare buttery chewy mouth filling Russian River Valley Chardonnays that you would gladly pay $30 a bottle for. And I say this as someone who usually abhors Chardonnay and only buys $10 wine. Braising cucumbers transforms something tolerable into something delicious. It doesnt seem possible.

Julia Child I cant believe Ive ignored you this long. Im getting Mastering the Art of French Cooking and going on an insane cooking binge. The fella wants to bone a duck and try an aspic. To which I say who is coming over to help me eat these insane creations? Ill make you braised cucumbers if you can talk me through a terrine.

Braised Cucumber

1 huge cucumber (or 2 regular sized)
1 tablespoon butter
1 dash salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 pinch dried mint

Peel cucumber. Cut into quarters and remove seeds. Cut into 1 inch pieces.

Melt butter in a pan and add cucumber. Cover and cook about 5 minutes on medium heat.

Stir in salt, lemon, and mint. Cover and cook another 2 minutes.

Enjoy eating heaven on a plate.

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If you didnt know... Im a huge salmon lover. When I go to a restuarant and the salmon isnt too pricey I will almost always pick it! I love it so much and its also healthy for you! When I came across this recipe I thought to myself... "it doesnt get easier than that!" And that is how this became my most favorite meal I have tackled so far during my cooking experience.

Easy Baked Salmon (www.sixsistersstuff.com) 

Ingredients

• 1 large salmon filet
• 1 bag of frozen brussel sprouts
• 1 bunch of thin asparagus
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons of butter
• Garlic salt, salt and pepper, fish seasoning

Place the salmon skin side down in the middle of the pan.

The trick for cooking brussel sprouts is to buy them frozen in the ready to steam bag. Cook them as directed on the package. Once they are cooked put them on one side of the salmon. Place the raw asparagus on the other side of the of the salmon.

Drizzle olive oil over both vegetables and sprinkle with garlic salt.

Sprinkle your salmon with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and fish seasoning. 

Cut your butter into small chunks and place it all on top of your salmon.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (or until salmon is cooked through - check the thickest spot).

Now you have salmon, and two veggies for dinner! So yummy and good for you!

Dan rated this a 4.5 stars out of 5, but my rating is what matters on this one and I give it a 5!

Try it! I promise you wont regret it!

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Clean Eating Recipe: Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of grape tomatoes, cut into halves
• 1 - 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1 table spoon of real butter
• 1 cup of organic heavy cream
• 1 pinch of sea salt or kosher salt
• 1 pinch of fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat sauce pan on high over stove top.
2. Add butter and let it melt.
3. Add garlic and tomato halves into melted butter, and let  cook for one minute.
4. When tomatoes and garlic turn brown, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for about 2 – 3 minutes. Stir occasionally.
5. Slowly stir in heavy cream.
6. Add a sea salt and pepper.
7. Let simmer for another 2 minutes while stirring often.
8. Pour sauce over pasta or cooked meat, like todays baked chicken breast.

Enjoy! 

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Yum


Clean Eating loves salmon!

Protein is essential in the clean eating diet, but its also hard to find easy-to-do protein meals besides chicken and turkey. Not todays salmon though, which takes less than 30 minutes, and is as delicious as the more common protein choices.

Salmon is one of the healthiest forms of protein.

Because in addition to protein, its rich in omega-3, vitamins, phosphorus, selenium, iodine and potassium, and helps improve cardiovascular health, mood and cognition, joint protection and sight. Eaten with healthy vegetables and organic cheeses, like in todays clean eating recipe, this salmon meal is even healthier.

Plus its tender in texture and full in flavor--a great alternative to chicken and turkey.

I hope you like todays salmon recipe (scroll on down).

Its a fantastic idea for clean eating dinner.

Healthy Dinner Recipe: Salmon with Avocado Cucumber Topping

Ingredients:

- 1 avocado, de-cored, peeled and diced
- 1 cucumber, peeled and cubed
- 1 tea spoon of dill
- 2 table spoons of soft cheese (either organic cream cheese or organic cream cheese)
- 1 table spoon of crumbed feta cheese
- 4 ounce Atlantic salmon
- Sea salt
- Ground black pepper
- 1 tea spoon of lemon juice
- 1 table spoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tea spoons of white wine or mirin
- Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
2. In a mixing bowl, add salmon.
3. rub sea salt, pepper, olive oil and wine all over salmon on both sides. Mix well.
4. Put salmon on baking sheet and bake for 20 min, or until salmons thoroughly cooked.
5. While salmons cooking, add avocado, cucumber, dill, soft cheese and feta in another mixing bowl. Mix well with spoon.
6. When salmons finished, transfer it to a plate and top with the topping mixture you just made.

Enjoy!

Thank you so much for visiting Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan again!

Hope you found todays healthy dinner recipe a delicious idea.

Hope to see you next time.

Enjoy your day!

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The fella made this the other day when he took a half day. When I came home the house smelled divine. Of course that tends to happen when heavy cream is involved. It was nice to take a night off from cooking. Not to mention priceless to come into the kitchen to see the fella clawing at his remaining hair looking totally baffled, the kitchen a mess asking me, “Why are these flipping directions so complicated?” If he didnt before, now he knows what Ive been going through. Happily for us both the Boulud cookbook that has been causing us both so much frustration went back to the library this evening. Hes been good to us but its time to move on.

For such a seeming simple recipe this meal really puts you through the paces. It has a fussy sauce. It requires the use of a sieve on said sauce. And it requires keeping the sauce edible while thin cutting slippery pieces of salmon. The fella cheated and used full thickness salmon when I assured him he didnt need to impress me with fish mongering skills at this point in our relationship.

Sieving off the solids in the sauce creates a really creamy but delicate sauce. Somehow it managed to be both delicate and decadent at the same time. The crisp perfect asparagus probably helped even out the naughtiness of the cream. Though I do have to admit at this point in the diet Ive lost my ability to feel guilty about eating a meal with a pint a cream per serving. I figure with all I have to deny myself its the least Montignac can do to allow me some heavy cream.



I also found perhaps the best wine to pair with this dish. The Aveleda Fonte Verde screams spring to me. Its tart and full of green apple flavors not to mention a semi sparkling feel on the tongue. Yet there is the sweetness of tropical fruit in there too. And at about $7 its a wine I can afford to buy every spring to brighten my spirits as the long grey days drag on before summer actually appears. The added bonus was it was just what this sauce needed, the tartness of the wine accented the cream and the sorrel.

Salmon and Sorrel Troisgros

SAUCE:
1 teaspoon butter
2 medium white mushrooms, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped, rinsed and dried
1 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy cream
2 ounces sorrel, washed, dried and cut into very thin strands (baby spinach marinated in lemon juice for a couple minutes works as a good substitute)

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat, then add mushrooms, shallot and white wine. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil while keeping a close eye on the pan. Boil until wine is completely evaporated.

Lower the heat to the lowest possible setting. Pour in the cream and let cook very slowly for about 15 minutes, until the cream is thickened enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Using a metal sieve or cheese cloth, strain the cream sauce off of the vegetables into a bowl or another saucepan.

Add the sorrel (or spinach) to the cream sauce and put saucepan over medium high heat. Bring cream just to a boil and then remove from heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

SALMON:
2 center cut salmon fillets about 1 inch thick and skinned
oil

Using a long thin knife, slice each salmon in half horizontally, creating two wide thin pieces of fish. It should look like the salmon version of scallopini.

Coat the bottom of warm dinner plates with the sorrel sauce and keep warm as fish cooks.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with enough oil to keep fish from sticking without frying it. When pan is hot, slip in the fillets. Cook for no more than 2 minutes, then flip the fish to cook the other side for another 10 to 30 seconds until fish is warm yet still pink at center without being raw.

Serve immediately by placing warm fish in the center of the sauce covered plate.

Original recipe from Cafe Boulud Cookbook.

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Ive been waiting for an excuse to make this ice cream for a while now. Every great cake needs a complimentary and equally exciting ice cream at its side so the fellas birthday was the perfect time to try it out. Especially since I happened to have a dozen egg yolks left over from making the angel food cake which was the exact number of yolks needed to double the ice cream recipe I had my eye on.

No matter how fussy they sometimes might be David Lebovitzs recipes are always spot, I go to his ice cream recipes in The Perfect Scoop again and again because they all work and turn out great even. The bonus is all the ones Ive tried so far tolerate substituting in agave nectar for sugar without changing up the recipe portions. So all the hard work of ice baths, tempering eggs, and perfectly heated cream was worth it. Okay the hardest part of the whole experience of cooking for the fellas birthday was to not start drinking the absinthe without him at 3 in the afternoon. The Libertine absinthe at Vom Fass (Ill talk about this addictive store more later) is excellent and worked perfectly in the custard base.

This made the tastiest ice cream ever. Even people who arent all that into the licoricey absinthe flavor loved the ice cream. It was a huge success if the loud chorus of yummy noises and calls for second helpings were any indication when I served the cake and ice cream. And now I have an excuse to nibble on absinthe flavored ice cream periodically whenever I need a bite of something sweet.

Absinthe Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
A pinch of salt
2/3 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons absinthe
1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate truffles or chocolate chips


Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium low heat.

Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Pour the cream into the smaller bowl set a strainer over the top for straining the egg mixture later.

In a small separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

Strain the custard into the cream. Stir in the bowl over the ice bath until cool, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight. Stir in 3 tablespoons of absinthe. Taste, and add another one if desired.

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions. During the last couple minutes of churning and in the chopped chocolate bits.

Original recipe from David Lebovitzs blog.

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