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Food & Recipes

Homemade Pico De Gallo

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Have you ever visited a Mexican restaurant and had the pleasure of tasting their Pico De Gallo with corn chips as an appetizer? I fell in love with Pico De Gallo at the first taste. The flavors were crisp and fresh. I thought I could purchase a store brought version to have the same great experience. Sadly, it tasted horrible and the ingredients were appalling. I decided, based on my memory of the ingredients of the Pico at the restaurant, to try to make it on my own.

Wow! I could not believe that I made my own Pico De Gallo at home, using fresh ingredients on the first try. I now, am sharing my “secret” recipe with all who appreciate Pico De Gallo. This recipe will yield enough to feed a party of 12, happily!!!!

Ingredients:

8 Large Ripe Tomatoes
1/2 Red Onion (optional)
2 Jalapeño peppers
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Large Bunch Cilantro (fresh)
2 Limes
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt (to taste)

Instructions:

Cut tomatoes into 1/4’s
With your fingers remove the seeds (do not do this under water, will ruin tomatoes texture)
Dice tomatoes & put into large bowl (use a sharp knife)

1/2 medium red onion (Optional)
Remove outer skin
Cut into chunks
Place in food processor and pulse until small onion pieces are achieved
Add diced red onion to tomatoes

Remove the stem of the jalapeño pepper
Slice pepper into two pieces (vertically)
Remove seeds (do not touch your eyes or face when cutting this pepper)
Pulse in food processor, until finely chopped
Add jalapeño peppers to tomatoes in the bowl

Peel 4 garlic cloves
Pulse in food processor, until garlic is finely chopped
Add garlic to bowl with the other ingredients

Cut the bottom stems of the cilantro
Rinse cilantro in water( to remove any dirt )
Chop roughly and place in food processor, pulse until finely chopped
Place in bowl

Cut the 2 limes in half
Squeeze the juice over the ingredients in the bowl

Add 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar to bowl

Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to bowl (to taste)

With a large spoon mix the ingredients

Taste to decide if more salt is needed.

Mixture needs to marinate at least for an hour so that all the flavors become combined.

To serve, place Pico in a large festive bowl and serve with corn chips.

ENJOY!!!!!!

Natural Ways to Keep Your Face Healthy and Beautiful

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Everyone wants gorgeous, glowing, young-looking skin. Here are a few simple tips to keep your face healthy and beautiful.

Tip #1: Coconut Oil Wash

Skin care products can be extremely pricey and the ingredients are not understood by the average consumer, so you may be unaware of the reactions your skin will have. You may want to consider trying an all natural product, that costs less and is much more beneficial to your skin. Try starting your day by washing your face with organic coconut oil. It may sound absurd, especially if you have oily skin, but try it! It doesn’t matter what skin type you have.

First, rinse your face with warm water or place a warm damp cloth on your face for a minute or two. Since coconut oil tends to solidify in colder temperatures, take about a 1/4 teaspoon of the coconut oil and place it into the palm of your hand. Your body’s warm temperature will immediately begin it to melt. Rub your hands together and lightly message the oil into your face. Next, rinse your face with warm water. At first your face will be oily, but the oil will be absorbed into the pores of your face. You will be amazed on how soft your skin will feel for the entire day.

Tip #2: Natural Exfoliate

If you feel that your face needs to be exfoliated, I have a home remedy — it contains two simple ingredients: organic coconut oil and baking soda. Mix approximately 1 tablespoon of oil and a teaspoon of baking soda. Again, begin by rinsing your face with warm water. Then place a little of the paste into the palm of your hand and use your fingers to gently make little circular motions around your face. Make sure you avoid your eye area to avoid irritation.

Tip #3: Watch What You Eat

What you eat and drink plays a major role in maintaining healthy looking skin. Eating foods that are high in vitamin C on a regular basis is very beneficial to the skin. So eat more fresh fruits and vegetables that contain high amounts of vitamin C on a daily basis. If you can afford it, purchase organic fruits and vegetables. I especially recommend eating anti-oxidant rich foods, like kale. It is a dark green leafy vegetable that’s loaded with vitamin C. The fruits I choose to consume on a daily basis are blueberries and strawberries. Blueberries are loaded with vitamin C.

I also like to start my day by drinking a cold, 16 ounce glass of water with freshly squeezed lemon (vitamin C and good for balancing your body’s alkalinity). Drink lots of water throughout the day to keep your skin hydrated.

Tip #4: Smoothie Time!

If you don’t like the idea of eating veggies and fruits daily, then make a smoothie. Each morning I fire up my Nutribullet and make a smoothie that I call my “food of life”. I put kale, spinach, blueberries, strawberries, 1 teaspoon of unpasteurized raw organic apple cider vinegar and 1 scoop of whey protein powder. Instead of water, I use freshly brewed green tea. This one smoothie mixture gives me energy for the rest of the day and nourishes my skin, keeping it soft and healthy.

Use these tips every day (start today!) to give your face a better, smoother, younger and more beautiful appearance. If you are consistent, you may even start to see results in as little as a week.

Posted by Eve

 

 

Ways to Get Out of a Slump

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We all have bad days. At times, we face a period of days or weeks that get the best of us. For myself, a knee injury set me back and put me in a slump for a couple of months. I struggled but have found a few ways to get back to feeling like myself again.

Try Switching to Healthier Food Options
If you drink coffee with cream and sugar daily, like I did. Stop!! Instead, try drinking a hot cup of green tea with no additives. Green tea is full of antioxidants that does your body well. Also, give a smoothie or protein shake a try, rather than a breakfast bagel. For lunch, ditch the fast food menus. Try cooking at home a healthy, grilled chicken salad with a vinegar based dressing. As for dinner, switch from eating pasta to enjoying grilled fish with steamed veggies of your choice. By me making these simple adjustments to my eating habits, I felt re-energized and motivated to get out of my slump.

Drink Lots of Water
If you are a daily soda drinker, swap to a flavored seltzer water instead. The seltzer water gives you that same burst of carbonation as does soda but with no empty calories. In between drinking seltzer try consuming 8 glasses of water, daily. When your body is properly hydrated, you should automatically start to feel better. It is also, excellent for your digestive system. Your skin will look and feel better, too.

Get Some Fresh Air And Exercise
Simply taking a walk can be a mood enhancer. It releases the “feel good” endorphins in your brain. In the morning or after dinner, go for a twenty minute walk, for starters. If you are able to have a friend, pet or partner to walk with you and enjoy the fresh air, it would be beneficial. By walking with others, holds you accountable to someone other than yourself. If there is no one available to walk with you, walk by yourself. Using an MP3 player to listen to music, with one earpiece in (for safety) can be very relaxing while walking.

I did exactly what I wrote about and feel great. It was challenging at first, yet, overall the results are outstanding. My mood has changed and it has helped me to get out of my slump. I hope these tips helps someone to get out of their slump, as well.

 

Quick Recipe: Italian Spinach & Sausage Bake

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At my house we absolutely love spinach. Spinach is jam-packed with healthy vitamins and nutrients for the body. Eating lots of spinach has a number of health benefits for diabetics, people with high blood pressure and even bone conditions.

It also goes very well with many Italian dishes. One of my favorite spinach dishes to make is a spinach and sausage bake. It is so delicious, flavorful and healthy.

The ingredients all blend together so nicely to give you a flavorful Italian style vegetable-based dish. It doesn’t take long to make but you really have to stay close to the pot and do some work. Here’s the recipe:

5 Italian Chicken Sausages (I like Premio)
1 1/2 large 20 oz bags of fresh spinach
1/2 cup of peeled garlic cloves (chopped into large chunks)
1/2 box of mushrooms (sliced and chopped)
1 large broccoli crown (optional – chopped)
8 oz bag of shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
2 pinches of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon of black pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
Olive oil

Boil the sausage in a large non-stick skillet. Drain the water and then chop the sausage up into bite sized pieces. Fry the pieces in olive oil until a little browned. Add chopped garlic chunks and cook for a few minutes. Add mushrooms next and cook a few more minutes. Mix in broccoli, seasonings and as much of the spinach as will fit in your lot. Add a little more olive oil. This is where you have to be quick because you don’t want the spinach to reduce too much. Scoop the sausage mixture from the bottom on top of the fresh spinach until it cooks down some then add more spinach until it’s all in there (don’t overcook!)

Scoop the spinach mixture in a square foil baking pan and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake on 350 for 5 minutes then turn it on broil for about 2-3 minutes until it’s browned. Salt to taste.

This recipe serves about 4 people.

Posted by: Jasmine

Quick Plum Tomato, Mozzarella & Farfalle Salad

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I’m the type of person… if I see something I want it. Well somehow I saw a picture of tomatoes and mozzarella/feta and I wanted it. I decided to make it my mission to create a quick tomato and mozzarella salad. I added some pasta to the mix to make it a real lunch.

It took all of 10 minutes to make. Here’s the simple recipe:

– 4 plum tomatoes
– about 6 ounces of mozzarella cheese (cut into medium sized chunks)
– About a half a cup of Farfalle
– Balsamic vinaigrette (I like Ken’s)
– Italian seasoning or basil seasoning
– Salt & pepper

Boil the pasta with a bit of salt and olive oil until it’s al dente. Drain pasta and put it in the freezer to get it cold. In the meantime, cut the tomatoes and mozzarella into bite-sized chunks. Put them together in a bowl and season with basil/italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Add the now-cold pasta and about a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinaigrette and fold everything together with a spoon.

Mmmm, it was so tasty.

Adjust seasoning and dressing according to taste, enjoy!

Posted by: Jasmine

Tomato Farfalle Photo

Photo credit: Flickr/rooey202

Fried Buffalo Chicken Cut Up Parts (Instead of Wings)

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Who said buffalo wings could only be made of wings?

The idea for buffalo wings came from someone who wanted to find a use for the previously unwanted wing parts of the chicken. Somehow this person came to the decision to coat them in hot sauce and call them “buffalo wings.”

While sitting outside watching the birds hunt for food, I suddenly got the urge to drink a Corona and fry some wings. I went to the market to get some chicken wings but then I noticed that they had a package of cut up chicken parts for under $5. The chicken parts were the same price as the chicken wings (6 whole wings to a pack) except that they were 3 pounds versus 1 pound.

So I decided to make some buffalo chicken cut up parts.

I got home and started cleaning up the parts. It was surprisingly easy since they were cut pretty small. Here is what they look like:

I prefer to take the fat / skin off the chicken to make it healthier. Like I said, it was easy because they were cut small.

After trimming the fat and rinsing the chicken I filled it up with water and added about a teaspoon of kosher salt. I allowed that to soak for about five minutes then drained it. I’m not 100 percent sure why that’s a necessary step, but that’s how I was taught.

Don’t forget to turn on your oil (peanut oil is all that we use in my household for frying things because it is healthier and tastier than vegetable or canola oil) on a little higher than medium heat so that it’s nice and hot by the time the parts are seasoned.

Next I seasoned the cut up chicken parts with these:

That’s all you need to make some delicious chicken (plus some kosher salt, which isn’t pictured).

I don’t really measure, but I’d say about a few shakes of kosher salt, 2 teaspoons of garlic, 2 tablespoons of paprika, a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 10-15 turns of your pepper grinder. You have to adjust it according to your taste. Put your fingers in there and mix it up together well.

When you first put your seasoned chicken parts in the hot oil (no more than medium heat) take your time and stand back (I almost lost my eyebrows once in college playing around with oil and high heat). After a while it should settle down and get cooking.

I put in as many parts as could comfortably fit in my frying pan and let them fry for about 12 minutes. Don’t crowd the pan.

This is what they look like when fried.

While frying the next batch, make your buffalo sauce mixture. It’s a combination of:

– your favorite hot sauce (about 2-3 teaspoons to taste)
– ketchup (to your desired thickness but not too much)
– lemon juice (a few squirts)
– olive oil (about a tablespoon)
– a couple of pats of heated butter (for texture)

Adjust these ingredients depending on your dietary needs (you don’t really need the butter). Mix all of them in a bowl and set side. When the wings are finished dip them in your sauce and slosh them around.

This is what fried buffalo chicken parts look like when they’re finished.

They also happen to taste delicious and are very filling (I couldn’t finish them all). I sliced a couple of carrots to put on the side and added some ranch dressing for dipping. Feeds about 4 people (3 really hungry people).

Enjoy!

 

Posted by: Jasmine