FitLifeSF

We had a week of tasty, P90X-friendly meals at FitLifeSF Headquarters this week– a few simple favorites, and a few recipes worth sharing:

Monday: We smoked a chicken in our backyard smoker and served over a simple Herb Salad with grilled corn, yellow tomatoes and dijon dressing (1 tbs olive oil, 2 tbs grainy dijon, 3 tbs apple cider vinegar “with the mother” and S&P to taste.) Before we got a backyard smoker, we just picked up a free-range Willy Bird rotisserie from our local grocer. In either case, force yourself to discard the yummy skin the second it comes through the door!

Tuesday: I turned that yummy smoked chicken into my favorite- Chicken Tortilla-ish soup! (Pictured up top.)

Wednesday: I roasted up a mass of veggies (zucchini, sweet onion, mushrooms, peppers, Brussels sprouts…) in a 400-degree oven tossed with some S&P, garlic and EVOO. While it roasted, I quartered a spaghetti squash and roasted that, too. (Both took about 45-50 minutes.)  Meanwhile, I marinated some chicken breast in simple lemon/salt/pepper/garlic and then browned in a non-stick pan on both sides until mostly cooked through. When the veggies are roasted, put the chicken breasts on top and dump on a cup of a no-sugar-added marinara sauce (I like Safeway’s Eating Right brand) and top with 2% mozzarella. Pop it back in the oven until the cheese is melty and yummy (NOTE: 2% cheese will not “brown” like, say, the top of a full-fat pizza. So if you wait for that, you’re gonna have some dry-ass chicken!)  Meanwhile, use a fork to shred the spaghetti squash, add a half cup of the marinara and a few shreds of parm + S&P. To serve, put a bed of spaghetti squash on the plate and top with roasted veggies and a chicken breast/sauce/cheese serving.

Thursday: I had the leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup- I could eat this stuff every day!

Friday: We went to our favorite fish place, Catch, as a nice treat.  Rob had black cod in a miso broth with baby bok choy, shitake mushrooms, and udon noodles.  I had Mahi Mahi with green beans and asparagus, also in a soy/miso broth/sauce. We started with a bowl of tomato soup, which was great because it came with two seared scallops and Rob hates scallops, so I got my own starter of two scallops while Rob had a bowl of soup (I wasn’t sure about the cream content, so I skipped for the sake of erring on the side of caution this week.) They even plated them for me!  Cute, yes?

Saturday: Jamaican Night, Mon!

Here’s where we get into a couple recipes. I am going to try to put these in a more traditional format for your ease of shopping, but I’m no expert at this, so we’ll see how it works.

• Jerk Pork Tenderloin

Make a jerk marinade, like this one from Eating Well Magazine (note: do not use the Jerk recipe from the most recent issue of Eating Well that includes only 1 tbs of brown sugar, it does not have enough browning power.) Don’t skimp on letting it soak for a good, long time. Grill or roast the tenderloin (we smoked ours and then grilled it.)

• Jamaican Greens

1 bag Mustard Greens (or a REALLY well-washed bunch of mustard greens, kale, collard greens, etc.)

.5 tbs Olive Oil

Half a small white or yellow onion diced

2 slices lowfat ham, diced

Splash of stock (I used beef because I had it on hand)

1/2 Tbs Allspice

1 lime

Saute the onion and ham in 1/2 tbs olive oil until the onion is transparent. Add the greens and a splash of stock, plus S&P. Cover and let cook down. (Note, they will cook down A LOT! One bag of mustard greens made just enough for two people.) After about 5 minutes, remove the lid and add the allspice, sautee for a bit until you smell the allspice bloom, then add the juice of a lime.

• Island-Style Sweet Potatoes

Two medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2/3 cup Light Coconut Milk

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Dash Cayenne pepper

Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with salted water and boil until tender, drain.  Add 2/3 cup Light Coconut Milk (be sure it’s light, regular has VASTLY more fat/calories– way more than double), S&P, cinnamon and cayenne and mash. Check your seasoning and adjust as needed. (NOTE: It would be more traditional to make this with allspice vs. just cinnamon, but we had so much other allspice on the plate that I opted for just cinnamon.)

To serve: Put a serving (whatever that means for your level) of sweet potatoes on the plate, top with greens and an appropriate amount of pork. (Pictured portion: 1 cup potatoes, 1/2 the greens, 4 oz pork.)

Sunday: Two Kinds of Soup and Sandwiches!

So, yeah, I guess I could have made only one kind of soup, but these soups are both so easy, and so healthy (on most plans, like Weight Watchers, you could eat both of these soups until the cows come home!  Speaking of cows, did I mention they are way easy to make vegan if you want? I love veggie soups!)

• Embarrassingly Easy Cauliflower Soup (2 Servings, but easy to double)

1/2 Head Cauliflower

1/4 small sweet onion

1/2 stalk celery

1 clove crushed garlic

1-2 cups low-sodium chicken stock (or vegetable stock, if you prefer)

Rough chop the cauliflower and onion and put in a pot. Cover about halfway with chicken stock, add the garlic and some S&P and simmer until cauliflower falls apart when poked with a fork (20 minutes should do it.)  Turn off the heat and blend with an immersion blender (or move to a blender and puree, but be sure to wrap the blender lid with a towel to prevent flying hot soup!) Taste for seasoning- I usually add a last pinch of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Really? This is just cauliflower and some stock?  YES!  And it is delicious!  You should try Cauliflower Puree as a side dish sometime.  It rules!

• Fresh and Easy Tomato Soup (even off-season!)

1.5 – 2 lbs Roma Tomatoes

1/2 Sweet Onion

1 clove garlic

1-2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock, if you prefer)

1 tsp Agave Nectar (or honey, sugar, or other sweetener)

1 Chipotle in Adobo (optional, can also use a pinch of red pepper flakes or leave out)

1/4 Cup Non-Fat Milk (optional)

3-4 Fresh Basil Leaves, rolled and sliced into ribbons (optional, I suppose, but you really should pick at least chipotle OR basil, but I’m not going to force you.  I used both.)

Half tomatoes lengthwise, discard seeds and de-stem if needed. Chop onion into one-inch chunks. Place in an oven proof or on a cookie sheet with a lip and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper (I used 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt.) Toss ‘em around, turn them cutside-down and then place under a heated broiler for 8-10 minutes until the skins begin to blacken. (You do want to get some char on there.) Scrape roasted tomatoes, onions and their juice into a pot, add one clove crushed garlic, one chipotle in adobo (if using), Agave nectar (or sweetener of your choice- just a touch!) and about a cup of stock. Bring to a simmer. Continue to stir occasionally and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Turn off heat and blend with an immersion or traditional blender. Add the milk if you are using. Toss in the basil, reserving some for garnish if you with, taste for seasonings (again, I like to add a pinch of salt and pepper at the end of cooking.)

Serving Idea: I like to make the tomato soup quite spicy, so the cauliflower soup tempers it perfectly.  Ladle 2-3 scoops of cauliflower soup into a bowl.  Rinse the ladle.  Pick up one ladle of tomato soup and press into the middle of the cauliflower soup. Rotate the ladle out from under the tomato soup so that it rests inside the cauliflower soup.  Garnish with basil, if you wish. These taste great alone or together!