Butternut Squash Soup

First, yes I do drink soup out of a cup. If the broth is liquid enough I just like to sip on it. 

Second, this butternut squash has been sitting on top of my fridge for almost a week until I had time to slice and dice it. My mushroom soup was such a success that I just had to look up another recipe and dance in the kitchen. 

I found a simple recipe online and thought it was going to be amazing. Well simple is just that simple. There was no kick to the soup. No "Mmm Mmm Good" moment and, that made me very sad. But, perhaps it's because the soup was still hot. It was still on the burner and I had just turned it off. The consistency of the broth hadn't had enough time to thicken. So, I packed it away and came back to it the next day. 

And... yah. My taste pallets were right the first time around. This soup was missing something! Simple is not always good. I knew it wasn't going to be creamy because I avoided all the recipes that called out for heavy cream. I didn't have any cauliflower in the house to thicken it up either. Oh, well. I can't be a chef at all times and I am just gonna have to suck it up and eat this soup. 

But, I couldn't do that. My mind was racing with how I can make this soup creamier after it's already done cooking. Heavy cream was not an option, there was no more of that magical veggie called cauliflower, I ate all the greek yogurt. And, then it hit me - Cottage Cheese. Don't stop reading because you think it's nasty. The combination was perfect! 

Half a cup of my already made butternut soup + two tablespoons of cottage cheese = just the right amount of creaminess and kick to make my mind stop racing on why the soup wasn't creamy and full of kicks the first time. 

Enjoy! 

<3 Mariela 

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I went to three different markets before I finally found a head of cauliflower I could buy. And, all the while I kept thinking "who the hell is buying all the cauliflower in Sunset Park?!". Then, I freaked out a little because I thought cauliflower season might have ended. What? Wait, no. Cauliflower season is all year long. So then I went back to thinking, "who the hell is buying up all the damn cauliflower?!".

As you might of been able to tell, I had a craving. And I was going to be highly upset if I didn't end up finding any cauliflower because I wanted pizza. Yes, that is right pizza. It's one of my favorite sin foods. A sin food being a type of food that you know is not healthy, it's not going to help you loose weight, you'll absolutely love it while you're eating it and, then feel like shit when you enter it into your food diary and realize how many fucking burpees you have to do to burn it off. Sin food. 

But, I had remembered that my Big had made me a pizza once with a cauliflower crust. So that's what I intended to do. I already knew what toppings I was adding and everything. I was really simply tasting the deliciousness in my mouth. A healthy pizza!


Ingredients 

• One cauliflower head
• 1/2 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 
• 1 egg 
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 
• Salt & Pepper to taste 

Directions 

Okay, so this recipe is suuupeerrrr easy. The hardest part is just dealing with the cauliflower. I take the head and chop up the florets. The pieces I make a a bit big and coarse. It makes dealing with the cauliflower a lot easier. I take the chopped cauliflower and I steam it. If you don't have a steamer you can boil and drain it. However, the less water content that's in the cauliflower the crispier it will get. After steaming the vegetable I place it in the blender. This is the part where having a food processor would be ideal but, I don't have one. Anyways, I pulse the mixer so the consistency of the puree isn't too smooth. After its done I dump the puree of cauliflower in a bowl and mix the rest of the ingredients. Mix, mix, mix. That's it! Prep time is done. I place my prepped cauliflower crust in a flat tray (I use a cookie tray!) and place a thin layer on it. Leave it in the oven for 15min at 450*F. Done. Simple! If it's still a bit mushy lower the heat to 350*F and leave for a little while longer.

I topped my pizza with chipotle chicken, sweet peppers and tons of mushrooms. I pre-cook all the ingredients because I don't want to leave the cauliflower in the oven for too long. So, I sauteed the chicken in chipotle sauce on the stove and grilled the mushrooms and peppers on the George Foreman grill. I sprinkled a bit more cheese on top so it can melt while in the oven. But, really it didn't need it. The cauliflower crust had a nice taste with the cheese it already had. 

Funny story 

I introduced my little brother to an amazing app called MyFitnessPal. I use it religiously and it's helped me be conscience of my eating and exercise habits. As I know he wants to loose weight I told him to insert what he eats and when he goes to the gym in the app. He downloads it, says he'll use it, cool. One day I see that he walks into the apartment with a box of pizza. He had ordered Dominos pizza at 10:30 pm! When he came out of his room, like the sister I am, I go up to him and ask, "Do you know how many calories are in one slice?". No, he didn't (and neither did I). I took his phone, opened up MyFitnessPal and started adding to his food log: 

Dominos medium pizza 

Pepperoni topping 

Bacon topping 

Extra cheese topping 

One slice (one itty bitty slice) was 320 calories. And I told him One itty bitty slice. When I told him this, the little brat kindly remarks, "oh that's a lot. Put down that I ate four slices." 

Ha! Oh goodness.
Well, I hope you guys enjoy this healthy alternative.




Buen provecho.
<3 Mariela 

Mushroom Cream & Wild Rice Soup

A plate of mushroom soup!
Sorry! Not the best lighting nor photographer over here!

I have always been a fan of thick creamy soups. I never grew up on them (unless you count sancocho as a creamy soup). My mom always did the clear liquid type of soups- maybe that's why I stear away from them? Lol

Well, one of my favorite soups is mushroom soup. You're either a mushroom person and agree with me that this soup is amazing or you're not a mushroom person and aren't picking this off the menu. Well, there hasn't been a mushroom soup I've tasted that I didn't ask for another serving. When I first started working at AKS/NYDA I would have lunch at this cute place a block away named Pecan. They had great sandwich and soup combos. Of course lunch will ring me at about $15 but, their mushroom brie soup was too good to pass up. Eventually they switched ownership, the store changed names and changed its menu. Mushroom brie soup was no longer an option! So I just stopped going there. It saved me money but I was sad! So I did a little googling to find a recipe. It was no surprise that the creaminess of the soup came from a creamer (woah fat calories!) and sour cream (more calories!). 

On this new lifestyle change (yes lifestyle change; it's certainly not a fad for me) I have been trying to stay away from "bad", "high calorie", "empty calorie" type of foods. It's been a bit harder to avoid these kind of foods when I am outside having dinner with friends but, it's definitively doable in my kitchen. So again I went to google and typed "HEALTHY mushroom soup" in the search box. 

And BOOM! There it was, a simple (no crazy ingredient needed) recipe that did sound appetizing. No creamer added for richness; the secret ingredient was cauliflower. Huh? What? The white broccoli? Umm yes. Cauliflower. The blogger went on to state how cauliflower is a ✨magical✨ vegetable. I'm going to have to look more into this magic but, it DID give the soup that nice rich thickness I like! I'll be using cauliflower as a base for many more soups. 

Another ingredient I want to bring up is Wild Rice. On the contrary to the name, it's not really rice but, a type of grass originally grown in North America. The way it looks took me completely by surprise; I was expecting a white/brown colored grain and instead I see that it's black! However, you cook it just as you'd cook any rice; boil it in a saucepan with salt and water. Simplicity is appreciated. It's packed with vitamins, minerals, rich in fiber and, super high in protein. Wild rice does have the traditional carbs associated with grains but, low in fat. It's taste is a bit earthy/woodsy/smoky. 

This recipe yielded quite the amount of soup so, I incorporated the soup into my meal prep plan for the week. I've been eating it all week and I'm still not tired; it's delicious. I am definitively writing this into my recipe book and making it again! 

See the recipe below. 

Per one cup serving: 93 calories, 0.2g fat, 14.2g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 3.1g sugar, 7.9g protein,.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup uncooked wild rice
• 7 cups water, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 head cauliflower, coarsely chopped
• 1½ tsp salt, divided
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2lb mushrooms, chopped rather finely
• 1 cup plain low fat Greek Yogurt
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Boil Cauliflower: Place cauliflower to boil with water and salt. When done boiling (20 minutes) drain water. 
2. Cook wild rice: add 1/3 cup wild rice, 2 cups of water and ½ tsp salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer until water is almost completely absorbed and rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes.
3. Add onions, garlic, celery, 1 tsp salt and black pepper to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat for one or two minutes, just to soften up the veggies a little bit.
4. Throw the cauliflower in and continue cooking for a minute or two. 
5. Add 4 cups of water, Dijon mustard, onion powder and half the chopped mushrooms. Bring to the boil then reduce heat, cover loosely and simmer until the cauliflower is fork tender, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Transfer the mixture into your blender and process on high speed until super smooth and silky in consistency. You might have to work in several batches
7. Return the liquid to the saucepan and add the cooked wild rice and the rest of the mushrooms. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the mushrooms are cooked, about 3-4 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, mix the remaining cup of water, yogurt and flour together in a small mixing bowl. Add that to the soup and stir until well incorporated; bring back to a simmer once more then turn off the heat and serve.

P.S. After the soup is done, I like to let it sit in the pot for a while before serving. One, because right now it's really hot and two, because after the mixture begins to cool the ingredients begin to expand and the consistency of the soup thickens. Just a bit of kitchen science.


Buen provecho!
<3 Mariela 

Honey Grilled Salmon

I had so much fun snapchatting about my meal prep process yesterday. What if it became a regular thing? I LOVE to cook. However, I do not enjoy doing the dishes afterwards. And I really do LOVE food shopping (it's second after shopping for school supplies), I just don't like waiting in line at the register to pay. Lol so let's just say that cooking is a love-hate experience for me.

Well there is one recipe that I just wanted to share with you guys because it was BOMB! I made honey grilled salmon and yes, I shall be making this again. I'm not a big fan of seafood person; I do enjoy calamari but the majority of the time at restaurants the dish is fried, so that's a no with my current lifestyle change (healthy & fit baby!). Next in line is salmon. I can eat a well prepared salmon any way you lay it on me; it's usually what I order at restaurants because it's full of good nutrients, low in calories and I am trying to be fancy on the low-low.

Honey Grilled Salmon

• One 5oz salmon fillet (1 inch thick)
• 1 teaspoon of Adobo
• 1 tablespoon of garlic power 
• 1 tablespoon of raw honey 
• 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil 

Okay this recipe is simple, simple! Sprinkle the adobo and garlic powder on the salmon and rub the herbs in. Next pour the raw honey on top of the fillet and spread. Let it marinate for 15 minutes. The honey should still be visibly sticky - do not let it go dry! Next, spread the coconut oil on the hot grill and place the salmon. You should hear a very romantic sizzling that would be the honey on the grill; cook salmon for 8 minutes. I used my George Foreman grill so, it didn't matter what side of the filler touched the grill because they both did! But, if you're using a regular grill place the salmon skin side up to cook. 

I paired this delicious fish with a fresh avocado lettuce. What will you pair it with? 

And below is that awesome snapchat video. Buen Provecho!

Let the Beet in!

All week I've been adding beets to my smoothie! 

I've had a real high on making my breakfast very liquid but hearty too! I've been going to the market and buying fresh fruits and vegetables. I'll even say I've had more spinach than I ever had in my life- I'll start looking like Popeyes soon! 

Each morning I wake up and slice and dice a few pieces of fruits and either add cucumbers, spinach or both! One time I decided to add a beet. They taste good in potato salad and are high in iron- which unfortunate for me my body does not have enough of. Well, if you've had my mothers potato salad you'd notice it's pink and that's because beets stain absolutely everything. 

After peeling and slicing it up my cutting board had pink stains, the knife was bleeding in pink and my hands looked like I dipped them in paint and never washed. So be warned! Use gloves, wash up everything right away and do not get it on your clothes! 

I threw it in the blender and had a very, very thick shake. I enjoy some pulp in my drinks but this was too much. So the second time I decided to add beets to my beverage I took out an old family helper- the juicer (which has been collecting dust, untouched for over a year). I juiced a bunch of beets, which were about four heads and it gave me 100% pure and pulp free beet juice. It made so much of the dark red liquid that I have been adding it to my smoothies all week long! 

So far I've tried two variations: 

Smoothie #1:

•Beet Juice

•Almond Milk

•Kale

•Blueberries

•Green Apple 

•Strawberry meal plan from Herbalife 

•Protein Powder 

Smoothie #2: (featured on the pic above!) 

•Beet Juice 

•Almond Milk

•Kale

•Strawberries

•Black Berries

•Seedless Green Grapes

•Cantaloupe

•Vanilla meal plan from Herbalife 

•Protein Powder 

Enjoy!