Restaurant-Style Cabbage Salsa

I dined at a cozy little Mexican restaurant and the usual chips and salsa were offered to me along with a cabbage salsa that was bursting with cilantro, jalapenos, onions, and garlic. I fell in love with the crunchy, spicy concoction after a single bite. I actually requested three additional servings of this fantastic stuff and I decided I would attempt to make it at home the next day. You can control the heat by adding less jalapenos or adding in the seeds for that extra “kick”.

If you don’t have agave nectar add in 3 teaspoons of sugar.

Restaurant-Style Cabbage Salsa

1 (16 ounce) bag 3-color deli coleslaw shreds
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
12 plum tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons jarred roasted chopped garlic
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 cup packed chopped cilantro
3 medium jalapenos, seeded and ribs removed, diced small
2 teaspoons agave nectar
Juice of two limes (about ½ cup)
In a large, non-reactive bowl add in the coleslaw shreds. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, mix well.
Add in diced tomatoes and garlic, mix well.
Add in diced onions and cilantro, mix well.
Add in diced jalapenos and mix well.


Mix the agave nectar and lime juice together and sprinkle over the veggie mix. Stir to combine. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve with chips.

Baby Carrot Ice Cream

I bought a juicer a few years ago as my husband especially enjoys a tall glass of carrot juice from time to time.  My hubby is Persian and he likes to garnish the fresh carrot juice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (kinda like a carrot juice float).  He is not the only Persian to do that, in fact, all of my Persian friends enjoy their carrot juice this way. 

I had an idea to combine the two and make Baby Carrot Ice Cream.  Being that I like to keep the ingredients to a minimum and I just recently confessed my sore feelings toward white sugar, I decided that I would use baby carrots, blue agave nectar, and heavy cream.  The results were splendid and I called my husband to inform him that his wife is a genius (wink wink).  I genuinely thought I was the first one to think up carrot ice cream, that is until I  “googled” it and discovered that in fact several other people had beat me to the punch.  However, I think after looking at the other recipes, mine is a smidge bit better.  As a substitute for using regular carrots that I would have to peel, I used sweet little baby carrots.  I also added a small amount of agave nectar versus  up to two cups of regular sugar that some recipes called for.  I also added in the carrot pulp to give it color, vitamins, and fiber.  All in all, my recipe is sure to please those who like carrots and ice cream…..so maybe I am still a genius???

Juice a 1 pound bag of baby carrots.

You should get about 1 cup of juice. Pour the juice into a glass pitcher.

 

Add in 2 cups of heavy cream, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Stir well.

Add in 1/3 cup of blue agave nectar to sweeten. Stir well.

Stir in 1 packed cup of the carrot pulp.  Chill mixture in freezer for 30 minutes.

 

Pour chilled mixture into ice cream maker and freezer for 30 minutes. Transfer to freezer bowl and ripen for 4 hours to overnight in freezer.

Blue Agave Sweetened Peach Sherbet

 

I will confess, my new ice cream maker is like a “shiny toy” that I can’t stop playing with.  I have made some sort of frozen concoction every other day.  My last attempt yielded some luscious orange sherbet (check out my last post for the recipe), then again, I used an entire cup of sugar in the recipe and felt somewhat guilty as white sugar is processed and truly vile for one’s health.  Could I compose a sherbet that was all-natural, low in sugar, good for you and great tasting?

Being that sherbet is a frozen fruit base with dairy added in, I chose Hero White Wave Fruit 2 Day in the Mango Peach flavor.  This particular product is an all natural juice with fruit bits and is rather thick for a juice.  It contains no added sugar, and 2 servings of fruit in each 6.75 ounce container.  For the dairy component, I chose lowfat peach kefir.  Kefir is a cousin of yogurt and contains  live and active cultures.  Kefir is high in protein and calcium and has that tangy taste that I like.  The Lifeway brand is sweetened with organic cane juice, but to add a bit more sweetness to the recipe and help it freeze nicely, I chose to use organic blue agave nectar.  This is a low glycemic alternative to regular sugar.  It is extracted from the heart of the agave plan, and has been used for over 5,000 years.   It is slowly absorbed into the body and is 25% sweeter than sugar, so you need less. 

Follow these easy steps:

 

In a large glass pitcher that will fit in your freezer, add in 1 (6.75 ounce) container of Fruit 2-Day Mango Peach. 

 

Add 3 cups of Peach Kefir to the pitcher. Stir to mix.

 

Stir in 1/4 cup of agave sweetener and stir to combine. Chill in freezer for about 1 hour.  Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze for 30 minutes. Transfer to a freezer bowl and "ripen" for at least 4 hours to overnight.

Fresh Squeezed Orange Sherbet

  

Fresh Squeezed Orange Sherbet <--Click

Cascade Fresh Activ8 Probiotic Crunch Bars

 

At my local grocery store, they have a complete isle devoted to their display of nutrition bars. There are meal replacement bars, diet bars, protein bars, granola bars, low-carb and high energy bars.  I spent longer than I should have in that particular isle and I selected six assorted nutrition bars to compare. 

My findings were a bit jaw-dropping.  I discovered that a number of these “health” bars are essentially a candy bar with a crushed up multi-vitamin added in.  All six were observably “shelf stable” and were stamped with expiration dates ranging from a few months to more than a year (great for an emergency food supply I suppose).  Here is the breakdown on what I discovered;

1.       Prices ranged from $1.00 to $3.49

2.       Sizes ranged from 35 grams to 60 grams

3.       Calories ranged from 150 to 330

4.       Sugar grams ranged from 1 to 22 grams (that is as much as 5 teaspoons!)

5.       Protein grams ranged from 3 to 19

6.       Fat grams ranged from 3 to 12

I was even more surprised when I read some of the ingredients;

1.       Hydrolyzed collagen

2.       Hydrolyzed Fish Gelatin (from cod)

3.       Hydrogenated Soybean Oil

4.       Vegetable Glycerine

5.       Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil

6.       Acacia Gum

Surprising! A number of of the ingredients were a total turnoff…I don’t care how “good for your health” these are alleged to be.  I made up my mind that I would never consume another nutrition bar in my life.

So down the isle I went, headed over to the organic-refrigerated section. I stumbled upon yet another nutrition bar, but there was something exceptionally out of the ordinary about this particular brand.  It was refrigerated and it screamed ORGANIC.  Taking a further look, I have to admit I was impressed and quickly changed my mind on the “never gonna consume another nutrition bar in my life”. 

The fine folks at Cascade Fresh, a local Seattle company, must have been just as unimpressed with all the shelf-stable bars that they fashioned the Activ8 Probiotic Crunch Bars.  These 1.4 ounce bars are wholly organic, gluten free, low sodium, cholesterol free, and a good source of iron.  The sugar content is low, the protein is appropriate, and they sweeten the bars with organic agave syrup.  As if all of this was not ideal, they also include  several active cultures (hence the name of the product). Eating just one bar gives you 5.55 BILLON CFU’s of live probiotic cultures. That pretty nearly translates into one bar provides more probiotics than 12 cups of typical yogurt.

I chose their blueberry/acai bar, the peanut/chocolate chip, and the pomegranate/goji flavors.

Here is a few of their ingredients:

1.       Organic Peanuts

2.       Organic Quinoa Flakes

3.       Organic Raisins

4.       Organic Agave Syrup

5.       Organic Sunflower Seeds

6.       Organic Blueberry Flavor

The cost is just under $2.50 per bar. The taste of these bars is phenomenal and fresh.  The texture is soft and the flavor is nutty and fruity.  My teenage daughter and five year old son both approve.  They didn’t just pack each bar with tons of noble stuff, they left out the mainstream preservatives, stabilizers, artificial sweeteners and colors that most bars are chock-full of.  I truly admire the Activ8 Probiotic Crunch Bar!

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

When I am in the mood for some darn’ tootin’ fine American chow, I travel to the Claim Jumper and each time request the creamy chicken tortilla soup. The sly peppery heat, crispy tortilla strips, and velvety texture make me wish for seconds. Lucky for me and my husband, I compose a very worthy version at home (where I always have a second bowl). Stick to these easy steps and you will be eating some darn’ tootin’ good soup tonight!!!

You will need:

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, 1 large yellow onion, 1 red bell pepper, butter, 1 jar roasted garlic, 1 10-ounce can Mild Ro-Tel, 1 package taco seasoning, 1 package chili seasoning, 1 container chicken broth (4 cups), 1 cup sour cream, 2 cups 40% heavy cream, oil for frying, and uncooked tortilla strips. You need a large, heavy Dutch oven with lid and a blender.

Start off by placing the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and bake in a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Allow to cool and dice into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat.

Saute chopped onion and chopped bell pepper for 5 to 7 minutes.

Add in 2 tablespoons of the roasted garlic.

Drain liquid from the Ro Tel and add in. Stir and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove ingredients from pan and place in a large blender. Blend on low until smooth and creamy.

Bring chicken broth to a simmer over medium-low heat.

Stir in the pureed vegetables.

Add in 2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning.

Stir in the entire package of the chili seasoning.

Whisk in the 1 cup of sour cream.

Whisk in the 2 cups of heavy cream.

Add in the cooked and diced chicken.

Reduce heat to low, put the lid on and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Heat 1 inch of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Slice tortillas into 1/4-inch strips. Once oil reaches 330 degrees, fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Garnish bowls of soup with these crispy strips.

You can make this delicous soup a bit more healthy by making the following substitutes:

1. Replace the chicken broth with a lower sodium variety.

2. Use lower sodium chili and taco seasoning (I have seen some that are "30% Less Sodium").

3. Use "ligh" sour cream and reduce to 3/4 cup.

4. Use either half-and-half or whole milk in place of the cream. The soup will still thicken thanks to the chili and taco seasoning.

5. Lay the uncooked strips on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Bake in a 450 degree oven until golden brown.

6. Use olive oil in place of the butter when cooking the veggies.