Coconut Curry Chicken Strips

Absolutely Delicious and Light.  These strips of chicken are oven baked and have the perfect accent of spicy curry and sweet coconut.  I loved the crunchy texture, and the chicken cooked to a mouthwatering moisture in the center.  I dipped mine in barbeque sauce like a good Southern girl.  

Just make these; you won't be let down.  A Hot Yoga Food Creation.  Do it now.

Ingredients
2 lbs chicken, cut into 1 inch wide strips
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup plain corn flakes
1/2 t. seasoned salt
1.5 T. curry powder
1 T Spike seasoning (optional)
1 t. parsley


The Method
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  In one bowl, whisk the egg, set aside.  Place the corn flakes in a large plastic baggie, seal it, then pound the corn flakes with your hand until they are ground to small bits.  Open baggie and add the seasonings and coconut.  (If you don't want to use a plastic baggie, use a plate like the picture below.)  Place the flour on a plate and dip the chicken strips in it until they are each lightly coated.  Then, dip each strip in the whisked egg, and shake off any excess.  Lastly, coat them in the corn flake mixture.  

Place the coated chicken strips on a greased cookie sheet (I line mine with foil) and lightly spray them with cooking oil.  

Place in oven on one side for 15 minutes.  Then flip them over and heat for an additional 10 minutes.  They should crisp to a light, golden brown color.

Kale Nachos

On New Years Day in the South, it is good luck to eat blackeye peas for luck.  Unfortunately, I forgot to eat mine this year!  But, never-ye-mind because as long as you eat your beans within the month, you'll still have luck in the New Year (my rule...shhh!).  I've also been dreaming about a new Hot Yoga Food recipe: Vegan Spicy Kale-Blackeye Pea Nachos!  This recipe sounds gross at first, but you'll be surprised how good these are (and filling)!  It avoids the bad fried food/dairy rule, but you still get the taste and texture of cheesy, spicy, crunchy goodness!  These aren't too heavy like standard Mexican food, either.  These are great to whip up for lunch or after hot yoga class for a quick dinner. 


Ingredients


(chips)
1 bundle of kale
canola oil spray

(bean-cheese sauce)
1 can cooked blackeye peas, drained
2 c. water
2 T. or 1/4 cup sliced, jarred jalapenos (depending on your heat endurance)
1/2 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. cayenne
2 T. cornstarch
1.5 T. sea salt
2 t. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder
2 T. nutritional yeast
2 T. chopped black olives

(optional toppings)
light sour cream or greek yogurt
sprinkle of chopped black olives

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degree F.  Remove kale stems by tearing the leaves into large pieces away from the stem.  Discard the steams and dry the torn kale pieces with a paper towels.  Spray a large cookie sheet with canola oil, and place the torn kale pieces in a single layer. Spray again with canola oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast the kale for approximately 25 minutes until the edges of the kale become brown. 

While the kale is crisping in the oven, blend the blackeye peas and jalapenos in a food processor on high until it is a smooth paste.  Add the pepper-bean paste, water and the rest of the sauce ingredients to a medium pot and heat on medium until the sauce thickens.  

Pour the sauce over kale chips, the add dollops of sour cream and sprinkles of black olives on top of the cheese sauce.  Enjoy!

Bad, bad, bad: COFFEE

Oh, coffee bean, how do I love thee.

Let me count the ways.

You wake me, keep me sane and prevent injuries throughout my days.

You open my eyes, you activate my brain and even help with hangovers - I won't ask how or why.

But, if I drink you again before hot yoga, I will surely die. 

Yes, ladies and germs, I drank 2 cups of coffee yesterday 1 hour before 4pm yoga (the first and only of the day).  15 minutes in, the shakes began.  Shakes were only the beginning, too.  I figured that my system would flush out the coffee pretty soon, especially due to the 50% humidity in Seattle classes lately, but it only developed into rapid heart beats and nausea.  At one point, I thought I was about to have an anxiety attack.  After class was the worst: my stomach flipped over and ran out the door.  Oh, no I shant try a caffeine before class, again.  My body did not break it down like I thought it would have.  Don't risk it, folks!

Carrot Fries

Annnndddd, we're back!  After a month of holiday fun and my recent lay-off, I am trying to get back into a routine.  New Years resolutions and all...  

 I declare 2009 to be the year of sweet potato fries. 

I declare 2010 to be the year of carrot fries.

These little gems taste exactly like sweet potato fries but with half the calories.  I like to dip 'em in Annie's Organic Ketchup.  These are great to prep before you leave for night class.  When you get home, pop these in the oven while you prepare the rest of your meal (great with veggie burgers or tofu dogs).

1.) Cut a bundle of peeled carrots into 3 inch quarters like the photo below.  I've really been into organic carrots.  They have a much better flavor, but regular 'ol carrots are fine, too.

 2.) Next, line a large roasted pan with foil.  Lay the carrots in a single layer and glaze them for olive oil.  

3.) Sprinkle them with your favorite seasoning.  I love using spicy Spike.

4.)  Stir the carrots around in the oil and seasoning until they are completely covered in the mix.  This makes sure they don't stick to the foil.

5.)  Cover the top of the roasting pan with foil and roast them at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes.  

6.)  Uncover the pan, flip the carrots and roast them on the oven top shelf for an additional 15 minutes (uncovered) until they look crispy and browned on the edges.  

Carrot Fries make white potatoes seem so boring now.  Enjoy!

Salmon and Broccoli

This was a quick and easy dinner that involved two yoga power foods: salmon and broccoli.  It also keeps well in the refrigerator and makes a wonderful addition to salads or wraps.  I doubled the recipe for extra leftovers!  This photo doesn't do it justice; this was delicious!  I added a few shakes of dill to the recipe, too.


For a side dish, I steamed some broccoli and topped it with parmesan, cayenne and lime juice.

Salmon Loaf (serves 4) by French Fries to Flaxseeds


Ingredients

• 2 Cans (213 g) salmon (wild sockeye is preferred)
• 6 – 7 Soda crackers, crumbled
• 1 Tsp. lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter
• Pepper to taste
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tsp. dried or fresh dill

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix all ingredients, except eggs.
3. Beat eggs until fluffy, then fold into mixture.
4. Spread mixture into small loaf pan.
5. Bake for 45 min, or until golden and crispy on top.

A Little Bit of Sweetness

In addition to be a Carb Addict, I have a Sweet-capital T-ooth.  And I love to bake. This addiction doesn't make hot yoga any easier.  As I sweat in class, I feel especially light-headed and queazy on days I eat too much processed sugar.  Should we add "processed sugar" to the list?  I believe so.

So yeah.  There's that problem. 

Oh and - 

I love, love, love nut butters!  Especially almond butter!  I love a teaspoon in my oatmeal or dipping fruit and carrots in them!  Yet, is this a problem, too?  Studies show that it is not.  Almond butter has become extremely popular over the past few years with health food bloggers, especially.  Known as one of the "healthy nuts," almonds have proven to lower cholesterol and contain protein, calcium, fiber, magnesium, folic acid, potassium, and vitamin E.

Therefore, raw almonds as snacks 2 hours before hot yoga or almond butter in my breakfast oatmeal does my body good.  The natural sweetness also tames the Sweet Tooth!  So far, hot yoga has tamed it somewhat, but I need little tricks, and almond butter is one of them.  My Sweet Tooth used to be a size 16, I'd say now it's more of a size 10 or 12?  (Women's, not Juniors)  Though, I still love to bake as a hobby.  It's very meditative and relaxing for me.  And, your house smells so good!  I give a lot of my baked goods to yogi friends so I don't eat them all ;-p  One can get carried away with nut butters, so I try to only have only 1-2 teaspoons a day if I am in need of duh buttah.

I recently purchased MaraNatha's new Dark Chocolate Almond Spread since I am a huge fan of Nutella  (uh, who isn't).  Whereas Nutella is very sweet and made with hazelnuts, this AB/Chocolate spread has very subtle hints of cocoa that isn't too overbearing on the palette.  It tastes more like almond butter ("AB") than a chocolate spread.  I also like coconut-based spreads like Artisina's Cacao Bliss.  This stuff goes for around $8/jar, but it is well worth the money.  If you are craving a piece of chocolate, just have a teaspoon of this stuff and you'll get not only the health benefits of almonds, but also satisfy your sweet tooth!

p.s. Another trick for Sweet Tooths is to keep a huge supply of different sweet teas around.  After supper is usually when I want something sweet.  All those years of habit - opening the freezer to select what flavor of ice cream is still with me.  Instead, you open your pantry door to see a vast selection of yummy teas!  Just a splash of cream, and it really does fight off the sugar demons!  These teas have no nutritional value, but are obviously way better to consume than cookies or cake.  Anything that can slay the sugar beast for me is worth the few extra calories.  Plus, it's kind of fun to have a cup after supper.  I understand now why tea time is so important in other cultures.  It can be very relaxing.

Here are some of Celestial Seasonings favorites:

 

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a bit obsessive about soup in the winter.  It's all I want when it's 45 degrees in our house with our broken heater!  We are hopefully getting our furnace replaced this week, but until then, I have to get my heat from our measly space heaters and chipotle peppers!  When we lived in Chicago, we lived right down the street from a Mexican market.  There, Dave and I would scan the aisles like we were in a new library.  I love going to ethnic food stores and finding new products.  Even if you discover just one item that looks tasty to you, you can add so much to your experience as a cook.  For me, it was when I discovered canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  There is something about their smoky, rich and yes, spicy flavor that is so amazing.  I sometimes add this to soups, or sautes, or marinades or even low-fat cream cheese for a delicious spread or dip!  Careful, thought, you just need one or peppers because they are caliente!!! Anytime I find a recipe that calls for this "little can of wonder," I can't resist.  I recently made a chipotle recipe from one of my favorite foodie bloggers who is also a Texpatriate.  This is a big batch recipe you can make in advance for lunches and quick dinners when you get home from yoga.  The accent of lime really makes this soup special. This was also oh so satisfying after hot yoga.  Enjoy!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup by the Homesick Texan.
 

Ingredients
2 pounds of sweet potatoes (about two large or three skinny ones), peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
2-4 chipotles in adobo (depending on your heat tolerance) chopped
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
 

Optional Garnish:

Sour cream or Greek yogurt

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Pecans


The Method
Heat the olive oil on medium low in a large soup pot, and cook the onions, celery and carrot for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Add the sweet potatoes, broth, chipotles, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.

Let the soup cool, and then in batches, puree it in the blender. If you prefer, you can use an immersion blender in the pot instead.

Once the soup has been pureed, stir in the lime juice and add salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.