OK, for my first post I thought I'd better let you know a little more about me and my boyfriend Joe. I've decided to start my first post on the side of good rather than evil by posting some healthy recipies. No worries though I have plenty of decadent recipes to share in the future. Here we go.....
I turn on the local news to catch the weather forecast, go about the normal shower, hair and makeup ritual, catch a bit of Good Morning America and then head in to the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee and fill a grocery bag full of lunch and snack goodies for the day. Although it's nice to be able to slowly meander my way in to work, this does prolong my day and forces me to stay later in order to complete at least some of the items on my forever lengthening to-do list.
Yesterday my boyfriend Joe proclaimed that he is going to start eating better. We both agree though, that it shouldn't be a difficult feat, he really just needs to eat more. Where I will sit at my desk at work and munch all day long, Joe takes the path of not eating much at all. Even though he admittedly describe his job as being so brain intensive that he burns through all available sugars in his body just by the amount of thinking that he does; he still doesn't make the time pack a healthy lunch or snacks.
This may be due to the fact that Joe perpetually goes to bed at about 4:00 a.m. fully knowing he needs to wake up around 6:00 a.m. in order to make it to work. The alarm goes off and he hits snooze about 10 times until he wakes up enough to look at the time and realize he's over slept. He then jumps out of bed in a frenzy, rushes downstairs to the bathroom, washes up, throws on some clothes, grabs his phone, wallet and laptop bag and races out the door. His whole morning ritual takes literally 10 minutes tops and definately leaves no time to pack a to-go lunch or prepare healthy snacks.
Me on the other hand, I wake up after hitting my snooze button (we both have separate alarm clocks) about 10 times, slowly make my way downstairs to feed the dogs (sometimes even they need extra time to wake up.....)
I turn on the local news to catch the weather forecast, go about the normal shower, hair and makeup ritual, catch a bit of Good Morning America and then head in to the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee and fill a grocery bag full of lunch and snack goodies for the day. Although it's nice to be able to slowly meander my way in to work, this does prolong my day and forces me to stay later in order to complete at least some of the items on my forever lengthening to-do list. So in an effort to help Joe "eat better" and improve my morning "turn around time", I have decided I will start making healthy lunches the night before. Even with me making lunches the night before and storing them in the fridge Joe most likely will forget to grab it on his way out the door. Maybe I'll conjure up my inner June Cleaver and stand by the door, bag in hand ready for him to grab on his way out....or better yet, I'll probably use this as a little experiment and keep track of how often he remember to grab it on his way out.......should be interesting : ).
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons minced shallot or white onion
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 poblano pepper
2 serano chiles
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or 3 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 or 3 strips of crispy Bacon, crumbled
Salt and Pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes clean then dice into 1 inch cubes. In a medium bowl toss the potatoes with the olive oil to coat. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast the potatoes in the oven for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes have passed add the whole poblano and serano chiles to the pan and continue to roast for 20 minutes more or until potatoes are tender and the chiles are soft.
Remove from oven and let the potatoes cool on the pan. Place the chiles in a bowl and cover with plastic for about 10 minutes so that the steam will cause the skin to separate from the flesh.
To make the dressing whisk the first five ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
When the chiles are cool enough to handle peel off the skin and discard. Slice the chiles open, discard the stem and then lightly scrape out the seeds. Dice the poblano and finely mince the seranos. Stir the chiles into the dressing.
Place potatoes back in the medium bowl, drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with bacon and chives or scallions and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!
Since tomorrow is dreaded Monday, the day with which I'll start this new endeavor, I decided I'd spend part of my day by writing and creating some new healthy recipes for our lunch bags.
The first recipe starts with the fact that I am completely obsessed with potatoes; normally the starchy white carb-loaded version, but today I had a couple of sweet potatoes in the vegetable bin and since those are generally a healthier option I decided to work with those. I also have some chiles and herbs growing in pots on my front porch that need to be used before the inevitable first midwestern frost hits so I created this delicious and healthy recipe.......enjoy!
Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon and Chiles
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons minced shallot or white onion
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 poblano pepper
2 serano chiles
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or 3 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 or 3 strips of crispy Bacon, crumbled
Salt and Pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes clean then dice into 1 inch cubes. In a medium bowl toss the potatoes with the olive oil to coat. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast the potatoes in the oven for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes have passed add the whole poblano and serano chiles to the pan and continue to roast for 20 minutes more or until potatoes are tender and the chiles are soft.
Remove from oven and let the potatoes cool on the pan. Place the chiles in a bowl and cover with plastic for about 10 minutes so that the steam will cause the skin to separate from the flesh.
To make the dressing whisk the first five ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
When the chiles are cool enough to handle peel off the skin and discard. Slice the chiles open, discard the stem and then lightly scrape out the seeds. Dice the poblano and finely mince the seranos. Stir the chiles into the dressing.
Place potatoes back in the medium bowl, drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with bacon and chives or scallions and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!
