Tuna Steak Fish Tacos with Black Beans & Pico de Gallo

I know most people use white fishes like tilapia most often in tacos - but we had some Tuna Steaks in the freezer from Trader Joe's to use. So why not?

You need:

-Package of Trader Joe's Frozen Tuna Steaks

-1/2 Onion - diced

-2 cloves garlic diced

-1 Jalapeno - if you like spice!

-1/2 bunch of cilantro chopped 1/4 for Tuna & 1/4 for Beans (or any salsa you like! I bet pineapple salsa would be great!)

-1/4 cup to 1/2 Cup Pico de Gallo

-1 lime - cut in half

- Salt & Pepper

-Can of Black Beans

-Some shredder cabbage

-Avocado

-Pico de Gallo

-Corn Tortillas - optional

I defrost the tuna in room temperature water - not hot water (cooks the fish). While the fish is defrosting I put the chopped onion/garlic & jalapeno if you desire, in a skillet on medium/high heat with a little EVOO and brown it a bit. I chopped up the tuna into big chunks and turned down the heat to medium/low. Add 1/4 cup of pico de gallo in the skillet and squeeze in half of the lime and half of the chopped cilantro. Stir around here and there until tuna is almost cooked all the way through - turn heat on high for just a few minutes to brown everything.

Warm up the tortillas if desired or pile up like a salad - which is what I do. Fish, black beans, cabbage, more pico de gallo, more lime and more cilantro! So refreshing, light and tasty!

Nice thing about this recipe is start to finish it maybe takes 20-30 minutes from chopping to enjoying!

Stuffed Baked Peppers with Ground Turkey

The Very Versatile & Very Delicious Stuffed Bell Peppers: :)

I did a Spanish Style this time around...

You need:

-Bell Peppers

-Package of Ground Turkey

-Handful of Spinach

-1 Small Onion (I used Yellow)

-2 Garlic Cloves

- About 1/2 Cup Pice de Gallo (I usually use homemade for this I used fresh store bought)

-1 Carrot - shredded

-Chopped Celery if desired

-About 1/3 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese (optional)

- (I didn't actually use the beans pictured, but they are always a great addition!)

Spices:

-Chili Powder

-Cumin

-Black Pepper

-Italian Herbs

-Cheyenne Pepper

-Veggie Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start with chopping the onion and mincing the garlic - throw in a pan on medium heat, let it brown a little bit and then throw in a big handful of spinach and let it reduce down.

I keep my ground turkey in the freezer as I buy it in bulk usually (I love it!) so I let it defrost overnight - then throw it in with the spinach/garlic/onion mixture.

*Again, experiment! What inspired me was we had some pico de gallo & spinach that needed to be used - use what you have!*

Add in your spices! Sorry I didn't measure, something I need to work on. My mom always taught me "to taste" and that's how I have always been. I put just a light sprinkle of cheyenne, a few teaspoons of cumin, chili powder, crushed some fresh black pepper and italian herbs over and added a little bit of veggie salt.

After the turkey has been mixed and I try to chop it up a bit with a spatula, add in the pico de gallo - and stir well. (Homemade pico de gallo is easy to make- this just needed to be used up).

After adding the pico de gallo, I shredded one carrot over the mixture and let it cook for a few more minutes.

Stuff those peppers! I cut the them in half and take out the seeds and some of the ribs. I kind of cram it in, and even put a little on top. Then sprinkle with a little cheese. I rarely eat dairy but we had some cheese about to go bad and it adds such a nice texture & flavor on top.

I had some leftover as seen here - great to throw in with eggs in the morning, or make a little quinoa or even on a salad!

Place your peppers in the oven and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or 25 to brown the cheese a bit - which I did and it turned out amazing and the peppers were nice and soft.

Let cool for a few minutes and serve! I used a fork & butter knife and it was fine. Also, don't be fooled I was pretty stuffed after just one!

This is a recipe you can play with! Next time I am think I may try a "Greek" version. Chopped up olives, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, basil, spinach, and top with some feta!

Please let me know any questions, suggestions, etc! As always thanks for reading and enjoy!

Mahi Mahi, Black Beans & Wild Rice with Coconut Water

This is a dish that Greg & I love to make. He made it this night so he deserves all the credit as it was absolutely delicious!

Lime Mahi Mahi, Cilantro Lime Jamaican Jerk Black Beans, Wild Rice With Coconut Water and Steamed Broccoli:

Mahi Mahi:

We get our mahi mahi from Trader Joe's always have loved their fish selection, quality and prices. This is simply pan seared in EVOO with Jamaican Jerk seasoning (from Savory Spices in downtown Santa Rosa), a lot of lime juice and fresh cracked pepper. Just cook flipping hear and there until cooked through.

Black Beans:

We just used Organic Canned black beans with about half a bunch of cilantro, lime juice, and some of the Jamaican Jerk seasoning just cooked on low for a bit. We both agreed this was our favorite part of the meal. Beans are always something fun to experiment with - just stick to whole beans and keep it light on the salt!

Wild Rice with Coconut Water:

We get the wild rice mix from Trader Joe's and although both of us are cutting down on rice, especially late this was a little treat to ourselves. If you're going to do rice this is the way to do it with a brown rice base and some Indian rice as well as wholesome wheat berries for nutrition and amazing texture. He did the standard 2 cups water with 1 cup rice replacing the water with coconut water. The texture, taste, EVERYTHING was amazing! With the black beans it couldn't have been tastier.

Broccoli:

The broccoli was standard steamed broccoli with a little fresh black pepper on it. Mixed in with everything else it was amazing!

Everything with this dinner complimented each other. I know I wasn't too detailed in this blog, so please if you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll ask Greg. :)

Thai Lettuce Wraps - One of my Favs! Healthy and Yummy!

Thai Lettuce Wraps:

What you need:

• 1 - 2 LB Chicken Breast
• Teriyaki for Chicken (I love Yoshidas Marinade)
• 2 Bunches Cilantro
• 2 Bunches Thai Basil (reg basil is fine!)
• 1 Bunch Green Onions
• 1 Bunch Mint
• 3-4 Limes - I usually use 3 inside then one for garnish
• 1 cup - 2 cups Sweet Chili Sauce (I usually get Mae Ploy from Food 4 Less- See Below)
• 2-3 Heads of Romaine Hearts
• Optional: Chopped Peanuts - 1 Cup Chopped to incorporate into mixture plus 1/2 for garnish. I usually just do some for garnish.

Equipment Needed:

• Good chopping knife
• Cutting board(s)
• Big Bowl
• 1 Cup Measuring Cup
• Bowl for Chicken Breast
• Medium Pot to Cook Chicken

Note: This recipe is easy but requires a lot of chopping! Great if you need to get some aggression out :) Took me about 30-40 to chop but I was also distracted.

Wish my sink always looked like this! Yumm! I love herbs!!

Directions:

I like to marinate the chicken overnight in teriyaki in a ziploc bag, but it's not necessary. Place about an inch of water or so in your medium pot and add the chicken dumping and left over teriyaki in there too. Steam/boil the chicken stirring occasionally for about 15-20 minutes, you want it cooked all the way through but not dry. Turn off let cool a little then place into a bowl and put in the refrigerator to cool. Wash your herbs, as you can see in the picture I kind of keep them separated which isn't necessary but sometimes it makes it easier as they chop differently. I cut the stems off except the basil I just run my hand down the stem to remove the leaves and chop just the leaves. Chop everything up cilantro, basil, green onion, mint, and peanuts if desired.

Pull your chicken out of the fridge and if cool enough chop it up. I usually vary the chopping, some a little smaller pieces some bigger. See picture blow. (The chicken looks really pink but it is actually cooked all the way through - all I have in an iPhone for pictures).

Mix everything together pretty well. Then start with adding your limes - Because bunches of herbs and chicken content can vary I do a lot to taste. I start with 2 limes and 1 cup of sweet chili sauce. Mix well and although the texture won't be the best right now try a bite. I usually add one more like an about 1/2 cup more sweet chili sauce. Thing is, go LIGHT on the sauce because as the herbs and chicken sit together in the ridge they will blend and you don't want to over sauce it.

Let it fridgerate for a few hours. The longer the better - honestly, you can make this a day ahead because in my opinion it's better the second day.

Warning will all the chopping it can make a mess!

Wash and cut the stem off of your romaine - I like to stack them in rows for serving. Cut small pieces of lime for garnish and peanuts if you choose to.

Now put a little of your mixture into a romaine leaf, garnish as you please and enjoy! Greg likes to fill them up, and I like to make them a little lighter and add a bunch of lime.

These are very high in protein, low in fat and carbs. The only bad thing really is the sweet chili sauce but you spread it throughout so many servings that I wouldn't think about it too much. Of course adding the peanuts adds a fair amount of fat and more calories. For me as yummy as it is incorporated into the mixture I think it's better just to garnish with chopped peanuts here and there.

As soon as I get the actual site up: www.mikaelaa.com I will come up with a way to make an easy to print version for anyone that prefers to have a hard copy like me. ( Homemade three ring binder with plastic sleeves is my favorite cookbook!)

More recipes & posts to come! Please comment if you try it, have suggestions, requests, questions or anything else!

Turkey Bacon, Sliced Almond Brussel Sprouts MmmMmm

Brussel Sprout Salad? Name ideas? Anyone? Bueller?

Very easy and very yummy - in my opinion. I know many people hate brussel sprouts but I've actually had people try this that don't like brussel sprouts and they enjoyed it! I should have timed it but I think it maybe takes 20 minutes.

You need:

-Brussel Sprouts

- Half Package of Turkey Bacon -preferably NOT Oscar Meyer

-Sliced or slivered almonds

-Chicken stock & olive oil

-Herbs (customize it! I like Italian Herbs then some kind of creole, Morracan, Curry - It's honestly different every time!)

-Fresh cracked pepper (usually salt isn't necessary)

Start with a little chicken broth (see future blogs for the convenient way to do so!), I actually stole some broth from the soup I made yesterday :). If none is available I prefer to steam with a little bit of water in the bottom. Let them steam for a few with a lid on and get to the other ingredients!

Like I said in ingredients don't buy Oscar Meyer brand! Soo salty and higher fat content I realized after purchasing. Anyone ever seen Organic Turkey Bacon? I'd love to find some!

I just barely cut the stems off and half them.. sometimes I quarter them - when you quarter them it makes it more of a "salad".

I maybe had slightly less than a pound of brussel sprouts so I used half the package of turkey bacon, which was more than enough. Slice like the picture shows... have another pan lightly greased with olive oil on high heat and spread the pieces apart with your fingers. Doesn't matter if they stick together a bit. Mix them all around - turn to medium high and add a small handful of almonds. Stir around get the almonds and bacon browned.

When browned add into your pot of steaming brussel sprouts... Stir!

I usually take a brussel sprout or two out to test how done they are, I prefer them a little al dente. At the end I like to turn up the pan to high heat to get a little good brown on the sprouts. Turn off and remove from and...

Yummmm!!!!

Once I made brown rice, added some eggs and baked it all at 350 degrees for maybe 20-25 minutes, made it casserole style! Trying not to eat too much rice these days but just an idea!

It starts (started) tonight!

So far so good...

Made chicken breasts with veggies (just the costco bag of frozen veggies and chicken but after the move that's what we have right now) - used Jamaican Jerk Seasoning from Savory Seasoning Shop in downtown Santa Rosa (awesome shop if you haven't checked out, great seasonings, very diverse cuisines and recipe ideas! Oh and free samples!)

Very easy just took the frozen breasts put them in a pan of a little evoo - I like to put them in the pan flip them over right after and sprinkle seasonings so they stick nicely. Cook for a few minutes flip them over, sprinkle seasoning on other side cook for a few minutes through the veggies on top and sprinkle seasonings and cover with a lid and let steam until tender. Easy and only one pan to clean!

Greg & I were both happy and filled.

From chatting to friends & family and even remembering my own tips from the past I'm going to try and start writing them down...

Kristen: Eat before you meet up with friends, anywhere you go look for salads, drink liquor without the mixers or her (& one of my favs!) vodka, soda water and lime when drinking alcohol. -All those sweet drinks at up really fast! A long island has 780 calories!

Gina: Eat good fats: Avocado, EVOO, almonds, peanut butter, whey protein, small portions and eat every 3 hours.

I like to stay pretty strict 6 days of the week and have a cheat day, for me usually Sunday - I try not to go too crazy usually but what I did try to do was plan cheat days on friends birthdays, special events etc so that when/if I cheated I didn't feel guilty about it. Thing not to do is cheat then keep say your Sunday cheat day. If I wanted a treat during the week I kept it to something like dark chocolate, oatmeal cookie, 100% juice popsicle - anything under say 200-250 calories.

I think that's it for now... Thinking of maybe doing before & after photos hmmm.

Sleep Sweet.