So much food, so little time

I'm so confused.

Yesterday, I accidentally fell asleep at 6 pm. At 2 in the morning, I'm up and about.  Great.

I was still determined to stick to my regimen, so I did my hour of hula hooping. At 2 am.

Anyway, enough about strange sleeping patterns. I'm sorry I've been gone for a bit, but life happens. So onto food...

It may not look like much, but this is one of the most adventurous oat bowls I've made to date.

Into my pot went:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup water
1/4 rolled oats
3T wheat bran
1T coconut flour
1/4t cinnamon
powdered stevia (a lot)


And topped with:
sliced banana
shredded coconut
white chocolate chips
coconut cream (1T coconut flour mixed with enough almond milk to dissolve it. I read about it on HEAB who found out about it from Non-Dairy Queen.

So after a decision to make a rather complex dinner, a trip to Bristol Farms was made.

The deli counter was visited...

...and the cart was stocked.

Then a stop was made at Whole Foods to look for their coconut. I read on HEAB that the coconut butter I  (tried) to make a few days ago it truly an exact science. Apparently, I was NOT supposed to use flaked coconut, but shredded coconut. Did I listen?
No. So I bought coconut that best fit the description at Whole Foods, and headed on my way.

Of course, I had to stop at the flour aisle, just to make sure nothing was exploding over there. (Taking one for the team, I was.)

Don't laugh at this recipe.

Meat Chips w/ Thyme Dijon (This is not nearly as gross as it sounds)
Adapted from Real Simple
Desired amount of your meat of choice
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2-3T fresh chopped thyme

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Spritz baking sheet with nonstick spray. Line meat on baking sheet and spritz with nonstick spray.Bake in oven at 375 F for 12-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together Dijon and thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve "chips" with the thyme Dijon. Dig in!

Next...
Blueberry Preserves
Adapted from Real Simple
2 packages of organic blueberries (I'll see later if this works with other berries)
1/4 granulated stevia
1T fresh lemon juice
1/4t salt

Mash all ingredients together with a potato masher until the blueberries have released there juices.

Pour everything into a food processor and process until pretty smooth (I guess you could skip this if you really wanted to.)

I poured into a small saucepan over medium-high heat like the original recipe, but it smelled like burning. I don't really like my preserves burned, so I just turned down to medium heat. That worked fine.

You're going to let that sit for awhile, about 18-25 minutes or until pretty thick. It probably won't be exactly jam/jelly/preserve texture right out of the pan. Don't worry, it'll firm up once cooled in the fridge.

And...
Curried Yogurt Dip
Adapted from Real Simple
1.5 cups nonfat Greek yogurt (I think Fage is the best)
1T curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
Dijon mustard
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Whisk it all together until smooth.

Once it was all together and uniform in color, it was time to taste. Good, but missing something.

So I added the juice from half a lemon and enough Dijon to bring it to the desired consistency. If you want it more or less Dijon-y, just adjust to your tastes. Yum.

Meanwhile, our preserves are almost done, but not quite.

Behold the glory of the finished dip!

It tasted great when I dipped a carrot into it.

Perfect.

Sorry the lighting isn't very good, but the pan is black, and the preserves are dark. Just believe it's good.

Pop into the fridge until cool.

Yes, there is more.

Balsamic Strawberries
Loosely based on Real Simple
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
as many strawberries as you want

Put the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and boil for 3-4 minutes or until reduced by about half. Serve balsamic with or poured on top of strawberries. This combo is unexplainable and AMAZING!!!
Try it.

Bear with me:


Red Curry Glazed Salmon
Adapted from Real Simple

4 4 oz. fillets of salmon
1T+1-2t of Thai red curry paste
2t canola oil
1/2t brown sugar
1/2t granulated stevia
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat broiler.

Whisk together all ingredients except salmon in a small bowl.

Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil. Place salmon fillets on foil-lined baking sheet and rub evenly with curry paste mixture. Broil for 5-7 minutes, or until "opaque throughout. (Real Simple's words, not mine)

Very simple.

Garlic and Red Pepper Green Beans
Adapted from Real Simple

1 bag of snapped, pre-washed green beans
about 1T garlic powder
2t crushed red pepper
salt to taste

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray. Add garlic powder, red pepper, salt and stir to distribute. Cook until desired done-ness.

Beauteous.

Excuse me, I have food to devour.

OK, one more thing. My mom found a white nectarine at a Farmer's Market, and it was amazing. Sweet, but not too sweet. Yeah, I just though I'd share that. ;)

Enjoy!

-Kelly M

Q of the day: Have you ever heard of a white nectarine? If so, what do you think?