Fish food

I love Mediterranean cuisine, especially olives and vinegars. They make everything taste delicious. So, in the spirit of my healthy WLC journey, I got some yummy cod and decided to make a tapenade with olives, garlic, tomatoes, pinenuts, and green onions.

1lb white fish like cod

1/8c toasted pine nuts

1 large tomato 

3-4 green onions 

10 Kalmata olives and the juice

Olive oil

3 tbs garlic paste or crushed ( I make my own in the blender with salt and oil and keep it in a jar)

Salt, if your garlic has none 

(Optional- cilantro or basil chopped and coated into fish) 

1) preheat oven to 400 degrees. wash and dry your white fish( paper towel or clean dish towel). Cover your baking sheet with foil or parchment.

2) in a bowl coat both sides your white fish with 2 tbs of your crushed garlic, salt, and a tbs of olive oil. Put it in the oven for about 20 mins. If it has skin, coat one side and cook skin down. 

3) chop your veg ( tomato, green onions) and Kalmata olives. Tomatoes should be cubes about 1 inch and onions and olives can be more finely chopped.

4) in a sauté pan, heat it to medium -low and add cold olive oil about a tbs. then add 1tbs garlic paste, and a little salt. Mix it around so it doesn't burn. After about 30 second, add pinenuts and stir. Then stir in the green onions. Let them soften slightly. You really just want to keep their integrity. This tapenade shouldn't be mushy. Then add tomato and just toss until heated. Then add chopped Kalmata olives and pour some olive juice about 1/8 cup and stir a bit more. Don't over cook. 

5) Check your fish to see if it had started to flake, and then broil on high for about 1-2 mins to slightly brown ( very slight). 

6) Take the fish out and cover in your tapenade. Eat warm and enjoy! I served mine with brown rice to use the yummy juices of the tomatoes and fish. 

Breakfast PBJ

My go to breakfast has to be fast and easy and should be good to eat with coffee. I always eat toast or English Muffins with peanut butter. Sometimes shakes just don't have that "bready" factor that I need with my morning cup. So this has been my WLC alternative. 

Breakfast PBJ

Just use a brown rice cake( I used Lundberg brown rice lightly salted, Quaker rice cakes contain corn) , peanut butter or almond butter, and some fresh berries, like raspberries or blueberries. Delicious and nutritious! 

Whole Life Me

I've always looked for a way to keep myself motivated toward a healthy lifestyle. I've always had curves but when those start to meld together, I know I've reached no-man's land and I need to send up a flare. So, I signed up for the Whole Life Challenge (beginner level), which started 3 days ago and I've been having a really great time making WLC acceptable recipes. I've tried a few that were lackluster but some were truly inspired. 

The Whole Life Challenge is a game you play against yourself and a team comprised of your co-workers, friend, family, gym etc. Following the rules of the game earn you points so that at the end of each day you have up to 11 points for all your healthy habits. The categories are as Nutrition, Workout, Mobilize (stretch), Supplement, and Lifestyle (meditation, drink water, sleep). To learn more about the challenge rules follow this link. The nutrition is very similar to Paleo eating but you can still have fermented dairy such as yogurt and kefir, and butter. 

So, with this challenge in mind, I have been cleaning out my artificially stocked pantry and stocking up on some healthy, delicious recipes. 

The first day of the challenge I made pesto which without cheese is WLC compliant and super yummy on everything.  

So, you need a blender or food processor. If you want to make half of the pesto with sundried tomato (you should!) then soak 1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes in some very hot water while you make the rest. 

Ingredients: 
3 cups packed basil leaves (2 1/4 oz) 
3/4 cup to 1 cup extra virgin olive oil (depending on how saucey you want it)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (buy them toasted or toast your own by putting the nuts in a dry skillet and cooking them over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until slightly golden, about 3 minutes.)
1 clove of garlic (or a Tbsp of pre-crushed garlic)
Salt and Pepper to taste (1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper)

On a cutting board, using the side of the knife blade, crush your garlic clove so it is easier to blend (or else throw a tbsp of pre-crushed garlic in). Add it to the blender/food processor with pine nuts, basil, and 1 tablespoon oil. Pulse your ingredients until they are chopped up and then (if you can) slowly add the rest of your olive oil as you run your blender. If you don't have a opening in your blender, just pour your oil in and blend. 

If you have decided to soak some sun-dried tomatoes, scoop those out of your water and chop them a little on your cutting board. You can either remove half of your pesto to keep it plain or make it all S-d-t pesto. Toss your sundried tomatoes in the blender. Pulse until you feel like they are incorporated but having some sun-dried tomato pieces can be yummy!  

I've been saving my jars and I washed them in the dishwasher. You can use tupperware, too Pour your pesto in and leave a little room so you can cover it in some more olive oil. This helps your pesto from drying out and keeps it fresher. If you store it in the fridge it may harden a bit so you just scoop it out and heat it up! I use it as dip, on eggs, mixed with rice, or pretty much on anything. 

Enjoy!