Lettuce Wraps, Two Ways

The healthier eating continues...hooray.  Even better, our exercise has continued as well (running and 30-day shred for me and Crossfit for Ryan).  Eating and cooking are really important to us, so we continue to try to find new ways to make healthy but tasty things.  These are two recipes we've made for dinners this week (the leftovers were just as good for lunch the next day too). We took two recipes that are family favorites and modified them: tacos and chicken fried rice.  Both are lower carb and lower calories than the originals and use lettuce wraps to replace the taco shells and rice.  

Up first, Lettuce Wrap Tacos:

Start by cooking the meat: in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil.  Once oil is hot, add 1 pound of lean meat (beef, turkey, or chicken) and cook for about 10 minutes until browned.  Break meat into small crumbles (I've found a potato masher does the best trick).  Add your favorite taco seasoning (or use your own- mix of chili powder, cayenne, garlic salt, onion powder, and Mexican oregano) and 1 cup of water.  Once water is simmering, reduce to medium-low and cook until liquid evaporates. Now it's taco time! Using bibb lettuce as a "shell" add the meat and top with whatever your favorite toppings are (cheese, avocado, salsa, jalapenos, etc.).  Yum! The leftover toppings and meat made for a delicious lunch the next day.

Next, Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

This is a similar preparation as fried rice, just without the rice!  Start by sauteing two large diced onions in 2 tablespoons peanut oil over medium heat (about 30 minutes).  Once onions are cooked and starting to caramelize, remove from pan.  Add 4 whisked eggs to the pan and cook over medium-high heat for about 1 minute until cooked, remove from pan.  Add more peanut oil and add 1 pound of ground chicken to the pan.  Cook until browned and cook through (about 10 minutes). Put the onions and egg back in the pan with the chicken along with the juice of 2 limes, 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1 teaspoon siracha sauce, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil.  Serve with more limes and bibb lettuce.  Ryan said he didn't even miss the rice in the dish, it still had the same flavor.

Eggplant/Mozzarella Sliders

We've officially made it a full week with healthier eating.  There have been high points (losing 4 pounds in a week) and there have been low points (drooling and whining in the bakery section at The Fresh Market), but hopefully we're on the right track. I would never think I would say this, but I actually am enjoying running.  It's not the easiest thing in the world with a stroller and a dog in tow, but they keep me motivated and laughing during my run. 
In our continued quest to make healthy, but still fun dishes, we made a twist on eggplant Parmesan and came up with these eggplant "sliders."  They were a cinch to make and really good.  They'd make a great dish for a party because they could be made ahead of time.

Start by peeling one eggplant and slice it into 1/2 medallions.  Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  

When the oil is hot enough, add the eggplant and season with salt.  

Saute on each side for about 6-7 minutes.

Once eggplant is cooked through and nicely browned, let rest on a paper towel for a few minutes.  Let them come to room temperature before assembling.

To assembly, take one slice of eggplant and put one small spoonful of crush tomatoes (or a tomato slice), then one slice of fresh mozzarella, then top with fresh basil, and finally add the second eggplant slice.

Now are these better then breaded and fried eggplant drenched in tomato sauce and cheese and served with a heaping bowl of pasta (carb withdrawal...)?  Definitely not; but are they a good substitute? For sure! It made for a fun dinner last night, and along with a glass of wine, it was a great night (and Carter slept through the night...yay!).

Eating Well, Starting With Fish

Scamp with asparagus in a lemon-champagne sauce

We've been kind of half-trying for the past few months at eating healthier, but unfortunately will power has never been a strength of mine.  Like most people, we struggle with eating healthfully yet also economically.  Now that Carter is eating all "big people" food, we also have that factor to contend with (and somehow avoid giving him a diet of only milk and chicken fingers...his preference).  Tomorrow marks one week since we've been on a real healthy eating kick.  It's not necessarily a diet, but more of conscious effort to limit carbs to fruits and vegetables and eat less.  Perhaps the biggest change we've made is eating all "real" food, i.e. nothing processed.  As a lover of cereal and bread, this is tough! I'd like to say after a week, all my cravings are gone, but that's just not true.  
It's also really hard to come up with fun and tasty recipes. To be honest, the majority of our dinners are roasted or grilled chicken with a side or steamed vegetables.  This recipe I'm sharing was actually fun to make and incredibly delicious.  We went to Walt's fish market last weekend and got a filet of scamp (kind of like grouper).

 Heat a large frying pan to medium-high and pour in two tablespoons canola oil. Meanwhile season  the fish with salt and pepper (any white-flesh fish would work for this recipe, also is great with chicken cutlets).

Cook fish for about 4 minutes on each side or until there's a nice crust developing and fish is starting to cook all the way through.  Turn heat down to medium.

Add 1/4 cup of champagne or white wine and the juice of 2 lemons.  Bring to a bubble and then reduce to a simmer.  

Meanwhile, in a 350 degree oven, roast 1 pound of asparagus until just under al dente.  Remove from the oven and cut into thirds.

Add the asparagus, 2 tablespoons butter, and a little more salt and pepper to the pan with the fish and sauce.  Stir gently to incorporate and you're ready to serve.

Made for a tasty dinner.