OK Kelly that is to great! I give you props for trying it. I'm not going to lie looking at it made me feel a little sick. By the way Andy's brother regularly eats sardines out of the can and right in front of us sometimes.....it is NOT appealing at all.

I tried Kelly's Italian beef recipe, it was very good and it had a little kick so I liked it.

Very simple recipe which I loved!

Secrets inside Salmon In a Can- Revealed

So, as promised I'm here on Friday (yea! by the way) with my new food to share with you all.  Its a doozy. 

Let me start from the beginning.  My husband, whom some of you know, is a wonderful man not without a few lovable quarks.  One of which is when he, no doubt after a trip to Burger King, goes full health mode.  He's a man on a mission.  These health frenzies have been known to produce a few VERY strange orphans in my pantry and after a few lonely months in there they end up in the trash.  The last food adventure (or should I say mis-adventure) happened to be SARDINES in a can.  I could not stomach eating a slimy fish from head (yes, the eyes, too) to... well fin, I guess.  Jason tried one and that was that.  I don't blame him. 

It was just such a health frenzy that led Jason to buy a couple of cans of salmon.  I gave him the "I know where this is going" glare as he put them in the cart, but kept my mouth shut- humoring him only costs a few cents....  And here we are a couple of weeks later and the cans of salmon still stare at me every time I open the door of my pantry. 

Why won't you eat me?  They say.

I'm an excellent source of Omega-3s.  It says and flashes the badge to prove it. 

My salmon is premium quality. See.  Wild caught, not farm raised....

There are some good things packed in here.... and 560 calories (yea, a little more than I thought at first - there are 7 servings in this thing..... I think they mean for a mouse...)  And finally I gave in- and that's how salmon in a can became this weeks NEW FOOD. 
This morning I reluctantly pulled out my can opener, hoping and praying for the best.  It can't be worse than tuna- I kept saying.  Questions were running through my head-

1. Is it cooked? 
2. Do they leave the skin on?
3. What kind of juice do they keep it in?
4. How bad is this going to smell?

Question #4 answered.  Already the smell is choking me. 

And then a strange pink, jelly like juice comes oozing over the lid and answers Question #3 (sort of- i still don't know what it is)

Off with the lid and here it is.  I just can't make this look pretty people.  So sorry if you're eating this over lunch.  Can you believe it?  The bones are still in there! But, at least is cooked.

Out of the can it looks like a giant salmon log.  A tower of salmon.   And, Eww.  The skin is on it.  I was about to give up here.  Its just not worth it, I said.  But something inside me kept me going.

I kind of mashed it up a little.  Pushed the skin to the side and dove in.  First of all, I don't recommend eating it for breakfast.  I had no choice.  I've got deadlines, people.  But don't you make this mistake, too.  Here's the thing though, bones aside its not ALL bad.  The flavor is extremely mild.  With a little prep- maybe some lemon and pepper- it could actually be kind of good.  OK, not great.  But tuna good.  You know what I mean?  You could put it in a salmon salad- or maybe stuff something with it-like mushrooms or something..... I just wish that there weren't bones in it.  Totally a mood killer.  Definitely don't serve it to friends or you'll have that awkward break in convo whilst your guest digs for the hard jabby thing in her/his mouth. 

So, do with this info what you will.  I most likely will never have this again but I kind of liked it.  The darn bones ruined it! 

Oh, and have a really good weekend!

New Food Friday

Hi there everyone!  Its been awhile for me but I'm still here, I promise.  And I always read your posts.  In fact, I loosely used your stuffed pepper recipe, Jodi, just the other day.  It didn't turn out that well b/c I was using what I had in my pantry and I forgot the rice (wahhh!).  But at least I got the baking times correct (kind of- I rushed it and Jason's meat was too rare. wah wah) :)

Anyway, I have another blog that I write called Project Cottage- some of you are familiar:)  I started something on that blog called New Food Friday.  The idea is that I try a food I've never tried,  that's considered healthy, every week (although, I'm not afraid to add butter!).  I have been thinking, from now on, I think I'll post it on here and direct my readers here to check it out.  What do you think about that?  My first post was on Spaghetti Squash.  Go here to check it out.  I was thinking of trying canned Atlantic salmon next.  Sounds absolutely disgusting to me but I happen to have some in my pantry (that Jason bought to try, but its been sitting there for awhile now- I don't think he's going to do it!) 

Well, let me know what you think.  Anyone have any ideas for healthy food to feed my little one?  He's 11 months old and I'm struggling to find things he'll eat. 

Talk to ya later folks!

An Alternative to Ice Cream

I love ice cream but the dairy usually leaves me feeling bloated and the ice cream itself (atleast the kind I choose!) doesn't offer much nutritionally.  But, the other day I used a hand blender and whipped up the following:

1 1/2 frozen bananas (peel before freezing)
handful of pitted frozen cherries
1 cup of almond milk
2 heaping spoonfuls of cocoa powder
a sprinkle of sugar

The end result and chocolatey, tangy, creamy, and delicious!  Experiment with the proportions to get the consistency you want!

If you like brussels sprouts...try this "Slimming Spaghetti" recipe

I also got this "Slimming Spaghetti" recipe from Oxygen.  I can’t remember the last time I ate brussels sprouts so I figured it was time to try them out.  They were good and I thought they went well in this dish. 

8oz whole wheat spaghetti
olive oil
2-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb brussel sprouts sliced
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 c low fat parmesan cheese grated
1 tbs crushed red pepper
sea salt and pepper to taste
1 lb shrimp cooked

Cook pasta, reserve 1 cup of water
Heat oil in skillet, add sprouts and nutmeg cook until sprouts are brighter in color about 5 minutes
Add reserved water from noodles and all other ingredients except for pasta and cook 5 minutes on med heat
Add drained pasta, heat, then serve.

Nutrition – Calories: 400, Fat: 5g, Sodium: 350mg, Carbohydrates: 56g, Dietary Fiber: 12g, Sugars: 5g, Protein: 38g, Iron: 6mg  

Also, this says it makes four servings, but this made a decent amount more than four servings.  I am still not sure how many yet, just that we have a big bowl in the frig for tomorrow andthe next day!

Baked Apple Crisp

I got this recipe from Oxygen magizene.  It was a good and perfect for this time of year! 

Directions: Put a quartered apple with a bit of water into an overproof pan.  In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of dry oats with 2 tablespoons of water.  Top apples with the oat mixture and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until topping is crisp.  A double batch is pictured above and it was more than enough for two.  I also cheated and added a little brown sugar to the mixture.   

Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes, & Spinach

My second time cooking with quinoa was also a hit!  I added shredded chicken and plan to add more crushed red pepper next time.  The recipe makes four ½ cup servings, however, we found that to be too small of a serving if having as a main dish.  Nutrition info below is based on ½ cup serving.

Ingredients

·         1 whole garlic head

·         1 tablespoon  olive oil

·         1  tablespoon  finely chopped shallots

·         1/4  teaspoon  crushed red pepper

·         1/2  cup  uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained

·         1  tablespoon  dry white wine

·         1  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

·         1/2  cup  baby spinach leaves

·         1/3  cup  chopped seeded tomato (1 small)

·         1  tablespoon  shaved fresh Parmesan cheese

·         1/4  teaspoon  salt

        

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Remove papery skin from garlic head. Cut garlic head in half crosswise, breaking apart to separate whole cloves (but leave some of the papery skin on). Wrap half of head in foil; reserve remaining garlic for another use. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.

3. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and red pepper to pan; cook 1 minute. Add quinoa to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine; cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. Add broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; stir in garlic pulp, spinach, tomato, cheese, and salt. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 130

Fat: 5g

Protein: 5g

Protein: 4.1 g

Carbohydrate: 16.6g

Fiber: 1.8g

Cholesterol: 1mg

Iron: 1mg

Sodium: 305 mg

Calcium: 49 mg

OK ladies, Emily and I are challenging ourselves to workout four days a week. We are using Insanity as our workout. It is highly challenging and we hope it will kick our butts into shape!! Our goal is to work out together but due to life and work if that is not possible we are still challenging ourselves to four days a week. We are motivating ourselves with a reward if we can follow through with our plan. Our rewards will include a massage and a pedicure. I welcome any of you to join us!!!