Clean Garden Vegetable Sauce with Chicken Parm

 So as promised this is the recipe to my yummy pasta sauce and chicken parm dinner. I have video tutorial clips of me making this meal up on our Twitter, if you have Twitter you can check out how I did this delicious meal. This was really good and filling but you do not feel sluggish after eating this clean pasta meal!!

This meal is for two but you will have leftover sauce to freeze for another meal or use throughout the week. First you need: one can of whole peeled tomatoes -- no sugar no salt added or DIY --, one green pepper chopped, one medium/large onion chopped, one whole clove of garlic chopped, parsley, basil, oregano, course black pepper -- with the herbs I put 1 tsp of each and 1/4 tsp of black pepper but you can add more to your taste and can use dry or fresh or both --, and olive oil. Prep all your veggies, herbs and tomatoes. In a large pot, heat up 2 Tbsp of olive oil and add the garlic, when fragrant add peppers and onions and cook until translucent. Pour in the tomatoes and stir with veggies. With your wooden spoon, break up the whole tomatoes. Add herbs and black pepper and a pinch or red pepper flakes -- if you like it spicy --. Let the sauce simmer covered. Now time for the chicken.

I used one large chicken breast which I cut in half and sliced those 2 pieces in half sideways to get 4 pieces of chicken breast. I used 2 pieces and put away the other 2 for another meal. On a cutting board pound the chicken. Breading recipe: 1/4 c oat bran, 1/8 c ground flax seed, 1/8 c almond flour, one egg white -- beaten with a little water --, 2 heaping Tbsp of finley grated Bel Gioioso Parmesan cheese -- when you buy cheese make sure you buy block cheese and read the ingredients first --, 2 tsp of parsley, pinch of course black pepper. In a small bowl whisk oat bran, flax, cheese, parsley, pepper and sea salt -- a pinch. On a small plate spread out the almond flour and in another small bowl whisk egg white and water. So you should have 2 small bowls -- egg mix and breading -- and 2 small plates -- flour and chicken and a foiled lined cookie sheet. Take your chicken and dip into flour and cover, then dip into egg and then in the breading mix. Make should it is nicely coated and then place on the foil cookie sheet. Do the same with the other piece of chicken. Put in the oven at 400 for 15-mins. Boil your water for the pasta. I used Barilla whole grain pasta and their ingredients are whole grain durum wheat flour, semolina, durum wheat flour, and oat fiber.

Now back to the sauce, stir and check it. I used a hand mixer to puree it but if you do not have one you can pour the sauce into your blender and puree it there. I served this meal with a great salad of Romaine lettuce, radish, wine vinegar, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, course black pepper and a pinch of sea salt. Mix the dressing in a separate bowl and pour over lettuce and radish and toss. I hope you guys try this recipe and enjoy it because I did!

Morning Protein Shakes

Protein shakes are great for a quick breakfast before the start of your day. It is great for before or after a workout. You can make a high calorie shake to fill you up for a long day or an intense workout. Low calorie shakes are good for snacks between meals or a quick breakfast before work.

This is the protein shake recipe that I usually have mornings. Vanilla protein powder -- I bought this brand at Sam's for $20, it is not vegan and it does contain a little sweetener in it. I used to use NutriBiotic Rice Protein Powder but it was getting a little pricey. I just do not use the full amount of the Pure Protein because it tastes a little too sweet but it is fine to use --, 2 Tbsp of ground flaxseed -- it is cheaper to buy in bulk the seeds from a whole foods store and then grind them in a coffee grinder. Remember if you are using a coffee grinder to grind seeds make sure you are not grinding coffee and spices in it as well. Use separate grinders. Then put them in a Ziploc bag. I just recycled a bag --, 1 cup almond milk or filtered water -- 1 1/2 cups of almond milk if you are using a frozen banana --, 1 cup of frozen fruit -- any fruit you like -- 1 banana frozen or not -- the banana makes it a higher calorie shake. When you use a frozen banana you get a milk shake consistency and taste. I do not usually use banana in my shake but I had a crazy cardio workout this morning and I need this -- and, one good blender. Add all the ingredients in your blender and blend well. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!

Clean Chicken Broth

Chicken broth is pretty much clean, for the most part. Skim the fat once it cools and do not add a lot of salt. Canned low sodium or no salt chicken stock is fine (remember to check ingredients) but homemade is always better. I was making chicken tacos last night and I needed some chicken broth and I did not have any canned broth so I decided to make my own because I had all the ingredients here to make it and it is fun. We always get our meats and fish in bulk. We cut them cut into portions and freeze. We also freeze the chicken scraps from trimming and cutting the chicken because it is great for making stock. So I pulled out from my freezer some chicken scraps, grabbed one large carrot, medium onion, kale stalk (I did not have any celery so any green would do plus it changes the flavor and makes it interesting), couple bay leaves, course black pepper and sea salt. In a large pot I poured 5 cups of water and put it on the stove on high temp. I chopped the veggies roughly and put them side until the water was boiling rapidly. Then I dropped in the veggies, chicken scraps, bay leaves, lots of black pepper (because I like it) and a little bit of sea salt.



 

I just wanted a plain broth but if you wanted to make soup or wanted a more herb-y broth this is were to would add parsley, thyme, etc. This continued to boil until it reduced and the veggies are soft to the touch. I shut off the burner and poured the broth into a strainer. You can freezer this stock to use at a later time. Oh and if you want a veggie broth just add more veggies and leave out the chicken, obviously. Enjoy!

Crabbing at the Barnegat Bay

We just got back from an amazing time at the Shore. Though not fully recovered from Hurricane Sandy but there was definitely a lot of heart at this small beach town this summer. It was sad to see a lot of the attractions merely a pile of rumble but the workers were out there every day in the hot sun rebuilding the sidewalks and houses. The guy at Dock Outfitters told us the storm had destroyed the whole dock and they just finished rebuilding it the day before we got there and we were the 30th person to fish off the dock.

So, this was the first time I had ever fished anything from the sea so I was super excited to go crabbing. The store had everything we needed: bait, trap, bucket, ice and a ruler. The blue crabs have to be 4.5 inches to keep and you have to go crazy early (best time to catch and the place starts to get packed at 9am). The first time was practice. You get the fish at the store as bait and place it in the trap with the flexible metal wires at the bottom of the trap. Secure the bait and throw the trap in the water and wait. It seems like the little crabs are easy to catch in the trap as I threw so many back in the ocean. Out of 3 days of crabbing, the final day I caught 5 in 3 hours. I was not leaving Jersey without having my own crab fest and Mission accomplished! Shellfish are not considered a clean food so when I want to "cheat" this is my guilty pleasure (and the fudge off the boardwalk too). And what a treat it was to catch my own seafood from the ocean!! We took the crabs back to the motel and went to the beach to find giant clam shells so that we can put them on the bottom on the crab pot with water and old bay so that the crabs can be steamed cooked. The motel that we stayed at, The Colony, has a grill there for their guests to use. Sunny, the owner is great and very attentive to her guests. She even washed our crab pot for us in her sink after we were done. So if you are staying at the Shore and you need a place to stay, try out The Colony. And did I mention it's like a block away from the beach!!!!

 


I brought my own clean tartar sauce and ate these yummy crabs up!