Indian | Healthy and Sane

Cool stuff

May 16th, 2010

First of all: thank you all for the wonderful baked goods suggestions. I have quite the list going already but there is always room for more. In return, I’d like to share a few cool things that I came across recently.

A few weeks ago I was reading a cooking magazine and saw an ad for single serving almond boxes. Hello, these have my name all over them!! I bought one of each color (so I can have one in every purse).

How cute are these guys?!!

Then yesterday, I received my spring eco sample pack from Eco Luxe Life and realized I never shared this site with you. I love the concept behind it. I purchased a yearly membership early in the year and now receive quarterly eco-friendly samples of cosmetics and household products. Since I’m constantly on the look-out for new environmentally friendly products, I find that it’s a great way to discover them. The company asks for feedback on all products in the packages and also sells them in full size if you want to stock up. Isn’t it a neat idea? Here is what I received this spring:

I can’t wait to try the organic shampoo and conditioner but let’s see if I can actually use this fancy Moroccan rose water.

Mints, laundry detergent and bug spray will definitely be used soon.

Have you come across any new cool products? Do share!

Yesterday was supposed to be my day of tackling my to-do list. I was getting crazy stressed out about everything and Adam made me realize that it’s time to trim down that list and work on not adding anything new to it. Yeah, that’s going to be a toughy.

I printed out a list and got to work. Making waffles was first on the list!

BREAKFAST

Multigrain waffles with Barney Butter, fresh peaches, yogurt and maple syrup

For the waffles, I used this recipe from 101 cookbooks. I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for rye but otherwise followed it to the T. I came out with 4 thin waffles (see 3 of them above) and 15 “normal” sized ones. These were the best waffles I’ve ever made!!! The “secret ingredient” was butter. Definitely an indulgent breakfast to start the weekend on the right foot.

WORKOUT

I plan on going on a long run as soon as I finish typing this post, so I kept Saturday’s workout to a simple pilates class. It was great for core work and minimally taxes my legs. Hopefully I can bang out some miles today!

LUNCH

We had some mashed potatoes left in the fridge from Mother’s Day dinner at my parents’ so I put them to use in a samosa quesdailla (recipe here, found through Musings from the Fishbowl). Enjoyed out on our patio. I love sunshine

I added a good amount of garam masala to the mashed potatoes for a more pronounced Indian flavor and couldn’t resist a few gorgeous tomato slices for some freshness. Such a yummy lunch!

Yes, I went a little crazy with the pictures.

Kale massaged with lemon juice and basil EVOO + fresh tomatoes complemented the creamy quesadillas perfectly. I have a slight obsession with massaged kale, I think.

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

Some blue baby carrots, a boiled egg + edamame “hummus”

Oops, I was on custom (morning) white balance mode on my camera, shooting in the afternoon light. The blue lighting makes it a bit more mysterious looking, no? Ok maybe not, but hard boiled eggs + hummus is heaven. That I can promise you.

DINNER

No wonder I didn’t get THAT much done. There was quite a bit of cooking going on. I can’t resist sometimes!

For dinner, I marinaded some chicken following this Ellie Krieger recipe (missed it a few weeks ago for CEiMB) and Adam grilled it for us.

The marinade was great – super fresh and flavorful – perfect for a light summer meal!

I also attempted to grill some fresh artichokes but they came out tasting like cardboard. I steamed them for 15 minutes, then plopped them on the grill. Have you ever grilled artichokes? Any tips? I really want to try it again!!

Since our designated veg was a giant failure, I threw together a super quick salad – mixed greens, arugula, pea shots, feta, tomatoes + walnuts, in lemon juice and basil EVOO

Near East parmesan couscous was our delicious starch for the night. The company sent me 2 boxes to sample and we really loved it! The couscous came out a bit sticky which was really fun. I wonder if I can roll the leftovers into balls and do something with them. Mmm, I bet that would be pretty awesome. On the other hand, on its own the couscous was super flavorful, so maybe there is no need to mess with perfection.

Dinner was fresh and lovely. Adam and I shared a cherries, chocolate and peanut butter granola bar for dessert (recipe can be found here).

Since my white balance was all screwed up, this picture looks terrible but the bars were phenomenal. Mine have more sugar than Lauren’s (I used chocolate pb, 1/2 cherries/1/2 raisins, regular choc chips and rice crispy cereal – since that’s what I had on hand) but I’m okay with that – this way I can eat them for dessert and they’ll also provide me with plenty of (quick) energy before a workout. I’ll try taking some better pictures another day because these seriously were amazing!!

All right, are you tired yet? This post ended up being way too long and my mile-long to-do list is waiting for me. Wish me luck on my run. That’s next!

Kashmir review – take II

February 19th, 2010

Yesterday’s eats were kind of random and not too exciting so instead of boring you with pretty and no-so pretty pictures of food that didn’t taste great, I’ve decided to post about Kashmir – an Indian restaurant Adam and I went to last Friday. We’ve actually been to Kashmir at least once and loved it (you can find my previous review here) so when I saw a Groupon for the restaurant a few months back, I had to buy it. I think we paid $15 for a $35 gift certificate. Not bad, especially since I knew we would go back to Kashmir anyways so the discount was pretty much free money.

As a side note, I was just contacted by a Living Social representative yesterday to let me know about their new website and a deal on one of my other favorite local restaurants – Pazzo. The website works exactly like Groupon – there are daily deals with large discounts. I signed up yesterday and got a $30 certificate for Pazzo that I paid $15 for (I twitted about the deal so follow me on twitter if want other randomness from me in between posts). This was another one of those “no brainers” – I knew I’d be back to Pazzo (especially after being reminded of how much I loved that place) so might as well get a few bucks off the bill. If you’d like to sign up for Living Social, use this link and you’ll get $5 “deal bucks” that can be used towards your first purchase. I’ll get $5 too when you use that credit. It’s a good deal for all of us. [PS - the Pazzo deal is no longer available but they have daily deals and I'm sure something fun will come up. Living Social also has deals for DC, LA, NY, San Fran, Austin, Seattle, Atlanta and St Paul.] All right, back to Kashmir…

Last time we went to Kashmir, we were seated outside. I love their outdoor patio on a nice summer day. In the winter, however, a cozy warm space is the perfect recipe for comfort. This is an example of what the space looks like. The dim lighting left me with few usable pictures. If you’re in Boston, you should come and check it out for yourself!

Compliments of the chef… something oniony

I had to wash it down with lots of wine. (okay, I think I really had 2 glasses tops, throughout the entire dinner)

This Cono Sur cabernet is made with organically grown grapes; bikes instead of trucks were used to transport the wine (thus the bike on the label). I love the company’s environmentally conscious practices! The wine was quite nice as well. We picked up a bottle of the Cono Sur Pinot Noir on the way back home from dinner (to enjoy later).

For the first time in my life, I wanted to order something other than samosas and chicken tikka masala at an Indian restaurant. Call the doctor! Seriously, this has never happened but I’m trying to expand my (Indian food) horizons. I know these are not traditional dishes (well at least tikka masala isn’t) and I was also hoping for something lighter. Indian cuisine has a lot of spices, which to me means that I should be able to enjoy something healthy-ish without sacrificing great flavor.

This was my thought process behind ordering the tandoori tikka salad – (from the menu) strips of barbequed white meat chicken served over garden salad with our special homemade dressing

I was surprised to be served this:

Not exactly the light salad I was hoping for. Surprisingly, this actually tasted lighter than it looked. The dressing wasn’t the heavy mayonnaise coating typical in “chicken salads” – I believe it was yogurt based. I picked at it a bit and packed the rest to take home. Adam still ordered the vegetable samosas and I stole one.

I couldn’t resist it especially with all the yummy sauces (the sweet one on the left is my favorite)

For my main entree I also steered away from chicken tikka masala and ordered the malai kafta – vegetable balls cooked in a creamy nut sauce with fresh herbs and spices

+ garlic naan and basmati rice

My first plate (you can multiply it by 3)

The malai kafta was really great, but here is the kicker – it tasted exactly like tikka masala sauce but with the added crunch of a few almond slivers and the occasional raisin (I think there were 4 raisins in total). The vegetable balls also appeared to be made of something mushy like potatoes and they were fried – again not exactly the light fair I was hoping for. I LOVED this dish and nearly licked my plate clean but that’s because I love chicken tikka masala. Since I am not a vegetarian, I actually think that going with white meat chicken would have been a healthier option + after thinking about it a bit more, this does not speak much for the restaurant’s versatility. I mean, 2 dishes tasting identical? I can tell you this in fact was the same sauce because Adam did order the chicken tikka masala and we compared it. Oh well, I’m going for something non-creamy next time (onion hatred is my giant limiting factor but I’ll try to find something anyway).

All in all, this was another delicious meal at Kashmir and I will definitely be back there since the food is good, the atmosphere is inviting and it’s a few blocks from our house. Do you have any onion-free recommendations for me for my next visit?

For other restaurant reviews, check out my Restaurant Reviews page. Happy Friday!

Quite the food blogger

January 5th, 2010

I have one picture (well technically 2) to show you today – my frozen dinner. I know, I’m quite the food blogger!

Here is a box of this delicious dinner of TJ’s chicken tikka masala. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is nearly restaurant quality, for way less calories (due to the small portion)! I am looking forward to satisfying my craving for this favorite “Indian” dish of mine without a night out and thousands of calories consumed. Awesome!

In all seriousness, there are 2 reasons why you’re only seeing this pathetic meal instead of a healthy home cooked version.

1) I couldn’t find my camera in my purse today. Yes, I actually did bring it to work but I thought I forgot it so I didn’t snap any pictures all day long. Boo me. Again, no blogger of the year awards for sure here!

2) Today was just tough. I started the morning with a healthy breakfast of an english muffin with Barney Butter, cherry preserves and kiwi and it kind of went downhill from there. I was hungry all morning. I finally dug into my snack (which I usually have around 11, but today it was at 10) – a cranberry/goat cheese muffin. This wasn’t enough, I was still starving. About 30 minutes later I had a mini pack of somersaults and then a pack of YouTrailMix. Bad, bad idea. This resulted in a stomachache that lasted for hours and prevented me from going for a run during the lunch break. After finally having a healthy lunch of leftover beef provencal later in the day (which resulted in yet another stomachache), a craving for cookies hit. I tried to ignore it but it wouldn’t go away. I wrote a note to myself in my journal. It was quite inspiring. Today wasn’t wasted yet, I could turn this around. Half hour later I had a pack of organic oreos. 30 minutes after that I had 2 cookies from Paradise Bakery (what I actually wanted all afternoon). No gym today.

Total calories consumed: 2253.

So yeah, it was a tough day, after which I just didn’t have the energy or the desire to cook an elaborate meal. I actually considered skipping dinner but that seemed like deprivation and I really don’t want to go down that line. I basically had 2 cookies too many. Not the end of the world, and I’m very well aware of this. Tomorrow is a new day, and I will stay within my range. Seriously, those 8 pounds are coming off me, whether they want to or not (I think they do actually ).

Do some days just seem harder for you stay healthy? Do you give in or try to stay strong?