Going green! Green tea, that is!

Whenever I heard about the benefits of green tea, I would force myself to drink it, and try to swallow bitter, pithy taste.  I couldn’t even finish a full cup.  Time after time, I would read or hear about even more benefits, and I would try again.  Maybe you had the same experience: knowing something as easy as drinking a cup of tea is beneficial to your health, but not able to swallow those benefits! As you can see from the photo, this has changed for me!

A friend introduced me to flavors of green tea. It was a flavor revelation for me! I started noticing flavors of green tea popping up in grocery stores. The flavors included berry, orange, pomegranate, peach, mint, lemon, and others, but my very favorite that I found: jasmine. The smell is warm, flowery, intoxicating, reminding me of summer nights, with the lingering scent of jasmine flowers in the air.

My favorite time to sip it is in the morning, when I first sit down at my desk at work.  Then I’ll drink a cup in the afternoon to ward off the 3 p.m. snack cravings. It may surprise you (HA!) to know, but some days on my fitness and weight loss journey, I crave snacks and sweets (would you believe it?). So, I make myself a cup of jasmine or orange green tea, drink it, and go for a quick walk.  The majority of the times, cravings are gone! 

This has replaced my morning coffee, latte, or mocha with sugar, cream, and crap in it! I don’t need all those extra calories in my coffee, and I’m not a fan of drinking it black. My green tea drinking morning ritual soothes and warms me in the winter, and refreshes and cools me, when I drink it over ice in the summer. Sometimes, I get really crazy and squeeze a bit of lemon in my cup!

If you are not already drinking green tea, I hope you’ll join me in a cup.  The benefits just keep increasing.

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Mediterranean Chicken

This recipe was shared with me by my friend Sarah Griffith, and a fellow olive lover. She who got it from her good friend.  Since she shared it with me about three weeks ago, I've made it three times! Yep! Once a week!  I love it because I'll make a big batch for dinner one night, and then eat it over salad greens for lunch the next two or three days. It is soooooooo yummy!  I can't get enough of it!  

Below I've posted the original recipe Sarah gave me, along with some modifications I made, just for personal taste.

Mediterranean Chicken

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of flour (I use rice flour or almond meal to make it gluten free)                                                   6 pieces skinless boneless chicken breast (I use 2 packs of boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins)

1 TBS Oregano                                                   

1 TBS Basil                                                           

1TBS Thyme                                                       

1 TBSP pepper                                                   

1 TBSP butter                                                    

2 TBSP Olive Oil                                                

½ cup dry white wine

1 28 oz can diced seasoned fire roasted tomatoes

1 sm can/jar calamata olives - pitted/halved (I used a Greek olive mix I found at the grocery store olive bar)

2 TBSP capers (my husband doesn't like capers, so I used 2 TBSP of olive tapenade)

8 oz Feta Cheese - crumbled (sometimes I use Feta, but once I used goat cheese)

Flat Italian parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1.    Preheat oven to 350

2.       Place first 5 ingredients in plastic ziplock bag and shake

3.       Place chicken in the bag and shake until fully coated with flour/herb mixture

4.       In a skillet, heat oil and butter. Place coated chicken in the skillet, shaking off any excess flour first.

5.       Saute the chicken for about 4-6 minutes on each side until golden brown

6.       Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside

7.       Add half a cup of wine to the skillet to deglaze

8.       Add tomatoes, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 3-4 mins

9.       Put chicken in baking pan

10.   Spoon wine/tomato mixture over the chicken

11.   Add the olives, feta cheese and capers, cover with foil

12.   Cook covered in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes.

Garnish with parsley.  Serve with rice or pasta

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Oodles of Zoodles!

Zoodles tossed with chunky tomato sauce

I've been promising to write about zoodles for a while now. So many people have asked me about them, as I've posted photos of my different dinners with zoodles. I love them, because I can have a great big bowl, for few calories, get my meal dose of veggies in, and still taste delicious.

Made from zuchhini, these spiraled, shredded zucchini "noodles" or vegetable spaghetti can be paired with any pasta sauce from scampi, to alfredo, to bolognese. A few things to know about zoodles before trying them:



1. They DO NOT TASTE LIKE PASTA! Re-read the previous sentence.  I don't want to lead anyone astray.  Pasta is chewy, carbohydrate deliciousness! I was born in Italy, so the taste for pasta is in my bones.  The problem is, as I grow older, it's also in my hips, thighs and butt!  While I haven't completely cut it out of my diet, it moved into the "occasional treat" column, and instead I eat zoodles regularly.

Pre-shredded zoodles

2. Zoodles is short for zucchini noodles.  Anyone can make these using a vegetable spiralizer.  Prices for this kitchen contraption start at $20 for the simplest, manual version, and increase from there. Just Google "Vegetable Spiralizer" to review all the different types. If you purchase one of these, it will come with a booklet, showing all the types of vegetables that can be spiralized. I do not own one of these.


3.  I'm lucky enough that my supermarket has them pre-shredded (spiralized).  If you live near a Wegman's, the zoodles reside in the produce department, near the pre-cut vegetables.  I work at a full-time job, am a Beachbody coach, a mom and a wife. One of my shortcuts is to buy pre-shredded zucchini/pre-made zoodles. Yes, they are a bit more expensive than just buying zucchini and spiralizing them myself, but time is money, and I would rather spend that time with my husband and my sons. Also, at Wegmans, the zoodles are also mixed with spiralized onions, red peppers and yellow squash, giving a delicious medley of vegetable flavor to my zoodles.

Zoodles with red onion, red pepper and yellow squash

4. Cooked or raw? Some people eat them raw, and just top with their favorite pasta sauce.  I might try them raw, with tomato sauce in the summer, but I enjoy them cooked.  I place about half the package in a saute pan on high heat with a tablespoon of coconut oil and one minced clove of garlic. The cooking time depends on the eater's texture preferences. The longer the cooking time, the softer the zoodles get. I like them well-cooked, and even crisp them up a bit in the pan.

Zoodles Alfredo

5. Toppings: I've topped zoodles with shrimp scampi, avocado-basil cream sauce, pesto, bolognese made with ground turkey, butter and cheese and any sauce I crave or want to try. What do you put on top of your zoodles? If you try something different and delicious I'd love to know!

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