Mon. July 23rd

Red Curry Veggies for Lunch!

Daily Tidbit:  Can treating Depression be as simple as eating a Mediterranean Diet + Nuts?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-food/201205/can-the-mediterranean-diet-treat-your-depression

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Oatmeal with Walnuts

Breakfast: Oatmeal with Walnuts

½ cup plain Oatmeal (cooked with Fat Free Milk, in microwave)

2 tbsp of plain Walnuts

2-3 shakes Plain Cinnamon on top

5 oz. glass of OJ

Regular Coffee, black

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Red Thai Curry Veggie Blast!

Lunch: Red Thai Curry Veggie Blast!
1 tbsp Canola Oil
1 12 oz. bag of frozen mixed veggies:  Trader Joe's "Hodge Podge" consisting of: Carrots, Baby Corn, Red Peppers, Broccoli, Peas, Mushrooms, Water Chestnuts & Onions
1/4 cup Sweet Onion
1/2 cup White Cannellini Beans
1/4 cup Toasted Almond Slices
1/8 cup Red Thai Curry Sauce
1/4 cup Chicken Broth, plus 2 more tbsp
Hot Lemon Water


This is one of my fav super fast go-to meals when I want to maximize Veggies in a meal but not spend a lot of time cooking!

In a hot pan I simply add 1 tbsp oil & 1/4 cup of Chicken Broth with the all the frozen Veggies and fresh chopped Onion and cover until the veggies are heated through.  Once hot, I remove the lid and let the liquid reduce so the Veggies will cook in the oil and begin to brown.  Once a nice brown crust starts to form on the Veggies, I de-glaze the pan with a couple tbsp of Chicken Broth and add the Beans and the Curry sauce, mix everything together, cover and cook for 2 more minutes.  Then it is ready to serve and top with the  toasted Almonds!

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Corn Tortilla Chips

Snack: Bowl of Corn Tortilla Chips

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Homemade Curry Cauliflower Carrot Soup

Dinner: White Fish & Soup

2 pieces of Battered White Fish Fillets
2 cups of Homemade Curry Cauliflower Carrot Soup (recipe below)
Water with Lemon

Amy's Curry Cauliflower Carrot Soup Recipe

1 tbsp EVOO

½ medium Sweet onion

1 clove of Garlic, chopped

1 tbsp curry

Salt/ pepper to taste

2 cups of Baby Carrots

1 large head of Cauliflower, broken into florets

2 cups Low sodium Chicken Stock

2 cups of water (or more if needed)

Heat soup pot, when warm add the EVOO, when the EVOO is warm, add the onion and sauté 5 minutes or so.  Throw in the chopped garlic and sauté a couple minutes (not letting the garlic burn or brown at all).  Then add the curry and salt/ pepper and cook for a couple more minutes.  Then add the Carrots and Cauliflower.  Stir and cover everything with the curry and cook a couple minutes.  Then add the stock and water if more liquid is needed and heat to boil.  Put to simmer for 30 minutes, or whenever all the veggies are super soft.  Then using an immersion blender, blend the whole thing into a velvety creamy puree.* Serve plain or with scallions, cilantro or squirt of fresh lemon.

*The immersion blender is a magical tool which gives this soup with no butter, bread or milk or cream that ‘creamy’ texture that is so well, creamy!  If you don’t have one, you can ladle the soup into a food processor to puree it, but again there is something magical about the immersion blender which transforms the texture of the soup into fooling your mouth into thinking that you are enjoying a decadent creamy soup, even though you are basically just eating a bowl of veggies!

Tip:  This soup, like many dishes, is always better a day later, which makes it a great ‘make ahead’ meal for a speedy meal the next day!  The soup is also very filling, so it makes a great snack as well.   Further this soup can be made with lots of types of veggies and variations on veggies, my favorite is Butternut Squash curry soup, which is prepared the same way, but with the squash and carrots instead.  In fact I always use carrots as they help add natural sweetness and wonderful color and nutrients.  And lastly, it is also tasty served cold for warmer days.

 

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Dessert:  None tonight.

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