Classes started and it has been quite difficult to cook and go to classes at the same time (and, more important, sleep until noon).
11) Mushroom Penne - Two hands full of penne (whole wheat) - Olive oil - salt - pepper - parsley - Campbell mushroom soup (fat free) - 10 sliced Portobello mushrooms - 1 lime - parmesan cheese
First put 2 inches of salted water to boil in a medium pan. Add the penne and the mushrooms with olive oil, pepper and parsley. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes and add the soup. After 5 minutes squeeze the lime on the penne and put some parmesan cheese on the top of it.
- Two hands full of Penne (whole wheat) - Canned Salmon or pink Crab meat - Olive oil - salt - pepper - Parsley - Vinegar - 1 lime
First put 2 inches of salted water on a medium pan to boil. Add the penne with olive oil, pepper and parsley. Let it in a medium fire for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile take out the crab meat/salmon from its can and wash it with water. Leave it with water and vinegar while the penne is being cooked. After 15-20 add the crab meat/salmon to the penne (and if you want to make it more tasty add 1/2 tsp of butter). After 5 minutes squeeze the limeon the penne and you are ready to eat it.
Yeah, I 've been away for a while. I visited my friend Winnie and she made the best brownie ever. I think soon I will bring some dessert recipes, however let's remember that this blog is supposed to bring healthy and cheap cooking recipes. So, more or less lately I've been eating only Jello (fat free), fruits and cereal with yogurt (fat free) as dessert. My personal experience with fruits is that no matter how much I eat of them I still remain hungry. Basically, eat fruits whenever you want a dessert but you are already full.
So, yesterday I made a new attempt with wraps, this time warmed.
9) Warmed veggie wrap - 10 sliced Portobello Mushrooms - Garlic powder - Black pepper - Salt (I use sea salt) - Parsley - 1/2 tsp oil or butter - 2 slices of Cheddar fat free cheese - 4 tsp tomato sauce - 1 tortilla or wrap bread (multi grain) - 3 baby carrots - 5 grape tomatoes - 8 sliced olives (and red peppers) - 4 sliced pickles
First put the wrap bread in the oven for 1 min and then turn its size putting on it the slices of cheddar cheese (to melt) for more 1 minute and then turn off the oven. Meanwhile using a frying pan put the oil with 1 inch of water to broil the mushrooms. Add salt, pepper, parsley and garlic (as much as you like). Let it in a medium fire for about 5-8 minutes. Whenever the water is gone and the mushrooms are getting darker add tomato sauce, sliced baby carrots, sliced grape tomatoes, sliced olives and sliced pickles. Mix everything together. Take out the wrap bread with melted cheese and put the mixture in the middle. You should be able to wrap everything, however for me it was not that easy. It was quite tasty and took me only 10 minutes.
Day 3 It’s already 10 pm and I have no idea what to prepare for lunch tomorrow. I was thinking of making a two portion lunch since I will be working with my friend Kelley at the museum. I know she likes mashed potatoes, however the idea here is to bring new recipes. Well, knowing my friend I think I will prepare a salad and the main dish I want to do something that does not have gluten and will fell light in this hot summer. It is going to have carrots, green lentils, onion and Portobello mushroom. More or less I am trying to use what I already have at my fridge since I don’t want to waste food. 6 – Simple Salad • 2 hands full of shredded lettuce • 6 grape tomatoes • 10 sliced olives with red pepper • 4 sliced pickles • 1 tps Vinegar • 1 tps Soy Sauce
Feel free to put everything together in a nice way.
7 – Carrots in butter with Portobello Mushrooms • 10 sliced Portobello Mushrooms • 8 baby carrots • 1 onion • 1 tps butter • Honey • Shredder • Salt • Garlic Powder • Frying pan First I will shred the baby carrots and then put them in salted boiling water. It should take 5-8 minutes in the boiling water. To cut the onions without crying a good idea is to put some water on your mouth while you do it. Then just melt the butter in the frying pan and put the onions there for 1-3 minutes. Whenever they get roasted add honey. Then add the carrots and the mushrooms and let them grill for 1-2 minutes. You can put on your own taste a bit of garlic and salt.
8 – Green Lentils • ½ glass green lentils • Salt • ½ tps butter • 1 tps of tomato sauce
After washing the lentils put it in salted water to boil for 20-30 minutes. Then just dry the lentils and add butter, tomato sauce and salt.
I ended up obviously not being able to keep healthy. I had a lot of fun with my friends at the Bethesda Bowling, but I also had a veggie burger with French fries (and a lot of ketchup!). It is kinda late tomorrow I have to work so I decided that I will try to wake up early run (bike) to the supermarket buy some stuff and prepare my breakfast and my lunch to take with me. For breakfast I will have a coffee at Starbucks (sorry, I think I still need to buy my coffee but hopefully soon I will be doing my own) – Grande, Iced, non-fat, peppermint Latte (it is always a problem to say everything at once). At home I will have Ana’s bananas (I used to call them a while ago) and a non-fat yogurt with cereal. I will prepare and take a wrap for lunch (and some mozzarella sticks and cereal bars in case I feel hungry in the afternoon). 4 – Ana’s Bananas (simple mode) • 1 banana • 5 table spoons of honey • 3 tsp of cinnamon
Mash the banana with your fork and pour the honey and then add the cinnamon. 5 – Veggie Wrap • 2 (8 inch size) flour tortillas • 2 hands full of shredded lettuce • 6 cherry tomatoes • 6 tsp sour cream (fat free) • 5 baby carrots • 10 sliced Portobello mushrooms • 14 sliced olives (with pepper) • 4 sliced pickles • ½ tsp oregano • ½ tsp garlic powder • ½ tsp black pepper • ½ tsp salt • ½ tsp butter
To grill the Portobello mushrooms, first remove the stems from the mushroom (I bought the baby sliced Portobello mushrooms). Grill it for 1-2 minutes each side with the butter. Chop the carrots and also cut the tomatoes in small pieces. Cut the olives in a half (I bought the olives with pepper that are already sliced). In a small bowl mix all the ingredients together and then separate in two portions and put each in the middle of each tortilla. (I had a huge trouble in rolling my wrap since it broke and ended up looking like an accident. I read in the package (later) that it is better to warm the tortillas for 30 seconds on the stove).
So tomorrow morning I will make an enormous effort to wake up early and buy: olives, salt, Portobello mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, shredded lettuce, 8 inch tortillas & bananas.
**** So, I made up to wake up early and prepare my lunch (wrap), however not my Ana's Bananas. I had trouble in closing the wrap because the tortillas broke apart, but it tasted quite delicious.
I am trying to write recipes for a single person leaving by herself in a foreign country: less money, less calories & more healthy
Note: small (almost inexistent) kitchen & 2 pans, 2 frying pans & 1 pan to the stove. No microwave. No former experience. No cooking book to help me.
Woke up a little late for breakfast and I am not particularly hungry, which is good because it is horrible to cook when you are hungry. Today I decided I will cook mashed potatoes, lentils & posh egg. To avoid having things going bad on my fridge I will buy most of the things I will need on the day I am cooking it. From today on I have stipulated to myself some objectives:
First: Lose (in a healthy way) the 40 pounds I gained with the first semester leaving by myself in the US.
Second: Develop something by myself that everyday will make me proud (or not) of myself for being able to accomplish it (and eat it).
Recipes of today’s lunch
1 – Mashed Potatoes:
1 big potatoe
½ onion
½ table spoon of butter or oil
1 ½ table spoon of honey
½ table spoon Garlic Powder
3 table spoons of Sour Cream (Fat free)
½ glass of milk (Fat free)
Black Pepper (your taste)
Salt(your taste)
Parmesan Cheese (your taste)
1 Pan
1 Frying pan
First of all, put half a small pan full of water to boil with salt. Meanwhile wash the potatoes and leave their skins on. Cut the potatoes in a half and then cut in a half again (4pieces) and then put the potatoes in the water. You should put the pan lit on, but watch it. It should take you 20-30 minutes until the potatoes get tender (you have to use the fork to see how tender they are). Strain water and leave the potatoes in the pan (be aware that the water and the potatoes are very very hot).
While the potatoes are in the water you can cut your onion (do not forget first to take out its skin) in a half and then again and again, until the pieces are small enough for your mouth. Use the butter in the frying pan. Put your onion there until it starts to get golden (should take 10 minutes). Add the honey whenever you think your onions are roasted enough.
Use the fork to mash the potatoes.It will be easier when you add the sour cream and the milk. Then you can add the onions.You can blend the garlic, the pepper and salt in your taste. Blend a bit of parmesan cheese and when you put it on your plate add a little more of parmesan cheese on the top. You might want to put some olive oil too.
2 – Lentils
·2 hands full or ¾ of a glass of red lentils
·2 baby carrots
·½ onion
·1 table spoon of Garlic Powder
·Pepper (all/ any types you like)
·Parsley
·Salt (your taste)
First wash the lentils and the carrots. Put a pan with one glass of water to boil with salt. Cut the carrots in small pieces and add to the pan with the water. The water should little by little evaporate and be absorbed. Should take 15 minutes in a medium fire. Add the lentils when the carrots are already tender. Whenever there is no more water try with your fork the carrot and the lentils and see if they are tender enough, if not, add a glass of water and let it get absorbed again. When your carrots and lentils are tender get the other half of onions you used for the mashed potatoes and blend it in the pan. Add the parsley, pepper and salt.
3 – Poached Egg
1 egg (try to buy the ones with less cholesterol and Omega 3)
1 table spoons of vinegar
1/2 table spoon of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
I learned this recipe with my grandmother. It is supposed to be one of the healthiest ways of eating eggs and at the same time more delicious. Put one glass of water to boil with vinegar and olive oil. Add the egg when the water is boiling (sometimes it is better to first put the egg in a glass and then drop it on the water). In a very light fire and with the pan lit on let the egg there for about 1-3 minutes. While the egg is there try to use a spoon to avoid the egg to get stuck in the pan. Add salt (aiming in the egg middle), garlic and pepper. Take the egg out and you are ready to eat!
For the neurotics:
1 cup of mashed potatoes 237 calories & 8g fat
1 cup of red lentils with carrots and onions 200 calories & 3g fat
1 poached egg 74 calories & 5g fat
Total consumed on my lunch 511 calories & 16g fat
After writing for 1 hour I am hungry and will run to the supermarket to buy:2 small potatoes, sour cream (fat free), milk (fat free), vinegar, pepper, salt, 1 small carrot, eggs and parmesan cheese. The butter, honey, olive oil, onion, lentils and garlic powder I already have it here.
** After making these 3 recipes I had to change some of the measures because my portion ended up being for two people. I spent 28 dollars (buying some good stuff and most of the things like eggs and baby carrots I had to buy a big bag).Took me 45 minutes, but it could have been 30 minutes if I did not stop to talk on the phone or forget to turn on the fire to fry the onions. Well I already know what is going to be my dinner (leftovers), but I don’t regret at all because the after all result was pretty delicious. If you are not very fond of garlic you might want to put it only on the mashed potatoes.
