Monday, August 20, 2012

Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

4 -12.5 oz can of chicken, drained (I get mine from Costco)
2 t olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
¼ C Miracle Whip
¼ C Non-Fat, Plain Greek Yogurt (I like the FAGE brand from Costco)
½ C cream or whole milk
2 t poppy seeds
1 C celery, chopped
1 T butter
½ C chopped pecans
1 C dried Cranberries

Directions:
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Drain the chicken and cook in skillet until all the pink is gone (you may have to do this in batches depending on how big your skillet is). Place cooked chicken in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until cool, about 1 ½-2 hours.
In a small bowl, mix Miracle Whip, Greek yogurt, cream/milk, and poppy seeds until combined. Pour the mixture over the chicken and season to taste with salt and pepper again. Add in the chopped celery and mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
In a small pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the nuts and stir them often until they are toasted, about 4 minutes (they should be a little more than lightly browned and you’ll begin to smell them).
Add the toasted nuts and dried Cranberries just before serving, and mix until combined. Serve with split croissants.

Makes about 8-10 servings.

Garlic and black pepper beef with toasted quinoa, lentil, beanand baby radish salad, piquant salsa verde dressing

Garlic and black pepper beef with toasted quinoa, lentil, bean and baby radish salad, piquant salsa verde dressing

INGREDIENTS
For the beef:
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
½teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Good pinch sea salt flakes, crushed
4 garlic cloves, peeled and very finely minced using a microplane
1” cube fresh ginger, peeled and very finely minced using a microplane
400g fillet or sirloin steak

For the salad:
1 cup puy/French lentils
1 cup quinoa
1 x 400g tin kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Handful baby radish, finely sliced on a mandolin
1 cup smoked almonds, roughly chopped

For the salsa verde dressing:
1/3 cup light olive oil
¼cup white wine vinegar
Large handful fresh basil leaves
Handful flat leaf parsley
2 white anchovy fillets
Juice and zest 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper

Extras:Extra Virgin olive oil (EVOO)Baby radish sprouts

METHOD
To prepare the beef, pre-heat oven to 180˚C (350˚F) fan-forced. Add the lemon pepper, mustard powder, ground black pepper and crushed seasalt flakes into a Tupperware container and shake well. Add garlic and gingerpulp into a small bowl or cup and mix well then smear over all sides of beef fillet. Roll fillet in the herb rub then place on a small metal baking tray androast in the oven for 15-20 or until medium rare. Use a meat thermometer totest for doneness. When cooked, remove and allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing paper thin with a sharp knife.

Cook lentils and quinoa in separate pots (add 1 cup grain/pulse to 3 cups water, bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 mins each. Rinse both well under cold running water then drain thoroughly).

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan, when hot add the quinoa,season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry quinoa for 8-10minutes stirring/tossing often until lightly toasted and light golden brown.Remove from heat and allow to cool before adding to a large mixing bowlalong with the drained kidney beans, cooked and cooled lentils, sliced radishand chopped almonds. Add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) andcoat everything well.To make the salsa verde add all ingredients into the bowl of a food processorand whizz together for 3-4 minutes.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Roast Chicken Provencial (O)

• 1 whole roasting chicken

• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 T fresh thyme
• ½ tsp fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp fresh oregano
• Zest and juice from one lemon
• 1 tsp salt

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; clean the chicken.

2) Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice into a bowl. Add the provencal herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano), garlic and salt. Add the olive oil and mix well.

3) Place the chicken in a roasting pan and pour the mixture over the chicken. Rub in gently.

4) Cook until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Source: http://thehealthyblooddiet.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/roast-chicken-provencal-2/

Black Bean Chili (O)

Ingredients:

2 ¼ c dried black beans
3 T olive oil
3 yellow onions, chopped
2 fresh Serrano peppers
5 large garlic cloves, minced
6 T chili powder
3 T ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
48 oz fresh tomatoes, crushed
Salt to taste
Goat Cheese

Directions:
• Rinse the beans, place in a bowl and add water to cover generously. Let stand for about 3 hours. Drain the beans, pick over any damaged beans and set aside.
• In a large saucepan over low, warm the olive oil. Add onions and serranos and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and tender.
• Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Stir for about 2 minutes more.
• Add the beans, tomatoes and water to cover by 3 inches.
• Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the beans are very tender and have begun to fall apart, 2 ½ to 3 hours.
• Add water if the beans begin to dry out but are not yet cooked.

Season with salt; ladle warm chili into bowls and sprinkle with a little bit of goat cheese.

Adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Vegetarian Black Bean Chili recipe to accommodate type Os.

Source: http://thehealthyblooddiet.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/black-bean-chili/

Easy Meatloaf (O)

Ingredients:


¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried thyme
¼ onion, chopped
½ carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 whole garlic cloves
¼ red bell pepper
16 oz ground beef
¾ tsp salt
½ egg, whisked

Directions:
• Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Mix together the cayenne pepper, chili powder and thyme. Place this mixture into a large bowl.
• Combine the onion, carrot, garlic and red pepper in a food processor bowl and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed.
• Combine the vegetable mixture and ground beef with the spice mixture.
• Season with salt.
• Add the egg and combine thoroughly.
• Pack the meat into a loaf pan and cook for about an hour or until meat is thoroughly cooked.

For B types, you can add ¼ cup of oatmeal, ground finely, to the mixture for a “fluffier” meatloaf.
Saute some spinach packed with anti-oxidants in a little bit of olive oil and fresh garlic for a side dish.

To really complete your meal, grill some organic pineapple. The bromelain, which are enzymes in the pineapple, naturally aid in the digestion of proteins! Not only will you feel less bloated after your meal, it will help with indigestion amongst other things.

(And one more thing, since you are allowed one cheat meal per week, try this delicious, tangy bbq glaze to bring the taste up a notch.) The sweet and sour flavor of this glaze is in a category of its own!

Glaze
¼ c bbq sauce (we recommend Annie’s Naturals Organic Bbq Sauce)
½ tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp Worcestershire sauce
Dash hot pepper sauce
1 ½ tsp honey

Mix all the ingredients together and brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes.
This recipe has been altered from Alton Brown’s “Good Eats Meatloaf” recipe to accomodate type Os and As.

Source: http://thehealthyblooddiet.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/meatloaf/

Chicken Enchiladas (O)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast
• One 6 oz can tomato paste (or click here to make your own!)
• 2 cups chicken stock (or you can do one cup stock and one cup water)
• 3 T Canola oil
• 2 T chili powder (you can always add more if you prefer, but add just a little at a time otherwise you may overpower your meal with too much spiciness!)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt
• Goat cheese*
• 5 tortillas cut into long strips
• Fresh cilantro



Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2) On medium low, heat oil in a sauce pan. Add chili powder and stir. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes. Add more seasonings if desired.

3) While the sauce is thickening, cut the chicken breast into strips. Place a couple tablespoons of canola oil into a skillet. Add the chicken and cook until done.

4) Take the chicken out of the skillet and shred it. Combine the shredded chicken with the sauce.

5) Dip half of the tortilla strips into the sauce and place in a 9 x 9 pan. Add the chicken mixture atop the tortillas (leave some sauce in the pan to dip the remaining tortilla strips). Dip the other half of the tortillas in the remaining sauce and place on top of the chicken.

6) Add a few small dollops of goat cheese on top of the enchiladas (remembering the 80/20 rule) and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

Serve with cilantro and a fresh salad!

*Add the goat cheese on a “cheat day”

Source: http://thehealthyblooddiet.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/chicken-enchiladas/

Butternut Squash Soup (A, AB, B and O)

Ingredients:


One Butternut squash (medium size), peeled, seeded and chopped into one inch cubes

half of a medium size yellow onion, coarsely chopped

one garlic clove, minced

3 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

36 oz water

3 T olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

lemon juice, parsley or cilantro, for garnish

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a soup pot; add onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook in oil until lightly browned.

Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Place soup mixture in a blender and puree until smooth. (I recommend pureeing the vegetables first and then adding stock to your desired consistency.)

Pour soup back into pot and add salt and pepper.

Squeeze lemon juice over soup and add cilantro or parsley for extra flavor.