What are you drinking?

No exciting pictures today folks. I made a delicious homemade chicken noodle soup saturday night. Accompanied with some crusty rosemary garlic bread and some homemade cookies. However, I did not have time to shoot any photographs because Doan and I were running late for a date at the Viper Room to watch his friend Ryan play. But, have no fear! I liked the meal so much that we're having it again on Wednesday night! It was super comforting and healthy. Plus, it strikes me as a great Halloween meal because we'll want something a wee bit lighter while we snack on Halloween candy. Otherwise our food from this past weekend was pretty mundane. We did try a new thai place on Pico and Westwood, Thai Chili, after seeing Lars and the Real Girl at the Landmark. The movie was great, the restaurant? Not so much.

Anyway, be prepared... some great recipes comin' up!

Tip from Idealbite.com:

What kind of oil are you gulping?

The BiteExtra-virgin, but of course. But all of us are consuming petroleum too, since it goes into the energy it takes to produce, transport, refrigerate, market, and dispose of products (embodied energy). Next time you shop, consider the embodied energy of what you're buying.

The Benefits:

Less overall energy use. Creating that plastic bottle of H20 you chug after a workout involves water pumping, bottling, plastic manufacturing, label printing, shipping, store refrigeration, and advertising. And that's before you drink it and throw it away. Whew.

Less oil consumption. An imported, one-liter plastic water bottle uses 1/4-liter of oil (and that's just for the pumping, bottling, and shipping).

Longer lasting products. When you consider embodied energy at the store, you'll be inclined to pick better quality products (like a reusable water bottle) that last longer.

Money savings. Not paying for that extra energy makes for cheaper products. Example? Average tap water costs $0.0015 per gallon while a 16-oz bottle can cost up to $2.

Just something to think about, check out http://www.sigg.ch/ you can buy their products at wholefoods. They are lined with copper so they keep the water tasting fresh, stay cold and remain clean.

Muah!

Naughty Double Chocolate Cookies

Sometimes we must admit defeat, last night was one of those times. That's not to say the cookie above was a total failure but here's the thing about baking low fat baked goods. There's little fat, obviously, so there's a very slim margin for baking time error. My first batch of 12 were a little too crispy (chatting with Doan for a wee bit too long) and these cookies are supposed to be moist and crumbly. Fortunately my second batch was much better!! Hence, the delicious cookie above.

It's worth the extra effort, in my humble opinion, to bake lowfat cookies. That's not to say I don't indulge in a really scrumptious fatty Martha Stewart recipe every so often but why not treat yourself midweek with two of these wonderful 110 cals cookies? Instead of feeling like I am on a diet, I feel like I am indulging in delicious foods. I think a common myth is that you constantly feel deprived when on a diet. However, with sound nutritional education, creating new habits and embracing such recipes, like the one below, it's easy to feel completely satisfied, maybe even a wee bit naughty. (wink)

Double Chocolate Cookies:

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon of real vanilla extract
1/2 all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup milk chocolate (chopped)
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mash together the butter and sugars with a folk until well combined. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy. Mix in vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well (add the dry ingredients a little at a time, like in 1/3 parts). Stir in the chocolate and pecans and mix well. Using a tablespoon scoop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Also, I like to separate my batter into half, scoop each half into parchment paper, roll into a log and freeze. Once the batter has chilled it's much easier to slice cookies and place on the baking sheet. Not only can you make sure you have the correct serving sizes, but you can make sure all cookies are the same pretty size.

Bake for 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Nurtritional Information per cookie:
Cals- apx. 110/ Total fat- 6 grams/ Saturated fat- 2.5 grams/ Protein- 1 gram/ Fiber- 1 gram.

Slow and Easy Thursday

For some reason this day always represents easy dinner night. Most Thursday's I am off at casting director workshops so I always bring my dinner along. However tonight I have the luxury of staying home, baking cookies and celebrating Anne's birthday. Does this mean I am going to make an elaborate dinner? No, not tonight. Instead, since it's easy dinner night in the La Sawyer home we are going to enjoy the last bit of the veggie chili from our pumpkin carving party extravaganza!! It's super healthy too, so it fits into my weekly night mode. What's my weekly night mode you ask? Well, I try to keep our dinners super healthy, no major snacks, low cal breakfasts and fruit for desert. It's a new strategic move to help maintain my 1-2 pounds a week weightloss. Fortunately everyweek I usually make one exception where I allow myself to have something a bit sweet. I still manage to make up for it by cutting something else out but some examples are a latte with a friend or, as with the case tonight, 2 cookies to celebrate Anne's birthday. The recipe I chose is an Ellie Kreiger recipe so it's as healthy as a cookie can be, some whole wheat flour/ healthy heart fats. Not to mention each cookie is only apx. 110 cals so I can have two without feeling guilty. I have already made the dough so I just have to put them in the oven when I get home, hence, no photo. But I will add it tomorrow along with the recipe. Which leads me to my next item of business, per Malika's request I have included the Barely Salad recipe, please enjoy.

Scary Fact:

Satellite images show a floating patch of garbage in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that's twice the size of Texas. It's mostly plastics, which will never biodegrade- ever. One simple way to reduce trash is to reuse grocery store bags. Come on, do you really need more plastic bags from the super market? I say, be super cute and hip, carry a chic reusable green bag from whole foods, it's like $1. Totally worth it!


Barley Salad with tomatoes, zucchini and fresh feta:

Serves 2-

1 teaspoon Olive Oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, mixed
3/4 cup of uncooked barley
2 cups of chicken stock
1 1/2 cups of chopped zucchini
1 1/2 cups of halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons of fresh feta
zest of 1 lemon
Juice from 1/2 to whole lemon, depending on juicy-ness

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 2 minutes (Be careful to make sure it's truly medium- high heat because it's easy to burn garlic and burnt garlic tastes mighty bitter.) Add barley (to toast); cook 1 minute. Add chicken stock; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini, tomatoes, salt, pepper, lemon zest and lemon. Cook for 5 minutes. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of feta.

Note* I tend to buy sodium free chicken broth, in which case I add a little extra salt. Keep in mind if you do the same.

Nutritional info per serving:
cals- apx. 355 cals/Fat- 6.6(1.8 sat.; the rest heart healthy poly. and mono.)/protein 12.4 g/
Fiber 15 g/cholesterol 5mg.

Barley Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchini and Fresh Feta

This is what we had for dinner last night. Beyond being healthy it was also delicious! I have made this once before in honor of a girl date with the lovely Meredith Hines and Meredith Gray. And let me just say, second time around? Just as yummy! One of the reasons I love this salad is that it's super hardy so it makes a great lunch or dinner but it also has light flavors like lemon zest and fresh veggies (you add the veggies towards the end of the cooking process so they're still fairly crisp). I actually adapted the recipe a bit and added extra ground black pepper for bite and lemon zest/juice for a bright citrus punch.

Furthermore, this dish is great for lowing cholesterol and is extremely high in fiber. There's hardly any saturated fat which would be due to the modest amount of feta cheese. Since feta is such a strong flavor you need very little to feel indulged in creamy cheesy goodness. I would be happy to share the recipe with anyone just shoot me an email. This is actually a side dish but instead I served Doan and myself two servings to make a full meal (apx. 350 cals/ 2 cups of salad each) and sliced apples on the side. It was a great way to enjoy the fall's bounty while still being healthy.

Every journey begins with a fork...or spoon.

To be honest, I am a novice chef. In fact, I much prefer the idea of being a cook as opposed to chef because there's something more innately human about being a cook. I mean, everyone can be a cook, a chef... seems so elite. Regardless, I am new to cooking and baking. For the past few years I have been able to cultivate my skills past the requisite microwave and prepackaged food to things slightly more complicated.

I first started really paying attention to food when I was trying to lose weight, about three years ago. After successfully losing 60 lbs I became even more interested in cooking. I began to realize what an impact food can have on your body but also on your life in general. More and more I have gained my own food convictions and have been trying to implement them into my daily life. For instance, I am a firm believer in recycling and sustainable practices.

I use a great reusable water bottle (Sigg Bottle- Whole Foods) instead of buying a large case of plastic bottles. Also, I try my best to buy organic and local farm produce whenever possible. I just believe that ultimately food is a huge part of our lives and whether we spend it at McDonald's or in our own kitchens we should be aware of it's impact on ourselves and our community. Don't get me wrong, I love a #1 with cheese, but is it worth it?

However, a large part of this blog is just about relishing in the pleasure of cooking and baking. The more recipes I read the more I want to make cakes and cookies and braises! My poor boyfriend is constantly forced to eat things like pumpkin spice cookies (which he does not particularly enjoy) all for the sake of making me happy. Not only is cooking fun but it's relaxing. I tend to be a little high strung (wink) so after stressing out about my acting career, job, family .... global warming.... conquering a new recipe is just what I need to calm down.

Be prepared for photos and opinions, I can't wait to share my love of cooking and baking with all of you, all three of you who actually read my blog. lol.