Curry Rice : Calming Food for the Holidays!

As usual, when November, December and all the holiday treats arrive, I have trouble resisting.  Since I control my RA with nutrition, it makes for a painful season if I am not careful.  I haven't done extremely bad, but have definitely indulged in enough sugary and fatty foods recently to have some stiff and swollen joints that called for drastic action with a Prednisone Taper.   So that I stay pain free when the taper wears off, I am also attacking the pain and swelling in my body with the foods that I know calm inflammation.
        
             A smoothie in the morning with berries, yogurt, and flax starts my day out right.
                       I am adding avocado as a side to one meal per day for the good calming effect.
                                 When snack cravings come calling,  I am eating almonds with dried cranberries. 

All of these foods have inflammation fighting properties and help calm dangerous inflammation. 

Tonight I wanted to cook with curry and turmeric as they are powerhouses when it comes to fighting inflammation, not to mention...... I love curry!  I came up with this simple and wonderful curry rice dish that has a comfort food feeling perfect for a cold winter day. 

Curry Rice

2 cups cooked white rice
1/2 cup red onion
1/4 cup diced carrots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup chicken broth

Saute the onion and carrots in olive oil until the onions begin to caramelize or brown just a bit.  Stir in the garlic and saute for a minute more.  Add the curry, turmeric and salt.  Stir.  Add the chicken broth and let simmer until the mixture reduces by half, about 5 minutes.  Add the rice and stir together until mixed well and rice is hot.  Serve.

Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins: Coyote Ugly girls night in the hood!

Girls nights can be a fun time to relax and cut loose with friends and neighbors.  Our neighborhood is one in which we enjoy each others company and have fun getting together.  We talk, laugh, cry, eat, drink and laugh some more.
 
Several months ago we had one of those nights in our neighborhood.  The theme was Coyote Ugly and the hostess is a very talented person when it come to creating decorations. She went all out on the decorations and we were transported into the old west.  She made a jail and gave us three taboo words that we were not allowed to say.  Drink, hat, and I can't remember the last one, which explains why I did some jail time that night.  (Yes I took my glass of wine in with me so it wasn't that bad!)

As usual, the food was remarkable.  The girls always bring plenty!  There was vegetarian chili, taco salad, green salad with strawberries and glazed nuts, cornbread with honey butter, potato salad, and more! 

Since chili was on the menu, I decided to make mini Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins and honey butter.  Now that fall is in the air, chili and cornbread are sounding pretty good so it is time to share this recipe with you.  There is no saturated fat since I use canola oil.  There is no white flour or sugar.  Local honey is used as a sweetener.  They are surprisingly light, fluffy and delicious! You can even get away with eating a little bit of the honey butter if you follow Mrs. Mac's Honey Butter recipe made with part olive oil. 

Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey

Mix dry ingredients together and make a well in the middle of the ingredients. 
In a seperate bowl, beat the egg gently and then add the remaining wet ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry ingredients.
Stir until completely mixed together.
Pour into prepared muffin tin.
Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 

Avocado, Cheese and Egg Stacks

 

 

 

My desire to try new recipes seems to come and go in spurts.  I am in one of those spurts again.  So, I pulled out a few Whole Living magazines and ran across this super easy and scrumptious recipe.  What I really love about this is that it works for any meal or even snack time. 

 

I changed the original recipe just a little. The avocado adds a powerful anti-inflammatory presence, so I use more than the original recipe suggests. I have been using Dave's Killer Bread and it is great in this recipe.  This is really filling and fuels the body.  Give it a try :)

 

Avocado, Cheese and Egg Stacks

 

4 tablespoons avocado

1 slice of whole grain toast cut in half

1 slice of low-fat cheese

1 hard boiled egg, cut into four slices

2 tablespoons salsa

 

Spread 2 tablespoons of avocado onto each half of toast.  Top each half with half slice of cheese, 2 slices of egg and a tablespoon of salsa.

 

 

 

 



Summer Rhubarb Coffeecake

For the second summer in a row, we have had an abundance of rhubarb to havest all season long.  We have given away rhubarb, made Rhubarb Sauce, cooked rhubarb chicken (did not taste good so there is no recipe to share), and baked a Rhubarb Coffee Cake.

I found this recipe in King Arthur's Whole Grain Baking cookbook.  I made a few changes to decrease some of the saturated fat.  By decreasing the butter and replacing it with organic cold pressed canola oil, it takes away some of the saturated fat and replaces it with  Omega-3's.  Also, instead of using buttermilk with saturated fat, I added 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to non-fat milk.  Since rhubarb has such a tart flavor, I use the full amount of sugar in the recipe. I buy organic sugar so I feel a bit better about using it occasionally in recipes.  If you have rhubarb, give this recipe a try.  It is moist, delicious, and has become one of our summer favorites!

Cake

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice mixed into the milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups rhubarb cut into small pieces

Topping

3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 9x13 inch pan.

Cake:  Mix the flours, soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Cream together the butter, oil, and sugar in a large bowl.  Beat in the egg.  Add the dry ingredients, half at a time, alternately with the buttermilk.  Add the vanilla.  Stir in the rhubarb until completely mixed.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

Topping:  Combine the softened butter, sugars, flour, and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl.  Sprinkle the mixture over the batter.

Bake until the top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  20-25 minutes for rounds and 30-35 minutes for 9x13 pan.  Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Grilled Turkey Breast for a Working Woman's Summer Meal!

Wow!  It has been well over a month since I have posted. July was a fun month...an interesting month..and as you can probably tell, a busy month.  We have been kayaking, had a lot of company, gone on vacation, and I got a job! 

Now that I work outside of the home, the challenge is to keep eating right.  By right I mean a balanced diet that also helps calm inflammation in my body.  As a side note I will mention that the building I work in shares a parking lot with Dairy Queen.  No temptation there on a hot summer day :) 

The first couple of weeks after I was hired were spent training on a full time basis.  Believe me when I say it is taking a bit of time to get used to the new working schedule.  I am trying to be organized and plan meals in order to curb the temptation to dine out. 

Since summer is here, and I am a summer girl through and through, I prefer to be outside whenever I can.   After work it is wonderful to relax on the patio, visiting with my husband while we wait for the barbecue to cook our meal.  We are doing a lot of grilling to keep meals simple, relaxing, and healthy.

Our garden is supplying us with an abundance of lettuce so we put together a salad to go with whatever we decide to grill.  One of our favorites has become Grilled Turkey Breast with a side salad.  The rub that I use on the Grilled Turkey Breast is made with spices that calm inflammation.  Of course, the salad is healthy and calming as well.  Enjoy!

Grilled Turkey Breast

1 Turkey Breast
1 tsp each of paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Olive oil

Rub the turkey breast with olive oil.  Then mix the spices together and rub them onto the turkey breast, coating it completely.  Place the turkey breast on the grill and cook for about 35 minutes or until done.  Turn the breast over half way through the cooking time. 

Salad

Fresh salad greens
Sliced red or sweet onions
Sliced sweet peppers
Parmesan cheese

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Whisk ingredients together until mixed well.  Pour over lettuce, onions, peppers, and Parmesan cheese.  Toss together and serve.