healthy, easy to make, Baba Ghanoush Recipe

Back in my days living in South Korea I had a roomate who introduced me to baba ghanoush. She made it once a week and the three of us roomates enjoyed it together. It was a lovely time of hanging out and gorging ourselves on the Middle Eastern eggplant dip. She'd roast the eggplant in our little toaster oven and later while it was blending together with spices, she would heat up some french bread. We'd hover over our little kitchen table taking turns dipping the hot crusty french bread into the baba ghanoush. Those were good times!

Now, as a quick healthy meal at home Andy and I often resort to making baba ghanoush. Aside from the time it takes the eggplant to roast, everything else is really quick and simple. We like to chop a bunch of vegetables for dipping along with bread or whole grain crackers. The leftovers make for a wonderful snack too.

Ellie's Baba Ghanoush Recipe
-1 eggplant (poked all over with a fork)
-1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
-juice of 1 lemon
-1 Tablespoon garlic
-1 Tablespoon olive oil
-1 teaspoon cumin
-salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a pierced eggplant on a sprayed pan in the oven. Cook for about 30-40 minutes, making sure to rotate the eggplant mid way through. Once the eggplant is roasted, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 20 minutes. Once cooled, peel the outside peel off the eggplant and put all of the insides straight into a blender. Add ALL of the other ingredients and blend on high until everything is creamy. That's it! If you serve it as a dip, add some olive oil and sesame seeds for decoration.

You can eat the baba ghanoush on sandwiches, pitas, tortillas...etc. Or, just use it as a dip. Baba ghanoush is a great way to get more vegetables into your diet, since it is about 90% vegetable and then you dip more vegetables into it. I usually can't get enough it! It is like a lighter, healthier version of hummus.

Healthy Egg Blueberry Pancakes

I've seen a few different versions of these on pinterest and had to try them. The first few versions that I made were a flop. Either I got better at making them, or my recipe improved because now they are awesome.

These are by far the healthiest pancakes I have ever had. Now I can eat pancakes everyday and not feel like I'm carb-loading. I eat them everyday too, no lie. Oh, and they are gluten-free. Not that I am gluten intolerant, but for those of you who are, this is a safe recipe.

Egg Blueberry Pancakes:
-2 eggs
-1 banana (mashed)
-1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
-sprinkle of baking powder
-1/4 cup blueberries

Mix all the ingredients together and cook like pancakes on a sprayed pan. This recipe is enough for 1 person, for two people I double it, etc. Recipe for 1 person has 230 calories.

These pancakes are already sweet enough that you don't need to add anything to them. Andy likes to put peanut butter and honey on his though. You could also sprinkle them with cinnamon.

Ditch your coffee, try a morning tonic

I am a bit of a health freak. This comes from my mom, I know it. She raised us on whole wheat cookies and broccoli. Most often, my brothers and I would request mashed potatoes for dessert because that was the closest thing we got to junk food.

My health freak ways go in phases. Usually I will research a health habit and then become obsessed with it. I've done some weird things, BUT- I have stayed healthy, so I know that my health freak obsessions are paying off.

Lately, I have been into honey. I researched it up and down, inside and out. Honey seems to be a miracle cure all! Here is why: yes, honey is sweet and it has calories, but it doesn't affect blood sugar the way regular sugar does. It keeps the blood sugar consistent, rather than causing a spike like white sugar. Honey gives us an energy boost...once again, without the insulin spike. Honey is also an antioxidant and anti bacterial, meaning it helps improve immunity and keep us healthy. It also helps with digestion, fighting disease, hangovers, sore throats, weight loss, and cholesterol.
*A fun little fact about honey: it doesn't go bad. It may crystallize, but melting it will bring it back to its normal sticky state.*

I have decided to switch out my normal morning coffee with a honey tonic instead. So far I have been quite happy with my switch! Here are the tonics I switch between, each having their own benefits.

Honey & Lemon:

This is a good combination for weight loss. Honey aids in weight loss while lemon is a digestive aid and liver clenser. Lemon also provides calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, along with its fighting power towards infections, acne, anxiety, and canker sores.

1-2 lemon wedges

1 Tablespoon natural organic honey

Hot water

Honey & Cocoa:

This is a good combination for heart health. Raw cocoa powder contains flavanoids that are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Cocoa also helps to decrease blood pressure and improve heart health. Not only is this tonic good for you, but it is a healthy replacement for hot chocolate, as it is only about 65 calories.

2 teaspoons raw cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon natural organic honey

Hot water

Honey & Ginger:

This is a good combination for respiratory relief. Ginger helps with colds, cough, sore throats, asthma, and indigestion. Antioxidants in ginger also help with improving immunity, digestion, gas, diarrhea, and nausea. This could be a good tonic if you suffer from morning sickness, or feel a cold coming on.

1-2 slices raw ginger root

1 Tablespoon natural organic honey

Hot water

You can also enjoy these tonics throughout the day, after dinner, or before bed. I like to jump start my day, metabolism, and digestion with one which is why I prefer to drink it in the morning. 

Enjoy, and happy health!

What health habits are you into?

A Beefy Stew kind of Monday

Beef stew is definitely a winter food. It is warm, hearty, and helps to melt the soul from the cold hard winter. Living in California is not so cold, the winters are very mild (I'm not complaining!), but I still feel the need to pile up on winter foods. Having lived on the East Coast, Virginia area, for the last 16 or so years (on and off) I get into the winter mentality. The mentality that I need to eat hearty warm foods, drink lots of hot chocolate, walk around the house bundled in a blanket, watch lots of movies, you know- a hibernation of sorts.

So being in California where the days are 50-60 degrees and the nights only about 40 degrees, I have some adjusting to do. The first week here I bundled up every time I went outside. I quickly regretted the hat, scarf, and large coat. Over a few days I learned to ditch those items and just wear a warm sweater. Now I am a much less sweaty person when I go out.

The winter foods are not as easy to ditch though. I love hot soups and cocoa in the evenings. I must say though, eating these things while the palm trees wave outside my window is interesting. It messes with my head only slightly.

Despite the warmer temperatures and palm trees I am still going to eat my winter favorites. Beef stew is one of them. And when I say beef STEW, I mean a brothy one. I am a huge fan of brothy soups over creamy ones.

After looking at a variety of beef stew recipes and realizing how many calories were in them (yes, I am cutting calories, read about it here) I decided to make my own recipe with some healthier options and less calories.

Beef Stew (about 10 servings)

-3 pounds beef chuck (cubed)
-2 onions
-5 carrots
-5 stalks celery
-2 small sweet potatoes (or 1 large)
-1 Tablespoon worchestershire sauce
-2 teaspoons paprika
-1 teaspoon black pepper
-1 teaspoon garlic salt (add more to taste)
-3 cups broth (I used chicken broth to keep it healthier, you can also use beef)

Chop and measure everything and throw it into a slow cooker. Fill the rest of the slow cooker with water. Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or on low for 10-12 hours. If you don't have a slow cooker you can always just simmer it in a large pot. So easy!

I looked up the calories and each serving (a moderate bowl full) is about 300 calories, with 34 grams of protein per serving.

Steel Cut Oats, a healthy breakfast

Andy's parents love to make steel cut oats. The first time I ever had them was at his parents house. They made the oats and then set a table full of toppings. We each added our own toppings and sweeteners depending on our tastes. It was such a fun thing to do for a family breakfast!

Steel cut oats are a great hearty (not to mention healthy) breakfast that will keep you going for hours. They taste like regular oats, but are a bit more chewy. I think this is due to them not being as processed as regular oats. More raw-yes!

Here's a simple recipe that Andy and I follow for making our oats. They are a bit timely to make, but totally worth it. Especially if you have fun toppings for the finished product.

Steel Cut Oats
-1 cup steel cut oats
-3 cups water
-pinch of salt
-1 cup milk (I like to use Almond Milk)

Bring the 3 cups of water to boil in a pot. Once boiling, add the steel cut oats and a pinch of salt. Stir everything together and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Allow oats to simmer for 25 minutes with the top of the pot OFF and without stirring. After 25 minutes stir in 1 cup of milk and allow it to cook for another 10 minutes. Add brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup for sweetener and then top the oats off with fruit and nuts, or whatever your tastes desire.