Blueberry Crazed

Posted on July 31, 2012 by admin

Did you know July was National Blueberry month? Yea I know, bad timing on my part, but I don’t care what month it is, I love blueberries. In the winter months I buy the huge Costco bags of frozen bluebs and put them in my oatmeal, make shakes, and warm blueberry muffins. And nothing beats fresh blueberries from the farmers market. If July is any indication for how hot August is going to be then some fresh summer blueberry recipes are definitely in order. Did you know that blueberries help you cool down and replenish your body’s nutrients at the same time? Yeah, me either! Well, my friends at Lifetime Fitness were nice enough to send over some awesome blueberry-inspired recipes in celebration of blueberry month so I am going to pass them on to you for everyone to enjoy! Better late than never right? For those of you who aren’t as familiar with Lifetime Fitness, they are so much more than just a gym. Check out my post (HERE) from a few months ago when I interviewed one of their local trainers.

Breakfast: The perfect and nutritious chilly breakfast smoothie:

1 scoop of whey isolate + 4 oz full-fat Greek Yogurt + 1 cup blueberries + 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

Lunch: Blueberry Quinoa salad:

Cook quinoa (15-20 minutes). While it is still hot, add pine nuts, shallots, sulfite-free dried blueberries, grated citrus zest, butter and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, add red pepper flakes to taste. Serve with grilled chicken or fish

Snack: Freezing blueberries:

For a sweet treat, use a toothpick to dip fresh blueberries in full-fat Greek yogurt and freeze for one hour. After, pop in a plastic bag for a to-go snack
To freeze fresh blueberries or save berries that might be just a bit too ripe, spread over a cookie sheet to avoid clumping or smashing

Dinner: Flounder with roasted fennel and blueberry salsa:

Drizzle flounder filets with olive oil, lemon juice, chopped herbs and pepper – then wrap in aluminum foil and grill for 5-8 minutes
Top with blueberry salsa. To make, combine green pepper, scallions, 1 grilled fennel bulb, cucumbers, blueberries, grilled corn and mint leaves in a bowl and add apple cider vinegar and olive oil to taste
Serve flounder immediately with blueberry salsa and basmati rice

Health benefits of blueberries:

Boost your immune system and prevent infection; highest antioxidant amount of any fresh fruit
Blueberry rich diets improve motor skills, memory and learning capacity. They are considered a “brain food” because of research showing that they can slow or even reverse many of the degenerative diseases associated with an aging brain. They’ve also been shown to help neurons in the brain communicate with each other more effectively, thus supporting memory
Rich in dietary fiber, act as a cleansing agent and fight bacteria
The darker the blueberry, the more antioxidant filled it is and will promote healthy skin and hair. Blueberries have more antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds than any other fruit
A handful of blueberries can help meet your daily fiber requirement, according to BlueberryCouncil.org
They are on the dirty dozen list so you should buy them organic

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Feel free to share any awesome blueberry recipes you have

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A Chobani Feast

Posted on July 13, 2012 by admin

I was invited to a fabulous Chicago Foodie blogger event hosted by Chonani at Boka Restaurant in Chicago this week. I have used Chobani products before in the past (here and here) as well as snacks at work but I never took notice to the company behind the brand until I met with some of their ambassadors at the Boka/Chobani event.

My fellow Chicago foodie bloggers and I were all able to taste some of the chef’s Chobani-inspired creations. From beet salad, to braised lamb, every course incorporated the yogurt in a different way. It was such an honor to be cast in a group of such phenomenal local foodie bloggers, and it was a wonderful opportunity for us to all meet each other in person, as we all know each other in such a different way through the wall of a computer screen. It is so odd as a blogger to do a meet-up event, because where it would otherwise be awkward coming up to someone asking if they are –insert twitter name–, here it was the norm.

The first course was a “Hay Roasted Baby Beets and Blueberry Salad with CHOBANI Greek Yogurt, Fir Tree Honey and Pepper Wheat Cracker”

The second course was “Soft Shell Crab and Grilled Prawns with Chobani Greek Yogurt Grits, Morel Mushrooms and Beet Braised Kohlrabi”

The third course was a “Rack of Lamb, Rooibos, Bulgur Wheat, Roasted Baby Vegetables, Purples Fingerling Potatoes, Fava Beans, Roasted Eggplant and CHOBANI Greek Yogurt Sauce”

And finally for dessert we had “CHOBANI Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta, Plums and Honey”

It is so hard to pick a favorite but if I absolutely had to, I think it would be the the soft shell crab and grilled pawns. I thought the chef’s use of Chobani in grits was so creative and unexpected and the varying flavors and textures made every bite of this dish mouth-watering.

A big thanks to Boka for their superb service, amazing food and their patience with all of our photo-taking! I can’t wait to go back for dinner sometime. The outdoor patio looked so cute! I met some amazing people and hope we can all get together again soon! Bloggers do it better!! Here is the whole crew:

Hats off to Chobani (and their lovely ambassadors Emily, Jackie, and Amy) for bringing us all together and organizing this fabulous dinner. I learned so much about the company and it inspired me to think out-of-the-box when it comes to putting a meal together. One other thing that you may not know, Chobani is sponsoring Team USA on their journey to the Olympic Games in London. They are naturally powering our athletes with the protein they need to bring home the GOLD! Tweet #chobanipowered to show your support!

Other attendees included:

Kelsey at Ready Set Feast

Carly at Create Live (event recap)

Cate at Good For You Blog (event recap)

Katie at Peace Love and Oats (event recap)

Marisa at Mind Over Booty

Lindsay at Running Windy City (event recap)

Molly at Hungry Hungry Runner (event recap)

Joelen at What’s Cooking Chicago

Megan at Braise the Roof (event recap)

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Guacamole Quinoa Salad

Posted on July 11, 2012 by admin

How I love a good quinoa salad, especially a fresh summer one. I’ve seen this recipe splashed all over Pinterest courtesy of the fabulous Diva Dish and have tried it a few different ways but the original is definitely the best! (In case you are interested, I tried it with pasta, instead of quinoa. I tried basil, instead of cilantro. And I tried lime, instead of fresh lemon.) This was so easy to whip up and goes great with grilled chicken, which is what we paired it with, along with a caprese salad with fresh basil from our little city garden – a pot on the porch. I renamed it the Guacamole Quinoa Salad because the ingredients are so similar to guacamole which is my FAVE!!!

Guacamole Quinoa Salad (Recipe from Diva Dish)

Ingredients:

1/2 C. dry quinoa
2 C. vegetable broth
1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
1 c. cherry tomatoes cut in half
2 avocados diced
2 C. spinach
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 C. onion
2 small cloves garlic

For the dressing:

Juice of 2 lemons
zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. cumin
dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Make your quinoa according to directions (I use broth rather than water to add more flavor and I also don’t rinse it before hand – it’s a pain, it’s never worked for me and I haven’t died yet so I think your safe to skip that part… Just sayin’)

2. In a food processor, add your spinach and cilantro. Make sure to wash you greens. (I didn’t wash my cilantro well enough and we were chewing on sand the throughout our entire dinner – not pleasant! (She even says to wash thoroughly in her directions! I never listen…)

4. Add the greens to a bowl, and set aside. Next take your onion and garlic and finely dice those (I do this in the food processor too), and add to the greens mixture. Next add your chickpeas and stir until everything is combined and coated. If the quinoa is cooled, you can add it to the chickpea mixture next.

5. Make your dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Pour over salad, and mix until combined. Add in tomatoes and avocado and mix. Set in fridge for about 10-15 minutes before serving so the flavors set.