Dukan Fire Roasted Salsa (it's Paleo too!)

Fire Roasted Salsa

NOTE: We're not very good at planning out meals in connection with holidays like a lot of other recipe bloggers are...but we have noticed all the Cinco De Mayo recipes being posted and remembered we have a Fish "Taco" recipe and this salsa recipe scheduled to post next week.  So, we're pushing out this salsa recipe and tomorrow, the Fish "taco" recipe in case you want to use it for your Cinco De Mayo celebration.

We loved this recipe!

Made this the other weekend, we only had one jalapeno and the jalapenos at both the Farmer's Market and grocery stores looked old and wrinkled.  We could have used at least one more jalapeno in our salsa but this is very tasty and easy to make.

We made the salsa for our Crock Pot Salsa Chicken recipe which will be posted soon.  Thinking about using the Paleo Pizza Crust recipe we tried the other week to make "chips" for the male half of this couple to eat with the rest of the salsa.

We're definitely making this again!  Forgot to take more photos of the salsa.

RECIPE:
Makes between 3 and 4 cups (I forgot to measure it)
Prep Time: approx. 10 - 15 minutes

2 - 15 oz. cans of organic fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 jalapenos, chopped into smaller pieces, seeds removed (leave some seeds if you want some heat)
1/2 cup cilantro, rough chop
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice from 1/2 a lime
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. oregano
Pure Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything into a food processor or blender and blend until thoroughly combined and in small enough chunks.  We like our salsa less chunky.  Chill for 30 minutes.  Yummy!

Enjoy...we sure did!

Dukan Avocado Tartare (it's Paleo too!)

Avocado Tartare

We loved this recipe!  Well, I loved it and the male half thought it was tasty even though it has raw onions in it.

We used a recipe we found on Foodland's website and tweaked it a bit (and at home we refer to it as "Avocado Salsa".  We used less oil, less lime juice and left out the fresh oregano since we didn't have any.   Even with less lime juice, it was still very tart and tangy...we'll probably use even less next time.    We actually used way too much cilantro...we didn't want to waste it...the recipe below shows the correct amount you may want to use.

For Dukan Dieters, you may want to wait until Consolidation and Stabilization to consume this due to the fat content of the avocado and the amount of olive oil used.

RECIPE:
Serves 4-6
Prep Time: approx 20 minutes

2 ripe, large avocados, pitted and diced (skin removed)
1 jalapeno or serrano chile (seeds removed), diced (we used a jalapeno)
1/3 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 c. red onion, chopped
1/8 c. fresh lime juice (approx 1 lime)
salt and pepper to taste
1 t. Tamari (wheat free, gluten free low sodium soy sauce)
1/2 - 1 T. olive oil

Mix all ingredients to together.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.  Chill for about an hour and serve.

This Avocado Tartare goes great with our Seared Ahi Tuna Recipe!  You can use it on tacos, quesadillas, served over a southwestern style steak, etc.

Enjoy...we sure did!

Dukan Japanese Style Cucumber Sesame Salad (it's Paleo too!)

Cucumber Sesame Salad

Help!  We've fallen and we can't get up!  Actually, we fell off the wagon, gained a couple pounds, but are back on track.  The short story - work has been incredibly busy -- working VERY long hours = not much time or energy to meal plan or cook.  We ended up eating what we could while trying to make better choices.  Didn't work.  Last week we decided we gotta get back on track.  Went back to a Cruise-like Consolidation while trying to apply Paleo rules and lost a couple pounds.  Also got back on track with our cardio workouts 5 times per week.

What does a Cruise-like Consolidation Phase with Paleo rules equal to?  Low fat, almost no dairy, no grains, lots of fresh veggies, and trying to choose food items that are close to being natural.  Oh and we're trying to do this while lowering our food budget.  I'm still trying to get a hold on our new way of eating and our new budget.

Cucumbers were on sale the other week (on sale here they are about $1.99 per pound) and we decided to throw together a Japanese style cucumber salad I grew up on.  It is a VERY EASY recipe, tasty and refreshing.   The male half of this couple loves cucumbers and he loved this salad.

This is a Consolidation Phase recipe, although eaten in moderation it worked just fine during Cruise for us.  It's up to you.

RECIPE:

Serves - depends on the size of your cucumber (ours served us 2 times, plus a snack size amount for the male half of this couple)

Prep Time: Approx 20 minutes (part of this time you are letting your cucumbers sit in the fridge)

1 cucumber (approx 3/4 lb.), 1/4" slices (or halves, or cubed, whichever you way you like it)

1 T. ground sesame

1/2 T. sesame oil

1 t. kosher salt (or pure sea salt)

1 T. Tamari (wheat free low sodium soy sauce - I would start with 1/2 T. if you're watching your sodium intake)

Massage salt into cucumbers.  Place bowl of cucumbers into the refrigerator for approximately 10 minutes.  Remove the bowl from the fridge and drain liquid.  Add ground sesame, sesame oil and tamari, mix well and place bowl back in the fridge for a few minutes or until you are ready to eat.  

NOTE: We added cubed konnyaku to our salad because we had half a cube left over, it tastes great either way.   We also made a double order of this which was way too much for us.  We like variety when it comes to our weekly food intake.  We made one order this past weekend and it was just perfect as a side dish for the two of us, plus a snack size portion for the male half the next day.

The following day the cucumbers didn't look as crisp, but they still had a nice crunch to them.

Enjoy...we sure did!

Dukan Grilled Balsamic Asparagus

Grilled Balsamic Asparagus

We loved this recipe!

Asparagus is on sale again...that means $4.00 per lb. off the normal price...woo hoo!  We usually use a bit of lemon juice and adobo seasoning to season our asparagus but we decided to try this recipe we found and we're glad we did.

Besides the marinating time, it's fast and easy.  We cut the recipe in half since there's just two of us.  If we were in Cruise, we probably would have omitted the 1/2 T. of olive oil we used.

RECIPE:
Serves 2
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes, plus 30-60 minutes to marinate
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes (we prefer our asparagus crunchy so we cooked ours about 6 mins)

1/2 lb. asparagus, ends broken off and rinsed 2-3 times
1 1/2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 T. olive oil (optional, but it's just 1/2 T.)
1/2 T. soy sauce, low sodium
1/2 a garlic clove, minced
1/4 t. kosher salt
pepper, to taste

Place asparagus in a ziploc bag (we cut our asparagus up).  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Seal bag and turn to coat.  Marinate at room temperature for 30 - 60 minutes (we did 60) turning bag occasionally.  Heat a grill pan over medium high heat, spray some non-stick spray, add asparagus and cook 3-5 minutes per side, depending on how well you like asparagus done.  Ours started to char a bit so we turned it often....the female half doesn't mind the char, but the male half doesn't care for the taste of charred food :-)

Enjoy...we sure did!

Dukan Korean Turkey and Veggie Bowl

Korean Turkey and Veggie Bowl

We loved this recipe.

We wanted to try bibimbap for the longest time, but knew we had to make some changes to make it a Dukan friendly recipe.  Although time consuming, this is a very easy dish to prepare. Bap means rice in Korean and we've usually seen this served with white rice...that we replaced with quinoa.  We used less oil for the veggies and used olive oil spray when stir frying the turkey and veggies.

This was a great light dish although it took a while to prepare.  Almost an hour!  It looks pretty when you put your bowl together, but you end up mixing everything up.  Next time, to save time, we'll probably cook certain veggies together.  For example, the cucumbers, carrots and mushrooms we'll cook together instead of individually.  The only time we'd cook them separately is if we were making bibimbap and banchan.  This dish can also be made as a vegetarian dish, omit the ground turkey and add more veggies.  Also, lean ground beef, chicken or pork can be substituted.

The garlic and sesame are what makes this dish tasty.  Not recommended for Cruise.  Eat in moderation during Consolidation.  If we were in Cruise, which we may go back to in January, we might make this dish without quinoa and very little sesame oil.  Sesame oil is very strong, a little bit can flavor up your dish a lot!

RECIPE
Serves 4
Prep Time: 40-50 minutes
Cook Time: 10-20 minutes

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/4 c. chicken broth
1 lb. ground turkey, lean
1 carrot (small), sliced into strips
1 cucumber (small), sliced into strips
1 1/2 c. bean sprouts
1/4 c. - 1/2 c. hydrated shiitake mushroom pieces (or your favorite type of mushroom), thinly sliced
soy sauce (1 t. for the cucumbers or whichever green veggie you use, 2 t. for the mushrooms, 1-2 T. for the ground turkey)
garlic cloves, minced (1 for the bean sprouts, 1 for the green veggies, 6-8 for the ground turkey)
sesame oil (you'll use a splash or two for each item)
kosher salt (1 or two pinches for the bean sprouts, 2 pinches for the green veggies)
natural sweetener (1 - 2 t. for the mushrooms, 1 T. for the ground turkey)
pepper, a dash or two for the ground turkey
4 uncooked eggs
gochujang or chili paste (it also tastes just fine without the hot sauce)
platter to hold all the cooked ingredients
4 bowls to eat from, you'll want to use larger bowls since the dish is usually mixed up

Usually each item is cooked separately.  We will show you how to put this together how it usually is cooked, then how we would cook it next time (and how our Korean Aunty told us she cooks it when she doesn't have time).

Cook your quinoa in a rice cooker with 1 1/4 c. chicken broth (use more liquid if you prefer your quinoa softer, we prefer ours the same texture as tabouleh).  While the quinoa is cooking start on the other ingredients.  Bring bean sprouts to a boil in about a cup or two of water, add 1 t. salt and let simmer for 20 minutes.  Drain water, add 1 clove garlic (minced), a pinch of salt and a small splash of sesame oil.  Mix and set on your platter.  Depending on what kind of green veggie you are using, either boil it (if it's something like spinach) or saute it if it's cucumbers or zucchini.  We sauteed our cucumber slices in a pan with a light bit of non stick spray.  Remove from pan and mix with a pinch of salt, 1 t. soy sauce, 1 clove of minced garlic and a small splash of sesame oil.  Set cucumbers on your platter.  Saute carrots in a pan with a little bit of non stick spray if necessary, set on the platter.  Stir fry mushrooms in a pan with a little bit of non stick spray, add 2 t. soy sauce, 1 - 2 t. natural sweetener and stir fry for 2 minutes.  Add a small splash of sesame oil, continue to stir fry for another minute, then transfer to your platter.  Cook ground turkey in a pan with a little bit of non stick spray, 6-8 minced garlic cloves, 2 T. soy sauce, 1 T. natural sweetener, a little bit of pepper and a splash of sesame oil.   Transfer to platter.  Cook eggs, each person will get one egg for their bowl - either over easy or sunny side up.  We've seen people eat this with a raw egg too.  We suggested heating up your bowl of food before mixing in a raw egg to the dish.  Add desired amount of quinoa to each bowl, build bowls to each person's liking, top with an egg, mix it all up, then enjoy!

Shortcut way - next time, we are taking a shortcut.  We'd boil the bean sprouts along with any veggies that we would normall boil (i.e. spinach), saute all the sauteed veggies together, cook the ground turkey separately, cook the eggs, then build bowls.

Enjoy...we sure did!

UPDATED: Dukan Korean Style Bean Sprouts

Photo from Wikipedia.  We forgot to take a pic of our bean
sprouts, but we didn't add carrots or green onions.

We both loved this...well, we've always had bean sprouts at Korean restaurants and loved them, but we never made them at home until last night.  Super easy, very healthy...we'll be making this as a side dish often!

Walk into any Korean restaurant, whether it's a sit down or takeout restaurant, you'll always be served banchan.  At some sit down restaurants, banchan is all you can eat, all you have to do is ask for a refill.

Last night we made some bean sprouts which fall under the namul category.  If you're in the Cruise Phase, omit the sesame oil although we really just used a tiny splash and our bean sprouts were very flavorful.  We amending this post - since bean sprouts are technically a seed, those on Cruise may want to wait until Consolidation to consume bean sprouts.  We ate it regularly during Cruise without any weight gain, but if you're sticking to Dukan strictly, wait until Consolidation.  Thanks flamidwyfe for catching that!

RECIPE:
The bean sprouts from this recipe can be used as a side dish or as part of a bibimbap dish.  We'll post our Dukan Bibimbap recipe soon...although we can't really call it Bibimbap since bap means rice and we replaced the rice with quinoa.   Bibimquinoa?  ;-)

Serves 2-4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 1/2  c. bean sprouts, cleaned
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. water
1 t. soy sauce (we used tamari)
1 clove garlic, minced
a pinch of kosher salt
a splash of sesame oil

Clean bean sprouts (we usually remove all the brown parts) and soak for 5 minutes in cold tap water.  Drain.  In a pot, add water, 1 t. kosher salt and bean sprout.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  In the meantime, combine the soy sauce, garlic and pinch of kosher salt in a bowl.  After bean sprouts are cooked, drain and add to the soy sauce mixture.  Add a splash of sesame oil (omit if you're in the Cruise Phase) and mix.  Serve hot or cold (most Korean restaurants serve this cold).  If you like spicy food, add some chili paste or chili flakes.

Enjoy!

Grilled Asparagus - Dukan Diet

You can't really see them, but the fresh grilled asparagus
are behind the quiches

Last week the female half of this couple's sister read on a gentleman's Dukan Diary Blog that he just loved asparagus for it's diuretic abilities.  We decided to give it a try.

Saw some very nice looking skinny asparagus in Chinatown in Honolulu this past weekend!  (We don't care for the large Costco ones although very inexpensive for what you get, they just aren't as tasty as the skinnier ones).

After we got them home, we realized the way we usually bake these (in butter) is not allowed on the Dukan Diet.  So, we decided to pan fry them with a little bit of salt, pepper and lemon juice for about 3 minutes (until they were bright green) and were they delicious.  Also, the female half of this couple had asparagus for lunch on Monday and Tuesday (had to double up on PV days this week) and she's lost 2 pounds since Sunday!  Coincidence or is she enjoying the diuretic value of asparagus also?  Could also be the 45 minutes of zumba every day?  In any case, the asparagus was delicious, both grilled and in the mini quiches.

If you're looking for some asparagus recipes, check out allrecipes.com.  Dukan the ones that don't fit the Dukan Diet!