Tag Archives: polenta

Peeling back the Layers

Posted on by
7

Sometimes you can’t ask for a more perfect weekend.

The sun is out. On a bike ride with your husband, you catch smiling happy people at the beach on a gorgeous day.

While riding and reflecting on good times with friends the night before, you watch your husband on his mountain bike pass a couple on their road bikes.

Say what? True story. I had to put my sneaker to the bike pedal to catch up, apologizing to the struggling couple along the way. Apparently, they downshifted twice (the wife announced to me). Whatever that means. Hey, everyone is out enjoying the weather. Life is good.

Finishing touches to an amazing day. Unwinding, while cooking a delicious dinner, with a little wine and then a movie.

Now, I have your attention.  Well, the alcohol is from Trader Joe’s thanks for asking. But, let me tell you about the dinner.

Layer 1: Carbs- Polenta cornmeal

Layer 2: Protein and Carb combo: Black Beans and Corn

Layer 3: Filling nutrients and fiber from mixed veggies

Layer 4: Antioxidants from salsa

Layer 5: Healthy Fats and protein from low fat cheese and olives

5 Layer Mexican Polenta

Ingredients

1 16 ounce tube of polenta cut into slices

30 ounces of of black beans (prewashed and cooked or canned)

10 ounces of whole kernel corn

1 onion chopped

2 peppers, chopped (your favorite- I used red and yellow)

8 ounces of sliced mushrooms

8 ounces of salsa (I used Trader Joe’s Pico de Gallo)

1/2 cup Shredded Cheese (I used Trader Joe’s lite Mexican Blend)

4 ounces black olives chopped

4 ounces chopped green chilies

2-4 garlic cloves minced (I of course used 4)

1 Lime squeezed

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tsp honey

1 Tsp Chili powder

1 Tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil, or spray 9 X 13 baking dish.

2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion, peppers, mushrooms and garlic until Onions are soft and translucent. Then stir in honey, chilies, and spices and turn heat off. Squeeze in lime juice.

3. Cover baking dish with sliced polenta (this is not perfect the whole circle in a square peg deal). Layer beans and corn evenly over polenta, then spread onion mixture over beans and corn.

4. Next layer, spread salsa over top. Then sprinkle shredded cheese mixture over top, and add olives evenly.

5. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

Of course Sean found a way to make it Man Style by adding Tortilla chips and eating it as a dip…. I love when Cohabitation blends seamlessly…. makes up for those days when things just don’t go as planned…..

While cooking dinner we listened to TV on the Radio’s Critically acclaimed  Return to Cookie Mountain. So sad, the bassist passed at such a young age. It reminds you to appreciate life to the fullest….

And, the Berry Happy Bodies page on Facebook has finally made an appearance. You can Like ;) , or Follow at https://www.facebook.com/Berryhappybodies. Thanks!

This recipe is featured at Fitsugar.com!

Recipe linked up at This Chick Cooks.

 

Put the banana in the coconut

Posted on by
7

On a cooler day what’s more perfect then waking up and having warm banana bread in a bowl? As a bonus you can feel amazing that you feed your body some nutrient rich carbs and lean protein.  Yum.

I love LOVE polenta.  When cooked stove top it has the consistency of oat bran. It can also be shaped and used for dinner dishes as well,  see Grilled Arepas. Since it is corn based it is gluten free. But  for those not concerned with wheat allergies,  you can just enjoy the comforting taste.

Entering recipes I modify or create has been a little of a challenge for me. Let’s say it’s definitely keeping me honest.  Before I was one of those people that would look at a recipe and go hmmmm, ok a little of this, and a pinch of that. My husband would always ask me, “are you following the recipe this time?”. 95% percent of the time the answer comes with a smile and a no. I have been working on measuring and writing exactly what I put in ;) . This recipe was modified from an orange polenta recipe I stumbled across on Eatingwell.com

The key to getting the warm soft bread feeling is adding chopped frozen banana.  Something about frozen bananas.

Now I have to either follow the recipe or measure out what I am putting in so you guys can recreate. I think this takes me to the next level of cooker/baker in training. Hopefully.  And as a bonus I can recreate as well. J

Banana Coconut Polenta adapted from Eating well

1 chopped frozen  banana

¼ cup blueberries

2 cups of water

1 ½ cup almond milk

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup fine cornmeal

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

½ cup non fat or Greek style yogurt

1 ½ Tbsp agave or honey

1 tsp coconut extract

  1. Combine water, milk and salt in a large pot and bring to a boil. Gradually whisk in cornmeal and coconut.  Return to a boil.
  2. While stirring add in coconut extract, banana, and 1 tbsp of agave.
  3. Reduce heat to a medium-low to maintain an even bubble and whisk until the polenta thickens 1-5 minutes (depending on instant polenta or fine cornmeal).
  4. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
  5. In a separate bowl combine yogurt, blueberries and remaining agave.
  6. Spoon out a serving of the polenta and top with dollop of yogurt mixture.

No dessert Required

Posted on by
2

I am one of those folks that require (notice I said required and not want ;) ) a piece of sweet something following a meal.  From what I’ve read in the literature and magazines there is controversy as to why this is.  After lunch at work I can solve this problem with frozen grapes (don’t mock it till you try it!!) or gum. Dinner is another story. Harder to satisfy the craving.  So when I saw the skeleton of this meal on allreciepes.com it got the gears going in my noggin. I used the grill instead of the suggested broiler, and added in few twists of my own.

I liked this meal for a variety of reasons. I wanted to grill, but didn’t feel like slicing and dicing the same ol zucchini, pepper, onion stand by. This meal solved both of those issues, and as a bonus no dessert was needed!!! Not to mention the healthy content of this meal, where to start…. Tons of clean burning carbs ( you know I love those) from the polenta, banana, beans and tofu. Protein from bean and polenta combo, and tofu. Antioxidants from pineapple and tomato in the salsa, just to touch on some of the nutrients.   Woo, plus my fiance master griller and non meat eater gave it a 9/10!

Allrighty, enough talk lets get to it:

 Grilled Vegan Polenta Arepas

Start with these ingredients  all from Trader Joes:  

1 block of tofu

1 tube of prepared polenta

Olive Oil for grilling

3 bananas

1 cup black beans undrained

2 avocados sliced (apparently they were hiding when I took the pic)

Pineapple or mango salsa prepared (I cheated) or you can make your own

1/2 Tbsp Cumin

2 garlic cloves

Directions

1. If you have a charcoal grill like us get that fire going. She said fire hehe hehe (sorry had Bevis and Butthead relapse).

2. Slice tofu into large rectangular blocks, and the polenta and banana into circles. Set aside. Do not worry about the round hole and square peg issue.

3.  Mince garlic. 

4. In mixing bowl combine beans, garlic and cumin. Mix with hand held mixer or food processor until smooth. Set aside with salsa.

4. Throw tofu, polenta and bananas on grill. grill until those black crispy marks appear.

5. Spread out on table like this:

6. Assemble to become dinner and dessert in one

enjoy!

Somehow avocado didn’t make

this one either ha! Finally done :) .

Music: We listened to Arctic Monkeys new cd Suck It and See, and their older one Humbug to compare how they have progressed. Both of us have been hooked on the old cd for a while, so the new one had a lot to live up to. And while the new one is good, it is slower and less complex. So we still enjoy the older cd a little bit more. But it was a good grilling mix!