Spicy Jicama Sticks; The Perfect Mindless Munchie Snack

Have you ever tried jicama? I had heard of it, but never tried it until a client told me that it was their new obsession. I love teaching people about new foods, but it's fun to every once in a while be introduced to something new by a client!

In case you were wondering what jicama looks like....




And to give you an idea of the size, here is a picture of it in my hand.


If you're wondering how the heck to pick out a good jicama, and how to store it, check out this link.

The great thing about jicama is that it's pretty low in carbohydrates, and it's loaded with fiber. After doing some research on jicama, I learned that the majority of its fiber is soluble (yeah!), but sadly for me, the specific type of soluble fiber is inulin (otherwise known as a short-chain of fructose linked together...also called fructans). Inulin is also considered a prebiotic, which means it can serve as food for good bacteria in the gut. The reason it's bad news for me is because I malabsorb things like inulin. Fructans (like inulin) are an oligosaccharide, and they are supposed to be avoided or limited on the low FODMAPs diet (the "O" stands for oligosaccharides). So, when I eat my jicama I try to stick to a small serving.


So now let's imagine it's 3pm and you're at home on your day off. You're not hungry, but you want to much on something crunchy (it's that 3pm craving for salty crunch that is hitting you hard!). What do you do? Make these:

Mexican Jicama Snacks
(Makes enough for about 5 large mindless munchie occasions)

Ingredients

1 large jicama

2 limes, juiced

1 T red pepper flakes

1/8 tsp. sea salt

Directions

Peel the jicama, and rinse it off under cold water.
Cut into fry-sized sticks.
Combine in a medium bowl with juice, pepper flakes, and salt
Toss to coat.
Serve/eat as finger food!

(Ignore the tacky purple nail polish that is flaking off my thumb nail. My mom will be so angry if she sees that....)

Delicious!

Nutrition Facts
(Serving Size: 1/5th of the batch)

Check out all that fiber! So, the total carbohydrates is 22 grams. You can take half of the grams of fiber (which is 6) and subtract that from 22 (which makes 16) and this is your "net carbs" (if you are a carbohydrate counter). So this is a salty and crunchy snack with less than 100 calories, only 16 carbohydrates, LOTS of fiber, a good source of vitamin A (and almost iron...), and an excellent source of vitamin C.

QUESTION: Have you ever tried jicama?? What about any other new finds that you'd like to share?

When Nick Wants a Quesadilla...

Nick's idea of a quesadilla used to be two white flour tortillas loaded with chicken, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. Not anymore. Nope. Now he actually enjoys my updated versions of his old favorites, such as this chicken and spinach quesadilla.

Chicken and Spinach Quesadilla
(Serves one very hungry person or two people)


Ingredients
2 soft whole grain tortillas (gluten free options are available)
2 cups raw spinach
5 ounces grilled chicken
1/2 avocado
1/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheese
2 slices nitrate-free bacon
1/2 cup black beans, strained and rinsed

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Layer one tortilla on a baking sheet and layer ingredients in order of the list above (with the beans going on last)
3. Top with the second tortilla
4. If you want, add more cheese on top
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes

Wow, that's a lot of white in the photo above. Sorry. I'm still learning how to use my new camera. It's awesome, but I still need work on my nighttime photos! You still get the idea that this was delicious, right?!

Nutrition Facts
(Serving size: 1 entire quesadilla)
(** Note, I used tortillas that were only 60 calories each **)

Nick loved this quesadilla, by the way, and I did too (I had mine with some plain Greek yogurt as the "sour cream", and I only ate half and saved the other half for the following day). It surely beats this "quesadilla" below, which is from a certain company who makes frozen meals.....gross.

Question: What's your favorite ingredient in a quesadilla? Did you know that some restaurant quesadillas ("appetizers") provide over 1000 calories?! And on top of that they provide more than a day's worth of sodium. No bueno.

Flavorful Cod Skewers, Served with Wholesome Wheat Berries

I know what you're thinking.....RANDOM! I mean, fish on a skewer?! Yes, random, but also very tasty. You could alternatively use salmon for this recipe if you are lucky enough to live with a salmon-lover, but these turned out wonderful with cod.

Cod Skewers

(Adapted from a recipe from Giant Eagle Market District)
Serves 6


Ingredients
12 wooden skewers, soaked
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
1.5 lb. cod, fresh, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
10 ounces baby bellas, cleaned and halved
1 small red onion, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
4 T garlic olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t basil
1/2 t fresh ground pepper
1/4 t salt



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Thread 1 piece of pepper, 2 pieces of cod, 1 mushroom, 1 piece onion, alternating each, until you've made 6 skewers.

3. Mix together the garlic olive oil and the balsamic vinegar, to make a vinaigrette.

4. Drizzle half of the vinaigrette evenly over the skewers and season well with spices (add the spices to a small bowl and mix together first).

5. Cover 2 baking sheets with foil, spray foil with cooking spray, and layer the kabobs on the sheet.

6. Bake skewers for about 6 minutes, then flip and bake for an additional 4-5 minutes, or until internal temperature of cod reaches 145 degrees, or more.

7. Serve with your favorite whole grain (I served mine with wheat berries).

Nutrition Facts
(Serving Size: 2 skewers)

Have you ever used the USDA Nutrient Database? You can find out the nutrient content of just about any food on this website. Here is the link for the nutrient content of cooked Atlantic Cod (Note: the amount of EPA and DHA is pretty sad, but the saturated fat is very low so this is a great substitute for meat, any day!)

If you on following a low FODMAPs diet, just don't eat the red onion. Actually you shouldn't eat the mushroom either (according to the polyol content of mushrooms) but personally mushrooms don't bother me unless I eat more than about 1/2 cup.

QUESTION: What's your favorite vegetable and/or protein to put on a skewer? I had never tried fish on a skewer before, but I think it's my new favorite protein to put on a skewer and I'm going to try these on the grill over the summer. These were delicious, and Nick loved them too. I also really love mushrooms on a skewer. If I could, I'd eat about fifty.

Any fun weekend plans? I'm off today and Sunday, but have to work tomorrow. Tonight Nick and I are staying in to paint our workout room (the wooden edges) and catch up on TV shows we missed this week. We've both had a long week so we just want to be lazy. I can't wait.

Maple-Glazed Salmon (Simple and Delicious!)

Is it just me, or does the picture above look like chicken? I swear it's salmon. I took this picture with my old, not so great camera. My new Nikon does a better job of making your mouth water, but I had not received it until the day after I made this salmon. Really, this picture should make you want to eat salmon, even if you hate it. Why? Because this recipe rocks!

Maple-Glazed Salmon
(Serves 6)

Prep Time: Less than 10 minutes
Cooking time: Less than 10 minutes


Ingredients
6 (5-6 ounces) pieces salmon fillet
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T butter
1/4 cup maple syrup, divided


Directions
1. Heat broiler. Sprinkle salmon evenly with salt. In a large nonstick pan, melt butter on medium. Add salmon, skin side up; cook 2 minutes.

2. Place salmon, skin side down, on broiler rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on broiler pan lined with foil (or use a foil-lined baking sheet if you don't have a broiler rack or broiler pan) and brush salmon with half of the maple syrup.

3. Broil 5-inches from the heat, 5 to 7 minutes, or until syrup caramelizes. Once out of the oven, brush with remaining syrup.


Nutrition Facts
(Serving Size: 1 ~6 ounce piece of salmon)
Plus about 1200 mg EPA/DHA (omega-3 fatty acids).

Awesome. Right?

Eat this meal twice a week and you'll average out to about 350 mg EPA/DHA, which is perfect for those without documented CHD (Source).



So simple. So delicious. So good for you. What more could you ask for?!


QUESTION: What do you like to serve with your salmon? I actually ate this with a spinach salad. Then I ate it the next day, cold, on top of a spinach salad. There is something about salmon and spinach....it's a great combination in my opinion.

Oh yeah, one more thing, this was our view at last night's OSU game against Illinois. Yes, of course we won (sorry Nicole, you beat us once, but never twice in a row!).