Lentil Cakes

When I first read this recipe it seemed pretty straight forward and it was. But, for some reason by the time I had finished and hour and half had gone by. So if you are looking for something quick and easy don't turn to this meal. On a positive note, you can make these ahead of time and freeze them. Just re-heat them for an easy meal. The flavor of the lentil cakes was fine but he texture was a little pastey. I was hoping this would be a tasty "vegetarian burger" I could serve a good friend of mine who doesn't eat meat but this recipe just didn't cut it. It was a lot of effort for something that just tasted "OK" so I probably won't make them again.

SERVED WITH: Rice and a side salad.

COOKING TIPS: For some reason my cakes just wouldn't stick together. The mixture was quite wet and many of them broke apart while being fried. I know sometimes I don't but this time I did follow the directions exactly so I am not sure what went wrong.

RATING: 6.5

Tomato and Cheese Catfish

Personally I didn't enjoy this meal. I don't like catfish but it has nothing to do with how it tastes. As a kid I went fishing a lot, and came across catfish often. The thought of eating one of those rather ugly looking fish just turns me off. I know it is silly but it is just one of those foods I have a problem with. So why did I try the recipe you might ask. Well, I planned on substituting in another fish (tilapia and flounder would work well) but my husband did the grocery shopping alone this week and ignored my request for a more pleasant looking fish. He decided we should follow the recipe exactly, so he bought catfish.

SERVED WITH: A side of asparagus and farro

COOKING TIPS: This meal is pretty easy to put together. Chop up the tomatoes and onions, toss with some spices, throw it on top of the fish, and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes.

RATING: 7.0 (This is my husbands rating because clearly mine is prejudice)

Fresh Summer Salad - My own creation

I tend to eat a lot of salads with the recipes from the GI Diet Cookbook and sometimes I need to change them up a bit so they don't get boring. I can usually eat something for quite a while before I get tired of it but once I do I am not likely to eat again for months. So I with that in mind I am trying to keep things fresh. This week I am topping off my mixed baby greens with radishes, pumpkin seeds, green onions, feta cheese and cucumber.

So are all of those topping allowed according to the GI diet you might ask.

Radishes - yes
Cucumber - absolutely
Green onions - for sure
Pumpkin seeds - not to sure - pumpkin is listed as a yellow light item. I couldn't find pumpkin seeds so I would assume the seeds would be yellow light as well.
Feta - again I could not find feta on any of the lists but if you are eating cheese it usually has to be a low fat cheese. I admit, mine was not.

So overall this is a healthy salad which seems to have a few yellow light items. Next week I will try to limit myself to only one yellow light item in my salad.

Well, I have fallen off the GI diet wagon again and I am having a hard time getting back on.

Last week was a busy one filled with dinners out and lots of tempting "bad" food. I ate fries, white pasta, white potatoes, a coke!(only once because the shop was sold out of water believe it or not) and fish and chips. Talk about some bad choices.

So today I have decided to get back at it and start eating properly again. So I am sitting here, it is 4:30, and I haven't even eaten lunch. I have had a bunch of healthy snacks but not enough to get me through the day. The problem is I didn't have a chance to do groceries yesterday so I have been trying to figure out what I can buy at one of the shops near my work that is decent enough to eat.

I think I will pop out and get some milk and have a bowl of my Kashi cereal to get me through until dinner. Don't worry, I have dinner covered. Lentil cakes and salad are on the menu, if I don't pass out first. :)

So its not always easy and I am not always good at following the diet but I think it's important to let you know about the ups and the downs.

Herbed Cheese Omelette - Second Time Around

This first time I made this dish I had to give myself a big pat on the back for finally learning how to cook an omelet that ended up looking like an omelet and not scrabbled eggs. I will admit though that I still hold my breath every time because I am still worried I will mess it up.

SERVED WITH: This time I was not so lazy and I managed to throw together a salad for a more rounded out meal.

COOKING TIPS: Check out my first post on this dish for cooking tips by clicking here.

RATING: 10 again, this cookbook can't go wrong.

White Chili Chicken

This meal is yummy. I've made it at least three times since January. I would consider it more of a heart warming winter meal then something you would want to eat in the spring. Even though it is called chili it is unlike any other chili I've made in the past. The base of this meal is shredded cabbage combined with white kidney beans and chicken instead of the traditional beef you would usually find in a chili.

SERVED WITH: I served this chili on a bed of brown rice and topped it off with a dollop (or two) of sour cream and a some cilantro. Definitely serve it with the cilantro, it just doesn't taste the same without it!

RATING: 8. It's flavorful and filling.

Pork Medallions Dijon

This was a very tasty dish. Basically what you do is simmer your pork tenderloin medallions in a sauce made up of white wine, dijon mustard, onions and spices. What I like about it was that the flavor of dijon did not completely take over the dish, there was a nice balance between the mustard and the wine. The pork was also nice and tender.


SERVED WITH: Broccoli and farro. This was the first time I had tried farro and I really enjoyed it. Farro is made from spelt so it is probably a yellow light item on the GI diet. If you are tired of rice and pasta and want a change give farro a try every once in a while. It tastes like a cross between rice and pasta. The shape of rice but with the substance of pasta.

COOKING TIPS: I would recommend chopping up the onions in this dish instead of just slicing them. I am not a fan of long stringy bits of onion in my meals.

RATING: 7.5. While I did enjoy the meal it was not one of my absolute favorites. This meal would not become one of my staple go to meals but that's just to do with personal taste.

Cocoa Spice-Rubbed Steak

This recipe calls for a top sirloin grilling steak. I don't know enough about steaks to know what the difference is between cuts of beef so I went ahead with their recommendation and purchased what was called for. Unfortunatley the cut of beef was not desirable and I didn't finish my meal. The steak was far to marbelled for my taste. I have nothing bad to say about the rub on the steak. It smelled great and tasted quite flavorful. Next time I would buy a better cut of meat.

If you want to learn the differences between a sirloin steak, filet mignon, and t-bone click on the link below.
Different cuts of beef

SERVED WITH: I served the steak with a side of mushrooms and a delicious salad a good friend of mine served to me for dinner one night at her place. chop up some cucumbers and grape tomatoes, mix them with some crumbled feta and sprinkle a some pumpkin seed over top. Splash the salad with a dressing of equal parts lemon juice and olive oil.

COOKING TIPS: Just grill it up and serve.

RATING: 4. This rating is for the steak only not the side dishes served with it. It got a 4 simply because of the cut of meat.

Bolognese Pasta Sauce

Another attempt at finding a new pasta sauce that I am happy with. As I mentioned in a past post, spaghetti is a comfort food to me so I am super picky about how it tastes. This one was not too bad but the next time I make it I will definitely add in some chili flakes. I like my sauce slightly spicy.

SERVED WITH: A serving of whole wheat pasta.

COOKING TIPS: Don't be afraid to add in your favorite herbs and spices to make this sauce your own.

RATING. 7. I could get used to it.

Quinoa, Bean and Vegetable Chili

The last time I made this vegetarian chili I had a bunch of friends over for dinner. We were so hungry from going on a long run in preparation for our half marathon that I didn't get a chance to take a picture before we ate it. This time I did. So...voila...here it is...

If you want to read my original post on the dish click the link below
Quinoa, Bean and Vegetable Chili

SERVED WITH: I sprinkled some cut up cilantro (also know as coriander) over top for some added flavor.

COOKING TIPS: The smaller you chop up the vegetables the quicker it will cook. I chopped up all my veggies and laid out my spice jars on the counter the night before to make preparing this meal quicker when I got home from work.

RATING: 9. A healthy vegetarian dish that fills you up and tastes great.

Great Find - Chopped Tomatoes

When my husband and I are at the grocery store we are constantly reading labels and trying to find healthier products. We recently came across a fabulous brand of chopped and crushed tomatoes that have a fraction of the salt and calories then most other brands. Take a look for POMI tomato products in your local grocery store. (I can't find a website for Pomi but they are sold at Highland Farms in Toronto) We found these tomatoes in tetra packs next to the canned ones. For 1/2 of a cup they have only 30 calories compared to 60 in other brands, and the most surprising fact was they only have 10mg of sodium compared to a whopping 270 mg in other brands. These days most food that is processed in any way has a ton of added salt so it was refreshing to find this brand of tomatoes with a much healthier amount.

When we are purchasing packaged or canned products here are the things we are looking at:
- What is it made of? Do we know what all of the ingredients actually are or are there some things on the label we don't understand. We always try to purchase the products with fewer ingredients and always steer clear of buying something with any ingredient we don't recognize. Sometimes we google it when we get home just find out what it is.
- How much salt is there? Believe it or not one can of tomatoes or beans is not the same as the next. Different brands have different amounts of salt. Always choose the brand with less salt.
- How much sugar is in it? If your following the GI Diet you will already be paying attention to sugar levels. Less is better so choose the brand with less.
- Calories. Those calories can add up fast. Even though we don't count calories on the GI Diet it can sometimes be the determining factor when choosing one canned product over the other.
- Nutrition. It is always good to pay attention to the nutritional information such as protein and vitamin levels as well.

If you want more detailed advice from the professionals check out what Health Canada considers healthy by clicking on the link below:

Health Canada

Spicy Roasted Chicken with Tomatoes and Tarragon

Talk about spicy! I had several glasses of water while consuming this dinner. It is still very tasty though and has become a staple recipe in my kitchen. This first time I made this meal I used grape tomatoes. The second time the store was sold of grape tomatoes so I bought a mixture of smaller yellow, orange and red tomatoes and just made sure they were approximately the same size when I cut them up so that they would cook evenly. I preferred the subtly difference in flavor when using the mixed tomatoes and would cook it that way again.

SERVED WITH: Steamed green beans and quinoa.

COOKING TIPS: This meal is so simple to prepare you don't need any tips.

RATING: 7.5 Just because it is a little too spicy.