The Skinny Confidential: A Babe's Sexy, Sassy Health and Lifestyle Guide (4 page)

Optional: a side of pico de gallo or salsa verde

+ Sauté chopped onions in a little bit of coconut oil in a pan on low heat for 1 to 3 minutes. Beat the eggs with a fork or wire whisk. After a few minutes, pour eggs into the pan. While eggs are cooking, arrange a bed of arugula on a plate. Toss the tomatoes and avo slices on top of the lettuce. After the eggs are cooked to your liking, put them on top of your veggie medley. For a condiment, try pico de gallo or salsa verde.

NOTE:
The reason I’m not a fan of cooking all the veggies into the eggs is that when you heat vegetables, they lose their nutrients. If you cook the eggs and then add the raw veg, you’ll receive more healthy benefits. Also, if you want to add turkey or chicken (extra protein!!) to this scramble, go for it!

A VERY VEGGIE SCRAMBLE

LUNCH
THE HOLY KALE

Ahhh, kale. If kale were a boy, I’d be crushin’! Kale is so cool and versatile. My favorite way to eat kale is in a salad. I die over it because it’s so filling! This is my favorite salad.

SERVES 2

2½ heaping handfuls of kale, chopped

1 handful of baby arugula, washed

1 tangerine, peeled and sectioned

1 tomato, sliced

1 cup/100 g purple or white cauliflower, diced

⅓ cup/70 g scallions, chopped

½ avocado, diced

DRESSING

2 tbsp/10 g Dijon mustard

1 to 2 tbsp/15 to 30 ml of extra virgin olive oil

½ lemon

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

Rosemary or basil, chopped

+ For the salad, combine kale, arugula, tangerine, tomato, cauliflower, scallions and avocado in a large bowl.

For the dressing, mix all ingredients together. Don’t think I’m weird, but I like to shake my dressing up in a martini shaker (sans ice, obvi).

Toss salad with the dressing. Add a stick of rosemary or a few leaves of basil for garnish.

THE HOLY KALE

THE HALF-ASS SANDWICH

My grandma makes this little gem for me at least once a month. It’s super easy to throw together and works great for lunch (or linner … lunch and dinner together).

SERVES 1

3 hard-boiled eggs

2 tbsp/10 g Dijon mustard

1 tbsp/10 g olive oil mayonnaise

6 cornichons, diced

¼ apple, diced

1 slice of low-carb, no-salt bread, toasted

A few dashes of black pepper

A few sprinkles of sea salt

A few dashes of chili flakes, to taste

+ Peel shells off the hard-boiled eggs. Put the shell-less eggs in a large bowl and mash them with a fork. Add Dijon mustard, mayo, cornichons and apple. Add about 3 hefty spoonfuls of the low-cal egg salad onto one (only one! Remember, open-faced) piece of toast. Add pepper, sea salt and chili flakes.

If you have leftover egg salad, don’t freak out. Save it for tomorrow. There’s no reason to lick the bowl.

THE HALF-ASS SANDWICH

SKINNY HOMEMADE LENTIL SOUP

Lentils are seriously insane. Why? Glad you asked.

They’re filled with B vitamins, contain tons of fiber and are super filling (hello, protein!). They’re also known to help reduce women’s risk of developing breast cancer. Gotta protect the girls! Enjoy this recipe, which I stole from my friend Mike because it’s too delicious not to share!

SERVES 3 TO 4

2 cups/460 g carrots, chopped

2 cups/460 g celery, chopped

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tsp/5 ml coconut cooking oil

24 oz/700 ml vegetable or chicken stock

1 small package dry vegetable/mushroom soup mix, such as Manischewitz
^®

1 cup/160 g precooked lentils

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

+ In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, sauté the classic trio—carrots, celery and onion—over medium-high heat in the coconut oil. Add the stock and bring to a low boil. Add the dry soup mix (reserve the seasoning pack), return to boil, cover and simmer, as directed by the package, on low heat for 1 ½ hours.

If you’re using canned lentils, give them a decent rinse. I’ve found the precooked packaged ones are perfect, but a little hard to find.

Now, combine the lentils and the seasoning package, add to the soup and simmer another 30 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Let stand and serve.

This recipe evolves with practice. Last time I made it, I added fresh mushrooms and a few splashes of white wine. See what’s left in the fridge and have fun.

SKINNY HOMEMADE LENTIL SOUP

DINNER
CILANTRO AWARD-WINNING THREE-CHEESE
CHILE RELLENOS WITH FRESH PAPAYA SALSA

Chiles are known to contain capsaicin, which releases endorphins into the brain to help cure depression and anxiety. Also, there’s more vitamin C found in a chile than in an orange.

Ever since I was little, I’ve adored my dad’s chile relleno recipe. The recipe looks long, but is actually quick, easy and delicious. Perfect for a healthy Mexican fiesta!

SERVES 6

4 tsp/20 ml extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp/20 g curry powder

¼ cup/60 g fresh ginger root, chopped

1 large red tomato, diced

6 organic poblano chiles

½ bunch of cilantro

1 firm papaya, chopped into squares

1 mango, diced

1 cup/120 g goat cheese, chopped

1 cup/120 g light Mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 cup/120 g sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup/160 g black beans, cooked

Sour cream or crème fraiche

+ Preheat the broiler/oven on high. Pour olive oil into sauté pan and set flame temperature to medium. Add curry powder and chopped ginger to pan and sauté until ginger shows signs of browning. Depending on your stove, this could take between 5 and 10 minutes. Add diced tomato to pan, whisking to combine with curry and ginger.

While the salsa is cooking, rub chiles with some extra virgin olive oil and place on sheet pan. Place pan in the oven to blister the chiles. While the chiles are blistering in the oven, return to the salsa.

Whisk cilantro, papaya and mango together with ingredients in sauté pan. Reduce heat to a simmer until cilantro, papaya and mango are showing signs of being cooked through. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the salsa from the heat.

Turn the chiles once while they’re blistering. The sound of the chiles popping is a good sign; it means the skin is separating from the chile. Remove the chiles after about 5 to 6 minutes and place them in a brown paper bag folding over the top of the bag to steam them. After 5 to 10 minutes, remove the chiles from the bag and, under slow–running, lukewarm water, peel tough, outer skin away from one opened side of each chile. Carefully remove the seeds under the water. Using gloves is an option; sometimes the heat is harsh on hands.

Pat dry chiles with paper towel.

Place the three cheeses in a bowl and toss together. Stuff each chile with the cheese mixture. Return the stuffed chiles to the sheet pan and place the pan under the broiler until the three-cheese blend is completely melted, about 3 to 6 minutes. Remove the chiles from the broiler/oven.

Add approximately 4 tablespoons/40 g of papaya salsa to the top of each chile. Garnish with three sprigs of cilantro leaf. Serve with a side of black beans topped with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche.

CILANTRO AWARD-WINNING THREE-CHEESE CHILE RELLENOS WITH FRESH PAPAYA SALSA

LEMON LOVE SALMON

Salmon is an amazing source of protein and contains tons of vitamins and minerals. Add some quinoa and broccoli to this dish and it’s a serious life changer. This is a meal that deserves to be cooked at least once a week.