Sauteed Kale with Craisins & Pine Nuts

Sauteed Kale with Craisins & Pine Nuts

I can say with certainty that my grandmother's cast iron skillet has never seen kale.  I think she would be proud!  This was easy, sweet, nutritious, and delicious!  The combination of coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, dried fruits etc. is wonderful. Give this one a try for a healthy side dish or a vegetarian main dish.  

Sauteed Kale with Craisins & Toasted Pine Nuts

The Chef In My Head

Serves 4 as a main dish

1 medium onion, sliced thin
2 bunches of Kale, stalks removed and chopped 
2+ T coconut oil (always amazing with kale)
1/4 c craisins or mixed dried fruits
2 T cider vinegar
salt to taste 

1 tsp. dried pepper flakes (optional)

3 T pine nuts, toasted in dry skillet

Heat a large cast iron pot on medium heat and add coconut oil. Add onions and saute for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add kale - pile it up - pour on the vinegar and then put a lid on the pan. Keep the heat low and stir often to soften up all the kale/make the onions translucent. The coconut oil should coat the leaves and help moisten things, but you can add a few teaspoons of water if it seem a little dry. After 5 minutes or so, add the craisins and some salt. Continue cooking another 5-10 minutes until kale, onions, and craisins are soft.  Toss in dried pepper flakes, if using.  Serve with toasted pine nuts on top as garnish!

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Glowing Green Smoothie

Glowing Green Smoothie (R)

Drinking the Glowing Green Smoothie (GGS) is a great way to incorporate tremendous amounts of greens into your diet – far more than just eating your veggies. A serving of the GGS contains over 3 cups of dark leafy green vegetables, which is more than many people get in a week!
Greens have more valuable nutrients than any other food group on the planet. You might be surprised to learn that greens even have high-quality, easily-assimilated amino acids – enough to build the protein that supports the muscle mass of the mighty, greens-eating gorilla, which pound-for-pound is the strongest animal on earth!
Blending helps make greens’ full spectrum of nutrition readily available to the body. Nutrients are encased inside plant cells and getting their benefits requires these cells’ walls to be ruptured. Greens need to be worked down to a creamy consistency, but most people simply don’t chew that much! Blending addresses this problem, helping your body absorb the maximum amount of nutrition from your greens.
This is the drink that I drink every day, and have all my clients drink to feel and look their best. I hope that it will become part of your daily life as well.
I generally recommend starting out consuming around 16 ounces of the Glowing Green Smoothie, and then working up to 24 ounces or more. A Vitamix blender is definitely recommended to make this smoothie, so that it’s smooth, silky, and delicious in only a few minutes of prep time and cleanup.
The advantage of making a big batch like this one is time and convenience. Unlike juice, the Glowing Green Smoothie will keep in your refrigerator, as long as it’s covered, for about two and a half days. You can share it with your family or roommates, or have it yourself over that time period. You can also freeze portion sizes of it in glass containers and thaw out the night before in a bind.
Ongoing cleansing is a critical way to reach your highest potential of health and beauty. The Glowing Green Smoothie retains all of the fiber of the greens and fruit, rather than removing it. In nature, vegetables and fruit are found with both their fiber and juice intact, and we can’t improve on nature. Fiber is critical for ongoing cleansing by sweeping out toxins on a regular basis, helping to keep your digestive tract and body clean, and also keeping you more full so that you tent to eat less heavier and/or acidic foods throughout the day.
Note: I encourage you to mix and match your greens and fruit. Vary this recipe with kale, chard, arugula, and the like. Just avoid melons, as they don’t combine well with other produce.

Excerpts from Kymberly Snyder's Official Website

I encourage you to peruse her website, it is 

loaded with healthy goodness and valuable information!!

Glowing Green Smoothie (R)
The Beauty Detox Solution
Ingredients (64 ounces / 2-4 servings)


1 ½- 2 cups very cold, filtered water
6 cups spinach, chopped (I used kale)
5 cups organic romaine lettuce, chopped
2 stalks of organic celery (I used several of the tender baby stalks)
1 organic apple, cored and chopped
1 organic pear, cored and chopped
1 organic banana
1–2 Tbs. fresh organic lemon juice
Optional Ingredients
Ice cubes (the extra coldness can help newbies with the taste)
1/2 cup of organic cilantro
1/2 cup of organic parsley
Directions
Add water, spinach and chopped romaine to the blender. Starting the blender on a low speed; mix until smooth.
Gradually move to higher speeds and add the herbs, celery, pear, and apple. Add the banana and lemon juice last.


*For 1 serving, cut out one of the fruits and the celery.
Remember, your overall diet and lifestyle, and how you are cleansing out waste regularly are critical to you getting the results you want. You can’t just drink the GGS and expect maximum results…Be sure to read The Beauty Detox Solution to learn the entire program! It includes the crucial information to understand how to eat for beauty, as well as recipes, meal plans, and much more.


That's right, you guessed it....the Vitamix is on it again!!!

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Slow Cooked Pork Loin with Kale & Mushrooms over Creamy Polenta

In the past, my slow cooker has only been used for queso.  Today changed all that.  It took guts, but I put two beautiful pork loins in my decrepitly old slow cooker, closed the lid and walked away.  Much to my surprise, about 4 hours later this pork loin was perfect; moist, flavorful and delicious!

As for the Kale, who can go wrong with anything that has pancetta and mushrooms in it?

Perfect Flavor Combinations

Succulent Pork Loin in the Slow Cooker

The Chef In My Head

2 pounds pork tenderloin

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1 C water

3/4 C Cabernet Savignon red wine

4 T low sodium soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Tony's seasoning, to taste

Heat a large skillet to med-high heat with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Pat dry pork tenderloin and season with pepper.  Brown tenderloin on all sides.  Place browned tenderloin into slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet on high.  Pour water, wine and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat evenly.  Sprinkle the fresh garlic over the pork leaving as much on top as possible.  Season with more pepper and Tony's.  Adjust temperature to low setting and cook for 4 hours.

Remove pork loin to platter and cover tightly with foil.  Carefully pour cooking liquid to a small saucepan and cook until liquid is reduce by half.  Thicken with cornstarch if necessary.  Check for seasonings and serve with pork loin over creamy polenta or mashed potatoes.

Note:  In the photo you will see that I did not thicken the liquid enough :/  Still tasted great, I just wasn't happy with the appearance.

Serves 6.  Enjoy!

Kale, Pancetta & Mushrooms over Creamy Polenta adapted from Bon Appetit
The Chef In My Head

Ingredients:
1-1/4 pounds kale, stemmed, washed well & rough chopped

2 C whole milk
1-1/4 C water
1 C polenta
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper

6 oz pancetta (Italian bacon) or bacon, coarsely chopped
8 oz mushrooms (such as crimini, oyster, and stemmed shiitake), sliced
2 T olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 C white wine
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T chopped fresh thyme
1 T grated lemon peel

4 T butter
2/3 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:


Bring milk, water, polenta, salt, and pepper to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thick, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.


Meanwhile, cook pancetta in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels. Add mushrooms and oil to drippings in skillet. Sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in kale and pancetta. Add garlic, white wine and seasonings.  Cover and simmer until kale is tender to your taste. Stir in thyme and  lemon peel. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


Whisk butter and Parmesan into polenta and divide among plates. Top with kale mixture.

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