It Feels Like Balinese Nasi Campur (Buffalo Shrimp + Balsamic Cucumber Salad)

Nasi Campur is a dish we ordered many times in Bali. Each time it would be different and each time J and I would discuss how we should start eating that way.

You wouldn't exactly know what you would get with each order, but you knew you would get to try a lot of different Balinese dishes in one sitting. The meal always seemed like you would have a piece of meat of some kind and a whole lot of sides - almost like families would make ten different dishes on Sundays and would pick away at each dish throughout the week, a little bit from each one - the opposite from what we typically do here in North America.

As I've mentioned, I'm trying to limit our intake of rice, potatoes, bread and pasta (says the girl who just caved and had a sub). Last night proved to be difficult. I made our shrimp. I made our salad.I just stared at the plate, upset about how bare it looked. I, then, added on the avocado+spinach+blueberry salad and then, again, felt it still looked bare and cooked up a few hard boiled eggs for us.

There you have it. Shrimp. Cucumber Salad. Spinach Salad. Egg. Success.

It filled us up and tasted delicious. Only problem is that we end up craving snacks two hours after eating, but that's not a bad thing if we stick to a celery and almond butter kind of snackk! As I just said above, I just caved with a sub. Shameful, yet laughable. Katie tells me I need to be incorporating more fats to keep the hunger away...so for the future, I'll have lots of almonds (or maybe I'll make a trail mix) at work and more avocado (heck yes). Going on four dinners without the typical "fillers" we usually have is still a positive in my books. What an interesting process... I can't imagine what those of you out there go through who kick this stuff cold turkey - It was hard enough when I made my changes, but I had a transition plan in place that took about 4 months. :)

Buffalo Shrimp
If you haven't stumbled over to The Foodie Physician, then you should. I follow her on Facebook and Pinterest as well. I had pinned this recipe awhile ago and finally got around to it.

I used about 24 large shrimp (not jumbo) and used coconut oil instead of butter. I also didn't grill the shrimp. I used cooked shrimp (tails on), tossed them with the lemon and s/p. I warmed them up in a pan and tossed them with the Frank's hot sauce (original - very important) and coconut oil. Would definitely be good marinated and grilled.

Cucumber Balsamic Salad
There's no need to change anything in this salad - I followed it ingredient by ingredient. Very easy and something a little different for the table. We often have cucumber slices drizzled with a bit of balsamic anyhow for our treats, so the flavor combination was right up our "alley".

Spinach Salad
I love the taste of avocado and blueberries so much that I just added those two things and drizzled the salad with a bit of lemon juice - no dressing.

That's it! Updates on progress, new ideas and changes will keep coming. It's our long weekend - and the best weekend of the year - this week so we'll be having a feast of surf n' turf and lots more "surf" on the side. Can't wait!

Spinach {Pasta} Salad + {Slow Cooker} Chicken Wings

Happy end of the week!

I have a few good "pub" or "fast food" type meals to share with you - done the healthier + intolerance-free way. During the past week, we've had another really great pizza, some portobello mushroom burgers (which were so good, I basically went back to the store the next day to get more mushrooms...) and the above chicken wings and spinach salad.

It feels like I'm a bit of a kid all over again. Like I was just treated to a week of "junk" food (which as a kid, pizza, chicken nugget or western sandwich nights were clearly your favorite). It's an awesome feeling to know that we can have those same pleasures whenever we want - and without the expense, both literally and physically.
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I input a little break here because this is the point where my blog decided not to save my previous writing. I have just spent the last hour - yes, hour - sitting here and writing an extremely long blog post. I thought it was pretty good. Unfortunately, my wireless and blog decided to both not cooperate at the same time and now I've lost it all. After a week of having no time to blog, I could just cry but ALAS I won't. I've got a wonderful hubby who just cheered me up with a berry/cantaloupe/vanilla rice milk smoothie so I will move on. :)

I had written a long post about my relationship with chicken wings (admittedly, 2 paragraphs might have been too much anyway), and how my feelings on them have ebbed and flowed over the years. I wrote about my issue of eating meat off of the bone. And how we used to consume many a chicken wing on a Wednesday or Thursday evening in university without thinking twice. Even last year, I was still convincing myself that I enjoyed eating a basket of wings at a noisy bar ~ I guess we all change, right? I've come to learn that I can still embrace chicken wings, just in the comfort of my own home and if J either bakes, bbqs or slow cooks them....
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Instead of heading out for 25 cent wings this weekend, cook at home, be healthier and save the money (because with wings, comes draught beer) - or even better: let the slow cooker do the work for you! (and hey: drink better beer with them at home, too!)

Beer + BBQ Slow Cooker Wings
From Allie's Kitchen (by J)

1/2 of a bottle of Organicville's BBQ Sauce

1/3 can of beer (the cheap stuff!)

A few pinches of your favorite hot sauce (Frank's obviously!)

Plop those chicken wings in your slow cooker and cook for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low. That's it. Literally: that's all you have to do, 

Notes:

- Although the BBQ sauce is sweetened with Agave Nectar instead of sugra, I just realized it's also sweetened with molasses...sigh! Just use a 1/2 bottle of any sugar, soy, dairy free BBQ sauce. I'll update the product page soon.

- J came home for lunch and put the wings on high for 3 hours. The 6 hour time is just a guestimate for low.
- The BBQ sauce is Gluten-free

Print this recipe.

The one thing I do remember noting in my other really good post was that wing nights were filled with just that: wings. You'd rarely have a vegetable to go along with it (maybe a slice of carrot or celery?). I can't believe that used to be fun! 

Tonight, we were craving a spinach salad...so I tried to switch things up a bit by playing around with the dressing and adding pasta! LOVE. So easy, too.

Spinach {Pasta} Salad or "There's Pasta In My Spinach Salad!"

From Allie's Kitchen

Cook your pasta.

Dressing:
In a small bowl, mix together:
- 1/4 cup of Renee's 1/2 Caesar
- 1/4 cup of Helman's Mayo
- 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

Salad Ingredients:
In a large bowl, mix together:
- 2 cups of spinach, cut/ripped
- 1 cup of tomato, diced
- 1 cup of cucumber, cut small
- 1 cup of Fresh Gourmet Organic Seasoned Croutons, crushed

Once pasta is cooked, drain and let cool. Mix together with dressing then add in salad ingredients. Mix well and serve!

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Aren't these much better options for a Fast Food Friday night?  I think so! I've been cooking with a few different product names as of late and need to update the "Brands I Love" page. I haven't really done that since I "cut out" sugar. I also would like to further explain the way I handle sugar. For example, Hellman's Mayo has sugar listed as the 6th ingredient, so I want to make sure to tell you that on the other page. I'll let you know when I make those updates. I'm also going to remove brands that simply "work" with my diet, and only include truly brands that I love.

Have you liked the new Allie's Changing Kitchen Facebook page yet? It's very new, so bare with me! Go on over to visit. Happy Friday! :)

My Best (Cheese-less) Pizza So Far (Fast Food Fridays)

I have a pretty awesome line-up of songs on. It's my day off and I'm going to enjoy some blogging, pinning, music and reading (maybe a chore or two...we'll see) - all by the fire. Sounds pretty good, right?

To start this post off, you're going to get a list of the songs I'm about to listen to because sharing music is just about as awesome as sharing food:

1. You and I - Ingrid Michaelson

2. Where the Road Meets the Sun - Katie Herzig and Matthew Perryman Jones

3. Flume - Bon Iver

4. Roll Away Your Stone - Mumford and Sons

5. Rambling Man - Laura Marling

6. Be My Honeypie - The Weepies

7. Skinny Love - Bon Iver

8. Relator - Scarlett Johansson and Pete Yorn

If you don't know any of those songs, please introduce yourselves. 

Okay.  Moving on.

Another week is over and now it's February. How did that ever happen? January used to be the longest and most dreaded month of the year - so I thought. We didn't even do much of anything this last month, hid inside most weekends getting our house set up, watching movies and playing a whole lot of Settlers of Catan. 

*Side note: Does anyone play Settlers and have a similar obsession with the game? If so, here's a treat we found on our good 'ol friend, Google, the other day for the foodie-obsessed Catan lovers: Catan Pizza, Catan Cookies and Catan Cupcakes!

I'm not going to ramble on about life too much today (other than what I've already done..sigh). I need to get straight to the point because this was A-MAZING. Every bite 'J' took was followed by a satisfied "mmm..." - the key measure of success. As it's Friday and we all love to indulge in some junk food, eat this! Do it. Make it. This pizza truly does not need cheese! Switch up the toppings... do whatever you like, but make sure to try the sauce and the chicken marinade! Also: If you're a blogger, join in on Fast Food Fridays! If you're not a blogger...why not do a guest post? My blog welcomes you.

Cheese-less Chicken Pizza

From Allie's Kitchen, Quantity: 2 pizzas with a wee bit of leftover sauce

Crust

Spinach Tortilla Wraps (I double J's up, but I just use one). Use any wrap (or pita) that your diet will allow.

Pizza Sauce

1/3 cup of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

herbs: Lots! I used a mix of basil, marjoram and the fridge herbs we keep. :)

Mix herbs and oil together in a bowl. Fry garlic on high for a minute then add that to the bowl, as well. Let sit.

Chicken

1 piece of leftover chicken (fresh, boneless would work too), sliced very thin.

2 tbsp of Frank's Buffalo Sauce

2 tbsp of Renee's 1/2 Caesar 

Toppings

Quantities enough for what you want, really.

Mushrooms, sliced

Broccolini, cut small 

Baby spinach

Tomato, sliced

Green onions, chopped

Pepper

Optional

On J's, I added cheese and a bit of leftover bacon we had. I didn't add anything extra to mine and loved it.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven at 400. 

2. Using a pastry brush, brush sauce over each pizza (I didn't use all of the sauce).

3. Disperse chicken across each pizza, evenly.

4. Add all of the toppings, adding tomatoes on last. Sprinkle all with pepper.

5. Place both pizzas in oven for about 6 minutes, maybe a bit longer if your oven doesn't run hot. You want the tortillas to be crispy enough that you can pick it up, but not burnt! 

Note:As this is an oily sauce, it may not be super crispy... but easy enough to eat with a fork and knife.

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I've said it already and I'll say it again: Make this. So good. 

On The Side: Our side that went along with this pizza was a simple corn (canned) + avocado + tomato salad mixed together with 1tbsp of both lime juice + olive oil. Easy Peasy.

Any Fast Food Friday clean-er recipes to share? What do you like to make on Fridays? Have a routine? Want to submit a guest post any non-bloggers?? :0) Happy Friday!!

Oh! And last thought...I updated my Travel Page. Still missing a few things, but...check it out! 

Fast Food Fridays {Fish Tacos}

 Twitter caught my eye the other day when I saw Mooshu Jenne tweet about #FastFoodFridays. Who doesn't love fastfood on a Friday?

I know our Friday treat night was one thing we had to change quickly with my intolerances (Confession: I still indulge in many chips...all safe intolerance-wise, but still junk food nonetheless!). It was all probably for the best. Even if you're only pigging out on grease once a week, it sure feels like it takes a whole week just to get your system is back on track - can't be good in accumulation, can it? 

This is by no means judgement. We still eat ramen. Or a bowl of macaroni with cheese (Daiya), things all lacking in nutrients. This is an attempt, though, to join in on promoting some healthier choices and healthier versions of some of our all-time faves. The "healthier relatives" of our old-time faves. The "grown up" versions of classics we've since learned about how they were made. I have been calling these recipes 'pub food' in my recipe index, but thinking I should change it to "Make Home Take Out" or "Dining Out Faves" or "Grownup Junk Food". We'll see. 

For now, I'm bringing in an oldie to participate in my first Fast Food Fridays. This was one of my first posts, 'Mas Pescada Taco Por Favor'. I've chosen it because it's super fun, easy and tasty. I also want to remind myself that this recipe exists! I don't think I've thought to make this since that day, and how good would it be with some of the dip recipes I've discovered over the past year? Guacamole and hummus varieties... endless options that would match this recipe perfectly.

Please note: As this was one of my very first posts, the photos are terrible. You'll have to indulge in your other senses for this one. :)

Fish Tacos
This recipe was given to me from my naturopath. 


Marinade a white fish (I used 3 pieces) for a 1/2 hour in:
- 1 tbsp of fish sauce
- 1 tbsp of lime juice
- 1 tbsp of olive oil

While the fish is marinating...create the sauce (to be used with the tacos!)
- 1/4 cup of Helmans Mayo
- 1 tbsp of lime juice
- 2 tbsp of chopped cilantro
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/8 tsp of cumin
- 1 tbsp of water

Prepare the veggies!
I used... (but think of the variations!)
- 1/2 cup of romaine lettuce cut in strips
- 1/4 cup of chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup of chopped yellow pepper
Toss with olive oil and lime juice

Broil your fish in a low pan for 15 minutes.

Once fish is finished, cut into small places. Serve with salsa, guacamole, hummus (whatever!) and your vegetable mixture on whatever tortilla wraps your diet will allow you to have. :)


Print this recipe

Follow the other ideas on Twitter at #FastFoodFridays or join in by checking out Mooshu Jenne's post above.

Happy Healthy Fast Food-ing...and Happy Friday!

Have any re-creations of some of your go-to fave fast food indulgences?

Mas Pescado Taco Por Favor!

My dinner was mucho delicioso tonight that I had to write it all down now before forgetting...

This recipe was given to me from my naturopath.  What is it?  Fish Tacos!

Marinade a white fish (I used 3 pieces) in 1 tbsp of fish sauce, 1 tbsp of lime juice, 1 tbsp of olive oil for a 1/2 hour.

While the fish is marinading...create the sauce to be used later for your tacos:
1/4 cup of Helmans Mayo
1 tbsp of lime juice
2 tbsp of chopped cilantro
1 clove of garlic
1/8 tsp of cumin
1 tbsp of water

Prepare the vegetables!
I used...
1/2 cup of romaine lettuce (cut into thin strips)
1/4 cup of chopped red onion
1/4 cup of chopped yellow pepper
Toss with olive oil and lime juice.

Broil your fish in a low pan for 15 minutes.

Once fish is finished, cut in small pieces.  Serve with salsa, sauce and vegetable mixture on corn tortilla wraps.

As I said... MUCHO DELICIOSO!

Recipe: Lemon Chicken Marinade

Last night, J cooked myself and our friend, Erica, some delicious barbecued chicken (bone-in) to go along with our corn on the cob and leftover cashew curry.  We got the base of this marinade from http://nodramamamma.blogspot.com and added a few alterations of our own. Marinade this as long as possible!

Ingredients
6 small chicken breasts
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
olive oil
 3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp of dried rosemary
1/2 tbsp of fresh thyme
a few chopped chives
1 inch of cut lemon grass
1/2 tsp of chicken stock (we always use Epicure for this and broth)
4 cherry tomatoes squished
salt and pepper

Recipe: Batter-fried Cucumber "Pakoras"

I got home from work on Friday, knowing I wasn't heading out for dinner for another 4 hours.  I was hungry.  I wanted cheese and crackers. I wanted a poutine. A piece of pizza.  Something.  Something greasy; something easy.

Clearly, none of this could and none of this would happen.  After whining about it for awhile to Jon, I tried napping.  Although that worked for a little while, the hunger was still there.  I felt a bit defeated knowing that I will always have to be on the ball with our groceries.  We didn't have a single piece of fruit, cracker, cookie, chip or granola bar that I could have.  So to google I went to research some quick snack fixes.  Although I am quite disgusted and against "deep frying" stuff in my home, I semi-deep-fried these babies into quite delicious little snacks - and a snack that Jon enjoyed in the middle of the night - cold!

The recipe I found called for cauliflower, brocolli, or eggplant.  All I had was cucumber....

Batter:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup water
Canola (or other) oil for frying


1.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Add more water slowly as you are stirring batter.  Everything should be mixed well, but not runny.  
2.  The recipe said to warm 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet - I warmed a small layer of oil in my frying pan and just made smaller pieces of cucumber. 
3.  Coat your veg. of choice in the batter and carefully put each piece in the oil. 
4.  Cook until golden on each side (less than 5 minutes total)

I dipped these in President's Choice Memories of Thailand Fiery Chili Pepper Sauce.  Although greasy, I was satisfied and very content that I successfully pulled myself out of my cheese-rut!