Happy Cinco De Mayo! Successful veggie intake for my 8 year old!

Two things of note:  I realize that I haven’t posted in a few weeks  and secondly, my posts have been leaning toward nutrition including this one!  No excuses other than life as a dad and periodontist get super busy and nutrition really is my passion!

My wife was away for a girls trip this weekend and so the kids and I really just hung around the house.  My son Grant was getting over being sick so we couldn’t actually get out and stretch our legs much including going out for a Cinco de Mayo celebratory dinner which I was sorely disappointed about.

Lily giving the thumbs up!

As a huge fan of Mexican food, I have come up with a number of healthy recipes over the years to satisfy my cravings but have never found one for a really good salsa until now!  One of my staff members, Claudia, is originally from Mexico and brought in some of her homemade salsa a few weeks ago      and it had to be one of the best I have ever had!  I was finally able to convince her into sharing after asking multiple times and made a batch today that did not disappoint!  See below for the ingredients and steps in making. It is a bit laborious but well worth it!  I even got my daughter Lily, who eats very little vegetables or fruit, to have second helpings and my wife, Sue, just walked in the door from her weekend away and couldn’t keep her hands out it!  Thanks Claudia!  A win: win kind of day in the Evans household!  The kids eating vegetables and me getting my Mexican food fix while also celebrating the true Cinco De Maya where the townspeople of Puebla, Mexico were outmanned 3:1 but were still victorious in holding off French fighters even with the odds so stacked against them!  That’s what I call will power!

Until next time, be fit!

Brian

Authentic Mexican Salsa (shared by my team member Claudia!)

Ingredients:

2 lbs of Roma tomatoes

1 yellow onion

2 large jalapeños (you can add more depending upon your taste for spicy)

15 cloves of garlic (skin on)

2-3 tbsp of olive oil

1tsp Cumin

2 tsp of black pepper

Salt to taste

1 bunch fresh cilantro

Directions:

In a non-stick sauté pan or Le Cruset dutch oven pan in my case, add 2 tbsp oil and whole Roma tomatoes and cook on very low temperature for ~ 20 minutes.  The key is to cook the vegetables from the inside out which imparts the flavor!

Remove the tomatoes from the pan and peel skin.  Chop the onion into six large pieces and add the garlic and jalapeno cooking again for ~ 20 minutes.  Peel garlic cloves and add all ingredients to blender with cumin and black pepper.  Add salt to taste after blending.  Let salsa cool, then add half the fresh cilantro.  Use the remaining half to add upon serving according to individual tastes.

Tip:  If you want your salsa chunkier, only blend half the tomatoes and coarsely chop and add the rest separately.

Enjoy!

 

Macro-friendly Cake Baking with Grant!

My ten-year old son Grant has developed an interest in cooking and baking!  It reminds me of when I was around 10 years old and became interested in watching PBS cooking shows such as “The Frugal Gourmet” and “Yan Can Cook”.  I also have great memories of spending time with my favorite Aunt Jewel and Memaw Evans baking up cookies, fudge and a southern specialty, Divinity, in the kitchen.

Today, we have the Food Network, Cooking Channel and Google that provide us with a tremendous opportunity to cook and bake our favorite dishes right at home.  I like to take recipes and test to see if I can make them more “healthier and macro friendly” and of course, tasty!  It is also a great opportunity to spend time with your kids and teach them how to lead a healthier lifestyle with food.

This past weekend, Grant helped me grocery shop for the week and he found a Pillsbury Moist Supreme Cake mix”that he really wanted!”  After arguing with him in the aisle for a few minutes that we would could find a healthier cake option, I gave in and bought the pre-mix and decided this was a perfect opportunity to test the waters by changing up the box recipe and creating a more macro-friendly cake!

We also replaced the box recommendation to use a pre-made frosting that is laden with fat and sugar with a more”protein rich cream cheese frosting”.

Here is exactly how we did:

For the cake, we did use the mix but substituted 1 cup of applesauce for the oil, 4 egg whites for the 2 whole eggs and used 1/2 cup of Almond Milk versus 2% milk to reduce the overall fat and calories.

For the frosting, we created our own and ramped up the protein and eliminated a ton of sugar and fat.  We mixed a half a cup of 1/3 reduced fat-free cheese with one package of sugar-free vanilla pudding mix and 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder.   We used more almond milk to obtain the desired frosting consistency.

For decorations, we dusted with unsweetened coconut flakes and non-edible silver balls and mini chocolate chips.

Grant wanted to use the bundt cake pan instead of the usual 9in pans recommended on the box.

The result?  A quite tasty and I must say, not a bad looking cake either with much higher protein and significantly less fat and overall 280 less calories per serving than the regular mix!  Plus, invaluable time spent with my son!

Comparison of calories and macros per serving:

Regularly prepared serving:

555 calories

71 grams carbs

17 grams fat

1.5 grams protein

 

Modified Healthier version with added chocolate chips!:

280 calories

40 grams carbs

7.5 grams fat

10 grams protein

Give the recipe and let me know what you think!

Until next time,

Be fit,

Brian