Joyous Health Cookbook Review

At the beginning of every year I tell myself "This is going to be the year when you eat healthy, exercise daily, and get yourself into amazing health!" and every year I last maybe 5 days, and then I fall into my bad habits again. This year started out much the same way. I try to eat healthy foods, but I eventually find them boring and tasteless. I try to be healthy and drink water, but it too gets boring and tasteless. It is just so much easier to give in to the temptation of having a nice juicy hamburger than to eat healthy. This changed a bit this year when I was asked to review Joyous Health by Joy McCarthy.

At first I thought this health cookbook was going to be very similar to the other health cookbooks I had, creating this dishes that looked amazing in the pages of a book, but tasted like cardboard. I flipped through the pages of the book and found some dishes that sounded good, but I was a little hesitant on making any of them. Finally, I was having a girls night and I decided I was just going to make two things out of the book and see if my friends could tell that it was healthy.

Before I get into what I made, I want to explain a little about the book. The beginning of the book talks about "the path to joyous health", how to get your "gut on track", various foods, supplements and habits that will lead to a joyous mood, the "joyous detox solutions", "superfoods and healthy lifestyle habits", and how to create a joyous kitchen. Each of these sections has various tips, tricks, and hints that help you to get to Joyous Health so that you can eat and live well without dieting. One of the tips I started to do was drinking a glass of lemon and water each morning. Joy states that doing this helps to cleanse the body and it helps to get you glowing. I've been doing this since I got the book and although I haven't noticed a significant difference, I feel good, so I am definitely going to keep doing this.

Be sure to go through the entire front section before the recipes, not only to pick up as many tips as you can, but also because there are recipes at the end of the chapters.

I really enjoyed reading Chapter 5- Superfoods and Healthy Lifestyle Habits for Joyous Health. I discussed what superfoods were and listed the top 12 superfoods. It then went into further detail about the different superfoods and how you can enjoy them. Another thing I really liked about the book were the Joyous Tips that are scattered throughout.

For girls night I needed two dishes that weren't going to be over the top to make and that were also going to be tasty. I finally settled on Beet Goat Cheese Dip and Chia Black Bean Brownies- my friends and I love goat cheese and lot chocolate, so I figured these two were good choices.

The Beet Goat Cheese Dip is made with beets, goat cheese, salt, and garlic. The actual recipe only calls for 1 clove of garlic, but my friends and I are addicted to garlic so I added in 3 cloves. The dip was so delicious. It comes with an Almond Flour Rosemary Cracker recipe, but I unfortunately didn't have time to make them. Instead I served the dip with crackers I had. If you like beets in any form you should definitely try out this recipe. The dip is creamy and is packed with flavor- you'd think that it was actually bad for you.

 

The Chia Black Bean Brownies were also really good. I didn't tell my friends that there were Black Beans in them and they ate them and really enjoyed them. I know my husband doesn't like dark chocolate so instead of using the dark chocolate chips (which are obviously healthier) I used semisweet chocolate chips instead. It turned out really well. I also goofed a little in the baking of them because we just got a new oven so I accidently turned it off when I thought I was just shutting off the timer, but it didn't affect them too badly.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It gave some really good tips to leading a healthier life that aren't that hard to actually do. It also had some really tasty recipes that were easy. I am definitely looking forward to doing more cooking from this book. I highly recommend you pick up a copy yourself and give it a try!

I give this book

 out of

Recipe Review: Chicken Marsala

This year I hosted a New Years party, which isn't something that is out of the ordinary for me, but I changed things up this year. Usually, I have a themed party and my friends come over and we head downstairs  into my basement and we chat, nibble on food, watch tv, and drink. This year I wanted to do something a little, how should I put this... "grown-up"? and so I decided to host a potluck dinner for New Years. I knew that I would be preparing the main "meat" of the dinner, and so asked my friends to bring appetizers, sides, salads, and desserts. I decided to make two "mains"- Chicken Marsala and Vegetable Lasagna. I wanted something I could prepare the night before and just pop into the oven on the day of the party once my guests had arrived. My oven decided to stop working, and so I served cold food, but other than that it went well. Everyone had a great time, and the Chicken Marsala was even better the next day!

Below is the Chicken Marsala recipe that I followed. I doubled the amount of wine, broth, and cream that I put into my sauce because I prefer a creamier sauce and wanted to make sure that anyone who wanted to add extra sauce on top of their chicken was able to.

Chicken Marsala
(adapted from Tina Danze Article)

Ingredients:
8-12 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (halved and pounded to a 1/4 thickness)
2 cups flour (seasoned with salt and pepper to taste)
4-6 tablespoons butter (divided)
4-6 tablespoons canola oil (divided)
1/2 cup diced onions
4 cloves garlic (minced)
16 ounces cremini mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 cup marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream


Directions:
Cut the pounded chicken breast into halves (or thirds if they are very large). Dredge the chicken pieces in seasoned flour making sure to share off the excess.

Heat 1/2 the butter and oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Ensuring not to crowd the pan, sauté the chicken pieces until they are golden brown (approximately 3 minutes per side). Add additional butter and oil to the skillet as needed. Set aside to cool.

Add onion and garlic to the skilled and sauté the onions until they are translucent. Add the mushrooms and cool, stirring often, until the mushrooms are browned. Add the marsala, and simmer to reduce until the sauce is brown and thickened. Add the chicken broth and whipping cream. Reduce by half, until the sauce thickens to a soupy texture.

Arrange the chicken breasts into a casserole dish or a rimmed baking sheet, make sure to overlap the rows. (If preparing in advance, prepare up to this point and store in the fridge. Make sure to store the sauce separately in a covered container).

To cook the Chicken Marsala:
Preheat the over to 350 F. Pour the sauce over the arranged chicken breasts and bake until heated through (15-20 minutes if refrigerated; 10-15 minutes is going straight into the oven).

Serves 8-12

I would give this recipe:

 

The overall recipe was tasted good and was easy to make, but I felt like there was something missing/ I can't put my finger on what it was though. 

 

Happy New Year!!!!

Hey! It's been an entire month since I last posted which is kind of pathetic, but what Christmas (twice) and New Years, things got incredibly hectic! Anyways, I have finally got my act together and have planned out posts for the rest of the month. I'm hoping that I can stick to this and actually post things more than twice a month!!

I hope you all had a fabulous New Year and are ready to get back in the kitchen with me for an awesome year of baking and cooking.

Recipe Review: Panna Cotta

If you have ever watched MasterChef, Top Chef, or Chopped then you know that Panna Cotta seems to be a favourite recipe for the chefs to cook. I've heard that it is super easy to make and really tasty and so I wanted to try to make some. Last weekend I finally got around to it and made the "Perfect Panna Cotta Recipe" from David Lebovitz.

The recipe was super easy to follow and was really easy to make. It tasted really good also! I loved the vanilla flavor and want to try to make a flavoured one next time I make Panna Cotta. I think this recipe would be really good to make for company since it is fast to make and then can sit in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Panna Cotta (from David Lebovitz)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups (1l) heavy cream (or half-and-half)
• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 2 packets powdered gelatin (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
• 6 tablespoons (90ml) cold water

 

Directions:

 

1. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
(If using a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds from the bean into the cream and add the bean pod. Cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the bean then rewarm the mixture before continuing.)

2. Lightly oil eight custard cups with a neutral-tasting oil.

3. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

5. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm (at least 2 hours)

If you’re pressed for time, pour the Panna Cotta mixture into wine goblets so you can serve them in the glasses, without unmolding.

6. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each Panna Cotta and unmold each onto a serving plate, and garnish as desired.

Chatelaine's Cooking Challenge: Monkey Bread

The second I saw that Chatelaine had posted that the next challenge was going to be Monkey Bread or Stick Buns I was right on figuring out when I was going to have time to bake. I LOVE sticky buns, and so thought that I would make those, but then decided that Monkey Bread would be good to try, and so went with that. It was sooooo yummy! My husband and I had it for breakfast- not the healthiest meal ever, but OMG HEAVENLY!!!!

Christmas Bazaar and Bannock

It is finally the Christmas Season and I am so excited! We all know what that means- more cooking and baking :D! Yesterday was a jam packed day for me (but it also included some awesome food!)

Ultimate Caesar Salad

The other day I was craving Caesar Salad, no idea why. Although I LOVE Caesar, I didn't want the usual one we got from the grocery store- I'm starting to find it very bland. In fact, I'm starting to find a lot of store bought things bland... I completely blame this on my Fine Cooking subscription, my addiction to Foodnetwork Magazine (and TV) and my unemployment (now I have time to search for recipes!). Anyways, I wanted Caesar salad and so decided to search for the best Caesar salad dressing I could find. My search resulted in a HUGE success. I found not only an amazing dressing, but also a recipe for amazing croutons! Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap a picture because I gobbled up the salad within minutes of making it.

"Homemade Sodas", Beef Wellington, and Champagne Chocolates

As I mentioned in my last post, this past weekend was quite exciting with all of the things I made. I'm so sorry I haven't kept up with my blogs, things have been so hectic that I just haven't had time. I'm hoping to "plan" my blog posts better and actually post on a more regular basis. I really want to get back into reviewing cookbooks because I really enjoyed that. I also want to participate in the cooking and baking challenges by Chatelaine and Food Network. I just have to discipline myself better and get better organized. Organization was always a strong suit of mine until I graduate from my Masters program. Now that I'm at home and am just searching for a job, I don't plan my days and so I don't get a lot accomplished.

Recently I've been so busy I haven't been able to cook any new recipes. I'm hoping that this weekend I'll be able to bake something or try out some of the other cookbooks I received on netgalley. It gets so tough to cook meals when you are coming home late every day. This week was sort of a mish-mash of dinners- spaghetti, chicken and salad, a muffin.

French Onion Soup

Every Thursday my family has soup for dinner. Recently I've been trying out new soup recipes and have found some amazing ones. Last week, we decided that we wanted to try to make French Onion Soup. I went online and found this soup by Michael Smith. It sounded really good.