We've been knee deep in peaches here.  They're so sweet and juicy this year, so we went to the market and bought 40lbs worth of peaches.  Yes, 40lbs.  So what do you do with 40lbs of peaches? You make jam of course!  So it was certainly an interesting task to make a cleaned up version of Peach Jam, but it turned out to be a very successful venture.

I stumbled up a great book by Liana Krisoff called Canning for a New Generation.  She uses green apples and citrus to help the jam set rather than using pre-packaged pectin that contains chemicals.  I liked this.  I also like that she uses honey rather that sugar when it compliments the flavors of the fruit.  The peach jam calls for sugar, so I used evaporated cane juice instead and it turned out perfectly fine.

Classic Peach Jam adapted from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krisoff

Makes 5 - 250ml jars

Ingredients:

• 2 large granny smith apples
• 4 pounds peaches, peeled, pitted and diced (about 6 cups)
• 2 cups evaporated cane juice
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

ONE: Prepare for water bath canning.  Have a large pot with enough water to cover the jars by 1" ready and heated up so you don't have to wait when it's time to process the jam.  Sterilize the jars - I do mine in the oven.  Set it to 225* and leave the jars and lids in for 10 minutes then turn the heat off.  The jars are sterile when you need them.

TWO: Peel the peaches.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water.  Drop 3-4 peaches into the boiling water and leave in for 1 minute.  Transfer to the ice water.  When they are cool enough to handle, peel the peaches, remove pits and dice.

THREE: Core the apples and cut into quarters.  Tie up the cores in a cheesecloth bag and set aside.

FOUR: Put the peaches and evaporated cane juice in a pot (I use an enameled cast iron).  Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently and cooking until the juices just cover the peaches.  Pour into a colander set over a large bowl and stir the peaches to drain off the juice.  Return the juice to the pan along with the apples and cheesecloth bag and bring to a boil over high heat.  Boil, stirring occasionally until the syrup is thick and reduced, about 15 minutes.

FIVE: Return the peaches and any accumulated juice to the pan along with the lemon juice and bring to a simmer.  Stir frequently until the peaches are very tender, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and remove apples and bag.  Stir to distribute fruit.

SIX: Ladle the hot jam into the jars, leaving 1/4" head space at the top.  Put a flat lid and ring on each jar and adjust until finger-tight.  Put the jars in the canning pot, making sure that the jars are covered by at least 1" of water.  Remove the jars to a folded towel and do not disturb for 12 hours.  After 1 hour, make sure that the lids have sealed by pressing down on the center of each.  If it can be pushed down, it hasn't sealed and should be refrigerated.

Okay. Hiatus over.  I promise.  Back to healthy and hearty meals!

Made a delicious breakfast for my little fam jam this morning.  A dutch pancake with peaches.  Oh so yum!

Peachy Dutch Pancake  adapted from Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients:

• 3 large Eggs
• 3/4 c unsweetened Almond Milk
• 2 tbsp evaporated cane juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp ground flax meal
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup sliced peaches (I used nectarines)

ONE: Place a heavy, 12 inch cast iron skillet in the oven and heat to 425*F.
TWO: In large bowl, beat eggs.  Add milk, cane juice, vanilla, salt, nutmeg and flax; whisk to combine.  Add flour and whisk until just blended.  Open oven door and carefully add butter to skillet.  Close oven while butter melts, 1 to 2 minutes.  Remove skillet from oven and pour melted butter into batter; whisk until just blended.
THREE: Pour batter back into hot skillet and arrange peach slices over top.  Carefully return skillet to oven and bake until edges are puffed and golden brown. Serve with maple syrup or lemon juice and toasted almonds!

I've made chicken nuggets at home before, but ended up having to use the food processor to make them and today, out of sheer laziness, I really didn't want to take it out and have to wash it, so I decided to devise another way of doing things.  Okay, I didn't really devise it but it was a pretty good dinner and wee man loved it, so all in all it was a win.

Chicken Nuggets with Corn, Black Bean and Avocado Salad

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1/2 cup Egg Whites
• 1.5 cup Whole Wheat Panko Crumbs
• Salt & Pepper 
• 1 cup Frozen Corn Kernels, thawed and drained
• 1 can Black Beans
• 1 Avocado, diced
• Olive Oil

ONE: Preheat Oven to 375*.  Cut up chicken breasts into chunks.  I'm not picky, or precise - whatever works for you and your family is fine!

TWO: Set up your breading station.  Egg Whites in a bowl and panko crumbs on a plate.  Season panko with salt and pepper.

THREE: Put your chicken chunks in the egg whites and then bread with panko crumbs.

FOUR:  Heat up olive oil in a large, ovenproof pan (I used cast iron and about 2 Tbsp of oil).

FIVE:  When oil is shimmering, add chicken and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown, then cook on the other side for the same amount of time.

SIX: When nuggets are brown, put the pan in the heated oven for about 7-8 minutes.

SEVEN:  While nuggets are in the oven, add your corn kernels to a warm pan.  Saute until golden brown.  Add the black beans and cook until warm.  Stir in the diced avocado.

Enjoy!  He sure did!

Okay, we're back from vacation, so no more slacking on blogging or clean eating.  I have to admit, I did indulge in a Philly Cheese Steak while we were away.


On Tuesday night I decided I wanted to do a meatless meal since I had taken the The New Moosewood Cookbook out from the library.


I decided on Scheherazade Casserole and was not disappointed!
Here's my version of the casserole

• 1 cup bulgur wheat 
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp basil
• black pepper (to taste)
• cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 1 large bell pepper, diced
• 2  cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained
• 1 (28oz) can whole tomatoes, drained
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup packed fresh parsley, minced
• 1.5 cups Feta Cheese (I only used 1/2cup since that's all I had on hand)

ONE: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

TWO: Lightly oil a 9×13 baking pan. Set aside.

THREE: Place bulgur in a small bowl with the boiling water. Cover and let stand for at least 15 minutes.

FOUR: Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the onion, garlic, salt and seasonings over medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Add pepper and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

FIVE: Place beans in a blender with 1 cup of fresh water. Grind until it resembles a coarse batter.  I would start with 1/2 cup of water and add more gradually, since mine was so watery from adding the entire cup first.

SIX: In a large bowl, combine bean puree with the soaked bulgur and sauteed veggies. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley and 1 cup of feta. Mix well.

SEVEN: Spread the mixture into the baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

EIGHT: Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes, uncovered, at 350 degrees. 

This isn't my photo - I found it elsewhere on the WWW, since the casserole was so delish that we ate it all before photos!  oops!!!

I really strive to eat well when I'm working.  It's hard because it's such a high stress environment and there's always junk laying around.  The other night there were two bags of chips, two boxes of danishes and a box of timbits.  I did break down and have one or two plain timbits, but at least they were plain and not sugar coated.

This morning I was trying to meal plan for tomorrow at work and realized that I don't have a ton of stuff, so was trying to figure out what I could possibly pull together with what we had laying around.  What I came up with was so incredibly delicious.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Crustless Quiche

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup of Sunflower Greens (this is just what I had, you could easily sub spinach, kale, chard or even broccoli)
• 3 Artichoke Hearts, quartered
• 1/4c. Feta Cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1c. Skim Milk
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

ONE: Preheat oven to 400*.  In a heavy pan (I used cast iron), heat the olive oil on medium until shimmering.  Add onions and cook for 3-4 minutes and then decrease heat to low.  Cook onions for approx 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Add in the artichoke hearts and greens.  Saute until the greens are wilted, about 5 minutes.

TWO: In a bowl, whisk together the egg, egg whites, cayenne and salt and pepper.

THREE:  Spray pie plate with cooking spray.  Add the cooked veggies and feta to the sprayed plate.  Pour in the egg mixture.  Try to make sure that everything is covered by the eggs so it doesn't burn.

I made these Oatmeal Pancakes this morning from the first Eat Clean Diet cookbook.  yum.  They had the right amount of sweet in them, and rather than use syrup I topped them with Applesauce.  I did enjoy that unlike most Oatmeal pancakes there weren't giant chunks of oatmeal all the way through.

Oatmeal Pancakes from The Eat-Clean Diet

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups dry rolled oats
• 6 egg whites (just over 1/2 cup if you're using liquid whites)
• 1 cup milk of your choice (I used Unsweetened Almond Milk)
• 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed 
• 1 Tbsp safflower oil (I used Sunflower)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• Cooking spray

Instructions:

ONE: Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend the mixture for 20 seconds. The resulting mixture should be smooth. Spray a griddle or skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of pancake mixture on the hot surface. Cook until the panckes are dry and bubbly on the edges. Bubbles should appear on top, as well. Turn and brown the other side.

Even the cat wanted in on the delicious action:

  

I decided to pull out the dehydrator that hubby used to make his beef jerky in and try my hand and dehydrating fruit.  I have some apples decided to cut up some kiwis that we had laying around.  

Wish me luck!