Diet – Page 2 – Busy in Brooklyn

Y’all know I’m not really one for traditional dishes, but if there’s any time where tradition plays an essential role, it’s Passover, or Pesach. The Passover seder is all about the rituals that we observe each year – from preparing our homes and making them chometz-free (free of any leavened grains), to eating matza and morror (bitter herbs), drinking four cups of wine, hiding the afikomen and reciting the Haggadah. It’s all about, as Fiddler-on-the-Roof used to say, TRADISHUN!

Because this holiday has always been about creating special memories with family, I’m all about the simple kosher-for-Passover foods that my mom prepared each year. On the eve of Passover, we would all wash up with soap, put on some aprons and get to work peeling and chopping veggies for her classic Pesach dishes.

We’d fill mason jars with ratatouille, mock chopped liver, cucumber salad and vinaigrette (a salad of cooked beets, carrots, potatoes and red onion) and each meal over Passover, we’d dig a little deeper into the jars, until they were finished. Somehow, we never got bored of eating the same dishes over and over again because that’s what the holiday was all about.

This ratatouille dish is not quite the same as my mom used to make (since she did not use any processed ingredients like spices or tomato paste!), but it’s definitely inspired by the Passover dish of my youth.

Ratatouille Roast Chicken

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (pargiot)
1 medium eggplant, diced small
1 medium zucchini, diced small
1 red pepper, diced small
1 red onion, diced small
1 heaping cup grape tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
fresh basil, for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, zucchini, pepper, onion, tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate the ingredients.

Place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper. Spread ratatouille mixture over the chicken. Bake, uncovered, for one hour, stirring the vegetables occasionally. Garnish with fresh basil.

Serve warm with mashed potatoes, quinoa or rice.

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Ferrero Rawcher Bites

On April 3, 2019July 29, 2019

by chanie

in Cookies, Dessert, Diet, Paleo, Passover, Recipes, Snacks

10 Comments

It’s only taken 8 years, but welcome to the new and improved BUSYINBROOKLYN site! I’ve modernized the design, cleaned up some of the old junk and here we are! Clean, simple, and dare I say millennial? That’s my new favorite word!

I would love to hear your feedback on how you like it and if there is anything I can do to improve the design! Leave a comment below to let me know!

The new blog style may be streamlined and fresh, but the food here is just what you’re used to. Fun new recipes with a twist!

If you’re a regular around here, you know that date & nut bites are my all time favorite snack – and these will look familiar. I’ve made these marzipan flavored ones in the past, and if you’re lucky enough to own my cookbook, you’ve probably tried the much-loved pecan pie bites that are a family staple.

If that’s not enough, I’ve also made them into fun hamantaschen and gingerbread truffles. And I’m testing other flavors as we speak. Because (repeat after me) DATE NUT BITES ARE THE WORLD’S GREATEST SNACK.

Ferraro Rawcher Bites
YIELD: approximately 25 bites

18 plump medjool dates, pitted
6oz. (1 heaping cup) hazelnuts, plus extra for garnish
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips
Maldon sea salt flakes, optional, for finishing

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts out on a baking sheet and toast for 12-15 minutes until the skins start to crack. Wrap the nuts in a kitchen towel and roll them around to remove the skins. Cool completely.

Add the dates, hazelnuts, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and sea salt to a food processor and blend until nuts are finely chopped and evenly distributed – the mixture should stick together when pressed between your fingers.

Form the “dough” into small balls and press a hazelnut into the center, flattening it.

Place the chocolate chips into a Ziploc freezer bag and place in a mug or glass measuring cup. Pour boiling water over the bag and let it sit until the chocolate melts completely. Snip off the corner of the bag and drizzle the bites with chocolate. Finish with Maldon salt.

NOTE: These bites freeze great and can also be eaten frozen.

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ChimiChicken

On February 11, 2019July 29, 2019

by chanie

in Diet, Dinner, Meat & Poultry, Recipes, Shabbos

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Everything Bagel Keto Crackers

On January 23, 2019July 29, 2019

by chanie

in Appetizer, Brunch, Dairy, Diet, Fish, Lunch, Paleo, Recipes, Shabbos, Snacks

3 Comments

I’ve been dieting ever since I can remember, and if you’ve been with BIB since the early days, you probably remember when I posted about the South Beach Diet which I went on religiously after every baby. But then I started a career in food and diets that eliminated entire food groups became difficult to stick to. I also had a 90 day stint with Whole30, which I still firmly believe in as a nutritional reset, but not really as a way of life. It’s far too restrictive and there was so much prep involved which became near impossible with my busy lifestyle.

So, when I finally decided I was done with my yo-yo habits recently, I wanted to commit to a plan, if only for a few months – but a strict regimen that would help me lose the cookbook + baby + stress weight of the past few years – and with lots of people I know losing weight on keto, I decided to jump in blindly.

I thought keto would be easier to manage – that is, no major food planning – and I have to admit that that part is totally manageable. Since I cook pretty healthy for the most part, I find that adapting my regular dinners is pretty easy. I have no problem with grabbing a quick lunch, and I mostly skip breakfast, which isn’t a bad thing on keto since 16 hours of intermittent fasting is encouraged. The problem then, is the counting.

I legit hate diets where I have to weigh my food or count my calories. Maybe it’s the flashbacks of being on Weight Watchers in high school, when my scale became my best friend, but it’s legit the worst part about this diet. In this case, you’re not quite counting calories or weighing your food – you’re counting MACROS = grams of protein, carbs and fat throughout the day.

For optimum results on keto, it’s important to stay within your macros if you want to stay in ketosis. Keeping carbs under roughly 20 grams is HARD because every. single. thing. has carbs. And I’m not talking about pizza or pastries here. I’m talking about not overdoing the veggies. I’m also finding it hard to reach my fat macros, and for the first few weeks, I religiously entered my entire food diary into the Carb Manager app to keep track- and I saw a big difference. The weight came off easily. But now as I’ve settled into the diet, I’m getting sick of counting and while I haven’t gained any weight, the scale (and my inches) are extremely slow moving.

I’m still not ready to quit though, I just want to find the right balance for myself because I know this plan can really work if you do it right. In the meantime, these super easy keto crackers (which I adapted from this Pesach recipe by the genius challah/babka queen @naomi_tgis, Naomi Elberg), have been getting me through Shabbos meals because we all need some crunch to eat with our salads/dips when everyone else is eating fluffy Challah.

I’ve been trying them all different ways, and the everything bagel version wins hands down, but give the variations a try as well when you get bored of them!

Everything But the Bagel Keto Crackers
recipe adapted from Naomi Elberg

1 1/2 cups packed super-fine almond flour (167 grams) (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1/3 cup everything bagel spice
1/4 tsp salt (see note)
1 extra large egg

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, everything bagel spice and salt and stir to incorporate. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add the egg to the flour and mix until a dough forms.

Place the dough in between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out until very thin. Remove the top layer of parchment paper and cut the dough into squares using a pizza wheel. Transfer to a baking sheet (if it doesn’t fit, remove scraps from around the edges and roll them out again, placing them on a second baking sheet). Bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on thickness), until lightly browned and crisp.

Cool completely and break apart. Store in an airtight container.

VARIATIONS:

For seeded crackers, add 1/3 cup mixed seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, flax) instead of the everything bagel spice.
For za’atar crackers, add 2 tbsp za’atar and 3 tbsp sesame seeds instead of the everything bagel spice.

NOTE: Depending on the saltiness of the everything bagel seasoning you use, you may/may not need to add salt.

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Mushroom Cauli Soup

On December 31, 2018October 10, 2019

by chanie

in Appetizer, Diet, Lunch, Recipes, Shabbos, Soup

10 Comments

So it’s been nearly 3 weeks since I started keto and I have to admit – I’m bored. How much cheese/eggs/steak/broccoli, cauliflower/cabbage and nuts can you eat? I’m all about variety in my diet and I get bored so easily!

One thing I promised myself when I started this diet was that I was not going to spend my day in the kitchen preparing special foods for myself. I was going to adapt my regular family recipes and make them work for me, and so far it’s been working. When I wanted to make this soup, I just substituted the bread crumbs with almond flour and removed some of the soup for myself before adding the orzo. I added some cauliflower rice to my portion and it was such a nice change from my typical steak and roasted veggie dinner!

Coming up with soups that aren’t tomato or bean based is a little difficult (tomatoes are not encouraged on keto because they are high in sugar). In general I’m a big fan of legumes in soup, and I love grains like barley and farro too, so it’s a challenge. I decided I wanted to do a keto-approved riff on mushroom barley soup, since everyone in the house loves it, but I knew I couldn’t use barley. I decided to use cauliflower to give the soup some creaminess and body, and it was a huge hit. I didn’t tell my cauliflower-hating kid that it had her least favorite veggie in there and she thought it was delicious (until she watched my Instagram story and was suddenly nauseous – ha!)
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So alas, this Mushroom Cauli Soup – a play on Mushroom Barley Soup – so long as you say CAULI with the same enunciation as BARLEY :)

Mushroom Cauli Soup

3 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 10oz. pkgs cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 3.5oz pkg shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 cluster oyster mushroom, chopped
1 large leek, white and pale green part only, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped, or 1 pkg. frozen
1 large zucchini, roughly chopped
32oz. chicken stock or broth (I use Imagine no-chicken broth)
2 cups water
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Trader Joes umami seasoning, optional
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a soup pot or dutch oven. Add the mushrooms and saute until all the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms start to caramelize. Remove from the pan. Add an additional tbsp of olive oil, leeks and garlic and saute until softened and fragrant. Deglaze with wine and scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the soup to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are soft and tender, about 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend half of the soup so some chunks of cauliflower remain. Stir in the mushrooms and serve.

VARIATION: Add some heavy cream or coconut milk before serving for a creamy finish!

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Category: Diet

Ratatouille Roast Chicken

Ferrero Rawcher Bites

ChimiChicken

Everything Bagel Keto Crackers

Mushroom Cauli Soup