Mediterranean Diet

Mediterranean Diet Recipe: Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Basil Tomato Sauce and Polenta

June 7, 2017 By Joi Sigers

Most people have a favorite type of “diet” or style of cooking they prefer above the rest. I have always been drawn to the Mediterranean diet – the colors, the flavors, the healthiness, the variety of options… basically, I love everything about it.

The recipe below is one of the wonderful Modern Mediterranean Diet recipes, inspired by Greece, Spain and Italy, from Pangea Nutrition. Pangea Nutrition recently announced its new Modern Mediterranean Diet Program, where people can sign up to receive a month of groceries and recipes to set them on a path to eating the way people in the Mediterranean have eaten for centuries (which clinical trials have shown to prevent various health issues and promote longevity).

This makes life simpler for the home cook as well as healthier for his/her family.

Pangea would like to offer you an additional 10% off a month of the program, with the code MDM17 through mid-June. Act now to take advantage of the discount (Pangea Nutrition)!

I’ll have another Pangea Nutrition Modern Mediterranean Diet recipe tomorrow, but for today you’re going to LOVE this chicken recipe. To make it gluten-free, substitute gluten-free panko breadcrumbs and gluten-free flour.

Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Basil Tomato Sauce and Polenta

1lb chicken tenders
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup flour
2 eggs
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
12 cherry tomatoes (1/2 pint)
2 tablespoons of fresh basil

For the polenta: Bring small pot filled with 1 cup of water to boil. Slowly add 1/4 cup cornmeal while stirring, until mixed well. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes while stirring occasionally (every 5 minutes).
Set up breading station with 3 shallow dishes: On dish 1: place 1/4 cup flour; on dish 2: whip 2 eggs; and on dish 3: spread 1/2 cup breadcrumbs. To bread the chicken: pat dry with a paper towel and coat each tender in flour, shaking to remove excess. Then dip in egg, making sure it covers completely, and then coat in breadcrumbs. Press down gently to adhere.
Heat 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large pan. Place the breaded chicken tenders in the pan and heat for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, cut the basil into a chiffonade: stack the leaves and roll them, and then thinly slice.
After removing the chicken, add to the hot pan 12 cherry tomatoes and 2 tablespoons basil chiffonade. Toss for 1-2 minutes, until the tomato skins blister.
For the polenta: Now mix in 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. (Optional: add 1-2 tablespoons of water to reach desired thickness.)
Serve each plate with the chicken on a bed of polenta, topped with fresh basil tomato sauce. Enjoy!

Thanks to Pangea Nutrition for sharing the wonderful recipe, picture and savings code!

Paderno Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer (Review)

October 22, 2013 By Joi Sigers

Like everyone these days, I’m always on the look out for ways to add more vegetables and fruits to my family’s diet. The recommended daily amount is higher than most people realize PLUS most experts recommend we go even higher than the recommended number for optimum health. See the Recommended Daily Fruit and Vegetable Calculator to find your own personal recommendations.

My family also likes to cut back on unnecessary carbs whenever possible, too. We’ve found a pretty cool way to accomplish both of these goals (while providing me with another fun kitchen gadget in the process). We bought the Paderno World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer off Amazon a few weeks ago and I love it even more each time I use it.

The first meal I used this cool slicer for was a Zucchini “Pasta” Salad. I made long, spiral noodles (pictured above) from a couple of zucchinis and combined them with chopped grape tomatoes, diced red onion and chopped red, yellow, and green bell peppers. I mixed up the always delicious dressing recipe on the back of all Hidden Valley Italian Dressing Mixes and covered the vegetables. After about 30 minutes in the fridge, it made an absolutely delicious cold salad. I mean, reallllly delicious.

I’ve also used the Spiral Vegetable Slicer (Amazon link) for salads and soups. It’s faster and easier than traditional shredders and slicers. This walking accident-waiting-to-happen has found it to be much safer for the fingers and hands as well. And, trust me, if it’s safe for this accident prone klutz, it’s safe for just about anyone.

One night, I was craving Italian, so I pulled out the spiral vegetable slicer. I had read, online, that A LOT of people enjoyed their spiral cut zucchini (raw) with hot spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce over it. I was anxious to give it a try, so I grabbed a few zucchinis. I had cans of Italian Style Diced Tomatoes on hand, so I simply warmed them up – adding fresh basil, oregano, chopped garlic, and salt. We put the tomato mixture on top of our raw zucchini and were SHOCKED at how great it was. I didn’t peel my zucchini but a lot of people prefer it peeled. Most of the time, I hate to peel veggies because it seems kind of wasteful to me.

Besides, I like the colors. 🙂

About the Paderno Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer:

Make quick work of fancy vegetable peeling with the spiral vegetable slicer – it’s incredibly fast, easy, and even fun to use.
Suction cups on the legs hold the slicer in place beautifully while you work your mojo. I read a review once that said the suction cups didn’t work – all I can say is they must have been trying to use them on a wet surface or something because I’ve had less than zero problems getting it to stick.
Clean up couldn’t be any easier. I hate, loathe, and despise contraptions that have 101 parts to clean after each use. This spiral slicer is a cinch to clean.
Includes 3 sets of blades: 1/8-inch spacing, 1/4-inch spacing, and straight blade for ribbon cuts.
This VERY affordable plastic spiral vegetable slicer would make a great gift idea for foodies, vegetarians, and anyone who enjoys good food!
Simply place vegetable or fruit on prongs, turn wheel while pushing base toward blade.
Made of durable plastic.
Backed by a 1-year warranty.

Even one of the biggest pasta lovers in the world (that would be me) thought the zucchini noodles, tomatoes, and shredded Parmesan made a delicious meal. Served with a colorful tossed salad, this meal is an excellent way to get your daily vegetable serving count up.

I haven’t used the slicer for coleslaw yet, but it occurs to me how much it’ll simplify the process – cabbage, peppers, carrots.. all sliced in one place for an especially lovely coleslaw.

The spiral slicer isn’t, of course, just limited to vegetables. Just look at the cute apple strips above. You don’t even have to core the apple before using the spiral slicer. Just cut off the top of the apple, place it on the spiral slicer and push it through the blade. In seconds, you have cool little rings for fruit salads, oatmeal, pastries, or snacks. Honestly, I could sit a bowl of apples on the end of the counter and my bunch will walk right past them 100 times a day. But if I put a dish with spirals or strips out… BAM! They disappear.

I’ll be using the spiral slicer regularly and can’t wait to find exciting and cool new ways to get the most out of it. See Paderno World Cuisine A4982799 Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer (Amazon link) for more information. I highly, highly recommend this slicer.

Eating Healthier Meals Has Never Been Easier… Or More Important

June 10, 2013 By Joi Sigers

Roasted Carrots, Red Potatoes, and Sweet Potatoes

I was in a heart care center recently and, even though I wasn’t the patient, I got a real wake up call. In fact, every member of my family got a wake up call. We were at the heart care center for a family member who was having a procedure done (I’m guessing his beautiful blue eyes got a wake up call, too). My daughters and I kept looking around the waiting room. We were blown away by the number of young people (in their 40’s and 50’s) who were patients. I kept seeing people who I automatically assumed were with a parent or even grandparent, only to look down and see a hospital bracelet on their arm.

I have to tell you, it was alarming!

The American diet – fast food, in particular – isn’t just killing us, it’s roughing us up before it finishes us off. It’s robbing people of the quality of life they deserve and desire. Granted, when it comes to most health issues, a lot of things are hereditary. But the best shot we have against diseases (hereditary or not) is good old fashioned common sense. As a whole, we just all have to start eating healthier.

Heart disease and high blood pressure runs in my family as well as in my husband’s (which is why I was all the more relieved for my daughters to experience the wake up call as well). Add the fact that diabetes and a few other undesirables run through our family trees, and you’ll understand why I harp on healthy food so much.

One of the changes I’ve recently made is one that you may or may not feel comfortable doing, yourself. One”meatless” day a week has been a tradition in our home for a long time now. Thanks to a lot of great products out there (Morningstar Farms, Boca…) and a personal passion for vegetables, this one day a week often produced the best meals of the week. Since the one day a week was going so well, I added two more meatless days.

How’s it going? No one but me seems to have noticed!

Yes, it can be done. No, it’s not overly expensive. Yes, it is as filling. No, you won’t miss the meat.

Roasted Asparagus, Cauliflower, and Corn on the Cob

A few other healthy changes I’ve made:

I’ve started using healthier choices for butter on and in most dishes and recipes. If you read the labels, you’ll be pretty shocked.
I roast vegetables instead of frying them. Roasted potatoes (red, gold, or sweet potatoes), corn on the cob, cauliflower, asparagus, carrots, and tomatoes are SO delicious you’ll find yourself craving them. Something about the roasting process even takes away the need (or desire) for butter. Seriously. I had the butter out, ready to use on roasted corn, but after one bite, I thought, “I’m not going to mess this up with butter!” The amazing, fresh, delicious flavor is really something else.
When I crave a burger, I make it a Boca burger or Morningstar Farms burger. Spray Olive Oil in a skillet, fry the Boca buger, add a little garlic salt and pepper for seasoning – then assemble your burger. It fixes the craving and you don’t miss the meat whatsoever.
I’ve started keeping healthier, smarter snacks on hand. Veggies with hummus, baked chips (sparingly), fruit, yogurt, and nuts are just as delicious and pack an added nutritional punch.
I’ve always been a HUGE fan of cooking magazines and regularly buy Taste of Home, Food Network Magazine, and Rachael Ray’s. I’ve also started grabbing a few “healthy” cooking magazines, such as Cooking Light each month. The recipes, tips, and ideas are priceless.
I browse through the Health Food sections in my favorite stores and grab something new each trip. I’ve found a few wonderful (and I mean wonderful!) foods I’ll be reviewing over the coming days. I’m really excited about the different health foods I’ve fallen in love with and look forward to telling you all about them.

If you look at eating healthier – and feeding your family healthier meals – as a challenge, you’ll rise to the occasion. Get creative and have fun with it. Whether it’s replacing meat with Boca Crumbles in tacos, chili (pictured below), or spaghetti or finding just how many different places you can sneak fruit into meals – it’s more than just doable, it’s deliciously doable.

Chili with Boca Crumbles – delicious and you’ll never miss the meat!

One of the coolest things about eating healthier foods is a really unexpected one: The healthier your diet, the healthier your cravings. Seriously, if you stick with making healthy food choices, you’ll find your cravings switch gears. Whereas I once got the occasional craving for a fast food cheeseburger (intense cravings, at that!) – I find that one of my most frequent cravings these days is for a Veggie Sub from Subway or a Boca Burger (or Morningstar Farms) dressed to the nines with tomatoes, sweet onion, pickles, and mustard.

A Healthier Way to Fry Eggs

January 26, 2013 By Joi Sigers

I was shopping for Olive Oil a few days ago (EVOO is one of those things I never, ever let myself run out of) when a bright and beautiful bottle caught my eye. It was Pompeian’s new 100 percent Grapeseed Oil.

After I put my EVOO in the cart and turned it to look the other way, I didn’t want it to see me checking out another oil, after all, I read the back of the Grapeseed Oil:

Pompeian imports 100% of its Grapeseed Oil from France. Grapeseed Oil is an all-natural cooking oil known for its high smoke point, a characteristic that makes it an ideal choice for stir-frying, deep frying, and sauteing. Its light flavor preserves the natural flavors of food. Grapeseed oil is a rich source of Vitamin E, an antioxidant.

Pompeian Grapeseed Oil is made from the seeds of wine grapes and the flavor is extra-special and delicate. I think of it as Olive Oil’s very laid back cousin.

I made a Rosemary White Bean Spread yesterday and used a combination of Grapeseed Oil and Olive Oil rather than all Olive Oil. I thought the flavor would be smooth and delicious (it was) while giving my loved ones a nice extra kick of antioxidants.

This morning, I used Pompeian Grapeseed Oil in my skillet before frying my egg for breakfast. The flavor was subtle and outstanding. Truth be told, I think what I enjoyed most was the fact that the Grapeseed oil just complimented the egg’s flavor instead of competing with it for attention. Although I have to admit, I do enjoy the heck out of an egg fried in a combo of butter and Olive Oil.

Look for Pompeian Grapeseed Oil in your favorite grocery store. I give it a 10 out of 10. Click here for more information.