Cheesy kale stuffed mushrooms

As a vegetarian, I just love the "meaty" texture of Portabella mushrooms.

Plus, as an athlete, mushrooms offer a nice nutritional boost to the immune system while providing fiber, protein, copper, selenium, B2 and B5 along with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

For proper storage of mushrooms, keep them in your fridge in a loosely closed paper bag wrapped in a damp cloth. Try to keep your mushrooms from touching one another by layering the mushrooms on the damp cloth. This will help the mushrooms stay fresher for longer. When mushrooms become soggy with a slimy layer on top, they are no longer fully fresh.

Since mushrooms are very porous, they will quickly absorb water and become soggy when cleaning them. The best way to clean mushrooms is with a mushroom brush and just a little water.

When using the cap of the mushroom, remove the stem with your hands.

Although mushrooms are great in sauces, on salads (raw) and as a side dish (sauteed), I really enjoy "stuffed" mushroom caps. My friend Katie Malone turned me on to a yummy creation of pesto, tomato and melted mozzarella stuffed mushrooms (it was ah-mazing) last summer and since then, I have been experimenting with different ways to stuff mushrooms. 

I hope you enjoy this recent creation of mine which will be sure to make you yum out loud.

Cheesy kale stuffed mushrooms 

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 large portabella mushrooms (stems removed)
Olive oil
Salt, curry powder, pepper
1 small yellow onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2-3 cups chopped kale
Panko crumbs (~1/4 cup)
Shredded Parmesan and Asiago cheese

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. In large skillet on medium heat, saute chopped kale, garlic and onion in olive oil (about 1 tbsp to start) until soft and onions turn golden brown. Add a bit of water to help soften kale if it begins to stick to skillet.
3. Season with 2-4 pinches of curry (depending on how much you like curry), a few pinches of salt and pepper. 

4. Place mushroom caps in glass baking dish (sprayed with non stick spray), bottom side up. Drizzle each cap with a little olive oil before layering on the kale mix. 

5. Spoon the kale mixture on each cap to cover most the mushroom. You can pile it on as much as you wish!
6. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the kale (as much cheese as you wish) and bake for ~8-10 minutes (mushroom will soften and shrink a little). 

7. Remove dish and sprinkle with panko crumbs and another drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Remove mushrooms from the oven and enjoy!

(Any leftovers of the kale mix, save for breakfast the next morning and combine with scrambled eggs and your favorite type of bread with butter and jam). 

Grilled mushroom with pesto and goat cheese

There's something about the taste of grilled food that makes my taste buds excited.
And this is coming from a vegetarian!

On Sunday evening, Karel and I decided to fire-up the outdoor grill for a delicious dinner to finish a great weekend of training. Although my training volume/intensity is low relative to Karel (who is training for Ironman Mont Tremblant in a few weeks), we were both in need of a good meal to nourish and fuel our bodies.

My garden is overflowing with basil so the first thing that came to mind was pesto. I just love pesto on a grilled mushroom (thanks Katie Malone for the idea!) and as I was feeling extra creative, I didn't follow a recipe but instead, I made up my own -  a handful of fresh basil, a small handful of Parmesan and Asiago shredded cheese, a few long drizzles of olive oil and a sliced clove of garlic all into a food processor. My pesto was extra garlicky and had a nice kick to it.
(I found this recipe for you in case you want to make your own pesto at home)

While Karel had his grass-fed beef burger cooking on the grill (he has a special spot on the grill for his meat so that my food doesn't touch his), I built our grilled mushrooms.

Grilled mushroom with pesto and goat cheese
-1 large portobello mushroom cap (stem removed)
-Pesto (to cover the mushroom)
-Goat cheese (crumbled on top)
-Sliced baby tomatoes (from my garden)
-Olive oil (just a drizzle to give it a little more flavor)
-Shredded Parmesan and Asiago cheese (a nice salty taste)
-Salt (just a pinch)

The mushrooms do not need a long time to cook (~4-8 minutes depending on the heat of the grill, position of the rack with the mushroom and the size of your mushroom) and to help the presentation, I keep the mushroom on tinfoil, instead of directly on the grill rack.

To go with our grilled mushroom (and Karel's meat patty), we grilled a few boiled potatoes that I had left over from dinner on Saturday, when I made homemade mashed potatoes.  I find that boiling potatoes ahead of time helps for quicker cooking on the grill.

To prep the gold potatoes, I sliced them in half, coated the bottoms with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Karel grilled face down, directly on the grill.

And to change things up, instead of a salad, I kept it simple with a large handful of Leasa alfalfa sprouts.
Did you know that 1 cup sprouts has 3g of protein??

If you find yourself in a food rut, consider grilling food (whether outside or in your oven) as it can change up the taste and texture of your food, giving you a new exciting taste-bud happy experience every time you eat.

Sweet potato and edamame stir fry

What a delicious creation! 

Karel and I went grocery shopping a bit late tonight (around 6:30pm) so by the time we returned home and unloaded the reusable grocery bags, it was 7:30pm. We didn't shop hungry thanks to a small snack before we left but come 7:45pm we were ready for dinner. 

We both did our own meals this evening and I just wanted something simple. 

My original plan was to cook my sweet potato and have a side of veggies. I steamed the edamame, corn and mushrooms and I was ready to eat.

But then it came to me....why not combine everything together?
Oh, what a delicious, simple creation!!!

I cubed the sweet potato and combined it with a ladle or two of the veggie mixture. I seasoned with pepper and a pinch of salt and drizzled with olive oil. 

Not pictured is the slice of fresh Mozzarella cheese that I enjoyed as I was getting my dinner ready and also the big dollop of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt that I served as a dip on the side. 

I just love meal time. 

What a fun, happy and exciting time to be creative in the kitchen!  

Fueling the busy body - a buffet of Trimarni creations

The other day, someone asked me what I eat when I am really busy.

I suppose I needed to give the reply of what fast food I order out or what's my favorite microwave dinner when I have no time to cook.

Now, there's always an exception as I do not believe that there is a perfect way of eating but you will not find a microwave dinner in our freezer and Karel and I rarely (less than 5 times a year) go out to eat (unless we are traveling). 

This doesn't mean I am good and you are bad but there's a reason why I wanted to write this blog. 

I absolutely love real food and I make time to cook, even in my busy lifestyle.

I know you can do it too. It's a lot easier than you think.

You, me.....we are all busy. Who isn't busy? If there were more hours in the day, we would find a way to fill those up as well. 

But it is because of my/your health that we are able to thrive in a world of craziness, business and never ending to do's. 

The food you eat has the opportunity to fuel your lifestyle. 

Why do you feel you are too busy too cook? 

Here are a few reasons that surprisingly, do not all have to do with needing extra time:

-No real food options in the house

-Grocery shopping takes too long

-Clean up takes too long

-Cooking takes too long

-Do not know how to cook

-Always going into meals starving (who wants to cook when starving and blood sugar is low?)

-Other, more important priorities than cooking...and sometimes eating

-Eating out is easier

-Eating out tastes better

-Not a good planner

-No fun cooking for yourself

-Crazy schedules (spouse/family/kids)

-Too busy training/exercising (if you are too busy to eat a real food meal because of this, then we need to talk :)

-No time to cook

I am busy, just like you, but if my body is not nourished, I can not do the things that I love to do and that life requires me to do. 

The food we eat has the ability to keep us health, energize our body, help us think clearly and my favorite, make us feel absolutely amazing inside. 

 So, it is important that you do not look for extra time to cook or hope for it to magically happen but instead, make the time. Carve out 30-60 minutes of your day to nourish your body and do not make meal time complicated. 

Certainly, there are a few things that help with making sure you get a health, real food, balanced meal in your system on a daily basis (hopefully three times a day):

-You can plan for leftovers

-Do a little prep ahead of time (Ex. weekends, morning)

-Get a little help from the grocery store (pre-chopped options)

-Involve the family at meal time prep

-Plan ahead

-Don't expect to be perfect

-If you are not a master chef, keep your recipes simple

-Think about the best days in your week to cook and prep

-Make compromises if you feel that there is absolutely no time during your week. Keep in mind that if you do not take time for your health (ex. nourishing your body or fueling your workout routine), you may be forced to make time for illness or injury. 

While in Jacksonville for the past few days, Karel stayed extremely busy by fitting 14 athletes on their bikes using the RETUL system. Each fit takes an average of 2 hours and Karel was on his feet from 9:30am until 5:30pm almost every day (one day until 9pm).

Needless to say, Karel was exhausted every evening on Fri, Sat, Sun and Mon and with that, his workouts were modified so that he could get good sleep on Sat morning (no workout) and Monday morning (no workout). 

It was my job (wife and RD duty) to make sure that my amazing hubby was well fed and that meant making sure that at the end of the day, he not only kept his blood sugar stable throughout the day but that he honored his hunger as he was working. Because we were staying with some friends at the beach, we had the great honor of being fed some fantastic meals and didn't have to do any kitchen. What a treat!

However, on Sunday, I was in charge of the menu and I could not wait to not only prepare a good evening meal for everyone to enjoy but one that would be balanced for each person. 

Because I believe that we should all eat similar foods but in different quantities and times, I prepared a plant strong buffet of options so that exhausted Karel could assemble his plate as he wished, I could create a plate that would help me continue to refuel from my morning long run workout (and boost my immune system) and for our friends to also feel great about what they were putting into their body. 

So I give you a beautiful buffet of Trimarni creations, all prepared in less than 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Blueberry Kiwi Almond Salad

Mixed greens

Blueberries

Slivered almonds

Kiwi (chopped)

Broccoli sprouts

Fresh Parmesan

Olive oil on the side

1. Combine in a bowl. Add as much/little of each ingredient as you wish. Mine was extra berry because I LOVE blueberries. 

Veggie stir fry 

Mushrooms (1 container, sliced)

Onions (1/2 medium, sliced)

Red pepper (1 large, sliced)

Tamari sauce (about 2 tbsp)

Garlic powder

Olive oil

Salt

1. Cook in a skillet on low heat with a tbsp of olive oil and 1-2 tbsp tamari.

2. Stir occasionally, cook until soft. Season to taste.

Herbed tofu

2 boxes firm tofu (cube, bought at Costco, can be stored in pantry until opened)

Herb seasoning (any no-salt seasoning)

Olive oil

1. On skillet on medium heat, add cubed tofu and toss in 1 tbsp olive oil.

2. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until tofu is slightly golden on edges. Lightly toss occasionally and add more olive oil to prevent tofu from sticking (or a splash of water).  Season to taste. 

Quinoa and rice mix

1 package quinoa and rice mix  (I did not use the link I attached, I used one that was in the house I was staying and forgot the name). 

1. Cook package according to directions on stove top. 

Chickpea, corn and edamame salad

1 can chickpeas

1 cup edamame

1 cup corn

Yogurt ranch dressing (or creamy dressing of your choice - I used what was in the house where I was staying)

Cracked pepper

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl (if using frozen corn and edamame like I did, you can defrost until warm and then cool in cold water and drain). 

2. Add 1-2 tbsp yogurt ranch dressing and stir until combined.

3. Season with pepper and keep in refrigerator until serving time. 

Enjoy your yummy creations by yumming with every bite. 

Remember, eating is a happy time. You should feel great while you eat and even better after you finish your meal. 

Happy Creationg Cooking!

(And yes, cooking in 110% Play Harder compression socks is very typical in the Trimarni kitchen)