Shrimp Tacos

This one also came directly out of Cooking Light’s August 2013 issue.  I’ll be honest- the corn relish makes this thing happen. More specifically, the lime juice in the corn relish makes this thing happen. The flavor was fresh and the meal was not heavy at all. Very light and delicious for summer. I highly recommend making it now while corn is still fresh on the market!!

2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears- please note that the original recipe called for 1 cup. I frankly  just felt this wasn’t enough and after making it, I was right. I’m glad I went with the 2 cups for 3 people)

1 ½ teaspoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I didn’t add this in, but left it on the side for people to decide. Also, I gave an option for parsley instead. If you want to pick one, I will say that the cilantro was the better option with the lime juice)

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 diced peeled avocado

Cooking Spray

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 teaspoons honey

¼ cup light sour cream

8 corn tortillas (I got gluten free)

Preheat boiler to high (I had mine set on 550, although my pan started to warp, so I’d probably go to 400F next time). Combine corn and oil in small bowl; toss gently to coat. Arrange corn in an even layer on a jelly-roll pan; broil 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine corn, onions, cilantro, 1 tablespoon juice, salt, pepper, and avocado in a medium bowl; toss gently.

Heat a large grill pan over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Combine shrimp, 1 tablespoon juice, and honey in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Add shrimp to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done.

NOTE: I did this step differently. I skewered my shrimp and broiled them at 400F after mixing them in the juice/honey concoction.

Combine sour cream and remaining 1 tablespoon juice in a small bowl. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Place 2 tortillas on each of 4 plates. Top each tortilla with about ¼ cup corn mixture, about 4 shrimp, and 1 ½ teaspoons sour cream mixture.

Serves 4

Enjoy!!

Gluten Free Zucchini-Walnut Bread

I made this absolutely delicious zucchini-walnut bread today.  When I say delicious, I mean my family and I (three of us) almost ate the whole thing in one sitting.  Moist and not too sweet, I made it to accompany dinner. I was really surprised that the bread actually rose (if you aren’t used to gluten-free cooking, not many doughs actually rise).  I HIGHLY recommend this recipe.  AND! It’s gluten-free. It’s not candida-friendly since it contains maple syrup, but it does have a good amount of fat in it and some protein (which is great if you are a fast oxidizer like me!).  Below is the recipe, which I tweaked because it was originally a Betty Crocker recipe and no offense to Betty, but she "ain’t" all that healthy.

Gluten Free Zucchini-Walnut Bread

½ cup pure maple syrup (if you don’t feel it’s sweet enough, you can still add up to another ¼ cup in order to get the equivalent of the cup of sugar that the original recipe called for)

2 brown, organic eggs

2/3 cup olive oil (If you aren’t using olive oil to bake, I suggest using it.  Your baked goods are guaranteed to always come out moist.)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ¼ cup gluten-free all-purpose rice blend (Note: I used one that already had guar gum in it, but if you are using one that doesn’t have guar or xantham gum, then add ½ teaspoon xantham gum to the recipe)

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon sea salt

2 cups shredded zucchini

½ cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease bottom only of 9x5-inch loaf pan (I used coconut oil to do this and the bread slipped right out when it was done). In large bowl, beat maple syrup and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add oil and vanilla; beat until smooth. In medium bowl, mix flour blend, baking powder, cinnamon, xanthan gum (if needed), baking soda and salt. Gradually beat into egg mixture on low speed until blended. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Pour batter into pan. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack; cool completely, about 2 hours.

Enjoy!!!

Bucket List: #70 Get a “Different” Hair Cut

Yes, I formed a bucket list.  There’s a ton of stuff on it too, so I hope to live a long life.

Some of you may be asking why something so simple is on my list.  Well, let me give you some background.  I’ve had my hair chemically relaxed since I was 13.  As a result, my hair has always been somewhat long.  Of course, this was mostly in response to the societal cues (in my community at least) that if you don’t have long, straight (and preferably blonde) hair, you’re unattractive. Thus, although not blonde, I tried to fit into the mold with straight, relaxed, shoulder-length hair that often times was scrunched up into a ponytail since I didn’t want to take the time to flat iron it.  It’s not that I didn’t like my hair, but I found it to be a lot more time consuming and difficult to take care of.  Not to mention, my hair can be quite fussy.  In the end, I’ve generally had the same hair style for over a decade. 

After 12 years of getting my hair straightened and noticing a severe decline in the health of my hair and my scalp as a direct result of the chemicals, I felt it was time to move on. Last October after my final relaxer, I vowed to grow out my natural mane and never look back.  The original plan was to leave my relaxed hair in until my new tresses grew out to a long enough length.  I decided I definitely didn’t want a mini-fro and wanted to avoid the fro in general.

Well, as most transitioning individuals know, you reach a point when you just can’t handle the “half and half” anymore.  After my impatience and frustration peaked this past weekend, I decided I’d had enough. I couldn’t style my hair anymore- I couldn’t flat-iron my hair or I’d risk damaging my new growth and I couldn’t pull it back anymore because the new growth wasn’t being pulled back.  Not to mention, I couldn’t get to my new growth to properly take care of it.  I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to do something particularly “daring” and step outside of my comfort zone. Time to upgrade my look and knock off something on my bucket list. I took some scissors and cut out the relaxed hair. For future reference, I don’t recommend this strategy. The next day I got it trimmed up and evened out and now I’m rocking the best afro ever. 

I do confess, however, that I can still feel some anxiety over the whole thing. Over the past few days, this has challenged me in a numerous ways and some insecurities about myself have surfaced. This is why this particular task landed on my bucket list.  I wanted to challenge myself and prove to myself that I’m more than my hair or even my look. I wanted to stop and see how I react to such a significant change. Do I wallow in self-pity, drowning myself in criticism? Or do I own it like the fierce woman I am and meet it head on, seeing it as a learning opportunity to strengthen my mindfulness and Buddhist practice? I’m starting to come around to the latter and to my elation to boot, I have some of the best curls I’ve ever seen.

 

Be mindful. Be strong. Be fierce.

Black Hair Product: Cantu Shea Butter

Before I start this review, I want to say that I think I have *almost* found the key to doing my hair.  I have found in the last couple of months that the less product, the better.  And!! The product that I do use cannot be heavy and has to be some sort of oil or combination of oils.  Otherwise, the petroleum based substances and heavy creams tend to cake on my hair and scalp giving me a dirty, greasy feel in hours after washing/conditioning/flat ironing. It’s annoying and it’s harmful to my hair.

The caveat? I have noticed that my scalp’s health has been deteriorating quickly. While my ends and color has been looking stellar, I’ve noticed that my hair has been thinning at a rapid pace.  I’d rather not go bald at 25.  My scalp gets extremely irritated-tightness, burning, some (painful) itching, which I cure by putting oil on my scalp, but I find that my hair still falls out.  I started using Dr. Miracle’s Hot Gro cream today (petroleum based with oils) and I’m going to give it two weeks with an application everyday (may the divine help me) and see what happens.  I’ll post with my results.

However, my scalp and hair woes are not the point of this post (although, if anyone has any suggestions re: the hair falling out, it would be MUCH appreciated!!).  My point was to review Cantu Shea Butter: No Drip Hair and Scalp Oil.

When I first got it I was attracted by the fact that it was not petroleum based.  It is simply solidified oils. I can tell you right now I have not been disappointed.  It has been one of the best hair product purchases I have made in a very long time.  I primarily use it on my scalp, which I find is the best use for it. It doesn’t drip all over the place (although you do have to watch that sometimes the oils do liquefy in the bottle and when you first squeeze it out it’s all oil) and since it is light oil and not petroleum based, it doesn’t cake on my scalp and hair making it greasy.  I find that it evenly distributes throughout my hair as the days go by to the point that I don’t have to worry about putting on product throughout the week. My hair is shiny and dark and styles really well with it.  It has become a part of my routine.

Downside? The applicator tip is awful and it’s actually really hard to squeeze the stuff out after awhile.  The bottle is a firm plastic so when you have a flat iron or comb in one hand and are trying to put the product on, you can’t squeeze stuff out easily.  I find that I have to squeeze the product out first on the counter top or my hand and then go from there.  Also, as I mentioned before, the oil does tend to liquefy a little bit at the top, but it’s usually not an overwhelming amount.

Overall I really recommend this product.  It’s light, it smells great, it works great.  I will definitely be buying this again.

Grade: A-

Book Review: Banker to the Poor

Just a quick blurb... This book is such an inspiration to me. I'm astounded at how thought out Yunus' work is. In an effort to create a real and lasting solution to ending world poverty, Yunus has begun to create an entire market dedicated to social consciousness. His ability to identify the needs of the poorest individuals (or as he likes to call them-the real poor) and families and address them by creating a system specifically dedicated to them is admirable. Critics often argue that Yunus is really just creating a cycle of lending and debt for the poor. I'd agree to some extent, but only if you view his idea as being strictly banking transactions. If you look at the entire system he is creating I'd argue that those of us who are fortunate enough to not qualify for Grameen are caught in our own market's cycle of debt and, in fact, could be even more at the mercy of the market than even the clients of Grameen. At least Yunus has the well-being of his lenders at heart. Who can say that about Bank of America or any other corporate bank these days? Furthermore, is it not true that Yunus is creating a system that enables these families to live better lives? They are now able to eat, be educated, and find a sense of pride they previously lacked. Is this not progress? I would never argue that Grameen is fool-proof and is the only solution to ending poverty. In fact, even Yunus agrees that it is not the only solution. However, I would say that it is an excellent start to a movement and work that quite simply has to be done. I highly recommend this book.