Tag Archives: healthy cooking

Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa

A few summers ago my husband and I had a running joke that was based on our observation that we couldn’t look at any decent restaurant menu that year without finding “Mango Salsa” on it! It was like mangoes had been discovered by the chefs in our area and they… were… everywhere! I boycotted mango salsa. I couldn’t bring myself to give in to the wave – the craze – the trend. We concluded that there must have been a big sale on the stuff at the Sysco food distributor or that there had been a bumper crop of mangoes in the tropics that year and they were dirt cheap. Regardless, we were not going to partake of this mango madness.

Oh, what a mistake!

Several summers later (and now very pregnant) nothing sounds more delicious to me than fruit…especially tropical fruits…especially…you guessed it…mangoes. And so I found myself making this Grilled Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa – an item I could have ordered straight off the sidewalk chalkboard menu at any restaurant in the city 3 years ago and never did. But THIS year? I had to have it. And I’m so glad I did. I adapted this from a Cooking Light recipe, changing up the salsa a bit by adding kiwi and pineapple in lieu of peppers – you know, because of that tropical fruit thing I have going on.

This recipe comes in at under 200 calories and under 2 grams of fat per serving so it is really light, which leaves plenty of room to pair it up with up a fragrant jasmine rice, a green salad, and maybe a tropics-inspired dessert. Key Lime Pie anyone?

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa
adapted from Cooking Light
Photo Credit: CookingLight.com

serves 4

1/4 c. canned light coconut milk, divided
6 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (about 4 limes), divided
4 (6 oz) mahi mahi fillets
1 diced peeled ripe mango (about 1/2 lb)
2 diced peeled kiwis
1/4 c. finely diced fresh pineapple
3/4 c. diced, seeded peeled cucumber
2 Tbsp. minced sweet onion
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. minced peeled fresh ginger
3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 lime wedges

1 – Preheat grill to medium high. Combine 3 Tbsp. coconut milk and 3 Tbsp. lime juice in quart sized Ziplock. Add fish; marinate at room temperature 15 minutes.

2 – Combine remaining 1 Tbsp. coconut milk, remaining 3 Tbsp. lime juice, mango, and next 7 ingredients in a bowl. Add 1/4 tsp. salt; toss well.

3 – Remove fish from dish, place on aluminum foil, and discard marinade. Sprinkle fish with remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper.

4 – Place foil with fish onto medium-high grill and cook 5-7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with mango salsa and a wedge of lime, if you’re so inclined.

This entry was posted in All blog posts, Food, Recipes and tagged , , , , on by .

Stevia – an zero calorie natural sweetener

Stee-what?? Until about 6 months ago, I’d never even heard of stevia. Now it’s so key to my cooking repertoire I’d be lost without it! My daughter calls it “that special sugar” – special indeed!

Stevia is a plant, native to South America, grown for its sweet leaves. The extract from the leaves is used to make a natural sweetener that has up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, but with ZERO calories and negligible impact on blood sugar. And of course, it’s all natural, not a synthetic chemical sugar substitute. Does it get any better? YES! It tastes like sugar and has no aftertaste (unlike most artificial sweeteners).

Stevia has been widely used in other countries for hundreds of years (e.g. South America, Japan) but it has gone mainstream in the US more recently followng FDA approval for use. It is marketed under brands like Truvia, Sun Crystals, PureVia, SweetLeaf, and Stevia Extract In The Raw. You can find it in most grocery stores and in any health food store near the sugar (and other sweeteners). It is also slowly being incorporated as a sweetener in beverages and other processed foods.

I’ve experimented with a number of recipes using stevia as a replacement for sugar. I haven’t done any baking with it since sugar plays such a key role in the texture of most baked goods, but I have had great luck with it in salad dressings, marinades, and sauces that call for sugar. My daughter’s favorite use is on top of strawberries (when she doesn’t think they are already sweet enough – ack!). It of course is a great sweetener option for coffee or tea or other beverages as well. I recently made homemade lemonade by squeezing fresh lemons and adding cold water and stevia – and it was amazing!

Here’s a chart from PureVia listing conversion rates from sugar to stevia to get the equivalent sweetness if you’re ready to do some experimentation of your own!

And here’s a link to some recipes from Truvia if you need a little inspiration to get you started.

I’d love to hear what you try and what your results were!

This entry was posted in All blog posts, Food and tagged , , , , on by .

Greek Salad – as eaten in Santorini

Five years ago today, my husband and I were in Santorini, Greece with our six-month-old firstborn in tow to celebrate the wedding of two of our best friends (That’s the happy couple in the picture!). Only for these two would we travel halfway around the world as first-time parents with a still-nursing, not-yet-crawling baby in arms! And so we did. And it was one incredible trip.

We flew into London and spent a few days there before flying to Santorini (one of the Greek Islands). We loved Santorini and took part in just about everything the small group gathered for the wedding celebration had planned. This included, as I recall, a LOOOOONG hike down a STEEEEEEEEP hill accompanied by donkeys to the coast so that we could take a boat out to a smaller island formed by a volcanic crater. We hiked up the hills of that island (baby asleep in the Baby Bjorn!) and took in the incredible view from the top before hiking back down.

On the evening of the wedding, we walked in procession through the cobblestone streets to a tiny hilltop church where the ceremony was (unexpectedly!) conducted entirely in Greek. Then we processed back to the reception site, tourists smiling upon us, as we arrived with our small contingent at the most intimate and beautiful restaurant terrace, where each chair was positioned to have a view of the perfect sunset that evening. It was a night that I’m sure no one present has forgotten.

So as we wish our dear friends a Happy 5 Year Anniversary, I share with you this recipe for an authentic Greek Salad. I developed this recipe to replicate the salad I DEVOURED our first night on the island. I have never tasted anything so fresh, so simple, and so perfectly balanced. I make this all the time when tomatoes and cucumbers are in season (and sometimes even when they’re not!). It’s perfection on a plate…and it always brings back fond memories of that very special trip.

Greek Salad

serves 4

4 medium heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 small cucumbers, cut into same size pieces as tomato
1 green pepper, cut into same size pieces as tomato and cucumber
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced, each slice cut in half
16 kalamata olives
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 slices of good feta from the thin end of a block (1/4″ thick)
2-4 Tbsp. good fruity olive oil
Sprinkle of dried oregano

Chop the vegetables and toss with olives in a bowl. Season with pepper. Divide among four salad bowls. Top each bowl with a slice of feta, sprinkle of oregano, and drizzle (1/2 Tbsp. – 1 Tbsp.) of olive oil. And that’s IT!



This entry was posted in All blog posts, Food, Recipes and tagged , , , , , , on by .