One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 32 – Interesting iPhone App

As mentioned before and pretty much the whole point of my One Good thing A Day project, I’m trying to get a better lifestyle and try to train myself to become a more positive person.

I found a free iPhone app called smidge which is quite a great way to start and keep up healthy habits for a better lifestyle.

So far, it’s great to track progress and even includes reminders to make sure you follow the steps for each group.

Here are the categories to follow each day:

One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 31 – Rice Cooker Banana Bread

We bought bananas last week and didn’t get a chance to eat them….or just plain forgot (>_<) I really wanted to make banana bread but of course don't have the luxury or the space for an oven, but then I wondered if I could do it in the rice cooker......and...... Success!

I decided to make it as low in fat as possible without having it taste like “health food”.

Recipe

1 egg
3 tbs soft butter
1/4 cup soy milk
1-1¼ cup mashed ripe bananas
1¼ cup baking flour
1/4 cup rye flour
1/4 – 1/3 cup raw or brown sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cooking oil (for inside the rice cooker)

In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, flour and salt)

In a smaller bowl, thoroughly mix the egg, milk and sugar

Add the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and stir in the softened butter and mashed bananas.

Mix everything together until it’s fairly smooth.

Grease the inside of the rice cooker bowl with the teaspoon of oil and add the mixture.

Keep the rice cooker on a normal setting and cook twice (or until it’s no longer soggy on top) before flipping the banana bread and cooking it for two more runs.

* The cooking time will certainly vary from one rice cooker brand to another -I have a 3-cup Sanyo style.

One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 30 – Lovely Surprise from Canada

This is what I got for Valentine’s Day from my goddaughter in Canada:

How creative she is *^_^*

Certainly made my day that much more happy -especially after the great success of my children’s class quilt!

Kirigami Heart Mobile Made With Wrappers

Going back to my chocolate and candy wrappers post, I decided to take a few of the silver ones and make a heart mobile.

It’s pretty simple to make and great as little decorations in the window, on a wall, in a tree or just hanging outside. I put this one out on the bamboo pole to decorate the area for the birds a bit more.

Here’s what I did to make the two large opposing hearts:

1 – Flatten the wrapper (I use a small ruler).

2 – Fold it in half widthwise.

3 – Fold it over again in a book fold.

4 – Make sure the top and left-hand edges are the folded ones.

5 – Draw the heart outline as shown, making sure both folded edges are included.

6 – Cut out the heart shape (shown in dark grey) and carefully flatten with the ruler or heavy book.

The other two large hearts side-by-side:

A – Flatten the wrapper like the previous kirigami hearts.

B – Fold widthwise.

C – Now fold lengthwise to give you a narrow strip.

D – Now draw the heart as shown, making sure the curve of the heart includes the side fold as well as the open edges.

E – Cut along the lines, unfold and carefully flatten.

Finally, the small individual hearts:

All I did for these is simply fold the wrappers in half and cut out two smaller individual hearts.

Once they are all done, take a ribbon or string, secure them with a dab of glue and let them dry completely.

It’s done! I love how delicate and pretty it turned out, especially with the shimmer when the sunlight hits it.

Pasta with Spinach and Soy Cream Sauce Recipe

This is the second recipe from our Spinach Iron Chef Dinner. You can find the first recipe here.

Ingredients:

2 cups pasta (1 cup per person)

2-3 cups spinach

1 1/2-2 cups soy milk (make sure it’s not the sweet kind!)

1 cup shredded cheese (optional)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Creafully wash the spinach and set aside.

Heat a pot of water and add a pinch of salt when the water begins to boil.

Cook pasta al dente and in the last two minutes before the pasta is done, add the spinach to cook together. Drain well and put it back into the pot.

Dilute the cornstarch with a little water. Slowly heat the soy milk in a pot and add the cornstarch. stir occasionally.

Heat the milk for a few minutes and add small portions of the cheese while stirring. Add salt and pepper and cook until all the cheese is melted in.

Pour the sauce over the pasta with spinach and over medium heat, mix the pasta with sauce for a couple of minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

I chose soy milk because it’s all we drink at home and it’s also great to reduce the saturated fat content in the meal.  This milk along with soy cheese is also a wonderful cream sauce for those who may be lactose intolerant.

Rolled Chicken with Spinach and Cheese Recipe

This is one recipe from our Spinach Iron Chef Dinner

Our recipes are usually just us experimenting with things and never really following measurements of any kind, so writing up a recipe might not work well for those of you who need solid information.

For the rest of you, here it is:

Ingredients:

2-4 lean chicken breasts

8-10 large spincach leaves

1/2 cup chicken broth

A handful of shredded cheese (mozzarella works well)

Salt

Pepper

Optional:  Nutmeg and Chili Powder

Instructions:

First, pound the meat thin, add salt and pepper freely. If you would like a bit more flavour, add a touch of chili and/or nutmeg.

Layer the spinach neatly along the meat, then add some shredded chicken.

Roll the meat up and secure with some toothpicks.

Heat the pan on high and place the rolled chicken to brown all around. Add the chicken broth and reduce the heat to medium.  We covered the pan but it can also stay uncovered.

Cook for approximately 5 minutes and remove to cut into thick slices (don’t forget to remove the toothpicks). Place the slices back into the pan and cook for another 5 minutes, until the broth has reduced and thickened a bit.

Serve with spinach pasta or white rice and enjoy!