Easy Mushroom Coconut Curry

Yeah, I’ve been on an Indian food kick lately. I mean, I’m always on one as a consumer, but in the past week, I made three different Indian dishes. Hopefully, you already saw the delightfully easy and delicious naan recipe I put out. And today…I bring you a delicious mushroom coconut curry! I really really enjoyed it. We received Vegetarian India (a cookbook) by Madhur Jaffrey, a well-known Indian chef and cookbook author, as a wedding present. I’m really loving this cookbook and can’t wait to try more from it.

This recipe is based off of her recipe called “Kodava Mushroom Curry with Coconut,” though I deviated quite a bit. Get her cookbook if you want the exact recipe–she’s a genius! Apparently, this dish comes from a more meat-eating region in India and thus she was fascinated by their vegetarian dishes. It’s rich, scrumptious, and filling. She suggests to have it with rice, but we had it with quinoa. I think it would go well with anything–rice, quinoa, naan, paratha, you name it!

May262018

How to Make Naan to Be Proud of

Here at Hungry & Fit, we are BIG Indian food fans. It competes with pizza for our most-delivered food. We love the flavors, the complexity, and the comfort it brings. I’ve always wanted to cook more Indian food since we love it so much, but I was intimidated by the many ingredients you usually need. Naan, however, seemed to have less ingredients and it is probably my favorite “bread” product on the planet. So one day, I find this wonderfully simple naan recipe from Jo Cooks and I committed myself to trying it. I tweaked the recipe slightly because I’m usually too lazy to get the exact ingredients that the original recipe uses. I can proudly say I now know how to make naan!

I was nervous to try it. I’m bad with tedious things and sometimes recipes that call for rolling and cutting dough are just that. I don’t even have a rolling pin! Naan is one of my favorite things to eat and I wanted to do it right. Feeling creative and ambitious one night, I set out to make my very first naan. And guess what, it turned out great if I do say so myself! And don’t be nervous, it’s honestly incredibly simple.

May062018

Easy Overnight Oats

It’s Sunday! What does that mean? Meal prep time! This is when we prep as much food as we can for the week so that being tired and short of time doesn’t force us into making unhealthy decisions. For this week, I’m highlighting easy overnight oats. There’s actually no cooking required in this recipe, just a tiny bit of prep work (and I mean tiny). What are overnight oats? Dry oats that soak and become edible overnight.

This is a healthy recipe (that I adapted and tweaked from Chocolate Covered Katie) that will get your rear into gear during those sleepy struggle mornings. Basically, you’re just stacking ingredients in a mason jar, putting it in the fridge overnight and then eating it the next morning! I love it because when you actually need it, you don’t have to put any work into making it. The mornings are an important part of my day for personal development and productivity so “hacks” like these are vital! I can just go through my normal routine without spending an extra 10-15 minutes prepping breakfast. Weehaw, more productivity time!

May052018

Healthy Enchilada Quinoa Casserole

Last month, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a lot of time with my family in Iowa, although it was for the sad reason of my grandfather’s funeral. Funerals are always difficult, especially of a loved one, but there’s that bright side of family and togetherness that makes it bearable. Every meal time we would gather round the table (there were quite a few of us) and eat and laugh and cry. Definitely healing for the soul, I would say.

It was spending this time together that brought this amazing new recipe into my life: my cousin Molly’s healthy enchilada quinoa casserole. I can’t tell you how much I ate of this dish. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. It was filled with such healthy and yummy goodness that I couldn’t stop. Just something about a warm nourishing dish in the last throes of winter (yeah, we got 7 inches of snow DURING APRIL). The dish focuses on latin flavors while boasting healthy nutrition facts. The base of the dish is quinoa, but so many others are invited to the party: beans, corn, cilantro, avocado and more. As soon as I tasted the menu, I begged her to write up the recipe and send it to me! So this one, folks, is all thanks to Molly!

Apr252018

What Makes Someone a Great Cook?

We VERY recently shared an article about Millennials being useless in the kitchen and provided our opinions! It sparked more discussion than most of our posts on the blog, receiving all kinds of feedback. People are defensive about titles that are given to them and are often willing to prove their worth. A handful of Millennials were adamant that they were capable in the kitchen, but even more fascinating was the confusion that came over the key words used in the article.

Apr202018

Millennials Can’t Cook

First and foremost, THIS ARTICLE isn’t going to win any Pulitzer Prizes so don’t think we’re sending you off to read something life-changing. It is extremely short and basically states that a recent poll from an entity that we’ve never heard of conducted a study where individuals from different generations assessed their own ability in the kitchen.

It isn’t very in-depth but it does state that about 5% of millennials rated themselves as “very good” cooks. It also talks about Baby Boomers’ inability to identify a salad spinner (baby boomers are the only population I’ve ever seen use a salad spinner) and millennials’ inability to identify a butter knife.

Apr162018

S’mores at Home

If you’ve been on social media lately, and you live in the United States, there has been a lot of negativity going around. Normally we have something to fall back on that can cheer us up, like the weather, but that certainly hasn’t given us any relief lately. Here in LA, we’ve had 20 degree temperature changes every few days for the past week. Whether it has been hurricane-level winds or blazing dry heat, we can’t really complain because others have it so much worse. I saw a video from the NYC subway that looked like a scene from Titanic.

Spring is supposed to be one of the loveliest seasons that just about anyone can enjoy. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing and it is warming up enough to start firing up the grill to make some family favorites. That, however, can be quite challenging with a blizzard (bad enough to close airports for days) outside.

We celebrated the Spring Equinox by building a fire in our cast-iron chiminea and making s’mores. It felt so good, and even though it might not be the healthiest treat out there (everyone gets a cheat meal, right?) it is bound to put a smile on your face and relieve some stress. Relaxation is important for finding that hungry and fit lifestyle! So, if you’re fortunate enough to have a gas stove (our ONLY three criteria for apartment hunting in LA is: parking, no carpet, gas stove) you can make s’mores right now!

Apr082018

Blue Apron Review

Recently, Fit was gifted a free trial for Blue Apron (by one of the best bakers we know), which we took advantage of to the fullest. We know that there are tons of meal delivery services, which all need to do things a little different to succeed, so we were excited to find out what made Blue Apron so successful!

We received two meals through this promotion, which seemed to be equal to a $50 voucher. That means each meal cost $25 and they were advertised as meals for two. That means, essentially, that we had lunch and dinner for $50. If you think about it, $12.50 a meal (per person) seems reasonable, but that really depends on where you live. Here in LA, a healthier meal out would tend to cost you more than that, while you could have a meal for less than that back in Boulder.

Mar122018

How to Make Poke at Home

To watch the video on our YouTube page, click HERE!

We’ve always loved Hawaiian food; from the fresh acidity and presence of tons of fish in poke to the carb-heavy and gravy laden comfort dishes like loco moco, Hawaiian food is diverse and delicious. While we have tasted Hawaiian cuisine throughout the US, we knew our familiarity was lacking without a trip to Hawaii, so we went on an adventure to the big island.

Hungry’s homemade loco moco and poke were always good, but after learning a few secrets in Hawaii, the recipes are complete. If you know us, you know we love sharing food, so here is Hungry’s recipe for poke. Actually, here is a real-life video of Chris preparing poke at home. It doesn’t get much realer than that, other than being there with him!

Jan272018

Not-Your-Nonna’s Arrabbiata Sauce Recipe

Sugo all’arrabbiata. The angriest sauce in all of Italian cuisine. It might not be as angry as your nonna when you don’t listen to her, but it can pack quite a punch. Hailing from the Lazio region (think Rome) of Italia, like my ancestors, you’d think that it’d be blasphemy for me to even consider altering the thousand-year old recipe, but… I can’t help myself.

You see, this is a simple sauce that doesn’t quite hit the spice level of fra diavolo, but compared to commercial Italian pasta sauces in American grocery stores, it’ll make your nose run a bit. Typically, its made from striking the perfect balance of tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and red chiles (most use red chili flake), but we’re really going off the walls here and using a much different source of heat.

No, we’re not talking about Calabrian chili oil; we wouldn’t dare use ingredients from Southern Italia. We’d rather take a near 7,000 mile plane from Rome to Jakarta, to pick up some SAMBAL! I hope we haven’t lost you, yet, because this is about to get tasty.