I'm Trying to Love 'Clean Eating'

White Fish Tacos

So I haven't posted a foodie love tale in a long time.  But that doesn't mean this SugaCityGyal hasn't been chowing down though! :-)

Those who know me, know that I love my belly!  Recently, I celebrated a birthday and decided that I wanted to try to eat healthier.  As we get older, the things that we put into our bodies really start to affect how we feel and how we age.  I am hoping to age gracefully and comfortably.  So I have tried to include some clean eating into my daily diet.  Each meal isn't perfect but I'm hoping to get better and better as I progress.

I've been including lots of fish and seafood for dinner.  My cousin's wife recently made me king fish with butternut squash one night and then I made swordfish another night.  Sometimes I cheat, like last night, I had shrimp with pasta (white pasta).  Next time I will try to find a pasta substitute.  Just so you know, I'm not preaching like my diet is perfect, 'cause it's certainly not.  I'm still a beginner and new to this clean eating idea - so no judgement please!  Suggestions are always welcome.

A staple in my house has become fish tacos.  I buy the frozen white fish from the supermarket, soak them in water and lemon juice for about 20-30mins.  I wash the fish off and then sprinkle with a little Old Bay seasoning, some black pepper, sprinkle a slight dash of Goya Adobo, fresh cilantro, chopped red onions, and scallions.  I let the fish sit in the seasoning to marinate for about 20-30mins.  I then saute them with a teaspoon of olive oil.  Once the fish is cooked, my husband warms the soft tortilla in a pan.  He then puts all the fixings like the fish, cheese, romaine lettuce or spinach, and salsa.  He wraps them up and turns them until they are well sealed.  He will then add avocado and/or sour cream to the plate and transfer the taco onto the same plate.

I LOVE Latin Food

So living at the Jersey Shore, I don't get to explore the variety of foods that I love as much as I used to when living in New York City.  There are very few Caribbean, Latin, African, Asian restaurants down here. So when I heard from a few Latinas in my Caribbean club at work that there was a nearby take out restaurant selling Latin food, I was determined to find it!  So a few Fridays ago, my foodie friends Daniela and Anna decided to take a run with me to Egg Harbor City, NJ for Latin Food.  We weren't looking for a four star restaurant with gorgeous furniture and uppity service, just the yummy goodness of rice and beans and some spicy seasoned meat!  We headed to Pepe's in Egg Harbor City, NJ!

My Thanksgiving Foodie Love Tale

So I finally managed to climb out of my Thanksgiving coma to write this post!  I hope everyone gave thanks for all their blessings and enjoyed their time with family and friends.  I know I did!  I loved having my mom around to talk, cook, shop, watch movies together and hang out with the children.  My little girl was so sad to see her go...it's the cutest thing to hear your babies say, "I miss Gwaama" (with her little Jersey Shore accent)!  So endearing!

Well, I wanted to share how me and my family spent our Thanksgiving.  So our group consisted of my family of four, my mom, my cousin and her family of four, her husband's niece and the niece's husband.  So in total it was 11 of us, which turned out to be a great number.  Not too big and not too small.  The preparations began on the Monday before Thanksgiving.  If I had remembered (mommy brain) to defrost on Sunday night, I might have brined the turkey.  Nonetheless, hubby and I took the turkey out to defrost and soak (salt, vinegar and water)!  We washed and seasoned up that bad boy on Tuesday night (hubby's Caribbean green seasoning, sage, rosemary, parsley, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, chopped oranges).  It marinated all through Wednesday night.  Thursday morning, I rubbed it with some butter and we popped that sucker right in the oven (it cooked for 3.5 hours).

I LOVE Kashi Cookies

So lately I have felt the need to increase my fiber intake.  You now as we get older we have to start eating healthier and taking better care of our bodies.  So I did a Google search for all food with lots of fiber.  I came up with the following: Beans, Whole Grains (whole wheat breads, pasta, etc.), Brown Rice, Popcorn (YAY), Nuts (almonds, pecans and walnuts), Baked potato with skin, Berries (including the seeds and skin), and Bran cereal.  Well, my immediate reaction wasn't to run out and buy some bran cereal!  YUCK!  I, of course, picked out the fun stuff like popcorn and berries.  After my Foodie post on Kettle corn, you now know that's is my THING.

I LOVE Kettle Corn

I have a confession to make....I've fallen in love with Kettle Corn!  How did this come about you may ask?  Well...I took a little trip upstate New York (specifically Warwick, NY) a few weekends ago to attend AppleFest.  Check out the link and put it on your calendar for next year: AppleFest - Warwick,NY.  I don't know about you but there's just something about attending a good festival!  Maybe it's the vendors - crafters, maybe it's shopping outdoors, maybe it's the carnival rides OR, maybe its the FOOD!  As an avid foodie, I pride myself in trying different foods from different regions and the Kettle Corn was a MUST TRY!  Unfortunately, I was so excited to know that there was a vendor selling Kettle Corn that I don't even remember the name of the vendor, but this was like popcorn made in heaven!  It instantly made my insides happy!  Once I started eating them, I couldn't stop.