#otaku eats

[otakueats]

Food Hacks: Low- Sodium Stuffed Bell Peppers

Woo! with Anime Central finished I can finally get back to posting these once a week! It was a blast and a half and I am totally drained from this last weekend, but let’s get back into the swing of things with an excellent recipe! Recently, I asked a rather close friend to give me a random dish she would like to see converted into a low sodium variant and she suggested Stuffed bell peppers. The funny part about this is how simple a recipe can look but take such a long time to really make!  It's actually surprising how things like this work, but the prize is always at the end of the tunnel as they say, so let's make this thing!

---- What You Need:

4 bell peppers

1 lb 90/10 lean ground beef

1 onion , minced

½ cup jasmine rice

2 cups no salt added tomato sauce

1 clove garlic minced

1 tsp basil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp pepper ----

How It's Made:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While this is happening, cook your rice as if normal and in a skillet over medium heat, brown your beef with the onion and garlic. By the end the onion should be translucent.

Remember to wash your bell peppers! Cut the tops off and remove the seed s and membrane. Set them on a tray with some wax paper underneath.

When everything is finished cooking, grab a mixing bowl and mix everything (minus the peppers of course ) together, spoon the contents evenly into each pepper till they are filled before putting them in the oven for an hour  or until the peppers are tender.

Take them out and enjoy! ----

The benefits of this recipe are that , no matter how you twist it, it is a rather healthy meal , all packaged in one convenient  package! But make sure to eat this with a healthy salad or a side this to balance it all !

[otakueats]

Anime Hacks: Baaple's Low-Sodium Maple Syrup!

Last Week, we covered the basic recipe of how to make pancakes but, like many people, I love maple syrup on my golden discs of deliciousness

So, for this week, for my Madolche food challenge, we will be covering the sweet and cuddly Madolche Baaple's recipe for maple syrup!

Now I know what you're thinking “why make syrup when we can buy it? “  right? Name brand syrups tend to add too much unnecessary additives for flavor plus, at the end of the day, making your own is not only better tasting, but you can tweak to your personal preference in flavor!

----

What You Need:

1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Maple extract

1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract

----

How It's Done!:

This recipe is as simple as it gets;

before heating, combine your sugars and water into a pot and bring them to a boil while stirring occasionally

For a thicker syrup , add 2 cups of brown sugar instead of 1 , but for a smoother taste, add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter while syrup is boiling

reduce the heat to medium-low and add your maple and vanilla extract . Let it simmer for about 3 minutes before removing from heat .

From here you can serve  warm or store and refrigerate a serving dish to enjoy for another day!  

[otakueats]

Anime Hacks: Spaghetti With Meat Sauce

I 'Love' Pasta dishes, especially spaghetti, so  it was one of the major vices  I had to give up in this journey to better myself, mainly due to the fact that most jarred pasta sauces are so packed with sodium  that I had not clue how to make a proper meal balance out, or at least I thought that was the case at first.   An episode of Log Horizon ( episode 15 for those who are curious)  sparked an idea into my mind of creating my own sauce instead, so after a few weeks of trial and error, I feel I have a great base for an excellent dish!

What You Need

1 cup onions, chopped

4 cup of no salt added tomato sauce

3 cloves of garlic , chopped or minced depending on preference

1 tsp ground oregano

2 tbsps ground basil

½ tsp crushed red pepper  ( 1 for more heat )

½ tsp of sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsps balsamic vinegar

8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms

olive oil

1lb of lean , ground beef ( 90% if prepackaged )* (if you want a vegetarian version of the meal, simply remove the meat from the equation )

How It's Done

In a skillet, oil your pan and  add your garlic and onions and let them simmer till soft

Add your mushrooms soon after and let them simmer for about 5 minutes until tender an lightly browned .

In a pot , add 2 cups of tomato sauce, sugar,  your seasonings, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Do not stir it in just yet. When you are done cooking your vegetables, add them in immediately and the remainder of the sauce. Turn your flames on  low and stir  occasionally until it begins to bubble and boil.

From here you  have a choice to either go the vegetarian route or not . If you choose the meat route season your meat similarly to your sauce ( minus the red pepper flakes and sugar ) then brown your meat well before draining , and  adding to your sauce , stirring it in .

From here, you can cook a pasta of your choice and enjoy!

Pasta sauce is a rather simple thing to do , but a loving practice to master. In many households growing up , a family sauce recipe was sacred and passed down from generations. These days, many skip on tradition and use pre-made sauces that have no heart in them , just a generic taste that everyone is familiar with.

These days, I honestly believe we must experiment and recreate some traditions in the kitchen and return to experimenting and tweaking recipes till they become unique to ourselves again, recipes that will keep our bodies and hearts healthy, even if it's a spoonful at a time

[otakueats]

Anime Food hacks: Magileine's Low-Sodium Madeline's

Yu-gi-oh!  One of the “big 3” of the TCG world and a rather well known anime. While I love this series, as well as the card game, It was almost difficult to find a way to cook something from this series as it rarely has moments that focus on food....until Madolches appeared.

Bringing together a perfect harmony of food and puns, I have decided to challenge myself and make as many of the inspirations behind this archetype as possible! Starting with Madolche Magileine's madeline's!

What You Need: 2 large eggs

2/3 cup of sugar

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon grated  lemon peel

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 ¼ sticks of unsalted butter , melted and  slightly cooled 1 Madeline mold baking pan (note: only if you want a genuine madeline look, this  recipe can also work with a muffin pan rather well ) ----

How It's Done: First, preheat oven to 375°F While this happens, butter and flour your pan for the madeleines with either a whisk or electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl until the mixture is blended well when you have a well blended mix, beat in vanilla, lemon peel, butter and flour, beating well until blended Either spoon  a tablespoon of your batter into each indentation of your pan or  fill your muffin tin

set your pan into into the oven and bake until puffed and brown , which should be about 10 to 16 minutes Let it cool for about 5 minutes  before  gently removing from the pan, dusting the tasty cookies with sugar ( or powdered sugar if available ) before enjoying!

---- These treats are best enjoyed with a tea of personal choice for breakfast with coffee, the bitter complimented by the sweet. The batter can also be made  a day or so before creating and can survive for about a week before going bad, so make some for a treat, tea time, or even an addition to your breakfast!

[otakueats]

Anime Hacks: Low-Sodium Barbecue sauce

With summer coming fast, barbecuing is imminent and the need for a low-sodium sauce is something

we could all use. Now , in a normal store , your options are rather limited, if not impossible to find anything under 200 mg, however, that does not mean there are no options available. If you are not hurting on time, visiting and ordering online if you can find the right place is not a bad choice, but if you want , taking the time to make your own is not only a great experience to customize and experiment with taste, but a bit more personal , especially if you're the one cooking everything! Now, the recipe below is the one I personally use a lot (sometimes not even on meat! ) but if you wish to mix it up with your own style? Go right ahead!

----

What you need:

1 cup no-salt added ketchup

1 cup no-salt added tomato sauce

2/3rd cup of brown sugar

1/4th cup of apple cider vinegar with mother

1/4th cup molasses

2 Tsp liquid smoke ( I should note that there are a few different types of liquid smoke out there and each type has a different sodium count. The one I use (Colgin natural mesquite liquid smoke ) has an excellent 0mg's versus  the same brands natural hickory has 10 mgs of sodium  per tsp. Read your labels wisely ) 1/4th Tsp garlic powder

1/4th Tsp Onion powder

1/4th Tsp Chili powder

1/4th Tsp Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Smoked Paprika

1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

---- How It's done:

Place everything into a sauce pan and  , over medium heat , take a whisk and stir it all together.

Once it gets hot and starts bubbling, lower your temperature so your sauce comes to a simmer . Let it simmer this way for about 20 minutes before you move it from the stove. During this time, take a few taste test, to see if you want to add  anything extra!

Store it in a glass container when finished and enjoy!

---- One of the things I love summer time for, aside from just warm weather, is outdoor cooking.

Be it on the beach, in your own backyard, or even camping , outdoor cooking is something I suggest everyone try at least once!

[otakueats]

Epic Recipe Time! One-Pan Balsamic Tomato Chicken With Broccoli

Today recipe, while not an anime hack, is something I have been experimenting with on and off for quite some time and, after stumbling on this awesome result, I can easily say that this dish is too delicious not to share with you all!

----

What you need:

1 chicken breast

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup grape seed oil

2 tomatoes

broccoli

black pepper

1 tablespoon honey

---- How It's Done:

First off let's make our vinaigrette! In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons oil, honey, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until combined. Set aside for now. Next, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat remaining oil. Add chicken, season with pepper, and sear until golden with about 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside underneath a some aluminum foil to retain heat.

Once done, in your still hot pan, add broccoli  and tomatoes, season with more pepper, and cook until tomatoes are melted into a nice sauce, which should take about  5 minutes or so. From here, move your veggies to one side, then add the chicken back and pour in your vinaigrette. Toss veggies and chicken slightly until chicken is fully cooked through and the vinaigrette has thickened to your liking. Once done, turn your heat to low and add your delicious mix to a plate, serve and enjoy !

---- Always Remember, sometimes the best recipes you won’t find online, but the ones you come up with yourself!

[otakueats]

Food Hacks: Low Sodium Mozzarella Sticks

So around the beginning of this journey for healthier recipes, while researching for the low sodium recipe for pizza, a good friend passed along a great recipe for  mozzarella sticks that I have to share !  Not only does it cut out the massive amount of sodium  (which tends to be around , if not higher than, 600mg per 3 pieces) but lower carbs as well!

What You Need:

8 oz block Mozzarella Cheese (warning: check your labels as not all mozzeralla is created equal! )

⅛ Cup Bread Flour

1 egg

1 Tbsp  1% Milk

½ Cup Bread Crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground basil

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp oregano

How It's Done

Cut the block of cheese in half, then cut into 12 equal planks (4 blocks long-ways, then 3 planks per block).

Begin by placing your flour into a bowl but add your milk and egg into another. Add your breadcrumbs and seasoning to a plate close by.

Roll each cheese plank first in flour, then dredge them within the egg mixture. When they are properly coated , only then cover with breading.

Place your now breaded cheese sticks on the plate and put them uncovered in the freezer for about a half an hour

Once you have this done, pre-heat your oven to 425

When your sticks are ready, pull them from the freezer and put them on a non-stick pan and lightly coat  each one in olive oil

Bake them for about 13 minutes and let them cool for  5 before enjoying!

If you follow the Pizza recipe from before and have some leftover sauce, you can heat that up and have a low sodium dipping sauce as well!

[otakueats]

Anime Hacks: Symphogear Beef Stroganoff

So recently in my quest to find ways to take dishes from anime and make healthy versions, I stumbled upon a great mecha series via Crunchyroll titled Senki Zesshō Symphogear GX . In the show, some of the characters sing a cute song about making stroganoff! Now , I have made a bit of stroganoff in my day , and while I do not agree 100% with some of the ingredients portrayed in the song ( “I have never added tomatoes into this dish, but never too late to try), I can't help but give it a shot and try my hand at making this!

For this recipe we'll stick with a classic beef stroganoff , however , as the song says, does not have to be beef

What you need

1 lb Beef Sirloin - cubed

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 Large Yellow Onion - finely chopped

2 Large Carrots - finely chopped

8 oz Portobello Mushrooms - stemmed and sliced

1/4 cup Sour Cream lowest sodium you can find

1/2 cup Red Wine

2 cups Beef Stock I use Swanson's No Salt added Beef Stock

2 Tbsp Flour I use King Arthur's it is salt free

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Mustard a big tsp of low sodium Mustard

1 t package Egg Noodles . find the lowest sodium and don' sat the water when cooking

How its done!

First, In a small bowl, add your flour and pepper then mix thoroughly. Once that is done, add the steak to the bowl and shake/mix to lightly coat the steak

Next in an oiled skillet, cook the steak until browned, then remove and set aside.

Add the the rest of the olive oil to the pan and add the carrots mushrooms and onions,  then cook it until your mix is golden brown.

Turn off the heat, add the wine and beef stock. Try to scrape the pan to get as many bits as possible before you turn the heat back on.

Let that cook on high for  about 4 minutes to  trim the liquid a bit. While this is happening,  cook your noodles until they are firm to the bite ( or al dente for you cooking aficionados out there ) then drain em.

Once the sauce has reduced, turn off the heat, mix in the sour cream and mustard , then add the beef back to the mix

Stir, Serve , and enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibu_aoDrgTk