Category: Recipes

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Recipes

All About Smoothies

whatsupwingo
Hand holding blender full of frozen mango, banana, spinach, berries, avocado, and almond milk.

All About Smoothies: For Foodie Friday

Happy Foodie Friday! As I type this Amelia and I just got back from the Zoo with my good friend and her boys. I just checked the temperature and it is 102 degree heat index. The pool is calling my name and I just can’t be bothered to cook. Therefore, I am posting all about smoothies. Included in this post are some of my favorite Smoothie combinations. I also include things you can add to boost the nutrition of your smoothies. I hope you enjoy, and stay cool out there!

All About Smoothies: How I think About Building My Smoothie.

When building my smoothie the first step I think about is if its a meal or a snack. If I want a quick snack i don’t worry as much about the ingredients. When a smoothie is my meal I include some good fats and protein for blood sugar stabilization, this will help you feel fuller for longer. The different categories of my smoothie include fruit and or vegetables, greens, fats, protein, and extras. I will go into more detail in the information below.

All About Smoothies: Organic or Conventional Produce

When purchasing produce for a smoothie I try and stick with organic whenever possible. This is especially important when buying fruits with thin skin, or skins that you eat like berries, stone fruits, and greens. However, I am less worried about bananas, watermelon, oranges and things that I peel.

All About Smoothies: Making them Sweet without Sugar

I like to add a frozen banana to my smoothie as it makes it a lot sweeter and gives it a smooth texture. I keep a zip lock bag in my freezer and whenever I have a banana that is getting too ripe I unwrap it and throw it in there. Then I have a steady supply of bananas for banana bread or my smoothie. Bananas are great frozen and they even break off effortlessly into chunks to make it easier on your blender.

I also find oranges and the juice from them to be fairly sweet. Their sweetness is a great addition to your smoothie. You can add a little pineapple juice for a more tropical sweetness. I have been known to throw in a little Stevia from time to time if needed. This can be especially true when I have a smoothie that is heavy on greens.

All About Smoothies: Why I Add Fat

Many of us are afraid of fat. When you add a good source of fat to your smoothie it not only helps with the texture and creaminess but your fullness factor as well. Your smoothie will stick with you longer and it can be helpful in balancing out the high carbohydrate load. My favorite fat choices include avocado, coconut oil, and coconut milk.

All About Smoothies: Protein Options

In addition to fats, if you are wanting your smoothie to be more filling adding a protein source can be very helpful. Some of my favorites are grass fed Stevia sweetened or unsweetened protein, Hemp protein with Stevia, collagen peptides and amino acid supplements. I also like to add in nut butters like peanut, almond, cashew, and sun butter. Greek and regular yogurt are another great addition, grass feed, organic and full fat are my favorites.

Here are a few of the protein powders I prefer.

https://amzn.to/2SrOL4r
https://amzn.to/2YikES4

All About Smoothies: Adding Greens

I add greens to almost every smoothie I make. If you are looking for a more mild flavor stick with spinach. I also love to use kale, and the super green mixtures. I always choose organic and it doesn’t matter if they are frozen or fresh.

blender filled with spinach and avacado

All About Smoothies: Tips and Tricks

If you have fresh fruit or greens that are about to spoil freeze them and put them in your smoothies. For Berries or other fruits lay them on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Once your fruit is frozen add them to a bag so this way they won’t stick together.

If you have a favorite recipe go ahead and portion out your ingredients. By placing them into smaller bags you are setting yourself up for success. That way on a busy day you can put it into the blender add your liquid and your done!

Always add the liquid to the bottom part of the blender. As a result your blender will blend effortlessly for a smooth consistency.

If you have left over smoothie put it in ice cube trays and once they are frozen add instead of ice to additional smoothies in the future.

If you cut up a avocado and don’t use it all freeze it. Place slices or chunks on parchment paper and once frozen throw it into a smoothie.

If your smoothie is to thick to drink pour it in a bowl add some coconut and chia seeds and eat it with a spoon!

Smoothies are a great way to add in additional ingredients or what I like to call extras. I add many of the following:

coconut oil

fiber through chia seeds

probiotic powders

Spirulina

turmeric

Ginger

and any other super food you want to boost up the nutritional value.

Don’t be afraid of veggies. For instance you can easily add carrot, greens and even cauliflower to your smoothie without even knowing it. If you are concerned about blood sugar please don’t be afraid to experiment with these non starchy options.

Check out this previous post

If you are looking for more information about feeding your toddler check out my blog post here. I include a link to these adorable pouches that are definitely a must for toddlers’ smoothies.

smoothie pouch with pig on front for toddler.
Pink kids divided plate filled with cubed cheese, ham, and grapes

Now on to the Recipes!

Tropical Smoothie

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup Greek whole milk yogurt

add organic frozen tropical mix (pineapple, mango)

Add 1/2 frozen banana

handful of spinach

1 small grated carrot

1 tbsp coconut oil

Blend and enjoy

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

1/2 cup milk of choice

1 scoop chocolate Tara’s whey protein powder or protein powder of your choice.

1 banana

1 tablespoon peanut butter or nut butter of your choice.

1 handful of spinach

Blend and enjoy

Very Berry Smoothie

1/2 cup milk of choice

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

mixed organic berries

handful of spinach

1 avocado

1/2 frozen banana

1 scoop of vital proteins collagen peptides.

Blend and enjoy

Almond milk, avacado, blender with smoothie on top of a cutting board

Whats up with You?

I hope you all have a great weekend and please let me know if you try and like these smoothies! Above all have fun with it.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, I may earn a commission if you complete a purchase after following the link

Recipes

BBQ Ranch Pork Chop Salad with Brussels Sprouts & Kale

whatsupwingo
Crunchy bbq ranch salad with pork

Foodie Friday: Recipe Adapted from the Real Food RDs.

Happy Foodie Friday! Today I am doing things a little different and featuring a recipe developed by the Real food Dietitians Jess and Stacie. I love the ladies behind this site! As a fellow RD it is so nice to see individuals that have similar thoughts on food and nutrition. As stated on their website they have gluten free and allergen friendly meals. BBQ Ranch Pork Chop Salad with Brussels Sprouts & Kale is the recipe I will be making today on this Foodie Friday.

BBQ Ranch Pork Chop Salad with Brussels Sprouts & Kale

Today I am taking a recipe from the Real food Dietitians website and putting a little different spin on it. Their recipe features a crunchy and super delicious salad made with green kale, and Brussels sprouts for extra nutrition and super crunchiness. If you are a fan of the combination of BBQ and Ranch you have got to make this recipe. The Brussels sprouts are shredded and are extremely mild in this dish. Before heading on over to their site for the directions I am going to walk you through the ingredients, substitutions, and changes I made.

Equipment Needed

For this recipe a really useful tool is a food processor with a shredded attachment and the regular blade also. This will definitely save you some time on cutting and chopping. I used the shredder for the Brussels sprouts and carrots. I used the regular blade for the red onion. I used a whisk for combining the BBQ sauce and ranch and a large bowl for combining the salad. I used a skillet to pan fry the pork chops.

Substitutions and Adaptations

For this recipe I did not have any golden raisins on hand so I didn’t include them in the recipe. I also used a different brand of BBQ sauce and Ranch. However Tesseme’s is a fabulous brand and you should definitely give their sauces and dressings a shot.

Ingredients Needed

Pork chop with kale salad with shredded carrots

You will need :

shredded carrots

shredded Brussels sprouts

red onion

Green Kale

toasted slivered almonds

Ranch and BBQ of choice.

Bacon or bacon bits

I added some cooked pork chops to add a little extra protein.

Check out the full recipe here

If you are looking for more Salad inspiration check out my previous Foodie Friday

crisp romaine lettuce in a bowl with a fork topped with seasoned ground beef, carrots, olives, topped with sour cream and salsa

Please go check out my fellow RD’s and their website. They have TONS of amazing recipes on their website that you don’t want to miss.

What I feed my Toddler

I often get asked questions about what I feed my toddler as a Registered Dietitian. I wrote a previous post about it here

Pink kids divided plate filled with cubed cheese, ham, and grapes

Whats up With You?

I hope you all have had a great week and have a fabulous weekend! Let’s keep the conversation going and let me know what’s up with you?

Lifestyle, Recipes

What I Feed My Toddler

whatsupwingo
Pink kids divided plate filled with cubed cheese, ham, and grapes

What I Feed My Toddler for Foodie Friday

Today I wanted to do something a little bit different for Foodie Friday. I am going to walk you through what I feed my toddler. As many of you already know I am a Registered Dietitian. I get questions quite often about what exactly I feed my daughter. These are my opinions and may or may not be what is best for your family. I hope I can provide some help to new moms who are looking for ideas on what to feed their toddler.

First Foods

When Amelia was six months old we introduced solids. Our first food was avocado. We chose this due to the fact that it was soft and not sweet. Ill let you take a look at the pictures below to see if you think she liked it or not.

  • baby sitting in highchair smiling with wooden bowl
  • Child sitting in high chair with wooden bowl trying her first food

As you can tell she was not a fan of avocado and still isn’t to this day. We stuck with a rule of one new food per three days. This was in order to determine if any allergies or intolerance may have occurred. This is such an important step when introducing foods. It can take a few days before you notice any changes in diapers, skin, etc. I kept a log so that I knew which foods we tried and the days in which we tried them. Needless to say she wasn’t too happy for a few days with just plain avocado. We decided to add in banana and mix it with the avocado and she loved it! Every few days we would add in a new food and continued with the old.

Food Textures

There are many different ways to start solids with little ones. This can include purees, baby led weaning or a little bit of both. Amelia did not do well with chunky textures at first. Gagging is unfortunately a normal part of learning to eat. It helps babies learn to move food back up to be further manipulated into more manageable pieces to swallow. We stuck with mostly smooth consistencies because along with the gagging she also vomited several times (TMI I know). I don’t know about you all but I HATE getting sick. Above all I wanted her to have association with food.

As she progressed and learned more about gumming her foods we attempted a thicker chunkier texture. If this lead to her getting sick we would not make a big deal about it and would try again later. As she reached around nine months she really wanted to hold onto her food. We introduced teething crackers which helped her learn how to chew and swallow even further. Amelia could feel them better in her mouth and learned what was too big of a bite. We continued with purees and slowly but surely went from puree to finger foods. By the end of her first year she could eat pretty much anything even without teeth!

To Make or Not to Make

It can be a tough decision when deciding exactly how to approach feeding your toddler. We made 99% of our baby food. It is cheaper, we had control of the ingredients, and we wanted to feed her what we ate. For example if were having Mexican sweet potatoes we would puree her up some sweet potatoes, and avocado. If chicken and broccoli are for dinner, broccoli puree it was.

I did some batch cooking for her to make it even easier. I would purchase the organic vegetables that were on sale. Bulk cook them and freeze them for later. I cooked grass fed ground beef added a little bit of broth and pureed that and froze it. This is a great way to make sure your little one is getting adequate iron. As we added in more food groups I made sure to provide more variety for optimal nutrients.

Spices, Garlic, and Fats Oh My

I was careful to be sure to include good fats like coconut oil and olive oil in my cooking. When she was still getting puree foods I mixed coconut oil in with her foods. She would sometimes take it straight off the spoon! Fat is excellent for brain development and I wanted to be sure she was getting enough of it. Currently we continue with healthy fats in addition to herbs, garlic, onions, spicy stuff and she typically gobbles it up.

Picky Eaters

We have been very careful to try and feed Amelia exactly as we eat. For this reason I believe we are blessed with a pretty good eater. There are times when some items are a little too spicy, tough, to chew etc. However for the most part she eats what we do.

I believe kids are picky in part because we allow them to be. Kids watch us and anticipate how to react even as young babies. If a parent doesn’t like a particular food and they make that known their children pick up on it. Now, I’m not saying you or your kid has to like broccoli. However I think its important to let our children decide for themselves if they like it or not. A prime example is grape tomatoes and black olives which I don’t care for. I am proud to say those are two of my kiddos favorite foods. I put my own bias aside and this has allowed her to develop her own opinion.

Clean your Plate

This is a controversial topic but I am going to give my opinion. A large reason why many people today have a problem with being overweight is due to being forced to clean our plates. Yes it is not good to waste but unless you are planning to donate your food it isn’t going to end up on the plate of those less fortunate anyway.

In my house we put an amount that we think Amelia will eat on her tray. She eats what she eats and we save the rest for later. It is as simple as that. In order to tell if your kiddo is full or not look to see if they are getting distracted. They tend to turn away and loose interest when they are done. As she has gotten older she will say “up”, or sometimes the food gets thrown on the ground. The biggest thing is to learn and pay attention to their cues.

I believe we are born with the innate ability to control what our body needs. If we are mindful we eat when we are hungry and stop when we are is full. Obviously you don’t want your kiddo going several meals without eating. If your child has skipped several meals, and you are worried please contact your pediatrician.

Links to some of the food items we used.

We bought a baby blender but found we didn’t like it as much as our regular blender. I know this is rather pricey but let me tell you its worth it! We have a Blendtec and I would repurchase again and again. If you are not looking to spend this much I have heard great things about the Ninja blender too.

https://amzn.to/32cjWVC
https://amzn.to/328xYb3

Once we blended the food we would place in these silicone one ounce molds and freeze.

https://amzn.to/2LApzY1

I purchased these reusable pouches which I still use today. We use them for smoothies and apple sauce. I also purchased these silicone toppers. I find they are more gentle on your little ones mouth and keep the food from getting everywhere.

https://amzn.to/2XLGgGl
https://amzn.to/2LClySM






We used this brand baby food if we needed to purchase in a pinch. I always choose organic and tried to stick with glass, and bpa free. Earth’s Best and Happy baby both make some great pouches and even Aldi has some good options.

https://amzn.to/2XN4G2e

https://amzn.to/2Xs6MW0
https://amzn.to/2LEYHpE

https://amzn.to/2LEmsyk

These Creamies are awesome and they are full of really clean ingredients. They are also diary free for those babies who might not be able to tolerate diary.

These are my favorite teething “cookies” they are very clean and have very little sugar. They have a few different flavors and we like them all. I love that they are organic also.

https://amzn.to/2Xs0mWU

Amelia loves freeze dried fruit. It can be hard to find organic but when you do its an awesome snack.

https://amzn.to/2L3tQDK

https://amzn.to/30g9zyg





Here is a link to the divided plate pictured above

https://amzn.to/2Jhr2AJ

Food is For Fun

Remember the saying that before one food is just for fun. I tried to remind myself this on days where she didn’t eat as much. Remember to keep trying as tastes change, try and cook the item in different ways. I continue to offer the items that my daughter doesn’t like without force. One day I hope she will try it and decide she likes it. Take comfort in knowing that food is just for fun until one. Since you are breastfeeding or formula feeding for the first year its ok if a large amount is not consumed. Take this time to really experience flavors, textures and have fun with it!

If you have left over burgers from your fourth festivities and are looking for a delicious sauce try my tzatziki recipe. Add a little feta cheese and red onion and you have yourself a Greek burger.

Wooden bowl with metal spoon cucumber dip inside

Whats up with you

I hope you all have had a great fourth. Let’s keep the conversation going. Let me know what you feed your little ones.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualify purchases. Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, I may earn a commission if you complete a purchase after following the link .

Recipes

Taco Salad For Foodie Friday

whatsupwingo
crisp romaine lettuce in a bowl with a fork topped with seasoned ground beef, carrots, olives, topped with sour cream and salsa

Taco Salad for Foodie Friday

I hope you all had a good week. This week has been really busy for me and lets just say TGIF! This week I am sticking with a super simple recipe of Taco Salad for Foodie Friday. This salad is so tasty and with all the veggies it is definitely far from boring. Lets get on to the recipe.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 1 head of romaine chopped and washed.
  • 1 small can of sliced black olives drained
  • A whole carrot peeled and julienne
  • A pound Ground beef
  • 1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 avocado sliced
  • Sour cream and salsa of choice to taste
  • cooking fat (optional)
  • 1 tbsp of this primal palate taco seasoning or seasoning packet of choice
https://amzn.to/2RMlz7F

Let’s Get Cooking

  1. First combine ground beef and taco seasoning cook through, add cooking fat of choice if needed.
  2. While your meat is cooking wash, cut and dry lettuce. Place in a bowl.
  3. Prepare your avocado, use peeler to julienne your carrot.
  4. Combine the avocado, carrot, sliced olives, and shredded cheese.
  5. Add your cooked ground beef.
  6. Top with salsa and sour cream to your liking.

serve immediately and enjoy

Check out some more salad inspiration https://whatsupwingo.com/2019/06/14/foodie-friday-cobb-salad-with-a-twist/

white bowl with romaine lettuce topped with salmon, cheese, bacon, boiled egg, and avacado

Whats up with you?

I am looking forward to the weekend and the fourth which is just around the corner. Keep the conversation going and let me know what is up with you. Happy Friday!

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualify purchases. Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, I may earn a commission if you complete a purchase after following the link .

Recipes, Uncategorized

Shrimp Alfredo with Asparagus

whatsupwingo
Shrimp Alfredo with Asparagus

Shrimp Alfredo with Asparagus for Foodie Friday

Welcome to the second edition of Foodie Friday Shrimp Alfredo with Asparagus. I am always on a mission to find the best alternatives to pasta. My favorites provide additional nutrients and are lower in carbs. I have recently discovered the use of asparagus instead of pasta and I love it! While I am a fan of zucchini noodles, and they definitely have their place, they can be a pain to spiralize. Because they put off so much moisture, they tend to make the sauce watery. If you are an asparagus and Alfredo fan you definitely should give this recipe a try! Not only is this a healthy alternative to pasta it is extremely tasty and I am willing to bet you might not even miss the pasta.

Asparagus

Asparagus is super tasty and an extremely healthy vegetable. It happens to be choked full of folate and vitamin C. In addition to this it is a low carbohydrate, non starchy vegetable with very few calories and a good amount of fiber. Folate is a very important nutrient during child bearing years and has been shown to help decrease the incidence of neural tube defects. Vitamin C is also considered an antioxidant and is an essential nutrient meaning that we cannot make it within the body.

How to Choose and Store Asparagus

According to realsimple.com the size of the Asparagus does not determine its quality and taste. Instead look at the color and firmness of the spears. You want a more purple tent to the tips and firm in texture not limp.

According to real simple you should trim your spears and soak in a wet paper towel or cup dipped in water in the refrigerator to extend the shelf life. Check out the linked article for all the info.

Ingredients Needed for Shrimp Alfredo with Asparagus

8 oz mushrooms sliced

1 bunch asparagus chopped to about an inch long

3 garlic cloves minced

1 and 1/2 tbsp butter divided

1 tsp olive oil

one pound shrimp raw, peeled, and de-veined.

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 oz cream cheese

1/3rd cup Parmesan cheese

Salt , pepper, and dried parsley to taste.

Be sure to check our my very first Foodie Friday where I made a Cobb salad with a twist.

Cobb Salad with a twist

Lets get Cooking

Recipe serves: 4

Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 10 to 15 minutes

Total time: 15 to 20 minutes

Start by de-thawing your shrimp if you have not already done so. Salt and pepper liberally.

Place 1/2 tbsp butter and 1 tsp olive oil in your pan to heat up for a minute over medium to medium high. Cook the shrimp until they are pink and cooked all the way through then set aside in a dish.

Add remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan. Place sliced mushrooms in the pan to cook until they are browned.

After your mushrooms are browned add in garlic, and asparagus and cook until asparagus reaches your desired texture. We like to leave ours a little crunchier.

Next add 1 oz cream cheese and mix well allowing it to melt. Once it has melted add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream being sure to stir constantly. When the sauce begins to bubble and thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon add Parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

Asparagus with mushrooms cream cheese and heavy whipping cream

Add shrimp back into the dish to warm. Garnish with parsley and additional Parmesan if you desire.

Remove from heat and serve.

Shrimp Alfredo with asparagus in white bowl with fork

I like to serve mine with a salad. Today we chose Cesar salad made with organic baby romaine, Cesar dressing and Parmesan cheese. Simple and tasty.

Cesar salad and Shrimp Alfredo with asparagus on wooden tray

Whats up with you?

I hope you all have a great weekend. Keep the conversation going and let me know what you all are cooking up this weekend.

Foodie Friday: Cobb Salad With a Twist
Recipes

Foodie Friday: Cobb Salad With a Twist

whatsupwingo

Cobb Salad for Foodie Friday

Cobb Salad will be the first featured recipe on my new segment on the blog called “Foodie Friday”. Each week I will share a recipe with you all. I hope you find inspiration with these recipes and I look forward to hearing what you all think. Now on the the Cobb Salad.

Cobb Salad With a Twist

This week on my first Foodie Friday I will be featuring a super simple recipe that is a twist on the traditional Cobb Salad. Salads are amazing but can also get so boring. They are an easy way to add in some greens and extra vegetables into your day. However when you go on a salad/health kick they get old fast. This recipe is anything but boring and I hope you enjoy it as much and me and my family does.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

This glorious Cobb Salad features a different source of protein and includes one of my favorite fatty fishes salmon. Omega 3s are essential nutrients that many of us are lacking. The key word here is essential as they can only be obtained through diet and not made within the body. I am a big fan of obtaining our nutrients within our food whenever possible. This is mainly due to the synergistic effect that occurs when vitamins and minerals are combined and not isolated. In other words vitamins and minerals often need each other in order to be digested and used more easily.

Getting In More Fish Is a Struggle

Getting in enough fish can be boring. This salad helps with that and provides a new and interesting way to add in your omega 3s. It may even help you overcome that salad rut you might be in.

On to the Recipe: Cobb Salad With a Twist

This recipe is super simple and can be tailored very easy to meet your individual needs. Please be sure to add or take away any ingredients as you see fit, but most of all enjoy!

Serves 4:

  1. One to two bunches of chopped romaine. (I use organic whenever possible)
  2. Two hard boiled eggs peeled and sliced or chopped.
  3. One pound Baked Salmon. You can even bake from frozen and add seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic powder, or spice it up with some lemon pepper seasoning. (whatever you choose)
  4. One sliced avocado.
  5. Bacon bits, a few tablespoons.
  6. One cup of shredded cheese of your choice. ( We chose Monterrey and cheddar)
  7. Dressing of choice to taste. ( We chose ranch)

Enjoy Your Cobb Salad

I hope you enjoy this recipe and my new series. Please be sure to leave any comments and your thoughts if you try it! That’s what I am up to on this Friday what are you up to?

Check out some of my previous recipes.

Steaks on a Grill
https://whatsupwingo.com/2019/06/02/sous-vide-steak-our-first-attempt/
https://whatsupwingo.com/2019/04/24/the-very-best-tzatziki-sauce/
Steaks on a Grill
Recipes, Uncategorized

Sous Vide Steak: Our First Attempt

whatsupwingo

Sunday Funday: Sous Vide Steak Experiment

I hope you all are having a great weekend and enjoying the steamy weather. In the Wingo household we use Sundays to catch up on cleaning and getting ready for the week which generally includes some meal prep and a trip to the grocery store. As a family we have been trying to spend more time outside as Amelia gets bigger and we decided it would be the perfect day to grill out while relaxing by the kiddie pool. We recently got an Anova Precision Cooker which is used to Sous Vide food. We decided to give it a go and cook up some delicious steaks in a Sous Vide steak experiment. Sous Vide is a type of cooking that is done inside a water bath. This bath is at a consistent temperature to provide perfectly even cooking. It seems pretty complicated but once you get it set up its honesty super simple. This thing basically does the work for you while you sit back, relax and catch up on any shows on Netflix you might be behind on.

Getting Started

I am going to take you step by step in how we completed this Sous Vide steak experiment. I will be sure to include links to all the equipment and tools so if you are feeling adventurous you can achieve this restaurant quality meal in the comfort an ease of you own home.

Here is a list of the things you are going to need before getting started. You can use a pot or a container that is heat safe that is deep enough to hold the water and food that you are cooking. We purchased this container from amazon and it works perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R8JOUC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000R8JOUC&linkCode=as2&tag=whatsupwingo-20&linkId=b3699dd11a239f8aa4c067ce8d6277fa

The next item you need is a food saver or some kind of vacuum sealer. This is a must have for everyone! It is great for keeping meat extra fresh if you plan to buy in bulk and deep freeze. I can’t seem to find the exact food saver series as I am using, but I am linking the basic starter kit which should work perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044XDA3S/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0044XDA3S&linkCode=as2&tag=whatsupwingo-20&linkId=2a9a51837fc70aa2d3ec6eb09039ad57

We picked up some New York strips for grilling, but choose whichever steak you like. Make sure to google the cut of meat and and desired doness for your correct time and temperature. We set our temperature to 130 degrees for 2 hours.

You first start by setting up your water bath. On the Anova Precision Cooker there is a minimum and maximum line for water so make sure your water is within the required levels. We ending up using 9 liters and it was plenty of room for our 4 steaks. This is the link to the cooker that we have. So far we are pleased with its performance.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UKPBXM4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00UKPBXM4&linkCode=as2&tag=whatsupwingo-20&linkId=fda7c7e758f35c67b1b6c12695408997

This particular model has some pretty neat features including an adjustable clamp and is blue tooth capable in order for you to use your app. Pretty neat little gadget that I hope to use more frequently.

Lets Get Cooking our Sous Vide Steak

Once you have chosen your steaks pat them dry and add your seasonings of choice. Today we went with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder. We seasoned both sides of the meat and then placed into a double sealed food saver bag. We learned this trick to double seal the bag from Brad Leone of Bon Appetit . P.S. he makes some great recipes on his YouTube series “it’s alive”. I love that he gives different spins on fermented and probiotic rich foods. Super cool watch, so be sure to check him out.

After placing meat in the bag, seal again and this will make an air tight bag perfect for Sous Vide. Once your water is up to the proper temperature, its time to start cooking. Place the sealed bag into your warm water bath set yourself a timer and go watch some Netflix. We added a clothes pin on the side of the container to keep the steaks from moving around too much.

Hurry up and wait

While we were waiting for the steaks to warm up, we headed outside for some fun in the sun. The weather has been scorching so we definitely needed to sip on some bubly and apply sunscreen. We were back and forth between inside and outside due to the heat, but still managed to enjoy our time.

Why do little ones try and eat lotion and sunscreen? LOL! The look on her face was priceless. So as time passed we decided to get the grill up and going to cook up some veggies and for searing the steak after cooking in the Sous Vide.

Time to Grill

When you take the steaks out of the Sous Vide bath, they are going to look a little funky. Don’t worry though, the searing of the steak is a very important step and makes all the difference in look and flavor.

Steaks on a Grill

Be sure to turn your steak to get those gorgeous grill marks and serve it up with some parsley or an extra dash of seasoning. We added a cherry smoked sea salt to the top

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Time to Chow Down

After you grill your steak be sure to let the meat rest before cutting so you get the maximum flavor distribution. Overall here are my final thoughts on this Sous Vide Steak. The meat was tasty and the cooking was definitely much more even. The negatives is the time it takes to cook. You have to set aside a decent amount of time but the benefit is it is mostly inactive cooking. I definitely recommend this to those cooks who have a hard time getting an even cook every time. We had a blast playing with this gadget and look forward to making more recipes Sous Vide style in the future.

Since it is hot and you need to cool down you need to check out my recipe for Tzatziki sauce. This stuff is so tasty and is made with Greek yogurt. It would be a fabulous complement to this steak or use it on a salad if you just can’t bring yourself to get out in the heat to grill.

The Very Best Tzatziki Sauce

Whats up with you?

I hope you all had a great weekend spent with your family and friends. Let’s keep the conversation going and let me know what you have been up to.

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