Raspberry-Mango Smoothie, Chicken & White Beans, Tuna Tacos

Dateline Sanibel Island:

We're spending the weekend through July 5^th relaxing at an AirBnb condo here in Paradise. As I write, I look out the window to see the gentle waves washing the white sands.

Chicken on White Beans

This is a recipe from The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet, British version; translated into American by yours truly.

The beans in this recipe are reminiscent of Spanish Mongetes (fried white beans) which I wrote about a year or so back.

2 Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless

Spices of your choice, to taste

1 can Cannellini Beans, drained & rinsed, or 1-1/2 cups cooked-from-dry beans

1 Shallot, peeled and sliced

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

1 cup chopped Flat Leaf Parsley

Spice the chicken breasts to your taste, and cook them on medium heat, 7-8 minutes per side, until done through. Remove from the skillet and reserve.

Add another splash of EVOO to the skillet, and cook the shallot about 5 minutes; add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more.

Add the beans to the skillet along with a bit more oil, if needed, and fry them for a couple minutes. Roughly mash the beans with a fork or meat tenderizer mallet, and continue cooking them, adding 1/2 cup water or stock to loosen things up. Stir in the parsley, cover, and let the greens wilt for a couple minutes.

Plate the chicken on a bed of the bean mixture, and serve with a green veg on the side

Frozen Mango-Raspberry Smoothie

Got a packet of red raspberries in our SWFL Produce Co-Op box this week, combined with Co-Op Banana and Mangos from Sally's tree!

1 cup Frozen Mango, about 3 fillets depending on size of your fruit

1/2 cup Frozen Red Raspberries (other colors will work too)

2/3 cup Almond Milk (had some leftover from a project last week)

1 Tbsp Honey

Combine everything in a blender and pulse until things are smooth and creamy. Freezing the ingredients first makes the resulting smoothie very thick!

Tuna Tacos

These were the very first fish tacos I ever tasted, down at an adventure resort called Costa Azul, north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Later that week I had the very best tasting fish tacos ever, when we wrapped a tortilla onto a beach-roasted, open-fire, fresh-caught wahoo, and dressed the succulent meat with pico de gallo!

If you really want to be elegant, buy a tuna steak, cook it, then make tuna salad from that!

Like all tacos, these tuna tacos are a concept, not a fixed recipe. The ones photographed had big diced tomato chunks added to the basic tuna salad; you can add sliced black olives, diced green chiles, etc. Add cheese, tomato, avocado, or onion. Make the salad with mayo or ranch or bleu cheese dressing; add Mexican seasonings or just a touch of pepper and a hint of cayenne.

Be “true to the taco” though. Don't over stuff it. It's supposed to be a slip of flat bread surrounding a couple of tablespoons of filling, not a stuffed burrito. In Mexican cuisine, tacos are street food, an appetizer, not a full course meal. Don't tart it up with a bunch of nuevo cocina stuff like kale or pomegranate seeds, kimchi or cauliflower “rice” or other trendy nonsense.