Roasted cauliflower with cheese

Posted on May 24, 2013 by jilldejong

People teach what they most need to learn. That applies to me too; my biggest challenge was to eat more vegetables. The only way that I was going to eat more veggies was to start enjoying them more; I would have to make them taste good.

Quite frankly I didn’t know how to. My parents didn’t teach me how to cook. When I moved out of my parents house to start a modeling career in Milan I hardly knew how to boil an egg Who knew that one day I would be writing about yummy vegetable recipes!

Vegetables are so versatile, there’s so many ways you can prepare them and make them taste different every time. Like with cauliflower; I love cauliflower cheese soup, raw cauliflower rice with cashew cheese and now roasted cauliflower with parmesan cheese.Do you seet the pattern here? Cheese makes cauliflower tastes SO good.

Some people say you ruin your vegetables with cheese.. not me! LOL

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl toss the cauliflower florets with the olive oil and garlic.

Season with salt, transfer to baking pan.

Roast for 10 min. Take them out and divide the lemon juice evenly.

Roast for another 30 minutes, until tender and lightly browned

Mix in as much cheese as you like

Have a fun-filled Memorial weekend!

XO Jill

Dinner for breakfast?

Posted on April 18, 2013 by jilldejong

I grew up in a small village in the north of Holland where pancakes were served for dinner! It was only when I started traveling to the States that I discovered pancakes were served for breakfast as well! It was a weird idea to eat dinner for breakfast but I only had to try it once to be convinced that pancakes taste fantastic any time of the day!

Another difference is that in Holland we eat crepe-like pancakes, thin but large; as big as your plate. We like to melt butter on the pancake and sprinkle lots of powdered sugar and/or decorate it with a thick and sticky syrup, called “stroop”. We then roll the pancake up, nice an tight and cut into bite-size pieces. Yummm..

This fluffy pancake recipe is a healthier and in my opinion, yummier version of the American pancake. I know it’s sounds almost too good to be true, you’ll only find out when you try it! I use whole-wheat flour instead of white, agave instead of sugar and the butter is replaced with coconut oil.

Put the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and start mixing in the milk, egg, agave and coconut oil, mix until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled (I use coconut oil) frying pan over medium high heat. Scoop the batter into the pan and brown on both sides.

Serve hot with all your favorite toppings!

My favorites? Condensed milk, banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, coconut shavings

Pineapple chicken curry

Posted on April 16, 2013 by jilldejong

Who doesn’t like a good curry?! Have you ever made one yourself? This recipe is very easy to make! You have to get a few ingredients that you might not have in your pantry, like the fish sauce and curry paste but it’s worth getting. Once you try this curry, you’ll be hooked. My friends keep asking me to make this over and over again! :)

I love the sweetness of the pineapple in this curry, it makes this real comfort food. And I like to mob up the curry sauce with a whole wheat naan. I literally clean my plate with it; when I’m done eating you won’t find a trace… LOL

Last but not least; stir the pineapple in.

I usually eat this curry with brown rice but tried it with quinoa this time and it was really good too!

Inspired by a recipe of Kristy Bachelder on www.allrecipes.com

Cauliflower rice with cashew cheese

Posted on March 22, 2013 by jilldejong

It’s Vegan Friday! I really enjoy cooking Vegan as I find most recipes inventive and inspiring. This time I made Krysten Jorgensen’s cauliflower rice with RAW cashew cheese. Wow…..both me and my taste buds are Impressed (while on fire)

This super healthy dish is so tasty and OMG, the cashew cheese is insane! One of the hardest things to give up being Vegan must be cheese, but this truly is a great replacement, and just to remind you….I’m Dutch!

I was surprised that hours after this delicious meal I still did not feel hungry. Later I found out why; the recipe was for two persons and I ate it all by myself! LOL!

Tip: There’s a LOT of garlic in this dish, so share it with the person you’re spending your day or evening with

Thanks for sharing this great recipe with MDE Krysten!

This recipe is for two people:

cauliflower rice ing

Budget recipe

Posted on March 18, 2013 by jilldejong

Ashley Stetts, creator of “The Frugal Model” asked me to create a budget friendly recipe and I must say it was quite a challenge! Mainly because I purchased all ingredients at Whole foods (a.k.a Whole pay check) and I wanted this meal to be partly organic.

Here it is; I’m proud to present the “ Coconut, lemon & ginger chicken with couscous” recipe. This delicious meal was only $4.19 p.p to make!

Find out how these costs were calculated and read the interview in which I’m sharing tips on budget and healthy eating: http://thefrugalmodel.com/blog/1936/healthy-cooking-on-a-budget

Sauté the onion and garlic until translucent

Pour in the coconut milk, heat it and add the ginger, lemon juice + cilantro.

Season it to taste with salt and pepper.

Put in the thinly sliced chicken cutlets inside the coconut milk and let everything simmer on low heat for 10 min. Add carrots and let them simmer with the chicken for another 8-10 minutes.

While the chicken simmers, make the couscous. I always like to add a little butter to my finished couscous to give it a slightly creamy taste. Put the couscous on a plate and scoop the coconut mixture on top of it.

Enjoy!

Seafood on the grill

Posted on March 13, 2013 by jilldejong

My dear friend Renee Carmody and her husband Nick are visiting from Colorado. They are both “foodies” and I looked forward their visit as I knew that we would be catching up on life over lots of delicious food

Renee loves seafood so I took her to Casablanca, a fish market in Miami that sells a variety of fresh fish and seafood. Renee walked around like a kid in a candy store and bought; scallops, crab, octopus and salmon. I had never prepared crab or octopus before so I watched her closely and asked Renee to share her recipe with “Models DO eat”.

The great thing about cooking with friends is that you get to know them better by joining them on a journey into their food universe. Food brings people together as it allows us to share an important part of ourselves and show how much we care.

“Love your friends, cook them a meal.”

Grilled Maryland blue crab (For 3-4)

Grilled baby octopus ( Side dish for 3-4)

Moroccan salmon with couscous and salad

Posted on February 27, 2013 by jilldejong

Have you ever been to Morocco? If you haven’t and want to experience it, keep reading I traveled to Morocco for several modeling jobs and it was truly an amazing experience. The country is beautiful and the food is unique and delicious. Whenever I eat this dish, my mind instantly wonders off to the little streets of Marrakech with it’s picturesque restaurants.

The aromatic, slightly bitter taste of cumin and the sweetness of the raisins and cinnamon combined with a crispy salad of cucumber, red union and tomato’s. All these distinct flavors of the Moroccan kitchen truly make my mouth water every time I prepare this.

I just love the fact that couscous is so versatile, quick and easy to prepare (10 min). You’re always guaranteed of great results with minimum effort I always stir in a little butter when the couscous is done to enrich the flavor and make it less dry.

Prepare this dish whenever you want to impress your loved one or guests, or if you feel like treating yourself to something special.

Inspired by a recipe on www.foodnetwork.com

Eve’s Quinoa with Shrimp

Posted on February 21, 2013 by jilldejong

My friend Evelyne Verpaalen is beautiful inside and out! She’s smart, easy going and always brings her positive attitude. Even when Evelyne has a bad day she’ll tell me about it with a big smile on her face, I love that about her!

Evelyne is very much into healthy foods but definitely likes her sweets. She’s the kind of person that looks at the desserts on the menu first when she eats out Evelyne believes that it’s better to listen to your bodies needs and be happy than depriving yourself; “Just take small portions and exercise” is her advice.

To stay motivated, Evelyne likes to change up her workout routine. She enjoys kickboxing, body pump, booty class and recently discovered ballet fitness and boot camp classes.

Her personality beautifully reflects in the way she cooks as she doesn’t use measurements but simply follows her intuition. I enjoyed watching her cook up a wonderful meal for me!

I watched her carefully and made sure to get all measurements to create this recipe….enjoy!

Besides being a model, Evelyne is also an entrepreneur and shares her passion for boots, bags, jewelry and bikini’s with you on her website www.eveintheusa.com Check it out!

Combine 1½ cup quinoa with 1 cup water and 2 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover with lid and simmer until the grains are translucent, about 15 minutes.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the garlic. Add the chopped zucchini and mushroom, stir-fry on medium/high heat for 3-4 minutes.

If your frying pan is large enough add the shrimp or use another frying pan to stir fry the shrimp on medium/high heat (with butter or olive oil)

Add the wine and cook until shrimp turns opaque; only a minute or two.

Season the shrimp with “badia complete”, salt and black pepper.

Finish the dish with lots of crushed red pepper!

Sesame Soy Salmon

Posted on February 3, 2013 by jilldejong

Wild salmon is loaded with protein and rich in omega-3 fatty acids that
help us to feel happy and keep our brain healthy. I recently did some research and learned that the “3” in Omega-3 stands for the three fatty acids named ALA, EPA and DHA.

Our brain consists of 60% fat, mostly the fatty acid DHA. Since our body
can’t produce DHA by itself, the only way to obtain it is through the food
we eat. DHA is primarily found in certain fish, salmon being one
of them. This new knowledge makes me appreciate my delicious salmon
even more!

This is definitely one of my favorite ways to prepare salmon. If I
would own a restaurant this dish would certainly be on the menu;
a guaranteed success. I’ve seen many of my friends happily eating this dish,
although…. now I’m thinking, the DHA might have played part in that as well

Preheat the over to 400F

Season the fish with some salt and pepper.

Poor the soy in a bowl and lay the fillets in the soy, one by one. Turn them around and let them sit in the soy for a little.

In the meantime toast the hulled sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium- high eat. Move them around in the pan until they start browning a bit. I like to toast them until they’re golden and finish them off in the oven.

You’ll notice that the sesame seeds become extremely flavorful when toasted.

Put the sesame seeds on a plate or shallow dish and place one side of the soy-marinated salmon in the sesame seeds. Gently press down on the salmon; it makes the seeds stick better.

Place the salmon in an oven dish or on a piece of aluminum foil, sesame side facing up. Put it in the oven for 15-20 min. depending on the thickness of the fillet. If the salmon no longer looks translucent and becomes a cloudy, pink color it’s ready to eat. You can also test it by carefully poking through the fillet with a fork to see if it flakes apart. (Uncooked fish has a translucent color and spongy texture)

Salmon is fairly easy to make, but don’t overcook it otherwise it will be dry and tough.

I ate brown rice and raw carrots with this dish and served it on a collard green leaf, which looked beautiful but also complimented the dish; I ate it too

Go beans!

Posted on January 14, 2013 by jilldejong

I really enjoy developing new recipes and modifying existing ones. Every recipe goes through rigorous testing before it receives the label; “Model Approved’ and earns a spot on the blog. I’m very selective and only the best recipes survive

Last Sunday I prepared a wonderful bean salad with avocado, grape tomato’s, corn, onion and a refreshing lime dressing. As I was snapping some pics of my creation my sweet dog Sky came over and sniffed around to see what’s cooking.

Her eyes were definitely asking me if she could please sample the food for me. My eyes warned her that this is NOT doggie food LOL. She laid down close to the bowl as she releases a sigh of disappointment, eying the salad while licking her lips, so cute. I think that Sky agrees; this bean salad is approved

Health fact: Beans are little fat burning machines! They’re high in fiber, aid digestion and have numerous other health benefits. Beans also quickly satisfy your appetite and are a low calorie food.

Do I need to say more? Go beans!!!

This bean salad is a great side dish; grilled chicken or beef would go well with this!

I like to make this dish ahead of time and refrigerate it for a while. Leftovers can be eaten the next day (the lime juice acts as a preservative) just refrigerate.

I used pinto beans for this recipe but feel free to use black or red beans or a mix of them.

MODELS DO EAT®*

INDULGING WITHOUT BULGING

Category Archives: Dinner