Food, Fitness, & Wine Week Rewind - Mocktails, Infused Wine, & Cajun Salmon

Last week was Food, Fitness, & Wine Week and it was a busy one. We created mocktails and healthy food ideas; shared wine pairings and selected healthy wines; infused wine with fruits and herbs; exercised; and had a virtual wine party with Coach Florence. Wow, that's a lot! Don't worry, if you missed any of it, we are sharing everything for you right here on 3ladiesonavine.com! 

In the beginning, we were unsure if fitness and wine even paired together! We thought, how would others perceive this but we are glad we decided to move forward with it. Life is about balance. Yes, we drink wine but we do it responsibly. It's not about getting drunk for us, it's about experiencing the wine through education, recipes, crafts, events, and enjoying it with new and old wine friends. We vow to stay healthy and encourage our subscribers to live a healthy life and enjoy all it has to offer... especially wine.

So Let's Recap!

Day 1: Chicken and Vegetables Stirfry

Chop yellow, red, & green peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, bok choy or cabbage, and fresh sage & oregano

Next, season 2 chicken breasts to your liking and cook in a frying pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Cook until not pink on the inside. Once the chicken is cooked, cut it into cubes or strips. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside. Next in the same pan, add 1 tablespoon water and cook the peppers, onions, zucchini, and carrots. Do not add the bok choy and fresh herbs. You will add these in towards the end because they cook fast. Cook your veggies until soft but not mushy. You still want a little crunch. Lastly, add the cooked chicken with your veggies and add the bok choy and fresh herbs. Continue to stirfry until the bok choy softens. You can add teriyaki sauce if you like but we kept ours light.

Pairing: Hive & Honey Riesling: A light-bodied and crisp wine pairs well with this meal

Day 2: Arnold Palmer Mocktail

We wanted to offer a non alcoholic option for our non-drinkers, Mother's-to-be, and the ones of us who need to dry out from this quarantine! 

The classic Arnold Palmer is a cocktail with a beautiful ombre of colors and takes the palate from sour to sweet! It's sophisticated.

Directions

1. Fill a glass with ice

2. Place a slice of lemon and a few mints leaves into the glass (optional)

3. Pour your favorite lemonade, filling the glass 1/2 way

4. Next slowly pour your favorite iced tea over the lemonade **Slowly pour so you can get the ombre effect

5. garnish with a lemon (We used unseated iced tea since the lemonade is already sweet) - but it's up to you how sweet or tart you want it.

Day 3: We Worked Out!!

We know working is not on everyone's favorite list but it's important to live a healthy life. Do you know working out helps alleviate stress? Please hear us out... when you are done with your workout, it will feel like a ton of bricks just lifted off your shoulders! Find something you like to do. We like to bike ride, kickbox, African dance, and power walk.

Day 4: Healthy, Organic, and Natural Wines 

Here is our Top 3!

Day 5: Infused Wine

Day 5 was a Friday and Friday is a day to mix it up! Mix in fresh fruits and herbs in your wine, spirits, or water! Look at all the fun combos. Think of your own fun combinations based on what you like. 

We made the watermelon, honeydew, and mint! Make sure to cut up or muddle your herbs and ginger to extract the flavors!

Day 6: Virtual Food, Fitness, and Wine Party

More on Coach Florence

On Day 6 we ended the week with an exciting and lively virtual call with fitness coach Titus Florence, known to many as Coach Florence! On the call Coach Florence did a live cooking demo. He made cajun salmon with fresh green beans, mushrooms, and rice. He also taught us how to meal prep and answered all our fitness and food questions. 3 Ladies on a Vine also did a live drink demo and all the guests shared what wine they were sipping on! We also shared many laughs. 

Here is a Video Recap of our Virtual Call!

Make Coach Florence's Grilled Cajun Salmon!

Wine Pairings: 

Sauvignon Blanc - A crisp, herbal Sauvignon Blanc, particularly one from the Marlborough region of New Zealand, is the perfect pairing for a salmon prepared with herbs such as salmon. The high acidity and grassy character of the wine bring balance to the fattiness of salmon and complement herbs used in it's preparation.

Dry Rosé - A dry rosé is the perfect companion for a simple summer salmon salad or baked or grilled salmon. Opt for a rosé made using the saignée method in which some wine is bled from a red wine batch in order to deepen the flavors of the red wine. Saignée is often bolder than other rosé wines made from different methods, so it's a great style of wine to pair with salmon. 

Grilled Cajun Salmon

Sauteed Green Beans, Onions & Portobello Mushroom Caps

Homemade Chicken flavored Rice with Onions and Broccoli Florets

Ingredients and Prep:

Salmon filet

1 Cup White or Brown basmati rice 

1lb-1.5lb of Fresh Green beans

3-4 Portobello mushrooms

4 minced garlic cloves or 2tbsp of minced garlic

1-2tbsp Olive oil

1 package of steamable broccoli florets

½ half onion diced

Cajun seasoning

2 ¼ cups of chicken stock

1tbsp of garlic powder

1tbsp of italian herb seasoning

2tbsp of butter

Salt and Pepper for taste

Directions:

Grilled Cajun Salmon

Turn on and preheat your gas grill on medium-low heat. Take your salmon filet and sprinkle your cajun seasoning evenly to a nice coating on top. Take your hands and rub the seasoning into the fish to help make a crust when cooking.

Take salmon filet and place it on the grill on the top shelf. You can put salmon on aluminum foil or on a cedar plank (for more flavor). Cook the salmon until firm but bouncy to the touch about 20-25min depending on the size of the cut. Make sure the grill does not exceed 350 degrees.

Homemade Chicken flavored Rice w/ Onions and Broccoli Florets

Take a saucepan and add 2 ¼ cups of chicken stock, garlic powder, italian seasoning and 1tbsp of butter. Bring to a boil and add your rice. Cover and reduce heat to cook for 20min for white rice or 40-50min for brown rice.

While the rice is cooking, place steamable broccoli florets in the microwave and cook based on the directions on the package.

Add the diced onions and broccoli florets with the rice right before it is done and season with salt and pepper for taste. Stir then cover and turn off heat until ready to serve.

Sauteed Green Beans, Onions & Portobello Mushroom Caps

Make sure to wash and dry the green beans and mushrooms.

In a large saute pan, heat up olive oil in the pan on medium high heat. Slice mushrooms into thin slices. Add the mushrooms into the pan season with salt and pepper and cook for 2-5min. 

Add the green beans, butter, season with salt and pepper then saute for a few minutes. Cover it with a lid and cook until green beans are tender while stirring occasionally.