I don’t think you need much of an explanation as to why I made this dish from this Pin. The name of the recipe says it all. All ingredients I love combined to deliver a delicious side dish. It’s really good. You should make this tomorrow.
This recipe can be found at boulderlocavore.com
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It is snowing out. And my bananas are already well frozen. Here’s how I do it.
First I go to the store and buy bruised bananas from the discount rack. They are usually $0.50 to $0.75 for 10 t0 12. I peel them all, cut them in half and place them in one layer on a parchment covered baking sheet.
Pop them in the freezer overnight at least and you have frozen bananas. Bag them in freezer bags for up to 6 months. Use them for shakes, smoothies, banana bread, banana ice cream, banana bites and whatever else you like.
I will never buy microwave popcorn again.
A brown paper bag, 1/3 cup of corn kernels…….
a little tape and a couple minutes in the microwave equals
POPCORN!
Add a couple spritzes of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, a little salt and Orville ain’t got nothin on me!
FYI: I get my kernels at the local health food store in the bulk food section. Here’s the original pin.
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I made this soup a while back and am just getting to write about it now. I think I made it during the last big snow storm, when we got 12 inches on the ground.
I feel like any soup is comfort food but this one seems to top the list. The creamy white beans and the garlic and fennel flavor is a nice combination. And really, you can’t go wrong with toasted cheese on slices of baguette. Although I substituted whole wheat bread triangles for a lighter version. Still delicious.
This is the soup you want to make on Sunday morning, so you can eat it Sunday afternoon, and the Monday after that.
Recipe courtesy of My Father’s Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow
Ingredients
Optional additions:
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the fennel and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and garlic, turn the heat as low as it can go, and cook for 1/2 hour, stirring here and there. A little color is okay, but you really the vegetable to get soft and sweet. Add the chile flakes, oregano, and pepper and cook for a minute. Add the beans and stock, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, add salt to taste, and let cook on low heat for 1 hour.
For optional ingredient additions:
Stir in the kale leaves and let cook for 7 minutes, or until just cooked. Ladle into four bowls, float two toasts on each bowl and evenly distribute the cheese. Put the bowls under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly, less than a minute. Serve.
Greek yogurt is my dessert at the end of the day. I top it with a little agave syrup and some granola. Very satisfying. When I saw this Pin I had to try it because I love chocolate and my fridge is stocked with yogurt.
Honestly, they look better than they taste. They appear to be a fudgy, decadent brownie, but pictures can be deceiving.
They are very chocolately, especially with the addition of the chocolate chips. But they have the texture of a low-fat brownie. A bit rubbery, not at all fudgy. Although, if you are on a diet, or simply watching your sweet intake, these could give you that little chocolate satisfaction. At only about 115 calories per brownie, it’s a nice little treat at the end of the day. In the search for the best brownie, this would be at the bottom of the list. And by the way, Riley says:
so eat a low-fat brownie!
Recipe courtesy of fitsugar.com and Shape Magazine
Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons espresso
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
Recipe makes 16 2-inch by 2-inch servings.
114 calories
5g fat
16g carbs
2g protein
1g fiber
16mg calcium
61mg sodium
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Yay, taco night! It’s right up there with pizza night, pizza night and, of course, breakfast for dinner night! But taco night does get boring and honestly, the kids never put the chopped tomatoes and lettuce on them. Just meat, cheese and taco shell. So I found this Pin that mixes tomatoes and beans in with the meat. Smart and really tasty. The pin also has a recipe for taco seasoning which is great because I recently bought four packets at Aldi only to read the sodium content:
Yup, the fine print says: 460mg in a serving, a serving being 2 teaspoons, and the packet contains 6 servings! Holy Salt! I’m not eating that, and neither are my kids. Even if the packet was only $0.25. I followed the pin and found this great recipe for homemade taco seasoning that tastes just like the packet only without all the sodium. I tweeked the recipe a bit because of the kids (less heat) and lowered the salt amount. Here’s what I made:
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
Put all spices in a jar, cover and shake to mix. Done.
Now onto the tacos. I also tweeked the original recipe based on what I had in the pantry and fridge. I did not make the taco shells, I used hard tacos I had. I also used some lower fat ingredients including these:
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the ground turkey in a saucepan. Liquify the can of tomatoes in a food processor leaving some chunks. Add to browned turkey along with refried beans, seasoning and a 1/4 cup of water. Cook on low heat till combined. Spoon mixture into taco shells. Place filled shells into a 9×13 pan, standing up. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 5 – 7 minutes or until cheese is melted. Add your own toppings or leave them alone and dig in.
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There’s a handful of dinner recipes that are my “go to” recipes. The kind of recipes that aren’t time-consuming, are able to be cooked with a two-year old tugging at my pant leg, include a small list of ingredients, are affordable and can be easily doubled. Those are my requirements for a “go to” recipe. Oh yeah, and they gotta taste really good! That’s a requirement. Here are my dinner “go to’s” in no particular order:
The best roast chicken with the crispiest skin and moistest chicken. I make 1-2 a week, no lie. Continue reading
I’m not sure I would use the word burger in this recipe. To me, that implies some sort of juicy, succulent meat, grilled to perfection, served on a soft bun and topped with god knows what deliciousness. There ain’t no meat here kiddies.
Maybe Quinoa Patties. That’s better. Don’t get me wrong. They are tasty in a very subtle way. I thought the addition of cheese would give it some buttery, salty flavor but I didn’t get that here.
It’s a veggie patty so that’s what it tastes like. It’s soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. A nice compliment of textures and flavors.
I served mine on these Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Everything Bagel Slims. At 110 calories, they added a nice addition of everything bagelness.
I also added some arugula and avocado to round out the sandwich. Since each patty is only about 132 calories, I needed a little something extra to tide me over till my next snack.
I made a couple substitutions in my recipe since I did not have some of the ingredients on hand. Instead of cottage cheese I used part-skim ricotta cheese and I used chopped red onion instead of scallions. I also eliminated the sugar.
This recipe makes about 10 patties and I’m hoping the batter will survive the week so that I may eat one each day for lunch. This could be a nice snack too and a delicious appetizer if the patties were made a little smaller and served with some spicy, creamy dipping sauce. Maybe a post for the future? Here’s the original pin and here’s the recipe:
Recipe courtesy of eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com
2 rounded cups cooked quinoa (see note below for cooking instructions)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or other variety, if you prefer)
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 medium carrot, finely grated (OR 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed dry)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 green onions, including white parts
1 /2 teaspoon Splenda or sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Olive oil for frying
.
To cook quinoa for the above recipe:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a medium saucepan bring the 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat. Add quinoa and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 18-20 minutes, or until all water is absorbed and the seeds are tender. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
In a large bowl combine the 2 rounded cups of cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, green onions, Splenda, pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.
(To help them stay in patty form and not fall apart, I cook them on med-low slowly so they have longer to set-up without burning. Makes them easier to flip, too.) Heat a frying pan and a couple teaspoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Mixture will be slightly sticky, so using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and lightly flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Fry until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Makes approx. 10 burgers.
Per burger: Calories 132; Protein 8 g; Fat 5 g; NET Carbs 12 g; (Fiber 2 g); Sugar 0 g; Sodium 200 mg
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Since entering this weight loss challenge I have tried to increase my protein intake. So I try to get in as much as I can throughout the day and chicken is about the easiest source of protein to prepare for dinner. But I’m getting bored with my recipes so I found this one that I could easily tweek with the ingredients I had on hand. Originally honey lime chicken, I substituted lemons because that’s what I had. Instead of an outdoor grill I used my George Forman which comes in handy during the winter months and makes cooking low-fat meals possible. I served the chicken, sliced over a quinoa salad that I kinda threw together using whatever was in the fridge. The chicken was very moist and I used the leftovers for a wrap the next day. I think this marinade could also be nice on a white fish like tilapia and grilled the same way or sautéed in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Here’s the original pin and here’s the recipe:
PS: this is a great weeknight meal for the family.
Recipe courtesy of unsophisticook.com
Yield: 4 chicken breasts
Instructions:
Note: If you are cooking on a George Forman grill, preheat to 425 and cook for about the same time, until cooked through.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in saute pan. Add onion, peppers and garlic and cook on medium heat till soft, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile using a whisk, mix together soy sauce, lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl. Set aside. Add cooked quinoa to onion/pepper mix and heat till warm. Add edamame and soy sauce/lemon mix. Cook till heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.
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I’ve been doing this Pinterest Challenge now for one month and I’m finding a trend here.
I write about food, a lot. And its funny too because at the same time I’m doing this Challenge at the gym and yet I can’t stop obsessing about food. Making food. Eating food. Making more food and eating it. But I will say this; a lot of the recipes I have posted the last month are good, healthy recipes. So I can’t be too hard on myself. Here’s another delicious and low-fat recipe for a satisfying peanut butter dip made with greek yogurt.
I’ve been eyeing this one up for a while. I only ever had plain Greek yogurt in the fridge so I finally picked up some Vanilla, but honestly, I think you could just add a little extract to the plain and you’d be alright.
I also think you could lose the honey and subtract a few extra calories. The website this recipe originates, fitsugar.com, is right on with the love of peanut butter. But the calorie count can be discouraging. I love snacking on it straight out of the jar. Not sure if I’ve posted this before but I have long professed my love for Trader Joe’s Natural Unsalted Creamy Peanut Butter. I buy several jars when I’m there and would have an image for you if I wasn’t out of it. I’ll post one from my next visit. It’s creamy and remains that way, having to be stirred only once when first opened. So good.
This time we used Jif. Almost as good but another favorite in our house. We sliced up a couple of apples and served them on the side. Other dipping ideas include banana slices, celery sticks, pretzels, Cheez-its, graham crackers, just to name a few. My kids really liked it and enjoyed helping me mix it all together.
It’s a great snack for the kids after school and easy to assemble. The estimated calorie count is below the recipe and you’ll find its way less than a spoonful of peanut butter. And just about as satisfying. Here’s the original pin and the recipe:
Recipe courtesy of fitsugar.com
Ingredients and Directions (cause it’s that simple)
Makes four, two-tbsp. servings. Each serving contains 66 calories, 3.75 grams of fat, .5 grams of saturated fat, .75 grams of fiber, and 5.5 grams of protein.
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