Chocolate Mint Protein Nice Cream

When I came across "Nice" Cream, not ice cream, I was very intrigued. Then, to discover how simple it was to "whip" up was just as better. To top that off - IT'S TRULY HEALTHY!!! The coloring for this chocolate mint comes from the spinach. You don't even taste the spinach. What a fabulous way to serve spinach to your loved ones without them even realizing they are getting their veggies and "nice-cream" in one serving. So....SNEAKY! LOL!

Ingredients:

• 4 frozen bananas
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves (or mint extract)
• 1 1/2 cups of baby spinach leaves
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of almond milk (or your choice of milk)
• 2 scoops of protein powder (I love Plant Head)
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

Break up the frozen bananas and then place them in the food processor (or blender). Add the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips. 

Mix until smooth. You can eat as is, if you like the soft-serve consistency or freeze for about an hour and then scoop, if you prefer your "nice" cream to be scoopable. 

Note: I found it best to place the nice cream in individual serving dishes, then freeze.

Enjoy!

Original recipe can be found at

http://www.nutritionistreviews.com/2016/03/mint-chocolate-chip-protein-ice-cream.html?m=1

100% Whole Wheat Zucchini Patties

I happened to have purchased more than my share of zucchini one afternoon.  They were on sale too! I have very little willpower in those moments.  Well, one of the recipes that I made was zucchini patties.  I've made them before, but decided to make a few changes to the recipe. The result was so much better and equally just as delicious. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 small zucchini, grated 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• ¼ cup yellow onion, chopped (optional) 
• 1 cup whole-wheat Panko bread crumbs (or you can use whole wheat flour) 
• ½  cup grated Parmesan 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 large egg, beaten 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Place grated zucchini in a colander over the sink. Add salt and gently toss to combine; let sit for 10 minutes. Using a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, drain zucchini completely or squeeze out the extra liquid.  

OPTIONAL: In a skillet, heat some olive oil, then add onion. Cook until translucent. About a couple of minutes. 

In a large bowl, combine zucchini, Panko, Parmesan, cooked onion, garlic and egg; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Scoop tablespoons of batter for each patty, flattening with a spatula, and cook until the underside is nicely golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, about 1-2 minutes longer. 

Serve. Makes about 5-6 patties depending on size.

Black-Eyed Pea Hummus with Olive Oil

Yes, that's what the title says...Black-Eyed Pea Hummus with Olive Oil. That's right, no greens...no ham-hocks....no salted pork. This is that moment when you think beyond what you're accustomed to and bring a new taste to your tongue. I have so many favorite recipes and I can tell you, I'm not one who will get bored when it comes to eating healthy. New cooking techniques are like new adventures - leaving you feeling satisfied and rewarding at the same time. 

Let's talk a bit about our black-eyed peas. Did you know that black-eyed peas are actually a bean? Guess the peas sound better then "Black-eyed Beans" (Hmmmm...lol). According to www.livestrong.com, one of the main health benefits of black-eyed peas is their high fiber content. A half cup of dry black-eyed peas that are cooked have 5.6g of fiber, while a half cup of canned black-eyed peas contains 4g of fiber.  They are also high in potassium, are a good alternative source of protein, low-fat, low-calorie, and a good source of iron. For more benefits, click here. 

The below recipe is pretty quick and very easy to put together. By all means, try this, make the recipe and just tell your friends or family it's hummus. Once you see how they keep eating and wanting more, then tell them it's "Black-eyed Pea Hummus"...YES!!! Be sure to have your camera ready to snap and post their facial expressions. I love seeing the surprise expressions on faces.

Enjoy!!!

Photo courtesy: Angela Ledyard

Black-Eyed Pea Hummus with Olive Oil Makes about 3 cups hummus

Ingredients:

• 2 -15oz. cans - Black eyed peas, rinsed and drained (I prefer Eden Organic Brand)
• 2 tsp.minced garlic
• 4T to 6T - fresh-squeezed lemon juice (start with 4 then add to your desired taste)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt
• 4T. olive oil (save 2T to use for drizzling on hummus later)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 3T to 6T -  tahini (start with 3T then add more to your taste)
• 2T water (for thinning hummus as needed)
• Sprinkle of paprika for taste

Time to create:
Place a colander in the sink and drain the cans of black-eyed peas. Rinse them with cold water until there isn't any more foam. Let the peas sit for a couple minutes.

Place the peas, garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil into a food processor or blender. Puree the ingredient for 1 to 2 minutes. 

Add in the ground cumin and 3T of tahini. Puree until all combined.

Now, taste to see if you want to add more lemon juice and/or tahini. Keep adding small amounts until you reach your desired taste.

If the hummus seems too thick, add a some of the water and combine. 

Place the hummus onto a serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with paprika. Enjoy!!!

*Hummus can be stored for at least a week.

Ratatouille-Style Vegetable Stew

Having a healthy lifestyle calls for creativity in the kitchen. As well as thinking outside the box on eating.  Last week's trip to the West Side Market, I bought a beautiful bag of fresh basil, and nice size eggplant. According to WHfoods.org, eggplant is a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1, and copper. It is a good source of manganese, vitamin B6, niacin, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. Eggplant also contains phytonutrients such as nasunin and chlorogenic acid. 

With the veggies that I already had at home, this was a fun recipe to whip up over the weekend.  It was light and very filling.  As an extra idea, you can add some wheat pasta shells on the side and some grilled or baked lean meat. Enjoy!














INGREDIENTS: 

• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 cup medium-diced red onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ cups medium-diced red bell pepper
• 2 cups medium-diced eggplant
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes 
• 1 cup medium-diced zucchini
• ¼ cup vegetables stock, homemade or boxed low-sodium
• ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh chives, minced
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Ground black pepper, to taste 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

• In a Dutch oven or large skillet on medium, heat 1 tbsp oil. 
• Add onions and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. 
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. 
• Add bell peppers and sauté for 2 minutes. 
• Add eggplant and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. 
• Add tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. 
• Add zucchini and cook for about 1 minute. 
• Add stock and simmer until liquid has thickened and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. 
• Stir in basil and chives.
• Stir in vinegar, remaining 1 tbsp oil and black pepper. 
• Ladle into bowls. 

SERVES 4

Original recipe from Clean Eating Magazine.

Shrimp Salad Sandwich

This sandwich was so dang good.  You can simply taste it from reading the ingredients list.  On warm, hot days or days where you want something satisfying and light, you will enjoy this sandwich. 



Clean Eating Shrimp Salad Sandwich

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 oz frozen cooked shrimp (peeled, deveined and tails removed), defrosted, drained and roughly chopped (I prefer the uncooked shrimp)
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt 
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (dried dill works too. Only use about a teaspoon)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Dash hot sauce (optional) 
• Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

For the sandwich:

• 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 2 lightly packed cups arugula or baby spinach 
• 4 whole-grain Kaiser-style rolls or whole-grain buns, split and toasted

INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine shrimp, celery, yogurt, dill and Dijon. Season with hot sauce, if desired, and salt and pepper. Divide shrimp mixture, tomatoes and arugula between rolls.

Nutrients per Shrimp Salad Sandwich (1/2 cup shrimp salad and 1 roll): Calories: 179, Total Fat: 2 g, Sat. Fat: 0.5 g, Carbs: 18 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugars: 4 g, Protein: 21 g, Sodium: 370 mg, Cholesterol: 129 mg

Simple Quinoa Tabouli

The thing about eating healthy is to explore foods that you wouldn't ordinarily eat. People get so fixated on eating the same items over and over with the belief that it’s safer this way. NO! Why put yourself or your tongue on such boring restrictions. You don’t have to be a gourmet chef to create delicious and healthy meals. Besides, once you put forth the effort to create some healthy recipes, before you know it, you’ll be whipping up your own dishes and saving money too!

Quinoa Tabouli

1 cup dry quinoa (cooked according to package instructions)

After quinoa is cooked and fluffed, in a large bowl move it into a large bowl. Add cucumber, tomatoes, onions and herbs and toss to coat.

1 1/2 cups chopped cucumbers (I used one large cucumber)

1 ½  cups chopped tomatoes (or use cherry tomatoes - halved)

1/2 cup chopped onion (can substitute green onions)

1 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1 ½ cups fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk garlic and lemon juice. Drizzle in the olive oil. Add the cumin. Season to taste with Kosher salt and pepper.

1/3  scant cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1 garlic clove, grated

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½  teaspoon ground cumin

½  teaspoon Kosher salt

¼  teaspoon pepper

Drizzle dressing into quinoa mixture. 

Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

I love strawberries.  I love chocolate.  I love strawberries dipped in chocolate [pause...need a moment]. Together, they are such a beautiful and mouth savoring combination.  One one of my shopping trips to Sam's Club, I happened to have grabbed a bag of frozen strawberries. I figured, why not start making some strawberry smoothies. Simple, right? Nothing to it. I had some Silk Pure Almond Milk at home. I was all set. That's what I thought. Things changed as I went onto my next stop, the grocery store. I went to purchase my husband's choice of milk and then it hit me. I happened to glance over at the Silk Pure Dark Chocolate Almond Milk. 

Ah, YES!!! Of course! Why not blend the frozen strawberries, with the dark chocolate almond milk and have the joy of chocolate and strawberries!???!!! I couldn't wait to get home to create. 

What you need:
1 cup of Silk Dark Chocolate Pure Almond Milk
1 cup of frozen strawberries
1 banana (doesn't have to be frozen, but if you want, place the banana in the freezer the night before)

Press the smoothie setting on your blender or whatever appliance you make your smoothies with. Smooth it all together. Pour into a large cup and enjoy. Yields about 20 ounces. 





What seemed to be an innocent purchase has turned out to be part of a morning ritual sipping chocolate and strawberries in a cup.







Está tan bueno!

Hash Browns, Turkey Sausage and Egg Muffins

I love breakfast, who doesn't? Well, you should. It's a very important meal of each day. I came across this recipe and I just have to share.  Originally, it was in Clean Eating Magazine's November/December 2012 issue. I've made it with both the frozen shredded potatoes and the refrigerated shredded potatoes that are usually found near the cold juices and eggs in the grocery store.  I like both chicken sausage and turkey sausage. By all means, use what you like.  Just remember to keep things "healthy". 

Make these on one of your "cooking" days and just store them in the frig for grab-n-go mornings.

Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

  

1 1/2 lb shredded potatoes 

  

1/2 tsp sea salt 

  

1/2 tsp pepper 

  

Olive oil cooking spray 

  

3/4 cup grated low-fat Swiss cheese 

  

3 ozs. chicken (or turkey sausage), cooked and diced

  

3 chopped green onions 

  

3 large eggs 

  

3 large egg whites 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Spray muffin tins (12 ) with cooking spray.

Transfer the shredded potatoes to a colander and press firmly to get out all the excess water. You can skip this step if you're using the refrigerated version.  They tend not to have a great deal of moisture.

Transfer potatoes to a large bowl, and add 1/2 of the salt and pepper. Mix.

Add about 1/3 cup potatoes to each muffin cup. Press the potatoes into the base and up the sides of each muffin cup. Making a little nest.

Bake until the edges on the potatoes are golden brown. About 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F.

Lightly mist the muffin tins around each potato muffin cups with cooking spray.

Divide the cheese among the potato “nests” followed by sausage and green onions.

In a bowl mix eggs, remaining salt and pepper. Pour into the nests, and spread the remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Or until eggs and cheese are melted. Cool in a pan for 10 minutes before serving

Roasted Turnips

I’ve been on a major adventure kick. New fitness routines, new recipes, tasting new foods.  So, when my mother gave me a bag full of turnips,  I just couldn't pass them up. 

When I talk about turnips, I’m referring to the bottoms. The purple bulbs, or the root of the turnip greens.  During this whole year, I’ve been thinking outside of the box by expanding my food selections.  I’ve had boiled turnips from my mother-in-law, which were delish.  Now, I am preparing them and wanted to have them in a different way.  I decided to roast them.

Turnips have a pretty strong flavor and if you are not a big fan of that, then you and I share the same taste. 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  They were quite easy to prepare. After cleaning the turnips, I peeled off their outer skin. Next, cut them up into cubes, not too small.  Then, I poured about a tablespoon of olive oil over the turnips, sprinkled some kosher salt and pepper and mixed them up so that the oil mixture was on all of the pieces.  

Placed the pieces on a baking tray.  Be sure to keep them spaced apart and not touching each other. 

Roasted them in the oven until they start to turn brown, then flip the pieces over.  Continue roasting until they are brown.

You can serve them with potatoes or even greens. The choices are endless.

Enjoy!

 

Green Apples and Walnut Salad

When it comes to eathing healthy, having salads every day or every other day is not my healthy eating vision.  But, when I do want a salad, I enjoy them to the fullest. While in the grocery story, I really wanted to have some fresh strawberries and have them in a salad with walnuts.  Well, the strawberries were so far from being attractive that day in the store.  I was so bummed because I could just taste the salad in my head.

I had already grabbed a bag of green apples, to have for my apples/natural peanut butter snack. I had went to the grocery store primarily to buy some strawberries for the salad.  Then, it hit me. Slice the apples and toss them into the salad!

DUH!!! Before I knew it, my mind had already came up with making some poppyseed dressing to drizzle onto the salad. I regained my excitement and was happy that my lunch menu for the week was even more exciting. 

I'm sure many of you have those moments. Right?

Ingredients:

• Granny Smith apples
• Salad mix of your choice (I used the Spring Mix)
• Healthy Poppy Seed Salad dressing (click here for the recipe)
• Walnuts (rich in Omega 3s)

Salad rich in fiber, healthy fat, Vitamin E and omega 3s - enjoy!

Zucchini Boats w/ Chicken, Tomatoes and Cheese

Dinner, definitely, should not be boring.  Nor, does it have to consist of the same method over and over and over again.  Here is a simple, and fun, way to enjoy zucchini.  Surely, you already have the ingredients on hand, or at least most of them.  

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 large zucchini
• ½ pound ground chicken
• 1 T. olive oil
• Crushed garlic
• Grape tomatoes (halved lengthwise)
• Parmesan cheese (grated)
• Mozzarella cheese (grated)
• Dried basil

Preheat oven to 350℉. Place olive oil in a skillet. Season chicken with oregano, basil, salt and pepper.  Place chicken in skillet with oil and cook.  Be sure to ground the meat up while it’s cooking. 

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeded centers of each half and discard.  Trim a bit off the bottom of the halves so that they lay flat in a shallow baking dish. Brush the insides of the halves with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Place the boats into a baking dish.  Bake zucchini in prepared oven for about 15 minutes.

Remove the zucchini and add the chicken, tomatoes, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Bake for another 15 minutes.  Be sure the cheese has melted.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with dried basil. Enjoy.

Product Breakdown: Jimmy Dean Honey Wheat Flatbread

I’m one for looking at the nutrition facts when I grocery shop.  Even more so on items whose packaging appears “HEALTHY”.  The other day, I came across a new frozen breakfast by Jimmy Dean Delights. How can you not be attracted to the large 250 calories label  or how about the honey wheat flatbread with turkey sausage?

Well, once you look at the nutrition facts on the box, all of the “healthy” packaging is just that – packaging.  Just one sandwich boasted a whopping 52% in cholesterol!  That’s over half of the daily recommended allowance for cholesterol.  Talk about your heart.  Then, if you get past the sodium and the saturated fat, you can then, pick your jaw up from the grocery aisle floor.  Don’t be fooled by the packaging claims when you’re out grocery shopping.  Take the time to read the facts.

Do yourself and your body a favor...read the facts!

Nutrition labels: What's in an egg?

One day, I was talking to a friend of mine and she was telling me about the eggs that you now purchases.  She mentioned how they were organic and all these other great things about the eggs.  Had I not been familiar with the content of eggs, I would have ran out and purchased the brands that she talked about.  Instead, I decided to assist my friend with reading nutrition labels. I mentioned to her to look at the cholesterol figure on the label.  She did and though she lives in another state, I thought for sure I heard her mouth hit the floor.  

One large egg typically contains a WHOPPING 212mg of cholesterol in the yolk.  If you follow the AHA’s (American Heart Association) advice, it’s to eat less than 300mg of cholesterol a day or less than 200mg if you already have heart disease. Take that one egg and multiply it by three and you’re over 600mg of cholesterol in just the eggs alone!

The good thing about eggs are that they are a good source of protein, contains vitamin E, and choline (a nutrient that may help prevent heart disease).

If you can, just eat the egg whites or look for egg substitutes. Better Homes and Gardens had a nice article on healthy eggs, click here.  Do, however, read your nutrition labels!