Valentine's Crepes

I love Valentine's day.  I can't help but have some fun with at least one of the meals we make.  Last year I made pink beet pancakes, and they were a hit.  Breakfast isn't so easy to make into something fun now with our oldest in school, so I decided to do crepes for lunch.  I figured since the beets worked so well last year, I'd do them again this year.  They turned out great!

 

Isn't that a beautiful pink color?  And for fun, I sliced the strawberries into hearts to go with and made whipped cream.

Just lots of yum! 

Don't they just look delish?  Oh, and did you know that February 2 was crepe day?  Made crepes then as well... did about 1 and 1/2 recipe and it ended up not being quite enough. 

 

Valentine's Crepes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar (I omitted this)
2 cups milk
2 Tablespoon melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients together.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth.  Add 2 or 3 Tablespoons beet puree* to the mix to make it pink. 

Heat a pan on medium low heat with butter to grease it.  Then put 1/4 cup batter and swirl it to a thin circle.  When cooked enough to lift it (doesn't take long, maybe a minute or so) loosen the edges with a spatula and flip.  Cook a minute more.  Then remove, recoat the pan with a little butter, and do it again.  It will probably take almost an hour, but it is worth it.

Serve with whipped cream and fruit!  So tasty.

Whipped Cream
Whip one cup of whipping cream with 1/4 cup date paste** until peaks form.

*Beet Puree - Wrap beets in tin foil, and roast in the oven at 350F for 45-60minutes.  Remove, and wait until cool to the touch.  Then, using plastic gloves (or plastic bags), remove the skin (it's slippery and actually comes off pretty easily).  Puree the beets in a food processor, and store in the fridge for a week or freeze for up to three months.

**Date paste - Soak dates overnight in a bit of water.  Place in a food processor and process until smooth.  Store in the fridge for 3 months.

PB Banana Ice Cream Treats

 One of the ladies at preschool recently told me about this wonderful little treat she'd heard about... after I mentioned how some people turn frozen bananas into 'ice cream'.  The treat she mentioned sounded so perfect I couldn't wait to try it for myself.  It really takes very little effort, and while mine may not look perfect, they sure do taste good.

PB Banana Ice Cream Treats

Ingredients
Bananas
Peanut Butter (or other nut butter.  I use all natural)
Melted chocolate (I'm unsure how much per banana... I melted far too much and ended up wrapping my bowl so I can do this again later)

Tools
wax paper
knife
toothpicks
cookie sheet

First, slice your banana.  I was able to make 8 treats per banana, but you can do more or less depending on the thickness of your slices (well, I could have done 9 but I ate the ends, haha).  Place peanut butter on a slice of banana.

 

 

Next, sandwich the peanut butter between another banana slice.  Then, using the toothpick, dip and coat completely in chocolate (sorry, no picture.  My camera didn't want to cooperate with me).  Place the chocolate coated treat on wax paper and into the freezer for 20 minutes.



 

Voila!  Done!  And boy are they tasty!  This is from 2 bananas.  I kept eating the ends of them, haha.

Avocado Chocolate Pudding

Found this recipe on the web somewhere... not sure where exactly.  I've modified it a bit to include less sweetener as I found the amount it asked for WAY too sweet for my taste, so you could easily adjust it to fit yours.  I've made this a lot in the last few months!

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

1 ripe avocado
5 Tablespoons cocoa powder
6 Tablespoons milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tablespoons sweetener (honey, maple syrup, or you could use 1/4 cup date paste... the original recipe asked for 1/4 cup maple syrup)

Get out your food processor, and process the avocado until creamy.  Plop in the other ingredients and blend until smooth.  Serve. 

It's that easy!

Bright Beet Pancakes

Since Thursday was Valentine's day, and we can't all have breakfast together on Thursdays due to preschool, I decided that we'd have our 'Valentine's Breakfast' on Friday instead... and we made these bright pancakes together.  They turned out rather well, and although more work than my usual pancake recipe, the kids loved them and I would probably make them again... as long as I already had beet puree prepared before hand.  This recipe was once again adapted from Parenting magazine... see page 54 on the Feb 2013 issue for more fun things to do with beets.

 

Bright Beet Pancakes

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar (I omitted this and used a bit less than 1/4 cup date paste*)
1 Tbsp baking powder
dash salt
3/4 cup beet puree** (enough from one beet)
1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1 large egg
3 Tbsp melted butter (if salted, omit the salt from the recipe)
1 tsp vanilla.

Sift together flours, sugar (if using this.  If using date paste, put that in with the wet ingredients), baking powder and salt into a medium bowl
Whisk together the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Once blended, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Drop about 2 Tbsp of batter onto a greased pan (or pancake griddle) over medium heat.  Cook 3 minutes per side.  Serve with raspberry sauce, honey, or syrup.

We just buttered ours and added fruit to the top.  We also added thawed strawberries and raspberries to the batter to stretch it a bit, and that fruit tasted great in there!

* To make date paste, take as many dates as you can manage and pack them tightly into a large measuring cup. Add water just to fill in the spaces to let them soak and soften (if they are soft enough already, I believe you can skip this step). Soak for 1-4 hours, depending (some say 1hr, some say overnight... I just do whatever until they feel soft enough to process alright). Drain and reserve liquid, and put the dates into the food processor. Process until smooth. If very thick, add some of the reserved liquid. Put in the fridge for up to 3 months. It probably won't last that long though, if you are like me. :) Use as a substitute for sugar in recipes!

**Basic roasted beets: Preheat oven to 375F. Wrap the beets in tinfoil and bake 45-60 minutes, until fork tender. Remove from the foil and set aside until cool to touch. Wear disposable plastic food gloves (or use Ziploc baggies over your hands) to avoid staining your skin, and rub the skins off the beets. Puree in food processor until smooth.

Chocolate Velvet Beet Cupcakes

Adapted this recipe from Parenting Magazine.  Made it a sugar free recipe!

 

This is a nice alternative to red velvet chocolate cupcakes.  The flavor is chocolaty, the color is a deep red/brown, and the frosting a lovely deep pink color.  My kids loved these, and while I wasn't sure how well these would turn out, they were surprisingly good!  I am not a fan of beets, and while you can taste them in this recipe slightly, the cream cheese and the cocoa balance things out nicely so that the beets do not take center stage.  At all.  In fact, if I didn't still smell them in the air from baking them, I don't think I would have noticed them at all!

 

Chocolate Velvet Beet Cupcakes

Ingredients
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half unbleached white)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup sugar (I omitted this and added 3/4 cup date paste* to the wet ingredients)
1/2 tsp salt (I omitted this completely)
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I melted coconut oil in its place)
1 large beet, roasted and pureed** (about 3/4 cup puree)
2 tsp vanilla
NOTE:  I found this very thick as there was no milk listed originally, so I added about 1/2 cup milk to the batter.  I found out on the website that apparently they forgot to add the 1 cup milk to the recipe in the magazine.  They turned out OK though, either way.


Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. 
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the rest of the ingredients.  Slowly stir in the flour mixture into the wet ingredients mixture.  Pour into 12 paper-lined muffin cups.  Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
Place into a mixer and beat on medium high until blended:
1 8oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter (I used coconut oil)
1/4 cup powdered sugar (I used honey instead)
1/2 cup beat puree
1 tsp vanilla

* To make date paste, take as many dates as you can manage and pack them tightly into a large measuring cup.  Add water just to fill in the spaces to let them soak and soften (if they are soft enough already, I believe you can skip this step).  Soak for 1-4 hours, depending (some say 1hr, some say overnight... I just do whatever until they feel soft enough to process alright).  Drain and reserve liquid, and put the dates into the food processor.  Process until smooth.  If very thick, add some of the reserved liquid.  Put in the fridge for up to 3 months.  It probably won't last that long though, if you are like me.  :)  Use as a substitute for sugar in recipes!

**Basic roasted beets:  Preheat oven to 375F.  Wrap the beets in tinfoil and bake 45-60 minutes, until fork tender.  Remove from the foil and set aside until cool to touch.  Wear disposable plastic food gloves (or use Ziploc baggies over your hands) to avoid staining your skin, and rub the skins off the beets.  Puree in food processor until smooth.

Dinner for One

Today my hubby went out with a friend for supper, so I was on my own. So, to make something simple for myself, all I did was put a bunch of stuff in the oven for 40 minutes and voila... dinner served!

Spray a small baking pan with cooking spray. Add a piece of chicken. You can shake n bake it if you wish, but I like mine plain. Add one chopped potato and other various veggies, sprinkle your favorite salad dressing over top (I used Italian), about 1/4 cup. After it's done, sprinkle some shredded cheese on top. Voila.

Apple Crisp

So, for dessert today I decided to make something with fruit since I hadn't had any fruit yet today... apple crisp seemed the best idea. I got this recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook and adapted it for 2 single serving dishes instead of an 8x8 pan.

Apple Crisp

For one person (double or triple as necessary)
Ingredients
1 small apple
1 Tbsp (15mL) flour
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp quick rolled oats
dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg
2 tsp (10 mL) butter, softened

Peel, core and chop the apple and place in a small single serving dish (each should hold approximately 1 cup or more). Mix all the other ingredients together and place on top of the apple. Bake at 375F for 25 minutes or until the apples are tender. You can do it in the microwave for about 3-5 minutes (better for single servings... once you get to 6-8 servings though, go for the oven)

Banana Macadamia Nut Bread

Well, I found this recipe while looking through my Brand Name Cookbook for something to bake that involved bananas... and just my luck, I had a few walnuts left over from a previous recipe. So, I decided this would be the perfect thing to try as I've gotten tired of making the same old banana bread recipe already.

Banana Macadamia Nut Bread

Ingredients
2 cups flour (I did 1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup white)
1/2 cup sugar (this is less than the recipe asks for)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
salt (omit if using salted butter)
1 tbsp grated orange peel (oops... didn't have this)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 or 3)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup coconut (I halved this)
3/4 cup macadamia nuts or walnuts, chopped (again, I had less)

Heat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, butter, eggs, baking soda, salt, orange peel, and vanilla. Beat at low speed, scraping the bowl often, 2-3 minutes until well mixed. Add bananas and orange juice. Continue beating, scraping the bowl often, until well mixed (about 1 min). By hand stir in the coconut and nuts. The batter will be thick! Spread into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan (or 3 greased 5 1/2x3 inch mini loaf pans).

Bake 60-65 min for large loaf, or 35-45 min for minis, or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool ten minutes and remove from pan to cooling rack.

Cheese-and-Spinach Casserole

I made this casserole for one of our Thursday night dinners. I was in charge of bringing veggies that week, and figured it'd be nice to do something a bit different. It went over quite well! I had hardly anything to take back home for later. (Adapted from Kraft)

Cheese-and-Spinach Casserole

Drain 2 packages (10 oz each) of frozen spinach (or use 2 bunches of fresh spinach for the package of frozen if you wish). Spread spinach in a shallow casserole dish, top with 1 cup each of cottage, shredded mozza, and shredded cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with 1 cup of bread crumbs (approx. 1 slice bread). Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes.

Pomegranate Banana Bread

Apparently, November is national Pomegranate Month in the USA. I didn't know that before, but thought it interesting. I love pomegranates, a friend I met in university introduced the fruit to me... I had never actually seen one before. Anyway, we bought one for Christmas and with the hustle and bustle of the month, completely forgot about it. Not one to let a fruit that good go bad, I thought it best to try to bake it (otherwise we wouldn't eat it fast enough). Lo and behold, my hubby finds this recipe on POM Wonderful, and since we also had 2 over-ripe bananas, I thought it would be the perfect thing to try!


POM, Banana & Pistachio Bread
20min prep
1 1/2 hours baking and cooling
makes 1 loaf



Ingredients
1 cup arils from 1 large Pomegranate
2 cups flour (I did 1 white and 1 whole wheat)
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
2-3 bananas, mashed (1 cup)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup shelled pistachios or slivered almonds, chopped (I didn't have these so I omitted them)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Grease one 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

3. Score pomegranate, place in a bowl of water. Break open the pom under the water to free the arils or seed sacs. They will sink while the membranes will float (I didn't know this until reading this recipe... would have saved me lots of time pulling those seeds out like I usually do!). Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl. Reserve 1 cup to put aside (snack on the rest... yummers).

4. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a smaller bowl, stir together bananas, oil, milk, and egg. Add liquids to flour (and arils and pistachios if used) until just moistened. Don't over mix.

5. Spoon batter into prepared pan. You can sprinkle leftover nuts/arils over top if you like. I didn't bother (didn't have any left over... oops...).

6. Bake 50-60minutes until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove onto a rack and cool completely. To store, wrap it tightly or you can freeze for up to 1 month by wrapping tightly in foil.



Nutrients per serving (1 slice... don't ask how big the slice is because it doesn't say)

162 calories
3g protein
24g carbs
6g total fat (1g saturated)
12mg cholesterol
139g sodium (if you do 1/2 tsp salt... I always do less)

Pumpkin Waffles

I've made this recipe once last year, and decided it would be a good one to make this year to welcome autumn... yes, I love fall! I don't remember where I got this one from unfortunetly.

Pumpkin Waffles

Makes 16 4inch waffles
Prep 15min

Ingrediants
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
dash salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 3/4 cup milk
1 cup canned pumpkin (or mashed cooked pumpkin)
2 eggs, seperate yolks and whites
3 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions
1. In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.

2. In medium bowl combine milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, and butter. Add pumpkin mixture all at once to flour mixture and stir until just combined (will be lumpy)

3. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter, leaving a few puffs of white.

4. Heat a lightly greased waffle baker. Pour some batter onto waffle grid (be careful not to overfill as cleanup will be ... ahem... fun). Cook as per waffle grill directions.

5. Serve waffles immediately. Can also be frozen.

Cider-Honey Syrup: In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup apple cider or juice and 1 cup honey. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered 15-20 minutes or til slightly thickened. Serve warm. Can be stored in fridge up to 1 week. Makes about 1 cup.

Note: To use an entire 14oz can of pumpkin, multiply recipe above by 1.5

New Measures
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
dash salt
3/8 tsp baking soda
3/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3/8 tsp ground ginger
2 2/3 cup milk
1 can pumpkin
3 eggs, seperate yolks and whites
1/4 cup butter, melted

Meatless Lasagna

I got this recipe from Amanda Beale from Babyzone's forums! Thanks Amanda! I broke it into 3 pans, about bread loaf size, and froze two for later.

Meatless Lasagna



Ingrediants

filling
1 cup cottage cheese
1 jar pasta sauce (about 700mL or just less than 3 cups)
1 grated zucchini
1 package frozen spinach (optional)
1 can mushrooms (or fresh, again optional)
grated carrots (optional)

Lasagna noodles (about 12)
shredded mozza cheese
grated parmesan cheese

1. Mix filling ingrediants
2. Layer pan with the following: 1/3 noodles, 1/3 filling, mozza cheese. Repeat 2 more times.
3. Add parmesan cheese to top if desired.
4. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

This is a rather flexible recipe. I added spinach to mine (didn't feel like grating carrots and had no mushrooms left... sigh). It takes about 1 hour total time from start of prep till ready to serve. Serve with salad and toast or breadsticks.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

I made this "new" recipe today because it looked good with two types of fruit in there... and I needed to use up my two overripe bananas. It turned out great! I got it from my "Favorite Brand Name Cookbook".

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients
2 extra ripe bananas, peeled
2 eggs
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup melted butter
1 cup blueberries
1 tsp vanilla
2 ¼ cup flour (I did half white, half whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon dash salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Puree bananas (I just used the electric mixer in the bowl till done). In medium bowl, combine bananas, eggs, sugar, and butter until well blended. Stir in blueberries and vanilla.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until evenly moistened.
4. Spoon into 12 muffin cups. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Carrot-Coconut Cookies

Today I wanted to bring cookies to a friends house for supper, and since I already had chocolate chip, I figured I'd try something I've never made before, these Carrot Coconut Cookies, as they looked "healthy" in the sense that they add veggies to a "treat". They took a bit for me to make as I hadn't planned in advance. I suggest cooking an extra amount of carrots next time you make them for supper, and then mashing them or however you choose to do so later so you decrease prep time. This recipe came from Betty Crocker's cookbook.

I'll warn you, these cookies are good!

Carrot-Coconut Cookies


Ingrediants

1 cup mashed cooked carrots (about 4 medium or 20 baby)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup shortening (I used 1/2 shortening, 1/2 butter)
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour (I did half and half, next time will be all WW)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup shredded/flaked coconut
Frosting

1. Heat oven to 400F. Mix sugar and shortening, then add carrots and eggs. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt mix. Stir in coconut.

2. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet (un-greased if nonstick). Bake until almost no indentation remains when touched, or 8-9 minutes.

3. Immediately remove from cookie sheet and cool. Frost with Orange Butter Frosting.

Makes about 3-5 dozen.

Orange Butter Frosting

Mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar into 2-3 tablespoons of softened butter (little at a time to prevent frustrations). Add 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice gradually until frosting is of spreading consistency.

Mix-&-Match Potato Dinners

Here's a recipe I really like to make. I make a double batch using one pound of hamburger, then freeze one and bake the other. It keeps in the freezer for 3 weeks, and each recipe is good for 2-3 people. I got this recipe from Kraft.

Mix-and-Match Potato Dinners

1. Mix 2 cups frozen hashbrowns and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese in a 9x13inch baking dish

2. Layer with 1 cup each of cooked meat, your favorite sliced veggies, and sauce. Sprinkle with more cheese.

3. Bake at 400F for 30 minutes.

Here are the combos Kraft suggests:

boneless skinless chicken breasts with onions and peppers, and barbecue sauce

ground beef with corn and green onions, and salsa

pepperoni with mushrooms and onions, and pizza sauce

meatless with broccoli, zucchini, and peppers, and canned tomatoes.

I prefer the ground beef with mixed frozen veggies and salsa myself.

Recipes Part X: Cheesy Tortilla Bake (Jan 16, 2008)

I just made these today and they are quite tasty! Chuck loved them so much he stuffed himself! Ha ha.

Easy Cheesy Tortilla Bake
serves 2
a little oil
1/2 cup Miracle Whip dressing
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
shredded cheese
4 flour tortillas
chicken strips (2 breasts)
salsa
veggies of your choice (mushrooms, peppers, onions, zucchini, or whatever you wish... I used mushrooms and celery)

COOK chicken in a little oil in a frypan until almost cooked. Stir in a few spoonfuls salsa and a handful per person of sliced vegetables. Set aside.
MICROWAVE Miracle Whip dressing, flour and milk for 4-6 minutes, or until heated through, stirring after 3 minutes. Add in a few handfuls shredded cheese and stir until melted. Pour into frypan with meat and vegetables, reserving a little sauce for topping.
FILL tortillas with mixture, wrap and place in a baking dish. Top with reserved sauce and a little more cheese.
Bake at 375° F for 25 minutes.

Recipes Part VII: Zucchini Bread and cake (aug 6, 2007)

Today's recipe is Zucchini bread. Really good stuff too. The recipe I got that I modified is from the internet somewhere. It called for more oil and double the sugar, but I like things with a bit less sugar, and quite honestly didn't think the recipe needed 1 cup per loaf. So, here you go.



Zucchini Bread

Ingrediants
- 1 cup walnuts/pecans, chopped (I omitted these, as I didn't have any)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 medium)
- 1/3 cup veggie oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder. With a hand mixer on medium speed, beat till ingredients are blended (30 seconds).
Add flour; mix till moistened. Stir in nuts and zucchini. Pour batter into a greased and floured (I didn't bother flouring mine) loaf pan.
Bake 65-75 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.


Here is another recipe. I didn't make it this time, but I've made it before.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup butter
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla

Combine flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, and cocoa. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth. add zucchini. mix in dry ingredients alternately with milk. Mix well. Pour into bundt cake pan or tube pan (greased and floured or sprayed with cooking spray).
Bake at 350 F for 60 min or until firm on top. Frost with melted chocolate.

Recipes Part V: Cabbage Soup (jul 23, 2007)

This is an actual diet recipe. I remember my mom making this one a long time ago, and I found it again online. It's supposed to really help clean out your system and help you burn fat. It's super low on calories, and high in fiber. And it's not bad! It reminds me of cabbage borsht, without the sausage.


Cabbage Soup


Ingredients
1 head of cabbage
2 onions
2 green peppers
1 celery
1 can of peeled tomatoes
2 vegetable bouillon cubes


Chop all the vegetables in small pieces, and put them in a pot with the bouillon and enough water to completely cover the vegetables.
Heat and boil for 10 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are done.
Add any spices you like (I really like pepper, but you can add whatever. Just try not to add too much salt)
Makes about 15-17 cups of soup. Estimated at 10 servings of 1.5 cups each


Nutritional Information

Calories - 53.6
Fat - 0.6 g
Carbs - 11.9 g
Protein - 2.3 g
Fiber - 3.3 g
Sodium - 202 mg

Recipes Part IV: Spegghetti Squash and Meatballs (jul 19, 2007)

Today's supper was really good. I made a recipe I saw on tv while flipping through channels. Spegghetti squash and for meat, meatballs! It was really good! Unfortunetely, I forgot to take a picture of it, so I don't have one. Sorry.

Spegghetti Squash

-1 medium spegghetti squash
-14oz can stewed tomatoes (diced tomatoes work too)
-1 tsp oregano
-1 can mushrooms (recipe asked for 1/2 cup chopped pimento stuffed olives, but I prefer mushrooms)
-little salt and pepper

Take a medium spegghetti squash, cut down the center lengthwise. Scoop seeds out of center, and place the halves in a slow cooker. Mix remaining ingrediants, and place into the scooped out centers of the squash.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
To serve, cut each in half again and pull the spegghetti squash from the peel, trashing the peel.
Makes four servings

Nutritional Information
Per serving
Calories - 128
Protein - 5.5 g
Fat - 0.6 g
Carbs - 27 g
Fiber - 5.3 g
Sodium - 631.8 mg

Meatballs

-1lb ground beef
-2 slices bread, in crumbs
-1/3 cup finely chopped carrots
-1/2 cup chopped onion
-1 egg
-1/4 cup bbq sauce
-pepper

Mix all ingrediants, roll into 1 inch balls (about 30), bake 20 minutes at 400 F.
1 serving is 5 meatballs (or total makes 6 servings). I baked 1/3 of the recipe and froze the rest on a baking sheet before bagging.

Nutritional Information
Calories - 172
Protein - 18.4 g
Fat - 5 g
Carbs - 5.1 g
Fiber - 0.7 g
Sodium - 86.9 g

Recipes Part II; Black Bean Soup & Greek Salad (jul 17, 2007)

Hello once again. I attempted something new for lunch today, and both of us found it quite tasty! I got the recipe from "You: On a Diet", and modified it a bit to suit what we had in our kitchen, and what I was willing to do. Anyway, here it is... Black bean soup and Greek Salad (with homemade dressing... Yummers!)


Black Bean Soup

-1/2 tablespoon olive oil
-1/2 onion, chopped
-1 garlic clove, sliced
-1 carrot, chopped
-1 stalk celery, chopped
-1 quarts (4 cups) low salt vegetable stock or broth (I used 4 cups boiling water and one cube of Knorr veggie boullion)
-1 can (15 or 16 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
-1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (if you have whole, just crush them)
-1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
-1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped (I didn't use fresh...)


1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add garlic, carrot and celery; cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add stock, beans, coriander and cayenne pepper; simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir in vinegar.
4. Transfer to blender or food processor; process to desired consistency (I used a hand blender right in the pot). Reheat if necessary. Ladle into shallow bowls; garnish with cilantro (or not).
Makes 4 servings



Greek Salad

Dressing Ingredients:
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (Apple cider vinegar works too)
-1 tablespoon lemon juice
-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1/2 teaspoon honey
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)



Salad Ingredients:
-1 head romaine lettuce, torn
-1 tomato, quartered (I didn't use a full tomato)
-4 pepperocini peppers (didn't have this... not on the salad then)
-1 small cucumber, sliced
-1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled low fat feta cheese (I used cottage cheese and added it on my plate)
-Several sprigs fresh dill, chopped
-1/2 green bell pepper, sliced into rings (I didn't feel like chopping any more... so I didn't add this)
-8 calamata olives (didn't have any... so I omitted them)



1. Combine all dressing ingredients except salt and pepper; mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired; let stand 5 minutes.
2. Combine all salad ingredients in large bowl; toss with dressing
Makes 2 servings (in our case, more like 3 or 4)


Nutrition Facts


Now for the nutrition facts, which are for the entire meal (if you only have one serving of each)
Calories - 305 (Wow! Not a whole lot, huh!)
Total fat- 16.3 g
Saturated - 3.75 g
Healthy fats - 11 g
Fiber - 10.6 g (Check this! Over 1/3 of your recommended fiber!)
Carbs - 33 g
Sugar - 11 g
Protein - 13 g
Sodium - 1260 mg
Calcium - 193 mg
Magnesium - 43 mg
Selenium - 1 mcg
Potassium - 968.4 mg