The Skinny Tuna Melt

Classic comfort diner food, just got a make-over... the low fat tuna melt. Adding veggies to your tuna, replacing the full fat cheese and mayonnaise with light mayo and cheese and serving it opened faced makes this classic sandwich lower in fat and Weight Watcher friendly. Use your favorite whole grain bread and serve with a salad or a cup of soup on the side.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Calling it Quits! Why I Started Really Caring About What We Eat.

Salmonella, e-coli, PBC's, mercury, antibiotics, injected artificial hormones, ammonia based fillers, nitrates, additives and preservatives, pollution, environmentally destructive, fossil fuel hoarders, Chicken and Cow "Farms" that make Federal Prison look like a Day Spa.


I'm trying to reason with myself. Tell myself I'm over-exaggerating. Make rationalizations. It's not working.

Maybe the vegans have it all figured out. Maybe the rest of us are being naive. Denial can be bliss. I consider myself more aware than the average person when it comes to health. Partly because I'm in the health profession, although you could easily argue that medicine and health don't always go hand in hand. Partly because I'm a mom and a worry wart and partly because I'm informed, I read a lot, obsessively almost when it comes to natural health. Maybe it's genetic. My mom is a true naturopath in every sense. You can't help but be affected when your mom lives with you and lives so naturally and healthy that she hasn't been sick in.... well since I've known her. Not to mention we are starting to look closer and closer to being the same age.

BTW, my mom has a great nutrition and herb/spice blog; Nutrition Queen you should really check out, she knows her stuff!

Most people, myself included are somewhat aware of the abuse and filth that goes on within the animal factories. It's been in the news more and more. However, when the subject of meat comes up, peoples attitudes vary widely. Most are aware of the health, environmental and humane benefits of vegetarianism but push it to the back of their minds in a what are you gonna do attitude. Some simply don't care. Some are meat-o-holics (those are the ones who refer to my everyday salad I have for lunch as " Lawn shavings". Some are in varying stages of denial with excuses galore. I myself float between "I can't afford it."  "What the heck am I going to make for dinner if it doesn't include meat?'" and  "It's to much work/effort." And my personal favorite, " My family would rebel, rebel Big Time."

I've never liked red meat or pork in the first place. As a matter of fact beef and pork churn my stomach at the mere sight and especially the smell of it. Chicken is in my house only to appease my husband and boys, a sort of compromise in my refusal to cook beef or pork. I could most definitely live without it. After the most recent "Egg Scare" and in viewing the utterly horrific conditions in which chickens are kept, I am somewhere in between banning all chicken then setting these "farms" into a bonfire, and maybe, possibly just buying an Organic, Free Range hen and eggs once every month or so...... maybe.

UPDATE..... Once a month chicken for dinner was absolutely do able. In fact, we eat it less than that now and don't miss it one single bit. 

"CAFOs house them as tightly as possible where they never see grass or sunlight. If you can envision one thousand chickens in your bathroom, in cages stacked to the ceiling, you're honestly getting the picture. (Actually a six-foot by eight room could house 1,152)." — Steven L. Hopp (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life)

Honestly, besides the fact that my family would rebel I really, truly am not now, not in the near future about ready to give up seafood. I love it. Luuhuuuuve it. I mean fish is good for you right? Right?......

Geeeesshh, even seafood has it's issues. PBC's, Farm raised, antibiotic, corn fed, genetically "enhanced", environmentally dangerous, mercury levels that would kill a small dog.... but it's o.k. to eat once a month fish. Urrrggggghhh!! Maybe I should wait to post this until I've regained some composure. Oh who am I kidding, what composure?

Is veganism really the answer to total health safety and well being? I mean even supposedly harmless things like spinach, lettuce, jalapenos, pistachios, peanut butter, apple juice, canned foods and baby food have been linked to many instances of food poisonings, not to mention genetically engineered seeds and toxic pesticides. Some of these are the result of the foul water runoffs from these
for mentioned animal factories, some are simply from poor hygiene and over handling. The average item on your grocery market shelf has traveled further than most people travel on vacation. This being a result of us wanting everything now. Forget about seasons and geographical planting zones, we have scientists who've figured out how to bypass the natural scheme of things, hooray.

"If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week." — Barbara Kingsolver and Steven Hopp (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life)

pictures from CBS and MSNBC news

P.S. I was going to post some pictures of the chicken, cow, pig "farms", but it was to upsetting.

I encourage you to do some research and see for yourself where the food your feeding yourself and your family comes from. Food Inc. was eye opening to say the least. I'm not an emotional person by nature, but this had me in tears.

What are your thoughts?

Do you eat meat? Do you buy anything Organic or Free Range?






some information gathered from: CNN.com

Spicy Crunchy Tuna Tartare

Tuna is an excellent source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. If you're a tuna lover like me, you will love this appetizer!! Serve this as a fancy dip with baked chips, seeded flat bread, or on cucumber slices to keep it low carb. Also makes a fabulous lunch over a bed of baby greens. Buy your tuna at a
reputable fish market and impress your friends!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Tahini Cookies

One of the blogs I read, Cooks Book, had a great recipe for tahini cookies. Since I always have a jar of tahini in the fridge for emergency hummus cravings or for a quick Asian, peanutty dressing I thought I'd give it a try. They turned out really wonderful! Not to sweet and slightly less peanutty than peanut butter cookies. Tahini, in case you didn't know is made from sesame seeds but has a peanutty flavor ( I keep saying peanutty, is that a real word???)  I altered Marissa's recipe only slightly, cutting the butter in half and using applesauce instead as I do for most of my baked goods ( 1/2 the fat ). I also cut out a bit of the sugar, so my cookies were fluffy and not overly sweet.  Thanks for the creative and yummy recipe Marissa!

YIELDS     3 DOZEN SMALL COOKIES... MORE OR LESS ;-)
What you will need:

- 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp kosher salt

- 1/2 cup  unsalted butter, softened

- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

- 1 cup well-stirred tahini

- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

- 1 cup (loosely packed) dark brown sugar

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 large egg



Putting it all together:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.

• In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat butter, tahini and vanilla on medium speed until no streaks of butter are visible, about 3 minutes. Add both sugars and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, add applesauce and beat in half of flour mixture. Add egg and beat to combine, then beat in remaining flour mixture.
Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, or line with parchament paper.

• With lightly floured palms, roll dough into balls about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Place them about 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. With two fingers, gently but firmly press each dough ball to flatten slightly and create indentions.

• Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until cookies are golden on bottom, about 14 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely.



PRINT THIS RECIPE!

 A bit of strawberry preserves went well with these little treasures!

Variation:  top them with a pecan or other nut.

Skillet Nachos - vegetarian

I met my friend Lia about 10 years ago when we were living in a small, cute townhouse in Scottsdale, Az. Back then, it was just me and my son Britton, then about 5 years old. Lia lived in the townhouse across the little courtyard from ours. She had two young sons herself and so we became acquainted through our boys and spending lots of time outdoors. We both immediately bonded through our love of food and cooking. We could ramble on all night about recipe ideas, spices and the proper temperature for cooking salmon or chicken. We hung out together almost every night in either our little kitchenette or hers sharing a glass of wine and debating on all important topics such as how small to dice some vegetable or whether or not black olives should go into home made chili ( most definitely NOT in my opinion! Mushrooms maybe but black olives, please! ) Those were the good ol days.

I still talk to Lia but not near as much as I would like to. Our lives have gotten crazy, especially since I got married, had 3 more lovely children and moved to the other side of the valley. The valley of the Sun spans about 4 hours from one side to the other making it just as easy to drive to San Diego for the day as it is to visit a good friend in Scottsdale. When we do get together nowadays, it's inevitably to cook and eat and most importantly hang out and chat *sighhhh, I sure do miss doing that.

This is one of the delicious dinners my very talented friend would make for us and that I still make often.

Skillet Nachos or "Cowboy Nachos" are one of our family's favorite dinners. These baby's are piled high with spicy beans, sauteed zucchini, peppers and onion. You could add some shredded chicken to these to make them even heartier, but we all love them veggie style. They are sooooo yummy and full of flavor. You have to try these to get a taste of the South West!

SERVES 4 TIME 20 MINUTES

You will need:

1 can spicy chili beans, drained but not rinsed
1 large red or green bell pepper, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 zucchini, quartered, then chopped
handful of shredded Jack or Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For garnish:

Cilantro

3 Roma Tomatoes, diced

light sour cream

Black Olives ;-)

Most importantly, a heavy, cast iron skillet!

Putting it all together:

Heat a tabelspoon of oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

Saute chopped onion and peppers till browned, about 3 minutes. Don't stir to often, let them brown.

Transfer to a bowl. Add Zucchini to skillet and saute till brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with other veggies.

Pile tortilla chips into skillet, pile beans and veggies on top. Sprinkle with cheese.

Put skillet into a preheated oven at 400 degrees F.

Cook just till cheese is melted and browned, about 6 minutes.

Serve with garnishes.

*mental note to self...... buy larger cast iron skillet to accommodate the fam!!!

Chicken and White Bean Stuffed Peppers

These flavorful stuffed peppers are high in fiber and very filling. Serve this with a side salad for a complete meal. This is a great way to use up leftover chicken. If you don't have any leftover chicken breast, my favorite way to make shredded chicken is in the crock pot. It's easy and the chicken literally falls apart. You can freeze the broth for future recipes. Here's the recipe. Also try my turkey and rice stuffed peppers, they are delicious!


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Thai Garden Veggie Wraps with Peanut Sauce

This is my new favorite lunch! I ate a big whole grain wrap stuffed with fresh veggies and herbs and was satisfied but didn't feel heavy and stuffed . I love what living in the Arizona heat does to inspire me to come up with these quick, light meals. I suppose there's not much else to do other than sit around indoors and think about food since it's to stinking hot to go outside!

At first I was simply going to toss the veggies with lime juice and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and hot chile flakes for some kick, but then I started craving a peanuty sauce. It was so perfect and was my favorite part. It helped the little guys gobble them up too!

*Flavor with fresh herbs and citrus instead of mayo, salt or jarred marinades.

What you will need: 

2 carrots, julienned
1 seedless cucumber, peeled and juliened
1 red bell pepper, seeded and juliened
broccoli slaw
big handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
handful of fresh basil, thinly sliced
whole grain wraps/tortillas
toasted sesame seeds
hot chile flakes ( optional) 

* mint or cilantro would be good too, I just used what I had on hand.

For the peanut sauce: 

2 big spoonfuls of All Natural peanut butter or Tahini paste
1/4 cup Tamari (similar to soy sauce, minus the additives and less sodium)
2 limes, juiced
dried onion flakes
Whisk all ingredients together in large measuring cup. Fill the wraps with veggies and herbs and drizzle sauce over the top.

Shrimp Salad on Cucumber Slices

This makes an elegant appetizer or a delicious lunch for four. I love using dry Adobo to season shrimp salad, but if you don't have Adobo, any seasoned salt would work great. I always keep Greek yogurt on hand to lighten up recipes that require mayonnaise. I combined the mayo with the Greek yogurt to keep it light and creamy and the results were delicious. This yields about 1 lb salad without the cucumbers.

 

Also great served on whole grain toast.



Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Peanut Butter Crispies

I am so thrilled about this post for several reasons.

1. It's a super simple, very yummy recipe... everyone can do this.
2. It's a healthy snack...... that's the name of the game here.
3. You can make a big batch of these for penny's on the dollar from what you'd pay for store bought granola or protein bars.
4. Last, but not least, I had so much fun photographing and playing with the pic's from this shoot.

I wanted to thank my friend  Lauren  at Foodie House  for sharing her honest feelings about food photography sharing sites. It's easy to get caught up in all of the publicity and glamour ( yes food can be glamorous) of it all. It seems that many of us, I can only speak for myself, start blogging for purely personal reasons and yet in the excitement of it all, change our personal style for the want of publicity. I've been having fun journaling some of my favorite recipes so that someday I might make a simple cookbook for myself and my kids. Also, it is a fun, creative outlet for me. I love cooking and blogging has been a nice getaway of sorts from everyday chaos.

These peanut butter crispies are a favorite in our house. I've adapted them from a basic recipe that I have here, and make them with what ingredients I have on hand. With 3 very active boys in our home who have seemingly bottomless pits for stomachs these snacks are a true life saver! Served with a glass of cold milk, they are a great after school snack. My teenager downs an apple or two along with several of these little PB balls.

Check out the list of healthy ingredients going on here! You could grab a couple of these for a
quick on-the-run breakfast and feel good about it. There's protein, whole grains and bits of fruit, what more could you ask for in a snack?


I just add the cereals and fruit then pour in some peanut butter to get the consistency I like.  Honey gives it just a touch of Natural sweetness and keeps them from falling apart. I use my KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook and a firm spatula for scraping the sides in. You could start mixing these with a big heavy spoon but you'll probably need to get down and dirty and use your hands towards the end.

TIME 20 MINUTES ACTIVE 2 HOURS REFRIGERATING
MAKES ABOUT 40 BALLS

You will need:

2 - 2 1/2 cups All Natural peanut butter
1 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal
2 cups *Puffed Millet
1 cup craisins, raisins or other bits of dried fruit
1/2 - 1 cup Honey (eye it, it's easier than messing with a measuring cup)
1/2 cup Wheat Germ (optional, I didn't have it this time, but it's in my original recipe)


Mix all ingredients together. Shape into bite size balls with your hands, adding a spoonful of PB if they become to crumbly.
Place on wax paper lined cookie sheets and cool in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Keep stored in an airtight container in fridge. These will be perfectly fine to send to school, they will keep their shape.

*Millet is a super healthy whole grain used for centuries in Egypt, China, Africa, India and all across Europe.
Millet is highly nutritious, non-glutinous and like buckwheat and quinoa, is not an acid forming food so is soothing and easy to digest. In fact, it is considered to be one of the least allergenic and most digestible grains available.
Millet is tasty, with a mildly sweet, nut-like flavor and contains a myriad of beneficial nutrients. It is nearly 15% protein, contains high amounts of fiber, B-complex vitamins including niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, the essential amino acid methionine, lecithin, and some vitamin E. It is particularly high in the minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium.






Other healthy snacks you'll love:


Banana Chocolate Crisp Granola Bars

Carrot Date Energy Ballz

Old Fashion Fig Bars

Home Made Gold Fish Crackers

Tropical Nut and Seed Bars

All Natural Oat Cookies

Coconut Almond Oat Crunchies

Granola Quinoa Fruit Bars

Ginger-Roo's with home made crystalized ginger

Panzanella

Panzanella is a Tuscan bread salad which combines day old bread, tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, red onion and olive oil. A perfect summer dish for lunch or as a side. The key to making this simple salad really good is using the freshest high quality ingredients. I used ripe tomatoes from my garden, my favorite Rustic bread from Hot and Crusty, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil. Let it marinate for a little while to allow the flavors to blend. The juices from the tomatoes mixed with the olive oil makes it's own dressing. If you don't have day old bread, lightly spray bread slices with a little olive oil, season with salt and grill on the bbq until toasted. Whole wheat Italian bread would be great too. Makes 8 cups.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Sweet Potato Hummus

Once again, if it helps you at all, please refer to hummus as "dip". I have found, over and over again that if I call it hummus, people turn their noses up in distaste ( whether or not they've actually tried) but if I say it's dip, I get a "Yummy" in response. Call it what you like, this hummus is a great midday snack. The sweet potatoes give it a nice underlying err, sweetness and added vitamins, Bonus!

Serve this with pita chips and fresh, raw veggies, we like broccoli and mini sweet peppers.

I use dry chickpeas and soaked them for a few hours before cooking with the sweet potatoes for 13 minutes in my pressure cooker. If you must use canned beans, look for the low-sodium variety. I think it's just as easy to use fresh beans and it's most definitely cheaper!

TIME  20-30 MINUTES     SERVES 6-8

You will need:

2 medium size sweet potatoes

1 cup fresh chickpeas or 1 can

1/2 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1/4 cup tahini ( paste made with sunflower seeds, available in most supermarkets)

1 lemon, juiced

1-2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1/2 - 1 cup reserved or hot water

Putting it all together:

Cook your chickpeas according to package directions, usually twice as much water as beans and takes about 30 minutes. If your using a pressure cooker, use 1 1/2 times the water, place whole sweet potatoes on top of beans and cook for 12-13 minutes on second ring.

Reserve any water from pot. Using a fork, peel sweet potatoes, discard peels. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, blend all ingredients together until super smooth adding hot water as needed to desired consistency.

Serve with fresh veggies or pita chips.
* Keeps for a week refridgerated in an airtight container

Tic-Tac-Toe Ricotta Toast or Mandarin, Almond and Honey

I like to play with my food. Which should come as no surprise since I like everything about food, cooking it, thinking about it, taking pictures of it and of course eating it! My kids like playing with their food too, I'm a little odd in that I think that's just fine as long as they eat it. I love to hang out in the kitchen with my kiddos and teach them all about food. While we cook our meals together, we talk about where food came from and which foods are healthy and how they help our bodies be strong.
It's so rewarding to hear my 5 year old tell his 13 month old sister that cheese will help her bones be strong and that he didn't use to like avocados but he does now so she should eat them up! I love it!!

I discovered this yummy breakfast/snack out of necessity. It was a grocery shopping day and all we were out of cereal, oats, eggs and milk. Hmmm, what's for breakfast? We had a loaf of sprouted grain bread and a bit of ricotta cheese left over in the fridge. I toasted the bread and spread on the ricotta. I clipped some parsley from my window herb garden and sliced up some fresh, warm tomatoes ( no fruit that morning either). A bit of seasoning salt and cracked pepper to finish it off and it was Delicious!

I couldn't stop thinking about how I wanted it again the next morning and thought the kids would enjoy some fruit on theirs too. They ate the tomatoes but not the parsley. Anyway, the idea of a tic-tac-toe toast was spur of the moment and Oh-so-fun!

I simply hulled and pureed the strawberries with my hand-held emersion blender, No Sugar necessary. I put the pureed strawberries into a Ziploc baggie and cut an itty bitty tip of the corner off so I could draw the lines onto the toast. Use whatever fruit you have on hand for your game pieces.
Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with nuts if you so desire, but most importantly.... Don't forget to Play with your food! ;-)

I wanted mine with mandarin orange segments, sliced almonds and a bit of honey.

Use sprouted bread or whole grain bread rather than whole wheat or white. I like Ezekiel brand sprouted breads, they are really yummy and of course good for you. Another complete protein!

Inspired by the Holy Scripture verse Ezekiel 4:9., "Take also unto thee Wheat, and Barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and Spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it..."

Ezekiel 4:9® Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Products are:
Flourless,
Organic,
Complete Protein,
and Sprouted Whole Grain

When these six grains and legumes are sprouted and combined, an amazing thing happens.

A complete protein is created that closely parallels the protein found in milk and eggs. In fact, the protein quality is so high, that it is 84.3% as efficient as the highest recognized source of protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids. There are 18 amino acids present in this unique bread – from all vegetable sources – naturally balanced in nature.

Ezekiel 4:9® Bread, made from freshly sprouted organically grown grains, is naturally flavorful and bursting with nutrients. Rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and natural fiber with no added fat. Try it served warm to release its exceptionally rich nutty flavor.

Phyllo Fruit Tart

A light summer dessert with one of my favorite things, white chocolate!! This would also be wonderful with mixed berries!

I am taking a little family vacation, so I asked my friend Gina Dunn to guest post. Gina and I have a lot in common, we both love to cook light, we both love cooking magazines and cookbooks, and we have the same name! She recently started her first blog, Point-less Meals, but has been emailing her recipes to a long list of friends almost daily along with photos for a while so she was able to fill up her blog with lots of recipes from her past. Please welcome her!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Tomato Bisque

Fresh summer "Oh My God That Was Good" tomato bisque. Although you don't typically think of having tomato soup in August, I think it's the perfect time to make it. This is velvety and creamy, high in fiber and low in fat. With my garden tomatoes at their peak, canned tomatoes just won't do. Serve this with a little fresh basil and some grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Simply delicious!

Here are a few of my other summer favorites using tomatoes from the archives; Pasta with Chicken and Grape Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Sauteed Zucchini with Plum Tomatoes, and Tilapia with Tomato Caper Sauce.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Greek Turkey Meatballs

Greek meatballs, otherwise known as Keftedes are traditionally made with lamb or beef and make a delicious appetizer with some tzatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce) for dipping. These meatballs have been lightened using turkey instead along with a secret ingredient... zucchini. Don't tell your kids!

This is zucchini season, and if you are running out of ideas of how to use up all your garden zucchini, you'll welcome this idea, a great way to add fiber to your meatballs. I pan fried these today, but they are also terrific on the grill. Because of the moistness the zucchini adds to these meatballs, they are a bit delicate and don't hold their round shape, so they will look more like mini patties (this also helps it cook in the center). Refrigerating the meat before cooking helps to hold them together if you want to grill them. Serve them with Skinny Tzatziki or also great in a pita with a slice of tomato and tzatziki on top. My 8 month old loved them!!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Zuccini-Black Bean Chopped Salad with Yogurt-Dill and Toasted Flat Bread Chips

Another light, quick and  delicious recipe for a summertime meal. Full of fresh veggies and black beans for so many vitamins, protein, fiber and good carbs I would run out of room listing them all!!
I found these whole wheat flat bread wraps at Costco. The list of ingredients is pretty impressive, including stone ground whole wheat, steel cut oats, barley, Rye, hulled mullet and flax just to name a few! There are only 100 calories per flatbread, 12 gm of whole grains, 1 gm sugar and a whopping 8 gm of fiber. The flax makes it an excellent source of Omega 3's. I love flatbread pizza and can't wait to try these out for a homemade veggie pizza crust next.

You will need:
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 of a large red bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 of a small red onion, diced
1 cup black beans
2 zuccini's, chopped
2 tabelspoons fresh dill, chopped
1-2 fresh lemons, juiced
2 tabelspoon EVOO, divided
Kosher salt
freshly ground black peppercorns
healthy flat bread or flat pitas, cut into triangles

1 cup plain fat free yogurt, 1 tsp lemon zest and 1 tablespoon fresh dill for dipping sauce

Putting it all together:
Preheat oven to 325F
Combine all veggies and black beans in a large bowl. Add lemon juice, Dill,  EVOO, salt and pepper, toss to combine. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
In a small bowl combine yogurt, lemon zest and dill. cover and chill until ready to use.
Cut flat bread into triangles. Brush lightly with EVOO, sprinkle with Mrs Dash. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes until crsip.
Serve chopped salad with flat bread triangles and yogurt sauce.

Skinny Tzatziki

Tzatziki is a classic Greek cucumber yogurt sauce or dip. It is served as a condiment on gyros, fish and souvlakis, and other Greek dishes or it is served as a dip with pita wedges. I personally love it on my Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts, on chicken burgers, as a dip with crudites and even drizzled over Greek salad. My lightened up version is fat free and just as delicious.

I can't think of a better time to make this with all the cucumbers and fresh herbs growing in my garden right now. Chives aren't typically added but I love the flavor it adds to it. Some people also like to add mint leaves. Straining the yogurt and cucumbers are a must to make this thick, so don't skip this step!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Lentil Burgers with Smoked Gouda

This is a family fav! So easy too, I promise. Not only are these really tasty but so good for you! We make these often, all of my kids love them. Remember to serve with a bit of brown rice or a grain to make this a complete protein meal! Also a simple green salad really compliments this dish. Try it, you'll love them.

A bit of nutritional info on lentils:

Dried peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas are low in fat and good sources of protein, starch, fiber, iron, calcium and minerals.

Insoluble fiber speeds up the passage of food through the intestine and helps in improving regularity. Insoluble fiber is believed to have a role in the prevention of colon cancer. Lentils contain mostly insoluble fiber, while beans and peas contain both soluble and insoluble fiber.

Lentils are rich in the Vitamin B, folic acid. Folic acid is important at the time of conception and after conception by women and low amounts of folic acid could put the fetus at risk of Neural Tube Defects.

Lentils are an excellent source of potassium which contributes to a regular heart beat, regulates transfer of nutrients to cells, controls water balance and helps regulate blood pressure.

Lentils are good sources of B Vitamins; niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid and pyridoxine, necessary for healthy brain and nerve cells, for normal functioning of the skin, nerves and digestive system in the chemical reactions of the amino acids and proteins.

Lentils are good sources of vegetable protein which must be combined with a complementary protein to become a complete protein containing the nine essential amino acids. Beans and Lentils, when combined with nuts, seeds, brown rice or grains fulfill the requirement of a complete protein. Protein is required by the body for enzymes, antibodies, transport vehicles, cellular pumps, tendons, ligaments, scars, cores of bone and teeth, filaments of hair, materials of nails and more.

LENTIL BURGERS

2/3 cup dry lentils
1-1/2 c water

1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 c grated carrots
3 slices bread, crumbled in coffee grinder or food processor
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 t sea salt
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t leaf oregano, crumbled
3 T butter, ghee, or coconut oil
smoked Gouda or smoked cheddar, sliced



Putting it all together:

Wash lentils; add water and bring to boil. Lower heat & simmer 15 minutes covered. Add onion & carrots. Cook 15 minutes longer. Drain, reserving liquid, & cool.
Stir crumbs, eggs, & seasonings into lentil mixture. Add some of the reserved liquid, if needed, to hold the burger together better.
Melt butter in skillet. Drop lentil mixture by rounded one-third cupfuls into hot butter. Flatten & cook until brown on one side. Flip, top with slice of cheese, and continue cooking until brown on the other side. Place on cookie sheet & keep warm in low oven until all patties are cooked.

Steamed Clams with Fresh Basil

I'm a seafood lover, especially shellfish. Cooked, raw, sushi, ceviche, love it all. One of my favorites is steamed clams cooked in white wine, garlic and oil topped with some fresh herbs. This is something I love ordering when I go out to eat but making this at home is easier than you think and with more control of how much butter is added. Serve this as a light lunch or appetizer with a piece of whole wheat crusty bread to soak up the juice and enjoy.

There is a little bit of prep work involved before you can cook them. Clams should always be cooked alive and you should cook them the same day you buy them. Discard any clams with broken shells before you clean them. To clean them, place them in a medium bowl of clean, fresh water to soak for an hour. Because clams filter water through their systems, putting them in fresh water helps clear out the salt and sand that they store inside. Adding a few tablespoons of corn meal to the water will help clean the clams more thoroughly. After they soak, rinse the clams with fresh water and scrub the outside shell. Now they are ready for cooking.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...