Tofu-Berry Morning Smoothie

If your anything like me, you get completely bored with breakfast every once and a while. I don't like to give the kids cold cereal very often because most all of them are laden with sugar and processed flour. Also, if you could see how much these 3 boys eat you would know that they easily scarf down a big box of cereal and well, boxed cereal is like $4 ea. That adds up fast. So that leaves the old reliable oatmeal. Even though we doll it up with pecans, flax, honey and dried fruit you can only eat so much oatmeal. That goes for eggs too.
Smoothies are always a fun treat and perfectly nutritious when made with healthy ingredients. You can always use plain, non-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt as a base, then add fruit of choice.

This time I used some soft Organic Tofu instead of yogurt for the protein. I freeze fresh blueberries when they are in season and chopped up frozen banana so the smoothies are nice and cold. That's it, blend it all up, add a tablespoon of flax meal for added Omega's and you have a super power breakfast smoothie!
These will wake you up and keep you energized much longer than cold cereal. Perfect breakfast for kids going to school!

Baby Mona gives her smile of approval!

Okra Dippers with Home Made Buttermilk Poppy Dressing

Okra is in season right now (October) and it's not just for creole or jumbolaya! Okra is a favored vegetable in jumbos and jumbolaya because of it's gummy quality when cooked, adding to the thickness of the popular Southern dish. Although know for this sticky quality, when lightly steamed okra is a sweet crunchy snack perfect for dipping! To get kids excited about trying okra serve it with a small dipping bowl of buttermilk dressing!

To prepare, wash okra and place in a steamer basket. Fill a sauce pot with just enough water to steam the okra for 3 minutes. Leave the okra pods in tact to make for fun little dipping spears. Make sure the water does not touch the okra to avoid the slimy texture. 

Check below for my simply Buttermilk Poppy Dressing!

Chop up for babies.

 * Health Benefits of Okra

• Great source of dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins A, C and K; recommended in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.

• The rich fiber and mucilaginous content in Okra pods helps smooth peristalsis of digested food particles and relieve constipation condition.

•  Are rich in B-complex group of vitamins like niacin, vitamin B-6, thiamin and pantothenic acid.

• The pods are also good source of many important minerals such as iron, calcium, manganese and magnesium.

Buttermilk Poppy Dressing:

1/4 c plain yogurt
1/4 c buttermilk
pinch Stevia

1 t lemon juice
1/2 t poppy seeds

dash sea salt & freshly-ground black pepper

Okra is great for your gut! Excellent for total digestive health!

Berry-Orange Julius Smoothie

Isn't it funny what you remember from your childhood? Things that scared you half-to-death that you laugh at now. Things that you thought you absolutely, positively couldn't live without that seem so trivial in retrospect. Small things that brought you such happiness as a child so as that they imprinted a certain magic of sorts on your soul. And when you come across them years later you are flooded with nostalgic happiness. Few things bring such memories rushing me back to my childhood and Orange Julius' are one of them. We didn't get many sweet treats when I was little. A fact that I tolerated belligerently then but appreciate greatly now. A tradition that my children have begrudgingly been placed upon. Once or Twice a month at most my healthy conscience, and looking back budget conscience mother packed all four of us up and we went to the market or the mall for a sweet treat.

Orange Julius' were my absolute favorite, hands down. I could hardly contain myself as we stood in the always endlessly long line waiting for our Icy, sweet Julius treat. It's funny, back then I thought they were good for you, they were full of fruit right? Hmmmmm. Good thing I didnt' have to worry about that then.

Well , Orange Julius has long since been gone, replaced by another fad of the moment. I've been making my own various tropical smoothies and juices for my family for special treats and had all but forgotten about Orange Julius'. Then, last week, my mom handed me what I thought was our usual mixed berry-yogurt smoothie.  I took a sip........ and schazaaaam, was blasted into my childhood via my taste buds!

What was this magical concoction that has eluded me all these years? This simple recipe that brings back memories of happiness and childhood bliss. I'll tell you, and only because not only is it tear inducing delicious, but contains NO sugar! This may not mean much to you if you've never had a sugar-laden Orange Julius, but let me tell you, it's BIG TIME!


Berry-Orange Julius Smoothie 


1 cup mixed frozen berries

2 cups non-fat, plain yogurt

1 ripe banana

1 tablespoon Flax Meal ( ground, toasted flax seed)

3 small pieces frozen orange peel 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend on high till smooth. That's it! Simple, yummy happiness!!

Frozen orange peel is the key ingredient, vanilla too I guess. I've been giving my mom a hard time for peeling and saving orange peels. She gives a small amount of them to my kids as snacks occasionally and boasts that they contain super levels of vitamin C and antioxidants, only found in the peel. My little ones chomp them up to my amazement and now they have found an even greater purpose as far as I'm concerned!

Delightfully Baked Apples

Baked apples topped with oats, cinnamon and brown sugar. Like little individual apple crisps without all the added fuss of cutting and peeling the apples. A simple, low fat, healthy dessert for a cool autumn evening, serve this a la mode for an extra special treat!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Creamed Spinach - Lightened Up

A creamy blend of spinach, shallots, parmesan cheese, and Boursin Light makes a rich and flavorful side dish. A low fat version of a steakhouse favorite. You're family and friends will love this, and only 3 points plus per serving, so you won't feel guilty eating this.

I love this with steak, but this is also great with turkey meatloaf. Boursin Light can be found in the cheese section of most supermarkets. If you can't find it, light cream cheese or Laughing Cow could work as a replacement. Leftovers can be frozen.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

7-Bean and Basmati Cheesy Croquettes

One way to get plenty of whole grains, beans and legumes into your diet is by turning leftover beans and rice into cheesy croquettes. Have your kids help you pick out bean and lentils in the bulk section of your store. Go for mixes with lots of different beans and lentils, it's a great way to try new things and oh-so healthy!

I made this super simple 7 bean and lentil "casserole" in my pressure cooker. I lightly sauteed the green pepper & onion then simply added the bean mix, brown basmati rice and broth and cooked on the 2nd ring for 10 minutes. I love the time savings with my pressure cooker!

Just make sure you rinse then soak your beans and rice separately, beans for at least 3 hours and up 10 hours, rice for 20 minutes. This is really important to remove starch, reduce gas and remove phytic acid which can cause mineral deficiencies due to it's zinc and iron blocking effects.

This is the starch still in the water after thourougly rinsing and on it's 2nd soak.

* Health Tip

Phytic acid in grains, nuts, seeds and beans represents a serious problem in our diets. This problem exists because we have lost touch with our ancestral heritage of food preparation. Thanks to the recent trend of raw and unprocessed “whole foods;” more people are consuming a lot of high-phytate foods like commercial whole wheat bread and all-bran breakfast cereals. But while raw may be good for most veggies and fruits, raw is definitely not Nature’s way for grains, nuts, seeds and beans. . . and even some tubers, like yams; nor are quick cooking or rapid heat processes like extrusion.

Diets high in phytic acid can also cause a calcium deficiency since the body has to excrete more of this important mineral to metabolise the phytic acid. Phytic acid not only grabs on to or chelates important minerals, but also inhibits enzymes that we need to digest our food, including pepsin, needed for the breakdown of proteins in the stomach, and amylase, needed for the breakdown of starch into sugar. Trypsin, needed for protein digestion in the small intestine, is also inhibited by phytates.

Read more about this here.

Bored with Beans? Turn them into croquettes!

Ingredients

1 cup 5 Bean mix
1 cup Brown Basmati Rice
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 cup Yellow Onion, diced
1/2 cup diced, Italian stewed tomatoes
2 teaspoons Italian herb mix
3 cups water or broth
1 teaspoon each, salt and pepper

Dinner ~ Night One:
Place All ingredients into a Pressure Cooker ( can also use a slow cooker). Cover and bring pressure to 2nd red ring. Lower heat to med-low to maintain pressure. Set timer for 12 minutes. Remove from heat, let pressure come down naturally ( about 3 -4 minutes). Serve with fresh fruit and greens salad with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
* Healthy Tip: serving Brown or Whole grain rice along with beans or legumes is
considered a complete protein. Eat Raw veggies and/or fruits before your meal to help
with digestion and control hunger.


Dinner Night Two: I usually make Seafood so as not to have beans 2 night in a row.

Dinner Night Tree: Bean and Basmati Cheesey Croquettes
You Will Need:
2 cups of leftover beans and rice dinner
1/2 cup shredded cheddar, Monterrey jack or mozzarella.
For the bread crumb coating:
1/4 cup grated Parmesan-Romano cheese
.
1/2 cup home made bread crumbs ( make extra and store in fridge or freezer for quick use)
1 tablespoon mixed herb seasoning of choice ( I like Trader Joe's 21 season salute)
toss to coat

Putting it all together:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into small balls with hands. Carefully roll balls into breadcrumb mixture. Place on very lightly oiled baking sheet and bake at 400F degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
Simple huh?

Slow Cooked Black Eyed Peas with Ham

Low fat southern style black eye peas with ham, made in your crock pot! It's really a bean rather than a pea, and an excellent source of calcium, folate, vitamin A and fiber. A perfect recipe for that leftover ham bone, but a ham steak would work great too. These have a mildly spicy flavor, you can adjust the heat to your taste. I served this over brown rice but this would also be great to eat as a soup.

I get a lot of requests for crock pot recipes, so I decided to experiment with dry beans in my slow cooker. I was prepared to call it a loss if they didn't turn out good. Boy was I was pleasantly surprised! The beans cooked to perfection and this couldn't be easier. I'm excited to make some of my other dry bean recipes in the crock pot now that I know how good they came out. Crock pot recipes tend to need more seasoning, I found seasoning the beans the last hour of cooking allowed for maximum flavor.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Mother Earth's Children: The Frolics of Fruits and Vegetables ~ Book

What a great find! This beautiful children's book written by Author Elizabeth Gordon was published in 1914 .

It is beautifully illustrated by M.T. Ross. Nolan and I just sat here at the computer and read all 94 pages.

Each page has a very clever litte poem about a fruit, vegetable or nut. What a wonderful way to get children excited about new foods! There are several used copies for sale on Amazon for under $4.

 Also, here is the link to enjoy the entire book online for free! Mother Earth's Children: The Frolics of the Fruits and Vegetables. Just click on the pages for simple navigation or use the tools at the top of the page.

Enjoy! 

Banana Nut Pancakes

Banana lovers will love these low fat pancakes. The flavor of banana nut bread in a pancake, made with whole wheat flour, potassium rich bananas and fiber rich walnuts, which are also high in omega 3 fatty acids. Delicious topped with agave or maple syrup (extra points). I've included the points with and without the nuts.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Ginger Roo's with Home Made Crystalized Ginger!

Inspired by the plump, moist and yummy Ginger Roo cookies Trader Joe's has seasonally, I set out to find a recipe that I could call my own. This is it people. It's a combination of recipes I've seen on the Internet and in my trusty recipe magazines.

These turned out so perfect I almost cried.... I've been know to have more than one baking disaster. Master mommy chef, maybe. Baking barrister...... I'm working on it.

So, first off I want to tell you about a little discovery I made, more like necessity is the mother of invention. I meant to pick up some crystallizes ginger at Sprouts to make these but totally forgot. Crystallized ginger can be hard to find and is somewhat pricey and to tell you the truth the stuff I've bought in the past wasn't all that great. Soooo, trepidiciously, my mom and I made up some of our own. Turns out it is simple to make, economical and much better than the store bought stuff. I'm starting to notice a trend here. Check out my recipe for crystallized ginger after the cookie recipe!

Let me just tell you that if you value your sanity don't try to make a double batch of these guys! I doubled up the ingredients into my heavy duty KitchenAid mixer and the dough was so thick it was rocking and clicking. I had to mix the last bit with my hands, literally.

Makes 20-22 cookies

You Will Need:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour


1 teaspoon baking soda


2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


1½ teaspoons ground cloves


½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground ginger


¼ teaspoon salt


1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed


¼ cup vegetable oil


1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

2 egg, at room temperature


2 tablespoons milk

1 cup chopped crystallized ginger (6 ounces) * Make your own! recipe to follow....

Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies






1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.


2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

4. Scoop the dough with two spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1¾-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the baking sheets.


5. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Crystallized Ginger:

1 cup peeled, thinly sliced ginger root
3 cups water
1 cup sugar

In saucepan, bring water to boil. Add ginger and sugar and cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
* Reserve ginger water for ginger ale or tea flavoring if desired. Ginger is an excellent, natural remedy for upset tummy's!!!

Place Ginger on a baking sheet or a cooling rack and place in 170F degree oven. Bake/dehydrate for about 30-40 minutes until almost dry but still chewy.

Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Zucchini-Tomato "Tart" with Herbs and Parmesean

I'm not sure I can call this a tart. But Tart sure does sound cute if not fancy even. I don't have a tart dish. It's on my wish list....cursed wish list. Too much junk, who needs it? Really, other than looking fancy, one does not absolutely have to have a tart dish in order to make a tart of sorts.

In fact, I told my kids we were having zucchini PIE and they were thrilled! It worked out well, I had just a bit of dough left from my main dish and made the kids a " Cute little baby pie." Whatever works. ;-)

So a couple of things I learned when making this pie.

1. The more shallow the pan/dish the better. I ended up having to use twice as many eggs as I wanted to and so it was more like a quiche than a tart. Not to mention it took about an hour to bake instead of 30 minutes. Look how deep my casserole dish is on the bottom of this post. Traditionally, tart pans are pretty shallow, plus they have pretty little ridges. ;-)
2. When rolling out your crust try to get it as thin as you can. Mine was really yummy but pretty thick. So, more like a pie than a dainty tart. I added dried Thyme to my dough while mixing it and it was so wonderful! This was probably the best crust I've ever had! Ever.

adapted from Anja's Food 4 Thought

SERVES 6     TIME 15 MIN ACTIVE, 45 MIN BAKE
Ingredients:
Crust

1 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons dried Thyme

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup olive oil

2/3 cup water



Filling

3 zucchini, thinly sliced

3 tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded Parmesan-Romano cheese- divided.

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 large Organic eggs

2 tablespoons low-fat milk

Salt and pepper to taste

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Preheat oven to 350F


Putting it all together:
Tart Crust

Spread the oats and sesame seeds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 minutes. Transfer the toasted oats and sesame seeds to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the flour, thyme, baking powder, salt, and pepper, and process until the oats are finely ground.

In a medium bowl or Mixer, whisk together the water and oil. Mix in the dry ingredients to form a dough.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Place the dough (folding in thirds if necessary for transfer) into the tart pan. Press it down evenly, making sure to fill in the fluted sides of the pan. Trim the tart of any excess dough. Cover with foil or damp towel and keep refrigerated for 30 minutes.
*save foil so you can cover the tart in the oven if it starts getting to brown




Tart Filling
Thinly slice the tomatoes and zucchini, I used my Kitchen Aide slicer attachment for the zuk.
In a large bowl, combine the zucchini with thyme, basil, salt, cracked pepper and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Arrange the zucchini mixture in one layer onto tart crust. Sprinkle a layer of the cheese on top followed by one more layer of zucchini slices. Arrange the tomatoes on top of the second zucchini layer.

Whisk together the eggs and milk, add remaining cheese. Pour egg mixture evenly over the top and let it sink into the tart.

Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.



PRINT THIS RECIPE

Pasta with Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Oil

A guaranteed way to get picky eaters to love their broccoli is by roasting it with garlic and olive oil. The aroma of the roasted garlic always conjures up the question, is dinner ready? This is one of my favorite pasta dishes, great for those nights you forget to defrost your something, or if you need to whip up a quick inexpensive yet healthy meal. Reserving some of your pasta water before you drain it, to add to the pasta after it's tossed with the broccoli is my way of keeping the pasta from getting too dry, without having to add more olive oil. Adding crushed red pepper is also delicious if you like it a little spicy. Enjoy!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Easy Lunch Boxes

Have you nocticed how many great blogs there are out there with cool giveaways? I've put my name in for a handful of them and never heard anything. Maybe I should have checked back more often, I don't know. My attention span isn't what it used to be. Recently I came across a great blog called Barefoot by the Sea. This mommy has a great blog featuring fun giveaways, mostly for mommy's and kiddos. I put my name in for these cool divided lunch containers and a nice size lunch cooler from sponser,  Easy Lunchboxes and guess what? I WON! I recieved my set of 4 divided lunch containers and cooler in just a week and have been sending them to school with Jack and taking them to work with me. I love that these are heavy duty and reusable so they will save all the money and waste from sandwhich baggies. Each container fits a big sandwhich and two good size sides/snacks.  The portioned containers are generously sized and 3 of them fit into the cooler, perfect for a picnic or trip to the zoo! Excellent! I encourage you to visit Easy Lunchbox website and see all of the products which were the inspiration from a mom who knows. Also, if you're into winning great stuff, check out Barefoot by the Sea blog.

Grandma's Apple Pie, minus the Crust... and the Sugar.

O.K. you got me, it's applesauce. But it tastes just like the best home made apple pie filling I have ever had minus all the sugar. So in my humble opinion, it's a million times better! Honestly, this was so, so delicious that if you try this you will never ever buy the jarred stuff again, it's That good! Not only is this crust less apple pie delicious, but super quick... lightning fast I tell you. You can have fresh, warm cinnamony applesauce in less time than it would take you to drive to the store. The kids will L.O.V.E making this with you too. Mine thought they were pretty important when they "smushed" the apples all by themselves and gave a bowl full of "Apple Smosh" to daddy. While I was peeling all of 8 apples it took to make a big batch of applesauce the boys and I did a little Math. I'm sneaky that way. "We have 3 peeled apples and 5 more in the basket, how many apples do we have?"

I've done a little cost breakdown analysis for you just in case your now won over by now.

Mott's Applesauce:

average price for 32 oz. jar = $3.49

Ingredients include: Apples, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water And Ascorbic Acid To Maintain Color.

Cost to make your own: 6 cups/48 oz. = $2.89

* using red delicious apples bought in bulk
I'm not great at math, but that's a pretty big cost savings!

MAKES 6 CUPS
You Will Need:

8 large Apples ( I used Red Delicious because they were cheapest)
1/2-1 cup water or apple juice/cider
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Putting it all together:

Peel and core apples. Throw into pressure cooker with 1/2 cup apple juice. Cook on 1st red ring for 2 minutes. Bring pressure down naturally. Add cinnamon and nutmeg.

If using pot. Bring 1 cup apple juice and cored, sliced apples to low boil. Cover, cook 10-12 minutes until apples are soft. Add cinnamon and nutmeg.

Using a potato masher, let your kids mash the apples to desired consistency.

For a special treat, serve warm over Vanilla Bean Ice Cream! Yumm Me!

Western Omelet Breakfast Potato Skins

Potato skins for breakfast? Why not! Potato skins stuffed with scrambled eggs, ham, pepper, onion and topped with reduced fat cheddar cheese, it's a perfect breakfast combination.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Ethiopian Groundnut Wat (Stew)

I wish I could start this post with, " I have been enjoying the people and rich culture here in ( insert small town in Ethiopia) I have especially been enjoying all of the wonderful, exotic flavors in the foods they eat here!" Alas, I have never been to Ethiopia or anywhere out of the country for that matter except for Mexico. Well, I am not one to let the fact that I am not well traveled hinder my ethnic cuisine enjoyment.
I love, adore, live for eating and trying new foods from far-away places. Isn't it wonderful after all to come across something entirely new to surprise your palate? I get a strange high when I can make a new ethnic dish all by myself in my home here in the suburbian desert. Notice I don't say "re-create" for I fully understand that my attempt to make "Ethiopian Groundnut Wat" or any other exotic dish could very well be an utter embarrassment or worse, insult to the people in question.

Well I think this dish turned out lovely, a true delight to eat a combination of flavors I would never have thought of putting together myself. I have to thank a fellow blogger, Vegan Aide at Weekly Vegan Menu for sharing one of her many wonderful dishes with me. I love her site not only because it is healthy, simple and she gives a cost breakdown of her meals but because she features flavorful meals from all across the globe! Score! Her site is Vegan as the title says which is wonderful I think because everybody could use more veggies in their daily lives. I have found that I have not given meat a second thought in the last few weeks since not eating it. I am not claiming vegetarianism since I don't plan on completely giving it up, just really limiting it.

I guess you can say I'm almost a vegetarian, mostly Organic, Raw enthusiast, Green loving kind of gal.

O.k. so here's the wonderful recipe.

I threw in a bit more of everything to make more for my big fam, so I will just post her recipe straight from her site. I will say that I will use less peanut butter the next time I make this. Again, I was not measuring exactly (as usual) so I might have used too much. So, while the peanut butter was an important addition for the cultural flair of this dish, I felt it smothered the other wonderful spices going on. I will also make sure to whisk it in a small amount of the hot liquid so it will incorporate into the dish better. I was getting big chunks of peantut butter in some bites.

* Changes I made:  Besides adding more of the ingredients, I used Organic Chicken broth instead of water
 ( I know, not very vegan of me) and I sliced the onion in wedges instead of mincing because that's how I like them and I minced the ginger instead of infusing it into the dish, for more flavor. I also suggest using more cardamom, it was yummy but hardly noticeable in my dish. I must say that roasting the cauliflower was an excellent idea as it adds a wonderful hearthy  flavor to the dish!  I put some of the veggies and lentils without the addition of the spices into my pressure cooker so my kids would eat this. I thought it was a little to much to ask for a 13 month old and a 4 and 5 year old to eat such a fragrant dish.  Bon Appetite!



SERVES  6        TIME  60 MINUTES

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
1 t olive oil
salt
1 t olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cubed
1/2 c red lentils
1/4 t chili pepper
2 cardamom pods, or 1/2 t ground
1 stick cinnamon
1/2 t fresh ground pepper
3 whole cloves
1 inch piece of ginger, bruised
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 c water
1/4 c peanut butter
salt to taste
1/4 c chopped peanuts
2 scallions, chopped

2 c arugula
lemon juice
salt



Putting it all together:

Toss the cauliflower in the olive oil, add salt and roast in a 350 oven for 30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is getting roasted, turning once.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil, add the onion, garlic, carrot, sweet potato, lentils, chili flakes, and the rest of the spices. Saute the vegetables until the onions are getting golden, stirring often.

Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are broken up.

Add the water, cover and cook the stew until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

When the cauliflower is ready add that and the peanut butter and stir well to mix. Add salt to taste.

Toss the arugula with the lemon juice and season with salt.
Serve garnished with scallions, peanuts and the arugula.

You may also put everything (except the peanut butter) in a crock pot and cook for 6 hours on low. Add the peanut butter in the last half hour. Roasting the cauliflower will give it a better flavor, too.

*UPDATE*

I have made this a few more times, tonight included and have been using Almond Butter instead of peanut butter and IMO it is much milder tasting and very creamy and complimenting to the other flavors. I also have used canned, stewed tomatoes in lou of fresh when not in season which taste just as good. Who knew tomatoes and almond butter would go good together in a dish?  I've been skipping the chili pepper and also using 'African Allspice' which is a blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger ect. and is just easier for me cuz I'm lazy. ;)

Low Fat Rice Krispy Treats

These low fat Rice Krispy treats will satisfy your sweet tooth, and your kids will enjoy them too! I replaced the butter with Smart Balance Light and used half of the required amount. I'm not a big fan of making sticky things, and I'm not sure if it gets stickier than melting marshmallows and combining them with puffed rice, but it's so worth the getting your fingers sticky for this low fat, low point dessert. No baking required! 

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Low Fat Baked Ziti with Spinach

A perfect week night meal the whole family will enjoy. Baked ziti is a favorite in my home, sneaking spinach into it is a great way to get your picky kids to eat more leafy greens without any complaints. Perfect with a garden salad on the side.

This makes enough for eight, so if you have a small family, you'll probably have leftovers for lunch or freeze the rest for convenient freezer meals.  This can be made a day ahead if you are planning on serving this for a party, keep it refrigerated then pop it in the oven when it's ready. Enjoy!

Note: I made slight adjustments to the original recipe to make it better, if you have an old printout of this, you may want to re-print it.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Black Bean Soup

Although I'm sad summer is coming to an end, I do look forward to making homemade soups and stews. Black bean soup is a very hearty soup, super high in fiber, and so inexpensive to make. It's perfect topped with low fat sour cream and fresh chopped herbs such as chives, cilantro or scallions. Cooking the vegetables on the side, and adding it to the soup rather than cooking them all together, really adds to the flavor of this soup. If you are on Weight Watchers, soups are such a great low point, low fat meal option.

I've been getting a lot of requests for freezer meals so I've added a label to the recipes on my site that I think would freeze well, you can find them under Freezer Friendly Recipes in the right column. This soup recipe is perfect for freezing and reheating. Freezing meals by portion to use throughout the month for lunch or dinner is a great way to save time and money, and also makes counting points easier. Recipes that freeze well are soups, sauces, stews, chili, uncooked meatballs or meatloaves, and casseroles.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Granola-Quinoa Fruit Bars - GF

These were great. More like a soft granola bar with just the right amount of peanut butter. Great after school snack or grab and go breakfast! Can you tell we like those around here? It's so much cheaper and healthier to make your own snacks in bulk like this. I always double my recipes and freeze some if necessary, but they usually get gobbled up within the week. These are gluten free and full of good-for-you things. Quinoa is a super healthy whole grain, it's actually a complete protein all by itself. It has a slightly nutty taste making it perfect in granola bars.


adapted from 101 CookBooks

TIME   5 minutes active, 25 minutes baking    Makes about 15 bars

You Will Need:

1 cup dried date pieces or 10 dates, diced
1 cup water, more or less
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

1/2 cup Agave Nectar or Honey

1/2 cup old fashioned oats ( I use Coach's Oats)

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

1 cup dried fruit, chopped (I used craisins, apricots, blueberries and strawberries)

1/4 cup flaxmeal (ground flaxseed)

parchament paper or 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

*you could also use peanut oil, almond oil, walnut oil or grapeseed oil. I would stay away from Canola, vegetable and olive oils since any oil will absorb into your food and thus aquire their taste.

Putting it all together:

Lightly coat inside of an 8x8 baking dish with oil or line with parchment paper making sure parchment comes above all sides of the dish. Preheat oven to 350 F.
 In a saucepan over low heat, heat peanut butter, water, quinoa, oats, fruit, pistachios and flax. With a big, sturdy wooden spoon, stir to completely mix. If the mixture is too thick, add more water. If it is too thin, add more peanut butter.

 Remove from heat and press into baking dish using spoon. Bake for 20-25 minutes if desired, or just chill for an hour for more sticky bars and to make theese Raw (make sure to chill for an hour even after you bake them). Remove from pan and slice into bars. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.













This post is linked to 'Make it with Monday's' featured ingredient, Quinoa.

Pasta Con Sarde

This is a traditional Italian dish from Sicily in the Palermo region which translates to Pasta with Sardines. It's a unique combination of cauliflower, wild fennel, sardines and raisins, served over bucatini or spaghetti and topped with toasted breadcrumbs. If this sounds like a strange combination to you, don't knock it until you've tried it!

What I love about this dish is that this is not the typical Italian dish you would find on the menu of most Italian restaurants. This recipe is from my good friend Julia, a wonderful Italian cook who's family is originally from Sicily. She was kind enough to share her recipe, which happens to be her favorite dish. I've linked to the Pasta Con Sarde seasoning, which they sell on Amazon, or in any Italian specialty store, or if you're lucky enough to have a good Italian section in your supermarket. To keep the points lower, I suggest using a high fiber or low carb pasta. Here is a list of some low point pastas you can find in your local supermarket. Buon appetito!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...