Tomato and Chickpea Soup
March 5, 2010 by Deb · 1 Comment
Chickpeas are abundant in a number of health-promoting nutrients, most notably, folate, manganese, tryptophan, copper, iron, and healthy protein.
High folate and tryptophan content make chickpeas an excellent food choice for women of child-bearing age and people who have trouble getting restful sleep.
Experience the many health benefits of eating chickpeas through the following recipe for tomato and chickpea soup.
Makes about 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes (or any other variety of peeled and diced tomatoes)
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2.5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
Handful of fresh basil leaves (optional)
Sea salt and pepper
Directions:
1. In a large soup pot, cook celery, onion, and garlic in about 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over low to medium heat – cook until celery and onions are soft.
2. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, and 2.5 cups of vegetable or chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover with lid, and let ingredients simmer together for 10-15 minutes.
3. If you have fresh basil on hand, give leaves a rough chop, add them to the soup, and mix well.
4. Season with sea salt and pepper, mix well, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
For an authentic Mediterranean feel, give the top of each bowl a light drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil just before serving. If you can tolerate high quality dairy, dust each bowl with a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese before serving.
Enjoy this nourishing tomato and chickpea soup with a heel of your favorite bread or grain dish.
Deb:)
6 Healthy Superbowl Recipes
February 5, 2010 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Chilled Garlic Dip
Extremely simple to make, the chilled garlic dip has three ingredients: lite cream cheese, garlic and milk. This appetizer only has 58 calories per serving. Serve this zesty dip with reduced-fat ruffles or veggies.
Cook Time
25 minutes
Serves
20
Calories
58
Protein
2.6g
Total Fat
5g
Saturated Fat
3g
Carbohydrates
0g
Dietary Fiber
1g
Ingredients
- 2 bricks lite cream cheese
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 bag reduced-fat Ruffles
- 1/8 cup milk
Preparation
- Allow 2 bricks of lite cream cheese to soften on the counter for 20 minutes.
- Put softened cream cheese into a bowl, and add 1/8 cup of milk, while whipping the contents with a fork.
- Press 1 clove of garlic, and add into the cream cheese mixture.
- Whip dip together until it reaches desired consistency.
- Serve with reduced-fat Ruffles.
BBQ Hot Wings
Cook Time
10 minutes
Serves
8
Calories
170
Protein
9g
Total Fat
7g
Saturated Fat
2g
Carbohydrates
6g
Dietary Fiber
0g
Ingredients
- 8 chicken wings
- 1 cup barbeque sauce
Preparation
- Preheat grill to medium-high.
- Grill chicken wings until cooked thoroughly.
- Warm up a 1 cup of barbeque sauce in the microwave.
- After pulling cooked wings off the grill, toss them in the barbeque sauce.
- Plate and serve.
6-Layer Mexican Dip
Cook Time
20 minutes
Serves
8
Calories
224
Protein
18g
Total Fat
14g
Saturated Fat
5g
Carbohydrates
2g
Dietary Fiber
6g
Ingredients
- 12 oz 96% lean ground beef
- 16 oz fat-free refried beans
- 2 cups shredded cheese
- 8 oz low-fat sour cream
- 1/2 cup guacamole
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup black olives
- 1/4 cup tomatoes
- 1/4 cup green onions
- 1/4 cup romaine lettuce
Preparation
- In a large skillet, brown 12 ounces of 96% lean ground beef. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Spread 16 ounces of fat-free refried beans on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.
- Top with 1/4 cup of shredded romaine lettuce.
- Sprinkle 2 cups of shredded cheddar-Monterey jack cheese blend over the beans.
- Next, place the drained beef over the cheese and spread flat.
- Add an 8 ounce layer of low-fat sour cream followed by 1/2 cup of guacamole and 1/2 cup of salsa.
- Top with 1/2 cup of black olives, 1/4 cup of diced tomatoes, and 1/4 cup of green onions.
- Sprinkle any leftover cheese on top.
- Serve immediately or place it in the fridge over night and serve cold.
- Use tortilla chips for dipping.
Artichoke and Spinach Dip
Cook Time
45 minutes
Serves
10
Calories
87
Protein
6g
Total Fat
4g
Saturated Fat
2g
Carbohydrates
5g
Dietary Fiber
1.28g
Ingredients
- 10 oz spinach
- 1 can artichoke hearts
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup fat-free sour cream
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 dash Tabasco
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 tomato
- 1 bag whole wheat pita chips
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Drain 1 can of artichoke hearts, and chop them into small pieces. Place in a bowl.
- Chop 1 bunch of green onions, and mince 1 clove of garlic. Add to bowl.
- Chop 10 ounces of spinach, add to bowl, and mix.
- Blend in 1 cup of fat-free sour cream, 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 1 dash of Tabasco, and salt and pepper (to taste).
- Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, then transfer them to a food processor, and pulse until blended.
- Put mixture in an oven-proof dish, and bake for 30 to 45 minutes (or until bubbling around the edges and browning on top).
- While dip is baking, chop 1 tomato.
- Take dip out of the oven, and garnish with tomato pieces.
- Serve with whole wheat pita chips (a single serving of dip with a chip is 3 ounces).
Cream Cheese Roll-Ups
Cook Time
20 minutes
Serves
8
Calories
144
Protein
14g
Total Fat
11g
Saturated Fat
2g
Carbohydrates
11g
Dietary Fiber
4.5g
Ingredients
- 1 packet lite cream cheese
- 8 whole wheat tortillas
- 16 slices turkey
- 8 leaves romaine lettuce
- 1/4 cup salsa
Preparation
- In bowl, whip together 1 packet of lite cream cheese and 1/4 cup of salsa.
- Spread the mixture on the bottom layer of each whole wheat pita.
- Layer pitas with sliced turkey and leaves of romaine lettuce.
- Roll up tortillas and slice.
- Place toothpicks in the roll-ups and serve.
Homemade Hummus with Pita
Cook Time
10 minutes
Serves
8
Calories
50
Protein
1g
Total Fat
3g
Saturated Fat
0.5g
Carbohydrates
4g
Dietary Fiber
2g
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 lemon
- 12 whole pitas
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 pinch oregano
- 1 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
- Place 1 can of chickpeas into a food processor with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- Pulse until it creates a smooth consistency.
- Add 2 cloves of garlic (crushed), juice from 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Take whole wheat pitas, and brush them lightly with extra virgin olive oil.
- Dust them with 1 pinch of oregano, 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch of pepper, and 1 teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese.
- Place them into a toaster oven on medium.
- When they come out, slice them into 8 triangles with a pizza cutter.
- Serve hummus with pitas for dipping (a serving is 2 tablespoons of hummus and 8 pita triangles).
Stuffed Green Peppers in the crock-pot
January 29, 2010 by Deb · 1 Comment
1 package (10 oz) frozen corn kernels
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups shredded reduced fat Cheddar cheese, divided
6 green peppers tops removed & seeded
Combine all ingredients, except 1/4 cup cheese and green
peppers. Stuff peppers. Arrange peppers in crock-pot.
Cover, cook on low 6-8 hours (high 3-4 hours). Sprinkle
with 1/4 cup cheese during the last 30 minutes. Makes 6
servings.
Enjoy!
Please let me know if you give these a try!
Deb 
Spicy Black Bean Burgers
January 19, 2010 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 small hot or jalapeno pepper, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium red pepper, diced
2 cups (1 can) cooked or canned black beans, drained and mashed
1/2 cup corn niblets
1 egg white or can use whole egg if desire
1/4 cup Whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp parsley, minced (optional)
Directions:
On a small plate, set aside flour for coating. In a medium saucepan, sauté the onion, garlic, oregano, and hot peppers in oil on medium-high heat until the onions are translucent. Add the peppers and sauté another 2 minutes, until pepper is tender. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a potato masher or fork. Stir in the vegetables (including the corn), egg white, breadcrumbs, cumin, salt, chili powder, and parsley. Mix well. Divide and shape into 6 patties.
Lay down each patty in flour, coating each side. Cook on a lightly oiled frying pan on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes or until browned on both sides.
Makes 6 patties.
I’m making these tonight! Enjoy!
Deb
Sugar Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
January 10, 2010 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup raisins and /or 1/2 bar of Ghirardelli dark chocolate …I use both!
1 cup butter
2 1/2 cups sugar free applesauce
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. baking powder
4 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2-3/4 cup of agave nectar
1/4 cup pecans , chopped /Can also try sunflower seeds!
Soak raisins in enough warm water to cover until plump, approx. 20 minutes, and then drain excess water. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, applesauce, and agave. Add eggs, and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder. Then add oatmeal, raisins, chopped nuts, and chopped chocolate. Mix until evenly distributed. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes 4-5 dozen cookies!
I just made these today….they are really nummy and not so bad for you! Let me know if you read this….I will bring some to Crosstrain tomorrow and let you try one! You must come up to me and say … “COOKIE”. It pays to read my blogs!
Enjoy
Deb:)
Don’t Drink Your Calories!
November 24, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Here is a nutrition tip for today. It is plain, simple and blunt. Do NOT drink your calories away. That’s right, eat, eat and eat. That’s not hard for most of us, but NOT drinking calories is a tougher thing to do. Now that it’s getting colder out it is real easy to want to drink the warm fu fu drinks to warm us up….beware of the amount calories that this warmth can pack in.
This Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks could have 410 calories (I bolded the stats that you want to pay attention to).
Serving Size 16 fl. Oz .
Amt Per Serving
Calories 410
Fat Calories 140
Total Fat (g) 15
Saturated Fat (g) 9
Trans Fat (g) 0
Cholesterol (mg) 45
Sodium (mg) 120
Total Carbohydrates (g) 63
Fiber (g) 2
Sugars (g) 54
Protein (g) 13
Caffeine (mg) 175
Think about it. If you eat sugar it takes a little bit of digestion and it hits your blood stream to spike insulin. Now compare that to liquid sugar, next to no digestion to buffer the rate at which the sugar hits your blood stream and spikes that fat storing insulin. Not to mention a liquid sugar will deliver almost 100% of the calories to your bloodstream while a solid food, even as simple as white sugar will be reduced just a little bit by the calories it took to process the sugar to pass into the blood stream.
OK so some of the technicalities out of the way. Think about this. The stomach can only hold about 120 ounces of solids at anytime to be “full” and satisfied. The rate is the same for liquids, but the perception of full or satisfied is much less with liquids than it is with solids. Even crazier is that you can pack in almost 10x the calories in liquid form than you can with solids.
So now you know why I suggest for an instant reduction in fat storage and personal satisfaction to EAT your calories. This is especially true as we rock our way into the next of the triple threat holiday feasts: Thanksgiving!!
Planning Your Thanksgiving Feast
November 20, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away and it’s time to plan. Eating more calories than we should at the Thanksgiving dinner has less to do with the turkey and more to do with the side dishes. So many of them are heavy with fats and sugar that just a serving of each favorite thing can really add up.
While there is nothing wrong with one day of indulgence, it helps to develop healthy habits if we learn moderation at that festive meal. We can also find ways to cut the calories on favorite dishes, or serve alternatives that are just as delicious. Turkey is a lean protein and can be the healthy centerpiece of the Thanksgiving feast as long as we don’t smother it with high calorie side dishes.
Having a clear plan of action can smooth the way for an enjoyable, healthy holiday. Aside from roasting the turkey, we need to have a repertoire of great side dishes that won’t break the caloric bank and will blend tradition with nutrition. From the stuffing to the cranberry sauce, a little creativity can improve the nutritional and caloric profile of our trimmings.
If you choose recipes that can be made in advance and reheated in the microwave or served cold, it will help with all the prep time. You can also plan for a few sides that can go from the refrigerator to the table. For example, green beans or asparagus vinaigrette is delicious and easy to prepare. Another choice is a light, colorful vegetable slaw. Skip the mayonnaise on this one and dress it lightly with a little vinaigrette. Making it the day before and allowing the flavors and juices to develop in the refrigerator makes heavy dressing unnecessary.
Some preparation tips:
- Carefully plan the timing of each dish so that you aren’t short of oven space.
- Assign someone to clean up as you work. Washing pots and bowls as soon as they are no longer needed prevents that big pile up near the sink.
- Set out the serving dishes and utensils so you don’t have a last minute scramble looking for the gravy ladle.
- Set the table well in advance. Even children can be taught to do this nicely.
I’ve chosen recipes for the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes.
- Autumn Spiced Sweet Potatoes
- Whole Wheat Turkey Stuffing
- Cranberry Orange Relish
- Fresh Green Bean Casserole
- Corn Spoon Bread Pudding
Enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Deb
Southwestern Chicken Pizza
November 13, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
- 6 multi-grain flatbread wraps (Flatout Multigrain w/Flax preferred)
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 3-5 oz chicken breast
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 cup jalapeno peppers
- 1 cup green chili peppers
- 2 cups black beans
- 1 medium avocado
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Lay flatbread wraps on a baking sheet.
- Pour 2 cups of drained black beans into a bowl and mash with a fork.
- Spread mashed beans on the flatouts. Leave a 3/4-inch border around the edges of the flatbread
- Divide 1 cup of shredded Mexican cheese, 1 cup of corn, 1 cup of chopped cilantro, 1 cup of sliced jalapenos, 1 sliced medium onion, and 1 cup of chopped green chili peppers between the flatbread.
- Bake pizza for about 13 minutes or until crust is crisp and toppings are heated through.
- Top with diced avocado and cilantro.
- Slice and serve.
Cook time: 17 minutes
Serves: 6
Calories: 480
Protein: 50g
Total Fat: 20g
Saturated Fat: 8g
Carbohydrates: 24g
Dietary Fiber: 9g
Invite me over…….Enjoy!
Deb
Hot Cocoa/Perfect “Post” Workout Meal
October 30, 2009 by Deb · 1 Comment
Hot cocoa just like skim chocalote milk is perfect to use as your POST meal after REV or strength training classes. This falls into the 3:1 ratio of higher carbs to protein ration and also low in fat. This will help your muscles recover and regenerate! Remember the rest of your meals want to be just the opposite of these ratios; being 4:1 or 3:1 Protein to carbs.
1 Serving
This homemade hot cocoa is lower in sugar (and carbohydrates) than other recipes. It can be made with soy milk, almond milk, or skim milk. Try flavoring it with cinnamon for a little change.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp sugar or Agave nectar
2 tbsp water
6 oz skim milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
Instructions:
In a small saucepan, stir together the cocoa powder and the sugar. Add the water and stir well. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a low boil and the sugar dissolves. Stir in the milk, vanilla and almond extract. Reduce the heat to low and stir until warmed through.
Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
156 calories
3 g total fat (2 g sat)
7 mg cholesterol
27 g carbohydrate
8 g protein
4 g fiber
96 mg sodium
Enjoy!
Deb
No Bake High Protein Cookies
October 20, 2009 by Deb · 2 Comments
I found a pretty tasty “no bake” cookie recipe the other day. I thought you might like it so I’m passing it on. You know they are EASY if I make them!! Here’s how to make them.
Mix the following in a big bowl:
1 cup of oatmeal
Approx. 1/2 cup peanut butter
2 large spoonfuls of flax seeds (ground)
3 to 4 scoops of Protein powder (Vanilla or Chocolate or Plain)
Add just enough water to make mixing a little easier. Add it a little at a time, then mix, and add a little more as needed.
When all the ingredients are mixed, form balls a little smaller than the palm of your hand and put them on a plate.
Put them in the refrigerator for a couple hours uncovered.
If you didn’t use too much water, the cookies come out with a nice chewy consistency.
Chew on a couple between meals or use them to satisfy a “sweet tooth” instead of eating cookies or junk food.
You’ll get lots of high quality protein, good fats and good low glycemic carbs.
Yum! Enjoy!
Deb