Blackened Fish Nachos with Watermelon Salsa

A healthy treat that satisfy all your taste buds.  This delicious dish is a spin on the classic nachos, only made a little bit healthier.  This dish is spicy, sweet, salty, and juicy.  I never thought watermelon using watermelon as a salsa would be such a good idea.  The watermelon cools your tongue after taking a bite of the spicy fish.  It is also a great source of vitamin A which is essential for our eyes and skin.   This dish is definitely now one of my favorites.

Ingredients

4 fish fillets (a white fish such as tilapia or flounder)

Canola oil

Blackened Seasoning

2 cups of cubed watermelon

2 tbsp of lime juice

1/4 cup of chopped cilantro

2 cups shredded cabbage

Baked tortilla chips 

shredded mozzarella cheese

Begin by seasoning the fish with the blackening seasoning.  

Heat skillet and cook fish on both sides for about 3-4 minutes.

For the salsa, mix together the watermelon, lime juice, and cilantro.

To assemble the nachos begin by putting a handful of chips on a plate.  Place a hand full of shredded cabbage, a fish fillet, the watermelon salsa, and sprinkle of cheese.

Enjoy!!

Recipe modified from The dairy Good Cookbook.

Yummy Date Breakfast Cookies

Start your day of with a yummy cookie!!  Not just any cookie,  a healthy date cookie with avocados, oats, cinnamon, and yogurt.  You know that sounds good, and it is.  Cookies are my favorite food, so this delicious healthy treat is just what I need to get my cookie fix and fill my morning with a wholesome breakfast.  This recipe is great for breakfast on the run.  You make a batch at the beginning of the week and you will have enough cookies to last you a few days.  Just grab and go!

Ingredients

3 cups of old fashion oats

1 1/2 cup flour ( you can use whole wheat for more whole grain goodness)

4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 ripe avocado, mashed

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup plain low fat yogurt

2 eggs

2 cups of chopped dates (12 oz)

Preheat oven to 375.  

In a bowl mix oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

In a separate bowl use a blender to mix the avocado, oil, and sugar together.  Then add the yogurt and eggs.

Combine the wet and dry mixture.

Take your dates.  I found mine at Walmart in the produce section (by the nuts and seeds).  

Chop the dates into tiny pieces

Add the dates into your batter.  Using a 1/4 cup measure scoop the batter onto a cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Recipe modified from Fresh Avocado Love One Today Campaign  Loveonetoday.com

Roasted Italian Vegetables

I don't know about you, but I am always looking for new ways to make my vegetable sides.  Eating just a side of green beans or carrots can be boring after a while.  I like to make my vegetable sides exciting so I have something to look forward to.  This vegetable side as surprisingly delicious and easy to make.  Caramel flavor of the roasted vegetables added the right touch to make this dish special.  Check out the recipe below

Ingredients

1 red bell pepper cut in strips

1 cup baby carrots

1 large onion cut in wedges

1 cup of baby portobello mushrooms

drizzle of Italian salad dressing

sprinkle of Parmesan

Mix the vegetables and salad dressing together in a baking dish.  

Top with cheese.

Bake until vegetables become tender about 20 minutes.  For a more caramelized taste, broil the vegetables for the last 5 minutes. 

Raspberry Orange Pancakes and Syrup

Pancakes are my favorite morning treat.  It is made more special with home made pancakes and syrup.  This delicious raspberry orange pancakes and syrup makes an morning special.  Using fresh oranges you will have a nice tangy flavor added to your pancakes, while the raspberries brings just the right amount of tartness and sweetness.  

Raspberry Orange Pancakes and Syrup

Maple Raspberry Syrup

Ingredients

1 cup fresh orange juice

Dash of cinnamon

2 tbsp of orange zest

1 cup real maple syrup

2/3 cup or raspberries

Pancakes

Ingredients

2-3 oranges

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ cup skim milk or milk substitute

1 egg

2 tsp oil

¾ cup raspberries

In a sauce pan combine orange juice, syrup and cinnamon.  Simmer for 7-8 minutes.  Add orange zest and berries.  Mash berries.  Set aside.

For pancakes, zest the oranges and st aside.  Squeeze oranges to make ½ cup of juice. 

In a lg bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add orange juice, egg, milk, and zest.

Place oil on griddle.  Pour some batter on griddle and cook pancakes evenly on both sides.  Top pancakes with syrup.

Low Fat Strawberries and Cream Popsicle

It is so hot outside! During this weather everyone loves a delicious frozen treat.  However most ice creams are loaded with fat and calories.  If you want to cool down you don't want to put on a few pounds while doing it by eating high fatty foods.  Try these delicious popsicles instead.  They use Greek yogurt instead of whole milk to help cut the fat.  It is a delicious treat that your whole family will love!

Strawberry Shortcake Popsicles

Servings 6-12 (depending on popsicle size)

Ingredients

2 cups fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
1/2 cup crushed Reduced fat Nilla wafers
2 cups vanilla Greek yogurt

In a bowl combine vanilla wafers, and yogurt.

Put strawberries in a blender or food processor to form a puree.

In popsicle trays fill 1/3 full with yogurt mixture, 1/3 with strawberries, and the remaining 1/3 with yogurt mixture.

Freeze.

Blueberry pancakes

Pancakes are my favorite breakfast recipe.  However the added syrup that normally comes on pancakes is full of sugar and calories. 1/4 of syrup typically has about 200 calories.  Plus adding a tablespoon of butter adds an additional 100 calories.  So having a short stack of 2-3 pancakes ends up being an easy 600-800 calories.  Not necessarily the best way to start your day.  You can cut the calories by substituting the syrup with something lower in calories, such as blueberries.  These blueberry pancakes have become one of my favorite breakfast treats.  It is easy to make and much healthier.

Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup flour

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cup milk

3 tbsp canola oil

½ cup frozen blueberries

½ cup fresh blueberries

Mix dry ingredients in bowl.

Add milk and oil. 

Pour batter in griddle.  Add frozen blueberries.  Cook each side for 2-3 min.

Serve with fresh blueberries.

Low Fat Zucchini Pesto

Pesto is becoming more and more popular.  With people trying to be more adventurous with their dish we are seeing more people eating pesto than in the past.  Pesto is mainly used for pasta however I have seen it now being added to pizza, sandwiches, chicken, vegetables, salads, hummus, soups, and much more.  The only thing is pesto is mainly fat.  Pesto recipes are composed of oil, basil, garlic, and cheese.  Obviously the oil and cheese increases the fat and calorie content substantially. If you are trying to lose weight, eating too much of this actually may defeat your efforts.  A good alternative is the low fat zucchini pesto.  It still has the same great taste, however the fat is cut due to the added vegetables.  I use it for my pasta and pizzas and it tastes just as good as the real thing.

Low Fat Zucchini Pesto

Ingredients

1 Zucchini, diced

1 clove garlic, 

¼ cup baisil

3-4 tbsp olive oil

2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese

Boil zucchini until soft.  Drain. 

Transfer zucchini, and remaining ingredients to a food processor.  Blend until desired consistency.

Ireland's Colcannon-Potatoes and Cabbage

Cabbage is a leafy green full of vitamin K and C.  Many people are not aware of its great nutrient properties.  Studies have shown it has great antioxidant properties to help fight against free radicals.  it also has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.   Cabbage also helps heal stomach ulcers and the overall health of the digestive tract.  The high fiber content of cabbage helps with digestion and also lowering of cholesterol benefiting the cardiovascular system.  

I personally am not a huge cabbage fan,  however this Irish recipe is delicious.  The addition of the potatoes and bacon are a great complement to the leafy green.  And if you want to cut down on the carbs, you can eat the cabbage by itself without the potatoes and it tastes just as good.

Ireland’s Colcannon – potatoes and cabbage

Ingredients

4 slices of turkey bacon, diced

1 small green cabbage, shredded

1 leak, chopped

3 lb potatoes, peeled and cubed

¾ cup warm buttermilk

In a large pot place potatoes in water to where it barely covers the top.  Boil until tender, about 12 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in large skillet cook bacon until done.  Drain fat.   Remove bacon and set aside.

Add cabbage and leaks.  Cook until tender. 

Once potatoes are done, drain the potatoes and add butter milk.  Mash the potatoes until smooth.

Stir in cabbage mixture and sprinkle with bacon.

Curry Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Broccoli cheese casserole has become an American classic.  With moms trying to get their little ones to eat more vegetables adding cheese to the veggies has been a solution used by many.  Unfortunately though, the addition of cheese also means the addition of fat.  Unless you are using low fat cheese, you are probably adding a ton of extra calories.  Many people do not correlate cheese with fat.  But even the low fat cheeses can have up to 6g of fat per oz.  And we all know that most of us eat way more than 1 oz of cheese.  The Curry Broccoli Casserole is an easy way to fix this.  Due to the orange color, you are fooled into thinking there is more cheese than what is actually in the dish.  Also the curry flavor brings an interesting twist to this popular dish.

Curry Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients

2 heads of broccoli, chopped

3 tbsp cornstarch

1 qt skim milk

4 tsp curry powder

2 ¾ tsp salt

9 oz mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Steam broccoli by placing broccoli in a colander over boiling water. 

In a small bowl mix 1/3 cup of milk with cornstarch.

In a lg pot add remaining milk and curry powder.  Bring to boil.  Add the small bowl of milk and cornstarch.  Whisk to allow sauce the sauce to thicken.  Add ½ cup of cheese. 

Transfer broccoli and sauce into a casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese. Bake 40 min.

Summer Squash and Corn Breakfast Tacos

Breakfast is the best time to sneak in some vegetables.  Many of us do not get in the minimum of 3 servings of vegetables a day.  By starting your day with vegetables added in to your breakfast, reaching that goal is more attainable.  I enjoy adding vegetables to my egg dishes.  It is easy and it makes a normal classic into something special and unique.  Try these breakfast tacos with squash, corn, onion, tomato, and cilantro.  Your taste buds will be in for a nice surprise.

Summer squash and corn Breakfast Tacos

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium white onion, diced

2 small yellow squash, diced

1 can of corn

2 medium tomatoes, diced

6 eggs

Salt and pepper

8 corn tortillas

5 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup cilantro

Heat oil in saute pan.  Add onion and cook for 2 min.

Add squash and corn and continue to cook until tender.

Season with salt and pepper

Beat eggs.

In a separate pan scramble eggs.

Warm tortillas

Assemble tacos with egg, vegetables, cheese, and cilantro.

Crepes

Crepes are very popular in many European countries.  It is a different take on pancakes that is higher in protein due to the higher liquid content of milk and eggs.  Crepes can also be used for more savory dishes by taking the place of tortillas or even pasta.  

For breakfast I choose to stuff my crepes with yogurt and strawberries for a sweet alternative to the high calorie syrup.

I have tried several crepe recipes in the past, so far this one is my favorite.  

Crepes

Ingredients

2 eggs

¾ cup milk or milk substitute

½ cup water

1 cup all-purpose flour (you can use whole wheat for a whole grain option)

3 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp honey

In a bowl mix all ingredients together with a whisk until smooth.  In a non-stick sauté pan spray with cooking spray and heat on medium high heat.  Once warm pour a small amount of batter into pan.  Swirl batter around to make a thin circle.  Cook until edges are cooked and bubble, thin flip the crepe over to cook on the other side.  

Vegetable Tomato Sauce

If you are like most parents, you probably have kids that are not willing to try new vegetables.  It sometimes seems impossible to get children to eat their vegetables.  I have the same problem with my husband.  He hates most vegetables, so making sure he gets an adequate amount can be a daunting task.  One great way is to hide the vegetables in your food.  Pasta sauce is one of the most popular ways to hide vegetables.  Many people hid spinach, bell peppers,or mushrooms.  I have decided to take this further and my sauce has egg plant, zucchini, squash, carrots, and onions.  Try my recipe bellow to help you add more vegetables to your sauce.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 sm medium yellow onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp red pepper flakes

1 small eggplant, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1 squash, diced

1 carrot, peeled, diced

1 tsp thyme

¾ tsp salt

28 oz diced tomatoes, may add extra tomato sauce depending on how much you want.

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

Heat oil in pan.  Add onion and garlic, cook until translucent.  Add squash, zucchini, eggplant, and carrot to food processor, one vegetable at a time.  Transfer the vegetable to the pan.  Add the tomatoes and spices.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Take a hand blender and blend the sauce until desire consistency.  If you do no own a hand blender, scoop the sauce about a cup at a time into a regular blender.  Hold lid tightly and blend until desire consistency.

Baked Onion Rings

Let's be real.  Sometimes we want some fried food from restaurants.  One of my favorite sides are onion rings.  But fried onion rings are full of trans and saturated fats that are bad for you.  Trans fats are fats you do not want in your body, and the US actually made laws to remove it from our food supply.  So what can you do instead is make it at home in the oven.

Baked Onion Rings

Ingredients

1 yellow onion

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs or cornmeal

Salt and pepper

Paprika

egg

Preheat oven to 450.

Spray pan with cooking spray.

Slice onion in rings, try not to separate all the rings,  The onion rings come out better if there are a few attached to each other.

Mix the eggs with the salt and pepper.

Dip onions in egg and then coat with bread crumbs.

Transfer to pan.  

Bake 10 minutes

Enjoy

What is up with low carb training

We hear about the Paleo diet and Zone diet being good for athletes.  But why?  Many individuals believe that cutting carbs will mean that they will lose weight.  But there is more to it than that. Individuals will have a low glycogen store in order to enhance fat metabolism.  The athletes lower their carbohydrate intake and increase their fat intake.  It is believed the reason why this works is because  the body adapts to having a low glycogen store and begins to utilize fatty acids instead.  

A low carbohydrate diet, known as the ketogenic diet, has already been used to treat seizures.  Research is currently being done to see its efficacy on ultra-endurance athletes, among those who do not process carbohydrates well, those who need to reduce body weight, or have gastrointestinal problems.  

What we do know is that athletes who do utilize the low carb diet may not be able to perform at a high intensity.  Also there is a possibility of altered metabolism issues.

So what should you do?  Listen to your body.  Some people will do well with a low carbohydrate diet while others may not.  Everyone's body is different and the way our body reacts may differ from person to person.  

As for me, I eat a moderately low carbohydrate diet.  I don't completely eliminate carbs because I learned that I am not at my peak performance and get light headed when I don't have some sort of carbs in my system.  But I also don't eat as many carbs as the typical American.  Below is an example of what I may eat in the day to get my carbohydrates.  I  typically have more carbohydrates in the morning and in the evening.

Breakfast-  two mini egg burritos with 2 6-inch flour tortillas
Lunch-  salad with field greens, nuts, fruit, and salad dressing
Snack-  Think Thin Protein Bar
Dinner- Seasoned chicken with red beans and rice and a 
                           large side of steamed cabbage

Sauted Spinach and Corn

This is an easy side that will work well with any meal.  Use it as a side at your next BBQ, or even stuff it in a tortilla with some grilled chicken.   Spinach is one of my favorite green vegetables.  It is full of many great nutrients including vitamin K, A, C, manganese, and folate,  It is also contains vitamin E, several B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, potassium and copper.  Corn has had a bad name recently due to the fact that it is believed to be one of the causes of the obesity epidemic.  No one food causes obesity.  Any food used in surplus can cause obesity, and out of the carbohydrates corn is less likely then many other processed foods.  Corn is actually a great source of many nutrients. It is a great source of thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium.  It is also a good source of potassium, pantothenic acid, vitamin E, and A.

Ingredients

Spinach

Corn, can, frozen, or removed from cob

oil

Heat oil in pan

Add corn and cook until slightly brown.

Add spinach.  Cover pan to allow spinach to wilt, stiring ever so often.

Serve!

BBQ Chicken and Rice

Summer time means summer vegetables and BBQ.  This delicious meal is full of vegetables and lean protein with the taste of summer.  It is easy to make and is a great way to sneak in some vegetables for the kids to eat.

Ingredients

1 lb of chicken breast, cut into chunks

1 1/2 cup cooked rice

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1 red pepper, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

In a skillet, cook chicken until done.

  Prepare rice according to package.  

Add BBQ  sauce, chicken, and vegetables to the rice. Cover. Simmer for 10  min.

Serve.

Breakfast Vegetable Hash

It is difficult for many of us to consume enough vegetables in the day.  It is recommended that we consume at least 3 servings of vegetables a day, but most Americans don't even get that.  And the vegetables they do consume don't even count as real vegetables, but are really starchy alternatives instead.  Adding vegetables to your breakfast is a great way to help  you get those servings in.  For my breakfast hash I decided to add broccoli and mushrooms.  Both of these vegetables are extremely healthy.  Broccoli is packed with vitamin K, C, and chromium.  It is also a good source of folate, vitamin B5, B6, B2, B1, E, and A.  Mushrooms are a great source of Vitamin B5, B12, and a good source of other vitamins B2, niacin, folate, biotin, phosphorus, selenium and copper.

Breakfast Vegetable Hash

Ingredients

2 cups frozen hash brown, thawed

4 eggs

8 oz jar of mushrooms

2 cups frozen broccoli

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375

In a 8 x 8 dish spray with cooking spray.  

Pour hash browns in dish and cover the bottom.

Sprinkle  with 1/2 cup of cheese

Place mushrooms and broccoli on top.

In a bowl mix the eggs, milk, and seasonings.

Pour egg mixture evenly on vegetables.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake for 35 minutes or until egg is set.

Saucy Chicken Skillet

Want a delicious dish full of vitamin A and B 12.  Try this tasty creation that will leave your mouth watering.  This dish is a great way to sneak in vegetables for your little ones.  I added mushrooms, but you can easily add spinach, zucchini, and squash.  The chicken can be served with pasta, rice, or by itself. 

Saucy Chicken Skillet

Ingredients

1 lb of chicken breast, halved

3 cup of fresh mushrooms, diced

1 med. onion, diced

15oz stewed tomatoes, undrained

1/4 cup Italian dressing

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1 cup  shredded mozzarella

Begin by dicing your onion and mushrooms.  In a pan heat oil and saute vegetables until onions are translucent.  

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and Italian dressing and stir.  Add the chicken breast and cover.  Reduce to medium low heat and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes or until chicken is done.

Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese over the dish.

Serve over rice or pasta.  Enjoy!!