Healthy banana smoothie

1 frozen banana
1 c milk
1 TBS flaxseed
1TBS cocoa
1TBS almond butter

Blend well.

YUM!

Cous Cous & Grilled Chicken Salad

Cous Cous & Grilled Chicken Salad                       Courtney Seamons 2011

1 box Cous Cous, cooked per directions              dried cranberries

1 lb cubed chicken, grilled with salt & pepper      slivered almonds or cashews

1 small can pineapple tidbits                                                            

Cilantro, chopped (to taste)

1 bunch thin asparagus, tossed in olive oil & grilled & chopped in 2 inch pieces

Toss all together with Sesame Soy Ginger Vinaigrette (Trader Joes) or Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame.

Serve warm or cold. 

Mindless Meatloaf Minestrone

Mindless Meatloaf Minestrone from Kristen (Kueser) Peless

Start to finish: 20 minutes

2 cans (14.5 oz each) fat-free chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) fat free beef broth
1 bag (1 lb) frozen mixed vegetables, beg-all, but any mix that contains carrots, corn, green beans, peas and such work fine.
1 bag (18 oz) frozen meatballs
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
1/2 c. dried macaroni noodles (or shells)
1 can (15 oz) light red kidney beans
1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
6 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Pour the chicken and beef broth into a 4.5 qt dutch oven or soup pot and begin heating on high. Add the still-frozen vegetables and meatballs. Add the tomatoes and macaroni. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. This will take about 10 min.

While the soup is heating, rinse and drain the kidney beans and set aside. When the soup comes to a boil, uncover and stir well. (The macaroni sinks to the bottom).

Add the kidney beans and Italian seasoning and reduce the heat to medium. Stir frequently until mac is tender, about 6-7 min more. Serve with breadsticks, and garnish with 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese.

Broccoli Chowder with Corn and Bacon

Broccoli Chowder with Corn and Bacon by Cera Edgley

• 6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons butter (only if you don't use bacon grease or use turkey bacon instead)
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced in bite size pieces
  
• 1 head broccoli (about 1 pound), cut into bite-size florets, stalks peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup whole milk
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 
  

1. Cook the bacon in a large pot first (take out and set aside), then keeping the bacon grease to cook your onion. (I used turkey bacon which didn't have really any grease- so I added 2 Tbsp butter to cook onions. When I make it again I'll use real pig bacon because it was yummy, but could have used the extra flavor from the bacon grease.)
   
2. Cook onion, stirring, until it begins to soften, 6 to 8 minutes. (I used about half an onion.. depends how you like the taste!)
   
3. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds.
4. Add broth and potato; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook until potato is tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Add broccoli, corn, thyme, and milk. Cook until broccoli is crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with bacon.

It looks sooo delicious once its in the bowls with the bacon on top! Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Roasted Chicken

Honey Mustard Roasted Chicken from Rachel via sparkpeople.com

Rich, flavorful honey mustard chicken with carrots and potatoes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. potatoes, cut into wedges
  
  
• 2 lbs. chicken, rinsed
  
  
• 6 medium carrots, sliced
  
  
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  
  
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons honey
  
  
• 3 Tablespoons mustard
  
  
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  
  
• 2 heads garlic, peeled
  
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
  

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a shallow pan, toss potatoes and carrots with oil, salt and pepper.
3. Nestle peeled garlic cloves amongst the vegetables and scatter the rosemary on top.
4. Arrange the chicken among the vegetables and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, stir the mustard and honey together.
6. Remove the pan from the oven. Carefully take the chicken from the pan to another clean plate. Spread the honey-mustard mixture over the chicken.
7. Stir vegetables in the pan, return coated chicken to the pan, and place pan back into the oven. Bake 10-20 minutes, until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender.


Makes 4 servings.

Healthy Snack ideas

Healthy Snack ideas

*Veggies- carrots, veggie trays, celery (w/or w/out peanut butter), cucumber, pepper slices, cherry tomatoes, snap peas
*Fruits- apples, pears, strawberries, banana, mandarin oranges, oranges, melons, kiwis, pears, pineapple, grapes
*Pita chips (still not great, but better than cookies or other chips!) -great with hummus dip, bean dip
* Apple slices with yogurt dip or peanut butter dip (Great little snack packs they have at most grocery stores)
* Fruit cups- little cups with mandarin oranges, or peaches, mixed fruit
* Veggie cups- they have little servings of veggies too in the cups
* Frozen strawberries, blueberries, raspberries (love to pull these out when I have a sweet tooth- sweet, but still nutritious and sweet)
* Dried fruit
* Natural (no sugar added) applesauce (in individual cups or large jar)
* Fruit Leathers- natural is key- go for no added sugars
* Fruit Popsicle- look for the no sugar added kind
* Smoothies- throw yogurt in with frozen fruit, and milk- yum!
* Soy beans (easy to fix and so delicious!)
* Raisins
* Whole grain crackers
* Granola bars- chose low in sugar and high in fiber
* Apple chips
* Yogurt
*Whole grain granola
* Pop chips
* Oatmeal
* Home popped popcorn without all the butter/salt
* Unsalted nuts- not too many though! They are full of healthy fats, but higher in calories

Chocolate Banana Bread/Muffins‏

Wow, yum yum YUMMM! Found this recipe at http://foodbringsfamiliestogether.blogspot.com/. It made a bunch that we're going to keep around to snack on for a few days- Loved that it has whole wheat flour and flax seed that you completely couldn't tell! They tasted like a yummy treat! Hope you enjoy them!! It made 20 normal sized muffins for me....

Chocolate Banana Bread/Muffins adapted from Coleen's Recipes
1 1/2 -2 cups mashed bananas(about 4 bananas)
3 T. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
8 T. milled flax seed(can find at walmart by the flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips(Coleen used mini one but I only had regular)
1 cup pecans( I didn't add these)

Beat all of the wet ingredients and sugar together until well combined and smooth. Beat in dry ingredients just until combined then stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Bake the bread at 350 in a greased loaf pan-(60-70 min), lined muffin tin-(20 minutes), or mini loaf pans-(25-30 min.) Mine made 12 regular muffins and 6 jumbo muffins.

Panini – Provolone & Salami

Panini – Provolone & Salami Rachel Betteridge

Low-profile sliced bread (I like sourdough or garlic flavor)

Classico Pesto

Sliced Provolone cheese

Sliced Cotto Salami (with peppercorns)

Tomato, sliced

Spinach leaves

Olive oil to brush on bread/ or butter (sometimes I do garlic butter)

Heat up your George Foreman or Panini Grill.

Assemble sandwich: spread a tsp or pesto on each slice of bread; layer salami first, cheese, tomato and then spinach. Oil or butter outside slices of bread for grill. Place Panini’s on grill and grill for 4-5 minutes.

Simple and Delicious! Nice for a change-up!

Layered Southwestern Salad

Layered Southwestern Salad

Layer in a trifle bowl or simply mix together:

2 heads Romaine Lettuce, washed & torn

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

1 small red onion, chopped

1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

1 can corn with red & green peppers, rinsed & drained

1 can olives, drained & sliced

crushed tortilla chips (garnish)

Dressing:

1/3 cup cilantro

½ cup fresh lime juice

½ cup olive oil

½ cup sour cream

1 tsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

Blend all of the dressing ingredients in a blender. Let everyone help themselves.

If you want this to be more of a main dish, purchase a rotisserie chicken & tear into bite size pieces. Add to salad mixture.

Tex-Mex Salad

Tex-Mex Salad

Hearts of romaine lettuce, shredded

fresh corn kernels

black beans

kidney beans

olives

avocado slices

grape tomatoes or sliced tomatoes

cheddar cheese, shredded

Toss all ingredients and serve with creamy cilantro dressing.

Creamy Cilantro Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup finely minced cilantro

2 t lime juice

1 t white wine vinegar

1 t sugar

1 t minced garlic

1 t minced onion

1/2 t salt

1/8 t black pepper

1/8 t cumin

Whisk the dressing together until smooth

Over night salad

Over night salad by Cathrine Dokos Morris

Layer in LG bowl or pan

1 bag of lettuce

green onions

red bell pepper

1 pkg of frozen peas (Sweet ones)

Cheddar Cheese

Real Bacon Bits

Ham and turkey chopped up

Black Olives

all this can be changed for what ever you like on a salad..

Red Wine Dressing

2 cups of Mayo

2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

2 Tablespoons sugar

The normal way is 1/2 of this but that is not enough dressing for me so I double it.

Chicken Thigh roast

Chicken Thigh Roast by Evelyn Hornbarger

Chicken Thighs
Potatoes
Peas
Baby carrots
Onions
Seasoning salt or salt/pepper

Put chicken thighs (or breasts) in a 9x13 dish surrounded by cubed potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, any other vegetable you would like to add. Sprinkle with seasoning salt or salt/pepper. Cook at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

Super easy to make and yummy!!

Cobb Salad

Cobb Salad from Healthy Calendar Diabetic Cooking Recipe book

Bag of Romaine lettuce or 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
6 slices turkey bacon, chopped
1/2 lb boneless, chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 large tomato, diced
2-3 hard boiled eggs (or just whites), sliced
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard

1. In large salad bowl, toss together romaine set aside.
2. Cook bacon until crisp. Arrange the chicken, tomato, egg, and cooled bacon over top of lettuce.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat.

*Can adjust amounts of tossed in ingredients to desired taste
*Also yummy to throw in cucumbers, avocado, bell pepper, or chopped ham

Such a tasty, yummy, healthy dinner! We loved it- and they dressing was so tangy and wonderful!

Avocado and Tomato Sandwich

These are so good! Jake Laudie served this up for lunch when I stopped by to visit at his parents house.

Whole wheat buns
Avocados (1/2 per sandwich)
Tomatoes
Mayonnaise
Salt/Pepper

So Yummy! Such a healthy, delicious lunch!

Lettuce Wedge Salad & Bleu Cheese Dressing to Die For!!

Recipe from Rachel Betteridge 2010

Bleu Cheese Dressing:
½ - 1 cup crumbled bleu cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream (I use the light stuff)
¼ cup buttermilk
1/3 cup real lemon juice (1 lemon usually)
1 tsp. each: salt, sugar, black pepper, and Worcestershire sauce
Optional add-ins: dash of garlic powder and/or onion powder

Use an electric mixer and combine above ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour.


Slice a head or two of iceberg lettuce into quarters through the stem end. Cut the stem off and arrange each quarter on a plate.

Spoon about ¼ cup of bleu cheese dressing over each lettuce wedge.

Sprinkle crumbled bleu cheese over the top of the dressing.

Additional toppings:
*Diced Tomato
*Crumbled Bacon
Crumbled Hard-boiled Egg
*Diced Red Onion and/or
Chopped green onion
*love these on it always!!


I Love this salad alone or with a nice steak!! I am not a big “Bleu Cheese” person, but I do LOVE IT when I eat it on this salad. The presentation of this dish is really neat too – it looks fancy!

Hope you enjoy it!

Black Bean Empanadas

Black Bean Empanadas

Got this recipe and pictures from http://foodbringsfamiliestogether.blogspot.com/

These were so yummy and we will definitely be making them again. It made a lot so if you have a small family you may want to half this recipe. We halfed it and we still had leftovers but they aren't quite as good the second day unless you reheat them in the oven. Can be eaten with a side of rice and beans.

Black Bean Empanadas

1/2 lb of ground pork or beef or turkey (i used beef because that is what I had)
1 small red pepper , chopped (can use a tomato is peppers aren't in season and are too expensive!)
4 green onions plus half of a yellow or white onion,chopped
2 T. minced garlic
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 T chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp corriander
1/2 tsp salt
1-8oz can tomato sauce (even though I halfed it, I put the whole 8 oz in)
1-15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 sheets or 1 1/2 pkgs puff pastry sheets(can find these in the frozen section of any grocerystore)Thawed (I used 2 (1pkg) when I halfed it)
1 egg
1 T. water


Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl and set aside. In a skillet, cook the pork/turkey/or beef until well browned. Stir in the onions, garlic, Red pepper(or tomato), jalapeno, and black beans and cook until veggies are tender. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, corriander, salt, and tomato sauce. bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the cheese and the cilantro. Let cool to room temp (I didn't let it cool that much down- just let it sit while thawing and getting my pastry sheets cut).


Unfold the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface . Roll each sheet into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle. Cut into circles with a cookie cutter or with a knife any size you like.( I cut some of mine 3 inches, some 7 inches, and some I just cut into squares and folded them over to make a triangle turnover. Just do whatever is easiest for you. They all taste the same.) Spoon some of the black bean mixture onto each circle or square. Make sure to leave enough space to fold and seal each one. Wet the edges of each circle with a little bit of water, fold over and press with a fork to seal. Place onto a baking sheet, brush tops with the egg wash and bake. The original recipe says to bake for 15-30 minutes but it will vary depending on the size so you will have to watch yours and see how long it takes in your oven. Take out of oven let set for 5 minutes then serve with beans, rice, guacomole, limes, salsa, and sour cream. We had left over sauce part so we put the half of the beans on top the left over sauce part then topped with the above. SOOO YUMMMY!!!

Got this recipe and pictures of it from http://foodbringsfamiliestogether.blogspot.com/. Great blog for recipes!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy!

Simply Beef Stew

This recipe/pictures is taken from http://jbeanrecipes.blogspot.com. We made it last night and it was so easy and really delicious!

Simply Beef Stew

I got this recipe from my neighbor. She brought this stew over after I had my baby. It was so simple and delicious. We'll be making it again because my kids loved it! The other great thing was the veggies were in beautiful, big chunks but they were so tender and not crunchy or mushy like in most stews. The key is cooking them separately. Hope you enjoy this simple, yet full of flavor, stew.

from Jean

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, cut up
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups carrots, cut in thick circles
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp thyme or oregano (we used thyme)
pepper to taste
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 can tomato soup (I didn't have soup so I used tomato sauce and it still tasted great, but a little more watery consistency)
Reserved veggie water

Cook hamburger with salt, pepper, and thyme. (Keep hamburger kind of chunky.)

In separate pots, cook potatoes and carrots until almost done. (Cook the onions with the potatoes.)Reserve water from potatoes and carrots.

Add veggies, Worcestershire, tomato soup, and veggie water to hamburger. (You might not need all the veggie water. Add to desired broth consistency.) Simmer for 30 minutes until veggies are fully tender (but not mushy).Serve with breadsticks or saltines.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup by Kelly Samsom 2006

1 butternut squash (about a 4 pounder)
2 T. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
5 Tbsp. butter
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 oz. cream cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half length-wise. Remove seeds. Rub olive oil all over meat of squash. Season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet and roast in oven for one hour or till squash is tender. Allow to cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, in a large pot, saute onion in butter till onions are translucent but not brown. Add chicken broth, and seasonings. (in case you are thinking 1/8 tsp. of cayenne pepper is too little...trust me, don't add more. It's plenty. I left it out once too, and the soup was not the same.) Remove skin from squash and discard. Add roasted squash to chicken broth. Simmer about 10 minutes. Puree soup with cream cheese in blender till mixed and smooth. (You'll have to do this in batches...and take the center thing out of the lid of your blender so the steam can escape, or it'll blow up all over your kitchen) Add everything back to pot and heat through over low heat.

Fresh Corn Tomato Salad

Fresh Corn Tomato Salad by Rachel Betteridge


6 ears fresh corn, husked
2 cups red grape tomatoes, halved
1 bunch green onions (scallions), chopped
8 oz. mozzarella, cut into small cubes
1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves
3 TBS white wine vinegar
2 tsp Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Whisk the vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest at a steady stream, to make a smooth dressing. Shear off the corn kernels with sharp knife into a bowl. Toss in the tomatoes, onions and mozzarella. Pour vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat. Cover and let sit for 15 min. or up to 2 hours. Before serving tear the basil over the salad and stir.

(hint = put mozzarella in freezer for a few minutes to firm up before cubing)

Fish with Limes

Fish with Limes

2 lb white fish
1 lime
salt & pepper


3 TBS olive oil
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
*cook for 3 minutes

Add 2-3 pickled jalapeno chilies
6-8 TBS Cilantro
lemon & lime wedges

Bake 350 for 15-20 minutes.