When I am at the gym in the early morning hours, I spend about 15 mins on the bike, warming up.  I take that few minutes to leaf through whatever new magazines are out.  So many good recipes right now because of the holidays, this one looked really good, with one minor substitution.

It was super easy to make and was on the table in about 30 minutes.  Lot’’s of healthy ingredients, but not too heavy.  If you haven”t spent some time understanding the benefits of kale, you should.  We have been adding kale to many recipes to get that extra boost of antioxidants and nutritional benefit.

I served this soup with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese on top and some Parmesan toast.  Don”t leave out the red pepper, it gives the soup a little kick.  A great way to warm up on a cool evening.

Adapted from Woman’’s Day November 2010

Super healthy and hearty!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz fully-cooked smoked turkey sausage, sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1⁄2-in. chunks – This is the substitution from the original recipe.
• 12 oz fresh kale, stems removed and leaves chopped (8 cups)
• Crushed red pepper (optional)

What To Do:

1. Heat a 5-qt pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and sauté 5 minutes or until browned.
2. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes or until onion starts to soften. Add broth and bring to a boil.
3. Stir in squash and kale. Simmer, partially covered, 10 to 12 minutes or until squash and kale are tender. Serve with crushed red pepper, if desired.

Serves 4

Nutritional Information (per serving)

Protein 18g
Carbs 28g
Fat 6g
Trans Fat 0g
Saturated Fat 2g
Fiber 5g
Sodium 1403mg
Sugar 6g
Calories 224

What do you look for in a good recipe?  Do you typically make meals to the recipe or do you adapt them?

This was a very quick and easy dinner.  By pounding the chicken to 1/4 inch thickness, the chicken cooks faster and makes a great sandwich.  You could also use this recipe to make a more traditional chicken Parmesan, by combining the ingredients as per the directions but put the chicken breasts in a shallow baking pan and place in the oven to cook the chicken through and melt the cheese.

I like to make my own Marinara sauce, but you could certainly use a jar sauce – just read the label and make sure you are getting something that doesn”t have a lot of added salt or oil.

This meal was deliciously messy and the sauce really made the meal.

Serve with a side salad or slices of tomato.

What you need:

• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 4 oz per serving
• 3 tsp olive oil, divided
• 6 oz fresh spinach
• 1/3 cup marinara sauce (I make my own – recipe follows)
• 2 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 soft whole wheat sandwich rolls

What you do:

1. Combine flour and pepper in a small bowl
2. Place chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound with the smooth side of a meat mallet until chicken is about 1/4 inch thickness
3. Dredge chicken breast in flour mixture
4. Heat 1 tsp olive oil to skillet and add spinach, cooking until slightly wilted – transfer to a small bowl
5. Add remaining oil and add chicken cooking the first side 2-3 minutes until crisp
6. Turn chicken over to second side, reduce heat, top with wilted spinach, marinara sauce, Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella
7. Cover and cook until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through
8. Serve on whole wheat rolls

Marinara Sauce (makes about 4 servings I used 2 for this recipe)

1. Coarsely chop 4 or 5 plum tomatoes
2. Add 1tsp olive oil or pan spray to skillet heat to medium – add tomatoes
3. Simmer on medium heat until tomatoes begin to break down
4. Add 2 tsp Italian seasoning and 2 tbsp tomato paste (no salt added)
5. Simmer until sauce thickens – if sauce is too thin add another tbsp tomato paste

Nutritional Information (per serving)

• Protein 43 g
• Carbs 45 g
• Fat 15 g
• Fiber 9 g
• Calories 474

One of my favorite indulgences, and there are many, is Chinese food.  I love the combination of crisp vegetables and rice with some soy sauce thrown together and heated until all the tastes come together into a rich and filling dish.  Having said that – I have to stay away from the local Chinese restaurants.  Fried white rice, veggies doused in oil and all the salt!!!

I think stir fries are one of the easiest healthy foods to make and using fresh ingredients and veggies in season makes each dish a little different from the one before.  No special equipment is needed for stir fries.  A wok is cool if you have one – but I use a skillet and it works just fine and dandy.  I did invest a little in a rice steamer and we keep cooked brown rice in the fridge to save time when putting together meals.  I am all about saving time.

There are so many options for stir fry, all veggies, add some chicken or lean beef, add an egg … mix it up.  I don”t think I have ever followed a recipe for stir fry – I just throw whatever is in the fridge into the pan!  A great way to use up extra bits of veggies that you bought for a particular dish and didn”t use.

For this stir fry I used:

• Red and green bell pepper – finely sliced
• Sweet onion – finely sliced
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cashews – just a few to add a little crunch and protein.
• Low salt soy sauce – probably about 2 teaspoons
• Crystallized ginger – finely sliced (I like the crystallized ginger because it adds a touch of sweetness – but you could use ginger root or ginger powder too)
• 1 tsp arrowroot powder or cornstarch added to about 1/2 cup water or vegetable stock
• 1 TBS olive oil
• Steamed brown rice – I use 1/2 cup per serving

What to do:

1. Heat oil in the pan to med high heat
2. Add broccoli – stir fry until just tender
3. Add remaining veggies and stir fry 1-5 minutes until just tender
4. Add ginger and cashews
5. Add soy sauce
6. Add water (broth) / arrowroot mixture – sauce will begin to thicken
7. Continue to heat until all ingredients are combined and veggies are cooked through, but still a little crisp.

Serve over 1/2 cup hot brown rice

Super easy, super healthy, and  a great way to enjoy the wonderful taste of Chinese food without all the oil, fat and calories.  Makes a light dinner or a quick lunch – and it makes great leftovers!  I find it difficult to eat Chinese in a restaurant any more because the oil and fat seem to overpower the taste of the food – in my opinion, this tastes so much better.

What do you do to take control over your favorite foods?

Did I mention how much I love Summer? 

I love everything about Summer, the heat, the sun, the water etc…  But, I especially love the fresh fruits and veggies that you get only during the Summer months.  I had the most amazing plum yesterday ….  anyway, I do digress.  Summer is full of wonderful food and tastes.

Even though the days are longer, I still like ”quick and easy”.  Last night I put chicken on the grill while I prepared the rest of dinner and it all came together, almost effortlessly.  Great tasting healthy dinner that was on the table quickly, leaving the rest of the evening to enjoy the hot Summer night.

Turmeric gives grilled chicken an Indian spicy taste and adds a beautiful yellow color too

The chicken and yogurt sauce included a favorite spice blend called Zataar, a blend of dry roasted sesame seeds, coriander, sumac, thyme, cumin and black pepper.  I added a bit of Turmeric to add color and an Indian flavor.  I could have used a Curry or Garam Masala – it’’s ok to be creative with spices.

The creamy cucumber dressing is a refreshing ingredient that stays healthy by using plain, nonfat yogurt instead of a mayonnaise base.  The cucumber, red onion and tomato came from the local Farmer’’s Market – another perk of Summer.

Local veggies are always the best!

The whole dish was healthy and super easy to make!!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Zaatar spice or your favorite Indian spices
• Turmeric
• 1 cup seeded, peeled and diced cucumber
• 3/4 cup nonfat, plain yogurt
• 1 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Fresh ground pepper
• 4 whole wheat wraps – you can use pitas or flatbread as well.
• 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
• 1 large tomato
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

Preparation:

1. Generously coat the chicken breasts with the spices, saving some of the Zaatar for the dressing.
2. Preheat grill to medium high heat and cook chicken until no longer pink in the middle (4-8 minutes per side)
3. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
4. Prepare the dressing by combining cucumber, yogurt, cilantro, lemon juice and and 1/2 tsp Zaatar
5. Thinly slice chicken and assemble wraps with chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion and yogurt dressing.

Make your dressings healthier by using yogurt instead of mayo!

Do you have a favorite Summer recipe?

I am originally from Texas, and my family always has traditional black-eyed peas on New Years Day for luck.  Hoppin” John is a dish with peas and rice, usually with bacon or ham.  However, I like black-eyed peas year round because they are a great way to get protein and fiber.  This recipe incorporates the basic ”beans & rice” element, but in a healthy and clean eating way.

I used canned black-eyed peas and this dish was ready in about 10 minutes!  Quick & Easy! 

A great side to Turkey Sausage on the grill

I found this recipe in ”The Eat-Clean Diet” book and I made a few modifications to it.  First, it says to serve as a warm dish – but I made it early in the day and put it in the fridge for a refreshing side to dinner – it was great as a chilled dish!  I had an acorn squash on hand – so while the recipe called for butternut squash, the acorn squash was fine and I would even use yellow squash and zucchini as a substitute.  Greg didn”t want so many carbs late in the day – so I used 1/2 the amount of rice – the peas were the feature in this dish – not the rice.

So, here is my recipe ~ inspired ~ by ”The Eat-Clean Diet”

Ingredients:

• 1 can black-eyed peas
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
• fresh ground Pennsylvania Pepper to taste (One of my favorite peppers!  I also love the Gourmet Peppercorn Mixer!)
• 1/2 acorn squash, diced
  • I cut my squash in half, removed the seeds and steamed it in the microwave for 3 minutes.  Scoop out the squash and dice.
• 1/4 cup chopped red pepper
• a few shakes of hot pepper sauce, like Franks

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix.

Chill and serve.  Serves 4 as a side or 2 as a meal

What types of meals do you make during the HOT Summer months?

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I firmly believe that everything tastes better on the grill.  Can you grill ice cream?  Hmmmm …  will have to check on that.

One of our ”go to” dinners is a quick and easy quesadilla.  No specific recipe required – look in the fridge – presto quesadilla!  Tonight we had some grilled chicken, reduced fat mexican style cheese, a red and a green bell pepper.  I did roast the peppers on the grill first for the smokey, charred taste – plus anytime I basically have permission to ”burn” something – I am all over it!

Earlier this week, we had planned roasted veggies on the grill and we had rain – lots of rain!  So, I had some yellow squash and zucchini to grill as a side.  My favorite whole wheat, flour tortillas were on sale last week so I picked up an extra pack – everything I need – ready to go.

Load up with healthy chicken and veggies

Since I want the cheese to melt and the ingredients to heat up before the tortilla burns – I decided to put the quesadilla in aluminum foil first, then when it is all gooey on the inside, I slid it onto the grill to crisp the tortilla.

Grilled veggies - YUM!

1. First, I charred the peppers and set them in a covered bowl to cool.  Then I would remove the charred outer layer and dice for my quesadilla.
2. I put the squash on the grill next, then went inside to assemble the main dish.
3. Layer all the ingredients on the bottom tortilla, add a second tortilla to the top, like a sandwich.
4. Wrap the quesadilla in foil.  I used two pieces and sealed the edges loosely to make it easier to open on the hot grill.
5. Put foil wrapped quesadilla on the grill at med high heat.
6. Turn after 2 minutes and cook on the other side about 2 more minutes.
7. Open the foil and slide the quesadilla onto the grill
8. grill until crispy on the bottom
9. Carefully, flip the tortilla to grill the other side

Quick and easy on the grill

Serve with roasted squash and zucchini.  Top with salsa.

Grilled ice cream – could be interesting… what do you put on your grill?

Boy, was it hot and muggy on Sunday!  I decided for lunch, to make a cool, refreshing salad.  I like this salad because not only is is quick and easy, it is heart healthy and the homemade dressing let’’s me control what I put on it.

At first, I made the salad and was about to eat, when I decided to add a few pieces of grilled chicken from last night’’s dinner.  Lean protein is just what this salad needed!

Grilled chicken adds lean protein to this meal

The dressing

The Dressing:

• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP vinegar – I used white wine vinegar – but it would be good with balsamic too
• 1/2 shallot finely chopped

Put ingredients in a small container, with lid, seal lid, shake well, set aside.

Add pita bread instead of croutons

The Salad:

• Romaine lettuce chopped or cut, enough for 1 salad
• 1/2 small can, sliced black olives
• 1 to 2 oz crumbled feta cheese
• 4 or 5 grape tomatoes, cut in halves
• 1/2 whole wheat pita – cut in triangles
• 2 oz grilled chicken breast – optional
• Fresh ground pepper to taste

Shake dressing before adding to salad.  Pour dressing over salad and toss.

Really – how easy is that?

]]> http://www.spicesinc.com/blog/2010/06/14/refreshing-mediterranean-salad/feed/ 0 http://www.spicesinc.com/blog/2010/05/28/a-good-day-off/ http://www.spicesinc.com/blog/2010/05/28/a-good-day-off/#comments Sat, 29 May 2010 02:41:00 +0000 Penny http://www.spicesinc.com/blog/?p=2220

I decide to take a long weekend.  I took Friday and Monday off from work.  Greg and I are also taking next week off from the gym.  Sometimes you need to cycle down and take a rest from the routine of your workouts.  Do something different.  Rest is good.

We are going to work in the yard this weekend and have dinner with his Mom on Sunday.

We have both been working very hard lately.  Greg has really been focused on the SpicesInc.com site, he is developing some really great spice blends and we are having a great time trying them out in new and healthy ways.  We look forward to finding new ways to use spice and create flavorful, healthy meals.

This morning started with mushrooms, spinach and peppers sauteed with a scrambled egg.

For lunch, I had 1/4 an avocado, some grape tomatoes, red onion, diced jicama, a drizzle of olive oil and some lime juice.  I really never understood the beauty of fresh ground pepper until I used it.  Fresh ground pepper has such a potent taste, that you just don”t get from the ”canned stuff”.

A light and heart healthy lunch

For dinner, I made a vegetarian Chinese dish with cashews and Asparagus.  I will post the recipe tomorrow – but here is a little peak at this really tasty dish.

Vegetarian Chinese with Cashews and Asparagus

Lunches can be a challenge for me.  I don”t always take time to plan and prepare that meal.  I do plan dinners, so many times lunches are leftovers from the healthy meal the night before.  I seem to be busy and moving during the day, so quick and easy is key.

Last weekend, I grilled a few Manzanillo Mexican Seasoning chicken breasts that I could use during the week for a couple of meals.  The first meal was a quick lunch of black beans and chicken nachos on blue tortillas.  The colors alone, make this meal appetizing for me.  I use very little cheese, even though traditionally nachos are covered in cheese.  You could actually throw all these ingredients in a bowl and have a chicken taco salad.  Leave the cheese out and add salsa for the dressing – YUM!

Ingredients:

• About 16 blue corn tortilla chips
• 3 oz grilled chicken breast, diced
• 1/4 cup black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 tomato, diced
• 1/2 red or green, or even yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup lettuce, shredded (I like Romaine)
• 2 TBS reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese
• 1/4 cup prepared salsa

What to do:

1. Arrange chips on plate or baking sheet, (if you are using the oven)
2. Layer black beans, chicken and cheese on top of the chips
3. Heat in microwave about 1 1/2 minutes or until cheese melts or
4. Heat under oven broiler about 3 minutes until cheese is melted.
5. Top with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa

Serves 1 meal or 2 for appetizers

What are some of your meal challenges?

We absolutely love ground turkey and use it as a simple replacement in many of our traditional ground beef recipes. I know that many of you are pressed for time when it comes to dinner prep just like we are so I am trying to make sure to continue to add healthy and tasty meal ideas that are also quick and easy to prepare.

For this meal the spices (and herbs) I was looking to use were some traditional Italian favorites – Mediterranean Oregano, Sweet Basil and Dried Thyme. As a standalone these dried herbs are perfectly fine but when combined these three become almost magical as they really bring out the flavor in each other. This trifecta of herbs are at their best when used in any tomato based dished and this is why they are considered Italian classics — exceptional in pizza, spaghetti and lasagna.

I also used some granulated garlic as I was really trying to keep this a quick meal and I wasn’t in the mood to peel and mince the fresh garlic cloves. This meal didn’t miss the “real garlic” one bit. Granulated garlic is wonderfully convenient this way! Now some kitchen chefs only want to use fresh garlic — 1 garlic clove converts to 1/2 tsp of granulated garlic or to 1/8 tsp of garlic powder (we get this question a lot).

In total this meal took about 15-20 minutes to throw together which when combined with the outstanding flavor makes it a winner in my book!

What You’ll Need

• 12 oz. Lean Ground Turkey (93% or higher)
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion Chopped
• 1 Medium Zucchini Sliced (or you can substitute Yellow Squash)
• ½ Red Bell Pepper Chopped
• 2-3 Tsp Dried Mediterranean Oregano
• 2-3 Tsp Dried Sweet Basil
• 2-3 Tsp Dried Thyme
• 1 Tsp Granulated Garlic
• ½ Can of Diced Tomatoes (no salt added)
• 3 Oz. Tomato Paste

What to Do

1. Spray your Skillet with Pam spray and pre-heat on medium high
2. Sauté your onions, bell pepper and zucchini until soft and translucent
3. Add your ground turkey to the skillet and cook until it is brown
4. Add your diced tomatoes, tomato paste, dried herbs and spices
5. Turn heat down to medium low and cook for 10 more minutes then serve

Super quick and healthy!

Serves 2

Nutritional Information (per serving)