I LOVE pancakes!  I have said it before, but it is worth saying again.  I love experimenting with flavors and textures.  This recipe hits the mark on both counts.  No butter or syrup needed for these healthy and hearty cakes.

Makes a perfect treat on a chilly Autumn morning.  Ahhhh….

Here is what you need:

• 1 medium apple, cored and chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice or ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup 2% or fat free milk
• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce

Here is what you do:

1. In a small bowl combine apple and lemon juice; set aside.  This keeps the apples from turning brown.
2. In a medium bowl combine whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, the 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice, and salt.
3. In another small bowl combine milk, egg white, and oil.  Mix thoroughly.
4. Add milk mixture all at once to flour mixture; stir just until moistened (the batter should be lumpy).
5. Fold in apple mixture.
6. Coat an unheated heavy nonstick skillet with cooking spray.
7. Preheat over medium heat
8. Pour a 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot pan.
9. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are golden brown.

Serve with applesauce.

Perfect Hearty Breakfast

Nutritional Information:
2 pancakes plus 1/4 cup applesauce:

Calories 220
Total Fat 7g
Total Carbohydrate 35g
Protein 6g

What’’s your favorite breakfast when the weather turns chilly?

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?

There is just something about Moroccan flavor that just drives me crazy. Every time I try a new dish I am surprised by the subtle blending of spices and textures that always leaves me wanting (and ultimately eating) more! This Moroccan Stew was no exception.

We prepared this in the crock pot so that only made it even easier and we certainly are huge fans of flavorful and easy meals! This is the kind of dish that is perfect as the weather starts to turn cold and you get in the mood for a variety of soups and stews. This one didn”t call for exotic hard to find ingredients and we also didn”t have to stress about buying an ingredient and wondering what else can we use this for before it goes bad!

This is a healthy dish with a touch of sweetness to it and after devouring it for dinner I had leftovers twice the following day -  I certainly could not get enough of it.

Ingredients
1 Tsp ground allspice
3 boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb), cut into 2″ chunks
2 cans chickpeas (15.5 oz cans), drained and rinsed
1/2 medium size butternut squash
1 can low sodium diced tomatoes (15.5 oz can)
1 can low sodium tomato sauce (15.5 oz can)
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup of carrots, chopped in 1/2″ chunks)
3 medium onions, cut into wedges
2 red chile peppers, fresh
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup of dried cilantro
1/2 cup dried parsley
1 garlic clove, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Mix the allspice and Kosher salt in a small bowl
2. In the bottom of your slow cooker add the chicken
3. Take 1/2 the allspice Kosher salt blend and season the chicken breasts
4. In a larger bowl combine the chickpeas, squash, apricots, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, raisins, carrots, onions, chiles and remaining allspice/ Kosher salt blend
5. Pour the vegetable blend over the chicken breasts
6. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours

To Make the Parsley/ Cilantro Sauce

1. In a small food processor mix the lemon juice, garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin and olive oil
2. Drizzle onto the top of your bowls of stew

Serves 8

Nutritional Information (per serving)
Protein 26g
Carbs 82g
Fat 10g
Trans Fat 0g
Saturated Fat 1g
Fiber 14g
Sodium 403mg
Sugar 36g
Calories 510

The market had some pretty nice poblano peppers this week and this is a recipe that I have been wanting to try.  If you cannot find poblanos, you could try green peppers.  The flavor of the dish would be a bit milder, but you could always add a little more spice!

I know I have written about quinoa before and we have posted some recipes with the versatile grain.  Quinoa is a healthy alternative to rice or pasta, if you haven”t tried it, we highly recommend it.

The original recipe from an old Cooking Light magazine called for pumpkin seed kernels instead of sunflower seeds, but I could not find them at our market, so I made the substitution.  Life is all about substitutions, experimenting with recipes is what makes this so fun!

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 stuffed chile halves)

What to Do:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut chiles in half lengthwise; remove stems and seeds. Set aside. Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 13 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Set aside.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add bell peppers, onion, jalapeño pepper, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add sunflower seed kernels; saute 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in quinoa, green onions, cilantro, soy sauce, and lime juice. Spoon 1/3 cup quinoa mixture into each chile half.

Pour tomato juice into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish; place stuffed chiles in dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over chiles; bake, uncovered, an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts and chiles are thoroughly heated. Spoon tomato juice over chiles.

Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Nutritional Information

Calories:  329 (26% from fat)

Fat:  9.6g (sat 4.3g,mono 2.5g,poly 2.2g)

Protein:  20.4g

Carbohydrate:  47.9g

Fiber:  7g

Cholesterol:  19mg

Iron:  7.4mg

Sodium:  787mg

Calcium:  347mg

This is a pretty easy dish for a quick Mexican style dinner.  Because I had salsa verde from another meal this weekend, I thought I would use it in this meal as well.

We used flat iron steak cubed, seasoned with our Southwest Steak Seasoning and cooked, but you could use chicken or ground beef as well.  Reduced fat cheese helps keep this dish lower in fat. This meal is a good source of protein and while it wasn”t the healthiest meal we had all week it was very tasty.

Ingredients:

• 1 jar or 1 cup of salsa verde (click here for our salsa verde recipe)
• 3 cups low fat or baked tortilla chips (I like the blue corn chips)
• 1 lb flat iron steak, cubed
• 1 TBS (or generous amount) Southwest Steak Seasoning
• 1 package (10 oz) frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 cup reduced fat Monterey Jack or Mexican cheese blend

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Coat beef with preferred spices – we used Southwest Steak Seasoning
3. Spray skillet with cooking spray and heat to high
4. Add beef and sear until cooked through, remove from heat
5. In a deep baking dish, spread half of the chips
6. Top with half of the salsa, beef, corn and cheese.
7. Repeat layers
8. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes
9. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer

Quick and easy dinner!

Serves 5

Nutritional Information (per serving)

Protein 26g
Carbs 28 g
Fat 16g
Trans Fat 0g
Fiber 3g
Sodium 317 mg
Sugar 4g
Calories 356

The secret to this recipe is in the pork.  Usually, this type of recipe would have used a pork shoulder or pork but and you would spend a great deal of your prep time skimming fat out of this meal.  I chose a pork tenderloin and trimmed the fat before cooking for a tender and very flavorful slow cooked stew.

You can use prepared salsa verde, but I do make my own, as long as I can continue to buy tomatillos at my market.  What I like best about a homemade salsa verde over the store bought brands is that my is much lower in sodium content. We served this dish over cooked quinoa, but you could also serve it over rice.

At first this looked like it was going to have an awful lot of steps to put it together and frankly it didn”t look too appetizing. But when everything started coming together at the end I was amazed at how delicious it was — it was tender, tasty and very flavorful. This meal is also great for those paying attention to their diets as it is high in protein while being low in fat and calories.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed of all visible fat and cut into cubes
• 1 cup Salsa Verde (click for our recipe) or use prepared
• 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro (fresh or dried)
• 3 cups of quinoa*

*Quinoa is a grain that is high on protein and very low in calories.  Quinoa is  considered a complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids.  One of those amino acids is lysine which promotes repair and growth of tissue.  Quinoa has a fluffy texture, but a creamy and slightly crunchy or nutty taste.

Directions:

1. Place meat in a slow cooker – turn heat to high
2. Combine salsa, broth, onion and cumin in a saucepan or deep skillet and bring to a boil.
3. Pour salsa mixture over meat
4. Add tomatoes to slow cooker
5. Cover and cook 6-7 hours, until meat is pull apart tender
6. Remove meat from slow cooker and set aside, keeping warm
7. Pour remaining sauce into a deep skillet, bring to a boil until slightly thickened
8. Add pork and cilantro heat through
9. Ladle into bowls over quinoa or rice, garnish with cilantro, diced tomatoes or sour cream

Serves 4

Nutritional Information (per serving)

Protein 31g

Carbs 38g

Fat 6g

Saturated Fat 1g

Sodium 431 mg

Sugar 6g

Calories 338

This recipe has a bit of a kick with the hot peppers and the Thai Seasoning – to adjust the heat, you can choose a milder pepper.  I served this stir fry dish over coconut rice, a traditional Thai way to prepare rice.  By substituting coconut milk for the liquid when cooking rice, you get a much creamier texture and a sweetness that really compliments the bite from the meat and peppers.  I haven”t tried making rice with almond milk, but someone suggested that to me and I may have to give it a try.  P.S. Look for the low fat coconut milk it was only 4.5 g of fat compared to 16 g of fat for the regular!

This dish was pretty easy to prepare and we also make our rice ahead of time and keep it in the fridge, since we seem to use it for multiple recipes throughout the week.

This is a dish we will have again!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup brown rice
• 1 can (13.5 oz) low fat coconut milk
• 2 TBS fish sauce
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS canola or olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 long red hot peppers, seeded and sliced very thinly
• 1 TBS Salt Free Thai Spice
• 1 lb Flat Iron steak cut into cubes
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Salt Free Thai Seasoning

Directions:

1. Prepare rice to package directions substituting coconut milk for liquid.  (You can add water if more liquid is needed for cooking.)
2. Combine fish sauce and soy sauce in a small bow, set aside
3. Heat a wok or skillet to high heat.
4. Heat oil and add garlic and chiles – cook about 15 seconds
5. Add beef and Salt Free Thai Seasoning – cook meat through
6. Add soy/fish sauce mixture cook an additional 30 seconds
7. Add torn basil leaves and stir to combine
8. Serve over warm rice

Serves 3

Nutritional Information (per serving)

Protein 31g
Carbs 25g
Fat 22g
Trans Fat 1g
Sodium 1404mg
Sugar 4g
Calories 484

I really like lasagna, it is a guilty pleasure to say the least.   I do allow myself the occasional splurge for a really gooey, cheesy lasagna, this is a great substitute when I want the comfort of the real thing without all the guilt.

If you are cooking for a family, this recipe makes 12 servings.  I cut it in half, because it is just the two of us and a few leftovers.  There are several steps and it did take a little effort to prepare, but the result was worth it.

Has anyone ever made a lasagna with butternut squash?  I was thinking of trying that next, the Summer squashes are pretty much done for the season here.

Ingredients:

• Cooking Spray
• 2 cups yellow onion, chopped
• 4 garlic gloves, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cups zucchini, chopped
• 2 cups yellow squash, chopped
• 2 cups thinly sliced carrot – I used the matchstick carrots in a bag
• 2 cups broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 1/2 cup low fat milk (I use 1%)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese – use reduced fat if you can find it
• ground black pepper
• Spaghetti Seasoning – about a TBS – I just add to taste
• Nutmeg – just a dash
• 10 oz fresh baby spinach leaves
• 1 1/2 cup 1% lowfat cottage cheese
• 2 cups shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese, divided
• 12 whole wheat lasagna noodles – prepare according to package directions.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Coat a saute pan with cooking spray
3. On med high heat, saute onions until lightly brown
4. Add garlic and saute 1 minute
5. Add 1 tsp of olive oil and add zucchini, yellow squash, carrots and broccoli – saute about 4 more minutes until veggies are tender
6. In a saucepan over medium heat add flour and gradually whisk in milk until blended, bring to a boil, cook about 2 min until thick, remove from heat
7. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, pepper, nutmeg and Spaghetti seasoning – stir in spinach (I add my spinach fresh – but you could also steam in a bit first)
8. Combine cottage cheese and 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella, stir well
9. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray and spread 1/2 cup of the spinach mixture in the dish
10. Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles on top of spinach layer and top with 1/2 cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 of vegetables and 1 cup of spinach mixture
11. Repeat layers, ending with noodles on top.  Spread remaining spinach mixture over noodles and top with remaining cheeses
12. Cover and bake at 375 for 20 – 25 minutes.  Uncover and bake and additional 20 minutes until is bubble and begins to brown
13. Let the lasagna stand about 10 minutes to set before serving.

Makes 12 servings

Calories: 272
Fat: 8.3g
Carbs: 31.2g
Protein: 18.5g
Fiber 3.6g

Our son Rob, is an aspiring photographer and he shoots all the wonderful images for the SpicesInc website.  Because he lives in Philadelphia, which is about 2.5 hours away from us, we try to get him here about once a month and spend the whole day shooting. (These are my pics – not his – I am still learning!  )

For a while now, I have been wanting to go the 9th Street Italian Market in Philadelphia, so this time I took the photo shoot to him.  So last weekend, I drove down on Friday night and hit Philly in the bottom of the 8th inning of a Phillies playoff game – Whew – missed all that traffic by about 15 minutes!

Saturday we were scheduled to shoot about 20 new products for the site, but I have been wanting to go to South Philly to the Italian Market and we decided to get up early and do a little food shopping before the shoot.

The weather was perfect for a Saturday morning – a warm Fall day – very comfortable and the sun was shining.  The goal was to get everything we needed to make an amazing pasta for dinner.  BTW – Mission accomplished!

Shopping for pasta and cheese

A wonderful selection of produce!

Pumpkins and gourds

Lot's and lots of chilis! (Not for the pasta, of course.)

Fresh meat for the pasta

Lot's of fresh food and produce!

We had so much fun and got some great fresh food for a wonderful dinner that night!

Some of the fresh ingredients for dinner

Sausage and sweet bell peppers from the Market

Fresh cut pasta and asparagus

Pasta with a fresh vegetable, shrimp and sausage sauce

... and the most amazing olives!

I totally believe that food can be part of a great social event.  You can still look for healthy choices, but the fun part is putting it all together and feeding people you love!  It was a great weekend with Rob and he learned that even in his small apartment kitchen, he can cook wonderful healthy meals with fresh ingredients!  He is thinking about having a dinner party now – wonderful!

plus we finished the photo shoot

and Rob got a little help getting organized in the kitchen!

A very productive weekend and a wonderful time with Rob.

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