Macaroons

These are actually a fairly low cal and wholesome cookie. Chewy and just lightly sweet.

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded coconut (preferably the unsweetened kind)
½ cup honey
4 tablespoons white whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
½ cup liquid egg whites

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour and coconut in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat together the eggs and honey. Slowly add the flour/coconut mixture to the larger bowl with the egg whites and honey until thoroughly mixed. Drop in small spoonfuls (using a scooper is helpful) onto greased cookie sheets and bake 11-15 minutes, until tops are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned.

Makes about 30 cookies

Serving size: 1 cookie Calories 61 Protein 1 g Carb 6 g Fiber 1 g Sugars 5 g Fat 3.5 g Saturated fat 3.5 g Sodium 8mg

Variations: Stir in a few tablespoons of the following to fancy them up- chocolate chips, pecans, dried cranberries, raisins… (doing this will up the calories a bit)

Quick Tomato Basil Wrap

A fast and easy wrap, great for a snack or even a speedy breakfast…

Ingredients:

1 lower carb or whole wheat tortilla
1 tablespoon light cream cheese
1 roma tomato, washed and thinly sliced into rounds
1 teaspoon fresh chopped basil

Directions:

Spread the cream cheese to evenly coat the tortilla. Place the sliced tomato in the middle, sprinkle with basil, roll up and eat!

Makes 1 serving

Serving size: 1 wrap Calories 140 Protein 14 g Carb 23 g Fiber 8 g Sugars 4 g Fat 5 g Saturated fat 1.5 g Sodium 335 mg

Quick Lentil Carrot Soup

Whip up this hearty soup in a flash, using precooked or canned lentils to cut prep time!

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked lentils (dried type- cooked according to package or I used Westbrae canned lentils)
Two 14 ounce cans chicken or vegetable broth (*use a gluten-free brand such as Progresso Natural if you are on a gluten-free diet)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped white onion
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
ICB or olive oil sprayer (or 1 teaspoon olive oil)

Directions:

Put the onions, carrots and celery into large sized pot sprayed with ICB or olive oil sprayer (or drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil) and sauté on medium heat until just before tender (about 7-10 minutes). Put in cooked lentils, broth, oregano and garlic powder and bring to a light boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes.

Variations:

If you are watching your sodium you can use low sodium chicken/vegetable broth in place of regular.

Makes 7 cups, 7 servings

Serving size: 1 cup Calories 120 Protein 8 g Carb 20 g Fiber 9 g Sugars 4 g Fat 1 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 630 mg

Labels: soups, veggies, vegetarian, lower fat,

The BAD/BETTER/BEST of Foods Challenge Post # 7

BACON



BAD – regular pork bacon

Regular pork bacon can be anywhere from 50-70 calories a slice and have 4-5 grams fat about 50 % of which is saturated- the “bad” artery clogging kind.

BETTER –turkey bacon or Canadian bacon

Try turkey bacon or Canadian bacon for only 20-35 calories a slice, with a fraction of the fat (0.5-3 grams), and mostly no saturated fat, or 1 gram max. Enjoy turkey bacon in my BLT Snack Wrap and Rustic Vegetable Soup recipes

Baba Ganoush

A smoky, exotic dip- and this one is low in calories too!

Ingredients:

1 medium to large eggplant
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon sesame oil
salt to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Rinse and pierce eggplant several times with a fork. Bake whole, on a baking sheet until tender (about 45-60 minutes). Add garlic cloves to baking sheet for the last 15 minutes that eggplant is cooking. Remove from the garlic cloves and eggplant from the oven and let cool for 20-30 minutes. Halve the eggplant and scoop out the flesh and chop up the garlic. Then add them, with the yogurt, sesame oil and lemon juice into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Serve as a dip with veggies or triangles of flat (pita) bread.

Makes 2 cups

Serving size: 2 tablespoons Calories 15 Protein 1 g Carb 2 g Fiber 1 g Sugars 1 g Fat 1 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 0 mg

Waldorf Chicken Salad

A creamy salad with just the right amount of crunch, great for sandwiches or over a bed of lettuce.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chicken (I cooked it by boiling in a pot of water so it comes out really moist)
¾ cup chopped celery
½ cup sliced grapes
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
¼ cup light mayo (*use a gluten-free brand such as Best Foods if you are on a gluten-free diet)
½ teaspoon white vinegar (or rice vinegar)

Directions:

Put the chicken, celery, grapes, onions and walnuts in a medium bowl. In a smaller bowl combine the yogurt, mayo and vinegar well and pour over the chicken mixture. Fold in the dressing and mix well. Chill if not serving immediately.

Makes 3.5 cups, 7 servings

Serving size ½ cup Calories 120 Protein 13g Carb 6 g Fiber 0 g Sugars 5 g Fat 5 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 390 mg

Enourishment Recipes Featured on Dietsinreview.com

This week a bunch of my recipes were posted on dietsinreview.com, a fun website with lots of diet and recipe info. Click here to check out a one of them and the site itself- enjoy!

White Bean, Spinach and Mushroom Soup

An earthy and surprisingly hearty soup, no meat required!

Ingredients:

¾ cups chopped white onion
4 cups chopped mushrooms (crimini, button)
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
One 14 ounce can white beans, rinsed well (kidney, navy)
Two 14 ounce cans chicken or vegetable broth (*use a gluten-free brand such as Progresso Natural if you are on a gluten-free diet)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
ICB or olive oil sprayer (or 1 teaspoon olive oil)

Directions:

Put the onions and mushrooms into large sized pot sprayed with ICB or olive oil sprayer (or 1 teaspoon olive oil) and sauté on medium heat until just before tender (about 7-10 minutes). Put in canned beans, broth and garlic powder and bring to a light boil. Reduce to low heat, add the spinach and simmer about 10 minutes.

Variations:
If you are watching your sodium you can use low sodium chicken/vegetable broth in place of regular.

Makes 6 cups, 6 servings

Serving size: 1 cup Calories 90 Protein 5 g Carb 14 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 3 g Fat 1.5 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 610 mg

Southwestern Pasta Primavera

A spicy twist on pasta.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped white onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed well
1 cup corn (fresh, canned or frozen thawed)
One 14 ounce can stewed tomatoes (regular, or Mexican style if you like more spice)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cups (6 ounces dry) cooked whole wheat or regular pasta
chopped fresh cilantro (optional for serving)
low fat cheese (optional for serving)

Directions:

Start cooking the pasta in boiling water according package directions. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil, onions and bell pepper to a large pan and saute on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned. Then add the zucchini, corn, black beans. tomatoes, chili powder and cumin and simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Rinse and drain the cooked pasta, stir it to the pan with the vegetable/tomato mixture. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, sprinkle with cheese and chopped cilantro (if desired) and then serve.

Makes 8 cups, 8 servings

Serving size: 1 cup Calories 160 Protein 6 g Carb 30 g Fiber 5 g Sugars 6 g Fat 2 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 300 mg

Variation: If you’re watching sodium you can substitute low sodium chicken broth