Apple and Spinach Salad

I'm always looking for delicious salads....and often failing, but....I found a keeper via a posting on facebook.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I've made it over and over.  In the winter I craft fresh fruit and there aren't a lot of offerings in the store, but apples, apples are in season, so this one is just right!

Apple Salad Recipe

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Ingredients for Salad:  1 bag of baby spinach, 2 granny smith apples (sliced), golden raisins, cashews, thin slices of red onion
Ingredients for Dressing:  1/4 c. sugar, 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar, 1/4 c. vegetable oil, 1/4 t. garlic salt, 1/4. t. celery salt,

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Eating a holiday meal with my family is sort of like the story of Goldilocks.  Everyone has their quirks.  Things they won't eat, will eat, expect to eat, never want to see again.  At most meals-my extended family=7, so I don't know if it's good there are so few considering all the special request, or if we were larger-people wouldn't get to be so picky.  I, of course, am not a single part of the problem (ha!).  So, the goal is always to find things everyone will eat, that actually taste good.  When my brother jumped off the vegetarian wagon straight into vegan -ville I refused to give up all those veggie casseroles.  Someone said they had seen a vegan green bean casserole, so I got to work thanks to hummusapian I have a tasty dish that meets at least one of the guest requirements.  I didn't let the others know it was vegan and everyone was happy.  It also make a TON, so my family has room to grow.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

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Ingredients: 1/2 c. cashews (soaked for 4 hours or overnight in the almond milk), 1/2 c unsweetened almond milk, french onions (I got a large can b/c we like these a lot),  2 lbs frozen cut green beans, 1 T  olive oil, 1 med onion (diced), 3 cloves of garlic (minced), 16 oz of mushrooms (chopped), 1/8 t ground nutmeg, 1 T soy sauce, 1/4 c dry white wine, ground black pepper (I used a substitution for the white wine-I know the alcohol cooks out, but my brother has been sober over 5 years now and doesn't even cook with it just as a matter of temptation)

Instructions:  Place cashews in the almond milk and soak for 4 hours or overnight.  When you ready blend with a food processor until smooth and creamy.  Set aside.  
Bring a large pot with 2 inches of water to a boil.  Add green beans to boiling water.  Cook over medium for 5 minutes (or until tender).  Drain and run cold water over the green beans to stop the cooking.  Set aside.
In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions to hot oil.  Cook for five minutes and then add garlic and mushrooms.  Cook for ten minutes (stir often).  Add nutmeg, soy sauce, white wine, salt, and pepper.  Simmer for five minutes.
Stir in cashew cream and 1/3 c.+ of the french onions.  Stir in green beans.
Spread mix into large casserole dish and top with the remaining baked onions.  Back at 350 for 20 minutes.
*It says this serves 8, but I think you could squeeze in several more people!

Summer Salad

When the stores start selling fresh fruit, I start looking for recipes to toss them in.  I found this recipe last year via chelseamessy.  It has a combination of all I love-and I felt like I did something right for my body at the end of the meal.  It also was pretty, and equally as important as tasty is pretty....right?  So if you are looking for something tasty...and pretty, here's one of my favorite summer salads.

Summer Salad

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Salad Ingredients: 4 c. baby spinach (remove stems if desired), 1/2 c. fresh blueberries, 1/2 c. strawberries (sliced), 1/2 c clementine orange slices, 2-3 T. feta cheese, 2 T slivered almonds, 1 large rotisserie chicken (take off the bone)
Dressing: Mix 1/4 c olive oil, 1 T balsamic vinegar, 1/2 t. Dijon mustard, 1/2 t. honey, 1 t. lemon juice.  Pour over salad ingredients.

Sweet and Sour Chicken on the Grill

Last summer I went through a grilling season and this was one of the recipes I tried out and loved.  The original recipe is from adashofsanity and it was easy to put together, and tasty to consumer-which are my two criteria.  As a side note, it's also a pretty healthy recipe.  If your standards also go along these lines, here is the recipe.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

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Ingredients: 2 lbs of chicken tenders or chicken cut up into tender size, 1 T rice vinegar, 2 T soy sauce, 3/4 c. sugar, 1/4 c.+2 T ketchup 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar, 1/2 t. garlic powder, 1 bell pepper (chopped into large chunks), 1 purple onion (chopped into large chunks), 2 c. brown rice (cooked and prepped by package directions), grill skewers (metal or bamboo)
Instructions:  Marinate your chicken by mixing all the ingredients except for the rice.  Cut the chicken into large chunks and leave it in a bowl in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
Soak bamboo skewers for 30 minutes.  Thread chicken, onion, and green peppers by alternating to fill the skewers.  Save marinate.
Place chicken on the grill over medium heat.  Cover and cook for 3 minutes.  Turn and baste with marinate.  Cook 3 more minutes.  Check the center and see if they are finished.  The chicken usually takes about 10 minutes to cook.

Strawberry Salad

This is a recipe from Trisha Yearwood's cookbook and it's probably my favorite new salad that I've tried out in YEARS.  I think it's the ramons....I don't know why, but I hear those little jewels on a salad.  It's easy, fresh, and if you accidentally eat some of that spinach with all the other fun stuff, it's also healthy....who knew?

Strawberry Salad

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Ingredients:  1 pkg ramen noodles (crushed, discard the flavor package), 1/4 c. sunflower seeds, 1/4 c. sliced almonds, 1/4 c. butter (melted-you can use cooking spray for healthier option), 5 oz bag of baby spinach, 1 pint of strawberries (hulled and sliced thin), 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese, 3/4 c. sugar (or sugar subst), 1/2 c. red wine vinegar, 2 garlic cloves (minched), 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. paprika, 3/4 c. veg oil (or olive oil), grilled chicken (optional)
Instructions:  
1.  Mix the noodles, nuts, and melted butter.  Place on a baking sheet and toast at 350 (stir a few times) for 10 minutes.  Let cool.
2.  Mix lettuce, strawberries, and cheese.
3.  Dissolve sugar in the vinegar.  Add garlic, salt, paprika, and oil.  Mix and store in the fridge until serving.
To serve, toss spinach with dressing and top with noodle and nut mix.

Dark Chocolate Clementines

I saw this recipe last year via food network.  I heart clementines.  They are sweet without all that seedy/stringy mess that comes with their big brother, the orange.  I puffy heart dark chocolate, so marrying the two was genius.  I melted the chocolate, dipped my oranges and added a little sea salt. Salty and sweet oranges.  It's a pretty healthy for you 'bad' snack...or so I tell myself.

Frozen Blueberries

 I love these little guys and they are so easy to make.  Take fresh blueberries, wash and dry them.  Then take a toothpick and dip them into yogurt.  I like vanilla, but any flavor will do.

 Place your dipped blueberries onto a piece of wax paper....

 Place them in the freezer for a few hours.

These are so delicious, and I love grabbing a handful at a time.  Healthy and refreshing.  One pint of blueberries only took about 1/2 c. of yogurt to cover.  I love fresh fruit in my yogurt, but it turns out I like yogurt on my fresh fruit.  :O)  You can do this with any berry, but I love the little berries best, it's the perfect yogurt to berry ratio!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Popsicles

 I saw this recipe at Chocolate and Carrot and I knew I had it to try it out.  Such simple ingredients, and relatively healthy.  It tasted like chocolate covered strawberries, but what a great cold treat, or a fun variation to traditional Valentine's Strawberry gifts.
First, just blend 2 1/2 c. fresh strawberries and 1/3 c. water.  Pour it into a Popsicle mold with a stick (worst case scenario-a plastic cup) and freeze.  This made 10 Popsicles.  You could stop here, these are delicious, but...

 Who ever stops when chocolate is being discussed?  Mix 2 c. dark chocolate chips and 4 T coconut oil (if you want to be a little less healthy, Crisco works too).  Melt this in the microwave for about a minute/stir.  If it's not smooth, melt it at 20 second intervals between stirring.  Dip your pops.  I wrapped these individually in Saran wrap until I was ready to eat them.  Uhhh...yum.  Hard shelled strawberry pops?  Yes, please!

Applesauce Chicken

All right, one more healthy recipe...for now.  This was a pretty tasty treat, and you can never go wrong with something that turns out well via the crockpot!

Applesauce Chicken

Ingredients:  4 skinless boneless chicken breast (trimmed of fat), 1 c. applesauce (no sugar added), 1/2 c.  water, small onion (sliced), 1 T minced garlic, 2 t apple cider or white vinegar, pinch of cinnamon, 1/2 t black pepper, pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions:  Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker.  Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.

Chocolate Coconut Bars

This is another recipe I ran across on my quest to eliminate some of the enriched flour in my life.  Emphasis on some.  This world is too scary to live forever (kidding).  This was a really good bar recipe I found.  Again, you aren't gonna be like, is this a health bar or a snickers?  It's so hard for me to tell the difference, BUT if you are trying to eat cleaner, I enjoyed these many a morning for breakfast!

Chocolate Coconut Bar

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Ingredients:  1 c. quick oats (toasted), 1/2 c. oat flour (I just put oats in a blender and grinded my own), 1/2 c. unbleached wheat flour, 3 T butter 1/3 c. maple syrup or honey.  Topping:  1 c. dark chocolate chips, 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, 3/4 c. shredded coconut, 1 t. vanilla, 1 egg, 1 T wheat flour

Instructions:  Grease 8x8 pan.  Mix oats, oat flour, wheat flour and then mix in egg.  Mix with a fork until it looks like coarse meal.  Pour in the syrup and mix well.  Press into the bottom of your pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Remove.  Mix all the topping ingredients and pour over the top of your crust.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool and then slice into bars.  

Healthy Banana Muffins

I went on a quest last summer to find recipes that didn't use enriched flour.  I'm not to the point yet that I can eliminate it from my diet, but....it's not a bad idea to reduce it at least!  I discovered a ton of really disgusting recipes, but....there were a few good ones along the way.  Granted, you aren't gonna be like-oh my gosh, is this a banana nut muffin or a cupcake?  But this is a good one.  Add a little light butter and I really couldn't tell much of a difference on these guys.

Healthy Banana Muffins

Ingredients:  1 c. plain low fat greek yogurt, 2 eggs, 1/2 c. honey, 2 t. baking powder, 1 t. baking soda, 2 T ground flax seed, 1 t. vanilla, 2 very ripe bananas
Instructions:  Spray muffin tins (12 total).  Grind oats in the food processor.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  You can add nuts or dark chocolate chips to your muffins for a kick.  Divide batter and bake for 18 minutes at 400 degrees.

Weight Friendly Chicken

 

I'm a fan of the chicken, and when you tell me it's healthy...and I try it and it's actually delicious too....sign me up.  So....if you are doing the New Year New You thing but want to eat more than carrots and lettuce....try this guy.  If you are counting...it's 4 Points Plus.  

Oven-Fried Paprika Chicken

Ingredients:  2 sprays cooking spray, 1/2 c. plain fat-free yogurt, 1 T sweet paprika (divided), 15 saltine crackers (crushed into crumbs, 1 t. salt, 1/4 t.  black pepper, 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (4 4 oz pieces), 1 T parsley, 1/2 med lemon (cut into wedges-I skipped this)

Instructions:  Preheat boiler and coat baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place yogurt and 1 t. paprika in small shallow bow.  In a second shallow bowl combine cracker crumbs, salt, pepper and remaining 2 t. paprika.  Stir to combine.  Place chicken in yogurt mix and turn to coat.  Place coated chicken in cracker mix and turn to coat-press lightly to make crumbs stick.  Place coated chicken on prepared baking sheet and lightly spray top of chicken with cooking spray.  Broil 3-4 inches from heat source until golden brown and cooked through.  Flip once about 4-5 minutes per side.  Serve by sprinkling with parsley and garnish with lemon wedges. 

Single Serving-Low Calorie Ranch Tortilla Chips....True Story

I'm a fan of chips, but there is something about an open bag in my possession that becomes a problem.  Interventions are staged.  Tears are shed.  It's never a good thing.  So, someone shared this recipe with me this past summer and....oh my, it solved so many of my problems!  You can make a single serving, for just a few calories and the men with the straight jackets, and Dr. Drew and the camera crew take their winter filming schedule elsewhere.  Basically, grab some low calorie corn tortillas.  Spray a pan with some cooking oil spray.  Cut your tortilla into 8 triangles, spray the tops and then sprinkled it with the powder from a package of ranch dressing seasoning and bake at 400 degrees for about 6 minutes (until crisp).  The calories only come from the tortillas.  I've found some that run about 30 calories each, so 16 chips=60 calories (give or take), or 2 WW pointsplus.  As far as how much ranch seasoning....I guess that depends on your love of the ranch flavor.  I love it, so I use almost half of a regular package on 4 total tortillas.  No diets were harmed in the making of these potato chips. 

Fruit and Veggie Muffins

I like these muffins b/c they are full of lots o' fruits and even a veggie....they are pretty filling, and really delicious.  Anyway I can pack in a veggie in a healthy way....I'll take it.

Fruit and Veggie Muffins

Makes 18 Muffins

Ingredients:  1 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 c. wheat flour, 1 1/4 c. sugar, 1 T ground cinnamon, 2 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. salt, 2 c. grated carrots, 1 apple (peeled, cored, and chopped into small cubes), 1 c. raisins, 1 egg, 2 egg whites, 1/2 c. apple sauce, 1 T vanilla, 1/4 c. veg. oil, 2 T chopped walnuts

Instructions:  Grease 18 muffin cups.  Mix eggs/egg whites, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla in one bowl.  In a second bowl mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in carrots, apples and raisins into dry mix (to coat so they won't fall to the bottom).  Add wet mix to the dry mix and mix until just moist (don't over mix).  Spoon into muffin cups (3/4 full).  Sprinkle nuts over mix.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.  

Pumpkin Pie Muffins-100 Calories Each

My friend Mary recently shared this recipe with me.  These muffins are sooooo good, super moist, they smell great, and taste like the best parts of pumpkin pie.  Two good things about this muffin, minus the great taste.....they are only about 100 calories a piece, and they only require three ingredients, one of which is water! 

Basically, mix 1 box of spice cake mix (an 18 oz box), 15 oz can of pumpkin, and 1 c. of water.  Pour the batter into 24 muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. 

Frozen Yogurt Bites

 I've seen these little yogurt dots all over the net lately, and I finally decided I had to try them out when I saw how easy they were to put together.  Plus, it's August.  It's Texas.  The colder the food....the better.  I eat a lot of vanilla flavored yogurt, any flavor works, just put it in a ziplock bag, snip the corner....

 Squeeze a bunch of 'dots' of yogurt onto a wax paper covered pan.  Place it in the freezer to freeze for a few hours.  Dust off your degree in rocket science, and....enjoy. 

Camping: Baked Apples

 One of my old favorites from girl scout camp....approximately 4 million years ago were baked apples....so easy, and it really does taste like the innards of an apple pie with a lot fewer calories, and a lot less work. 
Basically, you hollow out the center of an apple (the seeds).  I use a knife, but you can use an apple corer.  I added a little promise butter, brown sugar, cinnamon.  You can add whatever-raisins or any other seasonings.

 Wrap foil around the apple and you can either place it on a campfire, charcoal, or even in an oven set at 350...assuming you are camping suburban style.  They take about 40 minutes.  The longer they sit, the softer they will be.

Skinny Mac and Cheese.....Really

 There are a few things that will always be a part of my life.  Mac and Cheese....it makes the list.  The problem is there are certain times in my life....like, the day before June 1st and the official OFFICIAL start to swim suit season that I realize the food company I keep and the swim suit section at every store on planet earth are not friends.  I mean.....if you are willing to throw in a nice cover up and by coverup....I mean mu mu....then maybe, but...a mu mu gets bulky to pack on vacation, so...enter....Skinny Mac and Cheese a la Skinny Girl's blog.  And you know what, I can dig it.  I added some seasoning salt, but I managed to make a meal or three out of this.  It was filling, it was a good substitute for those of us in need, and  if one can lose 20 pounds in 20 hours.....I'm pretty much almost, but not really ready for swimsuit season.....but I will be....next June.  And if you too have trouble fitting the mu mu in the suitcase, here's a recipe to help....  

Skinny Mac and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients:  6 c. (24 oz bag) frozen cauliflower and cheese sauce, 2 c. uncooked whole wheat pasta, 3 wedges of Swiss Laughing Cow Cheese, salt and pepper to taste. 
Instructions:  Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box.  Drain.  While noodles are cooking, place the contents of the bag of cauliflower and sauce package into a large microwaveable bowl.  Cover and microwave for 12-16 minutes (until sauce is melted and the cauliflower is hot).  Add cooked pasta to the cauliflower mix.  Unwrap the cheese wedges, place in microwave in a small bowl for 30 seconds.  Stir into the bowl of cauliflower mix.  Mix thoroughly.  Season to taste. 
4 servings:  1 c.=202 calories or 5 pointsplus values

Zuchinni Chips

 In a quest to utilize my new best friend, the Zuchinni, I went on a google search for recipes.  I also have been incredibly hungry, and these have, like, negative calories, which is a good thing.  I found this recipe at Vittles and Bits.  It's easy, and it really was tasty. 

Zucchini Chips

Ingredients:  1 zucchini, spray butter, seasoned salt. 
Instructions:  Heat over to 225 degrees.  Line a cooking sheet with foil, spray with a coating of spray (I actually used a pizza stone and didn't spray it down).  Cut zucchini in thin slices, about the thickness of a quarter. Lay out on sheet in one layer.  Spray with cooking spray, sprinkle with seasoning salt.  It's true, a little goes a long way.  I like a lot of salt, and I was a little over zealous thinking I would want more.   Bake for 45 minutes.  Turn the tray and bake for another 30-45 minutes.  These are best eaten right away, they don't store long.  One zuchinni only make enough for one person, maybe half a cup.  They shrink up to about half their size.  This is going to be one of my new favorite go to snacks for the summer. 

Peanut Butter Yogurt Fruit Dip

I saw this recipe floating around pinterest a few months ago, so I had to try it out.  It's relatively good for you in moderation...kind of...., and it really was delicious. And....VERY easy, which is what tipped the scales in it's favor!  But who's worried about scales right now? 

Peanut Butter and Yogurt Fruit Dip

1/2 c. strawberry yogurt, 1/2 c. peanut butter, 1/4 c. powdered sugar.  Mix, and serve with bananas and strawberries.