Some of my husbands relatives are coming in to visit and I know that their diet usually consists of high fat and high sodium foods. I don't want to freak them out with what we eat so I am looking for some suggestions of what to serve them while they are here for a week, without totally giving in to their lifestyle!?!?

I had some friends over for birthday drinks and I wanted to have some healthy snacks rather than chips and other greasy finger food so I turned to the recipes here. I chose to make the Avocado, Hummus and Artichoke dips with plenty of whole grain pita, crackers and veggies for dipping. They turned out great! Everyone loved the healthy snacks and any leftovers are great because I don't feel bad about eating them either!

I made these for the first time last night and they were so very yummy and very easy to make.


Preheat oven to 400. Put the cookie sheet in during the preheat process. Wash your sweet potatoes. Slice each potato into 6 wedges. Once the oven has preheated, pull out cookie sheet. Lightly oil sheet with canola oil or spray. Put your wedges on cookie sheet. Either lightly oil potatoes with oil or spray, then season with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 min. Pull wedges out and turn them over. Cook another 15-20 min. until done.


Yum!!!


the hardest part about this recipe is cutting the sweet potatoes!

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats, (not quick-cooking)

1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 cup tahini

4 tbsp butter (or try Earth balance for Vegan)

2/3 cup sugar/12 Purevia

1/4 cup agave syrup

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup dark choc chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Directions |

Preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.


Whisk oats, whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat tahini and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until blended into a paste. Add brown sugar & agave; continue beating until well combined"the mixture will still be a little grainy. Beat in egg, then egg white, then vanilla. Stir in the oat mixture with a wooden spoon until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips, walnuts & seeds.


With damp hands, roll 1 tablespoon of the batter into a ball, place it on a prepared baking sheet and flatten it with wet spatula. Continue with the remaining batter, spacing the flattened balls 2 inches apart.


Bake the cookies until golden brown, about 16 minutes, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Cool on the pans for 2 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

I can't take credit for creating this, it came from Hollywood and Dine on fox8.com. I made some adjustments so I'll write my version here for you:

Tome Hanks - Greek Plaki

Preheat oven to 350F

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2lbs Cod, Sea Bass, any white fish
Olive Oil as needed
1 tsp oregano chopped
dash of salt and pepper
zest of 1 lemon
2 large tomatoes 1/4 inch slices
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 c bread crumbs
2 sweet onions 1/4 inch slices
2 lemons 1/8 inch slices
1 c white wine
3 Tbs lemon juice

The plan:
-Place fish in deep casserole dish and lightly coat both sides with oil.
-Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper oregano, and lemon zest.
-Top with single layer of tomatoes.
-Rub garlic across the tomatoes.
-Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
-Top with single layer of onions.
-Lightly drizzle oil over onions.
-Top with single layer of lemons.
-Gently pour wine and lemon juice into side of the dish, not on top of fish or you'll wash all the good stuff off.
-Bake 45 minutes.

I ate everything except the lemon slices. The onions were so mild and yummy and some toasted bread will help soak up the juice. Pair it with a spinach salad topped with tomato, cucumber, onion, feta cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. Enjoy!!!

Hello! I just purchased a VitaMix and am eager to start experimenting. Do any of you have one? I would love to hear any tips or ideas.
Thank you!

Love hot drinks this time of year - even latte calories add up. Try this:

8 oz unsweetened almond breeze vanilla milk (40 cal)
1 packet of PurVia
1 sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

Voila hot low-cal latte!!

A Really Good Last Minute Recipe! This is a different take on everyone's favorite sweet potato and marshmallow dish. I mean, you kinda can't go wrong when you put marshmallows and sweet potatoes together! Yummy!

Ingredients
• 12 large sweet potatoes
• 3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup toasted pecan pieces
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Wash the sweet potatoes, scrubbing them well to remove any dirt. With a fork, prick the sweet potatoes in a couple of spots and place them on a sheet pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center goes in easily.
In a large bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and flour together until it's crumbly-looking. Add the cinnamon, salt, pecans, and marshmallows; fold the streusel topping together to combine.
Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise down the center and push the ends towards the middle so it opens up. Stuff the sweet potatoes generously with the streusel topping and return to the oven. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and brown.

I got this recipe from a member at my Monday night exercise class. I have one almost everyday w/ breakfast.

Berry Spinach Smoothie

Mix in 1/2 cup frozen or fresh berries (one type of berry or a mix),a big handful of baby spinach leaves, and 1 cup apple juice. I use half juice and half water to lower calories. I swear you can't taste the spinach.

I attended my exercise class tonight. Had a blast. My legs are sore now. When I got home I fixed something I've been calling "Crystal's skillet mix". I have to admitt I'm not much of a cook. I'll eat (or at least try) anything. I avoid butter, salt, lard, grease, oysters, and catfish. Other than that I'm good to go. My husband is the pickiest eater I know. He won't try hardly anything. And decides before biting that it tastes bad. You'll never hear me say I don't like something I've never tried. Back to my skillet mix. I spray in alil oil (canola) and red or sweet pototoes into chunks. Cook throughly. Then add Tyson (pre-cooked) chicken fajita shrips. Cook until heated through. Then I toss in a huge handful of baby spinach leaves. Once they are wilted, turn off the heat. Remove from buner. Sprinkle w/ shredded cheese. When I make it for just me (and not the hubby - Mr. Picky) I add bell peppers and mushrooms. It's very colorful w/ green spinach and red bell peppers. I only threw this together for the first time a month ago. My hubby has already begged me for it twice since then. That's how I know it's a hit. After dinner we took the dogs for a walk around our small town. It was so nice walking together under that big beautiful full moon.

Here is a quick start for a healthy breakfast recipe.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of water
1 cup steel cut oats
1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 apple, cored & thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
agave nectar or honey

Method:

In a small pot, combine water, oats, & yogurt. Cover pot & set aside at room temperature to let soak for 8 hours overnight.

Bring contents of pot to a simmer, covered, over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in salt and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the water is absorbed and oats are thick & creamy, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside
covered for 5 more minutes. Serve & top with apples & nuts, drizzle w/agave nectar or honey.

Serves 4

Just made Gabby's smoothie for b'fast. So very yummy. Although I have to admit that I did not add the Caties Greens. I'm not really into the really healthy stuff ... yet... and it does scare me a bit. :) LOL!

Anyway, you should try it. YUM!!!!

There are so many recipes I would like to share, but I haven’t had the time. I took pictures too. BUT I didn’t have time to upload them to my laptop yet. Anyway here are a few simple ones.


Homemade Salsa

2 Tomatoes

1/2 Sweet Onion

1 Can Whole Kernel Sweet Corn

1 Can Black Beans

Lime Juice

Cilantro

Salt & Pepper


Dice the tomatoes and onion. Drain the corn and beans. Put all the tomatoes, onions, corn, and beans in a bowl. Add some lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper (to desired taste). Mix. Enjoy :-)

Aaron and I make a "Mexican Salad" with this recipe. We add Tortilla Chips, lettuce (sometimes chicken), and cheese with the salsa. Very tasty meal.



Tomato & Cucumber Salad

1 Cucumber

1 Tomato

Vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Cut up the cucumber and tomato and place in a bowl. Add vinegar (in excess). Add salt and pepper to desired taste. Refrigerate for a couple hours to chill. Enjoy :-)

I am eating this for lunch today!

One of my fav salad dressings was taught to me by a Greek friend and it is simple and so yummy. It is just the juice of a lemon squeezed on to your salad (to taste) followed by a good splash of olive oil and sea salt and pepper to taste. Toss it with your salad to mix it up and instant, low fat, all yum dressing!

I made this tonight for dinner. It satisfies even the most ardent carnivore as it has a 'meaty' feel thanks to the portabella.


-2 large portabella mushroom caps

-Organic Feta cheese (about 4T)

-12-16 choppped/ diced crimini mushrooms

-2 cloves chopped garlic

-1 chopped white or red onion

-2 chopped shallots

-4 sprigs fresh thyme

-2T olive oil

-lemon zest, sea salt, black pepper to taste


Clean all mushrooms- blot with paper towel, don't submerge in water. Chop the remnants of the portabella stalk off. Chop and set aside. Chop crimini mushrooms, set aside. Place in mixing bowl.


In a large pan, heat olive oil on medium to med/high heat and throw in onions, garlic and shallot. Cook until almost translucent. Add half the Feta cheese to mix. Stir in fresh thyme (pull thyme leaves off sprig) and remaining seasonings.


Place portabellas cap side down in a Pam coated cooking pan (Be sure to use a PAN, as a cookie sheet will drip mushroom juice all over the stove!). Spoon mixture into the gill side of the portabellas. Add one spoonful at a time, adding a bit of the remaining Feta evach time. Fill each mushroom until full (they will almost be overflowing!). Cook on 350 for 10-15 minutes.


Serve with wild rice, couscous or on a bed of greens. Enjoy!

Does anyone have any yummy (and low call) recipe ideas for Cod fillets? Thanks!!!! Shoot me an email! :)

Tis' the season for Rainier Cherries! These cherries are the ones that are red and yellow colored and they are so sweet and juicy and delicious. I think they only come out during the summer months so enjoy them while you can!