Farro Blackberry Salad

Farro adds nice texture to this salad. Blackberries are in season at the moment and have been very reasonable.

• 1/2 cup Italian Farro cooked in vegetable broth according to directions
• spinach
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup blackberries
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp honey

Combine 1/2 cup of blackberries, oil, mustard and honey in the blender. Mix until smooth. Toss the cooked Farro, spinach and almonds together. Divide salad among plates, top with the remaining berries, and drizzle with the dressing.

Quinoa Salad with Miso Dressing

Edamame and quinoa pack this Asian inspired salad recipe. I keep this recipe fast with already precooked quinoa bowls.

Salad ingredients: Toss together in a large bowl

1 container of single serving quinoa                                                                                                 1 cup cooked and shelled edamame                                                                                                   2 cups of arugula                                                                                                                                     1/2 cup slivered alomonds                                                                                                                   1/2 cup low sugar craisins                                                                                                                     1 cup of shreded carrots

Dresssing: Blend together

3/4 cup orange juice                                                                                                                               2 tbs white miso paste                                                                                                                           1 tbs rice vinegar                                                                                                                                   2 tsp sesame or olive oil                                                                                                                       2 tsp minced fresh ginger                                                                                                                     1/2 tso red chili flakes

Mix some of the dressing with the salad ingredients and save some to add on top. Little goes long ways with this dressing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy Cheesecake with Banana Oatmeal Cookie Crust

I like to improve old recipes to make them healthier.  Typically I use graham cracker crust when I make my cheesecake. I have seen recipes that use banana bread as a crust for cheesecake, but that only adds calories to the dessert. This crust I created is made with no added sugar or oil. It requires only two ingredients: oats and ripe bananas.

Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put 1 cup of the oats in a food processor and whirl until oats are in small bits.
3. Mix well with the rest of the whole rolled oats and the smashed  bananas.
4. At this point, you can add a little water if needed to thin the dough a little.
5. Spray spring form pan with a little cooking oil spray.
6. Wet your fingers and flatten the mixture out to the desired thickness.  Lightly spray the crust with oil to give a crispy browned finis
7. Bake at top of oven for 18 to 22 minutes, until cooked.
8. Cool.

Cheesecake

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. 4 8oz containers of fat-free cream cheese (room temperature)
3. 2 fat-free condensed milk
4. 4 eggs 2 tsp vanilla
5. optional: bag of dark chocolate chips

Beat all ingredients together except chocolate chips. Pour mix into pan. Top with chips if using. Bake 40 minutes. Cool and refrigerate before serving.

Orange Fish and Green Onions

It is wondeful to have friends who share their fresh catch. My friend caught beautiful red fish, and I could not be happier with her goodcatch!  I was more than happy to enjoy some of her success, and experiment with a recipe idea. White fish dries very easily when cooked, so I wanted to make sure to cook it with liquid. This recipe is true Florida dish with fresh caught local Red Fish and oranges.  This is like a boost of vitamin C with the delicious citrus flavors.

• 2 oranges (1 juiced and 1 sliced)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tbs tamarin or low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbs grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp pepper flakes
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 6 green onion trimmed
• 1 lb of fish fillet

Preheat oven to 425 F. In a small bowl mix mix the juices, soy sauce, ginger, pepper flakes and  2 tsp of the olive oil. Drizzle the bottom of baking dish with rest of the oil. Place the oranges slices and the green onion in the bottom of the dish and top with the fish. Drizzle with the juice mixture. Bake 15 minutes or until fish starts to flake. Top with rest of the sauce and broil for few minutes.

Orange Cannellini Beans

Beans are a super healthy and versatile food. I am not huge fan of beans, but luckily my husband is. I try to find ways to eat more beans and this recipe is loaded with flavor and so easy to make. It is best if made in advance and let the flavors soak in. Perfect recipe for the summer.

• juice and rind of 1 orange
• 2 15 oz cans of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all of the ingredients together and refrigerate for few hours.

 

Watermelon “Pizza”

When you find something you like, you must recreate it! Well, at least thats my thoughts when I find a dish I find tasty and fascinating. When I saw watermelon pizza on a menu, I complete passed by it because I thought DOUGH! You don’t find dough on this pizza, only healthy tasty ingredients. This makes a great appetizer or a side dish. I love it with smoked salmon or shrimp coctail.

• watermelon slices
• pesto
• sliced almonds
• cherry tomatoes, halved
• arugula
• balsamic vinaigrette
• chopped onion (optional)
• feta cheese (optional)

Toss the aruguala in the vinaigrette. Spread 1 tsp of pesto on each slice of watermelon, add the sliced almonds, tomatoes, arugula and the optional onion and feta cheese.

Healthy Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Some recipes sounds way too easy and healthy to be tasty, but this one is an exception. The origin of this easy recipe was featured on Facebook, so I had to play around with it. I added my own twist to it to satisfy chocolate lovers in my family. These muffins taste like Southern fruit cobbler. You could use raspberries, blackberries or diced peaches.

• 2 ripe bananas smashed
• 4 eggs
• rasberries
• dark chocolate chips

Blend the smashed bananas and eggs together. Place raspberries in the bottom of  greased muffin tins. Pour banana egg mixture on top of the berries. Top each muffing tin with 5 chocolate chips. Bake in 375 F degree oven for 15 minutes or until firm. Enjoy as dessert or breakfast.

 

Roasted Miso Broccoli

No more boring broccoli! I should serve broccoli  more often for its health benefits, but shy away from it because it is not very exciting vegetable to me. This tasty recipe was so delicious that my non veggie lover husband enjoyed it.

2 small bunches broccoli, cut into florets
2 tablespoons white miso paste
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh peeled ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the miso paste, oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, a pinch of black pepper, and red pepper flakes until well-combined. Add the broccoli to the bowl and toss with the miso mixture until it’s well-coated.

Transfer the Broccolini to a baking sheet and arrange into a single layer. Roast for 10 minutes, stirring once about halfway through. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Rosemary Carrots

This recipe comes from a fellow  wordpress blogger Every Day Sarah Jane. I roast carrots regularly, but I have not thought of seasoning them with rosemary. I had to try this, and was not disappointed.

 

• carrots,  peeled and cut into 1/2 X 3 inch slices.
• 1 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 tbs rosemary
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a  bowl, toss together carrots and the seasonings. Lie flat on a baking sheet. Cook for 15 minutes, flip. Cook for additional 15 minutes or until tender.

 

Flourless Healthy Brownie Bites

No one will ever guess the secret ingredient in this recipe: bananas. No added sugar or fat! These little brownie bites are as quilt free as any dessert can be. So far everyone who has tried them has loved them. I am super happy that my husband gets his sweet tooth craving satisfied with these little treats.

• 1 1/2 cups smashed very ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup of all natural peanut butter (no sugar added)
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder

Heat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Mix all of the ingredients until everything is well blended. Spoon into muffin pan evenly. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Cool and place in the fridge. Enjoy quilt free!