Healthy You Challenge

I was recently at a friends house for Sunday Brunch and tried this soufflé. I couldn't believe that 1/6 of this delicious dish was only 143 calories!! The recipe comes from Cooking Light and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.


Spinach and Feta Soufflé

Spinach and Feta Soufflé




Cooking spray
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
10 ounce (about 8 cups) baby spinach
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta
6 large egg whites
Dash of cream of tartar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

Preheat oven to 350°.

Coat a 2-quart soufflé dish with cooking spray; sprinkle breadcrumbs over bottom and sides of dish.

Cook baby spinach in boiling water 15 seconds or until wilted, and drain in a sieve, pressing until barely moist. Finely chop; place in a large bowl.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place the flour, salt, ground nutmeg, ground red pepper, and black pepper in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until thick.

Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot milk mixture into egg yolk, stirring constantly with a whisk, and add to remaining hot milk mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 30 seconds, and remove from heat. Stir in baby spinach, cheese and dill. Cool slightly.

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into baby spinach mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon into prepared soufflé dish. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until puffed, golden, and set. Serve immediately.

Our very own Swizzlepop aka I AM a size 6 again!! (formerly- I WILL be a size 6 again!)
is a woman of many talents.

She shared a recipe for Winter Harvest Stew back in January that I finally tried and all I can say is WOW, its simply delicious!

She has a blog where she shares all of her recipes its called Eat, Snack and be Healthy. There are some great ideas so stop by, bookmark it and enjoy!

Here is her recipe, be sure to stop by her blog and see the photo of it too

Winter Harvest Stew

Ingredients/tools:
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 medium butternut squash
1 C dried lentils
1/2 C uncooked Bulgar Wheat
3/4 can diced tomatoes (I use S&W garlic and basil)
7 C chicken or veggie broth or both
1 tsp dried Fennel
1.5 tsp dried thyme
3/4 chopped red onion

Seasonings to taste:
Lawry's Seasoning Salt

When I was a little girl and didn't want to eat breakfast my Dad would make oatmeal with milk and sprinkle in sugar and cocoa powder to make chocolately breakfast I couldn't resist. Sometimes he would add a teaspoon of peanut butter to my mixture for a bit of protein. Is it any wonder I grew up to love chocolate?

Twix found a great article from South Beach Daily Dish called Getting The Most Out Of Oats. Even if you aren't following South Beach, its worth reading because Oats are a great source of whole grain.

I love oatmeal on a cold morning like today, toasted with a few craisens, chopped walnut and a bit of splenda makes a delicious change from cold cereal in the morning. I make mine with milk instead of water so I can get another serving of low fat dairy.

There are so many articles and studies on the cholesterol lowering benefits and cancer reducing properties of oats, just do a search and see for yourself and I think you'll want to include oats in your diet.

We all need a boost of energy and reaching for that cup of coffee always seems like a great way to get an energy boost....at least temporarily. But I'm not talking about caffeine laden drinks such as coffee, soda or the so called "energy drinks" on the market.

Last week when I injured my knee I happened to stumble on to this article that talks about sports injuries and nutrients your body needs to repair itself. Honestly, I had read all about super foods and I do try to incorporate them into my diet but this article goes a step further than saying, eat these foods, it actually explains why they are good for the body!

"A crack in the foundation requires raw materials to patch things back together. In the body, those raw materials come from what we eat."

Our very own Healthy Honi wanted to recreate the taste of Lean Cuisine Zucchini Lasagna because its no longer available. After looking at several online recipes and a consultation with a few fellow bloggers, she came up with a tasty little creation!

I'd post the recipe here but you'd miss her step by step photos so instead I'll direct you to her blog and the recipe and photos for Honi's Zucchini Lasagna

Way to go Honi for getting creative in the kitchen!!


If you have a recipe you'd like to see featured here, email it to me along with the nutritional information and I'd be happy to share it. Be sure and let me know if its your original recipe or the source of the recipe so we can give credit where credit is due!

Lets face it, portion control is the key to keeping balance in your healthy way of eating. I can go to my kitchen and find measuring spoons and cups, I know that my soup dipper holds exactly one cup of soup, when in doubt about the weight of meat, I have a food scale. But what about when I'm not home? What about the Super Bowl parties that are coming up for some people here in the states? What about the baby showers, wedding showers, office parties and buffet restaurants? Its not exactly convenient to whip out your measuring cup or spoons there now is it? Sometimes we need to rely on our eyes and if you take a few minutes to learn a few basics, you'll be able to easily identify your portion sizes no matter where you go!


I've found these handy visuals to help you keep your portion control in check!

Deck of Cards

3 ounces (75 g) cooked chicken or meat ( 4 oz raw)

Tennis Ball

1 cup (250 ml) cooked rice, pasta or ice cream

Domino
1 oz (30 g) cheese

BASEBALL
Medium piece of fruit

One Die:
1 tsp (5ml) butter or margarine

Woman’s fist
1 cup (250 ml)

Golf Ball
2 TBLS (30 ml) peanut butter, jam, salad dressing

I was looking for a recipe to use an avocado and limes my neighbor gave me from his tree and I found this one on www.foodfit.com that used both. They have some recipes that looked good but the site isn't just for recipes so its not set up like a typical recipe site. The original recipe calls for cilantro but we don’t really care for cilantro so I used fresh flat leaf parsley instead. I’m certain if you like cilantro it would be delish with it. This was absolutely delicious! I made the salsa the day before and it worked beautifully. I served it with brown rice and grilled vegetables but I would definitely make this again and serve the sliced chicken on a salad bed with the salsa as a dressing.

Preparation time : 20 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the salsa
4 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped or 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño chili pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I used parsley)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 avocado

For the chicken
1/2 cup non-fat, plain yogurt
1/2 small red onion
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (I used parsley)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 4 to 6 ounces each
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions
For the salsa:
1. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, red onion, pepper and cilantro (parsley).

2. Chop the avocado and sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons of lime juice to keep it from browning. Add the avocado and remaining lime juice to the bowl and toss to combine.
(This can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.)

For the chicken:
1. In a small food processor, puree the yogurt, red onion, lime juice and cilantro (parsley) to make a yogurt marinade.

2. Transfer the marinade to a shallow bowl or a plastic bag. Add the chicken and coat well with the marinade. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

3. Preheat the grill to medium-high.

4. Remove the chicken from the marinade, discard the remaining marinade and season the chicken with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken on both sides until it is cooked through, about 6 minutes per side.

5. Serve the chicken with tomato-avocado salsa.

NUTRITION:
Serving size: 1 breast with salsa

Calories 283 (approx)
Protein 43 g
Total Carbohydrate 16 g
Dietary Fiber 4 g
Sugar 8g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Monosunsaturated Fat 1 g

Vegetable Lovers Chicken Soup

Welcome to Tasty Thursday…yeah I know, Tasty Thursday, how original LOL. If there is one thing I love on a cold winter day or even a cool winter day, it’s a bowl of hearty soup. I made this recipe last week and even Ken, who doesn’t really care for spinach loved it. My modifications are noted in parenthesis. I like more veggies in my soup and the veggies I added only increased the calories by about 25 per serving but it made the soup very filling and satisfying. It was very easy and ready in under an hour. We topped with fresh ground black pepper and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

The next time I made it, I may omit the chicken and/or pasta and add a can of white cannellini beans. That’s what I love about soup, there are so many ways you can mix it up!

Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup

Classic comfort food is yours, in just slightly more than half an hour. Serve with some crusty whole-grain bread or Garlic-Tomato Toasts and top with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.

Makes 2 servings, 2 cups each

ACTIVE TIME: 35 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces chicken breast tenders, cut into bite-size chunks
1 small zucchini, finely diced
1 large shallot, finely chopped (I used a small onion)
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
1/8 teaspoon salt (I left this out)
2 plum tomatoes, chopped (I used a can of low sodium petite diced tomatoes)
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup dry white wine*
2 tablespoons orzo (I used whole wheat orzo) or other tiny pasta, such as farfelline
1 ½ cups packed baby spinach

(I also added the following not in the original recipe, I think you could add whatever veggies you like)
2 stocks of celery finely chopped
1 cup of frozen green beans
1 cup of sliced frozen carrots.

Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup Ingredients Cont.

Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add zucchini, shallot(onion), (celery), Italian seasoning and salt and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are slightly softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, wine and orzo (or other tiny pasta), (frozen green beans and carrots); increase heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the pasta is tender, about 8 minutes, or according to package directions. Stir in spinach, the cooked chicken and any accumulated juices from the chicken; cook, stirring, until the chicken is heated through, about 2 minutes.

Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup Instructions Cont.

Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup Tips

Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup Tips Cont.

Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup Nutrition Information

Per serving: 261 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 72 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbohydrate; 31 g protein; 2 g fiber; 355 mg sodium; 483 mg potassium.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (70% daily value), Vitamin C (45% dv), Folate (22% dv).

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 3 1/2 very lean meat, 1/2 fat

Recipe and photo courtesy of Eatingwell.com

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/vegetable_chicken_soup.html