Hearty & Healthy Vegetable Soup

This healthy soup recipe is great for lunch on a snowy winter day and it only takes about 45 minutes to make from start to finish!

Healthy & Hearty Vegetable Soup (adapted from Ellie Krieger's Tuscan Vegetable Soup)

Servings 8 (1 cup) 
Prep time: 30 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 45 minutes 

Ingredients 

• 1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth 
• 15 ounces vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
• 1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Directions 

In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans, artichoke hearts, and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.

Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

Cheesy Quinoa Bake

With the holidays right around the corner this casserole is perfect for serving at brunch! I originally made this for dinner, but ended up eating it for breakfast this morning instead :) the milk and the eggs really hold the quinoa together and give it more of a "quiche-like" consistency. Play around with this recipe and add or leave out anything you want...basically I used all ingredients I had on hand and needed to use up. This could be made with or without meat or even with more cheese ( 4 cheese quinoa bake anyone??)

Cheesy Quinoa Bake 
Prep Time: 20 minutes Total time: 50 minutes
Serves 8 as a main, 16 as a side

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
Veggies of your choice (optional)
Meat of your choice (optional)
good pinch of salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large egg, 2 large egg whites
1 cup non-fat milk
1 1/2 cups reduced fat grated Cheddar cheese, more for sprinkling
Optional- Crushed Red Pepper, Panko Bread crumbs for topping
Toppings (optional)- salsa, hot sauce, sour cream, scallions, ketchup


Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 13x9 inch dish( or 8 individual ramekins) with cooking spray. saute any veggies you would like in this dish. Cook quinoa to packaged instructions until fully cooked. (About 15 minutes) Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl. Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese. Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt.  Transfer to prepared baking dish and if using Panko Crumbs or Bread crumbs add now and bake 30-35 mins, until bread crumbs are browned. 

This time for veggies/meat I added two links cooked diced spanish chicken andoullie sausage, 1 diced red bell pepper, 1 diced small yellow onion, and about 15 sliced spicy green olives (I sort of took a spanish approach since I needed to use up my andoullie sausage) I lightly sauteed the peppers, onions, and olives, and garlic. Then added both the sausage and the veggies after combining the quinoa with the milk, eggs, and cheese. I topped with seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs and served with sour cream for dinner and with ketchup for breakfast!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Fresh Grape Tomato Sauce

Throw this together for a quick and healthy weeknight meal!
Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes. Total Time: 35 minutes 

Preheat the oven to 450 and begin to prepare the tomato sauce and chicken.

For the grape tomato sauce (adopted from Skinnytaste)


Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 lb grape tomatoes, cut in half
salt and fresh pepper
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil or 1 T dried basil 

In a large skillet heat oil on high heat. Add garlic and cook until golden. Addtomatoes, salt and fresh pepper and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, add fresh basil and cook another 5 minutes.

For the parmesan crusted chicken: 

Ingredients:
4 Thinly sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 T olive oil (for brushing)
Salt and fresh pepper
1/4 cup whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 T freshly grated parmesan cheese (plus extra for sprinkling on top at the end)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper in a shallow dish. brush both sides of each chicken breast with olive oil and dip into breadcrumbs. Place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake chicken for 15 minutes, turn over and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes. Place one chicken breast on eat plate and top with 1/4 of tomato sauce and a heavy sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan 

Serving Suggestion:
I served this dish with fresh sauteed baby spinach. I sauteed the spinach in the same pan as the tomato sauce, using the pan juices from the sauce which gave the spinach excellent flavor. I also roasted some baby portobello mushrooms in the oven while the chicken was baking with olive oil and fresh chopped parsley. This dish would also be great over a bed of whole wheat spagetti served with a side salad. 

Skinny Jambalaya

Good morning and happy fall! 

This is an easy meal that is absolutely perfect for the cool autumn nights approaching us. I made this on Sunday and ate it for the entire week! I enjoyed this so much that I plan on making it again next weekend. I love one pot comfort foods and this recipe is surly a keeper :) This recipe was adapted from Ellie Kreiger on the Food Network.

Note: This recipe has a big kick of spice to it...reduce the cayenne pepper for a more mild dish or leave it out if you are not a fan of spicy food. However, did you know that eating spicy foods revs your metabolism?? :) I'll take it!

Serves 4 (2 cups per serving)

Prep Time: 35 min, Total Time 1:15

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more, to taste
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 6 ounces (2 links) Al Fresco smoked Andouille chicken sausage
• 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can no-salt added diced tomatoes
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 pound uncooked peeled and deveined Large shrimp
• Hot pepper sauce (optional)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over a medium heat. Add the onion, peppers and garlic and saute until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in the next 11 ingredients, salt through the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 35-40 minutes stirring occasionally to make sure the rice doesn’t burn or stick, or until rice is done and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the shrimp and cook, covered, for 5-6 minutes more, or until shrimp is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with hot pepper sauce.

Enjoy!! 

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 440

Total Fat: 9 grams

Saturated Fat: 2 grams

Protein: 38 grams

Total carbohydrates: 50 grams

Sugar: 7 grams

Fiber: 3 grams

Cholesterol: 190 milligrams

Sodium: 1040 milligrams

Cobb Salad Wrap

Today I threw together a delicious wrap with everything I needed to use up in my refrigerator! When I finished making it, I realized that it had almost all of the ingredients used to make a cobb salad! Thus was created the cobb salad wrap :)

Cobb Salad Wrap
Serves 1 Total time: 10 minutes

1 Josephs low carb flax, oat bran tortilla
1/4 of a fresh avocado mashed
1 T hummus (I used roasted red pepper)
1 hardboiled egg choped
1 slice cooked apple gate farms turkey bacon
1/4 cup diced chicken breast (I used rotisserie chicken)
1 slice fresh ripe tomato
*I used no cheese but feel free to add some blue cheese crumbles

Spread hummus and avocado onto Josephs wrap. Layer on bacon, chopped egg, chicken breast, and tomato. Roll tightly, slice in half and enjoy! This wrap is super filling because it is chock full of protein and fiber! I ate this with a handful of fresh cherrys and I am stuffed!!

My Favorite Healthy Snacks

I love snacking! I also think snacking is a vital tool for keeping your energy high throughout the day and for maintaining a healthy weight. However, not all snacks are created equally...in addition, some snacks are ideal for certain times of the day such as before or after a workout, or after dinner. Here is a list of my favorite snacks and when it is ideal to eat them. I hope this gives you guys inspiration to start snacking away!

What counts as a "snack"?
- under 300 calories
- eaten between meals
- ideally contains both carbs and protein

When should you eat a snack?
- 1-2 hours before exercise
- within 30 minutes after exercise
- when you need a boost of energy
- when you are hungry between meals

When you should NOT eat a snack:
- when you are bored
- when you are not hungry
- within 30 minutes of going to bed

My favorite snacks!!

1. Roll ups :roll pretty much anything up in a Josephs low carb flax oat tortilla! Great for a pre/post workout snack...some of my favorite combinations are:
- PBJ roll up
- PB banana roll up
- PB and granola roll up
- PB cinnamon and raisin roll up
- Hummus and veggie roll up
- Hardboiled egg and guac roll up
- Hardboiled egg and cream cheese roll up
- BLT roll up (one slice apple gate farms turkey bacon), low fat mayo, lettuce, tomato

2. Peanut butter and carrots
3. Ants on a log (PB on celery with raisins) sometimes i put dark chocolate chips instead of rasins :)
4. Sassy Snack Mix : mix together one container whole foods dry edamame, one container whole foods wasabi green peas, and one container whole foods honey sesame stix! yum!!
4. air popped popcorn
5. Vanilla greek yogurt with a T of almond butter stirred in (I like chunky almond butter)
6. Whole grain crackers with cabbot 75% reduced fat white sharp cheddar cheese
7. Cheddar, BBQ, or Ranch soy crisps
8. Non fat ricotta cheese mixed with jam and spread on crackers
9. Non fat ricotta cheese mixed with vanilla, cinnamon,blueberries, granola
10. Fruit and cheese plate ( 1 hardboiled egg, few blocks on cabbot 75% reduced fat cheddar,  handful of mixed berries)
11. Newmans own protein pretzels with hummus
12. Larabar Uber (love the apple crisp, and cherry cobbler flavors)
13. Planters heart healthy mixed nut packets (lightly salted peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pistachios)
14. Small bowl of 365 organic peanut butter balls cereal with skim milk
15. small handful of dark chocolate chips
16. 1 whole wheat bagel thin with 1 wedge laughing cow light cream cheese
17. Brown unsalted rice cake topped with hummus, peanut/almond butter, laughing cow cheese wedge
18. Moms organic multigrain hot cereal packs (love the apple cinnamon flavor, can be found at whole foods)
19.chocolate milk (awesome post workout)
20. mini size original Pinkberry frozen yogurt with fresh berries
21. Starbucks tall 1 pump vanilla non fat latte (iced or hot)
22. Starbucks chocolate banana viviano smoothie (post workout deliciousness)
23. All natural ginger snaps spread with peanut butter
24. Vita tops, Vita muffins, Vita brownies (heat up double chocolate vita muffin in the microwave for 20 seconds and eat with a fork -- tastes like chocolate cake)
25. Deli meat and cheese roll ups

Happy Snacking!!



   

Edamame Summer Slaw

Tonight I threw together this quick and easy edamame summer slaw inspired by one that I saw at the cold food bar at whole foods. I have had the whole foods version, and I really did like my own a lot more- I love when that happens :) This  is a quick or easy side dish that I served with a garlic chicken breast, but this could also be a vegetarian meal if you up the serving size and maybe add some quinoa or brown rice!

Edamame Summer Slaw
Prep time: 15 minutes Total time: 15 minutes
serves 4 or 2 as a main dish with added quinoa or brown rice

1 package of prepackaged and washed broccoli slaw
1 red bell pepper diced
1 bag frozen shelled edamame, steamed (I used half of the bag, about 1.5 cups)
1/2 bunch sliced scallions
10-12 fresh basil leaves sliced into thin ribbons (layer basil leave on top of each other and roll basil into a thin log and slice horizontally - professionally referred to as chiffonade )
salt (as much as desired)
pepper (as much as desired)
4 - 5 T bottled pomegranate vinaigrette ( I used whole foods brand)

Steam the edamame in the microwave following package directions. dice the peppers and slice the shallots and the basil. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Serve room temperature or chilled. Enjoy :-)