Best…soup…ever (Zen Habits)

Ingredients:

• Various veggies (I used butternut squash, celery, corn, carrots all chopped into bite size pieces)
• One yellow Onion, diced
• 4 vegetable bullion cubes
• 1 package pasta (I used shells)
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can white beans
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• water to cover (about 3 inches from the top)
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Italian seasonings

Directions:

• Dice all veggies and open cans of beans.  Don’t skin the squash – just scoop out the seeds and dice.
• Heat up oil in large stock pot and saute onion and garlic
• Throw in all veggies, stir and heat until veggies start to soften
• season veggies with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
• Throw in beans, stewed tomatoes, and enough water to fill the pot 3 inches below lid.  Heat on high until boiling, then turn down to medium heat.
• mix vegetable bullion with warm water in a cup until dissolved (I placed it in the micro to help disolve), pour into soup:
• add pasta and boil until pasta is cooked, about 12 minutes.
• season to taste and enjoy

Carrot Cake (Dr Weil)

9 Servings

Carrot cake is a perennial favorite, but it is often loaded with vegetable oil and laden with a cream cheese frosting. Our version is healthier, using a small amount of olive oil, a full cup of honey for moistness and flavor, and a combination of whole wheat pastry and unbleached flours. The crunchy walnuts even add a bit of omega-3 fats to this sweet treat. With a cup of hot green tea, this cake will make you forget about cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cups firmly packed finely grated carrots (3 large)
Juice of 1 large orange
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup light olive oil
1 cup honey, liquefied in microwave (30 seconds)
1/2 cup crushed or chopped pineapple, drained
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the carrots, orange juice, vanilla, olive oil, honey, and pineapple until well blended.
3. In another bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, and spices. Mix in the walnuts.
4. Blend the dry ingredients into the carrot mixture, stirring until just mixed.
5. Pour the batter into a nonstick 8-inch-square baking pan and bake for 45-60 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and remove from pan.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
334 calories
9 g total fat (1 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
62 g carbohydrate
5 g protein
4 g fiber
25 mg sodium

My family LOVES this bean dip.  We have never actually put horseradish in it, but love it without.  It is not what you expect.  We have tried northern beans, black beans and will try white beans tonight.  The black beans were ok, but not our favorite.  The white beans, however, are wonderful.  You can dip just about anything, pita chips, tortilla chips, veggies.  I am amazed how everyone ate this up with gusto

8 Servings (Dr. Weil)

Beans are wonderful food — no two ways about it. They are loaded with protein, fiber, potassium, magnesium and folic acid. They have a very beneficial effect on blood sugar and they taste great. There are many ways to use beans — from chili to soup to tasty dips scooped up with raw vegetables, whole-grain crackers or pita triangles. Beans are also one of the foods that work well from a can, saving the time and effort of presoaking. Lower-sodium versions are also available. For those of you who enjoy the aroma of a big pot of beans simmering on the stove, however, keep cooking from scratch!

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked beans (cannellini, pinto or Great Northern)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 scallions, trimmed and minced
Salt to taste

Instructions:
1. Combine beans, olive oil, horseradish and scallions in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, adding a little water if necessary.
2. Season with salt to taste.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
92.5 calories
3.6 g total fat (0 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
11.4 g carbohydrate
4.3 g protein
3 g fiber

Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients

1 pound dried fettuccine
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup finely grated Parmigiana-Reggiano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Fresh parsley, for garnish, optional

Instructions:

Cook the fettuccine in a pot of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente. Drain in a colander, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.

Return the pasta to the pot it was cooked in, set over medium-high heat along with the reserved cooking liquid. Add the butter-cream mixture and half of the Parmesan and toss to combine thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.

Frozen Banana Cream (Dr. Weil)

1 Serving

This is an old restaurant trick that has been around for years. Use this delightfully simple “sorbet” wherever you would use ice cream. Try it sprinkled with chopped nuts, or on a bed of pureed raspberries or strawberries.

Ingredients:
1 very ripe banana

Instructions:
Peel the banana and cut it into chunks. Put the chunks, uncovered, on a plate in the freezer, and freeze for at least an hour. (They can stay overnight.) When you’re ready to serve, take out the banana and put the frozen pieces in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the container as needed. As the bananas thaw slightly, the texture will become smooth and creamy.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
92 calories
0 g total fat (0 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
23 g carbohydrate
1 g protein
2 g fiber
1 mg sodium

I tried this recipe a few weeks ago.  It was surprising how good it was.  I feel like I’m really learning how to incorperate more healthy items into my meal plan.  When I first saw I was adding pinto beans to a salad I thought it was crazy.  I couldn’t imagine how it would be tasty.  Now, I know it is my favorite part of the whole salad.  The next time I made it, I left out the red peppers (because the one I had went bad) and I added sour cream and taco seasoned ground turkey.  It was AWESOME.  The turkey really spiced things up

Taco Salad (Dr. Weil’s)

2 Servings

Fast food taco salads are considered one of the highest fat, highest calorie choices at Mexican fast food restaurants. Ours is a wonderful alternative. Grate the cheese and add to the salad. Warm the beans if you like and add a little ground chicken, turkey or crumbled tempeh. Even though the carbohydrate content of this salad seems high, it has a very low glycemic index. The beans are also a rich source of folic acid and contribute to the high fiber content.

Ingredients:
4 cups lettuce, torn into pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup pinto beans, drained of juice
2 oz baked tortilla chips, broken into pieces
1/4 cup salsa

Instructions:
In a salad bowl, mix together the vegetables, pinto beans and tortilla chips. Add the salsa and stir gently to blend.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
203 calories
2 g total fat (0 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
40 g carbohydrate
11 g protein
11 g fiber
213 mg sodium

Salmon in Parchment (from Dr. Weil’s recipe of the day)

4 servings

Regular readers know that I’m a big fan of salmon. In fact, I gave up being a vegetarian because I didn’t want to miss out on this fish, with its great flavor and health benefits. Salmon, like other oily fish (herring, sardines, mackerel), is rich in omega-3 fatty acids which reduce inflammation, protect against heart attacks, and possibly reduce your chances of developing cancer. I recommend eating two to three servings a week of salmon or other oily fish rich in omega-3′s. When you want something out of the ordinary, this is an easy and elegant recipe to try. It requires cooking parchment, which you will find in rolls or sheets at kitchen-supply stores and even many supermarkets. Parchment-wrapped food turns into taut packages as steam inflates the sealed pouches. (Be careful when slitting them open to avoid being burned.) The results are a delicate mix of textures and aromas that’s sure to please.

Ingredients:
8 oz. thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh dill or parsley, chopped
1 cup carrots julienned
1 cup zucchini, julienned
1 cup asparagus tips
1 cup red bell pepper, julienned
24 oz salmon fillet, cut into four 6-ounce pieces
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 large sheets of parchment paper

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook thin spaghetti in rapidly boiling water until al dente, drain, toss with a bit of olive oil, salt and chopped fresh dill or parsley.
3. Rinse salmon fillets and pat dry. Spread Dijon mustard evenly over the top of each one.
4. Prepare the parchment: fold each piece of parchment in half. With scissors, cut the shape of half a heart from the folded side. (Remember Valentine’s you made in grade school?) Open the heart shape and place 1/4 of the pasta on the center of the paper, top with a salmon fillet, and add the vegetables. Bring the sides of the heart over the fish and fold the edges together starting at the top of the heart, overlapping the folded edge as you go. Fold the tip several times to secure it.
5. Place the pouches in the middle of the hot oven and bake for 10 minutes. Serve immediately in the sealed pouches, opening them just before eating.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving:
533 calories
14.9 g total fat (2.8 g sat)
76 mg cholesterol
52 g carbohydrate
46 g protein
5 g fiber
696 mg sodium