A Healthy Meal for You & Your Sweetheart

I do not like to go out on Valentine's Day.  It is way crowded everywhere and it's just not worth it.  Usually we'll go out the weekend before, and I'll make some sort of special dinner at home on the actual day.

Looking for a healthier option for V-day?

This meal is light and healthy, yet oh so delicious.  Make it for someone you love. 

Creamy Quinoa with Smoked Salmon and Roasted Asparagus

To make this you need:

Prepared quinoa (I made a big batch ahead of time)

1 Laughing Cow Swiss cheese wedge per serving

Shredded parmesan

Smoked salmon

Asparagus

Oil

Seasoning

Wash your asparagus, trim the ends, then drizzle olive oil and seasoning on it.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

To prepare the quinoa, toss in cheese and torn bits of salmon in it.  Heat it up in the microwave and season to taste.

Simple, yet awesome.

And for dessert:

 Luscious & Light Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Glaze

1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon Greek yogurt

1/4 cup and 1 teaspoon white sugar

1 egg white

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon milk (I used almond milk)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Mix all this stuff up in a bowl.  Bake at 375 for about 17 minutes and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  After they cool, frost them with the glaze.

To make the glaze, you need:

a couple frozen raspberries

tbsp Greek yogurt

3/4-1 cup powdered sugar

Defrost your berries, smash them with the back of a spoon and toss all this stuff in a bowl.  Stir it up.  Add more powdered sugar if it needs thickening and almond milk if it needs to be thinner.

Makes 4 cupcakes

cupcake recipe adapted from All Recipes

Family Fridays: Dal

I know this looks like a hot mess on a plate.

Ok, so its deliciousness is not evident to the naked eye.

Don't judge a book by its cover, because this is a super yummy dish.

It comes from my cousin Mary.  I don't actually know her that well, because she always lived on the other side of the country.  Thanks to Facebook, I am getting to know her better.  She is so sweet, creative and hopefully full of more recipes like this one!

Dal is a dish that is popular in South Asian countries comprised of dried lentils, spices and other such yummy-ness.  Yes, I got this info from Wikipedia.  I'm sure it is terribly accurate.

 The dal was piping hot when I was taking pictures of it.  Here's a shot through the steam:

Dal

2 C. red lentils 2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 yellow onion, chopped fine 1 tsp. cumin seeds 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom ( I used curry powder instead) 4 cloves garlic, minced  4 C. broth 1 1/2 C. chopped tomatoes with juice 1/3 C. chopped fresh cilantro (optional~I didn't use this) 2 Tbs. fresh minced ginger 1 fresh jalapeno, minced 1 tsp. ground turmeric 1 tsp. salt Sautee onion in oil until translucent.  Add cumin seeds, cardamom, and garlic.  Stir 2 minutes.  Add broth, tomatoes, lentils, ginger, pepper, turmeric and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes.   Makes 6 very generous servings. This dish is meatless, yet full of protein.  It is comforting and filling on a cold winter night. I served mine with a scoop of brown rice and a pile of roasted broccoli.  Yum!

Skinny Sweetheart Shake

I've been thinking about this recipe all week long.

Remember those Sonic sweetheart shakes?  Me neither.  I mean, I never had one.  But, Google told me that it was a chocolate covered cherry shake.  Which sounds good.

But, I had strawberries.

So this is a chocolate covered strawberry shake.

And it is healthy.

What are you waiting for?

Skinny Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shake
(a.k.a. Skinny Sweetheart Shake)

Heaping cup of almond milk (I used 9 oz of Silk almond milk)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (see what I use below)
8 frozen strawberries
3 slices frozen peaches (or frozen half banana)--this is for texture: you can't taste it.
2 tsp sugar free chocolate syrup (I used Hershey's)

Blend it up.  I used the mason jar technique rather than dirtying up my whole blender.
Squirt an additional little bit of chocolate syrup all around your glass, then add your shake.
Top with (optional) fat free Reddi-Whip and sprinkles.

Here's the protein powder I use.  It is my first and only protein powder, and I really like the taste.  Leave a comment below if you recommend any other kind of protein powder.

You can certainly make this for your sweetheart for Valentine's Day, or you can hog it all to yourself.  Because, you know you are a sweetheart ;)

My husband got me some giant chocolate covered strawberries last year.  They were the size of my head.  In case you are wondering, I have an average sized head.  I think this year, I'll stick with shakes.  It seems safer than head sized fruit covered in chocolate.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Soup

A letter to my slow cooker:

Dear Crockpot,

You are awesome, and I totally don't appreciate you enough.  I love that you slow cook any meal to perfection while I'm away at work.  Thanks for making the house smell so good when I get home and for taking care of dinner for me.  You're the best.

Love,

Renee

This soup is healthy and hearty with a little spice.  Feel free to add more buffalo sauce if you like it really spicy.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Soup

makes about 6 cups

4 small carrots

4 stalks celery

1/2 yellow onion

small red pepper

3-4 large chicken breasts

1 box chicken broth (32 oz)

Chop all the veggies (I did this the night before for quick preparation), toss them and the other above ingredients in the crockpot.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

Once everything has cooked for 8 hours, shred the chicken using two forks, drain a little broth into a small bowl and whisk in 1 tbsp of flour then stir it back in the crock.  

You'll also need:

1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce

1 handful of shredded jack cheese

1 handful of shredded parmesan cheese

Toss all this in the crock and stir around.  Give it a taste & add more sauce or cheese if you want.

Garnish with reduced fat bleu cheese and serve with bread.

This soup was awesome!  I had leftovers for lunch today.  I'm thinking you should make this as soon as humanly possible.  You can thank me later ;)

Recipe slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is blog

Family Fridays (on a Monday): Mississippi Mud Cake

No, I haven't lost my mind.  I know it is Monday.  The universe did not want me to post this on Friday for some reason.

I misplaced my camera cord and was super busy, so I figured I'd wait until Monday to post.

Not the end of the world, right?

Yes, I'm trying to convince myself right now.  I know you don't care.  You just want some yummy recipes :)

Here's one that comes from my Aunt Norma.

Aunt Norm (as I call her) is one of the best story tellers I know.  I don't mean that in a lying sort of way.  She actually recounts events in a fascinating way.

She has lots of stories to tell, because she loves to travel all over the world.  Her and my Uncle Bob are on a cross country RV trip as we speak.  Um, or as we type.  No, as I type.  Yeah.

So this is her Mississippi Mud Cake that she used to make my cousin Matt on his birthday every year.  My Mom has also made this recipe a time or two.

I don't think either one has desecrated it with heart cookie cutters, though.  That's my contribution.

Mississippi Mud Cake

makes a 9x13 cake

1 cup butter

1/3 cup cocoa

4 eggs

1 cup coconut

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 small jar of marshmallow creme

Combine all ingredients and beat with a mixer.  Bake at 350 degrees in a greased 9x13 dish for about 45 minutes.

When cake is still hot, top with marshmallow cream and cool for about an hour.

Frosting recipe

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup cocoa

1/2 cup walnuts

6 tbsp milk

1 box confectioners sugar

Stir all of this up and top the cake.  Garnish with walnuts or sprinkles ;)

Cut it into hearts with a cookie cutter before icing if you want.

Thanks, Aunt Norm for the recipe!

2 Healthy Dinner Recipes

I love trying new dinner recipes.  Some even make it to my regular rotation.  These will definitely be repeated, soon.

This first "recipe" is not really a recipe.  There are no measurements or any silly ingredients lists.

Lettuce Tacos

You just make tacos like you normally would and replace the tortilla with a giant lettuce leaf.  Yes, I know that tortillas are awesomely delicious.  I'm aware.  But, this takes the carbs out of your meal and adds another vegetable.  You still have all the yummy filling, so it is satisfying.

So, I made mine with ground 93% lean sirloin with homemade taco seasoning and hot sauce, a spoonful of fat free refried beans, sauteed peppers and onions, a sprinkle of cheese and a garnish of fat free sour cream and salsa.  Wrap them up and eat 'em.

I also did a side of sauteed zucchini and corn.

This next recipe actually tasted like a Philly cheese steak to me.  That might be sacrilege to real die hard foodies, but it did the trick for me :)

Almost Zero Carb Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

This is more of a recipe.

You start with a simple crust using flax seed meal, parmesan and eggs.  It kind of gives you a Wasa cracker type texture.  It is a perfect vehicle for the yummy flavors of a Philly cheese steak.

Flax Pizza Crust

3/4 cup ground flax seed meal

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

1 egg, 1 egg white

Mix all this stuff in a bowl and form the mix in a flat disc & put it on a baking pan sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake on 350 degrees for 8 minutes, then add your toppings.

Toppings

2 slices deli roast beef, torn in bits

2 slices provolone cheese, broken in large pieces

1/4 of a green pepper, sliced

1/4 of an onion, sliced

handful of shredded cheese (I used parmesan)

handful of reduced fat feta cheese

Saute the onions and peppers in a skillet with nonstick spray until they get brown on the edges.

Layer all of these toppings on the crust and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

This serves two moderately hungry people.  Serve with roasted veggies!

Super Bowl Recipe Ideas

I'm totally not into organized sports.  I'm not even gonna lie.  I like to kick and throw a football, but don't care to watch other people do it.

What I do like about football, though is that it often involves snacks.  I like snacks.

So, if you are going to a Super Bowl party this Sunday and need some recipe ideas, here's some crowd pleasers:

Carnitas

Lay out this crispy and delicious meat and let people assemble some mouthwatering tacos.  You will everyone's favorite person.

Crockpot Beef Stew

C'mon, it's February.  Makes some stew.  It's perfect football food.

Swirled Pizza Bread

Because you're worth it.  Yeah, maybe jog around the block earlier in the day to make up for this madness.

Jalapeno Cheddar Peppers

Yep, these are naughty.  They will please football fans, for sure!

Zucchini Chili

I appreciate any opportunity to sneak in some veggies ;)

Snickers Trifle

Don't be trifling.  Make this awesome & simple dessert.

Sock Monkey Cookie/Cake

This sock monkey could easily be modified to be a football guy.  I can picture it now.

Chickpea Cookie Pie

Nobody will suspect a thing.  They'll only taste yummy-ness, not healthiness.

Cream of Coconut Cupcakes

Another secretly "skinny" recipe.  Who doesn't love a cupcake?

Ok, enjoy the game or whatever.  Who are the teams again?  No matter.  I'm off to make something on this list.