Monday, November 19, 2012

Pumpkin Pie Frozen Yogurt

Ok I'm freaking out right now because I have a spoonful of pumpkin pie frozen yogurt in my mouth that I just made! Oh boy. This is big. Not sure if you know this, but at about 3pm everyday I get this little voice in my brain saying "Hey, what do you think about going to get some frozen yogurt?" It's hard to keep saying "no" to that voice, so sometimes I cave. I guess fro yo is better than ice cream, right? haha Well with this new recipe is making my life better for these reasons:
  1. I can have pumpkin pie fro yo literally whenever I want
  2. It's cheaper (.34 cents/oz are you kidding me :( ??)
  3. It's healthier - plain greek yogurt is 0% fat, low cal, low carb, high protein, no sugar. The whole recipe is 200 calories.
  4. That fro yo voice goes away. At least for the day.

So without further ado I present to you....


Pumpkin Pie Frozen Yogurt
  • 1 cup plain non fat greek yogurt
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 Tablespoon Stevia
  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice - more if you like it

Mix everything together in a tupperware. The bigger it is, the faster it will freeze. Put it in the freezer and just mix it up with a spoon every 30 minutes or so. When you're ready to indulge, scoop the frozen yogurt into pretty bowls.
 



This is a great snack for the afternoon that you can't feel guilty about and that will keep you full. Enjoy!

Even my kitchen friends can't stay away:



Thursday, November 15, 2012

Meatball salad



I know that the words "meatball" and "salad" don't usually go together, but trust me, it's good. Plus, the dressing is fantastic!

Meatballs
1 minced onion
1 T minced garlic
1 egg
2 T Tomato paste
1 lb ground turkey
1 T Dijon mustard
2 T finely chopped parsley
1 t dried oregano
½ cup breadcrumbs
Salt pepper
Mix all the ingredients with your hands (gross), and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. 

Salad
Lettuce of choice (I always go for spinach)
Shredded carrot
Cucumber
Cherry tomatoes
Celery
Parsley
Sliced olives

You can use anything for the dressing, but I suggest this yogurt based sauce. It tastes like ranch, but is much better (health wise and taste wise).

Lemon Yogurt Sauce
½ cup fat free yogurt
2 T lemon juice
2 T canola oil
1 t minced garlic
2 T minced parsley
salt
Whisk all the ingredients together and serve over salad.


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Quinoa Bowls

Today I am going to share with you a delicious recipe. It is so easy and SO healthy it’s going to blow your mind! It’s based with quinoa (yes, I am a supporter of the quinoa craze) and then topped with just about any fresh veggie you have available. Have you ever had Hawaiian Haystacks? My mother makes those a lot when she has company over. People always rave about it, but my humble mother will always reply with, “You made it yourself”! Touché, mom. You win. Well, this is kind of the same deal here where you just add whatever toppings you like, chow down, and give yourself all the credit.

Quinoa Bowl

4 elements:
  •    Quinoa
  •    Beans, corn and onions
  •    Protein of your choice
  •    Veggies
Quinoa: prepare as the package tells you. (Put 1 ½ cups water in a small pot with 3/4 cup dry quinoa. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat off, put the lid on, and let it sit there on the stove until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is soft -apx. 10 minutes).
Beans, corn and onions: Sauté onions/shallots in olive oil until translucent. Add in 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans and 1 can of frozen or drained, canned corn. Salt and pepper. Sauté until beans are cooked through (apx. 7 minutes).
Protein: Tofu: press the tofu. This means you put a paper towel under a brick of tofu and then something heavy on top to press out the water. This makes it easier to brown and get the edges crispy and delicious. Keep wringing out the paper towel on the bottom until the tofu is pretty dry. Then dice the tofu in small-ish cubes. Put tofu in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then either cumin & garam masala or old bay seasoning- you choose. Sauté in the same pan you cooked the onion/bean mixture in. Cook until crispy and brown on the edges.

Veggies: Dice and chop up what you like. Here are my suggestions: cucumber, green pepper, red pepper, celery, spinach, shredded carrot, avocado, CILANTRO, tomato, olives, toasted sesame seeds, sunflower seeds.

There are so many flavors in this recipe that you don’t even need a dressing! If you would like to top it all with a squeeze of lime juice, that is a fantastic addition.

 Or here is a simple Sesame Lime Vinaigrette recipe that you can make in a cruet:

Sesame Lime Vinaigrette

  • 1/3 Cup fresh Lime juice
  • 1 T. Sugar
  • ¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 T Sesame Oil
  • 1 t. grated ginger