Saturday, 7 January 2012

Crunchy Salmon and Dill Potatoes and Green Beans

Crunchy Salmon
Lay foil on a baking sheet, add a large fillet of salon.


Cover and bake for 15- 20 minutes at 375F. (Until just about cooked)

Put cornflakes in a plastic and crush with hands.
 

Add nutritional yeast, egg white and mustard. Mix.

 Remove salmon from over, spoon on mixture. Leave uncovered. Broil for 3-5 minutes (watch carefully!)



Crunchy Salmon
1 fillet of salmon
1 1/2 cups cornflakes
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp egg white
2 tbsp mustard

Dill Potatoes and Green Beans

In a double boiler, steam potatoes, green beans and dill.


Heat a frying pan, add garlic and margarine. Saute. Add potatoes and beans. Toss until slightly brown.

Dill Potatoes and Green Beans
15+ baby potatoes, halved
1 cup green beans, in thirds
3 tbsp fresh dill
1 tbsp margarine

Enjoy!




Everything Cookies

Everything cookies aka hunter cookies aka deliciousness! I don't know what it is about these cookies but we are so addicted to them. I make a batch every few days and the fact that they have no butter and therefore are low in fat and have about 50 calories each,  they are also guilt free! I rarely measure the ingredients when making this recipe so they always turn out just a bit different and over the years I have made several versions. Here's the latest version.


In a food processor add bananas, pumpkin puree, egg white, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, applesauce, brown sugar and sugar substitute.


 Blend until pureed.


Transfer to a large bowl. Add flour and mix.

Add oats and rice krispies. Mix.


Using a grating blade or a cheese grater, grate apples.
 

Add carob chips, cranberries, apple and any other mix ins! Mix.


Drop onto cookie sheet. They can be put fairly close as they don't expand much. Bake at 350F for 15 -20 minutes.


Enjoy!


Everything Cookies
1 1/2 - 2 bananas
1/2 cup egg white
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar substitute
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups rice krispies
1 1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup carob or chocolate chips
1/2 cup of any other mix ins*

Makes 70 small cookies.

*Mix ins suggestions: sunflower seeds, coconut, pepitas, chopped nuts, raisins or any other dry fruit.

 Here is another variation on the cookies: 


Chicken Noodle Soup

Waste not want not! This is a chicken carcass from one of those store bought BBQ chickens. I would have usually removed the skin but it was frozen. I keep them in the freezer until I have time to make soup.

Place carcass in slow cooker, fill with water until carcass is pretty much covered. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.


After 4 hours, let cool slightly.

With your hands, separate bones and meat leaving meat in broth and removing bones. Let cool in fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Skim the top to remove all fat solids. (I transferred mine into another bowl only because I needed to use my slow cooker for something else)


Add carrots, potatoes, celery,  noodles, salt and pepper to broth.


I like using a little chopper for the carrots, makes things a lot easier.

Add 2 cups of extra water. Cook on high for about 4 hours.


Let cool.


With only two of us, we won't eat this whole pot right away so I like to freeze individual servings by laddling soup into a ziploc bag that's sitting in a cup.

Lay flat and freeze.


Chicken Noodle Soup
1 chicken carcass
8-12 cups water
2 cups baby carrots
2 large potatoes or several baby ones
5 celery stalks
1 cup whole wheat macaroni noodles
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Pre-Workout Smoothie

 There are 3 optimal times to have protein; right when you wake up, 90 minutes before a workout or 15 minutes after a workout. I like to have mine before in a smoothie before because I feel it helps me stay energized through my exercise. This is my pre-workout smoothie.

Pre-Workout Smoothie
1/2 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
1/2 yogurt
1.2 banana
1/2 of a large scoop of protein powder
1 cup mixed berries
1 cup spinach
1 tbsp green tea leaves


Blend all ingredients (my blender is broken so I use a food processor)


Makes a large, delicious smoothie!

Monday, 2 January 2012

Slow Cooker Roast and Vegetable

Nothing like a slow cooker meal on a winter's day! I just got my slow cooker for Christmas so I of course needed to give it a try!

Chop a variety of vegetables into large cubes and place at bottom of slow cooker.


 Place roast on top of vegetables. Add 1 cup of broth or water and season with pepper and Italian seasoning. Cover.


Cook on low for about 8 hours.
.

 And voila!

Slow Cooker Roast - Serves 3-4
1/2 a(n):
  onion
  butternut squash
  head of broccoli
  turnip
  yam
1 potato
10 brussel spouts, halved
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup broth or water
pinch of pepper and Italian seasoning
1 large roast

Jumbo Ravioli

Homemade ravioli may seem like a daunting, time consuming task and it can take a bit of time if you are making small ravioli but when you make jumbo size it cuts the time in half. 


First start with a basic pasta recipe
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
(You may need to add <1 tbsp water if your dough seems dry)

Make a well in your flour and add egg, whisk egg and slowly incorporate more and more flour into mixture. Mix with hands once dough starts to form until it forms a solid ball. Set aside.

 In a food processor or blender mix:
 1/2 cup light ricotta cheese
 1/2 dry cheese curds
 2 basil leaves
1 cup spinach
3 tbsp egg white
1 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic

 Divide pasta dough into 3 balls. Using a pasta maker, run 1 ball through until desired thickness (I used setting 7 on mine out of 9 settings)

 
Using a large cookie cutter (or in this case a piece of tupperware), cut out ravioli shapes. Reform excess dough and run through pasta maker again until all dough is used.


 In a shallow pot or large skillet, boil water.


 Add filling to one square of dough, brush edges with egg white, add another square on top and press edges with a fork.



Gently place jumbo ravioli in boiling water.

 Meanwhile, brown 1/2 pound of ground meat with 2 cloves of garlic.


Add pasta sauce.


Layer a small amount of sauce on the bottom of an 8x8 pan.


 With a slotted spoon, remove ravioli from water and place in pan.


Add remaining sauce and a small amount of cheese. Bake at 350F for 10 -15 minutes.


I served the ravioli with a orange, walnut and goat cheese spinach salad. Enjoy!

Jumbo Ravioli - Serves 2
Dough
2/3 cups flour
1 egg
(maybe a tbsp water or egg white)
Filling
1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 cup dry cheese curds
2 basil leaves
3 tbsp egg white + 1 tsp for closing ravioli
1 cup spinach
1 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic
Sauce
1/2 pound ground meat
2 cloves garlic
2 cups pasta sauce
2 tbsp grated cheese