The Crop

Fresh tomato simmer sauce or Soup

3t minced garlic or more
2 leeks chopped fine
1 big onion chopped
2T olive oil
1 green bell pepper chopped
3-4 leaves kale chopped
12 big tomatoes or 3 cans unsalted diced tomatoes
2T fresh thyme or 2t dried
2c water
2 veg bouillon cube
1 sm can green chills
2 bay leaves
1.5 T dry basil
1 t black pepper
1 t salt
1/2 t dry rosemary
1 t cumin
1 T soy sauce
1/4 c red lentils
1/4 c dry split peas

In a large soup pot heat oil then cook the first 3 ingredients on low for 15 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil then simmer for 2 hours.  At this point you have a wonderful soup.  If you want a sauce, use a submersible wand blender and blend the soup to a less chunky texture.  It it is too watery,  cook uncovered until it thickens.  I chose to use this amazing stuff for a very healthy  lasagna.

10 calories per serving--guiltless decadence!

As part of being a blogger for Foodbuzz  Tastemaker program, I received a large package of  Ghirardelli’s new “Intense Dark” line of chocolate. Now, if you know me well you know I do not like chocolate very much at all. Dark chocolate is the epitome of chocolate. They even included a bar of chocolate that was 86% cacao. What? This is not bakers chocolate either?! Gross–I accept the challenge!!

Wow--now if only I liked chocolate!

I have plenty of eggs at home–no thanks to the chickens! I also had some new instant espresso I had just gotten that I wanted to try.  So–adding all those ingredients together along with once serving size of Ghirardelli’s “Sea Salt Soiree”   I came up with a great idea for a treat! Sometimes we all need a little treat, intense with flavor, to stave off any cravings we are worried about succumbing to, right?  Like that “night-cap” we look for before we settle in for the night or those pesky afternoon grazing urges we get. These cookies are so perfect for this, at only 10 calories a pop–(yeah 10 calories!!) . You will so enjoy the depth of this 72% dark chocolate with the savory pairing of the sea salt and the sweetness of the roasted almonds in a chewy bite sized cookie!

Dark Chocolate Espresso Meringue Bites
2 egg whites at room temperature
1 serving size dark chocolate (3 squares)
3 pinches cream of tartar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 rounded teaspoon instant espresso
1 teaspoon cinnamon

See that one stubborn piece? I ate it.

Preheat oven to 215 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. ( I used miniature cupcake papers) Take your squares of the “Sea Salt Sioree” and added them to my coffee grinder. (the chocolate works best if you freeze it for a few hours first) Grind it all finely–you want it to fold it into the egg whites and let it blend fully instead of leaving chocolate chunks in the bite sized morsels.

Looks good enough to eat already!

Add egg whites to mixer and beat on high until soft peaks form then add the 3 pinches of cream of tartar.  Continue beating adding in the espresso and sugar slowly as the egg whites thicken. Stay of whipping the whites until they  are shiny and hold very stiff peaks.

I see sea salt.

Add the finely ground chocolate to the egg whites and gently fold in–you are not mixing it with any sort of effort here. Don’t go crazy thinking about all the chocolate and ruin the fluffy egg whites. I know how crazy you people can get about chocolates. Remain calm until you may eat them.

My makeshift decorator bag and zero skills.

Once the chocolate has been fully incorporated into the you can add the meringue to a large plastic freezer bag with the tip cut out. I used a frosting tip thinking I had some sort of mad skill with decorating with egg whites–turns out I posses no such skill.

40 servings equals 400 calories

Once each cup is filled and you have used all the meringue you can place the cookies on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. back for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Once they are firm to the touch you can turn off the oven and open the door and allow the cookies to sit in there for about an hour longer.

Once the cookies have fully cooled sprinkle with cinnamon and store in an airtight container in the freezer.

The cookies actually improved in texture and in taste after storing in the freezer for a few days. the texture is divine, really. It is firm like a meringue cookie when you first put it in your mouth but soon it softens into a caramel like texture as the rich flavors of the cookie grab your taste buds and give them a firm slap. So–these are time-consuming because they do take a while to bake–however, these are perfect to keep in your freezer when you may be looking for a snack, a treat–just that “something” that you keep wandering into the kitchen looking for. This is healthy eaters MUST HAVE!

Sunshine and Lemon Pops

Yay for summer! There are lazy days, trips to the beach, and kickball in the backyard. My kids love
summer and they love flavored ice pops. They also love gardening. We live in the city in an apartment
building. We have no backyard space for our dream garden. So we work with our little 12 foot by 3
foot patch of earth we can plant in. A few years ago we found Lemon Balm Herb at a local nursery and
couldn’t wait to plant it. After 3 years of having it grace our garden, this year I wanted to find a way to
actually use it other than to rub between my fingers for the incredible soothing smell. I knew you could
make tea with Lemon Balm leaves so I decided to try to make some ice pops for the kids to enjoy since
lemons, ice and summer go so well together.

It’s a simple, easy recipe that even your kids can help you with. Not to mention that there are
no artificial colors, preservatives or sweeteners like the many ice pops you get from the store. (And
these are lower in sugar too!) Start by cutting some lemon balm from your plant. Enough to fill two 20
ounce Mason canning glass jars (I just use the glass jars I save from when I buy store bought Classico
marinara sauce) Don’t be stingy-stuff that lemon balm in!

More Lemon Balm!

Fill each jar with boiling water. Let it seep for 20 minutes. Drain using a colander and/or cheesecloth (if
you have tiny pieces of leaves)

Add one teaspoon (or more to taste) of Agave syrup. You could also use honey. Stir well.

Now comes the fun part. Pick some fresh berries to add. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries are our
favorite. Using ice pop molds pour in liquid and add some berries. We also used ice trays so we can
add some of the ice cubes to our summer iced tea. Freeze and enjoy!!

The kids like it more when they get to help!

Comfort Food American Style

This final version is more like a loaded potato with very little calories of course. Normal mashed potatoes that are “loaded” usually have 400+ calories per serving, cauliflower “potato” has just 50 calories per serving. What!?!? Yeah–50.

Smashed Faux-tato

4 cups cooked cauliflower
1 cup no fat greek yogurt or sour cream
1 clove garlic
4 tbls diced scallions
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste.

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until you like the texture.

Yeah–it’s that simple.

Like this recipe? Why not check out more of our recipes in our book “Squeaky Gourmet Simple. Clean. Food” !

On evening I decided I would “google” some weight loss transformations and just read up on things a bit. Do you KNOW how many there are? I saw links to every diet idea there could be. I saw articles for success with pictures of what seemed like miracles to plastic surgery.

I also saw those people; those certain individuals who one day woke up and said ” I will not be held prisoner by this weight any longer” and they changed themselves completely. They went from being depressed, tired and lonely individuals to super hero’s. They had web sites that would light a fire under most people. How did they do it? How did they manage to lose 50, 80 and some even more than 100 pounds? What is the secret they have that millions around the world ache for yet are failing to reach? Did they find a magic bullet; some sort of subliminal trigger that others can’t grasp?

We flip on the TV and 2 out of 5 commercials are for a new weight loss program; pill, procedure, drink, injection etc. It is a multi-billion dollar industry. Science is constantly looking for a gene to blame; a cure for obesity as if it were cancer or some other deadly occurrence to the body. Obesity does kill, but it is a preventable killer in which the cure lies in “eating right and working out” So, again, why are people missing this? Why are other people finding it? Science and western society want an easy answer; clapping their hands or snapping their fingers and POOF a thin lean body. I am glad it is not that easy; now anyway.

Once a person reaches a point of deciding to do something, well, the world is theirs to have. Once they wrap their mind around a concept of weight loss, choose a wellness program to follow etc they do find it IS EASY. Want me to reword that? OK!

For the average person, let’s presume you are an average person…..it is easy to walk. Little thought goes into walking, right? You want to get to a certain point so you get up and walk there. You do not have to say ok, left leg first, ok good, now the right leg and so forth. It wasn’t always this way; we had to learn to walk. Sure, I know we do not remember the determination we had around 1 year of age, but it was there. How about talking, learning to read, algebra? (ok I am still working on the Algebra one) driving, cooking, writing etc.  You can see where I am going right? Everything thing we learned to do in our life took determination, practice and learning from mistakes in order to master a skill. This is all it takes. It takes a want or a desire to really and truly be fit and healthy.

If you are not making steps to be thin and be healthy then you just do not want to be thin and healthy bad enough. You can say you have a genetic make up which makes it harder, an illness which makes it to difficult etc but all it takes is a want which is bigger than those things. Google it, I dare you. You will see so many people over come so many physical odds and illness, finding their own way to fitness.

It won’t be over night, it will be trial and error discovering what works best for your body for weight loss.

It will be a journey of discovery and adventure.

It will teach you more about yourself than you already knew.

There is a super hero inside of you, there really is.

All you have to do is let it out.

You ready?

yeah--that's right--chicken balls!

Ok this is more of an idea than a recipe for all you people who are still–STILL–wondering what to do with all that chicken breast you have in the fridge. You will need a food processor,magic bullet or just ask your favorite neighborhood butcher to grind it for you.

Here is what I did with my ground up chicken breast: I added some red curry paste, garlic powder, turmeric, onion powder, cumin, fish sauce and sea salt. I mixed it all up and let it sit and marinate in the spices for about a half hour. Then I took an egg and cracked it open in a bowl and beat it up *flex flex* in another bowl I added some potato starch. I then removed all my bling rings from my fingers, washed my hands and formed meat balls with the chicken mix–then rolled the ball in the egg and next the potato flour. Let those sit for a few minutes to really have the egg and potato flour introduce themselves to one another.

raw poultry balls

Here they are getting acquainted while the skillet warmed up on medium high heat. I sprayed the pan with some olive oil cooking spray, enough to just prevent them from sticking–and as the can says–add a trivial amount of fat to the dish. Trivial!~

I put about 8 balls in the pan at a time, making sure not to crowd them or cool down the skillet at all. I then covered the pan and let them cook like that for about 5 minutes–then i turned them and let them brown on all sides–uncovered–for about another 5-7 minutes.  the key with this is to get them potato starch to brown up and give it a crisp outer shell to make us think it is fried food. Pretty tricky, Sis!

These passed the taste test with all the kids and the husband, and this is straight up strict diet food here!
See , they look like cheat food and they taste wonderful!  You can add any seasoning mix you would like, garlic, onion and some smoke flavor would be excellent as well!

If you are opposed to chicken balls you can do the same batter and omit the coating. Fit the chicken with your hand onto skewers and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Chicken on a stick! I used the same seasoning and then squeezed lemon juice on them when done. Also super delicious! So–once again rethink your chicken breasts!  These would be great to have as party foods, too!

Everything tastes better on a stick!

Warm the body and cleanse the soul!

Well–finally the holiday season is over. Can we get a collective sigh of relief as we loosen the belt and adjust to our expanded waistlines? I ate, laughed, drank, ate, danced, ate, celebrated family and ate–and ate–did I mention I ate a lot? We had prime rib roasts, gourmet once a year chocolates and wine, mixed drinks–oh man the foods we had!  What did you have? Leave a comment telling us all what your favorite holiday eats were.

Now that they are over–oh my the clean up I have to do with my body. Yeah, the house too but mostly the body. I like to just eat what i want during the winter break and then clean myself up after. I like to think it is the way we are designed to eat–feast or famine, right? No, I am not in a famine state–forbid someone in a profession of health and wellness to advocate famine–I can just imagine the emails on that mention alone! I just like to return to a healthier meal plan of fruits, nuts, legumes and veggies veggies veggies! Oh and hot lemon water–yes please! I am lucky enough to be the recipient of several cookbooks over the holidays as well–all catering to my healthy desires-WOOT! Last nights dinner was based off  a beautiful vegetarian cookbook given to me by a family friend (Thanks Christine!). The book is Good Housekeeping: Vegetarian Meals: Meatless Recipes Everyone Will Love (Good Housekeeping Cookbooks) and I adapted this recipe from the Vegetarian lentil Stew on page 22. I want to also mention WHAT A BORING NAME!?!? This was such a wonderful meal–I can’t wait to have the left overs today for lunch even! The cookbook calls for lentil soup in a can but I can’t find many soups in a can that do not contain gluten so I always make my own. It took all of maybe 2 hours to cook–hands off cooking. The taste was so fresh and alarming with the curry paste and squash. The apple added a subtle sweetness that was a perfect pair to the heat of the curry. The colors were beautiful and appetizing–you will really love this recipe!

Curried Lentil Stew
serves 8 generous bowls

1 1/2 cups yellow lentils
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups peeled and diced butternut squassh
3 large tbsl red curry paste (pick your own heat)
10 ounces raw spinach
1 large apple
2 teaspoons diced ginger ( I do not peel mine)
2 cloves diced garlic cloves

In a large soup pan add lentils,broth and curry paste–allow to cook for about 2 hours on medium heat. Add in the remaining ingredients except the spinach and cook for another 30 minutes or until the squash is tender–then add the fresh spinach and stir. Once the spinach has cooked down you can serve and eat.  Really–yes it was that simple–crazy I know.

Calories per serving- 190
Protein-9 grams
Carbohydrates- 34 grams
Fat-4 grams

Hey why not check out more of our recipes in our top selling book on Amazon.com!

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 4

2 medium size sweet potatoes–peeled and cut into thick fry shapes
1 tblspn Olive Oil
1 tblspn Creole Seasoning

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl add the potato slices and  oil –mix completely coating them well . You can add a bit more oil to ensure the potato is completely covered.  Spread the fries out in a single layer on a non-stick baking pan. Sprinkle the Creole spices over the potatoes–be generous, this will be really delicious!  Cook for 15 minutes, then flip the fries and cook for another 20 minutes until they are fork tender and browned.

Other Good Ideas-

–Spice them up! Try cinnamon and ginger, sea salt and garlic powder, cumin and chile powder–get creative, this is YOUR kitchen!
–Take to a party and serve with Squeaky Gourmet’s Cool Avocado Dip

This is a pie chart directly from our book--see how easy we make this?

Now, consider my garden, as I mentioned in previous posts–it is just a hodgepodge of plants all swirling around and under one another hoping for the best spot in the sun and in the earth.  Well, I have beans growing there! Right near my unnamed squash plant and behind the other mystery plant–I had green beans, wax beans and burgundy beans. The burgundy ones are beautiful  and not pictured here because small children and even smaller bugs also enjoy the flavor and color of this garden harvest!  I did manage to save a large amount of wax beans and decided to give them a toss in a pan to see if I can reasonably recreate the bean dish my sweet husband likes so much.

So, first thing I considered is the beans are crisp and not all flippy-flop when you eat them but they are cooked through so–they must be blanched I concluded in another kitchen genius moment. So, I set up the water to boil, snapped the tops and ends off the beans and prepared the ice bath for the heated yellow veggies.

If you have not blanched a bean–let me walk you through it because it is super easy and weird.

Set up a pan of boiling water and a separate pan filled with ice water.  Add the beans to the rapidly boiling water and boil for 3 minutes, set a timer stand by the stove and let your mind wander for 3 minutes.

Bean ice baths are not as controversial as they look

Once the timer goes off and you fade back into the kitchen activity and away from the daydream, use a large slotted spoon to toss the beans right into the ice bath. This will make them talk!  Let them sit in the ice bath for about 1-2 minutes–you want them to completely stop cooking.  While they were cooling off I set a cast iron skillet on medium high heat and added a slab of butter and let that melt, sizzle and turn slightly brown.  Drain your beans in a colander to completely remove the excess water on the outside of them. Prevents you being burned when you drop these babies into the hot pan.

In the now hot skillet I added a shaved garlic clove–this means I sliced it super thin, my garden does not grow hairy garlic–does yours? I want to see it!  Once the lovely scent of that garlic hits your nose add in the beans and toss to cover them in the butter and garlic.  I tossed them in this for another 3 minutes then removed from the heat, stirred in some sesame seeds and a generous pinch of sea salt and served them up.

Easy Summer meal

I paired the beans with a juicy turkey breast burger as shown.

So, the conclusion my husband had for the closeness or the Chinese restaurant hidden calorie beans and these were– “These almost taste like the ones at the Chinese food place!”   I win!

Really, this is such a simple recipe and so easy to do and was really super yummy. My son’s girlfriend was over when I was making them and I forced one on her as well and she really liked them. So, this garden to table dish is husband and teenager approved!

This post is also being shared on Real Food Wednesdays-click to see more Real Foods!

Right now Basil is spilling out of my herb garden with it’s bright green leaves just begging me to make something with it–anything with it!  This is one of my most favorite fresh herbs to use in most dishes and dressings this time of year. It has such a fresh, clean  and wholesome flavor to it. This particular dish is a light and flavorful summer meal that will leave you experiencing the full feeling of summer and health.  You will love it! The smell of the pork cooking is so enticing, the fresh herbs, the lemon and garlic all dancing together in harmony–tantalizing your taste buds without adding to your waistline! Such a simple dish to prepare–but when you taste it  you will be taken away by the medley of flavors. This is not just your basic “other white meat” recipe.

Herb Infused Pork

1 1/2 lbs pork loin fat removed and sliced thin
4 cloves fresh garlic
1 handful fresh basil
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon lemon
1 tablespoon basil olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 generous pinches sea salt

In a food processor or blender add all ingredients but the pork loin. Blend completely. In a mixing bowl add the sliced pork and pour over it the herb marinade–toss until the pork is completely coated. Allow this to sit for at least 30 minutes. I usually marinate mine while preparing the salad and the sautéed veggies that go so well with this dish.

heat a cast iron skillet lightly coated with oil on medium high heat–add pork loin pieces one at a time not crowding them in the pan. You want to sear this pork–too many pieces in the pan will cool off the surface and let more moisture escape from the pork than you want.  Continue this method until all the pork is cooked–it is about 3 minutes each side.

to keep the meal light and easy to digest in the summer heat serve over some summer fresh sautéed vegetables–here it is pictured with various peppers, onions and mushrooms and a field greens side salad.