Raw? Yes, RAW.

Tomato Soup seemed like a nice leap. I've been doing green smoothies in the mornings, or whenever, really. I started thinking it would be nice to branch out into some other arenas, and since we're getting closer to gardening time, I am celebrating with this raw tomato soup... getting ready for when I'm able to harvest my very own. Of course I'm eating this soup at room temperature, to preserve the "raw" nature. But you could easily heat/cook it if you chose. I think it would alter the flavor.

Raw Tomato Soup
1 serving
83 calories, 8 calories from fat


1 lb tomatoes quartered
1 oz green bell pepper
4 basil leaves
1 sprig oregano
1 clove garlic
onion salt to taste

blend until smooth. it takes on a creamy look.  I also think it would be lovely with maybe a teaspoon of olive oil added... I may try that next time. totally delicious!

If you're lucky enough to have a Vitamix or Blentec blender I'm jealous, you'll be able to get this to a nice smooth consistency.
black pepper to taste

Now I've done it, I started eating tofu... and I liked it!

This is a quick and easy breakfast scramble, you can use any veggies you want, this is just what I had on hand. The texture of the firm tofu is very very similar to scrambled eggs.

Tofu Scramble
2 servings
138 calories 24 from fat
8.5 grams protein

• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 small onion chopped
• 1 stalk celery chopped
• 1 small zucchini, cut in small cubes
• 1 oz yellow pepper, cut in small cubes
• 1 small (about 4 oz) sweet potato, small cubes
• 6 oz firm silken tofu crumbled
• 1 medium whole tomato wedged

In a cast iron skillet sprayed with your favorite non stick spray ( I use olive oil in a Misto spray can, no nasty propellants, just oil and air) saute the garlic onions celery and pepper. add the sweet potato and zucchini, cook until potatoes are tender. add the crumbled tofu and cook until heated through and just starting to brown. garnish with 1/2 tomato cut into wedges.

a note on protein. tofu is an excellent source of protein, so are eggs. one whole egg contains 6.25 grams of protein. so if I'd used 2 eggs and 2 egg whites in this recipe there would have been 10 grams of protein per serving, and the calories would have increased to 178 per serving. So either way you go, it's still a healthy nutritious breakfast, it just depends on if you are eating animal protein or not.

Enjoy!

xoxoxo

Alisha

Dessert Please

I got the original recipe for this out of this months Rachael Ray Magazine. You can find it here I only made a couple of modifications. Also When I made it my intention was to use honey instead of the brown sugar in the batter, but I completely left it out. The result was a NOT sweet batter, but it still worked. I'll list the recipe as though I'd added the honey, and you can decide from there. :)

Pineapple Upside Down Corn Cake
16 servings
105 calories 21 from fat

• 2 tbsps butter
• 1/2 pineapple, quartered, cored, and cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 3 Tbs. packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsps baking powder
• 3/4 cup stone ground whole grain cornmeal
• 3/4 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a 9-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter and 3 tablespoons brown sugar over medium heat, stirring, until melted. Add the pineapple and cook until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Arrange the pineapple decoratively in the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the applesauce, remaining tablespoon of butter, and the honey. Beat in the eggs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the applesauce mixture and stir just until incorporated. Spread the batter gently and evenly on top of the pineapple in the skillet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly, loosen the cake from the pan and invert onto a platter.

Strange Bedfellows

I would never in a million years have thought to combine lentils with simmered fruit, onions and garlic. Even typing it here it doesn't sound good. Trust me, it's delicious. I have a whole room full of co-workers who will say the same thing.
I got the recipe idea from my great big book of everything vegetarian (again) and then switched out some ingredients to make it my own. (again)

Fruity Lentils

4 servings 256 calories 38 from fat.

these are about 1.5 cup servings, so if you wanted to downsize the portions to 1 cup, and get 6 servings, you'd have 171 calorie servings.

• 2/3 cup lentils
• 4 cups water
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium apple, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 pineapple, coarsely chopped
• 3 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium (almost ripe) banana, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt

Place the lentils (you can use green lentils, or pinto beans too) and water in a pan, bring to a boil reduce heat and simmer about 40 minutes, don't let the lentils get mushy. Drain lentils, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil (recipe called for double the amount of vegetable oil, but I didn't see the need, and coconut oil tastes so much better) add the onion and garlic and cook until just starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the apple and cook until golden.  add the pineapple and cook until warmed through, Stir in the lentils, add some of the cooking liquid if it seems too thick. Add the tomatoes and banana, stirring to combine the flavors. Season to taste with the cayenne and salt. The measurements I used were approximate. Garnish it with some fresh cilantro, and serve warm.

Go ahead, try it...

Alisha xoxoxo

PASTA!

I found myself CRAVING bread and cheese today. I almost broke down and bought a pizza. I made this instead. I found it in my great big book of everything vegetarian, and then tweaked it my way of course. The basil makes it really fragrant, and utterly irresistible!

Green Pesto with Whole Wheat Penne
4 servings
174 calories 16 calories from fat

• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 3 1/2 cups pieces or slices mushrooms
• 1 bunch asparagus cut in 2 inch strips
• 10 oz green beans cut in 2 inch pieces
• 1 cup whole wheat penne
• 1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbs shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh basil
• 2 Tbs. water
• salt and pepper

Place the chicken stock and mushrooms in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes, drain off the liquid and set aside. You can keep the liquid for a soup or something later if you wanted.

In a separate pot, bring the green beans and asparagus to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes, until crisp tender, drain and set aside.

To make the pesto combine the basil, garlic, yogurt and parmesan in a blender or food processor and pulse to desired consistency. Add the water a little at a time to get the consistency you want. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the penne to desired consistency, drain and combine all ingredients tossing with the pesto. Garnish with more basil and parmesan.

I also cooked a chicken breast to go with this, because I have to have my protein. Some other good additions would be fresh chopped tomatoes, or some shrimp would be nice too!

Enjoy

Alisha xoxoxo

Napa Cabbage and Beef Stir Fry

It's not a plethora of color, but it tastes good.

Cabbage and Beef Stir Fry

4 servings
283 calories per serving 100 calories from fat

• 1Tbs less sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbs rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsps ginger
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 lb lean beef steak
• 1 lb cabbage

Stir together soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce, and cornstarch.

Cut steaks in half lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Heat wok or heavy skillet (I used a cast iron pan) over high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately. Add sesame oil and stir-fry garlic and ginger until golden and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef, quickly spreading pieces in 1 layer on bottom and sides of wok. Cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes, then stir-fry until meat is just browned but still pink in center, about 1 minute. Add cabbage to beef beef  and stir fry for about 2 - 3 minutes. Stir soy mixture and add. Stir-fry until sauce is simmering and slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Orange Ginger Glazed Asparagus

Finding myself with a few oranges left from a case that I purchased a couple of weeks back, I decided I needed to find a way to use some of them up, and this was born. I think it's really yummy. I hope you do too.


Orange Ginger Glazed Asparagus

2 Servings

134 calories, 4 calories from fat



1 Bunch asparagus, trimmed
Juice of 4 or 5 oranges
1 T. Honey
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1 t. freshly grated ginger
1 clove garlic grated.

Mix all ingredients except asparagus in a small sauce pan. bring to a boil and simmer until it's reduced around 10 to 15 minutes.
Place the asparagus in a warmed saute pan and heat through (spray the pan with some non stick spray if you'd like. I had a friend give me a Misto and now I can use my own olive oil instead of an aerosol propelled canola oil. I love it!)
pour the sauce over the asparagus and boil for a couple of minutes longer.

I topped this with some pre-cooked shrimp that I just warmed up, but it could just as easily be served alone or with chicken. The shrimp added 72 calories.

Much love,
Alisha xoxoxo