It’s the Beet!

April 23rd, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

Beets seem to be one of the most disliked foods out there. Every time I go through consults with patients, the most popular dislikes are beets and liver.

I am not a huge fan either. However, I do like beet chips that have been baked in the oven and I like them cut up in small itty bitty pieces on a salad.

beet salad

I was inspired to make this salad recipe after I went out to eat and enjoyed a similar goat cheese and beet salad.

Ingredients: Greens (spinach), sliced red onions that you have marinated in the pickled beet juice, sliced pickled beets, goat cheese, and candied pecans.

For dressing: A tiny drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette or just a little balsamic glaze.

beet salad with goat cheese

Easy! And, it has a nice pretty color for presentation. Even if you are not a fan of beets, I suggest trying them this way!

, , , , , ,

Quinoa and Egg Breakfast Bake

April 16th, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

I found this recipe from Whole Foods and Fit Sugar while on Pinterest.

What a  great idea it is! They use quinoa as the bottom “crust” part and then the egg filling with some spinach, and topped with a small amount of cheese.

quinoa breakfast bake

I only modified the recipe slightly because I used frozen spinach (and more of it) and a few other tweaks.

Quinoa and Egg Breakfast Bake

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon butter or butter substitute to grease the pan
  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 6-7 eggs
  • 2-3 egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cup nonfat milk
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 3 tablespoon chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
  • 1 cup finely shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese (and I mixed in some leftover Gruyere we had)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease your baking dish (the recipe called for an 8×8 dish, but I used an 11.5 x 8.75 baking dish). Do not use 9 x 13–it will be a little too big.
  2. Rinse your quinoa in a colander.
  3. Whisk together your eggs, spices, and milk. Stir in the quinoa.
  4. Pour into the baking dish. Then, stir a little and shake pan a little to let the quinoa fall to the bottom of the pan. Don’t worry–you probably won’t be able to see this, but it will work.
  5. Gently stir in your onions and spinach into the egg/quinoa mixture in the pan.
  6. Bake covered for about 40-45 minutes until it has set. Uncover and sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for another 17-20 minutes until golden.

quinoa egg bake

You could even eat this for lunch or dinner (I am going to eat for lunch today with a side of raw sliced peppers). It is the perfect balanced meal because it contains complete proteins, fiber, vegetables, and a pinch of fat ;-)

Tip: Make it ahead of time, the night before, and then you can just reheat in the morning. Since it takes a while to bake and cook, I made mine at about 9:30 pm and finished cooking it close to bedtime!

, , , , , ,

Protein Almond Butter

March 11th, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

I was getting a little creative with my normal almond butter spread for breakfast. I mixed a brown rice protein powder with almond butter and almond milk. Spread it on top of Ezekiel bread, and you have a balanced breakfast!

almond butter with protein

  • 1 slice Ezekiel
  • 1.5 Tbsp. almond butter
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla brown rice protein powder
  • sprinkle of cinnamon
  • almond milk or any milk to moisten the mixture
  • drizzle of real honey on top (1 tsp.)

I eat this warm out of toaster oven. I’m sure you could eat it cold, but it always tastes better when the honey becomes warm.

Nutrition Facts:

nutrition facts for almond butter toast

I ate some blueberries to go with this to make it more of a complete meal :)

, , , , , ,

Happy Food Day!

October 24th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Healthy Living | Nutrition News - (0 Comments)

Today, October 24, 2012 is National Food Day!

A day to eat real food, and celebrate being a foodie!

Some fun things for you to check out:

More updates to come in a few hours…

, , , , ,

Light Tomato Basil Soup

August 15th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

Was inspired by this recipe (from More Fruit Please) I came across on Pinterest.

Loved the idea because basil is so fresh this time of year. I am trying to keep a little basil plant growing in my sun room (not that sunny though!).

Light Tomato Basil Soup

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 medium size fresh tomatoes, or 5 small tomatoes, diced
  • 1, 28-oz. cans of diced tomatoes
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 2 cups of vegetable or reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese (or similar), grated
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped, loosely packed
  • 1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning blend (sage, oregano, parsley)
  • 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a large saucepan that can also act as a saute pan, add your olive oil, onions, and fresh tomato. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes until soften. Add your garlic and seasonings. Cook 2-3 more minutes.
  2. Add the can of diced tomatoes, and vegetable stock. Simmer on medium-low about 5 minutes.
  3. Measure out your Greek yogurt, and put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to bring closer to room temperature. This will help it blend in the soup a little better.
  4. Add the Greek yogurt. Stir well to combine. *It won’t completely blend in. Do not worry, it will still taste OK.
  5. With an immersion blender, blend the soup in the saucepan. Make sure to keep the blender below the surface of the liquid or you will have soup everywhere! If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can put in normal blender or food processor. But, be very careful with hot liquid as it can cause pressure in the blender, and again, you will have soup everywhere.
  6. One you have blended it well enough so that you don’t see yogurt bits anymore, stir in your cheese and fresh basil.
  7. Garnish with a little fresh basil and pinch of cheese.

You can see I didn’t blend mine thoroughly enough. Whoops! Oh well, I don’t always like a smooth texture.

Anyway, this soup was very light and refreshing tasting. The fresh basil gave it that clean taste.

, , , , ,