Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 2/3 cup diced strawberries
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, gently toss the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and applesauce together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the beaten egg white until fully incorporated. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or large wooden spoon until just combined - do not overmix. Fold in the strawberries and chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly between 10 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Muffins will be lightly golden in color and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Mine took about 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and place pan on a wire rack. Allow muffins to cool and enjoy!

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Skinny Zucchini Pizza

Ingredients

• 4 medium zucchini
• ½ cup marinara or pizza sauce
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast (optional)
• ¼ red onion, sliced
• ¼ cup kalmata olives, chopped
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil chiffonade

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the inside seeds.
3. To help them lay flat on the pan, you can also cut a piece off the bottom of the "boat" to create a flat surface.
4. Mix tomato sauce and nutritional yeast (if using).
5. Spread a light layer of sauce (about 1 tablespoon) inside each zucchini
6. Top with onions, olives, and tomatoes.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until zucchini is tender.
8. Top with basil and serve.

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Black Bean and Veggie Pizza

INGREDIENTS

Mexican pizza

• 8 large (7-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 14.5-ounce cans organic refried black beans
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 14.5-ounce can whole black olives, sliced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• ½ bunch green onions, sliced
• ¾ cup shredded light monterey jack cheese
• Avocado cream, to taste (recipe below)
• Optional: salsa for serving.

Avocado cream

• 1 ripe avocado
• ½ cup greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 large clove garlic
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS

Mexican pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F with a pizza stone (or a large baking sheet) inside.
2. Working in batches, lay as many tortillas out as possible on the pizza stone without overlapping and bake for 10 minutes, or until just crispy. Repeat until all tortillas are crispy.
3. Meanwhile, heat the black beans, paprika, cumin, and cayenne over medium heat until smooth and pliable (it doesn't need to be heated all the way through, just enough to make it easy to spread).
4. Divide the black beans among the crispy tortillas (about ⅓ cup per tortilla), and use a rubber spatula to spread the beans out evenly to the edges.
5. Evenly the olives, red onion, tomatoes, and bell pepper among the tortillas.
6. Sprinkle 1.5 tablespoons of shredded cheese over the top of each pizza.
7. Bake the pizzas for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the toppings are cooked through. My pizza stone holds only 4 pizzas at a time, so work in batches if needed.
8. Before serving, dollop or swirl avocado cream over the pizzas, to taste, and sprinkle sliced green onions on top. (To swirl it, I put the cream in a Ziploc bag and cut off the tip!).
9. Optional: serve with a side of salsa.

Avocado cream

 1.Toss all the ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth. You'll likely have leftover cream that you can dip chips in too!

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String Bean Salad with Vinegar Dressing

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 1 pound of fresh string beans, ends trimmed
• ⅓ cup diced red onion
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 4 - 5 slices cooked bacon, chopped

For the Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove minced garlic
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and blanch the string beans 2 minutes. Fill a large bowl with ice water and remove the string beans with a slotted spoon into the bowl.
2. Once they are cool, drain and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 1 - 2 inch long pieces.

Make the dressing:

1. In a small bowl whisk the vinegar and mustard together. Slowly whisk in the oil. Stir in the garlic with a couple pinches salt and pepper.
2. Add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl, drizzle with the dressing, season generously with salt and pepper and gently toss.
3. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Best eaten fresh.

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Easy Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• salt and ground pepper
• 6 cups chicken stock (or whatever stock you like)
• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 8 cups mixed vegetables (fresh or frozen) Example: carrots, corn, cauliflower, green beans, peas, and zucchini (cut larger vegetables into smaller pieces)
• Fresh chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent (about 5 to 8 minutes).

Add stock, tomatoes (and their juice), tomato paste, and 3 cups water to pot; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.

Add your choice of chopped vegetables to the pot, and return to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, as desired.

Eat steaming hot with homemade olive bread rolls.

Let cool before storing.

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Turkey Meatball Spinach Tortellini Soup

5-6 servings
Ingredients:

For the Meatballs:

10 oz 93% ground turkey
2 tbsp seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano)
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 large egg
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp kosher salt

For the soup:

1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled & chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 (14.5 oz) cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1 small Parmigiano-Reggiano rind (optional)
9 oz refrigerated spinach cheese tortellini (Buitoni)fresh ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups loosely packed baby spinach
fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for topping

Instructions:

Combine the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, garlic, salt and parmesan cheese. Using your hands, gently mix all the ingredients well until everything is combined. Form small meatballs, about 1 tbsp each, you'll get about 20 to 22.

In a large nonstick pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-low heat. When melted, add the celery, onion, carrot & garlic. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.

Add the chicken broth and parmesan rind and increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. When broth boils, season with black pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium and gently drop in the meatballs. Cook about 4 minutes.

Add the tortellini and simmer until cooked according to package directions, about 7 minutes.

Once cooked, remove the rind, and add the baby spinach. Stir to combine and serve topped with fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

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Cauliflower "Fried Rice"

4 servings
Ingredients:

1 medium head (about 24 oz) cauliflower, rinsed
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 egg whites
1 large egg
pinch of salt
cooking spray
1/2 small onion, diced fine
1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 scallions, diced, whites and greens separated
3 tbsp soy sauce, or more to taste

Instructions:

Remove the core and let the cauliflower dry completely. Coarsely chop into florets, then place half of the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower is small and has the texture of rice or couscous – don't over process or it will get mushy. Set aside and repeat with the remaining cauliflower.
Combine egg and egg whites in a small bowl and beat with a fork. Season with salt.

Heat a large saute pan or wok over medium heat and spray with oil. Add the eggs and cook, turning a few times until set; set aside.

Add the sesame oil and saute onions, scallion whites, peas and carrots and garlic about 3 to 4 minutes, or until soft.

Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the cauliflower "rice" to the saute pan along with soy sauce. Mix, cover and cook approximately 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cauliflower is slightly crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. Add the egg then remove from heat and mix in scallion greens.

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Asparagus Egg and Bacon Salad

1 serving
Ingredients:

• 1 large hard boiled egg, peeled and sliced
• 1 2/3 cups chopped asparagus
• 2 slices cooked and crumbled center cut bacon
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• pinch salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the asparagus and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until tender yet firm. Drain and run under cold water to stop it from cooking further. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix the Dijon, oil, vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Arrange the asparagus on a plate, top with egg and bacon and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Enjoy!

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SKINNY FETTUCCINE ALFREDO

4 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS:

·         12 ounces fettuccine (or any pasta shape)

·         1 Tbsp. olive oil

·         4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

·         3 Tbsp. flour

·         1 cup chicken broth

·         1 cup low-fat milk (I used 1%)

·         3/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese

·         1/2 tsp. salt

·         1/4 tsp. black pepper

·         (optional topping: chopped fresh parsley)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook pasta al dente according to package directions, in generously salted water.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute one minute, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Sprinkle with flour, and stir to combine. Saute for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally.

Slowly add chicken broth, whisking to combine until smooth. Whisk in milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let cook for an additional minute until thickened, then stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until the cheese melted. Reduce heat to medium-low until pasta reaches al dente.

Drain pasta, then immediately add pasta to the saute pan with alfredo sauce. Toss to combine. Serve topped with chopped fresh parsley if desired.

Bon Appétit!

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