Blueberry Freeze

From Glamour's Vitamin G Blog, here is a recipe for a delicious blueberry smoothie that could boost your brain power.

Blueberry Freeze
Recipe courtesy of Elizabeth Somer

Ingredients:

1 cup blueberries (go for frozen)
1 cup soy milk with Omega-3 DHA, such as SILK
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 packet sugar substitute (or sugar, honey or agave nectar)
1 ice cube

Directions:

Mix together in a blender, pour into glass, and serve. Makes 1 serving. (Nutrition stats: 226 calories, 3.5 grams total fat, 10 grams protein, 3.3 grams fiber.)

Works with Anything Sauce

Here is an easy sauce recipe from Cosmopolitan.

Works-with-Anything Sauce

This works-with-anything sauce is courtesy of New York City's Bouillabaisse 126 restaurant.

How to make it: Combine 1 small bunch of arugula, 1 bunch of dill, 2 shallots, 1 pint of sour cream, 3 teaspoons of Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor and serve cold over fish, chicken, meat, or pasta. Yummy!

Ginger-Steamed Cod Fillets

Got this recipe from WeightWatchers. I love a good fish recipe!

Ginger Steamed Cod Fillets

3 pts/serving, makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 medium scallions (minced)
• 1 Tbsp ginger root, fresh, minced, or to taste
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp dry sherry, or nonalcoholic cooking wine
• 1 1/2 pounds uncooked cod

Directions

1. Place fish in a single layer in a glass baking dish
2. In a small bowl, combine scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sherry
3. Pour over fish and marinate in refrigerator up to 2 hours
4. Fill a sauce pan with an inch of water
5. Set over high heat and bring to a boil
6. Place fish in a steamer basket; discard marinade
7. Set steamer basket in saucepan, making sure basket sits above water
8. Cover saucepan and steam until fish is completely cooked (it should easily flake when tested with a fork)-about 10 minutes
9. Divide into 4 pieces and serve

Hungry Girl's Goo-Licious Caramel Goodness

One of the things I love about Hungry Girl is their creativity in putting together different foods to make delicious snacks and desserts. Check out another part of Hungry Girl's Hot Couples list with their Goo-Licious Caramel Goodness.

Kozy Shack No Sugar Added Rice Pudding + Light or Fat Free Caramel Dip = Goo-licious Caramel Goodness

PER SERVING (1 pudding cup + 1/2 tbsp. dip): 97 calories, 1.25g fat, 147mg sodium, 17.5g carbs, 3g fiber, 9g sugars, 4g protein -- POINTS® value 1*

Rice pudding is awesome, sweet, and creamy on its own, but we like to kick things up a notch. Scoop a spoonful of that caramel dip we love so much onto one of your pudding cups (um, AFTER you've opened the pudding pack, of course). Swirl in said caramel goo, and eat! A-MAZING!

Lightened King Ranch Casserole

Southern style favorites often carry more calories than most of us want to know about.Southern Living has slimmed down a whole bunch of southern dishes in their Lightened Southern Classics article. Here is one for Lightened King Ranch Casserole.

Light King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Serve with a veggie-loaded salad and vinaigrette. For added Southwest flavor, whisk a few dashes of hot sauce into the dressing.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Bake: 35 minutes
Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts
• 1 (10-ounce) can fat-free cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 (10-ounce) can fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomato and green chiles
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 (8-ounce) block reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded

Preparation

Sauté onion and bell pepper in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender.

Stir in chicken and next 6 ingredients; remove from heat.

Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces; layer one-third tortilla pieces in bottom of a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with one-third chicken mixture and one-third cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

282 (32% from fat)

Fat:

9.9g (sat 5g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:

21g

Carbohydrate:

26.4g

Fiber:

3.1g

Cholesterol:

54.4mg

Iron:

0.7mg

Sodium:

947mg

Calcium:

248mg

Southern Living, MARCH 2004

From Delish and Eating Well, here is a recipe for Cherries with Ricotta and Toasted Almonds.

Cherries with Ricotta and Toasted Almonds

From EatingWell.com

Warm cherries topped with luscious ricotta cheese and toasted almonds makes for a rich-tasting — yet calorie-conscious — treat

Serves: 1 Edit
Total Time: 10 min

Ingredients

3/4 cup(s) frozen pitted cherries
2 tablespoon(s) part-skim ricotta
1 tablespoon(s) toasted slivered almonds

Directions

Heat cherries in the microwave on High until warm, 1 to 2 minutes. Top the cherries with ricotta and almonds.

133 calories, 0 g saturated fat

Tips & Techniques

Healthy heart variation: To reduce saturated fat even further, use nonfat ricotta in place of the reduced-fat ricotta.

Baby Tiramisu

Everybody loves an awesome dessert...when desserts include chocolate, you know that everyone will go wild. Here is a recipe for Baby Tiramisu from Eating Well's collection of Instant Chocolate Desserts.

Baby Tiramisù

From EatingWell

If you're a fan of the classic Italian dessert Tiramisu, try this quick, lower-calorie variation the next time you need a dessert in a hurry. Both types of ladyfingers—spongy and crunchy—work well.

6 servings

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup nonfat ricotta cheese, (4 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 ladyfingers, (about 1 3/4 ounces)
• 4 tablespoons brewed espresso, or strong coffee, divided
• 2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips, melted (see Tip)

PREPARATION

1. Combine ricotta, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
2. Place 6 ladyfingers in a 9-by-5-inch (or similar size) loaf pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons espresso (or coffee). Spread the ricotta mixture over the ladyfingers. Place another layer of ladyfingers over the ricotta and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons espresso (or coffee). Drizzle with melted chocolate. Refrigerate until the chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.

TIPS/NOTES

• Tip: To melt chocolate: Microwave on Medium for 1 minute. Stir, then continue microwaving on Medium in 20-second intervals until melted, stirring after each interval. Or place in the top of a double boiler over hot, but not boiling, water. Stir until melted.
• 
  

NUTRITION

Per serving: 107 calories; 2 g fat (1 g sat, 0 g mono); 3 mg cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrates; 3 g protein; 0 g fiber; 125 mg sodium; 29 mg potassium.

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 carbohydrate (other), 1/2 fat

From Self's November 2008 feature of Eat Healthy All Week, here is an interesting chicken recipe, full of flavor.

Black Bean–Almond Pesto Chicken

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup packed fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 2 tablespoons canned black beans
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons extra light olive oil, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 6 oz)
• 1/2 large zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice (left over from Tuesday's dinner)

PREPARATION

1. In a mini-chopper, blend basil, almonds, beans, garlic, 1 tsp oil and 1/8 tsp salt until mixture is combined but chunky. Heat oven to 400°. Heat a small ovensafe skillet over high heat. Add remaining1 tsp oil. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/8 tsp salt. Cook chicken until it browns, 2 to 3 minutes. Move chicken to one side; add zucchini and tomatoes. Top chicken and vegetables with pesto. Cover and bake until chicken is cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, then slice chicken. Place rice in an airtight container; top with chicken and vegetables and refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready to eat, microwave on high 2 to 3 minutes.

THE SKINNY

516 calories per serving, 19.2 g fat (2.6 g saturated), 38 g carbs, 7.8 g fiber, 47.5 g protein

Peaches with Balsamic Cherries

I found a neat collection of fun Outdoor Recipes at Marie Claire. Here is a recipe for a dessert that I'm dying to try.

Peaches with Balsamic Cherries

• 1/2 pound fresh sweet cherries, cut in half and pitted
• 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 pound ripe peaches, cut in half, pitted, and sliced

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together the cherries, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and the vinegar, and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil and continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times.

2. In a medium bowl, toss the warm cherries and their syrup with the peaches; taste and add more sugar if necessary. Serve warm.

Best.Advice.Ever Part 17

If you missed the other parts of this, check them out here. This obviously is to do with my absolute obsession with "Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen" If you haven't seen the video, it is posted on part 1, or you can easily youtube it.

Dance even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

This is one of the most sound pieces of advice that I have heard. It may sound stupid, but starting your own dance party can be really good for the mind and the soul. It can help clear your head, release frustration and endorphins. It gets your body going and makes you feel good; not to mention, it is a good form of exercise that does not feel like exercise.

For those of you who don't eat meat, or don't eat red meat but still would like to have meatballs with your spaghetti, here is a recipe for vegetarian meat balls that I found on Dr. Oz's website.

BEAN “MEAT” BALLS

Instead of using meat, try these “meat” balls, made from heart-healthy beans, mushrooms and walnuts. The unique blend of flavor proves that red meat has nothing on this vegetarian dish.

ADDED TO RECIPES ON FRI 01/21/2011

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

16 oz sliced mushrooms,

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained

1/2 cup chopped parsley

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Directions

Preheat broiler. Warm 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large sauce pan and cook the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, pepper and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and most moisture has evaporated.

Take pan off the heat and let mushrooms cool a bit. Meanwhile empty the beans into the bowl of a food processor and puree until quite smooth. Add the parsley, the walnuts and the cooled mushroom mixture and process a little more, but leave them just a little chunky. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, work in the bread crumbs and parmesan and refrigerate for 30 to 1 hour to firm up.

With a small ice cream scoop or damp hands form small (about 1 to 1-1/2 inch) balls. Place bean balls on a rimmed baking sheet and broil on all sides until browned and heated through – about 10 minutes total.

Recipe created especially for The Dr. Oz Show by food stylist, Ulli Stachl.