Eating vegetables can get boring when you're just steaming or roasting them. To break away from the plain vegetable cycle, check out this recipe from Eating Well.

Balsamic & Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

From EatingWell: January/February 2008

Roasting isn't usually the first cooking method you think of for cauliflower but the results are quite delicious. The florets are cut into thick slices and tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and herbs. Wherever the flat surfaces come into contact with the hot roasting pan, a deep browning occurs that results in a sweet, nutty flavor.

4 servings, about 1 cup each

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS
8 cups 1-inch-thick slices cauliflower florets, (about 1 large head; see Tip)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss cauliflower, oil, marjoram, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast until starting to soften and brown on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Toss the cauliflower with vinegar and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven and roast until the cheese is melted and any moisture has evaporated, 5 to 10 minutes more.

TIPS & NOTES
Tip: To prepare florets from a whole head of cauliflower, remove outer leaves. Slice off the thick stem. With the head upside down and holding a knife at a 45° angle, slice into the smaller stems with a circular motion—removing a “plug” from the center of the head. Break or cut florets into the desired size.

NUTRITION
Per serving: 149 calories; 10 g fat ( 3 g sat , 6 g mono ); 7 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbohydrates; 7 g protein; 4 g fiber; 364 mg sodium; 490 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (120% daily value), Folate (22% dv), Fiber (16% dv), Calcium (15% dv)

Carbohydrate Servings: 1/2

Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1/2 lean meat, 1 1/2 fat

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans

I absolutely love gnocchi, the way that it's prepared in restaurants is to die for. Check out this recipe from Eating Well for gnocchi with chard and white bean.

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans

From EatingWell: January/February 2009

In this one-skillet supper, we toss dark leafy greens, diced tomatoes and white beans with gnocchi and top it all with gooey mozzarella. Serve with a mixed green salad with vinaigrette.

6 servings

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi, (see Tip)
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
6 cups chopped chard leaves, (about 1 small bunch) or spinach
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chard (or spinach) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.

TIPS & NOTES
Tip: Look for shelf-stable gnocchi near other pasta in the Italian section of most supermarkets.

NUTRITION
Per serving: 325 calories; 7 g fat ( 2 g sat , 3 g mono ); 8 mg cholesterol; 55 g carbohydrates; 14 g protein; 6 g fiber; 616 mg sodium; 360 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (50% daily value), Vitamin C (40% dv), Calcium & Iron (19% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 3

Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 lean meat, 1 fat

Hearty Pancakes

You have to love that I am sitting here, sharing heart healthy recipes while I watch Man vs. Food Nation. Anyway! Another collection of recipes from Health.com of dishes that are low in saturated fats, so try some of these and keep the bad fats away.

Hearty Pancakes

Pancakes are a morning staple, but they aren’t all that healthy if made with milk and eggs and slathered with butter and syrup.

This recipe uses applesauce to cut down on fat content and add some fiber as well. What’s more, walnuts give a slight crunch and "good" monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 pancakes and 2 teaspoons maple syrup)

Saturated fat: 1 g

Substituting applesauce for the buttermilk, shortening, or oil found in traditional pancake recipes adds fiber and cuts fat. The additional fiber, plus protein and good fats in walnuts, will help keep you full longer

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup uncooked farina (such as Cream of Wheat)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup golden raisins, divided
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, divided
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 
  
• Preparation
• Lightly spoon the flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, farina, and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine milk, applesauce, and egg in a medium bowl, stirring until well blended. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until well combined. Let batter stand 5 minutes.
• Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto pan; sprinkle each with 2 teaspoons raisins and 2 teaspoons walnuts. Cook 1 minute or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over, and cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure with remaining batter, raisins, and walnuts. Serve with syrup.

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2004

Nutrition Facts:

CALORIES 347 (23% from fat)

FAT 9g (sat 1g, mono 1.3g, poly 5.1g)
PROTEIN 8.8g
CARBOHYDRATE 61.1g
FIBER 4.3g
CHOLESTEROL 35mg
IRON 4.8mg
SODIUM 537mg
CALCIUM 142mg

Strawberry Shortcakes

These are kind of my favorite types of recipe collections to post. From Health.com, here is a collection of desserts made healthier for us to enjoy without all of the calories and fat.

Strawberry Shortcakes

This traditional dessert can sometimes be loaded with fat. With ingredients like sugary cake and whipped cream, a strawberry shortcake may not fit into your eating plan.

But you won’t notice the difference if you whip up this healthier take on the original. You’ll love it just as much as the fattier version. Also, ours uses store-bought dessert shells to cut prep time.

Saturated fat: 0.3 g

You won't believe this delicious, classic dessert is low in calories and in fat. You even have wiggle room to add a scoop of fat-free vanilla ice cream to top it off.

Yields:

6 servings (serving size: 1 cake and 1/3 cup sauce)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon calorie-free sweetener
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries (about 1 pint)
• 6 spongecake dessert shells (5-ounce package)

Preparation

Combine sweetener and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Stir in orange juice. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute or until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat, and stir in extract. Cool completely.

Combine orange juice mixture and strawberries in a bowl; stir gently. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

To serve, spoon sauce over dessert shells.

Tip: This luscious sauce is also good spooned over no-sugar-added ice cream, angel food cake, or fat-free pound cake.

Nutritional Info

CALORIES 113 (0.0% from fat)

FAT 0.9g (sat 0.3g, mono 0.0g, poly 0.0g)
PROTEIN 2g
CARBOHYDRATE 24.3g
FIBER 0.2g
CHOLESTEROL 33mg
IRON 0.0mg
SODIUM 169mg
CALCIUM 0.0mg

Vegetable Soft Tacos with Chipotle Sour Cream

I love this! From Health.com, check out recipes for comfort food with a vegetarian spin. For those of us who don't eat meat or are sometimes in the mood for meat alternatives, this recipe collection has great recipes that are still filling and still taste great.

Vegetable Soft Tacos With Chipotle Sour Cream
The perfect vegetarian summer meal!

Serves 4

2 cups corn (fresh or frozen)
2 limes, juiced
2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 red bell peppers, sliced thin
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed (or make your own!)
1 green cabbage, sliced thin
1 bunch fresh cilantro, minced
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 avocado
3 radishes, sliced thin
1 cup sour cream
2 canned chiles in adobo sauce, seeded and diced plus 2 tsp. of the adobo sauce
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Whole-wheat tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss together corn, 1 tbsp. of olive oil, lime juice, 1 tsp. salt, cumin, bell peppers, and onion in a large bowl, then spread on half a baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, toss together remaining olive oil, paprika, 1 tsp. salt, and black beans. Spread on the other half of the baking sheet.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, tossing occasionally, until beans are crispy and veggies are cooked.

4. While that’s baking, combine cabbage, cilantro, vinegar, sugar, diced avocado, radishes, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

5. In a small bowl, mix together sour cream, chili peppers, and adobo sauce.

6. When veggies and beans are done, fill tortillas, then layer on cabbage mixture and a drizzle of sour cream. Sprinkle with cheese.

Almond Butter Brownies

I found out about this recipe for Almond Butter Brownies from Glamour's Vitamin G blog. They posted this recipe from Elena's Pantry for these brownies made with almond butter which are also gluten free. They say that they are amazing so I thought I'd share this alternative brownie recipe with yall.

Check it out here and check out The Fitnessista's slight adjustments to the recipe here

From Health.com, here is a great recipe for Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding; it's healthy but still has the comforting and delicious taste that bread pudding should have.

Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

Try not to chop the chocolate too finely so you'll have good-sized chunks to bite into. Hawaiian bread pudding is a soft, sweet bread found in the bakery section of most grocery stores. Leftovers are good for ham and Swiss sandwiches.

Yield & Time
2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed Hawaiian sweet bread
• 2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tablespoon Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until toasted. Remove bread from oven; decrease oven temperature to 325°.

Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (milk through egg) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add bread, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Divide half of bread mixture evenly between 2 (6-ounce) ramekins or custard cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with half of chocolate. Divide remaining bread mixture between ramekins; top with remaining chocolate.

Place ramekins in an 8-inch square baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 325° for 35 minutes or until set. Serve each pudding warm with 1 tablespoon whipped topping.

Nutritional Info
CALORIES 319 (30% from fat)
FAT 10.6g (sat 5.2g, mono 3.6g, poly 0.8g)
PROTEIN 9.8g
CARBOHYDRATE 45.3g
FIBER 2.1g
CHOLESTEROL 121mg
IRON 1.8mg
SODIUM 141mg
CALCIUM 125mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2003