Supernatural Botanicals

 This is a super-simple dessert to throw together for your 4th of July party. 

Find some pretty clear glasses or dessert dishes and layer strawberries, fat free Cool Whip, and blueberries. 

This is a great dessert to have on hand in addition to the coconut cream and banana cream pies that are sure to be on the table and calling out your name.

 This berry medley is completely fat free.  So indulge.  Have three of them if you want!

If you’ve been to my house, you’ve probably eaten my hummus and fresh pita bread standing around my kitchen island.  It’s a staple around my house.  Super-delicious and good for you, too.  The basic recipe is below, but you can add anything you want to it.  My favorites include roasted garlic and roasted pine nuts, but add whatever flavors you love.   

Hummus is one of the more popular Middle Eastern dips, generally served with fresh or toasted pita bread.  Hummus makes for a great snack or appetizer. Tahini is an important part of the hummus recipe and cannot be substituted.   You can find Tahini in the grocery store.

I use a food processor to make mine.  Be sure to blend ingredients until they are smooth (not grainy and loose) for better texture.    

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
• 3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread.  So delish!

Sam Zien, aka Sam The Cooking Guy, has a fantastic cookbook out called Just a Bunch of Recipes.  I picked mine up from the library, but can already tell, this will need to be a purchase for me; this will definitely be added to my massive cookbook collection.  It’s comprised of great recipes, everyday recipes, with a healthy twist.  His recipes are nutritious and healthy, but not painfully so.  Not to mention, Sam is a riot to watch or read.  It’s a fun book.  Thumbs up!

Start the day off healthy with an apple smoothie.  You’ve tried all the berry flavored smoothies before, but apples bring a new taste to your blender.  Perfect with homemade apple cinnamon muffins. 

Serving contains 232 calories, 1 gram of fat and 15 grams of protein.

* 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
* 8 ounces nonfat milk
* 2 tablespoon frozen apple juice concentrate
* dash ground cinnamon
* 1/2 whole green apple – seeded and cut in pieces
* 2 or 3 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Makes one 12-ounce serving.

For more great recipes like this, check out Mr. Breakfast. 

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You may also like these blog posts:

  Blueberry Cheese Cake Smoothie

  Peach Blackberry Smoothie

If you think Olive Garden and Taco Bell when you think of ethnic foods, you’re missing the boat…the boat to the Mediterranean, that is.  I’ve been cooking lots of Mediterranean dishes this summer, from Greek pizzas, pastas, meats, and even desserts.  This is one of my favorite go-to pasta recipes.  It’s perfect for a quick dinner or lunch, great to stuff into Chinese carryout cartons for a picnic, or even a late night picnic in bed. 

The tomatoes, the basil, the garlic, it all brings such a great combination of flavors to the party.  Quick and simple, and won’t blow your daily caloric intake budget, either. 

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Feta Cheese

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 1  (9-ounce) package refrigerated fresh linguine
• 3/4  cup  oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves, drained
• 1/4  cup  loosely packed basil leaves
• 2  tablespoons  slivered almonds
• 2  tablespoons  preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1  tablespoon  bottled minced garlic
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain through a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to pan.

While pasta cooks, place tomatoes and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper) in a food processor; process until finely chopped.

Combine tomato mixture and the reserved 1 cup cooking liquid, stirring with a whisk. Add to pasta; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with feta.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

300 (30% from fat)

Fat:

9.9g (sat 3.3g,mono 3.9g,poly 1.6g)

Protein:

12.3g

Carbohydrate:

42g

Fiber:

4.3g

Cholesterol:

61mg

Iron:

3.1mg

Sodium:

570mg

Calcium:

141mg

Health up your salad.  Instead of reaching for the croutons, which can contain a high butter and fat content, reach for whole wheat crackers.  Just crumble over a fantastic salad and get the benefits of whole wheat and fiber, along with great taste with half the calories.