Wheat Waffles

1 cup wheat flour 1 Tbs. baking powder ½ tsp. salt 2 tsp. brown sugar 2 eggs separated 1 ¼ cup milk ¼ cup oil Mix all dry ingredients.  Separate egg yolks and add to dry ingredients.  Gradually add the oil and milk (beat hard, batter will be very thin).  Beat egg whites in separate bowl until fluffy (I think the technical term is soft peak).  Fold egg whites into thin batter and cook waffles (make sure not to over stir). If you feel like the batter is too runny, you can decrease the milk to 1 cup.  We also use this recipe to make pancakes.

Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple, and Red Lentil Soup

This is a recipe from Allrecipes. I made it today and we like it. In the reviews many people said they didn't blend the soup and kept it more like a stew with chunks. I kept it chunky, too. You can use olive oil instead of butter if you prefer (that's what I did). Also, I couldn't find red lentils, so I used green. I guess the green ones don't look as pretty, but whatever.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 4 cups vegetable broth
  
• plain yogurt

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Place the chopped sweet potatoes, carrots, apple, and onion in the pot. Stir and cook the apples and vegetables until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir the lentils, ginger, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, chili powder, paprika, and vegetable broth into the pot with the apple and vegetable mixture. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils and vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes.
3. Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.
4. Return the pureed soup to the cooking pot. Bring back to a simmer over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes. Add water as needed to thin the soup to your preferred consistency. Serve with yogurt for garnish.

Cook Book Recommendation

I have a book called Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  I love it.  The idea is you make a big batch of dough and keep it in the fridge, cutting chunks off as you need for baking.  It has several dough variations (using whole wheat flour & other grains) and lots of uses for them.  I know it's in the library system because I borrowed it from the library to try it out before I bought it for myself.
If you get it, I highly recommend trying out the Msemmen (Algerian flatbread) & Grissini (the olive oil bread sticks).

Whole Wheat Olive Oil Bread Sticks

These are meant to be really thin bread sticks.  They are crunchy and delicious.  Plus, it's a no-knead recipe, so they're really easy, too.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp gluten (opt)
1 1/4 c warm water
Olive oil for brushing on top
Kosher salt for sprinkling
Rosemary for sprinkling

Mix the dry ingredients (make sure the salt & yeast don't come into direct contact, though).  Stir in the water until all the flour is moistened.  Dough should be a little wet & shaggy.  Cover and let rise for ~ 2 hours.  (This step is mostly to develop flavor, so it can be shortened if you're low on time.)
Preheat oven to 400*F.  On a floured surface, roll the dough out to an 1/8 inch thick rectangle (about 8 inches wide and however long).  Generously, brush the dough with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt & rosemary.  Cut 1/8 inch wide (& 8 inches long) strips with a pizza cutter.  Place on greased cookie sheet (the sticks can be close but shouldn't be touching so they crisp properly).
Bake for 10 to 16 minutes (depending on thickness & width) until nicely browned. 
I think these are great when they are warm or cool.  They're crispier when cool.

This dough also makes decent crackers if you can get it thin enough.  I brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder & kosher salt.

Mexican Bean Soup

SUPER EASY and Pretty Darn Healthy

1 can low sodium chicken broth

1 can corn

1 can black beans

1 can any other type of bean... I like red or kidney beans

12oz salsa (I like pace salsa)

2 cups water

2 tsp of cumin

mix in large pot, bring to boil then simmer for 15 min.

SOOO good!

Honey Honey! Not Sugar Sugar!

I just thought I'd share this link about substituting honey in place of sugar.  :)
http://www.ehow.com/how_2110342_substitute-honey-sugar-recipe.html

Stuffed Peppers

This is one of our new favorites, tons of flavor and very filling!

4 green bell peppers
1 tsp olive oil (we just used water)
1 sm onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 carrots, julienned
1 c peas, fresh or frozen (we used green beans instead)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 c walnuts, finely chopped
1 1/2 c cooked brown rice
2-3 c tomato sauce (we used low sodium spaghetti sauce)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and clean peppers. Cut off tops and remove seeds and membrane. Place prepared peppers on steamer rack and steam 3-4 minutes (we suggest 5, ours weren't totally done).

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet, add onion and garlic. Saute 1 minute. Add herbs, carrots, and beans. Continue to cook 3-5 minutes or until carrots are tender, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and add the tomato, walnuts, brown rice, and 1/2 c tomato sauce. Heat through.

Stuff mixture into peppers. Spread 1/2 c sauce in bottom of baking dish. Stand peppers upright. Pour remaining sauce over the tops of peppers. Bake in oven 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Quacamole Tortilla Sandwich

Chicken Quacamole Tortilla Sandwich (Makes 2-4)

4 Tb. Light Mayo 1-2 tsp. chipotle sauce (add more for stronger flavor)

Guacamole

Sliced Provolone cheese

Thin Apple slices

Bacon Strips Cooked (opt.) Sliced Tomato (opt.)

2-4 Whole Wheat Tortillas cut in half

Sliced cooked Chicken (I usually cook 2 frozen chicken breast in the oven with a little olive oil, seasoned salt and pepper at 350 for 25-30 mins.)

Mix: 4 Tbls. Mayo with 1-2 tsp. chipotle sauce

Spread Mayo Sauce on both halves and Guacamole on one half tortilla. Add Cheese then top with sliced chicken on one half and bacon strips on other half.

Grill on Griddle until cheese is melted. Add apple slices and Tomato slices then put two halves together. Enjoy!

We love this. It's our easy go to recipe.

Spinach smoothies

Tanner and I have already been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables everyday, so we've been drinking these for a while, and we love them!

1 1/4 c water
1 c (I always just do two big handfuls) fresh spinach
1/2 packet orange sunrise no calorie sweetener (it's the crystal light for water bottles, half of that, or any flavor you like)
1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen fruit (strawberries work especially well with spinach, bananas are the only thing I've found that aren't as good with it)

Add water and spinach to blender and blend until liquified. Add sweetener and fruit and blend until smooth. If needed, add ice until to desired consistency.

*We used to do these with vanilla soy milk instead of water and they taste awesome and you don't have to use the sweetener, but there are more calories in it with the soy milk.

With this you get 2 good foods and 1 cup of your daily water intake, or three if you use the milk. This keeps us full and makes us feel great. Enjoy!

Air Popped Popcorn

Don't have an air popper? Use this easy trick to make your own.

Put 1/2 C of popcorn kernels in a brown paper bag, fold bag over twice to keep popcorn in.

Cook in the microwave at full power for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes,( or use the popcorn setting on your microwave) or until you hear pauses of about 2 seconds between pops. Carefully open the bag to avoid steam, and pour into a serving bowl.

Voila!

Guacamole Hamburgers

Hey all on Monday Mitch and I had guacamole hamburgers with thin wheat buns,( a whole wheat bun that is much thinner than regular hamburger buns, can be found by the deli at pick and save made by Sarah Lee) whip up some guacamole with avocados, lime juice, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and garlic to taste and be liberal on your little buns (your buns are getting littler with this thing aren't they?) Sorry couldn't help myself. Ok use lean or extra lean hamburger, or substitute turkey burger. Add any other condiments such as lettuce, tomato slice, cheese etc. and you've got loads of "good foods" and a yummy dinner.

Frozen peas

I am not normally a fan of frozen peas, especially when they are still frozen, but frozen peas are great on any salad. You can also have cottage cheese and frozen peas for a great side dish. And since all you have to do is pull them out of the freezer, talk about easy!

Dessert!

I have a pretty bad case of sucrodentosis (sweet tooth), but Robyn & I have found that frozen fruit at Aldi's makes a great dessert (and actually costs less than most frozen fruit at Sam's Club). The frozen fruit goes great in oatmeal for sweetening up breakfast or with low fat yogurt for an afternoon snack.

Lets get this STARTED:)

Well I think I will begin by saying that I hope this helps everyone involved. I know that it has been a little of a struggle to come up with foods and snacks that will be healthy for us and also grand us points to add to our running total!

This blog is also for just good ideas for snacks and quick meals... you don't even necessarily have to give recipes but good ideas that you have come up with or even some smart substitutions that you have used...

Like chicken salad sandwich on wheat bread with light mayo... this would give you three points (2 for the bread and 1 for the chicken) and side it with and apple and carrots and you got yourself a really tasty 5 POINT MEAL...

So yea lets have fun with this and DON'T be afraid to share ideas, chances are that someone hasn't thought of it yet:)