Roasted Turnips

Roast your vegetables with a homemade mustard vinaigrette! 

INGREDIENTS:

Yield: 8 servings  (1/2 cup per serving)

Ingredients:

·       4 medium turnips, peeled, cubed (yields approx. 4 cups)

·       Mustard Vinaigrette

o   1 Tbsp of white wine vinegar

o   2 tsp of whole grain mustard

o   1 Tbsp of fresh parsley, finely minced

o   ¼ cup of olive oil

o   ½ tsp of cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 ºF. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. In a small bowl, whisk together the Mustard Vinaigrette ingredients. In a large bowl, mix the turnips with the mustard vinaigrette until the turnips are evenly covered with the vinaigrette. Spread out the turnips on the baking sheet. Roast the turnips for 20-25 minutes until the turnips are lightly browned. Serve turnips hot or cold. Optional: garnish with parsley.

Nutrition Per Serving:

Food weight: 1.0. Calories: 93 kcal, Fat: 7 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg Carbohydrate: 7g, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Protein: 1g, Sodium: 96 mg

Winter Citrus Salad

Fresh fennel bulb is similar to the crunchy texture of celery, but it has a distinct licorice flavor that will make your winter salad unique!

Yield: 4 servings (1 cup per serving) 

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients:

·       2 beets, sliced

·       1 navel orange, sliced

·       1 cara cara, sliced

·       1 grapefruit, sliced

·       ½ cup fennel bulb, sliced into strips

·       ¼ of red onion, sliced

·       1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil

·       2 Tablespoons of 100% orange juice

·       ½ tsp of cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 ºF and line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the sliced beets on the baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Roast the beets for 30 minutes. In a medium size bowl, add all the prepped vegetables and fruit (add the beets last). Drizzle your salad with olive oil, orange juice, and black pepper.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Food weight: 1.0. Calories: 97 kcal, Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrate: 20 g, Dietary Fiber: 4 g, Protein: 2g Sodium: 43 mg

Recipe! Football Finger Food: Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Vegetable appetizers with Greek yogurt-based dips are great low calorie finger foods to keep around during the football season.

InGREDIENTS:

Yield: 6 cups of cauliflower  (1 serving= 1 cup), ¾ cup of yogurt dip (1 serving =1/8 cup)

Ingredients:

·        1 head of cauliflower

Batter:

·        ¾ cup of whole wheat flour

·        ¼ cup of nutritional yeast

·        1 Tablespoon of garlic powder

·        1 cup of original almond milk (you can substitute with soy milk, fat free milk, or any other milk substitute)

Buffalo Hot Sauce:

·        ¼ cup of hot sauce

·        ¼ cup of tomato sauce (no salt added)

·        1 Tablespoon of red wine vinegar

·        1 tsp of paprika

·        1 Tablespoon of olive oil

·        1 tsp of red pepper flakes

Blue Cheese Yogurt Dip:

·        ½ cup of nonfat plain greek yogurt

·        1 Tablespoon of red wine vinegar

·        1 Tablespoon of nutritional yeast

·        Juice squeezed from ½ lemon

·        ½ tsp of garlic powder

·        ½ tsp of black pepper

·        ¼ cup of blue cheese (you can substitute with goat cheese or gorgonzola)

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 450 ºF. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Wash and chop the cauliflower into pieces similar to the size of small chicken wings. In a large size bowl, whisk together the batter ingredients until there are no clumps. Add the cauliflower to the batter and toss until all the pieces of cauliflower are evenly covered with the batter. Place the cauliflower on the baking sheet and place in the oven to cook for 30 minutes. While the cauliflower is baking, mix all the buffalo hot sauce ingredients together. In a large bowl, toss the baked battered cauliflower and buffalo hot sauce together until the cauliflower is evenly covered with the buffalo hot sauce. Place the cauliflower bake on a new sheet of wax paper and bake for 20 minutes until the cauliflower are crispy. While the cauliflower is baking, mix the Blue Cheese Yogurt Dip ingredients together in a small bowl (keep your dip clumpy or mash up the pieces of cheese to make a smooth dip). Serve the cauliflower immediately with the yogurt dip, and the carrots and celery sticks!

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings:

Food weight: 1.5, Calories: 169 kcal, Fat: 5 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrate: 27 g, Dietary Fiber: 7 g, Protein: 8 g, Sodium: 101 mg

Blue Cheese Yogurt Dip:

Food weight: 0.5, Calories: 40 kcal, Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 7 mg, Carbohydrate: 7g, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Protein: 4g, Sodium: 96 mg

Beautiful Soup!

“Beautiful soup, so rich and green

Waiting in a hot tureen!

Who for such dainties would not stoop?

Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!

Beautiful soup! Who cares for fish

Game, or any other dish?

Who would not give all else for two

Pennyworth of beautiful soup?

---Lewis Carroll, ‘Alice in Wonderland’

‘Tis the peak of winter season and the need of a warm bowl of “beautiful soup” is high!

How can you make a protein rich, super nutritious, vegetarian soup?

Easy! Add tons of veggies and some quinoa. Quinoa is a whole grain with a high protein content (and a complete protein at that!). In fact, 1 cup of cooked quinoa contains approximately 8 grams of protein, which is more protein than 1 oz of meat or 1 whole egg, and furthermore, quinoa is cholesterol-free unlike animal proteins. To boost your soup’s taste and protein content, be sure to substitute the pasta and rice in grain-based soups with quinoa for a healthier nutrient dense soup, as featured in this week’s recipe, Quinoa Minestrone Soup. 

Recipe: Quinoa Minestrone Soup

A gluten-free, dairy-free vegetarian soup

Yield: 12 cups (1 cup= 1 serving)

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients:

·         1 Tablespoons of olive oil

·         4 cloves of garlic, minced

·         1 medium yellow onion, chopped

·         1 medium yellow squash, chopped

·         1 medium zucchini, chopped

·         2 stalks of celery, chopped

·         20 baby carrots, chopped

·         2 cups of yellow corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned)

·         2 cups of tomatoes, diced

·         2 Tablespoons of dried oregano

·         2 Tablespoons of dried basil

·         ½ Tablespoon of black pepper

·         1-15 oz can of kidney beans

·         1-15 oz can of navy beans

·         1-28 oz can of chopped tomatoes with no added salt

·         2 cup of fresh spinach

·         4 cups of low sodium vegetable broth

·         1 cup of quinoa, uncooked.

·         2 cups of water

·         Optional: shredded parmesan and asiago cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Directions:

In a large pot, add the olive oil, garlic, and onion and cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the yellow squash, zucchini, celery, carrots, tomatoes, oregano, basil, and black pepper and cook for 10 minutes. Add the kidney beans, navy beans, chopped tomatoes, spinach, and broth and continue to cook soup on medium heat. In a small pot, add the quinoa and water. Cook the quinoa until a boil then reduce heat to a simmer until the quinoa absorbs all the water. Add the quinoa to the soup. Cook soup for another 10 minutes or until ready to serve. Optional: Sprinkle individual servings with parmesan and Asia go cheese.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Food weight: 1.5, Calorie: 155 kcal, Fat 2 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrate: 28 g, Dietary Fiber: 5g, Protein: 8 g, Sodium: 385 mg

Celebrate the New Year with a lighter champagne cocktail

This New Years Eve remember that drinks count—they are virtually empty liquid calories that add up quickly.Kick off 2014 with a special cocktail! Don’t have your typical alcoholic beverage that you would have on any other day of the year. Make a drink with a New Year’s twist by mixing champagne with fruity liquors to make your cocktail unique, as featured in this week’s cocktail recipe, Double G Champagne. Cheers!

Recipe: New Year's Double G Champagne Cocktail

Bring in the New Year on a lighter note with this lower calorie champagne cocktail.    

INGREDIENTS:

Yield: 1 Serving (5 fl oz)

Ingredients

·       0.5 fl oz Saint Germain

·       0.5 fl oz Gin

·       3 fl oz Champagne

·       1 fl oz of soda water

·       Optional: sliced strawberries, fresh squeezed lime, or a cherry.

DIRECTIONS:

Directions:

In a champagne flute, add the saint germain and gin and then add the champagne. Top off your cocktail with soda water for extra fizz. Add optional fruit for a pop of color.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Food weight: 1.5, Calories: 141 kcal, Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrate: 6 g, Dietary Fiber: 0 g, Protein 0 g: Sodium: 0 mg