Date and Spinach Salad

Happy Friday Everyone. I hope your weekend is starting off well. I've got a super easy salad recipe for you tonight. I served this alongside pizza and a class of white wine. Since we've had a few blog posts about pizza type dishes already I left it off tonight, it's super easy to create a new pizza with whatever ingredients you have on hand. This salad mixes sweet and salty perfectly!

Date and Spinach Salad 
(I made 3 side salads with this recipe)

-3 cups fresh spinach
-9 pitted medjool dates
-1 cup diced mushrooms
-2 beets (already cooked-you can buy can or pre-pacaked or boil/steam some yourself)
-3 slices of prosciutto
-2 1/8 in thick medallions of goat cheese with cranberries (or any flavor goat cheese)
-fig tahini dressing (i was intrigued and bought it from whole foods)

not the best pic, sorry!

Step 1: Divide the spinach into 3 bowls, then top with sliced mushrooms, and sliced up dates.
Step 2: cube up the goat cheese (you'll need 9 cubes). Open up each date (slice it in half) and fill it with a cube of goat cheese.
Step 3: Slice the prosciutto (you'll need 9 strips) and wrap each date with the prosciutto.
Step 4: add the dates to the bowls and dress your salad.

*This salad is a great appetizer salad. If you wanted to make it into a meal I'd suggest doubling the veggies and maybe adding in some walnuts and sliced pear.

Homemade Snack Bars

Granola bars are a solid choice as a grab-n-go when you are in a rush.  Choosing a healthy snack between meals can help stave off hunger and are a good way to prevent over-eating later in the day.  However, most of the granola, energy or protein bars found in the grocer (yes, even the organic or 'all-natural' brands) are packed with added sugar and preservatives.  To make your between meal snack, truly a nutritious choice, try this easy recipe to make your own granola bars!

This recipe can be altered to suit your taste preferences.  It is just a combination of whole grains (oatmeal, cereal and whole wheat flour), dried fruit, nuts, a touch of honey, and some eggs to bind everything together.  You can also add in some protein powder or dry milk powder.  Protein powder is expensive, but I know many folks have it on hand already.  DO NOT go out and buy some just for this recipe- dried milk powder is a great, and INEXPENSIVE, way to add a little extra protein to recipes. 

I usually use a combination of dried fruit, so use whatever you have on hand- chopped dates, raisins, dried cherries and craisins all work wonderfully.  I like to use pecans because they have a great flavor- almonds, walnuts and peanuts also work very well. 

Besides the ingredients, all you need is an oven, a baking dish and a food processor (you can use a blender if you don't have the food processor).  Simply blend your dry ingredients in the food processor. 

Add your eggs and honey and blend until flour mixture is moistened.  Press mixture firmly into a greased 13x9 baking dish.  Bake for 20 minutes.  And there you have it- homemade, and healthy, snack bars.

Homemade Granola Bars
1 cup quick oats
1 cup plain life cereal
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder or non-fat dry milk
1 cup roughly chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, etc)
1 1/2 cup your choice of dried fruit (I like doing a blend of chopped dates and craisins)
1 tsp cinnamon or ground ginger
2 Tb honey**
2 large eggs

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly coat a 13x9 baking dish with non-stick spray.
2- Blend oats, cereal, flour, dry milk (or protein powder), nuts, dried fruit and cinnamon (or ground ginger) in the food processor. 
3- Add honey (**tip- spray the measuring spoon with non-stick spray to prevent honey from sticking to the tablespoon) and eggs and pulse until mixture is evenly moistened. 
4- Dump the mixture into the baking dish and use your fingers to spread the mixture evenly in the pan.  Spray a little of the non-stick spray on your fingers to keep the mixture from sticking to you- this helps you spread everything more evenly.
5- Bake for about 20-25 minutes in the pre-heated oven.  The edges of the mixture should be browned.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Cut into 16 evenly sized bars.  Remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely.  These bars freeze well if tightly wrapped.

Summer Squash Skillet

I love this time a year!  The weather is gloriously warm, everyone has that 'sun-kissed' glow, there are plenty of outdoor activities, and the farmers' markets are heaping with more types of fresh fruits and vegetables than you can count. 

Here's one expert tip for staying healthy and happy... include a fruit and/or vegetable each time you eat a meal or a snack.  You can't argue the nutritive value in these colorful foods.  And better yet- you can't beat the feeling you get when you know you are doing something good for your body! 

Here is a recipe that utilizes just some of summer's bounty- zucchini, red pepper, tomatoes, basil and sweet corn.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it now!

This is a simple, one-skillet meal.  Great for busy nights when you only have 30 minutes until you want to get some dinner in your belly. 

First, you slice up some chicken or turkey sausage (lower fat and cholesterol than pork or beef sausage).  If you want to make this vegetarian, you could certainly use some firm tofu or soy crumbles.  Cook the sausage over medium heat until browned. 

While sausage cooks, cut your fingerling potatoes, red pepper and onion.  I used purple fingerling potatoes because I wanted to pack this dish with all the colors I could!

When sausage is browned, remove to a plate and set aside.  Add the potatoes, onion and pepper to the hot skillet with a touch of oil. 

While the veggies are tenderizing, mince up some garlic and thinly slice your zucchini.  Add those to the skillet. 

While the zucchini is cooking.  Chop your tomatoes and then add into the skillet.  When the zucchini is slightly tender and the tomatoes are becoming soft, stir sausage back into the skillet.  Add some fresh basil, oregano and red pepper flakes and you are good to go!! 

I served up this quick and easy meal with some fresh corn on the cob and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top of the whole plate.  Can't beat that!

Check out my recipe...

Summer Squash Skillet
12oz pack chicken sausage (recommend spicy Italian flavor)
1 Tb olive oil
1.5 cups sliced fingerling potatoes
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 large vidalia onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large zucchini, sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 Tb fresh oregano, minced (or 1 tsp dried)
2 Tb fresh basil, minced (or 2 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

1- Preheat large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat with non-stick spray and add sliced chicken sausage to hot pan.  Cook until browned.  Place sausage on a plate and set aside.
2- Turn heat down to medium and add 1 Tb oil.  Add your potatoes.  While potatoes start to cook, chop your red pepper and onion.  After about 3 minutes of potatoes cooking, add your pepper and onion and cook about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3- While veggies are cooking, mince your garlic and slice the zucchini.  Add to your skillet.  Cook about 3-5 minutes while you chop your tomatoes.  Add tomatoes to the skillet and cook about 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. 
4- Add the sausage back into the skillet and cook about 1 minute until sausage is heated through.  Remove from heat.  Stir in fresh basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cherry Steel Cut Oats

Happy Father's Day! I whipped up a batch of steel cut oats this morning. I never make steel cut oats during the week because of how long they take to make but when you have a little extra time it's definitely worth it. Oatmeal is one of those breakfasts that really stick with you, high in heart healthy fiber and a decent source of protein. Not to mention they are versatile. You can add so many different "toppings" to change the flavor up, you can even make them savory. Also, it's very easy so serve a crowd with different taste buds. You can make 1 huge pot of oats and then have a "mix-ins" bar out with nuts, dried fruit, nut butter, yogurt, etc. GIve it a try!

Cherry Vanilla Oatmeal
-1 cup steel cut oats
-4 cups water (per directions on container)
-2 cups pitted sweet cherries (remember, go organic here, they are on the dirty dozen)
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/3 cup brown sugar
-1 banana
-1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Start by cooking the steel cut oats as directed on the box. Then after they have started to form and get thicker add in your cherries and banana. Mix it all together and let it continue to simmer. Once the oats are formed and to the consistency you like add the sugar, walnuts, and vanilla extract. Let it sit just a bit longer on low heat and serve. Steel cut oats aren't difficult to make they are just time consuming.

I added a touch of milk right before serving to loosen it up. I also topped it with plain greek yogurt and honey (because greek yogurt rocks!).

Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Whoopie Pies

Tomorrow is Father's Day and I'm having my parents over for a brunch celebration. My Dad is a very simple man, he doesn't like things and he doesn't want you to buy him anything... EVER! There is one thing my dad loves and that's Whoopie Pies. Last Thanksgiving I made pumpkin whoopie pies with a maple cream cheese filling and they were a huge hit! My Dad has been talking about them ever since. Yes, they were reduced fat and high fiber, I'm a dietitian, it's what I do! Anyways, so today I created a new recipe for my Dad. My oven is FINALLY working and this was the first thing I threw in there. Could you make these rich and decadent? Sure! But why do that when you could make them healthier and still taste great? That's what this blog is all about anyways, right?

Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll be posting about the actual brunch I make sometime this week but for now here's the whoopie pie recipe.

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Whoopie Pie
-1/2 cup rolled oats
-3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/8 tsp ginger
-1/8 tsp nutmeg
-1/3 tsp baking powder
-1/3 tsp baking soda
-1/3 cup light brown sugar
-2 tbsp white sugar
-2 tbs fat free greek yogurt
-1/3 cup vegetable oil
-1/3 tsp vanilla extract
-1 egg
-1/4 cup chopped walnuts
-1/4 cup raisins

-Preheat your oven to 350F

-Mix all the dry ingredients (oats-baking soda) in a bowl, set aside. Mix all wet ingredients (brown sugar-egg) in another smaller bowl). Mix the wet until well combined (should look like the picture below). Add the raisins and walnuts to the dry ingredients and toss them so they are lightly coated in flour. Then mix the wet and dry. I didn't use a mixer for this but you could!

before mixing together

all combined

-Spray a whoopie pie dish or regular cookie try and dollop a tbs worth of batter down (I used a heaping tbs and these got a little bigger than I would have liked). Then place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven).

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling
-1/2 package of low fat cream cheese (softened)
-1/4 cup powdered sugar
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-Use an electric mixer or stand mixer to combine all these ingredients into a creamy frosting, like below.

When you're whoopie pies have sufficiently cooled down frost the whoopie pie and try not to eat them all! :)

ALL DONE!