Recipe Wednesday

It’s easy to talk about what foods are good for you, but how do you translate that into meals on the table? Well, here are some of my new, favorite recipes. They may not be perfect, but it’s a start!

Dinner stuff:
:: Quinoa and Black Beans (see recipe here)

:: Brown rice with sautéed veggies (spinach, garlic, red peppers, mushrooms or any of your favorite combos sautéed in olive oil and garlic) served with a salmon filet

:: Spaghetti squash topped with organic marinara and free range chicken breast (There’s more than one way to cook spaghetti squash – here’s what I do: split lengthwise, deseed, place on lipped baking sheet face up, coat with olive oil or low-fat butter, season with sea salt and ground black pepper and bake for about 1 hour at 350° to 375°. Scoop out flesh to act as “noodles” for spaghetti dish.)

Snacks:
:: Yogurt with baked bananas and cinnamon as follows:
6 – 8 oz. Greek non-fat yogurt
½ - 1 t. cinnamon
1 -2 baked bananas (peel, slice in half and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350°)

:: Cottage cheese with anything – 2 of my favorite combos:
- Pineapple, craisins, and sunflower seeds or shaved almonds
- Red peppers, green onions and radishes

:: Avocado topped with black beans

:: Organic hard boiled eggs

One of my new favorite salads thanks to a friend:
California Salad
Dressing:
1/3 C Orange Juice
1/2 C Olive Oil
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
1T Birch Sugar
1T or .07 oz pkg of Italian Salad Dressing (Good Seasoning)
1 t Salt

Salad:
Red leaf lettuce
Romaine lettuce
purple onion or green onion
11 oz. can Mandarin oranges (drained) or peeled Clementine oranges
1 small can water chestnuts
Jicama- peel and chop
Toasted almonds

Everyone has different dietary needs. Some are on whole food diets, some can’t eat dairy, others are gluten intolerant. Whatever your restrictions, take heart. Almost any recipe can be altered to fit into your diet. Don’t be discouraged, be adventurous! What are some of your favorite things to eat? Share your favorite recipes for healthy eating!