Good Eats ~ Pineapple Snack

For a while there I was posting (what I consider to be healthy) healthy recipes.  I kind of got away from that but have now had a resurgence in some creativity so I thought I would share.  I love to cook and bake when I have time.  So I thought that I would share specific things I found good.

I saw this in Coastal Magazine.  There really is no explanation and you can create a variety of variances.  Let your creativity flow!  It was so easy to make, the hardest part hollowing out the pineapple, and tasted really good.  The recipe called for hemp seeds to be sprinkled on top but I chose not to add.  Enjoy and happy Sunday!

Yogurt ~ Yes!!

If you like yogurt you are going to love this simple recipe I found in Prevention Magazine that my friend Mike let me borrow.  Time always seems to be an issue when it comes to preparing healthy meals.  Sometimes I hit it out of the park and other days it’s Dominos.  For the most part I do a pretty good job and having Dominos every now and then isn’t a bad thing.

I love yogurt and I’ve tried countless brands.  Most of them are loaded with sugar and are okay but not great.  I really don’t like the gelled fruit on the bottom, often settling for the fruit flavored.  When I came across this recipe I just had to try it because I could control how much “stuff” goes into “my” yogurt.  I will clearly say once you do this, you may never buy a “prepared” yogurt again.  I’m acting like I just found the Ark of the Covenant.  I know this is old news, but this was really good, easy to prepare and tailored to your individual taste.

Pineapple yogurt

The recipe (consider a single serving):

1 cup plain yogurt ~ I chose a standard Greek

2 Tbsp Honey

1/3 cup Frozen Pineapple

1/4 Tsp Cinnamon ~ You can add more or less depending on your taste

Chopped Raw Pistachios

Directions:

Sauté the frozen pineapple, honey and cinnamon over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.  Allow to cool. Place the pineapple on the yogurt, garnish with the nuts and Walla!  You’re done!

My Take:

If you are using fruits with more fiber I you could use fresh fruit.  You could even use fruit like raspberries, just don’t cook until soupy or maybe do if that’s what you like.

I found using the frozen fruit took a little more than 3-5 minutes.  I can see taking the fruit out 30 minuets before and making the recipe or just cook it a little longer.  I tend to like a little caramelization on mine so I let it Sauté for about 8 minutes.

I couldn’t find any raw pistachios so I used lightly salted and roasted nuts.  This really sent this over the top.  The crunch and saltiness of the nuts played well with the fruit and the plain yogurt.

You can sauté the fruit the night before and assemble in the morning before work/day.  Enjoy!  Happy Miles to You!!

 

 

Meatless Monday ~ Vegetarian Lentil Burger Recipe

Tonight’s recipe is lentil burgers.  At first I thought no way, but…..  I have to say not bad, not bad at all and worth the try.

2015-01-12 19.34.27

A few tips:

3 cups of lentils is a lot.  This made more burgers than I really wanted.  I think I could have halved the recipe.

I would have added more spices.  This only called for salt.  For me, a little more salt and maybe some other spices to make it a little more flavorful.

I cooked mine a little longer to get a nice crust on the outside.  I really liked the crunchy texture on the outside with the more tender inside.

I ate mine with some ketchup.  I imagine you could spice the recipe up with greens and other condiments as desired.

Hat tip to 101 Cookbooks Vegetarian Lentil Burger.  Enjoy and Happy Miles to You!

 

Kale and Quinoa Cakes

January is the month of making new resolutions for the upcoming year.  I stopped  making resolutions a long time ago.  I figure why wait until the beginning of each new year.  If you want to do something do it now.  With that being said ~ one of the most popular resolutions is to eat healthier.  We all want to do it but sometimes there just isn’t enough time in the day.

I pretty much think about food all the time.  How to prepare it, change it up, the health factor and serving it up.  I love everything about and preparing food.  One food I have heard a lot about but really haven’t tried is kale.  I hear nothing but good things about kale and how healthy it is for us.  So, I decided to find some recipes.  I’ve been hitting the Yummly site lately and came across Kale and Quinoa Cakes by Joy the Baker.  If you have time stop by her site ~ she’s got great recipes and a cute blog.   Joy The Baker

This is absolutely a fantastic recipe.  It does take a bit of prep (the author points this out) but it is well worth the time and effort.  They are filling and….good!.  I imagine you can use different oils if you wish like grape seed or coconut oil.  The flavors are really outstanding.  I loved the sun-dried tomatoes.  The recipe called for parmesan cheese but I had to use what I had on hand (cheddar) and it worked fine too.  Using parmesan will take care of the salt and maybe you can add less than the recipe calls for.  This will be a great additions to the meatless Mondays.

I’ve linked the recipe below.  Not sure if you need to have an account to access.

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Kale-and-quinoa-cakes-309116

A few tips:

(1)  Allow the oil to heat through.  If you don’t your first cakes may fall apart.  (2)  Finely chop all of your ingredients .   If they are too large your cakes might not stay together well when cooking.

I served mine up with lemon wedges and capers.  The capers added an extra punch of saltiness, which I love.  Enjoy and Happy Miles to You!!

Kale

Blueberry Blast

Part of my quest is to eat better.  Can’t always promise I will eat better – lol, but when I come across good things I like to share.  I’ve had my share of blenders and they never seem to do a really good job.  So, I finally broke down and purchased the Ninja blender.  It’s a fantastic blender and extremely quick.  I like to make smoothies and hopefully this one blender will last for a while.

My first concoction was the Blueberry Blast.

Blueberry Blast Smoothie

Recipe:

1 cup white grape juice

1 cup low-fat yogurt

1/2 banana

1 cup fresh blueberries

10 – 12 ice cubes