Fruit salad in an orange bowl

This is a cute and decorative idea for serving a light fruit salad to guests at a party or as a snack at home.  It is very easy and does not require a great amount of preparation.  I used kiwis, red grapes, watermelon, blackberries, cantaloupe, and unsweetened coconut for a tropical flair.  This recipe yields 2 servings at approximately 190 calories per serving depending on the variety of fruit used.

Fresh fruit salad in an orange bowl
2 large oranges
2 kiwi, cut into slices and quartered
1 cup of assorted chopped fresh fruits including:
Red grapes
blackberries
cantaloupe
watermelon
pineapple
green grapes
pineapple

Shredded unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon honey, or according to taste
Fresh mint leaves for garnish

Slice the top off of both of the oranges.

Remove the pulp from each orange and place the orange sections with the other chopped fruit in a separate bowl.

Slice the kiwi into individual slices and then quarter.

Combine all of the fruit in a bowl and add a few sprinkles of shredded unsweetened coconut.  Add 1 teaspoon of honey, or according to taste.  Stir until combined.

Slice the bottom of each orange so it is level and can be used as a fruit bowl.  Add the fresh fruit mixture equally to each orange and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Whole Wheat Pancakes

I love the fall season and the flavor of pumpkin and spice.  I came up with a recipe for pumpkin pancakes using whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour.  I found that by using whole wheat pastry flour mixed with oat bran I was able to achieve a lighter texture and the taste I was hoping for.  This recipe yields about 5 servings at 345 calories per serving.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes
1 1/4 cups 1% milk (or preferred milk)
2 eggs
3/4 cup solid pack pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup oat bran (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons sugar or preferred sweetener
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a separate bowl combine milk, eggs, solid pack pumpkin, vanilla and vegetable oil and whisk until smooth.

Whisk together dry ingredients including whole wheat pastry flour, oat bran, baking power, sugar or preferred sweetener, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, salt and chopped pecans.

Fold mixture into dry ingredients and stir together to combine.

Preheat griddle at a low temperature and spray or grease surface to prevent batter from sticking.  Add 1/4 cup batter or to preferred size.

Cook until bubbles form on the surface and flip when the edges are dry.

Place on a serving plate and serve immediately.

Top with additional pecans if desired.  Enjoy!!

Cucumber Salad with Blueberries, Walnuts and Feta Cheese

I came up with a cucumber salad recipe containing blueberries, walnuts, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  This recipe contains approximately 4 servings at 244 calories per serving when using fat free Feta cheese and 1/4 cup of the prepared dressing.  Note that if the fat free feta cheese is replaced, the calories per serving increases to 265.  This is a great salad to serve with a light dinner or have as a light lunch.

Cucumber Salad with Blueberries, Walnuts and Feta Cheese

3 cups cucumbers, washed, peeled and sliced.  I used 6 mini cucumbers.
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and cut in half (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, or to taste

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin Olive oil
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Wash, peel and slice cucumbers.

Rinse and drain the fresh blueberries.

Rinse and drain the cherry tomatoes.

Cut each of the cherry tomatoes in half.

Coarsely chop the walnuts.

Toss the cucumbers, blueberries, cherry tomatoes and chopped walnuts.  Next add the feta cheese.

Combine Olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, garlic clove, salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes.  Place dressing ingredients in a screw top jar or cruet and shake to combine.  Adjust seasonings to taste. Finally add Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing to taste (I used 1/4 cup), mix ingredients together and serve.  Sprinkle with additional feta cheese or walnuts if desired.

Enjoy!

Pasta Salad with Fresh Spinach, Mozzarella, and Cherry Tomatoes

I love cold pasta salads during the summer but worry about too much added fat and calories in some recipes.  I experimented and came up with this healthy alternative.  This fresh spinach pasta salad is tossed with an olive oil vinaigrette and seasonings including fresh parsley and basil giving it plenty of flavor.  This recipe yields approximately 10 servings and for fewer servings may be halved. Each serving has approximately 330 calories.

Fresh mozzarella has a softer and more moist texture than regular mozzarella.  One ounce of fresh mozzarella contains about 60-70 calories,5 grams of fat, and 5 grams of protein.  I enjoy it as a special treat once in awhile. Expert guidelines recommend that as part of a healthy diet, individuals should consume between 25 to 35 percent of total daily calories from fat from sources such as fishes, nuts, and vegetable oils.  Saturated fats consumed should be less than 7% of an individuals total daily calories consumed.  Fresh mozzarella can be incorporated as part of a well balanced, healthy and nutritious diet.

Pasta Salad with Fresh Spinach, Mozzarella, and Cherry Tomatoes

10 servings at approximately 330 calories/serving.  For fewer portions, this recipe may be halved.

16 ounce package of whole wheat pasta, I used 1 box of Farfalle
10 ounces fresh baby spinach, washed and drained
3 cups cherry tomatoes, washed and sliced in half
1 cup fresh mozzarella balls, sliced in half
1/2 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin Olive oil
1 Garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Cook pasta according to package directions and remove from heat.

Wash cherry tomatoes and slice in half.

Slice fresh mozzarella balls in half.

Chop and mince the fresh parsley and basil.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain.  Rinse with cold water.

Toss and combine with baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, and fresh Italian parsley and basil.  Stir to combine.

Combine Olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, garlic clove, salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes.  Place dressing ingredients in a screw top jar or cruet and shake to combine.  Adjust seasonings to taste.  Pour over pasta salad.  Toss and stir to combine.

Toss with freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Pecans and Goat Cheese

I love serving fresh fruit and vegetable salads during the spring and summer months.  This salad is not only delicious, but it is truly a colorful work of art.  I love the bright beautiful rainbow of colors in the fresh bright green spinach, red strawberries, and bright blueberries.  This salad serves 8 at approximately 150 calories per serving, not including the vinaigrette dressing.  The dressing has about 88 calories per Tablespoon.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Pecans and Goat Cheese

3 cups strawberries, washed, drained, and sliced in half
2 cups blueberries, washed and drained
16 oz. Baby Spinach, washed
1/2 cup pecans
3/4 cup Goat cheese crumbles

Rinse blueberries.

Wash and cut strawberries.

In a large bowl combine the strawberries, blueberries, spinach, pecans and Goat cheese.  Stir to combine.  Toss with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing with Honey

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup Olive oil
1 Garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
1 Tablespoon honey

Place dressing ingredients in a screw top jar or cruet and shake to combine.  Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve salad and toss with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing to taste.

Hazelnut Muesli Snack Bars

I came up with a recipe for a healthy snack bar which includes hazelnut meal flour and muesli cereal.  It is a moist and chewy bar which I enjoy as a afternoon snack or as a quick healthy breakfast. This recipe yields 24 bars at approximately 214 calories each.

Hazelnut Muesli Snack Bars

3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup peeled and chopped apples
3 cups Muesli of choice - I used Muesli Fusion Athlete Fuel
1/2 cup chopped peanuts or choice of nuts
1 cup Hazelnut Meal Flour
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup natural applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray 13 X 9 pan with nonstick spray.  Peel and chop apples.

Add honey, peanut butter, butter and apples to a saucepan and heat over very low heat until softened.  Remove from heat.

Add to large bowl or in saucepan combine with muesli, peanuts, hazelnut meal flour, coconut, raisins, applesauce, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Stir until mixed through.

Spread in the 13 X 9 pan and place in oven.  Heat for approximately 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Cut into 24 bars.  I prefer to eat these bars chilled and store them in the refrigerator.

This is a very healthy and nutritious snack, enjoy!

Whole Wheat Bagels

I love bagels, more specifically, everything bagels!  However, I have to carefully watch my carbohydrate intake and the bakery shop bagels are usually too large.  I decided to try making mini whole wheat bagels.  This recipe uses a mixture of whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour for the dough.  I made 12 smaller sized bagels and a mixture of onion flakes, ground sea salt and dehydrated roasted garlic, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds for the "everything" topping.  They were surprisingly easy to make.  Each bagel has approximately 195 calories if sugar is used.

Whole Wheat Bagels

1 1/4 cups plus 4 Tablespoons water (heated to 120 to 130 degrees F per yeast instructions)
1 Tablespoon Bread Machine Yeast
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 Tablespoons preferred sweetener (or sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Everything Topping

2 Tablespoons Poppy seeds
2 Tablespoons Sesame seeds
2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes
Coarse salt (optional)
Dehydrated roasted garlic (optional)

Mix hot water with the Bread machine yeast.  Combine water mixture, flour, sugar, salt, vegetable oil and yeast in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer.  I actually mixed the dough by hand, although it would be easier to use the dough hook and combine the ingredients using a stand mixer.  Increase the water by tablespoon as necessary to achieve the right balance of liquid to dry ingredients.  Mix using the stand mixer for approximately 8 or 9 minutes.  Stretch the dough with your fingers.  If the dough tears easily, it needs more kneading.  Fully developed dough should be able to stretch to a thin layer without ripping.

I spent a few minutes kneading the dough on a lightly floured surface because I did not use a dough hook to combine the ingredients.



Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel.  Let rise for 2 hours.

Set the dough down on a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal size pieces for mini sized bagels.  Roll into long strands and join the ends to form a bagel shape.



Combine the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried onion flakes, sea salt, and dehydrated roasted garlic for toppings, or as desired.  I found a container of roasted garlic and sea salt with an adjustable grinder in the spice aisle of my local supermarket which worked well.  Stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Boil the bagels 3 at one time until each one rises to the surface.  Boil approximately 1 minute per side.  Remove the bagels from the pan using a slotted spoon.



Dip the bagels in the toppings as desired and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.



Add toppings to each bagel as desired.





Arrange on a baking sheet.  Place in the oven and bake in a preheated oven for approximately 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.



Enjoy!