Healthy Cookies

As part of a recent celebration, I baked these cookies, with my usual substitutions, of course!

I used the same basic recipe, but changed the raisins and walnuts for chocolate chips to create some variety.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 3/4 cup

Rolled oats: 3/4 cup

Ground Flax meal: 2 tbsp

Baking soda: 1/2 tsp

Vanilla essence: 1 tsp

Egg substitute: 1/3 cup

Ground Cinnamon: 1/2 tsp

Applesauce (unsweetened): 1/4 cup

Brown Sugar: 1/2 cup

Olive Oil: 2 tbsp

Salt: A pinch

Raisins: 1/4 cup (for oatmeal raisin cookies)

Chopped walnuts: 1/4 cup (optional)

Semisweet Chocolate chips: 1/4 cup (for chocolate chip cookies)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line and spray a cookie sheet with oil
3. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, brown sugar and egg substitute and beat it till the sugar is dissolved
4. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and combine.
5. Combine with wet ingredients while making sure they are mixed thoroughly. Once you have a sticky paste, add the raisins and nuts (for oatmeal raisin) or the chocolate chips (for chocolate chip cookies) and make sure they are incorporated well
6. Spoon the dough onto the cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes

I baked about 10-12 cookies of each type. It was delicious - not much to look at, mind you, but tasted heavenly! AND, it is much healthier and low-fat than the regular ones!!

Happy Baking!

Chickpea Salad

This is a healthy snack in between meals or can be taken as a light meal by itself. Full of good protein, this salad is a keeper!

Ingredients: (serves 2)

Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans): 1 can - rinsed and washed

Soy chunks: 1 cup

Oregano: 1 tsp

Basil: 1 tsp

Thyme: 1 tsp

Cumin: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Make sure the can of chickpeas is washed thoroughly so all the preservatives are removed.

2. Boil water and add soy chunks. Once they are soft, remove and squeeze all the water out of the chunks

3. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well.

This recipe is worth approximately 225 calories per serving.

Linguine alla Marinara

A simple linguine recipe for a weekday night. It takes about 20 minutes including prep time!

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

Linguine Pasta: 8 oz

Fire roasted tomatoes: 1 can

Spinach: 1 cup

Garbanzo beans: 1 can (washed)

Basil

Rosemary

Thyme

Oregano

Method:

1. Boil water in a stockpot and add salt. Once the water is boiling, add pasta until it is al dente

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat some olive oil in a saute pan

3. Add the can of Fire roasted tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary and simmer.

4. Add spinach and garbanzo beans to the pan

5. After about 5 minutes, you can add the pasta directly to the sauce.

6. Toss the pasta with tongs to make sure it is well coated.

Serve with grated cheese on top (optional)

Without cheese, this recipe is about 650 calories per serving.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Halloween was just here and what would it be without pumpkin??? So here's a recipe that I tried and that everyone loved! It's also healthier and low fat!

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Puree - 1 small can (15 oz) - make sure it has no sugar added

Fat free milk - 2.5 - 3 cups (depending on how many bread slices you are using)

Egg substitute - 3/4 cup

Dark Brown Sugar (with Molasses) - 1 cup

Ground Cinnamon - 3/4 tsp (you can add more depending on your love of cinnamon)

Ground Ginger - optional - 1/2 tsp

Whole Wheat Bread - 6-10 cups (10-15 slices)

Dried Cranberries - 1/4 CUP

Raisins - 1/4 cup

Walnuts - 1/4 cup

Dried Blueberries - 1/4 cup

Salt - 1/8 tsp

Kahlua French Vanilla - 3-5 tsp (depending on taste) - if you want to go alcohol free, use 2 tsp of vanilla extract

Method:

1. Empty the can of pumpkin puree into a large bowl. Add the milk, egg substitute, brown sugar, spices, salt, kahlua (or vanilla extract) and whisk until smooth.

2. Tear the bread slices into small cubes and add to bowl.

3. Add dried fruits and nuts

4. Fold ingredients gently and set aside for 10-15 minutes.

5. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F while waiting for the mixture to soak

6. Transfer ingredients to a 9 x 13 baking dish and bake in the oven for about an hour to 90 minutes.

7. Take the dish out and let cool.

8. Serve with fat-free vanilla ice cream and cinnamon on top.

This recipe serves about 10-15 people

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Healthy version of the popular all-time favorite soup!! Broccoli is rich in Vitamins A, K and C and is said to prevent cancer. So, eat up!!!

This recipes serves 2

Ingredients:

Broccoli florets : 3-4 cups

Milk : 2 cups

Water or Vegetable broth : 2 cups

Other vegetables (optional) : 1 cup

Cheese : 1 cup

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Boil broccoli and other vegetables of your choice in water until tender.

2. Transfer them to the food processor and whisk for about 2 minutes, until you have a smooth paste. Add water or vegetable broth (from boiling the veggies earlier) to loosen up the consistency.

3. Transfer the paste back to the soup pot and stir in rest of the vegetable broth.

4. Add milk to the soup pot, while constantly stirring the broccoli mixture. Make sure the setting is turned to low heat (to prevent curdling).

5. Add cheese (any cheese is ok, as long as it melts) to the mixture and keep stirring.

6. Simmer on low for about 5-7 minutes, stirring at equal intervals.

7. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve

Note:

I used 1% milk while making this soup. You can use 2% milk or skim - but if you use skim, lessen the amount of water or vegetable broth to maintain the thick consistency of the soup.

As for cheese, you can use any cheese that melts easy - Velveeta, mozzarella or in my case, I used Laughing Cow Low fat Swiss cheese wedges - I used 3 wedges.

Cold Pasta Salad

How many times have you gotten stuck with this question? - "what do I make for lunch or dinner?" Several times, I should think! 

I was wondering about the same thing, yet again, today. And then, I stumbled upon some left over boiled pasta in the fridge. That's how this recipe came about - with left overs from the fridge!

Note: Please feel free to substitute the vegetables in this recipe with any left over veggies or any frozen ones that you may have!

Ingredients:

Boiled pasta (any kind - I used Rotini) 2 cups

Garbanzo beans (canned) 1 can = 2 cups

Frozen Broccoli 1 cup

Frozen Pepper strips 1 cup

Tomatoes 2 (diced)

Onions 1/2 (thinly sliced - long)

Salt To taste

Pepper To taste

Olive Oil 1 tbsp

Lemon/Lime juice 1 tbsp

Moroccan Seasoning 1/2 tsp

Dried Thyme 1/2 tsp

Dried Basil 1/2 tsp

Dried Oregano 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Thaw all frozen veggies and set them aside

2. Mix all ingredients in a salad bowl and toss them until all of them are evenly coated.

3. Refrigerate the salad until the time of meal.

You can prepare the pasta salad up to a day in advance. 

 

Achiote Vegetables

This was a recipe that was shown on PBS

1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 cloves
garlic
salt
achiote paste

Blend all these ingredients in a food processor and pour over vegetables/tofu to marinate.

In the meantime, make red onion relish in a separate bowl using the following ingredients and set aside

Thinly sliced red onion - 1
Habanero peppers - deseeded and sliced thinly
fresh lime juice - 1 lime
salt


Pour the marinated veggies into a pan and sautee.
Add cooking rum to the pan (very little, optional) and cook till the flames die down.

Serve on a plate with a side of onion relish

Pesto Pizza (healthy)

The reason this home made variety of the popular dish is healthy is because of the low salt pizza sauce/spread, you control the amount of cheese that goes on the pizza and this is an excellent way to get your daily portion of veggies as well!

Ingredients:

Basil Pesto or Sun Dried Tomato Pesto 1/2 cup
Whole wheat pizza crust Store Bought
Part Skim Low Moisture Mozzarella 1 cup
Frozen Veggies 1 cup
Spinach- shredded 1 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) 3 tsp
Salt, red pepper flakes to taste

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Baste the top and bottom of the pizza crust with EVOO.
3. Use the basting brush to spread the pesto sauce evenly on to the top side of the pizza crust.
4. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of part skim mozzarella onto the pizza crust.
5. Spread out the veggies and shredded spinach on top of the cheese
6. Sprinkle some salt, red pepper flakes (optional) and the rest of the mozzarella cheese on top of the veggies
7. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, while constantly keeping an eye to make sure it does not overcook or burn.
8. Remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 2-3 minutes. Use a pizza cutter and cut it into 6-8 pieces and serve.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

Ingredients:

Sun Dried Tomatoes (store bought) 5 oz
Mint leaves (fresh) 5-7 sprigs
Garlic - minced 1/2 tsp
red pepper flakes/paprika as required
salt and pepper to taste
Almonds 10

Method:

1. Soak the sun dried tomatoes in hot water for 10 minutes to soften them.
2. In the food processor, add all ingredients and chop them into fine pieces.
3. Add some of the soaking water and grind them to a paste.
4. The paste should be thick for spreads and of medium consistency for dips.

I use this as a pizza spread and the pizza tastes really yummy :)

Lasagna roll ups

These are good as a starter at a party or just as a light dinner.

Ingredients:

Diced vegetables - your choice - 2 cups
Spinach - chopped - (optional)- 1 cup
Marinara Sauce or Chopped tomatoes
Ricotta Cheese - Fat Free
Mozzarella cheese - Part skim
Salt, Pepper, Italian seasoning
Olive Oil

Method:

1. Boil the lasagna in salted water and set aside
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
3. Heat a pan and mix the vegetables, spinach, Marinara Sauce/Tomatoes until the spinach wilts.
4. Add seasoning and mix well
5. Add 2 tbsp of Part skim mozzarella cheese until the cheese melts and keeps the veggies together.
6. Lay the lasagna out in a baking pan and coat it with Olive Oil
7. Coat the lasagna with ricotta cheese
8. Spoon in the veggies and spread it out.
9. Roll the lasagna up and make sure that all veggies stay inside the roll.
10. Sprinkle some part skim Mozzarella cheese, Spinach and Ricotta cheese on each of the rolls.
11. Bake the rolls in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

Healthy Basil Pesto

This is a healthy alternative to the traditional Pesto recipe. My husband and I substituted 2% milk for cheese.

Ingredients:

Pine Nuts 1/2 culp
Basil - chopped 1/2 cup
Onions - chopped 1/4 cup
Garlic- minced 1 tsp
Salt as required
Pepper as required
Milk (2%) 1/2- 3/4 cup
Green Chiles 2


Method:

1. Deseed green chiles and chop into small pieces
2. Add all ingredients to a food processor and grind for 2 to 3 minutes until a coarse texture is achieved

Pesto can be used as a dip or as a spread on bread. Enjoy!

Mixed Vegetable Curry

This recipe was reproduced on Recipedelights.com website.

Ingredients:

Diced Vegetables 2 cups
Onions(finely cut) 1 cup
Tomatoes 2-3
Cloves 2-3
Cinnamon 1 stick
Bay leaves 1-2
Ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp.
Turmeric Powder 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds as required
Cumin powder as required
Extra Virgin Olive oil 2 tbsp.
Salt as required
Coriander leaves chopped


Method:
1. Make a paste of the tomatoes and 1/2 cup of onions in the food processer.
2. Boil all the vegetables in a pressure cooker and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan.
4. Fry mustard, jeera, and all the spices.
5. Once mustard splatters, fry the onions till light brown.
6. Add tomato-onion paste and saute until oil separates.
7. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala, cumin powder and salt.
8. Add the vegetables and cook on low flame for 7 - 8 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot. Can be served with rice or chappathis.

Tomato Dip

This is another recipe from my kitchen - actually this is one of the recipes that I contributed to Tarla Dalal's website (the previous one also belongs to that category)

Tomato Dip

Preparation Time : 5 mins Cooking Time : 10 minutes Serves / Makes : 4

Ingredients

Tomatoes: 4, Chopped Onions: 1 or 1-1/2, chopped 1/2 tsp. jeera 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder(optional) 1/2 tsp. red chili powder 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder salt to taste Oil: as required

Method

1. Heat the oil on a kadai. 2. Add the Mustard and Jeera and wait till it splatters. 3. Add the chopped onions and tomatoes. 4. add all the powders and cook till oil separates. 5. serve with chapathis, tortilla or with rice.

User Comments & Tips

adding more chilli powder and oil may increase the taste.

Spicy Dal Curry

This is my first post in this brand new blog - I am reproducing one of my original recipes - tried and tested from the days of experimentation in the kitchen!

Spicy Dal Curry

Preparation Time : 10 mins Cooking Time : 10-15 mins Serves / Makes : 4

Ingredients

Moong Dal: 1/3 cup Channa Dal: 1/3 cup Toor Dal: 1/3 cup Dried Red chillies: 10 Coriander leaves (cilantro): a handful Garlic paste: 1/2 tsp. onions (chopped): 1 (optional) Tomatoes( sliced into 4): 2 Oil: 2 tbsp Salt to taste

Method

1. Cook all the dals with a little amount of salt and turmeric powder. 2. Grind the red chillies and the garlic paste together with very little water. 3. Heat oil in a kadhai and fry the onions. 4. After the onions become translucent, add the ground paste. Fry it for 1 minute. 5. now add the cooked Dals and the tomatoes. 6. Bring to a boil. 7. add the coriander leaves

User Comments & Tips

For lesser spice, decrease the red chillies.