The Unfried Eggplant Parmesan by Michelle

3 eggplants, peeled and thinly sliced
2 eggs beaten
4 C. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
6 C. spaghetti sauce
1 (16 oz.) low sodium mozzarella cheese,
shredded and divided
1/2 C. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 t. dried basil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs.  Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.

In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom.  Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses.  Sprinkle basil on top.

Bake in Preheated oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown.  Buon appetito!

Incredible and nutritious Butternut Soup by Michelle

* This recipe is wonderful - especially after the summer season where squash is abundant!


2 pounds butternut squash, cubed
2 onions, chopped
1 T. butter
4 C. vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 C. 2% or skim milk
salt and pepper to taste


In a big pot boil the squash and onions until tender and drain off the water. Peel the squash.  Add the onions and squash with the butter, broth, and milk in a blender or food processor and puree.  Pour back into the pot to warm on low and enjoy!!!

Spring Rolls By Michelle

Ingredients:

8 ounces cooked chicken
8 rice wrappers
1 carrot, julienne
1 cup shredded lettuce
Chopped Napa cabbage or purple cabbage
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or mint or cilantro (or all three)

Directions:

Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Remove from heat. Place rice vermicelli in boiling water, remove from heat, and let soak 3 to 5 minutes, until soft. Drain, and rinse with cold water. Fill a large bowl with hot water. Dip one rice wrapper in the hot water for 5-10 seconds to soften. You don't want them to be too soft. Lay wrapper flat, and place desired amounts of chicken, carrots, lettuce, and basil in the center. Roll the edges of the wrapper slightly inward. Beginning at the bottom edge of wrapper, tightly wrap the ingredients. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Serve with dipping sauce:

Chopped garlic
Sambal chili paste
Sugar
Lime juice or vinegar
Fish sauce or soy sauce

Mix together until smooth

Chicken Soup With Lime Juice By Michelle

Ingredients:

1 large white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 pound chicken, cooked and cubed
2 cans northern beans, rinse and drain
2 cans of white or shoepeg corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
3 cups water
1 can of chopped green chilies
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper


Directions:

In a sillet, saute onions, garlic, and oil until tender. Pour in a crock pot and add all other ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Guilt-Free Chocolate Muffins By Michelle

Ingredients:

1 cup applesauce
1 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup oat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Combine applesauce and next 4 ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together the next 6 ingredients
Add oat mixture to applesauce mixture; stir until blended
Stir in chocolate chips
Bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes

Pumpkin Spice French Toast By Michelle

Ingredients:

Whole wheat bread
3/4 cup egg whites
1 T stevia
Pumpkin pie spice


Directions:
Mix egg whites, stevia, and spice in a container big enough to hold the bread.
Soak each side of the bread for a few minutes.
Cook on a non-stick pan.
Top with applesauce or other topping.

Power Oatmeal Pancakes By Michelle

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups dry rolled oats
6 egg whites
1 cup low fat milk
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1 Tbsp safflower oil
1 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp vanilla
1 Tsp cinnamon
Cooking spray


Directions:
1. Place ingredients in a blender. Blend the mixture for 20 seconds. The resulting mixture should be smooth. Pour 1/4 cup of pancake mixture on a hot surface. Cook until the pancakes are dry or bubbly on the edges.
2. Try using unsweetened applesauce or mixed fruit to top your pancakes.

Creamy Avocado Dressing By Michelle

In a blender, mix together the following ingredients:

1 avocado cut in half, peeled, pit removed, and cut into large cubes
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
2 Tsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. fat free sour cream
1 tsp fresh dill or 1 tsp dried dill
1/4 cup stevia
1/2 tsp salt, seasoned salt
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Blend until creamy and smooth
Store in the refrigerator in a glass jar
Shake well before serving

Curry Chicken Salad By Michelle

In a large bowl combine the following ingredients:

4 cups green leaf lettuce, broken into bite-size pieces
2 cups spinach, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Blanch the following in separate batches:
2 cups asparagus ends discarded and cut into 1 inch diagonals
1/2 cup carrots, silvered

Add the following ingredients to salad greens:
2 cups chicken, shredded, left over grilled chicken or just grilled or broiled
blanched carrots and asparagus

Toss salad with Curried Dressing:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp Mayonnaise (substitute: fat free sour cream)
1 Tsp honey
1/2 Tsp curry powder (I like more!)
1/2 Tsp dried basil
1 Tsp minced green onion
1/4 Tsp salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Whisk again and gently toss into salad

Black Bean Salsa By Michelle

Mix the following ingredients together:

1 cup frozen corn
2 tomatoes, chopped and seeded
1 avocado, diced
2 green onions, chopped
Juice of one lime
1/2 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie By Michelle

In a blender, combine the following ingredients in the order listed and blend until smooth:

Breakfast Smoothie

1/2 frozen banana
2 Tbsp organic unsweetened peanut butter
1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups "milk" or 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 1 cup water
1-2 scoops of protein powder
1 Tbsp flax oil or 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
8 ice cubes

Incredible Hulk Smoothie By Michelle

In a blender, combine the following ingredients in the order listed and blend until smooth:

Breakfast Smoothie!

1 cup plain yogurt

1 frozen banana

1/4 tsp stevia powder, optional

1-2 scoops of protein powder

1 Tbsp flax oil or 2 Tbsp ground flax seed

6-8 strawberries

Raw spinach leaves, 1-2 handfuls

6-8 ice cubes

Sweet Pea and Feta Dip (By Cam--A Guest Poster!)

Ingredients:
4 cups shelled peas
Kosher salt
3 cups fresh feta cheese
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (can be substituted for soaked chia seeds)

Directions:
Add the peas to a well salted, large pot of boiling water. Make sure there is way more water than peas and enough salt for it to taste like the ocean.
Boil the peas for about 30 seconds
Remove the peas to an ice bath
Add in a food processor, the feta, lemon zest and mint. Drain the peas and add them to the food processor. Pulse just until the mixture comes together, you want to keep a little texture and not make it totally smooth.
Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl, crack some black pepper over the top and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Serve te pea dip with grilled cheese.

Healthy Banana Muffins By Marissa

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups ground wheat

1 1/2 cups white beans

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 Stevia

1 cup apple sauce

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 ripe bananas (or 2 ripe bananas and 1 cup pumpkin)

Directions:

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk the flower, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted in to the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to the rack and cool slightly. The muffins my be eaten warm or cooled completely.

Actual Healthy Brownies That Make Your Mouth Water By Michelle

Ingredients:
1 (15.5 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
3 eggs
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (or apple sauce)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish. Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt vanilla, extract, and sugar in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of a pan, about 30 minutes.

Info:
Fat 1.6g
Calories 53
Protein 4 g
Carbohydrates 8
Cholesterol 4 mg
Fiber 3 g
Sodium 94 mg

Healthy Oil Free Chili (And it's Delicious!) By Bri

If you're watching calories and carbs this is a great Chili recipe! And it really is Delicious (and easy)! 

Ingredients:

1/2 to 1 lb of lean beef (The amount depends on how many people or days you'll be eating it)

1/2 cup fresh salsa

Spoonful of garlic

1/4 cup chili powder

1 cup fresh tomatoes

Directions:

Put the garlic in a pan on medium heat, let it sizzle for about 1-2 minutes, add the beef until it's browned. When the beef is browned add the salsa and the tomatoes (you can also add in onion as well). Let simmer for 4-5 minutes until everything is cooked together. Serve with lettuce on top.

Enjoy!

Salsa & A Healthy Dinner By Bri

Well, here's my first post. I am going to be posting a lot of what I eat over the next couple weeks to give everyone ideas on how to make delicious foods without using oil and sugar. That might seem impossible, but trust me when I say it's not, and the food is still fabulous. You don't need oil and you don't need sugar. The more you eliminate oils and sugar--"the non-essentials"--the healthy you will be. So, to start off I'm going to give you a great salsa recipe and a full dinner recipe. 

Start with your favorite veggies for Salsa. I like: tomatoes,
green peppers, red onion, white onion, and jalapenos.
I also use lime.

Add half of your veggies in a blender. Leave the other
half for later. 

Next add some lime juice, lemon juice, garlic salt, and season salt
(make sure that the season salt doesn't have any sugar in it)

Blend it together until it is puree.

Pour the puree into a separate bowl, add the rest of the veggies,
and enjoy!

Now, what do you do with it? I love to eat it with Melba Snacks (you'll find this in the cracker aisle), or with just a spoon (absolutely delicious), on top of chili or chicken or egg whites. If I'm having a type of meat that doesn't go with it, and I've already had too many carbs for the day, then I'll put it in a lettuce leaf and eat it as a side dish or my "salad."

Healthy Dinner Idea #1
Curry Chicken, Cucumber Salad, and Strawberries

Cucumber Salad: Cut up your cucumbers, some red onion, add a little
apple cider vinegar to the bowl, put it in the freezer for 20 minutes and serve chilled.
If you like apple cider vinegar you'll love this!
You can also make a cucumber salt with some salt and lemon juice.

Cut up three/four strawberries, eat them plain, or add a bit of Stevia.
Stevia is great, and doesn't taste odd like most "non" sugars.
Anytime you can replace sugar with Stevia DO IT!

Curry Chicken: No oil, no coconut juice, no sugar.
Just add water, chicken, TBSP of lowfat milk, an 3/4 of a container of curry seasoning,
and let it simmer in a crock pot on low for 5-6 hours.
Once the chicken is tender and falling apart, take it out, put it on the stove
in a non-stick pan, add a little more water and 1/8 of the curry seasoning and about a tsp
of red chili seasoning. In a separate pan put in green peppers and onions. Add the rest
of the curry seasoning, a little water, and a pinch of the chili seasoning.
Let them boil/cook in the seasoning until soft.
Continue to brown the chicken a bit in the new seasoning.
When everything is just how you want it, mix them together and serve.

And enjoy a healthy and balanced meal free of oils, sugars, and non-essentials.