Pizza Muffins

I am always looking for quick snacks for my daughter, and this is such a great solution. They are packed with veggies, full of whole grains, and very filling. I made them into mini-muffins, so I put them in the oven for a couple minutes less than the 20 minutes that are recommended. Just keep an eye on them because I find mini-muffins burn fast.
My daugter's response when I gave her one, was "more"! And when I gave her another one - "more"! Needless to say, they were a hit in this house.

3 cups spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup egg whites (or 2 whole eggs)
1 1/3 cup skim milk
5 tbsp olive oil
½ cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 10oz package frozen spinach, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup roasted red peppers, finely chopped
3 basil leaves, finely chopped
¾ cup your favourite marinara sauce
½ cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.
In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk and oil. Add to the flour mixture. Mix in spinach, red peppers and basil. Pour evenly into a 12-cup muffin tin. Top each muffin with a spoonful of marinara and mozzarella cheese (before baking the muffins).
Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin Dip (for apples)

My daughter loves apples! She also loves dips. So, I thought I would combine these two favourites of hers into a pumpkin dip for apples. This is very smooth, and great for a quick snack. It does make quite a bit of dip, but don’t worry, it won’t last long...

1 15oz can of pureed pumpkin
½ cup each light cream cheese, plain yogurt and agave syrup
1/8 tsp cinnamon and nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. Serve with apples or any other fruit.

Summer Sangria

This recipe doesn't have a huge amount of alchohol in it. You could certainly add more of the liqueur if you want. This is a great summer drink for sitting on the patio at a bbq. Very fruity and easy to drink!



1 Bottle of red wine (any will do)
Juice of 2 oranges
1 cup peach juice
1 cup mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup Agave nectar
3 cups sparkling water or club soda
½ cup orange flavoured liqueur (optional)

Combine all ingredients into a large pitcher, and stir. Let it refrigerate over-night at least, 24 hours is ideal.

Bean and Rice Fiesta Salad

1 cup brown rice, cooked according to package directions
1 19oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup diced tomatoes
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp lime juice
¾ cup frozen corn, thawed
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. Let it refrigerate for a couple of hours so that the flavours really come out.

Tapenade

If you like olives, try this recipe. It totally beats the tapenades that you can buy in the grocery store. An added bonus is that it takes no time, and any guests that you serve this to will be impressed that you took the extra effort to make it yourself. We served it on crackers and bread.

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped
2 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
1/4 cup roasted red pepper (jarred is fine), finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all items in a bowl, and serve. If you like a more pureed tapenade, then this can easily be pureed in a blender or with an emulsifier.

Artichoke Spread

When my husband and I were in Italy, we had an amazing meal that we talk about all the time. We went to a market and bought fresh tomatoes, cheese, olive oil, wine, arugula and a loaf of bread, and ate all of it! Seriously, there wasn't a bite left.
We often try to recreate this meal, and although it doesn't taste quite the same as it did in Italy, it always comes pretty close. We had one of these meals recently, and I decided to try something new with it. This artichoke spread was delicious on freshly toasted bread. If you like artichokes, you'll love it.

1 14oz can artichokes, liquid drained
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt to taste

Puree all items in a blender, and spread on fresh bread.

Baked Veggies

These veggies are fantastic! If you have kids who don’t like veggies, try this recipe. The bread crumbs and cheese are perfect for hiding the fact that they are eating vegetables. Everyone in our household loved these. And, they don’t take a huge amount of time/effort, so they are great for a quick weeknight meal.

2 cups whole grain bread crumbs
½ cup Asiago or Parmesan Cheese
2 cups buttermilk
1 bell pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
1 small zucchini, diced

Preheat oven to 425.
In a bowl, combine bread crumbs and cheese. In another bowl pour the buttermilk.
Taking a few vegetables at a time, first put them into the buttermilk, then into the bread crumb mixture. Once they are coated with the bread crumbs, place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Broil for the last couple of minutes if you prefer a crunchier texture.

Slowcooker Spanish Rice

Thought I would try something new, and this caught my eye. It is a great side dish, or can even be a small meal on its own.

1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup green lentils
1/2 cup red lentils
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup assorted, finely diced vegetables (I had some left over vegetables that needed to be used, so I used celery, carrots, onion and bell peppers)
1 24oz can diced tomatoes, including liquid
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
Salt to taste

Put all ingredients in a slow cooker for 5 hours on low.

Potato Salad

For years my husband has been asking me to make potato salad. I don’t love potatoes, but decided that I would try to make it anyways. I wasn’t sure how the recipe would turn out, but for someone who doesn’t like potatoes a whole lot, I actually really liked this recipe! It is a little different from your traditional recipe (with the addition of white beans), but still has some of the traditional ingredients that you would normally find in potato salad (like hard boiled eggs). If you are looking for a healthier twist to the generally high fat potato salad that you are used to, try it out – you may be pleasantly surprised.

Salad
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped*
1.5 lb bag of new potatoes (I prefer to used new potatoes, but any potato will actually do)
3 stalks celery, diced
¼ cup red onion, diced
1 19oz can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Dressing
½ cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tbsp dijon mustard
¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
½ tsp salt

Wash and scrub potatoes thoroughly. Boil in water until fork tender.

While potatoes are cooking, chop celery, onion and rinse beans. Add to a large bowl. Add chopped hard boiled eggs.

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for dressing.

Once potatoes are cooked, drain and let them cool. Once cooled, add to celery, onion, beans and eggs. Add dressing and mix until it is evenly coated. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.


*fill a pot with COLD water. Add eggs to cold water, and turn on stove to medium high. Once the water begins to boil, set a timer for 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, strain water, and place eggs in cold water. Once they are cooled, dice up the eggs.

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Bell Pepper Salad

This is a super easy and quick salad.

2 bell peppers, thinly sliced (I used red and orange, but any colour would work well)
½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well, and enjoy!!

Quinoa Salad

I added shrimp to this for my husband, but it could easily be left out as well. Next time, I think that I will add a can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained of course) for me.

About 30 large shrimp (I used frozen)
2 cups quinoa
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup goats cheese, crumbled

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Sometimes I use vegetable stock to give it more flavour.

While quinoa is cooking, prepare sundried tomatoes, olives, pine nuts and goats cheese in a large bowl.

Once vegetables and cheese are assembled, cook shrimp in a frying pan. Drain the water from the shrimp if you are using frozen.

Once the quinoa and shrimp are ready, add them both to the sundried tomato mixture. You can either serve this warm or cold.

Black Bean Patties

Adapted from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean recipes.
These can be used as a meatless burger, or on their own.

1 can black beans
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup almond butter (all natural peanut butter will also work)
3 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
2 egg whites
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)


Preheat oven to 425.

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Scoop into patties on a cookie sheet lined with parchement paper.

Cook for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Fried Rice

This one is actually my husband's recipe

2 cups cooked brown rice (better if pre-cooked and chilled)
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 green onions, finely sliced
¾ cup frozen peas
½ cup frozen corn
2 whole eggs
Soy sauce to taste (approx. 4 tbsp)

Heat oil in wok on high heat

Add eggs and scramble.

Add rice. Toss to combine with eggs.

Add remaining ingredients, including soy sauce. Toss and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Carrot and Beet Salad

2 cups cooked beets, peeled (canned works fine), julienne
2 cups carrots, julienne
¼ cup red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Serve.

Asparagus and Tomato Salad

1 pound asparagus
1 pint cherry tomatoes
½ cup feta cheese
½ cup toasted pine nuts.
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil

Trim asparagus ends. Chop into one inch sections. Boil in salted water for approximately 6 minutes.

Combine oil and vinegar together in a bowl.

Place cooked asparagus, tomatoes, pine nuts and feta cheese in bowl. Pour dressing on top. Chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Whole-Grain Stuffing

Half whole-grain baguette, cubed
3 celery stalks
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place diced bread onto pan and cook for approximately 10 minutes in oven, or until crispy.

Saute onion, garlic and celery in olive oil until tender. Add poultry seasoning and salt and pepper.

In a casserole dish, add bread, vegetable mixture and stock. Mix well.

Cook covered for 20-30 minutes. If you like it crispier, remove the lid for the last few minutes.

Sweet Potato Fries with Miso Dip

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into ½-inch-wide slices, and then cut in half again. Yams should be in the shape of half moons.
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Dip
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp miso paste

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray large baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Toss sweet potatoes with oil, salt and pepper. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet and bake until tender and golden brown, turning occasionally about 25 minutes.

While sweet potatoes are cooking, combine yogurt and miso paste in a small bowl. Serve fries with dip on the side.

Roasted Vegetables

1 Sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 red bell pepper, cubed
1 green bell pepper, cubed
½ red onion, chunked
6 whole garlic cloves
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp salt

Place all vegetables onto baking tray. Combine olive oil and herbs in a small bowl, and pour onto vegetables. Cook at 425 for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Spanakopita

12 phyllo sheets
2 lbs fresh spinach, washed, trimmed, and roughly chopped (you could also use frozen)
8 green onions, including green stems, finely chopped
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
¾ cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs whites beaten
3-4 tbsp butter, melted

To prepare the filling:
Blanch the spinach in boiling water, drain thoroughly, remove to a bowl and allow to cool. Remove excess water by placing spinach in a clean dish towel or paper towel, and squeeze. Place back in bowl and add all the other ingredients and combine well.

To assemble the roll:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Unwrap the phyllo pastry on a flat surface and cover with a damp tea towel. Spray a cookie pan or use a Silpat mat so that the Spanakopita doesn't stick to the pan. Take 8 phyllo sheets, and place them on top of one another, brushing each with melted butter as they are added to the pile. Add all the filling to one end of the phyllo pastry. Fold the sides of the phyllo pastry in, and then continue to roll the rest like a burrito. Sprinkle a little water on top to prevent the phyllo from burning. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Eat either hot or cold. But, it is much easier to cut once it has cooled.