Egg Roll Stir-Fry

I haven't posted in ages but am compelled to share this, if only to remember it for myself. I tend to go through food phases, and then totally forget about something I previously loved until 5 years later I see it on a blog and think, oh YEAH I can't believe I haven't been making that. So, I bring to you, my take on the Egg Roll Sir-Fry.

A lot has happened since I posted last. Has it really been three years?? I got engaged, planned and executed a perfect wedding day including making my own cake (it wasn't brilliant but I had a lot going on that day lol), had an amazing honeymoon in New Orleans (lots of awesome food and music, so perfect for us!), applied and was accepted to grad school (finally, currently underway), started a new job that's not so new anymore (and that I love), renovated and sold our condo (which looked flippin' AMAZING after renos), bought a house (which does not look at all amazing but will someday) with a huge yard (turns out I have a real green thumb, woot!!), developed major gut issues which seem to be related to a terrible dairy intolerance, which led to much mourning for cheese (I can have a little now, but not much), and currently planning for a major kitchen reno. All that, and I still had time to gain back all the weight I had lost previous :S. Well, the only failure is not trying, right? So I try....I know what works for me, just have a really hard time sticking to it.I blame the microbes in my gut http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2016/second-brain-microbes-gut-may-affect-body-mind/  but until they come up with some killer cure, it's up to me.

This dish makes it look easy though....it's lower in carbs and fat, chock-full of veggies and lean protein, and a total flavour-bomb in your mouth! I have recently discovered kimchi and gochujang, both being good sources of probiotics, and as a bonus make everything they come into contact with delicious. They are a terrific add, but even without them it's a yummy dish, just not as cool, because well fermented stuff is pretty cool these days. I named it for its resemblance to the inside of an egg roll, and the internet supports it....this is not the first or only egg roll stir-fry out there! I contend it may be the best ;).

Egg Roll Stir-Fry

1 Tbsp oil of choice (I use avocado or olive)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
2 large carrots, julienned
2 bell peppers, julienned (I like red and yellow)
1/2 cup kimchi, chopped small
1 Tbsp gochujang (or sriracha, if you can't find it)
1 tsp chicken or "no-chicken" Better Than Boullion
2 tsp sesame oil
3 green onions, sliced
2 small wads mung-bean vermicelli (a.k.a. bean threads or glass noodles)
1 pkg tofu cut into cubes or 1 lb ground turkey
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce or Bragg's aminos (GF and less sodium)

In a large fry-pan or wok heated to medium, add 1 tsp of the oil, garlic, cabbage, and celery. Stir-fry for 5 minutes and then add carrots and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes longer or until veggies are all tender but not too soft. Add the kimchi, gochujang, boullion paste, sesame oil, and green onions, combining well.

Meanwhile, soak vermicelli in water and heat a separate pot of water to boiling. Once boiling, drain the vermicelli and snip them so that they are shorter threads, about 3 inches long. Add them to the boiling water and boil for one minute, then drain and place in a large holding bowl.

Once the veggies are done, place them in the holding bowl as well and stir everything together.

Return the frypan to the stove and add the remaining oil and ground turkey or tofu. Fry until browned. Add soy sauce and fry until evaporated. I usually do both (separately), and divide the veggies into two to create both vegetarian and meatatarian versions.

Add the veggies back into the frypan with the meat or tofu, and combine well. Done!

At this point it looks like a massive amount of food, but it's actually just 5 servings, at 365 calories each! Compare to a similar amount of, say, pad thai, and its a third of the calories. Yet, totally deliciously satisfying.

Calories 365
Fat 15 g
Protein 29 g
Carbs 31 g
Fibre 5g
Sodium 568 mg

Cauliflower Crust Pizza (CCP)

It's no secret that I love pizza. There are a couple of pizza recipes already on this blog, so this one is not the first and won't be the last. The thing that makes it different is the crust - it's made of cauliflower! Examine the gorgeous toastiness, the well-formed roundness. It's looks tasty, doesn't it? Well, it WAS. This recipe truly belongs here in Yummyland. The pizza got a firm two-thumbs-up from all of us at the dinner table. And crazy enough, this recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, low-carb, in high in awesomeness. 

I had a conversation today about pizza, and how even the thinnest of thin-crust is still relatively high in carbs and so not a great choice for those with diabetes or pre-diabetic, which relegates it to the rare-treat department. Which got me to thinking about the vegetable-based crusts that are out there these days....which is the best? And at it's best, can it be anywhere near as good as the "real thing"? So I did a quick cruise around the interwebs and found this one. By all accounts it seemed like a good choice. I haven't credited the original site because there are so many versions of this out there, I have no idea where it came from originally. Several people who posted on it mentioned the importance of squeezing the water out of the cauliflower really well...listen to them. I may not have squeezed adequately and so the centre didn't get crispy like the edges, needed more time to brown and firm up, but as the edges were already brown I didn't want to cook too much longer so I ended up with a pale undercrust. Next time I will squeeze more and remember to heat up pan or stone before placing the crust on it, and get that gorgeous golden crust all over. Was it the same as wheat-crust pizza? Well it was less different than expected. Was it as good as wheat-crust pizza? Hmm I didn't think it would be, of course not, but you know what? It is equally delicious! And because of it's healthiness, even better. The kind of better that makes your mouth AND body happy. 

So here it is, without further adieu, my take on the popular cauliflower-crust pizza! Welcome to Yummyland, CCP! 

Ingredients

1 small head cauliflower (about 500g)

¼ cup parmesan cheese

¼ cup mozzarella cheese

¼ tsp sea salt

½ tsp Italian herbs

½ tsp garlic powder

1 egg

Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450ºF. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with olive oil (Mr. Misto is a great oil spray jar, get two and use one for olive oil and one for canola or other vegetable oil wih a higher smoke point and you will be set!).

Wash and dry a small head of cauliflower. Cut into florets. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower. You should end up with 2 to 3 cups cauliflower “snow”. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl, cover and cook on high for 8 minutes OR steam in a steamer pot on the stove top, whichever you prefer. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit before attempting the next step.

Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the heck out of it. This is the exact instruction from three or four different recipes....and it's maybe the most important step. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a soggy crumbly mess. So squeeze and squeeze and then when you are pretty sure your hands can't take any more squeezing, tag off and get someone else to squeeze some more. 

Dumped squeezed cauliflower into a bowl. Now add Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, sea salt, dried herbs, garlic powder, and a dash of red pepper if you want. Mixy mix, form into ball. 

Now the fun part. Use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down thoroughly, you want it well-compressed and smooth around the edges and a nice thin-crust thickness. 

Using a cutting board, slide the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8-11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.

Spread with a simple pizza sauce (see below), cheeses, and whatever toppings you like, just not too much or your crust will get too weighed-down. Slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 7 to 10 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.

Cool for a few minutes before cutting, then behold your delicious grain-free cauliflower crust pizza! Cut and serve wit ha big ole salad. This was such a great dinner, and not even a treat dinner, just a regular everyday healthy dinner! Who knew. Cauliflower is my new favourite thing. Remind to tell you about cauliflower rice sometime soon!

Nutritional info: for 1/3 of the crust recipe above, there are 136 calories, 6g fat, 13g protein, 8g carbs (woot!), 3g fibre, and 450mg sodium. The toppings are up to you!

Simple Pizza Sauce: 

1/3 small can tomato paste, 2-3Tbsp water, 1/2 tsp dried Italian herbs, 1/8 tsp cayenne, dash of salt and pepper. Combine in bowl, should be thick but not pasty, but good a spreadable. I find this sauce is great for pizza as it has lower moisture content (you can control that) and so does not make the crust soggy, especially important with this one. 

Parmesan Chicken Casserole

This recipe is my pick for Light Bites. It looked and sounded like a good fall comfort meal with a bit of zing. But, I will be interested to see what the other bloggers in the group thought of it, because I don't think I did it right. On close inspection, the recipe seems like there must be a mistake - it involves over two cups of liquid absorbing into the rice during only 15 minutes in the oven?! Doesn't seem right, but then again, it also says to use boil-in-a-bag rice which I have never cooked with and didn't intend to. I don't mean to be a rice Snobby McSnobberson, but boil-in-a-bag, really? Not in my house. Of course there is the possibility that said rice is somehow magic and can make 2 cups of liquid absord in 15 minutes, if so my bad. Instead, I used par-cooked rice and added less liquid to the casserole itself, I had to cook it for 50 minutes and even so the dish was a bit watery. Next time I'll use a bit of thickener in the liquid to it will be a lovely sauce...I say "next time" because this dish was SO yummy, definately a do-over is in order. Instead of plain brown rice I used a combo of red, brown, and wild, and added some red peppers and celery when sauteeing the onion. I also strayed from the recipe by seasoning and browning my chicken before adding to the dish. It seemed like the right thing to do. See the pool of liquid on the left side of the rice? Yeah baby, that liquid will next time be saucified.



Parmesan Chicken and Rice Casserolemodified from Cooking Light

Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1 celery rib, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup mixed rice (dry)
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup half and half cream
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
cayenne
2 tsp cornstarch or flour

Directions
1. Add 1 cup of chicken broth to the rice in a small pot, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer gently until all the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and celery to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper, 1/2 tsp thyme, and some black pepper; sauté about 8 more minutes, until vegetables are soft and onion is translucent.
3. Add wine and vegetable mixture to rice; cook until liquid almost evaporates. Remove from heat and spoon rice mixture in an even layer into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
4. Season chicken thighs with 1/2 tsp thyme, salt and pepper, and a dash of cayenne. Brown both sides in a pan on high heat (chicken does not need to be cooked through). Place thighs on top of rice mixture.
5. Combine remaining broth, cream,1/2 tsp thyme and some pepper, stirring well; I am thinking that at this point adding a bit of cornstarch or flour would be beneficial, maybe 2 tsp or so. Pour over chicken and rice mixture.
6. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes to melt cheese.

Sausage and Bean Casserole

Ah Fall, with your cooler weather and promise of winter you put us in the mood for comforting soups and stews and casseroles. Since I've been on a casserole kick for a while now, this Light Bites choice of recipe was welcome. When I read over the ingredient list, I thought heyyyy this is just a fancied up wieners n beaners! Cool, I'm in!

The verdict? Hmm. Not a fan. It was only ok, despite attempts to jazz it up. I found it lacked depth...the brown sugar gave it sweetness but there wasn't enough flavour going on for that sweetness to enhance. I have the leftovers for lunch and am not particularly excited about it...and I even added bacon. Bacon, man! That should make anything awesome! Mind you it was low-fat peameal bacon so maybe the lack of fat in this dish just made it fall flat for me, I dunno. I am generally on the low-fat bandwagon, but not today folks. I'd only recommend making this as a last-minute meal; the trouble I went to soak beans overnight and whatnot was not really worth it, so the original recipe's recommendation of using rinsed canned beans is more in keeping with this recipe. Kids would probably love it.

Sausage and Bean Casserole
adapted from Cooking Light

1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
2 slices peameal bacon (uncooked Canadian bacon), chopped
200g light smoked turkey sausage, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup water
1/2 chicken stock cube
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white beans, cooked al dente
1/2 teaspoon harissa
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 slice whole grain bread

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic, and bacon to pan; sauté for 10 minutes or until browned. Add turkey sausage, and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in water, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add chicken stock cube, brown sugar, tomato paste, dried thyme, mustard, freshly ground black pepper, beans, and harissa. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs.Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over bean mixture, and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until browned.

Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce

This recipe represents my first entry for Light Bites, a cooking/ blogging group I joined. Every Friday we blog a recipe from Cooking Light, which just happens to be one of my favourite magazines. This week's recipe is Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce, woo a dish right up my alley! And I only did a few minor modifications ;). I added a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to add a bit of tang with the sweetness, upped the bacon (because I agree with Pam ,you can never have too much bacon, though I did use the slightly leaner cut of side bacon) and I used locally raised chicken thighs instead of breasts. I have nothing against breasts, but recently had a bad chicken breast experience and so preferred to use the moister, more flavourful thighs. Also added a few herbs, cayenne, and thickened the sauce with a bit of cornstarch, as others who'd reviewed it mentioned it was too thin and I can't stand a thin sauce, the cornstarch was perfect and made it a lovely, glossy sauce.

Verdict? Two yums up! Appley, bacony deliciousness. The chicken pretty much just came along for the ride, but I'm glad it did. Since I got behind and have a massive box of tomatoes to salsify this evening, I just had the chicken straight up for dinner, but I think the suggested sides of wild rice and broccoli would be perfect.

Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce
adapted from Cooking Light
Serves 2

4 side bacon slices, chopped
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/4 tsp each freshly ground black pepper, Herbs de Provence, and cayenne
1 onion, sliced
3/4 cup unsweetened apple cider
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp cornstarch

Directions
Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Sesaon chicken with pepper, herbs,and cayenne and add chicken to drippings in pan. Cook 8 minutes on each side or until brown. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender and lightly carmelized, stirring occasionally. Add cider, broth, and bacon; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 2/3 cup (about 5 minutes). Add cornstarch and stir well to combine, when sauce had thickened add chicken back to pan. Cook for another 5 minutes or so to allow sauce to penetrate chicken.Serve with rice and broccoli, or if you have a vat of salsa to make, just chow it down.

Curried Chickpea Stew

With fall arriving, I have this urge to delve into comfort-food recipes and have been making soups,stews, and casseroles galore. This recipe originally came from a friend, and got morphed with a soup I tried at a restaurant last week and wanted to replicate. The result is belly-warming deliciousness. My dad would disagree, two of the foods he hates the most are yams and curry lol....this is the Anti-Dad Stew I guess! I've never been a big fan of curry myself, until recent years when I realized there are all sorts of different curries...I actually do like most of them.
I wanted to have red lentils in this stew to thicken it, but when I went to the pantry I discovered I was out...so curry, meet quinoa. A nutritious alternative that worked quite well, I believe, but red lentils would be super too.

Curried Chickpea Stew
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 cup diced tomatoes
4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1 yam, peeled and cut into 1” cubes (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 cup quinoa or red lentils
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat oil and add onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté on medium heat until onion is translucent., about 10 min.
Add stock, yam, tomatoes, and curry powder. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer, with lid offset, for one hour.
Add carrot and quinoa. Simmer for 30 more minutes.
Add chick peas and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir in cilantro and add pepper to taste.

Crockpot directions:
Combine all ingredients except cilantro in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours. Season the stew with pepper and stir in cilantro.

Nutritional Information per serving: 248 calories, 3.7g fat, 10.2g protein, 42.8g carbs, 7.6g fibre, 552mg sodium.

Mushroom-Jalapeno Bison Burgers

Ah, summer, time for grilling and drinking Caesars out on the patio. Is there anything more delectable than the smell of grilling meat wafting through the languid summer air? I don't think so. I also adore the smell of cut grass as a summer favourite, but it does not make me want to eat it. Grilling, however, turns me into a rabid dog whenever I pass a house with that unmatchable scent emanating from the yard.

These burgers will turn you into the envy of the neighborhood....like in those old commercials for Johnsonville brats, I'd make enough to feed a crowd ;).

And if that isn't enough good press for you, these burgers are low in calories, low in fat, and extremely high in yumminess! You also get the benefit of grass-fed, hormone-free meat, as bison are raised in fields not pens. That also means they had a decent life, as livestock go. Yay! You can taste the happiness. The addition of mushrooms means that the meat is stretched further, replaced by the mighty mushroom - fat free, protein rich, moisture-lending,earthy-tasting goodness. The resulting burger is lean yet juicy and packed with flavour. Add some kick from jalapenos, and maybe a slice of sharp cheese and man oh man I will be knocking down your door at dinner time.

Mushroom-Jalapeno Bison Burgers
900g (two 1-lb packages) ground bison
2 Tbsp BBQ sauce
1/2 egg
1/4C canned jalapenos, chopped
6 large or 12 small mushrooms, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp salt
A few grinds of pepper (about ¼ tsp)


Sauté onions and mushrooms in a non-stick pan with some cooking spray until soft and mushrooms have released about half of their moisture, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with hands. Squish through fingers until all ingredients are well-combined, do not over-mix! Remember, every time you overmix a kitten dies.

Divide mixture into 8 equal portions and form into patties, pressing firmly. Refrigerate until ready to cook (this helps them firm up a bit). Grill or cook in non-stick fry-pan until cooked through and brown.

If you like cheese on your burgers, top with slices of cheese and allow these to melt before removing burgers from heat. Pop on a bun, whole wheat for me, and garnish how you like.

I don't have to tell you what to do next ,do I?

Nutritional info: Each burger patty is 152 calories, 5g fat, 25g protein, 3g carbs, 0g fibre, 220mg sodium.

Pasta L'estate

This dish sings with the bright summery flavours of dill and lemon, balanced with the briney saltiness of capers mellowed in a tangy wine sauce. Is that flowery enough for you? I can't help myself, this dish inspires poetic thoughts!

Regularly, I am not a big fan of white pasta. I wish I could get whole wheat tortellini, because sometimes nothing but tortellini will do! One day I will make a bunch myself and freeze them for future use. In the meantime, I have a shameful little bag of white flour tortellini lurking in my pantry. By weight, it's slightly lower in calories than other dried pastas, I guess because the stuffing is less calorie-dense.

This dish could be modified to use any whole wheat pasta, but today we are looking at spinach and ricotta tortellinis in all their white flour glory. I used a very small portion and and pumped the dish up with tons of shrimp and asparagus, low-cal powerhouses loaded with protein and nutrients, respectively. I wanted a sauce that didn't add a lot of extra calories or richness, something light and summery, and one of my absolute favourite flavour combinations is lemon, capers, and dill. So in they all went to create a lusciously lovely summer pasta dish. I looked up "summer" in Italian just to name this dish ;).


Sherylyn's Pasta L'estate

1/2C dry pasta (corn or rice pasta for GF)
1 clove garlic, crushed
10 asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 2" peices
1/4C chopped onion (I used spanish onions from my balcony, exciting!)
1/4C frozen peas (fresh would be awesome)
200g frozen peeled and deveined shrimp
2 Tbsp snipped dill
1/4C dry white wine
1/4C low-sodium chicken broth
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp capers
fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated

Boil pasta as directed. In the meantime, heat a wok on medium-high heat and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Add garlic and onion, sauté for one minute. Add asparagus and saute for another minute. Add chicken broth and stir occasionally until broth is nearly evaporated. Asparagus should be al dente at this point.

Things are going to move very quickly from this point. Add shrimp, dill, peas, lemon, capers and pepper. Sauté until shrimp is pink, maybe one minute. Remove vegetables and shrimp with a slotted spoon to a bowl,leaving behind liquid, add half the wine and simmer. Allow the liquid to reduce to a couple of tablespoons, then add the cornstarch dissolved in the reserved wine. It will thicken very quickly, stir contstantly until it's a thick paste and add the vegetables and shrimp back in. Add the parmesan as well and toss to coat.



Nutritional values: 436 calories, 11.8g fat, 43g protein, 38.7g carbs, 7.3g fibre, 900g sodium.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

I've never made a veggie burger. Heck, I never even tried one until this year. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around a burger that isn't meat. I love meat! Why take out the meat?? Meat can be lean, meat is tasty and has more protein than any veggies could dream of having. But,people sure seem to like them, so I gave one a try at a place renouned for their veggie burger, Rebar restaurant in Victoria. It was fabulous! Even so, it took me a while to get going on making one for myself, though I've been compling recipes galore...lentil-quinoa, mushroom-pecan-rice, black bean, and a zillion different flavour combinations. Today, I decided to embrace the bean.

Black beans are full of fibre and nutrients, and have some protein too. Not like a pork chop or anything...but some. And combined with a whole grain, they form a complete protein. I do love the little guys in chili and burritos and soups and salsa, so why not a burger? I combined a few recipes for maximum flavour and a bean-rice-nut combo that sounded good to me, and put my own spin on it. The resulting mash was a little scary, I admit. I formed it into patties that were disturbingly mushy..there was no way these would make it on the grill. Instead, I pan-fried them with a little cooking spray. All I can say is thank goodness for non-stick pans. The gooey rounds did brown nicely and seemed to firm up a bit....I tasted a little corner to see what the situation was. Hmm tasty, but sandwiching it in a bun seemed foodhardy; as others had warned me, black bean patties are quite mushy and will likely just squish out if bitten in a bun. However slapping it on a plate was not at all appealing...what to do. I decided to place them open-faced on a half bun with some cheese on top and bake it to melt the cheese and get the bun crispy, like I do with sloppy joes. Filled with trepidation, I pulled them out of the oven, two little soldiers all covered in cheese and smelling yummy. At first bite, I fell in love. OMG. These taste like MORE...the only problem with them was stopping at just two. I don't know how to describe the taste, but if I tried it would include spicy and savoury and delicious...and the cheese is essential. I cannot emphasize enough how important the melted cheese is. Make these. You'll thank me!

Sherylyn's Spicy Black Bean Burgers
1 cup dried black beans, soaked overnight
1/2 cup whole-grain rice (I used a blend that had black, red, brown, and green rices in it as well as some other grains)
1/2 cup spicy Clamato juice
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp miso paste
1 Tbsp BBQ sauce
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Cook the beans according to directions, then drain, reserving 2 Tbsp of liquid. Add that to the flax meal in a small bowl and mix. Cook the rice in the Clamato juice and 1/2 cup water and cool.

Combine all the ingredients and pulse in a food processor until everything is uniformly combined but not pasty (I used a food grinder and ran it all through using the coarse grind plate).Form into 6 patties. At this point it would be to your advantage to refrigerate them for a while to firm up; I just plunged ahead.

Heat a frying pan on medium heat and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Spray the patty tops too. Slide the patties into the pan and cook for about 8 minutes per side, until brown and crispy-ish on the outside. Careful with the flipping, they are pretty squishy.

Place a patty on half of a whole wheat bun, and top with sharp cheddar. Bake at 400 for about 6 minutes, just until bun is crisp and cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy! Totally worth the effort.

Nutritional values: Each patty has 135 calories, 4g fat, 4.4g prtein, 22.8g carbs, 3g fibre, and 100ish mg sodium.

Cranberry Turkey Burgers

Turkey Burgers are the absolute best kind of burgers, in my humble opinion. I never make beef ones, but do make bison ones once in a while, which are also good. I just love the versatility of turkey though; you can add all sorts of different flavours to dress it up. These ones taste like Thanksgiving, if Thanksgiving was a summer BBQ!

I like to use ground turkey thigh. If you are fancy like me, you can grind it up yourself in your meat grinder. I just looooove being able to do that, as I know there is nothing in the ground meat but turkey thigh, no skin or fat bits or goodness knows what else. However, that said, the ground turkey packets are perfectly fine for this. I don't recommend using breast meat as it dries up too much, and there are no other moisteners in this recipe.

I am leaving the recipe as I'd regularly do it, with just the turkey thigh, but yesterday (due to availablity issues) we did them with a combination of mild Italian turkey sausage, chicken breast, and chicken thigh, and they were FABULOUS. The extra fat content in the sausage balanced out the chicken breast, so all was well in Yummyland.

Cranberry Turkey Burgers

500g (about 1 lb) lean ground turkey thigh
1/8C chopped onion
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg, beaten
1/4 C dried cranberries
1 Tbsp A-1 sauce or BBQ sauce
1 tsp each fresh thyme and sage, chopped (or 1/2 tsp each of dried)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients well, but do not overmix (will makes meat tough). Form into 4 patties (this makes large patties, you could also make 6 medium ones or 8 sliders) and refrigerate until ready to grill, at least ½ hour. Grill on BBQ or use stovetop method.

Stovetop method: Preheat a frying pan on medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray and place burgers in pan, patties should not touch. Cook on both sides until browned and cooked throughout, about 8 minutes per side.

These are lovely with a slice of havarti cheese melted on top, served on a whole wheat bun with dijon mustard, mayo, lettuce leaves, and maybe some red onion. I would not use stronger-tasting condiments, as they would overpower the delicate cranberry and sage flavours.

TIP from my mom: Roughly chop the craisins to get a more even distribution and release the cranberry goodness.

Nutritional values: for each large burger patty, there are 194 cals, 6g fat, 24g protein, 8g carbs, 1g fibre, 292mg sodium. With bun, cheese, and condiments, mine came to 400 calories. Add a salad and you've got a perfect summer meal!

Orange-Ginger Glazed Pork Medallions

Tenderloin of pork is such a wonderful meat. Lean, nutritious, and yet so...tender. Aptly named, I guess! This recipe is based on one I clipped from a food magazine many moons ago....it was about healthy takes on comfort foods. I am not sure I'd consider this a comfort food, or even all that healthy of a recipe; the healthiness can really be attributed to the type of meat itself rather than working any healthy magic. It's really yummy though, and overall a good choice for dinner. Really quick too!

Orange-Ginger Glazed Pork Medallions
adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook Issue April 2008

400g pork tenderloin (about one medium-sized tenderloin)
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp orange marmalade
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp siratcha or other hot sauce

Cut pork into medallions about 1.5" thick and season both sides of each one with salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and and coat with olive oil cooking spray. Place pork medallions in, leaving room between each one, they don't like to be crowded. Brown on both sides. By the time they are well-browned they should also be cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. While they are cooking, combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Remove the pork from the pan and put on a plate to rest. Dump the bowl of marmalade mixture into the still-hot pan, this will deglaze it and let the sauce simmer down until it's thickened, maybe 3 minutes. Put the pork and any juices on the plate into the pan with the sauce; toss the medallions around to coat. Done and done!

I like to serve this with a quinoa pilaf, ideally with extra sauce to drizzle over the pilaf...but that's optional! Serves two hungry people.

Nutritional values: For half the recipe: 316 calories, 8.9g fat, 12.2g protein, 16g carbs, 0 fibre, 200mg sodium.

And because I thought it was funny, here is a picture of my actual non-styled dinner including the massive pile of greens that dwarf the medallions:

Enchiladas! Olé!

Please excuse the photo. It's mine lol. This is what happens when you take food out of the oven 10 minutes before it's done to take pictures. I promise to fully cook it next time and replace this sad picture with one that shows bubbling, melty cheese and browned tortilla edges.

Mexican food is one of my favourite cuisines, certainly in the top 5. And Taco Bell does not count as real Mexican food, in my books....loses something in the translation. When I first had authentic Mexican food, it was a revelation. Unusual, complex, warm flavours and real comfort food. Over the years my own style has evolved a bit towards more authentic south-of-the-border flavours, but is still definitely on the side of a North-Americanized version...though I do like it spicy!

These enchiladas are lower fat, higher protein and just plain fun. You can mix and match the fillings; I have four presented here, but DO NOT be intimidated by the long list of ingredients and instructions!! You can pick and choose one or a couple or do all of them at once. They freeze well, so are great for making up individual lunches, and make delicious next-day leftovers as well. It's an awesome way to use up leftover roasted chicken, too.

As cool as these are, the real star in my opinion is the guacamole. Once again my favourite Biobest yogurt steps up to the plate to make a truly special addition to a great meal. The guacamole is made lower in fat and $$ by stretching out the avocado with the yogurt. Yes, avocados are good fat, and should be a part of a healthy diet, but eating a whole avocado at a time is about 260 calories. You can have a lot more for a lot less with the yogurt added in, and trust me, the flavour does not suffer....in fact it's improved and has a lighter feel to it.

Enchiladas with Chicken, Peppers, Beans, and Creamy Cheese Fillings

Makes 12 enchiladas, which is 4-6 servings
These enchiladas have chicken, beans, sautéed peppers, and a creamy cheese inside. You can mix and match two or three of these, or use all of them at once, it’s up to you!

1 leftover roasted chicken with about ½ the meat left, OR three or four pieces of roasted chicken, dark and/or white meat
1 C grated cheddar cheese
12 corn tortillas

For the pepper mixture:
2 large or 3 medium bell peppers
1 large onion
2 jalapeno peppers, 2 cerrano peppers, or any hot peppers of your choosing
½ tsp each of cumin, chilli powder
¼ tsp each of salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper

For the bean mixture (OR use a can of refried beans with chillies):
1 can of mixed beans
2 cloves garlic
½ tsp each of cumin and chilli powder

For the cheese mixture:
½ small tub light cream cheese
¾ C plain yogurt, drained to ½ C, OR ½ C light sour cream
¼ C of pepper mixture

For the sauce:
1 small can of crushed tomatoes
Hot sauce to taste

1.Prepare pepper mixture: Chop onions and peppers into a small dice. Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and sauté the vegetables on medium heat until they are soft and lightly browned. Remove from heat and put into a bowl, set aside.

2.Prepare bean mixture: Spray same frying pan with cooking spray and add garlic. Once it is sizzling, add beans and mash with a fork or potato masher while stirring, until coarsely mashed. Cook for two minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

3.Pull chicken meat apart into shreds, set aside.

4.Grate cheddar cheese into a bowl and set aside.

5.Prepare cheese mixture: Put cream cheese in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the yogurt and ¼ C of the pepper mixture and stir to combine.

6.Prepare the sauce: In a bowl, mix together half of remaining pepper mixture and the can of crushed tomatoes. Blend with an immersion blender (or in a blender). Add hot sauce to taste.

7.Assemble: Pour 1/3 of the sauce into a large baking dish (like a lasagne pan) and spread to cover the bottom. On a plate or cutting board, lay out four tortillas and spoon a portion of each chicken, bean mixture, pepper mixture, and cheese mixture. Roll up and set in pan seam side down. Continue with remaining tortillas, laying them all in rows in the pan, preferably in a single layer. Cover with remaining sauce and the grated cheddar cheese.

8.Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes, just until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted and lightly browned.

9.Optional items to serve with: sour cream or plain yogurt, chopped green onions, salsa, chopped tomatoes or shredded lettuce. And, of course, guacamole!

Nutritional values: for a serving of two fully loaded enchiladas: 346 calories, 7g fat, 24g protein, 44g carbs, 3g fibre, 580mg sodium.

Sherylyn's Famous Light Guacamole:

1 ripe avocado
equal amount of Biobest yogurt (about 1/3C but will depend on size of avocado)
juice of 1/2 lime
pinch of salt
two grinds of black pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed - optional (I actually prefer it without)

Remove the avocado flesh from the skin and stone, and roughly chop. Put into a flat-bottomed bowl and mash with a fork until mostly smooth but with some texture. Add yogurt, lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic if using, and combine with the fork. Done! So simple and lightly, deliciously fresh-tasting.

Kung Pao Chicken with Shirataki Noodles

I first heard of Shirataki noodles some time ago, but was skeptical of them. They are an asian-style noodle that come in fettucine shape and spagetti shape, and are only 20 calories per serving (comparable to a serving of regular pasta that's 200 calories). How can they make them so low-cal? What could be in these freak noodles?? I have never been one for "fake foods", so I was not terribly interested until I discovered they are actually an all-natural food, made from the root of a plant with some tofu thrown in to improve the consistency (they are rather chewy). They are high in fibre and so keep you feeling full for a good long time. Some complaints I had heard about them were that they were fishy-smelling,rubbery, and generally unappetizing. The good press seemed to focus mainly on the calorie count, so I was not very optimistic about results. Well I have to say, I LOVE these noodles! I love the chewiness, and I find that when you follow the prep directions carefully, the odd fishy smell is completely removed and they are a blank slate for whatever flavour you put on them. I don't think I will be using them as a pasta replacement; pasta (whole wheat for me) has it's place in a healthy diet, too. But sometimes you just want a nice protein-filled dish without too many carbs but still with some bulk to it and a good vehicle for sauce.

My variation of Kung Pao Chicken is just that. If you want to make it a more balanced meal, feel free to replace the Shirataki noodles with some other noodles, like whole-wheat spagettini or rice noodles, or even omit the noodles completely and serve it over a bed of brown rice. It's really versatile that way. Oh and delicious; don't forget delicious!!

Kung Pao Chicken with Shirataki Noodles

1 lb. skinless chicken thigh meat, cubed
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing cooking sherry or red wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp vegetable oil
6 dried red chili pepppers, sliced
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can bamboo shoots
1 large carrot, diced or sliced
1 stalk celery, diced or sliced
1 small onion, sliced
8 mushrooms, quartered
1 small red pepper, diced
1 package Shirataki noodles** or cooked brown rice
1/4 cup peanuts or cashews, roasted and unsalted
2 stalks green onions, sliced

sauce
2 T low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp water
2 tsp cornstarch
Mix together in a small bowl.

Make the kung pao chicken: Mix the chicken with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, cooking sherry, and sesame oil. Let sit for 30 minutes. Heat a wok, sauté pan, or large frying pan on high heat. When hot, spray with cooking spray and add the chicken and stir-fry until browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken the from pan to a bowl. Add oil into pan and toss in the ginger, garlic, and red peppers, stirring until the oil is fragrant. Add the veggies and stir for several minutes, then toss in chicken, bamboo shoots, and noodles if using. Pour in the sauce and continue to stir-fry until the chicken is coated and veggies are tender-crisp. Add the green onions, stir, sprinkle with nuts and serve hot.If not using the noodles, serve over rice.

You don't have to put the nuts on. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.

Makes two very generous servings.

Nutritional values: For shirataki noodle version without nuts: 426 calories, 12.6g fat, 46.4g protein, 28.6g carbs, 5.4g fibre, 570mg sodium.

**VERY IMPORTANT Instructions for making the Shirataki noodles palatable: Drain package into a colander and rinse well with water. Throw noodles into a large bowl and microwave for 1.5 minutes (or put in boiling water for one minute). Drop back into colander and rinse again. When you think they are well-rinsed, rinse some more. Then put them back into the bowl, fill with fresh water, and swish around for a minute or two. Drain again and rinse some more. When you are starting to feel horribly guilty about all the water wastage, they are finally done. Drain well and drop them onto a bed of paper towels and pat dry (after all that water, you will feel guilty about the paper towel wastage too, but I can't help you with that.) Now they are squeaky clean, dry, and ready for use!

If this seems too terrible and labour-intensive to contemplate, go ahead and make some brown rice instead.

Lemon Chicken

For as much chicken as I eat, I can't believe I only have one chicken recipe on here so far! So, here is another to tempt your palate...tangy,sweet Lemon Chicken. I adapted this recipe from one my mom used to make, that one involved breading and frying and simmering in the crock-pot for hours and hours. I cut back on the added sugar and fat as well as the chicken skin, and made it much more time-efficient too!

Lemon Chicken

6 chicken legs, skin removed
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper
1/4C frozen lemonade
1/4C vinegar
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp demerera sugar (or brown)
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cornstarch
juice of one lemon

Place the chicken legs in a baking dish and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the dish, and bake in a 400F oven for 25 minutes.

In a bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients. Pour over the chicken and return to the oven for another 20 minutes, basting the legs with sauce twice during cooking.

Serve with brown rice. If you put some rice on to cook right before you put the chicken in the oven, they will be done at the same time. Gotta like that.

Serves 2
Nutritional Values (for half the recipe): 304 calories, 5.4g fat, 27.5g protein, 36g carbs, 0 fibre, 450mg sodium.

Cajun Basa and Swiss Chard

Go Fish!

This post represents Whats for Eats on Day 2 of Fish Challenge 2010, which fulfills this week's quota of vegetarian or pescetarian meals. Superstah! It's also a two-fer-one, fish and a side!

This was the yummiest meal! I crispy-coated the basa (you might recognize this technique from my crispy-coated chicken thighs post, works just as good here) using lots of spicy goodness and an egg-white wash for extra crispiness. This was the first time I've had swiss chard, and I was slightly underwhelmed. Not sure what I was expecting...I had just tried kale for the first time a few years ago and loved it, and two years ago discovered the AMAZING deliciousness of cabbage sprouts (they are only available for a few weeks in the spring - almost time!!) so I guess I was expecting to be blown away. It's so pretty, but turns out pretty does not mean yummy. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty and I felt very virtuous eating something so healthy, but to be honest the best part was the feta cheese. Heh. Anyway the fish was the real star of this meal. My portion was about double what's in the picture, and still came in under 300 cals including the breading. Cool eh! And it's just so yummy I could eat it every day, really makes me wonder why I haven't been eating more fish! The recipe below is for one person, so just multiply by however many people you are cooking for.

Cajun Basa and Swiss Chard

For the fish:
200g (one fillet) basa
splash of milk
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp hot sauce (any kind)
1 Tbsp egg white
1/2C mesa sunrise cereal flakes
1/4 tsp each cayenne, oregano, paprika, cracked black pepper
dash sea salt
olive oil cooking spray
lemon wedges

Cut the fish into four peices and dunk them in the milk. Let them soak while you prepare the crumbs: Combine cereal, 1/2 Tbsp flour, and spices in blender and pulse until desired crumby consistency is reached. Dump crumbs onto a plate. Then prepare your egg wash: combine egg white and hot sauce in a bowl and whisk. Pat your fish dry - not totally dry just not dripping wet. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 Tbsp flour. Dunk each peice in the egg wash, then roll in crumbs. Spray a baking tray (or cookie sheet) with olive oil, and place fish pieces on it not touching. Spray the tops of the fish pieces lightly with olive oil and bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness of fish.

While fish is cooking prepare Swiss Chard:

1/2 bunch swiss chard (about 4 leaves, stems intact)
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp olive oil
20g low-fat feta (about 1" square), crumbled
1 Tbsp currants
cracked pepper and sea salt

Wash and cut swiss chard into 1/2" slices. Heat oil in a wok on med-high heat and add garlic. When it begins to brown a little, add the chard and toss around to get the garlic on top. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add in the currants and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes more. The chard should be wilted and the stems cooked through but not browned. Add the feta and pepper, and maybe a tiny bit of salt but check it first because the feta is quite salty so you may not need it. Remove from heat and squeeze a bit of lemon over top.

Serve the fish and swiss chard with lemon wedges. Feel ever-so-healthy for eating both fish and dark leafy greens in same meal.

Nutritional values: Fish: 294 calories, 9g fat, 29.4g protein, 23.6g carbs, 2.3g fibre, 270mg sodium. Swiss chard: 138 calories, 8g fat, 8g protein, 11g carbs, 3g fibre, 272mg sodium.

Skull Valley Rice 'n' Beans

An awesome person I know has a much-loved recipe charmingly called Skull Valley. She has described it simply as taco meat and fixings on rice. I don't know why it's called Skull Valley but I love the name!

Rice and beans are an excellent vegetarian combo, as they make a complete protein together. It's a whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts thing. Rice n beans are great, but rice n beans with some ground bison and veggies thrown in? Now we're talking! This dish is my morphed version of Skull Valley and rice n beans, so happy together!

There's a lot of choppin', so watch your fingers!

Skull Valley Rice 'n' Beans

3/4C red and brown jasmine rice or some other whole-grain rice blend
olive oil cooking spray
350g ground bison (ground turkey would also work great here)
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalepeno pepper, finely minced
4 large mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper
3/4C cooked black beans
hot sauces, to taste

Cooke the rice according to directions. In the meantime, heat a large frying pan or wok on med-high and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Add the onion, red pepper, jalepeno,and bison, using spoon to break up the ground meat. When the bison begins to brown, add the mushrooms and spices and turn heat to high. Cook, stirring constantly,until all liquid had evaporated and the meat is cooked through. Add the black beans, then season with hot sauces of your choice (I usually have about half a dozen on hand!) or just salt and pepper to taste. When the rice is cooked, toss that in too and combine.

Garnish with cilantro, Biobest plain yogurt, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, salsa,and whatever else tickles your fancy.

Nutritional values: For 1/3 of recipe (I like to make extra servings for lunches)not including garnishes, 379 calories, 5.5g fat, 32g protein, 54g carbs, 7g fibre, 400mg sodium.

Pesto and Zuchinni Pizza with Multigrain Crust

Mmm pizza...it CAN be healthy! I am so glad, because I could never have given it up.

In the interest of doing a little diet re-modelling, I've been reading about the Mediterranean diet and it's health benefits. One thing I have decided to do for myself is eat less red meat and more fish...thus my 2010 Fish Challenge! My idea is to eat vegetarian or pescetarian two days out of each week. This will be quite a feat, for a person who loves meat as much as I do. But,I loves me a good challenge!

This pizza, therefore, is representing What's for Eats on Day 1 of the challenge. All the toppings are vegetarian, and yum-yum delicious! While I do love a good pita pizza, sometimes I want a real homemade thin, crispy crust. This one is made from multigrain flour, besides being more whole grain it gives the crust a little extra crackle to bite into. The cheese is minimal, using a good sharp Swiss and Parmesan to supplement the melty mozza gives it a nice flavour. This recipe makes one big gorgeous serving, or two servings for people with delicate appetites ;).

Pesto and Zucchini Pizza with Multigrain Crust

1/2C multigrain flour (lightly spooned into a measuring cup, or weigh out 60g)
2T all-purpose flour
1/4C hot tap water (depending on how hot your water gets...should feel very warm but not too hot to hold your finger in for a few seconds)
pinch sugar
1/2 tsp quick-rise yeast
1/8 tsp sea salt
olive oil
1 Tbsp pesto
1 Tbsp pizza sauce
30g low-fat mozzarella cheese, grated
15g Swiss cheese, finely grated
1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, finely grated
zucchini, thinly sliced
mushroom, thinly sliced
sun dried tomato, sliced
black cured olives, sliced

In a large bowl, combine the yeast, water, and sugar and allow to sit in a warm place for 10 minutes. You are probably thinking, hey you don't need to bloom quick-rise yeast, but I like to do it anyway....it aids rising and also it's a good way to make sure my yeast is still active. Sometimes it gets lazy, you know. After it has proven itself as rise-worthy (I have pretty low standards, really, just a bit of puffing and she's good to go), throw in half of the multigrain flour and salt. It should make a pretty wet dough. Add in the second half of the flour a bit at a time,as you may not need it all. The dough should not get too dry, you want it sticky and soft. Turn it out onto a clean surface and knead, using the 2 Tbsp of extra flour to keep it from sticking everywhere. When it feels smooth and elastic, roll it into a little ball and oil it up along with the bowl, then put it back in and cover with plastic wrap.Allow to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or until you you are famished, whichever comes first.

Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray and plop your dough-ball onto it. Using your hands or a rolling-pin, spread the dough to a desired flatness, mine gets to be about 9"x5" or so. Don't worry if it's not round, it's a proven fact that irregular-shaped pizzas taste better.

Spread on the pesto and pizza sauce (for pizza sauce I just use a spoon of tomato paste thinned with a bit of water and seasoned with salt, pepper, cayenne, and Italian herbs), then let the dough rest and re-rise for 10 minutes before putting the rest of the toppings on.

Preheat your oven to 450F. Top the pizza with half the cheeses, then dot with zucchini rounds, mushrooms, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. I also would have put some veggie pepperoni if I had any. Top with the rest of the cheese, and slide your masterpiece into the oven (middle rack is best). After 10 minutes, you should see the bottom of the crust browning, at this point switch the oven to broil and brown the cheese a bit, WATCH IT as it takes just moments and you don't want to burn your dinner after all this!

When it's ready to come out, slide it off the pan and onto a wooden board or paper bag to cool for a few minutes. Then cut it up and enjoy pizza night!

Nutritional values: Entire recipe is 524 calories,22.6g of fat, 26.6g protein, 59.2g carbs, 9.3g fibre, 735mg sodium.

Fiesta Salad

I confess, it's pretty much a taco salad, but that just sounds so "Old El Paso", you know? "Fiesta Salad", on the other hand, sounds very...festive. This dinner salad is not just colourful, it's also packed with nutrients and protein and all sorts of good-for-you stuff. I like a big portion for dinner, and then usually have a half-portion for next day's lunch.

Fiesta Salad

300g lean ground turkey
4 large mushrooms,chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 C mixed beans (canned or cooked)
1/2 C corn kernels
assorted hot sauces, to taste

In a large non-stick frying pan or wok,on high heat, begin to brown the turkey, breaking up into small bits as you go. After 2 minutes or so, add in the onion, mushrooms, red pepper, and spices, and continue to cook while stirring constantly. When the meat is cooked through and the veggies are soft, add in the beans and corn. Add hot sauces to taste...I love hot sauce so usally have 5 or 6 different kinds on hand and just make a big ole hot sauce cocktail in there. Keep in mind that the heat level is higher when you first put in the hot sauce, so don't panic if you make it too hot...it will cool off a bit as the mixture cooks and then cools.

This mixture can be used for three dinner salads, or two dinner salads and two half-portion lunches,or whatever combination you like. Sometimes i only divide it into two if I am extra-hungry.

Garnishes: for each salad, shred three large lettuce leaves for a bed of greens,then lay in the meat/ veggie mixture and top with 1/4C plainyogurt, 1/4C salsa, and 30g gated low-fat cheddar. Accompany with a portion (50g) of baked tortilla chips (I like Guiltless Gourmet chili lime or Tostitos scoops) and dig in! Yum!

Nutritional Values: Using 1/3 of the meat/veggie mixture and the garnishes described above, each portion comes to 619 calories, 16.9g of fat, 43.8g protein, 75g carbs, 11g fibre, and 1000mg sodium. A half-portion for lunch, just in case you hate math, is 310 calories, 8.5g fat, 21.9g protein, 37.5g carbs, 5.5g protein, and 500mg sodium.

Crispy-coated Chicken

I love fried chicken. There I said it. In it's ideal incarnation, it's crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, flavourful and spicy and just plain delicious, both hot and cold. What if you could have it be all those things...and healthy too?

There are lots of good reasons to avoid deep-frying, or shallow-frying for that matter. The biggie of course is health; that's a lot of extra fat no one really needs. There are other reasons too; it's messy, heating that much oil is hazardous, over time it coats your kitchen with a gross oil-haze that is difficult to clean, buying that much fresh oil is expensive but re-using old oil is disgusting...so yeah a pretty good argument can be made against it. The one thing in favour is the way it cooks food when done right - it seals in the flavour and moisture while creating a crisp outer shell. This chicken is all that and more - it's low-fat! Ahhhh I can hear my unclogged arteries thanking me, and my tastebuds taking up the chorus!

Crispy-coated chicken

As this recipe is more about technique than a perfect balance of ingredients, I am going to just approximate amounts, and you can "wing it" when it comes to creating your own blend, haha.

I like to use boneless skinless chicken thighs, they have great flavour and stay moist much longer than breast meat, which is important if you want a really crisp outer layer. They are richer in iron and other nutrients, and not significantly higher in fat, despite the bad rap they get.

Coat chicken peices first in an egg white beaten together with some dijon mustard. Then coat in crumbs; I use a mixture of Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise cereal crushed in the blender, a spoon of flour, season salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder and garlic powder. I like it heavy on the pepper.

Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray before laying the chicken on it. Then spray the tops of the coated chicken peices.

Bake at 400F until the peices are cooked through, browned and crispy. How long this takes depends on the size of your peices; usually from 25-35 minutes.

You will love this chicken. Anyone you feed it to will love you for it. And, most importantly, you will love me for giving you the idea.

Yay chicken!

Nutritional info: well it totally depends on the size of the thighs...more generous-figured chickens run about 100g per thigh (raw), while the skinny-minnies can be around 50g. So counting for 200g of raw chicken thigh meat, or two gorgeously large thighs per portion, the values are: 298cals, 9g of fat, 43g protein, 7.8g carbs, 1g fibre, 600g sodium.

Pita Pizza

Ah pizza, the Food of Gods.

When I decided to lose weight, I was so sad about losing pizza - until I realized that was completely unnecessary. The cheesy, saucy, crispy-crusted deliciousness you see above is an unbelievable 400 calories. I first experimented with pita pizza out of desperation, but soon discovered it can actually be even yummier than take-out and certainly yummier than store-bought types. My version uses tomato paste for sauce which gives a powerful kick of flavour, and low-fat cheeses that not only reduce the fat grams but also provide a cleaner tasting, un-greasy final product. The single tablespoon of parmesan gives a nice sharp finish, since the low-fat cheeses can be a bit bland alone. And my spreadsheet does not lie, this entire thing isn't even a full meal's worth of calories.

I still indulge in a good restaurant wood-fired pizza once in a while...but rarely. My own is just too good to bother with other higher-calorie kinds. I make a basic pizza dough crust if I am feeling ambitious, but the pitas from the grocery store work great. The thin pocket-style ones I get are 140 calories each and come in whole wheat, but the kind I prefer is a greek-style pita, almost a flatbread, by a company called Pita Delight . If you can find these, they are the best for pizza! Slightly higher in calories at 200, but when you are looking at an overall total of 400, who cares. Whatever pita you use, just read the label to make sure it's not one of those crazy super-high-calories ones, they are out there.

I accompanied this cheesy beast with a big pile of broccoli sprinkled with leftover parmesan, and a slice of pork loin for added protein.

Now when I hear people who are on diets lament about how much they miss pizza, I feel sorry for them....because they don't know any better! Seriously, make a pita pizza and quit yer bellyaching!!

Pita Pizza

for each pizza:

1 pita, preferably Pita Delight

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/4 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp cayenne

s&p

45g low-fat mozzerella (15% m.f.)

15g low-fat old cheddar

1 Tbsp finely grated good parmesan (no Kraft shakers here, people!)

1 mushroom

Prepare the sauce: Mix the tomato paste with the spices and a tiny bit of water to thin out to a pizza-sauce consistency. Spread over the pita.

Grate cheddar and mozza, combine and sprinkle evenly over sauce. Sprinkle a bit of parm over top, then place mushrooms lovingly and top with remaining parm.

Turn on oven or toaster oven to 400F and place pita pizza on a baking sheet inside (don't bother to preheat, the extra blast of heat from the elements warming gives a nice crispy crust). Bake until golden brown on top, about 20 minutes. I am guessing at the time...I never remember to look, grr. But you'll know when it's done....oh, you'll know.

Nutritional info: 400 calories, 15g of fat, 28g protein, 38g carbs, 3.5g fibre, 900 mg sodium.

You could also add some turkey pepperoni or ham for an additional 50 calories or so. Or load it up with delicious veggies like thin-sliced red peppers, onions, marinated artichoke hearts, even zuchinni (but make sure it goes on top of most of the cheese or you will end up with too much moisture and have pizza mush). Or add zing with cured black olives or sundried tomatoes. Or go nuts and add some rendered bacon peices, woo hoo! Even with BACON you can keep it under 500. Insane!