Snacking, Post 2: Guacamole

Hello all my lovely readers!
With the advent of all this warm weather, I become extremely excited to grab a beer with friends on a patio, go to some barbeques, and most importantly of all, to be able to buy some decent avocados at most grocery stores. Avocados can be tricky when it's not their prime season, I find they're either way too far from being ripe or they are way past their due date. For those who are not very familiar with avocados, you want to make sure that their skin is at least somewhat dark and that they are slightly soft to the touch but not too soft. If you buy an avocado that isn't ripe yet, you can leave it out on a counter in a brown paper bag to help ripen it.

Now I know that avocados are notoriously high in fat, so you might be asking me why I'm including a recipe with avocados on a blog that's supposed to have low-fat recipes. Avocados are chalk full of the Omega-6 (3396 mg per avocado, in fact) and Omega-3 fatty acids (221 mg per avocado) and have a ton of fiber in them, which has been shown to help with weight loss. Avocados have also been shown to reduce cholesterol levels, they help you to feel full, the monounsaturated fats that they contain help boost metabolism, and they are a good source of Vitamin B6. It's for these reasons that I think avocados are a staple in anyone's diet. Here I'm going to share my recipe for guacamole, which I think is a great snack either after or before a light dinner.

Ingredients:

-3 avocados

-2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced (actually, you can just use however many cloves you want depending on your preference)

-1/3 cup chopped chives or green onions (I find it doesn't make much of a difference and I use either one depending on what I already have available)

-1/3 cup chopped cilantro

-a few shakes of any hot pepper/chili sauce that you have

-a pinch of salt to taste

Optional ingredients: chopped tomatoes, some low-fat sour cream if you want it to be creamier

Directions:

1. Peel and de-pit the avocados and place them in a bowl. Using the back of a fork or a potato masher, mash the avocados until smooth.

2. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Serve with tortilla chips or vegetables.

Nutritional Information:

(per 1 serving, or 1/4 of the recipe): 244.75 calories, 21.75 grams of fat, 10.5 mg of sodium, 13.5 grams of carbohydrates, 9.75 grams of fiber, 0.75 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein

Enjoy!:)

Splurge Recipe #1: Lemon Bars with Coconut Crust

Hi everyone! This week was my 22nd birthday and I decided this would be a perfect time to give myself a treat and bake something delicious. Subsequently, this became a perfect opportunity to share my first splurge recipe. Since it's spring, I thought it would be perfect to make a lemony dessert and chose to make lemon bars with a coconut crust (a perfect pairing).

(recipe courtesy of Epicurious, at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Coconut-Bars-109406)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

-1 cup all purpose flour

-1/4 cup sugar

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted, cooled

-6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

 

For the filling:

-1 1/2 cups sugar

-4 large eggs

-1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

-2 tablespoons (packed) finely grated lemon peel

-2 teaspoons all purpose flour

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-pinch of salt

 

-1/4 powdered sugar (for dusting)

 

Directions:
1. To make the crust: preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang. Butter the paper. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add coconut and butter; process until mixture resembles fine meal and begins to clump together. Gather dough into ball. Press dough evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust until golden at edges, about 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, to make the filling: combine sugar, eggs, lemon juice, lemon peel, flour, baking powder, and salt in processor. Blend filling until smooth. Remove crust from oven. Pour filling evenly over hot crust. Return to oven and bake until filling begins to brown at edges and is just set and springy to touch in center, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to rack; cool lemon bars completely. Using paper as aid, transfer lemon bars to work surface. Flatten foil edges. Cut into 16 bars. Sift powdered sugar over. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight in single layer in refrigerator.)

Nutritional Information: (not going to provide it because what you don't know, won't hurt you :) )

Pesto Pasta with Chevre and Cherry Tomatoes

Hey wonderful readers! I'm sharing with you my all-time favourite quick, mid-week meal. It takes about 20 minutes or less to prepare and it's extremely tasty. First of all, I suggest you purchase one of these small little chopper gizmos at the dollar store for around $10 because they really help with making your own pesto (trust me, once you try home made pesto you will never want to eat store-bought pesto again)

The beauty of the pesto recipe that I'll be sharing is that there are no measuring cups or spoons used, which makes this dinner very quick to make and less dishes for you as well :)

Ingredients:
-1 bunch of basil
-1 handful of pine nuts (you can toast them if you wish)
-1 handful of parmesan
-half a clove of garlic
-a drizzle of olive oil
Directions:
Place all the ingredients into the chopper. Put on high until mixed. You can add a bit of lemon juice or salt and pepper if you wish.

This is a handy little visual reference for the pesto.

Now onto the pasta recipe

Ingredients:

-2 batches of pesto

-half a 900 gram bag of pasta

-1 package of cherry tomatoes, quartered

-113 gram of package of chevre

Directions:

Put on a large pot of water on high heat until it boils, add pasta and cook until done. Meanwhile, prepare pesto with chopper and cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. When pasta is finished, drain it and put it back into the pot. Add pesto and cherry tomatoes. If you want, you can add another sprinkling of parmesan to the pasta. Crumble the chevre with a fork into the pasta and serve. Should yield 4 servings.

Nutritional Information:
(per serving): 518.75 calories, 13.55 grams of fat, 66.9 grams of carbohydrates, 3.9 grams of fiber, 171 mg of sodium, 4.25 grams of sugar,  19 grams of protein

Low-fat Moussaka

Hi everyone! This week I decided to attempt to make the infamous Middle-Eastern dish, Moussaka. It makes a great weekend meal but be forewarned, do plan ahead when making this dish because it doesn't take quite some time. I'm a bit proud of myself because Moussaka generally averages 820 calories per serving but thanks to a few adjustments, my version totals to 394 calories per serving.

(recipe courtesy of BBC Good Food: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10610/the-ultimate-makeover-moussaka, with some adjustments)

Ingredients:

-2½ tbsp olive oil
-1 onion , chopped
-2 plump garlic cloves , finely chopped
-2 large carrots, diced
-1 package of 5% fat minced beef
-1/2 cup white wine
-1 tsp ground cinnamon , plus extra
-¼ tsp ground allspice
-1 large can plum tomatoes
-2 tbsp tomato purée
-1 heaped tbsp chopped oregano leaves
-2 good handfuls chopped flat-leaf parsley , plus extra to garnish
-2 medium eggplants (about 750g/1lb 10oz total weight), ends trimmed
-1 tbsp lemon juice

For topping:

-1 tbsp cornflour
-1 cup of 0% fat Greek yogurt
-1/4 cup Parmesan , grated

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large, wide sauté pan. Tip in the onion and garlic, then fry for 6-8 mins until turning golden. Add the carrots and fry for 2 mins more. Stir the meat into the pan, breaking it up as you stir. Cook and stir over a high heat until the meat is no longer pink. Pour in the wine and briefly cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the cinnamon and allspice. Tip in the tomatoes, tomato purée and 1 tbsp water (mixed with any juices left in the can), then stir to break up the tomatoes. Season with some pepper, add all the oregano and half the parsley, cover, then simmer on a low heat for 50 mins, stirring occasionally. Season to taste. Mix in the remaining parsley. Can be done a day ahead and refrigerated overnight.
2. While the meat cooks (unless you are doing this a day ahead) prepare the eggplants. Heat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Brush a little of the remaining oil onto 2 large baking sheets. Mix the rest of the oil with the lemon juice. Slice the eggplants into 1/2 cm thick slices and then lay them on the oiled baking sheets. Brush with the oil and lemon mix, then season with pepper. Bake for 20-25 mins until soft, then set aside. Lower oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
3. Spread 2 big spoonfuls of the meat mixture on the bottom of an ovenproof dish (about 28 x 20 x 6cm deep). Spoon the meat mixture into the dish and lay the eggplant slices on top. . Beat the eggs in a bowl. Slacken the cornflour with a little of the yogurt, stir in the rest of the yogurt, then mix this into the eggs with half the cheese. Season with pepper. Pour and spread this over the eggplant to cover it. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, a little cinnamon and a grating of pepper. Bake for 50 mins-1 hr until bubbling and golden.
4. Leave moussaka to settle for 8-10 mins, then scatter over some chopped parsley and cut into squares.

Nutritional Information:
(per 1 serving): 394 calories, 10 grams of fat, 19.6 grams of carbohydrates, 141.4 mg of cholesterol, 7.25 grams of fiber, 7.83 grams of sugar, 28.78 grams of protein, 366.9 mg of sodium

Cajun Chicken with Pomegranate Quinoa Salad

Hi everyone! Spring is finally here, though wet and rainy at least where I am. I decided to celebrate the onset of this fabulously warm weather with a delicious, light spring dinner. The great thing about this dinner is that it's extremely quick to make, which makes it a wonderful weekday meal wiith some tasty left overs

Cajun Chicken (recipe courtesy of All Recipes http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cajun-Chicken/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients:
-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-1/2 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning
-1/2 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
-1/2 tablespoon of black pepper
-1 tablespoon of lemon juice
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1/4 cup of olive oil

Directions:
1. Use a meat hammer to hammer the chicken breasts until they are 1/2 inch thick.
2. Mix spices, lemon juice, garlic, and oil in a bowl. Add chicken and coat it with the mixture. Cover and put in the fridge for an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a cooking tray and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until the chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Nutritional Information:
(per 1 serving): 242 calories, 16.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 23.5 grams of protein, 173 mg of sodium

Pomegranate Quinoa Salad (recipe courtesy of BBC Good Food http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4545/quinoa-herb-and-pomegranate-salad)

Ingredients:
-1 cup of quinoa
-2 cups of water
-1 vegetable stock cube
-1/4 cup of pine nuts
-1 pomegranate, seeds removed
-a handful of mint, chopped
-a handful of cilantro, chopped
-1 lime, juiced
-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

yields 4 servings, or 2 sides and 3 lunch servings

Directions:

1. Bring water in a small pot to a boil. Add quinoa and vegetable stock cube. Bring back to a boil, cover, and turn down the heat so that it simmers for 12 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all the water. remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and cover for 15 minutes. Let cool
2. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown. Mix the pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, mint, cilantro, lime juice, and olive oil with the quinoa. Serve.

Nutritional information:
(per 1 serving): 360 calories, 17 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of fiber, 7 grams of protein, 10.25 grams of sugars