healthy recipe

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

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INGREDIENTS
STRAWBERRY FILLING
4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

SHORTCAKES
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup fat-free (skim) milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

TOPPING
1 cup vanilla yogurt
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Fresh mint leaves

PREPARATION:

STRAWBERRY FILLING

Combine strawberries and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

SHORTCAKES

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Combine milk and oil in small bowl; add to flour mixture. Stir with fork until mixture forms dough.
  • Turn dough out onto floured work surface. Quickly shape into 1/2-inch-thick disk. Cut 8 dough circles with floured 2-1/2-inch cookie cutter. Piece together dough scraps, as necessary, to complete circles.
  • Place biscuits on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven; cool completely on wire rack.

TOPPING

  • Combine yogurt and brown sugar in medium bowl. Stir until smooth.
  • Split biscuit in half horizontally. Place about 1/4 cup strawberry filling on bottom layer of each biscuit. Cover with biscuit top.
  • Drizzle topping over shortcakes. Garnish with any remaining strawberries and mint leaves.

Source: how stuff works

Blueberry Orange Smoothie

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Blueberries and orange juice are wonderful and refreshing flavor duo. Surprise your family with a berry-yogurt smoothie breakfast! Serve smoothies with yummy toasted bagels topped with non-fat cream cheese for a change from cereal and juice.

Ingredients:

  • 200ml blueberry and cranberry juice
  • 1 fresh orange, juiced
  • 100 g fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
  • 3 tbsp low fat natural yogurt
  • Honey
  • 8 blueberries, to decorate

Preparations:
Place all the ingredients, except the honey, into a blender. Blend until smooth. Add honey to taste and serve over ice. Spear 4 blueberries into a cocktail stick and place on top of each smoothie.

Preparation time is about 10 minutes; Servings for two.
* Use calcium-fortified orange juice for an additional boost of calcium and energy.

Source: women daily magazine

Fresh Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad

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Grilled corn on the cob mixed with ripe grape tomatoes tossed in a light fresh basil vinaigrette, you can serve it warm or cold but the longer it sits the better!

Make sure you grill the corn ahead of time and make the salad a few hours in advance before serving it chilled!

Ingredients

6 ears of corn
1 pint grape tomatoes
8 basil leaves, julienne
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbls olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Remove out husk and silks from corn. Grill on oiled grill gates over medium high heat. You are looking to get the outside slightly charred, about 10 minutes rotating every few minutes. Take corn off the grill and set aside.
  • Slice grape tomatoes in half and add to a large bowl.
  • When the corn is cool enough to be handled, cut the kernels off the cob and place in the bowl with the tomatoes.
  • In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients for the vinaigrette. Pour vinaigrette over the corn and tomato mixture.
  • Place in fridge a few hours in advance until ready to serve or serve immediately if you prefer it warm. Enjoy!

Source: TSGL

Healthy Recipe: Chickpea Salad

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Chickpea is a legume rich in plant fibers that facilitate digestion, rich in magnesium which is essential for heart health and bone, and rich in iron which is not lost even during cooking

When we talk about the biochemical composition, chickpea is not very different from other legumes: contain up to 23% protein, 58% carbohydrate and about 5% vegetable oil.

Enriched with iron more than meat, and this mineral is not lost by cooking. From arab ancient writings, chickpea is mentioned as a powerful aphrodisiac: “man would drink potion before sleeping that consists of honey, crushed garlic, crushed chick pea and water” .

This legume contains many plant fibers that are responsible for lowering cholesterol. Chickpea have another useful property: it expels sulphates from our body, harmful compounds that are used as preservatives in food processing.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated that 1 of the 100 people overly sensitive to sulphates. This sensitivity can be shown in any period of life, and the symptoms are weakness, nausea, diarrhea, rash, wheezing.

Chickpea is a natural source of calcium, copper and magnesium, which, according to new scientific research plays an important role in binding of calcium to bones.

That refers to the fact that osteoporosis occurs not because of a lack of calcium, but due to the deficit magnesium.

Except that, this mineral participates in regulating heart rate and lowering cholesterol levels and is very important for pregnant women because it reduces the risk of miscarriage and premature birth.

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Ingridients:

-2 pounds chickpea
-2/3 pound cauliflower
-3 small tomatoes
-1/4 pound walnuts, finely chopped
-2 small onions
-1 cup of chopped parsley
-2 tbs coriander
-fresh lemon juice
-2 tbs olive oil
-salt and pepper

Boil the chickpeas in a pot until grains are soft. Then strain it. Mix it in blender.

Move the Chickpeas in a bowl. Add the cauliflower and add all remaining ingredients.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

Allow the salad to for 15 minutes to soak up all the flavors. Then serve it with toasted bread.

Source: secretly healthy

Omelets With Roasted Vegetables and Feta

If you have roasted vegetables on hand an omelet is a wonderful vehicle for them. Omelets are so quick to make, and so satisfying, whether you make them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can cut up your roasted vegetables into slightly smaller pieces if you want a less chunky omelet.

Total time: About 2 minutes (plus the time it takes to roast the vegetables if you haven’t already done so)

For each omelet:

  • 2 eggs
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons milk
  • 2 teaspoons unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup Roasted Winter Vegetable Medley
  • 1 tablespoon crumbled feta

1. Break eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork or a whisk until frothy. Whisk in salt and pepper to taste and 2 to 3 teaspoons milk.

2. Heat an 8-inch nonstick omelet pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons unsalted butter or olive oil. When butter stops foaming or oil feels hot when you hold your hand above it, pour eggs right into the middle of the pan, scraping every last bit into the pan with a rubber spatula. Swirl pan to distribute eggs evenly over the surface. Shake pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up edges of the omelet with the spatula in your other hand, to let eggs run underneath during first few minutes of cooking.

3. As soon as eggs are set on the bottom, spoon roasted vegetables over the middle of the egg “pancake” and sprinkle feta over vegetables. Jerk pan quickly away from you then back towards you so that the omelet folds over onto itself. If you don’t like your omelet runny in the middle, jerk pan again so that omelet folds over once more. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute longer. Tilt pan and roll omelet out onto a plate.

Yield: Serves 1

Advance preparation: The roasted vegetables will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per serving: 317 calories; 23 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 402 milligrams cholesterol; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 274 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 15 grams protein

Source: nytimes

 

Recipe: Low Fat Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups chopped spinach (palak)
  • 1/2 cup fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
  • 25 mm (1”) piece ginger (adrak)
  • 2 1/2 green chillies , finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup sliced low fat paneer
  • 1/2 tsp dried mango powder (amchur)
  • 3 tsp oil
  • Salt to taste

Procedure:
Wash spinach and fenugreek properly by removing thick stems.Cook them in microwave for 40 seconds, blend the cooked leaves in a blender. Now put the oil in a pan add onion, green chillies,and ginger and fry it for 5 mins. Add paneer , spinach, amchur powder, and salt . cook for 3 to 4 minutes and serve.

Source: Zee news