2 ingredient Beet Salad...got your attention??

The 2 main ingredients for this salad...you guessed it: boiled beets and pickles!

• I don't consider olive oil, sea salt and crackled black pepper ingredients because we add a sprinkle there, a splash here (plus they are used so frequently in most recipes)! 

• This is a knock off on the traditional Ukrainian "Vinaigrette Beet Salad" where some also add boiled potatoes, kidney beans, or even mushrooms.

I am keeping it simple and QUICK

• I boil the beets in water for about an hour until I can easily pierce them with a knife. (I scrub the beets prior to boiling, and peel them after).
• After they cool, I grate both the beets and pickles. Season them with sea salt & pepper then drizzle some olive oil. Mix until well combined. Chill and Enjoy :)

Home-Made Ricotta Gnocchi

mixing the ingredients

rolling out the dough

boiling the gnocchi

must add some pesto

 

'healthy' frying it the next day

Ingredients (for 2):

250 g Ricotta

1 egg yolk (M-L)

1/4-1/2 tsp fine sea salt

30 g Parmigiano (or Pecorino), freshly grated

50-75 g all-purpose flour, extra for dusting the dough/board

serve with tomato sauce or any kind of pesto

Instructions: 

Discard any excess liquid that the Ricotta’s packaging may contain, then add Ricotta cheese, egg yolk, salt and freshly grated Parmigiano into a large bowl. Mix well with a wooden or regular spoon. Now add the flour and stir in briefly, just until combined – the dough will still be quite sticky. (Of course you can add more flour at this point, but keep in mind, that the more flour you use, the denser the gnocchi become in the end. And you want them to be as light & fluffy as possible, with a velvet-like texture.)

Forming these gnocchi is the slightly tricky step, this is the technique that works best for me: Generously flour a board, take a big tablespoon of the dough and scoop it onto the board. It gets dusted with flour (dust your hands generously, too!), before rolling it into a finger-thick roll. Cut it into little pillows (stick the knife’s blade into the flour to prevent it from sticking to the dough). Then place each gnocchi on a floured board or parchment paper lined baking tray. Continue quickly with the next step, otherwise they will get soggy and stick to the paper/board anyway.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a generous pinch of salt and reduce heat until the water bubbles lightly. Add the gnocchi and stir once, so they don’t stick to the bottom – then let cook until they start floating on top. Depending on their size this may take 2 to 4 minutes. Take out with a skimmer and serve immediately. I like to serve them either with a simple tomato sauce or pesto & olive oil.

recipe taken directly from http://www.deliciousdays.com/archives/2009/05/19/15-minutes-to-fame-gnocchi-for-beginners-and-braggarts/

Waldorf Salad

A great apple recipe and a refreshing salad!

 

• 1/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (you can add if you want some protein)
• 1 medium red apple, diced
• 1 cup halved red or green grapes
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted if desired (see Tips), divided

1. Whisk mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice and salt in a large bowl. Add chicken, apple, grapes, celery and 1/4 cup walnuts. Stir to coat well. Serve topped with the remaining 1/4 cup walnuts.

That's it, just one step :) Makes about 4 servings

recipe from eatingwell.com

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Loaf

I took the healthy pumpkin loaf recipe from Spark Recipes and added a low-fat cream cheese layer!

Tastes way better than the one from Starbucks!

1 cup margarine

3 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 teaspoons ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup water
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup nuts

this will make 2 loaves...make one with cream cheese and one without!

1. Cream together margarine, sugar, and eggs.

2. Combine all dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture alternately with water and pumpkin.
3. Beat well.
4. Pour into 2 well greased loaf pans or makes 24 muffins. ***for cream cheese center
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minute (for loaves)or until toothpick comes out clean.

**for cream cheese center

1 pkg. (8 oz.) reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1 egg white

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

-whisk ingredients together until smooth

-Spoon half the pumpkin batter into 9x5-inch nonstick loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray; cover with cream cheese layer and top with remaining pumpkin batter.



What could be better than breakfast in bed??