Smooth Beet Soup...a nutritional powerhouse!

Love that there aren't many ingredients!

1 1/2 pounds beets (about 6 medium) trimmed & scrubbed

4oz. shallots (about 4 medium) peeled & cut into 1/2 inch slices

2 garlic cloves

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1-2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp both salt & pepper

2 Tbsp toasted chopped walnuts

4 tsp. snipped fresh dill

4 tsp. low-fat plain Greek yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. In a shallow baking pan place beets, shallots and garlic. Pour the olive oil over the beets and stir to coat the vegetables. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and roast until the beets are very tender when pierced with a knife, about 50 minutes.

3. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off. Coarsely chop them and place them in a food processor with the garlic and shallots.

4. Pour 1 cup of water into the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan (place the pan over low heat, if necessary, to help scrape the bottom clean). Transfer the water and drippings to the food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and add 2 cups water. Heat over medium heat and stir in 1-2 tsp. balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

5. Spoon soup into four bowls and top each with walnuts, dill  & yogurt.

an easier version to Borscht

Recipe taken directly from this book

So I have a new friend, and her name is Jillian Michaels. Wasn't really looking for any of her books, she is more known as a workout guru. Which by the way, I have 4 of her DVDs and they are fabulous & butt-kicking!! But since I was doing her workouts, I wanted to know her mentality on nutrition. The book featured is her cookbook, but the theory behind this cookbook is in her other book 'Master Your Metabolism'. Bascially she links how 10 of our hormones control our metabolism, mood, appetite & how it gets processed in our body. It was quite interesting because I have never read it coming from this angle, and from my nursing perspective it made a lot of sense!! She talks about: insulin, thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone (yep women have it too), DHEA, norepinephrine, epinephrine, cortisol, & growth hormone. She also stressed how the chemicals in our environment also effect these hormones: everything from our cosmetics to pesticides, and much more in between. Planning to purchase both books, waiting for the cookbook to come out with the Kindle edition. Since I am such a book worm, had to buy a Kindle bc my book library was getting much too big. Plus we have been moving every 9-12months, and packing & moving those books is a real haul!

Mozzarella-Stuffed Turkey Burger

I was in a burger mood and stumbled upon this recipe, it turned out great. Use ground turkey insted of just ground turkey breast, they will be more moist. And put lots of mozzarella inside, it melts perfectly inside!

I really like these Alexia Spicy Sweet Potato Fries, put them in the oven while the burgers grilled. Dinner done in less than 30min :) :) That's what life is all about! Good food in the shortest time possible!
link to recipe -->http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/mozzarella_stuffed_turkey_burgers.html

Kale Chips

it may not look it, but they are crispy!

I have my kale & ready for the challenge ;)

1 bunch kale

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp. sea salt

Spread out, sprayed with olive oil & sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Cut out the stems from kale, the tear or cut kale into small pieces

Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with salt

Bake in oven about 10 minutes until edges slightly brown

**the key is to really watch the kale towards the end of baking, you have to get it just right so they are cripsy, not chewy or burnt & crumbling! It helped to read the review off the website below.

I got my initial recipe from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/

For pretty pictures go to: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/baked-kale-chips/

got the idea to use my olive oil cooking spray from them, much easier with a more even distribution!

GOOD LUCK & ENJOY

oh and make how much you need for the day, after putting them in tupperware they just weren't the same the next day, they became chewy? if you figure out a way to store them, let me know!

Energy Mix...Extra Lean Style

1/4 cup walnut halves

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup whole grain cereal

2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

~combine all ingredients & mix

~divide into 6 equal portions & distribute into resealable plastic bags

serving size: 2 heaping tablespoons

calories: 146 kcal

fiber: 2g

protein 4g

I read Mario Lopez's book 'Extra Lean' & 'Extra Lean Family'.

Just randomly stumbled upon it and was surprisingly good!

His basic principles were:

1. Balance your daily intake of carbs, protein, and fat (and yes eat EACH!)

2. Practice proper portion control

3. Eat frequently throughout the day

(snack btwn breakfast & lunch, and 2 snacks btwn lunch & dinner)

Nothing new right? It just helped remind me in my post-partum period TO EAT properly!

I felt like I was stuck with the 'last 10 lbs' and I couldn't understand why; but then I

re-evaluated how I was eating and I figured it out. I was grazing the whole day (yes it was on whole grain crackers and other 'relatively healthy food' but it was nothing substantial, and then I felt like I over-ate at dinner because of it. Most of the book is recipes and weekly meal plans. After trying the first week, following it to a T, I lost 3lbs (this was with occasional exercise, and lots of running up & down the stairs). Wow I thought to myself, what and how we eat directly impacts our health & well-being!

Just another friendly reminder ;)