Tuesday 31 May 2011

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Roasted Cauliflower Soup:

1 head cauliflower, cut into peices
1 onion cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups veggie broth
1 large potato cubed (or a large yam)
Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Roasted red pepper flakes.
Olive oil



Preheat oven to 400.  Mix the cauliflower with red pepper flakes and olive oil and bake on baking sheet for 15 min.  Add onion and garlic and cook until soft (Another 20 mins).  Stir every 10 min.

Heat broth and potato in a pot, bring to a boil and reduce, add cauliflower when its cooked through.  Add paprika, salt and pepper.  Puree half the mixture in batches and add back in with the rest of the soup.  I prefer a chunky soup so thats why I only pureed half, if you like a smooth soup puree the whole thing.



Cauliflower is a great source of fiber and will help clean your digestive system.  This recipe is so low in calories and takes so delicious you can have a second bowl with out the guilt :)
This recipe takes 1hr and serves 4.
Calories: 45
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 10g
Fiber: 2g

Friday 27 May 2011

Kale Egg-Drop Soup

Another rainy day, so another rainy day soup.


Kale Egg-Drop Soup:

2 cups water
6 cups chicken or Veggie broth
1.5 C small whole wheat pasta shells
1 can chick peas rinsed and drained
1/2 Onion, diced
3-4 cups chopped kale (1 bunch)
3 eggs + 1 egg white beaten
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt/pepper/pinch on nutmeg
6 tbsp parm cheese

1. Mix water, broth, pasta, chickpeas and onion in a pot and bring to boil over high heat. Boil 5 mins.
2. Add chopped kale and turn heat down to low, whisk in the eggs. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. 3. Add in the lemon juice.  Serve topped with parm cheese.

This recipe makes 6 servings.
 Total time this recipe takes: 35 min.
The kale could be sub'd for spinach or arugula :)

Cals: 195
Fat: 6g
Carbs: 24g
Protein: 14g


Fiber: 6g

Friday 20 May 2011

Kung Pao Tofu


Kung Pao Tofu

1 package Extra firm tofu
1 tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
3/4 Cup Water
1 teaspoon corn starch
3 tbsp oyster flavored sauce
1/4 Cup roasted peanuts
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves minced
4 Cups Chopped Broccoli
2 Cups other chopped Veggies:
(peppers, sugar peas, bok choy etc)
2 handfuls spinach
1 tbsp hot sesame oil

1. Pat dry tofu and cut into chunks, put in a bowl and mix in half of the 5 spice powder.
2. Heat oil in a wok or pan and add tofu in once hot.  Stir every few mins and cook on med heat until sides of tofu are crispy.  About 10 min.  Remove from pan and put aside.
3. Mix water, oyster sauce, and corn starch in a bowl.
4. Add chopped veggies to the pan and saute for 3-5 mins.  Stir in garlic and ginger. Turn to low heat and add the sauce mixture.  Cook for another min or so.  Add in tofu and peanuts and mix until everything is well coated in the sauce.  Lastly stir in the sesame oil and easy as 1-2-3, your done :)

This makes 5 servings. Cook and prep time 35 mins.
Calories: 205
Fat: 11g
Carbs: 16g
Protien: 12g
Fiber: 5g

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Smoothie


This is one of my favorite breakfast's right now.  I usually get hungry an hour after breakfast but when I drink this I'm good for a few hours.  Its so easy and quick to make too!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Smoothie

1 Tbsp Light Peanut butter
.25 Cup Oatmeal (Not cooked)
1 C soy milk (or skim)
Dash of Cinnimon
Frozen Apple or Pear

Put all of these yummy things in a blender and blend it.  Drink when done.  This may not be the prettiest breakfast item but it sure is good.  If you dont have frozen apples or pears Im sure any frozen fruit would taste great.

Taking less than 5 mins to make one smoothie is around 300 Calories.

Friday 13 May 2011

My First Giveaway and Review *closed*

  I received a Just....trial pak from Shian Naturals.  They are a Canadian company that make natural and mostly organic hair, skin, and body care products.  So This is what I received and another one will be the  prize for the winner of the giveaway:

So far I tried most of the things in the pak.  Overall I was impressed with the product.  The lip balm is so smooth and it lasts awhile unlike some other lip balms that you need to re apply every 10 mins.  The body wash is one of the best Ive used in a very long time because it lathers up like no tomorrow and you only need a small bit of it.  Ive had 4 showers so far and I still have over half left.  The bath oil was also great.  I was a little thrown off when there was little to no scent in the product but after using the lotion and body butter through out the last few days I didn't even notice anymore.

To purchase:
http://www.shian.ca/index.php


To win your own Just... trial pak:

 Follow my blog and comment on this post with your email address.

Rules:

The Contest will go from today (May 13) to May 20.  I will email the winner on the 21st. 
This Contest is only available for Canadians.  
Thank you

Tuesday 10 May 2011

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I'm sure I must have tried butternut squash sometime in my life but if I did I cant remember, I saw this recipe and tried it out for myself and actually enjoyed it.  When I first cut it open it reminded me of a pumpkin but smelled sort of like a cantaloupe
 Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
1 Butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion diced
2 cloves garlic
1/2 inch piece of ginger sliced thin
3 Cups chicken or veggie broth
Pepper
Parsley, chives, cilantro to garnish


Heat oven to 375
Peel, seed and cube squash. Toss onion, ginger, garlic and squash in olive oil and place in roasting pan.  Sprinkle with salt and roast until squash soft (30-40 mins) remove from oven and let cool for 10 mins.
Meanwhile heat broth and add squash mixture to it.  Once cooked through blend in batches in blender, put back in pot and heat again, add pepper.

This recipe makes 6 servings (2/3 Cup)
Calories: 112
Fat: 2.5g
Protein: 3.3g
Carbs: 22.4g
Fiber: 3.6g

Sunday 8 May 2011

We Are Canadian Blog Hop!!

Welcome to the weekly "We are Canadian Blog Hop!!" Your co-hosts for this fun weekly Monday Hop are:



Tales of a Ranting Ginger

Each week we pull on blog from the previous week's hop, to be the Featured Blogger of the Week.  We use random.org, and will email the winner that they won as soon as we can.



This Week's Featured Blogger is #11 from last week:

Summyb




Please feel free to grab the button, and spread the word to all your fellow Canadians!














Rules:



1. Canadians Only! (Sorry Americans, we wanted to give the Canadians some love for this one.)
2. Follow the Co-hosts, and leave a comment so we will follow you back!

3. Follow the Featured Blogger, and leave a comment so they can follow you back!



get the InLinkz code

Friday 6 May 2011

Fiddleheads...

What is a fiddle head some of you may ask?  Well let me tell you.  A fiddle head is basically a baby fern that's all curled up before it unrolls.  These are actually considered a veggie.  These curly little guys are full of iron, fiber, omegas 3 and 6.  My dad used to make them when I was a kid and when I saw them in the market I did cringe at the price but bought them anyway.   I tried to think of a taste to compare them to and I came up with a mix between broccoli and asparagus?  


Fiddle heads with soy and garlic:

1 package fiddle heads
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup water
2-3 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Rinse the fiddle heads and trim off ends (if you want)
Put olive oil and minced garlic in frying pan and turn to medium.
Cook for 3 - 4 mins and add the fiddle heads and soy sauce. 
Cook for another 3-4 mins and add water and bring to a boil.  Cook for about 8 mins or until cooked through. 

For 3/4 Cup there is about 90 Calories.  Cook/Prep time = 15 min.