Turkey & Lentil Soup

I'm a busy working mom so I like to look for recipes I can make a lot of that are chock full of nutrients and balance. I want recipes full of protein, fiber, veggies, good fats and that are yummy enough that my husband and 2 1/2 year old will like them too.

To top all that off the recipe must be easy, quick and not break the bank in ingredients.

So, I made Turkey & Lentil soup tonight - and it's so yummy I can't even stand it :)

Ingredients: 
serves 6
1 pack ground turkey (I prefer the 93/7 fat content)
1 onion
1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots sliced
2 stalks of celery sliced
garlic - cloves, crushed or powder to taste
2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon dried basil
1 - 14.5 can of crushed tomatoes (I used the basil, oregano, garlic flavored)
2 cups dried lentils rinsed
8 cups of water
1 bag - 10oz frozen spinach (I used organic)
salt to taste
2 teaspoon yellow curry powder

Directions:
1. Spray frying pan with non-stick spray and cook ground turkey until no longer pink

2. place olive oil in large soup pan, heat slightly and then add onion, carrot and celery and cook until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, oregano and basil and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Stir in water, canned tomatoes, lentils, cooked turkey. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for at least 1 hour. Add spinach and cook for 10 more minutes. Add salt and curry powder and taste. If needed add more spices to taste (garlic, oregano, basil, salt and/or curry).

4. Serve and enjoy

* This dish is a great dish to put in the freezer and store


modified from All Recipes http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lentil-soup/

I Made Celery Soup and It Was the Bomb!!!

I Made Celery Soup and It Was The Bomb

I've had this celery thing lately. I nibble on it all day and am just crushing on it big time.
I've never been a big celery eater so this isn't the norm for me.

I'm not sure if it's the crunch I'm after of if maybe my body knows something about celery that I didn't know. I just learned that celery is great for digestion, helps us to feel calm, helps alkalize the body and amps up sex drive (hubba hubba) as well as many other beneficial things (Check out 11 Super Health Benefits of Celery).

With all this celery craving going on I got it in my head that I was going to make celery soup. I love celery soup. I used to buy it from an organic company that, for some reason, stopped making it. I have been sad as there has been a celery shaped hole in my heart where that soup once lived.

Being the resourceful and brilliant woman that I am I decided to make my own dag gum celery soup.

I'm not one to live in the kitchen. I go through bursts of inspiration that are pretty short lived so I had to wait a few months for the mood to strike me and feel the inspiration to make celery soup. That inspiration struck me yesterday.
I bought a lovely bunch of organic celery from the Saturday market in Downtown St Pete and came home and got my butt on Google to search for non dairy celery soups (I don't eat dairy unless it's chocolate). I perused a number of recipes before coming up with my own design (mostly based on the ingredients I already had in the house) and got to cookin.

It was surprisingly simple to make and (aside from the fact that I put waaay too much pepper in IT) it was absolutely DELISH!!!!

Here's the recipe I came up with by combining the best parts of a few recipes I found online:

Ingredients:
5 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I made my own with stock cubes and 5 cups of water)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cups onion chopped (I used sweet onion because they're my fave)
2 cups celery chopped up (I used stalks and some leaves too. The leaves are a little bitter so I didn't use a lot of leaves)
2-3 potatoes chopped
2-3 carrots chopped
1-2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or whatever 'milk' you like)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Get stock cooking in a big pot.
2. add diced up celery, potato and carrot.
3. Heat olive oil in separate pan. Add diced onion and saute until starting to look transparent. Add to the big pot o yummys.
4. Simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Put soup in food processor and blend to creamy consistency.
6. Add 1-2 cups of milk.
7. Add salt and pepper.
8. Heat for a few minutes.
9. Bon Apetit.

The recipe to make you a Brussels Sprout lover (if you're not already)

The Brussels Sprout Dilemma

Anyone who knows me well, really well, knows that I will eat ANY vegetable EXCEPT Brussels Sprouts.

A traumatic experience when I was a wee lass in England (which we won't get into here) resulted in my swearing off Brussels Sprouts for LIFE.

And, for the past 31 years I have lived Brussel Sprout free. I have refused to eat them, cook them or even consider them.

Recently I decided that enough was enough. It was time to give these tiny little cabbage wannabees a try. It took months of mental preparation and finally, this past week I conjured up the courage to buy, cook and EAT Brussels Sprouts.

The results... life changing.

Let's back up a wee bit.... (wavy lines on the TV screen to let you know were looking back in time)


As I was perusing the pages on the What's Up USANA website a few weeks ago I stumbled across a recipe for Warm Berry Nutty Brussels Sprout Salad.

Not only did this recipe call for my favorite nutty bar in the world (The USANA Berry Nutty bar) but it also required maple syrup (yum) and fresh Rosemary (which just happens to be growing on my windowsill as I type). I was excited to use my own, home grown Rosemary and I thought that coating a Brussels Sprout in maple syrup would be the perfect starter recipe to ease me in to this new world of being a Brussels Sprout eater.

Off to the store I went and I bought a bag of Brussels Sprouts. Oh, yes. I was full of trepidation. However, I found the strength to go on. I made it all the way to the check out and I paid for those Brussels Sprouts and took them home.

Safely in my abode with those Brussels Sprouts I was overcome with uncertainty and I allowed it to get the better of me for a few days. I stared at those sprouts in my fridge each time I opened the door remembering how much dedication it had taken to be a hater of Brussels Sprouts for 31 long years. Was I truly ready to let all that hatred go?

After 3 days of inner debate over this vegetable I finally put on my big girl panties and decided that today was the day. I was going to make those dang Brussels Sprouts and that Warm Berry Nutty Brussels Sprout Salad.

So, to make a long story short (too late). I made the recipe.

And... it was the most delicious recipe I've had in a looooong time. It was so different and full of so many flavors. Even my husband (also a life long hater of Brussels Sprouts) loved it.

So, we have now joined the world of Brussels Sprout eaters.

The point of this blog.... Try this recipe, even if you hate Brussels Sprouts. It's pretty amazeballs!!!

Ingredients (modified as I prepared it):

• 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsp. chopped, fresh rosemary
• ½ c. slivered almonds
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Berry Nutty bars, chopped

(this pic has parm on top. I didn't use parm)

Directions: 
1. Toss Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. Spread out onto a baking sheet and bake at 425˚ for about 15 minutes or until tender.
2. In a small skillet, gently roast slivered almonds for a few minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. Toss Brussels sprouts with the maple syrup until well coated.
4. Sprinkle in almonds, and Berry Nutty bars and toss to combine. Serve warm.

I'm Craving Celery Soup

Lately I have been craving celery soup. I think about it every few days.

I used to buy an organic celery soup from the local health food store but the company that made it has stopped producing it for whatever reason. So I'm not getting my celery soup fix anymore.

I've decided to make it myself.

So, I'll be spending the next few days looking online to find a recipe that I think sounds amazeballs. If you have a recipe for celery soup that you think is the bomb then please share it.

I'll post about my soup making experience and will post the recipe I use soon.

P.S.
I forgot to mention that my celery soup must be dairy free. I'm finding quite a lot of great sounding recipes online for this. Yummmm. I want it NOW!!!
Excited to try a few and find a perfect celery soup for me and my family

Kale Chips

What the Kale?

So what is up with all this talk about kale?

Kale is a 'dark leafy green vegetable' and dark leafy green veggies (DLGV) are chock full of nutrition and super great for you.

Kale is one of the SUPER DLGVs out there.
Kale is just packed with great nutrients for the body (a little protein, fiber, vitamins A, C, K, B, folate, omega 3, lutein, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, zinc) and it's pretty easy to grow (hint: give it a try).



The easiest way I find to get my kale in is by making kale chips.

I've tried a number of kale chip recipes on the internet but didn't really jive with any of them. So here's MY take on KALE CHIPS:

(preheat oven to 300 degrees F)
1. Wash kale thoroughly
2. Remove the hard stem part that runs down the
center of the kale leaf - just tear it right out and leave the green leafy bits. I've read that some people prefer to CUT the center stem out, and that's fine too.
3. Tear leaves into the size you want for your kale chips (maybe a little bigger to allow for shrinkage)
4. Throw them all in a gallon sized ziploc baggie
5. Drizzle olive oil into the bag onto the kale leaves.
6. Add sea salt and powdered garlic to the bag (to taste)
7. Close the ziploc bag leaving plenty of air in there and then shake the nelly outta that bag. This is to coat each leaf with olive oil. I don't like to drizzle oil onto the leaves directly on the cooking sheet, I end up with huge clumps of oil in just a few select places and always use way too much oil. Another alternative would be to lay the leaves flat on the cooking sheet and spray them with olive oil from a Misto Sprayer.
8. Dump all those nice and evenly coated kale leaves onto a cookie sheet (I like to spray my cookie sheet with a little olive oil non-stick spray first). Spread the leaves out evenly on the sheet.
9. Bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes - give the kale chips a shake every 10 minutes or so and, if the chips are piled on top of each other on the sheet be sure to turn them so the bottom chips don't get too soggy.
10. Allow them to cool for a couple of minutes and voila.

You just made kale chips.

And, hey - play with the seasonings. Use your favorite spices. You could make yellow curry kale chips, cinnamon kale chips, the possibilities are endless. Have fun with it.

Bon Appetit