Black Bean & Corn Salad

 
FAST, EASY, DELICIOUS & HEALTHY!


If you are looking for a salad that is low on calories but big on flavor and portion size then this one's for you!


Here's what you'll need for 4 servings.

• 1 15oz Can Black Beans
• 2/3 Cup Frozen Corn
• 1 Head Organic Romain Lettuce, chopped or torn into bite sized pieces
• 1 Pint Organic Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
• 1 Cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 Cup Sliced Black Olives
• 1/4 Cup Organic Sour Cream
• 1/4 Cup (insert your favorite creamy dressing here)

Rinse beans and simmer in a sauce pan with the frozen corn for 3 minutes.  Set aside.  Mix sour cream and dressing.  Layer each plate with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, dressing, beans/corn, and cheese.  Top with a little cracked pepper.


This salad is full of wonderful nutrients and it is FILLING!  The wonderful part about this dish is that it will leave you feeling full but not sluggish.  And the taste of those organic tomatoes?  Mmmmm....  ENJOY! 


4 servings of 380 calories per serving.  


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Organic Salted Caramel Brownie Sundaes

This recipe is layers of organic goodness that will make you say goodbye to refined sugar and sugar substitutes.  Say hello to REAL food!

Ooey Gooey Brownies

• 2 Sticks Butter (1 Cup) 
• 2 Cups Raw Sugar 
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla 
• 4 Eggs from happy chickens (see below)
• 1 Cup Organic Flour 
• 3/4 Cup Organic Cocoa Powder 
• 1 Heaping Tablespoon of Mayonnaise (just trust me on this mayo thing)
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder 
• 1/4 Tsp Salt  
•  1/2 Gallon Organic Vanilla Ice Cream

Preheat your oven to 350°.  Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl and add sugar, vanilla, eggs & mix thoroughly.  A side-note about the eggs.  If you don't see a friendly chicken walking down the street that you can snag some eggs off of, make sure the egg carton says Cage-Free, Non-Hormone, Veggie-Fed.  This supports happy chickens and your body.

Add the flour and cocoa powder to the mix and stir.  Now take out one of your big spoons (you know, the one you eat Captain Crunch with) and throw in a heaping spoonful of mayo.  More stirring.  Last but not least add the baking powder and salt.  Last stir!

Pour into a greased 9x9 baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes (lick the bowl while you are waiting).  Do not over bake.  Test with a knife before taking it out of the oven.  It should come out mostly clean, but not completely because we are going for ooey gooey here. Cut into pieces when cool.

Salted Caramel Sauce

• 1 Cup Raw Sugar 
•  1/2 Cup Water
• 6 Tbsp Butter 
• 1/2 Cup Organic Heavy Whipping Cream 
• Pinch of Kosher Salt

If you've never made caramel sauce at home, after this you will never want to buy the store products again.  Most are loaded with non-food items and chemicals.  The more real food you eat, the more you will taste how terrible chemical laden food is and how DELICOUS food should be. 

While the brownies are baking, make the caramel sauce.  Get all your ingredients ready first because once you get to a certain point you will need to put your sauce together quickly.  Start out using a good sized, thick bottomed pan because it's going to boil up at the end when you add the cream.

First pulverize the sugar a bit in a blender or food processor.  This will help it melt.  On medium/medium-high heat add the sugar and water to your pan.  It's going to take a bit for the sugar to start melting. Keep stirring to prevent burning.  If your sugar seizes up before it melts, just add a bit more water.  Once your sugar melts, stop stirring.  You can gently move it around in the pan, but don't slosh it on yourself or you'll be saying phrases you never thought would come out of your mouth.

At this point you want to let it cook down to a nice amber color, but don't burn it.  The browning is what gives caramel its flavor.  If you don't brown your syrup it will just taste like thick sugar water and not like caramel.

So now your bubbling browned syrup is ready!  Add butter and carefully whisk until the butter is melted. Stop stirring, take it off the heat and count to 5 (if you didn't get your ingredients measured out and ready in the beginning don't count to 5, say one of those phrases and measure out your 1/2 cup of cream).  Slowly pour in the whipped cream and add your pinch of kosher salt to taste.

 

Let it cool in the pan for a bit and then pour it into a glass jar and store refrigerated when you are done with your sundae fiesta.

Caramel Sauce Tip: You want your sauce to be smooth with no crystals in the mix.  This doesn't always happen the first few times you make it (or for me ever) so when you pour it into the jar just pour it through a wire mesh strainer first and WALLAH!  Smoooooooth caramel sauce!  

     

Place a brownie in the bottom of your bowl and top with a scoop of ice cream.  Drizzle caramel sauce over the top. Appreciate your artistic craft for a fraction of a second and dig in! 

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Vegetarian Matrix-Overloaded Stuffed Green Peppers

I have conflicting feelings about this recipe.  Mostly because I hated green peppers when I was younger, so I feel like I'm at war with my former self.  Also, my new and improved self may still be part of The Matrix.  Not sure about that yet.


But if you and the bell pepper are friends or if you're looking to start a new relationship try this yummy low cal, HUGE portion and satisfying recipe.

•         1 Cup Onion (64 cals)

•         9 oz Chopped Celery (36 cals)

•         8 oz Baby Carrots (94 cals)

• ·       8 oz Mushrooms (56 cals)

•         2 Thawed Boca "Hamburger" Patties (280 cals)

•         2 Tsp Garlic Powder

•         1 Tsp Seasoning Salt

•         BIG Pinch of Dried Parsley

•         1 Tsp Each Salt & Pepper

•         2 tsp Canola or Olive Oil (80 cals)

•         1 Cup Dry Rice Cooked to Package Directions (640 cals)

•         8 Green Peppers, Tops off & cleaned out (Approximately 248 cals - 6 cals an oz)

•         2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice (20 cals)

•         1/4 Cup Parmesan or Asiago Cheese (~160 cals)

•         4 Tbsp Soy Sauce (40 cals)

Cook rice and set aside.  Chop up first 5 ingredients and saute' in oil (reserve some of the oil to rub on peppers before baking) and season to taste.  Take off the heat and add the cooked rice, lemon juice and cheese to the vegetable mixture and stuff the peppers.  Rub each pepper with reserved oil, salt outside and bake face down for 35-40 minutes in a preheated 450° oven.   

Going back to The Matrix topic.  I think you can put this in the same terms as when you play cards.  If you have to ask, it's your turn.  If you're not sure if your still part of The Matrix, you probably are.  Okay, back to peppers!

Now that you've spent a half hour contemplating your alternate existence, go grab yourself 2 peppers and top with a tbsp of soy sauce before serving.  

For this recipe, buy as many organic ingredients as you can.  Real food always tastes better and is much better for your body.  The mass produced cooking oils that you generally find contain carcinogens, so try to purchase only cold pressed oils.  They are a little more expensive, but a bottle lasts a long time and it is worth it.  You can easily find them at your local natural foods market. 

1718 Calories - Four Servings of 430 cals

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Organic Raspberry Mocha Pie

At first glance, this pie may look like a lot of steps, but it is very simple, not to mention delicious. 

Take the time to visit your local natural foods market because these organic ingredients are easy to find and worth it.  If you're not clear why refined white sugar and artificial sweeteners are dangerous, there's a lot of great resources online.  Please take the time to check some out.  

If you know the dangers it's still easy to stick to your ideals and have desserts made with real food.  Here's a heavenly one!

• 1 "OREO" Pie Crust (see below)

• 8oz Semi-Sweet Organic Chocolate Chips

• 1 Pint Organic Whipping Cream, divided in half with one cup left in the fridge (you might as well put your bowl and beaters in the freezer at this point)

• 1 - 2 Tbsp Organic Powdered Sugar (optional)

• 6 Tbsp Seedless Organic or Homemade Raspberry Jam, divided

• 2 cups Fresh Organic Raspberries

• 1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp Instant Coffee

• 1Tbsp Water

"Oreo" Cookie Pie Crust Recipe

·        24 Organic Cream Filled Chocolate Cookies

·        1/4 Cup Butter

In a medium-sized bowl or a food processor add the cookies and blend until the texture of coarse meal. Add the melted butter and blend until well combined.

Place the ground crumb mixture into a 9 or 10 inch deep-dish pie pan and press onto the bottom and up the sides evenly. 

Refrigerate the crust for at least an hour before you add the filling. This will help prevent crumbling when you want to serve it.

Makes 1 pie crust.

HEAT 1 cup of the whipped cream on the stove at medium heat.  Do NOT let it boil.  Place the 8oz of chocolate chips in a bowl large enough to add the cream to.  When the cream barely starts to bubble around the edge slowly add it to the chocolate.  Mix gently.  Stir in 2 Tbsp jam & 1Tbsp (to taste) of instant coffee.   Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended.

POUR the ganache (just a fancy word for chocolate and cream) into crust. Refrigerate 4 hours.  Feel free to take a nap.  My occasional thoughts during this time frame are "Hey, if I start up a new game of Zelda: Ocarina of Time I can make it to the adult stage by the time I can throw my face into this pie."

BEAT the leftover cup of whipped cream until it forms stiff peaks.  I like to add 1-2 Tbl of Organic Powdered Sugar to sweeten it up a little.  :)

FOLD the whipped cream over the ganache.  Arrange the berries on top of pie. Microwave remaining jam and water in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec.  Stir until well blended and drizzle over pie. Make sure the syrup is not too warm because it will melt the whipped topping.  Slice into 8 servings.  I like to keep this pie in the freezer and take it out 5 minutes or so before I serve it.  

Now look at this!  Who could not restrain themselves from taking a bite of this pie before I took a picture?!?  Certainly not me, ahem...

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Vegetarian Bolognese

This is a vegetarian version of Bolognese that is LOADED with flavor!  If you are someone like me that loves big portions with low cals check this out.

Organic Tomatoes Chopped 36oz - 180 cals

1 Box Organic Veggie Broth - 60 cals

2 oz Dried Pasta - 180 cals

1 Tbsp Butter - 100 cals

7 oz Mushrooms - 49 cals

1 Cup Chopped Onion - 64 cals

3 Cloves Garlic - 15 cals

1 Bag Quorn Crumbles - 360 cals  

(Side Note:  Has anyone looked at the ingredients on the crumbles?  It's made from fungus, not soy.  Now, now don't say "Ewwwww..." say "Hmmm, interesting...")

Broccoli cut into 1/2" steaks 21oz - 210 cals

1 Tsp Oil - 40 cals

1/4 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese per serving - 440 cals

Pour the Veggie Broth into a large pot and add the chopped tomatoes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  You can also add Italian Seasoning if you would like.  Simmer until the tomatoes have completely broken down and sauce starts to thicken.  This will take a little time (over an hour) but letting it simmer like this will develop great flavors.  During the cooking process use some of the liquid to cook the dried Pasta.  Drain the liquid from the pasta back into the sauce and set the cooked pasta aside. 

After the sauce is started, make the broccoli steaks.  Cut each bunch of broccoli length-wise into 1/2" "steaks".  Each bunch should make 4 or 5 steaks.  In a large hot skillet add the oil and broccoli steaks (season as you like).  Set a heavy pot on top of the steaks to brown.  Turn, repeat and set aside.

Melt the Butter in large skillet and add then next 3 Ingredients, season to taste. Brown and then add the Quorn Crumbles.  Keep browning and stirring the mixture, developing that yummy brown crust over and over again.  This will give the Bolognese its wonderful flavor.  Just remember brown (not black) = flavor!  When complete, add the tomato liquid to the meat mixture and simmer to the desired consistency, add pasta.  Set aside.

Lay the broccoli steaks on a plate, cover with pasta sauce and top with cheese!

Makes 4 BIG servings - 425 Cals Per Serving.

Try to buy the organic version of as many of these ingredients as you can (even the pasta).  You'll eliminate loads of pesticides from your body, and that's a good thing ;).

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Barley Mushroom Soup

I usually make soup on Sunday for the work week.  Here is one that is tasty, filling and very low calories!  Short on time?  This is probably the fastest soup you can make.

Healthy healthy - you will feel full and feel FANTASTIC!

20 Calories of your favorite broth ( I use Pacific Organic Mushroom Broth 32 oz)
2 Cups Cooked Barley (400 cals)
1 Block Baked Tofu, cut into 1/4" squares (150 cals - Varies on brand)
2 Cans Sliced Mushrooms (liquid and all - 90 cals)

In your large soup pot, add all ingredients and bring to a boil on HIGH.  Turn off burner and let steep for 2 hrs.  Add onions to change it up!

 4 Servings - 165 Calories Per Serving

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