my new favorite website

A friend of mine turned me on to this GREAT website for people either trying to eat healthy, people who want to find healthy ways to indulge junk food cravings, and weight watchers people....

www.hungry-girl.com

She has a wealth of recipes that all look great (and the ones I have tried ARE great), as well as tips. You can sign up for a free email newsletter, and everything is archived on the site (for FREE!). She just put out a cookbook as well, which I will be getting. I am going to make many of these recipes, and will report here when I do! Please check out this great website!!

Whole Wheat Orzo with Fresh Tomato and Feta

I am really trying to make the switch to eating only whole grains. I love orzo, but usually do not eat it because I could not find a whole wheat version...until now. The nutrition facts for the orzo itself is (1/3 C uncooked, 3/4 C cooked) 195 cal, 1 g fat, and 9 GRAMS OF FIBER!!! That is great, and I think the highest amount of fiber per serving for any whole wheat pasta I have ever seen! And the taste and texture are wonderful (need to cook a little longer than usual).

1/2 lb. Whole Wheat Orzo (about 1 and 1/3 cups)
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Butter
1 C feta, crumbled
handful of parsley, chopped
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
lemon zest and juice of one lemon

Cook orzo to package directions, drain. Melt butter and add feta until both are creamy and melted. Mix in cooked orzo, parsley, tomatoes and lemon zest and juice. Stir until combined and heated through. Serve hot.

salad can be healthy (but most of the time people ruin it)

So salad itself is great, and you can really make a meal of it...but people ruin it by drowning it in so much dressing. When I was in Italy they served salad with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. And that is how I have been eating my salads at home. You do not need a lot of olive oil and vinegar if you have high quality ones. I have also been using Balsamic Glaze...it is a concentrated balsamic vinegar and it actually comes out syrupy. The one I have is fig balsamic glaze and I think I got it in the asain food section. I believe Rachel Ray also came out with a Balsamic Glaze. It is such concentrated flavor, without a lot of added calories...I highly recommend! So, tonight I made a salad with baby arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, hot pepper rings, and a teeny bit of blue cheese and chopped pecans. I drizzled the balsamic glaze, a little balsamic vinegar and prob only about a tsp of olive oil (just enough to cover and dress the salad) and tossed it all together. top it off with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. It was great!

a nice lunch

So I am off today and went for a nice 4 mile run (2 mile walk). I showered and had this nice little lunch, which is a perfect lunch for after a good workout..carbs, protein, fat, salt and yuM!

I made a turkey and hummus sandwich (rye bread, turkey, white american cheese, hummus, dijonaise. I drank a glass of Campbell's low sodium tomato juice with a lemon. MMMMmmmmmmm

Spinn Class is not the devil

Whatever it is called in your neck of the woods, but Spinn Class (also called group ride,etc), seems very daunting if you have not tried it, but it really is a lot of fun and so fast paced (i.e.: the time goes by so fast). I thought when I first heard of it that if I could not keep up that they would throw tomatoes at me or something. But I tried a class and realized that no one is even paying attention to what you are doing! A good instructor will tell you that if you are a beginner not to do certain things or to take it a little easy on yourself. But at the same time, push yourself as hard as you can. It is a total body workout!!!! You use your triceps, back, abs, legs, butt....everything! It really is your ride, and you control the resistance...so try spinn this week. it is great crosstraining for running and anything else!

Warms the Cockles

Once it gets around to Fall and football season is in full gear, I usually think...MMMMM....Chili! I love it, this was my first time ever making it, and I am so pleased with the result. I literally poured over chili recipes for the last week, and came up with one that I really love. Hubby loved it too, we like it spicy, so adjust seasonings to suit your taste. You can also substitute ground turkey for the ground beef, but if you use the 95% lean sometimes it is less calories than ground turkey. Enjoy!

Karen's soon to be famous Spicy Two Bean Chili

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 med. Mayan Sweet Onion, chopped (use any sweet onion)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 and 1/2 lbs 95% lean ground beef

1tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

1 and 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp ground oregano

2 tsp Cayenne
sprinkle of cinnamon

2 bay leaves

3 Jalepenos, sliced (not seeded if you are brave)

1 (29 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce

2 tsp tomato paste

pinch of sugar

1 can Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 bottle dark beer (i used Sam Adams Boston Ale) minus 2 swigs ( ;

salt and pepper to taste

Red Pepper Flakes and Cholula hot sauce to taste (any hot sauce will do, I like this one)

Saute onions over med heat in olive oil until translucent (about 8 min). Add garlic and saute another minute. Add beef and brown the meat over med high. (about 10 or so minutes). Add all spices except bay leaves and stir. Add bay leaves, sugar, Jalepenos, tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans and bring to simmer. Add beer. Remember to take two swigs---you earned it! Allow to simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour covered. Discard bay leaves. Taste and add salt and pepper, hot sauce and other seasonings to suit your taste. I put it in a crock pot and kept it on warm for about 2 hours. Dont forget to remove the 2 bay leaves before serving! Serve with shredded colby jack cheese, sour cream and sliced jalepenos. I served it over a little bit of macaroni elbows. It is even better the second day.

Diane's Black Bean and Corn Salad

I have to give credit to my mom, the former dietician, for this recipe. This is great to bring for lunch and will keep for about 3 or 4 days in the fridge. It is a filling, healthy recipe. As soon as I make it again I will post a picture.


1T olive oil
2T red wine vinegar
1T dijon mustard
1 tsp curry powder (or cumin--your choice)
1/3 c chopped cilantro
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c froz sweet white corn
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
cheese and or shredded chicken (optional)
Mix first 4 ingredients for dressing, set aside. Combine cilantro, black beans, corn (do not need to thaw unless serving immediately), tomatoes. Mix dressing with black bean mixture. You can also put in chicken or many different kinds of cheese, or even jalepeno. This is very low cal, filling and yummy!