Pesto, Mushroom, Onions, & Goat Cheese Pizza!

Frozen homemade dough - Click here for the old blog post with the recipe. Takes about 1 hour to thaw. 

Baked at 425, w/homemade pesto, mushrooms, onions, and goat cheese… YUM!

So Many Parties, So Much FOOD!

May is here, which for me equals parties, parties, parties! Graduations, birthdays, going aways, end of year events… Every weekend there is something new going on. This tends to be killer for any one on a diet and also all that BBQ makes not eating meat an extra hurdle.

My best guess for a solution (since my will power sucks) is to bring healthier alternatives. Here are a few swap out guidelines I’ve used recently - 

1. Allow yourself to eat what you LOVE. My mom ships this BBQ Sauce from Cleveland to Miami - Winking Lizard is my favorite! Instead of drenching chicken wings in BBQ Sauce, I used a small amount of the sauce on a sweet potato skin that I baked with cilantro. Yum! I avoided the meat & the fried food & still answered the craving I had for BBQ sauce. 

2. Hummus is wonderful, but what we dip in our hummus is sometimes our downfall. I try to mix in a veggie & a cracker. These Fiber Selection 5 Grain Garden Vegetable Wheat Thins are not only delicious, but also lower in calories than pita chips. Also, celery is a no brainer as a low cal dipping option. Mix it up!

3. Take two minutes & think of the easy swap. These potato skins are significantly better than restaurant skins because they are baked, bacon free, & use a sweet potato rather than a regular potato. Lower in calories, fat, and sweet potatoes have some serious health powers!

Zucchini Almond Cilantro Veggie Burger (WF/GF/Vegan)

And my veggie burger craze continues… 

• 4 cups GF rolled oats
• 4 cups almonds
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 5 zucchini
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 haas avocado
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp salt, pepper, oregano

In a food processor grind rolled oats and pour into a bowl, then coarsely grind almonds and mix in. Puree zucchini, add. Finely chop cilantro, add. Use OJ and rice wine vinegar to help the cilantro move in the food processor. Mince garlic, and add along with avocado and seasoning. Mash and mix well. Shape into 4 oz patties and bake at 275F for 20minutes.

Tasty, fresh, filling, crunchy!

*RECIPE YEILDS 15 BURGERS.

I served with baked sweet potato and arugula!  iloveveggieburgers- cristi 

Refried Bean Potato Skins

This impromptu creation came out waaayyyy better than i ever thought it would… it’s easy & cheap & yummy! Give it a try!!

• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 jalapeno
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• olive oil
• salt, pepper

Cut the potato in half, the long way, and boil until fully cooked.

In the meantime… in skillet heat olive oil, cook jalapeno and garlic until just browned. Drain the black beans and add them, mashing & mixing with a fork. 

When the potato is cooked, scoop out the inside and add to the black beans, mashing & mixing as you go. Salt & pepper to taste. 

With the skins… broil on high in the oven drizzled with olive oil and lightly salted until crispy. Serve on dish with bean-potato mixture piled on top. I had mine with the sauteed spinach. YUM!!!