Spicy Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut, Green Curry, and Ginger

This is a great recipe my friend Tiffany sent to me. She got it from Mary and Sarah cooking thymes two.

• 1 heaping tablespoon coconut oil (see note) or canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons grated ginger, or 3 tablespoons chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks (about 6-7 cups, a scant 11/2 pounder)
• 4 cups homemade chicken broth, or one 32-ounce tetra brick container organic chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon green curry paste (Mae Ploy is the brand we prefer, but Thai Kitchen works just fine)
• 1/2 cup organic coconut milk (Native Forest puts out a really nice one)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado or brown sugar, plus more if necessary
• 1/2 lime
• cilantro and lime wedges for garnish (optional)

Place a heavy-bottomed 4-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the coconut oil. Add the onions and the ginger. Stir in the curry powder and the salt. Cook, with an occasional stir until soft, about 5-7 minutes, until onions are soft and translucent. They should smell really fabulous at this point. Add the squash. Cook for a few minutes, stirring lots to ensure that the onions don’t burn. It’s important that you get some good caramelization at the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth and the green curry paste and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about a half hour, stirring occasionally, or until the squash is tender. (You can cook it a bit longer if you want the soup to be “squashed,” or a little less if you want a brothier consistency with firmer bites of squash.) Finally, stir in the coconut milk, sugar and lime. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt if needed. Each butternut squash has its own unique concentration of sugars, so add more sugar if needed. Garnish with cilantro leaves and or a lime wedge.
Serve over a bed of rice or just as is.

Lentil and Tempeh Sloppy Joes

*tempeh is a soy product that is higher in protein and other nutrients than tofu and is more of a packed rice texture. It is found in better supermarkets by the tofu. I found it at Smiths.
* look for BBQ sauce that is lower or has no corn syrup. I used Stubb's
1/2 c. lentils
1Tbs. olive oil
1 onion diced
1 red bell pepper, minced
8 oz. tempeh, crumbled
1 4oz. can chopped green chiles
1 c. bbq sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Whole wheat buns
Sliced avacado

Place lentils in saucepan and cover with plenty of water. Boil until tender, about 45 minutes, and drain.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and red bell pepper and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in crumbled tempeh and chiles, cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add lentils, BBQ sauce, ketchup, chili powder, sugar, Worcestershire, vinegar, Dijon, and 1/2 c. water. Reduce heat to low and let simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on toasted buns and top with slices avocados.

Black Bean Veggie Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce

These tortillas do get a bit soggy and will fall apart, but they still taste great. The alternative is to fry the tortilla shells in oil for a few second, but I don't think it is worth the fat and calories.

Sauce:
1- 15oz. can pure pumpkin
2 c. water
4 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Blend in blender until smooth

Enchiladas:

1- 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1- 10 oz. bag frozen corn, thawed
1- 10oz. box frozen spinach, cooked and squeezed of excess water
3 c. shredded low fat sharp cheddar cheese
6 scallions, whites only, chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp. cumin
16 corn tortillas
cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Pour 3/4 c. sauce into 9x13" baking dish. In large bowl mix mix everything except the last two ingredients. Warm tortillas between two damp paper towels in the microwave for 1 minute. Put a mound of bean mixture on each tortilla and roll up and place seam side down in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over and top with one cup of cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly. Garnish with cilantro.

Lentil Soup with Lemon

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lentil-Soup-with-Lemon/Detail.aspx

I added some lime tortilla strips (the kind from the store sold as a salad topping) for garnish and yummy crunch.

Spicy Black Bean Chili

1 cup long grain white rice
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. olive oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pickled jalapeno, chopped
1 red bell, diced
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can V-8 juice (5 1/2 oz.)
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 tsp. chili powder

Cook rice in 2 1/2 c. water and 1/4 tsp. salt for about 17 minutes.

In large saucepan heat oil; add scallions, garlic, and jalapeno; cook until softened (4 minutes). Add bell pepper and zucchini and cook 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, beans, V-8, cilantro, lime, chili powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook 7 minutes. Serve over rice.

Skinny Stuffed Artichokes- My favorite!

This is really one of my favorites! It is too much work to stuff them so I will change this recipe so that you can just serve the artichoke with the salad/stuffing and just scoop it on each leaf as you eat it.
 Serves 4 but I double the salad part and have it for leftovers

4 large artichokes
2 lemons
2/3 c. bulgur
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. chicken broth or veggie broth, divided
2 medium carrots
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/4 c. crumbled feta
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Tbs. olive oil

Cook Artichokes for 25 minutes in a large pot of boiling water seasoned with the juice of half a lemon.
While artichoke cooks place bulgur and garlic in a hea tproof bowl. Boil 1 cup of broth and pour over bulgur. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes..
Mix in next 7 ingredients and drizzle with olive oil and the rest of the lemon juice, salt if desired. Preheat oven to 350  and bake this in an oven safe dish for about 15 minutes. Serve with the artichoke. Yummy!

1 artichoke and 1 1/2 c. filling has:
 345 calories (or less since I cut back on the feta and olive oil in this recipe that I put up)
18g. (or less) fat
40g. carbs
14g. protein
163 mg calcium
4 mg iron
374 mg sodium

Lima Spinach Scramble

1 large can lima beans
1 Tbs. margarine
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
black pepper to taste
8 egg whites
1 egg with yoke
1/4 c. cooked chopped fresh spinach ( spinach shrinks a lot so you can cook quite a bit)
Salt to taste

Cook onions and garlic in butter, stir in beans, pepper, and salt and cook 1 minute.
In bowl beat the egg , egg whites and spinach. Pour this over the beans and scramble.

This is great served with dark rye bread and smoothies.

Tropical Citrus Shrimp

1 1/2 lbs med shrimp diced ( you can use already cooked or cook it yourself. I like the shrimp at Harmons that is already cooked)
2/3 c. fresh orange juice
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 fresh lime juice
1/4 c. unsweetened  pineapple juice
1 mango peeled and diced
1c. diced jicima
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno chile, seeded, minced
1 avocado, diced
1 Tbs. olive oil
 salt and pepper to taste

Let shrimp marinate in fruit juices for 30 minutes then add the rest of the ingrdients and let sit in the fridge for another 30 minutes. Serve with baked tortilla chips.

Chicken Stir-Fry with Broccoli, Mushrooms, and Snow Peas

2 grilled chicken breasts, diced
2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups snow peas
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1/4 c. chicken broth
2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

Cook all veggies until slightly softened (6 to 8 minutes) in sesame oil and chicken broth. Add soy sauce and serve over rice.

Tangy Bean Salad

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
lemon juice from 1 fresh squeezed lemon
salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp lemon pepper

Mix all of the ingredients together and let marinate for at least 20 minutes. This is good served with grilled fish or chicken or even just some homemade baked tortilla chips.

Healthy Garden Salad

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Healthy-Garden-Salad/Detail.aspx

Tasty Lentil tacos

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tasty-Lentil-Tacos/Detail.aspx

I added some hot sauce to these and cooked them a bit longer and they were yummy!

Low-Fat Alfredo

16 oz. Fettucini (I make homemade and use half wheat half white flour)
2 Tbs. Butter
4 Tbs. Flour
2 1/2 c. skim milk
1 tsp. Salt
1/3 tsp Ground pepper
1 c. Shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/2 c. Chopped steamed broccoli

Cook the fettucini until al dente while you steam broccoli.
Sauce: melt butter in medium saucepan. Add flour and stir for one minute. Wisk in milk slowly while it thickens. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove from heat after thickened and add parmesan cheese and broccoli. Pour over fettucini and serve!