Red Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Rainbow Trout Fillets

You can also use tilapia fillets in this recipe. Cooking the fish inside the red peppers gives it a wonderful sweet flavour. Serve it with a mixed green salad on the side for a wonderful healthy meal.

Ingredients:

2 red peppers
2 rainbow trout or tilapia fish fillets, about 1/2 1b (250 grams) each
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried red hot chili peppers
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Sauce:

1/2 cup dried basil
3 large garlic cloves or 1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsps apple cider vinegar
3 tbsps olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Cut peppers in half length-wise. Remove seeds and pith. Place cut side up on lightly oiled baking sheets.
2. Pat fish dry and sprinkle both sides with paprika and garlic. Cut eat fillet in half length-wise. Fold each piece of fish and stuff into pepper half. Roast for 20 minutes.
3. Prepare sauce: In a bowl, combine basil and garlic. Whisk in vinegar, then oil. When fish is ready, serve with sauce drizzled over top. Serve with a mixed green salad.

Spicy Peanut Chicken and Spinach Stir fry

Serve this delicious dish over some quinoa or brown rice. This recipe serves about four.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about one medium orange)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth (low fat & low sodium)
2 tbsps picante hot sauce mixed with 1/2 tsp dried hot red chili peppers and 1 tsp garlic
2 chicken breasts, sliced thinly and marinated for 2 hours in a little olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic
1 red sweet pepper, sliced or 2 cups green beans, cleaned and trimmed
1/2 onion, diced
1 large carrot finely chopped
3 cups baby spinach

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, put 1/2 cup of quinoa and 1 cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, while you prepare the remainder of the dish. After 15 minutes, remove the quinoa from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

2. Whisk orange juice with peanut butter, broth & hot sauce mixture. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet, over medium high heat. Sir fry onion and chicken for about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate.
4. Add a touch more oil to hot skillet and stir fry carrots and peppers or beans for about 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet with vegetables and continue to stir fry for another 5 minutes.
5. Stir in sauce and spinach & stir until spinach is just wilted.
6. Spoon cooked quinoa into the centre of plates and serve stir fry ingredients over top.

Heart-healthy Banana Nut Bread

I decided to change up my banana bread recipe a bit and it worked quite well! Oats are very good for reducing cholesterol levels; adding in fibre with flax and quinoa and using sesame oil instead of butter make for a very heart-healthy loaf. This recipe makes one loaf.

Ingredients:

1 large, very ripe bananas, well mashed. (if you have bananas that are ripe but you can't use them right away, just toss them in the freezer--you don't need to wrap them as they come prepackaged! Once you are ready to use them, let them thaw and then mash them)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt
1/3 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
2 tsp ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F and  lightly oil a glass loaf pan.
1. Mash banana very well with a fork.
2. In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine all wet ingredients and sugar. Beat well with electric mixer at high speed for two minutes. Add banana mixture and beat again.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Add to banana mixture about 1/3 at a time and beat between additions, using a rubber spatula to scrape bottom of bowl to ensure everything is incorporated.
4. Transfer to loaf pan; bake in preheated 325F oven for 30 minutes. Tent with foil to prevent further browning. Continue to bake for about another 30 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in centre. The loaf is ready when the toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan on wire rack.

Orange Avocado Salsa

This is a great salsa to use over baked salmon fillets, or just to scoop with crispy tortilla chips! Sorry, by the time I thought about taking a photo, it was all gone! When I make it again, I'll post a photo.

Ingredients:

1 large mineola orange
1 medium avocado (not too ripe), peeled and diced
1 plum tomato, diced
1/2 medium onion, peeled and thinly chopped
1 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried red hot chili peppers
1 tsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Slice both ends of orange; peel and separate each segment; slice each segment in half lengthwise and carefully remove orange, discarding membrane. Squeeze out any remaining juice from membrance before discarding. Place orange in a medium sized glass bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients and toss lightly. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for one day.

Kidney Bean, Rapini & Vegetable Soup

Kidney beans are great for reducing cholesterol and are also a good source of protein. This is a vegan dish that packs a great vitamin and nutrient punch!

Ingredients:

2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 bunch of rapini, rinsed well under cold water and chopped
1 small onion, peeled & diced
1 sweet red or yellow pepper, seeded & de-veined, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp dried cumin
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried hot red chili peppers
1 tsp picante hot sauce
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 jar pureed tomatoes (about 2 cups)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add carrot, onion and peppers. Saute until onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and spices. Stir and cook another 2 minutes.
2. In a large pot, with a tight fitting lid, stir together vegetable broth and water, beans and tomatoes, rapini & picante sauce. Bring to a boil and stir in sauted onion mixture. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Transfer to a food processor and process just until ingredients are still coarse. return to pot, stir and heat through. Season with salt & pepper. Serve with a wholesome, multi-grain bread.

Chicken Vegetable Spicy Thai Soup

This is a delicious hot spicy soup with a Thai twist! You can really decide on the vegetables you want to use, the spices are what give it a Thai flavour. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups low sodium, low fat chicken broth
4 cups water
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (marinated for several hours in 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper and 1 tsp dried hot chili peppers---you can add a tbsp of picante hot sauce if you don't have the chili peppers)
1 tbsp green thai chili paste
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 red sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
1 yellow sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
2 medium sized sweet potatoes/yams, unpeeled and cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch square of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbsps lime juice
3 spring onions, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pot with a tight fitting lid, bring chicken broth and water to a boil. Add remaining ingredients, including the marinated whole chicken breasts but not the spring onions. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering for about 20 minutes.
2. Remove chicken breasts and cover pot, allowing vegetables to simmer.
3. Using a knife and fork, cut the chicken breasts in to bite sized pieces. Return to pot and cover, simmering for another 10 minutes. Ladle soup into large bowls and garnish with chopped spring onions (optional)