Cocoa-Coconut Truffles

These are wonderful "whole food" snacks that are great after a workout, but anyone will enjoy them and at this time of year you can make them as a holiday treat or hostess gift. You can roll them in either coconut or ground flax seeds. This recipes makes approximately 24 balls.

 

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1¼ cup almonds, ground
• 3/4 cup dried dates, pitted
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Shredded unsweetened coconut or ground flax seeds to roll balls in.

Directions:

1.  Process cocoa powder and almonds in food processor.

2.  Add dates, olive oil, and salt; puree until mixture sticks together. If needed, add a little more oil or dates to adjust texture to desired stickiness and level of sweetness.

3.  Roll into one-inch balls. Roll balls in coconut or flax seeds. Lay out on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Chill for a minimum of one hour.  Cover and store in fridge or freezer for up to three weeks.

Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

These are tasty roasted meatballs, that are then baked in the tomato sauce. Using lean ground turkey makes them much lower in fat and especially saturated fat, than using beef. Absolutely delicious! You can top your favourite pasta with them, or make a meatball sandwich, or even scoop them into a bowl topped with extra sauce and eat them as is. Makes about 60 small meatballs.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup bread crumbs
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup Romano cheese, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup sweet Vidalia onion, diced thinly and sauteed in olive oil until soft but not brown
1 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-1/4 pound lean ground turkey
2 large jars of your favourite tomato pasta sauce or make your own from this recipe (see below). When I made them today, I used three large jars of pureed stewed tomatoes.

Directions:
1. Combine bread crumbs, eggs, milk, cheese, garlic, parsley, cooked onion, salt and pepper and mix well.
2. Add ground turkey, mixing by hand. (Be careful not to over-mix or finished product will be tough.)
3. Portion into small, round balls. (The recipe should make about 60 total.)
4.. Pre-heat oven to 450.
5. On wax paper lined cookie sheets (you will need two), sear meatballs for 8 minutes. (The purpose of this step is to create a nice crust on the meatball so it does not absorb the tomato sauce while roasting).
6. Place in roasting pan.
7. Cover with tomato sauce and bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes.
8. Carefully remove from oven and place in serving dish along with additional tomato sauce.
9. Garnish with grated Romano cheese, chopped parsley and fresh basil.

For tomato sauce (if making your own):
2 tbsps olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cans (28 oz each) diced tomatoes & their juice
4 tbsp tomatoe paste
1/2 tsp salt (or less)
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves (or 1 tbsp dried)
2 tsp dried red chili peppers (optional)
1. Prepare sauce: Heat large heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat. Add olive oil. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is tender. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute.
2. Stir in tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, red chili peppers and salt & ground pepper; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Stir in basil.

Celeriac

This is a slightly different version of Jamie Oliver's recipe for Celeriac. This is celery root and looks really ugly in the produce section of the grocery store! Once you peel it and chop it, it then looks like white potatoes. You can use whatever spices you like to flavour it, keeping in mind that it has a very pungent celery aroma. It is supposed to be really good for you (I'll have to find out why and post that info here later). Serve it as a vegetable side with chicken or fish.

Ingredients:

-1 medium sized celeriac
-olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
-zest of one lime
-a dash of salt
-1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)

Directions:

1. Chop off the root end of the celeriac, then peel it and chop it into roughly one inch cubes. Toss it in a bowl with a touch of olive oil.
2. Put a casserole type pan on medium high. Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Toss in the thyme, lime zest, salt, garlic and celeriac. Turn the heat to medium and put the lid on the casserole. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, but stir frequently. You want it to fry lightly and steam in its own moisture. You can either serve it up like this or take the lid off and brown it up for another 4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Almond Granola with Toasted Quinoa

This is great on its own or on top of berries and yogurt! It is a great little snack to keep in your purse as a pick-me-up after a good workout or to get through that mid-afternoon slump. 

Ingredients:

 2 cups steel cut oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup almonds (or walnuts), coarsely chopped
1 cup dried and pitted dates, chopped (use kitchen scissors to make this job easier)
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1.  In a bowl, combine the oats, coconut, almonds, figs, salt and cinnamon.
2. Place the quinoa in a small frying pan and toast over medium heat, constantly stirring so that it doesn’t burn. Once you hear popping noises it means the quinoa is toasted. Remove from heat and add to the bowl with the oat mixture. Stir the ingredients together until well blended.
3. Pour olive oil and honey into a small saucepan, and slowly warm on low heat. As it warms, whisk or stir with a fork until the oil and honey are thoroughly blended together. Pour over the oats and stir with a fork until the oats and other ingredients are evenly coated.
4. Spread out the oat mixture on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake at 325°F for 15 to 20 minutes. Granola should have a golden brown color to it. Just be careful not to over-brown.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool place into a container with a tight fitting lid to store. Serve with yogurt and berries or just on its own. 

Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder

This recipe is another easy slow cooker gem......place everything in there in the morning and by dinner time all is done & it is really delicious. The lime and honey compliment the flavour of the lamb and the meat is so tender! This recipe serves 4 people and I made it in a 4 quart slow cooker. If you use a larger slow cooker, you should add more ingredients so that it is at least 1/2 full and no more than 3/4 full.

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 lb lamb shoulder roast
-1 tbsp dried basil
-grated zest of one lime
-juice of one lime
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1/2 cup of low fat/low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
-1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
-a dash of salt (to taste)
-3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)
-2 tbsp liquid honey
-1 medium sweet (Vidalia) onion, chopped into large chunks
-3 medium carrots, ends removed and cut into large chunks (no need to peel--just wash)
-1 large yellow, red or orange sweet bell pepper, cut into large chunks
-1 medium sweet potatoe, cut into large chunks
-1 head of broccoli, stems peeled and florets trimmed
-2 tsp cornstarch or white flour

Directions:

1. Place lamb in bottom of slow cooker. Top with all seasonings, lime juice and zest and olive oil. Place all remaining ingredients (except cornstarch/flour and brocolli) on top of lamb. Turn on low, cover and cook in slow cooker for about 7 hours. Place broccoli stems and florets on top of other vegetables in slow cooker during last hour of cooking.

2. Remove all solids to a plate and cover to keep warm. Stir cornstarch or flour into 2 tsp cold water. Whisk into liquid in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Serve over lamb.

Slow-cooker Hearty Chicken Tomato Soup

This soup is loaded with healthy protein and fibre and lycopene (found in tomatoes and red peppers) and it is a great "stew" type soup for a cold, damp day. You can spice it up with hot sauce if you want and even scoop it up with some tortilla chips. We just ladled it over some cooked quinoa (you can use rice as well) and grated some fresh parmesan cheese over-top. It is so easy to make and when you come home the aroma is there waiting for you:) I used a 4 quart slow-cooker and it was quite full. This recipe serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

-3 large uncooked, skinless, boneless chicken breasts (you can use thighs as well, but increase the number as they tend to be smaller than the breasts)
-1 28 oz can whole stewed tomatoes, including the juice (I used the San Marzano tomatoes, which are top quality and really make a difference to the flavour of the broth)
-1 cup low fat, low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
-1 cup frozen corn niblets
-1 19 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
-1/2 cup pitted and sliced Kalamata olives, rinsed and drained to reduce the sodium content
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 medium sweet red bell pepper, chopped
-6 large crimini (brown) mushrooms, cut into quarters
-2 tbsp garlic powder
-2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-2 tbsp dried parsley
-1/2 a medium avocado, chopped (optional---my husband doesn't like this ingredient):
-2 tbsp tomato paste (optional---you can stir this in during the last hour of cooking if you feel you want a thicker broth)

Directions:

Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow-cooker. Top with remaining ingredients and stir to mix. Cook on low for 7 hours. At this point you can leave the chicken breasts whole or shred or chop them. Return to the slow-cooker and increase heat to high for the last hour of cooking---stirring in the tomato paste at this point if using). Spoon 4 tbsp of cooked quinoa or rice into individual serving bowls and ladle the soup over-top. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over-top and serve with a side-helping of tortilla chips, if using.

Slow Cooker Chicken Puttanesca

This recipe calls for anchovies and capers but some people don't like them, so you can leave them out if you want. It will still be very flavourful! Puttanesca means whore in Italian!! Those Italians, honestyly, they think nothing of using a curse word to describe their food---however it is really quite delicious. I have put it together this morning in my slow cooker and since it is snowing out there today, it should be a welcome dinner on a wintery day! I have a 4 quart slow cooker, so if you are using a bigger one than that you should be adding more chicken and tomatoes to fill it to at least half-way.

Ingredients:

-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (I used chicken breasts from frozen, because that is what I had on hand---the thighs would work very well though)
-4 anchovies, chopped (optional & you can rinse them if you want to reduce the salty taste)
-3 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
-1 28 oz can good quality Italian Romano tomatoes (I used San Marzano as they are top quality)--you are using only the tomatoes, chopped into chunks with kitchen shears---drink the juice that is left over or save it for another day to make sauce.
-1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced (you can rinse these to get rid of some of the salt)
-3 tbsp capers (optional)--again, these are very salty, so you can rinse them first if you wish
-1/2 tsp dried hot chili flakes
-1 tbsp dried oregano
-1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-4 slices of mozzarrella cheese (optional and you add this in the last 15 minutes of cooking, just to melt on top)

Directions:

1. Place chicken in slow cooker. Add everything but the cheese on top. Stir a bit. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, place the slices of cheese on top (if using) and turn to high to allow them to melt. Enjoy!