Shepherd's Salad

I love Mediterranean food, this salad is one of my favorites!

Ingredients

1/2 cup cucumber, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 cubanelle pepper

1/2 red onion, sliced

1/4 cup fresh mint (I didn't add this)

2 tsp lemon juice

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

50 ml feta cheese, crumbled

Salt

Pepper

Place all the vegetables in a medium size salad bowl. Add salt and pepper to liking. Add the feta, lemon juice and olive oil. Don't add any other dressings.

For orginial link click here.

Iced Vanilla Coffee

(phot by flickr user Kris Cohen)



Ingredients
2 teaspoons instant coffee
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
sugar or splenda (optional)
1 1/4 cups milk (low fat or other)


Directions
Add ingredients to blender. Blend until the ingredients are smooth and frothy. Pour over ice or put ice in the blender to make it more like a milk shake.

To make it chocolatey try adding chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, or oreos.

Spiced Chai Mix

(photo by flickr user waffler)

Ingredients
1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup non-dairy powdered coffee creamer
1 cup french vanilla-flavored non-dairy powdered coffee creamer
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Spice this up even further by adding 1 teaspoon each nutmeg and allspice, and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper. You may choose to omit the French vanilla creamer, and use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract instead. To do so, mix the vanilla into the sugar, let it dry, then break the sugar into small lumps. Follow the same procedure as above.

Directions
1:In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.

2:To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons tea mixture into a mug of hot water.

3:Store dry mixture in an airtight container.

Click here for orginal recipe link and nutrition facts.

I forgot to buy the powdered milk but I made the mix without it and just added it to regular milk and it still tasted fantastic. I also added the nutmeg and allspice. It is great hot or made as a chai milkshake. You can also lessen the sugar or substitute splenda.

Low Fat Double Chocolate Brownies

(Picture from flickr user p3nnylan3)

After trying these all I can say is "wow!" They definitely do not taste low fat or 88 calories!

Ingredients
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (I used instant coffee granules b/c I couldn't find this)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
Butter-flavored cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 inch non-stick cake pan with spray. In a medium mixing bowl, using a sturdy whisk or spatula, mix the applesauce, vanilla, egg whites and sugar until they are well combined.Add the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir the mixture until it is just combined and no lumps remain. Pour it into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chips evenly over the top. Bake the brownies for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry (a few crumbs are okay).Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow them to cool 5 minutes. Cut into 12 equal brownies.

Makes 12 (1 brownie) servings.
Each brownie has: 88 calories, 2 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 1 g fat, less than 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 133 mg sodiumTraditional Double Chocolate Brownies have: 260 calories, 3 g protein, 37 g carbohydrates, 12 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 165 mg sodium

Click here for original recipe link.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients
1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets

2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.

Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 203(28% from fat); FAT 6.3g (sat 4g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 15.6g; CHOLESTEROL 24mg; CALCIUM 385mg; SODIUM 897mg; FIBER 2.9g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 21.7g
Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002

Recipe from here.

Lemon Zucchini Bread

Thanks Rachel for this delicious recipe...Our family really enjoyed it:)...

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I substituted applesauce)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached white whole wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons lemon zest

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.
In a bowl, beat together the zucchini, sugar, egg, and oil. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; stir in the cinnamon and lemon zest. Stir the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from heat, and cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Click here for original recipe.

Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Pecans

I had this salad at a brunch recently and I liked it so much I made it twice in a week!

8 ounces fresh torn spinach or baby spinach
1 1/2 to 2 cups cleaned and sliced strawberries
1/2 cup pecan halves or pieces, lightly toasted
2 to 3 ounces goat cheese or blue cheese, crumbled
.
Dressing
1/4 cup Canola oil or other salad oil (I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/8 teaspoon each onion and garlic powder
dash dry mustard

Toss spinach with sliced strawberries, pecans, and cheese, if using.

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar; shake until well blended. When ready to serve, drizzle dressing over the salad and toss lightly.

Recipe from http://southernfood.about.com/od/spinachsaladrecipes/r/bl60522d.htm