VIDEO: Hummus a Pantry Staple!

The first video in a 10-segment series with my good friend and fellow bariatric dietitian Vivianne Donahue. Stay tuned for more healthy, EASY, tasty recipes. Great for weight management, or those having bariatric surgery, and we also have four vegan recipes in the series!!

 

October CBS Newsletter Recipe: SF & FF Pumpkin Pie Mousse

In Case you haven't gotten your copy of the CBS Newsletter for October yet - here is the recipe Sara Stiles, RD came up with!

Recipe yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

•1 ½ cup cold skim milk (divided)

•1 small box sugar-free instant butterscotch pudding

•½ tsp. ground cinnamon

•¼ tsp. ground ginger

•¼ tsp. ground cloves

•½ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

•1 cup fat-free Cool Whip®, thawed

Optional toppings:

•Additional fat-free Cool Whip®

•Chopped walnuts or pecans

•Reduced sugar Craisins®

•Crushed graham crackers

Preparation:

1)Mix the dry pudding mix, cinnamon, ginger, & cloves in a medium sized bowl. 

2)Whisk in ½ cup of the cold skim milk and all of the pumpkin puree and blend together. Then whisk in the remaining 1 cup cold skim milk. Note: This mixture will begin to thicken up.

3)Refrigerate for 5-15 minutes.  Then fold in the thawed fat-free Cool Whip® & spoon the mousse into separate small dishes. Top with optional topping (listed above) as desired.  

ENJOY!!

Dressings: Blueberry-Pomegranate or Orange-Peanut

In case you missed support group this morning, here are the recipes we demonstrated. They are both from Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live. High in healthy fats, dairy free, vegan, and even with some protein in them, these sauces/dressings were a hit! A good blender/food processor will be a must, because all you do is dump the ingredients in there and blend until smooth! Each recipe makes 4 servings –> 4 grams protein+ folate, iron, calcium, fiber, beta-carotene

Use on vegetables, salmon, scallops, shrimp, chicken or try mixing in plain greek yogurt for a vegetable/fruit dip!

Blueberry-Pomegranate:

2 cups blueberries (frozen or fresh are fine)
½ pomegranate juice
¼ cup raw cashews
¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
4 tablespoons vinegar

Orange-Peanut:

2 oranges, peeled and seeded

¼ cup rice vinegar

1/8 cup natural peanut butter or ¼ cup unsalted peanuts

1/8 cup cashew butter or ¼ cup raw cashews

1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce

¼ inch piece fresh ginger, peeled 

¼ clove garlic

Zucchini Season

Zucchini season (and all summer squashes for that matter) is upon us! Check out your local farmers' market or grocery store for fresh product! I like to slice them in half, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill them best but there are lots of things you can do with them including making a salsa type dip!

2# zucchini, cut into small cubes, and roasted
1/2 cup chopped, fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon chopped, fresh  oregano
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh chives

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil. Toss cubes zucchini with salt, pepper and olive oil. Spread out on baking sheet and then place in oven about 6-8 minutes, until al dente. (The smaller they are the faster they cook, think that you want your cubes to be the size of midget dice - that way they cook quickly and nicely fit onto a pita chip).
2. Remove zucchini from oven and add all remaining ingredients, stir to combine. Serve warm like this or let sit and chill up to 4 hours in ice box.

Serve with pita chips.

ENJOY!!

Mango-Pomegranate Salsa

Trying to think of something to bring to the 4th of July-rain day party tomorrow? Try this new spin on salsa!

1 cup diced mango
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1/8 teaspoon dried mint, ground up (can use a mortar and pestle)
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chilies minced (optional)
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Mix it all together and let sit at least 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

ENJOY!!

Avocado, Cilantro and Cucumber Salad/Salsa

2 cucumbers
2 avocados
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1. Peel cucumbers, slice into quarters lengthwise. If seeds are large remove them, then cut into cubes.
2. Halve avocado, remove seed, and using spoon scoop out flesh as one piece. Dice up
3. Add lime juice, salt, chili powder and ground black pepper to bowl with cucumbers and avocado. Toss.

Enjoy! As a salsa type dip or a top something like baked chicken, lentils or quinoa!

Chocolate Fondue

Truvia sent me this recipe this morning for chocolate fondue - just in time for a chocolate holiday!

Fondue Ingredients:
2/3 cup unsweet cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
4 tablespoons Truvia natural sweetner spoonable
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dippers:
strawberries
bananas
apple slices
graham crackers
pineapple chunks
cherries
anything else you can think of!

1. Mix milk, Truvia, salt, cocoa powder in saucepot. Bring to boil, stirring continuously.
2. Reduce heat and simmer 2-3 minutes, continue stirring - until thickened
3. Remove from heat, cool slightly, whisk in vanilla
4. Serve with variety of dippers!

Contains 20 calories, 1 gram sugar, 1 gram fat per 1oz dip>

Tailgating season is upon us! Try a new twist on a dip for veggies or pita chips :)

Spicy White bean dip (6 – ¼ cup servings)
•2 cloves garlic
•15 oz can cannelloni beans (liquid reserved)
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•salt & ground black pepper
•1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or paprika
•¼ teaspoon dried thyme
•1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.