Category: Healthy Recipes

Seasonal, simple, delicious, nutritious recipes

Cocoa cashew creme (aka “Notella”)

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

This delicious recipe comes from my good friend, Jed. Not only does it taste better than Nutella, it’s 30% lower in calories, 25% higher in protein, and has only a fraction of the sugar. If it’s not quite sweet enough for you, add a bit more sweetener or decrease the cocoa powder slightly. If you like a little heat, add a pinch of ground ginger or cayenne pepper. For a mocha variation, add 1/2 teaspoon of espresso granules.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cashew butter, unsalted
  • 1/2  cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir with wooden spoon until well mixed and creamy. Store in the fridge. Makes about 1 cup.

Originally published at QuickandDirtyTips.com

 

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Avocado and grapefruit salads are a familiar theme but the added texture of the celery and a piquant chili-lime dressing add new life to an old favorite. Pack it for lunch with a hard-boiled egg for protein. The lime juice in the dressing will keep the avocado from browning.

avocadograpefruit

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons walnut oil
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 pink grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
  • 2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled and cubed. (See The Easy Way to Cube and Avocado)
  • 1 cup celery hearts, sliced in 1/2″ pieces

In a large salad bowl, whisk together lime juice, oil, honey, and chili powder until emulsified. Add grapefruit, avocado, and celery in large bowl and toss gently to combine. Serves 4.

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing

Cocoa-chia Pudding Recipe

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Chia-Via PuddingI usually hesitate to use the word “superfood,” but here’s one that truly might qualify. Made with flavanol-rich cocoa powder and chia seeds, this rich and decadent-tasting dessert is a great source of fiber, omega-3s, and polyphenols. Oh yeah, it’s also vegan, gluten free, and 100% awesome.

Cocoa Chia Pudding

For each serving:

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T. chia seeds
1/2 banana, cut up

Whisk first 4 ingredients together until cocoa is well blended. Then, stir in bananas and pour into serving glasses or cups and refrigerate 1 hour to allow pudding to thicken. Stir once again before serving. Can be made two days ahead.

 

ChiaVia




 

Gluten-free pumpkin pie recipe

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Gluten Free_Pumpkin-PieChances are good that someone at your Thanksgiving table this year will be avoiding gluten.  Here’s a fantastic no-bake option from Chef Jusin Swain of  REX 1516  in Philadelphia.

Pie Crust

2 1/4 cup ground raw hazelnuts
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut oil
9 dates, stoned

  1. Place hazelnuts and cocoa powder in a large bowl and mix well, breaking up any lumps.
  2. Add coconut oil to powder mixture and mix well.
  3. Place dates in a small bowl and mash with a fork.
  4. Add dates to dough-like mixture and combine well with hands.
  5. Place crust into 9-inch round pie pan.
  6. Place crust in refrigerator while making filling.

Filling

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon molasses
2 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

  1. Beat cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer until smooth and creamy.  Both fats should be well softened to ensure the filling is lump free.
  2. Add the powdered sugar to the mixture and beat until smooth and fluffy.
  3. Add the vanilla extract, molasses, pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin puree and beat until thoroughly combined.  If you find that your filling is lumpy, pass it through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.
  4. Spoon the filling into the pie shell.  Let pie chill in the fridge overnight.  (very important that it chills overnight or it won’t set up.

Fresh Figs, Four Ways

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN
Clockwise from top: Black Mission, Brown Turkey, and Sierra figs

The other day, I received a beautiful crate of fresh figs, compliments of the California Fig Advisory Board. Apparently, cool rainy weather slightly delayed the harvest of fresh figs this year. But these were perfectly ripe, and ripe figs don’t last long. The clock was ticking so I invited a bunch of friends and started planning a menu, with each course featuring fresh figs.

Next: Appetizers

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

Chilled Cucumber Soup

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

This is a great recipe for late summer, when the weather is hot and cucumbers are plentiful.

Serves 2

1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
1 1/2 cups low-fat yogurt, divided
1/2 clove fresh garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
10-12 fresh mint leaves
1 small shallot (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or salt substitute
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1. Chop the cucumber into chunks and add to jar or blender with 1 cup yogurt, garlic, olive oil, mint leaves and shallot. Blend mixture at medium-high speed, just until smooth.

2. Pour cucumber mixture into bowl and add salt, pepper, and the rest of the yogurt. Stir briefly, just to combine.

3. Serve in chilled bowls or mugs.

Note: Yogurt gets thinner when you stir or blend it. Adding the yogurt in two batches helps to keep the soup from getting too thin. Another trick is to strain 2 cups of yogurt for 3-4 hours in a thin-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth and set over a bowl, until you have collected about 1/2 cup of whey. Discard the whey (or use it to add protein to a meal replacement shake or smoothie), and use the strained yogurt in the recipe.

Nutritional Information (per serving): Calories 160, Fat 6g, Carbohydrate 15g, Protein 10g