Black Bean Quesadilla

 

A quick and simple week night meal, altered slightly to be more healthful.  The key to this makeover is the tortilla.  I used to always buy regular tortillas, but they are far from whole grain.  I have found whole wheat tortillas at the food co-op but even they have a blend of whole wheat flour and regular flour.  Then a friend of mine from India clued me in on a fact I was not aware of - they only cook with whole wheat flour in India, they don't have white flour over there! 

 

So, I ventured into the local Indian grocer and found Traditional Indian Roti that are made from whole wheat! They don't taste exactly like tortillas, but they were close enough and I feel much better about using them instead!
 


Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour tortillas
1 can black beans
shredded pepperjack cheese
chopped lettuce
chopped tomatoes
sour cream

peppers 

Lightly oil a griddle, or a skillet and crisp up the tortillas. Put them on a cookie sheet and then all you do is put some black beans on it and a very small amount of the pepperjack cheese - a little goes a long way.  Cook them for about 10-15 minutes in a 400 degree oven until the cheese is bubbly.  When you remove them, put on your plate and pile up the goodness of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, sour cream, salsa, or anything else you like.  They are AWESOME!

Healthful Low Sugar Morning Glory Muffins

One aspect of our new diet is very limited sugar.  In the first four weeks we tried to do NO SUGAR - and succeeded, but it wasn't easy.  I don't have a big sweet tooth - that's my husband's department - but on a no sugar or low sugar diet, every now and then I'd want something sort of sweet.  We can eat all the fruit we want, but every now and then you just want a chewy brownie! I have yet to make a sugar free brownie, and ahve several failed attempts, but I have been successful making muffins and banana breads.  Here's one I created today and it turned out great!  This is my version of morning glory muffins with a twist - blueberries!

  

Ingredients:

1/2 c. raisins
2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 apple diced
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. unsweetened coconut

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 T. honey
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 c bran cereal

2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp stevia

Soak the raisins in warm water for about 10 minutes. While it's soaking, mix together in a bowl the carrots, apple, pecan, coconut, and blueberries.  Add the raisins when done soaking.

 

In the mixer, mix together the eggs, vanilla, honey, butter, and applesauce.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: Flour, bran cereal, baking powder, cinnamon, and stevia.  Mix these ingredients together and then add it to the carrot mix.  Once everything is coated nicely, add to the egg mixture.

Spoon into greased muffin tins, bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes before removing them from the muffin pan.

The Whole (Foods) Truth and a Tomato Tart

It's been months I know...but I've been busy learning a new food journey and I plan to chronicle it here.  In August we went on our annual 10 days at the lake.  We eat, we play, we eat some more. We gained weight!  My daughter and I both gained over 6 pounds in a short 10 days!! 

While we were there, I perused a book that my brother's girlfriend left for my mom called The Healing Power of Whole Foods.  When we got back home to the scale and the frightening reality of what we did to ourselves on vacation so we decided to give it a try.  But this is not a diet...it's a lifestyle change.

We started out by reading the book voraciously.  Then we cleaned the pantry ridding ourselves of anything with white flour, white sugar, white rice.  Anything that was "enriched" of "fortified" was taboo too. As you may guess, a large part of our pantry was gone!  I was amazed, because I've always believed I was chosing healthful foods, but the book taught me how to REALLY read a label and find the hidden truth.

So, to make a long learning story short, I've really changed how we are eating, and the results have been really great.  In six weeks, my youngest daughter has lost 22 pounds, my oldest and myself have lost 15 pounds.  I recently had my blood workup done, and I had amazing results.  For the first time in 10 years, my cholesterol is under 200.  Last year it was 250!  I have been pre-diabetic for the last two years...not anymore, my blood sugar is normal!  But the best result is the amazing behavioral changes it's made for my 4 yeard old grandson!  He'd been having quite a problem when he'd get angry, he was unable to control himself and he'd fly into a fit of rage.  Changing his diet has had an amazing change on him...he's still fidgety, but he'd not violent anymore.  He's an absolute angel.  Even he recognizes the change!

I'm going to start chronicling what we're eating.  We still eat a lot of the same stuff but it's altered to be more healthful.  We'll start with a summer favorite...it's beautiful, tasty, and got rave reviews at a party I took it to recently.

Tomato Tart

A whole wheat pie crust, some delicious filling and a lot of tomatoes - DELISH!








Ingredients:
Pie Crust:
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 stick cold butter
5 T cold milk

Filling:
1 c. mayonaisse or vegenaisse
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Toppings:
thinly sliced red onion (amount - to your liking)
sliced ripe tomatoes - about 3-5 depending on size

Make the crust:

Put the flour and cut up butter into a food processor. Pulse it until the mixture is crumbly.

    

While pulsing on high speed, add the milk.  Blend only as long as it takes for it to start to form, do not over blend it.  It may still appear somewhat crumbly, that's ok. 

Turn it out onto a pastry sheet or your countertop and work it into a pie crust.  It is very forgiving, so don't over work it.  If you place it in the tart pan and it's broken up a bit, don't worry about it - just patch it back together.  The key is to do this all quickly and not overwork it.  You don't want the butter in the crust to get too warm.

      

Mix the filling:

Combine the mayonaisse and parmesan cheese, and spread it out on the crust.  Layer the red onions on top of that, then the tomatoes.

    

Sprinke some paremsan cheese and about 1/2 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning on the top.  Bake for 45-60 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.