Lentil Veggie Soup

I have wanted to try lentils for awhile now but I was kinds nervous. What if I don't make them right?  What if they are blah and I am stuck with them?  I always feel bad when I toss out food.
Last weekend I was at a church retreat and one of the women made a Vegetable Lentil Soup.  I jumped at the chance to try it and loved it.  I asked her how she made it and it was one of those this that and the other thing recipes.  So I took her basic ingredients and made my own measurements.  It was just as good as hers.
This soup is high in vitamins and fiber which will make you feel fuller longer.
Look for Vegetable Stock no broth stock has a deeper color and flavor broth taste vegetable flavored water I use Kitchen Basics.  This soup is vegetarian, vegan, grain free, paleo esq.

l c lentils
11.5 oz tomato juice try to use low sodium
5 1/2 c Vegetable Stock unsalted
1 1/2 c water
2 lrg carrots diced
2 celery stalks diced
1 med onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and pepper

Pour lentils in a colander rinse and pick over looking for any stones.
In a large pot over med heat pour in the oil and heat for 1 min add carrot,s celery, and onion saute for 3 min stirring a couple times.  Add the garlic and 1/2 tsp salt stir well cook about 2 min more.  Add lentils tomato juice vegetable stock and water bring to a light simmer reduce heat to low using the pot lid cover at a angle so a small crack lets some of the steam out. Simmer 1 hour without stirring   Lift lid stir and check lentils for texture if they are still a little hard return lids and simmer a few minuets more.  The lentils should be al dente and not mushy.

Calories 143 Calories from Fat 20

Total Fat 2.2g

Saturated Fat 0.3g

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 311mg

Total Carbohydrates 23.6g

Dietary Fiber  8.9g

Sugars 5.8g

Protein 8.8g Vitamin A 67% Vitamin C 12% Calcium 3% Iron 12%

Honey Mustard Sauce

 I found this recipe on Allrecipe  last summer and I love it.  I keep it on hand in the fridge ready to go for any dipping needs, chicken nugget,s grilled chicken or some veggies.

1/3 c Dijon mustard
1/4 c honey
2 tbl mayonnaise
1 tsp steak sauce ( I use A1)

In a med bowl whisk together all ingredient.

Serving Size 1 tbl (15g)
29 Cal
.9g fat
.1g sat fat
77mg sodium
5.6g carbs
.5g fiber
4.8g sugar
.3g protein

**My nutritional info differs from Allrecipe because they include a serving of chicken I did not.

I am sure if you do not have A1 it would not change the flavor so much that you would not like it.  For a change up in visual appearance a bit of texture replace 1tbl of dijon with whole grain mustard.

Caramelized Carrots- That's Tasty MSK

Cold carrots with dip was getting boring. Usually when I cook carrots it was in a tin foil pouch baked in the oven drowning in butter and sugar. I wanted the sweet taste of the butter sugar combo but not to the tune of so many calories or I am also cutting out processed foods which white sugar is.
I took advantage of carrots natural sugars and brought them out with high heat and just a little oil and butter.  I did top with a bit of maple syrup to round it all out. Best of all my youngest loves these and could eat bowls full.

2 lrg carrots
1/2 tsp butter
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp 100% maple syrup ( buy local if you can )
salt and pepper just a shake or two

Heat a med sauce pan over med-high heat.  While the pan is heating slice the carrots very thin either in sticks or coins the shape dose not matter just make them thin.  When the pan is hot add the oil swirl around add butter and swirl around then add the carrots stirring frequently for about 3 min add salt and pepper.  Saute a few minutes more until carrots are starting to caramelize a dark brown but not burnt.  Turn off heat and drizzle with maple syrup let sit 1 more min to warm the syrup.  Serve either warm or room temperature.

serves one
about 75 g
70 cal
4.3 g fat
1.6 g sat fat;
5 mg cholesterol
152 mg sodium
8.1 g carbs
1.4 g fiber
5.9 g sugar
.4 g protien
about 125% vitamin A

Tortellini Primavera That's Tasty MSK

Last week I got stuck at working a full shift which meant taking a lunch and I did not pack anything.  I wandered over to the frozen food section wondering what I could find that was not high calorie or high chemical content or too high sodium.  After standing there for about 10 min I settled on a tortellini primavera from a brand that is marketed as healthy.  It was surprisingly good, the portion size was a little small so I wanted to try making it at home to bump up the veggies and give it more body.  

What I came up with just as good in flavor, with twice as much vegetables and low in calorie.  I tried to use no salt added canned tomatoes but the sodium still came out high.  I will defiantly make this again this summer using my homemade diced tomatoes from my garden.

14oz can diced tomatoes basil garlic oregano flavor

14 oz can diced tomatoes no salt added

2c zucchini diced

1.5 c carrots sliced thinly in half rounds

1 med onion diced

1/2 c mushrooms chopped medium

1c spinach chopped

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp basil

12oz cheese tortellini whole wheat cooked according to package

In a large pan heat olive oil over med heat when hot add carrots sauté 3-5 min until just starting to turn brown.  Remove carrots to bowl and set aside.  

Return pan to heat add onion sauté 3-5 min until just starting to turn brown.  

Add tomatoes and seasoning stir to combine reduce heat to med low bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  

Add carrots zucchini mushrooms and spinach stir well to combine cook another 5 minutes to heat everything thru then add cooked tortellini fold in carefully. Serve immediately.

Serving size 1 cup little over

Calories 109; Calories from Fat 20; Total Fat 2.2g; Saturated Fat 1.1g; Trans Fat 0.0g; Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 733mg; Total Carbohydrates 18.8g; Dietary Fiber 2.3g; Sugars 5.0g; Protein 4.4g

Vitamin A 62%	•	Vitamin C 18%
Calcium 3%	•	Iron 17%

Coffee Creamer update

I few months ago I wrote about switching to homemade coffee creamer.  I am happy to say that we are still going strong and have not bought commercial made in months.  I have even been experimenting with other flavors and more guinea pigs (Hi morning mommy coffee club) I have recently plugged in all the ingredients to caloriecount.about.com to get the nutritional info.

Serving Size 

1 serving 1 tabl (14.3 g)

Calories 34; Calories from Fat 21; Total Fat 2.3g; Saturated Fat 1.6g; Cholesterol 9mg; Sodium 5mg; Total Carbohydrates 2.8g Sugars 2.8g; Protein 0.2g

Vitamin A 0%	•	Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0%	•	Iron 0%

The nutrition content is very similar to commercial made except that the commercial made has 30g of sodium and 5g of sugar per serving.  Homemade taste wins hands down.  

That's Tasty pt 1

I started back on my get healthy journey this week.  One of the biggest laments I hear from people trying to eat healthier is “I do not want to eat steamed broccoli and baked chicken breast for the rest of my life."  I would agree with that statement at face value, however people use that as their excuse to eat garbage and not care about what goes in to their bodies.  In a country with an epidemic of obesity in grownups and children you need to wake up and stop being ignorant about healthy tasty foods. 
I am a lover of food and big taste.  I love flavor and eating steamed broccoli without and seasonings and a plain baked chicken breast for the rest of my life would not fly with me either.  I have been learning that most times you can add big flavor with little calories and little to no fat without replacing them with the chemicals of most low fat foods. 
I know that some people do not have the time to hunt out these recipes or if they come across some not really sure if they would be good or not.  I will be posting some of my favorite low cal low fat recipes that I find and have tried and liked.  Or some of my own that I have come up with on my own.  I hope to make this an ongoing post so I can help others fight the steamed veggie and baked chicken notion of eating healthy. 
This week I tried out a couple new recipes and have made some tweeks to old ones to be lower in cal and fat.  Saturday I kicked things off with a soup from Eating Well one of my favorite cooking websites.  They have been embracing the thought of healthy eating without a ton of additives for 10 years now, right up my alley.  You will see a lot of post with recipes from them.  I have a subscription to their magazine the best $9 a year I spend.  (I do not receive any endorsements from them telling you this I just truly love them)

 Southwestern Vegetable & Chicken Soup is quickly becoming one of my new favorites. With its zingy flavors of roasted poblano peppers and garlic accented with the brightness of a sprinkling fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.  This soup is also very filling thanks to the high fiber of the black beans and other veggies, one serving will hold me over for hours. 
Per serving (1.5 cups) : 199 calories; 5 g fat ( 1 g sat , 2 g mono ); 28 mg cholesterol; 25 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 15 g protein; 6 g fiber; 638 mg sodium; 794 mg potassium.Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (140% daily value), Vitamin A (58% dv), Potassium (23% dv), Folate (18% dv), Iron (16% dv)

Ancho Honey Pork Tenderloin has been a repeat performer at our dinner table for the last couple months.  This last time using a pork roast trimmed of most visible fat and cooked for 4 hrs in the slow cooker. Ancho is dried ground poblano peppers it lends a smokiness and without overpowering spice to the pork.  Do not let the soy sauce scare you off if you are typically not a fan (like me) when mixed together it takes a different flavor profile. When using soy sauce try to use reduced sodium.
Ancho can be found in most grocery stores but you may have to look for it in the international aisle not the spice.  I found a 1oz bag for 99 cents at my local grocery store.  I have also made this once using ground chipotle spice instead just as good.

Serving Size 1 serving 3oz Amount Per ServingCalories 279; Calories from Fat 45; Total Fat 5.0g; Saturated Fat 1.7g; Trans Fat 0.1g; Cholesterol 103mg Sodium 337mg; Total Carbohydrates 19.4g; Dietary Fiber 0.1g; Sugars 17.6g; Protein 37.2g

Vitamin A 0%	•	Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 1%	•	Iron 9%

*my nutrition info is different from Eating Well because I did not include the cheese grits that is with the recipe on their website.

I was on Pintrest (follow me here) earlier this week and came across a link to the recipe Bangin Grilled Shrimp from Skinnytaste.  I was excited to try it and made a small batch this week for lunch and I LOVED it.  I made it the next day for lunch again. The yummy shrimp lightly coated in a creamy kinda sweet and spicy sauce so good.  I did not grill my shrimp but sautéed them in a teaspoon of olive oil in my non stick pan which is similar to her Banging Good Shrimp minus the cornstarch and wok.  Do not be scared off by the Sriracha you can add as little or as much as you wish.  If you do not want to commit to a whole bottle of Sriracha just yet ask around with friends if you have a 1/2 tsp more people have it in their pantry than you may think. For my single serving size I scaled it down to 4oz shrimp about 7 med size 1 tbl low fat mayo 1tsp Thai chili sauce 1/2 siriacha and 1 tbl green onion just the green top diced finely. 

Serving size about 4oz shrimp and Tablespoon of sauce

Calories 162; Calories from Fat 47; Total Fat 5.2g; Saturated Fat 0.3g; Cholesterol 226mg;

Sodium 438mg; Total Carbohydrates 4.3g; Dietary Fiber 0.2g; Sugars 2.1g; Protein 23.8g

Vitamin A 8%	•	Vitamin C 7%
Calcium 5%	•	Iron 20%

I also pinned a recipe called Take-Out Fake-Out Burrito Bowls from Table for two blog.  It is a homemade version of the Chipotle Chicken Bowl with corn salsa and the lime rice.  The whole family loved it and we will be making again often.  I did however search out a different version of the corn salsa.  This one is closer to the original however I did not roast the corn, time issues, and it was still really good.  I also made my own cilantro lime rice similar to Chipotle's  

1 tsp olive oil

1cup brown rice not instant

2 cups vegetable stock, not broth I prefer Kitchen Basics

Dash of salt 

Juice of 1lime

1 tbl spoon cilantro finely chopped

in a med sauce pan over med high heat add oil and heat until hot add rice and stir around 3-4 min until just a bit browner. Add veg stock and salt stir well cover with a tight lid and reduce heat to low cooking 35-45 min   when cooked thru remove from heat add lime juice mix well and cover let sit 2-3 min more then add cilantro mixing well then serve. 

don't fear the brown rice.

Chicken Amount per Serving 3 oz

Calories 150; Calories from Fat 57; Total Fat 6.3g; Saturated Fat 1.2g; Cholesterol 65mg; Sodium 194mg; Total Carbohydrates 1.8g; Dietary Fiber 0.7g; Sugars 0.3g; Protein 23.4g

Vitamin A 8%	•	Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 1%	•	Iron 4%

 Salsa Serving 2 tablespoons

Calories 18; Calories from Fat1; Total Fat 0.1g; Saturated Fat 0.0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 1mg; Total Carbohydrates 4.6g; Dietary Fiber 0.7g; Sugars 0.9g; Protein 0.6g

Vitamin A 1%	•	Vitamin C 5%
Calcium 0%	•	Iron 3%

I left my husband in charge of cooking the cauliflower one day this week when I had to go to work before dinner.  Much to his dismay it was a fresh head and not a bag of frozen.  But the smart man I have worked hard to train the last 5 years when to my computer and found an easy recipe to make.  Oven-roasted Cauliflower with garlic olive oil and lemon juice  from Emeril Lagasse is the BEST cauliflower I have ever had !!  I will be making it constantly.  

Serving Size 1/3 cup

Calories 73; Calories from Fat 58; Total Fat 6.4g; Saturated Fat 0.9g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium; 310mg; Total Carbohydrates 4.1g; Dietary Fiber 1.6g; Sugars 1.6g; Protein 1.3g

Vitamin A 0%	•	Vitamin C 52%
Calcium 2%	•	Iron 2%

My family consists of 3 little people so buttermilk ranch is a staple. But a year ago our middle lil one developed an allergy to certain salad dressings and mayo's.  Some but not all weird I know.  So I set out to find a replacement and have taken to making homemade.  It is easier then you think I make a batch every once in a while and keep it in a mason jar. Since then I have come to detest bottled and don’t even get me started on the taste of reduced fat ranch Yuk.  I tried a couple recipes but by far our family favorite is Buttermilk Ranch by Mother Thyme on TastyKitchen. I massaged it this week to be lower in cal.  I used reduced fat Hellmann’s mayo and reduced fat buttermilk.  Hellmann’s mayo has ingredient that you can pronounce and the only difference to regular is the addition of Potato starch I assume to help thicken in place of some of the fat. 

Serving Size 2 tbl

Amount per Serving

Calories 67; Calories from Fat 2; Total Fat 0.2g; Saturated Fat 0.1g

Trans Fat 0.0g; Cholesterol 8mg; Sodium 214mg; Total Carbohydrates 2.2g; Sugars 0.8g; Protein0.4g

I hope my reviews may have inspired you to give some of these recipes a try.  If you want me to try and review one you have had your eye on just let me know. 

Stay tuned for regular posting under That's Tasy.

Veggie Quesadilla Super Simple Super Tasty

I love quesadillas! 
I have tried so many different combos Chicken Club, Bbq Chicken , cheese and green onion, steak, shredded pork, and don't laugh I have even made a hot dog one.  It was pretty good so don't knock it till you try it. 
Last week while perusing one of my go to recipe sites I stumbled across a recipe for Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas and thought hay I've never had just a veggie one and this one looks like a good start.  When I looked at the original recipe I thought that maybe just a little plain and I may just have to give it a little bit more omph. Of course we were out of corn so I could not get to making it right away. 
Yesterday was grocery day and corn was on the top of the list.    When I walked over to the freezer section sitting right next to the bag of corn I wanted was Birds Eye " The Ultimate Southwest Blend" with sweet corn, black beans, mild poblano chilies, red pepper and roasted onions. BINGO! and It was on sale no less! It was a sign not only was this mix going to help jazz it up but it was going to be super simple.
When lunch rolled around today I was really excited to whip one up.  It was so good warm and melty with a crisp tortilla, a tiny bit sweet form the corn, the poblanos added a touch of smokiness not really much heat, the onion and red pepper played together well and the black beans rounded it out to make it filling. 
I truly guessed at the proper measurements because I love to stuff mine until the filling starts to fall out if you think your could use a little bit more or if you have larger tortillas add as much more and you would like


Veggie Quesadilla

2 flour tortillas, soft taco size roughly 6 to 6.5 inches
2 TBL shredded cheddar cheese divided
2 TBL shredded Monterrey Jack cheese divided
1/4 c Ultimate Southwest Blend veggie mix
salsa and sour cream and guacamole to serve with.

1.Place the veggie mix in a small microwaveable dish and warm on high 45 sec to 1 min until defrosted. 
2. Heat a dry pan over med high heat
3. lie first tortilla down sprinkle with 1tbl each cheddar and Monterrey jack,with in an 1/2 in of the edges so there is not much over melt. next even distribute the veggies on top of the cheese, then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the veggies and lay the other tortilla on top of it all. 
4. using a spatula carefully lift the side to peak at the underside checking to see if it is light brown.  3-5 min depending on your heat source.
5 once the first side is done slide the spatula as far under as you can go and quickly flip the whole thing over. *
6. Heat on the other side 3-5 min until light brown.  This side may go quicker so check sooner than the previous side.
7 remove from pan to cutting board cut in half turn and cut in half again making 4 triangles.
8. serve warm with favorite toppings.


If you are defiantly achen for some bacon or any meat try with diced or shredded cooked chicken.

Also note I did not use any oil or butter in my pan to crisp up the tortilla a dry pan works great and I saved you 20 calories your welcome ;)

*If you are not sure you can do it with out loosing the filling try placing your finger in the middle of the top tortilla and pulling away quickly before dropping it in.  If that is still to scary try sliding the whole quesadilla out of the pan on to a plate then turn the pan over the plate and flip the plate upside down.