Healthy Salmon Soup with your Blender

I really enjoy eating a blended salmon soup.  It's really quick and easy to make yourself a healthy soup.  Here's what to do:


Put 1/2-3/4 cup of water in a saucepan.  Cook a vegetable in the water....some choices are summer squash, zucchini, spinach, kale, collard greens, butternut squash.  Cook until greens are wilted or veggies are soft. (You'll want 3 large handfuls of greens or a whole summer squash.  You'll need less of a winter squash.  Just eyeball it.)

Meanwhile in a blender add:

between 1 tsp. and 1 T. of oil (coconut or olive)
up to 1 T. tomato paste (I open a can and freeze it like this)
seasonings to taste-salt, pepper, nutritional yeast
choose a flavor profile...italian seasoning or curry for instance
if you like it spicy add some cayenne or red pepper flake

When the greens or squash are cooked add them to the blender and pulse for slightly chunky consistency.  (I use a towel to cover the blender to protect myself from hot liquids.)

Pour into soup bowl and add a packet of salmon (I get mine at Walmart by the tuna-fish.)

Optionally you can add about 1/2 cup of quinoa or brown rice.

Enjoy!

(If you don't like to use the packet salmon you can cook a thawed salmon fillet with your vegetables.  I find they are sometimes fishy, so I prefer the packets.)

My favorite version

Summer squash, 1 T. EVOO, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, oregano, packet of salmon and 1/2 cup quinoa.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal with Fried Apples

In my recent post, 30+ Whole Food Breakfasts for Weight Watchers I linked to this Baked Pumpkin Banana oatmeal. One morning recently, I really wanted baked oatmeal but didn't have time so I came up with this quick breakfast which is only 4 Points Plus for Weight Watchers.

Note: In the recipe builder this comes up as 4 points without the apple and pumpkin and 6 with them.  I count this as 4.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal with Fried Apples

1/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup water

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
dash of salt
2 T. pumpkin
1/4 tsp. molasses

Topping:
1 apple (I like Granny Smith)
1 tsp. grassfed butter or coconut oil
1 T. xylitol (or your favorite sweetener)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

optional: homemade cranberry sauce

Cook your oatmeal with your favorite method. (I used my microwave.)  Add the spices, pumpkin and molasses. Stir to combine.  In the meantime, peel apple if desired, then cut into chunks.  Fry in skillet in butter (or oil) until almost done (I did mine for 2-3 minutes but cook them until they are as soft as desired) add xylitol and pumpkin pie spice, stirring constantly.   Serve apples over the oatmeal.  This is fantastic with a scoop of homemade cranberry sauce in the middle.

Sugar-Free Cranberry Sauce

I saw a couple of different sugar-free cranberry sauce recipes on the internet and decided to come up with my own. This ended up being the best thing on my plate on Thanksgiving.  So delicious!

Ingredients:

1 bag of fresh or frozen cranberries (you can use less if you don't have a full bag)
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Swerve

Directions:

Combine all in small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until all the cranberries pop and it starts to thicken.  Stir and cool.  Store in fridge.


Enjoy!

BLT in a Bowl

I had mentioned in a previous post that I think half the battle of losing weight is figuring out what to eat.  I plan to share some of my favorite recipes and quick fixes that I have used while losing 50 lbs (so far).

This is a recipe I've had for quite a while, but sort of forgot about it until Rob mentioned it the other day.   It comes from the Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers: Improving the Way Your Family Eats One Meal at a Time. Honestly, my kids prefer just the plain soup so I made them plain tomato soup. (Yes, from a can.)

I really had forgotten how good this was until we had it tonight. It's super fast and only 260 calories in about a 2 cup serving.  (It made 8 cups and it serves 4 but I used 1 large can of soup instead of the 2 smaller cans and that makes for a little extra soup.)


B.L.T. in a Bowl


Two 10 oz cans less-sodium tomato soup (I just used the regular.)
2 cans water
6 to 8 oz. frozen cheese tortellini
one 6-oz. bag pre-washed baby spinach (about 4 packed cups)
4 tsp. real bacon bits (I bought some turkey bacon bits.)
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese, optional


Pour tomato soup and water into large saucepan and stir to combine.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Add the tortellini and cook, uncovered, according to package directions, stirring frequently. Do not drain.  Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Serve in individual bowls and top with bacon bits and Parmesan cheese as desired.

printable version

I highly recommend this soup and The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers.  You'll find more recipes here.You might want to check the book out of the library first to see if you like it or better yet head over to their website. (or purchase it at Amazon.) They have a new book out, No Whine With Dinner that I haven't had a chance to look through but I'm going to see if it's at the library.

Brown Rice Salad for lunch

My current favorite lunch recipe is a brown rice salad.  If you've been reading my blog you know that I have been on an 11 month long weight loss journey.  I began it on the Flat Belly Diet by Prevention magazine.  In the FBD Pocket Guide there is a "recipe" for brown rice salad.

When my friend, Amanda, told me about this salad I didn't think it sounded very good but decided to try it anyway and I love it.  Over the summer, I fell into a pattern of eating a 400 calorie lunch but it usually consisted of some kind of sandwich, baked potato chips and a Weight Watchers Ice Cream bar.(Dark Chocolate Raspberry!)  Recently, I decided that I should get back to eating some healthier foods for lunch.


The recipe calls for brown rice which I do sometimes use. But currently I buy a brown rice medley at Trader Joe's that is delicious.  I cook it in a rice cooker and then portion it out in half cup portions in Press N Seal and keep it in the freezer. Then I can have rice in 1 minute in the microwave.

So my salad consists of:

1/2 cup brown rice
1/3 cup pinto beans (I use whatever canned beans I have on hand..watch calorie counts, they are not all equal)
1/4 cup avocado
2 T. salsa
2 T. lime juice
1 small tomato, chopped
black pepper to taste

(The original recipe also calls for 2 tsp. olive oil but I leave it out so I can eat an ice cream bar...yes..I know I said I wanted to be healthier but I LOVE them. :) )

(I usually sprinkle with a bit of salt.)

It's so yummy and nutritious.  Give it a try and let me know how you like it.  What is your favorite healthy lunch?