Low Calorie Hummus

Wow! I stumbled upon a great hummus recipe that I adapted to fit my own lower-calorie needs.  It is SUPER easy to make, and I took a couple liberties as you'll see, because I forgot to pick up different ingredients.  This is a must-try recipe.

The best part: it cost me NOTHING to make, since I had all the ingredients on hand, but you can find a can of garb. beans for $1.

I have not taken a photo, but I plan on making this often, so someday I'll upload one :-)

Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans (15.5 oz)
1 large clove garlic
approx 1 oz lemon juice (fresh is best)
1 tbs Reduced fat creamy peanut butter
2 tsp Sesame seeds
2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
basil leaves
pinch Spanish smoked paprika
1/4 to 1/2 tsp kosher salt to taste

Back story. I was looking up low calorie hummus recipes and I found one omitting the high fat and calorie tahini and instead using RF peanut butter and/or sesame oil.  I ran out of sesame oil and forgot to pick up more, so I thought I'd buzz up some sesame seeds with peanut butter and EVOO and see if good flavor happens.  Long story short: it's delicious.

Directions:
Drain garbanzo beans and save liquid.  In a food processor, add sesame seeds, oil, garbanzo beans, peanut butter, and salt. Process until chunky.  Add the rest of the ingredients (as much basil as you like) and process, adding reserved canning liquid by the teaspoon to help thin it out until desired consistency.
Yields approximately 10 servings of approx 1/4 cup.

Compared to Sabra (which is delicious), we lose 40% of the calories and 83% of the fat with this recipe per 4 tbs serving. Enjoy with your favorite veggies, or use 1 tbs in place of mayo on your sandwich for an incredible 1/3 the calories!

Nutritional Information:

Sugar-Free Orange Spiced Cranberry Applesauce

 

(phone photo)

I saw that apples were on sale this week so I wanted to use up some of my older apples.
Warning: I don't use recipes often... I normally wing everything, so the recipe below is my best guess of the quantities I used.

First off, there are many easier ways to make applesauce, and one of them includes preparing it in the microwave.  I love being hands-on in the kitchen, so I made it in a large saucepan, pulling out all the stops.

Ingredients:
5 apples (I used a combination of granny smith and fuji because that's what I had), diced large
2 tbs raisins
1/4 cup cranberries (or just use your favorite cranberry sauce)
1/2 fresh vanilla bean
orange
2 cinnamon sticks
2 green cardamom pods
3 star anise
5 whole cloves
1/2 tsp allspice (use 1 tsp whole allspice cloves if you have them)
10 tsp sugar substitute
lemon juice
1" finger of ginger, peeled
water
1 tsp flax seeds (optional... they don't add flavor, just nutrients and texture)

Step 1:
Use vegetable peeler to peel off 3 slices of rind and zest remaining orange. Squeeze the juice of one half into a large saucepan (it wouldn't hurt to squeeze the whole thing, but I ended up only using half). Add 1/4 cup water to pan and turn to medium heat.

Step 2:
Make bouquet garni of: cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods (crushed), star anise, cloves, allspice (only if you used whole cloves), ginger (peeled and cut a couple times), orange peel. Tie with kitchen twine and toss into covered saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes to let the spices do their thing.

Step 3:
Add the fresh cranberries.  Once cranberries have burst, add diced apples, raisins, vanilla bean (split and scraped), orange zest, flax seeds, sugar substitute and 1 tsp lemon juice.  Simmer until raisins are plump and apples are medium tender. Mash with potato masher until desired consistency.  If there is not enough liquid for you, add more and maybe use a cornstarch slurry to thicken if desired.  Use sugar substitute and lemon juice to taste. I had less Granny Smiths than Fuji's, so I used more lemon juice to keep the tart balance.

If you use ground spices instead of whole, add them in with the apples. Adjust any seasonings to taste with ground spices.  Discard bouquet garni and cool.  I actually think this recipe tastes better cold than hot.

Yields approximately 30 oz.


What else to do with it?

• Jar it and give away as gifts
• Add your favorite extract for a new flavor
• Add in other berries (cherries, blueberries, etc)
• Heat and serve with pork topped with toasted chopped walnuts or almonds
• Heat and top with vanilla ice cream and cookie crumbles!

Marinara Sauce

Marinara is so easy to make.  I truly don't have a recipe to copy here because it changes every time I make it.  The basis is the same, and here's how I do it:

I don't love every vegetable in the grocery store, namely the squash family.  But marinara is a great way to add vegetables to your kids' diets and THEY'LL NEVER KNOW!  Plus, it usually makes a lot and these are cheap ingredients.

I usually add 2 zucchini, a bunch of tomatoes, carrots and celery, onions, bell peppers (roast them and skin them).
You could add a little fennel, spinach, broccoli, etc.  As long as the tomato is the star, it will be indistinguishable which other veggies are included.

I add a variety of spices including salt, black pepper, oregano, basil, marjoram, fennel seed, thyme, parsely, and garlic.

I also add canned tomatoes and tomato paste, plus water, and sometimes a bullion cube.

Cook it all down, toss it in a blender and blend until very smooth.  *a side note: if it is not fully smooth, the texture of the vegetables is too easy to distinguish and it's somewhat gritty and unpleasant. So blend well.
I usually put it back on the stove to cook further, adjusting some spices and adding fresh herbs and sometimes a few chunks of canned tomato reserved from the can.  Sometimes I add greek yogurt or neufchatel to make it slightly creamy.

Use this as a base for soup, jar it, or freeze for future uses.  Turn it into a vodka cream sauce and serve with penne for dinner one night.  Add into chili-seasoned beans and beef and serve as chili.  Use as base for tortilla soup, adding cilantro, jalapenos, and cumin.  Make meatballs and use their cooking juices to flavor the marinara.  Marinara is so versatile!  Have fun with it.

Tortilla Soup

One winter day in Boston I felt like cooking.  I looked in my pantry and tossed everything into a pot.  What came out was a tortilla soup.. kind of.  And it was fabulous (though the ugly photo makes me cringe).

1 large can diced tomatoes
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 onion, diced
1/4 c. beer
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1.5 jarred jalapeños, crushed
dash red pepper flakes
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/3 can water
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 tbsp sugar

It could be as simple as throwing all these ingredients into a pan, bringing it up to a boil, and simmering for 45 minutes.
Or, it could be more complicated: blooming the garlic, spices, and onion in 1 tbsp oil, adding tomatoes, deglaze with beer, add remaining ingredients except for cilantro.  Cook for 40 minutes and add cilantro in final minutes of cooking.  Garnish with dollop of sour cream, cilantro, and fried tortilla strips.