recipe of the week!

Greek Salad Cucumber Bites

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese (nonfat)
1/2 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 large Hot House cucumber, sliced slightly on the diagonal
1/2 cup prepared hummus
1/3 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 Tablespoons chopped green onions

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and garlic with a rubber spatula until smooth and well-combined.

2. Assemble the appetizers: Scoop a heaping teaspoonful of the cream cheese mixture onto a slice of cucumber and spread to the edges. Spoon a heaping teaspoonful of hummus on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle with tomato, olives, feta and green onion. Repeat with remaining cucumber slices and toppings. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and serve within a few hours.

recipe of the WEEK!

Spinach in Coconut Milk

1 lb frozen spinach, thawed

½ medium onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

½ tsp all spice

½ scotch bonnet pepper, seeds removed

1 ½ cup coconut milk

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp canola oil

Over a medium fire, place canola oil in a large sauce pot.   When oil is hot, add onion and cook until soft.  Next add ginger and garlic, cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.   Add spinach, stir fry for 2 minutes then add coconut milk, allspice, scotch bonnet pepper, salt and sugar.    Bring to a boil then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, serve warm.

Shrimp Veracruzana

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and very thinly sliced, or to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp, (16-20 per pound; see Shopping Tip)
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced pitted green olives
• 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bay leaf and cook for 1 minute. Add onion, jalapeños and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in shrimp, cover and cook until pink and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and olives. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, replace cover and cook until the tomatoes are almost broken down, 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove the bay leaf. Serve with lime wedges.

ENJOY! :)

let it be known...

... I am obsessed with chocolate.

 I know, I know... this is a normal "girl" thing, right? Maybe, yes. The level of MY love and devotion to chocolate, though, I would argue is more radical and intense than most. If there is a fudge shop within 500 yards of me, I can sniff it out. And then taste it out. And then most likely buy it out... the shop, I mean. I always end up getting way too many sweets, and leaving the store feeling blissfully overwhelmed satisfied.

Want an example of my undying love and devotion? OK. Here you go...

So, just last weekend, my roommate and I went to the Ballet Arizona Director's Choice performance. It was incredible. Held in the beautifully structured Orpheum Theatre, the dancing was amazingly artistic, graceful and visually engaging. By the time the ballet was over, however, my roommate and I were STARVING! Being the "newbies" that we are to AZ, and being especially ignorant to all that Phoenix has to offer, we were extremely dumbfounded as to where to dine at 10:00p.m. in this unexplored city. Living up to the adventurers that we claim to be, we decided to ask one of the "locals" (when can you call yourself a "local" after moving from another state? 6 months? one year? just a thought...) where THEY would eat if they could choose any restaurant downtown. This particular Phoenixian (yes, I made that up) told us, without hesitation... go to Windsor. He claimed they had amazing food, atmosphere and service. Boy, was he spot on! I have NEVER had a better pulled pork sandwich in my LIFE. I kid you not. SO... after eating my delightful sandwich, clearly completely satisfied and not in want of anything else to satisfy my hunger pangs and taste buds, I went in search of the ladies room. (I'm getting to the point, I promise.) While wandering down the hall, hoping I wouldn't have to turn around in defeat and ask the bartender where the hidden lavatory was, I started to smell something that my expert nose recognized as SWEET. I mean sweet as in fudge, ice cream, brownies... that kind of sweet- not sweet like cool, neat, awesome.... you get the picture. (Although... I guess in my book the two meanings of the word go pretty much hand-in-hand... wow. Back to the point. sorry.)  Following my nose down the winding hallway, a WillyWonka-like room appeared. In that room, I was assaulted with bright candy rappers, an endless supply of ice cream flavors, gummy bears, and the sweetest ice cream scooping lady I've ever met. A HIDDEN SWEET SHOP!? This was/is my dream. I asked for a sample of ice cream. I said to the precious scooper, "please give me just a sample of your favorite ice cream." Without delay she dug out a little taste of butter pecan heaven. I've never tasted ice cream so delightful in my life. (NOT AN EXAGGERATION!) Sprinting Briskly walking back to the table, I told my roommate, "I just found a SECRET sweet shop!" Not surprised or phased in the least by my ability to discover such a thing, she quickly grabbed her bag and followed me down the heavenly hallway to our sugary demise. I had 3 scoops. I'm not PROUD of that, but at least I'm being honest. Right?

What was the point of that story, you ask?

I am just trying to let you all know how much I truly LOVE sugar. Chocolate, ice cream, caramel, pie, cupcakes, fudge... you name it- I like it.

Get it? I think you do at this point. I hope.

All of that to say... there is HOPE! For you, I mean. AND for me! While working here at DeRosa Medical, I get to talk all day long to people about weight loss. I get to talk to precious people about changing their eating patterns and bettering themselves through nutrition, exercise and self control! It can be a difficult journey, but it is most definitely a DOABLE one. For a really long time, I educated patients on a certain product we use as an aid to the Weight Loss Program- Glycemic Foundation, without having tested the product myself. Now, as much as I AM a fan of chocolate, I am NOT a fan of powdered drink mixes that health-nuts like to call "shakes". How deceiving! These gritty, chalk-like drink mixes are a far cry from what I think of as a shake. With that said, I FINALLY gave in and tried the chocolate version of the Glycemic Foundation. It... was... DIVINE. I was shocked! I was taken off guard! I was DELIGHTED. It tasted SO good. Not only does it taste amazing, it (and I know this because I talk to people about this product ALL DAY LONG) regulates my insulin levels throughout the day, allowing my body to stay at a comfortable, stable state; not experiencing any sugar cravings, peaks or pits throughout the day. I drink this shake (yes, I will go as far to call it that) every morning for breakfast. 2 scoops of this magical mix with 8 oz. of light chocolate soy milk, and I am good for the day! I don't even think about chocolate again... which is saying something.

SO... give it some thought. Come in and try out this magical shake for yourself! I PROMISE you will NOT be disappointed.

... phew. That was a LOT of talk about chocolate. I bet you want some right now, don't you?

(I am cruel.)

Well, here's an idea! TRY THE GLYCEMIC FOUNDATION!

Have a great Easter week, everyone! :) Enjoy time with family, friends... yourself! Relax, soak in the gorgeous sun, and be good to yourself!

Bethany

recipe of the WEEK!

Crustless Mini Quiche

Ingredients

- ¼ cup Grounded Turkey Meat

- 1 ½ cups Eggbeaters

- 10 oz Spinach

- ½ cup mushrooms

- 1 chopped onion

- ¼ cup fat free shredded cheese

- 6 oz Fat Free Greek Yogurt

- Salt and Pepper (optional)

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Generously coat muffin tin with non-stick cooking stray

- Cook ground turkey meat till fully brown

- Whisk eggbeaters and greek yogurt (salt and pepper) till smooth

- Dice all veggies and cook stove top with a few tablespoons of water till just slightly softened.

- Place diced veggies in muffin tins

- Sprinkle with fat-free shredded cheese

- Top off muffin tins to top with egg mixture

- Place in oven for 35-45 minutes or till golden brown.

... So, I am really bummed. Why? Well, because I wrote this REALLY neat (or at least I think so!) St. Patty's day blog post, and then I forgot to actually post it! UGH! Oh well... there's always next year, right?... unless the Mayans were right, and then, unfortunately, there isn't next year...

ENJOY!

Bethany

scrambled, please!

Whether you like them scrambled, hard-boiled, poached, sunny side up, over easy, deviled, or shirred… there is a debate going on about one of our most beloved breakfast staples. Didn’t you know? Eggs are a huge source of choline AND controversy.  

There are such mixed feelings out in the Nutrition World these days about eggs. Some say stay away from them completely, while others vehemently defend their nutritional benefits. So, who is right? And… maybe an even more important question… WHY are they right? Let’s dig a little deeper…

Eggs are usually thought of, and analyzed as having two parts: the egg yolk, and the egg white. In the egg yolk, we find that it stores an immense amount of key, sometimes hard to come by, nutrients. One of these key nutrients is choline. Generally, choline is grouped together with the B vitamin clan, although it is not officially part of the group. This special nutrient brings various positive components to the table; choline is thought to aid the prevention of memory loss, protect the liver against damage, lower cholesterol and possibly even fight off some cancers. In addition, most recognize this nutrient as containing antioxidants that could assist in the prevention of cataracts and macular degeneration (blurry vision).

With that said, the yolk of the egg is also significantly high in calories, and the general public usually far exceeds the recommended servings by an exorbitant amount. Most people should really only be consuming one yolk a day, and those considered to have any risk of heart attack and/or stroke should limit their yolk intake to two a week. Choline consumed at a too-high rate can cause unpleasant symptoms such as low blood pressure, diarrhea and a fishy body odor.

In conclusion- eggs are GOOD for you in MODERATION!! They have amazing nutrients that aid in the prevention of a slew of health problems. On the other hand, eggs can be eaten way too often, in a much-to-high quantity. Limit yourself to one a day, and prepare it in a way that isn’t going to take away from its benefits. (Don’t slather your scrambled eggs with butter or ketchup!) To still get a hearty amount of food, try making your omelet or scrambled eggs with one yolk and two egg whites; surprisingly enough, they still taste great, and are much more satisfying than just one measly egg.

How do you prefer to eat your eggs? Personally, I’d take them scrambled or hard-boiled ANY day over fried.

Have an EGGcellent, EGGstrodinary, EGGciting day, everyone! J (I couldn't resist!)

Bethany

Recipe of the WEEK!!

Mustard-Garlic Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 1 tbsp apple juice
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:


1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Whisk together the canola oil, mustard, apple juice, garlic powder and salt in a dish. Add the asparagus, and toss together until the asparagus is coated. Lay the asparagus in a shallow baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the asparagus is fork-tender.


ENJOY! :)
Bethany