Green Tea is More than a Beverage

Have you ever thought about using green tea as other than a refreshing, healthy beverage? Here's some insight to show its versatility. My students LOVEwhen I prepare this dish in class.  Enjoy!

There are a variety of ways to use green tea. Green tea has been used in holistic remedies for centuries. The high level of antioxidants can benefit your immune system, your eyes, your skin and your overall health.

In addition to drinking iced or hot green tea, try using it in your cooking. Here's an easy way to get extra nourishment into your diet: Steam with it. How's that?

Put some water into a cook pot, as if you were steaming. It usually only takes about an inch or two of water. Add a tablespoon of green tea leaves to the water. Place your steamer device in place. You can buy a cheap metal steamer for around $5. It's not only cheap, but long-lasting. :)

Place some fish onto the steamer. This recipe works especially well with trout, mackerel, mahi mahi (dolphin fish), or other white fishes. Cover the pan.

Turn on your stove top to medium high. Steam your fish for about 10 minutes, til tender. Poke with a fork to test for doneness. Your fish should easily flake when it is done. Turn heat off and remove pan from burner.

Remove your fish and enjoy!

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Holiday Carrot Salad

Here's a twist on a traditional carrot salad recipe that I came up with for a recent potluck. I didn't have any raisins, so substituted with a holiday favorite...

3 large carrots, peeled and grated

1 slice pineapple, or 1/8c diced pineapple

handful dried cranberries, sweetened and dried

handful dates, cut into small pieces

2-3 T plain yogurt

pineapple juice to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Place in refrigerator and chill for an hour.

Store unused portions in airtight container in the fridge.

That's it!

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No Fat, Yet Tasty, Red Pepper Vinaigrette

Usually, a vinaigrette consists of 3 parts oil to one part vinegar.
Oil is replaced by apple juice in this recipe, providing less calories and fat. Half juice, half vinegar plus spices provide the base for this low-calorie vinaigrette.

This recipe makes eight servings. Store unused portion in your refrigerator.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (mixture of oregano, rosemary and thyme)
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika, optional
1/2 of a roasted red bell pepper, seeds removed

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender container. Blend to mix thoroughly.

Healthy Yogurt Treat

Instead of buying sugar-laden, commercially manufactured yogurt....try this:

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 banana, sliced
1 teaspoon flax seeds
unsweetened pineapple juice, to taste

Place all ingredients into bowl. Mix thoroughly. Adjust juice to your liking.
Besides getting more nutrients than store-bought versions, you have control over the ingredients.

Enjoy!

Heart Healthy Breakfast Treat

The first meal of your day is important since it provides fuel to carry you through. Here is a fiber rich and tasty way to help your heart out. The cantaloupe is high in Vitamin C and fiber. The cottage cheese provides protein. And, the flax seeds are high in Omega 3 fatty acids and fiber...both essential for heart health. This recipe is also low in calories.

¼ cantaloupe, cubed and removed from skin
½ cup low fat cottage cheese
1 teaspoon flax seeds
sprinkling of cinnamon

Cut up the cantaloupe and place onto serving plate. Place the cottage cheese on top. Sprinkle with the flax seeds and cinnamon. Adjust the cinnamon per your taste.

Enjoy!

Heart Healthy Breakfast Sandwich

Start your day with a nutritious low fat breakfast sandwich that is high in protein. It's easy and quick to make.

1 hard boiled egg, shelled
1 whole wheat English muffin, toasted
1 tablespoon low fat cream cheese
flax seeds
garlic powder
salt

Cut the English muffin in half. Toast it.
Spread the cream cheese on each muffin.
Slice the egg white and place onto the muffin. (Set aside, or toss, egg yolk).
Sprinkle with flax seeds.
Sprinkle with garlic powder and a touch of salt.

For variety, you can prepare one half of your English muffin like above. After covering with cream cheese, slice some fresh banana onto it. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Forget Those Commercially Prepared "Healthy Yogurts"

Don't let the mass food manufacturers fool you, those fruit flavored yogurts are not healthy for you. Many of them are nothing but candy bars disguised as “healthy yogurt”. I find it disgusting and disconcerning to read the labels on these foods. If sugar isn't listed as the first ingredient, it is probably the second or third ingredient.

Commercially prepared, fruit yogurt varieties could be sweetened with ingredients such as sugar, dextrose, maltodextrin, corn syrup solids, aspartame, saccharin or fruit juice. The fruit juice may be one fruit or a combination of a variety of fruits with additional sweeteners.

Either way...you can make your own version of fruit yogurt without the added nonsense just mentioned. It is also much cheaper and healthier than the commercially prepared varieties. Here's how...

Buy a container of plain yogurt. (PLAIN without any vanilla or other flavorings). The low fat variety will save you calories and fat content.

Your chosen variety of fruit.
Mix together. It's that easy.
***
One of my favorites recipes....

½ cup plain yogurt
5-7 bing cherries, chopped
½ teaspoon flaxseeds
3” banana, sliced and quartered
pineapple juice (adjust for taste)

Mix together in serving bowl. It makes a great breakfast.

NOTE: If you want to, blend all these ingredients together for a fruit smoothie. You may want to add more yogurt or juice, you decide on what consistency you want your smoothie.

Red Pepper Vinaigrette

This salad dressing is nothing like your basic vinaigrette formula — but you'll soon want to use it nearly every day. The classic vinaigrette is made with 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. As you can see, this version has no oil in it at all, making it extremely low in calories.
Once you've tried this I'm sure it'll become your basic everyday staple for salad. And you can never eat too much salad!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried whole oregano
Pinches of rosemary and thyme
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 of a roasted red bell pepper

Per serving:
8 calories
0 g total fat (0 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
2 g carbohydrate
0 g protein
0 g fiber
50 mg sodium

Reprinted from Dr. Weil's website at: