Grilled Peaches

Recipe at bottom of page

Every summer my mom buys large pecks or containers of peaches from a local farm down the street from our house. I'm not lying, these are the best peaches on the planet. They are so juicy and sweet! We go through these babies like crazy, I could easily eat 2 or 3 a day! 

Today my mom and I were in a rush to get to the farm before it closed for the night--we needed to get our fix of peaches for the week! Haha! The farm closes at 6:00 pm and we rolled in at 6:05 pm. We desperately ran up to the farm stand hoping it would still be open. Thankfully it was, and  we got our peck of peaches for the week. Phew!

Tonight we were grilling up some pork chops for dinner and my dad had the idea of grilling the peaches as well, I mean we had so many, so why not? The result: PERFECTION! The peaches gained a whole new level of intensity; the natural sugars became so prevalent. We ended up having them for dinner and dessert; the grilled peaches tasted delicious paired with the grilled pork chops and amazing with greek yogurt.

Try out this yummy and healthy summer treat!

Our peck of peaches!

Ingredients:

Peaches

       Pairing Ideas:
       Sweet Tooth: Fat free vanilla greek yogurt and walnuts
       Savory Tooth: Grilled pork chops   

Directions:

1. Halve the peaches and take out the pit
2. Place the peaches on the grill, cut side down and cook for 20 minutes
3. Serve with the pairings listed above or just eat by itself!

Nutrition:

Information above calculated for 1 peach
Pairings not included

Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe at bottom of page 

Recently, I stopped by my town's Amish Farmers Market for lunch. After my delicious meal, I browsed over the stands and the sweet aromas from the bakery drew me in! Pies, cookies, and cakes galore! Of course I couldn't resist, so I purchased an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. It was so chewy on the outside and moist on the inside, mmmmm:) 

Later, I passed the Dutch Treats stand where I found a wonderful collection of jams and butters. The apple butter in particular caught my attention. The ingredients listed were apples and cinnamon, that's it! Then it hit me! Apple, cinnamon, and oats... why not recreate the oatmeal cookie I had earlier using the apple butter I just discovered?! So I got to thinking of this recipe.

I really wanted to maintain that chewiness oatmeal cookies are notorious for. However, this is usually achieved by using a crazy amount of sugar and butter. And using applesauce or even apple butter in place of butter and sugar tends to make cookies have a cake-like constancy. Hmmmm... then it hit me! Use marshmallow fluff in place of granulated sugar and use apple butter in place of regular butter! The marshmallow fluff melts like butter and sugar, but is lower in calories and fat.

Sure enough, these cookies turned out incredible! they are so chewy and cinnamony- if that's even a word! You won't be able to get enough of these cookies! 

Makes ~34 Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Apple Butter (No sugar added)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Marshmallow Fluff
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Egg
1/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/4 cup Quaker Oats

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Mix the apple butter, brown sugar, marshmallow fluff, vanilla extract, and egg in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt, whole wheat flour, and quaker oats.
4. Then combine the two mixtures and mix until a cookie dough forms.
5. Drop tbsp sized portions of dough onto a nonstick cookie sheet about 2-3 inches apart.
6. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes and let cool for 5 minutes... if you can wait! Enjoy these little gems!

Nutrition Facts:

Information above calculated for 1
cookie when recipe makes 34 cookies

Triple B Smoothie

Recipe at bottom of page

Tripple B Smoothie? What do all those Bs stand for? 

BANG, BANG, BANG!?

That's not it, but it might as well be! This Banana, Berry, and Baby Spinach Smoothie is packed with loads of nutrients and surely puts a dent in your daily recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

Some of you may be skeptical about putting spinach into your smoothie. But don't worry, with the sweetness the banana and strawberries bring to the plate, you'll never taste the spinach! Try this recipe if you're bad about eating you greens at the dinner table, or try it out with your kids. They will never know they are getting a full serving of veggies in their sweet smoothie! Enjoy!

You know you want to try it! 

Makes 1 Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 Medium Sized Frozen Banana
3 Large Frozen Strawberries (store bought frozen strawberries)
1 cup Loosely Packed Baby Spinach
1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Directions:

1. Freeze your banana ahead of time by peeling, slicing, and placing it into a ziploc bag and placing it in the freezer. Freeze for about 3 hours or over night.
2. Place the almond milk, banana, strawberries and spinach into a blender and blend until smooth.
3. If you want your smoothie thicker, add a few ice cubes. If you want your smoothie thinner, add a few drops of water.
4. Place a straw in the smoothie and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Information above is calculated
for 1 smoothie when made with
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Healthy Pad Thai

Recipe at bottom of page

Asian food is one of my favorite cuisines. I love how many Asian dishes have textural contrast and play the sweet and spicy game on your taste buds; with each bite you take, there's another blast of flavor you didn't get the first time.

Unfortunately, a lot of restaurants load on the sauce. Although these sauces are delicious, they can be filled with lots of sodium and calories. This dish uses a light sauce that delicately coats the Pad Thai, while still delivering the classic flavors your used to. Try using low sodium soy sauce and avoid adding any additional salt to the dish.

I absolutely love noodle dishes, especially Pad Thai. However, often times when I order it in the restaurant they pile the noodles high. I always give into the delectable dish and end up eating way more than one serving of noodles. This recipe only calls for a half a serving of noodles per person! You may be thinking, "A half a serving!! That won't satisfy me!"Don't worry you won't miss them. We're bulking the rest of the dish up with Veggie Noodles! This was actually my inspiration for this dish because I just bought a julienne peeler and was dying to try it out. These Veggie Noodles tasted so good that I could eat this Pad Thai without the regular noodles- I just might try that next time!

This recipe was so delicious! I pumped it up a bit by squeezing some lime juice and Sriracha sauce over it before digging in!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Eat it with chopsticks, it tastes better that way:)

Julienne Peeler

I used Udon Noodles but only cooked them for 4 minutes,
while the directions said to cook them for 13-14 minutes

Cooked Noodles

Cooked Chicken Strips

Yummy Pad Thai

Serves 4

Ingredients:
Pad Thai 
   12 oz Chicken Breast
   1 Zucchini
   1 Yellow Summer Squash
   5 Large Carrots
   1.5 cup Bean Sprouts (1/2 cup will be used for garnish)
   4 oz (2 servings) Japanese Noodles- linguini like noodles add to the Pad Thai look
   Small handful of Peanuts for garnish
Sauce
   4 tbsp Soy Sauce
   1 tbsp Rice Vinegar 
   1 tbsp Honey
   2 tsp Cornstarch 
   1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
   1 tbsp PB2

Directions:

1. Prepare the Sauce: Mix all of the ingredients listed under "Sauce"in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Prepare the Veggies: Use a julienne peeler to slice the zucchini, yellow summer squash, and carrots. Stop peeling the zucchini and yellow summer squash once you have reached the seeds- you don't want seedy strips, they will be too watery. Be careful peeling the carrots, you don't have to use the whole carrots if it becomes to hard to peel. Put the julienned zucchini, yellow summer squash, carrots, and 1 cup of bean sprouts aside on a plate.
3. Cook the Noodles: Cook the japanese noodles according to the packaging. It's better to cook them al dente because they will continue to cook later when you stir-fry them. Once the noodles are done, run them under cold water to prevent them from cooking any further. Set noodles aside.
4. Prepare the Chicken: Clean the chicken and cut into small strips.
5. Cook the Chicken: Spray a large pan with cooking spray. Turn the stove on medium-high heat and place chicken strips in the pan. Flip chicken strips once they looked half way cooked through. Take chicken strips out of the pan when they are completely cooked through. Set cooked chicken strips aside.
6. Start Stir-fry'n: For the stir-fry, you will be using the same pan in which you cooked the chicken. Turn the stove on medium-high heat, spray the pan with cooking spray, and place the prepared veggies in the pan. Occasionally toss the veggies so they do not burn. Cook the veggies until they are warm (approx. 3 minutes). Then, toss the prepared noodles, chicken, and sauce in the pan. Continually toss the stir-fry until warm (approx. 3-4 minutes).
7. Serve it up: Place cooked Pad Thai on a plate and and garnish with peanuts and the remaining 1/2 cup of bean sprouts. Dig in! 

Try adding some fresh lime juice or Sriracha sauce to your Pad Thai for some extra flavor, enjoy! 


Nutrition Facts:

4th of July Summer Barbecue

The 4th of July is the time to celebrate our country and its freedom. There's no better way to celebrate this day than having a summer barbecue with friends and family! Try these healthy choices on your next 4th of July celebration or summer barbecue.

Take a look at this article for more healthy barbecue choices:
Festive, Fun, Healthy 4th of July BBQ

Chicken Burger

Grilled Corn

Sweet and Crunchy Broccoli Slaw

Berry Meringue Tartlet

                                                               

Chicken Burgers on Whole Wheat Buns

 

Chicken Burgers are great alternatives to your typical beef burger. Try topping it with lighter toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, and onions rather than mayonnaise. I like spicing my burgers with Sriracha hot sauce, Yum!

Makes 3 burgers

Ingredients:

16 oz Ground chicken breast

Soy Vay Marinade, or any marinade you like

Whole Wheat Deli Flats

Toppings (lettuce, onions, tomato, ect)

Directions:

1. Split ground chicken into three ~5 oz patties.
2. Drizzle patties with Soy Vey Marinade.
3. Grill Chicken patties until evenly cooked.
4. Place cooked patties on the Whole Wheat Deli Flats and top with toppings of your choice. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Information above calculated for
1 Chicken Patty on a Whole Wheat Deli
Flat when recipe yields 3 servings 

Grilled Corn

 

Grilled corn is a great way to switch it up from your typical boiled corn. The grill gives the corn so much more flavor and no butter is needed!

Ingredients:

Corn

Salt and Pepper to taste

That's it! No butter, it tastes amazing all on its own

Directions:

1. Place husked corn on the grill and cook for 10 minutes, rotating it when kernels start to char. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Information above calculated for 1
medium sized ear of corn

Sweet and Crunchy Broccoli Slaw

 

I must give credit to my neighbor, Lynn, for this delicious recipe! So sweet and irresistible! 

Serves 8

Ingredients:

    Slaw:

    1lb Broccoli, chopped into small pieces

    1/2 cup Red onion, minced

    1/3 cup Golden Raisins

    1/3 cup Craisins 

    1/4 cup Pecans, chopped

    Dressing:

    1/3 cup Light mayonnaise 

    3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar 

    2 tbsp Honey

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients listed under slaw
2. Mix all of the ingredients listed under dressing
3. Toss the slaw in the dressing and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Informations above calculated
for 8 servings

Berry Meringue Tartlets 

 

These Berry Meringue Tartlets are a jazzed up version of the traditional meringue cookie. I had so much fun making these cute tartlets... well sort of, haha! I made the mistake of not checking if the kitchen I was working in had an electric mixer. So I resorted to whipping the egg whites by hand! Wooo, what a workout! But it was totally worth it. These tartlets are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Fresh berries and whipped cream on top pull it all together.

Ingredients:

    Tartlets:

    4 Egg whites

    1/4 tsp Cream of tartar

    1/2 cup Granulated sugar

    2/3 cup Powdered sugar

    Topping:

    Reddi Wip Whipped Cream

    Assorted berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, ect.)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 225 F 
2. Tear parchment paper the size of the baking sheet. On the back of the parchment paper trace a 4''-5'' in diameter glass with a pencil. Flip parchment paper over and place on the baking sheet. This will act as a template for when you pipe your tartlets.
3. Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl and whip with a hand mixer until soft peeks form.
4. Next, gradually add the granulated sugar and then the powdered sugar while mixing.
5. Whip until stiff peeks form- you should be able to hold the bowl over your head upside down without anything falling on you.
6. Place mixture in a large ziploc bag, cut a large hole in the corner. 
7. Pipe inside the circles you traced earlier on the parchment paper. Then, pipe on top of the circles you just piped an outer ring along the border of each circle- this will hold the toppings on the tartlets. 
8. Place tartlets in the oven and bake for 1.5 hours.
9. Turn off the oven and let the tartlets sit for 2 more hours in the oven.
10. Take the tartlets out and let them sit until completely cooled.
11. Top the tartlets just before serving with 2 tbsp of Reddi Wip Whipped Cream and fresh, assorted berries and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Information above calculated for 
1 meringue tartlet with whipped cream 
and berries on top when recipe yields 
9 servings