Curried coconut and carrot soup

Remember I posted something on facebook about having an amazing carrot and coconut soup? Well this is it. It is one of the best soups I have ever had.

It is super simple to put together, which I love, and extremely tasty and nutritious. I have actually doubled the batch every time I have made it it is that good. You can even freeze it for future consumption which makes this very convenient.

If you like soups this is a must try. I am not a big soup person but once in a while a do make them. This for sure is going to be one of my to go soups.

This soup has giving me a chance to use my recent kitchen toy purchase, a new immersion blender that I had actually purchased for this reason. To be able to blend soups with it. It was very inexpensive, $29.99 at the time, and so far so good. I really love it :-)

Anyhow, when winter time comes along I will be making many other soup variations so stay tuned....

Enjoy!!

Here you can see the soup before it got blended and also a picture after adding the coconut milk. This is a very creamy and comforting soup.

 
Feel free to add some shredded cooked chicken to it or even eat it cold. Either way this soup is great.

 I always double the batch every time I make this soup it is that good.

Ingredients

 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound of carrots, sliced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 onion, chopped
2 bay leafs
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1/2 cup coconut milk

Add olive oil to a saucepan and heat on medium to high heat. Add garlic, and sauté until fragrant.

Add the carrots, onion, curry powder, bay leafs, salt and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add vegetable broth (or chicken broth), and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer until carrots are softened.

Allow the soup to cool for about 15 minutes. Remove bay leafs and with an immersion blender blend until smooth (alternatively you can use a regular blender and blend the soup in batches, using an immersion blender makes things a lot easier).

Stir in coconut milk and serve.

Adapted from Season with spice.

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 6 servings. This is really high on Vitamin A.

Whole grain strawberry donuts

These donuts are to die for. These are not that sweet and are easy to make. The hardest thing I find about these baked donuts is actually getting them out of the pan.

I do always grease and flour the baking donut pan really well and even still I have to be careful getting them out. Nevertheless they are awesome to have, especially for the kids, as they think they are having the real thing :-)

I am planning, at some point, to make the real fried version but I am really afraid of having to use refined flour (all purpose flour that is) and having to fry them. Well since it isn't every day that we actually have these, I guess it should be ok. Somehow I will try to healthify them at least a tiny bit :-)

The recipe comes from my whole grain triple chocolate donuts I made a while back and decreased the sugar of the donut batter even further. Also, to die for :-) so I encourage to try them as well.

Anyhow, there is not too much to elaborate on these, so I hope you try them and if you do let me know how you like them!!

Enjoy!!

Here you can see the strawberry puree as well as the donut batter. Easy peasy :-)

These are sweet enough even though the batter only has 1/4 cup of sugar. With the glaze it makes the donuts perfectly sweet.

Made sure you glaze the donuts once they are completely cooled.

These are awesome to have. They are not that sweet as the batter hardly has any sugar :-) Kids think they are having the real deal!!

Ingredients Miryam's original recipe

Yields 10 donuts

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, You can use 1 3/4 cups of whole wheat pastry flour if you don't have oat flour
3/4 cups oat flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup strawberry puree, I used organic strawberries
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon strawberry or raspberry extract, optional, vanilla extract will also work

Glaze

1-2 tablespoons strawberry puree, start with one, you want a thick glaze
1 cup confectioner sugar, You won't need it all, it makes the dipping of the donuts better when you have extra glaze in the bowl. I ended up throwing about half of it away

Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare pan by spraying donut pan with cooking oil and dusting with flour.

In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, sugar, strawberry puree, extract, and oil. Add flours, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk until combined. Fill each donut hole 3/4 full.

Bake for 17-20 minutes. Cool for about 10-20 minutes and remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mix glaze ingredients and dip each donut. Let it set and serve.

Tip: Make sure you grease the pan all over specially in the middle round donut piece otherwise they will stick when getting them out of the pan, probably breaking apart in the process. 

Inspired by Chocolate and carrots

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 10 donuts.

Peanut butter and white chocolate fudge

I know I know, this is not your typical healthier dessert, but you know what? What the heck, is not like a bake or cook like this every day right? A little goes a long way. Just don't eat 3 or more pieces all at once :-)

Some things to remember that make this fudge a little bit better:

1. A little goes a long way
2. This fudge does not have marshmallow cream, which I think it is gross.
3. You don't need a candy thermometer to make it. Well you actually don't need one for any of my fudge recipes :-). Makes the job a hell of a lot easier!!

I got the recipe from my famous and fabulous Irish cream and pistachio fudge but of course I did scale it down because that one used 3 bags of chocolate chips.

I think you can add more peanuts if you like or even more peanut butter. Maybe the fudge will become a bit soft though, so just experiment at your own risk :-)

I found this to be super sweet, but which fudge isn't? I really don't know any way to healhified fudge, do you?

Like I said before, a little bit goes a long way, just don't eat more than 1 piece at a time, if you can!!

I hope you find this appealing. Until my next recipe

Enjoy!!

Here you can see the steps of making the fudge. On the first step just place all of the ingredients, except chopped peanuts, in the pot. When the chocolate is melted add the chopped peanuts and stir.

Here you can see the peanuts already incorporated :-) Then, place the mixture in the pan and sprinkle a few extra peanuts over the top.

This is the container I always use to store the fudge. These fudge is good. Sweet though but good :-)

These fudge makes a perfect gift for anyone. Easy peasy :-)

Ingredients Miryam's original recipe

Yields about 30 pieces

11 oz white chocolate chips, 1 bag, I always use the Ghirardelli brand.
1 14 oz can condense milk
1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter, oil drained, I used organic peanut butter.
1/2 cup chopped peanuts, I used raw and unsalted

Lined a square pan, I used an 8x8 square pan, with foil paper and lightly grease it.

In a sauce pan, at low heat, pour all of the ingredients except chopped peanuts. Stir constantly until chocolate has almost melted.

Turn off heat and continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted. Add peanuts (reserve a couple of tablespoons of chopped peanuts to sprinkle over the top) and pour mixture evenly onto prepared pan.

Sprinkle the reserved peanuts and pad a little bit with your hand. Let fudge cool until set. I actually place the fudge in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to speed up the process.

Remove fudge from pan and peal off the foil paper. Cut fudge into small squares and store in a sealed container at room temperature.

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 30 servings.

peanut butter and banana breakfast oatmeal

....and yet, another oatmeal breakfast variation. This was with peanut butter and bananas that where about to go bad. You must be wondering, why is it that I make so much oatmeal? I just find it to be a very convenient and easy thing to put together, especially for breakfast.....and let's not forget how nutritious it can be.

When I eat this for breakfast it actually keeps me full rather long. I normally make a bit extra to have for several days because my kids also enjoy it quite a bit.

If you don't have chia seeds you can omit them, no bigy. You can also sub for any other ingredients of your preference. I think this would be great with chocolate chips, just saying :-)

Anyhow, in case you missed it here are the other oatmeal variations I made a while back. All of them are great so try your favorite:

Carrot cake oatmeal
Dark chocolate and peanut butte oatmeal
Apple pie oatmeal
Mixed berry and almond oatmeal

Enjoy!!

You can see the steps involved in making this oatmeal. Pretty much straight forward.

 
A very simple a nutritious way to start your day. Add a cup of fresh fruit on the side and you are good to go :-)

Ingredients Miryam's original recipe

Yields 4-6 servings

2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
3 1/4 cups soy milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1-2 tablespoons unrefined sugar
1/4 cup flax seed meal, optional, wheat germ or oat bran will also work well
2 ripped bananas, pureed, I do this with a fork
1/4 cup chopped peanuts, optional
2 tablespoons chia seeds, optional

Place all ingredients, bananas and chopped peanuts, in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium to high heat, stirring frequently until it boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until milk has been absorbed and the oats have softened.

Add in the bananas and chopped peanuts if using and mix them through. Served with extra  milk if desired.

I have not tried making this in a microwave but I am sure it will also work well as long as you stir in between.

Nutrition facts calculated base on the recipe giving 5 servings. This is high in thiamin, magnesium, manganese, iron and vitamin B6.

No bake peanut butter and dark chocolate energy bites

What can I say about these beauties. Simply they are just fantastic. Super convenient to eat and to make and super nutritious for you as well :-)

As a matter of fact, before going to the gym this morning I just grabbed three of them, as I didn't have time to eat breakfast, rather convenient this little things :-)

You can have as many variations as you like. Adding dry fruit, more or less of any other ingredients or even chopped nuts etc would be just fine. These energy bites are really versatile. Just make sure you keep them in the fridge as they may soften way too much and disintegrate otherwise!

Anyhow, I hope you get to try these little bites. Not only they are convenient and nutritious but they are super easy to make.

Enjoy!!

Here you can see the before and after mixing all of the ingredients. It is just that simple!!

These little no bake energy bites don't have to be perfect and you can make them whatever size you prefer as well. Mine were about bite size but you can make them bigger if you wish, less rolling :-)

You can add what ever you like to these no bake energy bites. Dry fruit and chopped nuts will go great in them. You can come up with your own little creation. Making these with kids is lots of fun.

Ingredients

Yields about 40 pieces, depending on how big you make them

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup brown rice cereal
1 1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup honey, next time I will use 1/3 cup instead
1 tablespoon dark chocolate powder, optional, I did not use this on this batch but I will on the next

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate for about 1 hour. Roll into balls about 1-2 inch in diameter. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1-2 weeks.

Adapted from gimme some oven

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 40 pieces.

Fresh Strawberry cake

Do you want a simple and luxurious cake that you can enjoy with hardly any work? This is it.

You pretty much just have to mix all of the batter ingredients and bake. Then just mix the Greek yogurt, and sugar with heavy cream and top with the fresh strawberries :-) This is not a complicated cake at all, I promise!!

I got the recipe from my coconut and lime cake I made a while back and decreased the sugar content even further, so it is a little bit better for you!! I hate when all you can taste is the sugar on cakes, cookies, and any baking goods for that matter. The best way to control this is by baking yourself from scratch and this cake could be a great place to start :-) Just saying!!

By the way have you seen the weight of a nation series that started on HBO on Monday night? I love it. Very inspiring, powerful and shocking to some. This is a very powerful and informative documentary that I highly recommend for every one to watch. I wish I could show it to everyone I know :-)

Anyhow, let me know if you try this simple and yummy cake. It is to die for.

Enjoy!!

I used 1 teaspoon of marmalade reduced with a teaspoon of water to glaze the strawberries to give them a bit of a shine. You don't have to do this but they just look prettier!!

So after cooling the cake you can place the heavy cream and Greek yogurt mixture over the cake followed by the chopped strawberries and serve. It is that simple :-)

I think you can do any other fruit you like. Fresh raspberries and blueberries will work really good for this!!

This is a very yummy cake and not that sweet at all. The cake batter only has 1/2 cup unrefined sugar. The Greek yogurt and heavy cream mixture has 4 tablespoons.

Ingredients Miryam's original recipe

Yields 8-10 servings

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup soy milk, regular milk or almond milk will also work

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup olive oil, minus two tablespoons

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unrefined sugar
2 eggs

Topping

1 cup heavy cream,  you can do 2 cups of heavy cream if you don't want the Greek yogurt

1 cup low fat Greek Yogurt

4 tablespoons unrefined sugar

2 cups organic fresh strawberries cut in half

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

In a bowl, I use a wire whisk to do this, combine eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and oil. Add flour, baking soda and baking powder.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden, 40-50 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 20-30 minutes, then turn onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

In a bowl whip the heavy cream with the sugar until you get firm peaks. Fold in the Greek Yogurt. Spoon this mixture over the cake and place strawberries on top.

Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Inspired by La Mia Vita Dolce

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 8 servings.

Jamie Oliver's tray baked salmond with veggies

Do you want to make something that is easy, nutritious, and super tasty? Look no further....this is the very famous Jamie Oliver's tray baked salmon that takes no time to put together and is always a super hit.

I find that a lot of people don't like anchovies. However, in this dish the anchovies disintegrate and give the veggie mixture a nice salty taste, like as though you are using a really high quality salt or something!! Try it at least once and you would see what I mean. My kids ate it so I guess the anchovy taste couldn't be that bad!!

Jamie Oliver is my ultimate favorite chef in the entire world. Not only because of his super cute accent, and outgoing personality, but because of his easy and versatile style in the kitchen. I love the fact that he concentrates on cooking simple, tasty and healthy dishes that can be recreated by anyone. No fancy techniques, equipment or ingredients of any kind, my kind of cooking!!

...and lets not forget what he has been trying to do here for the longest time. He started his healthy food journey in the U.K and ventured to try it here in the US. Where a better place than here really? After all, the US, believe it or not, EAT THE CHEAPEST FOOD IN THE WORLD. This is a fact. I am not making this up!!

Anyhow, let me end it here because I could go on forever talking about this subject.

This fish recipe is one of my ultimate favorite meals. It is tasty, simple and super nutritious so I hope you get to try it sometime soon.

Enjoy!!

Here you can see some of the ingredients that were ready. The beans were being steamed on a pot :-) but you get the point right? I actually used Thai basil which is what I had on had.

So you put all of the ingredients in a baking tray and you are good to go. Next time I will use foil paper to wrap the baking trays in with, this way I won't have to clean all of the mess. It really got messy!!

....and here you can see the final result. In just about 12 baking minutes I had a super duper dinner for 5 people.

This is one of my favorite fish recipes ever. Why haven't I posted this before? NO IDEA, but now I have :-) and you should truly give it a go because this is just sensational.

Ingredients

Yields 5 servings

1lb fresh green beans
10 oz small cherry tomatoes
6 oz can black olives, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 2 oz cans anchovy fillets
5 thick salmon fillet steaks, with or without skin
2 lemons
1 handful fresh basil.

Preheat oven to 500F.

Tail the green beans, blanch them until tender in boiling water, and drain. Put in a bowl with the cherry tomatoes, basil and the olives. Toss in the olive oil.

Give the salmon fillets a quick wash and pat dry with kitchen paper towels. Place salmon at one end of a roasting tray. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon over the fillets on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

Toss the green bean mixture on the other end of the tray. Lay the anchovies over the green beans.

Roast in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with lemon quarters.

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 5 servings. This is high in selenium, niacin, vitamin B12, and B6