Power Snack

Snacks are difficult for calorie-cutters. Easy snacks are bags of chips or popcorn that provide instant gratification. Healthy snacks still require preping.

Any of my AppState alumn followers will remember AppWraps. One of them was an adult peanut butter and jelly, which has inspired my power snack that is ideal for post-workout relief, a lite dessert or even breakfast on the go.

Power Snack (makes 2)

one ripe banana, thickly sliced

2 whole wheat tortillas

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp pecan pieces

1 tbsp honey

This snack provides a lot of natural protein and fiber along with potassium for sore mussels. It still takes an effort for me to buy and eat whole wheat tortillas but that less-processed wrap does help in nutrition and ease of digestion. The homemade version at Trader Joes has a great texture.

I also love Trader Joes reduced-far peanut butter. Other commercial low-fat peanut butters replace fat with sugar, which does not aid in reducing unneeded fats and sugars. Trader Joes reduced-fat peanut butter actually de-fats the peanuts. You get a peanut butter that keeps its shape better than all-natural peanut butter and is super-tasty.

Spread one tbsp peanut butter onto a tortilla. Layer one half of the sliced banana and top with one tbsp pecans and half tbsp honey. Wrap tortilla, making sure the bottom is securely closed - honey will tend to drip out otherwise. The natural sweetness in the banana and honey make this power snack a satisfying dessert if you have a sugar craving. If you don't have or prefer pecans I recommend walnuts.

Repeat with other ingredients and share your power snack with a drowsy co-worker or workout partner. Enjoy!

Vegetable Enchiladas

This is sort of a cheater's recipe, but I learned a new trick: red sauce. Remember when I was complaining that my tortilla pie was good but it didn't serve a lot of people? I figured out that I can use the same ingredients to make vegetable enchiladas, which go further with guests and leftovers.

I do make chicken enchiladas with a green sauce, but I knew that would not go well with this new dish. So I finally tried my hand at Mexican red enchilada sauce. This recipe was completely improvised but was a surprising success! To be fair, I do not use any chilies in my enchilada sauce to tame the heat, so it's not exactly authentic. I do not recommend store-bought sauce because it contains a lot of needless salt and preservatives. However, enchilada sauce can be made with a lot of kitchen staples.

Red Enchilada Sauce

2 tbsp butter

1/2 minced onion

2 tbsp flour

2 cups vegetable or beef broth

1 can tomato paste (6 oz)

2 tbsp chili powder

cumin

oregano

garlic powder

salt

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Saute minced onion in butter in a large frying pan. You can use any kind of onion for this recipe. I buy yellow onions because they are so versatile but red onion is also very Mexican and will go well. Once butter is melted, add flour. Slowly pour broth and whisk well. Flour should dissolve and the mixture will become thick. Season with cumin, oregano, garlic and salt - 1/2 to 1 tsp each. You can also include fresh garlic in this recipe - add with onions. Mix tomato paste with water or more broth - about half a cup - and stir into sauce. If you like a thinner enchilada sauce, substitute plain tomato sauce for paste. Be sure to note if the tomato sauce is seasoned with Italian spices - that will not make for a tasty sauce.

Mix cocoa with 1/4 cup water and whisk into sauce. Some people shy away from cocoa in red sauce but it honestly didn't taste like enchilada sauce without this key ingredient. Cocoa does not equate to chocolate. Have you ever tasted unsweetened cocoa? It's not sweet or chocolaty. The cocoa also improves the color. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools so add broth or water to get preferred consistency.

Vegetable Enchiladas

As I mentioned before, this recipe is a copy cat to my tortilla pie recipe:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
small can corn, rinsed and drained
bag baby spinach, slightly chopped
1 cup salsa
1/2 medium onion, red or white
1 jalapeño, chopped (optional)
fresh cilantro (optional)
1.5 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

10-12 corn tortillas

8 oz pepper jack or Mexican blend cheeses, shredded

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Saute onion and pepper in minced garlic, cumin, salt and red pepper. Once pepper and onion are soft, add beans. Add 1/4 cup water to beans and cook until beans start to break. Slightly mash beans to speed up the process. The mixture should be "refried" with some whole beans still in tact.

Stir in corn and spinach leaves. Stir until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat. Stir in salsa. Trader Joes has a fantastic Double Roasted salsa that goes with about any dish I prepare. I highly recommend this salsa for cooking because it is flavorful and chunky. If you are using salsa with a lot of cilantro, than adding fresh cilantro is unnecessary. Otherwise, add cilantro now.

Heat your tortillas in a damp, clean dish rag for about one minute. Spread about 1/2 cup of sauce into a 13x9 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with 2-3 tbsp filling - depending on the number of guests you plan to feed (I like mine FULL). Top filling with 1 tbsp cheese and lay seem-side down in pan. Make sure tortillas are warm, otherwise the corn tortillas tend to fall apart. Top prepared enchiladas with red sauce and more cheese.

Bake enchiladas 20 minutes. If cheese is not brown, turn on broiler for 1-2 minutes. Serve enchiladas with salad - it goes together surprisingly well. I mix chopped spinach with a lite dressing and top with Mexican cheese and pepitas.

Yummy Fish Tacos

YEA! I got my cholesterol results back and I am finally under 200. My good cholesterol rose two points, and I dropped from 162 to 107 in bad cholesterol without prescription pills! Thank you yummy vegetarian meals.

If any of you are vegans, you are probably not going to appreciate my "vegetarian" fish tacos. But these little tacos have so much filling, you don't need the fish to enjoy. I also recently found a friend's "pure vegetarian" blog for those of you who are hard-core veggies.

Fish tacos was a foreign concept to me five years ago. And when I say "foreign" I mean Californian, where I had my first taste at seafood Mexican. Since then I have been very attracted to this dish. Cheesecake Factory (several locations), Black Cat Burrito (Boone) and Cafe Capistrano (Raleigh) are the best restaurant fish tacos I have had to date. But these tender tacos are easy enough to make at home.

I first made fish tacos from Martha's Stewart's recipe. I have since made a few adjustments based on the other taco experiences I have had.

Fish Tacos

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 small red cabbage, thinly shredded
1 lb tilapia or other firm fish (I find tilapia on better sales than most other fish)

1 jalapeno, cut in half

2 tsp olive oil

1 can refried beans or homemade beans

1 box Spanish rice (optional)

6 inch corn or whole wheat toritillas

favorite salsa (tropical varieties taste best e.g. peach or pineapple)

Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Mix sour cream, lime juice and spices together and let sit. Slowly add sour cream mix to cabbage until you have a consistency you like, but don't drown your food. Cut tilapia in half long ways. Heat refried beans in a small pot with 1/4 cup of water or make your own. Make boxed rice according to package instructions. Add oil to hot pan and add jap pepper. Push pepper around to get pan flavored with the spice. Add fish to pan and sear, turning once, until fish is done. Depending on the thickness of the fish, this will not take very long.

Steam tortillas in a damp hand towl for one minute. Layer tortilla with beans, fish, rice (if using) and slaw. Top with salsa and pepitas. You might learn now that 6 inch tortilla is not going to hold a lot of these fillers, so be sparing.

This taco recipe also goes well with cut pork chops and shredded chicken.

Vegetarian Burritos ala Ross

Yea, an original recipe for once! This is my mother's vegetarian burritos recipe. This meal will convert any meatatarian, even for one night.

Vegetarian Burritos

1 box Uncle Ben’s wild rice, original recipe (not the quick cooking kind)
1 can black beans, preferably organic
1 small white onion, chopped
2 jalapeños, chopped and seeded to liking
Cumin
Chili powder
Garlic, freshly crushed or minced
Velveta cheese slices (I know! but it’s not the same without this wonderful cheese food)
6’ or 8’ tortillas, preferably whole wheat or low carb
Burrito toppings: low fat sour cream/2% Greek yogurt, favorite salsa, cilantro, guacamole (preferably homemade)

Cook rice according to box instructions. Drain and rinse black beans. Sauté chopped onion and pepper in oil and garlic until soft. Season with salt/pepper and cumin and chili powder. I like it hot, so keep the seeds if you prefer. The rice in the burritos will mild the spiciness.

Once the rice is done, stir in the black beans and vegetables. Steam tortillas according to Amy’s instructions (see Tupelos). Layer tortilla with one (1) slice of velveta. The velveta slices come in normal and super thickness. It actually tastes better with the thinner slices. Top the cheese with the bean and rice mixture. Let sit until cheese melts. Fold and lay seam-side down.

Top burritos with your favs. I prefer sour cream, salsa and cilantro (see why cilantro is kickbutt in blog post). My husband prefers salsa and guac. I have learned to interchange Greek yogurt and sour cream, especially the 2% kind. You get a much better bang of protein with Greek yogurt and less fat. The creaminess is about the same with low fat sour cream and 2% yogurt. Beware, this is not a universal exchange – some recipes require sour cream.

Trader Joes offers a can’t-beat double roasted salsa, which might be a number one staple in our home. It is not a chunky salsa, like I prefer, but the taste is unbeatable. TJs also has a homemade guacamole kit for when avocados are in season. It’s easy and floors all other prepackaged guac.

I know that velveta is a no-no in the healthy world, but I’ve tried other low-fat Mexican cheese blends, and they are just not the same. If you have leftover cheese, use it, but I like this recipe if I have leftover cheese dip or queso from a party and “have” to get rid of it. Better than fried chips right? The velveta slices are only 60 calories per slice, so you can just skip the cookies for dessert.

This recipe is a great staple because it uses so many cabinet items. If you don’t have fresh jalapenos, you can use jarred just to keep from going to the store.