Recipes for January
Berrylicious Banana Smoothie
1 ¼ cup per serving – Makes 4 servings
2 cups of Smart Balance skim milk
2 cups of crushed ice
3 large ripe bananas
6 oz of Dannon blueberry yogurt (or yogurt of your choice)
6 oz raspberries (fresh or frozen)
8 oz strawberries (fresh or frozen)
Directions:
1. Gather ingredients and thoroughly rinse the raspberries and strawberries
2. Peel bananas and cut. Remove stem and leaves from strawberries and cut
3. Place all ingredients in the blender starting with liquid ingredients.
4. Mix ingredients on the puree setting of your blender.
5. Pour and serve! Garnish with a berry if desired
Nutrition information (per serving): 236 calories, 2g fat, 0g saturated fat, 5mg cholesterol, 110mg sodium, 49g carbohydrates, 7g fiber, 9g protein.
Adapted from: Smart Balance®
Minestrone
Makes 6 servings
29 oz. Contadina® Tomato Sauce
3 bacon slices diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
10-1/2 oz. Meijer reduced sodium beef broth double strength
15 oz. Meijer great northern beans undrained
2 cups zucchini sliced
1/2 cup whole grain macaroni, dried (or Barilla Plus Pasta)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
10 oz. frozen vegetables thawed
Directions:
1. Cook bacon in large saucepan over medium heat until crisp; drain.
2. Add onion; cook 2 minutes or until tender. Add tomato sauce, broth and 1 can water, undrained beans, zucchini, macaroni and Italian herb seasoning. Season to taste with ground black pepper, if desired.
3. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add mixed vegetables; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Source: Contadina
Chicken Pesto Light Sandwich
Serving size: 1 sandwich
2 slices Arnold® Bakery Light 100% Whole Wheat bread
1 tsp. fresh pesto
1 tsp. roasted red pepper dip
2 tbsp. marinated tomatoes
1 oz. low-fat mozzarella
1 oz. grilled red onions and mushrooms
2 oz. chicken breast, thinly sliced, heated (or try Valley Fresh White Chicken)
Directions
1. Take two slices of bread, and spread pesto on one slice and roasted red pepper dip on the other.
2. Place two thin slices of mozzarella cheese on top of the pesto, and toast the pesto and mozzarella slice in a panini maker.
3. Grill red onions and mushrooms.
4. Once the mozzarella is melted, add the grilled onions and mushrooms. Place the marinated tomatoes on top of the grilled mushrooms and onions.
5. Add the thinly sliced chicken breast and put both sides of the sandwich together. Once the sandwich is assembled, place under a panini maker.
Source: Arnold Bread
The Big Easy Jambalaya
Makes 8 (1-cup) servings.
1 tablespoon Meijer olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 each medium green and yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) fire roasted or Del Monte No Salt Added regular diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup water
1 package ZATARAIN'S® Reduced Sodium Jambalaya Mix
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 package (12 ounces) andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Directions
1. Heat oil in large deep skillet or 5-quart Dutch oven on medium heat. Add onion and bell peppers; cook and stir 7 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften.
2. Stir in tomatoes, water and Jambalaya Mix. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Stir in shrimp and sausage. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer or just until shrimp turn pink and rice and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.
Nutritional Info per 1 serving: 264 calories, 8g fat, 107mg cholesterol, 813mg sodium, 29g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 19g protein.
Adapted from Zatarain’s.
Light and Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Makes: 6 servings
1 cup Yoplait® Fat Free plain yogurt (from 2-lb container) (try Yoplait Plain Greek yogurt)
1 container (8 oz) reduced-fat sour cream
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed 98%-fat-free cream of chicken soup with 30% less sodium
1 can (4 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, undrained
12 white corn or flour tortillas (6 or 7 inch)
1 cup Meijer shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken (try Valley Fresh White Chicken)
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
Shredded lettuce, if desired
Chopped tomatoes, if desired
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix sour cream, yogurt, soup and chiles.
2. Spoon about 3 tablespoons sour cream mixture down center of each tortilla. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cheese; sprinkle tortillas with remaining cheese, chicken and onions. Roll up; place in baking dish. Spoon remaining sour cream mixture over tortillas. Cover with foil.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Garnish with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes.
Nutrition information (per serving): 310 calories, 12g fat, 6g saturated fat, 55mg cholesterol, 570mg sodium, 32g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 20g protein.
Exchanges: 1 1/2 Starch; 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 2 Lean Meat; 1 Fat
Carbohydrate Choices: 2
Adapted from: Yoplait.
Albacore Stir Fry
Servings: 4
1 pouch (6.4 oz) or 2 pouches (2.6 oz) or 2 cans (5 oz) StarKist® Albacore Tuna (if using cans, drained and chunked)
½ cup chopped onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Meijer vegetable oil
1 bag (16 oz) frozen oriental vegetables (or 4 cups thinly sliced assorted fresh vegetables; carrots, snow peas, broccoli, bell pepper, mushrooms and celery)
1 tsp. sugar (or try Splenda)
2 cups cooked brown rice
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok and stir-fry onion, garlic and vegetables until crisp-tender; about 4 minutes.
2. Add tuna, soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice and 1 Tbsp. water. Stir fry for 1 minute, until tuna is heated through. Serve over hot rice.
Nutrition information (per serving): 260 calories, 8g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 15mg cholesterol, 1200mg sodium (not using the reduced sodium soy sauce), 32g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 16g protein.
Tip: To reduce the sodium, use reduced-sodium soy sauce or decrease the amount of soy sauce by 1/3-1/2.