Recipe – Mint Lemonade

Image found on www.simplystated.realsimple.com

The first day of Spring was Friday, so I thought I’d post one of my favorite beverage recipes: mint lemonade. Although most of us are awaiting Spring weather, this will be a refreshment to anticipate as the climate warms up again.

5 medium lemons, juiced

3 small limes, juiced

1 bunch of organic mint leaves with stems

organic raw agave or honey

carbonated water

Boil approximately 12 ounces of water. Steep the mint leaves in the hot water for 3-5 minutes, making a mint tea.

As the mint steeps, juice the lemons and limes into a pitcher.

Add cold water to the brewed to mint liquid to bring the tea temperature down. Pour into the pitcher to combine the mint tea and lemon-lime juice. Add agave to taste, approximately 1/2-2/3 cup, and stir. Pour your mixture into a glass of ice, approximately 1/3 to the top. Add cold spritzer water to the glass, garnish with mint leaves, if desired, and enjoy! (You can add more agave for extra sweetness.)

Recipe: Lighter Leftovers

Although slightly unrelated, this photo is too cute not to post. Found this courtesy of the Twinsline Flickr stream, http://www.flickr.com/photos/twinsline/2048353476/

Thanksgiving Turkey Wrap

This may be arriving late for some of you. However, I have a few more bits of turkey and Thanksgiving sides left in my fridge.

The idea of a Thanksgiving sandwich sounds great, but the thought of turkey, cranberry, mashed potatoes, stuffing, stuffed inside bread, with gravy smothered over it, gives me food coma…and a stomachache screaming for some Pepto Bismol.

Here’s a suggestion to lighten the caloric load and to keep the food coma at bay. It’s the collard green wrap revisited, with a Thanksgiving twist.

Start with an organic collard green leaf, stem cut off. Add your stuffing and/or mashed potatoes, turkey with a cranberry sauce smear, fold it up like a burrito, and omit the gravy. Using the collard green leaf adds more nutritional value to this lunch. Omiting the extra bread and gravy keeps, at least, 250 extra calories off your waistline.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Fresh Fall Fennel & Celery Salad

Fennel bulbs

After making mashed garnet yams and crispy fennel, a la Pace Webb, I was left with long fennel stalks. I was planning to try Pace’s fennel apple salad. However, I didn’t have apples, nor gorgonzola in the refrigerator. What I did have was celery, so I thought about what would compliment the flavors and texture of celery & fennel. The product…

4 celery stalks, 2 fennel stalks, 1/2 small onion, 1 cup frozen corn, 1 tbsp olive oil, pinch of kosher salt, pinch of ground pepper, dill & fresh parsley to taste

Chop celery and fennel into 1/8-1/4 inch slices and roughly dice onion. Heat the olive oil in a pan over med-low heat. Saute celery, fennel and onion, with salt, for 2 minutes. Add frozen corn, heat for 3 more minutes. Add pepper, dill, and parsley. Stir for another minute to marry the flavors. Then plate.

For a lunch salad, you can add grilled chicken or toasted pine nuts and gorgonzola cheese crumbles.

Not including any chicken or other additions, this whole recipe, which serves at least two (more if used as a side dish), contains about 300 calories-total. The health benefits include being high in fiber, antioxidants, and minerals. The sweetness of the corn can curb a sweet tooth, while the high fiber content helps inhibit the absorption of fat.