Breakfast Huevos Rancheros

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. ground cumin
  
  


• 1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added pink beans, rinsed and drained
  
  


• 4 scallions, sliced
  
  


• 1 small red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
  
  


• ½ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
  
  


• 2 minced cloves garlic
  
  


• 4 eggs
  
  


• 1 cup sliced avocado
  
  


• 4 Tbsp. fat-free Greek yogurt
  
  


• 4 Tbsp. salsa
  
  


• 8 corn tortillas (6-inch diameter), toasted
  
  


• dash of hot-pepper sauce (optional)
  
  

Preparation:

• Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add beans, scallions, bell pepper, chicken broth and garlic. Bring to a boil then reduce heat so the mixture simmers. Cook until the vegetables are tender and most of the broth is evaporated, 8 minutes. Smash beans with back of a large spoon until lumpy.
  
  


• Use back of spoon to make 4 indentations in beans mixture. Working one at a time, break each egg into custard cup and pour in each indentation. Cover and until the eggs are cooked to the desired doneness (about 8 minutes).
  
  


• Scoop each portion of egg-topped bean mixture onto plate. Scatter avocado slices over and around beans. Top each serving with 1 Tbsp. of yogurt and 1 Tbsp. of salsa. Serve with tortillas and hot-pepper sauce, if desired.
  
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving : 331 Calories, 16 g Protein, 42 g Carbohydrates, 10 g Dietary Fiber, 12 g Fat, 3 g Saturated Fat, 245 mg Sodium

Cranberry Pecan Scones

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  
  


• 1 cup chopped pecans
  
  


• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
  


• ½ teaspoon baking soda
  
  


• ½ teaspoon salt
  
  


• 1¼ cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
  
  


• 2 Tablespoon canola oil
  
  


• 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
  
  


• ⅔ cup dried sweetened cranberries
  
  


• Low-fat cooking spray
  
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-inch round baking pan with cooking spray.
  
  


• In large-size bowl, whisk flour, pecans, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  
  


• In small-size bowl, whisk yogurt, oil and orange zest.
  
  


• Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add yogurt mixture and cranberries. Stir until blended.
  
  


• Press into prepared pan. Score dough with knife to form 8 triangles. Bake until lightly browned and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 20-25 minutes).
  
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving : 308 Calories, 6 g Protein, 38 g Carbohydrates, 5 g Dietary Fiber, 15 g Fat, 1.5 g Saturated Fat, 350 mg Sodium

Raspberry Yogurt Parfait

(makes 1 servings)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup raspberries
  
  


• 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  
  


• 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
  
  

Preparation:

• Toss raspberries and lemon juice in bowl. Alternate layers of yogurt and raspberries in parfait dish.
  
  

Make 1 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving : 230 Calories, 12 g Protein, 39 g Carbohydrates, 4 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g Fat, 2 g Saturated Fat, 150 mg Sodium

Protein Waffle

(makes 1 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. rolled oats
  
  


• 1 egg white
  
  


• 1 Tbsp. vanilla-flavored whey protein powder
  
  


• 3 Tbsp. farmer cheese
  
  


• Pinch grated orange zest
  
  


• Greek yogurt, honey, sliced fruit (optional)
  
  

Preparation:

• In coffee grinder, grind oats until finely ground then set aside. Preheat waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions (about 4 minutes).


• In medium-size bowl, beat egg white and protein powder with electric mixer on high speed until powder has dissolved and is incorporated into the egg white (about 2 minutes).
  
  


• Mix in cheese and grated orange zest 2 minutes, or until completely smooth. Stir in ground oats.
  
  


• Heat up waffle grids. Spray it with cooking spray. Pour batter onto hot iron and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with the yogurt, honey, and fruit, if using.
  
  

Make 1 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving : 182 Calories, 22 g Protein, 8 g Carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 5 g Fat, 2.5 g Saturated Fat, 258 mg Sodium

Breakfast in a Muffin

(makes 12 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cups finely crushed whole grain wheat or bran cereal
  
  


• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  
  


• ½ cup stone-ground whole wheat flour
  
  


• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
  


• ½ teaspoon baking soda
  
  


• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
  


• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  
  


• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
  


• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  
  


• ½ teaspoon salt
  
  


• 2 egg whites or ¼ cup Egg Beaters
  
  


• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  
  


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
  


• ½ cup packed brown sugar
  
  


• ½ cup fat-free plain yogurt
  
  


• ½ cup orange juice
  
  


• ⅓ cup raisins
  
  


• 1¼ cups fresh or frozen blueberries
  
  


• 1½ Tablespoon coarsely chopped almonds
  
  


• 1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar
  
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
  
  


• In a large-size bowl, whisk together with cereal, flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, orange zest and salt.
  
  


• Combine egg whites, oil and vanilla in bowl. Whisk in brown sugar, yogurt and orange juice. Stir into dry ingredients until just blended. Fold in raisins and blueberries. Spoon into muffin cups.
  
  


• In small-size bowl, stir almonds and turbinado sugar. Sprinkle by rounded ½ teaspoons over each muffin.
  
  


• Bake until top of muffin springs back when lightly touched (about 20-25 minutes). Cool on rack in pan about 2 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely.
  
  

Make 12 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving : 168 Calories, 3 g Protein, 30 g Carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 4 g Fat, 0.5 g Saturated Fat, 245 mg Sodium

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups cooked chicken breast, shredded into bite-sized pieces
  
  


• 4 cups torn fresh spinach leaves, thawed and drained
  
  


• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
  
  


• 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
  
  


• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  
  


• 1 (8oz.) carton of non-fat sour cream
  
  


• ¼ cup plain, non-fat yogurt
  
  


• ¼ tsp salt
  
  


• ½ cup 1% milk
  
  


• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  
  


• ¼ tsp ground cumin
  
  


• ⅓ cup shredded cheddar cheese
  
  

Preparation:

• Cook fresh spinach with a small amount of water in a medium saucepan, covered for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.
  
  


• Combine cooked chicken, green onions and spinach in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside.
  
  


• Make the sauce: Combine sour cream, flour, yogurt, cumin and salt in a medium bowl. Add jalapeño pepper and milk and mix well.
  
  


• Pour half the sauce into the chicken and spinach mixture and mix well. Divide the filling among the tortillas. Fold opposite ends of a tortilla up about 1-inch over filling then fold the left and right sides over the folded end, overlapping.
  
  


• Place filled tortillas, seam sides down on an ungreased rectangular baking dish.
  
  


• Spoon remaining sauce over the tortillas and bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven until heated through (about 20 minutes.)
  
  


• Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and let stand for 5 minutes.
  
  


• Top with salsa and chopped green onions as desired.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes AmountPer Serving(1 enchilada (196 g)): 248 Calories, 20 g Protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 41 mg cholesterol, 384 mg sodium

Real Food III: Yogurt

Fermented milk is regarded by many cultures as a delicious health food. It has cropped up all over the world in different forms: kefir from Caucasia, laban from the Middle East, dahi from India, creme fraiche from Western Europe, piima from Finland, mursik from Kenya, and yogurt from your grandmother's house. But these same people would scarcely recognize the colored, sweetened gel that passes for yogurt in grocery stores today.

Most if not all dairy-eating cultures ferment their milk. Why is this? There are three main reasons. First of all, unpasteurized milk spontaneously ferments at room temperature, usually becoming delicious "clabbered milk"- whereas pasteurized milk becomes putrid under the same conditions. So fermented milk is difficult to avoid. The second, related reason, is that fermentation prolongs the life of milk in the absence of refrigeration. Fully fermented milk is stable for weeks at room temperature.

The third reason is that these cultures know cultured milk is delicious and nutritious. Fermentation with specially selected cultures of lactic acid-producing bacteria and sometimes yeast work to break milk down into a form that is more easily assimilated. They partly (or fully) digest the lactose, which can be a problem for some people, turning it into tangy lactic acid. They also partially digest casein, a protein in milk that is difficult for some to digest. And finally, the lower pH of fermented milk makes its minerals more bioavailable.

Traditionally, milk was fermented in its unpasteurized state, but raw milk is hard to find in many industrialized countries. Raw milk has its complement of enzymes intact, such as lactase and lipase, which aid in its digestion. It also contains lactose-digesting bacteria that make milk easier for some to digest, and contribute to intestinal health. These are all eliminated by pasteurization. Fortunately, fermentation restores some of the benefits of raw milk. It reintroduces lactic-acid bacteria, along with their digestive enzymes. With that in mind, here's a simple yogurt recipe:


Ingredients/equipment:

1/2 gallon whole, raw or pasteurized, cow or goat milk (add extra cream if you wish)
Starter culture (commercial starter or 2 tbsp of your favorite live-culture yogurt)
Thermometer
Glass jars with lids
Cooler or yogurt maker

Recipe:

1. Heat the milk to 110-115 F (43 C). If the temperature exceeds 115 F, let it cool.

2. Add the starter culture. If the starter is yogurt, whisk it into the milk.

3. Pour the milk into glass jars and keep it at about 110 F for 4-10 hours. 4 hours will yield a mild yogurt, 10 will be tangy. If you don't have a yogurt maker, this is the tricky part. You can use a cooler filled with 100 F water to maintain the temperature and spike it with hot water after a few hours, or you can ferment it in your oven with the pilot light on if the temperature is in the right range.


If you want a thicker yogurt, bring the milk to 180 F (82 C) and let it cool to 110 F before adding the starter. Add fruit, honey or other flavors before fermenting. Enjoy!

As a final note, I'll mention that milk simply does not agree with some people. If you've tried raw milk and homemade yogurt, and they cause intestinal discomfort or allergies, let them go.