Bean "meatballs" everyone will love!

I have found a clever ways to disguise foods my family does not like, including these “meatballs” made with chickpeas. My reasoning is that chickpeas are just as full of protein as other more expensive foods, and they taste awesome! The fiber in the chickpeas & spinach is an excellent blood sugar stabilizer., plus it will keep you fuller longer, and also gives you high energy.

Ingredients

1 15oz. can chickpeas drained
1 small sweet red pepper, cleaned and coarsely chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 tbs. Parsley, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, peeled & minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tbls. whole-wheat flour, (add more if needed)
1 large egg
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for topping
1 large cucumber, sliced
12-14 Cherry Tomatoes
Baby Spinach
Sprouts

Directions

Heat oven to 375, In a bowl mix first 12 ingredients until combined. (Mixture should not be smooth)
Form into small balls. Arrange balls on a lightly greased baking sheet, then spray with a light coating of cooking spray.
Bake for 15 mins. on each side, or until browned.
 Remove from oven, let sit 5 mins. Place either a cucumber slice or cherry tomato on a skewer with a meatball.
Lay Sprouts and Spinach on a plate, add skewers , and enjoy ♥

The very best slow roasted Tomatoes

We have a wonderful friend who has a mega garden this summer (2009) and he has been kind enough to share his bounty with us. So I am going to share my family's top Secert recipe with you. I promise you will love it.

Indigents:Cherry, grape or small Roma tomatoes,Whole cloves of garlic unpeeled, Olive oil , Herbs such as thyme or rosemary (optional)

Preheat oven to 225°F. Halve each cherry or grape tomato crosswise, or Roma tomato lengthwise and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Sprinkle herbs on, if you are using them, and salt and pepper, though go easily on these because the finished product will be so flavorful you’ll need very little to help it along.
Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about three hours. You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside–this could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes.
Either use them right away or let them cool, cover them with some extra olive oil and keep them in the fridge for the best summer condiment, ever. And for snacking.... ENJOY :)

Rosemary Chicken

12 oz Boneless skinless Chicken breast
4 tbs Cornstarch
2 cups plain yogurt
8 cups broccoli
4 Cups diced tomatoes
2 cup pear slices
5 Tsp Olive oil
3 tsp dried Rosemary
2 Tsp paprika
1 Cup Chicken broth

Cooking Instructions
In non stick skillet cook chicken in oil until lightly browned; add yogurt, paprika and rosemary to chicken and simmer for 3 minutes. Mix cornstarch with chicken broth to dissolve; Add to chicken mixture. Simmer until thick sauce forms. Steam broccoli in separate pan until tender. Prepare 2 dinner plates by placing a bed of tomato slice on each plate, top with broccoli. Place chicken beside broccoli and tomato and garnish with pear slices. Enjoy !

ANY FRUIT STUFFED WHOLE-WHEAT FRENCH TOAST

For this recipe I use mashed or diced mango's, but you can substitute the fruit with almost anything you might have on hand. First Pre-heat oven to 400F ,

2 large or 3 medium eggs ,1/2 cups low-fat or vanilla soy milk milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract,1 tsp. raw sugar,4 slices of whole wheat bread.Beat together eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar. Dip each side of bread in this mixture, then leave bread to soak up remaining milk while you prepare your topping.

Topping:1 slice of bread , 1/4 cup Chopped macadamia nuts, 2 TBL. raw sugar.

Process bread, nuts and sugar in small bowl of food processor or blender.

Assemble: 2 TBL. Melted unsalted butter, 1 1/2 tsp. raw sugar,

Butter a small baking dish. Lay 2 slices of soaked bread on the bottom. Top with mango or your choice of sliced fruit. Sprinkle fruit with 1 tsp. of raw sugar. Top with second slice of bread. Liberally sprinkle bread-nut topping, then drizzle with melted butter.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 5 minutes, then turn oven down to 325F (for another 25 minutes). If top starts to brown to quickly, cover with foil to protect crust.

Enjoy !

The 40/30/30 Life

Welcome, My diet is all about cooking fresh, right in your own home, with carefully balanced 40/30/30/nutrition and calorie – conscious recipes. I am going to share some my own mouthwatering recipes to help you get there, and save your family’s health. Once you try my diet, you will know what it means to eat well and be well. Cooking Fresh for a better you is all about getting your energy back. …. First and foremost, forget the term diet. Why you ask, because diets fail. This will be a way of life. There’s no regimen calling for low fats, low carbs, low calories or any other form of rigid deprivation. Those programs are bound to fail because they ignore the fundamentals basis of losing excess weight and keeping it off for good. Also, there are no magic pills or energy drinks, or diet drugs that will ever truly work for the long run.The core component of this program is balanced nutrition. The goal is to stay close to 40/30/30. Food selections and meal selections can be within the following ranges:
Carbohydrate 35% - 40 - 50% calories
Protein 25% - 30 - 35% calories
Fat 20% - 30 - 35% calories .