Best Protein Shake

I got this shake from Gwenyth Paltrow's website/blog (www.goop.com). It is the best protein shake I've had and keeps me full all day! A great way to get a lot of protein (28g) and sustain you if you're on a diet.

Ingredients:
1 scoop 100% whey protein
1 scoop progreens (vegetable) protein
1 1/2 c. almond milk
1/2 c. blueberries
or for variety
1 scoop 100% whey protein
1 scoop progreens (vegetable) protein
1 1/2 c. rice milk
1/2 c. strawberries
1/2 banana

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

**You can find all the protein powders & almond milk at any health food store.**

Turkish Lamb & Rice

We have this little Mediterranean cookbook that we found on the bargain shelf at the bookstore. It only cost $4.00, but it has provided us with many tasty recipes.

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 t. cinnamon
2 t. cumin
1 t. coriander
10 oz. long grain rice
2 c. chicken stock
1 lb. ground lamb
1/2 t. allspice
2 T. olive oil, extra
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
3 T. pistachios, chopped
2 T. currants or raisins
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:
1. Saute onion in olive oil for 2-3 min, until soft. Stir in 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1 t. cumin & 1/2 t. coriander.
2. Stir in rice and add stock. Bring to boil, reduce & simmer, covered for 15 min.
3. Season lamb with allspice, and remaining cumin, cinnamon & coriander. Roll into walnut-size balls.
4. Heat the extra oil and fry mealballs for 5 min over medium heat. Add tomato & cook 3 min more.
5. Combine rice with meatballs. Stir in pistachios & currants. Garnish with cilantro.

Quinoa Pilaf

If you've never used quinoa before, you've been missing out. It's a South American grain that's been around for 6,000 years! It's full of protein, fiber, iron & amino acids. This pilaf is a great accompaniment for chicken, pork, or fish.

Ingredients:
1 c. Quinoa
2 c. Stock (vegetable or chicken)
1 t. Olive Oil
1/2 Yellow Onion, diced
1/4 c. Pinenuts, toasted
2 T. Fresh Parsley, chopped
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Toast pinenuts in a hot, dry pan until fragrant. Reserve until the end.
2. Saute onion in olive oil until tender.
3. Add quinoa & stock. Bring to a boil, reduce & simmer until liquid is absorbed (15-20 min).
4. Fluff up quinoa with a fork, stir in pinenuts & parsley.

Serves 6.
Calories: 180; Protein: 6g; Carb: 23g; Fiber: 2g

Simple Guacamole

Despite popular belief that guacamole is bad for you, avocados have the GOOD kind of cholesterol, so indulge yourself a little! My family gobbles this up! A must-have with any Tex Mex meal.

Ingredients:
3 Avocados, mashed
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 Roma tomato, diced
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Salt to taste
Cilantro (optional)
Jalapeno (optional)

Thai Chicken Salad

This is a recipe that I sort of just made up. I had something like this somewhere, and I loved it, so I came home and experimented until I ended up with this super tasty salad.

Salad Ingredients:
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
1 head romaine, shredded
2 carrots, grated
1 bell pepper, julienne
1 c. snow peas, julienne
5 scallions, chopped
1 c. fresh bean sprouts
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 c. cubed cooked chicken

Dressing Ingredients:
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. fresh ginger
1 t. chile garlic sauce
2 T. peanut sauce (I use House of Tsang brand)
1 T. creamy peanut butter
1 T. tahini
2 T. brown sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste
Canola oil (thin out to right consistency)

I know that it's a lot of ingredients, and you may not have them all in your pantry, so go ahead and substitute! Use any hot sauce for the chile garlic sauce, and a little extra peanut butter & lime for the peanut sauce. I hope you'll try it, because you'll love it!

Beautiful, easy, CRUSTY bread

I LOVE this bread. This is as good (if not better) as the stuff you pay big bucks for at Trader Joe's, the crusty artisan bread with the chewy interior. Click the link in the title to watch the movie - it's so easy!

All you need are a *cast iron pot, an oven, and a few simple ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
cornmeal or more flour for dusting

Throw the ingredients in a bowl and stir. Cover with a damp cloth and let sit for 12-18 hours at room temperature.

Dump your dough out on a floured surface. Pat it into a ball, then flatten and fold over on itself once or twice. Reshape, either into a ball or into an oval. Cover again and let rise for an hour or two, until it doubles in size and doesn't spring back when you put a finger in it. (I have skipped this step and it's fine.)

20 minutes before your dough is done rising, pre-heat your oven to 475 and put your cast iron pot/dutch oven IN the oven to get hot. Dust your dough with cornmeal or flour. Make some diagonal cuts across the top. Drop the dough into your hot pot and put the lid on.

Bake covered for 30 minutes; then uncovered for 15-20 til your bread is beautifully browned. Technically, it says to wait an hour for it to cool before cutting, but I never do that!

*The formal recipe off the link says you can also use any heavy covered pot: cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic.

Vanilla Pudding

Also from America's Test Kitchen, and also the best pudding I've ever had! It's great to use in a custard-based pie like banana cream or coconut cream.

Ingredients:
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 t. salt
3 c. milk (or half & half to make it creamier)
3 egg yolks
1 T. butter
1 T. vanilla

Directions:
1. Combine sugar, cornstarch, & salt in a saucepan. Whisk in milk & then yolks.
2. Bring to a simmer over med-high heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to med & cook 1-2 min. until it is thickened.
3. Stir in butter & vanilla. Chill, covered, for 3 hours.

**Make this chocolate by adding 2 T. cocoa powder in step 1. Or substitute 1 1/2 t. coconut extract for the vanilla to make it coconut pudding.**

Quiche Lorraine

This is from America's Test Kitchen. I swear, it is the best quiche ever!

Ingredients:
1 pie shell, partially baked
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
5 eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. cream
1 t. thyme
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. salt
4 oz. cheese (any good melting one)

Directions:
1. Saute bacon & onions.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, thyme, salt & pepper. Stir in bacon/onion mixture.
3. Pour into the pie shell & top with cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 40-50 min.