Apple and Kiwi Green Juice with Ginger

Blend of green apples, kiwi and ginger. 

Apple and Kiwi Green Juice with Ginger

Skinny Limits

Makes 2 Servings

Stars of the Show:

• 2 granny smith apples, cored, and sliced
• 2 kiwis, peeled
• small chunk of ginger
• 1 lime or lemon
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/2 cup parsley 

And Action:

Run all ingredients through the juicer and enjoy!

Spiced Nuts

Talk about taking raw nuts to another level. Sweet, spicy, and slightly salty. This is a party-worthy snack. I prepared these spiced nuts for my family on Christmas to enjoy before the meal was ready. You can use just one type of nut or a mix like I did. The aroma of these baking in the oven will fill your house and scream the holiday is here!

These spiced nuts would make for a perfect gift idea after you pack them into decorative tins.

Spiced Nuts

Makes 8 oz

Stars of the Show:

• 8 oz raw nuts - I used peanuts, hazelnuts, and cashews.
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

And Action:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the nuts in a bowl and add the egg white. Toss to coat the nuts evenly. 

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Scrape the nuts onto the baking sheet and spread in a single layer. Bake, stirring often to break up any clumps, until the nuts are lightly toasted, 15 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a plate and spread them in a single layer to allow them cool. Personally, I prefer them warm from the oven. Enjoy!

Pear Carrot Ginger Juice

We've began the "Biggest Loser" weight loss contest at work and we're 3 days in. I am 2 days behind due to a diet setback thanks to Wurstfest 2013. Saturday morning I was invited to road trip it to New Braunfels, TX to gorge on sausages and fried foods. That I did... 5 sausages on a stick, fried turkey leg, fried pickles with ranch, frito pie, corn on the cob slathered in butter and salted, fried oreos, funnel cake with strawberry topping, and countless cups of iced tea.

My food binge carried into Sunday with a stop at Einstein Bros. Bagels. I couldn't decide between a spinach florentine bagel with garlic schmear or the under 350 calorie bagel thin with turkey sausage and green chiles so I got both and a pumpkin spice latte. Sigh. No shame... kinda.

Feeling guilty about not being able to commit longer than 1 day to this healthy lifestyle change I made a trip to Whole Foods and loaded the cart up with healthy choices for the upcoming week. Juicing is something I've been enjoying lately because I feel so good after downing a glass of it and not to mention all of the health benefits.

Getting back on the wagon I pulled out the juicer. Here's to hoping I can stick to this for another month.  The Pear Carrot Ginger Juice is a little bit thicker than the juices I've made so far but this is so tasty.

Pear Carrot Ginger Juice

Brewers Organics

Makes 1 Serving

Stars of the Show:

• 4 pears, cut into pieces
• 8 carrots, peeled
• 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled

And Action:

Run ingredients through the juicer and enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

Living in Texas the weather does not cool off until the end of Octoberish but I'm so ready for Fall. It's the time of the year I can't get enough of the seasonal treats, especially pumpkin and especially pumpkin pie! I also love this time of year because it brings about the best holidays... speaking of which... I need to start decorating for Halloween and on a more exciting note Starbucks welcomes back their seasonal favorites too.

Ordering a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks is saved for special occasions since I can't bring myself to spend $5 on a coffee and with the weather still in the 90s it's hard to justify that price. Starbucks is something I rarely treat myself to so I'm grateful I have a very generous boss who often treats us to Starbucks and I can indulge without the guilt. Of course when I say indulge I mean order a grande nonfat and no whip. Still not the best nutritionally speaking.

Pumpkins are filled with complex carbohydrates, fiber, antioxidants, and Vitamin A.

Whip up this pumpkin pie smoothie and enjoy a guilt free treat for breakfast like I did or a grab and go treat. Tastes like the pumpkin pie filling without the crust. Just a heads up I did not add the 1 tsp cinnamon since I did not have it on hand and it ended up being perfectly spiced from the pumpkin pie spice and ginger. The recipe below produces a thick shake, like I'm talking stick to your ribs thick. I prefer a smoothie that I don't have to work so hard to get through a straw looking like a fish. Next time I'll thin it out by adding more almond milk. The best thing about smoothies is that they can be adapted to suit your tastes.

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

PopSugar Fitness

Makes 1 Serving

Stars of the Show:

• 1/2 cup pumpkin, canned or freshly cooked
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 3/4 -1 cup almond milk, depending on how thick you like it.
• 1/2 scoop (approximately 2 tsp) vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon, optional
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• pinch of ground ginger

And Action:

Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Carrot Ginger Soup

I did not buy a pound bag of carrots with any other intention than making some Crispy Carrot Fries or cutting them into sticks for snacks for itty bitty. Carrots are hands down his favorite vegetable. With his selectiveness, sounds so much nicer than pickiness, I didn't want to use up all of his carrots but when I opened the bag they were needing to be used since they were losing their crispness.

Needing to show my blog some love and make a worthy recipe to share I searched through some recipes at MyRecipes and came across this recipe for Carrot Ginger Soup. Believe it or not I have gone all winter without making soup. There is something seriously wrong with me. Thankfully today's weather here in Houston, Texas was perfect for soup. Rainy and cold. I'm sure with my backwardsness I'll end up making lots of soup this summer in 90+ degree.

If eating too many carrots turns my skin orange than so be it. This soup would be worth it! Carrot Ginger Soup... CRAVE WORTHY!!! I'm trying my best not to drool on my laptop as I type this. Pureed to a silky smooth consistency flavored with ginger. Low in fat and high in Vitamin C makes this a perfect healthy eating dish. Off the charts delicious! Thank goodness this soup freezes well for those busy nights or when a craving hits.  If you forget to double the recipe for leftovers to freeze than no worries because this is one easy soup to put together.

Carrot Ginger Soup

MyRecipes and Health, October 2009

Makes 4 servings (Serving size = 1 1/4 cup)

Stars of the Show:

• 2 pounds carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tsp seasoned rice wine vinegar, divided
• 3 tsp toasted sesame seeds, divided
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp finely grated ginger - I used ground ginger.
• 1 tsp sesame oil

And Action:

Ribbon one carrot with a vegetable peeler and transfer it to a bowl with 1 tsp rice wine vinegar and 1 tsp sesame seeds. Set aside for garnishing the soup.

Place the remaining carrots in a saucepan covered with water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes or until very tender.

Using a slotted spoon transfer the carrots to a food processor. Add the garlic cloves, 3 cups of the cooking water, and ginger. Puree until smooth. Add in the remaining 1 tsp rice wine vinegar and the sesame oil.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with the carrot ribbons and remaining sesame seeds.

For freezing: Make a double batch and put in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Just thaw and heat! Simple!

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 119

Fat: 3g (sat 0.0g,mono 1g,poly 1g)

Cholesterol: 0.0mg

Protein: 3g

Carbohydrate: 23g

Fiber: 7g

Iron: 1mg

Sodium: 157mg

Calcium: 99mg

I'll be marking #2 off of my "Stir the Pot" page. 6 down, 18 to go!

Ginger White Rice

Really this recipe was nothing outstanding. No photos even. Imagine a bowl of brown rice. I came across the recipe while browsing the Internet and thought it would be perfect for continuing on with eating up the contents in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. The end result was just like eating straight white rice. Both the ginger and soy sauce taste nonexistent and I had to add more after scooping the rice into my bowl.

There is plenty of leftover rice so the game plan for another night will be making a chicken stir fry out of it and adding more of those Asian flavors that I love and lots of egg! My stir fried rice can never have too much egg in it. Hoping to salvage what I have so I don't have to eat another side of blandness.

As for the Ginger White Rice making an appearance in this house again it doesn't look promising.

Ginger White Rice

MyRecipes.com and Real Simple, March 2001

Makes 4 servings

Stars of the Show (It's a long stretch.):

• 1 1/2 cups white rice
• 1 tbsp peeled, grated or minced ginger - I used ground ginger.
• 2 tsp soy sauce

And Action (Obviously the ingredients forgot how to get along together.):

Place the rice in a large pot and add the ginger, soy sauce, and 2 1/2 cup water. Over high heat bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover and cook for 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

The original recipe suggests serving this with Salmon with Black Bean Sauce and I am sure that is where the flavor really comes from and the rice is there to soak up the sauce rather than being the "it" dish.