Tag Archives: healthy dinner

Ginger Butternut Squash

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pumpkin soup 1

On my way to the grocery store this afternoon, I called my friend Magaly to see how she was doing.  True to her energetic and endearingly quirky way of being, she went into some random tangent about a topic that was completely unrelated but interesting none the less… “How do you make squash soup?  I tried to make it the other day and it was grainy and awful!”

I gave her a quick recap on how I usually make the soup then felt instantly inspired to make and eat some myself tonight!  There are very few ingredients, it contains barely any fat and it is completely vegetarian.  Although I finished making the soup way after I had eaten my steelhead trout dinner, I filled a mug and had treated myself to some on the couch while watching tv.  I also packed myself some for lunch tomorrow.  Yum!!

Ingredients:

  • 2, 12 oz packages of frozen cooked squash
  • 3-4 carrots
  • 3-4 stalks of celery
  • 1/2 large onion or 1 small
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 vegetable bouillon cube
  • 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, ginger and cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp (or more if you like spice) red cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • (1 tbsp sugar is optional)

Directions:

The ginger and cayenne give this one a real kick.  Enjoy!

Lentil Soup with (or without) Ham

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lentil soup

I love making a big pot of soup at the beginning of the week and having it for dinner a few nights in a row.  This saves me the hassle of having to prepare myself dinner mid-week and deters me from eating pre-packaged or processed foods if I’m too tired to cook something from scratch when I get home from a long day.  Lentil soup is very nutritious and low in fat so it makes a great choice for weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

lentil soup ingredients

  • 16 oz package of lentils (your color of choice)
  • 8 oz package of cubed ham (optional)
  • 1 vegetable or chicken bouillon cube
  • 1 envelop of Sazon Goya seasoning (found in the ethnic aisle of the grocery store.  I use the version that has saffron for both coloring and flavor.)
  • 6-7 cloves of garlic (trust me, once it boils for a while, it mellows out and is not strong at all)
  • 1 small onion or 1/2 a large onion
  • 1 package of baby carrots diced or 2 large carrots
  • 2-3 stalks of celery
  • 1-2 bay leaves
  • 5 small sweet peppers or 1 regular sized sweet pepper (yellow, orange or red)

Directions:

  1. Rinse lentils and pick out any pebbles, etc.  Fill pot with water about 2 inches above lentils.
  2. add bouillon cube, seasoning packet, bay leaves and all diced vegetables
  3. Let come to rolling boil
  4. Add ham cubes if desired.
  5. lower to simmer and cover.  Boil for 40 minutes stirring frequently and adding water if it thickens more than you would like.
  6. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

For more info on the health benefits of lentils, check out these links!

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-eating-lentils-4547.html

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=52

http://www.oprah.com/health/Dr-Oz-The-Best-Anti-Aging-Superfoods-Red-Lentils-Amaranth

Farro Kale Broccoli Bowls

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farro salad

While at the grocery store the other day, I went through the grain aisle and was going to pick up some more quinoa when I saw a bag of farro.  Its actually extremely healthy and packs tons of fiber and protein! I’d never tried it so I thought it might be fun to try to incorporate into dinner some how. Here’s what I came up with:

Ingredients:

  • farro: cook using package directions
  • raw kale (serious super food packed with tons of vitamins and minerals, delicious raw or cooked.)
  • broccoli and cauliflower florets (“steam in a bag” is ideal for this)
  • balsamic vinaigrette (see Nicoise Salad article for instructions on how to make this)

Directions:

  1. cook farro using package directions
  2. steam broccoli and cauliflower florets
  3. in a bowl layer farro, raw kale, florets and drizzle with vinaigrette

Delicious and insanely healthy.  So many vitamins, so much fiber and protein.  Couldn’t get simpler or more delicious 🙂