5x Fruitier Cranberry Sauce

5x Fruitier Cranberry Sauce

  • Servings: 4-5
  • Difficulty: easy
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A delicious cranberry sauce with 5 different fruits to provide optimal depth of flavor!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
  • 2 ripe pears, diced
  • 1 medium apple, diced
  • 1/3 cup dried cherries
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup maple syrup (to taste)

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook uncovered until mixture is thick/desired consistency is reached, about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy hot or cold with the people you love!

Nutrition

Per Serving: 185 calories; 0 g fat; 46 g carbohydrates; 4g fiber; 1 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol; 5 mg sodium.

Simply Perfect Sweet Potato and Broccoli Frittata

Simply Perfect Sweet Potato and Broccoli Frittata

  • Servings: 5
  • Difficulty: easy
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A simple veggie frittata perfect for the whole family!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups diced sweet potato (about 1/2 inch cubes)
  • 3 cups small broccoli florets
  • 2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 10 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • mounded 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1.25 cup shredded cheddar cheese or other favorite cheese (goat cheese and feta cheese also work great with this recipe!)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
  2. Place broccoli and sweet potato on the lined baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss veggies (broccoli and sweet potato separately) with your hands to evenly coat with oil and seasoning.
  3. Spread veggies out into a single layer and bake for 15 minutes.
  4. While veggies are baking, crack eggs into a large bowl and add milk, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Scramble with a whisk until combined.
  5. When veggies are done baking, remove them from the oven and spray a large frying pan with cooking spray.
  6. Place the sweet potatoes in the frying pan in a single layer. Then place broccoli on top. Pour the scrambled egg mixture over the veggies and top with shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until the center is set (if you wiggle the pan the center of the frittata should not jiggle!).
  7. Let frittata sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Per Serving: 391 calories; 24 g fat; 8 g saturated fat; 21 g carbohydrates; 2 g fiber; 22 g protein; 462 mg cholesterol; 598 mg sodium.

Hot n’ Tangy Orange Salmon

Hot n' Tangy Orange Salmon

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Perfect for a quick weeknight meal!

Ingredients

  • 3 Tablespoons grapeseed or other cooking oil
  • black pepper to taste
  • 10 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 6 Tablespoons soy sauce (gluten free if needed!)
  • 1/2 Tablespoon garlic chili sauce (It’s more of a paste – I like the Huy Fong Foods brand sold at most grocery stores in the Asian section! Sriracha will also work just fine for this recipe)
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
  • zest of 1/4 orange (optional, if you like it really orangey!)
  • 8 fillets salmon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Pat salmon fillets dry with paper towels (if they were previously frozen), lay them on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet, and brush on a light layer of grapeseed oil. Season with a sprinkle of black pepper.
  2. In a large .frying pan, heat remaining grapeseed oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until lightly browned.
  3. Add orange juice to frying pan, turn heat to high, and boil until the volume of juice is only 1/3 to half of what it used to be.
  4. While orange juice is reducing, place salmon fillets in oven and bake for 5 minutes (if fillets are colder than room temperature they will take longer to bake).
  5. Add soy sauce, garlic chili sauce, honey, and water to orange juice mixture.
  6. Add cornstarch-water slurry to sauce mixture, bring to a simmer, and stir until desired thickness is reached.
  7. Taste the sauce, if you desire more orange flavor, add orange zest to your liking.
  8. Spoon half of the sauce over the baked salmon fillets, and then broil for 2 minutes or until salmon is cooked through (if you’re tight on time, you can skip this step, bake the salmon a little longer, and spoon the sauce over the fillets at the dinner table!)
  9. Enjoy with rice and veggies, and spoon remaining sauce over everything!

Nutrition

Per Serving: 335 calories; 18 g fat; 4 g saturated fat; 10 g carbohydrates; 0 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 32 g protein; 66 mg cholesterol; 752 mg sodium.

Cheeseburger Stuffed Peppers

Cheeseburger Stuffed Peppers

  • Servings: 5-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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A Rochester NY Garbage Plate stuffed inside a bell pepper!

Ingredients

  • 5-6 bell peppers, rinsed
  • 1 lb ground beef (I like to use organic 80/20)
  • ½ large red onion (or 1 small), diced
  • 1½ cups finely diced red potato (about 1-2 potatoes)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
  • ½ tsp paprika (optional)
  • ½ tsp chili powder (optional)
  • ½ tsp onion powder (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 15 oz can lentils, rinsed and drained
  • 3 Tbsp each of ketchup, mayo, relish, and mustard plus more of any of these to your liking
  • 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Slice bell peppers in half lengthwise. Remove stems, seeds, and piths. Place peppers cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until desired doneness is reached.
  3. Line a large plate with a couple of layers of paper towels.
  4. Cook ground beef and red onion together in large sautee pan on medium high heat.
  5. Remove ground beef mixture to paper towel-lined plate to drain excess fat.
  6. Cook diced potato in remaining beef fat (add extra oil if needed) on medium high heat for 7 minutes or until browned.
  7. Add 1/4-1/2 cup water to the pan, cover, and steam potatoes to finish cooking for 5 minutes or until fork tender (you may be able to skip this step if you dice the potatoes finely! I usually aim for cubes about twice the size of a lentil so they really blend in with the ground beef mixture.).
  8. While potatoes are cooking, mix together all optional spices plus salt and pepper in a small bowl. (Although the peppers taste awesome with these extra spices, I have to admit sometimes on a VERY busy weeknight I omit these and the final product still turns out great!)
  9. Mix together all condiments in a small mixing bowl. Add extra of any of the condiments to adjust taste to your liking.
  10. Once potatoes are fork tender, add lentils and beef and onion mixture to the pan and mix.
  11. Add spice mixture and condiments to the beef mixture and cook on medium until the entire mixture is heated through.
  12. Load beef mixture into bell pepper halves and top each half with shredded cheese.
  13. Switch oven to broil and place bell peppers back in oven for 1-2 minutes or just until cheese is melted and slightly browned. ENJOY!

Nutrition

Per Serving: 593 calories; 16 g fat; 6 g saturated fat; 82 g carbohydrates; 16 g fiber; 38 g protein; 62 mg cholesterol; 661 mg sodium.

Vegan Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cashew Butter Cups

Vegan Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cashew Butter Cups

  • Servings: 10, 2 cups per person
  • Difficulty: easy
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A cozy fall treat.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups 70% dark chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup cashew butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/16 teaspoon (tiny pinch!) ground cloves
  • 20 mini cupcake liners (sizing really varies on this, the liners available at my local grocery store are a little taller and thinner than standard Reese’s peanut butter cups)

Directions

  1. Using a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate chips.
  2. Prepare the chocolate shells: Spoon a little bit of melted chocolate into each paper liner, then use the opposite end of a table knife (a chopstick or other small implement will also do!) to spread the chocolate half way up the sides of the liners. Place shells in the refrigerator to harden.
  3. Prepare pumpkin cashew butter: In a small bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, dark brown sugar, cashew butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cloves.
  4. Fill chocolate shells: Once chocolate lined paper cups have hardened, remove from the refrigerator and add a small amount of pumpkin cashew butter to each shell, swirling with the tip of a knife so the surface is relatively flat instead of mounded. The pumpkin butter should come about 3/4 of the way up the sides of the chocolate shells.
  5. At this time if the chocolate shells are starting to melt from the warmth of your hand you can place them back in the refrigerator for a few minutes to harden up – otherwise carry on to step 6!
  6. Top off the pumpkin cashew butter cups: Spoon the remaining melted chocolate on top of the cashew butter cups, and jiggle until the chocolate fills in all the cracks and meets the edges of the chocolate shells.
  7. Place in the refrigerator to harden. Optional: When the shells are halfway hardened, sprinkle with sea salt for garnish.
  8. Once the shells have hardened completely, remove the paper liners and enjoy! Once the liners are removed, the pumpkin cashew butter cups can be stored on the counter or inside the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Per Serving: 185 calories; 13 g fat; 6 g saturated fat; 15 g carbohydrates; 0 g fiber; 13 g sugars; 1 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol; 1 mg sodium.

Chickpea Walnut Burgers with Whipped Feta and Balsamic Roasted Veggies

Chickpea Walnut Burgers with Whipped Feta and Balsamic Roasted Veggies

  • Servings: 3-4 Burgers
  • Difficulty: easy
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A hearty vegetarian dinner for any day of the week!

Ingredients

    For the Chickpea Patties:
  • 2.5 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
  • 6 Tablespoons warm water
  • 1/2 cup walnuts or almonds
  • 1 15oz can drained and rinsed chickpeas
  • packed 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • heaping 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • red pepper flakes to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (or whole wheat if not gluten free)
  • 3-4 gluten free hamburger buns (or whole wheat if not gluten free)
  • For the Balsamic Roasted Veggies:
  • 3 roma tomatoes
  • 1/4 large red onion
  • drizzle of oil (I use grapeseed oil)
  • 1-2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, taken off the stem but not chopped (or 1/2-1 tsp dried thyme)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • For the Whipped Feta:
  • 1 cup plain feta crumbles
  • 1/4 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/8 tsp onion powder
  • 1/8 tsp garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste (I usually use a good amount of pepper and very little salt because feta cheese is already salty!)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Prepare the flax egg: mix flax seeds and water in a small mixing bowl and set aside to thicken.
  3. Prep the roasted veggies: Slice the roma (plum) tomatoes lengthwise into quarters, and the onion into 1/2 inch-thick half moon slices. Remove thyme leaves from their stems.
  4. Place the tomatoes and onions on a silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle the veggies with your cooking oil of choosing, and lightly brush the oil around the veggies with your hand. Sprinkle veggies with thyme, salt, and pepper.
  5. Make the the chickpea patties: Place the walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and process until walnuts resemble coarse crumbles. Do not over process, as the crumbles will continue to get smaller when the chickpeas are added.
  6. Add the chickpeas, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to the food processor and pulse just a few times until the chickpeas are broken up and some of them have formed a thick paste.
  7. Remove the chickpea mixture from the food processor and add the flax egg and breadcrumbs and mix by hand until both are fully incorporated.
  8. Form mixture into patties and place on parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet.
  9. Bake the patties and roast the veggies: Place both the prepped veggies and chickpea patties into the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes.
  10. Make the balsamic reduction: Place the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and place over medium or medium-low heat on the stove. Allow the vinegar to simmer and evaporate until the volume is cut in half. Sometimes I even reduce it a little more to about a third of the volume if I’m after a sweeter taste or thicker consistency!
  11. Prepare the whipped feta: Wash out your food processor, and then place all ingredients for the whipped feta inside. Blend for at least 1-2 minutes or until mixture is smooth and spreadable.
  12. Assemble the burgers: When the veggies and burgers are done baking, place a chickpea patty on a bun (gluten free if needed), and top with whipped feta, roasted veggies, and balsamic reduction. Enjoy!

Nutrition

*Nutrition calculations assume this recipe yields 3 burgers, and is calculated for chickpea patties only, as topping use is variable. Per Serving: 456 calories; 18 g fat; 1 g sat fat; 61 g carbohydrates; 14 g fiber; 19 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol; 600 mg sodium.

Rosemary Thyme Zucchini Tots with Truffle Aioli Dipping Sauce

Rosemary Thyme Zucchini Tots with Truffle Aioli Dipping Sauce

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
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A delicious appetizer or veggie side dish for any meal.

Ingredients

    For the Tots:
  • 1.5 cups packed shredded zucchini
  • 3/4 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (or whole wheat bread crumbs if not gluten free)
  • 1/2 heaping cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg, whisked
  • 1 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 chopped garlic clove
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • For the Aioli Dipping Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons truffle oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Combine all ingredients for the zucchini tots in medium sized mixing bowl.
  3. Form oval shaped tots about 1.5 inches long, squeezing out any excess water with your hands. Place tots on parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
  4. Bake tots for 15 minutes, then flip and bake 10 minutes more.
  5. While the zucchini tots are baking make the aioli dipping sauce. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix until incorporated.
  6. Let tots cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
  7. Note: these zucchini tots also pair well with a simple marinara dipping sauce!

Nutrition


Note: These nutrition facts assume this recipe makes 3 servings and are calculated only for the zucchini tots themselves, without the dipping sauce.
Per Serving: 197 calories; 10 g fat; 6 g saturated fat; 13 g carbohydrates; 2 g fiber; 15 g protein; 89 mg cholesterol; 504 mg sodium.

Creamy Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

Creamy Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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A simple and delicious no-cook sauce recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup jarred sliced roasted red peppers with 2-3 Tbsp of the water from the jar
  • 2 small cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews (these should be soaked in water overnight or soaked in boiling hot water for 5-10 minutes)
  • 1 cup frozen cauliflower, thawed in the microwave
  • 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • mounded 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Add the roasted red peppers with their water, garlic, and cashews to a blender. Blend until smooth.
  2. Add frozen cauliflower, nutritional yeast, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to the blender and blend until smooth. Add more water from the roasted red pepper jar or a vegan milk substitute if a thinner consistency is desired. The cashews will thicken the sauce over time, so if you plan to save the sauce for another day, reheat and add a little more water or vegan milk substitute to thin to desired consistency before enjoying on your favorite pasta!
  3. Serve over piping hot pasta!

Nutrition

Per Serving: 106 calories; 6 g fat; 1 g sat fat; 9 g carbohydrates; 2 g fiber; 4 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol; 420 mg sodium.

Matcha Chia Bowl

Matcha Chia Bowl with Strawberry and Coconut

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: easy
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A quick breakfast packed with protein and fiber.


Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
  • heaping half teaspoon matcha powder
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1/4 cup fully hydrated chia seeds (you can prepare this by adding 3.5 Tablespoons water to .5 Tablespoons chia seeds, and letting the mixture sit 5 minutes or until thick. I usually prepare this is 1-2 cup batches and refrigerate for later use!)
  • chopped strawberries, sliced almonds, and shredded coconut for topping (optional)

Directions

  1. In a small bowl mix together yogurt and matcha until no matcha clumps remain.
  2. Add honey to yogurt mixture and stir until fully combined.
  3. Mix hydrated chia seeds into yogurt mixture
  4. Top matcha bowls with chopped strawberries, sliced almonds, and shredded coconut. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Per Serving: 333 calories; 30 g fat; 23 g carbohydrates; 18 g protein; 4 g fiber; 7 mg cholesterol; 40 mg sodium.

Flamin’ Hot Cheeto Firecracker Shrimp Bowls

Firecracker Shrimp Bowls

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Crispy spicy shrimp bowls perfect for a 4th of July celebration!

Ingredients

    For the Shrimp:
  • 24 shrimp
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp milk
  • About 1 cup flaming hot Cheetos crumbs
  • For the Sauce:
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp sriracha (or more, if you love spice!)
  • 2-4 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce (to taste depending on how sweet you like the sauce. Sugar can also be substituted if you don’t have sweet chili sauce – start with 1 tsp, taste, and work your way up!)
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • For the Bowls:
  • 4 cups cooked white or brown rice
  • Assorted chopped vegetables (I recommend scallions, cucumbers, carrots, shredded cabbage, and tomatoes)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Prep shrimp coating: Mix flour with salt and pepper and place on a plate. Scramble eggs with milk and place in shallow bowl. Place flaming hot Cheetos crumbs on a plate.
  3. Make shrimp: coat each shrimp with the flour mixture, followed by the egg mixture, followed by the Cheetos crumbs. Bake shrimp at 400 degrees F on parchment lined baking sheet for 8 minutes.
  4. Make the Sauce: combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl
  5. Assemble: Portion out rice into bowls. Top with assorted vegetables, firecracker shrimp, and special sauce. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Per Serving: 639 calories; 33 g fat; 52 g carbohydrates; 31 g protein; 268 mg cholesterol; 702 mg sodium.