#Kale and Carrot Soup #recipe

Ah, I love fall. Like a lot of you, I am obsessed with the colors, styles and most importantly, the food! Pumpkin seems to take over the world at this time of year and I thought about doing a pumpkin recipe, but I decided  nah, you're probably inundated with pumpkin recipes on Pinterest, like I am. I'll make my heart grow fonder a little bit longer. Instead, I decided to share a healthy soup recipe with you, including kale and carrots. Carrots are one of my most favorite foods and kale is a little too bitter for me, so I like to mix a lot with it to mask that and still get the health benefits. There's no other better way than to mix it all up in a hearty soup!

During the Publix October Fresh Savings Event, I took advantage of their Buy 1 Get 1 Progresso 100% Natural Chicken Broth. These next months are all about comfort foods and soup, so this was a perfect deal. Because of this deal, I also saved a bunch on the ingredients needed for this recipe!

Better Pictures to come! My camera is on the fritz!

I adapted my Kale and Carrots soup from an original vegetarian recipe that I omitted and replaced quite a few things in, but it still came out delicious! This recipe calls for steaming the kale ahead of time, but I just used frozen.

Kale and Carrot Soup (Serves 8)

• 2 bunches multicolored carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks (4 cups)
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (I used Progresso 100% Natural Chicken Broth)
• 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes in juice (I Used Del Monte)
• 2 12-oz. bunches Tuscan kale, thinly sliced (I used plain frozen Kale)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, plus 6 whole leaves, divided
• 2 Tbs. chopped chives, plus handful whole chives, divided
• 1 15-oz. can white beans, rinsed and drained (Omitted the beans)
• 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• I added 1/2 red onion with everything, when first boiling ingredients, before simmering.
• I added 1tspn Organic ground Turmeric and 2 freshly crushed Garlic Cloves while it simmered, for the added health benefits.

1. Bring carrots, broth, tomatoes with juice, and 2 cups water to a simmer in large stockpot with steamer insert over medium heat. (You do not have to steam the kale)
2. Place kale, whole basil leaves, and whole chives in steamer insert. Set steamer inside stockpot, cover, and steam 5 to 7 minutes, using tongs to stir halfway through. Remove and discard basil and chives. Add kale, beans, and vinegar to soup, and return to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Stir in chopped basil and chives just before serving.

This came out so yummy! I wish I had beans on hand to add, because I know that would have made it much heartier, but this was still plenty filling!

It's #CincoDeMayo. Another excuse to Party! #ad #PlatefullCoOp

I don't usually celebrate Cinco De Mayo, but Old El Paso gave me a great excuse to! This holiday can be popular for some. For those that do celebrate, this is one of the best finger friendly easy and very convenient ways to serve up a fun, quick themed dinner party or just a fun night in with friends or family.

I was provided with utensils and fun party accessories and it was actually enjoyable to use, as well as amusing. This pack came with little mustaches. Pair a sombrero with your mustache and you are the token Mexican ;) Not really, but it's fun to pretend!

I know you want to chow down on these easy to fill soft taco shells. This is actually actually a lot more convenient and a thousands times less messy than eating a wrapped burrito or regular taco. I think all tacos should be in that shape from now on. Listen to your consumer! 

I sauteed  some vegetarian crumbles from Morning Star, and onions. Then threw in the mexican style rice. Mixed it all together and put it on top of the shells with lettuce inside. Then topped it all off with a helping of refried beans and melted a little bit of cheese. Noms! It was really good and the whole meal took less than 10 minutes to put together. 

Hungry yet? If so, check out the savings this week, via General Mills! 

Find coupons and savings!

Old El Paso - I can't believe that's frozen.

Have you ever tried Old El Paso? I had the chance to check out more varieties and I have to say, it's not bad. I usually don't spring for the processed frozen foods, but once in a while I like to treat myself to something. Especially, when I just do not feel like cooking or I'm in a hurry.

I paired Old El Paso chicken quesadillas with a garden salad, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and topped with hemp seeds. For dips, I used sour cream and my homemade guacamole. 

Then I paired this entree with simply strawberries and a little agave nectar in water. This is such a refreshing and colorful drink I love to enjoy in spring and summer, and right now it's getting there here in Florida. The weather has been in the high 70-80's!

Aren't these dishes so cute? They were provided to me courtesy of General Mills. I love the aqua colored swirly trio side holder the most.

To make the most of your Chicken quesadillas, make sure to skip the microwave and bake them in the oven. They come out a lot more authentic and much better quality. Always pair with fresh veggies or a salad for added nutrition.

Old El Paso is really tasty and they really pack a bucn of ingredients in there. It keeps me full for a while and really satisfies that authentic mexican craving.

Apio foods Steamed veggie & Salad bag review!

This is a review on a company I had never tried out before. The recipes are simple, healthy and light. They use packaged foods, but in their raw state.

So, I'm a bit of a veggie freak. Ever since childhood, I was the anomaly who loved my veggies. Every shape and texture, even lima beans and brussel sprouts. My favorite vegetable by far would have to be those    tasty little trees called broccoli. Such a healthy and useful veggie of the bunch and kind of fun to eat. I like to imagine i'm eating mini me trees. I throw it in practically everything or eat it in its natural yummy raw form. Broccoli has a subtle sweet flavor that I love, and it goes amazing with lots of dips. One of which, I used in this review.

Apio Inc. foods supplied me with two coupons for a free salad bag and any other bag of veggies available.

I chose to get a bag of coleslaw salad, and a bag of microwavable steamed veggies. 

The veggies were in good condition, aside from a few stray dry pieces of carrots and broccoli. Apio Inc uses  a proprietary technology called BreatheWay®  On the back of this bag is a membrane which seals in freshness, so the veggies will stay fresh longer.

 I ate the veggies in their raw state with my favorite Rondele herbed cheese dip. Raw veggies with a little bit of this dip are my religious go to for a healthy snack.

  A few days later I made the broccoli, carrot and cabbage coleslaw recipe on the back of the other package, with some minor tweaks. The recipe called for regular mayo and regular vinegar.

Tweaked Recipe for every two cups of slaw:

• Table spoon Apple cider vinegar
• pinch of  raw sugar 
• Table spoon of Vegan Mayo 

I mixed it all together and ate it as a side to my whole wheat herbed breaded chicken. 

The following day, I decided to use the slaw in a chicken wrap for lunch. For this I just mixed some left over whole wheat herbed breaded chicken and chilled slaw, spread some vegan mayo on a spinach wrap and added the mix. It turned out very good. I'd never actually used slaw mix in any kind of sandwich before. The crunchiness of the slightly sweet slaw, combined with the juicy chicken and the spinach flavor of the wrap really complemented each other well. 

Overall, I'm happy with the products I was provided with and I can definitely see myself eating this same recipe in the future. I love how much of a convenience these bags are. It makes it that much easier to be healthy. Especially for those of us whose time is very crunched. Sometimes, you just don't want to chop up all those veggies, and with Eat Smart veggies, it's already done for you.

You have many choices on what to do with the raw veggies or you can conveniently snack on them as is. I plan on getting more of these bags in the future! These would make excellent Asian stir fry go to's and I will have to try that next!

If you'd like to learn more about Apio Inc. and what they have to offer, you can visit their Website. 

I received these products in exchange for my honest opinion.

Toasted cheesy herbed sun dried tomato & avocado sandwich

So I've never really embarked on a delectable sandwich and today was the day I was going to do so. I think I can safely say I met the mark with this one. All my favorite things wrapped in cheese. It just doesn't get much better for a sandwich. I tried to make it 100% healthy, but the butter, cheese, and olive oil were just what it needed to complete its delectability. That's a word now. It could be worse, I could be indulging in a big mac. My favorite part about this sandwich is the contrast of the delicious crunchy, crispy texture of the bread against the gooey cheese. This is jam packed with nutrients and fresh herbs are a must!

Ingredients:

5 fresh Oregano leaves

1 tablespoon of Bragg's Organic Apple Cider vinegar. (I've been finding a use for this in almost everything. In addition to my shot of two tablespoons in the morning, it adds such a healthy and sweet & tangy kick to food.)

1 small-medium size ball of fresh mozzarella cut into 8 thin circle slices

1.5 tspn garlic

1 ripe avocado

8 thin strips of red onion

6 julienne cut sun dried tomatoes

4 fresh broccoli florets

1/4 cup no fat mozzarella shredded cheese

2 slices of Italian 5 grain bread (Bought at Publix)

1 tblspn i can't believe it's not butter

1 tblspn cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

1 tspn sea salt

Recipe:

Get out a bowl. Make small scoops of the the avocados entirety into the bowl. Follow with the broccoli, sun dried tomatoes, onions, garlic, ACV, and sea salt. Then, mix GENTLY, so as not to break up the avocado into mush, but get the flavor on the added veggies.

Put that aside and set your oven to broil at 350 degrees, while you butter your two slices of bread. (The bottom of one, the top of the other) Gently scoop half the mix onto the bottom bread slice, butter side down. Lay the slices of mozzarella on top of that. Then scoop the rest of the mix and repeat. Top with shredded mozzarella and top that with the remaining slice of bread, butter side up.

Put the sandwich onto two layers of tin foil, drizzle it with the olive oil, and set in the oven for about 3 min (or until browned) Then, gently turn the sandwich over and cook that side until browned and the cheese reaches your idea of sufficient gooeyness. For me, it's not done until the cheese is oozing out onto the plate. Enjoy! I certainly did.

I have to confess, i took the pictures too early the first time around. I put it back in for another minute to get it more melted! But it melted so much it covered all the beauty that was the vegetable colors, so i'm happy with the photographic outcome. :)

Cheesy feta bean & broccoli grilled chicken wrap.

So, I recently bought a small George Foreman grill. It was on sale and i remember I loved using it eons ago in college, but abhorred the cleanup ordeal. Well, i figured at this point in my mature adulthood I would tolerate the cleanup better right? Wrong. Some things never change, but alas, it is worth the grilled taste in the end! Also, seriously, nothing trumps smoldering days like today than an indoor grill. Submitted for your approval is the Cheesy feta bean & broccoli grilled chicken wrap.

Ingredients:

1 medium fajita wrap
1 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic
1 cup of broccoli
1/2 cup of black beans
1 skinless boneless thawed chicken breast
1 Tbsp EVOO
3 generous sprinkles of Mrs. Dash Table Blend


Recipe:

1. Take a piece of skinless boneless thawed chicken, marinate it in EVOO, garlic and Mrs. Dash table spice overnight or soak it in the ingredients 10 minutes before you slap it on the grill.

2. Steam your broccoli until it is a medium to soft texture (i like it practically mushy, i have baby syndrome when it comes to food) Heat up your black beans (I used canned this time as i was in a bit of a time crunch, but I always recommend making them fresh to avoid all the sodium content) Transfer the beans and broccoli to a pan on low heat, and mix in 1 tbsp butter, 3 generous sprinkles of Mrs. Dash, and 1 tsp of garlic powder. Let that sit on low while you preheat the grill.

3. After about a 5 minute preheat, put your thawed chicken breast/s on the grill. This will take about 11 minutes. After about 5 minutes, check on the chicken to see if it is cooking thoroughly through, sometimes it's necessary to flip and rearrange the chicken depending on how thick it is, but the grill is designed to cook both sides at once. It should be thoroughly cooked at around 11 minutes. When that is done, take your chicken and slice it up into thin fajita strips.

4. Then, put your broccoli and beans into a bowl and mix a tablespoon of feta cheese inside. Heat your wrap in the microwave for 7 seconds, put it on a plate and pour the mix on top. Then, add the chicken strips, sprinkle some garlic powder to taste, fold, cut, and enjoy. The chicken had that great grilled flavor and came out so juicy. The combination of the slightly tart feta with that was so tasty. I love feta and put it in practically everything. There you have it. A simple, cheap and healthy grilled wrap. Next time, i'll take it one step further and grill the halves for a minute, to get that slightly charred effect. I can't wait to grill veggies and my Greek grilled cheese pita!

Burrito wraps can be so stubborn. This is my tilapia burrito being uncooperative.

Greek Grilled Cheese, with a sweet lemon garlic yogurt dip

Upon rising in a famished state, i got into major grilled cheese mode and remembered I had soy mozzarella cheese, pita bread, and salsa. Then i pulled out the olive spread i just bought, and got into a Greek mode.(I was craving a specific type i bought a year back when i was at our local arts market. Nothing trumps homemade olive tapenade, so good. This wasn't nearly the same, but still yum enough)

Alas, this resulted in The Greek grilled cheese pita. Then i thought "OMG, i have yogurt" (yes, i get this excited when i'm starved)
"That means i can make a dipping sauce, which i've never tried with yogurt".

I distinctly remember the taste of the last sauce i dipped my falafels in at a local greek hole in the wall. It is an amazingly yummy place. So, I decided to try and mimic it, but then decided to play with it. It's hard to resist playing, when you have such a wide pallet for taste.

I wasn't sure if the dip would go well with the very salty and sour olive tapenade, but it was what brought it ALL together. They work together in contrasting harmony, thus opposites really do attract. Really.

This is very healthy (aside from the bleached pita pocket bread) You can use any bread, but pita is just my favorite and very low cal, let alone cheap. I'll go with the unbleached wheat next time.

Ingredients:

1 pita pocket
2 thin pieces of soy mozzarella (or fresh, it's just what i had on hand)
3 Tbsp Greek 100% non-fat yogurt
tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic or more depending how strong you like your garlic taste
1 tsp organic extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of 1/4 tsp of pure honey
2 tsp salsa or: diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp diced red onion
2 tspn olive tempenade or: minced or grinded olives with a little bit of olive oil, oregano and garlic (I really need to buy a food processor)
Mrs.dash table blend or salt and pepper for added taste
Pam cooking spray


Spray the skillet with some Pam. Let it warm up on med-high heat.
While you wait, carefully cut the pita bread in half (they fall apart easily) so it looks like two half moons,
Cut the cheese so that it fits nicely into each pita half. Put the cheese inside, then follow with the salsa, red onions and tapenade. (1 tsp per half)

Cook each half until lightly browned and the cheese is melted. Turn over and repeat.

(Don't leave the stove while waiting for each side to cook, it only takes but 1-2 minutes)

When they are half way through cooking, spray a little more Pam on top and sprinkle some Mrs. dash or your desired herb

Let that sit for a min to cool down, while you mix the dip.

Dip:

Get a small bowl and put in 3 Tbsp yogurt, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp garlic.
Mix it all together vigorously, then squeeze in 1/4 tsp honey.
I am guesstimating this is how much i used, so i recommend a taste test, you may need to tweak to your liking.

Finally, get a really sharp knife, unlike mine (as evidenced) and cut the pita pieces into triangles, like pizza, or leave them be and enjoy a mouthful, while you say "Olive Juice!"... or "EW!". We all like different things.

If you try this, let me know what you think!

Side note: This would be awesome with hummus dip too.

Italian brown rice salad, with sweet garlic dressing.

I love a good healthy salad. Especially in the warm summer months, post chilled and waiting to be devoured. A refreshing contrast to the heat beaming down on you all day. I had a huge craving for some this afternoon and tossed up this easy, Italian style version.

Ingredients:
3 cups organic baby spinach
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup black olives
1/2 cup baby tomatoes
1 cup brown rice cooked (1/2 cup uncooked)
3 inch thick chunk of fresh mozzarella

Dressing:

3 Tblspns organic extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tspn honey

3 cracks of sea salt

1/2 tspn garlic powder or minced garlic

Recipe: Cook up a 1/2 cup of brown rice on the stove or if you want it quick, use Uncle Bens 90 minute made rice for the microwave. Put that aside and Bring out a large salad bowl. I love my wooden one from Target. They're so easy to clean, pretty to look at, and chill fast. Fill it with the baby spinach leaves, olives, baby tomatoes, and shredded carrots. Cut up the mozzarella into one inch chunks or however you desire. Throw them in the bowl and toss with a salad fork and spoon. Then take a small bowl and whisk the olive oil, honey, salt and garlic. This is my favorite homemade dressing that i conjured up a while ago. Pour it over the salad and mix again. Then pour the rice in and toss everything up. Then, toss into your mouth. Next time i'm going to make some homemade bread crumbs for this, so it's like bruscheta, but in salad form. This is a very hearty and healthy salad that would pass for dinner or lunch.