Crock Pot Black Bean Soup

It's getting chilly and I have been looking to add to my crock pot soup collection!! This weekend I thought I would try out a black bean soup (with just enough kick to taste it, but not so much that the kids can't take it!).

This recipe made me excited for a few reasons:
1) My kids liked it (that is always a reason to be excited about a new recipe)
2) I finally found a reason to use the immersion blender I got as a wedding gift 15 years ago!!

So without further ado...here is the latest Cup of Judy crock pot recipe!!

 

 

 

 

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup 

(serves a family of 5 with left overs - you can cut this in 1/2 if you want a smaller portion)

Ingredients:
1 Medium Onion Diced
1/2 Large Red Pepper Diced
4 Celery Stalks Thinly Sliced
2 Tsp Minced Garlic (or 4 cloves if you are using fresh)
4 15.5oz Cans of Black Beans (I used 2 low sodium and 2 regular)
4 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
3 Cups Hot Water
1 Tsp Cumin
1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper (or more to taste)
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (or use the juice of 1 fresh lemon)
3 Tbsp Cornstarch

Directions: 

• Cut up the onion, celery, red pepper and put in crock pot.

• Add the garlic, black beans, cumin, crushed red pepper chicken bouillon and water. 

• Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

• Stir in corn starch and lemon juice. 

• With an immersion blender, puree the soup (I like to leave it with some whole black beans or you can make it completely smooth).

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, tortilla strips or a fresh baguette.

Crockpot Summer Vegetable and Chicken Sausage Soup

This recipe was perfect for the end of summer and I think you can alter it to make different soups or just to your specific tastes (add lentils instead of orzo, add peppers or other summer veggies!!).

I used the tomato soup ingredients from my Crockpot Hamburger Soup as my base (tomato soup, garlic and beef bouillon) - it is so easy and gives the soup a really nice flavor.

When I did this recipe, I doubled it so I had enough to freeze and enjoy once the school year gets underway and we are running to different events with little time to cook a healthy meal! 

Summer Vegetable and Chicken Sausage Soup: 

3 Chicken Sausage links (I used fully cooked- no prep!) 
Corn (1 can or 1/2 bag of frozen or 1.5 cups fresh)
Green beans  (1 can or 1/2 bag of frozen or 1.5 cups fresh)
1 Zucchini - cut in half and then sliced
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes (I used onion and garlic flavor)
1 Tsp minced garlic
1 Can condensed tomato soup
1 Beef bouillon cube
2.5 cups water
1 Cup Orzo Pasta (add in 30 min before serving)
Salt/Pepper to taste

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

 

One of my favorite healthy recipe sites is Skinnytaste.com - she has healthy, simple and delicious recipes for just about everything!!  This week, I had produce in the fridge that needed to be used, so I started looking for some recipes on my favorite site. I found a great chocolate chip zucchini bread recipe and I thought I would try adding raspberries as well - the result was DELICIOUS!!!

 

I made both regular muffins and mini muffins for the kids, which has been a perfect on the go breakfast this week.

 

Skinnytaste's Recipe :

 

As Muffins:
Servings: 12 • Size: 1 muffin • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 175.6 • Fat: 5.7g • Protein: 3.4g • Carb: 31.9g • Fiber: 3.2g • Sugar: 15.5g
Sodium: 248.4 mg 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour (I used unbleached)
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour (regular whole wheat flour would work)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (not packed)
• 1-1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 cup apple sauce
• 1-1/2 cups shredded zucchini (not packed)
• 1 cup of fresh raspberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.

Add chocolate chips and gently mix to combine.

In a medium bowl, mix egg, vanilla, melted butter, apple sauce, zucchini and raspberries. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just blended.

Bake at 325° for 25 minutes (mini muffins for about 10-15 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes.

Thank you Skinnytaste for the great recipe and the raspberries added a unique fruity pairing with the chocolate!

Chicken Caprese Kabob

I love grilled chicken and this summer, we've been grilling extra chicken and using the left overs for meals during the week.

Here was a really simple but delicious and healthy left over chicken meal that I made this week.

Chicken Caprese Kabob 

Ingredients: 
Grilled Chicken Breast - cut into bite sized pieces
Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Basil leaves
Fresh Mozzarella cut into squares
Balsamic Vinegar (I use the kind in the spray bottle)
Pasta (you can really use any pasta, I had fettuccine in my pantry so that what I used!)
Olive oil (just a tsp or so to toss in the pasta)

Directions: 
Put chicken, basil, mozzarella and tomato onto a skewer in a repeating pattern.
Cook pasta and toss with olive oil and some basil
Place skewer on top of pasta on a plate and spray with balsamic vinegar

**Tip: If you are looking for an easy appetizer, I love putting fresh mozzarella, basil and a tomato on a toothpick and spray with the balsamic vinegar!!  

Summer Salad on the Go!

This is my new road trip lunch solution!! I am officially in love with these Arnold Whole Wheat Pita Pocket Thins - they are 100 calories per half and I've started putting salads in them for healthier eating options on the go!

I made this one this weekend and it was a such a better option than drive thru or a standard sandwich!

Chicken Mango Salad Pita: 

• 1 cup spinach greens
• 1/2 cup chopped chicken breast
• 1/4 cup mango 
• Golden Raisins
• Fresh chopped cilantro
• Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette** 

Toss all the salad ingredients together in a bowl and then put in the pita pocket!

 **If you are packing this as a meal for later in the day, I would put the vinaigrette in a small separate Tupperware container and add it right before you are ready to eat. Otherwise, your pita might get soggy!

Other Summer Salads to try in a pita pocket:

• Chicken Poppy Salad - Chicken, Strawberries, Blueberries, Greens, Poppy seed Dressing 
• Greek Salad - olives, feta, greens, chicken and a greek dressing
• Cobb Salad - greens, chopped egg, turkey bacon, tomato with Ranch 
• Southwest Salad - chicken, greens, black beans, corn, onions, tomato and salsa ranch dressing
• Steak & Blue Salad - sliced Steak, blue cheese, walnuts, greens with a Balsamic
• Caprese Salad - fresh mozzerella, tomato slices, basil leaves and Balsamic

Perfect Summer Salad

What do you do with left over corn on the cob??? Put it in a salad!! 

Summer Salad (single serving)

 

Ingredients:

1 Corn on the cob

6-8 Cherry tomatoes - halved

1 Grilled chicken breast

1/2 Avocado
1/4 Cup fresh cilantro
Newman's Lite Lime Vinaigrette

Directions: 
Cut the corn off the cob, add remaining ingredients, top with Lime Vinaigrette to taste.

This was an easy salad that I threw together for dinner, but would definitely make again in a bigger batch for a group, maybe adding quinoa or spinach greens! 

Turkey Meatball Kale Tortellini Soup

My children ate (and loved!) kale!! This is an easy soup recipe that got thumbs up from my kids!!! I probably could have made the turkey meatballs myself, but I needed a quick recipe so I opted for pre-cooked frozen meatballs.

Turkey Meatball Kale and Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:
3 chicken bouillons ( I use Herb ox packets which has no sodium or MSG)
6 cups boiling water
1 tsp minced garlic (this is 2 cloves if you mince your own)
1 small onion chopped
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
2-3 cups of fresh kale
Frozen turkey meatballs (I put about 15 in)
10 oz frozen cheese tortellini (about 1/2 a package)
Pepper to taste


Directions:
- Put chicken bouillons and boiling water in a pot and stir until it dissolves
- Add garlic, onions and carrots
- Bring to a boil
- Add meatballs and tortellini
- Let it simmer for about 10 minutes
- Add kale and let it cook for another 5 minutes
- Add pepper to taste
- Serve with Parmesean cheese

Crockpot Quinoa and Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Looking for a simple and healthy crockpot recipe that your whole family will love?! Keep reading!!! I actually did all the prep work the night before and then put them in the crockpot the next morning before work.

Ingredients:

• 5 large peppers
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 15 oz jar tomato sauce
• 1 cup quinoa (I use red quinoa)
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Wash peppers and cut off tops. Remove the stems from top of peppers and dice them, set aside.
• Wash, rinse and drain the quinoa. Add quinoa to 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Reduce to medium for 15 minutes, fluff with fork. 
• While quinoa is cooking, brown the ground turkey in a large skillet. 
• Once ground turkey is browned, add tomato sauce, peppers, onions, garlic and quinoa.
• Fill peppers with ground turkey and quinoa filling.
• Cook stuffed peppers in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
• About 10-15 minutes before serving, add shredded mozzarella cheese to the top of stuffed peppers. 
• Last but not least....Enjoy!!!! 

Healthy Kids Foods: Green Foods

Day 4: Green Day

Breakfast

My Mom got into our wellness rainbow week and made her FABULOUS Zucchini Bread for our green day (Thanks Mom!!).

Zucchini Bread
(Recipe from Whole Foods Market)

Ingredients:    

 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 egg

1/3 cup expeller pressed canola oil

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup grated zucchini

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray an 8-inch loaf pan with natural cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, oil, applesauce, yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until well combined. Fold in zucchini and walnuts then transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until risen, deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

Cool in pan on rack for 30 minutes then remove bread from pan and continue cooling on rack.

Lunch

Salad with ranch
Snap Peas
Green Peppers with Hummus
Pickle (my daughter's favorite!)
Organic Apple Crunchers

Dinner

Chicken, Avacado and Orange Salad with
Balsamic Vinegrette

Green Day was the most successful day of the week thus far - I set up a BYO (build your own) Salad Bar - I think the kids loved being able to make the choices of what veggies to put on their plate. I wish I had smiles like this everynight at dinner!!!

Healthy Kid Foods: Yellow Foods

Day 3: Yellow Day

Breakfast:

Pineapple-Mango Smoothie

Lunch:

Yellow Peppers with Ranch Dip
Yellow Apple
Dried Apricots
Rice Cake with Peanut Butter

 

Dinner:

Spaghetti Squash with Zucchini and a Turkey Meatball

Cooking a Spaghetti Squash:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds
• Place in baking dish cut sides up
• Brush sides with olive oil and then cover with aluminum foil
• Cook in the oven for 20 minutes
• Remove the aluminum foil and cook for another 35 minutes uncovered.
• With a fork, scape out the squash into a bowl.

The spaghetti squash was a hit with one out of the three kids (one has been sick so I am not counting her thumbs down and the other one took one bite and said "these noodles don't taste the same"!) The one bite rule was instituted again and everyone lived!!!

Healthy Kid Food: Orange Foods

Day 2: Orange

Breakfast

Orange Juice
Clementine Orange
Cheerios (not orange, I know....)

Lunch:

Baby Carrots with Ranch dip
Kashi 7-Grain Pita Chips and Cheese Stick
Cantalope
Clementine 

Dinner:

Loaded Sweet Potato
Side Salad

Loaded Sweet Potato (Recipe from Skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt (or light sour cream)
• 1 tsp taco seasoning
• 1 tsp olive or canola oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika or smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• a pinch of salt
• 1-1/3 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup mild or spicy salsa
• 1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese blend
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions or cilantro

Directions:

Poke holes in the potato with a fork, cook on your microwave’s potato setting until potatoes are soft and cooked through (about 8-10 minutes on high for 4 potatoes). If you don't have a microwave, bake about 45 minutes at 400°F.

Combine yogurt and taco seasoning in a small bowl, mix well.

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add peppers, onions, chili powder, paprika, cumin and salt; cook until the onions have caramelized slightly, about 5 minutes. Add black beans, stir to combine and heat through (about another 5 minutes).



Cut an oval shape on the top of the potato, then remove the top of each potato and scoop out the inside of the potato and put into a bowl. Add the shredded cheese and the black bean mixture and stir together.





Fill your potatoes with the filling. 


Top each potato with 2 tbsp Greek yogurt mixture and 2 tbsp salsa of salsa.  




Not only were the loaded sweet potatoes quick and easy to make - they were delicious! My kids on the otherhand....not quite sure just yet. We have a "try a bite" rule in this house, so they all tried it (although I caved and let them put their sample onto a tortilla chip...). But nobody gagged, threw up or passed out from trying the sweet potato - so I call that a success. Maybe next time we can get TWO bites in!!

Healthy Kid Food: Red Foods

My daughter's elementary school is having a Wellness Week where they strive to eat a "Rainbow" of healthy foods and each day is a featured color. I am pretty good when it comes to offering healthy foods for my family...but I am far from perfect!! I have to admit that there are many nights after a long day at work where chicken nuggets, fish sticks or my kids favorite - elbow noodles with margarine (not proud) are on my dinner table.

So, I took this week as a challenge to myself to plan out a truly healthy week's worth of food. I've planned my menu to go with Natalie's school event to see how I could do.

Day 1: Red Foods

Breakfast

Mixed Berry Smoothie (we don't have a ton of time in the morning, I cheated with this one!)

 

Lunch:

Sliced red peppers
Sundried tomato hummus with Kashi 7-Grain Pita Chips
Sliced strawberries with plain greek yogurt and granola w/dried cranberries
Red Apple

Dinner:

Chicken Breast with Honey Balsamic Glaze 
Cherry Tomatoes and Asparagus in a Balsamic Sauce
Oven Roasted Red Potatoes



Chicken Breast with Honey-Balsamic Glaze  (Recipe from SparkRecipes)

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp Salt Sense
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb uncooked boneless chicken breast 
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp honey

Directions

1. Combine first 3 ingredients; sprinkle over both sides of chicken pieces.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken; cook 7-8 minutes on each side or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

3. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm. Reduce heat to medium low; add vinegar and honey to pan. Simmer 1 minute or until glaze thickens, stirring constantly. Pour glaze over chicken.

Serving Size: Serves 4

All in all, it was a good day - the kids tried everything for dinner (we told the boys that the asparagus were dragon tails...which made it fun for them to eat!!). The chicken recipe was fabulous and I will definitely try it out again!! Next up....Orange Day!!

Dessert under 200 calories: Chocolate-Coffee Parfait

Chobani just introduced Chobani Bites - they are 100 calories each and make a fabulous snack or dessert!!  I decided to try the Coffee with Chocolate Chips and make a dessert out of it.

Other flavors of Chobani Bites include Fig with orange zest, Carmel with pineapple and Raspberry with dark chocolate chips.



Chocolate-Coffee Parfait
Ingredients:

• 1 Chobani Bites Coffee flavored yogurt
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 2 tbsp Cool Whip Lite 
• Drizzle of Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup

Preparation:
Layer the ingredients in a cup or bowl - top with some Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup and ENJOY!!

Nutritional Information: Calories 196, Fat 2g, Protein 11g, Fiber 5g