Veggie Bee

There are many things for which I am grateful as we take a day to enjoy our friends, family and food. I am grateful for the many meaningful relationships that I have, but in particular my BFF & kindred spirit David. I look forward to many Thanksgivings spent together, while he patiently smiles while I’m trying to cook some new dish that supports the Veggie Bee life. I’m a rookie in the kitchen, so it does take patience!

Here are some of the other people for whom I am thankful. The bloggers who put in so much time and effort to share their journeys in the hope that it helps others to live a healthier or more balanced life. I hope they know they inspire others with their personal stories and the things they’ve learned along the way.

The Vegans
My inspirations to lead a healthy vegan life!

• Choosing Raw
• Vegan Hope
• Clearly Vegan
• Chocolate Covered Katie
• Kristen’s Raw
• No Meat Athlete
• The Lunch Box Bunch

 Healthy & Fit
These girls focus on positive healthy changes for weight loss and maintenance!

• Kath Eats Real Food
• Eat, Live, Run
• Carrots ‘N’ Cake
• Roni’s Weigh
• MizFit Online
• Fitnessista
• Heather Eats Almond Butter

The Recipe Gurus
Actually, everyone above could be added to this list too, but these sites are great resources for recipes!

• 101 Cookbooks
• Eat, Drink & Be Vegan
• Fat Free Vegan
• Green Lite Bites
• Zesty Cook

Have a happy & healthy Thanksgiving day!! Don’t forget to get in some exercise too

Thanks to Monica for sharing this amazing deal at Amazon! You can’t beat getting an awesome magazine like Cooking Light for only $5 for a year… but hurry and put your order in, the sale ends on Saturday.

Order Cooking Light on Amazon

What’s your favorite healthy cooking magazine??

Now that summer is here, I’m sure you’ve already done some grilling!! While grilling is a fabulous option for poultry, fish and shellfish as part of your healthy life, don’t forget that dessert deserves a chance on the grill too. Grilled fruit is a tasty and easy way to help you increase your fruits and veggies and enjoy your dessert too!

 Grilled Fruit with Strawberry Dip

Ingredients
4 peaches, halved or quartered
8 chunks of pineapple
4 plums, nectarines or papayas, halved
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Dip
8 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons plain nonfat yogurt
1/4 teaspoon dried, ground ginger
8 strawberries, halved

Preparation
In a blender, puree cheese, yogurt, ginger and strawberries until smooth. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for two hours. Thread fruit onto eight skewers and mix vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Grill fruit until lightly browned, turning frequently and brushing with vinegar mixture every few minutes. Serve with strawberry dip on the side.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Facts per serving
Calories: 106
Protein: 4 grams
Fiber: 2 grams

Recipe courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Grilled Bananas

Ingredients
4 bananas, cut in half
Cinnamon sugar
Melted butter, optional (or olive oil spray)

Preparation
Cut bananas in half so that both halves have all the skin on. Cut the halves lengthwise (so the bananas are shaped like boats) and LEAVE THE SKIN ON. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. (If using butter or olive oil spray, brush or spray bananas lightly before sprinkling with cinnamon sugar. To make it lower calorie, use olive oil or canola spray and sprinkle with cinnamon).

Place bananas cut side down for 1 to 3 minutes or until bananas have grill marks. Turn over and continue cooking until warmed through. When the banana skin starts to pull away from the fruit, they’re done.

Eat right out of the skin while still warm or serve on top of a serving of Stonyfield Farms Organic Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt!

What’s your favorite recipe for grilling fruit??

ZestyCook.com has a great idea for a smoothie using frozen cranberries, a Cranberry Sizzler… as well as all the facts you wanted to know about harvesting cranberries!

And the generous Zesty is giving away a blog makeover! Of course I entered, Veggie Bee can always use an upgrade from a pro.  Even if you’re just thinking about starting a blog, Zesty can help you get started. Be sure to enter before 5 p.m. EST on June 8!

I found this easy recipe a while ago and now I can’t find the source, but it’s very tasty and great to keep in the refrigerator for an extra fruit & veggie boost to your daily diet. It’s great to try with home-made baked potato “chips”, as a salad topping or with my new favorite jalapeno tortilla chips from Food Should Taste Good. They’re perfectly spicy! Food Should Taste Good has other flavors that I’m sure are delicious, but I always gravitate to the jalapeno flavor!  I promise to try the other flavors and give you a review.  I like these tortilla chips because they do not contain any artificial ingredients and they’re so tasty, but they are still 140 calories per ounce (as opposed to about 25 calories per ounce for home-made baked potato chips), so you should eat them with vegetables or vegetable dips like this salsa if you need help with portion control.  

I use the Trader Joe’s frozen mangos in place of fresh mango, just allow to defrost before mixing.

Ingredients
1 large mango, chopped
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime

Preparation
Combine mango, red onion, black beans, cilantro and jalapeno in a medium bowl. Squeeze lime juice over mixture. Stir well, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

What are your favorite salsa or healthy dip recipes??

Watermelon is great to enjoy year round but summertime is definitely its best season! At only 8 calories per ounce, or about 45 calories per cup, it can be a great way to increase your fruit intake and keep your calories low. Compare that to your typical cookie at 125 calories per ounce (yikes!) with no nutritional value and watermelon is an obvious choice for delicious healthy living. Enjoy it for dessert or as a snack, it is very filling and can satisfy your sweet tooth.

Quick Watermelon Cubes

• Take a quarter of a watermelon and lay it on the rind with the interior facing up.
• Place knife about 3/4 of an inch down from the peak of the wedge. Holding the knife parallel to the far side of the fruit and starting at edge of rind, cut a horizontal line through the fruit all the way down to the rind.
• Next, place the knife blade 3/4 of an inch lower and make the same cut. Repeat.
• Next, turn the fruit to the other side and make the same horizontal cuts.
• And last, starting at edge of the rind, make vertical cuts 3/4 inch apart all the way across. Cubes will tumble out ready to eat!

How to Choose a Watermelon

• Look the watermelon over. You are looking for a firm, symmetrical watermelon that is free from bruises, cuts or dents.
• Lift it up. The watermelon should be heavy for its size. Watermelon is 92% water, most of the weight is water.
• Turn it over. The underside of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.
• Thump it. The watermelon should have a deeper, hollow sound.

Watermelon Facts

• Watermelon has higher concentrations of lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable. In fact, fresh watermelon contains higher levels of lycopene than fresh tomatoes - a 2-cup serving of watermelon contains and average of 18.16 mg and one medium-sized tomato contains 4 mg.
• A Watermelon is completely edible. While most of us relish the flesh part, the watermelon seeds can be roasted and eaten. Watermelon rind is used for making preserves, pickles and relish.
• Though watermelon is commonly considered as a fruit it is actually a vegetable! It is a member of the cucumber family and is kin to the gourd.

Try a new take on watermelon with this Watermelon Salsa recipe from Eating Well.

Makes 8 servings, 1/2 cup each

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

3 cups finely diced seedless watermelon (about 2 1/4 pounds with the rind)
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (about 1/2 bunch)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup minced red onion (about 1/2 small)
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Place watermelon, jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice and onion in a medium bowl; stir well to combine. Season with salt. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 26 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 1 g fiber; 75 mg sodium.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (60% daily value).

Do you have any favorite watermelon recipes?? Or are you like me and just eat it straight out of the rind??

Asparagus is one of those power foods that should be included in any healthy diet. If you’re not a fan of asparagus by itself as a side dish, there are plenty of recipes that include it in the mix.

Check out these impressive facts for a cup of asparagus (134 grams):

• Contains only 27 calories and 3 grams of fiber! Definitely a high-volume low-calorie whole food.
• No fat or cholesterol.
• 3 grams of protein.
• Minerals such as potassium and iron.
• Vitamins such as vitamin C, folacin, thiamine and B6.

Now pick a recipe to try this week and keep me posted on which recipes are your favorites for asparagus!

• Martha Stewart ~ a fantastic collection of asparagus recipes, you’re bound to find something you like here.
• Fitness Magazine ~ a simple roasted asparagus recipe for a side dish in no time at all.
• 101 Cookbooks ~ Asparagus Stir Fry ~ I really love this blog for all kinds of interesting recipes, mainly vegetarian and whole food ideas and beautiful food pics.
• California Asparagus Commission ~ they’re not kidding around about asparagus, everything you always wanted to know you can find here.
• Michigan Asparagus Advisory board brochure (pdf) ~ simple and easy-to-follow recipe ideas.

Asparagus is a wonderful whole food and you don’t have to worry about additives or preservatives. Go organic and buy locally and that’s as close to an ideal food that you can get!

I’m going to make the Asparagus Stir Fry from 101 Cookbooks this weekend. Which recipe looks good to you?? Do you have a favorite recipe for asparagus??

A simple and easy way to add new veggies to your life is to try roasting them. Roasting brings out a wonderful flavor and texture of your veggies and are great additions to salads, soups, dips and even as pizza toppings!

Roasting doesn’t have to require a lot of oil, try using nonstick cooking spray on the pan and over the veggies, or use a Misto Olive Oil Sprayer to control the amount of olive oil you use.

Check out these links for more tips and recipes for roasting all types of veggies:

• Hot Properties ~ from the San Diego Union Tribune, it includes several recipes like Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower with Lemon and Garlic.
• Roasted Vegetables: Recipes & Tips ~ From WebMD Health Center, it includes some info on how to roast garlic.
• Ratatouille of Roasted Vegetables ~ a recipe from Eating Well. This recipes uses a minimal amount of oil to lower fat and calories while maximizing the flavor of roasting.
• Balsamic Roasted Vegetables ~ a recipe from Epicurious. To lower the fat and calories, use less oil than the recipe calls for and check out the reviews for variations on the recipe.

My favorite veggie combo for roasting has been eggplant, zucchini and red peppers!

Do you roast vegetables regularly??  What’s your favorite combination of vegetables to roast??

Do you have a bad habit you need to break? Take a look at Margarita’s Breakup Letter to her bad habit…  and then write your own!

Phit-N-Phat asks What Motivates You to Be Healthy and Fit? There’s a nice quote on getting to your goals: “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” - Jim Ryun.

Need even more to help you get motivated? Read the article Get Motivated (pdf) from Body + Soul magazine and then take Tamara Lowe’s Motivational DNA test.

Need a workout you can do in 7 minutes?! Check out Lean & Fit in 7 Minutes at Women’s Health Magazine. You can even download it to your iPod!

This weekend, I’m planning to try some version of Shape Magazine’s Eggplant-Ricotta Rolls with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. I’m not sure I’ll use ricotta cheese, but I like the idea of the rolls.  Let me know if you try it and any changes you might make to it.

Win FREE Reebok SmoothFit SelectRide Shoes at Active.com. Ends March 31, 09.

• Go to the Active.com Reebok Crosstraining page.
• Click on one of the links to enter the giveaway.
• While you’re there, take a look at the Free Cross-training plans that are available.
• Five winners will be selected after the giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on March 31, 09.

Enter to Win daily prizes at Fitness Magazine’s Daily Sweepstakes!

• Today’s prize is a pair of women’s ASICS GEL-Nimbus 10 running shoes.
• Tomorrow’s prize is a women’s RRS 3-layer jacket.
• Enter to win daily at Fitness Magazine online!