Capital City Wellness Recipes of the Month

‘Hint of Lime’ Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:
1 huge sweet potato
Drizzle of agave nectar (1-2 teaspoons)
Drizzle of lime juice (1-2 teaspoons)
Drizzle of grapeseed oil (1-3 tablespoons)
Sprinkling of sea salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to roast at 425.

Cut up potato(s) in the shape of french fries (The thicker they are, the longer they’ll need to bake.)
Place cut potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle with agave nectar, lime juice, and oil.
Mix well. Oil should lightly coat most potatoes.
Sprinkle with seasoning; mix well.
Arrange seasoned potatoes on cookie sheet. Avoid overcrowding. (Each fry gets its own space!)

Roast for about 12 minutes, then remove cookie sheet from oven to “flip” fries. Return fries to oven and continue cooking until fork-tender or desired consistency (probably about 10-15 more minutes).

Remove from oven and place fries on paper towels to drain extra oil.

Transfer to serving dish and serve warm with “Secret Sauce” below.

Charissa’s BP Secret Sauce
from: http://www.colourfulpalate.com/2011/04/20/sweet-potato-fries-and-secret-sauce/

Simply mix and serve…
¼ cup low-fat mayo
1/8 cup Greek yogurt
1/8 cup salsa
1 tsp. lime juice
Sprinkle of Thai seasoning (opt)
Pinch of onion powder
1 tbsp. agave nectar
Secret Sauce Nutritional Info (per tablespoon): Cals: 14, Fat: .4g, Sodium: 72mg, Carbs: 3g, Sugars: 2g

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Ingredients:
1 medium red potato (cut in half-inch cubes)
1 apple cubed
2 carrots (peeled and cut)
2 parsnips (peeled and cut)
1 fennel bulb (cut into “pizza slices” shapes)
½ red onion (cut into “pizza slices” shapes)
Drizzle of olive oil (1 tablespoon; just enough to lightly coat)
Generous sprinkling of rosemary (floral accents) and thyme (citrus accents)
Dash of seasoning salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to roast at 450.

Cut up vegetables. The thicker they are, the longer they’ll need to bake.
Place cut veggies in a large bowl and drizzle with oil.
Mix well. Olive oil should lightly coat veggies.
Sprinkle with seasoning; mix well.
Arrange seasoned veggies on sprayed cookie sheet. Avoid overcrowding and stacking.

Roast for about 12 minutes, then remove cookie sheet from oven to “flip” veggies. Return to oven and continue cooking until fork-tender or desired consistency (probably about 10-15 more minutes).

Place in serving dish to serve warm. Coat with citrus-thyme vinaigrette or serve it on the side.

Citrus-thyme Vinaigrette
Just mix together in separate bowl…
           
            2 tablespoons lemon juice
            ½ teaspoon dried thyme or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh
            1 ½ tablespoons agave nectar

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Butternut Squash with Black Beans

Ingredients:
            1 butternut squash (peeled and cut into one-inch cubes)
            1 can of black beans (drained; reserve liquid)
            2 teaspoons olive oil
            1 teaspoon cumin
            Dash seasoning salt (optional)

Instructions:

Peel and cut squash.
Warm olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add cut squash to pan, cook about 7 minutes, stirring often until fork-tender or desired consistency.
Add drained black beans to warm, and add liquid from beans to desired consistency.
Add seasoning(s) while warming mixture.

Remove from heat and serve as a side dish, or – for a main dish…

Place mixture in warm tortillas and garnish with Greek yogurt and shredded cheese.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Cupcakes
From: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/super-moist-low-fat-chocolate-cupcakes.html

Ingredients:
18.25 oz Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix (or chocolate organic cake mix)
1.4 oz sugar free, fat free, instant chocolate pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/3 cups water

For the chocolate glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2-1 tbsp 1% milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

Combine pumpkin puree and water in a large bowl; mix to combine. Add chocolate pudding mix and mix well.

Add chocolate cake mix and beat 2 minutes.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake about 25 - 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes.

For the glaze: combine all dry ingredients, add vanilla and 1/2 tbsp milk, adding more 1/4 tsp at a time if needed until smooth.

Add to a piping bag or use a zip lock bag and cut the corner off, drizzle onto cooled cupcakes.

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Fast Veggies…on the stovetop

Ingredients:
Small onion
Zucchini
Squash
Tomatoes (Pick and choose what you like)
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Instructions:

Cut up veggies.
Warm olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add to pan in following order to allow for denser vegetables to cook longer:
Onion
Zucchini
Squash
Tomatoes (last couple minutes).

Cook for a total of about 5-7 minutes or until fork tender.

Experiment with seasonings such as pepper, sea salt, oregano, basil…

This makes a tasty veggie side dish, or – for a main dish…

Add stewed tomatoes - from can; or peel & core & cut into quarters and heat in a saucepan until tomatoes boil. (Or simply drain a can of diced tomatoes and heat with veggie mixture.)

Combine veggies with stewed tomatoes and serve over whole wheat pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Mmmmmmm…Enjoy!

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