Lemon-Blueberry Twist Pops

Reap the benefits of both dairy and blueberries with these 3-ingredient, low-

calorie frozen pops. Yogurt and milk offer calcium and vitamin D while blueberries are high in antioxidants.

Size Matters: Your Guide to Healthy Portion Sizes

Have a lot on your plate? Paring down your portions is the easiest secret to staying slim. Weight loss is a balancing act between calories in to calories out. If you are putting more calories in than your body needs for energy, then it will store the energy and gain weight. If you are putting less calories in than your body needs, then you will lose weight. If the calories you put in equal the calories you put out, then you will stay in balance. The equation is a simple concept, but actually solving the equation in real life isn’t so easy! 

EZ Guide to Shredded Chicken

Shredded Chicken is used in a TON of recipes and it is VERY easy to do - So let's get you shredding like a pro! 

The first step is obviously to buy a whole chicken or chicken pieces. lol The best shredded chicken comes from a whole chicken. You can buy chicken pieces, but you may end up with too much white meat or too much dark meat. You can also purchase a chicken known as a "fryer.

Remove all wrappings and paper from the chicken. Hold the whole chicken or chicken pieces under running cold water and wash well. Remove any feathers that may still be attached. If you are cooking a whole chicken, you may have to remove the bag of extra parts that has been placed inside.

Place chicken in a large pot and cover the chicken completely with water. Cover the pot with a lid. Add salt and pepper to your taste.  (Check to see if more salt is added later when you use the chicken in a recipe.) Bring the chicken to a boil for about an hour and then reduce the heat to medium low and allow the chicken to cook. You will know the chicken is done when it is fork tender and coming loose from the bone.      Your chicken can be cooked in a crock pot and then shredded. 

Remove the chicken from the broth with a slatted spoon. Place it in a shallow pan to cool. Pull meat from the chicken bones with your hands to remove all skin and pieces of bone. Shred the chicken with your fingers as you pick it off the bone. You can shred it even more by using 2 forks held back to back. Run the forks through the chicken to shred it into fine pieces. 


Now you can either use it right away or place shredded chicken in freezer bags or boxes and place in the freezer until needed. Defrost the chicken when you are ready to use it in a recipe. BTW, every 8 ounces of raw chicken will yield about 6 ounces of cooked and shredded chicken. So now you know!

Triple-Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Poppers

 Fill your wrappers with pizza toppings, bake, and chew -- you'll never go back to those frozen things from Totino's... 

Wonton Taquitos

Mexican finger food at its finest -- crunchy, perfectly sized, and with an ideal calorie count at only 202 calories for 4 of these bad boys!! So good and SO easy to make! 

Devil-icious Egg White Salad

This super-creamy salad is lighter in labor AND lower in fat than traditional deviled eggs... Weeee! 

Curried Chicken Salad

Mmmmm... Curried Chicken...Need I say more?? 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt (like the kind by Fage or Chobani) 
• 1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise 
• 1 tsp. lemon juice 
• 1 tsp. curry powder 
• 1/4 tsp. salt 
• 8 oz. cooked and roughly chopped skinless chicken breast 
• 1 cup halved red grapes 
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro 
• Optional seasoning: cayenne pepper 

Directions: In a large bowl, thoroughly mix yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, and seasonings. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Chill before chewing, or just gobble it up! MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Nutritional Info: 1/4th of recipe (about 1 cup): 147 calories, 4.5g fat, 378mg sodium, 11.5g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 7g sugars, 17.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 4

Source: Hungry Girl

Bacon Egg White Salad

Pair the decadence of bacon with the virtuousness of egg whites, and BOOM! This recipe rocks hard... 

The 411 on Hard-Boiling Egg Whites.

You asked for tips and ideas -- you got 'em! First, the tips. Since it's only the whites you're after, you don't really need to be concerned with exact cooking time or worry about overcooking the eggs. In fact, the more solid the yolks become, the easier it is to separate them from the whites. So, place the eggs in a pot and cover completely with water. The pot should be large enough that there are still a few inches of the pot's inner edge above the water line -- this way, the water won't boil over. Bring it to a boil, and then continue to cook for about 10 minutes. After that, carefully drain the water, and cover the eggs in the pot with very cold water. (Got ice? Add it.)

Once the eggs are cool enough to handle, crack 'em and the shells should peel off easily. Run a knife along the circumference of each peeled egg to separate the white into halves -- like cutting around the pit of an avocado. (It's easier to remove the yolk if you don't slice it in half.) Discard the yolks; and if the whites have any bits of yolk stuck to them, just rinse them in warm water. Tada!

Now, the snack ideas. I like to eat egg whites all by themselves -- they're delicious and have only about 20 calories each! But sometimes I put a little Dijonnaise on them... or even a combo of Dijonnaise and Laughing Cow Light cheese -- SO GOOD! You can also try filling the whites with a little salsa, refried beans, or low-calorie dip, if you're feeling adventurous. Happy egg chewing!!!

BBQ Veggie Pasta Salad

Grilled veggies, spirally noodles, crumbly feta cheese, and a BBQ ranch sauce!?! It's all true, people...it's under 300 calories!! yipeeeeee 

Fiery Tuna Salad

 Hot sauce + jalapeños + creamy tuna salad... It just works. Add a bunch of veggies, and get ready to chow down! 

How to prepare and store Mangoes

This easy and fun way of preparing mangoes is sometimes called making mango porcupines. First you use a sharp knife to fillet each side of the mango, cutting off the ‘cheek’, and getting as close to the mango pip as you can.

Then on each cheek make cuts in the mango about 2cm (1/2 in) apart in a criss-cross pattern, but don’t cut through the skin. Now if you push the skin from underneath it will pop the inside out, and the squares become mango cubes that are easy to spoon off or schloop up with your tongue. Then you can go back to peel and eat the small amount of mango left around the pip.

Cut chunks from the skin to serve. (The skin can cause irritation, so it should not be eaten.)

To store your mangoes, keep unripe mangoes at room temperature to ripen, which may take up to 1 week. A paper bag might help them ripen sooner, but they will not ripen at temperatures below 55 degrees F. Ripe mangoes can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or they can be frozen, dried, cooked in syrup or puréed.

Check out these 10 Healthy Benefits from Mangoes HERE

10 Health Benefits of Mangoes

The delicious and juicy mango has long been one of the world's most popular fruits. The fruit's flavor is often described as an exotic mix of pineapple and peach. Mangoes are available from April to September, but June and July usually offer the best pick and prices.  Mangoes taste so good that people forget they are also healthy! Discover how the “king of fruits” can help your health by reading these 10 health benefits. 

Easy Salmon Cakes

If you are trying to boost your intake of omega-3s, try this simple favorite. It is a great way to use convenient canned (or leftover) salmon. The tangy dill sauce is fantastic!! 

Creamy Dill Sauce

With these few ingredients, you can create a mouthwatering creamy dill sauce - great for fish or try adding this to your potato or macaroni salad!! Try it with my Easy Salmon Cakes! 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise 
• 1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt 
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice 
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill, or parsley 
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste 
• 
  

Directions:  Combine mayonnaise, yogurt, scallions, lemon juice, dill (or parsley) and pepper in a small bowl and mix well.

Baked Mac & Cheese

Mac & cheese can be a true comfort on a gloomy day, and Eating Well's healthy update takes advantage of extra-sharp Cheddar balanced with creamy low-fat cottage cheese and tucks a layer of spinach into the middle, which may help picky eaters down their vegetables. Whole-wheat pasta adds robust flavor and extra fiber. With this recipe they Cut calories by 43%.... Cut total fat by 66%.... Cut saturated fat by 68% and added folate and fiber by adding spinach to increase nutrients. Low-fat milk replaces whole milk to cut down on fat and calories. Use whole-wheat pasta instead of refined white pasta to boost fiber. Replace some of the regular (full-fat) cheese with low-fat cottage cheese, which has great creamy texture.  Most recipes can be altered like this without losing flavor and adding calories! If you are sensative to wheat, you can also use Brown rice pasta :)

Light Garden Pasta Salad

This lightly dressed pasta salad gets lots of flavor from kalamata olives and basil. A colorful mix of diced bell pepper, shredded carrot and tomatoes adds vitamins and minerals. Serve on a crisp bed of greens. You can toss in canned chunk light tuna, cooked chicken or flavored baked tofu to add protein and make it more substantial. The dressing is real creamy and very well balanced so for those of you who are turned off by peppers  in your salads (like me), don't fret, it's mixed very well! If you're not a fan of creamy dressings, try using a vinagarette like Simply Dressing Light Raspberry with Acai..it's soooo good! 

Ranch Turkey Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is one of my favorite summertime meals. The versatility is never ending so it's always new, but always easy. Add a loaf of crusty bread and fresh lemonade or iced tea and you have a terrific beat-the-heat dinner. Making pasta salad is so simple and this formula will help you on your way to being a pasta salad expert.

How to Sear Meat

MMMMM, MMMMM, MMMMM 

To get a rich brown crust on your roasts, steaks, and chops, you need to brown them in a hot pan. This is called Searing.  Searing meat caramelizes the sugars and browns the proteins present in meat, resulting in more appealing color and flavor. 

Making and Storing a Roux

Roux (pronounced "roo") is a thickening agent for soups and sauces with roots dating back more than 300 years in French cuisine. Made by cooking a flour and oil paste until the raw flavor of the flour cooks out and the roux has achieved the desired color, a properly cooked roux imparts silky-smooth body and a nutty flavor while thickening soups and sauces. This is a great recipe to have on hand because you can store it and always have some for later on for your next gravy or soup! 

The Art of Braising

So you want to know what in the world braising is right?  The Art of Braising is a simple cooking technique in which the main ingredient is seared, or browned in fat, and then simmered in liquid on low heat in a covered pot and it has HUGE results!! 

The best equipment to use would be a crock pot, pressure cooker or Dutch oven. Whether you choose to use the oven or the top of the stove, you will be pleased with the results.

When it comes to braising meats, you want to stick with the tougher, less tender cuts that come from  animals more exercised muscles. These cuts tend to have more connective tissue that breaks down making the meat tender and flavorful. A lean cut from the loin area is a waste to braise. The meat is already tender and has little fat or connective tissue. Click on Read more for TONS more info on Braising!! 

Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, and Passion Tea Lemonade Popsicles!

ok, so who doesn't want to impress their friends????  Ummmmm NO ONE! Well, with these 3 flavored homemade popsicles, you will be sure to WOW even the pickiest one of your friends! These fab frozen delights have Regular lemonade, Pink lemonade and best of all.....(drum roll please)....Passion Tea Lemonade! Keep reading for the recipe!! 

Mediterranean Cucumber Cups

So, I was cruising the completely addicting site Pinterest and came across these mouthwatering Mediterranean Cucumber Cups and I could NOT resist putting these on my blog to share with you! These would be a fantastic appetizer for your casual summer BBQ's or your fancy schmancy parties!! While these are filled with a Mediterranean mix, the combinations are endless.  You could try some Hummus, Crab Salad, Potato Salad, Chicken Salad, a Roasted Red Pepper of some Spinach Dip!! yummmmm Now I want to go and make them right now!