I hope you're reading this little brother!

So per request of my awesome little brother, I am posting some of my favorite recipes this week and things that I have found that work for us in the kitchen. He suffers from a condition I call "Cramers shop for a famine mentality." Our parents are wonderful and know how to do food storage so when we started shopping for ourselves, it carried over....which can get out of control. We decided he's not spending his money on random stuff at grocery store, he's just buying way more than he needs for 2 people and spending more money than is necessary. I have done the same thing for years until I finally realized that a lot of the canned food I buy never gets used and I never eat certain kinds of produce even though I say I will and it goes bad. SO we were talking about ways to improve grocery spending and some of the things I think every kitchen needs to cook healthy, flavorful, exciting, and inexpensive food. I'm much more boring in the kitchen than I used to be (any roommate will tell you I got a little too creative in the kitchen most of the time.) I still have some of my adventure skills in the kitchen, but I've mellowed out. here's a list of my must haves at all time:

1. Minced garlic (the kind you refrigerate)
2. Minced ginger (in a jar that goes in your fridge)
3. red wine, white, rice, balsamic vinegar
4. fish sauce
5. good quality olive oil, I buy mine at sunflower market because it's the best I've EVER found and only        $6.99 for a HUGE bottle
6. cilantro (fresh)
7. green onions
8. parsley
9. lemon and lime juice and preferably fresh lemons and fresh limes
10. onions
12. frozen veggies that come separate- green beans, carrots, corn,etc.
13. dry beans, (white, pinto, black, lentils)
14. good quality mozzarella cheese
15. diced tomatoes
16. tomato paste
17. cumin
18. curry powder and red curry paste
19. boullion, chicken and beef
20. chili sauce
21. dill
22. spicy brown mustard
23. worchestershire sauce
24. whole wheat bread crumbs or panko
25. green peppers
26. corn starch, cream of tartar, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder, sea salt, cajun seasoning
27. plain yogurt
28. butter
29. spinach
30. frozen berries- blueberries and strawberries

So what do you do with all these things you might ask? well that could take hours and hours to describe but really the kitchen is a place to be creative and inventive.

Here are a few of my own creations or ways I've spiced up classics. I admit I am not a professional cook but I've learned thing or two from being the presence of great chefs when I worked in Jackson Hole and have learned that great food doesn't come from a can or a box so when I cook I usually try to make as much as I can from scratch. I rarely follow recipes, so sometimes it's a disaster. If I'm cooking ethnic food, I ALWAYS use a recipe, or at least use one as a guide.

White Bean Spread/Dip
I start with beans I've soaked and boiled but you can use canned ones, about 2-3 cups is good
Add some tomato paste or tomato puree (1 can or 1 cup of crushed tomatoes)
Add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese ( NOT freshly grated)
Add 2-3 tablespoons italian seasoning
Add 1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic

Blend in a blender or food processor and serve with veggies, baked chips, crackers, or use as a spread! Adjust different ingredients for your taste.

Smoothies
To me, the trick to a good smoothie is minimal dairy. I know some people love milk or yogurt as their smoothie base, but when I drink a smoothie I want the fruit, not the dairy so here are a few combos we love.

2 cups frozen blueberries
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of sugar if you must or 1 tablespoon fruity frozen juice concentrate (grape or cranberry )
Mix in your blender until smooth, serves 2

2 cups of frozen peaches
1/2 cup lite coconut milk
1 tablespoon peachy or fruity juice concentrate if you must
1-1.5 cups of water
Mix until smooth, serves 2

2 cups strawberries
2 cups of water (or replace .5 cups with .5 cups lite coconut milk)
a dash of almond extract
1 tablespoon of sugar or 1 tablespoon of frozen juice concentrate if you must
Blend, and voila! smoothie for 2.

My husband does not eat fruit unless it's in a smoothie so I try to make him one every day. Blending with water lets the fruit flavors come out so much stronger than blending with dairy, but he always like a little sugar so we add frozen juice concentrate for some kick. If you have sugar free syrups you could probably add those as well but I'm trying to avoid artificial sweeteners but you could easily add some stevia or agave if you need it a little sweeter.

My little bro had a hard time believing we don't eat lunch meat. I shouldn't say never, but very rarely do we eat it and when we buy it, it ALWAYS goes bad so we just stopped buying it except for some extra lean ham we keep in the freezer for breakfast, pizza, and the occasional ham and cheese sandwich. So what do I eat for lunch? Hmmm, lots of things. One of my favorite is home made soups with whole wheat bread. I like warm, satisfying food at lunch so soup is a great way to get in some veggies. Here are a couple of my favorite soups. I know, they're not low sodium but I can't win in every category!

Cajun Tomato Soup
1 can diced tomatoes or 2 fresh ones diced
1 cup water ( a little less if you use canned tomatoes)
1 teaspoon boullion (chicken)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup white beans or 1 can great northern beans
2 cups of spinach, or other veggies you think are interesting, sometimes I add frozen carrots

combine these ingredients an bring to a boil. You can either use and immersion blender or just throw it in the blender. If you're short on time, bag the blending, it will still taste great.

Add 1 cup skim milk and continue to simmer for a few minutes.
Add 1-2 teaspoons cajun seasonings
Add 1/2 cup frozen corn if you're into that

This is dangerous but I throw this all in a pot and heat it while I take a shower! That's just an indicator of my free time- ZERO.

The beans add so much fiber and protein so it's much more satisfying than a broth soup. The tomatoes give you plenty of lycopene and the other vegetables that you choose to add. The milk makes it seem more creamy and delicious, like you're eating a naughty soup. Serve with whole grain bread...mmmm. No clue how many it serves, Dan won't touch it but I eat for several meals. Sometimes I leave out the corn and throw it in a mug and slurp it while I go to SLC.

Asian Black Bean Soup (from Volumetrics cookbook)


2 teaspoons oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth (or make your own with some chicken boullion)
3 cups black beans, rinsed, and drained (either canned or homemade)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (preferably reduced-sodium)
1/8 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons orange juice (add lemon or lime if you don't have orange)
4 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Saute the onions and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the broth, beans, soy sauce, red-pepper flakes, coriander, and 3/4 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.

Puree about 3/4 of the soup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the orange juice. Simmer the soup 5 minutes. Divide the soup among 4 bowls and serve topped with the sour cream and green onions.
4 servings,
240 calories, 11g fiber, 13 g protein, 32g carbs,  6g fat

I'm getting tired and cramped (how do real bloggers do this for a living???) But on the topic of lunch- get creative, throw some tuna together with celery, onions, peppers, and dill, a little low fat may/miracle whip, add some lemon juice and fresh ground pepper and eat on top of wasa crackers or triscuits for a filling lunch. Chop some chicken breasts and mix it with lime juice, honey, peanut butter,  curry, soy sauce, and any vegetable you can imagine (cabbage, shredded lettuce, green peppers...) and it might taste like something from Thailand!

Obviously I'm not an expert in healthy eating but I do give it a good effort. Stay tuned for more delicious, healthy, and affordable meal ideas. Feel free to leave a comment with YOUR favorite healthy meal or snack. Share the love!

These are just pictures of our little itty bitty barbie kitchen and the food that we have. My little bro and I took pictures of our freezers and pantries for fun to see the differences in how we shop.

 I have to brag that the just cranberry juice bottle is actually filled with homemade carrot juice.