Low Carb Cinnamon Raisin Toast with Julian Bakery's Smart Carb #2 Bread

Who ever heard of low carb bread? I mean, isn't bread by virtue of the fact that it's, well, bread the ultimate carb-laden food??

Not in the case of Julian Bakery's Smart Carb #2 Cinnamon Raisin Bread. I love it.

Made with healthy, all-natural whole and sprouted grains - each thick and hearty slice comes in at a whopping 14 grams of protein, 13 grams of fiber, only 1 gram of fat, no sugar, and  2 net grams of carbs - wow!  Check it out:

Lately, in between my protein shakes and low carb pasta dishes, I've been enjoying this delicious, guilt-free treat made with Truvia instead of sugar. I also like to use Brummel & Brown's yogurt spread in place of regular butter.  All in all, I think this might just be the healthiest cinnamon raisin toast ever. And it tastes fantastic!

• Toast a slice of Julian Bakery's Cinnamon Raisin Bread
• Lightly spread your favorite healthy butter-like spread
• Sprinkle cinnamon atop
• Sprinkle a small amount of Truvia atop (or your favorite zero calorie sweetener; Truvia is my hands-down favorite, it's made from Stevia and looks and tastes just like sugar)
• Enjoy

PS - I buy Julian Bakery breads at Mother's Market in Southern California. You can use the Bread Locator on Julian Bakery's website to find a list of other stores that carry their products, as well as order online.

Low Carb Pasta with Wilted Mache

Al Dente's Carba-Nada Fettuccini has quickly become my favorite go-to pasta. It's all natural, high in fiber and protein, and low in fat and carbs. I like the roasted garlic variety and order it by the case via Amazon. A case has 6 bags (5 servings per bag), costs about $23/case, and I get free 2-day shipping through my Amazon Prime membership, so it's very reasonable, especially for such a unique and wonderful product.

The pasta only takes about 5 minutes to cook and since I tossed it with fresh mache, this dish couldn't be easier or quicker to fix - about 10 minutes in total. Mache is an ancient wild green originating from France, but Epic Roots grows it domestically in beautiful Northern California. The taste is mildly earthy and "green". I loved it tossed with the pasta and accented with the tang of sun-dried tomatoes and bite of fresh garlic.

Mache is a salad green that tastes mildly earthy and green.

Pasta with Wilted Mache (using Al Dente's Low Carb Pasta)

Serves 4-6

10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 10-ounce bag Al Dente Carba-Nada Roasted Garlic Fettuccini, prepared according to package

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter

1 cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes

4 large cloves of fresh garlic, minced

1  3.5 ounce container of fresh mache (or about 2 1/2 cups)

sea salt

fresh cracked pepper

grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. When butter is melted, add sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. Stir and cook until garlic is fragrant and beginning to lightly brown, about 1-2 minutes.

Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water. Add pasta directly to skillet with tomatoes and garlic, toss and remove skillet from heat. Next add fresh mache and about half of the pasta water. Season with salt and pepper, add the Parmigiano Reggiano and toss gently to coat. If too dry, add more of the pasta water. The mache will slightly wilt from the heat of the pasta. Serve immediately with more Parmigiano Reggiano.

Low Carb Pasta with Wilted Mache - fresh and yummy!

Another low carb pasta dish you may enjoy is Perfect Pasta - it's full of flavor with spicy Italian sausage, fresh asparagus, and sun-dried tomatoes.

The Easiest and Best Roasted Brussels Sprouts Ever

The Brussels Sprout

Dear Brussels Sprouts,

I love you so much. I cannot stay away from you. I seek you out at the market every time I go. I'm not embarrassed to stare at you, touch you, pick you up, and ultimately take you home with me. I love you more than any other vegetable. Even the pea (and I love me some peas).

I love that you look like a tiny little green cabbage head. I also love how your wispy outer leaves fall away when I quarter you, and how those same leaves get all crispy, caramelized, and brown in the oven.

Can I tell you something? I didn't always love you. When I was a kid, I kinda didn't even like you. At all. Sorry. Had I known how absolutely amazing you are fresh or easily roasted, I would've felt much differently. Can you forgive me? I promise to spend the rest of my days loving and cherishing you.

Love,

The Enchanted Cook

The Easiest and Best Roasted Brussels Sprouts Ever

serves 4 as a side

Oven 450 degrees F, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

16-20 large fresh organic brussels sprouts, quartered (see Cook's notes for how to clean and prep)

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

fresh cracked black pepper

sea salt flakes (I like Maldon's)

In a large bowl, toss the quartered brussels sprouts with olive oil, pepper, and salt so that they are evenly coated. It's okay that the leaves start to come apart.

Spread the coated and quartered bsprouts on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and place in oven. 

Roast for 10 minutes, then take a spatula and turn bsprouts over. Roast for another 10 minutes or until crispy and brown on the outside, and soft and delicious on the inside.

The Easiest and Best Roasted Brussels Sprouts Ever

Cook's note:  How To Clean and Prep Brussels Sprouts


To prepare brussels sprouts - wash thoroughly, cut the ends off of each, and quarter (see below).

trim ends

cut each head into four pieces

trimmed and quartered

Perfect Pasta with Al Dente's Carba-Nada Fettuccini {Low Carb}

Now you can have your pasta and eat it, too! Al Dente has a full line of low carb pastas that taste amazing. They're called Carba-Nada and they're all natural, high in fiber and protein, and low in fat and carbs.

Just take a look at the label:

Low carb, delicious AND it cooks in 5 minutes!

Guilt-free pasta - now that's what I'm talking about!

This pasta is excellent tossed with a little olive oil and fresh garlic, or with any of your favorite ingredients. One of my (many) favorite ingredients is asparagus and I just happened to have picked up some beautiful thin organic asparagus at the farmer's market yesterday.

fresh organic asparagus diced small

Combined with one of my other favorite ingredients, sun-dried tomatoes, makes for a great pasta dish.

I like these sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil).
They're much easier to chop when they're dry.

diced fresh organic asparagus and chopped sun-dried tomatoes

To these I added some spicy Italian sausage, a light and creamy tomato sauce (the creamy part comes from adding fat-free Greek yogurt), the low carb pasta and topped it off with my favorite Parmigiano Reggiano. If that's not perfect, I don't know what is.

My Perfect Pasta dish is:

• low carb
• high in protein and fiber 
• full of rich flavor
• quick and easy to make (less than 30 minutes, including prep)

What more could you ask for?

Yummy "Perfect Pasta"!

Perfect Pasta

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 10-ounce bag Al Dente Carba-Nada Roasted Garlic Fettuccini Noodles, prepared according to package

1 bunch fresh organic asparagus (the thinner the better), diced small

3/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

3 large links hot Italian sausage, removed from casing (or you can use chicken sausage cut in small pieces like the one I used here)

1 26.46-ounce box of Pomi Marinara Sauce (or use your favorite brand of marinara)

1/2 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt (I like Chobani)

salt

fresh-cracked pepper

grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Heat a large skillet to medium-high and add the sausage. Break up with your spatula as you cook for approximately 5-10 minutes or until sausage is fully cooked.

I love this sausage, but any spicy Italian sausage will do.

Next add the asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes, plus a dash of salt and fresh cracked pepper (just enough to season the veggies you're adding).

Stir and cook for approximately 2 minutes then add the marinara sauce and cook a couple more minutes until warmed through.

Next add the Greek yogurt and stir until creamy.

Last, add the cooked pasta and toss together with the sauce.

Top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and enjoy!

Enjoy this delicious "Perfect Pasta" guilt-free!

Chilled Asparagus Salad

Chilled Asparagus Salad

Who's ready for a light and healthy dish?

After yesterday's Super Bowl munchies (delicious though they are) if you're like me - you're ready for a light meal just about now.

This salad doesn't get any healthier. No oils, no butter - just a nice healthy squeeze of fresh lime juice plus sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. That's all you need to let the fresh asparagus, crunchy corn off the cob, and sweet cherry tomatoes work their magic on your taste buds.

Serve this as a side dish, or enjoy it for a light lunch. Or you can add some protein (like roasted chicken, tofu, or black beans) for a more hearty one dish meal. I like this salad cold or at room temperature.

Chilled Asparagus Salad

Serves 4 as a side or 2 as a main

10 minutes to prepare

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh organic asparagus, cut into bite size pieces

1 fresh organic corn on the cob, shucked and cleaned

3/4 cup organic cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup fresh organic cilantro, chopped

1 lime (more or less to taste)

sea salt

fresh cracked pepper

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil. While water is coming to a boil, prepare an ice bath by placing water and ice in a large bowl.

Place the corn on the cob in the boiling water for approximately 1 minute then remove to a plate and set aside.

Next place asparagus in boiling water and cook for approximately 2-3 minutes until crisp tender. Immediately remove from the stove and drain in colander. Submerse colander with asparagus in ice bath so that asparagus is covered. Wait a minute, then remove and let drain.

Cut the corn from the cob, by placing the flat end of the cob on a large plate or bowl, steady the top with your hand or a corn holder, then using your knife, carefully cut down the length of the cob on all sides to remove the corn.

In a large bowl, mix the asparagus, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, juice of 1 lime (more or less to taste), and season with sea salt and pepper.  I like to use lots of fresh lime juice which gives a nice acidic brightness to this dish.

I like lots of fresh squeezed lime juice, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

You're ready to serve as is or you can refrigerate to make colder.

Chilled Asparagus Salad

Chocolate, PB, and Banana Smoothie {healthy, high protein, low calorie}

Chocolate, PB and Banana Smoothie

In an effort to get a jump start on my annual New Years Day resolution to eat healthier and lose weight, I discovered the best protein shake ever. Heck, it's a great shake - period. In fact, I hesitate to even tell you that this is a "protein shake" because most of the protein shakes I've tried usually have that funny aftertaste that always gives it away. You know, the kind you have to make yourself drink because it's good for you?

Well, enter this sinfully delicious and creamy masterpiece of a smoothie to the rescue! It's breakfast...it's dessert...it's healthy and low cal! How can a smoothie with chocolate, peanut butter and a banana be low calorie, you say? Well, I'll show you...

The "magic" ingredients to the best protein shake ever!!!!

Below is the nutritional data for everything but the banana which is approximately 105 calories for one that is medium size.

The big savings on calories and fat comes from the PB2 (45 calories vs the usual 200). There's also considerable savings using unsweetened almond milk vs. regular milk. And the Bluebonnet Whey Protein Powder has excellent stats as well, not to mention GREAT natural chocolate flavor. Lastly, I highly recommend Nancy's Organic Plain Nonfat Yogurt vs. other similar brands. Nancy's has considerable flavor (tart), whereas other brands lose their flavor when they lose the fat. {Update:  When I can't find Nancy's, I use Chobani's 0% Plain Greek Yogurt and am very happy with the substitution. I especially love Greek yogurt for it's amazing texture and very high protein content.}

So the following recipe will yield around 24 ounces (this is a HUGE and very filling drink) at approximately 343 calories, 38 grams protein, 3 grams fat, 25 grams of sugar (24 grams of the 25 coming from naturally-occurring sugars in the yogurt and banana). Feel free to halve the recipe if you like, however I prefer to have this as a meal replacement and I love getting the full 38 grams of protein in.

Chocolate, PB, and Banana Smoothie

Serves 1 (very large drink, approximately 24 ounces)

Approximately 343 calories and 38 grams of protein

Ingredients:

1 scoop Bluebonnet Whey Protein Isolate, Natural Chocolate Flavor

2 Tablespoons PB2

1/2 cup Nancy's Organic Nonfat Plain Yogurt (or Chobani 0% Plain Greek Yogurt)

1/2 cup Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk

1 medium-sized ripe banana

5-6 cubes of ice

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Next, enjoy drinking the most delicious guilt-free, chocolatey, peanut buttery, banana smoothie!!!

I have one almost every day and it fills me up for hours!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken {Hellmann's Mayo Recipe}

Wow! This recipe by Hellmann's/Best Foods sounds too good to be true - with it's 4 ingredients, 5 minutes of prep time and 20 quick minutes of baking time - but it's totally true and totally amazing! Even my husband who is not a fan of mayo (a key ingredient in this recipe) absolutely raved about this dish and cannot wait to have it again. In fact, I wanted to take a picture of him enjoying it but he devoured it before I could grab the camera! Hellmann's, or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise as those of us on the west coast know it, really knocked it out of the park with this recipe.


Think juicy, moist, tender and incredibly tasty. Don't let the limited number of ingredients fool you. Their mayo gives it all the richness in flavor you could desire.

Yep - just these 4 easy ingredients, that's all it takes to get moist, delicious
Parmesan Crusted Chicken in well under 30 minutes.  Really!!

So amazingly moist and rich!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

(recipe courtesy of Hellmann's/Best Foods, sponsored post)

serves 4

Oven 425 degrees F

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Hellmann's or Best Food's Real Mayonnaise

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

4 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets, about 1 1/4 lbs. total weight or about 5 ounces per breast

4 teaspoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Place mayo and cheese in a small bowl and mix.

Lay chicken breasts on baking sheet (I line my baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easy) and spread mayo mixture evenly atop each.

Next evenly sprinkle bread crumbs atop each.

Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and juices run clear. Tops will be browned and chicken will be incredibly juicy. You can also finish them off under the broiler for a minute or two to get them extra browned on top.

Season with a dash of fresh cracked pepper and sea salt, if desired.

Serve with a veggie like these delicious fresh french green beans that I steamed.

YUMMMMM!

8/20/12 Update:
I'm not kidding when I say I make this dish practically every week and have been since my original post almost a year ago. It's ALWAYS a hit. It's quick, inexpensive, reasonably healthy and amazingly delicious. A few things some of you have asked about:

• I use chicken cutlets that I buy at Gelson's - the thin ones - or you can just butterfly a normal boneless breast and that will yield 2.
• You can definitely use normal boneless breasts, just increase your cooking time by at least 10 minutes (original cooking time for thin cutlets is 20 minutes, so for thick boneless breasts cook them at least 30 minutes, or until they are no longer pink inside/fully cooked).
• I've used light mayo (and just about every form of mayo there is) and it comes out fabulous every time.
• Many of you have said you've experimented by using yogurt (Greek, plain, 0%, or light), and/or sour cream (regular or light) in place of the mayo and had great results. If you choose to substitute, especially with 0% Greek yogurt, consider adding some fresh squeezed lemon juice, garlic powder, and some extra salt and pepper to the mix to amp up the flavor.

This was a sponsored post. The opinions expressed herein are my own and were in no way influenced. This recipe is awesome!

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If you like this recipe, check its healthier Paleo, Keto and Bulletproof cousin Parmesan Crusted Halibut!

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Shrimp Linguini with Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Shrimp Linguini with Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Talk about quick, easy and satisfying. This dish has it all. I used frozen peeled and deveined wild caught shrimp and whole wheat linguini - both cook very quickly. And I used jarred sun-dried tomatoes plus the oil they were marinated in so this dish came together in under 20 minutes.

Use the oil and seasonings from your
sun-dried tomatoes to cook the shrimp

One of the other things I really love about quick pasta dishes like this is that I can whip it up for lunch for one, or easily increase the ingredients to accommodate as many servings as needed. In this case I made enough for 2 for dinner.

Shrimp Linguini with Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Serves 2 (recipe easily doubled)

4 ounces whole wheat linguini, cooked according to package directions, reserve small amount of pasta water

20 medium (41/50 count) peeled and deveined wild caught shrimp

2 large cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/2 jar of 8.5 ounce jar of marinated sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes rough chopped, use oil for cooking

1 Tablespoon butter

sea salt

fresh cracked pepper

shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

In a large skillet over medium-high heat place half the oil from the jar of marinated sun-dried tomatoes plus butter. When heated add the garlic and cook for about a minute until garlic is fragrant, then add shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes and sprinkle with sea salt. Cook for approximately 1-2 minutes per side until shrimp is opaque and cooked through.

Add cooked pasta to skillet along with small amount of reserved pasta water and toss. Season with additional sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place in bowls and garnish with fresh parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve immediately with a small salad or green veggie.

Quick, easy and satisfying!

Yummy with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano