I recently had some inquiries about my berry banana bread recipe.  My apologies to those who made the recipe that printed calling for 1/4 cup of baking powder! 

Oops, the berry banana bread recipe that printed in the hard copy of the Belmont Farmer's market newsletter had an error...my apologies. 

The recipe posted online is correct.  Try this one.
http://belmontfarmersmarket.org/recipes/2010/2010-08-berry-banana-bread.html

Chocolate, you say?  But of course, everything in moderation!

Researchers have discovered that eating moderate amounts of flavanol-rich dark chocolate has a blood-thinning effect, which can benefit cardiovascular health, and it may also boost the immune system by reducing inflammation.

So why not chocolate with fruit??  Like apricots, which are full of beta-carotene, Vitamin A and fiber.
Chocolate covered apricots
Ingredients

1/3 cup sugar
2 strips lemon zest
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
24 dried apricots, (about 1/4 pound)
2 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped peeled pistachios

Preparation

   1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and place a wire rack on top.
   2. Combine sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon stick and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes. Add apricots and gently simmer just until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the apricots with a slotted spoon to the rack. Let cool completely.
   3. Melt chocolate in a small metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Dip half of a poached apricot in the chocolate, letting excess drip off. Sprinkle some chopped pistachios over the chocolate half and return the apricot to the rack. Repeat with the remaining apricots. (You will have some melted chocolate left over.) Refrigerate until the chocolate has set, about 20 minutes.

Store in an airtight container, with wax paper between each layer, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Nutrition

Per candy: 43 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 9 g carbohydrates; 0 g protein; 1 g fiber; 0 mg sodium; 107 mg potassium.

Who hasn't eaten green bean casserole at Thanksgiving once in their life?...well here is one that is a healthier version without the canned soup and sodium!  Eating Well magazine has a delicious recipe I have cooked many many times and not just around the holidays.  My family and friends love it.  Try it!  Tell me what you think!  I have noted a few minor changes I made in ( ) in the recipe.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE – from Eating Well Magazine
A healthier version that skips the canned soup and all the fat and sodium that traditional recipes call for.  It is delicious!

6 servings, about 3/4 cup each
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients

3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 medium sweet onion, (half diced, half thinly sliced), divided
8 ounces mushrooms, chopped  (I use about 12 ounces of mushrooms)
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme  (I used fresh thyme 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup low-fat milk
3 tablespoons dry sherry, (see Ingredient Note)
1 pound frozen French-cut green beans, (about 4 cups)
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons buttermilk powder, (see Ingredient Note)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and slightly translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the mushroom juices are almost evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Add milk and sherry and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Stir in green beans and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in sour cream and buttermilk powder. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
3. Whisk the remaining 1/3 cup flour, paprika, garlic powder and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Add sliced onion; toss to coat. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion along with any remaining flour mixture and cook, turning once or twice, until golden and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Spread the onion topping over the casserole.
4. Bake the casserole until bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Tips & Notes
Ingredient notes:
-Don't use the high-sodium “cooking sherry” sold in many supermarkets. Instead, purchase dry sherry sold with other fortified wines.  
-Look for buttermilk powder, such as Saco Buttermilk Blend, in the baking section or with the powdered milk in most supermarkets.

Nutrition - Per serving: 212 calories; 10 g fat (2 g sat, 5 g mono); 10 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrates; 7 g protein; 3 g fiber; 533 mg sodium; 259 mg potassium.

Pumpkins pumpkins everywhere...why not in some cookies?

These cookies are certainly not low calorie, but these pumpkin cookies are chock full of nutrition. Be sure to use the white whole wheat flour, rather than regular whole wheat flour. It's lighter and makes a tastier, more cake-like cookie.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter or trans-fat-free margarine
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two cookie sheets with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, cream together pumpkin, sugars, butter and egg. In a small dish, dissolve baking soda into milk. Set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together flours, baking powder, salt and spices. Add baking soda mixture to flour mixture.

Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring until just combined. Be careful not to overmix or the batter will get tough. Add vanilla extract, chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 24. Per serving: 174 calories, 8 g fat, 0 trans fat, 19 g cholesterol, 194 mg sodium, 2 g fiber, 2 g protein, 34% Vitamin A, 4% Calcium, 6% Iron

www.healthycooking.com

Summer's here and time is right for salsa!
What a great way to compliment any grilled protein....

Here is one of my favorites.  So tasty on grilled pork tenderloin.  Or try it on fish or chicken.

Fiery Grilled Peach and Habanero Salsa
4 large peeled peaches, halved and pitted
2 (1/4" thick) slices of bermuda (purple) onion
Cooking spray
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice (or lemon juice)
1 teaspoon of sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon or grated orange rind or lemon rind
1 teaspoon finely chopped seeded habanero pepper (OR Tabasco sauce to taste)
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
Lightly coat peaches and onion with cooking spray.  Place peaches and onion on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill peaches 2 minutes on each side.  Cool and chop peaches.  Grill onion 3 minutes on each side.  Cool and chop onion.  Combine peaches, onions, cilantro, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; toss well.  Let stand 15 minutes. 

Yeilds: 15 servings at 1/4 cup.
Calories:  20, Fat, 0.1g, Protein:  0.4g, Carb: 5g, Fiber: 0.7g,
-Cooking Light.

One of my favorite Food Network hosts is Robin Miller.  
She has fantastic easy recipes for healthy eating.

Try this tasty chicken dish.

Garlic-Lime Chicken with Olives
Robin Miller, Food Network host, cookbook author and registered dietician.

Cooking time - 30 minutes
Level - easy
Servings - 4

Ingredients

Cooking spray
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves*
1 cup diced onion
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup pitted and sliced Greek olives, such as kalamata

Directions

*This amount of chicken is for 3 meals based on chicken.
If you are only using it for this meal, use 1 pound.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, onion, garlic, lime juice,
molasses, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, oregano, salt, and black pepper.
Toss to coat.

Transfer chicken to prepared pan and pour over any remaining marinade.
Arrange olives over and around chicken in pan.
Roast 30 to 35 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
Serve 1/3 of the chicken tonight and reserve remaining chicken
in the refrigerator for other meals.


Nutrition Facts
Per Serving (recipe makes 4 servings)
Calories 435
Total fat 6g
Saturated fat 1.5g
Cholesterol 197mg
Sodium 694mg
Carbohydrates 11g
Protein 79g
Fiber 1.5g

Cheesy Egg Casserole

Servings - 6

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 cup egg whites
1/2 tsp black pepper
16 oz fresh spinach
1/2 cup onion
1  1/2 cups cauliflower florets
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
8 oz nonfat cottage cheese
8 oz 0% fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup grated, reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  Coat a glass or ceramic 8x8 inch dish with cooking spray.
In a medium size bowl, pour in egg whites and pepper, mix.  Set
aside.

3.  Steam spinach for 4 minutes in a microwave safe bowl. Remove excess
water if any, loosely chop spinach.  Add to egg whites.

4.  Saute onion, cauliflower and mushrooms in a non stick pan with
olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add to egg whites.
Mix.

5.  Add cottage cheese, yogurt and cheddar cheese to egg white mixture.
Stir until combined.

6.  Pour into dish and bake for 45 minutes or until top is slightly bubbling.
Let cool for approximately 10 minutes before serving.

TIP - You could also add artichoke hearts.  1/2 cup chopped, adds approximately
11 calories, 1.6 g carbs, 0.60g protein, 0.60g fiber.

Calories - 128
Total Fats - 3g
Saturated fat - 1g
Trans fat - 0g
Cholesterol - 8 mg
Sodium - 322 mg
Total Carbs - 9g
Dietary fiber - 2g
Sugars - 4 g
Protein - 18g

Here is a recipe for Picnic Potato Salad.
 
I have also made this with smoked salmon instead of ham.
Also, if you can find them, small, thin-skinned early potatoes are best.

PICNIC POTATO SALAD Makes 8 servings. Serving size - approximately 1 cup


2 pounds small potatoes, preferably heirloom
1 cup chopped celery
2 ounces smoked ham, sliced into strips or smoked salmon
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or scallions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or dill
3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a
simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, partially
covered, until just tender, 12 to 20 minutes, depending on their size.
Drain and let cool for about 15 minutes.
2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, taste a bit of potato
skin—if it’s bitter or tough, peel the potatoes. Otherwise, leave the
skins on. Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces and put them in a large salad bowl.
3. Add celery, ham, parsley, chives (or scallions) and mint (or dill)
to the potatoes. Toss to combine. Add buttermilk, lemon juice, oil, salt
and pepper; stir to combine. Gently stir in chopped egg.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

NUTRITION:
Per serving: 138 calories
4 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono)
58 mg cholesterol
20 g carbohydrate
6 g protein
2 g fiber
272 mg sodium
643 mg potassium


SUGGESTION:
You could also use smoked salmon instead of the smoked ham.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

This is one of my favorite low-fat chowder recipes.  You would never know it was low in fat!

SEAFOOD CHOWDER RECIPE

1 1/2 cups fat free or 1% milk
1 ( 8 0z) fat free cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
1 (26 oz) can of fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chopped green onion
1 cup sliced carrots (slightly steamed)
1 1/2 cup chopped sweet potatoes (slightly steamed)
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depends on if you want a kick to it)
1/2 lb shrimp
1/2 lb scallops
1/2 lb crab meat
1/2 lb calamari tubes
1 can of chopped clams include juice
(You could also buy the frozen seafood mix at trader joe's but be sure to
also add the clams)

Place 1/2 cup milk, cream cheese and garlic in large pot
over low heat. Cook and stir until well blended.  Mix in
soup, green onion, carrots, potatoes and parsley with
remaining milk.  Season with black pepper and
cayenne...Simmer do not boil.
Cook until seafood is cooked.

Enjoy.  Serves 8.