(adapted from a recipe my good friend Cheryl found)

This recipe is one of my families favorites, especially during the fall and winter months. It is so easy and fast and it is even a prize winning recipe. I won second prize tin a chili cook off two years ago at Denton Bible Church (A 5 thousand member church with Tommy Nelson as the pastor) They told me the only reason my chili didn’t win first place was because there wasn’t enough for all the tasters. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients:

-         1 lb of ground sirloin or ground buffalo

-         1 medium yellow onion chopped up

-         ½ to ¾ green bell pepper chopped up (around Christmas I do half green pepper and half red pepper for the appearance and taste)

-         1 clove crushed garlic

-         1 can of petite chopped tomatoes

-         2 cans of spicy chili beans

-         1 low sodium pkg of taco seasoning

-         1 tsp of dry, crushed red pepper or to taste (we like it spicy)

-         1 TBS of hot sauce (we like it spicy)

Direction:

1.     Sauté onion, pepper, and garlic until softened, then add meat and brown

2.     Add the rest of the ingredients, turn down heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or longer.

3.     Serve over brown rice and top with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, or Frito chips…or all three

Healthy heart tip: Using sirloin instead of regular ground beef is much better for your heart. I have also used ground turkey and have recently discovered that ground buffalo is great for you and delicious, although a bit more expensive. Also remember to use low fat sour cream and shredded cheese.

Neat cooking tips:

*When you’re choosing peppers to buy; the ones with three bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating raw, and the ones with four bumps are firmer and better for cooking.

*For a lot of garlic taste add the garlic near the end of the cooking time, and for a little garlic taste add it at the beginning. Bon appetite!

Flaxseed Honey Bread

Ingredients:

-          1 1/8 cups of room temperature water

-          1 ½ TBS flaxseed oil or olive oil (I use olive oil)

-          3 TBS honey

-          1/2 TBS liquid lecithin (you can find this at a health food store)

-          3 cups whole wheat flour

-          ½ cup of milled flaxseed (make sure it is milled/ground or it has no nutritional benefit)

-          2 TBS bread flour (I use regular all purpose flour)

-          3 TBS whey powder (the protein powder you find at the health store)

-          1 ½ tsp sea salt

-          2 tsp active dry yeast

Instructions: this is a bread machine recipe

1. Put ingredients into bread machine pan starting with all liquid ingredients and then all dry ingredients (You should have instructions for the order in a book that comes with the bread machine too).
2. Select the wheat cycle on the bread machine (I use the lightest color setting and the 1.5 pound setting instead of the 2 pound) and push start.

Nutritional info: 12 servings

Cal: 174

Total fat: 4.9g

Sodium: 311mg

Carbs: 30.8g

Dietary Fiber: 6.4g

Protein: 7.1g

Healthy Heart Tip: Through the years trying to loose weight I learned since I suffered a brain injury my body does not react well to simple carbs and sugars. I have learned that carbs are good if you eat the right kind and eat everything in moderation. This bread has become my family’s staple. My children love it, especially with a little honey spread on it. I use it in everything I make from sandwiches to casseroles. It has substance and fills me up usually with a half of piece but it has a light, fluffy texture. The best part is that because of the ingredients in it, if I had nothing else to eat, I know I am getting enough nutrients form this bread for an entire meal. This bread does feed the body, but only the bread of life (God’s word) can feed the soul so try having a piece of bread while reading the honey that pours from God’s love letter to us in the Bible and you will never go hungry. Try this bread and you will never go back.

Laura's Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

-          1 Lb ground beef

-          ½ cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed

-          1 ½ tsp chipotle seasoning or 1 small seasoning cube

-          ½ cup skim milk

-          2 eggs

-          1 cup cubed whole wheat bread

-          ¼ cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese

-          Salt and pepper to taste

-          Barbeque sauce or ketchup to top with ( I do half with each to make everyone happy

Cooking Instructions:

1. Mix ground beef, spinach, milk, eggs, bread, cheese and seasonings until just blended and place in loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, top loaf with ½ cup of barbeque sauce or ketchup and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.

3. Remove from oven and let the meat loaf rest for a few minutes before serving (this helps it to hold together). I serve my Meat loaf with brown rice.

Healthy Heart Tip:

My family loves this meat loaf. Ground beef does have some fat but the supper lean kind does not hold together well for a meat loaf. I put spinach in it and my children keep asking for more. God is so great that He gave us imaginations to use in cooking. With a little creativity you can have a delicious meal that is good for your body too. We only have one body while we are here on earth and God tells us to take care of it. It is a great adventure, this life we have been blessed with.

Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

-          1 TBS butter, I use margarine made with olive oil

-          2 TBS whole wheat flour

-          1 1/3 cups evaporated skim milk (Fat free)

-          3 cups V-8 vegetable juice

-          ¼ cup tomato paste

-          Salt and pepper to taste

-           Oregano to taste

Optional Garnishes:

-          Pour soup over ½ to 1 cup of brown rice

-          Top with low fat shredded  cheddar cheese

-          Top with a spoonful of sour cream

-          Top with low fat cottage cheese

Cooking Directions:

1. Melt butter in sauce pan on low heat. Add flour and stir to blend for 2 minutes. Gradually stir in milk and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
2. Add in V-8 juice, tomato paste, and seasonings and stir until smooth. Continue cooking on low to med heat for 5 minutes.
3.  Serve soup warm over brown rice and garnish as desired.

Healthy Heart tip: I discovered this recipe just a couple of months ago and have eaten it non stop since. It’s a great way to get your veggies, and it tastes great, especially on a cool or rainy day. I have always hated tomatoes but this soup surprised me and has become one of my favorites. I love to dress it up in all kinds of new ways. It is very heart healthy and it fills the stomach and warms the soul.

Ingredients:

-         ½ cup of low-carb vanilla ice cream, Bryers is my favorite and it is called carb-smart

-         ¼ cup of frozen blueberries

-         1 small packet of Splenda or 1/2 teaspoon of sweetener

-         A dollop of sugar-free, fat-free cool whip

Directions:

1. Place blue berries in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals until they make a sauce like consistency. It usually takes me 11/2 minutes. Add sweetener to make blueberry sauce.
2. Pour blueberry sauce over ice cream in blow and top with a dollop of cool whip.

Health Tip: Any kind of berries are a good kind of fruit to eat. They don’t have too much sugar and they provide lots of vitamins your body needs. This has become one of my favorite desserts and I discovered the sauce by simply trying to thaw the blueberries in the microwave. A sauce came out, and when I added a tiny bit of sweetener it was delicious over my ice cream. Little tricks like this one allow me to enjoy the sweets in life even though I don’t do well with sugar.

Ingredients:

-         4 cups whole wheat, Yolk Free egg noodles (10 ounces)

-         ½ pound of ground sirloin

-         ¼ cup fresh basil chopped

-         4 cloves of garlic minced

-         1 Tablespoon olive oil

-         ½ of an 8-ounce package of reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)

-         ½ cup of low fat cottage cheese

-         1/3 cup finely shredded  Parmesan cheese

-         ¾ cup of skim milk

-         ¼ teaspoon of sea salt

-         2 Tablespoons of dry white cooking wine or milk

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and keep warm
2. Brown ground sirloin in sauté pan with blend of Italian seasonings until well done.
3. For sauce, in a heavy medium sauce pan cook basil and garlic in hot oil about 30 seconds. Reduce heat. Add cream cheese, cottage cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Cook and stir until nearly smooth. Stir in milk and salt until combined. Add wine and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and cook and stir until slightly thickened.
4. Top pasta with browned sirloin. Serve sauce over hot pasta dish.

Health tip: You will see that one of my favorite things to use in my cooking is all kinds of whole wheat pasta. It tastes great, is filling and is also great for the heart. It also has lots of fiber that is good for the digestive track. This sauce I discovered is easy and it tastes succulent and rich. My husband took his first bite and said, “There’s no way this is healthy.” It is actually very healthy for the heart because I used all low fat cheeses, milk and olive oil.

One trick I’ve learned is that it’s okay to find something you like and stick with it. Healthy recipes that taste really good can be hard to find. If you find one you like use it a lot. I think this may be one of our new favorites!

Salmon is my families favorite fish and this recipe turned out delicious. I got the glaze and the rub I used from a grocery store here in Fort Worth called (H.E.B.) Central Market. I’m sure you can find it anywhere or just use your own favorite glaze instead (Sorry all my Florida peeps).

Ingredients:
1 Pound of fresh Salmon
1 Lemon cut into wedges or = amount of lemon juice
1 Tbsp Colorado Spice Salmon rub
2 Tbsp Grilled Pineapple and Candied Jalapeno Sweet Heat Sauce (Cookwell & Company)

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Skin one side of Salmon and rinse with water and pat dry.
- Place Salmon, skin side down, on piece of Aluminum Foil large enough to wrap whole fish. Leaving skin on bottom side traps in moisture when cooking and makes for a much more tender fish. The skin will just fall off when you serve it.
- Place lemon wedges or juice in slits cut in the fish and sprinkle top with Colorado Spice fish rub.
- Wrap foil around fish and fold edges together, place foil containing fish on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 18 minutes depending on your preference. I stay more towards 18 minutes for well done.
- Take fish out of oven unfold foil and top with 2 Tbsp of glaze. I place the whole foil pouch on a serving platter and serve it with brown rice and steamed veggies. Steamed green, red and yellow peppers and broccoli or carrots go perfect with the seasoning on the fish. Bon apetite!

Health Tip: Eating fish is great way to stay heart healthy. Salmon has lots of omega three fatty acids and is one of the best fish for you. You might not think you’re a fish person but if you figure out how to use the right spices and cooking methods any fish can be very tasty. Try it, try it you will see, Try it and you just might agree with me!

Sugar Free Jello

A sweet treat that is fun and always smiles at you.

-1 box of sugar free jello (any flavor you want)

-Sugar free/fat free cool whip to top with

*Jeff decorated these for me with cute smiley faces. The boys loves it!

Broccoli and Cheese soup with whole grain Bread

This has become a must in our family once a week. I have tried many recipes for broccoli and cheese soup, unsatisfied with them all. I finally figured this recipe out on my own and we love it.

-2 cans of  cream of broccoli soup (I use the store brand)

-3 to 4 cans of skim milk ( I use the cans after I take the soup out)

-1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

-About 2 cups of frozen broccoli and cheese cooked in the microwave according to package directions.

1. Pour cans of cream of broccoli soup and milk into large sauce pan, start to warm at medium high heat
2. Place cooked broccoli and cheese in a food processor and blend to smooth with a few broccoli chunks
3. Add broccoli and cheese mix and shredded cheese to soup and heat through unil bubbly and all cheese is melted. Serve with whole grain bread for dipping and enjoy!

* Health Tip: To eat heart healthy does not mean giving up everything that tastes good. It just means eating always to the glory of God with you body. Take small steps instead of starving yourself. This recipe does have a little bit of fat in it but the veggies and fiber make up for it. One thing I do to keep from overeating is to use a small tea spoon (The kind I use with my coffee and tea) instead of a regular spoon. The small spoon helps the soup last longer and it helps me to know when I’ve had enough. I also enjoy each sip so much more.

Scalloped Corn (Better Homes and Gardens recipe with a twist

-½ cup chopped onion (1 medium)

-½ cup of chopped green or red sweet bell pepper (optional)

-2 TBS of butter made with olive oil

-1 10 ounce package of frozen corn, thawed

-¼ tsp salt, sea salt is the best to use

-2 eggs slightly beaten, I use egg white only egg beaters

-1 14.75 ounce can of creamed corn

-1 cup of skim milk

-¾ cup of crushed rich round crackers, use whole wheat if possible (20 crackers)

-½ cup of low fat shredded cheddar cheese

1. In sauce pan cook the onion and sweet pepper in hot butter until tender. Stir in thawed corn and salt. Remove from heat.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl stir together the eggs, creamed corn, milk, and crushed crackers. Stir in the thawed corn mixture. Transfer to an ungreased 2 quart baking dish.

3. Bake, uncovered, at 325%F for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center appears set. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.   

*Health tip- Starches are not the best food for the heart or for loosing weight but if you are going to enjoy one, try and keep it as heart healthy as possible by making simple changes that don’t change the taste.