Blood Oranges have been in season and I have been enjoying them. Besides being sweet and great to eat on their own, they are perfect for smoothies, salads and this Blood Orange Parfait. The smoothie is coming next week. Like a creamsicle but better for you! Blood Oranges are in season from December through March.

At our last Los Angeles Food Bloggers meeting Melissa’s Produce was kind enough to provide us with a big bag of their Blood Oranges. Melissa’s Produce is the largest distributor of specialty produce in the United States. Their produce is consistently high in quality and taste.

Some of the best food is the simplest, shining a light on the fresh flavor of the ingredients you are eating. Don’t you agree? The oranges topped with a bit of Honey Vanilla Yogurt and a sprinkle of Molasses Granola create a fresh, light start to the day.

It is Meatless Monday here at my house. Do you try and go meatless on mondays. I have never been a big meat eater but don’t consider myself a vegetarian, mostly just picky! These Spicy Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa and Corn have fire roasted tomatoes, corn and poblano peppers mixed in with quinoa. They are a little spicy but mostly just delicious.

Serve with a salad like this Winter Mexican Fiesta Salad and you have a filling meal or serve alongside a grilled steak. I was thinking of taking little peppers and stuffing them for Superbowl Sunday.

You can get the full recipe here on the Betty Crocker website.

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How are you doing on your new year’s eating goals? I am doing ok, not as far along as I hoped. I have cut out most of the sweets and sugar. At the same time I increased protein.

If you crave salty this Roasted Tomato Salsa  is a healthy Weight Watcher Points Plus 2 point snack that I found very satisfying. It also makes a great side for tacos or Quesadilla’s. I baked a batch of Parmesan Tortilla Chips to go with the salsa.

I need to follow my advice and make a plan for the week. One of my problems is not eating regularly, I think it slows down my metabolism. I am trying to each 3 meals and a mid morning and afternoon snack, like an apple or a little almond or peanut butter with a few crackers. It is too early to tell if it is the decrease in sugar but my fingers are feeling better.

With Super Bowl Sunday coming up soon you can serve something that is healthy for you and your guests. Make the day before and take out of the refrigerator about an hour before serving. If you like hot dips, microwave for 30 to 60 seconds.

Tomatoes are super easy to roast. Double the batch and use the remaining tomatoes in pastas or pizza. I roasted the grape tomatoes and roasted the garlic at the same time to enhance the flavor. Store the remaining tomatoes in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Roasting the tomatoes is the most difficult step. After that you stir it all together.

For the chips, brush them with oil before cutting and then sprinkle with salt, Parmesan cheese and seasoning. If you want a little spice mix in red chile flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Happy New Year’s!  January is always the season where we embrace healthy eating and getting fit. I am not the exception. I want to eat healthier and be more physically fit. This month I am going to be following an anti inflammatory diet. I will be featuring recipes this month that follow the anti-inflammatory diet. This isn’t a complete detox or cleanse, it is a more moderate step. If you are looking for a complete detox email me and I can send you information on one that many people have had great success on.

This time I am looking to make long-term changes and develop a style of healthier eating. Being someone who loves to cook and explore new restaurants. I want to explore gluten-free baking and would like to reduce sugar overall in my daily eating. I know that is not easy, sugar is in everything.

I am looking at anti-inflammatory because I have started having recurring aches in my foot and hands. I have been doing research and watched Dr. Weil on The Doctor Oz show recently. I liked his approach because it was a more moderate approach which I believe allows for greater long-term success. But I might have to take more drastic measures as I explore what these aches are all about. I think years of being on computers and cooking have caught up.

If you would like to join along, or just looking to eat healthier, here are a few ways to get prepared for.

Plan – plan out your meals. I am more successful at my attempts to have a healthy diet if I plan out the week or at least the next day. I also waste less food.

Clean Out Your Refrigerator – throw out the out of date jars and anything that might tempt you. I found several old jars of mustard and sauces.

Shop – stock your refrigerator with veggies and fruit. Think dark greens, bright colors and variety. But proteins like salmon and chicken.

Prep – clean all your produce and prep what you can to make things easier. More on that later this week.

If you are interested in the anti-inflammatory diet here is a list of foods to include:

Anti Inflammatory Foods/Spices

Salmon
Brazil Nuts
Cherries – frozen, fresh or dried
Apples
Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli
Chile Peppers
Garlic
Avocado
Green Teat
Dark Chocolate
Walnuts
Turmeric

Dr. Weil has a food pyramid that shows the foods and quantities allowed in an anti-inflammatory diet. There is a printable version.

This year I discovered quinoa and it will fit well into this new eating plan. I stuffed it in peppers for meatless monday and turned it into a Thanksgiving side dish. The other day I tried adding pomegranates, lime and jalapeño. It was subtle but delicious.

I ate a bowl of it for lunch but it would make a nice side dish for grilled fish, steak or chicken. It stores well in the refrigerator so you can make a batch and use it throughout the week. That makes weekday meals quick and easy.

What are you New Year’s eating goals? Share, I would love to hear what is inspiring you this year.

During the cold months I love making a batch of this Corn and Tomato Stew to have around. The stew is full of corn and tomoto and seasoned with jalapeno’s, white wine, cilantro and a little bit of bacon. The recipe as is has 5 Weight Watcher Points Plus and 187 calories per serving. You can reduce by substituting olive oil for butter and reducing or eliminating the bacon.

You will find the recipe I created over at Betty Crocker.

I start craving salads about now, with sweets everywhere. It feels healthy and cleansing to my palate.

When there is no longer an abundance of berries, oranges brighten up winter salads. Clementines are out now and I have a bag of them in my fridge, ready to grab. My Winter Fiesta Salad pairs sweet tangerines or oranges with red onions. The pomegranate seeds gives it a little zing and crunch.

My local Mexican restaurant has a creamy lime cilantro dressing. I decided to lighten it up and use Honey Yoghurt. It creates a tangy, healthy vinaigrette. It has a little kick from cayenne pepper and I like to add the zest of the lime. Not only does it add flavor but it is good for you too!

For the salad I start with mixed greens or spinach and top with red onions and tangerine slices. Top it off with the vinaigrette and toasted walnuts.

This Winter Fiesta Salad makes a beautiful salad course for your holiday parties but is great year round. Don’t the pomegranate seeds make it sparkle?

What is your go to meal in the middle of holiday parties? Share below so we can all be inspired.

I just decorated 13 pumpkins for an online article so I have pumpkin on my mind. So, of course I decided to bake! I baked up a batch of Pumpkin Cookies with a Maple Glaze using yogurt in both the cookie and the glaze.The cookies are soft, flavored with pumpkin spice and brown sugar. The glaze has a taste of maple and toasted walnuts top it all off. They have 6 Weight Watchers points which isn’t my ideal but worth a bite.

When I take a bite of these cookies I can pretend fall is here and that the chill in the air is not my air condition but the chilly fall air. But maybe you are one of the lucky one’s who live in a place that fall has arrived. These would be the perfect afternoon snack or pair with a cup of coffee mid morning. Maybe breakfast right?

They are nutritious. Pumpkins, walnuts and yogurt all have nutritional benefits and they all combine here to make a cookie full of autumn flavors. Enjoy!

Do you love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? I do, but rarely let myself indulge in one. This protein shake gives you that chocolate peanut butter taste but filled with protein and fiber. I made this for lunch yesterday and found it very filling.  It kept me going until dinner.

It is like a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup in a shake!

Labor Day is here and summer has gone by quick. This last month I have been focusing on losing weight and ended up 6 pounds lighter. It really does take planning. I have been increasing my walking and joined a gym.

Working on an assignment for Betty Crocker I discovered some great snacks that are low in calories and high in flavor.  I can’t wait to share them with you. For this shake I used Arbonne Chocolate Protein Powder. In full disclosure I am a consultant. You can substitute your favorite powder.  I also added Arbonne’s Fiber Powder. If you want more info feel free to contact me, I’d love to tell you more about it and offer you a discount for your first order. I use Blue Diamond‘s Unsweetened Almond Milk Coconut Milk Blend, it is new and I really like the taste.

For the photo, I added a little swirl of fat free dairy topping and shaved a little chocolate on top. Purely optional.

It’s the weekend.  Splurge and grill up a few lobsters tails.  I saw this recipe in a Country Living Magazine.  Ted Allan from Food Network shared this recipe.  My poor picture doesn’t do it justice!

I served it on top of a Lime Mascarpone Risotto. I sweetened the sauce a bit with honey and substituted jalapeno peppers for the habanero he used.

This post is short and sweet because I am off to take my niece to Color Me Mine.  Enjoy your weekend!  What are you grilling?

These Spicy Edamame Beans are a favorite snack of mine at The Lazy Dog Cafe.  It is this great chain of restaurants here in Orange County, California that have patio areas where dogs are welcome.

This little guy gets a special treat every so often and joins me for a nice dinner outside.  Jack is such a social dog and is constantly making new friends for us. The food is good too!

But back to these tasty Spicy Edamame snacks.  They are spicy and slightly sweet.  After I tasted them I knew I had to recreate these at home.  It took some digging but I think I’ve come pretty close. The secret ingredient is a Japanese spice named Togarashi.

Edamame are soybeans and this dish is high in protein, vitamin c, iron and calcium.  These are sauteed quickly and the you add a little soy sauce and orange zest. Serve them with napkins because it can get a bit messy!