Have a Better Life

This week, instead of posting a recipe I thought it would be a great idea to publish a video. It has only 2.12 minutes and shows us how to make great pasta with healthy ingredients and with several options of presenting the Pasta. Pasta can served with a wide variety of vegetables and other ingredients. Watch how:

Who said we can’t eat what we want? Who said we have to take diet pills or fat burners? Here is a delicious recipe, healthy, low fat, extra light and full of flavor.

Makeover Cranberry Trifle

Ingredients

• 1 package (16 ounces) frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed
• 1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 loaves (10-3/4 ounces each) frozen reduced-fat pound cake, thawed and cubed

Directions

• In a large saucepan, combine the first five ingredients. Cook over medium heat until the berries pop, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.

• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.

• Place a third of the cake cubes in a 3-qt. trifle bowl; top with a third of the cranberry mixture and a third of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Yield: 15 servings.

Source: Taste of Home

Have you already thought about what you are going to do in Christmas time? Are you cooking those traditional dishes? Are you telling traditional stories? If you are not sure about what you’ll do maybe you can get some ideas on The Everything Family Christmas Book: Stories, Songs, Recipes, Crafts, Traditions, and More (Everything Series) book.

Product Description:
This holiday collection is a treasury of Christmas traditions, stories, songs, and recipes that promises to bring readers young and old together to celebrate the spirit of the season. Everyone will enjoy this delightful guide to all things Christmas, featuring: the perennial classic Christmas stories, poems, and carols; recipes for family gatherings, parties, and holiday gifts from the kitchen; ideas for thoughtful and creative handmade gifts; decorating ideas for any room; and holiday customs and traditions from around the world. As a gift or a book to be treasured, this book will help readers create new traditions that can be shared year after year.

This Christmas forget family misunderstands and enjoy your family, forget your diets, your appetite suppressant and cook delicious meals, forget the bad things that happened during the year and enjoy yourself and your family.

Take advantage of The Everything Family Christmas Book and have a funny and Happy Christmas.

Everybody know that it is important to eat well so that we can have a healthy and happy life. Mark Bittman brings us an excellent book called Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipeswhere he explain us how we can eat well and at the same time help the environment. This book contains many recipes that help us to make delicious recipes with safe products.

This will be a great Christmas Gift and can be also used as business gifts. Everyone will be delighted with the information and recipes Mark Bittman has for us.

You already know that Salads are my favorites recipes. This time I’m bringing here a very easy and delicious Mediterranean Chicken Salad. This is a very versatile recipe because we can change the ingredients to meet our taste.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons tarragon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 cups diced cooked chicken (from one 3-pound purchased cooked chicken)
• 1/2 cup orzo (rice-shaped pasta; about 3 ounces)
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes (about 10 ounces)
• 1 6-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives
• 1/3 cup dried currants
• 1 1/2 tablespoons drained capers

Preparation:

Combine oil, vinegar, tarragon, lemon juice, and mustard in small bowl; whisk to blend. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Place chicken in medium bowl. Mix in 1/4 cup dressing.

Cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse under cold water to cool; drain well. Transfer orzo to large bowl. Stir in remaining dressing and toss to coat. Add chicken mixture, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, currants, and capers. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Eat healthy and Have a Better Life.

Who doesn’t love chocolate but avoid to eat it because is afraid of gaining a few pounds? I brought this recipe here today thinking about them.

This recipe is low fat, each serving has only 36 calories and it is delicious.

CRANBERRY FUDGE

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 package (6 ounces) dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Line a 9-in. square pan with foil. Coat the foil with cooking spray; set aside.
In a heavy saucepan, combine chocolate chips and corn syrup. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat.

Stir in the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until thickened and glossy, about 5 minutes. Stir in cranberries and walnuts. Spread into prepared pan; refrigerate until firm.

Using foil, lift fudge out of pan; discard foil. Cut fudge into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Yield: 1-1/3 pounds (81 pieces).

I received this recipe on my mailing box from Taste of Home. I hope you enjoy it.

Image via Wikipedia

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I know that but I never eat a nutritious breakfast myself. Next week I will be on holidays and I intend to eat better once usually I don’t even have lunch. I know I should eat more, that I have some vitamin deficiencies and that reflects on my body metabolism.

Changing my eating style it’s a priority for me. Most people decide to go on diets or take diet pills like ephedra but in my case, I need extra calories to keep up being an healthy person. So, let’s start the day with some Healthy Multi-Grain Waffles.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ or cornmeal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Mix buttermilk and oats in a medium bowl; let stand for 15 minutes.

Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat germ (or cornmeal), baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Stir eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla into the oat mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; mix with a rubber spatula just until moistened.

Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat. Spoon in enough batter to cover three-fourths of the surface (about 2/3 cup for an 8-by-8-inch waffle iron). Cook until waffles are crisp and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

For more healthy recipes visit EatingWell website.