Healthy & Delicious: Baked Wheat Bulgur with Sweet Potatoes and Almonds

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups bulgur wheat
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 pound (about 2 large) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13 glass baking dish with olive oil.
   
2. In a medium pot, bring broth and water to a simmer. Keep it simmering while other ingredients are prepared.
   
3. To a large mixing bowl, add bulgur wheat, onion, sweet potatoes, parsley, Parmesan, and 1/3 cup almonds. Stir to combine. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper to taste. Stir to combine again.
   
4. Pour wheat bulgur mixture into prepared baking dish. Pour heated broth over wheat bulgur mixture. Cover tightly with two layers tin foil. Bake 50 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining almonds, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve.
    
   Source: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/02/baked-wheat-bulgur-with-sweet-potatoes-almonds-recipe.html

Frozen Orange Tortes with Cranberry Compote

 Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa 
• 16 chocolate wafer cookies
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• Cooking spray 

Filling:

• 2 large egg whites 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar 
• 3 tablespoons water 
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream 
• 1 tablespoon grated orange rind
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 

Compote:

• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. 2. To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a food processor; process until finely ground. With motor running, pour butter through food chute; process until well blended. Divide crumb mixture evenly among 8 (6-ounce) straight-sided ramekins coated with cooking spray; press mixture into bottoms of ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet; bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until toasted. Cool completely.
3. 3. To prepare filling, place egg whites and salt in a bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Combine sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 250°. Gradually pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream into egg white mixture, beating at medium speed, then at high speed until stiff peaks form. Reduce mixer to medium speed; beat until mixture cools (about 8 minutes).
4. 4. Allow ice cream to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or until very soft; stir rind and orange juice into ice cream. Fold one-third of egg white mixture into ice cream mixture. Gently fold remaining egg white mixture into ice cream mixture. Divide mixture evenly among ramekins; freeze for 8 hours or overnight.
5. 5. To prepare the compote, combine 1 cup fresh cranberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons water, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in liqueur. Cover and chill for 4 hours or overnight. Unmold tortes; serve with cranberry compote.

Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light
NOVEMBER 2011

Source:  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/frozen-orange-tortes-cranberry-50400000116766/

Healthy Sinus Juice Recipe

 1 large orange or minola, peeled
1/2 lemon, de-seeded and peeled
1 medium sweet or tart apple, chopped
*Fuji, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith are my faves
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, skin removed
cayenne spice
note: I always prefer organic ingredients when juicing.

Directions:

1. Wash all your ingredients.

2. Peel your orange and 1/2 lemon - and remove the lemon seeds. Orange seeds are OK, since they aren't as bitter. Chop your apple into chunks that will fit in your juicer. You can juice the entire apple - core and all. Chop ginger into small chunks.

3. Before you start juicing, be aware that there are two procedures for this juice. You can use just your electric juicer. Or you can use both an electric juicer and a citrus juicer: 1) Add the citrus directly to your juicer and juice it pulp/skin and all. This will result in a 'thicker' juice since some of the pulp/skin juice will be extracted and is a bit thicker than pure citrus juice. 2) Juice the citrus in a citrus juicer/squeezer separately and add it to the apple/ginger juice. This will result in a thinner, less pulpy juice. Your choice.

4. Start juicing all your ingredients. Stir gently to swirl the flavors.

5. Pour into serving glasses and top with cayenne. One tiny pinch to a few bold dashes will work. You can always add more later.

Spiciness Troubleshooting: If the juice is too strong, juice another apple or two and add the juice into the mix.

If it is still too strong, try juicing in some celery or cucumber (if you have it on hand). This will cool down the ginger. But then again, this is super sinus juice, so hopefully you can brave the spicy sip.

Note: You can also substitute the orange for grapefruit - if you'd like.

Health Note: Always check with your doctor before overdoing it on any one ingredient. Ginger may even interact with certain medications. Just because it's natural, doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful!

Source: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/02/super-sinus-juice-juicing-for-health.html