Lentil Hummus and Veggies

3 cups vegetable or organic chicken stock/broth
1 cup  lentils
1 bay leaf
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup tahini
juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
sea salt to taste
vegetables and apple slices for dipping


Directions: In a medium saucepan, combine chicken stock, green lentils, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer until lentils are tender, roughly 40 minutes. Then boil uncovered until most of the liquid is gone. Remove the bay leaf and set aside to cool. When it’s cooled off, transfer to food processor and blend with garlic, tahini, and lemon juice until smooth, adding sea salt and other spices (cumin and paprika) to taste. Serve warm or at room temp

Spiced Apple Protein Shake

 

 

• Water helps remove waste from your body – a boon when consuming high-fiber foods.
• Apple skins pack insoluble fiber, the kind that passes through your digestive system largely unchanged, promoting bowel regularity and, in essence, keeping your waistline trim.
• Prunes deliver high amounts of soluble fiber, which has been shown to control blood sugar levels to provide a sense of fullness, which can help prevent you from overeating.
• Natural peanut butter is a cholesterol-free and inexpensive protein source.
• Just a tablespoon of ground cinnamon has the same amount of antioxidants as four ounces of grape juice.
• Fresh ginger helps to relieve body aches.
• Cardamom contains cineole, which lends its potent antiseptic properties to kill bad-breath bacteria in your mouth.

Ready in 5 minutes (not including overnight freezing time) • Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 small apple, cored, chopped into chunks and frozen (skin left on)
• 1/4 cup dried, pitted prunes, frozen
• 1 tbsp all-natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 scoop vanilla whey soy, rice or egg protein powder, non-GMO
• 3/4 cup chilled water

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in blender and pulse until well blended.

Turkey Muffins

By Elizabeth Brown, MS, RD; Photography Peter Chou

TURKEY TIP: Look for “ground turkey breast meat,” otherwise you may get meat from the leg of the turkey, which contains 15 percent more fat.

POULTRY COOKING TIPS: 
• Ground poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165F. Insert a thermometer into the ground meat on an angle to get the best temperature reading.

ROSEMARY: Adding this herb to prepared meat dishes may decrease the presence of harmful fats that form during cooking.

SWEET SPUDS: Not only do they up the slimming fiber content, sweet potatoes act as the emulsifier in this recipe, working like an egg to make everything stick together.

Turkey Flaxseed Muffins 
Ready in 40 minutes • Makes 12 servings

1 lb ground turkey breast meat
½ cup ground flaxseed (¼ cup whole flax ground in a coffee grinder yields ½ cup ground)
3 tbsp grated Parmesan
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced
3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1 large sweet potato, quartered and cooked
1 egg, beaten
¼ tsp coarse sea salt
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a food processor, combine all ingredients and pulse until everything is well blended. If you don’t have a food processor, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork and combine well with the other ingredients using clean hands.
3. Spray a 12-muffin tin with cooking spray. Evenly divide mixture amongst muffin tins. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool before serving.