Kid-approved Purple Smoothie

5 strawberries (tops on is fine)
1-2 handful(s) blueberries
1-2 handful(s) blackberries
2-3 stalks kale
1 t unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 C almond milk

Mix in the blender until smooth.

"You should try it. It tastes like a chocolate bar." -Julian

Tip: You can use fresh or frozen produce. If you use frozen, just make sure your blender is strong enough to handle it.

Chili Sesame Noodles

1 package whole wheat thin spaghetti (or any noodles you like)

1/2 bunch spinach

3 T lite soy sauce

2-3 T chili sauce (to taste)

1 T sesame oil

1 T sesame seeds

1 T fresh ground ginger

lime and crushed red pepper on the side to season

Cook noodles according to package directions. Add spinach to drained (still hot) noodles. Add sauce and ginger. Done!

Tip: You could easily add garlic to this dish. I chose not to because the tofu mushroom wraps have a lot of garlic in them.

Creamy Tomato Soup

1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
Salt, pepper, and fresh basil to taste

In a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic until golden (you can use olive oil or broth if desired). Add tomatoes and spices and simmer on low heat for 8-10 minutes. Add coconut milk and basil. Serve warm.

Hummus (oil-free)

1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
2 cloves garlic
juice from 1 lemon
water (as needed)

Mix in food processor until smooth. Add water slowly until desired texture is achieved.

Amazingly delicious, even without the oil!

Lentil Carrot BBQ Sandwiches

2 C water
1 C dried lentils*
2 T olive oil or vegetable stock
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 C shredded carrots (or however much you have)
2 T brown sugar
1/2 C ketchup
2 t garlic powder
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 C water
1/2 t dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
whole wheat hamburger buns (or whatever bread you like)

Cook lentils according to package directions. Cook onion in oil/stock until golden brown. Add cooked lentils and carrots and simmer for a couple minutes. Add ketchup, spices, vinegar, and water to the mixture. Taste and adjust spices as you like. Serve on bread with red cabbage or other veggies you like.

Adapted from Minimalist Baker

* You can find lentils in your beans/rice aisle of your grocery store.

Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

1 T vegetable oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
Juice from 1 lemon
5 whole wheat tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a skillet with oil over high heat. Add pepper, onion, tomato, cumin, chili powder, salt, and lemon juice. Cook for 4-5 minutes until vegetables start to carmelize. Scoop vegetables into tortillas, roll, and place into a 9x9 glass pan. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas. Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes. You just need to warm it up since nothing requires extra cooking.

Tip: Serve with a side of refried beans for extra protein. Add or substitute whatever veggies you like.

Baked Pepperoni Pasta

1 box rigatoni
20 turkey pepperonis, diced
3 C pasta sauce
1 C shredded mozzarella

Cook pasta according to box directions, but cutting cooking time in half. In a 9x13 glass pan, mix drained pasta, sauce, and turkey pepperoni. Top with mozzarella. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and golden.

NOTES:
- Use any pasta you like, including spaghetti if it tickles your fancy. I'm a fan of tube pasta for this dish because the hollow center picks up the sauce nicely. Whole wheat penne or rigatoni is my favorite.
- I rarely used store bought pasta sauce to save on the salt and sugar.
- Experiment with the cheese.
- Substitute turkey pepperoni for any other cooked meat as desired. Or omit for an even lighter option.
- Pair with a salad, because veggies.

Jamaica's Spaghetti and Meatballs

1 package Spaghetti

Sauce:
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic
1 t fresh (preferred) or dry thyme
1 t fresh (preferred) or dry oregano
1 t fresh (preferred) or dry rosemary
1 t fresh (preferred) or dry basil
1/2 t red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large cans crushed tomatoes

Meatballs:

2 T olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1 t salt
1 t ground pepper
1 T Italian seasoning (thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil)
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t smoked paprika

Mix olive oil, onion and garlic over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add sauce spices and tomatoes. Cook approx. one hour until sauce is thickened.

Cook pasta per package directions, but remove from heat approx. 2/3 through recommended al dente cooking time. Drain but do not rinse.

Mix meatball ingredients in a bowl. Roll into approx. 1/2 in. balls. Cook in a nonstick skillet with olive oil approx. 10 min. stirring frequently until golden brown on the outside and cooked thoroughly inside.

Mix pasta, sauce, and meatballs together in pan. Serve immediately.

Coconut Curry Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 t cayenne
1 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 t coriander
1 T fresh ginger, grated
1/2 t turmeric
1 t curry powder
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 C rice, cooked
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste


In a small bowl, mix chicken, lemon juice, cayenne, salt and pepper together and set in fridge. In a medium pan, cook onion and garlic in vegetable oil until onions are translucent. Add coriander, ginger, turmeric, and curry to pot. Add diced tomatoes (with the juice) and coconut milk to mixture. Add chicken to pot and cook 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Serve over cooked rice and top with fresh cilantro.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 C cooked shredded chicken
4 C chicken stock
1 T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 T tomato paste
1 can tomatoes with green chilies
2 cans black beans
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
Salt, pepper, crushed red pepper to taste

In a stock pot, cook onion, garlic, and bell peppers in oil until soft. Add chicken, tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, and spices. Add stock and simmer for 20-30 min.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, lime, and/or jalapeños. I also serve with tortilla chips (I fry my own using vegetable oil and corn tortillas).

I've also made this with turkey (and homemade turkey stock), and it was awesome.

Jamaica's Thai Chicken and Rice

An attempt at an adaption of Nong's Kao Man Gai Chicken and Rice. Not nearly as good, but still decent.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T vegetable oil
1 C brown or white rice
1 palm size fresh ginger root
2 heads garlic
1/3 C lite soy sauce
1/3 C white vinegar
5-10 small red hot chilis
1/2 C peanuts (optional)
cilantro (optional)
lime (optional)

Boil rice in water per package directions. Mince one head of garlic (4-5 cloves) and half of the ginger root. Add to a large skillet along with vegetable oil and heat on medium. While oil is heating, dice chicken into bite size cubes. Add to skillet and brown, stirring frequently. While chicken is cooking, make sauce by combining soy sauce, vinegar, remaining minced garlic and minced ginger. Minced chilis can be added to the sauce directly or served on the side. Add peanuts to chicken during last few minutes of cooking. Serve rice on a platter with the chicken on the top. Serve the sauce on the side, along with chilis, cilantro, and lime.

SUBSTITUTE: I recently made this using a whole chicken and it turned out really well. I roasted the chicken for a few hours, let it cool, and pulled the meat off the bone. I reheated the meat in a little bit of vegetable oil in a skillet along with some garlic and peanuts. The mixture of white and dark meat really enhanced the flavor. I also fried up the skin from the chicken and served it on the side. It gave the dish a nice crunch.

Jamaica's Choriqueso

5-6 oz chorizo
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 can tomatoes with green chilies

Preheat oven to 425. In a saucepan, brown chorizo. Add onion and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes until softened. Add tomatoes and scrape all the yummy bits from the pan. Grease a loaf pan and add half the cheese. Top with half of the chorizo mixture. Repeat. Bake 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve with chips or tortillas.

Sriracha Ramen

1 block of ramen noodles (noodles only not the seasoning pack)
1 C stock
1/2 C frozen vegetables (green beans, edamame, carrots, corn, and/or peas recommended)
1 T Sriracha (more or less to taste)

Boil stock in a small pot. Add noodles (NOT the seasoning pack) and vegetables. Cook 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally until noodles are the desired consistency.

Jamaica Sliders

1 lb ground chuck
1 package Hawaiian sweet rolls
1/2 sweet onion, diced
6 slices cheese
pickle slices
salt and pepper

Flatten ground chuck into 3-4 large patties, as thin as possible. Cook in a large frying pan with onion until well done. Slice package of rolls in half to make one large sandwich. On bottom section of rolls, cover with pickle slices, then cheese slices. Add cooked beef patties and onions. Put the top back on the rolls. Serve as one large sandwich, cutting off smaller sliders when serving.

Jamaica's Chicken French Dip Sandwiches

A quick, easy, and healthier alternative to traditional French dip sandwiches, these are on the menu at our house at least once a month. We typically pair with a chopped salad. Roast beef can easily be substituted for chicken and beef broth for chicken broth.

1 loaf French bread
8 slices of chicken deli meat (sliced medium)
4 thin slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 t olive oil
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1/2 onion, diced
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice baguette length-wise, then into four equal sandwich pieces. Lay all pieces open face on a ungreased baking sheet. On each piece, layer a slice of chicken and half a slice of cheese. Put in oven and bake until cheese starts to turn brown on the edges.

In a small saucepan over low heat, mix the olive oil, onion, and a little salt and pepper. After a couple minutes, once the onion has started to turn clear and aromatic, pour in the chicken broth. Simmer over low heat until hot. Pour into small containers for dipping.

Jamaica's Chicken & Gravy

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 packages dry ranch dressing mix
3 cans cream of chicken soup

Mix all ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken with a fork. Serve with the gravy over mashed potatoes.

Jamaica's Chocolate Cake

1 C sugar
1 C all purpose flour
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 C butter, melted
1 large egg
1 t vanilla
1 C brewed coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients. Pour into greased pie pan. Batter will be runny. Bake 35-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Chocolate whipped cream icing

1 C heavy whipping cream
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
3 T sugar

Put mixing bowl and whisk in freezer at least 30 minutes. Mix all ingredients at high speed until firm peaks form.

Baked Chickpeas

This is a fun, healthy snack. I'm looking forward to playing with the spice mixture to get it just right.

3 cans chickpeas
1 1/2 T olive oil
2 t sugar
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1 1/2 t paprika
1 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drain, rinse, and dry (using a clean kitchen towel or paper towels) the chickpeas. Mix chickpeas, olive oil, and spices together in a bowl. Place the seasoned chickpeas on a cookie sheet and cook 40-60 minutes, mixing about halfway through.

Meat Sauce

1 T olive oil

1/2 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground Italian sausage

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1/2 t oregano

1/2 t rosemary

salt and pepper (to taste)

Brown sausage in medium sauce pan with olive oil, onion, and garlic. Add tomatoes and spices and simmer over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes or until sauce is heated through. Serve over the pasta of your choice and garnish with cheese if desired.

Banana Bread

• 1 C butter flavored vegetable shortening
• 2 C powdered sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 C mashed ripe bananas (about 4 bananas)
• 2 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 2-1/2 C all purpose flour
• pinch of cinnamon (optional)
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• pinch of pumpkin pie spice (optional)
• 1 C nuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients in order shown using a mixer until well blended. Bake in a 9"x9" glass pan or two loaf pans (oiled and floured) in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until cooked through.