Eat Well, Be Happy!

Having had yet another day home due to weather, I resisted the urge to eat junk, and instead used my extra time to make some yummy recipes - one old favorite, and two new and exciting ones! I had garlic soup for lunch. It sounds a little scary, but it's really based with sweet potatoes and carrots. It's so simple to make and it is absolutely delicious. It's one of my all time favorite winter soups.

After lunch, I made my dessert for this evening, naturally sweetened raspberry pudding. I have never made pudding from scratch before. I stumbled upon this recipe in a free magazine at a local super market. It looked so easy and healthy, I just had to give it a shot. I'm so glad I did! It's delicious! I didn't add the whipped cream and chocolate shavings, but I'm sure they would make it all the better!

And then for dinner, I made a vegan friendly cashew chili. It's a recipe I found online a long time ago. I tweaked it a little to suit my own taste. It was good! Here are the recipes - I hope you have a chance to try them out!

Cashew Chili:
2-3 cups cooked kidney beans (I used one large can, rinsed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 or more cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 quart tomatoes (I used canned with juice)
1 or 2 grated carrots
freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 to 1 cup cashews
1 handful raisins
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

In a large pot (and I mean large - this recipe makes a huge batch), stir fry onions, green peppers, celery and garlic.
Add spices and stir fry them as well.
Add tomatoes, carrots, ground pepper, bay leaf, nuts, raisins, sugar and salt.
Add beans
Simmer until heated through.
Add vinegar a little at a time, tasting between additions. Can also add beer to thin the chili, if preferred.

I did not add beer. I ate mine over brown rice. I suppose you could also add cheddar cheese and sour cream, if you were so inclined, but that would take away from the healthfulness of the dish. It was delicious!

Raspberry Pudding:
1 cup frozen raspberries
2 cups cran-raspberry 100 % juice (I used raspberry-pomegranate) (get real juice, not something that is flavored like juice!!)
1 strip lemon peel (1/2 x 3 inches)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Whipped cream (optional - I did not use it)
Chocolate shavings (also optional, I did not use)

Cook berries in a small saucepan over med-high heat just until the juices are extracted, about 3-5 minutes. Strain berries through a sieve to remove seeds. Combine strained berry pulp, juice and lemon peel in saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Mix cornstarch with water and add to juice mixture. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and is dark in color, rather than pink. Cool slightly, remove lemon peel. Chill until set. Top with whipped cream and chocolate.
120 cal, 0 fat, 31 g carb, 1 g fiber per 4 ounce serving.

Garlic Soup:
3-4 chopped sweet potatoes
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cups chicken broth
5 cloves of garlic (or more if desired) crushed
2 tablespoons butter

Cook potatoes and carrots in broth until soft. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. (You can also use a regular blender, if you don't have an immersion blender. Just puree the soup in small batches. Be careful when pureeing hot liquids, because if you put too much in the blender, the top will pop off!)
Add the garlic and butter. Simmer for about 5 minutes, while stirring, to allow flavors to blend. YUMMY!!!