If you are looking to make your own oat bars, you might like to give these a shot. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s easy to prepare and you know exactly what’s in them. One of my earlier posts runs through some of the worst commercial health bars on the market

This video shows you how to make oat bars using a few simple ingredients.. This particular recipe is vegan but you can use milk rather than the rice milk used in this recipe.

I’m in a bit of a breakfast rut.

I eat porridge almost everyday of the week and while I really enjoy it and find that it keeps me quite full until lunch, I’m a little bored.

I do eat boxed cereal on occasion but I’ve found in the past that it just doesn’t keep me sustained. Most times I’m really hungry by 10.00am and feeling drained and tired.

So I decided this morning that I’d give fruit smoothies a shot. I’ve spent the afternoon looking for some recipes and discovered that the choices and variety are endless. You can add protein to help maintain lean muscle mass and to keep you feeling full for a longer period of time. Adding fiber has many health benefits as well. By including yogurt, you are adding a very good source of calcium.

There are literally thousands of recipes out there. If you google “healthy smoothie recipes”, you will see what I mean!

These two caught my eye. The first is apparently one that Oprah makes (or perhaps made by one of her many staff ;) ) It sounds good though. I also like the extra things you can add. So here they are, enjoy!

Oprah’s Smoothie Recipe

• 2 cups 8th continent Light Chocolate Soy-milk
• 2 medium banana
• 2 cups strawberries (you can use frozen strawberries)

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Optional additions to your smoothie:

• 1/2 tablespoon flaxseed oil
• 1-2 teaspoons Psyllium seed husks
• 1-2 tablespoons protein powder

Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

• 1 banana (frozen and cut into chunks)
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup orange juice

Healthy Optional Additions:

• 1/2 tablespoon flaxseed oil
• 1-2 teaspoons Psyillium seed husks
• 2 tablespoons protein powder

Our good friends over at Mark’s Daily Apple have gone the extra mile this week and not only found some healthy recipes but also made and taste tested first!

They have three recipes this week to check out.

• Grilled Flank Steak with Sautéed Beet Greens and Creamy Horseradish Beets
• Beets, Leeks and Onions
• Beets, Walnuts and Feta Salad

Find these recipes over at Mark’s Daily Apple

We had friends over for dinner on Friday and one of them is a vegetarian.

I decided to marinate salmon steaks with a mix of olive oil, dill, thyme, capers and garlic and they were a big hit at the dinner table. In-fact, my vegetarian friend said that the salmon was restaurant quality!

This recipe is quite easy to make and a quick to cook so perfect for a dinner party.

Ingredients

• 4 x salmon fillets
• 1/4 extra virgin olive oil
• 1 glove garlic, crushed
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped
• 4 tablespoons dill, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons thyme, finely chopped
• salt and pepper (I used lemon pepper but regular pepper is also fine)

Instructions

• Combine olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, capers, dill, thyme.
• Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper.
• Place fillets in a single layer in a ceramic dish and pour over half the marinade. Turn steaks and pour remaining mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate for approx. 2-3 hours.
• Remove from fridge 30 mins before cooking.
• Pre-heat grill or BBQ plate on medium to high heat.
• Cook salmon for 3 mins (if skin is on, cook with skin up first).
• Turn over and cook for a further 4-5 mins. Brush with marinade occasionally.

I served this dish with the roast vegetable salad I previously posted about along with a jacket potato.

I’m a big fan of kidney beans and use them regularly in dishes including salads, main meals and one of my favorites, kidney bean chili.

This recipe is something that my partner and I came up with and is a combination of a few other chilli recipes. We eat this quite often for lunch and add it to a tortilla and include a bit of lettuce and tomato. It really is yummy and keeps you going for the rest of the day until your dinner. You can also add low fat cheese.

It freezes really well and is sure to become a favorite.

First of all, a bit of information on just how good kidney beans are for you. Kidney beans are a good source of protein, fiber and iron, but it is also full of folate, B vitamins and minerals like magnesium and manganese.

They are also high in antioxidants, saponins and potassium (to reduce high blood pressure and stroke).

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 can diced tomatoes or if in season, 6 tomatoes diced
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder (add as little or as much as you like)
1 can kindey beans (850g can) drained and rinsed (we like to keep a small amount of the juice to keep it moist)
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Sautee the onion for 2 mins and add bell peppers, tomatoes and corn and cook for 10 minutes or until onions are translucent. Season with black pepper, cumin and chili powder.
Stir in kidney beans and salt. Bring to boil then simmer on low heat for 10 minutes or until liquid has reduced.

2. That’s it, your done!

This chili is really nice in a tortilla with some low fat cheese, lettuce and tomato. You can also eat the chili on it’s own or as a side.

This is our first post for 08 after a vacation to a small town called Busselton in Western Australia.

We stayed and my parents house and Mum made a fabulous warm vegetable salad which not only tasted and looked wonderful but is also quite low in fat and very easy to make. We had ours with some marinated pork fillet but it will go with pretty much anything.

The best thing about this salad is that you can throw whatever vegetables you have in your fridge so it’s versatile as well, enjoy!

Ingredients

300g butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 2cm cubes
1 capsicum, seeded and cut into large pieces
1 onion, chopped into eighths
100g flat mushrooms, quartered
3 tomatoes, quatered OR handful of cherry tomatoes
1 bunch Asparagus
Olive or canola oil spray
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 bunch English spinach leaves, washed and drained
Feta cheese (optional)
coarse salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (US) or 220 degrees C (Aus, UK, etc). Line a large bak

Toss pumpkin, capsicum, onion, tomato, mushrooms and asparagus together then spread in a single layer over tray. Lightly spray with oil, balsamic vinegar and course salt.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until all vegetables are cooked through, turning after 20 minutes.

Line serving dish with spinach leaves and pile roast vegetables on top and then add crumbled feta cheese. Serve immediately.

Variation: Try including sweet potato, zucchini, carrots, beetroot, squash and baby eggplant when in season.

This recipe is by no means low fat but there really isn’t much point to it all if you can’t indulge sometimes.

Lemons are one of those foods that are very beneficial to your health. They are full of minerals and vitamins, essential to your body, healthy raw sugars and will help to balance the acidity in your body so that your immune system thrives.

They are rarely used other than as a garnish which is a shame considering just how good they are for you.

Lemons work extremely well with chicken, fish and in salads so you can incorporate them into your diet without adding sugar!

Check this recipe out> Homemade Lemonade – Famous European Recipe