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Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis (Show: Giada at Home / Episode: Mother’s Day Brunch)

 Treat Mom to a sweet breakfast on her special day. Best of all, these recipes are so simple you won’t have to ask for her help.

 Baked French Toast with Blueberries

Cook time: 45 minutes / Yield: 4-6 servings / Level: Easy

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup maple syrup, plus extra for serving
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 lemon, zested
• 3 (1-inch thick) slices (8 ounces) day-old challah or sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 cups (12 ounces) fresh or frozen, thawed, and drained blueberries
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions

Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest. Add the bread cubes and mix until coated. Stir in the blueberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the egg mixture in an even layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is golden and the filling is set.

Spoon onto serving plates and drizzle with maple syrup.

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Citrus Cream Smoothie

Cook time: 5 minutes / Yield: 6 (8 ounce) servings / Level: Easy

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 1 1/4 cups orange juice
• 2 medium bananas, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons grated orange zest (from 1 large orange)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup ice

Directions

In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes.

Pour the cooled syrup into a blender. Add the yogurt, orange juice, bananas, orange zest, vanilla extract, and ice. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

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Recipe from Diabetic Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients

• 1 boneless beef bottom round rump roast or beef bottom round (3 to 3-1/4 pounds)
• 2 packages (24 ounces each) fresh pot roast vegetables (potatoes, onions, carrots, celery)
• 2 packages (.75 to .88 ounces each) mushroom or brown gravy mix
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup beer
• Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare pot roast vegetables: cut potatoes in half (or into quarters if large), onions into 1/2-inch wedges, and carrots and celery into 2-inch pieces; set aside.
2. Combine gravy mixes, flour, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add vegetables to bowl; toss to coat well. Remove vegetables from flour mixture and place in 5 to 6-quart slow cooker. Add beef roast to bowl, turning to coat evenly with flour mixture. Remove roast and place in slow cooker in center of vegetables.
3. Whisk beer into remaining flour mixture until smooth; add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 10 to 11 hours, or on HIGH 6 to 7 hours, or until beef and vegetables are fork-tender. (No stirring is necessary during cooking.)
4. Remove roast and vegetables. Skim fat from gravy. Carve roast into thin slices. Serve with vegetables and gravy. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Nutritional Information (Per Serving)

Calories: 318

Protein: 39 g

Sodium: 516 mg

Cholesterol: 112 mg

Fat: 9 g

Saturated Fat: 3 g

Dietary Fiber: 3 g

Carbohydrates: 17 g

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From EatingWell:  April/May 2005, The EatingWell Diabetes Cookbook (2005)

10 servings

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Nutrition Profile: Diabetes appropriate – Low calorie – Low cholesterol – Healthy weight – High calcium – High fiber – High potassium

Ingredients

8 ounces whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 pound lean spicy Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (*see Vegetarian Variation)
4 cups sliced mushrooms, (10 ounces)
1/4 cup water
1 pound frozen spinach, thawed
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably chunky
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese, (2 cups)
8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups), divided (continue reading…)

From Eatingwell.com (May/June 2007)

4 servings, about 1 cup each

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Nutrition Profile
Low cholesterol – High calcium 

Ingredients

2 ounces pancetta, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar                                                   
1/4 teaspoon salt                                                                                                             
1 pound gnocchi, (see Shopping Tip below)
4 ounces watercress, tough stems removed, coarsely chopped (6 cups packed)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
 

Preparation

1. Put a large pan of water on to boil.

2. Cook pancetta in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, sugar and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes are almost completely broken down, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and salt. Remove from the heat.

3. Cook gnocchi in the boiling water until they float, 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Place watercress in a colander and drain the gnocchi over the watercress, wilting it slightly. Add the gnocchi and watercress to the sauce in the pan; toss to combine. Serve immediately, with Parmesan.

Tips & Notes

Shopping Tip: We like the texture of “shelf-stable” prepared gnocchi found in the Italian section of most supermarkets, but frozen and fresh refrigerated gnocchi also work well here.

Nutrition

Per serving: 377 calories; 7 g fat (3 g sat, 1 g mono); 16 mg cholesterol; 63 g carbohydrates; 14 g protein; 3 g fiber; 686 mg sodium; 329 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (50% daily value), Vitamin A (45% dv), Calcium & Iron (15% dv).

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From Eating Well Cookbook (2004)
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Canned evaporated milk—not to be confused with sweetened condensed milk—is a standard ingredient in many pumpkin pie recipes. Making the simple switch from evaporated whole milk to evaporated skim milk lowers the saturated fat in your pie, while maintaining its rich texture.

8 servings
 / Prep Time: 30 minutes / 
Total Time: 3 hours (including pastry time)

Ingredients
Essential EatingWell Pie Pastry, (recipe follows)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 4 large egg whites, or 8 teaspoons dried egg whites, reconstituted according to package directions
• 1 15-ounce can unseasoned pumpkin puree
• 1 cup evaporated fat-free milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Prepare Essential EatingWell Pie Pastry; refrigerate as directed.
2. Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 425°F. Coat a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray.
3. Whisk sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs and egg whites; whisk until well blended. Add pumpkin, whisking until smooth. Whisk in milk and vanilla.
4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into an 11-inch circle. Drape the dough over the rolling pin and fit it into the prepared pie pan. Trim the pastry, fold the edges under and flute. Place the pie pan on a baking sheet. Pour the filling into the crust.
5. Bake the pie for 10 minutes. Cover the edges with strips of foil to prevent over-browning.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 325°; bake until the center barely jiggles when the pan is tapped, 55 to 60 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. (continue reading…)

This recipe (5 stars) comes from the Food Network, Healthy Eating Section. It’s a delightful snack, or desert.  Cooks in 5 minutes.

Ingredients

Nonstick spray
3 firm but ripe nectarines, halved, pitted
3 firm but ripe purple/black plums, halved, pitted
3 firm but ripe red plums, halved, pitted
6 metal skewers or thick wooden skewers soaked in water 30 minutes
3 tablespoons sugar
Substitutes: apricots and peaches (continue reading…)

Every week Self Magazine sends a recipe for the week. This one looked so good we just had to share.  It’s a Thai Beef Salad for Two!  The preparation seems pretty simple, and it simply looks to die for.  The best part is that it’s low in calories and high in protein, so it’s the perfect summer dinner.

Hollywood Thai Beef Salad, Serves 2

The meal (per serving) contains: 482, 12.5 g fat (3.1 g saturated), 68.4 g carbs, 4.6 g fiber, and 24.2 g protein.

INGREDIENTS

Marinade

1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
6 tablespoons fish sauce (found in Asian markets)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 tablespoon mint leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 Thai (or serrano) chile
2 1/2 cloves garlic
1 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced

(continue reading…)