Summery Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:
-Cooking spray
-1 lb green beans, rinsed, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
-2 tbsp plus 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
-1 red onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
-Scant 1/4 tsp sea salt, divided
-Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
-8 oz sliced button mushrooms
-1/2 tsp lemon-pepper salt-free seasoning (TRY: Mrs Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend)
-3 cloves garlic, chopped
-3 tbsp whole wheat-flour
-1 3/4 cups low-fat milk (not skim)
-1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
-1/4 tsp dried rosemary
-1/4 tsp dried thyme
-1/2 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
-1/4 whole-wheat panko (or rice crumbs)

Instructions:
ONE: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mist a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
TWO: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add beans and cover until water returns to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Meanwhile, place a colander in the sink and fill a large bowl with ice water. Drain beans in colander and immediately add to ice water. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain. (Beans may be cooked up to 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate).
THREE: In a large skillet, heat 2 tsp oil on medium-low. Add onion, season with scant 1/16 tsp salt and pepper and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown. Transfer onion to a bowl. Coat skillet with cooking spray and bring to medium heat. Add mushrooms, lemon-pepper seasoning and scant 1/16 salt. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 8 minutes; set aside.
FOUR: Add remaining 2 tbsp oil to saucepan used to cook beans and heat on medium-low. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Increase heat to high and slowly whisk in milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thick, 4 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in 1/8 tsp salt, coriander, rosemary, thyme, tomatoes, beans and mushrooms. Mix well, adjusting seasoning as desired. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and cover evenly with a layer of onion, followed by a layer of panko.
FIVE: Bake until liquid is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.

TIP: Step one through three may be done 1 day ahead. Simply cover and refrigerate until you're ready to cook. Increase baking time by 10 to 15 minutes.

Nutrients per 3/4 cup serving: Calories: 166, Total Fat: 8g, Carbs: 23g, Fibre: 5g, Sugars: 8g, Protein: 7.5g, Sodium: 266mg

Entertaining... clean eating style

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try something bold, something new. I put together a dinner menu of strictly clean eating food and invited my Aunt & Uncle over for dinner, along with myself and my grandmother.
With that down, now I had to figure out what I was going to make.

I chose to make 3 dishes that I had never tried making before from both a few separate clean eating magazines. The first was summery green bean casserole with crisp green beans, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms. The second and main dish was 3-cheese stuffed shells (I did a variation of this recipe with whole-wheat lasagna noodles). Finally, for dessert I made a Mexican frozen pudding topped with crumbled chocolate cookies. Okay, so my math skills are a bit off, more like 3.5 dishes or 4 if you want to get technical.

3-cheese stuffed lasagna noodles

Mexican frozen chocolate pudding topped with chocolate cookies

Summery green bean casserole

The whole dinner, including dessert turned out fantastic as well I received rave reviews from my family. My Aunt was quick to ask for the recipes and my grandmother even mentioned the following day how much she enjoyed the dinner. SCORE. I couldn't have imagined a better turnout of delicious, clean food with great company.

A healthy beginning

My love for food began as a young girl while helping my mom out in the kitchen. I was quickly drawn to the beaters and mixing bowls that she used to create cakes and cookies. I found this enjoyable because you could mix a few ingredients together and come up with something delicious and a work of art. Or at least that’s how I feel about the things I create. Only in the last 6 months have I realized that my love for food is not just a phase but rather a calling towards something greater.

In the early Spring I was wandering through Chapters and came across some Tosca Reno books in the fitness & lifestyle section of the store. My initial reaction had to do with the fact that the front cover mentioned I could “peel off those last 10 pounds” but truly my interest came from the idea of eating clean. The thrill of the unknown. I had never heard of this term before that day, however, I felt intrigued to buy this book because I have always been mindful when it came to healthy eating.

Along with BeautyFit boot camp and clean eating things seem to be coming together and making sense in regards to a path that I’m starting to follow. Sandra Compton has been one of the greater inspirations in my current journey, I’ve really needed that push and even though my steps are small they will be very important.