Tired of Salad? Me too.

Don't get me wrong, I love salad. It is maybe one of my all-time favorite foods. BUT.
Sometimes we get tired of eating like a rabbit, so replace it with...
Gazpacho!
A Spanish-Inspired soup, that you're supposed to eat cold!
AND, you can totally make it without spending hours dicing!
You can make it in MINUTES in a BLENDER!
And you'll probably use less oil than you would in a salad!

What you need:
*Tomato Juice, or V8 - about 2 cups (more or less to suit your desired consistency)
*Fresh Tomatoes - about a cup of grape tomatoes, or 2-3 large ones
*Celery - 1/2 cup
*Cucumber - 1/2 cup
*Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup (I usually use a contrasting color, to make it pretty)
*Red Onion - 3/4 cup (or to taste, and use any kind of onion, i just like red because it's not that sharp in comparison)
*Garlic - one or two cloves (up to you!)
*Salt and Pepper (a pinch? Remember, you can add more to your serving later)
*Olive Oil - one tbsp (for a whole batch of gazpacho, that's very little, and it helps to get your mixture soup smooth)

Optionals:
*Herbs (any really, and as much as you like! I even put in dill the other day, and it was amazing!)
*Avocado (for garnish, and some essential fats - if you're in the mood)
*Balsamic Vinegar or Glaze (also could be used for garnish)
*Hot Sauce (I like mine spicy!)
*Lime
*Crusty Bread

Directions:
1) Roughly chop your veggies (and herbs if you wish) and pop them in the blender
2) Add the tomato juice
3) Blend to desired consistency
4) Serve with any garnishes you desire (about 3/4 cup a serving!)

Yeah, it's that simple. Enjoy your salad substitute!

Recipe of the Day: Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Warning: You might be addicted to this easy recipe.
Well, why wouldn't you be? It's delicious and way more filling than a 100 calorie pack. Yeah, that's right, these will only knock off 100 calories off your day! How? Oh... there's no butter!

What you'll need:
- 4 medium white potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled [Tip: Smash them with the flat of your knife to peel off the skins easily]
- 1/3 cup of skim milk (or more, if you like really thin mashed potatoes)
- 1/3 cup of non-fat sour cream
- Salt & pepper (to taste)

The Recipe:
1. Boil the potatoes and the garlic in a pot for approximately 16-20 minutes, until tender
2. Drain, let sit for a moment
3. Add milk to the pot while its still warm
4. Add the potato/garlic mixture back into the pot
5. Add sour cream into the pot
6. Take your potato masher, and get all that stress out. Mash them up to whatever texture you like.
7. Season your potatoes the way you like them. (I usually put a ton of pepper, and no salt)

This recipe should make about 4 servings. I sometimes eat them without anything on top, or sometimes with ketchup, but...

Can't eat mashed potatoes without gravy? Try this:
1. Spray pan with cooking spray
2. Add 1 small onion (diced) and 1/2 cup of mushrooms (chopped) to the pan, cook until tender, pour into a bowl, and leave aside.
3. Add 1 & 1/2 tbsp of flour to the pan with 1 tbsp of non-fat sour cream, and stir until thick-ish
4. Add 1/2 cup of red wine, and 1 cup of vegetable broth, stir
5. Add 1/2 a cube of vegetable bouillon (or if you're not making this vegetarian, you can use poultry seasoning), and a small can of low-fat cream of mushroom soup into the pan, and whisk together until completely homogenous
6. Add the onion and mushroom mixture to the pan and let simmer until thickened

You'll have plenty of gravy, but if you divide it into 4, it's also only 100 calories a serving!
Personally, I'd probably just eat the potatoes as a meal alone...
But add 3 oz of chicken or turkey to create a delicious meal for about 350 calories!

It almost like having the holidays all year round!

Tip of the Day: Low-Fat Brownies

Craving carbs and chocolate, and watching what you eat? Here's your solution!

We all use cake mix out of convenience. Sometimes you have spontaneous guests, or you're just in the mood for a good brownie - but you don't want to go through the hassle of actually making stuff from scratch. Besides, if Giada can spruce up cake mix, so can we!

What you'll need:
- Egg Whites
- Unsweetened Applesauce
- Brownie or Cake Mix (whatever you're in the mood for)
- Honey/Jam/Marshmallows/Chocolate Chips (optional)*

Why it works:
Applesauce is a great substitution for oil when you bake. a) it makes things taste sweeter. b) you're hardcore cutting down on the fat. c) it will be softer and fluffier.
There is a lot of nutrition in eggs, and its good to have one once a day. With eggs, and their yolks, being hidden in a lot of things - we eat a lot more of them than we should. If you eliminate the yolks, you're helping your body by cutting a little more bad cholesterol from your diet, as well as fat... YAY!

How you do it:
- For the exact amount of oil the box tells you to use, substitute applesauce (eg: 1/4 cup of oil -> 1/4 cup applesauce)
- Add one more egg white than the amount of whole eggs the box says to add. (eg: 3 whole eggs -> 4 egg whites)

Icing: also not so great for you, but there are alternatives!
1. You could drizzle honey on top, or spread jam on it. BUT...
2. You could also take a cup of marshmallows and a 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and add them to the end of cooking time to let it melt and ooze all over.
* Rather than 200 calories worth of icing on top of your piece of cake, this will only cost you 50 calories and your whole brownie would be cost you less than 200 calories! It's delicious, and I promise, you WILL NOT miss the icing.
3. Or you could always just serve your cake or brownies plain-jane, with nothing at all on top!

Extra tip: if you have those mini cupcake tins, that would be a great way to make your own version of two-bite brownies - but better for you than the brand name! And, you can treat yourself to a couple! You'll feel like you've indulged EVEN more.

That's it! Other than those substitutions, follow the instructions that the cake mix tells you. Because of the applesauce and egg whites, your baked goods may not last as long as they normally do. I'm pretty sure baked goods don't last that long anywhere though, so it's pretty much a non-issue. Enjoy these next time you get a craving!

Tip of the Day: KD

Kraft Dinner is delicious and easy to make in a pinch. Although many people would be quick to ban Kraft Dinner from their diet, once in a while it's great to indulge. And YES, there is a better way to eat this Canadian favorite.

The wonderful people at Kraft have recently released WHOLE WHEAT versions of their Original and White Cheddar dinners! Although still a weeeee-bit high on the sodium content, the whole wheat version is higher in fibre and therefore is a much better alternative to the regular noodles. Regardless of whichever version, KD is a solid source of Calcium! As well, on the box Kraft has provided a 'Sensible Solutions' way to preparing KD, which is 30 calories less than the original sauce recipe! However, there is an even more "Sensible" way to prepare KD, and it's a lot creamier too!

To give you an idea, we'll compare sauce recipes:
- Original Recipe: 2 tbsp butter or margarine, 3 tbsp of milk (roughly 300+ calories)
- Sensible Solutions Recipe: 1 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine, 1/4 cup skim milk (roughly 200 calories)
- Foodie Recipe: 2 tbsp of skim milk, and 2 (big) tbsp of non-fat sour cream (about 100 calories)

Remember, often people make the mistake of eating the WHOLE BOX, rather than the proper serving size. For 2/3 of a cup (the suggested serving size), the 'Sensible Solutions' recipe would come out to 210 calories, and the 'Original' recipe would be about 250. How many calories in the Foodie Recipe? About 185.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we have a winner! Try it out next time you make Kraft Dinner!