Spanakopita Pizza

                  Greece was our country of study recently, so I wanted to make a dish to honor it.  I chose to make my own version of Greece's famous snack, Spanakopita.  Spanakopita, for a long time was the only way anyone could get me to eat spinach.  I remember eating it for the first time when I was young and still living with my parents.  We would go to a local diner, which was owned by a Greek family.  Every dish would come accompanied by a piece of Spanakopita.

                   Spanakopita is a spinach pie, in the odd chance you don't already know.  Now, I had never seen spinach served that way.  I only ever associated Popeye with spinach.  My mom never cooked it at home, that I recall.  So my vision of it was of Popeye popping a can of spinach and scarfing it down.  No matter how much I admired his cartoon strength, no way would I ever eat spinach.  So now this little pie is placed on a dish in front of me.  It is wrapped in phyllo, which I loved and associated with dessert.  I decided to try it because how bad could it be if it is wrapped in a flaky pastry.  I am so glad I did because that was when I learned to eat spinach, even though it was partially hidden with other flavors.  But if that was a way I learned to appreciate a new vegetable, there was nothing wrong with that.  Today of course I will put it in pizza and quiches.  No, can't eat it raw though. (A personal preference).

Roasted Broccoli

                     Here is a yummy way to eat broccoli and get some great health benefits as well.  You can read this article to learn some of the benefits of broccoli.

                     Roasting broccoli brings out a nuttiness in it.  It also retains a great dark green color that can get lost when boiled or steamed.  Roasting it for a proper length of time will prevent it from becoming mushy and help keep its health benefits.  Like cauliflower and cabbage, it also has anti carcinogenic properties.  So let's eat our veggies!

Cauliflower and Cabbage Mash

                    It seems like I am on cauliflower overload with another cauliflower recipe.  I posted a recipe for bubble and squeak a little while back.  I thought I would share a low carb version that I made, which went over well.

                     If you are looking to reduce your carb intake, this is a new tasty side dish that won't leave you missing the potatoes.  Cabbage and cauliflower also have anti carcinogenic properties, which potatoes lack, so this is another benefit of switching out potatoes to cauliflower.

                     If you don't like cabbage, leave it out and use this as a recipe for mashed cauliflower.  The roasted cauliflower makes a great mashed cauliflower, and it tastes better than if it is steamed or boiled.  

Cauliflower Salad

                     I wanted to post another salad made with cauliflower.  This can be made with cooked or raw cauliflower.  I personally prefer it cooked, but my husband liked it raw.  Whether cooked or raw, it is another great way to serve cauliflower.  I always find it fun to serve up what seems like a boring vegetable, and present it in a different way.  It's also quick and easy and can be prepared a day ahead of time.

Faux Potato Salad

                With every January comes the old resolution of losing weight and getting more fit.  I don't know one person that has never made that resolution.  A good way to lose weight is to lower your carbohydrate intake.  A good article to read on why carbohydrates help you gain weight can be found here.

                 The next few posts will be low carb salads, so if any of you are looking to lose weight, maybe these will be inspiring for you to make.

Ranch Dill Dip

                 I have a theory that says that dip was invented so that kids would eat their vegetables.  I actually do not know when the first dip was invented, but it did create a tasty way to eat raw vegetables, which is the healthiest way to eat them.

                 If you make your own dip from your own ingredients, you can make the dips a little more healthy than the store bought.  It will also have more flavor since the ingredients are fresh.

Cheese Stars

                I hated baking when I was younger because I always seemed to get flour everywhere.  Watching me try to bake up something was like probably watching a bad comedy show.  I pretty much stuck to those boxes of Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker when I felt the necessity to bake up some brownies.  One bowl to clean up and baked goods in 20 minutes.  What could be better?  Well, maybe for starters how about no bleached flour, or artificial flavors, or soybean oil?