Traditional Italian Minestrone Soup

Traditional Italian Minestrone Soup 

½ lb dried cranberry beans

2 ½ quarts of water

½ lb fresh green beans, broken into halves

3 oz diced salt pork

½ lb peeled and diced potatoes

1 ½ Tbs extra virgin olive oil

½ lb peeled and diced onions

12 oz can diced tomatoes, or 1 cup peeled and diced fresh ripe tomatoes

2 mashed cloves of garlic

¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

½ tsp salt

1 small carrot, peeled and diced

1 stalk celery, diced with leaves

1 pork hock, or hambone

8 oz spaghetti

1/8 Cup butter

Soak and drain beans according to package directions. Add beans to the water and bring
to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and add all the other ingredients (except the spaghetti and butter). Cover and cook for two hours.

When the beans are finished cooking boil a second pot of water to which add spaghetti broken into 1 ½ inch pieces. When the spaghetti is cooked drain it and add the butter. Place 1 oz cooked spaghetti in the bottom of each bowl.

Ladle one scant cup soup on top of spaghetti. Serve piping hot. ( I have found with this particular meal that about the time the soup is served people beginning to get full. So I stick with small portions which works very well. You want people to enjoy the entire meal. My father in law is the only person who has ever picked at this meal, but, by the end he says this is better than that stuff out of the jar.)

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Cooking Healthy Soul Food Recipes

Soul food recipes continue to maintain popularity among consumers. The Great Recession is credited for the growing popularity. Because the dishes have the reputation of sticking to the ribs or having staying power.Many medical professionals have questioned the health concerns of traditional this traditional southern cuisine. Why? Because of the high salt, fat and calorie content. But like most cuisines that stand the test of time, It's adapting to the changing concerns of consumers.

Now healthy soul food is one of the fastest growing cuisines. You can now find more restaurants, food manufacturers and even recipe website publishers adapting to this new trend. By offering more menu items with less salt, fat and calorie content continues to grow healthier.

Many of the questions reflect the health concerns more consumers have concerning their diets.

1. What's The Best Substitute For Using Fatback and Ham Hocks?

Fat back and ham hocks used to be staples for seasoning soul food dishes. For example, collard greens, black eyed peas, pinto beans and other southern vegetable dishes. But because of the high content of fat, calories and sodium, many people have turned to smoked turkey necks as a healthier alternative. Smoked turkey necks have low fat and sodium content, in addition to having the benefit of giving food that smokey, flavorful taste.

2. I Have To Cut Out Deep Fried Foods Because of Health Concerns. What's the Healthiest Alternative for Fried Dishes?

A healthier alternative to deep frying food is what's called oven frying, this is one of the fastest growing cooking techniques, because of the health benefits it has over deep frying. It has many benefits, especially for people with heart problems, weight issues and for those who want to avoid them.

Done properly, oven frying can give you the same taste benefits of deep frying. For example, the tasty - crunchy texture, without the health dangers. Now you'll find more people enjoying oven fried chicken, french fries, onion rings, shrimp and all the other popular foods.

3. I Love Soul Food Desserts.  But I Must Cut Back On Sugar, What's The Best Sugar Substitute That Doesn't Taste Like Motor Oil?

One of the best alternatives to white sugar that you can use in desserts is Agave nectar or Agave syrup. Compared to sugar it has less health concerns. It's about 31% sweeter than sugar, so you can use less. It's excellent in cookies, pies, cobblers and other places you would normally use white sugar.

Another advantage of using Agave has little to no affect on blood sugar or insulin levels, making it an excellent health alternative to granulated sugar. You can often find Agave in the health food section of most supermarkets or in health food stores and also online.

You can also find many healthy cooking tips on Quality Gourmet Food.

Do You Know Why Italian Ice Cream is Becoming a Worldwide Favorite?

All around the world men, women, and kids are discovering the delights of rich, robust Italian ice cream - Gelato ready to eat. Once you develop a taste for the Italian variety of ice cream, you may never want to go back to plain old ice cream again. Read on and you will discover many different ways in which you can find and enjoy gelato - in your own kitchen or on a vacation to Italy.

Gelato - the original type - is prepared from natural, fresh ingredients. When you eat gelato, be certain that what you are getting is authentic. This method of preparation is still the custom today in countless locations, as it has been since the days of the Renaissance in Florence, Italy. If a processed food is used to replace the normally fresh ingredients in authentic gelato - such as artificial flavors or sweeteners - will result in a gelato that is inferior in flavor and consistency. Unfortunately, commercialism has invaded the realm of quality gelato and today you can find inferior, mass-produced varieties in your local supermarket.

These products can never replace freshly-made, genuine gelato prepared with the freshest ingredients available. If you don't live in one of the bigger cities that have a gelateria, or other store that sells fresh gelato, you can instead make your own at home. Also in Italy, there is a fruity frozen dessert that doesn't contain milk know as sorbetti - Sorbet in America. Being a frozen dessert, sorbets are often sold alongside gelato in most gelaterias. Generally, people put sorbetti and gelato in the same general classification. Sorbetti is especially popular with folks who love fruit. If that describes you, then you will most certainly relish the rich and numerous flavors that are available. What's your favorite fruit? More than likely you will find it made into a sorbet. Even such diverse fruit such as melons and black berries make delicious sorbets. Sorbets are very different from the Italian ices that have been sold in America for many years. Everyone enjoys a snow cone or Italian ice when the weather is hot. The problem is there's nothing healthy in them since they are made entirely of ice, sugar, and artificial extracts or flavorings.

Some people wonder if gelato is healthier than regular ice cream, and the answer to this really depends on what kind it is and what it's made from. The ingredients for making gelato vary so much that it's impossible to draw any conclusions about the amount of calories in a normal serving. If you're trying to cut back on calories, your best bet would be fruit based sorbets, which are not literally a type of ice cream, but are often sold along with gelato. The ice cream in America is generally cream-based whereas gelato is made using milk. As a rule of thumb, gelato will usually have less calories than ice cream. Do you have a lactose intolerance? You can still make gelato, and save even more calories, by replacing the milk in your recipe with soy milk or plain yogurt. The sugar content is another factor you can control, and there are sugar free varieties.

You might have to search around in your supermarket to find gelato because it's outnumbered by American ice cream, but with the popularity of gelato increasing, that won't always be the case. American consumption of gelato may never overtake the amount of American ice cream that is traditionally eaten in the USA. Some reasons are that gelato shouldn't be stored for more than a couple of days and, due to the use of fresh ingredients, gelato is more expensive. If you prefer to have a reliable source of original, authentic Italian ice cream, the solution is to make your own out of the fresh ingredients you can purchase locally.

Enjoy Lip-Smacking Traditional Italian Food Dishes

You can start with your stroll down those streets are overwhelmed by the vibrant features of the Traditional Italian Food under the traditional archway that proclaims the gateways to Little Italy. At these traditional Italian food restaurants, marvel at the intensive array of Italian foods including scores of best olive oils and the balsamic vinegars. Just pick up some of the recipes that are house-made, gluten-free sausages with the combinations of fine cheeses. You can check out the Italian food market at the corner of many countries that featuring loads of the local food and the other goodies including the live music too!

A Weekend Destination:

For a late weekend night, these Italian food restaurants treat you for slightly adventuresome eaters for mini calzones or the fried peanut butter recipes. Just bring a handful of coins so the children can try out some vintage of audio-video games. These restaurants are occupied by all needful attractions while you visit them for an espresso with the kids tackle the football tables where the pennies are also exceptional; you'll be definitely tempted to linger on the lovely patios.

Lip-Smacking Experience:

Traditional Italian Food offers you all kinds of Italian groceries that include a complete package of rainbow-colored pastas, frozen tiramisu and cookies. Their deli counter always keeps preparing some of Ottawa's finest handcrafted sandwiches. The next door will take you in their house of fresh pasta featuring meals along with the myriad types of pastas and incredible variety of delicious homemade sauces. To make a visit to these traditional Italian restaurants even more culturally enlightening, where you can pick the free Italian languages recipes and see that how much of it can be deciphered by you.

The Edible Description on Luxurious Italian Food Varieties:

A delicious range of some sardines stuffed with the orange-flavored breads crumbs along with raisins & almonds or some of tender veal tongue that layered with the rich onion broths over pan-fried scamorza cheese over it to give a taste on a newfangled American dish called €meatballs€ and €spaghetti€. People have the pride on its traditional textures that has been somewhat tucked under the enclaves of nostalgic feelings.

So, as the team of well-known chefs always keeps travelling back to the Boot to evaluate Italian genuine flavors that match with its modern sensibility. It has been a long overdue for the taste of Italian food in restaurant to get a fresh and healthy look towards the capabilities of creating new Italian tastes for a long span of time. And now we get the taste of their vibrant flavors of exotic by the nuts, salted fish & hot spices along with the double-fisted personal style, usually involved a pan-fried egg layer on atop lasagna and the steak.

The versions of famous Italic flavors that are alive on rice cakes are really supersized & deconstructed as €arancia€ a form of delicately crisp bocce ball of the fried risotto which is stuffed by the tender short-ribs stew and gratineed with the smoked caciocavallo cheese variants. These are posted over a green puree of the fresh peas that usually snuggled from inside and boosted with a delicious touch of mint flavor will defiantly give you an extravagant feel while taking a dip on it.

Healthy Chicken Recipes - A Tasty Alternative

Healthy Chicken Recipes - A Tasty Alternative To KFC

 Are you trying to make the switch to a healthier lifestyle but just cannot seem to get the entire family on board with you? Is the family tired of the same old dinner ruts, ready for something new, exciting, and filling? Healthy chicken recipes are an excellent option for those who are trying to eat healthily without giving up the entire flavor. Read on for just a few ideas on how to utilize each piece of chicken you buy.

One of the beauties of healthy chicken recipes is that they can employ almost every part of a chicken (in different recipes, of course) for different meals. So when you buy a whole chicken for a healthy Sunday dinner, keep the rest of the carcass in the refrigerator for future use. The next day, use the scraps of chicken left on the bones for a quick and delicious casserole. Take the bones and make a filling chicken stock that will serve as the base for a quick and healthy soup. Dark meat is delicious when spiced and served as chicken tacos. The possibilities for all the ways chicken can be used as the base for healthy family meals is nearly endless!

Do you have a few chicken breasts sitting in the fridge from last night's dinner? Use them to add flavor and protein to dish for the entire family! Shred the chicken breasts, add a few spices such as chili powder, cumin, or curry, and have it with a basic salad. For a more filling option, throw in the cubed chicken breasts with some cooked rice and cream of mushroom soup for a delectable casserole. Leftover chicken is an excellent way to turn a ho-hum dinner into a satisfying meal.

Chicken can also be prepared healthfully as the main dish, while remaining very tasty. One of the secrets to chicken's versatility as the main course is that it can be adapted to almost every flavor and taste imaginable. Paired with chipotle chilies and jalapeno peppers, a breast of chicken would be perfect with the more traditional Mexican fare of beans and rice. For an Italian meal, coat with herbs and Parmesan cheese and bake until brown and cooked through. Whatever ethnic flavors you might enjoy, healthy chicken recipes abound and can make a meal extra special.

Chicken is enjoyed around the world, and it is only in countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom that we have come to look on chicken nuggets, fried chicken, and chicken Parmesan as the only real chicken dishes. What most do not realize is that chicken is excellent when prepared with healthy chicken recipes;they can get the same satisfaction, the same protein, and better taste when it is prepared in a healthy manner. Spices, cooking methods, vegetables, starches--all can add a unique and delicious twist to a simple weeknight dinner that the entire family will enjoy, while at the same time satisfying their bellies. Healthy chicken recipes are superior in nearly every respect to the KFC chicken bucket.

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Italian Chicken Salad Sandwich & Healthy Food Recipes For Diabetics

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Healthy Food Recipes For Diabetics

It is commonly misconceived that when you are suffering from diabetes you should be wholly dependent on a strict diet including fruits and vegetables which is not necessary. However, the diabetics are bound to be careful on what they should eat and what they shouldn't. In spite of this restriction we have a good many alternative healthy food recipes for diabetics.

Chicken Breasts - Dinner

Marinade Skinless chicken breasts in Italian dressing can be preserved in your fridge fresh for about eight to ten hours. As soon as you step in for cooking you should apply your favorite herb mix, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese. Place them in the oven for about 30 to 35 minutes above 300 degrees. Make it sure that your chicken is cooked well to ensure a healthy diabetic food recipe before putting off the oven. If it is OK, you can serve it with fresh side dish, probably your favorite salad or even steamed vegetables.

Spanish Egg Roll - Lunch

Among many of the healthy food recipes that are preferred by diabetics, Spanish egg roll is another one. It is very simple that can be prepared at home in varied tastes. You have to scramble some eggs in the way you usually do, and add in some onion and diced peppers to your taste. After this, just adding some grated cheese at the top of the scramble, and spooning can give you a tortilla wrap. It can be rolled up to have a delicious, tasty, and funky recipe. It is also a healthy lunch that can be enjoyed by the family as a whole.

Raw food recipes - Breakfast

Another one of the healthy food recipes for diabetics you can make for breakfast at home is raw fruit cereal. Simply by using natural grains, and small cut pieces of your favorite fruits with nuts added to milk or mere water, you will get dramatically a delicious recipe. It's so simple and economic to cater your need. You can have such raw recipes preferably to substitute your regular food when you are in any journey near around. In case you cannot have specific fruit to your taste, you need not get back as you can add any fruits that are available at your reach.

If you browse online you will find many of such food recipes for diabetics. Just being diagnosed with diabetes does not imply that you stay locked to specific diabetic foods but you have lots of healthy food recipes serving to control blood sugar.

iTALIAN CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH

yield: 4 sandwiches

 

prep time: 15 minutes

 

total time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. cooked chicken, roughly chopped
½ cup shredded Asiago cheese
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
½cup Breakstone’s sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 leafs of Romaine lettuce
Pesto (either purchased or your favorite recipe)
4 ciabatta rolls

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl, toss the chicken, Asiago and celery to combine.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, Worcestershire, salt and pepper.

3. Add the Breakstone’s sour cream mixture to the chicken mixture and gently toss to combine.

4. Spread pesto on the top and bottom of each roll. Place a leaf of Romaine on the bottom of each roll. Place an even amount of chicken mixture on top of each lettuce leaf.

5. Cover with top of roll and serve.

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Italian Recipes: Traditional Roman Soup, Make Ahead Healthy Lunch Recipes

Italian cuisine is perhaps the most widely recognized and famous globally - nearly every civilized country has assimilated pasta and pizza alongside their own national dishes, and one can always find an Italian restaurant. But I wonder how much of what is regarded as "Italian food" actually comes from authentic Italian recipes. Pizzas are the most obvious example, having undergone major changes to accommodate to the American palate.

However, when you go back to it's roots, Italian recipes are essentially about good, healthy food - olive oil, vegetables and bread being the most common ingredients.
Today, I'd like to introduce you to a traditional Roman soup, to be served with warm bread. A simple French bread will suffice.

Ingredients

1 lb potatoes
1 litre of water
Garlic
Chilli pepper
Salt
5 oz Pelati tomatoes (or sauce)
1 lb of chicory
Extra virgin olive oil
Bread

Preparation 

• Pour the water into a hot earthenware pot (a large sauce pan will suffice).
• Cut the potatoes into thick slices, and crush two cloves of garlic. Add this to the water, along with the chilli pepper, 1 table spoon of salt and the tomatoes. Bring to a the boil, then reduce the flame and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
• Finally, add the chicory and simmer a little longer unless the soup thickens.
• Drizzle the olive oil on the bread and serve.
• This is a simple but delicious recipe, but it isn't so filling that no one will have room for dessert. May I suggest a little Tiramisu perhaps?

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Lunch Recipes

The best way to beat having to eat a bad lunch is to simply prepare yours at home from healthy lunch recipes and bring it with you. Healthy lunch recipes that can be prepared the night before are great for avoiding having to rush in the morning. In this article, we provide you with some make-ahead healthy lunch recipes that are flavourful and easy enough to prepare. These healthy lunch recipes can simply be made during the weekend and stored in the fridge; pack each portion individually and just grab one on the go. Better yet, make some extra portions so that you can have ready-to-eat dinner should you come home too tired to cook.

Italian Tuna Salad

To make a streamlined version of no-cook Italian tuna salad, simply prepare the following ingredients:

About 12 ounces of light canned tuna chunks, drained

15 ounces of canned small white beans (cannellini or great northern beans), drained and rinsed

4 scallions, trimmed and chopped

10 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Simply combine all the ingredients and toss until well mixed. This salad can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can serve this salad on a bed of greens, or use it as a filling for a sandwich wrap. If you need extra calcium and calories, throw in some cubes of cheese for added flavour.

Fresh Strawberry Sandwiches

Sandwiches are good lunch options if you have to eat at your desk. There is no rule that dictates sandwiches should be made with meat, so try this refreshing twist. This fresh strawberry sandwich will fill you up just enough so that you don't get too sluggish for the rest of the afternoon.

To make up one fresh strawberry sandwich, you will need the following ingredients:

2 medium strawberries, sliced thinly

2 slices of thin whole wheat sandwich bread

1 tablespoon of low fat cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon of honey

1/8 teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, honey and lemon zest and mix well. Spread the mixture on the slices of wheat bread and place the fresh strawberry slices in between to make a light sandwich. If you will be brown bagging this, simply pack the cream cheese mixture together with the strawberry slices and just spread over the wheat bread slices at lunchtime.

Eating healthy food is very important to stay lean, healthy and happy.