Browsing Category A HEALTHY MEAL PLAN
Anita’s Healthy and Delicious Eggplant Dip Boats
Looking for a light, delicious appetizer with stunning presentation, these are fun individual bite sized vessel for any of your prepared dips.
Looks pretty too, served in a platter for a Home style Dip.
Note: Please look for Eggplant Dip Recipe on my site.
Anita’s Healthy and Delicious No-Mayo Tuna Salad Wrap
Ingredients
2- 6 ounces solid white tuna canned, in water
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 avocado, diced
1/4 cup cranberries, dried
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
4 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
zest of a lemon
5-6 Butter Lettuce Leaves, rinsed and dry
2 Tablespoon of Balsamic glaze
Salt and pepper To Taste
Preparation
1. Drain Tuna cans and place into a bowl.
2. Add diced tomatoes, diced avocado. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
3. Drizzle over olive oil and lemon juice. Add zest of a lemon. Combine all ingredients. Add dried cranberries.
4. Rinse butter lettuce and arrange them over a serving plate. Place mixed tuna in middle. Drizzle with balsamic glaze. Wrap and enjoy!
Anita’s Cheesy and Delicious Eggplant Rolls
Recipe will be posted!
Pictures of steps for now:)
Anita’s Crispy Baked White Sweet Potato Rosemary Fries with Garlic Aioli
Ingredients
2 white sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into long thin strips
1 Tablespoon of fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon corn starch
water
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425 grades Fahrenheit. Prepare a baking sheet lined with foil paper and set aside. Peel sweet potatoes.
- Soak thin strips of sweet potatoes into a large bowl with cold water for at least one hour to minimize excess of starch.
3. Drain and pat dry potatoes using paper towels. Add corn starch and toss well. 
4. Drizzle with olive oil. Add kosher salt, garlic powder, and chopped fresh rosemary. Toss all ingredients until potatoes are well coated.
5. Arrange sweet potatoes evenly into the baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes first, flipping fries using a spatula to bake evenly.
Bake for another 5 to 8 minutes until potatoes are crispy and slightly brown.
6. Remove crispy fries from the oven. Sprinkle with salt. 
Enjoy next to a Rosemary Garlic Aioli Sauce !
Rosemary Garlic Aioli Sauce: Mix a cup of mayonnaise with the juice of half of a lemon. Add a teaspoon of fresh finely chopped rosemary leaves. Seasoned with salt, a dash of cayenne pepper and garlic powder. Blend all ingredients and chilled.
Anita’s Most Delicious Garlic Cilantro Shrimps with Brown Rice
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons Butter
1 Tablespoon extra Virgin Olive Oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
1 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 pound medium shrimps, peeled and deveined.
2 lemon juiced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 small jalapeno, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Use a large skillet. Heat the olive oil and butter on medium-high heat till starting to turn golden brown and add garlic.
- Sate garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add green onions. Seasoned with crushed red pepper, smoked paprika, garlic salt and black pepper.
- Add sliced onions and cleaned shrimps. Cooked for 3 to 5 minutes till onions are tender and shrimps turned pink. Add fresh lemon juice, diced jalapeno, and chopped cilantro leaves.
- Cook for another 4- 5 minutes until sauce is slightly reduced and all flavors are well combined. Serve next to a warm nutty brown rice. Enjoy!
Anita’s Vegetarian Spring Rolls
Ingredients
6-8 pieces of rice paper
4-5 Persian cucumbers, cut into sticks
3-4 carrots peeled, cut into sticks
5 ounces Chinese Vermicelli rice noodles, cooked
2 avocados, sliced
Dipping Sauce
2 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoon soya sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Mix all ingredients. Set aside
Preparation
- Cook rice noodles until they turn soft into boiling water for about 3 to 6 minutes.
Drain well and rinse.
- Simmer water in a large pot. Turn off heat. Dip one rice paper into the warm water for 6-8 seconds or till rice paper has slightly softened.
- Over a cutting board or a flat clean surface, lay rice paper. Place first, cooked clear noodles over rice paper. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of dipping sauce over noodles. Pile sticks of cucumber, carrots and top with sliced avocados.
- Roll tight the spring roll one time, and then continue by tucking in sides until is completely rolled and closed.
- Serve this 4 ingredients refreshing Spring Rolls recipe with the Dipping Sauce. Enjoy!
Anita’s Delicious Grilled Pomegranate Cilantro Chicken
Ingredients
2 Pounds skinless chicken tender breasts
1 Tablespoon pomegranate molasses
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground adobe spices
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Preparation:
- Place chicken in a large bowl or Ziploc bag. Add lemon juice, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, mustard, lemon juice, adobe spices, minced garlic, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix all well. Place in the fridge and marinade for at least 2 hours. Meanwhile preheat the grill to medium-high.
- Place marinated chicken into the grill and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until chicken is completely cooked through.
- Grill some tomatoes and onions, great accompany and best serve next to a salad. Enjoy!
Anita’s BEST 5-Star Easter Carrot Cake
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1/2 teaspoon allspice, ground
1/2 teaspoon ginger, ground
3/4 cup grape seed or vegetable oil
4 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1-2 cup of carrots, shredded
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, soften at room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2-3 cups of powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation of the Carrot cake
- Preheat oven at 350 grades Fahrenheit. Spray 4-pc-Layer cake pans of 12″ x 4 1/2″ or two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Using a large mixing bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and all spice. Mix all well using a hand mixer or by hand. Set aside.
- In another bowl combine grapes seed oil, eggs, pineapple juice, vanilla and brown sugar. Whisk by hand all ingredients well.
- Incorporate all wet ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until well combined.
- Add shredded carrots, coconut and chopped walnuts folding in all ingredients into the batter using a whisker.
- Evenly distribute batter between 4 greased cake pans or if you are using two of 9 inch round pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until top of cake are set and golden brown or inserted toothpick in the center of each cake comes out clean.
- Remove cake pans from oven. Let cakes cool in pan for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile start making your delicious frosting.
Preparation for Cream Cheese frosting
- Using a hand mixer beat together in a large bowl, softened butter and cream cheese until creamy-fluffy consistency. Incorporate at low speed powder sugar cup by cup until well combined. Add vanilla extract and mix well.
Assembling Cake
Use a serrated knife to level tops of each cake. (use this tops as crumbles over frosting or for snacking on later 🙂 .Place some parchment paper pieces on bottom of your cake stand so you can frost your cake easily and then remove them when you are done frosting. Place your first cake layer over a stand and frost a generous amount of the cream spreading it evenly.
Top with another cake layer and frost again. Note: I made two different cakes of two layers each, thinking of sharing one with my neighbors. If you use the 4-pc-layer cake pans set I used, you can have different options. Decorate with edible Easter nests, marshmallow peeps Easter Chicks, Easter candies, fresh rosemary leaves, different color carrots, peeled thin and roll, as shown in cake below.
HAPPY EASTER !!!
Enjoy!
Anita’s kids Favorite Quinoa Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Ingredients
1 cup tricolor Quinoa, uncooked rinsed in colander
2 cups water or vegetable broth
4-5 Persian cucumbers, unpeeled
3 cups kale, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 apple, small diced
1 avocado, small diced
1 cup black olives, pitted and diced
Raspberry Vinaigrette
4 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoon raspberry vinegar
2 Tablespoon pomegranate glaze
2 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- In a medium sauce pan, place 2 cups of water or vegetable broth and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Add washed and rinsed quinoa, stir.
Reduce heat to low and let it simmer covered until water is absorbed for about 15 minutes or till quinoa is completely cooked. Set aside uncovered.
2. In a large serving bowl, place all ingredients of vinaigrette and whisk until all blended. Add chopped kale and let it sit on top of vinaigrette to softened for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add cool quinoa.
4. Prep rest of your ingredients. 
5. Incorporate diced cucumbers, diced apples, golden raisins, dried cranberries, and black olives.
6. Combine quinoa, with all added ingredients and vinaigrette until well mixed. Incorporate gently diced avocados. Chill combined quinoa in refrigerator for about one hour so all flavors will marry together. Ready to serve. One of my kids and myself healthy and delicious favorite salad . Enjoy!
Anita’s Delicious Lebanese Stuffed Zucchini (Kousa Mahshi)
Memorable dish to share! My angel Mom’s Recipe…
Ingredients
5 zucchinis
1- 4 oz. tomato paste can (mixed with water)
1 cup basmati rice(uncooked)
1/2 pound sirloin steak(ground)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 large potatoes, round slices
2 Roma tomatoes, small diced
2 Tablespoon mint, dried
1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
3 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
Preparation
- Wash and dry zucchinis. Cut top off each zucchini, do not discard. To hollow out the zucchinis use a corer about 3/4 of the way into each zucchini by twisting it and pull out the flesh, gently scraping the sides making sure not to poke them until completely clean from the inside leaving about 1/4 inch rim on each one.
Set clean and ready to stuffed zucchini aside.
- Peeled and sliced potatoes. Lay potatoes on the bottom of a large deep pot.
- For the Stuffing: In a large skillet, heat olive oil and sate ground meat at medium-high heat for two to three minutes. Add half of the minced garlic and diced tomatoes. Seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add uncooked rice. Stir and remove skillet from heat. Set aside.
Stuff each zucchini 3/4 of the way up with rice mixture, leaving room for the rice to expand while cooking.
4. Place all stuffed zucchinis over uncooked potatoes in the large pot next to each others.. 
Pour over tomato paste mixed in salted water with dried mint, rest of minced garlic and lemon juice covering half of the way up of zucchinis in the pot. Spoon some of the rice-meat filling all around if you have any of the mixture left.
5. Heat covered at medium-high heat until simmering. Zucchinis will cook perfectly with top parts on. Lower the heat and continue to cook until zucchinis are fork tender for about 40 to 45 minutes or until rice is loose and completely cooked.
6. Serve warm and enjoy!
