Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup

A big thank you to my dear friend Ellie for sharing this recipe- as I happen to despise tomatoes and thus always omit them from my recipes, this is a very welcome addition indeed (especially after my last not super healthy recipe...)! Nothing warms up a cold winter day quite like a piping hot bowl of soup, and you can even enjoy it for up to a week if stored in the fridge, or even longer if your freeze it!

Ellie's soup contains...
- 2 cans of whole tomatoes
- a white onion
- 8 garlic cloves
- 3 cups of vegetable stock
- olive oil
- black pepper
- salt
- thyme
- basil
- milk (Ellie used 2%)

How to make it:
1. Strain the cans of whole tomatoes over a bowl (you will want to keep the juice) and cut the tomatoes in half.
2. Crush the garlic cloves and slice your onion.
3. Put tomatoes, garlic and onion on a baking sheet with a little bit of olive oil and roast for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.
4. Combine all ingredients except for basil and milk in a pot, bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Puree everything and add milk.
6. Season to taste and garnish with slices of fresh basil.

Suggestions to make this even healthier: If you're trying to cut dairy from your diet, try substituting milk with pureed potato to give your soup a creamy texture!

And if you're really into presentation, try drizzling some olive oil on top for a fancier look!

Creamy, Cheesy and Very Veggie Pan-Pasta

I haven't been too good with making anything overly creative, healthy or interesting over the past week or so but I really wanted to make sure I used my veggies before they went bad! While it may not be the healthiest meal in the world, this pasta is a great way of using up whatever you have in your fridge and jazzing up plain old pasta, which has become my main go-to meal. The ingredients can be easily changed depending on your preference but the basic instructions will remain the same. And it tastes just as good the next day!

My version contains...
- pasta
- extra-virgin olive oil
- green pepper
- orange pepper
- yellow pepper
- yellow onion
- alfredo sauce
- Philadelphia cooking cream
- shredded parmesan with romano and asiago cheese
- (and of course) goat cheese

How to make this:
1. Fill up a pot with water and bring to a boil.
2. Put desired amount of pasta in the boiling water and let cook for 11 minutes. I like Catelli Bistro tri-colour vegetable pasta- it's low in sodium, a good source of fibre, iron, vitamin A and potassium with the goodness of vegetables, plus it looks pretty! Today I used rotini noodles.
3. While pasta is cooking, chop up the peppers and onions (or whatever add-ins you like).
4. Put some extra-virgin olive oil in a frying pan and saute the vegetables to your liking (not only does the oil help saute the veggies, but it will keep your pasta from getting dried out too!)
5. Strain pasta and add to pan.
6. Add your sauce. Today I have combined alfredo sauce and Philadelphia cooking cream (I LOVE cream cheese!) for an extra-creamy sauce.
7. Mix everything up in the pan and distribute sauce evenly.
8. Top with shredded parmesan, romano and asiago mixture and a little goat cheese. Mmmm!

Suggestion to make this even healthier: For some protein try adding some chicken, tofu, or even some egg! Also try using some homemade sauce.

Rainbow Veggie Pita Pizza

This is a nice alternative to frozen pizzas because it's fresher, healthier, and you can control what goes on it. It may be a little more work to prepare, but the results will be well worth it!

As the great and wise Jane Fonda says, the more colourful your food is, the healthier (and prettier) it is! And what's great about using a pita is it provides a yummy thin crust, and makes for the perfect-sized personal pizza. Mine here consists of:
- pita
- pizza sauce
- double cheddar cheese
- goat cheese
- red pepper
- green pepper
- yellow pepper
- orange pepper
- red onion

How to make this:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Step 2: Put your favourite pizza sauce on the pita.
Step 3: Add a thin layer of cheese.
Step 4: Slice up veggies to preferable size. Add to pizza.
Step 5: Add another layer of cheese.
Step 6: Place pizza on baking sheet, bake in oven for 8 minutes. Let cool a little before eating.

Suggestions for making this even healthier: Try using pesto instead of tomato pizza sauce. And once again, I have chosen a white pita. A whole-wheat pita-crust would be a great option.

Good Start Breaky

I couldn't think of what to call this one so I just went with "Good Start Breaky", because it was definitely a good start to the days I made this! Now I wouldn't recommend this as an every-day kind of breakfast, but it's perfect for those lazy sleep-in weekends where you have some time to experiment. Which is how I came up with it.

What is in it:
- bagel
- margerine
- eggs
- red pepper
- alfalfa sprouts
- goat cheese
- pomegranate arils

How to make it:
Step 1: Cut your bagel in half, toast and butter (or margerine) it.
Step 2: Slice 2 pepper rings approximately half an inch thick. This will prevent your egg from spilling (too much) outside of the ring. I have used red pepper here, but feel free to use your favourite colour instead!
Step 3: Place the rings on a frying pan, let them sit for a minute or so, and then flip.
Step 4: Crack an egg into each pepper ring and fry sunny-side up (or if you're feeling really ambitious, flip them and make them over-easy).
Step 5: Once eggs are finished frying, place on top of bagel halves.
Step 6: Top with alfalfa sprouts, goat cheese and pomegranate arils. Et voila! Enjoy!
Note- If 2 eggs is too much for you, try making just one egg and using the other bagel half to make this into a breakfast sandwich!

Suggestions to make this even healthier: Try using only the egg whites. Here I used a white bagel (baby steps, right?) but a whole-wheat or multi-grain bagel would be a healthier choice.

Berry Yummy Salad

Hello interweb! And welcome to my newest experiment. I know it's sort of cliche, but new years do spark new beginnings, and this is my beginning to eating better tasting food that is better for me. Assuming that there are more of you out there with the same thought, I thought I would share my journey (and my recipes)!
As this is my first entry, I do feel the need to get a few things out of the way. First off, I am not doing this in attempt to lose weight. I think I'm fine in that department, but I know that my body can't take the same crap I've been feeding it out of laziness forever, so may as well start now. Secondly, I am not trying to go gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, or anything like that. This isn't an all-out cleanse, and I won't go trying to eliminate everything bad from my diet entirely. White bread > whole wheat. Cheese > all else. I am not suddenly a major health fanatic, just trying to make a realistic attempt at introducing some new and healthy foods into my diet more regularly. I am also not going to pretend to be some sort of health expert- I'm not. Just your average, every-day girl with basic food knowledge and common sense. And lastly, while I do not each much meat just out of pure pickiness, I am not an all-out vegetarian. However, my cooking skills are still pretty mediocre, so my recipes will likely rarely include meat.
Alright, now that all that's out of the way, let's get to the good stuff! My first healthy creation of 2013; I'll call it, the "Berry Yummy Salad":

Salad's are great because they are quick, and simple, which is key when you're a busy person without the skill or motivation to make a big, fancy meal. And there's no need for recipes or exact measurements- just a nice compromise of using what you have and making good-tasting combinations. This particular one that I have made consists of:
- mixed greens
- alfalfa sprouts
- sliced strawberries
- blackberries
- pomegranate arils
- goat cheese
- homemade dressing

Suggestion to make this it even healthier: Try replacing goat cheese with almond slivers! (But OMG goat cheese tastes so good....)