The Skinnytaste Cookbook: Cover Designs (Help Me Choose!)

After a year of recipe testing, manuscript writing, editing, photo shoots, and everything else that goes into writing a cookbook (and let me tell ya, there is a lot!), I'm SO excited to share three cover designs that (fingers-crossed!) I hope you like as much as I do. But I need your help—I can't decide which one I like best, so I thought it would be fun to let YOU decide!

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Roasted Strawberry Protein Smoothie and a Vitamix Giveaway

Roasting strawberries in this smoothie brings out their amazing natural flavor in this creamy, protein packed smoothie – what a great way to start the day!

I discovered a new way to add protein to my smoothies... cottage cheese! This is a great discovery for me because I'm not a fan of the tang of yogurt in my smoothies. Cottage cheese makes it creamy with no tang, and has more protein than yogurt so it's perfect! I also love adding chia seeds to my smoothies which is an excellent source of fiber and omega-3's which is available at Target.

I'm sooo excited to review my new Vitamix blender for the first time. Wow, what power this blender has. And guess what… it's now available at Target! And Target is giving one away to a lucky winner!! All you have to do is leave a comment here and share your favorite smoothie recipe along with a way I can reach you if you win (email, twitter, Instagram). That's it, easy!! Good luck!!

RULES:  Giveaway is provided by Target and the Target Inner Circle and will run until Monday evening, March 31, 2014 open to all U.S. residents 18 years and older. A winner will be chosen at random using Random.org. Chosen winner must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or another shall be chosen. Good luck! 



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Kenyan Braised Collard Greens and Ground Beef (Sukuma Wiki)

This Kenyan dish is quick and sooo easy to make – perfect if you're craving something a little more exotic with pretty common ingredients. Sukuma wiki is the Swahili name for collard greens which translates to "push/stretch the week". In East Africa they use collards to stretch out a meal so it lasts the whole week, so as you can imagine this dish is very economical.

I'm super excited to share this recipe from my friend Russ's new cookbook, The Ancestral Table: Traditional Recipes for a Paleo Lifestyle. His cookbook has tons of great International recipes each with a bit of history to go along for each dish as well as stunning photography.

Many of you asked me if I am now going Paleo, and the answer is no. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy meals that are Paleo-friendly and his book has so many exotic dishes I plan on trying soon. I met Russ of the Domestic Man on a tour of the Culinary Institute in the Fall where we cooked side by side in one of their classrooms. We were both working on our first cookbooks, so while we shared our experience together a kitchen together, we also shared stories of food, writing and more. Hope you enjoy this dish!

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Cauliflower "Fried Rice"

I LOVE fried rice, and often make my own fried rice at home with brown rice which is delicious. But sometimes when I want to cut down on my carbs, I opt for cauliflower rice.

I posted this Cilantro Lime Cauliflower "Rice" a while back, and it was a huge hit. So I decided to play around with that recipe and make this Asian version to go with the Orange Chicken I posted yesterday, and my husband (who detests cauliflower) was pretty amazed how the meal turned out. The portions are generous and you get a serving or two of vegetables into your diet.

If you like this, you may also like:

Brown Fried Rice
Asian Edamame Fried Rice
Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice
Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice


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Orange Chicken Makeover

Sweet, spicy and flavorful – a lighter alternative to the popular Chinese fast food take-out dish and it's quick and easy to make!

I had a request a few weeks ago to make over this popular American-Chinese fast food dish which is usually battered and deep fried. To be honest, this is not a dish I would order because I'm not a fan of battered sweet Chinese dishes, but I was happy to tackle a lighter version. My solution was skip all that frying, and make a flavorful orange sauce. The outcome was great, and my husband even gave it two thumbs up!

I served this over cauliflower "fried rice" which I will post tomorrow but you could even saute some bell peppers, snow peas, broccoli or asparagus and add them at the end. Enjoy!

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Creamy Asparagus Leek Soup with Creme Fraiche

Keeping things green today in the spirit of St Patrick's Day! Cream of asparagus is one of my favorite Spring soups. The addition of leeks, a relative of onions, scallions and shallots gives this soup a wonderful subtle flavor. But the star here is a touch of creme fraiche added on top, which I like to swirl in to my soup for a creamy delicious finish.

My daughter Madison loves helping me in the kitchen, here I let her snap off the tough ends of the asparagus – she's a pro!

Creme fraiche is wonderfully creamy, and a bit thinner than sour cream. If that's not available near you can swap it for sour cream or even Greek yogurt. If you want to go dairy-free, you can of course leave it out, it will still taste wonderful. Enjoy!

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Flounder Milanese with Arugula and Tomatoes

Breaded flounder lightly pan sauteed and topped with an arugula, lemon and tomato salad – a simple yet delicious way to prepare fish. Perfect for Lent, or any night you're in the mood for fish.

I was on a cruise a few weeks ago aboard the Norwegian and one of the meals I ordered more than once was the Flounder Milanese. I was able to recreate a lighter version of that meal; rather than deep frying it, I generously sprayed the fish with olive oil and pan sauteed it until golden. I love everything about this dish, it's light, quick and satisfying all for under 225 calories. You can use any white fish fillet you wish, and if you rather make this in the oven, I would broil it instead. Hope you enjoy!

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Cauliflower Fritters

This is a delicious way to prepare cauliflower. It's similar to the taste of a potato pancake and makes a fabulous side dish – your kids will love them!

My Sicilian friend Julia is a wonderful cook. I remember the first meal I ate in her NYC apartment; lamb chops and fried cauliflower which she calls broccoli a pasteta. She joked that day you can fry a sponge and it would taste good – she's probably right. These are a lightened version of her recipe, made with Pecorino Romano, parsley, egg, garlic, white whole wheat flour and just enough oil to saute them in a pan.

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Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread Muffins

These whole wheat Irish soda bread muffins are delicious, the perfect start a lazy cold March Sunday morning. Speckled with raisins, they are sweet and perfect enjoyed with a hot cup of tea.

Plus, making them in muffin tins is perfect for better portion control. I first posted these back in 2010, and almost forgot just how good these were! I used a combination of King Arthur unbleached white whole wheat flour with unbleached all purpose flour, and the flavor and texture was perfect – they don't taste whole wheat at all. If you like caraway seeds in your bread, you can add about an eighth of a teaspoon.

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Chicken and Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry

Although the weather outside still feels like winter, I'm excited to see signs of Spring all around. One of those signs is asparagus. Asparagus is one of my favorite Spring vegetables, and this quick stir-fry made with chicken, lemon, garlic and ginger is a great way to make it a weeknight meal.

I used a reduced-sodium Japanese soy sauce called Shoyu which is similar to Chinese soy sauce, but has a more full bodied flavored and a touch of sweetness that I'm really in love with. I like Eden, which is organic and non-GMO. You can use either one, or even Tamari if you're gluten free. We served this over brown rice to complete the meal. 

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Crock Pot Carne Guisada (Latin Beef Stew)

Slow cooked Latin beef stew with baby red potatoes and Latin seasonings. Serve this topped with fresh aji picante – it's is a must and really brightens the flavors and rounds out the dish!

Last week I was on a cruise to the Bahamas from New York having fun in the sun. I was hoping to return to Spring weather but so far March is starting off really cold in New York. This Latin beef stew is the perfect way to warm up and it's a favorite in my home. A bit different than traditional beef stew because the meat and potatoes simmer with light beer, scallions, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, achiote (also known as annato) and spices. If you can't find achiote which is traditionally used in Latin cuisine and can be purchased at any Latin market or on Amazon, no worries, you can use Badia Sazon or even sweet paprika instead. If you prefer to make this without beer, you can replace it with water, it will still taste great.

I usually make it on the stove, but with some minor adjustments I was able to make this in the slow cooker. If you don't have a slow cooker you can see the stove top recipe here. Pictured here I served this over brown rice with some avocado on the side. Enjoy!

And since so many are asking, I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set 'n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker. I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it's done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This crock pot is so great, I actually own two!

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Dirty Brown Rice with Shrimp

A healthier twist on a Cajun classic, the addition of shrimp turns this into a fabulous main dish. I'd like to think of this as a Cajun shrimp fried rice. With Mardi Gras ends tomorrow, I thought this would be the perfect timing to share this recipe from the archives because I LOVE this dish!

Dirty rice is a classic Cajun dish made "dirty" by cooking the rice with minced livers or gizzards. I created a healthier version using brown rice and lean ground beef in place of the chicken livers that normally make dirty rice "dirty".

But don't worry, this healthier version does not skimp on flavor! It has plenty of spices and a bit of kick, you can adjust the heat to your taste but don't be shy with the cayenne if you can handle it!

Normally a rice dish like this if made with white rice would be cooked all in one pot, but after several attempts to perfect this I found that cooking the brown rice all together created an unpleasant mushy texture. By cooking the brown rice separate, the texture of the rice was perfect when mixed with the beef and shrimp and made a delicious main dish even my "non-brown rice eating" husband enjoyed. 

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