Recipes to help us live longer and enjoy it!

Yes, it may seem odd for a 27-year old woman to write about living longer, but I have recently begun experiencing effects of getting older. Medicinally caused weight gain, a family full of cancer, & a decline in appearance (which let’s face it wasn’t model worthy to begin with). These recipes are found in my copy of the Readers Digest: Living Longer Cookbook & can be tweaked to fit your taste.

Breakfast

For breakfast, I chose the Eggs in Tortilla Flowers recipe. It is a dish that is served in a tortilla “flower”. This recipe is only 266 calories per serving!

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 4 corn tortillas, 6 inches in diameter
• 2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
• 6 large eggs
• 4 large egg whites
• 2 tablespoons water
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper to taste
• 1 large sweet red pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
• 4 ounces reduced-sodium ham finely cubed
• 2 green onions, including tops, sliced
• Mild salsa

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Invert 4 small custard cups or ovenproof glasses on a baking sheet & coat the bottoms with cooking spray
3. Brush each tortilla with ¼ teaspoon oil, then cut 8 evenly spaced 2 inch deep slits around the edge
4. Center each tortilla, oil side up, on cups, letting the cut edge drape down the sides
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp. Start eggs after 10 minutes of tortilla cook time
6. In a medium-size bowl, beat together the eggs, egg whites, water, & pepper.
7. Heat remaining oil in pan over low heat
8. Add red pepper, ham, and green onions
9. Cover & cook for 6 minutes or until softened
10. Add the egg mixture & cook uncovered for 3 minutes, scramble eggs lightly until they are set
11. Remove tortillas, invert them, fill them with egg mixture, top with salsa & serve

Lunch

Lemon-Garlic Chickpea Spread lunch recipe is for a spread that can be put on crackers, bread, or vegetables. This recipe is only 67 calories per ¼ cup (not including additional crackers, bread or vegetable)!

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 package frozen green peas, thawed
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 4 drops hot red pepper sauce, or to taste

1. In a food processor or blender, whirl all ingredients for 1 minute or until pureed.
2. Refrigerate, covered for 1 hour before serving.

Dinner

A Scallop Salad with Orange-Ginger Dressing is a lovely and light meal to complete a day of healthy eating. This recipe is only 225 calories per serving!

• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger or ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 ¼ pounds sea scallops
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 4 cups baby greens, such as bibb, lamb’s or red oak lettuce, mustard or dandelion greens, or a combination, rinsed and dried
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or 2 tablespoons minced Harley mixed with 1 teaspoon dried cilantro

1. Combine orange juice, vinegar, ginger, garlic, honey, soy sauce, and orange rind in a large shallow dish
2. Add the scallops, toss to coat with marinade, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Drain the scallops, setting marinade aside.
4. Thread the scallops on 4 lightly greased 12-14 inch metal skewers
5. In a small saucepan, boil the marinade and shallot, uncovered, over high heat for 1-2 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2 tablespoons.
6. Add the broth and boil 2 minutes more to reduce the mixture to ⅓ cup
7. Whisk in the oil and mustard
8. Preheat broiler, setting the rack 6 inches from the heat
9. Arrange the skewers on a broiler pan and broil for 3 minutes on each side until the scallops are firm and opaque but still spring back when touched.
10. In a large bowl, toss the greens with half of the dressing and divide them among 4 dinner plates
11. Top each plate with a skewer of scallops and spoon the remaining dressing over the scallops
12. Sprinkle with cilantro

Thanks to the Readers Digest: Living Longer Cookbook I have these and many other healthy recipes that do not skimp on flavor! Finally! A cookbook to provide tasty meals that are healthy, too!