Oven Baked Ono with Spinach, Blueberry, Kiwi Salad

I've been fixing fish for most of our evening meals. I decided to bake some Ono and served it with a fantastic spinach salad. Here is the recipe:

Spinach, Blueberry Kiwi Salad

2-3 c. baby spinach, washed and torn
6 oz. blueberries
1-2 kiwi, peeled, cored and diced
1/4 c. walnuts
Pomegranate Vinaigrette Dressing, to taste

Plate the spinach. Add the blueberries, kiwi and walnuts. Squeeze the dressing as desired onto the salad. Serves 2-3.

Here is the dressing. I bought it at Whole Foods. It is oil free, and mostly fruit concentrates. Very light but perfect for this salad.

Healthy Turkey Chili

I decided to try another one of Dr. Amen's recipes from the "The Daniel Plan."  You can find the main dish recipes here.  For the Healthy Turkey Chili recipe, scroll down the page a bit.

First of all, just know that browning lean ground turkey is nearly impossible without a bunch of oil.  I went ahead and did the best I could(with a spray of oil) before just adding the remaining ingredients. After all, it will cook while simmering in the tomatoes. This recipe calls for pureeing part of the vegetables, but I decided to just add everything diced.  The flavor was very good.

Here is a picture of the finished product:

This is a cross between a soup and a stew, or as Rachel Ray calls it, a stoop.  Very delicious!

I think that the next time around I will go ahead and puree part of the vegetables. I have a red pepper soup recipe I enjoy that purees the veges, and it tastes great.

By the way, I used canned tomatoes in the recipe. I had a can of Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes and a can of Hunts diced tomatoes, and it turned out fine. I also used 1 can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed) and a can of black beans (drained and rinsed). It called for 2 c. of kidney beans and 1 c. of black beans, which is 3 cups total. I think that is about what you get from 2 cans of beans.

Life Enhancing Lentil Soup

I have a good supply of red lentils in my food storage, and like to find great recipes that call for them.  This Lentil Soup recipe from Dr. Amen is a delicious way to use red lentils, and very good for your brain and body as well.

I came across a PBS pledge drive program featuring Dr. Daniel Amen. Dr. Amen is a  physician specializing in Psychiatry, with an emphasis on brain imaging, and created a  diet and lifestyle plan which enhances a healthy brain.  He has several books out, including Change Your Brain, Change Your Body. I was very impressed with the PBS special, particularly since my mother has Alzheimer's disease. Based on Dr. Amen's experience working with ex-NFL players, he showed how the brain damage that occurred with injury, was in some part repaired with proper diet, exercise and supplements. I always knew, based on my graduate school studies and review of scientific research, that heart disease due to arteriosclerosis could be reversed, so I was intrigued about the possibility of improving brain function, and reversing damage to the brain.

I must say, that I am very impressed with his program. His nutrition advice is correct, which is hard to find with most physicians.

Today for dinner, I made his Life Enhancing Lentil Soup. I didn't have a red pepper, otherwise I followed the recipe as written.   It would have added some additional color and flavor to the soup.

Don't be concerned about all of the pepper and lemon pepper in the recipe. My husband and I loved the soup! My father came by and gave it a taste and enjoyed it as well.

For 212 calories per serving, this is a filling, delicious soup. It is easy to make, and takes all of 30 minutes on the stove. The recipe calls for more like 40 minutes, but you can turn up the heat a little and stir more frequently.

If you give this recipe a try, please let me know how you liked it by posting a comment.

Life Enhancing Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• ¼ Cup vegetable broth for sautéing vegetables, or 1 Tbsp refined coconut oil
• 4 Celery Stalks, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 Carrot, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
• 2 Onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 Cups Water
• 6 Cups Vegetable Broth
• 2 Cups red lentils
• ¼ Cup brown rice
• 1Tbsp fresh marjoram, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 Tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped (optional)
• optional 1 tsp garlic salt (or to taste)
• ½ tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp lemon pepper
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preparation:

1. In a large soup pot, heat vegetable broth (preferably) or refined coconut oil. Sauté celery, carrot, peppers, onion, and garlic for about 5 minutes.
2. Add water and vegetable broth to pot. Stir in lentils and rice. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 25 minutes.
3. Stir in herbs, garlic salt, curry, cumin, lemon pepper, and pepper. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until lentils fall apart and mixture thickens.
4. Stir in lemon juice.
5. Ladle into soup bowls.

8 servings

Nutritional Analysis

Per serving: 212 Calories, 37g Carbohydrates, 0g Saturated Fat, 562mg sodium, 14g protein, 1g Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 9g Fiber

Recipe from "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body" Cookbook, by Dr. Daniel Amen