A shout out to Wendy part 2 - My favorite quick summer breakfast

OK Wendy, here's more for you. This is disturbingly easy, but sometimes we need to be reminded that good food can be simple. This is my favorite summer breakfast, especially when the fruit is ripe and delicious. Every time I have this for breakfast, I hum the Summer Fruit jingle from the early 80's ("Summer, summer fruits, it wouldn't be summer without them...Fresh from the tree...Taste 'em and see."). See if you aren't moved to hum the same tune when you try this.

Summer Fruit Yogurt Parfait (makes one generous serving)

1 C organic, plain yogurt (YES, use PLAIN yogurt. Do not use that sugar sweetened junk that the store tries to pass off as yogurt.)

1 C fresh fruit (I used strawberries and blueberries, but any berry or stone fruit is good)

1 - 2 T chopped nut of choice (I used walnuts)

Drizzle of agave syrup

Add yogurt to bowl. Top with fruit and nuts. Drizzle agave syrup over top. Enjoy immediately (I dare you to make it to the table without trying it first!)

Apricot Strawberry Salsa

Last night I made mexican-seasoned chicken breasts (boneless skinless checken breasts seasoned liberally with homemade taco seasoning, sprinkled with salt and grilled). I have lots of chicken left over and I needed something to go with it (BTW, last night I turned my chicken into quesadillas with grilled peppers and onions in a low-carb tortilla). I dug into my fridge today and came up with this. It's yummy.

Apricot Strawberry Salsa (makes 4 cups)

1 lb fresh apricots, seeded and diced
1/4 lb strawberries, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped fine
2 T fresh parsley, chopped (or cilantro, if you have it)
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
2 T red onion, chopped fine
1 T olive oil
pinch cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to bowl and toss to combine. If this will sit for longer than a few hours, reserve strawberries and add right before serving.

Here it is in all of its glory, served over a seasoned chicken breast with quick sauteed zucchini and avacado.

My yummy and healthy submission for the Feasting on Art Recipe Contest

A few days ago I submitted a recipe to a recipe contest - a first for me (for those who have asked, I submitted my marinara recipe to Taste of Home). This got me thinking that maybe there were other contests out there that might appreciate my particular take on healthy eating. My search for such contests lead me to a lovely blog called Feasting on Art.

The fine folks at Feasting on Art are seeking submissions which utilize the ingredients depicted in the painting Strawberries by Renoir (http://www.feastingonart.com/2010/02/feasting-on-art-recipe-contest.html). Inspired by the painting and a recent muffin recipe that I ate (not made) whose primary ingredient was almond meal, I starting thinking about cake. Mmmmm....cake. I don't eat much cake these days and it would be wonderful if I could use the flourless muffin recipe, strawberries and lemons and come up with cake. A good tasting, delicious and not-too-bad for you cake at that. A tall order, to be sure, but I was up to the challenge.

I started by researching sponge cakes make with almond meal (a sponge is about all I am up for at the moment - I don't have time to frost anything these days). I found a few, even one on a low GI blog, but these all used granulated sugar. That is a no-no for me, so I made a few calculations, tweaked the proportions and put together this recipe. This is my first shot at this cake, and I have to admit that it is a winner right out of the gate. I highly recommend you try it. Even my kids gave it two-thumbs up.

(My apologies in advance to our friends at Feasting on Art - my photography skills are sorely lacking, but the recipe is delish - so I hope that makes up for my dismal picture).

Almond Lemon Sponge with Agave Cream and Strawberries (serves 8)

Sponge
1/4 C butter, softened
1/3 C light agave syrup
4 eggs, divided
3/4 C flour
1/2 C almond meal
rind from 2 small lemons, grated
juice from one small juicy lemon (or use two if the lemons aren't very juicy)
pinch salt
2 1/2 t baking powder

Agave Cream

1/3 C heavy whipping cream

1 T light agave syrup

Heat oven to 400 f. Lightly grease and flour one 9" round cake pan. Set aside.

Beat butter in a medium bowl with a hand mixer until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add agave syrup and 4 egg whites. Whip until well incorporated and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake until lightly golden brown (around 15 minutes). Do not overbake.

While the cake is baking, prepare the Agave Cream by beating heavy cream and agave syrup to soft peaks.

Let cake cool into pan. When cooled, cut into 8 slices. To serve, garnish with Agave Cream and fresh sliced strawberries.

The nutritional analysis on this recipe is as follows (includes agave cream and two strawberries per slice as garnish)

Calories -236
Calories from Fat -116
Total Fat - 12.9g (20%)
Saturated Fat - 5.7g (29%)
Trans Fat - 0.0g
Cholesterol - 115mg (38%)
Sodium - 106mg (4%)
Total Carbohydrates - 26.3g (9%)
Dietary Fiber - 1.6g (6%)
Sugars 1.6g
Protein 5.6g

If I made the same recipe using all white flour and sugar (instead of almond meal and agave), we would be looking at 252 calories, 36.5g of carbs, 1.1g fiber and 16.3g sugar. Vastly different, especially where the sugar is concerned. Compare this to a similarly sized lemon square, and you will save 22g of carbs and 33g of sugar per serving. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.