Selfy Snacks

The holiday pot luck/entertaining season is upon us, and our waistlines.  You can't control what everyone else brings (looking at you, hot spinach artichoke dip made with cheese and mayo and a million other calorie laden delicious things), but you can certainly bring something you know you can eat without consuming enough calories to sustain a village for a month.  Self sent out an email to their subscribers featuring plenty of holiday tipples and treats that will probably wow your friends and family, while still allowing you to button your pants.
Thank God leggings and big oversized tunics are in this season.

Because I know avocados are ac/dcs of the fruit and vegetable world (going well both sweet and savory; I actually made an avocado pie for my first Iron Chef battle - and WON), I am totally into the idea of incorporating fruit into my guac.  The mangoes and pomegranate seeds make it both gorgeous, and even more Mexican than it was before (imho).
113 calories per serving (with 10 chips), 6.9 g fat (1 g saturated), 3.9 g fiber, 14 g carbs, 1.7 g protein  - not counting the millions of calories in chips, of course; try it on fish tacos or with baked flour tortilla chips instead; maybe even with a little sprinkling of cinnamon sugar!

Having made some variation on prosciutto wrapped dates or figs for ages, I was happy to see them considered "healthy" AND to see them combined with my greatest love - goat cheese - even if I know that having 10 of them sort of negates that.
187 calories per 2 dates, 3 g fat (1.9 g saturated), 36 g carbs, 3.3 g fiber, 6 g protein

I actually want this shrimp dish for dinner; I love the sour/sweet tang of Tamarind and I think with some steamed or stir fried veggies and brown rice?  Nom.  As an app at a party, it doesn't get much easier - salt and pepper on the shrimp, grill them on both sides for a couple of minutes and serve with a dipping sauce?  Easy peasy tamarind squeezy.  For the sauce:  
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
1/4 cup tamarind paste (found in Asian markets) 
1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon fish sauce 
1 to 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes 
1 tablespoon sugar 
156 calories per serving, 3.8 g fat (0.6 g saturated), 5.9 g carbs, 0.2 g fiber, 23.5 g protein

These are just gorgeous.  And adorable.  And I'm already planning a Dr. Seuss themed party where my eggs are green with basil or pesto perhaps, and I think you know where I'm going. Vegetable oil cooking spray 
4 slices prosciutto, fat trimmed, halved 
2 egg whites 
1 whole egg 
3 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt 
1 tablespoon chopped black olives 
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
27 calories per serving, 1.1 g fat (0.3 g saturated), 0.4 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 3.6 g protein

Heat oven to 400°. Coat a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Press 1 piece prosciutto into each of 8 cups. Whisk egg whites and whole egg until smooth. Whisk in yogurt, olives, rosemary, salt and pepper. Divide mixture among cups. Bake, uncovered, until quiches are cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Garnish with rosemary.

27 calories per serving, 1.1 g fat (0.3 g saturated), 0.4 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 3.6 g protein

I love crispy potatoes, and I love sweet potatoes, so hooray!   
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled 
2 1/2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 1 cup) 
2 egg whites 
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary 
3/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper 
Parchment paper




Heat oven to 425˚. Finely grate sweet potatoes into a bowl. Squeeze grated sweet potatoes in batches to release as much moisture as possible and place in another bowl; fluff with a fork. Stir in cheese, egg whites, rosemary and pepper. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spoon 1 rounded tbsp batter onto cookie sheet and flatten into a thin, 2- to 2 1/2-inch round. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving 1 inch between rounds. Bake until edges and underside are crisp and browned, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly and remove from parchment. Serve warm with Rosemary-Balsamic Cream.

144 calories per 3 crisps with cream, 5.2 g fat (3.2 g saturated), 17 g carbs, 1.8 g fiber, 6 g protein

Rosemary Balsamic Cream  
1 teaspoon canola oil 
4 shallots, finely chopped 
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream 
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook shallots until translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a high simmer. Cook until 2/3 of liquid has evaporated and shallots are very dark, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Combine sour cream, rosemary and 2 tsp water in a bowl. Spoon balsamic-shallot sauce into center of sour cream and swirl with a toothpick. Serve with crisps.

It's not all food my friends - no no, it's also drinks!  And this one sounds delightful, while being equally at home in the winter, or in warmer weather.  I think I might simplify it a bit though (do I really want five spice powder on the rim of my glass?).  
Make a ginger simple syrup with equal parts of sugar and water, plus 1/2 cup of chopped fresh ginger.
Then, easy enough - one star anise, a piece of candied ginger, and a tablespoon or so of syrup, all topped with your favorite sparkler.  Gorgeous, gingery, fizzy and sweet.  Perfect for your next celebratory sushi dinner.
150 calories per cocktail, 0 g fat, 23 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein


Surely you knew I wouldn't ignore their stab at summertime sangria, which uses white wine, pulpless oj, triple sec, apricot brandy, sprite, apples and grapes (and CUCUMBER?!  erm. . .)

285 calories per serving, 0.2 g fat (0.1 g saturated), 35 g carbs, 1.5 g fiber, 1 g protein

Shrimp - somehow. . . someway. . .

Why do I always forget to take a photo of the food? Instead, here is one of a peach/vanilla/jalapeno cocktail I also made last night, while trying to recreate a delicious cocktail from El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma.

I was at Whole Paycheck last night picking up a couple of things for $50 (GAH, WHY DO I SHOP THERE?!), and I saw some shrimp that looked good and were on special. Unfortunately I can't ever remember which fish I'm supposed to buy and which I'm supposed to avoid and it was packed and I panicked and didn't check my iPhone app and the next thing you know I had a pound of farmed shrimp, but I don't know if they're the RIGHT kind of farmed shrimp. Whoops.
Since citrus is a no go, there goes my delicious margarita shrimp - what else would be nice? Curry and coconut milk came to mind, so I started searching. I found a couple of good options, but found another that was very different but also sounded amazing.
Now that I'm understanding flavor profiles I'm hoping I can combine these recipes to figure out something good - gingery, coconut, curry-y, but non citrusy. . . . maybe using mango to help with that tropical flavor?

Curry Coconut Shrimp
1 lb cleaned shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1/2 can light coconut milk
1 c onion
2 cloves of garlic (smashed, minced, crushed)
1 tbsp ginger (minced, grated)
1 red chile finely chopped
1 pinch of red pepper flakes (this step depends on how spicy your chile is)
cilantro
1/2 - 1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
salt & pepper
mango or honey (optional)

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large saute pan over med-hi and add onion. Cook for 1-2 minutes until soft, then add the garlic, ginger, chile and spices. Cook until fragrant. Add the shrimp and cook 1-2 minutes on each side, turning once, until opaque. Add the coconut milk and allow to simmer and thicken.
You could also bbq or grill the shrimp and then add them into the sauce and let it simmer for a couple of minutes for the flavors to meld.

While not entirely South Beach Phase I, I served this on top of some brown rice and it was heaven, though it could've used more spice - we had to add a bit of Sriracha. I also diced 1/2 of a mango and put it over the top for a little bit of sweetness. If you don't do mango, you might just add a tbsp of honey to the dish before you serve it.
It made three good servings - 2 for dinner and one for lunch; yum.

Curried Zucchini Soup

Another South Beach hit - great for summer as it's fresh and delicious, but good for fall too since it's warm and cozy. This was the second course for the squash blossom dinner, and while I really should've thought about how I was going to serve it in advance, it worked out okay.

Curried Zucchini Soup
2 tsp Extra Virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 medium zukes, sliced into 1/4" half moons
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garam masala (which I did not have so I used a dash of Allspice + cumin + chili powder; other folks have actual substitution recipes if you'd prefer)
3 cups veggie broth (low sodium)
1/2 c plain fat free yogurt

garnish:
3 tbsp lowfat/ff sour cream mixed with 1 tbsp ff half and half to thin it out (or creme fraiche if you prefer)
Ginger - using a garlic press, smoosh up your ginger to taste and mix in - I probably used a 1 inch piece of ginger, but I think a little more would've been good

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 min. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add zucchini, ginger, curry powder, and garam masala. Cook 3 more min.

Add broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until vegetable are tender, about 10 min. Puree soup until smooth. Whisk in yogurt just before serving.

Garnish soup with ginger creme fraiche, either a nice little dollop on top, or a swirl if you're feeling fabulous.