South Beach Popcorn

This is a simple substitution for popcorn, with very little carbs!

Okra
Spices
Olive oil

Don't worry - it is NOT slimy when we get done with it. Use your favorite spices. Mrs. Dash, Spike, Lemon Pepper, or even cheesy popcorn salt!

Slice the okra into 1/4 inch slices. You can buy the already-sliced frozen ones too.

Put the oven to 200 degrees. Put the okra on a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle a little oil on them, i fyou have an oil spritzer, that would be better. Cook for 8 hours (9 if you started with frozen).

Sprinkle spices on, enjoy!

1/2 cup has about 4 carbs, 2 of which are fiber, so they don't count.

Trust me, this is also a cure for constipation, just eat more than one serving, and you'll be cleared up in no time...

My kids also love these.

Fruit Salad

Well, scientifically, this is a fruit salad:

1 Avocado
1 Roma Tomato
Drizzle of hot pepper oil
Dash Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Optional/Variant:
Crumble Feta Cheese
Crumble Bleu Cheese
Drizzle Balsamic Vinegar

Instead of Hot Pepper Oil, use:
Grape seed oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Slice avocado, Slice tomato. Drizzle, sprinkle and/or crumble the rest on.

Slaw with Cabbage

Salad:
6 cups shredded cabbage (white and purple, mostly white)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 cup walnut halves
1 cup dried cranberries

Dressing:
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon vinegar (rice, white wine or red wine)
1/3 cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons spicy mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix dressing in large bowl, top with salad, toss. Tastes better on day 2.

Chicken Salad

3 Chicken Breasts, overcooked (oops)
3/4 c Hummus
dash Paprika
Drizzle Olive Oil

Chop chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks, top with hummus. Sprinkle some paprika and drizzle olive oil.

I like to dip celery and have a light lunch. Serves 2 or 3 people.

Wilted Spinach with Pecans

Wilted Spinach is my favorite vegetable dish. Sometimes, I will eat it as the entrée. It is fast, healthy and cheap.

1 lbs. Spinach
2 c. Water
1/2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tbs Butter
1/2 tbsp. no-salt seasoning
1/2 c. Pecans
Dash of Kosher Salt

Makes about 4 servings (we like a lot of spinach).

I have left the seasoning up to you, but I usually use a salt-free garlic-herb blend.

This takes no time at all, (except toasting the pecans) so if you are serving it as a side dish, wait until everything else is cooked and your diners are ready to eat before you start.

Toast the pecans. I literally toast them in the toaster oven until they just barely start to smell good. You do not want to over-do this because burnt pecans are terribly bitter.

Heat the water, oil, butter and seasoning on high heat in a big soup pot or a large round saute pan, until it boils. Turn the heat to medium and dump the cleaned spinach leaves in. Use tongs to turn the leaves gently. Keep turning them until they are just wilted and dark green, and warmed throughout. Remove from heat and dump the whole thing in a colander. You can save the broth and use for soup if you want.

Squeeze out as much water as you want. Place it on your plate and add a dash of Kosher Salt and top with the Pecans. Serve. Enjoy.

Vegan Champagne Stuffed Mushrooms

I had a pack of whole mushrooms that were going to expire, and so I needed to use them. This recipe came out much better than I expected using just old produce from the fridge. The sun-dried tomato is a very nice surprise in the middle. For Vegan, just don't use the cheese.

1 box of whole mushrooms (about 12-18), regular or baby portabello are probably fine too.
1 medium onion
1/4 c. sun dried tomatoes
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese (or some slices of Swiss cheese)
1/2 c. champagne
1 tbs. butter and/or olive oil
1 tbs. olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 pinch dried oregano
1 pinch dried parsley
1 pinch dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Of course you can use fresh herbs, just use a bit more, as you probably already know.

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment or silpat or what have you. Clean the mushrooms and break the stems off, placing the (dry) caps upside down on the lined baking sheet. (Dry them off a little with a paper towel if they are wet.)

Chop the mushroom stems into very small pieces. Chop the onion into very small pieces. Place a saucepan on medium heat and add the onion and mushroom stems, add butter and/or oil and champagne. Heat until the onion is transparent but try not to boil it.

In the meantime, chop the sun dried tomatoes into 1/4 inch pieces and place one piece into each mushroom cap. Drizzle olive oil on the mushroom caps, and season with herbs and salt and pepper. Place the caps into the oven (I didn't wait for the oven to heat up, but you can if you want, we are going to 'wing it' for cooking time anyhow.)

Allow the caps to bake for about 10 minutes, then take them out and spoon the mushroom/onion/champagne mixture into the caps. (If you have too much filling, don't panic, use as an omelet filling tomorrow!) Cook for another ten minutes or so. Remove from the oven and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top - don't use that crap from a can. I ran out of Parmesan about halfway through so I used 1/4 slice of Swiss cheese instead. The Swiss cheese topped mushrooms came out much better than the Parmesan. I am sure any pungent cheese would work just fine.

One can also use white wine instead of champagne.

If this accompanies a nice rare steak, use your favorite red wine instead of white. Yum!