Have you ever tried cooking "en papillote"? If not I'll explain, it's a French technique in which the ingredients are placed in a folded parcel of parchment paper and then baked. A single portion of fish along with some flavorful sliced vegetables are the perfect ingredients to use. Everything steams in its own juices. This low fat cooking method is incredibly easy and easy to clean up!

Don't limit yourself to fish. Chicken and shrimp also work here. Vary the vegetables that you use according to the season. Fennel, mushrooms, shallots, and celery are good choices. A little wine or vermouth helps to add depth of flavor and create some steam to puff the packet.

You can use this recipe any night of the week, but it's an especially elegant presentation for company. Serve with steamed rice or couscous to soak up all the delicious juices.

Ingredients:

• large squares parchment paper - 4
• fillets hake, sole, flounder or other white fish - 4 4-ounce filets
• carrots, thinly sliced - 2
• yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced - ½
• red bell pepper, thinly sliced - ½
• green onion, chopped - 2
• lemon, thinly sliced - 1
• olive oil - 4 teaspoons
• salt - 1 teaspoon
• pepper - ½ teaspoon

Instructions:

No raw vegetables! I was in a rut. I just wasn't finding raw veggies appetizing. For weeks this went on. Don't know why or what was going on inside my head. But it's over now - big time. The big bunch of red kale in the refrigerator was beginning to really make me feel guilty.

A recent visit to a friend's house inspired me. As I entered her house, there she was handing out a kale-containing smoothie to her young daughters. They happily gulped it down, fully aware that it contained a dark green leafy vegetable. There you go. Lucky kids. They will probably never understand the aversion most have when faced with a plate of kale. "Eat it, it's good for you". Kale is their friend.

I do love it in a salad, chopped fine and mixed with other greens. Use a vinaigrette which includes soy sauce or Braggs to stand up to this bitter green. But if you can find a way to love it, braised, sautéed, wilted in a soup, you will benefit from some powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

I chose the following for my post-workout recovery food. It gave me the carbs I needed to allow the protein to do it's magic on my muscles. The kale, pomegranate, and omega-3's with all their protective elements, and the kefir offered it's probiotics. It was really tasty, too. That was just a bit unexpected based on the appearance of the smoothie that resulted from the wide variety of colors involved.

Here it is. Very quick to make and clean up in my blender cup that also serves as the drinking vessel.

Ingredients:

• crushed ice - 1/4 cup
• plain kefir - 3/4 cup
• chocolate whey protein powder - 1 scoop
• fish oil (omega-3) - 1 teaspoon
• pomegranate juice - 1/4 cup
• frozen banana - 1/2
• leaf kale, chopped - 1

Instructions:

Breakfast is a great time to get a good dose of protein to help keep you going strong through the busiest part of the day. My latest quest has been to discover healthy higher protein breakfast ideas for my clients.

Occurring at the same time were: 1) a desire to create a high protein pancake recipe and 2) a hankering for the nutty/ sweet/ spicy carrot cake flavors. This creation can be gluten free as long as you are using GF oats. It's hard to believe there is no flour in these silver dollar cakes.

The whole event takes place in your food processor so it's really quick and easy to clean up. I put them away in the fridge to save for popping into a ziplock bag for breakfast-on-the-run. I'm looking forward to eating these in the morning to get me out of my egg-based rut.

Try them warmed briefly in the microwave or eaten right out of the refrigerator - both were very acceptable.  Toss some berries on top or smear a teaspoon of whipped cream cheese on them to make them even more special.

Ingredients:

• old fashioned oatmeal - 1/4 cup
• walnuts - 1/4 cup
• egg whites - 4
• low fat cottage cheese - 1/2 cup
• carrots, grated - 1/4 cup
• vanilla extract - ½ teaspoon
• baking powder - ⅛ teaspoon
• cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
• allspice - ⅛ teaspoon
• nutmeg - ⅛ teaspoon
• salt - ¼ teaspoon
• sugar substitute (I used Z Sweet) - 2 teaspoons
• coconut or canola oil - 2 teaspoons

Instructions:

I have some nutritional yeast in the refrigerator. An ingredient used often in vegan cooking, but not much else. It adds another level of flavor to vegan dishes which they always seem to need. It's also essential for concocting a vegan cheese sauce. I'm always astonished at how "cheesy" these sauces really do taste. The combination of equal parts nutritional yeast and almond meal is used as a parmesan cheese substitute. It works perfectly to give Italian-flavor vegan dishes the depth that cheese would provide. Nutritional yeast is a good source of protein and B vitamins which is good news for vegans who need these nutrients to be replaced when avoiding animal sources of food.

Other uses for nutritional yeast are:

• sprinkle on popcorn
• stir into soup, sauces, and gravies to give a slightly cheesey flavor
• use in recipes for vegan cheeses

Also,my container of cremini mushrooms had met a fork in the road. They either had to jump into a recipe that day or jump into the trash can. So, I mixed up these non-meat balls with mushrooms as a major ingredient and some rice and nutritional yeast to bind them together. Delicious! Just the right texture to give the bite of ground meat, which I do find that I enjoy even though I don't prefer ground beef as much anymore.

Serve these little bites, full of fiber, antioxidants, and healthy fats, with your favorite pasta sauce over whole grain pasta or a pile of chopped, steamed veggies!

Ingredients:

• Vegetable Broth - 2 ⅔ cups
• Arborio rice - ¾ cup
• Cremini mushrooms - 1 pound - about 2 cups chopped
• olive oil - 4 teaspoons
• onion - 1 diced
• egg equivalent EnerG egg replacer - 1
• bread crumbs - 1 cup
• almond meal - 3 tablespoons
• nutritional yeast - 3 tablespoons
• fresh parsley, chopped - 1/4 cup
• salt - 1 teaspoon
• pepper - ½ teaspoon

Instructions:

It's always a bit confusing to determine which apples are best for eating and cooking. I've read the list a million times, but it just doesn't stick. In our house we eat them anytime, but cooking with them occurs in the Fall and Winter. They often make their way into a salad at other times of the year.

At the farmers market I found myself almost closing my eyes and selecting whatever I laid my hands on. I decided to challenge myself. If I discovered that my apple purchase was an eating-type, fine. But, if I bagged up a cooking apple I had to bake! Well, turns out Empire apples are for baking. Ok, technically they are categorized as all-purpose, however mine were a bit mushy for my taste. This may be ok for some apple eaters. For me, these Empires fell into the cooking category.

I wanted to showcase the apple flavor in the recipe that I chose. I anticipated that this apple would have a prominent sweet flavor. I got a nose-full of yummy apple aroma every time I came into the kitchen!

This Apple Crumble dessert is easy to put together and doesn't commit you to consuming an entire pie. You sort of yearn for something creamy though, a little ice cream ... whipped cream...

Ingredients:

• old-fashioned oats, divided - 1 ¼ cups
• pecans , chopped - ¼ cup
• light brown sugar - ¾ cup
• all purpose flour - ½ cup
• chilled unsalted butter - 1 sticks, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• Empire (or other) apples - 2 pounds , peeled, halved, cored, sliced
• fresh lemon juice - 2 tablespoons
• cinnamon - 2 teaspoons

Instructions: