Skinny Smoothie

Need a guilt free smoothie to kick start your summer? I think this smoothie recipe will do the trick. The secret? Non fat yogurt and skim milk. Just forget the calories from the bananas in this skinny strawberry banana smoothie.

Makes 4 cups

 2 frozen bananas
 4 frozen strawberries
1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
2 cups skim milk

1. Put everything into the blender and use the 'crush ice' mode
2. Once the frozen bananas and strawberries are crushed and mixed use the 'liquid mode' and blend until well done.

Enjoy!

Edamame Rice

Some days I just get tired of eating plain rice. To jazz things up a bit, I make edamame rice and suddenly I am a rice lover again! No particular recipe here. I  just threw in whatever I have in my pantry and bought some frozen edamame (without shell) to add a nice crunch to my rice.

The only thing you need to be careful of is when you add the rice vinegar to your rice. Too much of it will greatly affect the flavor of your rice.

Ingredients
2 cups brown rice
frozen edamame boiled according to instructions
roasted seaweed strips
sesame seed
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp Marukan rice vinegar

1. Cook brown rice accordingly
2. While rice is cooking, cook frozen edamame according to instructions
3. When the rice is done, add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
4. If you are not sure what your rice will taste like with the rice vinegar, add a little at a time and mix well.

Cilantro Pesto Pasta

Cilantro pesto is a great substitute to basil pesto. I love basil pesto but I do not love the price tag that comes with making basil pesto. In my local grocery store, basil leaves are expensive and pine nuts are virtually pricey everywhere. Since cilantro only cost a few cents for a big bundle, naturally this would be a more economical choice for me.

I started out experimenting with the ingredients for my cilantro pesto based on the basic formula of making basil pesto; basil leaves, pine nuts, olive oil, shredded cheese and garlic. Since I had pecan nuts in hand, I decided to use that instead of pine nuts and since I rarely have cheese in my pantry, I did not use cheese.


I usually eyeball my recipe for four servings of pasta. Below is my approximation of what you need to make this tasty economical cilantro pesto pasta

Ingredients:
3 cups packed cilantro with most stems removed (usually about 2 bunches of cilantro)
1 tsp minced garlic
5-8 pieces of toasted pecan nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon juice 

1. Add cilantro, garlic and toasted pecan nuts in a food processor.
2. Gradually add the olive oil a little bit at a time and pulse it
3. If the mixture is still too dry, add more olive oil.
4. Slowly pulse the mixture until it becomes a paste
5. Add the lemon juice to the paste and pulse it one more time.
6. Don't forget to taste it and adjust everything to your liking!
7. Toss it with your pasta