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Couscous Salad with Dried Fruit

Adapted from Cooking Light 2003

Serving size: 1 cup, serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• Dash of ground cinnamon
• Dash of ground allspice
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped pitted dates
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped green olives
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 3/4 cup onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add paprika and next 7 ingredients (paprika through allspice); cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add broth; bring to a boil. Gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork. Place couscous in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil, tomatoes, and remaining ingredients; toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition Information: 258 calories, 7.5g Fat, 6.7g Protein, 4.6g Fiber

Raspberry Bars

Source: Eating Well

Ingredients:

Crust

• 3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons ice water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Raspberry Filling

• 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 cups fresh raspberries, divided
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons nonfat cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons low-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Directions:

1. To prepare crust: Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat an 8-inch-square baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Place flour, pecans, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt in a food processor; process until the nuts are finely ground. Add butter one piece at a time, pulsing once or twice after each addition, until incorporated. Add ice water and vanilla and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Transfer to the prepared pan. Press evenly and firmly into the pan to form a bottom crust.
3. Bake the crust until it looks set, but not browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
4. To prepare raspberry filling: Sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl; let stand, stirring once or twice, while you prepare the rest of the filling.
5. Reserve 16 raspberries. Puree the remaining raspberries in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a medium saucepan and stir in 1/2 cup sugar. Cook over medium heat until bubbling. Stir in the gelatin mixture and cook, stirring, until the gelatin is melted, about 1 minute.
6. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Pour the raspberry mixture into a medium bowl and set it in the bowl of ice water. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of loose jam and is beginning to set around the edges, about 30 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, milk and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.
8. Spread the thickened raspberry filling evenly over the crust. Dollop the cream cheese mixture over the filling. Draw the tip of a sharp knife or skewer through the two fillings to create a swirled effect. Nestle the reserved berries into the filling, evenly spacing them so each bar will be topped with a berry when cut. Refrigerate until the bars are completely set, about 3 hours. Cut into 16 bars, one raspberry per bar.

Serves: 16

Nutrition Per bar: 101 calories; 5 g fat ( 2 g sat , 2 g mono ); 6 mg cholesterol; 14 g carbohydrates; 2 g protein; 2 g fiber; 94 mg sodium; 64 mg potassium.

Edamame Garden Salad

Source: MrFood.com

Serves: ~12

Ingredients

• ¹/2 cup olive oil
• ¹/4 cup natural flavor rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¹/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups edamame, cooked according to package directions (see Note)
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• ¹/2 red onion, chopped
• ¹/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• ¹/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, rice vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and black pepper; mix well and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour dressing over salad and toss until evenly coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Approximate Nutritional information calculated from www.sparkpeople.com

Nutritional Information: ~1849 calories, 121g Fat

Nutrition Per Serving (yields 12) = 154 calories, 10g Fat