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Double Chocolate Good Heart Brownies

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Double Chocolate Good Heart Brownies

Chocolate is good for the soul, good for relationships (think Valentine’s Day), and yes, it can even be good for the health of your heart. To benefit and enjoy a truly delicious taste, you need to select the good stuff!In addition to the antioxidants in both the cocoa and the chocolate chips, these brownies contain heart healthy flax and walnuts, both sources of Omega-3 fatty acids. The flax adds quite a bit of moisture to the brownies, so that only a small amount of healthy canola oil is needed. 

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Garlic Scape & Cannellini Bean Spread

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Garlic Scape & Cannellini Bean Spread

Every summer I do prepare one garlic scape recipe that’s both easy and uber nutritious. I serve this spread with whole grain crostini or crackers and use any leftover to help fill a sandwich filling with sliced tomatoes. Certainly, you can use just about any legume in place of the cannellini beans such as edamame, chickpeas etc. You can make this a day or several hours in advance of serving.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Any hard/winter squash will do here. The key is to roast the squash first, sort of caramelizes it, really bringing out its the sweet, buttery flavor. (The other nice thing about roasting the squash is that you don’t have to peel it!) Don’t be afraid to improvise with the amount or type of broth, cider, or wine you might have on hand. Give yourself time to make this soup mid-day to serve for dinner. Great leftover too!

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Blueberry-Zucchini Muffins or Quick Bread

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Blueberry-Zucchini Muffins or Quick Bread

Zucchini tend to grow quickly and flourish in the summer months, but can be difficult to use as fast as they accumulate in the kitchen. Blueberries too are popular with our summer palates as they offer bright, refreshing bursts of flavor, and are top dogs for good health. Combining zukes and blues make for moist muffins with added nutrition. While modifying the ingredients to boost the fiber content and reduce the amount of both saturated fat and sugar, my tasters ranked them high. I hope you will too!

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Chicken, Fruit, & Crisp Greens Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette —Refreshing!

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Chicken, Fruit, & Crisp Greens Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette —Refreshing!

I was asked to bring a chicken salad for a ladies lunch earlier this month and wanted to avoid anything too heavy, weeping with too much mayonnaise. A crisp greens salad with tender chicken and ripe fruit make for a lovely, light meal. I found this recipe from Mark Bittman to be easy, different, and refreshing.

 

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Southwest Breakfast Egg Scramble "Muffins"

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Southwest Breakfast Egg Scramble "Muffins"

These savory high protein breakfast muffins are great grabs on the way out to work, school, or hiking. Whenever I have leftover quinoa, this recipe comes to mind. If you don’t have any cooked quinoa on hand, it’s fast and easy to prepare while other ingredients are prepped. They freeze well for a grab-‘n-go microwave meal later.

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Shortcake: Blueberry, Peach, Strawberry

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Shortcake: Blueberry, Peach, Strawberry

When strawberry, blueberry, peach, and plum season peak, this shortcake recipe showcases the juicy-sweetness of these fruits. This recipe is so easy to prepare, and these individual shortcakes freeze well. They are much healthier than the refined flour, shortening-packed varieties available commercially.