Most people are of the mindset that food needs to taste like cardboard and look as attractive in order for it to be healthy; au contraire. Healthy food can be found in every color and texture as your imaginative palette will allow. Your buffet table or dinner party can look festive and still be exceedingly healthy. Flavor familiarity
will take you far.

Familiarize yourself with the use of fresh herbs that are much less pungent than their dry counterparts and offer fresh punch of flavor to everything from grilled chicken and fish to vegetables and salads.

If you are craving chocolate and some horrible substitute just won’t do, try a drizzle of the real stuff on some strawberries or angel food cake to satiate your taste bud’s craving for that rich, luscious, ecstasy that chocolate always brings. Remember moderation is also a key element. You do not have to cut everything fun out of your eating habits.Wait for when it counts and make room for it in your caloric budget, then indulge your cravings in moderation. It is important to treat yourself once in a while, health restrictions permitting.

It is also important to remember that a plate full of “rabbit food” can get boring, and if you drown it in dressings full of fat, you may as well have had an entire pizza. Read labels and familiarize yourself with terms like saturated fat, trans fats, hydrogenized oil and know what effect they have on your body. Whether you are choosing to eat healthy for health’s sake or if you are making better choices for the purpose of losing weight, bear in mind, we eat with our eyes first. If it looks good, we will be more enticed to eat it and the overall experience will be much more enjoyable.

If you want to lose weight take the approach of a change in lifestyle as opposed to the old “I’m on a diet” avenue. As I was once told by a wise, old dietitian, the first three letters in diet spell “die.” Such a negative connotation subconsciously can hem you in and set you up for failure. Denying yourself the little indulgences spoken of before, can also do the same thing. With moderation and a little common food sense, you can make your experience both healthy and exciting. Food is fun even when healthy. Make it fun and go play in your kitchen.

Sugar Snap Peas with Oriental Dressing and Black Sesame Seeds
4 bags fresh sugar snap peas
1 pack julienned shiitake mushrooms
2 carrots thinly sliced on the bias
I bunch scallions sliced on the bias
1 tsp fresh grated ginger – use micro plane
2 Tbs black sesame seeds
1⁄2 cup mayo (may use reduced fat – but remember this is not a thick dressing so you won’t get much mayo)
1 Tbs vinegar
1 tsp sesame seed oil
2 Tbs Tupelo honey or Agave nectar (or to taste)
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
¼ cup sake or dry white wine

• Combine all vegetables in large salad bowl. In medium mixing bowl add mayo, honey or nectar, sake or white wine, vinegar, black sesame seeds, orange juice and ginger. Whisk in sesame oil. Mix dressing well and adjust taste as needed to desired palette.
• Toss over vegetables and serve. Garnish with pickled ginger.

Belgian Endive Bruschetta
4 Belgian endives washed, dried and separated out into individual leaves
2 bags of fresh basil – cut into a chiffonnade
2 pkgs of tomato grapes, quartered
Extra virgin olive oil, enough to moisten and give flavor
Sea salt
Fresh pepper
Minced medium red onion (optional)
2 cloves garlic crushed

• Pull basil leaves from stems, wash and dry. To make chiffonnade, stack leaves together and roll into a cigar shape and cut across, making thin ribbons
• Mix quartered tomatoes, crushed garlic, minced red onion and basil together with olive oil and mix well
• Drizzle mixture over mozzarella, sprinkle with sea salt and
fresh cracked pepper
• To build: place a healthy spoonful of tomato mixture on each
leaf of endive and arrange on plate or tray.

Balsamic Vinaigrette
Equal parts balsamic vinegar and olive oil
1 Tbs honey or agave nectar
Fresh ground sea salt, pepper and granulated garlic to taste

• Add balsamic vinegar, honey or agave nectar to bowl and drizzle in olive oil as you mix with wire whisk.
• Season well.

Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Grape Wedges in Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 bunches of pencil (slender) asparagus, trimmed
1 package of tomato grapes
A good quality balsamic vinegar (make certain is says “de Modena” on it)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs Tupelo honey or Agave nectar (Agave nectar has a lower glycemic index than honey but sweetens similarly)
½ clove of elephant garlic, minced
Fresh ground sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Granulated garlic (not garlic salt)

• Wash asparagus and trim a ½ inch off of the bottom. Pat dry. Quarter each tomato grape. Mince garlic.
•Mix asparagus, tomatoes and garlic in a glass pan and lightly coat with olive oil.
• Season lightly with fresh ground sea salt, pepper and granulated garlic to taste.
• Toss well to coat and place in a 500 degree oven for approximately 5-10 minutes. Watch to make sure asparagus does not shrivel.
• Remove from oven and toss with balsamic vinaigrette.
• Best marinated overnight and served the following day at room temperature.

Low-fat Pinwheels
Any flat bread or flavored tortilla
Fat free cream cheese
Sun Dried tomatoes (reconstituted in Chardonnay or water) and julienned
1 bundle of fresh chives, minced
Good quality oven roasted turkey thinly sliced (don’t skimp on quality here, it will be very noticeable)
Fresh ground sea salt, pepper and granulated garlic

• Place cream cheese in a bowl and soften to spreadable stage by mixing with a fork. Add in seasonings and chives
• Spread cream cheese mixture as liberally as you want on tortillas or flatbread making sure to cover the entire surface
• Add sliced turkey and julienned tomatoes up to the ¾ mark on the tortilla.
• Roll tightly like a cigar and cut into pinwheels.
NOTE: You can do this with meats of your choice, with or without meat, or with any variety of vegetables you like. This recipe lends itself to your interpretations very well. Try the flavored tortillas. Not only do they add depth to your pinwheels, but they also add color to your table.

Grilled Caribbean Honey Jerked Wings
1 bag of chicken wings
1 cup Caribbean jerked seasoning (more if you like)
• Thaw wings and liberally coat with Caribbean jerk seasoning
• Let sit for about one hour Sauce for wings
1 cup honey or agave nectar
¼ cup jerk seasoning
¼ cup Smart Balance butter substitute
½ cup fresh orange juice
½ cup fresh lemon juice

• Mix all ingredients and heat until well blended. Do not boil.
• Grill wings and continually baste with sauce blend.
NOTE: when basting raw wings, remove some of the sauce from the pot and place in a bowl and baste from there. This way you do not contaminate your entire sauce mixture with raw chicken and can use it to top wings to reheat or dip in.

Angel Food Cake Mini Strawberry Neapolitans
1 angel food cake – sliced into 1”x1”x1/4” squares
3 pints of sliced strawberries
Tupelo honey to sweeten strawberries if needed
Non-dairy whipped topping without trans fats

• Lightly toast angel food cake squares in 200 degree oven
• Build Neapolitans by placing one square of angel food cake down, sliced strawberries and a dollop of whipped topping. Repeat until you have three layers.
• Top with tiny dollop of whipped cream and a strawberry.

Fresh Fruit Salad with Tupelo Honey Drizzle,
Crystallized Ginger and Sun Dried Kalamata Figs
Fresh cut pineapple, cantaloupe, honey dew, strawberries (to equal 15 servings when combined)
Red grapes
1 box of crystallized ginger julienned
8–10 dried figs cut into slices
Tupelo Honey (or Agave Nectar)
• Place all of the fruit into one large mixing bowl. Add sliced dried figs and crystallized ginger. Drizzle lightly with honey, just enough to highlight natural fruit flavors.
• Let macerate overnight.
• Serve the next day, cold. (Martini glasses make a nice presentation whether serving buffet style or at the table.)

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