• Grape Tomato Salad
• Rotini with Plum Tomatoes and Lentils
• Chicken with Mango & Apricots
• Baked Salmon with Fresh Citrus
• Amazing Black Bean Quesadillas
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

In the middle of winter somehow tomatoes just don’t taste like tomatoes. Enter the newest tomato in the "love apple" category—Grape Tomatoes! These tiny tomatoes are smaller and sweeter than cherry tomatoes and are available all year long. I love them in this salad, they keep their shape well and the flavors are truly summertime any time of year.

2 cups / 500 mL grape tomatoes, cut in halves
1 tbsp + 1 tsp / 20 mL extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic—minced
10 fresh basil leaves—chopped
6 green olives—diced
pinch hot pepper flakes

Mix together all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Let sit for at least 1 hour. Serve over lettuce or eat alone as a vegetable side dish. Can be stored in the fridge for at least 2 days.
Serves 4

ONE SERVING with olives 68 Calories .09 g protein 5.7 g fat 1.3 g fiber 65 mg sodium 5 g carbohyrdate UHEP 1 Fat 1 Vegetables & Fruit ONE SERVING without olives 60 Calories 0.9 g protein 5.0 g fat 1.1 g fiber 8 mg sodium 4 g carbohyrdate UHEP 1 Fat 1 Vegetables & Fruit

My sister, Kathleen, doesn’t like lentils. As a matter of fact, she hates them! Last year she came for a visit from Vancouver. She arrived at 9 p.m., starving. The only thing that I had in the fridge was my “Rotini with Plum Tomatoes and Lentil” dish. I heated it up. She took one look them and said, “I’m not eating those things, Mair, you know I hate them!” I convinced her that they were really very good, so reluctantly she gave them a taste, and to her surprise, but not mine, she loved them! She even had a second helping! The true test that a recipe is great.

1 tbsp + 1 tsp / 20 mL extra virgin olive oil
1 onion—diced
1 clove garlic—minced
1ž2 cup / 125 mL roasted red pepper—chopped (see page 193)
1 28 fl oz / 796 mL can plum tomatoes
1 19 fl oz/540 mL can lentils—drained and rinsed
2 tbsp / 25 mL tomato paste
1 tsp / 5 mL Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp / 5 mL basil
1ž4 tsp / 1 mL red pepper flakes
1 1ž2 cups / 375 mL uncooked whole-wheat rotini
2 tbsp / 25 mL Parmesan

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil.
   
2. Heat a large skillet. Add the olive oil. Sauté the onions for 3 minutes stirring occasionally.
   
3. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. (Remember—burnt garlic is awful!)
   
4. And the roasted red pepper and the tomatoes. Mash the tomatoes with a fork.
   
5. Add the lentils, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, basil and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
6. Meanwhile back to that pot of water! When it comes to a boil add the rotini. Stir. Cook until al dente—about 10 minutes.
   
7. When the pasta is cooked, drain. Add to the tomato-lentil mixture. Stir well. Let simmer 5 minutes.
   
8. Serve with Parmesan on each serving.
   Serves 4

ONE SERVING 356 Calories 17.2 g protein 7.5 g fat 10.6 g fiber 802 mg sodium 57 g carbohyrdate UHEP 1 Beans 1 Fat 2 Vegetables & Fruit 1 1/2 Grains

This is easy enough to make any night of the week! But it’s also elegant enough to serve to someone you would like to impress the socks off.
Of all the recipes that I created for our book, this is Liz’s favorite and it has now become her house speciality.

14 oz / 400 g boneless skinless chicken breasts—cut into 4 equal pieces
Sauce
1 14 oz / 398 mL can apricots—drained (reserve 1/3 cup/75 mL of the liquid)
3 tbsp / 45 mL frozen orange juice concentrate
1/3 cup / 75 mL mango chutney
1 tbsp / 15 mL sodium-reduced soy sauce
1 large very ripe mango

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC.
   
2. Line an 8 x 8-in/20 x 20-cm pan with parchment paper or foil. Lay the chicken on top.
   
3. Drain the apricots making sure to reserve 1/3 cup/75 mL of the liquid. Set the apricots aside. Mix the reserved liquid together with the orange juice concentrate, mango chutney and soy sauce. Pour over the chicken. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until done (when juice from chicken runs clear).
   
4. While the chicken is baking, cut and peel the mango. See page 205. Cut it into 1-in/2.5-cm slices. Set aside, along with the apricots.
   
5. When the chicken is cooked, pour the liquid off into a frying pan. Leave the chicken in the pan and cover. Turn the heat onto high and add the apricots and mango. Bring to a boil and leave to reduce for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Pour over the chicken. Serve.
   Serves 4

ONE SERVING 331 Calories 32.3 g protein 3.7 g fat 0.6 g fiber 547 mg sodium 40 g carbohyrdate UHEP 1 Vegetables & Fruit 1 Meat

How simple can a recipe get? Five ingredients and a salmon fillet? And it’s ready in 30 minutes or less? Welcome to a simple supper that can pass off as elegant anytime. This is a family favorite that I also serve to company. It always gets raves! And—that is one of the main reasons that we cook, isn’t it?

1 lime
1 lemon
1 orange
3 tbsp / 45 mL honey
1 tbsp / 15 mL finely grated fresh ginger
13 oz / 370 g salmon fillet

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF/220ºC.
   
2. Line an 8 x 8-in/20 x 20-cm pan with parchment paper or foil.
   
3. Zest the lime, lemon and orange. Set zest aside.
   
4. Juice the lime, lemon and orange. Mix the juices together. Add the honey
   and ginger.
   
5. Lay the salmon in the pan. Pour the citrus/honey/ginger mixture overtop.
6. Sprinkle with the zests.
   
7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until just done. Remove salmon from the pan and cover. Pour off the sauce into a pan. Bring to a boil and reduce by half.
   Serve with brown rice. Spoon the sauce over the salmon and rice.
   Serves 4

ONE SERVING 218 Calories 18.7 g protein 10.1 g fat 0.5 g fiber 56 mg sodium 18 g carbohyrdate UHEP 1 Fish 1/4 Vegetables & Fruit

A big favorite at our house. During hockey season, when my son is busy at the rink, I double the recipe and keep the extra filling in the fridge for quick dinners before or after a game.

I have successfully demonstrated this recipe at countless cooking classes that I teach at the Loblaw’s Cooking Schools in Toronto.

2 tsp / 10 mL olive oil
1 onion—diced
1 red pepper—diced
2 cloves garlic—minced
1/2 tsp / 2 mL cumin
1 19 oz / 540 mL can black beans—drained and rinsed
1 cup / 250 mL salsa—mild, medium or spicy—your choice
1 cup / 250 mL grated light Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup / 50 mL cilantro—chopped—optional
8 small whole-wheat tortillas

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes or until soft.
   
2. Add the red pepper and the garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes.
   
3. Add the cumin, black beans and salsa, and stir well.
   
4. When the beans are heated through, remove from the heat.
   
5. Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Put a baking sheet in the oven.
   
6. In a non-stick pan, place 1 tortilla shell. Spoon 1/4 of the bean mixture on top. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the cheese and 1/4 of the cilantro, if using. Place a tortilla shell on top. Brown one side and then very carefully flip it over to brown the other side. It helps if you place your hand on the top tortilla shell as you flip it over.
   
7. When cooked, place in the oven on the baking sheet. Cook remaining quesadillas.
   
8. When they are all cooked, cut each into quarters and serve with salsa and low-fat sour cream.
   

ONE SERVING 452 Calories 22.7 g protein 11.1 g fat 13.1 g fiber 589 mg sodium 64g carbohyrdate UHEP 1 Beans 1 Vegetables & Fruit 2 Grains 1/2 Milk

Yummy!!! These muffins are my son’s favorite. He can eat them for breakfast, lunch, snacks, or even as a dessert, but not all in the same day! They are loaded with fiber as well as flavor. They taste too good to be "good for you!" For a really moist muffin make sure that the bananas are really ripe. Think of overripe bananas, think of a too-ripe banana to eat as a snack, think that the skin is so black that they look a little too ripe to even think about eating. These are the perfect ones for recipes like this.

Dry Ingredients
1 cup / 250 mL whole-wheat flour 3/4 cup / 175 mL wheat bran
3/4 cup / 175 mL ground flaxseed
1/4 cup / 50 mL mini chocolate chips
1 tbsp / 15 mL baking powder
1 tsp / 5 mL baking soda
1 tsp / 5 mL cinnamon

Wet Ingredients
1 1/2 cups / 375 mL mashed banana, approx. 4–5 really ripe bananas
3/4 cup / 175 mL dark brown sugar
3/4 cup / 175 mL buttermilk
1 omega-3 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
   
2. Line a muffin tin with large paper cup liners.
   
3. In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients using a fork or a wire whisk.
   
4. In a medium bowl beat together all the wet ingredients. The mashed banana really needs to be mixed in well.
   
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix till just combined.
6. Put in muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes or until done.
   

ONE SERVING 190 Calories 5.2 g protein 5.8 g fat 6.0 g fiber 217 mg sodium 31 g carbohydrate UHEP 1 Flax 1/2 Vegetables & Fruit 11/2 Grains