Happy Holidays and Chocolate Cookies!

Well ladies and gentleman... It is that time again.

Santa came to town and in addition to some Single Malt Scotch.. I made him Santa some protein packed chocolate cookies.

I wanted Santa to make it through the night without a sugar crash. I really wanted to make sure that he got to all of your houses. And hopefully he did and made all of your Christmas wishes come true!

My list for Santa was really long this year.

I asked for...

World peace (I'm sure him and his 'people' are working on this already),

Soldiers safe and home with their loved ones,


Joy in the hearts of everyone on Earth (and beyond),


Those missing their loved ones who are no longer with us to feel comforted with sweet memories,


And finally I want to stop cutting my fingers when I'm cooking (It's sort of a holiday tradition and this year I didn't escape it.)


Santa loved the cookies, but I think he liked the Scotch even more. Go Figure.

And because of the protein in these cookies, I hope he made it to your houses to fulfill your wish list.


Yes, I know... I am pretty generous. I am really just making these cookies for you...

You're welcome. 


And with 10 grams of protein in each cookie.. I know this is what got Santa through the night!
In addition to these, I also made my old stand byes again too. The still delicious Chocolate Chip and peanut butter Chocolate chip cookies.  You can never have too many cookies around!


Enjoy the after glow from your holiday! I hope all your dreams came true!


Chocolate Protein Packed Cookies
1/2 cup butter (smart balance)
4 ounces low fat cream cheese
1 1/2 cup baking splenda
1 tsp. vanilla  
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup whey protein powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup chocolate chips


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and splenda. Cream together until smooth. Add the eggs and beat until fluffy and combined.

3. In a separate bowl combine the almond meal, whole wheat flour, protein powder, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add the dry mixture to the egg and butter mixture and stir to combine. The batter will be sticky. Add the chocolate chips.

4. Grab your favorite baking sheet and scoop dollops of batter onto the sheet giving each cookie enough room to spread out. I love to use a small spoon that I spray with cooking spray to make it really easy. 


5. Bake for 7-9 minutes. When the top just starts turning brown that's when you know it's done. Allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes and enjoy!

Servings: 24 cookies


Nutritional Skinny (per cookie):

140 calories / 7.6 g fat / 9.6 g carbohydrates / 1.5 g fiber / 10 g protein 


Mental Health Benefit: These cookies may have a little more fat that I had hoped, but they have barely any carbohydrates and are packed with protein to get you through your holiday hang over. That feeling when we look behind you and notice that Christmas is gone, but we still have New Years! Don't miss a moment worrying about little details. Enjoy the winter wonderland and the ride of the holiday season!

Crab and Broccoli Souffle

I realize that no one really cares about being healthy right now. It's the holidays after all and as my grandpa would say... "Who gives a rat's #*$ about health. This is the time to splurge, not care, and just let go. Well I am all for letting go, however I (in contrary to many) believe that everything we eat can still have elements of health. 

I said it.

I think we can make everything healthy, even souffle. And it's made with eggs, flour, butter, and milk usually. Well, I 'hot messed' it. And it's delicious.

Actually my mom did. I claim nothing but the photos and doesn't the cheese on top sort of remind you of fresh fallen snow?


Or have I just lost my mind?


Wait... don't answer that. I don't want to know.

I'm not really all that okay to be honest. Winter has brought clouds, rain, snow, and darkness. And in a non typical fashion I'm getting tired of the darkness. The good news is that today is the shortest day. The winter solstice. Tomorrow will be longer-- brighter even.

Hopefully.

In that same spirit of hope-fullness, I am sharing some pretty pictures of this delicious lunch, brunch, or dinner. The crust is made from brown and wild rice and then there's crab in the filling! 

Yes!  Did someone say crab? I just melted some butter on instinct (okay-- it was smart balance, but what the heck?)

I said crab! It sounds magical doesn't it? I happen to think that crab makes everything better. Kind of like bacon without all the fat.

I love crab, but if you aren't as big of a fan, no worries! You can substitute just about anything for the crab meat. Here are a few ideas: left over turkey or ham, or possibly some ground turkey or even some prime rib would be delicious. The sky is your oyster..


Or is that the world is your limit?

Oh, whatever.. You get the point. Now for the recipe... dig into this! It's a great way to use your holiday leftovers and makes something different and super yummy for those house guests that won't leave! :)

And before you make this.. I want you to know.


You are perfect just the way that you are. Always. 


Even right now as you are microwaving butter to dip crab into.


You are perfect. 


I promise.

Crab and Broccoli Souffle

2 cups broccoli; chopped

1 cup yellow squash; chopped

1 white onion; chopped

4 cloves garlic; minced

2 tablespoons smart balance butter

1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese

2 (6 ounce) cans white lump crab meat

3 eggs

1 cup plain non-fat yogurt

1 teaspoon minced dried onion

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

For the crust:

2 cups long grain brown rice; cooked according to package instructions

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1 tablespoon olive oil

1. In a skillet combine the broccoli, squash, onion, garlic, and butter. Saute for 5-7 minutes over medium heat until the onions become translucent and the squash and broccoli soften. Remove from heat and set aside and mix in the lump crab meat and shredded cheese.

2. In a separate bowl combine the cooked rice, egg, marjoram, and olive oil. Spray a baking dish and press the rice into the bottom creating a thin crust.

3. Next layer the lump crab meat mixture on top of the brown rice crust. 

4. In another bowl combine the eggs, yogurt, dried onion,  and kosher salt. Mix until smooth and pour over the vegetable crab mixture. 

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. A knife inserted should come out clean. 

6. Once removed from the oven top with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and bake 5 more minutes and garnish with fresh parsley.

Servings: 8

Nutritional Skinny:


360 calories / 11 g fat / 50 g carbohydrates / 2.5 g fiber / 16.4 g protein

Mental Health Tip: You are perfect just the way you are. Give yourself the gift of forgiveness. Right now. I promise you deserve it. The holidays are busy, tough, and full of expectations. Give those away and what you could be left with is...


Love

Root Veggie and Ham Au Gratin

Holl-er! 


Word to the mother ship!


This Au Gratin is off the hizzie! It is so good it's inspired me to speak gangsta! And I'm a white girl living in northwest Montana.. so it's really sayin' somethin' to speak gangsta out here!

You could use this au gratin as a honing devise for Santa or Batman if you really wanted to. Just the scents that come off of it is enough to bring neighbors from a two mile radius! If you don't want guests I suggest you lock your doors, turn off the lights, and eat with a flash light.


Just sayin'!


The root vegetables in this Veggie and Ham Au gratin make the flavors deeper and richer than just using potatoes. They add a little bit of extra crunch and brightness to this that makes it just amazing! Not to mention they add tons of fiber and are low in fat. They provide extra flavor without adding any added unnecessary fat!


So I say... fashizzle your nizzle (I think that's how it goes?) Why not hone in your loved ones and enjoy this dinner that some say (okay it's just me really) is off the hizzie!


**Note: If you have been following along, I have been talking a lot about how easy crock pots are during these busy holiday weeks. If you want you can throw all of the ingredients into the crock pot (after you par-boil the root veggies of course) and set it and forget it for about 3-4 hours on high! The crock pot is always a great option on a busy day! You could even par-boil the vegetables in advance for an easy prep in the morning before work. Or just set the crock pot on low all day and when you arrive home from work, your neighbors will be waiting outside to join you for dinner!

Root Vegetable and Ham Au Gratin

3 medium Yukon gold potatoes

1 medium rutabaga

1 large parsnip

1 medium white onion; diced

4 cloves of garlic; minced

4 cups smoked ham; chopped

2 cups non-fat plain yogurt

3 tablespoons fresh chive; minced

1/8 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Wash the potatoes and peel the rutabaga and parsnip and slice into 1/2 inch round even slices.

2. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Place the rutabaga and parsnip slices into the boiling water and boil for 20 minutes. We are just par-boiling the root vegetables here to start the cooking process. We will finish the cooking process in the oven. Once they have boiled for 20 minutes, add the potato slices and continue to boil for another 20 minutes. The rutabaga and parsnip need a little more cooking time.

3. Pour the water off and cool down the veggie slices by filling the pot with cold water. Let the veggie slices chill for about 5-10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile in a large skillet saute the onion and garlic in a teaspoon of olive oil until the onion begins to soften and turn translucent. Remove the onions from the heat and drain the water from the root vegetables.

5. Now we are ready to assemble the scallop. We are going to do two layers. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom of a large baking dish. Then add a layer of sauteed onion and garlic, followed by a layer of half the chopped ham a cup of your plain non-fat yogurt, then half of the flour. Next add a layer of the rutabaga and parsnip slices evenly and top with the sauteed onion and garlic along with the ham. Top with the additional cup of yogurt and top with the shredded cheddar cheese and chives. 

6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes. The vegetables should all be easily pierced with a fork and the cheese should be slightly browned and the whole thing bubbling!

Servings: 8 (one cup servings approximately)


Nutritional Skinny: 


170 calories / 1.3 g fat / 29 g carbohydrates / 4.3 g fiber / 15.6 g protein

Mental Health Benefit: Cooking with other root vegetables expands our horizons as well as our pallets. The parsnip and rutabaga add a delicious bright flavor that compliments the salty and creamy from the yogurt and ham. It is the perfect blend of flavors and the bright fresh chive made me almost forget that it's winter and we only get about 30 minutes of daylight! (Just kidding.. it's more like 45 minutes!) Don't be intimidated by their different shapes. Treat them as a slightly more firm potato and you are good to go!

Mexican and Thai Fusion Chili

Yummy... fusion... What can I say.. don't we live in a big 'ol melting pot or maybe a delicious bubbling crock pot...?


I'll give you a few minutes to think that one through.

Okay, now that you've had a moment with that profound little ditty, let's get on with the recipe. This recipe idea started with a magazine article about mexican chili, then in typical "Hot Mess" style I tinkered with the recipe until my mom said, "Abby, you're making something completely different? Why are you even looking at the recipe?"

And that was the birth of this beautiful Mexican-Thai Chili. I wanted to have some of the sweet flavor from the cocoa and cinnamon along with the smokey goodness from the cumin and garlic, so I added them both. Then added a little corn and roasted tomatoes for brightness on top and that delicious coconut milk to make it all swim in a delightfully sweet creamy goodness and voila! Magic fusion chili in a bowl!

And if you want to get into the nutrition of it (like I always do) this is packed with lean protein from the turkey, tons of fiber from the black beans and loaded with vitamins packed in the carrots, celery, and corn! It is a nutritious medley of flavors that you can teach your loved ones and children. I like to think we are celebrating our diversity while eating this delicious chili!

**Note: If you don't have green tomatoes or tomatillos, you can also use regular tomatoes, or a can of green chillies instead if you want!

Mexican and Thai Fusion Chili

2 cups green tomatoes; roasted

5 cloves garlic; roasted  
1/2 cup celery; diced

1/2 cup carrots; diced

1 white onion; diced

1 pound ground turkey meat

1 tbsp. lemon grass

2 tsp. salt 

2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. roasted cumin

1 tsp. cocoa powder

1 tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp. chili powder
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce; diced 
1 (12.5 ounce) can of light coconut milk

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (15 ounce) can fresh sweet corn

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Place your tomatoes and garlic cloves on a cookie sheet (please do me a favor and line it with foil so you don't ruin yours like I ruined ours). Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. The tomatoes will brown and burst and the garlic will be fragrant and delicious! Once the garlic has cooled mince it finely. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet, we used our favorite two in one crock pot by Technique) add a dash of olive oil and when hot and glisten-y add the celery, carrots, and onion. Saute until the onions blonde and then add the ground turkey meat.  Brown until the meat is cooked and turns golden.

4. Once the turkey is browned, through the contents of your saute pan into a slow cooker (that is if you don't have my cool two in one crock pot--if you do just switch the dial to slow cook and we are off to the races). Add the lemongrass, salt, pepper, cumin, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chili powder, and the big daddy.. the chipotle! Let's spice things up shall we? 

5. Toss in the roasted tomatoes and onions once they are done roasting and add the coconut milk, black beans, and corn. Stir to combine and turn the slow cooker to low. Allow to cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

6. Serve in a deep bowl with some shredded cheddar cheese and sliced avocado on top! I do love me some garnishes and who said there was anything wrong with cheese? You will never hear those words out of my mouth! 

Servings: 8 (about a cup size portion)

Nutritional Skinny:

220 calories / 7.9 g fat / 18 g carbohydrates / 4.8 g fiber / 18 g protein

Go get yourself a bowl of this chili! Like I said earlier... baby it's cold outside, but it doesn't have to be cold in here!

Mental Health Benefit: The beauty of a crock pot is that you can set it and then forget it. Move on with whatever else you have on your ever growing to do list and dinner will be ready when you are. Especially during the busy holiday season, crock pots can save the day. They also promote tender meat and it is easy to add healthy ingredients and know that they are going to be delicious when you are ready! I encourage you to make dinner easy this season. Just pour the ingredients into a crock pot and move on to the next task. I promise dinner will be delicious and healthy!

Pesto Cream Lasagna

As promised, I have a delicious Pesto Cream Lasagna recipe that came from the heart of my mother, the spirit of my father, and the stubborn-ness of me-- because I demand we write down every recipe and take pictures of everything.

This wears my mother out tremendously, but she goes along with it wanting to make me happy. And I want to make her happy too so I write the recipe and today I am giving her all the credit. She had the initial spark of an idea and saw it all the way through. I just took pictures and drove everyone crazy.

I'm just really good at it and I believe in focusing on strengths.

Why is it the spirit of my father? Well, if you recall-- when I first posted about the pesto cream sauce my dad asked, "Can we put this on everything from now on? Even cereal in the morning or maybe even pancakes?" Yeah, he is a huge fan and my mom wants to make him happy and this recipe is the birth child of all of us wanting to make each other happy.

Yep, it's pretty simple that way. This recipe and our intentions are easy. Not always received, but easy none the less. We are happy creatures wanting to make each other happy too. Because what's better than happiness? Happiness shared!

A few tid bits about the recipe-- In order to cut down on carbohydrates and calories, we use two layers of lasagna noodles-- one on the bottom and one on the top. Less noodles equals more room for yummy pesto and turkey meat too! We also don't cook our noodles ahead of time.. you don't need to if you use enough liquid and it saves tons of time and frustration.

**If you want to save even more calories you can easily substitute the fat free half and half with fat free milk... We just really like the taste of our fat free half and half.

I hope you like this recipe and find yourself swimming in a sea of pesto cream and happiness!

Pesto Cream Lasagna

1/2 cup chopped onion

4 garlic cloves; minced

1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. Italian seasonings

1 cup pesto (Check out my homemade pesto recipe here)

1 cup fat free half and half

1 egg

2 cups low fat cottage cheese
10 whole wheat lasagna noodles

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. In a large skillet heat one tsp. of olive oil and add the onion and garlic. Saute until the onions become translucent.  

2. Remove the sausage from the casings and mix the meat with the Italian seasonings and salt. Form into small balls using your palms. Place in the skillet with the onions and garlic. Saute until the meatballs have browned, about 3-5 minutes. They don't have to be  completely cooked through as you will finish them in the oven. We just want a brown crust on the outside.

3. Combine the pesto and half and half in a small bowl and set aside. 

4. Then combine the egg and cottage cheese in another bowl. Now we are ready to construct our lasagna.


5. Spray the bottom and sides of a large rectangle baking dish with cooking spray and place one layer of lasagna noodles along the bottom. Next place a layer of cottage cheese and top with all of the meatball and onion mixture. Then place half of the pesto cream sauce over the meatballs. Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese.

6. Top with another layer of lasagna noodles and top with the remaining cottage cheese, pesto cream sauce, and mozzarella making sure to cover the noodle completely with liquid. This is what cooks the noodles without you needing to boil them first.


7. Place in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes with foil covering it. Then remove the foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes to allow the cheese to brown and bubble.


8. Remove from oven, slice, and serve! 

***A great idea is to serve additional pesto cream sauce on the side, so your dinner guests have the option to pour a little more sauce over the top. Yes, the sauce is really that good!


Servings: 8


Nutritional Skinny:


404 calories / 19 g fat / 30 g carbohydrates / 3.5 g fiber / 29 g protein 

Mental Health Benefit:  I have been looking for whole wheat lasagna noodles for decades it seems and they finally have them. We used the Healthy Harvest variety and they are packed with 6 grams of fiber per serving! They also come loaded with 7 grams of protein which helps make this lasagna packed with the 29 grams of protein. I was surprised myself when I calculated it all. However, with the winter sports of skiing, shoveling, or in my case getting my car unstuck from the snow drifts, we all need all the protein we can get this season!

Sassy and Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

Here is the real story about these muffins. My mother found the recipe in the American Institute for Cancer Research Newsletter. We love this newsletter because it's usually packed with great recipe ideas. 

We had been jonesing for some yummy pumpkin muffins and my parents were expecting guests for dinner.

We did our usual "Hot Messing" to the recipe further eliminating fat, calories, and sugar (this is the number one culprit we find in recipes.. no one uses SPLENDA!)

Well, the truth is the original muffin recipe was pretty good really. It is the American Cancer Research newsletter after all. But in the end we ended up saving you 100 calories, 3 grams of fat, over 13 carbohydrates, and increasing the fiber and protein by at least a half a gram! 

As a result, we are feeling pretty good and sassy here... hence the name for the Sassy Pumpkin Muffins! And aren't they just so pretty? I sure think so!

You might want to know how we do it, right? Take a healthy recipe and make it even better?

It's easy.. we substituted sugar free maple syrup for the brown sugar, reduced the oil and increased the pumpkin and yogurt and we made them slightly smaller. Their recipe called for 15 servings, we made 20 smaller muffins instead.

And they are completely delicious! Especially with a tall glass of milk!

Enjoy these treats this winter season and stay warm. It might be cold outside, but baby, it's warm in here!

Sassy Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (you can use pastry flour too)

1/2 cup milled flax seed

1 1//2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

2 eggs; beaten

3/4 cup sugar free maple syrup

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/4 cup Smart Balance Vegetable oil

1 cup non fat vanilla yogurt

For topping:

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. coconut (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large sized bowl combine the whole wheat flour, milled flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix together to combine all the dry ingredients.

3. In a medium bowl combine the eggs, pumpkin, apple sauce, vegetable oil, and vanilla yogurt. Stir to combine all the wet ingredients.

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Then spray two muffin tins with cooking spray and fill each one 3/4 of the way full.

5. Next, for the topping, lightly chop the peanuts and place in a skillet with the vanilla and cinnamon.

6. Roast over medium heat for 8-10 minutes making sure to swirl the pan often so they don't burn.

7. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of the roasted peanuts and a pinch of coconut. This makes them just pretty in my opinion. Plus it will balance out the buttery flavor of the pumpkin!

8. Bake for 20 minutes. I rotated the muffin tins halfway to make sure they were cooked evenly throughout. They smelled so good when I turned them that I wanted to take them out and eat them half cooked! 

8. When a toothpick comes out clean when inserted they are done! Take them out and let them cool for about 20 minutes. They smell like sweet cinnamon, pumpkin, nutmeg heaven and the toasted coconut on top makes them almost irresistible. The house smelled good all night.. 
Well until we started making Pesto Cream Lasagna.. Stay tuned for that recipe coming soon!


Servings: 20


Nutritional Skinny:

77 calories / 4 g fat / 10.6 carbohydrates / 3 g fiber / 3.5 g protein 

Mental Health Benefit: These dense and delicious little muffins are loaded with vitamins.. Don't look at me like that! I'm serious! They are packed with nutrient dense pumpkin! It's another wonder food backed with beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, potassium, fiber, and magnesium just to name a few. What that means for you and me is it protects us from sun damage (keeping our skin baby smooth) and I need that more and more as I stare down the barrel at 30. The anti oxidants that come from the beta-carotene also protect our hearts and immune system. So eat up and keep yourself strong, healthy, and your skin glowing! 


Sounds pretty good to me.. excuse me while I eat a muffin... or two.. or .. whatever.  Oh stop judging.. I do what I want.

Spicy Tomato, Corn, and Edamane Wintertime Soup

Yesterday, I went to visit my favorite cooking client. Okay, she's really my only one right now, but I am convinced that she would be my favorite even if there were others. She makes the most beautiful quilts and they just simply make me happy.

Soup was her idea. She always has great ones and I bounce off of her inspiration and build new healthy recipes. This soup was part of that inspiration. I have to admit I was a little wary about how simple it was. I mean we made it in about 20 minutes and then moved on to making Baklava (check my baklava blog for the recipe). When the Baklava was in the oven and we had made some cookie dough, (you'll have to stay tuned to see how I switched up the Almond Flour Cranberry Cookiesand made them lusciously chocolatey!) we sat down to a bowl. 

My instinct was to add a little fat free sour cream or even a little fat free half and half to give it a little pizzaz... a little creaminess even. But nope, my favorite client so brilliantly said, "Why don't we try it as is before we do any changing?" Sounded fair enough so we did.

And let me tell you ladies and gentleman... It was perfect just the way it is. The slight crunch of the edamame and the spicy kick of the red pepper flakes and chilies, along with the sweet burst from the corn were perfect all together. And the warmth of the soup was the perfect meal for a cold winter day when the sun finally decided to make a cameo appearance. She was right and I'm glad we didn't ruin the soup by tampering with it.

Have you noticed a pattern? Yep, I pretty much like to tamper with and change every recipe before I even try it! That's the Hot Mess in me!

Not to mention, this soup is low in calories (only 140 per serving), however still packed with over 7 grams of protein due to the edamame (which is packed with soy protein, especially good for us women who might need a little more estrogen in our systems!)

Give yourself the gift of a super easy and delicious winter time soup. You deserve a little boost and something easy to prepare. I'm sure your family love the flavors as much as I do! 

Here's to your health, wealth, and abundance!

Spicy Tomato, Corn, and Edamame Wintertime Soup

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 white onion; diced

3 tablespoons garlic; minced

2 cups frozen whole corn kernels

2 cups frozen edemame peas; shelled

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (10 ounce) can southwestern style tomatoes with chilies

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine (we used pinot grigio)

1 tbsp. rosemary

1 tbsp. thyme

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for three minutes. Once the onions begin to blonde add the corn, edemame, and both cans of tomatoes (they really are the star of the show and I thought they deserved their own photo shoot). 

2. Stir to combine and add the broth, wine, rosemary, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Heat over medium until it bubbles.

3. Then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes. This soup is so light and delicious. We served with a little bit of Parmesan cheese (I love it on everything!) and it was delicious just as is.

Servings: 6 


Nutritional Skinny:

140 calories / 2.75 g fat / 22 g carbohydrates / 3.8 g fiber / 7.3 g protein

Mental Health Benefit: Edamame is one of the great wonder foods. I guess it's sort of like the wonder woman of the vegetable family. Isn't it lucky? It is a complete protein containing all of the amino acid building blocks... without all of the fat that comes with animal proteins!  This little wonder food also provides antioxidant boosts from plant chemicals called isoflavones which basically means it helps us reduce our risk of heart disease by attacking free radicals (no not those kid of radicals with picket signs on the corner). Plus it's packed with fiber and creates an estrogen like effect on the body helping us protect our bones and teeth. Sounds too good to be true right? Well, think again... and you can add edamame to almost anything; salads, soups, casseroles, and it adds a sweet buttery bite sort of like a small moist lima bean.