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Guest Blog: Healthy Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Here’s a Quick Way to Cook Healthy Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Chops Peppers

Photo: http://www.mediterraneanrecipes.org/Chops_Peppers.jpg

Ingredients

Pepper — 4 pieces
Ham — 150 grams
Breadcrumbs
Flour — 4 tablespoons
Eggs — 2 pieces

This recipe can satisfy 4 people and can be prepared in 50 minutes. Chops and Peppers is very inexpensive, easy to prepare, and allows you to use leftover foods in your refrigerator. You will have a savory meal with little fat and calories in less than an hour.

Preparation

Clean the peppers and make large slices along the sides then roast them. Let cool the stuff the peppers with sliced cheese and ham. Make sure the stuffed peppers are properly closed. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Soak the peppers in the beaten eggs and roll them in breadcrumbs. Fry and serve.

Nutritional Value:

Food Gr Kcal Fat Carb Pro Fib Water
Green peppers 500 100 0.85 23.2 4.3 8.5 469.45
Ham 150 267 13.53 0 33.93 0 96.81
Bread crumbs 100 395 5.3 71.98 13.35 4.5 6.51
Wheat flour or 40 144.4 0.66 29.01 4.79 0.96 5.34
Hen eggs – whole 40 57.2 3.98 0.31 5.03 0 30.34
Total 830 963.6 24.32 124.5 61.4 13.96 608.45
A head (4) 207.5 240.9 6.08 31.13 15.35 3.49 152.11
Per 100 grams 100 116.1 2.93 15 7.4 1.68 73.31

Penne with Ricotta

Photo: http://www.mediterraneanrecipes.org/penne_ricotta.jpg

Ingredients

Penne — 100 grams
Cheese — 40 grams
Grated parmesan — 20 grams
Salt
Pepper

This recipe can be prepared within 25 minutes and good for one serving only. Penne with Ricotta is a tasty energy meal and excellent for your personal enjoyment. Ricotta is a dairy product. It is very rich in protein and derived from different types of milk.

Preparation

Mix water with salt then boil in a saucepan. Follow the directions on the package for cooking the Penne. Drain the water but leave at least 2 to 3 tablespoons of water. Add cottage cheese in the pan then season the mixture with salt and pepper. Before serving, make sure to sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Nutritional Value:

Food Gr Kcal Fat Carb Pro Fib Water
Semolina pasta 100 371 1.51 74.67 13.04 3.2 9.9
Ricotta 40 55.2 3.16 2.06 4.56 0 29.76
Grated Parmesan cheese 20 86.2 5.72 0.81 7.69 0 4.17
Salt 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pepper 2 5.1 0.07 1.3 0.22 0.53 0.21
Total 164 517.5 10.46 78.84 25.51 3.73 44.04
A head (1) 164 517.5 10.46 78.84 25.51 3.73 44.04
Per 100 grams 100 315.55 6.38 48.07 15.55 2.27 26.85

About the Cooker – Felicia R. Mcclinton writes for the blog mediterranean vegetarian recipes , her personal hobby blog she uses to help people learn how to make Mediterranean recipes to eat healthy to prevent diseases.

In My Mailbox: Week of April 25

In My Mailbox: Week of April 25th

Title: The Journey Home
Author: Michael Baron
Received: From Michael Baron
Synopsis: Joseph, a man in his late thirties, awakens disoriented and uneasy in a place he doesn’t recognize. Several people are near him when he opens his eyes, all strangers. All of them seem perfectly friendly, but none of them can explain to him how he got there. They offer him a delicious meal and pleasant conversation in a beautifully decorated room. This would be a very nice experience if not for one thing: Joseph doesn’t know where he is and he has no way to contact his wife, who he is sure is worried sick over him. Thanking the people for their hospitality, he leaves to make his way back home. The only problem is that whatever happened to him has stripped him of most of his memories. He knows he needs to get back to his wife, but he doesn’t know how to find her. He sets out on a journey to find his home with no sense of where he’s going and only the precious, indelible vision of the woman he loves to guide him.
Antoinette is an elderly woman in an assisted living facility. She’s spent the last six years there since her husband died, and most of those years have been happy. She enjoys the company of others in her situation and her son comes to visit often. But in recent months, she’s had a tougher and tougher time leaving her room. Her friends seem different to her and the world seems increasingly confusing. She spends an escalating amount of time on a journey inside her head. There, her body and mind haven’t betrayed her. There, she’s a young newlywed with a husband who dotes on her and an entire life of dreams to live. There, she is truly home.
Warren, Antoinette’s son, is a man in his early forties going through the toughest year of his life. His marriage ended, he lost his job, and in the past few months, his mother has gone from hale to increasingly hazy. Having trouble finding work, he spends more and more time by his mother’s bedside. But her lack of lucidity both frustrates and frightens him. With far too much time on his hands, he decides to try to recreate his memories of home by attempting to cook his mother’s greatest dishes using the rudimentary appliances available in her room. He finds the challenge surprisingly rewarding, especially because the only time he feels his mother is truly with him anymore is when she is eating the meals he prepares for her.
Joseph, Antoinette, and Warren are three people on different searches for home. How they find it, and how they connect with one another at this critical stage in each of their lives, is the foundation for a profound and deeply moving story.

Title: The Look of Love
Author: Jill Egizii
Received: From Jill Egizii
Synopsis: Anna, the wife of a prominent local attorney, has decided enough is enough. After nearly twenty years of marriage, she realizes she must get free from her controlling spouse. In the process, she loses the only thing that made escaping worthwhile–her children. Despite their joint custody agreement, her ex uses his wiles, wealth, and legal experience to exile Anna from the family. Her once “normal” relationships with her son and daughter mysteriously sour. The system, the law, and her faith in herself all seem to fail her at the same time. While facing the fight of her life, Anna realizes the true meaning of friendship and love.

Fat Chance by Deborah Blumenthal

Maggie O’Leary is overweight and not ashamed to admit it. As a top columnist for a New York paper, her column “Fat Chance” touches on the myths of being overweight, offers support and confidence to her loyal readers, and talks about the obstacles overweight people have to endure. While Maggie is large and loving her shape, eating what she pleases, and never working out, that all changes one day when Hollywood comes calling. Heartthrob actor Mike Taylor is preparing for his next movie role as a diet doctor, and is seeking Maggie to be his consultant. Maggie, not seeing how she could possibly fit in to the LA lifestyle of perfect and plastic, decides to go on a diet to look more the part. But she does it all in secret, not wanting people at her job or her readers to know she is trying to change herself, while still writing how great big girls are. Her consulting trip to Hollywood leads Maggie to a possible love interest, and further confuses what she wants out of life. Can she possibly continue on with her column, her life, when she doesn’t truly believe those old philosophies anymore?
Fat Chance by Deborah Blumenthal is a lighthearted tale, and readers will enjoy following the heroine on her weight loss journey. At times the story seemed to fast-paced, especially with the supporting characters and their stories. I also didn’t quite feel a connection to the main character and why she was putting herself on a diet. The first chapters of the book spoke on how proud she was on not being super skinny and how she loved helping readers, but at the drop of a hat she changes her ways. If you can get past all that, Fat Chance is a fun and fast read that will give readers a lot of facts on nutrition, which was a little added bonus among the chick lit storyline.

Chick Lit Author Bethany Maines

Bethany Maines is a native of Tacoma, Washington, and debuted her first novel Bulletproof Mascara in 2010. She enjoys traveling and teaching karate to children, and holds a third degree black belt in the martial arts. Her day job has her working as a graphic designer, but between her careers and hobbies, Maines is working on a sequel to Bulletproof Mascara.

Bret Michaels in Critical Condition after Brain Hemorrhage

Bret Michaels was rushed to an undisclosed hospital after experiencing a severe headache Thursday night. Doctors discovered the rocker has suffered a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding at the base of his brain stem). Michaels, 47, is currently in critical condition, and reps have confirmed to People.com that the reports are true.

Jennifer Weiner Philadelphia Event

On Tuesday, May 4th at 6:00pm bestselling author Jennifer Weiner will be at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia to celebrate the paperback publication of her #1 New York Times bestseller Best Friends Forever. Jen will be signing paperback copies of Best Friends Forever and will read from her upcoming novel Fly Away Home, landing on bookshelves July 13th, 2010. Wine and chocolate will be served!

WHO: Best-selling author Jennifer Weiner

WHAT: Jennifer Weiner will be signing paperback copies of her #1 New York Times bestseller Best Friends Forever and reading from upcoming novel FLY AWAY HOME, landing on shelves July 13th, 2010. Wine and chocolate will be served!

WHERE: Reading Terminal Market – 51 North 12th Street – PHILADELPHIA

WHEN: Tuesday, May 4th at 6:00pm

Necklace of Kisses by Francesca Lia Block

Necklace of Kisses by Francesca Lia Block picks up from where YA readers left Weetzie Bat and her Secret Agent Lover Man. Now older, Weetzie and Secret Agent Lover Man, or Max as he is now referred as, are both suffering. Since 9/11, Max has lost all desire and hope, and Weetzie is struggling in the relationship. Deciding to flee to a magical pink hotel, she is on the search for her old prom date, to share the kiss she never had. While there, Weetzie meets a variety of characters through her kisses, including a kidnapped mermaid being forced to have plastic surgery and an invisible housekeeper.
I haven’t read Weetzie Bat, the first novel that came out in 1989 about these characters, but I had done some research before diving into Necklace of Kisses so I felt prepared for what I was about to read. I was all wrong though, as I remained pretty confused throughout the duration of this reading. The plot is fast-paced, but sometimes too fast so I couldn’t feel like I was grasping what I was reading. I enjoyed the magical aspect of the characters and the hotel and the journey Weetzie was putting herself on, but with so many other confusions like characters popping in and out from beyond the grave and wherever else they were appearing from was just too much for me. The best thing about Kisses was that it was very short, it only took me two sittings to complete.

Jennifer Aniston to Launch Fragrance in June

Will you be buying Jennifer Aniston’s debut fragrance? I am not big on buying goods such as perfumes just because a celebrity slaps there name on the label and smiles for the photographs, but I make an exception with Jennifer Aniston. Not only has she been a favorite actress of mine for years, I think she is a great role model and one of the more down to earth celebrities roaming Hollywood. She’s also talked about how hands on she was during the process, from picking the scents, bottle, and name. The fragrance, which Aniston says will smell sexy and clean” and “floral, but not too flowery” will debut in the UK in June to be followed by a launch in the United States. Lolavie was the selected name, and will cost between $46-$62.

Interview with Wendy Watson

Q: What made you start writing your cozy mysteries?
I actually started writing romances, but somehow my love stories always had a dead body in the middle of them. Eventually I realized my subconscious was telling me something: I’m a mystery writer, whether I like it or not. (Thankfully, I *do* like it.)
Q: Why did you choose this genre to write about?
I’ve always enjoyed reading mysteries of all sorts (hard-boiled, suspense, procedurals, etc.) because of the puzzle at the heart of the story. Cozies appeal to me the most because of the emotional element and the opportunity for humor. I get my dead body, but I also get a little romance and a whole lot of laughing. Turns out there’s a natural fit between my voice and the genre. Works out well.
Q: How long did it take you to write I Scream, You Scream?
I sold I SCREAM on proposal, so I had a tight deadline. I ended up writing it, from start to finish, in about six months.
Q: What would you say is the hardest part about writing a mystery?
Satisfying mysteries (I think) give you enough clues that, when you find out who the killer is, you’re smacking yourself in the forehead: “of course!” But, at the same time, you don’t want the readers to actually guess the killer until the big reveal. Walking that line between impossible and obvious is tough.
Q: You not only write, but you teach college constitutional law. What do you love about teaching?
Well, it’s never boring. I love those moments when my students get something, when the light bulb goes on. It’s pretty cool: you can usually see the precise moment when everything clicks into place. Those moments more than make up for the hassles and drama that tend to follow college kids wherever they go.
Q: I read you have a passion for ice cream- me too! (Who doesn’t?) What is your favorite flavor?
My favorites vary. Since it’s spring, I’m in the mood for fruit flavors (coconut, cherry, peach, raspberry). In the fall and winter I go for more exotic flavors. One of my favorites is a Thai chili made by the good people at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, OH: it’s a peanut butter ice cream with a coconut base and a hint of cayenne. It’s decadent.
Q: Can you tell us more about Cozy the Cat?
Isn’t he great? My friend Sonny Strait is a cartoonist, and he drew Cozy for me. I write cozy mysteries, but I have a bit of an edge. Cozies with claws, if you will. So I asked Sonny to draw me a cat (the universal cozy mystery icon) but a little ragged around the edges. A street cat. And Cozy was born.
Q: What’s your favorite reality TV show?
I watch the competition shows (American Idol, America’s Next Top Model, Top Chef, Project Runway …), but my favorite reality show is also one of the oldest: COPS. It’s like the very best people-watching in the world, delivered to your living room in 30 minute increments. Can’t beat that with a stick.
Q: What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Writers write. It’s that simple. If you want to be a writer, you have to keep doing it. Maybe the manuscript you’re writing won’t sell, and maybe the next one won’t either. Maybe you’ll write a dozen manuscripts before you sell. Each one will be better than the last, each one will teach you something, so the process isn’t wasted effort. You have to be o.k. with a lot of frustration, a lot of criticism, and a lot of failure … and you have to take joy in the actual process of writing.
Q: Where do you think would be your favorite place to travel?
Wow. I’ve rarely been outside the U.S., so I wouldn’t cross anything off my list. But I would love to travel to Great Britain. My family is Welsh, and I have a friend who lives up near the Scottish border. I want to see Stonehenge and the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland … so if I had the funds and the time, Mr. Wendy and I would take a good two weeks in the British Isles.