Delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I am so thankful for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano for their collecting and distribution of food to those in need. I am also thankful to the people who donate food and volunteer their time at the food bank. But most importantly, I am thankful for these DELICIOUS PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!

Do you have a spare can of pumpkin leftover from Thanksgiving? If so, you should definitely give this recipe a try! These are the most delicious cookies I’ve ever had! They are super moist, has a pumpkiny-taste to them, and have way less sugar than most cookies!

I just discovered this recipe two weeks age, and have made 5 batches since!

By: Lauren Worley
Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips

Preparation: About 20 min total
1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Add pumpkin, sugar, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to a large bowl and mix.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Stir the dry mixture into the pumpkin mixture.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Use cooking spray to lightly grease a baking sheet.
7. Place spoonfuls of the mixture onto the sheet.
8. Bake for about 12 minutes.

Nutritional information: 68cal per cookie, 26g carb, 14g fat, 3g protein

Makes: 24 largish cookies

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Cabbage and Spinach Salad

It’s cabbage night! While testing out many recipes using cabbage, my mom and I ended cooking very late, too late to make dinner. So instead we had a four-course cabbage meal! It was very funny and made me realize that cabbage can actually be tasty (I’ve never really liked it before now)!
Here is a one dish of our four-coarse meal(this was the appetizer)!! This recipe was given to us by our old neighbor.

From Cheryl Swisher

Main Ingredients:
½ head red cabbage, thinly sliced
½ head green cabbage, thinly sliced
3 chopped green onions
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
Salad Dressing to taste: Readymade or homemade dressing
Raspberry Vinaigrette, Balsamic Dressing, Vinaigrette or Italian

PLUS any of the below items:
Sliced almonds*, pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts
Dried Cranberries, raisins, dried blueberries, or dried cherries*
½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola or Blue cheese*

Preparation: 10 min
1. In a large bowl, toss spinach, cabbage, green onions, oranges and dried nuts, fruits and crumbled cheese
2. When ready, add salad dressing and toss

Nutritional Information: Main Ingredients plus items * items are included in nutritional information. (Dressing is extra, depending on type)
85 calories/serving; Carbs 14g, Fat 3g, Protein 3g

Serves: 10

From Cheryl Swisher

Main Ingredients:
½ head red cabbage, thinly sliced
½ head green cabbage, thinly sliced
3 chopped green onions
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
Salad Dressing to taste: Readymade or homemade dressing
Raspberry Vinaigrette, Balsamic Dressing, Vinaigrette or Italian

PLUS any of the below items:
Sliced almonds*, pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts
Dried Cranberries, raisins, dried blueberries, or dried cherries*
½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola or Blue cheese*

Preparation: 10 min
1. In a large bowl, toss spinach, cabbage, green onions, oranges and dried nuts, fruits and crumbled cheese
2. When ready, add salad dressing and toss

Nutritional Information: Main Ingredients plus items * items are included in nutritional information. (Dressing is extra, depending on type)
85 calories/serving; Carbs 14g, Fat 3g, Protein 3g

Serves: 10

Tasty Cabbage Vegetable Soup

By Hailey Lindberg

Ingredients Spices to taste:
½ head Cabbage (chopped into 1” pieces) Salt
1-2 medium carrots, chopped Pepper
1 onion finely chopped Red Chili Flakes (@1/2 tsp)
3 tomatoes ( or one can diced) Garlic powder
3 stalks of celery Parmesan Cheese rind
1 medium zucchini
1 green bell pepper
1 garlic clove minced

Optional
Chicken or turkey breast cooked and cut into small bites.
Garnish (Cilantro, Parsley or Basil)

Preparation: 20 min prep, 1 hour cooking.
Cut vegetables into bite sized pieces and place all vegetables in large pot. Add cold water to cover vegetables. Add optional Parmesan cheese rind for flavor, along with about 1 tsp salt and pepper, and about ½ tsp red chili pepper flakes.
Boil for about 10 min covered, then simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes. After 45 min, add optional meat. Cook an additional 10-15 min.
Add additional spices as desired. Serve with garnish.

Nutritional Information:
Vegetarian: 101 cal/serving, 24g carbohydrates, 1 gram fat, 5 grams protein
With Chicken: 172 cal/serving, 24 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fat, 18 grams protein

Serves: 4-6

Zesty Crunch Cabbage Salad

By Corrinne Quinn
Ingredients
2 cups chopped cabbage (Purple and Green)
1 cup broccoli florets
2 medium carrots grated or cut into strips
3 green onions chopped
½ cup fat free Asian salad dressing
¼ cup Orange juice
Optional: Add cooked chicken breast pieces for a great main course!

Preparation
Place all vegetables (and optional chicken) in a medium size bowl.
In a small bowl, stir dressing and orange juice together.
Pour over salad and toss.

Nutritional information
88 cal/serving (203 cal/serving with optional chicken breast)
9 grams carbohydrates (9g with optional chicken)
0 grams fat (0g with chicken added)
2 grams protein (23 grams protein with chicken added)

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes

Got Cabbage?

Fall is a great time to try out some new recipes using one of the most healthy and versatile vegetables around, cabbage!
You may not know it, but cabbage is a great source of fiber, vitamins A and C, and is a great source of antioxidants. Try it raw in salads and coleslaw, but it’s also great in soups, sautéed or in a stir-fry. Here are two great recipes, perfect for fall!

Cooking with Nutritious Foods

Meet our Recipe Team! Using fresh fruits and vegetables from our Community Produce Program, Girl Scout Hailey Lindberg and Food Bank Nutritionist Corinne Quinn have teamed up to create some yummy recipes that are nutritious and easy to make!

Check out our new dropdown menu (no pun intended!) and let us know what you think!
Hailey will be checking regularly with some of her favorites! Stay tuned!

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