It is sooo very hot where I live that I made Smoothies for my family.

Organic frozen raspberries
Greek yogurt (plain)
unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Mix in your Vitamix or Magic Bullet.

I would send you some cool weather if I could. Its 70 and raining here in Oregon. I am out of my mind done with this rain.:sad:

I love the picture for the PitLovers! MsgBoard! The 2 pits awaiting Vick the ****! Someone sent me that on fb too.
Anyway, I made a really good dinner last night. Once again, it's been super hot, so I wanted to eat light and fresh and quick.
This serves 1, but it's easy to adjust accordingly.(Double, Triple,etc.)

Zucchini Ribbons With Summer Tomatoes & Parmigiano Reggiano

1/2 med. zucchini (Put the other half zucchini away, or double the recipe)
3 yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
3 red cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup sliced onion
1 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp. organic butter
1/2 C. organic fat free cottage cheese
1/8 C. freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese+1/8 C gr parm reg cheese
garlic powder
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
basil leaf

1.Put olive oil in a cold saute pan. Turn heat on LOW.
2.Thinly slice 1/4 C of onion. Add to pan. Add pinch of salt, stir and cover.
3.Cut the half-zucchini in 2 equal pieces. Use the mandolin lengthwise to create zucchini ribbons. If using a veg peeler, actually peel the zucchini lengthwise a few times (and save the ribbons) until the zucchini is flat. Then flip the zucchini to lay the flat side on the cutting board for stability and peel the other side of the zucchini into ribbons. The ribbons will be wide. If you want them thinner, stack them and slice them down the middle. (Keep your eye on the onions to make sure they turn translucent and LIGHTLY brown, but do not burn while the zucchini is being prepped).
4.Half the yellow and red cherry tomatoes.
5.Raise heat to Med. Add 1tsp organic butter. Add tomatoes and zucchini. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and cracked pepper.
Use tongs to flip and toss the zucchini and tomato about 1 minute. Cover for 2 min.
6.Uncover. Add 1/2 C cottage cheese, 1/4tsp, or more to taste of Trader Joe's garlic powder, and 1/8-1/4 C freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and toss with tongs for 30 secs.
7. Cover for 30 secs. The cheese will melt into the dish.
8.Uncover, serve in pasta bowl, using tongs to plate zucchini ribbons into a mound into the center of the bowl. Place cherry tomatoes around, sprinkle with a little more parmigiano reggiano, top with a basil leaf. YUM. And beautiful.

*So basically, bc it's summer, and there's an abundance of zucchini, and I'm trying to be slim and save calories, I substituted zucchini in the place of pasta.
I never thought I'd enjoy it this much. AND, considering pasta has 210 cal per serving, I save about 190 by subbing zucchini, PLUS get veggies
*The cottage cheese has protein, no fat, and it melts into a creamy, but light sauce that melts into the zucchini ribbons.
*Parmigiano Reggiano is NOT the grated parm in a can. It is a somewhat expensive, but out of this world, aged, delicious cheese. The good thing is, it is so flavorful and rich, you don't need that much of it. I get it in a wheel at Trader Joe's (where we do all our shopping) for a great price. You grate it yourself as you use it.
*Also, feel free to use cooking spray instead olive oil.
I was taught cook by my husband's Nonna for which I'm grateful, she was a wonderful cook, but there was little measuring going on, unless we were baking. And I've carried on like that.
TUTTI MANGIANO!!!

I make kale smoothies all the time. You put about a cup of raw kale, 1 cup of water, a piece of fruit (banana, mango, peach, etc) for sweetness, and either some nutmeg or ginger. Grind it up and drink it. You can also substitute carrots for the fruit, but I personally like the sweeter flavor.