Tag: healthy

Baked Kale Chips


Baked Kale Chips

In keeping with the theme of my last post, I’m sharing this tasty little snack I made for a second time yesterday. I love that the kale gets crispy like potato chips, yet are so much healthier. There are numerous things you can add to them… lemon juice, paprika, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, garlic, etc., so go ahead and experiment!

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch (about 6 oz.) kale
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Kale before baking

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
  2. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs.
  3. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil and apple cider vinegar in a bowl then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper for easier clean up).
  5. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until crisp.
  6. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.

Top ↑

Sautéed Kale


I realize this recipe may not be as exciting as some of my others, but knowing that it is a superfood, should entice you to try it (if you already haven’t). The skinny on this leafy green is that Kale, also known as borecole, is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. It’s available in curly, ornamental, or dinosaur varieties. It belongs to the Brassica family that includes cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, collards, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6, 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. So… with all that being said, eat your Kale!

This recipe is super easy to prepare and adds some really nice flavor.

Sauteed Kale

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. kale, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock (can use 1/2 cup water if desired)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tsp. red wine vinegar (can substitute balsamic)

Directions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add crushed red pepper flakes, if using, and let them sizzle a bit in the oil.
  3. Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored.
  4. Add the stock and kale, and toss to combine.
  5. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
  6. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all (most) of the liquid has evaporated.
  7. Season with salt and pepper and add vinegar.

Top ↑

Parmesan Crusted Chicken


I am always looking for quick and easy recipes that are healthy, and was excited when I came across this one. It will be perfect for those times when I get home from work and don’t want to fuss in the kitchen. And I love the fact that it has only four ingredients, is ready in 30 minutes and is very tasty!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise *
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lbs.)
  • 4 tsp. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°.
  2. Combine Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise with cheese in a medium bowl.
  3. Arrange chicken on a baking sheet with a little cooking spray. Evenly top with mayonnaise mixture, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.
  4. Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

* To make this even healthier, use light, fat-free or canola mayonnaise.

Note: My personal preference is to cover the entire pieces of chicken in the mixture, instead of just on the top. Also feel free to use additional spices like garlic, salt & pepper, oregano, parsley, etc. in the mayo mix.

Serves 4

Recipe courtesy of Best Foods

Top ↑

Healthy Chicken Wings


Growing up in Upstate New York, Buffalo wings were practically a staple in everyone’s diet. I recall ordering them numerous times, okay, a LOT, while in college, and having them delivered to my dorm. Needless to say, I was amongst the many who gained “the freshman 15”, which then carried over into my sophomore year, as those wings were nowhere close to being in the healthy category. I do still love having wings from time to time, but now choose to have them baked and not fried, thus allowing my conscience to remain at ease. I’m happy to report that this recipe will do the same and is guilt-free.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. chicken drummettes (or wings)
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • 2 tbsp. ketchup
  • 2 tsp. red pepper sauce
  • 1 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
  • Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce
  • Celery sticks, if desired

Directions

  • Remove skin and fat from chicken.
  • Mix honey, ketchup, pepper sauce and Worchestershire sauce in heavy-duty resealable plastic food-storage bag.
  • Add chicken, turn to coat with honey mixture.
  • Seal bag and refrigerate at least 15 minutes, but no longer than 24 hours, turning occasionally.
  • Make Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce, if desired.
  • Heat over to 350.
  • Line jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.
  • Place chicken in pan.
  • Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until crisp, and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.
  • Serve with blue cheese dip and celery sticks.

Top ↑

Spicy Edamame


I’m a HUGE fan of sushi, and always have to order edamame as a starter whenever I go to a Japanese restaurant. One of my favorite sushi restaurants is Sashi in Manhattan Beach, which is where I went for my birthday dinner last year. Naturally, we had to get an order of their edamame, which was not your run-of-the-mill edamame, as it’s served 2 ways; with Indian spices and also, sea salt. The Indian-spiced batch was incredibly tasty, and since that time, I wanted to recreate something similar at home. I came across this spicy edamame recipe using Japanese 7 spice, and can’t begin to tell you how many batches of it I’ve made. Actually, I’m making some more right now! Japanese 7 spice, or Shichimi Togarashi in Japanese, is a blend of spices that contains red chili, seaweed, sansho pepper, orange peel, poppy seeds and white and black sesame seeds. It’s a popular table condiment in Japan, where it’s used to add heat and flavor to lots of different dishes. This is the original recipe I found, but will make a notation as to how I like to prepare it. I also like to dip the edamame in a spicy Japanese mayo, so I’ll include a link to that recipe as well.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb edamame
  • 2 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 1/2 tbsp Japanese 7 spice
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Japanese spicy mayo

Directions

  1. Cook edamame according to package directions & drain. (I like to add a little garlic and ginger powder to the water.)
  2. Place edamame in a large bowl. Add oil and toss to coat, adding more if needed.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients & mix together well.

For my version of this recipe, I eliminate the cayenne pepper and garlic, and add just a little bit of sugar. I love the combo of sweet & spicy.

Top ↑

BBQ Chicken & Black Bean Burrito


Recipe courtesy of Jillian Michaels’ Ripped in 30 meal plan

Now that summer and beach season is right around the corner (Yay), I am going to be focusing more on healthy, low-calorie dishes so I (you) can enjoy a tasty meal without the guilt. I just made this recipe for the first time tonight, and am happy to report that it is delicious! I’ve made a few alterations, which I’ll include along with the original recipe.

~ Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 lb skinless, boneless organic chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/3 cup low-sodium barbeque sauce
  • 15 oz (1 can) low-sodium black beans, rinsed & drained
  • 1/2 cup (2 oz) organic reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used 1/4 cup)
  • 4 Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain tortillas (or substitute Mission Life Balance whole wheat tortillas)
  • 1/4 cup organic nonfat plain Greek yogurt (or substitute organic nonfat honey Greek yogurt)
  • 2 tsp salsa (optional)

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  2. Add chicken, onion & garlic; cook 8-10 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked, stirring constantly.
  3. Stir in barbeque sauce & beans.
  4. Sprinkle with cheese; cook for 5-10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. (I recommend cooking for at least 10 minutes so the flavors blend well)
  5. Warm tortillas in a separate skillet until lightly brown. (You can skip this step if your tortillas are at room temperature)
  6. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla; top each with 1 tbsp Greek yogurt, and roll up.
  7. Add a little salsa to the top of the rolled up tortilla and/or put on the side. (optional)

368 Calories per serving, 13.3 g Fat, 29.1 Carbohydrates, 544 mg Sodium, 4.8 g Fiber, 34.9 g Protein

ENJOY 🙂

Top ↑

Popchips Chicken Cutlets


Some of you may be asking… what are Popchips? Well, for starters, they are my favorite chips. Why? For many reasons. First off, they are healthy, delicious and all-natural. They’re not fried or baked, but… popped. And NO preservatives. They come in a variety of flavors to tantalize everyone’s taste buds. So, while I was snacking on some, I thought, these would be great to use on baked chicken. I came up with a quick recipe that I literally, just whipped up. I decided to try the BBQ (pictured on the left) & also, the Cheddar. Scrumptious! I have a half cutlet left, so will reheat it tomorrow & serve it with creamy cheese grits that I made earlier today (I’ll post that recipe soon)! For those of you with kids, you can make chicken fingers or nuggets & just provide some dipping sauce for fun.

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken cutlets
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 12 Popchips (any flavor)

Directions

  1. Preheat over to 375F.
  2. Line baking sheet with foil.
  3. In shallow bowl, combine cream, salt, pepper & honey. Mix well.
  4. Crush Popchips on a folded sheet of parchment paper using a rolling pin to make crumbs, place in separate bowl.
  5. Dip chicken in cream mixture, coat on both sides, and then dredge in chip crumbs.
  6. Place cutlets on baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Quinoa


Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a grain that comes from the Andes Mountains of South America. Quinoa’s origins are truly ancient. It was one of  the three staple foods, along with corn and potatoes, of the Inca civilization. Quinoa was known then, and still is known, with respect, as the mother grain. It is often called the “Supergrain of the Future.” Quinoa contains all eight essential amino acids and more protein than any other grain; an average of 16.2  percent, compared with 7.5 percent for rice, 9.9 percent for millet, and 14 percent for wheat. It looks like a grain and is often regarded as a whole grain even though it is actually the seed of a plant that is related to spinach. Quinoa is also low in fat and a good source of other nutrients such as calcium. As quinoa is free from gluten, it makes an ideal alternative for people who eat a gluten-free diet. Quinoa is naturally high in fiber and this is a useful addition to most diets. It is has many uses, like breakfast cereal, as a substitution for rice or in combination dishes such as pilaf, to name a few.

Cooking Instructions:

Quinoa should be rinsed thoroughly before cooking to remove any powdery residue. Place grain in a fine strainer and hold under cold running water until water runs clear; drain well.

To cook, use 2 cups liquid per 1 cup of quinoa. Combine liquid & quinoa in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover & cook until the grains are translucent and the germ has spiraled out from each grain. About 15 minutes.

I add some salt, pepper and garlic to the water prior to boiling for additional flavor.

The Oaks Peanut Sauce


This sauce, by The Oaks at Ojai chef Christine Denney, will really be the jack-of-all-trades in your refrigerator. Serve this versatile peanut sauce with salad greens, shredded carrots and minced green onion or with chicken or fish.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp natural unsalted peanut butter
  • 2 tsp raw, organic honey
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • ¼ cup low-fat plain yogurt

Directions

  1. In a bowl, whisk all ingredients together except yogurt. Lightly fold in yogurt.

Cherry-Arugula Salad With Almonds & Tarragon


 Cherries and almonds are a classic pair and make a delicious salad combination with tart arugula and fragrant tarragon.

Ingredients

  •  2 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 small shallot, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 6 tbsp slivered almonds, divided
  • 1/2 pound cherries (about 2 cups), pitted and halved, divided
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
  • 5 oz baby arugula
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked whole grains (e.g. barley, farro, wheat berries, wild rice, or even quinoa)

Directions

  1. In a blender, combine vinegar, shallot, mustard, water, 3 tbsp of the almonds and 1/4 cup of the pitted cherries.
  2. Blend until very smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in tarragon.
  3. Combine arugula, cooked grains and remaining cherries in a large bowl.
  4. Toss with the dressing and garnish with the remaining 3 tbsp almonds.