A Practical Guide To Healthy Living

Let me start by saying that although their price is right, I’m usually not a fan of boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  I’ve tried to like ‘em.  I’ve made tagines around them, chopped them up for Chinese, etc., but they end up slimy and icky.  And this from a woman who has to hold back on the roasted dark meat because her daughter is also a lover.  But now, with this soup, I’ve found a home for those puppies.  No slime.  Just yummy deliciousness. 

This is very easy and very flavorful – great the night you make it and also yummy as leftovers.  [Read more →]

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Mmmm. . . the weather’s getting colder.  If you’re anything like me, you’re thinking more about tucking into big bowls of carbohydrates.  Potatoes?  Pasta?  Preferably with some sort of artery-clogger as an ingredient or topping?  Sign. Me. Up.

But alas.  The pounds weight (get it?) for no one.  And your heart has no idea if it’s August or October, so let’s keep ourselves in check – at least most days of the week.  Here’re some easy swaps that can help you do just that.

Instead of cream, try cornstarch.  Get some of the richness, body and mouthfeel of cream without all the calories and fat.  And if you need more?  Add your cornstarch with with some fat-free evaporated milk – use this instead of heavy cream, for instance.  I’d recommend amping up your spice to compensate for the bit of flavor you’ll lose with this sub.

Instead of potatoes, try cauliflower.  Seriously!  Mash it up – and for 53 fewer calories per half-cup then taters, your thighs’ll thank you. 

Instead of butter, try fat-free Greek yogurt.  Also a great sour cream sub!  You can swap this one almost 1:1 in recipes.  And using the non-fat variety saves you 750 calories and 58 g. of sat. fat per half-cup!?  Zoinks.  With that kinda savings, you can budget in a chili-cheese dog on Saturday.

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And now for something completely different . . . not a soup, or a stew, or a Crock-Pot dish.  Not a chicken thing or a tofu scramble.  A desserty/snacky/breakfasty delight. 

I usually try to minimize my baking efforts.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy it.  And L. certainly digs getting her mixer on and crackin’ a few eggs.  But then we have the product, and it’s delicious, and, well, hard to resist.  So we eat it all up and then we (well, D. and I) pay the price on the hips, the belly and with the corresponding uptick on the scale. 

But we love us some baked goods in this house, and so when I was faced with a bunch of really brown bananas, well, I couldn’t resist trying out this new recipe for banana bread.

My recipe makes two full-sized loaves.  The Greek yogurt helps add moisture without added fat (there’s butter for that!).  We made one chocolate with chocolate chips, and one plain with chocolate chips.  They’re both damn good, although I think the choco/choco is a little too much . . . and I would’ve loved nuts, but the weirdospeople around here aren’t into those in their quickbreads. 

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (adapted from Savory Sweet Life)

Preheat over to 350°. Lightly grease two 9×5 loaf pans with cooking spray or butter. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Stir in egg, mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla until well blended. Add baking soda, salt, flour. Mix everything until well incorporated. Add chocolate chips, cocoa powder (if you want both loaves to be choco/choco) and nuts (if using), and split the batter in half.  Add cocoa to one-half of the batter.

Pour batter into loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the loaf – if it comes out clean, your loaves are done.

Makes 2 full-sized loaves, and this stuff freezes like a dream – pack one away for your next coffee-klatch.

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What? North African cuisine in the Crock-Pot? Yeah baby!  When I saw this recipe, I immediately tagged it and made a note: “MUST MAKE THIS RECIPE!”  [Read more →]

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Is it Thai Hut takeout? Domino’s?  Wish it could be different?  When you’re too pooped to think about dinner, why not have a failsafe fallback always at the ready – so you don’t even have to dial the digits and fork over the credit card?  Your choice should require minimal effort and be made with ingredients you keep on hand . . . think eggs and toast, or pasta with jarred sauce, or even a frozen Trader Joe’s or Kashi meal. 

What’s your survival dish?

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When I first saw this recipe, I groaned.  Until I made this, I treated my soup pot a lot like my Crock-Pot – it was for dump-n-go meals.   No browning, no pre-cooking the ingredients.  Puleez.  But for whatever reason (not enough to do with my time?  nope, that’s not it.) I decided to try this crazy roasting the veggies thing, and let me tell you, it’s worth it.  Not in a “I will never again eat soup with veggies that aren’t pre-roasted” kinda way, but so good that I don’t begrudge the effort. 

This recipe is ripe for customization – add whatever you have kicking around your fridge – winter CSA time is coming, along with a deluge of root veggies.  Parsnips? Check!  Turnip?  Sure!  Kohlrabi?  Delicious.  Toss ‘em in there and turn your family onto a warm, veggie-licious winter meal (or several!).

Roasted Vegetable Soup With Kale (adapted from Simply Recipes)

Preheat oven to 400°. Line two rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil. Arrange the squash in a single layer on one sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir gently to coat.  Add the carrots, onion, and garlic to the other sheet. Drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast vegetables until they are brown and tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Cut the carrots into 1/2 inch pieces; set aside. Place the garlic cloves and the onion in a food processor; puree until almost smooth. Transfer broth and vegetable puree to large pot. Add 5 1/2 cups broth, kale, thyme and bay leaf to pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until kale is tender, about 30 minutes.

Add the carrots, beans, and squash to soup. Simmer 8 minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth to thin soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

Serves six.  This can be made a day ahead of time, and in fact, I think it’s better left over!

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Have you tried sweet smoked paprika?  It’s a flavor like no other . . . cool, smooth smokiness with no heat – it’s so perfect in so many things.  Sure, it’s a classic Spanish spice, but it’s so versatile, you shouldn’t limit yourself.  Have you tried it sprinkled over your eggs over-easy?  Fry up some potatoes with onion, garlic and smoked paprika and watch your family wolf them down.  Somehow this stuff elevates whatever it’s used for to new levels of deliciousness.  Needless to say, I’m a huge fan, so when I saw this recipe I jumped on it – not to mention that I had an awesome head of Swiss chard from my Picadilly share.  This was super quick and super delicious. 

Sausage With Roasted Chickpeas & Chard (adapted from Serious Eats)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine the chickpeas, 1 T. of the olive oil, cumin, paprika, half of the garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss well.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the chickpeas out in a single layer.  Cut the sausage into a few pieces and nestle the sausage amongst the chickpeas.  Set the baking sheet in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Meanwhile, trim and chop the chard. Add the remaining olive oil to a large skillet set over high heat. Add the rest of the garlic, and let it cook for a few seconds, just until fragrant.  Add the chard. Season with salt and pepper, and stir often. After a minute or so, add half the vinegar. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chard it tender.  Taste the chard to see if it needs more vinegar and/or salt and pepper.

Combine the chard with the roasted chickpeas in a large bowl. Toss. Serve the the sausage over the chickpeas and chard mixture.

Serves 2, but can easily be doubled for 4.

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I don’t know why it took me ’til last winter to get really into making soup.  What the heck was wrong with me?  I think I thought they were too complicated, and perhaps not satisfying enough . . . I’ll admit it.  I was wrong wrong wrong.  Case in point – today’s recipe.  It is easy (some chopping is required) and so hearty you really don’t need anything else to go alongside . . . although a little green salad and a piece of crusty bread would set you up for delight, I’m sure.  Enjoy!

White Bean & Kale Soup (inspired by the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter)

In a small bowl, mash about 1/2 of the beans.  Set aside.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or soup bot over medium heat.  Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.  Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic; cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, 3-5 minutes.  Add the kale and toss it until it wilts down.  Add the broth, tomatoes and both the mashed and whole beans.  Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended, about 30 minutes.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Pass the Romano to sprinkle on top of each bowl at the table.

Serves 4.

If you have leftovers and they’re too thick, thin the soup with a little water or a little more low-sodium chicken broth.

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