healthy recipes

Chickpeas, Kale, and Garlic.. Oh My!

February 6, 2014 By Joi Sigers

Chickpeas, Kale, and Red (Purple) Onion Salad

A few days ago, my stomach let me know that it was time for a quick lunch break. Since I work from home, I have the luxury of setting my lunch clock internally. I knew I wanted something fresh, healthy, filling, and (since I had plans for a big supper) light in the calorie department.

I came up with a Chickpea and Kale Salad that was as delicious and filling as it was healthy. I added a little red onion. Little secret: when no one else is around, I call them purple onions because… well, they aren’t red anymore than I am. They are, however purple. The fact that this is something I take issue with probably tells you everything you need to ever know about me.

I’m certifiable… I’ve just yet to be certified.

Let your love for each ingredient – and your own personal taste – guide you with the amounts of each ingredient. For that matter, feel free to add to the list.

I chose the following:

Fresh Kale, cut into small pieces
Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
The juice of one lemon, along with a little lemon zest to keep things pretty
A couple of red onion rings
Very finely minced garlic
Freshly ground pepper
A tiny amount of sea salt
A splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

It was darn good, which I pretty much expected because I love each ingredient with a particular passion. However, I honestly didn’t expect it to be so filling. I couldn’t even eat my entire salad. I put a lid on the leftovers and saved it for later.

The combination of chickpeas and kale was out of this world. The splash of lemon made it all come together beautifully.

Health Benefits of Chickpeas

Chickpeas are more than just a cute face – although they are pretty darn cute at that. They’re filling, fun to cook with, and have a great flavor. But there’s more. Garbanzo Beans (or Chickpeas) are a great source of fiber and are known to help lower cholesterol and improve blood sugar levels. Just 3/4 cup of chickpeas daily can reduce your risk of heart disease by helping to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

Throw chickpeas into tossed, bean, or pasta salads and soups for extra nutritional value, texture, and flavor. Making hummus is another perfect way to enjoy chickpeas.

I may be an extreme chickpea fanatic, but I enjoy them as a snack all by themselves. I drain them, rinse them, and pop them in my mouth like popcorn. So good!

Health Benefits of Kale

Kale comes with its own list of health benefits. One cup of kale has zero fat and only about 36 calories, making it a great choice for calorie counters. Best of all, its high in vitamins and antioxidants.

Kale is something of a super food. Just look at its benefits:

The fiber in kale fills you up and lowers cholesterol.
The Vitamin C in Kale can help ward off diseases and infections as it strengthens your immune system.
The Vitamin C in Kale is also essential for healthy joints.
Kale also has Vitamin A which can keep your eyes healthy as you age.
Kale actually has more iron than beef!
Kale is excellent for healthy skin, hair, and nails – making it a delicious beauty secret.

So, Kale can help you lose weight and/or keep it off, fight off diseases, protect your eyesight and joints, build stronger bones AND make you pretty so pretty? What’s not to love?

Enjoy Kale in green smoothies, in salads, and soups. One of my favorite ways to prepare kale is a baked kale recipe I found on the Cooking Channel’s website. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s awesome.

Health Benefits of Red Onions

Red… ahem, purple… onions (and yellow onions, for that matter) have an impressive list of health benefits, but the one that jumps out at me is their antioxidant power. These onions are some of the best natural sources of quercetin. All you really need to know about quercetin is that it’s a scavenger when it comes to free radicals.

Red onions also have cancer-fighting properties which is, all by itself, more than reason enough to include them in as many meals as possible. I love the versatility of red onions, as well as their bright color. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a bad red onion. They’re always just perfect for whatever I ask them to do.

You’re probably already familiar with the heart healthy benefits of olive oil and garlic, so I won’t get into their nutritional value right now. Quite frankly, I could be here all day talking about their health benefits because they seemingly go on forever.

A final word about eating healthy: When you eat healthy foods regularly, you’ll find that your “junk food” cravings will decrease significantly. I actually find myself craving great salads, soups, vegetables, and fresh fruit these days.. instead of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, doughnuts, and fries. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen.

It just makes good sense to eat healthier, doesn’t it?

Chickpeas, Kale, and Red (Purple) Onion Salad

Delicious Roasted Winter Vegetables (Any Season’s Veggies will Do!)

June 25, 2013 By Joi Sigers

I’ve always been a huge fan of Special K Products, so when I saw The Special K Challenge and Beyond: Your Complete Guide to Weight Management, Healthy Living & Delicious Cooking in my grocery store about a month ago, I snatched it up as fast as I grab my drinks at Starbucks as soon as my name’s called.

I have a system in place when it comes to buying cookbooks. I have to keep myself in check because, frankly, I’d spend all my money on adding to my cookbook collection if I were to be left unsupervised. What I’ve started doing is thumbing through the book and seeing if I can find 4 different recipes I really just cannot live without.

The first 4 recipes I saw were:

Asian-Style Braised Baby Bok Choy
Roasted Winter Vegetables
Greek Style Spaghetti Squash
Crispy Baked Crab Cakes with Spicy Re’moulade

They had me at Asian-Style Braised Baby Bok Choy, actually, but I went through the motions of being a tough sell. I sat the book directly into the cart (ironically right on top of a box of Special K Cereal – the kind with bits of chocolate… so, so, so, so very good!).

My grocery store didn’t have any Bok Choy that day – baby or otherwise – so I rounded up some favorite vegetables for the Roasted Winter Vegetables recipe (the recipe is at the bottom of this post).

If you see this book in a store, snatch it up – it’s fantastic. You can also order it from Amazon by clicking one of the links in the post or the picture of the book below.

Other recipes include:

Artichokes with Carrot-Cornbread Stuffing (I’m definitely making these for Thanksgiving)
Black Bean and Corn Dip with Oven-Baked Chips
Banana-Stuffed Multigrain French Toast
Spinach-Feta Frittata
Lemon-Chive Ricotta Dip
Enlightened Guacamole
Lemon-Pepper Salmon
Spanish-Style Cod with White Beans
Sauteed Shrimp Tacos
Chicken and Red Chile Enchiladas
Thai-Style Chicken in Lettuce Wraps
Oven-Fried Chicken Cutlets
Easy Chicken Potpies
Turkey Meatloaf with Barbecue Sauce
Braised Turkey Thighs with Winter Root Vegetables
Italian-Style Chicken Parmesan
Polenta Gratin
Rice Pudding with Dried Fruit
Dark Chocolate Angel Food Cake with Raspberry Sauce (you should see the picture!)
Frozen Yogurt with Berries Sundaes
Red Velvet Cupcakes
And A LOT MORE!

In addition to tons of healthy recipes (with suggestions, information, and nutritional facts), The Special K Challenge and Beyond: Your Complete Guide to Weight Management, Healthy Living & Delicious Cooking serves as a handbook for weight-management and weight-loss goals. You’ll learn about the Special K Challenge and how you can use it EASILY in your day to day life and make it fit your own personal needs. Allow me to point out, though, that whether you read one word about the Special K Challenge or not, this book is more than worth it for the recipes and nutritional information alone!

I’ve made the Roasted Winter Vegetables recipe below quite a few times, and have used different vegetables each time. I’ve used sweet potatoes, corn on the cob (with the ears halved… looks better), red potatoes, carrots, garlic. and cauliflower. I’ve also used the same method on roasted tomatoes, but with a shorter baking time. The balsamic vinegar and rosemary are a perfect match for every vegetable you can imagine!

Roasted Winter Vegetables

Cooking Spray
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 6 wedges
2 medium red potatoes, cut into 1 to 1-1/2 inch pieces
2 large shallots, cut into quarters
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mellow balsamic vinegar blends beautifully with fresh rosemary to flavor this colorful combination of roasted sweet potatoes, fennel, red potatoes, and shallots.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Meanwhile, on 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan lined with foil and coated with cooking spray, toss together sweet potato, fennel, red potatoes, shallots, oil, vinegar, salt, rosemary, and garlic.
Bake in preheated oven about 40 minutes or until vegetables begin to brown, stirring every 10 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl.

Make it your own: Comb farmer’s markets in the cooler months of the year for a variety of root vegetables to try. Here are suggestions for other varieties to roast using the method above:

Carrots – Peel and trim whole baby carrots, or cut larger peeled and trimmed carrots into 1-inch chunks.
Garlic – Separate a garlic head into cloves and leave peels on. Squeeze garlic from peels after roasting.
Onions – Cut peeled and trimmed medium yellow onions into 1-inch pieces.
Parsnips – Peel and trim parsnips and cut into 1-inch pieces
Turnips – Peel and trim whole baby turnips, or cut larger peeled and trimmed turnips into 1-inch wedges.

Fresh Salsa Verde Recipe

June 3, 2011 By Joi Sigers

Salsa Verde is Delicious on SO Many Different Things

You’ll frequently see salsa recipes and salsa love on this food blog. Why? This food blogger is, how do you say, freaking obsessed with salsa. I mean, seriously, there are so many variations and each tastes fresh and fabulous. What’s more, salsa can be as healthy as you want it to be. Mediterranean cooking is known to be incredibly healthy and some of the main components of a Mediterranean Diet are right there in salsa: Tomatoes, garlic, peppers, onions..

Nutritional expert Joy Bauer even suggests using salsa as a substitute for creamy dressings on sandwiches. Been there, done that, and called it Heavenly. I even replace salad dressing with salsa a most of the time – it ups the vegetable ante while keeping out unwanted fats and calories. I can’t wait to find tons of ways to enjoy the extraordinary Salsa Verde recipe below.

It’s from KRUPS, no wonder it’s a knock-out.

Fresh Salsa Verde Recipe from KRUPS

1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed
1 Serrano chili, more or less, optional
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1 cup chopped white onion

Rinse the tomatillos under cold water. Put them in a pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil, over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, until their color has changed and they are cooked and soft but not falling apart, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatillos to the blender along with the chili, the garlic clove and a teaspoon of salt. Puree until smooth. Stir in the chopped cilantro and onion. Taste for salt and add more, if necessary. Pour into a serving bowl.