Posts Tagged ‘healthy rethink’

kale chips

Salty and crunchy. The two characteristics I look for in my favorite kind of after-work snack. Usually the first thing I do when I get home from work is unload my crap, wash off my make-up, and open a bag of chips to munch on while I unwind. Although I’ve been good lately snacking on Popchips or other healthy alternatives, I decided to step up my game and get even healthier with these tasty treats.

Kale chips are pretty hot right now considering they have practically no calories, are incredibly crunchy, and have a pretty awesome flavor profile. You can make them as salty or spicy as you like, and they’re perfect for satisfying that salty-crunchy tooth. I’m trying to get back on the super healthy eating wagon since I started doing morning work-outs again and can actually control what I eat nowadays. Snacks like this really help, and I hope they do the same for you.

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slow cooker cassoulet

I’m tempted to create a tag which reads “Slow Cooker Sunday” since that’s all I seem to be doing lately, but it’s just so perfect for my life (and food cravings) right now, y’all just have to roll with me for awhile.

I know this is far from what a real cassoulet is (mmm pork fat) but let’s just call this a lightened, long-cooked homage to the French classic. You still get the meaty, rich white beans and aromatics with vegetables, but just a whole lot less pork and fat. I’m just on a mad hunt for any slow cooker stews that are figure-friendly but also very filling, and let me tell you, it’s harder than it seems, so this recipe was a delightful surprise.

Be sure to leave your vegetables very chunky and thickly cut for this recipe. If you slice them too thin or small they’ll disintegrate over the long cooking period (same with the sausage, which I just add at the end). If you’re vegetarian, feel free to use meatless Italian sausage or just add more beans to make this a little heartier.

healthy banana pancakes

My gastronomic adventures in Louisiana left me feeling a bit… heavy. Figuratively and literally. But I can’t stop indulging my breakfast sweet tooth on Sunday mornings, and these healthy wheat pancakes are just the solution.

Using bananas always helps keep things moist and I also found a new way to incorporate one of my favorite new healthy eating tricks – almond milk. The unsweetened vanilla flavor only runs 40 calories a cup (as opposed to 120 in a cup of 2%) and tastes great poured over cereal, so I tried it in this batter and had great results! The wheat flour adds a nice depth of flavor and really keeps things hearty so you feel full eating only a few pancakes and you can easily freeze the leftovers for next Sunday!

mushroom stroganoff

I’ve got vegetarian living on the brain. I’ve been researching recipes all week for an article I’ve been assigned on “Meatless Mondays” and although this recipe didn’t make the cut, I still went home and made it myself because it sounded oh-so-scrumptious. Plus by adding my own little tweeks and changes, I made it super low-cal and low-fat which sounded pretty good after my birthday weekend calorie free-for-all.

As much as I adore beef stroganoff, dishes like this make me realize I could easily live vegetarian if I had to. Rich and meaty (without the meat), with just a handful of ingredients and a handful of time, this will definitely become a weeknight fav once fall truly rolls in (which it slowly is and I could just die from happiness). Next time I’ll probably double the recipe since I easily ate over half the pan myself, but for now, it’s still good eats.

healthy banana-chocolate chip muffins

My last few baking adventures have definitely not been swimsuit-season minded, to say the least. Chocolate cake and lemon bars and snickerdoodles… butter was definitely a theme these past few weeks. Thankfully since my gym is within walking distance of my apartment it hasn’t become an issue… yet. But there’s nothing wrong with nipping things in the bud and making a healthy(er) sweet treat once in awhile.

When I found this recipe I thought “Banana and chocolate… low fat? Sign me up!” yet I was still dubious. So many things claim to be delicious and satisfying yet healthy, and mostly fail. Especially baked sweets. Even as I ate the batter thinking “Wow, this is good…’ I still doubted the outcome. But good God almighty was I proven wrong with these muffins. They’re not only some of the tastiest muffins I’ve ever tried period, they really do only have 165 calories a muffin! I refused to believe it until I did the math myself because they are just. that. good.

The moistness is out of control with the bananas, the sweetness level is just right but not overpowering, and by cleverly using mini morsels and sprinkling them over only the top of the muffins, you get that delicious bit of chocolate, without adding the extra calories. No stand mixer required, too! They really are almost too good to be true…

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jonesing for... is a collection of recipes, photos & food musings with a heavy dollop of sarcasm and a sprinkling of dry wit.
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