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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Kale Chips 

Ingredients 

• 1 large head kale, destemmed and torn into large pieces
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Cayenne pepper or paprika (optional)

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 375° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2.) Toss kale with olive oil until well coated. Lay out on prepared baking sheets and season with salt and pepper (and optional spices).

3.) Bake 15 minutes or until dry and crisp.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: healthy rethink, sidedish, vegetables

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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.

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Slow Cooker Cassoulet

Makes 6 hearty servings.

Based on the recipe from Allrecipes.

Ingredients

• 3 cups dried Great Northern beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1½ cups roughly chopped onion
• 3 large carrots peeled & roughly chopped
• 3 large parsnips peeled & roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1½ tsp. dried thyme
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 3 links cooked Italian chicken sausage cut into thick pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• ¼ cup dry breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1.) Place the beans in a colander and rinse very well. Pick out any broken beans or skins you find and place beans in the slow cooker crock. Cover with water and be sure there is at least 2 inches covering the beans. Soak overnight. Once ready, drain the beans and rinse again. Place beans back in the crock pot

2.) Heat olive oil over medium-high in a large skillet and saute onion, carrots, parsnip, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaf until fragrant and tender, about 5 minutes. Add contents of pan to slow cooker along with vegetable stock, and tomatoes. If the liquid still isn’t covering the top add enough water until everything is submerged. Cook on low 8-10 hours (high 6-8 hours) or until beans are tender. Add sausage and heat through.

3.) While the sausage is heating through, melt the butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese and stir until lightly browned and fragrant. Toss in parsley with breadcrumb mixture.

4.) Season the cassoulet once more before serving. Once ready to serve, ladle cassoulet into bowls and sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on top. Serve with lots of good crusty bread and white wine.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: autumn, beans, crock pot, healthy rethink, soup, vegetables, winter

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Healthy Banana Pancakes

Based on the recipe from Skinny Taste.

Makes 7 nicely sized pancakes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. table salt
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla flavored almond milk
• 3 large egg whites
• 2 tsp. canola oil
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 large, very ripe banana, mashed
• Nonstick cooking spray

Directions

1.) Place a baking sheet in oven and preheat to 200° F.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg whites, almond milk, canola oil, honey, and banana. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, table salt, and cinnamon. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just mixed.

3.) Heat a very large nonstick pan (or griddle) over medium heat. Spray with nonstick spray and ladle 1/3-cup of batter for each pancake. When the pancakes are bubbling on the edges and all over, about 3 minutes, flip. Cook another 2 minutes and place cooked pancakes in oven while the others finish. Serve with pure maple syrup or fake butter-flavored pancake syrup product (mmmm).

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: banana, breakfast, healthy rethink, sweet

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Mushroom Stroganoff

Based on the recipe from Fresh Mushrooms.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cups quartered crimini mushrooms
• 1 cup sliced button mushrooms
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. beef broth, divided
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
• Egg noodles and sour cream for serving

Directions

1.) Melt the olive oil and butter together in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they become very soft and begin to turn golden – about 10 minutes.

2.) Whisk together ¼ cup beef broth and cornstarch, add to the pan, along with mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the mushrooms soften and the liquid has cooked off. Turn the heat to high and add the 2 Tbsp. beef broth and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, allowing it reduce into a thick sauce.

3.) Serve over warm egg noodles with a dollop of sour cream.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: healthy rethink, pasta, vegetables

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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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Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 12 muffins.

I’ve adjusted for altitude here in my version, so feel free to use the original below.

Based on the recipe from RecipeGirl.

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups mashed ripe banana
• 2/3 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons nonfat yogurt
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup whole grain oat flour (if you can’t find oat flour or it’s expensive, just grind up some oats until they’re fine like flour)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 375 °F with rack set in center of oven. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups and then spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, mix together the bananas, honey, yogurt, applesauce, egg whites, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wheat flour, oat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet, being sure to not overstir.

3.) Pour batter into muffin cups evenly and then sprinkle the ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips over all 12 muffins (not ¼ cup per muffin!). Bake 12-16 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes on a cooling rack and then remove the muffins from the pan to cool completely.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: baking, chocolate, healthy rethink, high altitude, sweet

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