Tag Archives: healthy dinners

April 29, 2012 · 4:54 pm

Organic Turkey & Bell Pepper Fajitas

Does that look strangely like a taco salad to you?

Well, you’re right.

Upgraded, of course.

It’s nothing radically creative, I know.

All those juices are flowing full force into the rest of my life. And yes, I promise I’ll stop being so mysterious in the coming weeks. You guys will be PUMPED, so just hang tight.

In the meantime, let’s appreciate this amazing fact. I have been eating this, literally, for 2 weeks straight. And I still love it. That’s how I know it’s a good thing. And that’s coming from a girl that doesn’t really like leftovers.

Let’s count the reasons.

It’s fast {10 minutes}, filling {so much clean and real protein here}, healthy {my version} and there’s only one pan to clean. What more do you need?

Well, there’s one more, big thing.

Infinite meal variations from one dish.

Yeah, baby.

Let’s see. Add a can of black beans, salsa and chopped romaine and you’ve got a fajita salad {my favorite}. Add some iceburg lettuce and you’ve got some nice looking lettuce wraps. 100% organic corn tortillas can make a healthy taco bar, or adding some brown rice or qunioa makes for a great little fajita bowl. And, if you want to get fancy, add some avocado, lime juice or cilantro. Or you can add it in to a veggie stir fry or homemade tomato sauce to serve over your spaghetti squash. Or in your scrambled eggs.

Now we’re talking.

Goodbye MSG laced taco seasoning packets and mystery taco meat. Hello, 100% frozen organic ground turkey breast and a blend of simple spices that you can feel good about.

Organic Turkey & Bell Pepper Fajitas:

Ingredients:

1 lb organic ground turkey {So important to do organic meat. Worth the extra price, trust me}

1 red bell pepper

1 green or yellow bell pepper

1 onion, sliced {optional. I didn’t use in mine}

Sarah’s Clean Taco Seasoning:
1 TB garam masala
1 TB cumin
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
sea salt
pepper

Directions:

1. In a wide skillet, heat a bit of olive oil on med-high heat. Add ground turkey and move around so every part makes contact with the pan (4 min or so).

2. Add chopped pepper and onions. Stir around until peppers and onions are cooked and the turkey is browned. Add your seasoning and taste. Alter the seasonings to your liking and spice level.

3. For my fajita salad, add over chopped romaine with black beans, salsa, avocado and lime juice.

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March 21, 2012 · 6:20 pm

Falafel Salad with Cucumber-Dill Dressing

Maybe it’s the Mediterranean streak in my blood, but I am quite certain that I could eat a Greek salad every night of the week and be a very happy girl.

Or, any Greek food for that matter.

(Which is what I’ve been doing lately, if you really want to know).

And then, one day, that wasn’t enough.

Not quantity, necessarily.

But more of my favorite Greek dishes in one place, without all the fillers and stuff I don’t care about. Pita bread and garlic breath hummus, that’s you.

So there you have it. A twist on the old classics: greek salad, falafel and tzatziki, all in one glorious place.  And you don’t even have to be a high maintenance restaurant orderer- it’s easy to do at home, fresh, healthy, and creates the perfect leftovers for lunch. As if you need any other reason than the fact that it tastes amazing.

Falafel Patties

Ingredients:

1 can garbanzo beans

2 small zucchinis, shredded

3 tablespoons fresh parsley

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons cumin

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons sesame seeds or tahini (optional)

sea salt + pepper

Other great ingredients to add: shredded carrots, onion or more spices (garam masala, thyme or curry powder).

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 385. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor with a bit of water if needed and blend together.

2. Scoop the falafel batter with a 1 TB measuring spoon, and space evenly on a lightly oiled or sprayed baking sheet. You can also fry them on the stove top if you like a bit more crisp:

3. Bake for 15-20 min, then flip and cook another 10-15 min until they brown evenly.

Cucumber-Dill Yogurt Dressing:

Ingredients:

1 cup organic whole milk greek yogurt

1 cucumber, seeds scooped out and sliced thinly

1 tablespoons dried dill

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 clove garlic, chopped

sea salt + pepper

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir together. Great as a dressing or side dish.

Chop romaine lettuce and add baby tomatoes or chopped bell peppers. Add the falafel patties and top with the cucumber-dill dressing:

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November 8, 2011 · 12:05 am

Coconut-Almond Crusted Chicken {or fish or shrimp}

Let’s play a game.

I’ll say a word and you say the first thing that comes to mind.

I’ll go first.

Chicken.

……………………Boring.

Oh, sorry. [so rude of me]. It just popped out.

I would even dare to say it’s in my Top 5 Most Boring Foods, a close tie with steamed veggies. And we all know how I feel about those. [A helpful hint: roast them. You may actually like vegetables if you do so].

So, there it is. I have little patience for boring, bland food. Especially if it takes more time than my usual 10 minute rule. Therefore, as you can imagine, I don’t eat a lot of chicken. The recipes that make it seem to taste good are pretty time and ingredient intensive. Who has time for that on a normal weeknight?

Not I, my friends.

I would guess not you either, if you are reading this blog in the first place.

But we know that chicken is a real food, a whole food and can be a healthy food as long as the chicken was healthy, which is more rare than you might think. [It's helpful hint day, apparently. Hint #2: always buy your meat and dairy products organic. You pay more for what you don't ingest than what you do. This is even more important than organic fruits and veggies if you have to choose].

Back to the chicken. If it’s from a clean source, it can be a nice heavier food, which makes it great this time of year as we crave more substance to our dinners.

The only thing standing in our way is making it taste great in a short amount of time.

Hello, Coconut-Almond Crusted Chicken. You are just perfect for the occasion. Don’t like chicken? It tastes great with fish too. And sweet potatoes, carrots, and parsnips too for that matter.

Unsweetened coconut flakes + almond meal makes a perfect outer crust with great flavor- no flour, no cheese, no egg is necessary, although you can easily add any of those in if you choose. Crushed pistachios or hazelnuts would be a great addition for some more crunch, or you can go the minimalist route as I did and still have a great, easy and clean weeknight dinner.

And if looks and presentation count in your book, this is a perfect one to keep around:

Coconut Almond Crusted Chicken

Coconut-Almond Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

4 organic, thin cut chicken breasts

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour

organic, extra virgin coconut oil

sea salt, pepper, paprika and lemon zest (opt)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix together the coconut, almond meal and spices. Stir until equally combined:

2. Cover a small plate with the coconut-almond mixture. Rinse and gently pat dry your chicken breasts, leaving a little moisture. Bread the chicken on both sides with the coconut-almond mix:

3. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet as you go. This is just a resting place until you cook them stovetop:

4. Melt 1 TB of coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Flip the chicken halfway through, as each side browns and enjoy with some of your favorite veggies and potatoes for a perfect meal:

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March 22, 2011 · 4:41 pm

Spring Brown Rice Risotto

Brown Rice Risotto. Photographed by simplyrealfood

In honor of the first official day of Spring yesterday, and as we wait for the weather to catch up, a great little winter to spring transitional dish for you this week – a little Brown Rice “Risotto.” Spring crop veggies like green peas and asparagus season are almost upon us and I can’t wait- I’m ready to be done with the heavy winter squashes and root vegetables. So lighten up your comfort food winter brown rice  and add some fresh spring veggies to the mix as we get closer to spring season….or further from winter at the very least.

This Brown Rice “Risotto” is a great recipe base for a lot of different combinations. I used mushrooms and fresh peas this time, but asparagus and spinach would be great too, as would onions and mushrooms, or really any vegetables you prefer.

The cooking method is a bit different on the grains than usual (and by different I mean better). The trick here is the steam the rice at the end, rather than trying to have it absorb all the water where it ends up mushy or dried out. And while authentic risotto is made with white ariobo rice, sticks of butter, cream, and cheese, this is quite simplified and back to the basics with brown rice and a bit of good quality cheese- well, except for the taste. You really don’t miss all the extras in this one, I promise.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked brown rice (quinoa or millet would work well too) soaked for 5 hours min

1/2 cup frozen organic peas

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms (or 1 package pre-sliced)

1/2 block of raw cheddar cheese or a melty cheese of your choice -parmesan or gouda would work well too.

Sea salt, pepper, sage (or other green herbs like parsley, tarragon, rosemary) to taste.

Directions:

1. After your rice has soaked, rinse it well. Add it to a soup pot and cover with 6-8 cups of water, a pinch of sea salt and bring to a boil. Add sliced mushrooms and onions to the water and reduce to a small boil. Cover and let cook for 30 minutes or so.

2. Test the rice- it should be slightly chewy, an al dente texture. Add your peas (and asparagus if you’d like) in and let cook for another 5 minutes.

3. Drain the rice and veggies into a colander so all the water drains away. Turn the heat off on the stove. Add the rice and veggie mixture back into the pot. Add loads of black pepper, a bit of sea salt and sage (or other herbs). Slice or grate cheese and mix well.

4. Cover the pot and let the rice steam for 10 minutes as the cheese melts. Serve immediately with black pepper.

Spring Pea & Mushroom Brown Rice Risotto. Photographed by simplyrealfood.

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February 17, 2011 · 7:26 pm

Twice Baked Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes:

{A disclaimer my loyal readers: I know these do not fall under my usual requirement of 20 minutes or less. But, they are so very good, hearty and filling that it’s worth it, I promise. Plus, this recipe makes a big batch at one time, so there is less cooking to do for the rest of the week.}

Oh potatoes.

Contrary to many diets, potatoes are actually a very healthy, old world, real food. Potatoes will not make you fat because of their “starch” content and high “carbs”. That would be the chocolate, alcohol, and diet coke you’re drinking, not the potatoes, trust me.

Potatoes are filling, warm, and relatively easy to prepare. Plus, they are one of my favorite foods. That’s enough of a reason, don’t you think?

Most Twice Baked Potato recipes are usually loaded down with lots of ingredients, but I have found that you really don’t need that much (or any) butter, sour cream and cheese to make them taste good. I added some chopped kale to get some healthy greens in there, and mashed the potatoes with olive oil instead of their creamier counterparts. Chives add a punch of flavor without a lot of heaviness, as does a healthy dose of pepper in my version below.

Ingredients for Sarah’s Healthy Twice Baked Potatoes:

4 Russet Potatoes

1 head Green Kale

6 TB Olive Oil

20 stalks of fresh chives

Beecher’s Flagship Cheese (optional)

sea salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry the potatoes. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place the potatoes on top. Rub each potato with a small bit of olive oil and poke a few holes in it with a fork. When oven is ready, place inside to bake for an hour.

2. Wash and de-stem the kale. Tear into small bite sized pieces and place in a large saucepan with a dollop of olive oil on the bottom. Cook on medium heat (5-6) until the kale softens and reduces in size. Set aside in a large bowl:

3. Wash 20 stalks of chives (or more if you prefer). Cut off the bottom ends and discard. Starting from the bottom, finely slice until you get halfway up the stalk. Set aside:

4. {Side tip}: With a timer on the potatoes you can do some laundry, clean the kitchen, etc while your potatoes finish up. You don’t need to watch them cook. Just because you have a long recipe doesn’t mean you can’t be efficient with other things.

5. Remove the potatoes from the oven when you can easily poke through the skin with a fork and let cool for a few minutes. Bump oven temperature down to 350. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise when they are cool enough to handle.

6. Carefully start scooping out the insides of the potato, being sure to leave a few centimeters to help keep the structure, and add into the bowl with kale:

7. Add the olive oil (or more if you’d like) to the potato and kale mixture. Mash all the ingredients together and add a few dashes of sea salt and generous amounts of pepper.

8. Add the potato stuffing to the shells:

9. Sprinkle with the chopped chives and grated Beecher’s cheese (optional but I definitely recommend it).

10. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Turn on the broiler on high heat and broil for the last 5 minutes until the tops turn a bit brown.

Serve as part of a meal, or one in itself. Other options for add ins are butter, ground meat, or sautéed mushrooms. Or try the same recipe with sweet potatoes or yams, mixed with olive oil or coconut oil, cinnamon, and sea salt. Coconut flakes make a great topping on this sweeter version as well.


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January 14, 2011 · 2:42 am

The Healthy Chop: Give Your Everyday Salad a Makeover

The Healthy Chop: The standard salad gets a makeover.

Are your salads getting a little boring lately? Let me ask this- do you make the same one (or two) almost every night? In the month of the salad (I’m serious) I’d hate to see so many people give up their healthy eating habits because it gets boring. Let’s change it up a little bit. Presenting The Healthy Chop.

Chopped salad, although the same ingredients as many standard salads, is presented in a different way- a little crunch, and lots of the good stuff in every bit. No hunting around in your bowl for the “treasures”. You know what I mean. Not to mention the awkward salad hang.  You know, when you try to take a bite and it just hangs out the side of your mouth because it’s too big? Everything is chopped, bite sized and ready to go.  Plus, it’s a salad that’s a hearty meal, depending what else you add in. Multiple problems solved with one easy dish. That, my friends, is why it’s for dinner this week.

I am usually a spinach or mixed greens kind of girl, but romaine can be refreshing once in a while as well as its a bit crunchier than the other varieties. Start with that as your base and add whatever other veggies, meat or beans that you prefer. In mine, I had cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, and organic herbed turkey breast. I wanted to add garbanzo beans and avocado as well, but didn’t have time to stop at the store. It was great without, but I imagine even better with it.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

1 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped finely
2 roma tomatoes
1 huge handful fresh basil, chopped
3 slices organic herbed turkey breast (or shredded chicken)
1 cucumber, peeled
1 avocado, diced
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

Dressing:

6 TB olive oil
3 TB  balsamic vinegar
2 TB dijon mustard
sea salt & pepper
 

Directions:

Line up washed romaine leaves and chop finely into strips. Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out the middle seeds and goop.  Chop into small cubes. This key to a great chopped salad. Do the same with your cucumber: Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds. Place the scooped out cucumbers face down on the cutting board and slice into 1/3rds. Turn sideways and chop into small cubes. Add chopped basil and the turkey to a large bowl. Whip up your dressing and toss the salad to coat.

The possibilities for toppings are endless-all you need is a good, sharp chopping knife. Enjoy!

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