A Healthy Recipe For Hearty Beef

Many people associate healthy food with those appetites which are on the lighter side. But it doesn't have to be that. Rachael Riggs, who wrote the new cookbook In Good Health, says she's a got a special recipe cooked up for those who want to eat hearty...and healthy. It's French Onion Beef, and it's the only Crock Pot recipe in the book. And it's for those who've come hungry! Rachael says she serves the beef over garlic mashed cauliflower, which she adds is a righteous stand-in for mashed potatoes. But that's only one recipe in this book, which is full of ideas for people navigating health issues like chronic illness but still want to eat good! 

Eggplant Parmesan That's Good For You!

In fact, it's so good for you, it's part of the The Power Five. That's not a basketball conference, that's a new cookbook by Dr. Michael Crupain. He stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about the cookbook and some of the recipes in there. The Eggplant Parmesan the good doctor prescribes calls for roasted, instead of fried eggplant and different kinds of aged cheese where can actually use less and get more. Dr. Crupain calls it "stealthly healthy" as a nutritious dish that's delicious as well. It's one of many recipes in the book that you can feel good about!

No Options in These Cookies

 

That's because they're fully loaded. But instead of a sugar crash, you'll get sustained energy throughout the day and a real fill-up before you hit the road. Registered dietician and author Marisa Moore stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her new cookbook The Plant Love Kitchen and recipe for loaded breakfast cookies. She says there's a lot here to like, including a short ingredients list that's very healthy. Marisa told Tonia she uses roasted and salted sunflower seeds to give the cookie a

crunch and the dried cranberries to add some chewiness. She says because there's not much in the way of sugar, but plenty of fiber and protein, these cookies will fill you up and not slow you down! Great for breakfast or a snack!

• 4 ounces dried cranberries
• roasted, salted sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup hot water
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• ¼ cup almond butter (or sunflower butter, or peanut butter)
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a half baking sheet with oil or line with parchment.
• Blend the dried cranberries with hot water in a small food processor or blender until a thick paste forms.
• Place the puree in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the oats, brown sugar, almond butter, cinnamon, and salt until a dough forms. Use a tablespoon measure to scoop the dough, roll, then flatten 12 small cookies and place on the prepared baking sheet. 
• Bake at 350°F for about 12 minutes or until the cookies are lightly brown on the bottom and fragrant. Enjoy warm or let cool on a cooling rack before transferring to a sealed container for up to 3 days. 

Rewarding Your Taste Buds...On Purpose

 

Chew on this for a second...what is flavor actually?  How does our brain process the very sensation of flavor, and how does it relate to the food we eat?  Today, Tonia's Kitchen tackles that very topic with author Michael Moss.  He's the write of a very thought provoking book called Salt Sugar Fat.  Tonia talked with Moss about one chapter in particular called That Gooey Sticky Mouthful. It was about a project undertaken by food giant Unilever, where, he says, that company's food scientists played with the combinations of salt, sugar and fat...in an effort to not just increase the taste, but transmit the proper signal to our brain that would make us feel happy and satisfied. This apparently in the hopes of getting us to associate their products with our pleasure.  If you think about it for a second, it might just change the way you eat!

Learning About LADA

 

It's a good question that you probably were not asking but should be. LADA is an acronym for Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults. It affects 3.4 million people in the US and has been known to medical researchers since the 1980s. Like most diagnoses for diabetes, those who contract it obviously have to make some changes in their diets. But we've come a long way with what we can and can't eat. And bookstores are full of cookbooks to cater to diabetic patients. This one though, Kickass Health Lada, is dedicated entirely to LADA, and how you can structure your diets around it. Jacqueline Haskins, who wrote the book, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen with an overview of the recipes and some new ideas. She told Tonia that the American breakfast is far different than what people eat overseas. She encouraged everyone to look at what makes up a breakfast in different countries and try it for yourself. Jacqueline also introduced Tonia to the concept of Carb-Craft, which in essence is how to safely enjoy various foods while dealing with LADA. For example, she says eat a rainbow, steer toward healthful fats (of which the book explains) and eat what you like. 

This Chili is Healthy!

We swear, we didn't know what to think when we first heard of the idea of Buffalo Chicken Wings, without the wings!  But guess what, it works...and it works very well too.  Mira Calton, who co-authored the book The Micronutrient Miracle, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen with her recipe for Buffalo Chicken Chili.  She combines most of the standard chili ingredients with ground, organic chicken, and adds what she calls her secret ingredients: white vinegar and crumbled blue cheese.  Add that, and Mira promises you'll find it's just like eating buffalo wings...without the bone!

1.5 lbs. ground organic pasture raised chicken (can sub organic grass-fed ground beef if you prefer or sprouted black beans to make this vegetarian/vegan)

4 tbsp. SKINNYFat original

1 lg. organic onion

2 stalks of organic celery, chopped

2 lg. carrots, peeled & chopped

4 cloves garlic, diced

28 oz. can fire roasted diced tomato (organic and BPA free can)

2 tablespoons organic chili powder

1 tsp. organic cumin

1 tsp. organic dried oregano

½ tsp. organic cayenne

Unrefined sea salt and organic pepper to taste

½ cup organic crumbled blue cheese (gluten free!)

3 tbsp. organic white vinegar

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large ceramic pot Add in chicken until brown
2. Stir in onion, celery, carrots, garlic, fire roasted diced tomato and all the spices.
3. Cover and cook on low for approx. 4 hours.
4. Optional Step: after browning chicken in pot place all the ingredients in a slow cooker for 4 hours.
5. Mix in the blue cheese and vinegar just before serving

Healthy Thai Dinner in 30 Minutes

 

Talking Thai food doesn't necessarily bring to mind a quick meal, but Katherine Alford with The Food Network and The Cooking Channel says it doesn't have to be that way.  Katherine has been talking to Tonia's Kitchen about their new cookbook Chopped, based on the TV show by the same name.  Alford says the inspiration behind the book are delicious meals that are easy to make, and take no more than 30 minutes to do so.  Katherine told Tonia about their fresh, healthy Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps, which are very healthy, taste amazing and are almost like a salad taco!

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 bunch scallions, sliced (white and green parts kept separate)

1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay

1. pounds ground turkey

. cup Asian fish sauce

1. cups diced fresh pineapple

. cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Juice of 2 limes, plus wedges for serving

Hot cooked white rice, for serving

1 head of Boston lettuce, leaves separated, for serving

MAKE THE FILLING: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high

heat. Add the garlic, ginger, scallion whites, and seafood seasoning.

Cook until the vegetables start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the

turkey and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until golden, about

5 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce and scallion greens and cook until

the liquid is almost completely absorbed, about 5 minutes. Stir in the

pineapple, cilantro, and lime juice. Remove from the heat.

SERVE: Spoon the filling over the hot cooked rice and serve with lime

wedges and lettuce leaves to make lettuce wraps.

Can a Burrito be Healthy?

  

Yes it can be!..thanks to delicious ingredients like brown rice, chickpeas and cauliflower, but it doesn't skimp on the taste.  Susie Middleton, who wrote the cookbook Simple Green Suppers stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her Spiced Cauliflower, Chickpea and Brown Rice Burrito with Arugula.  It's really a symphony of fine flavors with her Susie's Lime-Chipotle sauce.  All in all, a fresh take on a south-of-the-border classic, that can really make your lunch or dinner!

Spiced Cauliflower, Chickpea, and Brown Rice Burrito

with Arugula

Makes 4 burritos

2 cups cooked short-grain brown rice

1 cup cooked chickpeas or canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4 large (burrito-size, 10-inch) flour tortillas

Double recipe Spiced Cauliflower Sauté (recipe below) reheated if necessary

⅓ cup or more chopped toasted pecans or toasted sliced almonds

⅓ cup Lime-Chipotle Sauce (recipe below)

1 large or 2 small avocadoes, cut in half and sliced

1 to 1½ cups loosely packed arugula, or 20 to 30 small sprigs of fresh cilantro

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the rice and the chickpeas. Reheat in a microwave on high for 2 minutes or in a medium saucepan, covered, over low heat.

2. Warm the tortillas.

3. Place 1 tortilla on your work surface. Spoon about ½ cup of the warm rice and chickpeas onto the lower center of the tortilla, forming a rough shape a little bigger than a deck of cards (with the long side facing you). Put a portion (one quarter) of the cauliflower sauté on top of the rice and chickpeas. Sprinkle with a quarter of the pecans. Add a generous spoonful of lime-chipotle sauce and several arugula leaves or sprigs of cilantro. Top with a portion of avocado slices and a bit more lime-chipotle sauce if desired.

4. Wrap the burrito: Start by folding up the bottom (the side closest to you); then fold the two sides in, keeping the filling layered and compact. Then roll the whole burrito tightly over the rest of the tortilla to close it. Cut the burrito in half on a sharp diagonal and arrange the two halves on a plate. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

Spiced Cauliflower Sauté

Makes about 1½ cups,

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

2 teaspoons grapeseed or vegetable oil

2 cups small (1-inch) cauliflower florets

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

Lemon wedge

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, to taste (optional)

1. In a small bowl, stir together the cumin, coriander, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

2. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the cauliflower and salt and stir, then cover and cook, uncovering occasionally to stir, until the cauliflower has lost its opacity and is browning in spots, 7 to 9 minutes. Push the cauliflower to one side, and add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the garlic and the spice mixture, and cook until softened and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir together

the sautéed spices and cauliflower. Remove from the heat and season with a squeeze of lemon. Toss in the parsley (if using). Spoon onto the warm pancake or add to another

dish.

Lime-Chipotle Sauce

Makes ½ cup

¼ cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

½ teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

½ to 1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle in adobo, or 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce plus ¼ teaspoon dried chipotle powder or smoked paprika

Pinch of kosher salt

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients. Let sit for 1 minute. Taste, and adjust seasonings as you like. Transfer to a small serving bowl.

A Supermarket-Style Salad...That's Way Healthier

  

You might have seen this salad in your supermarket's service deli case, a creamy and delicious broccoli salad. Now let's make it healthier. Carly Knowles, who wrote the new book The Nutritionist Kitchen, The Healing Power of Whole Foods, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen with a colorful, flavorful Broccoli and Pickled Cranberry Salad. This salad's "saving grace" if you will, is the fact that Carli uses yogurt as opposed to mayonnaise. Everything is pure flavor. Carli told Tonia you can have fantastic flavor and stay true to the concept of "food is medicine." The opening part of her writings deal with how food can help you stay healthier, the second half, of course, are the recipes.

SALAD

½ cup dried cranberries (I prefer apple juice-sweetened)

¾ cup apple cider vinegar

6 cups broccoli florets

6 cups broccoli stalks, chopped small or cut into matchsticks

½ cup sliced almonds, toasted (+ more for garnish)

¼ cup finely chopped red onion

DRESSING

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt

1 tablespoon maple syrup

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon (+ more for garnish)

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley (+ more for garnish)

⅓ cup blue cheese, crumbled 

1 teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper 

Start by quick-pickling the cranberries. Soak the cranberries in apple cider vinegar in a small bowl for at least 20 minutes, until plump and saturated (the longer the soak time, the better!). Drain and add to large mixing bowl with broccoli florets and stalks, almonds, and red onion. Mix together until combined.

In a medium bowl, mix together all dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over broccoli salad and mix together until salad is evenly coated in dressing. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes until cool. Give the salad a quick stir before serving. Garnish with sliced almonds, tarragon, and parsley.