Healthy Turkey Chili

1 package Jennie-O Turkey Store Extra Lean Ground Turkey (or any brand you like!)
2 large jars of salsa (I like Herdez brand salsa; I use one jar of red salsa and 1 jar of green salsa)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of white beans (kidney or cannellini), drained and rinsed
1 can of whole pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can of crushed tomatoes with juice
1 box of chicken or vegetable broth
Chili powder
Salt, Pepper
Nonstick spray

Spray the inside of the chili cooking pot with Pam or other nonstick spray, so the turkey meat doesn’t stick. Heat pot and add in package of ground turkey. Season turkey with salt, pepper, and chili powder (all to your liking). Break up the turkey meat into small pieces and cook until brown.

When the turkey is fully cooked through, add in the 2 jars of salsa, 3 cans of beans, and crushed tomatoes. Add more chili powder (I use a TON) and a couple pinches of salt. Stir until combined. Then add in some chicken broth as needed/to your liking – some people like their chili thicker, some people like it thinner.

Bring the chili to a boil then move the heat to simmer. Let the chili simmer on the stove for at least 30 minutes – I usually let it sit on the stove (covered) for an hour. Serve with light sour cream, diced onion, avocado, light shredded cheese, or whatever floats your boat!

NOTE: Sometimes I use all black beans; sometimes I use an extra jar of salsa instead of crushed tomatoes; sometimes I use crushed tomatoes, diced green pepper, carrot and onion (you must saute all before adding the meat and beans) instead of using salsa. The salsa is SO easy though! The chili freezes really well, and keeps for 3-4 days in the fridge. It will thicken up overnight so when you re-heat it you will need to add more chicken/veggie broth – which is why I buy the big box of broth and not a can. Water (preferably hot) works just as well though.

Raw Kale & Radicchio Salad

Below is a recipe for my delicious raw kale and radicchio salad. There are no amounts listed, because it's really according to personal taste, and how many people you are making it for. Just use your judgement!

This salad is definitely not for everyone, as kale and radicchio (see photo to the left) are bitter by nature. Personally, I am a fan of bitter greens, and the dried fruit and aged balsamic vinegar really help counterbalance the bitterness. I could eat this salad all day!

I have included some other options at the bottom of this recipe if dried cherries and blueberries aren't your thing, or you just want to change it up! Also, if you're not sure what kale looks like, take a look at my blog post titled "Kale Chips" from November 2, 2010.

Ingredients:

Organic green Lacinato or Tuscan kale (I don't remove the rib, but you can!)

Organic red/purple Radicchio (Do not confuse it with purple cabbage!)

Dried tart cherries (Trader Joe's carries them)

Dried organic blueberries (Trader Joe's carries them)

Pine nuts (toasted and cooled)

Organic extra virgin olive oil

Aged balsamic vinegar (see note about "aged")

Sea Salt

Lemon

Directions:

Rough chop the kale and radicchio. (Make sure to wash, dry, and chop the bottoms off of each first. You just want the leaves, not the kale stalks or radicchio core.)

Combine the kale and radicchio together with your hands in salad bowl.

Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, dried tart cherries, dried blueberries, and good sea salt - just a couple pinches of each! (Obviously if you are making this for a group, you'll need more than a pinch.)

Drizzle with olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar, and a couple squeezes of fresh lemon juice.

Toss and enjoy!

Note:

Good, aged balsamic vinegar is on the sweeter and thicker side... almost like a syrup. You can use regular 'ol balsamic vinegar, but it has more of a bite to it. I prefer the sweeter, less vinegary kind with this salad.

Other great options for this salad include pink grapefruit segments, sliced Asian pear, chopped dried apricots, sweet peppers (yellow and orange), salted ricotta, and crumbled goat cheese.

Morning Glory Muffins

These good-for-you muffins are terrific for breakfast with a cup of coffee, tea, or steamed milk. They aren't too sweet (no morning tummy aches!), and they are rich in antioxidants. If you are used to eating big sugary Starbucks-type muffins, these muffins might taste a little healthy to you. Personally, I think they are deeeeee-lish!

The below recipe makes about 16 muffins. I like to cook them directly in the pan, as opposed to using a paper liner. I think they bake better that way, and if you use nonstick spray, there's barely any clean-up.

Ingredients:

2 cups bran cereal (no raisins)

1 cup mashed ripe banana (3 medium)

½ cup nonfat or soymilk

1 egg (beaten)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup whole-wheat or white flour (I use whole-wheat)

¼ cup organic Sucanat or regular ‘ol white sugar (I use Sucanat, available at Whole Foods)

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 tablespoons flax seeds (I buy the golden roasted flax seed at Trader Joe’s, they have a lot more flavor!)

½ cups chopped walnuts (or other nut if you don’t like walnuts)

2 handfuls or 1 cup fresh organic blueberries (washed and dried)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin pan with nonstick spray.

Combine cereal, bananas, milk, egg, vanilla, and oil in bowl; mix well. Let stand 5 minutes; stir to break up cereal.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, flax seeds, and nuts in separate bowl. Mix with fork.

Add flour mixture all at once to cereal mixture, stirring just until moistened. Then fold in the fresh blueberries. Try not to mash or crush them.

Divide evenly among prepared muffin cups. (I use a large ice cream scooper with a lever/release. It’s not only super easy, but it creates a lot less mess and uniform size muffins.)

Bake 12-15 minutes (using convection feature if you have one) or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

When finished, let stand in muffin pan for 5 minutes. Then remove the muffins and place them on a cooling rack. (The bottoms of the muffins get a little moist with all of the fruit and cooking spray, so by placing them on a cooling rack they are able to dry out.)

Store in a glass container, if possible. The muffins keep for about a week. After a few days, I put them in the refrigerator, so the blueberries don't mold. You can pop them in the microwave for 15 seconds to bring them back to "life" before eating them. You can also freeze them if you like!

Note:

You can substitute 1 cup of bran cereal with oatmeal if you prefer. They are not branny tasting either way.

You can eliminate the blueberries if you don’t like them. The recipe still remains the same.

You can add other yummies in place of the blueberries – diced green apple, dried tart cherries, etc. You cannot eliminate the banana though.

The muffins are roughly 125 calories each.

Chicken, Chickpea & Spinach Stew

This recipe is super easy and SO flavorful! Personally, I like to keep it simple, because it's delicious as is, but you can add virtually anything to it… green beans, fingerling potatoes, fennel, canned artichoke hearts, lentils, chunks of butternut squash, etc. If you are a vegetarian, swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth, and the chicken for another type of bean, squash, or other veggie.

Chickpeas are very conducive to both Indian and North African spices. To give the stew an Indian flair, add some curry powder to the mix (and a little cream if you like) and serve it with some basmati rice and Naan. To give it a Moroccan feel, you can add cinnamon and cumin to the pot.

Stew can be eaten solo, or with a side of rice or polenta. I prefer it with a side of creamy, soft polenta, made with milk or cream, butter (don't judge!), and parmesan cheese. (I will post a recipe for the polenta soon.) Texturally, it works very well with this dish.

You can make as much or as little stew as you like, depending on how many mouths you are feeding. It does freeze well though. The below recipe makes enough for 4 people, and takes no more than 30 minutes from start to finish. Here goes…

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts – cut into chunks

2 large celery stalks – diced

1 large yellow onion - chopped

4 garlic cloves (not the whole bulb) – chopped, not minced

2 large shallot cloves (not the whole bulb) – chopped, not minced

I bag fresh spinach leaves (you can also use 50/50 spinach and fresh arugula)

1 handful of fresh basil – chopped

1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) – rinsed and drained

1 heaping teaspoon of jarred pesto - kitchen teaspoon, not measuring spoon

1 teaspoon jarred garlic – kitchen teaspoon, not measuring spoon

½ cup shredded and diced carrot

½ jar store-bought marinara sauce (I use chunky)

1 – 1½ cups of white wine – something you would actually drink

1 box organic chicken broth – you will only use about ½ a box

Extra virgin olive oil (just for the pot!)

Kosher salt & pepper

Dried Italian seasonings to taste – oregano, thyme, basil

Directions:

Turn stove on medium heat. Drizzle bottom of pot or Dutch oven with olive oil. When hot, add in chopped onion. Mix around till the onion is coated with olive oil and begins to soften. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and crushed black pepper. Add in the chopped garlic and shallots and stir.

Let the onions, garlic, and shallots cook a few minutes. Keep stirring it, so the garlic and shallots don’t burn. Add in the celery and carrots, give it another stir, and then add in the chunks of chicken breast. Stir around until the chicken is white and slightly brown on all sides. The chicken does not need to be completely cooked through, as it will continue to cook in the stew.

Add more salt and pepper, as well as the dried Italian spices (I use a about a pinch each). Then add in enough marinara sauce to coat and just cover all of the chicken and veggies. Once the mixture warms up and bubbles again, add in the white wine – again, enough to cover all of the contents in the pot. It will steam up and smell VERY yummy! If you like wine, that is!

Let everything cook a few minutes (it should be bubbling again at this juncture), then fold in the rinsed and drained chickpeas. I use the word “fold” because you want to be careful not to mash the chickpeas. Also add the jarred garlic and pesto, and stir. When the mixture thickens a bit (about 5 minutes), add in about 1/3 to ½ box of chicken broth and stir. Finally, cover the contents of the pot with an entire bag of fresh spinach and the chopped fresh basil. Do not stir it!

Sprinkle the spinach with a pinch of salt, and then pour a tiny bit of chicken broth over it. Reduce the heat to simmer and cover the pot. Let cook until the spinach is wilted – about 5 minutes. Once wilted, fold the spinach into the stew underneath. Let cook (bubble up) another 5-10 minutes and you are done!

Note, you can add as much broth, wine, and marinara sauce to the mix as you like. I prefer to keep it on the thicker side, so it’s a stew and not a soup. But you can make it whatever consistency you like, and add as much or as little salt, pepper, and spices as you like.

Also, there is really no way to fork up a stew. I like to cook it step by step as outlined above, but if you want you can just throw everything in the pot at once and go for it. It is important to brown the chicken first, however, and I don’t like to overcook the chickpeas.

This dish is even better the next day, though it will thicken in the pot overnight, so keep that leftover broth to thin it out!

Measuring Equivalents

How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon? How many cups are in a pint? Knowing these answers is especially helpful when you need to cut a recipe in half or if your measuring cups or spoons are in limited increments. With this handy dandy breakdown, you'll never have to Google again!

Measuring Equivalents

1 Tablespoon = 3 Teaspoons

1/2 Cup = 2 Tablespoons

1/4 Cup = 4 Tablespoons

1/3 Cup = 5 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoon

1/2 Cup = 8 Tablespoons

2/3 Cup = 10 Tablespoons + 2 Teaspoons

3/4 Cup = 12 Tablespoons

1 Cup = 48 Teaspoons

1 Cup = 16 Tablespoons

8 Fluid Ounces = 1 Cup

1 Pint = 2 Cups

1 Quart = 2 Pints

4 Cups = 1 Quart

1 Gallon = 4 Quarts

16 Ounces = 1 Pound

Baking Pan Substitutions

10" x 3 1/2" Bundt = Two 8" x 2" Rounds

10" x 2" Round = 9" x 9" x 2" Square

Standard 12-Cup Muffin Tin = 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" Loaf = 9" x 1 1/2" Round = 8" x 8" x 1 1/2" Square

Note, baking times will vary depending on pan size. Deeper pans, for instance, require longer baking times.

Butternut Squash Soup

Tis’ the season for butternut squash soup! Okay, so maybe this isn’t the healthiest recipe, but you could completely eliminate both the butter and the cream, and it would STILL be good. You could also sub nonfat half-and-half (Trader Joe’s definitely carries it!) for the cream and soy butter for regular butter. I’m a huge fan of Earth Balance natural “buttery spread.” I had no intention of using cream when I created this recipe, until I noticed an unused bottle of it in the fridge that was about to go to waste (oh no!), so I said fork it!

The whole recipe makes a decent-sized pot of soup. My hubby and I had enough for at least a couple of days, and it also freezes well. Like all of my recipes, this one is super easy, and inexpensive to make... especially if you have a well-stocked pantry (see blog post dated 11/1/10)! It doesn’t take more than 10-15 minutes to assemble, not counting simmering time. Here goes…

Ingredients:

1 can pureed organic butternut squash (you can also use fresh, but I’m lazy!)

1 can pureed organic pumpkin

1 shallot, finely diced (use the whole bulb – this is what gives the soup its flavor!)

½ stick unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 teaspoons kosher salt

3 teaspoons raw organic sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 large whole sage leaves (fresh or frozen - see note at end of recipe!)

1 large box of organic chicken or vegetable broth (the kind with the pour spout)

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Turn stove on medium heat. Put ¼ stick unsalted butter in soup pot. When melted, add 1 can of pureed butternut squash and 1 can of pureed pumpkin. Stir. Add ½ box of chicken or veggie broth.

In a separate small pan, sauté the finely diced shallots in the remaining ¼ stick of butter until brown-ish. Once brown-ish, add to soup and stir. (Make sure to get all of the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. It’s the best part!)

Add the salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, curry powder, olive oil, and whole sage leaves. Stir well. You can use the amounts outlined above, or you can add them to taste. If you like a little bite, you can also add some fresh ground black pepper to the pot. Keep in mind that I never measure when cooking or follow any recipe to a tee. Everyone's taste buds are different, so when it comes to spices and certain ingredients, you can tailor any recipe to your liking. I digress...

Continue to stir the soup and add more broth as it thickens. (Expect to use a little more than ¾ of a box of broth in total.) Keep the remaining broth in the fridge for the next day. You will need a tiny bit to thin out the soup the following day if you have leftovers.

Once the soup has thickened and you are almost ready to serve it, add ¼ cup of heavy cream (or nonfat half-and-half). Stir well. Let simmer as long as you like!

Garnish with a fresh sage leaf and a drizzle of good olive oil, a garlic crouton, or fresh chopped green apple, dried berries or nuts. This soup is great as a stand-alone dish, or served with a slice of toasted rustic bread with melted Brie and sliced pear or apple. (And a drizzle of honey, of course!) I’m getting hungry thinking about it!

A note about the sage and other fresh herbs for that matter… You can FREEZE them! In fact, you can freeze pretty much any kind of fresh produce, and I do! You can buy frozen fruit and veggies in the freezer section of your grocery store, so why not freeze them yourself?

I never let anything go to waste. Brown bananas, for example, I slice and freeze for use in smoothies. Then I never have to worry about having bananas in the house. If I buy too big a bunch of fresh asparagus (and don’t want to eat it 3 nights in a row), I chop it up and freeze it for frittatas, scrambles, veggie couscous, and stir-fry. And herbs like sage, since I only use a couple leaves at a time, when I buy a bunch I wash it, dry it, and freeze the rest flat in a Ziploc freezer bag. Just sayin’…

Kale Chips

Not only are kale chips a yummy treat, but they are good for you! If someone blindfolded you, I swear you would think you were eating a potato chip. In other words, your kids (and veggie-challenged adults like me) will never know!

Kale chips are great on their own as a snack, or as an accompaniment to a sandwich or veggie burger. They are also fork'n easy to make! There are all different kinds of kale. Personally, I am a fan of Lacinato or Tuscan kale, and I find it works best for this recipe in particular.

Be sure to wash the kale before you begin this recipe, and make sure the kale is completely dry before you dress it, otherwise the olive oil and salt won't stick. Here goes...

Ingredients:

1 bunch organic Lacinato or Tuscan kale torn into ½ inch pieces (pull leaf off of the large stem or rib; discard rib)
3 tablespoons extra virgin organic olive oil
1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons good sea salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400° F. Whisk the oil and vinegar together, then toss the kale in the dressing until thoroughly coated.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the kale on the baking sheet in a single layer and sprinkle with sea salt.

Put the baking sheet in the oven. As the kale begins to bake, you will notice the kale start to wilt and darken.

Bake the kale for 20 minutes or so, until crispy. I usually bake it for about 10 minutes on each side, but you don’t have to turn it over if you don’t want to. I think it comes out better though.

Note: Everyone’s ovens heat differently, so be sure to watch it and make a note for the next time as to how long it took. While the kale may look black, that doesn’t mean it’s burnt. You’ll know it’s done when it’s crispy!