A few days ago, I contracted a bit of a soar throat. Yep. 'Tis the season right?
I chat with my parents and my dad encourages me to purchase some Airborne. I head out to Target and discover a new flavor.. Berry. Sounds delicious!
With the box in my hands and some sugar free lozenges in the other, I'm about to check out when I remember... Wait... I'm pregnant?!?! Can I have this? I look down at my swollen belly, escape into the snack aisle and make a call to the dad-to be.
"Honey, can you do a Google search on pregancy and Airborne?" He doesn't ask questions, just does the search and comes back with.
"Yeah, it's uncertain the effects, but you probably shouldn't take it." We determine that the lozenges are safe; however, and I leave to find a new game plan for conquering this cold. The game plan turns into soup. Not just any soup. No, it is a spicy, savory, hot, brothy, delicious Italian Chicken Soup packed with healthy Kale.
I don't pretend to be a miracle worker, but after a few bowls of this deliciously brothy soup that has just a hint of heat from the chili peppers floating down my throat, the next morning I woke up almost cured. Yep, after just one day with a soar throat. And because this Italian Chicken Soup with Kale is crock pot friendly it takes no time to whip together. HOwever, alternately you could make it on the stove top over medium high heat in about an hour and a half. I say, whether you're pregnant or not. If you have a few symptoms or you don't allow yourself to be soothed by this amazingly delicious health packed Italian Chicken Soup with Kale!
It just might cure you of what ails you.. You never know!
Now on with the recipe!
Italian Chicken and Kale Soup 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil 5 Cloves Garlic, Minced 1 Whole Medium Onion, Diced 6 Boneless Chicken Breasts; Diced 2 Cans (14.5 Ounce) Cans Great Northern Beans, Drained And Rinsed 1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes 1 Can (28 Ounces) Diced Tomatoes 4 Cups Fat Free Low Sodium Chicken Broth 1 Bunch Kale (collard greens will also work as a substitution) 1 Bunch Fresh Oregano (or 2 tsp. dried oregano) Plenty Of Torn Fresh Basil for garnish Fresh Parmesan Shavings for garnish (if desired)
1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and stir to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. 2. Add the diced chicken breast and continue stirring and cooking for another 5-7 minutes or until the chicken begins to brown. 3. Stir in red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper; stir and cook for another 30 seconds. 4. Transfer to a large crock pot set to low. Add the canned tomatoes and chicken broth. Drain and rinse beans, then add to the crock pot. Stir to combine. 4. Rinse the kale and slice into chunks. I used kale from my garden that had already been cleaned, chopped, and frozen and just dropped it in. Stir into the soup. (It'll shrink quite a bit, so don't be afraid when you first add it!) Add a bunch of oregano and stir. 5. Cook for 2-3 hours or up to 5 hours if you want! Then ladle into individual bowls and top with Parmesan cheese and fresh leaves of basil.
Servings: 8
Nutritional Skinny:
231 calories / 3.4 g fat / 25 g carbohydrates / 6.7 g fiber / 15.5 g protein
Mental Health Benefit: I want to highlight kale here. It's a little bit crunchier and thicker than spinach, but can be substituted in most recipes where cooked spinach is called for. Kale is high in anti-oxidant qualities and rich in vitamin A providing protection from lung and oral cavity cancers. It also contains high levels of vitamin K which helps aid in neuronal damage thus helping ward of Alzheimer's. It also carries a heavy dose of vitamin C (this the cold sufferers best friend) and vitamin B-6. I'll eat to that! Let's raise a spoon to the delicious and nutritious kale!
It's been an unusually warm winter here out in wild Montana, however on my birthday (Jan 10th), as with many birthdays, the temperatures took a nose dive and the snow started flying... And you know what that means!
Chili-time! I just love a great winter storm, a blanket of fresh white snow outside, and the smell of warm chili wafting through the house. Nothing says 'winter' like some delicious spicy chili and fresh crisp temperatures outside. I used a three bean approach for this one and kicked it up with some Slap Yo Mama seasoning. Although if you don't have that seasoning from Louisiana I have included the measurements for a version using regular spices you should have on hand. Chili isn't only warm your soul food, but it's also hearty good for you faire loaded with lean protien, fiber, and lots of vegetables that you hardly even notice, but the nutrition is intact.
So, if your snow has started flying start your own winter tradition and make some super easy slow cooked Three Bean Winter Chili! Go ahead and grab a big bowl, a big spoon, and take a big 'ol bite and let me know what you think? Pretty delicious isn't it? And on with the recipe!
Three Bean Winter Chili 1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil 1 Large White Onion; Diced 6-7 Small Cloves Garlic; Minced 1 Green Pepper; Diced 3 Stalks Celery; Diced 1/2 Pound Lean Ground Beef (or Turkey) 1 (15 Ounce) Can Reduced Sodium Kidney Beans 1 (15 Once) Can Western Style Chili Beans 1 (15 Ounce) Can Reduced Sodium Black Beans 1 (14.5 Ounce) Can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes 1 Cup Tomato Sauce 2 Tbsp. Slap Yo Mama Spice (or 1 tbsp. Chili Powder, 2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. garlic salt) 1 tbsp. Black Cracked Pepper
Garnish: Shredded cheddar cheese and fresh chives (if desired) 1. In a large skillet add the oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic, green pepper, and celery. Saute for 6-8 minutes or until the onions and peppers have softened. 2. Add the ground beef (or turkey) and continue sauteing until the meat has browned and the pink is gone, about another 5 minutes. 3. Transfer to a crock pot set to low heat. Add the cans of kidney, chili, and black beans, un-drained. Pour that bean juice right in also! Then add the roasted tomatoes with their juices. Stir to combine. 4. Add the tomato sauce and all of the spices to the crock pot and cover and allow to cook for 6-7 hours or set to high and cook for 3-4 hours. 5. The serve in large bowls with shredded cheddar cheese and chives, if desired!
Servings: 6 main dishes (approx 1 cup each)
Nutritional Skinny:
356 calories / 6.2 g fat / 45 g carbohydrates / 13.4 g fiber / 28 g protein
Mental Health Benefit: Here's the best part. All of those carbohydrates are complex carbohydrates driven by all the highly nutritious beans that are packed in this chili. Plus it is loaded with lean protein from the beans and the lean ground beef. And seriously, we all need tons of fiber every single day. Do you think you get it? I sure try, but often fall short. This chili is packed with over 13 grams of fiber per serving! If that doesn't help us reach our quota, I have no idea what will! So why not fix yourself up some easy and delicious Three Bean Winter Chili and delight in the flavor and let your body sigh with the abundance of nutrition packed into each bite!
Mother nature seems to be playing nicely with me lately. The summer months over here feel a lot like the desert -- dry and hot as all get out. Our deck overlooks the western sky making it a great spot to catch the sunset, however it can also roast you like a thanksgiving turkey.
Conveniently our grill is located on this very same hot deck. However, lately whenever I decide to grill for dinner, the clouds magically appear cooling the temperature and making grilling much more comfortable.
Likewise, when I decided to make this Spicy Black Bean and Ham Chowder I realized what I was up against. Hot spicy soup in the middle of summer? It seemed like a rediculous idea, but I went with it anyway.
And wouldn't you know, the clouds came and the thunder rolled all afternoon dropping the temperature 20 degrees. It rained hard at first tapping the roof like a mad hatter, then soft and steady. The perfect weather for my chowder. I consider this a huge french kiss from Mother Earth herself.
With the crock pot set to low and the cream cheese and shredded cheese added, I set off on a drive.
I turned left onto a windy dirt road and rolled down my window and took a deep breath. The whole earth smelled of wet pine needles, fresh mowed grass, and moist soil. There was the scent of wild roses coming from overgrown bushes filled with roses as small as your fingernails. I kept driving and ran into three spotted fawns in the road (they ran to fast to get a picture, but they were adorable!). While stopping for them I smelled wild sage, damp aspen, and the rubber from my tires. Clouds lace the sky like Picasso's Cystene Chapel.
On the way back home off in the distance was a rainbow over the mountains at sunset. When I returned to my crock pot, big bowls were set out ready to be filled with this smokey, sweet chowder.
The smells eminating throughout the house were as complex as Mother Earth with a savory, yet spicy aroma mellowed by the sweet cream cheese and cheddar that were added in. Not to mention the roasted corn, salty ham, and bright minced garlic.
All was right with the world in that one moment when I topped my Black Bean and Ham Chowder with extra cheese..
1 (15 ounce) Can Low Sodium Black Beans; Rinsed
3 Cups Cooked Ham; Cubed
1 tsp. Liquid Smoke
1 tbsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Curry Powder
2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
salt and pepper to taste
4 Ounces Low Fat Cream Cheese
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 tbsp. Whole Wheat Flour
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Husk the corn and spray the corn with cooking spray and sprinkle each ear with salt and pepper. Place on a cookie sheet and roast for 45 minutes. Once cooked remove from oven and allow to cool before slicing the corn kernels off the cob. ***Speedy Note: If you are a little rushed on time, you can add 2 cups of frozen corn and skip this step.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with one tbsp of olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno pepper and saute until the onion becomes translucent and the pepper starts to slightly soften and char on the outside (approximately 4-6 minutes).
3. Transfer to a large crock pot and add the chicken broth, corn (if using frozen), black beans, ham, liquid smoke, chili powder, cumin, curry powder, cayenne and salt and pepper. If using roasted corn add to the crock pot once it has been roasted, cooled, and cut off the cob.
4. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. After this time add the cream cheese. Then in a bowl combine the shredded cheese and flour and add to the crock pot. Stir until combined and cook for another 30 minutes.
4. Serve hot and garnish with extra cheese and fresh cilantro!
Servings: 8 (approx 1 cup)
Nutritional Skinny:
240 calories / 8.5 g fat / 18 g carbohydrates / 4 g fiber / 21 g protein
Mental Health Tid Bit: Chowder is one of those heart soothing, mind calming, and body comforting foods that will cure whatever ails you. Whether it's a frazzled mind, a broken heart, or a wounded ego. This chowder will help. The crock pot also makes this a no brain recipe that you can't mess up. Throw this in the crock pot and consider this dinner one of your many successes of the day.
It's just beans and some spices all blended together. That's it.
So why does it capture me with so much wonder and beauty?
Why does this simple bean dip have me wrapped around it's finger?
Is is possibly the smoky-garlic flavor that caresses my taste buds inciting a sort of euphoric happiness?
It's like the pleasure of dipping hand made french fries into fresh ranch dressing. Only with a lot less guilt.
It's just beans, after all. The sweet little garbanzo beans all loaded with fiber and lean protein laced with garlic, cumin, lemon juice, and a little heat from cayenne pepper.
And it's easy, not like it would be to mow up the side of Mt. Kilamanjaro. Nope it's more like a nice stroll through the sand on the Gulf of Mexico while sipping a margarita.
Doesn't that just sound lovely? Please excuse me while a dip a pita chip into this succulent hummus and take a big gulp of margarita.
I couldn't resist and be warned... you may not be able to resist either.
Now let's get on with the recipe.
Classic Garlic Hummus
4 Cloves Garlic; peeled and sliced in half 1 (15 ounce) Can Garbanzo Beans; drained and rinsed 1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt 1 tsp. Ground Cumin 1 tsp. Onion Salt 1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper 1 tbsp. Olive Oil 2 tsp. Lemon Juice 1 tsp. Black Pepper
1. Place your food processor on your counter top and add the garlic cloves, garbanzo beans, yogurt, cumin, onion salt, cayenne pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper.
2. Process until smooth, pulsing and scraping the sides of the processor bowl to incorporate all of the ingredients.
3. Serve with fresh vegetables (some of my favorites are celery, carrots, and pea pods) and/or pita chips or crackers.
Servings: 8 (approx. 1/4 cup)
Nutritional Skinny:
73 calories / 2 g fat / 10 g carbohydrates / 2.6 g fiber / 4 g protein
Mental Health Benefit: Beans aren't just the musical fruit anymore. They are loaded with tons of lean protein and packed with healthy fiber. There is 6 grams of fiber per serving. And this sweet little easy appetizer is loaded with almost 3 grams of fiber per serving. Now that's something to toot about! You can also use it to build the Best EVER Bagel Sandwich (for recipe click HERE).
If you are anything like me (and God knows I hope your not), some days are better than others. Most days are fantastic as most people who know me already know--I am a positivity drill Sargent. Everything I see and do I make into a positive. No matter what.
That ruined quiche? A lesson in adding less milk. Oh and that broken wine glass? An omen for good luck. You get the picture.
Well, I'm human too and I feel the opportunity to be really real with you all here. The other day, I was less than positive. As I like to say, I lost my little nugget of 'good enough' and fell out of my bubble. Here is what that looked like:
I'm happily riding my bike down my road when a neighbor passes and we wave our good mornings and he comments on my tire. "Hey your back tire is getting a little low. May need some air."
"Thanks." I shout back as I hear my inner critic say, "Oh that's just my fat butt."
What? Where did that come from? That was my indicator that my 'good enough' nugget was lost and my bubble was no where to be found. I will spare you the details of what followed There were tears, confusion, frustration, and then finally release. I let go of the stupid words and thoughts I was holding on to and took a deep breath and let go of it. Then I saw my bubble come floating back-- there you are! And I climbed back in and surrounded myself with a whole bunch of tulips. Today, I filled my back tire with air and went for a peaceful bike ride!
In this world there is a lot of things that we have to protect ourselves from--people's words, emotions, and anger that it is too easy to absorb. My mom taught me a meditation on protecting myself. It worked so well that I made her video the description. This is your own private session with Mother Teresa (okay my mother, but her name is Teresa). There are four elements she describes: 1)Grounding 2)Cleansing 3)Protecting and 4)Releasing.
I think it worked for Frankie.. See for yourself:
Once you have protected yourself, it's okay to be real with your limits and with just how special you are right now. Just like the fresh fruit basket a friend so graciously brought us filled with pears, plums, and peaches. In order to honor the fruits as we honor ourselves we decided to keep the flavors fresh and make a fabulous Harvest Fruit Tart. This was my first ever and I think it turned out pretty darn good.
My parents got busy making some Creamy Mushroom Chicken, Collard Greens and Cabbage, and Southern Beans to go with it. I mean we can't just eat dessert... or can we? I'll leave that up to you to decide.
I hope you enjoy these recipes and yourselves. Life can be difficult, but only if we let it be. I am choosing to smile and protect myself and for goodness sakes keep my arms and head inside my bubble at all times!
Creamy Chicken
6 large bone in chicken breasts
1 heaping tablespoon of Chicken seasoning
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 can (10.3 ounces) 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoons fat free half and half
1/2 cup white wine (Chablis works great here!)
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 cup plain fat free yogurt (you can also use fat free sour cream if you have that on hand)
1 large sweet white onion; chopped
12 ounces fresh white mushrooms; sliced in half (you can use canned if you prefer)
1a. Remove the skins and unnecessary fat from each chicken breast. My dad does this easily with a sharp knife. The before looks like this:
The after looks like this: Brilliant!
1b. Then cut each breast in half. Sprinkle with chicken seasoning and pepper. Place in a skillet, or if you have the fabulous crock pot that we do, brown in the crock pot using the browning element. Brown the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side (just enough to brown the chicken and the flesh will turn white)
2. While the chicken is browning-- in a large bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup, the half and half, white wine, chicken broth, garlic, soy sauce, and yogurt. We pour all of the liquids into the cream of mushroom can to continue to rinse out and get all the flavors out of the can!
3. Once the chicken is browned, transfer to the 10 quart crock pot, or if you are using the fabulous crock pot that we have transfer the heating element to slow cook. Add the chicken, onions, and mushrooms to the crock pot and pour the creamy broth over the top.
4. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
Collards and Cabbage - Best Friends Forever
1 large onion; chopped 16 ounces smoked ham; diced 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 6 cups low sodium chicken broth 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
6 big bunches of fresh market collard greens
1 large cabbage; chopped
1. In a large pot combine the chopped onion, ham, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Allow to saute for 3-5 minutes or until the onions become translucent.
2. Add the chicken broth and vinegar to the pot and bring to a boil.
3. Meanwhile we will prepare the collard greens. Slice the collard green leaves away from the central 'root' of the leaf. Slice into over sized pieces, they will wilt similar to spinach. Next place the chopped leaves in a colander and rinse using cold water making sure to get any grit off of the leaves. Once washed place the collards into the large stock pot with the boiling broth. Simmer on low for 60-90 minutes.
4. Next add the chopped cabbage. The cabbage will take considerably less time to cook. Simmer for another 30 minutes over low heat. Then they are ready to be served along side your country beans, corn bread, and delicious creamy chicken!
Southern Style Beans
4 slices bacon; chopped 1 small white onion; chopped 2 stalks celery; cleaned and chopped 2 large carrots; peeled and chopped
2 (16 ounce) cans white beans or pinto beans
1. Saute the bacon in a skillet then remove from the skillet and drain the grease and wipe out the skillet. Add the olive oil, bacon, celery, carrots, and onion to the skillet.
2. Once the vegetables soften after 10-15 minutes add the beans and simmer over low heat for another 10-15 minutes to allow flavors to marry.
3. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste and serve!
Fall Harvest Fruit Tart
1 prepared pastry crust
for crust:
1. Spray a 10-inch-diameter spring form pan with cooking spray, then spread the prepared pie crust evenly into the pan. You can evenly spread the dough pushing slightly to make for a nice crust. Then gently roll the edges over creating a one inch tall crust. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.
2. Remove from the oven once the crust is brown and set aside to cool.
for the cream filling:
6 ounces fat free cream cheese 1 1/2 cup fat free ricotta cheese 1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup 6 splenda packets 1/4 cup spiced rum
3. Combine the cream cheese, ricotta, maple syrup, splenda, and rum in the food processor. Process until smooth.
For the fruit topping:
12 baby plums 3 small peaches
4. Thinly slice the plums and peaches into beautiful half moon shapes.
To arrange:
5. Once the crust has cooled for at least 20 minutes, spread the cream mixture over the top in one even layer.
6. Next place the fruit in beautiful circles on top of the cream cheese and ricotta base.
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar free apricot preserve 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon spiced rum 1 tablespoon crust graham crackers 1 teaspoon cinnamon
7. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the apricot preserves, honey, rum, and cinnamon. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave to soften the ingredients. Then gently drizzle the topping over the fruit and finish with a sprinkling of the crushed graham crackers.
8. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve! Enjoy this beautiful and easy dessert alone or with guests! Our guests loved it.. you can tell... ;)
