French fries are my guilty pleasure. While I do indulge once in a while, these tasty little treats are so much healthier and completely guilt free. Serve them up with a dip or alone. I promise they are awesome!
Category Archives: Sides
Mango Cucumber Salsa
Memorial Day is coming up fast. Time for outdoor picnics and parties. If you’re looking for an easy, healthier alternative, this is it! Not only does this salsa makes a great dip, but would also taste awesome on shrimp, fish, chicken or my favorite, scallops. And the mangos are so refreshing on a hot summer day. Bring on the heat!
Black Bean Mango Quinoa Salad
Happy Cinco de Mayo! With warmer weather approaching I love to add a fresh, easy salad to our meals. This quinoa salad makes a perfect side to just about anything you throw on the grill. It’s also a great dish to take to a picnic. Make it the night before and the flavors combine perfectly.
And for the best part, my 5 year old daughter gave it two thumbs up.
Guacamole
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo or your next fiesta with guacamole. Guacamole is a staple in any Mexican dish I prepare, but it is also an awesome, easy dip. I whipped this up in about 10 minutes and we had it as a Sunday afternoon snack.
Grilled Sweet Potato Fries
As soon as it gets warm outside I am ready to fire up the grill so get ready for some grilling recipes!. It makes my life so much easier. Grilling is fast, makes food taste even more delicious, and the best part, very little clean up.
I have been on a sweet potato kick lately. I’m really starting to like them. I just needed to get a little more creative with the ingredients. So I decided to make grilled sweet potato fries.
Grilling them gave them the perfect crunch on the outside and the combination of fresh cilantro and citrus is so good, you will keep going back for more! In fact, my husband did. Again and again until they were gone.
You can boil the sweet potatoes the day before and store in fridge overnight. Then slice up and grill the next day for a quick side dish. You could also cook these in a cast iron skillet if you do not have a grill.
Ingredients
Recipe adapted from Sweet Treats & More
- 3-4 sweet potatoes
- Steak seasoning or salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoon of lime or lemon zest
- 1/2 lime or lemon, juiced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions
- Pre heat grill to medium high heat.
- Place sweet potatoes in large pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes, or until fork tender. Cook time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes.
- Let potatoes cool for a few minutes and slice into wedges, leaving the skin on the potato.
- Brush potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with steak seasoning or salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl combine, lime or lemon zest, juice, and cilantro. Set aside.
- Place sliced sweet potatoes right on the grill and cook for about 8-10 minutes on each side, or until they show grill marks. Every grill is different, so keep an eye on them while cooking.
- Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with cilantro and citrus mixture.
Enjoy!
Sugar Snap Pea Salad
Happy Earth Day! The sun is shining and it’s finally starting to feel like spring here in Pennsylvania. So yesterday I tackled my gardens.
After carrying bucket after bucket of debris to the compost pile, which is all the way at the end of my yard, I worked up an appetite.
Since the weather is slowly getting nicer I am craving salads. Sugar snap peas are in season and they are so delicious.
Paired with radishes and fresh mint, this combo makes a great spring or summer salad. You could even add some quinoa or pasta to make it more of a meal. I served these with a piece of grilled salmon.
Ingredients
Recipe adapted from The Parley Thief
- 1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed with strings removed and cut in half
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 of a lemon, juiced 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/2 bunch of radishes slice thinly
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, thinly chopped (if you don’t have fresh mint, I am sure dried dill would taste good too)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 ounces or crumbled feta or goat cheese (optional, I did not add any cheese to keep the recipe Paleo and it was delish)
Directions
- In a bowl prepare and ice bath with some cold water and ice cubes and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, and blanch the snap peas for 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to ice bath to stop the cooking. Once the peas are cold dry them with a kitchen towel. Transfer into a dry bowl and add radishes.
- In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and mint. Pour over peas and radishes and toss. Add salt and pepper. If using, top with cheese.
- This recipe can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge. Just keep dressing separate and add right before serving.
Enjoy!
Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette
Spring is in the air! It’s time to get out the grill. Grilling is one of my favorite ways to prepare veggies, or anything really. It makes food taste great and there’s so much less to clean up.
Asparagus is a great vegetable for the grill. You can wrap them in tin foil or just throw them right on. Skewing the asparagus makes it easier to flip and prevents them from falling down into the grill.
When removing the woody ends of the asparagus, hold the spear firmly in each hand. Bend the asparagus and it will naturally snap at the perfect spot.
Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ½ teaspoon rice wine vinegar, or any white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh asparagus with stems removed (see tip)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Heat grill over high heat.
- In a bowl, coat asparagus with olive oil and salt and pepper. Skewer asparagus on metal or wooden skewers. If using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them first so they don’t catch on fire.
- Place skewered asparagus on the grill and cook on each side for about 3 minutes or until desired tenderness. They will start to caramelize and turn brown.
For the vinaigrette
- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk and set aside.
- Place grilled asparagus in serving bowl and top with vinaigrette.
Enjoy!
Easy Homemade Applesauce
My daughter just loves applesauce. So I decided to try making my own since the store stuff contains so much sugar and yucky high fructose corn syrup. No need to add sugar to homemade applesauce. The apples are sweet all on their own! Next time I may throw some pears or strawberries in there to change it up.
Sweet Potato Cakes
I just received my box of veggies from Door to Door Organics and suddenly felt like I was on the food network show, Chopped. A box full of beautiful fresh veggies…Now what to do with them?
I decided the first item I pull out of the box will be my main ingredient. So sweet potatoes it is! Since I have never really loved sweet potatoes it was time for me to get creative. I refuse to believe there is a food I don’t like. Well I think I’ve changed my mind about sweet potatoes. I just love these sweet potato cakes!
These delicious little cakes make a great side dish or appetizer. They can easily be made Paleo by using coconut flour.
Sweet potatoes contain almost twice as much fiber as other types of potatoes. That’s right. They contribute almost 7 grams of fiber per serving. The high fiber content gives them a “slow burning” quality. This basically means their caloric energy is used more slowly and efficiently than a low-fiber carbohydrate. Click here to find out more great health benefits about sweet potatoes.
Sweet Potato Cakes
2014-04-05 14:02:29
Serves 6
Total Time
15 min
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
58g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 137
Calories from Fat 95
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 11g
17%
Saturated Fat 5g
24%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 62mg
21%
Sodium 62mg
3%
Total Carbohydrates 8g
3%
Dietary Fiber 1g
4%
Sugars 1g
Protein 3g
Vitamin A
63%
Vitamin C
2%
Calcium
2%
Iron
3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded
- 2 tablespoons flour of your choice, (I used spelt, but whole wheat, almond, or coconut flour will work)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1/2 dried parsley (next time I make these, I am using fresh herbs)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons of oil for frying, I used coconut oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl add shredded potatoes and mix in the flour, onion, garlic, herbs, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix well, until sweet potatoes are coated.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Form a small cake with the mix and add to hot skillet. Mixture will be wet, but will stay together once it is cooked. I made the cakes as I was ready to add to hot skillet. Add more oil as needed (when skillet dries out).
- Cook for about 5 minutes on each side until nice and brown.
Kim's Healthy Eats https://www.kimshealthyeats.com/
Avocado Egg Salad
What to do with all of those hard boiled eggs? My friend from the gym told me she made egg salad using an avocado and they loved it so of course, I had to give it a try. Who would have thought pairing an avocado with eggs would taste so yummy? It’s also much healthier than using traditional mayo.
Just make sure you only make what you will be eating right away, since the avocado will brown if it sits in the fridge for too long. This egg salad comes together so easily, you won’t mind.
When buying a ripe avocado make sure it is almost black in color and it should give a little bit when you gently squeeze it. Also, you can pop off the stem at the top, if it green on the inside then it is ripe.
Ingredients
- 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled
- 1/2 ripe avocado
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon
- 1-2 tablespoons of greek yogurt (optional, this makes it a little more creamy)
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Remove yolk from egg and place in a bowl with avocado and mash together.
- Chop egg white and add all ingredients to the bowl. Mix well until coated.