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.
Category Archives: Snacks & Appetizers
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!
Quinoa Black Bean Quesadillas
I totally made this recipe by accident and I’m so glad I did! I was originally planning on making tacos with this recipe but I couldn’t get the tortillas to cooperate for the photos. Hmmm, what to do? Then it struck me… Quesadillas!
It was Sunday afternoon and we had a day full of projects, so this made the perfect quick and healthy lunch. My 5 year old loved them and ended up eating more of these than I did.
Super busy during the week? Make the quinoa mixture ahead of time and then assemble the quesadillas for a quick week night dinner. The mixture also works with tacos or a burrito if you prefer.
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa, cooked
- ¼ cup onion, diced
- ½ jalapeno pepper, diced or more for added heat
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon chili powder Package of whole wheat flour tortillas
- Fresh cilantro, Greek yogurt, sliced avocado, salsa, shredded cheese, or any of your favorite toppings!
Directions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Sauté onion and jalapeno pepper for 3 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add cooked quinoa, black beans, diced tomatoes, and chili powder to the sautéed veggies. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside
- Heat ½ tablespoon of oil in another skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium high heat.
- Place tortilla in the skillet and spread about a ¼ cup of the quinoa mixture over the tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese, optional, and top with another tortilla. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until brown, and flip.
- Cook for a few more minutes, until that side is brown.
- Cut into pieces and serve with your favorite quesadilla toppings.
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/
Thai Lettuce Wraps
I recently had some friends ask me to make some Paleo recipes. This is a great idea for me, since I am into crossfit and that’s the diet many crossfitters try to follow. So I had to do some research on what the heck the Paleo diet was and what they ate.
I came up with lettuce wraps! Quick, easy, and can be made with just about any meat and veggie combo you like. Or they could just be easily made vegetarian… mushrooms instead of meat. Works great as both an appetizer or a meal.
Sauce Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons oil of choice, I used sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons tamari for gluten free, or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of garlic chili sauce, or more if you like spicy
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken, turkey, or pork
- 1 small zucchini, shredded
- 1 medium carrot, shredded
- 1/2 small cabbage head, shredded, or half a bag coleslaw mix to save time
- 1/3 cup green onion, chopped
- 1 handful of chopped cilantro for topping, if desired
- 1 head of lettuce to use for wrap, I used Boston bib, but I think romaine would work great too
Directions
- Mix all ingredients for the sauce in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Cook ground chicken until no longer pink. Add veggies and sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add mixture to lettuce leaves, roll up and serve. They are a little messy to eat, but they are so good!
Enjoy!
Quinoa Pizza Bites
Did I ever mention that I’m a snacker? Alright, a huge snacker! I like to think it’s because I exercise a lot and work up an appetite, but no, I really just love to eat. Since I am constantly snacking on something I need to make sure it is healthy, and these quinoa pizza bites do the trick. You can add any of your favorite pizza toppings, which makes these a great appetizer for parties.
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, save extra for topping handful fresh basil, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Cook quinoa according to package directions, let cool for a few minutes.
- In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
- Scoop into muffin pan and press until flat on top.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until nice and brown. Take out of oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the muffin pan, otherwise they will fall apart.
- Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese and serve with side of warm marinara sauce.
Enjoy!
Mediterranean Pizza
Pizza time! I just love to make my own pizzas. It’s a great way to use up my leftover veggies and it tastes so much better than the frozen stuff. I usually cheat and buy the dough, so it only takes me a few minutes to assemble and bake. This is a perfect quick week night dinner, or a weekend lunch that can be nibbled on throughout the day. So get creative and add whatever you like!
This pizza I went Mediterranean. I used:
- tomato sauce
- mozzarella cheese
- fresh spinach
- red onion
- red pepper
- kalamata olives, sliced
- feta cheese
Sesame Kale Chips
Ahhh! The first day of Spring, although it does not feel like it Pennsylvania today, but at least the sun is shining. Which has me thinking swim suit season is right around the corner. Time to step up my fitness and be mindful of what I am eating.
First step, healthy snacks, especially since I am a big snacker during the day. Well these kale chips are delish and have you going back for more. Good thing they are a good for you and a guilt free snack!
Did you know that Kale’s considered a superfood? According to a May 2010 article published in “Diabetes Forecast,” it provides high levels of a number of essential nutrients and may help to lower your blood pressure. Click here to find out more about why this vegetable is considered a super food.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch fresh kale, thick stems removed and chopped into bite size pieces
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Couple of dashes of soy sauce, or tamari for gluten free
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Directions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl to coat kale.
- Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on your oven. I noticed the chips closer to the edge of the pan crisped first, so I removed those and cooked the rest a few minutes longer.
“Irish” French Onion Soup
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Nothing says Irish more than a Guinness, so why not add it to one of my favorite soups. French onion soup is easy to make, but it does take some time to caramelize the onions to perfection. But it is so worth it! Usually at a restaurant, french onion soup is loaded with cheese. Don’t get me wrong I love cheese, but I am trying to avoid extra calories. You control the calories by the amount of cheese you use for the topping.
To caramelize the onions, they must cook for about 40 minutes. Stirring about every 10 minutes to help them turn a golden brown. If the onions start to stick to the pan, simply add some Guinness to deglaze the pan.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large onions sliced thinly, about 8 cups (this looks like a lot, but they will cook down)
- 4 cloves of garlic, pressed
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 can of Guinness
- 4 cups of beef or vegetable broth (used organic beef, but vegetable would work for vegetarians)
- splash of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
- French baguette, sliced into 1/2 inch slices, brush lightly with olive oil and toast in the oven
- shredded cheddar or swiss
Directions
- Add olive oil to a heated large pot or sauce pan of over medium heat. Add the sliced onions to caramelize. To caramelize the onions, see tips.
- Add the brown sugar, garlic, thyme, and butter cook for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile whisk the flour and water until smooth. Add to pan and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add the Guinness and increase the heat to get it nice and bubbly. Reduce the Guinness by half.
- Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls. Top with toasted baguette and cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.