Healthful Bites

    20 Jan 2012

    Crockpot Salsa Chicken: The Perfect Weeknight Dinner

    In an effort to be more domestic for 2012, I added a mini-crockpot to my Amazon wishlist for Christmas. Since I left my parent’s home, I realized hadn’t used a slow cooker and that needed to change! What’s not to love about something that will prepare your dinner for you while you’re running errands, in class or at work? Plus your kitchen is filled with fantastic aromas all day.

    Mom and Dad were kind enough to oblige, and ordered me this cute and affordable orange number. To break it in, I whipped out The SparkPeople Cookbook to try a recipe that I’d been saving until I had all of the necessary equipment. It’s actually the most popular dish on their whole SparkRecipes site: Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken.

    I organized my mise en place (thanks, Top Chef!), or ingredients and tools needed to complete the dish (see above left) and got to work on this very simple recipe.

    Begin by topping the chicken with taco seasoning.

    Add your veggies. I also finally got real cutting boards! Is it weird that I was just using plates before? Probably not the best for my knives, but it got the job done. :)

    Invite the tomatoes to the party, crank up the heat and go about your day! Fun fact: Peeking under the crockpot topper releases so much heat that you’ll add about 15 to 20 minutes to your cooking time. Flip the meat halfway through if you’re nearby, but otherwise keep a lid on it!

    Come dinnertime, the chicken will be tender, moist and flavorful.

    South-of-the-Border Crockpot Chicken (adapted from The SparkPeople Cookbook)

    Serves 4, about one cup each

    • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
    • 1/2 cup salsa
    • 1/2 cup petite diced fire-roasted tomatoes
    • 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
    • 1/2 cup diced onion
    • 1/4 cup shredded or diced carrots
    1. Place chicken in your crockpot dish and top with taco seasoning.
    2. Pour on onion, carrots, salsa and tomatoes. Add 1/4 cup water.
    3. Turn crockpot on low and cook for about six hours, or crank it up to high for about four hours. (Until chicken is cooked through and 165 degrees.)
    4. Use two forks to “shred” the chicken. Stir to cover chicken with sauce mixture.

    Nutrition information per serving: About 150 calories, 3 g fat and more than 20 g protein (To put this into context, adult women need about 46 grams and adult men require about 56 grams per day, according to WebMD.)

    I think I’ll be using my crockpot a lot more and experimenting with more of these tasty recipes I’ve recently pinned!

    What is your must-have piece of kitchen equipment or what tool is on your wishlist?

    6 Jun 2010

    Bean There Done That

    Protein is a crucial macronutrient for all people, but especially for those who are physically active. In fact, very active individuals may be better served physically be consuming about 50 percent more protein, percentage-wise not calorie-wise, as their sedentary peers (for example, active people may recover from activity quicker by eating about 20 to 25 percent of their calories from protein, while sedentary people need about 15 percent of their calories from protein).

     (Image from Women’s Vitamins)

    Providing your body with enough protein is beneficial in muscle repair and rebuilding after it breaks down—which happens normally when you stress your muscles through exercise. Eating properly after activity will not only help you recover quicker, but will also likely aid your efforts to make the muscles that grow back grow back stronger (as will training properly and challenging your muscles).

    A good rule of thumb to follow if you are an adult and are moderately active: consume about 0.36 grams of protein for every pound you weigh. For example, a 125 pound person should eat about 45 grams of protein in a day. People who are very active will need a bit more.

    There are countless ways to get your protein, but one of the most crowd-pleasing is beans. With many different varieties and colors, plus no animal protein to dissuade vegetarians and vegans, beans are a wonderful option for reaching your daily protein needs. One cup of most beans provides around 12 grams of protein.

    Most traditional diets provide enough protein, but some vegetarians struggle to find non-meat sources. But try one cup of this recipe below for lunch, perhaps with baked tortilla chips and a side of fruit for about 12 grams of protein. Add two tablespoons of peanut butter to your morning whole wheat toast (eight grams of protein), one cup of lentils as a protein source with dinner (17 grams of protein) and an 8 oz. cup of low fat yogurt for a snack (11 grams of protein) and a vegetarian—or carnivore—will have a great amount of protein for the day! 

    Don’t take this to mean that I think you should have a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. Carbohydrates, fat and protein are all essential and important in a nutritious eating plan.

    Beans are affordable, fiber-packed, low in fat and high in antioxidants. Talk about a power food :)

     (Image from Food Network)


    Southwestern Bean Salad     (from my marvelous aunt Joan!)

    • 1 can kidney beans (15.5 oz.)
    • 1 can black beans (15.5 oz.)
    • 1 can garbanzo beans AKA chickpeas (15.5 oz.)
    • 2 celery ribs, diced
    • 1 medium red tomato, diced (optional*)
    • 3/4 cup thick and chunky salsa
    • 1/4 cup lime juice
    • 1 medium red onion, diced
    • 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
    • 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
    • 1/2 tsp. cumin

    Rinse and drain all the varieties of beans in a colander. Mix these cleaned beans with the celery, onion, tomato and corn. Then combine the salsa, lime juice, chili powder and cumin in a separate bowl. Pour the salsa mixture over the bean mix and toss to coat. Cover and chill for two hours or so.

    *The tomato is optional. Use all salsa if you plan to store the recipe in the refrigerator, as the tomato’s texture quickly deteriorates. But if you and a group plan to consume this all at once, feel free to use a fresh tomato.



    What are your favorite protein sources? Do you find it difficult to get enough protein in your diet?

    23 May 2010

    A Pie by Pictures

    Along with hosting a fun giveaway for my birthday yesterday (what are you waiting for…go enter!), I enjoyed a slice of delicious apple pie courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito himself! Well, I actually cooked it myself, but I got the recipe from Rocco’s fantastic new cookbook: “Now Eat This! 150 of America’s Great Comfort Foods All Under 350 Calories.” Despite my desire to edit the subtitle to “Less Than 350 Calories”—you can take the girl out of the journalism school, but can’t take the journalism school out of the girl—my family and I have been having a great time trying out several recipes from this bestseller.

     

    Yummy food and a cute chef? Don’t mind if I do!

    So in lieu of a birthday cake, I set my sights on tackling the apple pie a la Rocco. You’ll have to grab a copy of the cookbook for the exact recipe, but I’ll give you a photo tour of my experience!

    I peeled, cored and cut the apples…

    and added my own flair of lemon juice (a trick I learned on the Food Network) to keep the apples from browning while I was a bit slow with preparation.

    Then I coated the apples in a special spice mixture. 

    Next I poured all the ingredients for the crumb topping in the food processor. This formula reminds me more of my Mom’s apple crisp recipe than apple pie, but either way, it tastes great! 

    And the topless shot ;)

    All in a pie pan and ready to bake!

    The heat is on!

    And fresh out of the oven.

    This was one of my favorite of Rocco’s recipes so far! What a great (and healthful) way to celebrate my birthday. Thank you to all who sent well wishes and shared in the fun with me! 

    What are some of your favorite birthday treats?

    14 Mar 2010

    Doctor-Approved Way to Start the Day

    I do like green eggs and ham! And I believe Dr. Suess would also approve this new Karla kitchen creation. (My sister, an emergency room resident, gives it the thumbs up too!) 

    This simple, quick breakfast wrap is perfect for those who prefer a savory and salty breakfast to the several sweeter options presented before on Healthful Bites. I developed this recipe to celebrate the upcoming Irish event: St. Patrick’s Day! So I name this one “Semi-Green Eggs and Ham”—just right for a semi-Irish girl like me :) 

    Here are the only ingredients you’ll need:

    • 1 whole wheat, high fiber tortilla (I like La Tortilla Factory brand, but pick your favorite)
    • 1 oz. deli ham
    • 1/2 cup egg substitute
    • 1 Tbsp. tomatillo salsa

    1. Grab a non-stick pan (or spray a regular pan with non-stick spray). Turn the burner on medium high and pour in the egg substitute, stirring occasionally as the mixture solidifies.

    2. As the egg substitute cooks, arrange the ham on the tortilla. If you prefer, you can also cube the ham and sprinkle into the cooking eggs. Warm the tortilla and ham in the microwave for 30 seconds.

    3. Top the ham tortilla with the cooked eggs once they are no longer runny and cooked to your desired level. Then add the Irish touch (I guess more Mexican, but it’s green!) with a drizzle of tomatillo salsa. Tuck the bottom in, then fold each of the sides toward the middle to create your breakfast burrito.

    4. Grab and consume! If you’re on the go, top with foil to catch drippings—the egg substitute may drip a bit (my Mom’s only complaint). Don’t let this scare you though! The protein, fiber and tastiness make up for this ;)

    Nutrition Information: 170 calories, ~4 grams of fat, 12 grams of fiber, 25 grams of protein.

    This entire process only takes about 10 minutes! Try it out if you hope to kick off your St. Patrick’s Day in a little more nutritious way than Corned Beef Hash.

    Do you prefer sweet or savory breakfasts?