HealthiFood Chicken Cabbage Salad

I think I want to start living off this salad. It's crunchy. It's yummy. It's got a lot of black pepper (which I love).  And it's totally healthy. If that doesn't sell you, here's a fun fact: My husband will actually eat this for dinner as long as I serve some bread on the side. One quick warning: The dressing tastes pretty bad on its own, so keep your fingers out. This is because it's really strong, but when lightly coated over cabbage, it's delicious.

HealthiFood Chicken Cabbage Salad

Toss together in a large bowl:
1/2 head of green cabbage, diced (about 5-6 cups)
2 c chopped fresh baby spinach
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 T sesame seeds

Boil:
1 c water

Open:
1 - 3 oz package chicken ramen noodle soup

Break up the noodles into bite-sized pieces and pour into a colander. Pour the boiling water over the noodles to slightly soften them. Then toss the noodles into the bowl of cabbage and spinach and mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk together:
1 T olive oil
1 T vinegar
2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic
the flavor package from the ramen noodles

Drizzle the dressing over the cabbage mixture. Toss/mix to coat evenly. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Makes about 6 cups.

HealthiFood Mashed Potatoes

The cauliflower added to this recipe gives you added vitamins without added calories. These are extremely low fat as well--you only add 1 Tablespoon!

HealthiFood Mashed Potatoes

Boil until soft:
2 c peeled and diced raw potato

Drain and return to pot. Mash and add:
1 T margarine or butter
1/4 c cauliflower puree
1/4 c nonfat milk
1/4 tsp salt

Makes a little over 2 cups.

Much-Awaited Rosemary Peasant Bread

This is the best bread ever. Most of the time when I ask my husband what he wants for dinner he says, "Anything with Rosemary Bread." I'm pretty sure my friend Becca drew my attention to the recipe several years ago, and it was probably the first real bread I ever made on my own--before this the prospect always scared me to death! It's so easy because it's no-knead; you just mix and let it rise a few times and you're done. Usually I mix everything initially using the dough hook of my Kitchen Aid, but you can do it just as well by hand if you need to.

I've tried really hard to find out who came up with this recipe originally, but to no avail. It's been copied and pasted like wildfire across the internet. This is how I like to make it. Using just a quarter wheat flour doubles the fiber content of this bread. This recipe is vegan and has only trace amounts of fat. One recipe makes two bread rounds that can fit together on a cookie sheet. I've made the serving size a fourth of a round because it's so good you can't eat any less than that! If you wanted to get creative, you could use whatever herbs you wanted inside and on top.

Just a few more tips: Don't feel too bad about greasing your hands and the tops of the loaves as otherwise this bread has no fat in it. You want to grease your hands rather than flouring them so that the dough remains sticky and moist (it doesn't need more flour). You need to grease the tops of the loaves for the second rising so it doesn't stick to the plastic wrap and remains moist.

Rosemary Peasant Bread

Dissolve together until foamy (about ten minutes):
2 1/2 tsp dry yeast
2 c. very warm water
1 T sugar

Add and stir until blended, but do not knead:
2 tsp salt
1 c whole wheat flour
3 c white flour
1 1/2 tsp rosemary

Dough will be sticky. Cover bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hr. Grease your hands well and remove dough from bowl. Divide into two rounds and place on a prepared cookie sheet (grease the cookie sheet and sprinkle with corn meal). Spray the tops of the loaves with cooking spray (so they won't stick when covered) and sprinkle with coarse salt and more rosemary. Cover loaves lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for another hour.

After the second rising, bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees (without removing bread) and bake for 15 minutes more. Delicious served warm with fresh soup (like Golden Chowder--yum!) or dipped in olive oil and herbs.

HealthiFood Seven-Vegetable Lasagna

Lasagna is my most favorite dinner dish, which I guess I have in common with Garfield, and it was meant to be when my birthday is National Lasagna Day! This recipe is the result of a lot of different tries to come up with my favorite lasagna. Stoffer's scoot over!

HealthiFood Seven-Vegetable Lasagna

2 ½ c HealthiFood basic red pasta sauce (divided)

¼ c cauliflower puree

¾ c cooked and drained ground sausage

2 c nonfat cottage cheese

3 c chopped fresh baby spinach (divided)

4 c grated mozzarella cheese (divided)

10 dry, uncooked lasagna noodles

Mix together 1 ½ cups of the sauce (reserving 1 cup), the cauliflower puree, the sausage, and the cottage cheese in a bowl.

Spray a square glass pan (8x8 or 9x9) and spread half a cup of the sauce you reserved (not mixed in the cottage cheese mixture) on the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of noodles on top of the sauce.

Spread one-third of the cottage cheese mixture (about 1 ½ cups) over the noodles. Sprinkle on 1 cup of spinach followed by 1 cup of cheese. Add a layer of noodles on top of the cheese, then another third of the cottage cheese mixture (another 1 ½ cups), and another cup each of spinach and cheese. Start with noodles again for one more layer (noodles, cottage cheese sauce, spinach, and cheese), using the rest of the ingredients you have left except the last half cup of reserved red sauce, one cup of cheese, and enough noodles for the top layer. Place your final noodles and spread the reserved sauce on top. Sprinkle on the cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour (until nice and bubbly), removing the aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of baking. (Hint: this makes a nice and full casserole that will most likely drip. You will want to either bake it on a foil-lined cooking sheet or place foil on the bottom of your oven.)

Buttery Squash Noodles

This is one of those rare recipes that I have not altered one bit. It's originally "'Buttered' Noodles" from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious. When I first looked at the recipe I thought she was crazy. I didn't think I could ever get my family to eat it, but they did. This is one of our favorite quick meals--it's done in about the time it takes to cook the pasta! We like using short noodles like penne or shells best.

Buttery Squash Noodles

Cook and drain:
8 oz dry pasta (preferably whole grain)

Add and stir to melt:
2 T margarine

Add and mix:
1/2 c yellow squash puree
2 T grated Parmesan (fresh will make it like 20x as good, trust me)
1/4 c nonfat milk
1/4 tsp salt

Enjoy!

HealthiFood Canned Soup Saver

Fact: I have bags of vegetable puree in my freezer. This is convenient in many ways, but especially when we're going to eat canned soup.

Ever since I learned how to make my own creamy, delicious soups from scratch, I don't really like canned soup. But when I'm too sick to cook, it's a better choice than fast food, so sometimes we do it.

Adding vegetable purees makes canned soups a lot more healthy and delicious. I usually select something that will hide well or I know my family won't mind. For example, in a beef broth soup that's already brown, they probably won't notice some spinach puree that just makes the brown slightly darker and greener. They probably won't notice carrot puree added to a chicken broth or cauliflower puree added to a creamed soup.

The more vegetable puree you can add and the more variety, the better. This will bulk your canned soup with added vitamins and fiber and reduce the sodium content per serving. Grinding in a little black pepper is usually my final finishing touch, and then we've got a super quick meal that tastes just a little more homemade.

Lack of Onions?

Have you noticed a lack of onions in my recipes? And what’s up with that?

Well, my husband won’t eat them. So I compensate with a combination of onion powder and chopped celery. The celery gives a similar texture as onion and the powder gives the flavor. If your family prefers fresh onions, feel free to use them and omit the onion powder in my recipes.

Golden Chowder

I don't know about you, but it's still snowing off and on here, so it's still soup season to me! Ever since I learned how to make my own delicious soups, I don't even like them from a can unless it's an emergency (like I'm too sick to cook or something). This is one of my favorites--colorful, creamy, and delicious. The original recipe, "Corn and Potato Chowder with Butternut Squash and Ham" from Lynda's Recipe Box, uses cubed butternut squash, but I keep puree on hand and I don't think my menfolk will eat cubed squash, so that's one of my main alterations. To be honest, other than the half and half, the original recipe is pretty healthy already. But here is how I like to make it, which also cuts each serving down by 50 calories and 4 grams of fat.

Golden Chowder

Melt in a large pot:

1 T butter or margarine

Add and roast, stirring often:

2 c frozen corn 

Add and keep stirring frequently:

1/2 c diced ham (or any other cooked meat like bacon or I've even done bologne)

2 cups diced potatoes

1 rib celery, finely chopped

2 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp black pepper (freshly ground, if possible)

dash of paprika

Add and bring to a boil:

3 c vegetable or chicken bouillon or broth

Simmer until potatoes are very tender.

Turn heat to low and stir in:

1 c butternut squash puree

1 c frozen mixed vegetables

Mix in a separate bowl before adding to soup:

2 T whole wheat flour

1 1/2 c milk

Let soup thicken, salt it to taste, and you're done! Makes about 7 cups.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Image from Microsoft clip art.

The olive oil and honey in this dough make a really nice flavor. One recipe makes 2 lbs. of dough, which is enough for two 14" pizzas. I like to use one half of the dough and freeze the other for a quick pizza later. I've written the instructions below to make it by hand, but the recipe is also bread machine ready (just follow your manufacture's directions) or you could mix and knead in a stand mixer. This recipe originates from Breadman, but my alterations save you 50 calories and 1 gram of fat and add 5.5 grams of fiber and 1.5 grams of protein per serving (or quarter of a pizza).

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Dissolve together:
1 1/2 c warm water
2 tsp honey
2 tsp yeast

Add:
2 tsp salt
1 T ground flax seed meal
1 T olive oil

Add and knead until smooth and elastic:
4 c whole wheat flour

If you're in a hurry, you can use this dough for pizza right away. However, the more you let it rise (up to two times before rolling out), the softer it will be. When ready, roll out dough and top with tomato sauce, cheese, and whatever else you like. Bake on the top rack of your oven for about 20 minutes (until cheese is slightly golden) at 400 degrees.

HealthiFood Basic Brown Rice

Soaking brown rice is one of my biggest cooking secrets! I couldn't get my husband to touch the stuff before I came up with this. Feel free to add as much vegetable puree as your family will allow and to season your rice however you want. I even use this basic rice (purees and all) to make fried rice. Why go brown? Think whole grain and 3.5 g fiber per cup!

Combine in a rice cooker or pot:
 1 c brown rice
2 c water

Soak together, covered, all day, over night, or at least a few hours. When ready, cook rice according to package directions (on the stove or in a cooker) until excess water is boiled off.

Add and thoroughly combine:
2 T cauliflower puree
1 T butternut squash puree


Serve with your entree and enjoy!

HealthiFood Basic Red Pasta Sauce

I've been developing this pasta sauce for many years. The added vegetable purees, based on the Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious programs, add richness, texture, and a lot of vitamins to your ordinary tomato sauce. The three tomato products (soup, sauce, and paste) are easily to substitute one for another if you happen to be out of one, but all three together create a fabulous creamy blend that is just right in flavor and consistency. The vegetables could be substituted one for another as well if you don't have them available, but the full blend gives you a good, healthy variety. Feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste as well. I like to add cooked and drained ground sausage for a quick spaghetti sauce. I compared my nutrition facts to Prego spaghetti sauce with these results: HealthiFood sauce has half the calories, 11% of the fat, 3 grams less sugar, and .3 grams more protein per half-cup serving compared to Prego. That's a success to me!



HealthiFood Basic Red Pasta Sauce
Makes a little more than 4 cups.

1/4 c butternut squash puree
1/4 c yam puree
1/4 c carrot puree
1/4 c zucchini puree (or cubes, if desired)
2 - 8 oz cans tomato sauce (no salt added, if possible)
1 - 10.75 oz can tomato soup (lowfat, if possible)
1 - 6 oz can tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, if possible)

Blend ingredients together. Store in the fridge for up to a week. Freezes well. Warm on stove and add water to desired final thickness before serving. Serve on pasta, pizza, lasagna, with bread sticks, etc.