Category: Delicious Made Easy

Potatoes or should I say the dirt-dwelling spuds, always seem to get such a bad rap for being that other “white, high starchy carb” on the  “I’m  never ever to eat from this list” list. 

Potatoes are SO much more then what they are given credit for.  I mean some of your fondest memories probably date back to a summer picnic eating hot dogs and French fries? 

Okay so maybe not the best example illustrating their high nutritional value but you get where I’m going.  Potatoes are quintessentially part of the American fabric and are generally a weekly staple in most households.  Spuds usually get overlooked, and for good reason.  Potatoes get fried, sometimes fried again, slathered with butter or margarine, and then finally smothered with additional cheese.  No wonder a person’s blood sugar and blood pressure spike!  Yikes

If you strip away all the fluff and take a closer look at our friendly spud you soon realize the health benefits of  potatoes (with the skin on of course)

Here are just a few of the many benefits:

• Help reduce inflammation:  Potatoes have high levels of Vitamin C, potassium, and Vitamin B6.
• Help to maintain healthy blood pressure: Potatoes are high in potassium which encourages vasodilation or the widening of blood vessels helping to stabilize blood pressure.
• Heart Health:  Potatoes have a significant amount of fiber which help reduce cholesterol in the blood, and they are rich in Vitamin B6 which may reduce levels of homocysteine.  High levels of homocysteine are associated with increased risk of stroke and heart attacks.
• Protect against Cancer:  Some varieties of potatoes have high levels of carotene and zeaxanthin which help to protect your body from damaging free radicals.

My recipe for seasoned baked potatoes wedges with avocado aioli  was a no-brainer for me to make up especially since I wanted to create a sauce that was dairy-free had a creamy consistency and was full of flavor. I have made these for almost every occasion; Super Bowl parties, summer barbeques, Labor Day weekend gatherings, to Holiday parties these wedges are easy to make and have as an appetizer anytime.

Ingredients:

• 5-7 medium to large potatoes
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• Pepper to taste
• Spray
• Any other additional spices you want

Aioli Dipping Sauce:

• 1-2 Avocados
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a blender mix up the avocados, red onions, lemon juice, garlic, and salt
3. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and slice potatoes into wedges add spices for flavor
4. Bake 35-40 minutes until slightly golden and crispy

Guys that is it! 

Your appetizers are done!

Enjoy

Who doesn’t love Puppy Chow?  Or maybe you grew up calling it Muddy Buddies, either way, this easy, quick and almost perfect snack hits all the high notes from just enough sweet to a creamy; peanut buttery chocolatey crunch!!!  Basically, the perfect, okay downright IRRESISTABLE kinda snack!
How can something this good have a healthier version? 

Never fear, I would never talk about one of my ALL-TIME favorite snacks/treats and NOT give you a healthier version that even your absolute toughest critics would ever know they were actually eating something healthier.  This snack is great for on the go or snacking at home, to holiday or birthday parties to after-school treats this snack is truly a WIN-WIN for everyone!

This particular version of ‘Puppy Chow’ is not only EASY to make, and Amazingly delicious, BUT it’s also Dairy Free, Gluten-Free, and Vegan…BUT still equally Delicious!! However, if you choose to go the traditional route, the recipe is very easy to swap out any ingredients and replace ingredients of your choice!!!

For my ingredients, I did choose organic and dairy-free options.  By no means do you have to use these exact ingredients?

Happy Snacking!

Ingredients:

• 9 cups of Rice Cereal (basically 1 box)
• 2 cups dairy-free chocolate chips (or if you do not have a dairy issue use regular Chocolate chips)
• 2/3 cup Organic peanut butter
• ¼ cup Organic coconut oil
• 3-4 cups Organic powdered sugar (I like mine less messy and sweet)
  

Directions:

1. Measure out your rice cereal, dairy-free chocolate chips, peanut butter, coconut oil, and powdered sugar. Also, this would be a great time to get out a gallon sized plastic sealed bag. The bag is very useful when it comes time to evenly distribute the powdered sugar over every square!
2. Make sure you have a large enough pan you can easily combine the melted chocolate, peanut butter, coconut oil, over the rice cereal.
3. Add the 9 cups of rice cereal in the pan and try to make sure the chocolate and peanut butter are covering all the rice cereal.
4. Taking small batches of the chocolate rice cereal I placed the mixture in the gallon sized bag and poured in small amounts of the powdered sugar.  Seal the bag and shake generously until the powdered sugar is covering the cereal.  Repeat until you’re finished.
   

*You may want to start off will a lesser amount of the mixture in the plastic bags so you can evenly coat the rice cereal with powdered sugar.

Are you looking for a quick, delicious yet satisfying meal?  Or maybe you have a refrigerator full of vegetables you bought with the intention of making something else but didn’t want to or forgot and now you need to use these veggies pronto before they all go bad??? Sound familiar? Trust me this happens far too often but I have a meal that can help you use up those delicious vegetables tonight!

When life gets hectic and time is precious the last thing on your mind is meal prepping for the week.  Even though you had all the good intentions of making a list, buying the produce, now comes time to actually prepare the meal.  Oh yeah, and not to mention, you may have to navigate around picky eaters you have in your household.

I have made this meal so many different ways from steak, to chicken, to kielbasa; and although they all were good and unique in their own right, I sometimes want a meat free dinner.  I feel the older I am getting the less I choose to want to have meat for every meal or even every day.  Sometimes, the flavoring of vegetables and spices is all I need in a dish without the ‘block in my stomach’ feeling meat tends to give me after I eat.

So I challenge you all to go and throw whatever you have from your refrigerator and experiment, use it up, have fun with making dinner if not tonight then sometime in the near future.  Make up your own dish and see how it turns out. 

In my refrigerator, I had red and green peppers, portabella mushrooms, and broccoli.  In my pantry, I always have my staples like garlic and onions, but for this dish I only used one medium yellow onion and vegetable broth.

As I was slicing my veggies, I had brown rice cooking so it all finished around the same time.
You might be wondering at this point; ‘…so what’s the benefit of a Meatless meal?’

If you have been on social media lately you may have noticed a movement called “Meatless Monday” which is one day designated during the entire week you don’t consume any meat or meat products, rather you increase your consumption of plant-based proteins, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. Why, you might ask?  Cutting back on your consumption even just once a week may actually be a protective barrier that may reduce your risk of chronic preventable diseases like, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.

In addition, to getting increased fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, you’re also cutting out extra unwanted calories, as well as learning how to make new dishes with a twist!

**I did not include an exact recipe because I literally just put it all together with random vegetables I had in my frig.

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