Sadly the holidays are over and it’s back to the grind again. With the New Year often comes new resolutions of healthy eating to try and erase the indulgences of the holiday season. However, there are only so many plain lettuce salads one can eat before giving in to all the other delightful food out there! So to try and help you with some healthy eating choices I’ve got some quick, tasty, and generally healthy (if eaten in moderation, everything in moderation!) recipes just waiting for you to try!
To start with, here is one of my favorite salads. It’s a nice change from all the lettuce salads since it is a type of coleslaw, but not a creamy one, making it much healthier, and in my opinion much tastier. I just can’t seem to get behind mayo, not a fan! Anyways, this coleslaw is a great side dish to any meal, and I’ve been known to take a large helping for my lunch as well!
Chinese Coleslaw
Ingredients
Salad
16 oz package of coleslaw or 1 head of cabbage
½ cup sliced almonds
1 package Ramen Oriental noodles
3-4 oz sunflower seeds
Dressing
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tblsp vinegar
3 Tblsp soy sauce
seasoning packet from noodles
Instructions
1) If using a full head of cabbage, slice into thin pieces (coleslaw sized).
2) Crush up (uncooked) package of ramen noodles.
3) Place all salad ingredients into large bowl.
4) Mix together all dressing ingredients in separate container. Stir/shake well.
5) Pour dressing over salad and toss together.
6) Serve and enjoy!
Notes
This recipe makes a fair amount. I like eating this as leftovers, but many people don’t like how the ramen loses its crunch and becomes softer, however the cabbage has had a chance to soak in the dressing making it extra flavorful, I think. If you don’t think you’ll want to eat refrigerated leftovers, make a smaller amount of salad (you don’t need real measurements of almonds, sunflower seeds and ramen, just however much you want to add) but make the full dressing recipe. Use only as much dressing as you need for the amount of coleslaw you made then refrigerate the leftover dressing. It lasts for ages.
If using a head of cabbage, look for the smaller ones, they tend to be less bitter.
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A problem people often run into when they are trying to keep their healthy eating resolutions is they just don’t feel they have enough time to cook, its so much easier to just order something in, microwave up some frozen meal, eat scoops of peanut butter straight from the jar (okay, I might be guilty of that one.) But healthy cooking can be quick and easy, and only require a few ingredients! This is one of my favorite meals when I don’t have a lot of time to make something up, but want something more than just microwaved leftovers. Bonus, it fulfills my frequent craving for brinner!
Easy Sweet Potatoes and Eggs
Taken from Edible Perspective
Ingredients
Two teaspoons oil or butter
1 medium/large sweet potato or yam, washed with ends cut
3 large eggs
Shredded cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1) Grate your sweet potato on the large holes of a grater.
2) Heat a 9-10 inch oven safe skillet over medium heat and add oil.
3) Once hot put sweet potato in skillet and cook to your liking, stirring frequently. About 8-12 minutes.
4) Turn oven on to broil.
5) Spread sweet potato evenly across pan and create three small wells.
6) Crack your eggs into the wells and let cook until whites just starts to solidify and turn opaque.
7) Sprinkle with cheese and place under broiler.
8) Watch carefully and remove when eggs are done to your liking.
9) Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately!
Notes
You can peel your sweet potato if you wish, I never bother because it just takes extra time, yes I’m lazy.
Any kind of cheese works in this dish so use whatever you have. Harder cheeses won’t melt as much while softer cheeses will.
This is easily made larger to serve more than one person, just make sure you have a large enough pan!
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Snacks are a great way to stave off hunger between meals and ensure you don’t over eat during those meals. I know if I don’t have a snack around 3 pm I’m ready to gnaw off my own arm come 5 when I’m just starting to think about making supper, and by then I’ll eat absolutely everything that I make, so much for portion control! However, while snacks are awesome, you have to make sure that they’re healthy and will give you a boost of energy without causing a crash a little later. These roasted chickpeas are a perfectly pop-able snack that are infinitely customizable. Have a huge sweet tooth? Make these cinnamon sugar roasted chickpeas. More into salty/savory snacks? Try coating in salt and some spices.
Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Chickpeas
Taken from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ingredients
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 Tblsp olive oil
2 Tblsp granulated sugar or light/dark brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
2) Rinse and drain chickpeas well. Lay out on paper towels and pat very dry. The drier the chickpeas the crunchier the end result. Remove skins if desired. Spread out on prepared baking sheet.
3) Once totally dry roast in oven for 15 minutes.
4) Remove from oven and drizzle with olive oil. Stir around to make sure all are covered.
5) Mix cinnamon and sugar together in separate bowl and sprinkle over top of chickpeas. Make sure each bean is heavily coated. Alone they are fairly flavorless so you want to coat them in as much topping as possible.
6) Return to oven and roast for another 15 minutes.
7) Turn off oven and crack oven door slightly, leaving chickpeas in the oven while it cools for 30 minutes. This helps the beans get extra crunchy.
8) Beans are crunchiest on day 1 but can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for a few days.
Notes
Dried chickpeas work here as well, just make sure to soak them for 8 hours or boil them for 1 hour. Then DRY WELL!
Other seasoning ideas
-Olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne
-Olive oil, salt, garlic, parmesan
-Really any herbs/spices plus a little olive oil (to make the seasonings stick)
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