healthy recipe

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Fear of Frying

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Some foods are just fantastic when fried. Potatoes, mozzarella cheese, and even pickles can benefit from a roll in some batter and a dip in boiling oil.

Fish cakes, like the ones I made last night, are another food that, even when lightly pan fried, taste just a little bit better. Unfortunately, my fear of frying got the better of me, and I baked them.

It turns out that they didn’t need to be fried, even only slightly browned, they were fresh and healthy without all of that extra oil.

I started with a cup of teeny tiny potatoes, tossed into boiling water until they were nice and soft.

teeny tiny potatoes

small potatoes

I also got some water boiling to steam the last of the Alaskan cod from the Foodbuzz Alaska Seafood recipe contest. They sent me a serious amount of cod, and it lasted very well in the freezer over the months. I cooked all of the cod from frozen, as Alaska Seafood mentioned in the materials that they sent me, and I was always surprised how good frozen fish could taste. In this case, I used my steamer basket to cook the cod until it was flaky.

Alaskan cod

I whipped up the seasonings on the side, a cup of panko bread crumbs, some salt-free dill and lemon seasoning, and a few spoonfuls of Dijon mustard.

dijon mustard and dill seasoning

bread crumbs

When the fish and potatoes were tender, I added them to the bread crumb mixture, then mashed my heart out with a potato masher.

cod and potatoes

Once the mix was a bit cooler, I added two whole eggs and thoroughly stirred everything up. The cod cakes went into a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes and ended up nicely browned. They reminded me a lot of Morton’s crab cakes which are full of crab meat and not fried. It turns out some things are good fried, but they are even better baked Smile

dinner is served

Served with a simple side of roasted Brussels sprouts and mushrooms left over from my chicken dish the other night, this was a great meal for a night when I wanted something healthy and warm. Since we are going on vacation to Ireland soon, I am doing my best to get in lots of workouts, vegetables, and water. Once I get to Ireland. . . well, all bets are off. It’s called Supermac’s, it’s Ireland’s higher-quality answer to McDonald’s, and it is fabulous.

Random story and question: The other day, when I was running, I saw a Manwich can hanging out of someone’s busted open trash bag. It brought me back to childhood and the Manwich commercials. My mother would never buy Manwich despite my desperate requests for it. We also never ate Hamburger Helper or sugary cereals like Cookie Crisp.

What food/s did you really want to eat when you were younger but were prohibited by parents? Have you tried them as an adult, and if so, did they live up to expectations?

Tags: baked not fried, brussels sprouts, cod, cod cakes, cooking, easy recipes, fish, Food, healthy, healthy cooking, healthy recipe, mushrooms, protein, recipe, roasted vegetables

Napa Marathon training is in full swing, and I suddenly find my appetite raging all day and all night. I literally wake up in the middle of the night starving and think about what I am going to eat in the morning. It’s pretty crazy.

With all of the muscle building I am doing, I definitely need to add more protein to my diet, and it is always awesome to have recipe-inspiration from the blog world.

This week my friend Michelle from Fun and Fearless in Beantown made nut encrusted chicken tenders that looked crunchy, flavorful, and too good to pass up. I had originally planned on making Cajun chicken tender salad from the cookbook The Secret Ingredient by Sally Bee, so I combined a bit of both ideas to make a meal that was unforgettable.

I started by chopping some walnuts.

walnuts

And mixing up my own marinade which was just equal parts sriracha love and peanut butter and ultimately a tiny bit of hot water to thin it out and to make sure it all blended.

sriracha and peanut butter

I cut four chicken breasts into strips and then coated them thoroughly with the peanut butter and sriracha blend.

marinating chicken

While I prepped the rest of dinner, I set the chicken back in the refrigerator to soak up the flavors of the marinade.

When I was ready to cook the chicken, I filled a pie plate with chopped walnuts and rolled each chicken tender in them until each tender was well coated.

chopped walnuts

Then I popped them in a 350 degree oven until they were cooked through. Once they were no longer raw looking on the outside, I took the thickest tender and cut it to check the doneness. They were perfect,

nut encrusted chicken

While the chicken was hanging out in the fridge, I chopped a few red bell peppers and a sweet potato for roasting. I put those into the oven at 400 for about 25 minutes, then lowered the temp when I put the chicken in.

red bell peppers

sweet potato

I served everything atop a bed of Olivia’s Organics herb salad mixed with olive oil and lemon juice and the extra chopped walnuts (that had been reserved and had NOT touched raw chicken).

healthy dinner

This was just a regular old weeknight meal that turned out to be absolutely beautiful, delicious, healthy, and totally satisfying. Michelle’s method for making chicken tenders is easy; I was a little afraid because in times past when I have tried to fry similar meals, all of the coating has fallen off and burned. Baking is the charm and makes the meal that much healthier. The chicken is absolutely addictive. A little bit of spice from the sriracha, a bit of nuttiness from the peanut butter, and a buttery, toasty crunch from the walnut coating had me going back for several pieces, a rarity. I usually grudgingly eat a piece of meat or two and then fill up on veggies.

My body really needed it, and this great idea came at the perfect time. So I thank Michelle for posting something so delicious this week and inspiring me. And by the way, this recipe could be made so many ways with so many different nuts and marinades that you could eat it once a week and not get tired of it.

Have you recently been inspired by a blogger to cook a new recipe, try a new workout, or eat at a new restaurant? 

Tags: chicken, cooking, Food, healthy, healthy recipe, recipe, vegetables

Sunday’s multi-course potluck dinner included a multitude of gourmet dishes, some time consuming, prep-ahead recipes, others less complicated but just as delicious.

One of the dishes I brought was a simple, creamy white bean dip. I love white beans for their ability to add a richness to a dish without adding fat. The beans’ nutrients and fiber are just an added bonus!

I enjoyed the dip on Sunday, but I know that I could definitely make some improvements to it, so I have included those thoughts along with the recipe. This white bean dip would be a great, easy starter for your Thanksgiving guests and can be made a day or two in advance.

white bean dip ingredients

The ingredients:

1 can white kidney beans, drained

juice of 1 lemon (next time I would use at least 2, plus the zest)

4 cloves roasted garlic (next time I would use 6-8)

4 Tablespoons white truffle olive oil (next time I would use 5-6 for a stronger truffle flavor)

lemons and garlic

I started out by roasting an entire bulb of garlic. Just chop the top off, drizzle the bulb with olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast at 450 for 20 minutes or so. Make sure to check on the garlic so that it doesn’t burn.

garlic

While the garlic was roasting, I chopped the white beans with the truffle oil. I added in a bit of ground sea salt and black pepper to taste.

white beans

Once the garlic was roasted, I squeezed it out of its skin and into the bean mixture. I also added the lemon juice at this time and pureed everything until smooth.

white bean dip

I served this with crostini toasts that Megan had in her pantry. This dip is also great with crackers and pita triangles and can be used in place of hummus in veggie sandwiches. It is pretty tasty!

Yesterday afternoon I received a great email from King Arthur Flour, a follow up to our visit earlier this year. They are offering all of my readers up to 25% OFF items in their online store, perfect for shopping for gifts for the bakers in your life (or yourself!) Just click on the button below!

KAFonlinepromo

Speaking of shopping, will you be out at the stores at the crack of dawn on Black Friday? Or do you prefer to do your shopping from the comfort of your couch like I do? Winking smile

Tags: appetizer, Food, healthy recipe, lemon, potluck, recipe, truffle oil, Vegetarian, white bean dip

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