But, at night, when I get home- this winter cold is making me crave warm comfort food. When you grow up in Georgia, comfort food means grits, cream of wheat, and my favorite- chicken & dumplin’s (you can’t add the “g” on dumplings because it just doesn’t seem as special)!

Though I crave comfort food- I still like to give it a healthy-feel good twist. It can be warm and delicious but still full of whole grains, green vitamin rich veggies and lean protein. That is exactly what this crave-worthy dish is.

Whole Wheat Chicken & Dumplin’s
serves 6

For the stew:
2 large celery stalks, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 t sea salt
1 t fresh cracked black pepper
1/8 t dried rosemary
2 chicken breasts, chopped
4 C low sodium chicken stock
1 C milk
3 T whole wheat flour
2 C kale leaves

For the Dumplings:
1 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour *you can use half white flour if you want a fluffier texture
1/4 t sea salt
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 C milk

Make the stew:
In a large pot over medium-high heat, sauté the celery, carrot and onion in the olive oil. Add 1/2 t salt and all of the black pepper. Cook until tender. Now, add the rosemary, chicken breast and the other 1/2 t of salt. Cook until the chicken is starting to brown. Now, add the the chicken stock. In a small tupperware, add the milk and flour and shake until combine. Now, add the milk/flour mixture to the pot. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and allow to cook while you make the dumplings.

Make the dumplings:
Combine the flour, sea salt and baking soda. Mix well. Now, pour in the milk and mix- **just until all of the flour is wet.

Now, gently drop heaping teaspoons of the dumpling mixture into to simmering pot. Cover and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes…just until the dumplings are puffy. Now, gently mix in the kale and turn off the heat.

Serve!

This dish is perfect for a football party, a quick family dinner, or a make ahead, grab and go lunch. I made this chili for some friends last Fall and literally had people asking me to make it in very large batches to deliver to their homes! I hope you like it :)

Fresh Corn and Black Bean Chili
Serves 8

1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
diced fresh jalapeno to taste
1 lb ground turkey breast (optional)-if you omit add 2 extra cans of black beans
1 t salt
2 t chipotle powder
2 t chili powder
2 t cumin powder
1 t ground coriander
1 1/2 T brown sugar
2 cans black beans
4 ears of corn (cut off the cob)
1 large can diced tomatoes
2 cans chicken stock

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onions, peppers and jalapeño for about 5 minutes. Now, add the ground turkey, salt, chipotle powder, cumin, chili powder, coriander and brown sugar. Cook until the turkey is cooked through…use a large spoon to crumble the turkey as it cooks. Now, add the black beans and fresh corn. Stir well and cook for about 3 minutes. Last, add the tomatoes and chicken stock and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

This chili is wonderful topped with fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream. It stores well in the fridge!

Eggplant is a very controversial veggie around our house. I absolutely LOVE it and Gavin thinks it is terrible! If I ever get to eat eggplant, its because I slice it up, season it, and throw it under the broiler as a side dish to my dinner…it is never the star of the meal around here. BUT, I absolutely love the smokey, earthy flavors of delicious eggplant and I just had to try to sneak it in to a meal and win Gavin’s heart for this beautiful purple plant.

The best way to sneak something past a guy that grew up in the South in an Italian household? Bread it, fry it and cover it in marinara and cheese! (Or in my case, create a healthy version of an old favorite!) Baked and stacked eggplant parmesan.

When I set the plate in front of him, he was a little hesitant…but once he cut into the golden, yummy crust and took a bite, I knew he could no longer deny that eggplant CAN taste good! He ate it all…and so did I- I really wish the pictures turned out better…it is a beautiful dish and it would be such a fun and easy entree for a dinner party. Its healthy and yummy and tastes like the old classic!

Baked and Stacked Eggplant Parmesan
4 servings

For the Eggplant:
1 C bread crumbs
1 t dried oregano
1 t sea salt
1 egg
1T water
12 3/4″ thick slices of eggplant

For the Sauce:
15 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
1 T basil
1/8 t ground thyme
1/2 t dried oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t sea salt

Topping:
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Set out two plates. On one plate, combine the bread crumbs, oregano and sea salt. On the other plate, crack the egg and add the water…whisk gently with a fork.

Now, coat both sides of each piece of eggplant with the egg mixture and then coat each side in the bread crumb mixture. Place the eggplant on a bakers cooling rack and then place them in the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes- until the eggplant is cooked through and the breadcrumbs and crispy and golden.

While the eggplant is baking, in a medium pot over medium heat, combine all of the sauce ingredients. Bring the sauce mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until the eggplant is cooked.

To assemble the dish, place one slice of eggplant on each plate and top with 1 T sauce. Repeat until it is 3 layers high. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Serve with whole wheat pasta!

Spring has sprung!! This weather is so amazing and Gavin and I are loving spending time outside- going for walks, starting to learn how to do yard work (oh my, it is complicated!) and best of all, eating meals outside on the patio. If you can see past the yellow haze in the air from the 9,000,000 particles of pollen in the air, the weather is PERFECT for dining al fresco!

When I think about Spring time and Spring foods, I think of fabulous crisp vegetables and lovely citrus-y dressing…and after our lovely meal at the Viking Cooking School with our friends Chris and Michelle, I think of panzenela salad.

The version that we made at the school was delicious- though we might as well have eaten a cheese burger because of the amount of butter on the bread and oil in the dressing. So, since I like to think of a salad as a healthy, veggie filled alternative to a cheese burger- I set out to make a lighter version of this delicious salad.

Panzenela Salad
6 servings

3 C day old whole wheat bread, cut into 1 ” chunks
olive oil cooking pray
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 t sea salt

2 C red bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces
2 C English cucumber, sliced and cut into quarters
1 C tomato, seeded and cut into 1″ pieces
1/2 C green onion, chopped
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 t sea salt
1 T olive oil
1 t fresh basil, chopped
1 t fresh mint, chopped

*crumbled feta, optional
*avocado, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil spray. Place bread pieces on the cookie sheet and spray the top with olive oil. Toss in the garlic and salt and place in the oven to toast for about 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine all of the other ingredients and toss together. To serve, place a 1/2 C of bread on each plate and then top with 1 C of the vegetable mixture.

Top salad with crumbled feta and avocado, if desired.

First, cut both ends off and then gently cut off the peel, from top to bottom making your way around the citrus…all the way down to the flesh.

Now, make slices between each section and remove each slice with your knife.

Its that simple! And that beautiful.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie
yield: 24
Only 77 Calories per cookie

2 C oat flour **This is just oatmeal ground in the blender!
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/4 C apple sauce
1/2 C greek yogurt
1/4 C coconut oil
3/4 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1 C dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the oat flour, baking soda and salt. In a larger bowl, combine the apple sauce greek yogurt and coconut oil. Now, add the sugar and mix well. Next, add the eggs, one at a time mixing after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract. Now slowly add the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place tablespoon size dollops of the dough on the sheet, 1-2″ apart. Bake for 10 minutes.

February’s Best Produce

Cauliflower
Leafy Greens
Fennel
Sweet Potatoes
Parsnips
Leeks
Brussels Sprouts
Citrus
Turnips
Rutabaga
Potatoes
Onions

With these amazing fruits and veggies, the possibilities are endless! So, head out to the store- bypass the ever so tempting tomatoes and strawberries (they will taste much better if you wait until summer) and start experimenting with some of these less used items.

I LOVE using pomegranate for all kinds of things in the Fall months- salad dressing, parfait toppers, pancake syrup, marinade…or just a great, healthy snack- but the idea of cleaning a pomegranate can be a little intimidating. All of those great juicy seeds are protected by thick, maze like grooves- and trying to detach the seeds from their protectors can be quite the difficult and MESSY task.

A few years ago, I learned a great, easy and mess-free way to clean one of these nutrient rich- antioxidant packed gems. (I don’t remember where I learned this…maybe Martha Stewart??)

So, here is a step-by-step “How to clean a pomegranate” guide. Please excuse the ugly pictures!

1- Gather the tools you will need: A sharp knife, a bowl, a strong spoon, a cutting board, and your pomegranate.

2- Cut the pomegranate in half, horizontally.


3- Hold one side of the pomegranate, cut side down in the palm of your hand and then rotate your hand so that your palm, and the cut side of your pomegranate are facing the bowl.

4- Grab the spoon with your other hand and firmly hit the pomegranate with it…over and over as the seeds start to fall out….continue until all of the seed are in your bowl.

5- Repeat steps 3 and 4 with the other side.

6- Enjoy the fruits of your labor, literally!

So, here goes…my argument for home made…for REAL food than can actually be found in nature…food that has not been pumped full of hormones, pesticides, hydrogenation and genetic modification. I will start my argument with some very compelling and eye opening statistics from a book that I have been reading: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

…[Since 1980] 70 percent of our midwestern agricultural land shifted gradually into single crop corn or soybean farms, each one of them, now on average, the size of Manhattan…US farmers now produce 3,900 calories per US citizen, per day. That is twice what we need, and 700 calories more per day than they grew in 1980. Commodity farmers can only survive by producing their maximum yields, so they do. And here is the shocking plot twist: as the farmers produce those calories, the food industry figured out how to get them into the bodies of people who didn’t really want to eat 700 more calories a day…

[This next section is a little obvious but I thought a good point to reiterate]…plenty of studies show that regularly eating cheaply processed fast foods and snack foods slap on extra pounds that increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular harm, joint problems and many cancers. As a country we are officially over the top: the majority of our food dollars buy those cheap calories, and most of our citizens are medically compromised by weight and inactivity. The incidence of obesity-associated diabetes has more than doubled since 1990, with children the fastest-growing class of victims. One out of every three dollars we spend on health care, by some recent estimates, is paying for the damage of bad eating habits. One out of every seven specifically pays to assuage (but not cure) the multiple heartbreaks of diabetes–kidney failure strokes, blindness, amputated limbs.

I am not trying to play Debbie Downer here, but I think that the argument for home made, pretty much makes itself. No one wants to pump themselves, or their families full of completely fake things that are essentially slowly killing them…so, I think it is important to take a stand…stay out of the freezer section (except for straight up, frozen veggies (cheese sauces not included), avoid the aisles, and stick to the things that God created. Fruits, vegetables, WHOLE grains, rice, oats, beans, GRASS FED meats, honey, milk, (SOME) cheeses (many grocery store varieties are actually known to contain large amounts of saw dust and other products that don’t really draw up lovely images).

My passion for home made was just ignited a little further the other night when we had dinner at one of our friend’s homes. We were about to eat when he said, “Do you want to hear something completely disgusting?” Of course, when you hear something like that, your curiosity is piqued and you have to answer, “yes”!

So, he proceeded to tell us about how he lent his house to some friends when he was out of town one weekend. He came home to find a cake in his refrigerator…a decent looking, rectangular chocolate cake, topped with a cherry, from a very well known grocery store bakery. One slice was taken off of the end. Our friend had recently heard a story that one could leave a McDonald’s burger sitting on the counter for an entire month and it would look exactly the same as the day you bought it (and probably be safe enough to eat without getting sick because of all of the preservatives). So, he decided to test this with the cake.

After one month, the cake was unchanged. The CHERRY was unchanged. After month two and three, same thing. We arrived at his home at the end of MONTH SIX. This is what the cake looked like: good enough to eat, right?

BUT, would you WANT to eat this…SIX MONTH OLD cake and cherry?? I didn’t think so! ONE 2 inch slice of this cake has 510 calories and 25 grams of fat. So, in the spirit of offering solutions for problems…here is a wonderful chocolate cake recipe…completely natural…it probably wont last 3 days without starting to wither…but hopefully it tastes so good, it wont last three days either way…and it has about 110 calories and 2 grams of fat per piece (no soy beans or corn added.)

*I will add pictures later, the internet connection in Africa is VERY slow!

Chocolate Cake
2 cups oat flour (or really any other flour you like)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 0% Greek yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Chocolate sauce
1/2 Cup oat flour
1/4 Cup Cocoa powder
1/4 Cup agave nectar
1/4 t salt
1/4 Cup skim milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×9 inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and stir well. In a separate bowl.mix together the eggs, yogurt, milk, agave, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until lumpless. Pour and spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

When you are ready to serve, make the sauce (inspired by my love for raw batters!) In a small bowl, mix together all of the ingredients and then drizzle over each individual piece.

Eating healthy, and putting good, clean food into our bodies is very important to me…it is something that I would say that I am pretty passionate about, so over the last few years, I have tried to do as much research as a can to figure out the most important foods to buy organic and the ones that are virtually the same whether organic or not.

Last year, I came across an article about “The Dirty Dozen”…the top 12 foods you should buy organic. I also found a lot of information to support the fact that buying organic when it comes to certain things has absolutely no effect on your health. (Eggs are a great example of this).

Side note: I do think that it is important to think about where your food come- the way that your meat and eggs were raised and the local farmers that are trying to make a living (but that is another blog for another day).

So, without further ado, here is a list of the 12 most contaminated foods from www.organics.org

Peaches (which can be purchased organic at Jaemore farms in North Georgia during peach season for less than “regular” peaches from the grocery store!)
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Pears
Grapes
Spinach
Lettuce (Whole Foods has a “low price guarantee” for lettuce…its only $1.99 a bag…WAY less than Kroger!)
Potatoes

A key for purchasing these foods Organic on a budget is purchasing them when they are in season! Local Farmers markets, Whole Foods and Trader Joes all run specials on organic foods during their peek season!

Now, here is a list of the 12 Least Contaminated foods…AKA…foods that you should just buy at the regular grocery store if you are trying to be budget friendly.

Onions
Avocado
Sweet Corn (Frozen)
Pineapples
Mango
Asparagus
Sweet Peas (Frozen)
Kiwi Fruit
Bananas
Cabbage
Broccoli
Papaya