The whole kitchen smelled just glorious as these were roasting. The orange flavor is very subtle, the chipotle just hot enough and these disappeared very quickly !
Chipotle Nuts
Makes 2 ½ cups – 1 serving = 2 tablespoons
91 calories per serving
1 T grated orange rind
1 T orange juice
1 egg white
2 c mixed nuts (pecan halves, whole almonds, walnuts, whatever you have around the house!)
1 T brown sugar
1 T Kosher salt
1/2 t ground chipotle chile pepper
Pam
1/2 c sweetened dried cranberries
1 t Kosher salt
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix orange rind, orange juice and egg then stir in nuts. Mix sugar, salt and pepper and add to the nuts and mix well. Spread on a cookie sheet spray with Pam and bake 1 hours stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with another teaspoon of salt and mix then cool. When cool, mix in the cranberries.
Sweet honey keeps all the ingredients stuck together. These are great to keep on hand for when you get a ‘sweets attack’. So healthy, so full of MUFAs, yet honey sweet and just a bit chocolaty.
Healthy Snack Bars
16 servings
109 calories per serving
2 1/2 c unsweetened puffed wheat cereal
1/2 c pecan halves, chopped medium fine
1/3 c salted roasted shelled pumpkin seeds / pepitas (just roast in oven 5-10 minutes)
1/4 c dried cranberries (craisins), coarsely chopped
3 T sesame seeds
1/2 c honey
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/8 t salt
1/2 cup mini semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (chop regular size ones)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line an 8×8 square baking dish with parchment paper letting it overhang so you have ‘handles’ to pull up the bars when done. Mix cereal, nuts, seeds and cranberries. In a saucepan heat honey, vanilla and salt 2-3 minutes. The pour this over the dry ingredients and mix well then add chocolate and press it all into the prepared pan and spread it out. You can spray a wooden spoon with Pam to help. Bake 30-35 minutes or until top is brown. Use a knife to loosen the bars from the unlined sides of the pan and lift the whole thing out and set on a rack to cool a bit. Cut into 16 bars.
This makes a great side dish or a perfect appetizer served with Crostini bread or crackers. Every caponata you find is a little different – there are so many components that it is easy to get different versions. This one uses very little oil and is my absolute favorite. By pre-cooking the eggplant in the oven, you use much less oil and you won’t even miss it ! It has all my favorite things and has a great depth of flavor.
Eggplant Caponata
6 servings
149 calories per serving
1 large eggplant, trimmed, but not peeled and then cut into 1 inch cubes
½ t salt
2 t oil
2 c chopped celery
¼ c celery leaves, chopped
1 c chopped onions
½ c water
2 t minced garlic
1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (including the juice)
2 T tomato paste
20 small black olives, chopped (you can use green if you prefer)
2 T white wine vinegar
1 t unsweetened cocoa
½ t black pepper
Kosher salt to taste
¼ c chopped basil
¼ c toasted pine nuts
2 t oil
Pam
To toast pine nuts, sauté in a hot, dry skillet for a few moments – until golden and aromatic. Place eggplant cubes in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with ½ t salt. Mix well so that all eggplant is salted. Then place a small plate or bowl on top of the eggplant and weight it by placed a canned product or some other heavy object. The salt and the weight will draw some of the bitter liquid from the eggplant and you will end up with a much sweeter tasting caponata. Let sit for an hour then rinse eggplant and pat dry. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with Pam, and place eggplant on sheet in a single layer. Cook for 20 minutes then remove from oven and set aside.
Heat a skillet and add 2 t of oil. Also spray with a bit of pan and then sauté onions and celery on medium high heat until partially softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté a minute longer. Add ½ c water and continue cooking another 10 minutes. If the mix gets dry, add up to ¼ c more water to keep it moist. Add tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste and olives and cook on medium for 10 minutes until sauce thickens a bit. Add eggplant, vinegar, salt, pepper and cocoa and cook on low for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in toasted nuts and 2 t oil. Serve room temperature or chilled.
You can’t get a potato chip fresher than this. In just a couple of minutes you have a perfect snack size serving and they are sooooo good. I don’t even peel the potato first.
Slice potatoes super thin (I use a mandolin to do this – just be sure to user the guard !). Mix slices with oil and salt. Spray a glass dish with Pam and spread a single layer of potatoes on the plate. Microwave on high 2-3 minutes or until they start to brown. Turn and microwave until they start to crisp around the edges (another 2 minutes or so). Work in batches. Cool completely.
These are GREAT ! And at only 91 calories, you’ll be making these all the time. This recipe sprinkles them with chili powder – very nice. But you could just as easily use different spices instead. These went great with the Black Bean Dip recipe I have !
Homemade Tortilla Chips
48 chips
91 calories per serving (13 chips)
6 corn tortillas
1 c water
Chili powder to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Dip each tortilla in water and then cut into 8 wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with chili powder. Bake 5-8 minutes or until crisp. Cool on wire rack before serving.
OH SO GOOD ! Ditch the canned black bean dips ! This one takes no time to put together and is so fresh tasting. This makes a great appetizer served with homemade tortilla chips.
Black Bean Dip
6 servings
139 calories per serving
15 oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 c corn
2 green onions, sliced
½ c plain nonfat yogurt
½ t thyme
½ t chili powder
1/2 t cumin
Pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree for 20 seconds or until mixture is smooth. Serve with baked tortilla chips.
This dip also makes a great baked potato topper. Very cheesy – very tasty – and very, very good for you !
Vegetable Dip
12 servings
29 calories per serving
2 c chopped broccoli
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
¼ lb. chopped mushrooms
2 t corn oil
1 c low fat cottage cheese
Pinch of pepper
½ t onion powder
½ t garlic powder
Cook broccoli leaving it still crisp (boil or steam). In a small pan on medium high heat cook garlic and onions until well browned – add water as necessary to keep them moist. Add mushrooms in oil for 5 minutes or until the onion is tender. In a food processor, process cottage cheese until smooth then add broccoli and onion mixture along with garlic powder, onion powder and pepper and pulse until well combined. Serve with veggies or crackers for dipping. Refrigerate unused portion.
I admit it – I’m a snacker. That can be my downfall…I eat great, healthy meals, but the snacks get me. So I try to keep a bunch of healthier alternatives around so that when I can’t resist the urge, at least I am not totally killing my calorie count. My newest favorite is a popcorn ‘chip’ called PopCorners. These are FABULOUS !!
Popcorners
A 1.1 ounce bag is only 140 calories! The serving size is more than enough and the all natural product tastes great. It’s popcorn without all the messy little leftover kernel pieces that only get in my teeth and bother me anyhow 😉 And one of my favorite parts – – they come in different flavors. I LOVE things that have different flavors 🙂
Today I’m eating the slightly sweet Kettle version. Yesterday was Butter. The day before was Sea Salt. And tomorrow I have to try the White Cheddar – based on all the others being so good, I am sure the cheese will please.
Try some – if you can’t find them locally, you can order online. Healthy, all natural, low cal and awesome…Popcorners. (I may sound like an endorsement, but I have no affiliation with the product ! I just love it.)
A perfect accompaniment to ice cream, perfect served alone, a great dipper for Fruit Salsa – these are super easy to prepare and great tasting.
Cinnamon Tortilla Crisps
Makes 96 crisps
24 servings (4 crisps per serving)
52 calories per serving
12 – 7 or 8 inch flour tortillas, cut into 8 wedges
Pam (butter flavored)
1 t cinnamon
½ c sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking pan with Pam. Place as many pieces as will fit on the pan and spray with Pam then sprinkle with a mix of the cinnamon and sugar. Bake 5-10 minutes or until crispy. Repeat with other tortillas. Let sit and cool a few minutes to finish crisping.
