Kale Chips

A fun and healthy snack! This is a good way to get the dark greens into the kids!

Kale Chips
1 bunch of fresh kale
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp of salt
1- 1 1/2 tsp oil lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Wash & tear kale into large chip sizes.
Lay on cookie sheet & drizzle oil, sprinkle salt & garlic on kale.
Put in oven & bake until crisp.
Eat & enjoy:)

Bean Salad

I made a big batch of this for a dinner with friends and plenty to last the rest of the week. I modified an online recipe to fit into the clean eating criteria. The original recipe calls for sugar. I simply omitted it and it is not missed at all. This version turns out more savory than sweet, and that’s OK by me and all who have tried it!

I raided the pantry and came up with a variety of beans. I also added ingredients to taste, so it probably turned out a little different from this recipe…lastly, I doubled this recipe for company and leftovers.

1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-0z can white beans, rinsed and drained
2 celery stalks, chopped fine
1/2 red onion, chopped fine
1 cup fresh, finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp fresh finely chopped rosemary
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 In a large bowl, mix the beans, celery, onion, parsley and rosemary.

2 In a separate small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add the dressing to the beans. Toss to coat.

3 Chill beans in the refrigerator for several hours, to allow the beans to soak up the flavor of the dressing.



The original recipe can be found at Simply Recipes

Southwest Salad Bar

This lovely ensemble fills up a shelf in the fridge! This, along with a bean salad make for a nice variety to make salads, wraps, etc. for the week.

The dark grain in the center of the photo is cooked quinoa. I have never seen quinoa this dark before and was excited to try it. It is just as yummy and makes an excellent base for grain salads.

After cooking the quinoa per direction on bag, drizzle with olive oil and lime juice.
Place in individual bowls:
*chopped cilantro
*chopped red onion
*chopped red and/or yellow pepper
* roasted corn kernels (Broil frozen corn until almost browned; watch and stir)
*canned black beans, drained and rinsed
*chopped romaine lettuce
*diced avocado (I cut what I need at the time of consumption)
Assemble the salad and use lime juice as the dressing to stay within the clean eating parameters.
This is also gluten free and you can track down some gluten free chips to add for crunch.
Other options (not necessarily “clean eating”):
For a dinner with friends, I offered the Brianna’s Chipotle Cheddar Dressing. They loved it.
You can also use this as a base for a taco salad if you want to add taco meat or chicken, and tortilla chips.
You can add queso fresco or shredded cheddar as well.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

We ate this for dinner tonight. Another recipe I modified, that still fits the Clean Eating criteria.

Very creamy and tasty for a spring - summer dinner.

Serves 6

1.5lb asparagus

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2c. low sodium chicken broth

2 medium white potatoes, chopped

1c. low fat milk (I used fat free)

salt and pepper to taste (keep it light)

GARNISH

*We just used the parmesan cheese, slivered basil, and finely chopped red bell pepper, but here are the other items from the original recipe to add:

-multigrain croutons, homemade (cubed bread sauteed in olive oil)

-grated parmesan cheese

-finely chopped red bell pepper

-cooked crabmeat

-slivered fresh basil

Wash and cut off bottom 2 inches of asparagus. Cut in one inch pieces. Set aside.

Heat 1T oil in large saucepan on med-high. Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent. Add broth and one cup water and bring to a boil.

Add potatoes and asparagus. Mix. Bring to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to saucepan off heat and add milk, salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.