Healthy recipes that don't suck

[Caged Great]

I have found through trial and error that most healthy recipes that I have made have sucked. A couple of things I've tried off of recommendations off of CP have been quite good (side things not meals) so I figured that I would make a thread on here.

I'll post a couple of meals that I make that are mostly healthy later (Have to find my recipe book, which seems to have grown legs some time in the recent past and walked away.)

[Mccree]

I have to say. We bought the actifry from Costco and we love it. Little oil and tastes great.

http://tfalactifry.com/

[NSFL]

Originally Posted by Mccree

I have to say. We bought the actifry from Costco and we love it. Little oil and tastes great.

http://tfalactifry.com/

How much are they selling it for? I've been thinking about getting one for a while.

[stang]

There's some good recipes on www.thugkitchen.com

Good potato salad, warning language...

[Barnet Flame]

I've had the Actifry for about a year now. I was very surprised at how much you can do with it.

One of my best ever purchases.

[Cheese]

This is awesome:

Roasted Turnips and Pears with Rosemary-Honey Drizzle (Ive reduced amounts for serving sized to couples or singles)
· 1 medium turnip, unpeeled (or peeled if you prefer) and cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes.
· 1 firm ripe Bosc pear, unpeeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I have used the sweeter Bartletts as well)
· 1/8 cup vegetable oil
· 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
· 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (Don’t have to use butter for the Vegans in the crowd)
· 1 tablespoon honey
· 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, toss together turnips and pears with oil and salt until well combined. Place in an even layer on prepared baking sheet. Transfer to oven and roast, turning with a spatula once or twice during cooking, until browned and turnips are easily pierced with a paring knife, 25 to 45 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter (or use Veg oil) in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add honey and rosemary; let simmer for a few seconds and remove from heat.
4. Transfer turnips and pears to a large bowl and drizzle with butter (oil) mixture; toss to combine. Serve.

[Cheese]

for desert: (maybe not the healthiest...but delicious)

Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream

Ingredients:

3 or more peaches, halved with pits removed (I scrub the outside and leave the skin on)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar (or less if the peaches are sweet and juicy)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger (or not…this is optional)
3-5 or 6 tbsp rum (dark rum is best)
1 tsp vanilla

vanilla ice cream (or vegan topping of choice….or no ice cream at all)

Combine all the ingredients except the ice cream in a wide pan or plastic freezer bag, tossing to coat the peaches well. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Cook on a greased grill for five minutes on each side, basting occasionally with the leftover marinade.

Top with ice cream scoop hot off the grill.

[Cheese]

Mediterranean Couscous Salad

• 2 cups instant couscous (365 g)

• 2 cups boiling water

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 cups small zucchini cubes
• 2 cups small eggplant cubes (Can substitute onion for the eggplant)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large roasted red pepper, peeled, seeded and cut into small dice
• 1 cucumber, cubed
• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives (196 g)
  
• 7 ounces Greek feta cheese, crumbled (200 g)
• 3 T finely chopped Italian parsley
• 3 T finely chopped fresh mint (Optional but tasty)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (125 ml)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (250 ml)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Put the couscous in a heat proof bowl, pour the boiling water over it, stir with a fork and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set the bowl aside until needed – the couscous must be left for a minimum of 5 minutes.
2. Heat the 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot add the zucchini and eggplant and season. Saute for several minutes or until the vegetables are starting to become tender. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. Remove the vegetables from the pan to a baking sheet and spread out to cool quickly.
3. Uncover the couscous and dump it into a large bowl. Using a fork, break the couscous grains up. Add the zucchini and eggplant, roasted red pepper, English cucumber, olives, feta and herbs and toss.
4. Pour the red wine vinegar into a small bowl and slowly whisk in the extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste and pour the dressing over the salad. Toss the salad with the dressing and season to taste prior to serving.
5. The salad is best served just after it is made, ingredients can be prepared in advance but the salad should be assembled at the last minute.

[Cheese]

Watermelon and Beet Salad:

4-5 beets, cubed
1-2 cups of largely cubed watermelon
1 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 large handful of pea shoots or some type of green
1 handful of pistachios
1 sprig of thyme, leaves removed
1 tbsp Champagne Vinegar or
Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar at TJ's (I used balsamic Vinegar)
1 tsp - tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

To make the dressing, put the thyme leaves, salt, pepper and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a stream till combined. Add to the rest of the salad and toss to combine. Add a touch of cracked black pepper on top at the very end.

[Cheese]

Pasta with Mascarpone, Asparagus and Toasted Hazelnuts

2 lbs asparagus, cut on diagonal into 2-inch lengths
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. pasta
1 8-oz container mascarpone cheese
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
½ cup hazelnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
3 tbsp fresh chives
Parmesan cheese shavings

Preheat oven to 450 F. Drizzle asparagus with olive oil and salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix to combine. Roast in a shallow pan in a single layer in oven for 10 minutes.
Cook pasta according to package direction. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot. Stir in mascarpone, grated parmesan cheese and asparagus. Toss over medium-low heat until pasta is coated with sauce and mixture is heated through, adding reserve pasta water if dry. (3 minutes).
Toss with toasted hazelnuts and chives.
Serve in dish with Parmesan cheese shavings on top.

[Caged Great]

A chicken dinner with a Tomato and wine sauce.

3 chicken breasts
Three Tablespoons of White wine (The type I use is a Georges Dubeuf Beaujolais-Blanc Chardonnay, which is a fairly moderately priced wine $15-$17, also tastes good on it's own, which if you're cooking with a wine, it should taste good as well)
Two Tablespoons of Olive Oil
3-4 cloves of garlic (depending on size)
1 tablespoon of Thyme
Salt + Pepper (not much)
8 mid sized tomatoes
4 white mushrooms
2 oz of spinach

Get a sauce pan, put the oil and wine in the sauce pan (mine has a 2 1/2 inch side to it), along with the finely chopped garlic and diced mushrooms and then the chicken breasts on top. It should be mostly covered the entire duration except when adding the tomatoes and spinach (I hate the lid rattling, so I keep it off slightly)

You can prep before starting to cook by chopping the tomatoes in half, or after as it takes no time.

I have a gas range, so the cook time might be quicker. I put it on high, after about 3.5 to 4 minutes move the chicken over, and put the half tomatoes in, face down, and then put the chicken on top of the tomatoes and repeat until all 8 tomatoes are in. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, then peel the skins of the tomatoes (optional, but it means you won't have them in the sauce and they come off easy) and then mush the tomatoes. Let it cook again for another 10-11 minutes (basically 1/2 hour in total), remove the chicken breasts and put them on the plate. Dice the spinach, and put it in with the tomato sauce and let it simmer for about 5 minutes to allow it to thicken.

put sauce on the chicken and you're set (if it is too soupy, leave it on the stove to burn off some liquid, usually caused by too large of tomatoes)

I use mashed potatoes and broccoli for sides personally, but whatever works for you.

I personally prefer a more tart tasting sauce so I add an extra splash of wine beyond what is called for. If you want it more mild, less wine.

[killer_carlson]

Add raw spinach or baby spinach to your morning smoothy. You wont taste the spinach, seriously.

Caution about the colour though. You may n ot want to use a clear glass the first few times.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Add raw spinach or baby spinach to your morning smoothy. You wont taste the spinach, seriously.

Caution about the colour though. You may n ot want to use a clear glass the first few times.

Definitely, that's why I put it in the sauce. Completely flavourless yet packed with nutrition.

[ripTDR]

not really a recipe...

grab a bunch of peppers large mushrooms(portabellos work best) asparagus, brocc, zucc, and fresh pineapple(anything else really)

toss in olive oil and garlic

grill on high heat in bbq until slightly undercooked and charred

keep in fridge and use on pizzas, in pastas, in sandwiches and lasagnas

enjoy!

[GreenLantern]

recipe for a great night:

Jug of wine
fotze's mom

bone apatite!

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Add raw spinach or baby spinach to your morning smoothy. You wont taste the spinach, seriously.

Caution about the colour though. You may n ot want to use a clear glass the first few times.

I've been doing green smoothies for over a year now - took me about a week to get used to the colour

Now I use Kale, Mixed Greens, and Spinach (switch between them weekly) and throw in only a handful of berries along with flax seed, banana and water.

Great way to start the morning with a lot of veggies

[kermitology]

I make a similar chicken recipe to Caged Great, but perhaps a little more simple.

2 Chicken Breasts (sliced and pounded to 1/2" thickness)
5-6 whole cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of white wine (I'd use Sperling Pinot Gris and serve it with the dinner.
1/4 cup of chicken stock
Handful of cherry/grape tomatoes roughly chopped.
Bunch of fresh basil

This is best done with a stainless steel pan, but you could use a non-stick as well.

Season the chicken breast with coarse salt, pepper, a pinch of ground coriander and paprika. Pat dry and when the pan is hot enough, add grape seed oil (enough to coat the pan) and add the chicken, but don't over crowd the pan. You might have to cook it in batches. Toss the garlic in with the chicken (skin on)

Once the chicken is cooked, remove and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the white wine add the tomatoes. When the sauce has reduced by about half, add the chicken stock and again reduce by half. If you give the garlic a little squeeze at this point, it will pop out of the skin, then crush it into the sauce. Add the basil and the chicken back in to coat the chicken.

Serve with quinoa and a spinach salad.

[PeteLFan]

Healthy pizza

Flat out bread has 18G of carbs 9 of which are fiber.

Low fat mozzarella cheese.

A little bit of tomato sauce and sprinkled with some oregano and basil.

Add chopped chicken breast and any other toppings you enjoy bake for 10-15 minutes and yummy.

[PeteLFan]

Another interesting one I've seen on YouTube.

Egg muffins.

Egg whites
Mushrooms
Finely diced chicken breast
Peppers

Mix it up and pour into a muffin tray and top with low fat cheese bake for about 15-30 depends and they are delicious breakfast or snacks.

[Hockey]

I love this salad

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/62686...and-feta-salad