Crêpes

During summertime in New York City, there is a rotating street fair. Happenstancing upon these random markets is one of those little luxuries in life and most of the luxury comes from one reliable presence at these street fairs: crêpes, prepared when you order, as you like them, and wrapped in a little cone. I can't tell you how many times I have shown up to work with powdered sugar all over my face because I tried to eat a crêpe (and succeeded) while running up first avenue. 

Anyway, point is, crêpes are delightful. I'd been craving something sweet after cooking tons of savory, healthy recipes in honor of National Nutrition Month, when I realized: crêpes are light, not to sugary at all and make for a sweet and guilt-free end to a healthy meal. I get to missing dessert sometimes, and I figured you might too. Plus, making crêpes is an undeniably awesome party trick. They're really easy to make, but let's just keep that our little secret, okay?

Crêpes
By Alton Brown


Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Butter for coating the pan


Recipe
Mix all ingredients together in a blender (pulse for 10 seconds) or whisk together in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate mixture for 1 hour (it will keep as batter for 48 hours).


Pull batter from fridge and heat a crepe pan over medium/medium-high heat. Coat the pan with butter. Once the pan is hot and the butter is melted, use a 1/4 cup measure to make each crepe. Pour mixture into pan and swirl around very quickly. (It might take you a couple tries to get this right. Don't worry about it. Practice makes perfect.)  Cook for 30 seconds, until slightly browned on bottom side. Flip and cook for another 10-15 seconds. Slide the crêpe off the pan and onto a cutting board (lay flat) to cool.  Yields about 10 crepes. 


I garnished mine with lemon juice, sugar and fresh raspberries. Other sweet options include a light spread of nutella (otherwise we can't call it healthy anymore) and fresh cut bananas. These crêpes can also be made savory via toppings.


Enjoy!

Bell Pepper & Basil "Stir Fry"

For many people, Mondays are insane. When you finally head home, after a barrage of emails and voice mails and meetings, nothing sounds better than a warm meal. And, for a lot of people (even people like me, who love to cook), making dinner seems like a lot more energy than it is worth. This stir fry, however, is easy. Seriously, really easy. 

 

And, in honor of national nutrition month, it is a colorful and healthy meal as well. Bell peppers, basil and a (reasonable size portion of) brown rice. To prepare myself for Monday nights, I usually do the prep work on Saturday or Sunday so all that is left to do is throw things in a pan and eat the delicious results. And, you know what happens to be a great thing to munch on while you're waiting for this to cook? Sweet potato wedges, of course.

Pepper & Basil "Stir Fry"

By Alexandra Rogers


Ingredients
1 cup brown rice, cooked
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2-3 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, julienne
1/2 large Red onion, sliced into half rounds
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, grated
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons soy sauce


Recipe
In a large pan, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, separating into separate pieces, and stir once to coat with oil. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until onions have begin to caramelize and become tender. Do not stir often, as this interrupts the caramelization process.


Add peppers and cook for 3-5 minutes, until peppers are slightly tender and browned in spots. 


Add garlic and ginger to the pan, stir thoroughly, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add soy sauce and rice wine vinegar and cook for 2 minutes. 


Lastly, add the fresh, torn basil leaves and cook for about 3-4 minutes, until basil is wilted and sticking to peppers and onions. 


Serves 3. Serve warm, accompanied by 1/3 cup rice. 

Sweet Potato Wedges

I have had an addiction to sweet potatoes since I was about 8 years old. I was a vegetarian then, and thanksgiving generally consisted of green bean casserole, a biscuit and these lovely boiled (and drenched in brown sugar) sweet potatoes my grandma always made. That was, and still is, a delicious way to prepare sweet potatoes, but in the interest of healthy and colorful food, I decided to share a recipe that lets the sweet potato speak for itself and does not cancel out its many health properties. 

Sweet potatoes are low in sodium and very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. They are a good source o Dietary Fiber and several other vitamins. Like kale, sweet potatoes are anti-inflammatory, making this snack especially good for you after a workout. Plus, they taste great and it seems like a thoughtful appetizer before serving a stir fry or a burger or, just about anything!

Sweet Potato Wedges

By Alexandra Rogers

Ingredients

2 Sweet Potatoes/Yams, sliced into wedges

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

heavy pinch of salt

Recipe

Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. In a tall-sided baking pan or sheet, place sweet potato wedges. Sprinkle lightly with olive oil, cumin and salt. Cook for 15 minutes, then shake the pan to flip the wedges. Cook for another 10-15 minutes. Serve with soy sauce and chopped scallions. 

Happy National Nutrition Month!

I was recently informed, by a nutritionist friend, that March is National Nutrition Month. Now, although my love for all-things-delicious usually leads me somewhat off course when it comes to a healthy diet, I think healthy eating is incredibly important. I'm also inspired by the theme this year, which is, "Eat right. With color." 

So, with that in mind, flavorfull will focus on healthy eating for the rest of March. I'm really excited to share ideas and techniques that produce healthy meals without sacrificing flavor. If you have questions, comments or advice (or, best of all, recipes), I'd love to hear from you. You can reach me through blog comment, or at:
facebook.com/flavorfullblog
@flavorfullblog
flavorfullblog@gmail.com

White Bean and Kale Soup

Hold it right there, readers. Don't go anywhere. I know the mere sight of kale might send some people running, but I promise you: I would never dream of giving you a recipe that didn't taste delicious. But, kale? You say. Yes, Kale, I say. 

I understand your hesitation. My relationship with Kale wasn't exactly love at first sight. My mother often forced  encouraged me to eat kale, and I wasn't keen on it. But now, because of this recipe, I'm madly in love with Kale. (It's true.) Give me a few minutes of your time, and I'm sure you will be, too. My kale-paradigm-shift happened one afternoon at the coffee shop across the street. Feeling guilty for a particularly indulgent blog post, I ordered Kale and White Bean soup for lunch. It was, after all, the healthiest option on the menu. Much to my surprise, it was light, delicious and full of flavor, with none of the bitterness I remembered from the kale of lunches past. The soup had a slightly salty broth and the kale had softened from boiling in the soup. The white beans added some much needed texture to the mix. 

As I was enjoying this fabulous soup, I remembered some things I'd been told by various kale-lovers. Kale is good  great for you. It is a source of Protein and Dietary Fiber and it's low in Saturated Fat and very low in Cholesterol. On top of all that, it contains great vitamins. Oh, also, it contains anti-oxidants and is considered an anti-inflammatory. For more on the awesomeness of Kale, go here. Or, just make the recipe I've posted here. 

White Bean and Kale Soup

By Alexandra Rogers 

Ingredients

1-2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1 cup diced yellow onion (about 1 small-medium onion will do)

2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 cups kale leaves, torn into small pieces
1 1/2 cups great northern/white beans *use beans from a can, here, not dried beans*
3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

parmesan cheese rind (optional)

Recipe

In a medium or large pot, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, stirring once to coat with oil, cover and reduce heat to medium. Let the onions sweat for about 3 minutes, then add minced garlic. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, until garlic is fragrant but softened, and onions are tender and browning. 


In a separate bowl (or large liquid measuring cup) mix together vegetable broth and water. Pour about 1/4 cup broth mixture into the hot pot containing the onions, and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Do this twice. This process is called deglazing the pan. Add the rest of the broth mixture and bring to a boil. At this point, add the rind, if you're using it.


Once the broth, onions and garlic are boiling, add kale leaves. Cover and boil for 10 minutes. 


After 10 minutes, add salt to taste. Then, add the beans and boil, covered, for 5 minutes. Add a crack or two of pepper, stir and serve. Makes 5-6 servings of healthy, delicious soup.