Kale and Caramelized Onion Sweet Potatoes + Favorite Fall Recipes

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Jennifer FIsher

If you take pleasure in eating the signature dishes of the season, fall is a particularly comforting time of year. Just thinking about the bounty of upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and autumn harvest inspired recipes gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling of well-being of being at Grandma’s house with all the family gathered round.

Pumpkin aside, the most iconic ingredient of autumn may be the sweet potato. Even though this practically royal root is actually enjoyed year-round to the tune of 2.6 billion pounds in the US, it makes the most of its popularity in October, November and December. Think about it — if you haven’t had sweet potatoes on your holiday dinner table, you may not be normal.

What is normal in my kitchen is to skip mucking up this orange tuber with marshmallows (why, WHY?!) and instead mash up and mix in other healthy ingredients – like the healthy greens, onions, coconut milk and wellness enhancing spices in my recipe for Kale and Caramelized Onion Sweet Potatoes below. If said it before, but I’ll say it again – I love using the sweet potato as a way to fuel my distance running, it’s the perfect choice for healthy carbohydrate loading. Not only does the sweet potato have a lower glycemic index than the traditional white potato (meaning it will be deployed as energy to your body at a more steady state), it is also packed with other nutrition that benefits athletes including vitamins A and C, manganese, calcium, potassium, iron, vitamin B6 and fiber.

This Kale and Caramelized Onion Sweet Potatoes dish is the one I made earlier in the week to complement my Cinnamon-Rubbed Braised Lamb with Cranberry Ginger Sauce. This recipe is so yummy, it’s BAAAAA-d to the bone! And, by the way — totally approved by all my Paleo diet friends.

Kale and Caramelized Onion Sweet Potatoes Recipe

2 lb (about 2 large) sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 large sweet onion, finely sliced
¼ cup white wine (or broth)
4 cups shredded kale (or other winter greens)
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Peel the sweet potato and cut into even sized 1 inch cubes. Place the sweet potatoes in a large pot filled with water. Boil uncovered for 15 minutes or until softened.
Drain the sweet potatoes in colander and set aside.
In bottom of same pot, add olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, for approximately 15 minutes or until turning golden brown and caramelizing. Add wine to pot to deglaze pan and then quickly add kale or other greens and continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until wilted. Turn off heat.
Add sweet potatoes, coconut milk, ginger, and cinnamon and mash everything together to desired consistency. If needed, add a splash more coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4.

Kale & Caramelized Onion Sweet Potatoes + Fall #recipes @foodie

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What is your favorite sweet potato recipe?

This post is sponsored by Foodie.com – however, all comments, opinions and recipes are my own.

Edible Bowls! Chickpea, Cucumber & Kale in Tomatoes

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Jennifer FIsher

“The chickpea is neither a chick nor a pea. Discuss.” Remember when Mike Myers chatted about this the “Coffee Talk” comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live?

The chickpea, also known as a garbanzo bean, is actually a legume that has been around for more than 7,500 years. A popular choice for man Mediterranean and Indian dishes, the little chickpea is packed with big nutrition – an excellent source of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamin B6 for vegetarians. Vitamin b6 helps to stabilize blood sugar, metabolize foods and make antibodies to ward off disease.

I came up with this lovely dish for Litehouse Foods and just knew I had to share it here – it’s perfect for a lunch or light dinner. The cool and crisp salad is dressed with flavors favored along parts of Greece and Italy and packed into a tomato serving as an edible bowl. Did you know the healthy, long-living people of the Mediterranean region eat, on average, nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day? This chickpea salad will get you well on your way to meeting this daily goal.

Chickpea, Cucumber & Kale Tomato Cups with Feta Dill Dressing

1 ½ cups packed kale or baby kale leaves
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
½ red onion cut in chunks
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 medium cucumber chopped coarsely
1 (15-oz) can rinsed and drained chickpeas
2 large tomatoes (like Beefsteak variety)
½ cup Litehouse Food’s OPA Feta Dill Greek Yogurt Dressing (plus additional for garnish)
2 grape tomatoes cut in half
2 ounces baby spring lettuce mix

Directions

In work bowl of food processor, add kale, cilantro, onion chunks, lime juice and garlic. Pulse for approximately 1 minute or until ingredients are finely chopped like pesto. Set aside.
In medium bowl, add chopped cucumber, rinsed chick peas and mixture from food processor. Add ½ cup dressing and mix everything together until thoroughly coated.
Cut large tomatoes in half crosswise and scoop out seeds and pulp with spoon (reserve for another purpose, if desired). Fill tomato cups with chickpea mixture and top with a dollop of dressing and grape tomato half. Serve on top of baby spring lettuce mix. Serves 4.

I have another yummy mention – POPSUGAR Must Have Snacks by Nature Box. I received a box full of these nutritious nom-noms in the mail and have been enjoying mixing up my normal afternoon snacking. Being stuck inside working on the computer (and nursing my sprained ribs) is much more tolerable with five bags of healthy snacks like Blueberry Almond Bliss and Lemon Pucker Pistachios.

Check it out for yourself. For a limited time, the POPSUGAR Must Have Snacks by NatureBox will be 50% off!

Disclosure: POPSUGAR and NatureBox provided me with a complimentary POPSUGAR Must Have Snacks by NatureBox box. The opinions I have shared about the box are my own, and POPSUGAR and NatureBox did not tell me what to say or how to say it.

Oh, F-word | Bacon-wrapped Salmon Kebabs with Sriracha-Orange Glaze for Dinner

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Oh, F word. And by “F word” I mean fat. Seventy two hours into my quest to eat 180 grams of healthy fat a day for 10 days is proving harder than I imagined. I’m doing this as a fat-loading phase of a marathon nutrition plan. I’ve had avocado, almonds and eggs. I put real cream in my tea. I was thinking whole plain Greek yogurt would be yummy, but am finding it actually hard to find at the grocery store. Everything is marketed as fat-free, low-fat, reduced-fat or I-can’t-believe-its-not-fat! I did find one large carton of yogurt that had nearly half its calories made from creamy goodness, but the expiration date was looming. Conspiracy!

Eggs, avocado and cheese only got me 1/9th of the way to my 180 gram fat goal.

I was planning a fabulous beef dinner crisped up in rendered fat, but keep forgetting to pull the roast out of the freezer. That will happen this weekend, but I still needed dinner inspiration for tonight. With salmon and bacon on hand, it didn’t take long to realize that these two high-fat proteins would pair up like fine wine and Cheetos (really, try it). With salmon rich in heart-healthy polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acids and the bacon sputtering with a hefty dose of (one might argue) less-healthy saturated fats, it only took a mere bamboo skewer to bring together these two opposing forces of dietary fat. You can call the fat combo “naughty and nice” or you can call it “yin and yang,” but why not just make this recipe for Bacon-wrapped Salmon Kebabs with Sriracha-Orange Glaze and call it a damn good thang?!

Bacon-wrapped Salmon Kebabs with Sriracha-Orange Glaze Recipe

8 ounces wild-caught sockeye salmon, skin off
6 slices of hardwood smoked bacon
Zest from one orange
Juice from one orange
¼ cup tamari
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
¼ cup orange marmalade (all-fruit, no added sugar)
6 6-inch bamboo skewers

1) Soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 10 minutes to prevent burning.Cut salmon into 6 equal-sized strips. Thread onto skewers. Wrap skewered salmon with one slice of bacon.

2) Heat grill pan to medium-high heat. Pan grill kebabs for approximately 4 minutes on each side (including sides), for a total of approximately 16 minutes or until bacon is crisped and salmon cooked through.

3) While kebabs are grilling, prepare glaze by adding juice, tamari, Sriracha and marmalade into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for approximately 1 minute, stirring once, or until heated through.

4) Remove kebabs from heat and brush with glaze. Sprinkle with orange zest. Use any remaining glaze on the greens, noodles, rice or whatever you are serving*

Serves 2.

When I made the greens, I just kept the rendered fat from the bacon in the pan because I (ahem) wanted it. But, drain off if you wish.

I served these Bacon-wrapped Salmon Kebabs with a version of my Kicked-up Orange Cashew Kale. Heck yeah, the cashews add a little extra crunch and healthy fat. Instead of kale, I used a 10-ounce bag of mixed greens (turnip, collard and mustard). By the time it cooks down, that big bag (which isn’t all yet in the pan above) serves just the two of us. Convenient because I still can’t get my kids to eat cooked greens; pretty sure I wouldn’t as a teenager either.

Superfoodie: Kicked-up Cashew Orange Kale Recipe

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

All signs in the vast expanse of the veggie world seemed to indicate that I should make some kale for dinner tonight. Not only did I have a huge bundle of locally-sourced kale in the produce bin courtesy of the organic delivery service Greeling.com, but every magazine I’ve opened for the last few days has been abuzz about this looser-leafed cousin to cabbage. It is a “superfood,’ after all. Convinced to put some green in this running machine, I whipped up a spicy-sweet side of kale using an orange and Sriracha sauce. Try it, you’ll like it!

Kicked-up Cashew Orange Kale Recipe

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
8 cups chopped kale
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
2 ounces cashews (I used cayenne spiced cashews)

Add olive oil to large skillet; bring heat to medium-high. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for approximately 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add kale and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes; add wine, orange juice and Sriracha sauce. Stir well to combine.

Add lid to skillet and let kale steam for 3 – 4 minutes, until softened. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring as needed, until most of the liquid has cooked off. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with orange zest and cashews.

Serves 2.

So Why Kale?

And there are many nutritional reasons to exclaim “all hail the kale.” This dark leafy green veggie is high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and also has loads of iron and more calcium than a serving of milk. Kale boasts anti-cancer properties thanks to a chemical called sulforaphane. Another chemical found in kale, indole-3-carbinol, is said to encourage DNA repair in cells. Kale has also been shown to lower cholesterol levels and decrease the absorption of dietary fat. And, all this for 36 calories per cup!

Steaming, braising, microwaving, and stir-frying are all good ways to cook kale; however, boiling this veggie can decrease some of its beneficial properties. Check out these fabulous-looking, creative ways to cook kale brought to you from some of my fellow healthy food-loving Fitfluential.com ambassadors:

Heather at fortheloveofkale.com has an awesomely unusual kale recipe she’s calling Sexy Salad of the Moment – you’ll have to click to find out what gives it so much appeal!

Laura at sprint2thetable.com threw together a lot of yummy stuff in a pot and is calling it White Bean, Butternut and Kale Soup. Here in Austin, we’re having a weird April cold front, so I’m making this nutrient-rich and warming meal tomorrow night.

Cat at breakfasttobed.com has me motivated to prepare her make-ahead salad. Massaged Kale and Wheatberry Salad with Feta. It’s true that kale salads are so much tenderer when pampered with an olive oil massage.

Dinner on My Doorstep! Greek Beef & Kale Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten has been in Greece. A trip back in 1996 to run the Athens Marathon and explore the area afterward brought back a rush of fond foodie memories so fresh I instinctively want to undo the top button of my jeans. Ahh, seared into my mind forever is the smell of succulent rosemary chicken roasting all day, the drama of feta cheese flambéed tableside, and the never-tiring taste of authentic Greek salads boasting the ripest, most aromatic tomatoes, peppers and olives plucked straight from the country’s sun-kissed groves and gardens.

Unfortunately, I’m not moving to the Greek countryside anytime soon and I just don’t have my act together enough to tend to my never-ending family obligations while taking care of a backyard garden. So, I decided to check out Greenling.com, a home delivery service in Texas that brings the freshest local and sustainably grown produce to my doorstep. With just a few clicks on the computer, I ordered the “Local Box” that features a signature selection of in-season fruits and veggies plucked from the fertile and chemical-free soil of area farmers. The selections change weekly, so it’s always a fun surprise (although you can always see box contents a week ahead of time to start menu planning or cancel).

This week’s local box was bountiful. I received arugula, spring lettuce mix, kale, fennel, oranges, grapefruit, baby carrots, and turnips along with a potted live thyme plant. I have absolutely no idea what to do with turnips (you could say I just fell off the truck). Thankfully, they sent along a sheet of recipe ideas to get me started.

I also ordered a few meal kits that have all the ingredients portioned, prepped and ready to go. What a lifesaver for those super-busy nights when we might be tempted to order a pizza. Last night I used the “Greek Stuffed Portabellas with Greens” kit to make a very easy, healthy and satisfying supper. Of course, if you know me, I don’t like to follow the rules when it comes to cooking and added my own creative touches (mainly beef) to this convenient meal kit. Here’s my version, you can order the kit or start from scratch; either way it’s a delicious meal that be easily kept vegetarian.

If you’d like to try Greenling.com and save 10% in the process, just follow this discount referral link.

Greek Beef & Kale Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Recipe

4 teaspoons olive oil (divided)
1/3 cup diced red onion
½ lb ground sirloin
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup chopped green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chopped kale
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 large portabella caps, stemmed and washed
Optional: bed of spring mix

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

In medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté red onions until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Remove onions and set aside.

In same skillet, cook ground sirloin over medium heat. Remove from heat and drain off any excess fat and liquid.

Add back in red onions. Add green onions and feta cheese to the meat; stir until combined.

Gently rub olive oil (approximately 1 teaspoon between the two) on the tops of portabella mushroom caps. Place on baking sheet, tops down.

Top mushroom caps with the beef mixture, pressing down slightly.

Bake at 400 F degrees for approximately 15 – 20 minutes, until mushrooms are softening and cheese is browning.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to skillet and add garlic, cook for one minute until fragrant.

Add chopped kale to skillet and cook over medium heat until wilted but still green, approximately 5 minutes. Stir frequently. To speed the process, add a tablespoon or two of water and cover skillet with a lid.

Remove mushrooms from oven and top with sautéed kale. Add parmesan cheese over this and return to oven for 5 minutes, until browned.

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Tag Archives: kale

Kale and Caramelized Onion Sweet Potatoes + Favorite Fall Recipes

Edible Bowls! Chickpea, Cucumber & Kale in Tomatoes

Oh, F-word | Bacon-wrapped Salmon Kebabs with Sriracha-Orange Glaze for Dinner

Superfoodie: Kicked-up Cashew Orange Kale Recipe

Dinner on My Doorstep! Greek Beef & Kale Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms