Tag Archives: Healthy Comfort Food

October 15, 2015 · 8:05 PM

Oven Fried Chicken {Healthy Comfort Food}

Forget greasy fried chicken! This oven fried chicken recipe has all of the juiciness and crunch you’d expect from fried chicken, without the added fat and calories.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Nonstick Cooking Spray
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 – 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup – 3/4 cup cornflakes, crushed finely
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces*

* I’m a huge fan of dark meat, so I use boneless skinless chicken thighs. 2 thighs per serving.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine flour, Cajun seasoning, pepper and cayenne pepper together in a medium size bowl. Place buttermilk and corn flake crumbs in 2 separate shallow bowls.
Roll chicken in flour mixture and evenly coat each side. Next dip chicken into buttermilk and then corn flake crumbs.
Place coated chicken on your prepared baking sheet. Spray chicken with a light coating of the cooking spray.
Bake until chicken is tender and no longer pink, about 25 to 30 minutes (there is no need to flip the chicken during baking).
Makes 4 servings.

For those of you using the 21 Day Fix this is roughly 1 yellow and 1 red.

Once you have your first round of the program under your belt, try not to stress out over your containers. Life should be about balance and making healthier choices to keep yourself headed toward your goals and this recipe does that…even if you don’t have exact container counts.

Anytime you skip the KFC drive-thru, search for a healthier recipe and go to the store to buy the ingredients to make it, you’re on the right track!

What would be your side dish of choice with this chicken? We opted for some zoodles quickly sauteed with garlic.

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Shepherd’s Pie {Healthy Comfort Food}

Shepherd’s Pie and comfort food go hand in hand to me. Mashed potatoes, beef, veggies and a creamy sauce….yuuuuum!!

In this version, I have lightened things up a lot. There is no butter, milk, cream or sour cream to be found, but there is still a lot of comforting flavor!

Healthy Shepherd’s Pie

Potato Topping:

2 lbs Yukon gold or Russet potatoes (peeled and diced)
3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsps Greek yogurt
salt & pepper to taste

Meat Filling:

1.5 lbs 95% lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
2 cups frozen peas & carrots
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1 cup low sodium beef broth
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Boil potatoes in a medium pot of salted water until cooked and soft. Drain and mash with chicken broth, Greek yogurt, salt and pepper, set aside.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large saute pan brown meat over medium high heat, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms and sauté on medium heat about 6 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the flour, frozen vegetables, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and mix well. Simmer on medium for about 8-10 minutes, until sauce thickens.
Spread the meat filling on the bottom of 9×13 casserole dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, then place under the broiler 1 to 2 minutes until the potatoes turn golden. Remove from oven and let it cool 5 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

21 Day Fix and Fix Extreme Containers: 1.5 Yellow, 1 Red, 1 Green

For those of you following the 21 Day Fix, you can cut back on your yellow container and tack on an extra green by cutting the amount of potatoes and adding mashed cauliflower. The two mix together wonderfully and you keep the great potato flavor without going over on a yellow container.

Want to cut all of the potato? Top with just mashed cauliflower. Not sure how to make mashed cauliflower? Just steam your cauliflower, toss into a food processor with the Greek yogurt and broth and pulse it all together until creamy. (Reserve a little cooking water or add some more broth if it is too thick.)

You can also substitute mashed sweet potato for your topping!

This is a really a forgiving dish and a great way to use up veggies that you may in the fridge.

I hope you are enjoying this Healthy Comfort Food segment. Don’t forget to share YOUR favorite comfort food with me below, so I can try and share a healthy alternative to it.

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Portuguese Kale Soup {Healthy Comfort Food}

Portuguese-Kale-Soup

Fall is the official beginning of comfort food season. The temperatures drop, we dig out the sweaters and there is something about casseroles, soups and baked pastas that just warms our soul as we kick off fall.

This time of year also tends to be the start of weight gain season for many. The sweaters hide the bulge, the leggings have give and stretch along with us as we indulge in these comfort foods and baking season, which isn’t far behind.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be featuring healthy comfort foods that will help you to combat the cold weather weight gain. These hearty meals will satisfy your cravings while keep your waist line in check. PLUS if you’re doing the 21 Day Fix, they will also be plan approved!

There are so many reasons to love this Portuguese-inspired kale and sausage soup. As with many soups, this recipe tastes even better on the second day. For that reason, this soup is great for meal prep. It makes enough for a whole week of lunches or dinners, and freezes well.

Portuguese Kale Soup

Total Time: 48 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: 38 min.
Yield: 6 servings, about 1¼ cups each

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. turkey kielbasa sausage, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 medium leeks, chopped, just white and light-green parts
1 bunch kale, stems removed and discarded, torn (about 4 cups)
1 (15-oz.) can kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes, no added salt
6 cups low-sodium organic chicken (or vegetable) broth
Ground black pepper (to taste; optional)

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add kielbasa; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until browned.
3. Add garlic, leeks, and kale; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until soft.
4. Add kidney beans, tomatoes, broth, and pepper (if desired). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Nutrition-PortugeseKaleSoup

Doesn’t that look and sound delicious?!

Personally, I think the best part about this recipe is that it is meal prep friendly. If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know I am big on meal planning and meal prep, especially when doing the 21 Day Fix. It truly is the key to staying on plan and avoiding temptation during the week, when things can get hectic.

If you’re new to the 21 Day Fix, be sure to check out my 21 Day Fix Planning tools.

Been thinking about trying 21 Day Fix but have questions? Feel free to contact me with them! I’d be more than happy to help you figure out if it would be a good fix for you….plus it’s on special this month and I have a new accountability group beginning on October 26th!

What’s your favorite comfort food once the temps start cooling down?

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Healthy Comfort Food: Turkey Chili

Healthy Comfort Food Turkey Chili 21DF
Just about everyone who knows me, knows I love healthy comfort food and the recipe for Turkey Chili from the Body Beast nutrition guide. I’ve shared it before in my meal prep post and I post photos of it quite often on Instagram. I’ve even been having my 21 Day Fix participants begin using it with their meal prepping. It’s such a simple, versatile and yummy recipe that I think it would be wrong not to share it.

For those of you are not familiar with it, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground turkey meat

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 med white onion, chopped

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes or diced tomatoes with chilis

1 8oz can tomato sauce, no salt added

2 TBL chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:

1) Heat oil in large saucepan over med/high heat. Add turkey, onion, bell pepper and garlic.
2) Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until turkey is no longer pink.
3) Add cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper; stir and cook another minute.
4) Stir in beans and tomatoes; bring to a boil
5) Reduce heat to low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened.
6) Serve warm sprinkled with parsley.

As you can see, it’s really simple to make and uses lots of great, clean ingredients. The beauty of it, is that it’s simple to tweak in order fit into the 21 Day Fix program.

If you have issues fitting in all of your green containers, add spinach, zucchini, extra peppers, kale, eggplant or any other veggie you have on hand to this dish and bump up your veggie intake. You could even serve it over some cauliflower rice or top it with some shredded romaine lettuce.

Are those yellow containers your issue? (Not using enough of them, that is. I know many people feel there are not ENOUGH yellow containers in general, I can’t help with that, sorry. You’ll have to take that up with Autumn.) add extra beans, some corn or peas. You could also serve this over some rice or quinoa – another option is to cash in a “treat” and have a few tortilla chips on the side for dipping.

Unsure of how to use your blue containers? Top your chili with some shredded sharp cheddar cheese or some avocado. Better yet, use both by using half a container or each.

Falling short on red containers? Top this with some plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream for a creamy component that will make your taste buds happy.

Purple containers also fit into this dish! Top your chili with some fresh salsa for an added kick, as well as a color pop. (We eat with our eye, too!)

As you can see this is a very useful recipe to have while doing the 21 Day Fix. You can easily make this into your meal planning and use up just about any container you may be lacking.

Do you have a versatile recipe that would work well with the 21 Day Fix? If so, I would love to learn more about it.

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Filed under 21 Day Fix, Body Beast, Health & Fitness, Main Course, Recipes

Tagged as 21 Day Fix, Body Beast, Health & Fitness, Healthy Comfort Food, healthy-living, Recipes, Turkey Chili