Healthy Baked Sweet Potato Chips!

Healthy Baked Sweet Potato Chips!

Ingredients: 
2 Sweet Potatoes 
2 T Olive Oil
Salt to taste

Directions:
Step #1: Set oven to 425 degrees. 
Step #2: Thinly slice sweet potatoes. I suggest sawing while cutting to be able to make the slices as thin as you can. 

Step #3: Brush both sides of sweet potato slices with olive oil and place on cookie sheet. Then, sprinkle with salt. 

Step #4: Place cookie sheet in oven for 10 minutes. Then remove pan and flip chips over. Leave pan in oven until chips are crispy and slightly browned. Finally, enjoy chips as a snack or a side with a healthy turkey burger! 

Keep choosing healthier alternatives and thanks for reading Hatching Healthy Habits! 

-Claire Trotter (aka ALHWC's Summer Intern)

Summertime Lemon Vegetable Quinoa Salad!

          Make Vegetables a Healthy Habit!

          According to Choosemyplate.gov "people who eat more vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body." Click here to continue reading about why vegetables are a key component to a healthy lifestyle and an important eating habit to form!

          Try making this refreshing Summertime Lemon Vegetable Quinoa Salad to incorporate vegetables into your diet in a very tasty way! I suggest making a big batch and
eating it for the entire week for lunch. The quinoa, avocado and edamame add lots of protein to this delicious salad as well!

Summertime Lemon Vegetable Quinoa Salad!

Ingredients:

Salad:
11/2 C uncooked quinoa
8 ounces canned sweet corn
3/4 C Frozen Edamame
1 C cherry tomatoes
1/4 medium sized red onion
1 avocado (not too ripe, firm) 

Dressing:
1/4 C Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 T Honey
3 T Lemon Juice 
Poppy Seeds until taste

Instructions:

Step #1: Cook quinoa according to package. Remember you can cook quinoa in a rice cooker for a hassle free time! Then chill quinoa for at least 30 minutes in refrigerator.
Step #2: Chop avocado, tomato and onion into small pieces.

Step #3: Rinse canned corn.

Step #4: Thaw frozen edamame in microwave on defrost for about 2 minutes or until they are totally soft. 

Step #5: Combine, edamame, corn, onion, tomato and avocado in large mixing bowl. Then add in cooked quinoa.

Step #6: In another small mixing bowl whisk together the Apple Cider vinegar, olive oil, honey and lemon juice for the dressing. You can add as many poppy seeds as you desire to the dressing!

Step #7: Pour dressing into the large mixing bowl with vegetables and quinoa. Mix together and Enjoy!

 

Thanks for reading Hatching Healthy Habits and please visit again!

-Claire Trotter (aka ALHWC's Summer Intern) 

Fresh Tomato Zucchini Lasagna

         Try Zucchini Instead of Pasta!

          According to Livestrong.com, Zucchini only has about 21 calories per cup. Whereas, cooked pasta has about 150 to 200 calories per cup. Zucchini is not only a lower calorie option than regular pasta, but "offers health benefits thanks to its phytonutrients, mineral and vitamin content," according to livestrong.com. Click here to read article!

          Try using Zucchini instead of noodles in this delicious lasagna recipe! Cut calories and add nutrients! Although, keep in mind that lasagna is full of cheese which is high in calories, so it is important to still keep portion control in mind! Click here for other healthier pasta alternative ideas! Happy cooking! 

Fresh Tomato Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb Turkey (99% lean)
3 cups Tomatoes (crushed in food processor)
16 ounces part-skim Mozzarella cheese
15 ounces part-skim Ricotta cheese
4 medium sized Zucchinis
1 T Basil
1/2 t Oregano
1/2 t Parsley
4 cloves Garlic
1 T Olive Oil
1 medium sized Sweet Onion
1 egg
1/3 C Parmesan cheese

A special Thank You to my Mom for letting me use these awesome tasting tomatoes she grew in her garden! The freshest tomatoes you can possibly get!

Instructions:
Step #1: Set oven for 375 degrees and grease a 9 inch by 13 inch glass pan and set aside.
Step #2: Brown turkey in skillet on stove.

Step #3: Strain any liquid out of turkey.

Step #4: Slice Zucchini into about 1/8 inch or a little less lasagna noodles.

Step #5: Sprinkle both sides of cut Zucchini with salt and let sit on cookie sheet for at least 10 minutes.

Step #6: Meanwhile, grind the fresh tomatoes in a food processor, until mostly pureed. 

Step #7: Chop onion and garlic. 

Step #8: Add onion, garlic, olive oil, basil, parsley and oregano to a large sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until onion is translucent.

Step #9: Add pureed tomato and strained turkey to sauce pan and allow to simmer for 30 or more minutes.

Step #10: Meanwhile, blot moisture off (this will hopefully remove some of the added sodium as well!) Zucchini with paper towel and then put back on cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in heated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the Zucchini has begun to shrivel slightly. (This step is important, because we are dehydrating the Zucchini. The lasagna will be very soupy if you skip this step!)

Step #11: Next, take the ricotta cheese, the egg and the parmesan and mash together in medium sized mixing bowl. 

Step #12: Finally, it is time to assemble the lasagna. First, put a layer of sauce into the greased 9 inch by 13 inch glass pan.

Step #13: Second, put a layer of Zucchini.

Step #14: Third, put a layer of the ricotta mixture.

Step #15: Last, put a layer of mozzarella cheese. Repeat this process, until you run out of ingredients. (Usually, lasagna's final layer is sauce topped with mozzarella cheese. However, I ran out of sauce so my final layer ended up being Zucchini topped with ricotta and mozzarella and it still tasted excellent!)

Step #16: Put lasagna in heated oven for 45- 50 minutes, or until cheese on top has browned completely and sauce is bubbling.

Step #17: Last, enjoy your lasagna after all of your hard work! I served mine with a fresh salad! 

I hope you try substituting veggies for pasta and thank you for reading my blog post!

-Claire Trotter (aka ALHWC's Summer Intern) 

Spicy Sweet Potato Bean Bake!

          Sweet Potatoes or White Potatoes?

          One of my favorite dishes during the holidays is sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows. I rarely feel healthy when scarfing down my second helping, but did you know that sweet potatoes have many health benefits? According to the Cleveland Clinic when choosing between a white potato or a sweet potato, you should choose the sweet potato for more nutritional value. An article on ClevelandClinic.org says, "both spuds pack a powerful nutritional punch. Yet sweet potatoes provide 400% of your daily requirement of vitamin A. They also have more vitamin C, fewer calories, more fiber and fewer total carbs than white potatoes, despite more sugar."Click here to read article!

          Try making this sweet potato recipe to reap all the benefits of the nutritional root! It is slightly healthier than the marshmallow sweet potatoes we should save as a holiday treat!

Spicy Sweet Potato Bean Bake!

Ingredients:

1 C uncooked quinoa

3 medium sweet potatoes

15 ounces canned black beans (choose the low sodium or no salt added)

15 ounces canned sweet corn (choose the low sodium or no salt added)

1 red bell pepper

3 carrots

1 medium sized sweet onion

1 1/2 C Colby Jack shredded cheese

15 ounce jar medium salsa

1/2 t cumin (You can add more if you want a spicier dish. I suggest maybe adding some chili powder also!)

Instructions:

Step #1: Set oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 by 13 glass pan and set aside.

Step #2: Follow directions on quinoa package to cook quinoa. Remember you can cook quinoa in a rice cooker for a hassle free time!

Step #3: Wash and scrub sweet potatoes. Keeping the skin on, to retain the spud's fiber content, use a mandolin or a cheese grater to shred sweet potatoes. Choose a large bowl to put the shredded sweet potato in. 

Step#4: Rinse canned black beans and canned sweet corn thoroughly using a strainer. Then, add beans and corn to sweet potato.

Step #5: Next, chop onion, red bell pepper and carrots.

Step #6: Now, add onion, red bell pepper, carrots, salsa, cumin and cooked quinoa to mixture.

Step #7: Then, pack mixture into greased 9 by 13 pan and top with Colby Jack cheese. Place pan in heated oven for 45-50 minutes.

Step #8: Before removing pan from oven, make sure that is is bubbling and cheese is melted. 

Step #9: Serve dish with fresh fruit, guacamole and chips. I suggest bean chips, for a healthier, higher protein and higher fiber option than regular tortilla chips. My favorite brand is Beanitos. Click here to visit the Beanitos website.

Thank you for reading Hatching Healthy Habits! Please visit my blog again soon!

-Claire Trotter (aka ALH Wellness Center's Summer Intern)

Roasted Garbanzo Beans!

Make Snacking Part of Your Healthy Lifestyle!

According to an article on WebMD.com, “eating smaller, more frequent meals/snacks can be particularly helpful. Small meals/snacks eaten about every 2.5 hours to 3 hours tend to translate into more stable blood sugars throughout the day. When you graze instead of gorge, you avoid extreme hunger and tend not to overeat at any one meal.” The article continues to talk about how snacks should be between 150-200 calories. It also states that, “foods rich in soluble fiber make for a great snack because soluble fiber leaves the stomach slowly, encouraging better blood sugars and making you feel satisfied longer.” Click here to read the article.

The Nutrition Facts label below shows that roasted garbanzo beans are a good source of fiber which as stated above will help you feel satisfied longer. Also, they are a good source of protein and have very low sodium. Chips and crackers that you might eat instead of roasted garbanzo beans are often very high in sodium. Try this super easy recipe for a snack that you can eat all week long! I suggest portioning out garbanzo beans in small baggies after cooking, because it is easy to over eat. Pay close attention to the serving size on the Nutrition Facts. 

Roasted Garbanzo Beans!

Ingredients: 

15 oz can Garbanzo Beans (try to find the ones with no salt added)

1/4 C grated Parmesan Cheese

1 t Basil

1/2 t Oregano

1/2 t Garlic Powder

2 T Olive Oil

Notes: Canned chickpeas or garbanzo beans with both work for this recipe.

Instructions: 

Step #1: Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Also, set oven to 375 degrees.

Step #2: Then, remove garbanzo beans from can and rinse completely, using a strainer. 

Step #3: Combine parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, garlic powder and olive oil in medium sized bowl. 

Step #4: Next, toss garbanzo beans in mixture.

Step #5: Spread garbanzo beans out evenly across cookie sheet. Attempt to not have any of them touching each other, they cook better this way. 

Step #6: Place cookie sheet in oven for about 40 minutes. Remove when the garbanzo beans become crispy and crunchy. You might want to try one to test if they are ready.

Step #7: Enjoy roasted garbanzo in appropriate serving sizes. 

I hope you choose to make snacking a healthy habit and thank you for reading my blog!

- Claire Trotter (aka ALHWC summer intern)

Chicken Quinoa Parmesan Casserole!

Make Family Dinner a Priority!

          According to the Familydinnerproject.org, studies have shown that families who participate in family dinner have on average better academic performance, higher self-esteem, lower risk of substance abuse, lower risk of depression, and lower rates of obesity. Click here to read article! Try making this easy casserole for your family and all gather around the table to enjoy it!

          A lot of people love italian food, however it is often loaded with carbohydrates and lots of calories. This casserole uses quinoa instead of pasta to make a healthier, lower calorie dish. Your family can enjoy a second helping without doubling their calorie intake for the day! Make a healthy choice for your entire family!

Chicken Quinoa Parmesan Casserole! 

Ingredients: 
1 cup uncooked quinoa (I used multi colored, but you can use any color!)
1 lb Boneless Chicken Breast
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Medium Sweet Onion
1 T Olive Oil
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
15 oz canned Diced Tomatoes 
15 oz canned Tomato Sauce
1/2 T Basil
1/2 T Oregano
3 or more garlic gloves
Any other herbs or spice you desire

Note: When buying canned products look for the "No Salt Added" label for a healthier choice!

Instructions:
Step #1: Set oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 by 13 glass baking dish and set aside.
Step #2:  Cook boneless chicken breast (grill, boil or bake).
Step #3: Follow directions on quinoa package to cook quinoa. Suggestion: Try using a rice cooker to cook quinoa for a hassle free time!

Step #4: Mince garlic and chop sweet onion. 

Step #5: In a large skillet over medium heat, cook olive oil and sweet onion until onion has become see-through. 

Step #6: Next, add garlic and balsamic vinegar to skillet. Cook mixture until the balsamic vinegar has been absorbed by the onion (see photo below). 

Step #7: Now, add in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil and oregano (You can try adding any other herbs and spices you might like as well!)

Step #8: Combine chicken, quinoa and sauce in large bowl and mix together thoroughly.

Step #9: Put half of the mixture in the greased 9 by 13 pan and top with half the Mozzarella cheese.

Step #10: Then, put the rest of the mixture on top of the cheese, creating a second layer. Put the rest of the Mozzarella cheese, as well as the Parmesan cheese on top of the casserole. (You can put any type of cheese you prefer into the casserole) 

Step #11: Cover glass pan with tin foil and place in oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove tin foil and bake for another 10 minutes to allow cheese on top to melt. 

Step #12: Remove glass pan from oven once the cheese has melted and the sauce in boiling around the edges.

 Step #13: Finally, serve the casserole! I suggest pairing the casserole with a salad! 

Thank you for reading Hatching Healthy Habits!

-Claire Trotter (aka ALHWC Summer Intern)