May 6, 2010

It's a leafy green vegetable.

No!  It's a yummy crunchy chip.

Actually, you're both right.  We're talking about kale chips!

I know, you're skeptical.  Even though I KNOW the health benefits of eating kale, I just don't like it much.  It's bitter and pretty tough, especially when it's raw.  I never really had a kale dish I liked much. Until now!

You can drive to Whole Foods and buy a small bag of kale chips.  They're delicious, but they're $7 or $8.  No joke.

Or you can make you own.  Now, pay close attention because this is pretty darn complicated.  To make kale chips, you go to the store and buy a couple of bunches of kale (organic if you can get it).  You come home and wash it, dry it and tear it into pieces.  Then you spray it with a touch of oil, season it, and bake it til it's crunchy.  Then you eat it and feel very, very virtuous.   😀

Kale Chips: before baking

Kale Chips

2 bunches kale (I like the curly kind)
Nonstick cooking spray (olive oil or canola)
Your favorite seasoning to taste

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Wash the kale and dry thoroughly.  Pull off the tough center rib and tear each leaf into medium-size pieces.  Place onto a baking sheet and spritz with a touch of oil.  Sprinkle with whatever seasonings you like and toss the kale to evenly coat with oil and seasonings.  Be careful with the salt; it will intensify as the kale shrinks and your chips will be way too salty.

Bake until the kale is dried out and crispy, 20 to 23 minutes.  I like mine lightly browned and pretty crispy.  Enjoy as a snack, or as a garnish on soup.

Note: I seasoned with very little salt, plus a big dash of lemon pepper and a salt-free Penzeys spice blend called Mural of Flavor.

Kale Chips: after baking. Not pretty, but delicious!

~BigSis

July 15, 2009

Thanks for all the great healthy snack ideas yesterday, LilSis.  You know I love snacks as much as you do…salty and savory ones rather than sweet ones usually.  I also agree with eating small meals during the day.  For my second breakfast or my after-workout snack, I sometimes have a granola or protein bar.  Not a big meal replacement bar, but a nice tasty snack-size one that doesn't have too many calories, fat grams or sugar grams.  I was excited to try these new Granola Nut Clusters from Nature Valley that MyBlogSpark sent us to investigate.

We got four flavors: Nut Lovers, Honey Roasted Peanut, Roasted Cashew and Roasted Almond.  I tried some on my own and took some to work for an informal taste test. LilSis tried them, and also got the expert opinion from my favorite surfer dude and her 15-year-old eating machine, HayHay.

Nut Lovers

(7 clusters: 160 cal, 10 g fat, 14g carbs, 7 g sugar, 4 g protein)

Please note there has been a limited recall of this variety.  Check the Nature Valley web site for the impacted “use by dates”.

• BigSis: Tastes stale! I expected this to be delicious with all the nuts, but you didn't get much granola, and the nuts were just blah and soggy-ish.  Not worth the calories and fat for sure!

• BigSis' Co-workers: Texture is a little soft, tastes of honey, needs more almonds, nothing stood out, no one liked it.

• LilSis: I thought these would be my favorite of the bunch but they were a strange texture. They seemed almost stale. Too soft. I didn't like the cashews in the combo.

• HayHay: They're alright. They almost all taste the same to me.

Honey Roasted Peanut

(7 clusters: 140 cal, 7 g fat, 15 g carbs, 8 g sugar, 5 g protein)

• BigSis: You can see lots of peanuts and there's a big peanut flavor, but I'm not a real fan of peanuts. So.

• BigSis' Co-workers: Very peanutty, flavor better and not as sticky as the Nut Lovers, favorite of two people.

• LilSis: These were good and more crunchy than the Nut Lovers. I could definitely eat a big bag of honey roasted peanuts back in the day, but I don't care that much for peanuts these days.

• HayHay: They're alright. They almost all taste the same to me.

• SirHoney: These are my favorite!! (You knew he'd have to get in on this taste test!)

Roasted Cashew

(7 clusters: 150 cal, 7 g fat, 18g carbs, 8 g sugar, 4 g protein)

• BigSis: These seem a bit more salty than other flavors with big pieces of cashew, flavor is fine but not great.

• BigSis' Co-workers: Extremely crispy, big bite of crunch for the size, not as much nut flavor as peanut, eeewww don't like it.

• LilSis: I don't care for the texture of the cashew combined with the granola.

• HayHay: Don't like them at all.

Roasted Almond

(7 clusters: 140 cal. 7 g fat, 15 g carbs, 7 g sugar, 4 g protein)

• BigSis: My favorite of all 4 varieties, big pieces of almond and great almond flavor mixing well with granola.

• BigSis' Co-workers: Very crispy and crunchy, lots of granola and nuts, so crunchy I almost want to make it into cereal and put milk on it, favorite of one person.

• LilSis: These are my favorite. They have a very similar texture as the honey roasted peanut, but I just like almonds more than peanuts. (As the taste testing progressed, these did prove to be quite addicting!)

• HayHay: Not a fan of almonds.

Overall, I think the clusters have way too many calories, fat and sugar for me to snack on them.  I do think the Roasted Almond flavor is delicious, and I wouldn't mind keeping a bag of it around to ease a sweet tooth urge at night.  One or two of these is a nice little sweet bite without any caffeine, so they would be perfect as an occasional evening treat…not as a daily snack for a forty-something woman!  None of my co-workers would buy them, as they are all chewy granola fans rather than crunchy fans, and these are uber-crunchy!

~BigSis

July 14, 2009

If you were reading a couple of days ago, I mentioned that I would share with you my some of my favorite healthy snacks. I've recently cut out a few that were too high in calories and/or fat and have narrowed down my favorites to these snacks that are all between 100 – 200 calories. Here's my Top Ten:

• Mott's Healthy Harvest Granny Smith Applesauce (mid-morning snack) (1 cup; 50 calories, 0 fat)

• Boiled or scrambled egg with Frank's Red Hot Sauce  (mid-morning snack) (1 large egg, 70 calories, 4.5 g. fat)

• Trader Joe's Multi-Grain Pretzel Nuggets with Sesame Seeds  (22 pretzel nuggets; 110 calories, 1 gram fat)

• The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Wedges or Cheese Bites  (1 wedge or 5 cheese bites; 35 calories, 2 grams fat)

• Weight Watchers Natural Light String Cheese (1 stick; 50 calories, 2.5 g. fat)

• Shelled Edamame (1/2 c. serving; 110 calories, 3.5 g. fat)

• Trader Joe's Everything Pretzel Slims (23 slims; 110 calories, 1/2 g. fat)

• The Laughing Cow Mini Babybel Light (1 piece; 50 calories, 3 g. fat)

• Trader Joe's Parmesan Garlic Pita Chips (1 oz.; 130 calories, 4 g. fat)

• Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic Hummus (2 T.; 50 calories, 3.5 g. fat)

I love to combine the pretzel nuggets with the cheese bites and the pita chips with the hummus, so I reduce the quantity of the pretzels and the pita chips in an effort to keep each snack around 150 calories.

You'll notice that several of my favorites are from Trader Joe's and I do know that not everyone has a Trader Joe's nearby, but you can definitely find similar products made by different companies. Rold Gold has some Harvest Wheat Pretzel Twists that are low in calories and fat and there are plenty of brands of pita chips and hummus. Or, when you have time, why not make your own pita chips and hummus?

And, you can also tell by my list that I don't crave sweets at all. But if I did, I'd be snacking on sugar free Jello snack packs, which only have 10 calories and zero fat per serving. You can't go wrong with that!

I would love to hear from you if you have a favorite low calorie, low fat snack! Come on…it's nice to share.

~LilSis

July 1, 2009

I like to always carry plane snacks with me so that I'm not tempted to gobble up the free honey-roasted peanuts that I don't like that much anyway, or buy one of those uber-expensive snack packs that are full of fat, sodium and sugar.  This is my criteria for travel snacks:

• They aren't too messy.

• They don't spoil if they're in your carry-on bag for a while.

• They don't have too much sodium.  I get puffy enough already from flying!

• They keep you going until you get your next proper meal.

These are my top 5 picks for best airplane travel snacks:

• Raw unsalted walnuts or almonds: they give you protein which keeps you satisfied longer.  Chips or crackers just make you crave more chips or crackers!

• Trail mix: make your own with raw nuts and your favorite dried fruit.  I like blueberries, cranberries and cherries with raw nuts and sunflower seeds.  Scoop 1/3 cup of your mix into a snack size plastic baggie.  Be sure to measure, otherwise it's really easy to eat way too many calories from this snack.

• Low fat string cheese: great protein, plus satisfaction from the flavor and the bit of fat you get.

• Half a whole grain bagel: either plain or spread with a little nut butter.  I like almond butter but you can use peanut butter.  The whole grains will give you steady energy and fill you up without cravings.

• Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms: I know these have sugar, and caffeine and fat!  I know, I know!  But just a few are a delicious treat and a great pick-me-up at 33,000 feet!  Plus they melt in your mouth and not in your hands!  And they come in fun colors!

Whatever your snacking preference, make sure to pack a few individually-packaged antibacterial wipes in your bag so you can clean up your hands and fold down tray before having your snack.  Who knows what kind of germs are lurking on your plane, right?

~BigSis

January 31, 2009

I'm not a football fan.  There, I've said it.  Out loud!  Please don't hate on me, but I really do not like football.   I used to watch the local team, but I'm just done with the whole ding dang sport (don't ask).  I'm single so I don't have “The Hubs” forcing me to watch football, and I'd much rather spend 3 hours baking or walking or shopping or organizing something.  Just about the only sport I like to watch on TV is hockey, and then only if the Dallas Stars are playing.

This weekend is about the Super Bowl though, and not the Stanley Cup, whether I'm watching it or not (not).  And what goes with the Super Bowl?  Snacks of course!  Appetizers, football food, dips, chips!  Woo hoo…my favorite kind of food!  There's a flurry of activity in blogdom this week about what to serve for the Big Game, and since I'm not actively participating, the least I can do is provide a little recap for your snacking pleasure!  Ready…settie…kick-off!  Or something like that.

BigSisLilSis party favorites:

• Chili Con Carne
• Angel Hair Pasta Salad
• Easy Deviled Eggs
• Chicken Enchilada Soup
• Healthy Hummus
• Cherry Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Skewers
• Pimiento Cheese Spread
  
• IT
• Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownies
• Big T's Peppers
• HVR Cheese Ball
• Artichoke and Spinach Dip
• Grilled Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon
• Sun Dried Tomato Spread
• Stuffed Mushrooms Italian
• Cheesecake Crunchy

Savories from some tasty sites:

• Quick-N-Dirty Habanero Cheese Straws from Ezra Pound Cake
• Hot Popper Dip from King Arthur Flour
• Smokin' Mozzarella Balls from Picky Palate
• Snack Food Stadium from Serious Eats
• Boneless Buffalo Chicken from Cook's Country
• Spiced Pecans from Ezra Pound Cake
• Bacon, Cream Cheese, and Horseradish Dip from Serious Eats
• Chicken Wing Variations from DallasNews
• Super Bowl Menu from Cook's Illustrated with Chili, Nachos, Caesar Dip, Brownies and Lemon Bars
• 75 Super Bowl Party Recipes from Martha Stewart
• Game Day Menu Ideas from Pillsbury
• Big Game Bash Recipe Ideas and Tips from Food Network
• Super Bowl Favorites from Bon Appetit
• Winning Super Bowl Party from AllRecipes
• Game Day Grub from RecipeZaar

You have to have some sweets too! How about these?

• Tropical Poundcake from Baseball, Baking & Boys
• Mounds Muffins from A Southern Grace
• Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake Bars from Bake or Break
• Cheesecake Ball from Dozen Flours
• Chunky Chocolate and Walnut Cookies from Sass & Veracity

If that isn't enough, check out the Super Bowl Smackdown on RecipeGirl for a bunch of other great recipes with photos!

Since LilSis and I both want to laugh more this year, let me leave you with some photos of bad Super Bowl cakes from Cake Wrecks.  There are bad Super Bowl cakes and there are really bad Super Bowl cakes!  Have a fun weekend, whatever you do!

~BigSis