As with everything health related you can find a million and five contradicting opinions about what you should eat. Many of those opinions are simply trying to sell you something and can immediately be tossed aside. Quite a few others are based in absolute bullshit with zero science to back them up. Like the "paleo" diet for example. "Eat like the caveman did!" Really? So I should eat raw meat I clubbed to death? You know, those cave people didn't exactly have the longest life spans for all that "clean eating" they did. You can find thousands of books and even more web pages telling you what you should and shouldn't eat. They'll give you long lists of all the "bad" stuff to avoid. And of course everything you eat simply must be "organic" and "free range", or "cage free" or some other nonsense. Hey, if that makes you happy, go fo it. But at least make sure you understand what "organic" actually is. Anyway, with all the opinions, books and what not available, actually finding realistic, affordable meal idea can be a struggle. If you have hundreds of dollars to fill your kitchen with this and that, then cool for you, most people don't. If you can spend hours in the kitchen uninterrupted while you prep, even better. I have kids. So, I have to find ideas that are affordable, palatable, relatively quick to prep and healthy. And I have to get a 2 year old with irritable bowels to eat them and an 8 year old who has, somehow, become very finicky, to eat them as well. So what ends up happening is we get in a months long rut of eating the same stuff over and over again. Takes the guesswork out of shopping, just get the same things we always get. But it gets old after a while. And then I find we tend to go out or order something, or buy crap. And the cycle starts all over again.
I've developed some pretty bad eating habits over the years, as well as some particular tastes. There are some things I simply can't eat and a few I just won't. In my searches for new, interesting and healthy recipes I come across all types of food. Some of it sounds good, much of it does not. For instance, here's lentil tamarind barbecue burgers with chickpea fries.
1 1/2 cups cups dry brown lentils (or 2 cans cooked lentils)
4 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup chopped white or yellow onion
6 ounces thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 2 heaping cups)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, hydrated in hot water for at least 10 minutes and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Black pepper
The rest of the recipe can be found HERE:
Is it healthy? Sure. Would my kids eat it? Ummmmm, no. I'm not even sure I'd eat it. And this is the problem I run into time and time again. Hey, I'd eat that. Kids? No. Wife? Probably not. Or it goes the other way. I did stumble upon one recipe that I think would cover all the bases, but it's a side, not a meal. It's Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Fries. Maybe not the spicy for the rest of the family, but they sure look good.
INGREDIENTS
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into fries
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Once your sweet potatoes are peeled and cut into fries, place them in a large bowl and soak them in cold water for about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and line two baking sheets with foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, set aside. Drain sweet potatoes, pat dry and add to a large plastic sealable bag. Add in cornstarch and shake until sweet potatoes are lightly dusted making sure there are no clumps.
- Transfer sweet potatoes to a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, tossing well. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, chipotle chili powder and brown sugar and slowly sprinkle over the sweet potatoes making sure to coat entirely.
- Spread sweet potatoes into a single layer on both baking sheets, making sure they aren't touching each other, and bake for 15 minutes. Using a spatula toss sweet potatoes around on the sheet and spread back out into a single layer. Bake an additional 15 minutes until golden brown.
- Pull fries out of the oven and sprinkle (liberally) with sea salt and enjoy!
Calories: 105 • Fat: 3.3 g • Carbs: 16.5 g • Fiber: 1.7 g • Protein: 0.8 g • WW Points+: 3 pts
The struggle to "eat clean" is a real one. Eating dirty is easy. And it tastes good. And it's fast. However, I am rediscovering my crock pots. That does help. And there are a ton of recipes for slow cookers. Everything from pasta sauce to chicken.
Here are few resources for recipes:
- 19 Healthy Crock Pot Recipes You Need In Your Life
- 100+ Slow-Cooker Favorites
- Healthy Slow-Cooker Recipes
- 73 Best Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes
There are, of course, many many more. Simply Google "Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes" and you'll find thousands of sources. Some are good, some are great, some kind of suck. Depends on what you're looking for. Me, I'm sitting here trying to come up with a shopping list and some semblance of a menu for the next two weeks. I'm pretty sure those sweet potato fries on going to be on it. Other than, I just don't know yet.
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