I had heard about using sweet potatoes in brownie mixes, so I researched various recipes, and came up with my own. It turned out very well! Super moist, fudgy, but not too sweet which I like.

If you are expecting a richly sweet brownie–don’t make these for that reason. They are definitely healthier, but still satisfy that craving. Earlier in the week we made Ghiradelli brownies, and the funny thing is that I think I still prefer the healthier version! Call me crazy, I know

Sweet Potato Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1, 15 oz. can sweet potato puree
• 8 dates or prunes (if you use more, you can use less sugars)
• 1 Tbsp. almond butter
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 10 packets stevia or stevia/xylitol blend (about 3 Tbsp)
• 1/4 cup unsweet almond milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
•  pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup brown rice flour
• 2 eggs

Please note: Add all ingredients except eggs, then taste test your batter. See if you need to add a pinch more of sweetness. Then, blend in the eggs last. Consistency should be like a brownie batter, but a tiny bit more thick.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 10.5 x 7.25 baking dish or an 8 x 8 baking dish.
2. In a food processor, add the dates or prunes and your sweet potatoes. Pulse until the dried fruit is mostly blended. Add the remainder of the ingredients, except the eggs and process until smooth.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add your eggs. Process until smooth. *Here is where I checked to see if it was the right consistency. Some made need to add a little water. Or, you may need to add 1 Tbsp. more flour. Brown rice flour slowly absorbs liquid, so you want to give it time and check your batter to make sure it is not too dry or liquidy.
4. Pour into baking dish and smooth out with spoon. Bake for about 35 minutes.

It should look like this:

I stuck a fork in to check on it, but you will still need to remove it from the oven before it seems “done”. 30 minutes-38 minutes max should be perfect. My oven is a little slow and took about 36 minutes, so many of you will want to remove it before then.

Approx nutrition facts: 170 calories per brownie (if there are 8 servings per recipe)

Enjoy!!

Anyway, I picked up these dried and puffed peas from Whole Paycheck the other day. They are pretty expensive–about $3.99 for one package (there are 4-5 servings in a bag).

World Peas Ranch Flavor Peas! I thought I would never eat something ranch flavored again, haha. I really do hate ranch doritos, but have a secret love for ranch dressing (don’t worry, I buy the yogurt ranch dressing only).

Nutrition Facts: About 100 calories per serving, 2 grams fat, 4 grams protein, 14.5 grams carbohydrate.

A good alternative to these would be to make your own, but with chickpeas! You can easily roast chickpeas, and they crisp-up making them just as tasty of a snack (and just as healthy). You can buy them here on Amazon for about $0.50 cheaper than Whole Foods

Another one of my new favorite snack finds are these raw flax seed crackers by Raw One:

I absolutely love these! And no, I am not paid to write this. I paid my $4 for a package at Whole Foods (only store you can likely find them at). You can also order them online in bulk for a little cheaper at Amazon here.

The ingredients are completely clean–just flax seed, spices, lemon juice, and that’s about it! One serving is about 40 calories, and pure fiber (2 grams) goodness. An added bonus is that you get all of the healthy omega 3 fats from the flax (about 3 grams per serving).

I purchased the Rawrito flavor (again, like Doritos haha), and dipped them in this Greek yogurt dip from Dannon.

Or, you can eat some with your lunchtime salad, with soup, or just plain! The flax crackers would be harder to make yourself unless you have a food dehydrator. You can try this recipe from the Rawtarian or Your Daily Vegan.

Do you have any seed or pea snacks that you like?

I tweaked my recipe my only making rounds of polenta, and not a big bowl of polenta. I served the meal on top of a bed of watercress greens and then cooked mushrooms, onions, sausage, more watercress, and added parsley on top.

Photo from Ulterior Epicure

To me, watercress tastes somewhere in between arugula, spinach and kale. Think of it as a combination of all three–somewhat peppery like arugula, but great texture like spinach. If you like the two, you will love watercress as well!

Health Benefits of Watercress

You don’t hear much about this aquatic weed. But, it is in the same cruciferous family as broccoli, cabbage, radishes, and turnips. Anyway, watercress is said to have potent anti-cancer properties. The antioxidants in watercress may help to prevent cellular damage, including prevention of DNA damage.

Additional benefits may include: lower blood pressure, improved digestion, improved lung health, detoxifying, reduced headaches, and diuretic effects.

Fun fact: Many say that watercress acts as a mild stimulant.

Ready to make a meal with watercress? Here are some recipe ideas I want to try next:

• Watercress Pesto
• Watercress salad with salmon from A Beautiful Day
• Avocado, zucchini, and watercress salad from Recipe Studio
• Egg salad with watercress from Coconut and Lime
• Shrimp, watercress, and millet salad
• Watercress and cabbage stir fry from The Kitchn
• Watercress with chickpeas from Jugal Bandi
• Gnocchi with watercress from Eating Well

Cooking artichokes was a day-long affair for them. My Grandfather would spend hours just stuffing each individual leaf of the artichoke with a breadcrumb mixture. Then, they would simmer all day in the pot until the leaves would just fall apart. As kids, it was a treat if we got to eat a few of the artichoke leaves. Now I understand why–it was hard work cooking them!

Anyway, I whipped up a much simpler and easier artichoke recipe. But, it is still just as delicious and full of antioxidants and loads of fiber

Crock Pot Artichokes

Ingredients:

• 4-5 medium/small artichokes with the stems cut out, and about 1/4 of the tops cut off
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2-1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
• 1/4- 1/2 cup water
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Turn on your slow cooker/crock pot on high to pre-heat.
2. Prepare your artichokes and garlic.
3. Pour a small amount of stock and water in the bottom of the crock pot (about 1 cup). Put the artichokes into the crock pot.
4. Top the artichokes with garlic and press into the crevices of the leaves. At this point, you may add in a little more liquid if you think it will need more to simmer in the crock pot.
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.
6. Cook on high for about 1-2 hours. Then, on low for about 1-2 more hours. Total cook time will be anywhere from 3-5 hours.

Artichokes are very tough and will hold up in the crock pot if you need them to cook all day.

I enjoyed these so much that I went out the next day and got more artichokes to make!

The next time, we made them boiled, then baked.

I would not recommend this recipe baked recipe because you lose the necessary cooking moisture and the artichokes turn out much dried and are a little more difficult to eat. But, crock pot cooking and stove-top simmering is perfect!

First, I like to know exactly what I am eating. The fact that the information is scarce is a red flag. If they are not willing to display the ingredients, it makes me think the popcorn is still unhealthy. You have to call or write to your local theater to find out the ingredients, and then, if you state you have an allergy or food intolerance, they will tell you what you need to know.

Seriously? They tell you the calories (as if that is supposed to help you figure out if it is “healthy”), but not the ingredients.

Anyway, all that I know is some movie popcorn might still have trans fat, and if it doesn’t, then it probably still contains plenty of byproducts: likely MSG and/or diacetyl. You may remember when diacetyl was in the news for possibly causing lung disease and/or Alzheimer’s. However, this study was done on the workers in the popcorn factory.

Conclusion: I still do not eat movie theater popcorn because I don’t trust it, and there are plenty of other healthy options.

The AMC theater that I went to sold all kinds of healthier alternatives including hummus, fruit chips, pop chips, and Odwalla bars:

My sister got this teeny tiny pack of chocolate raisins (yes, a slightly healthier choice). Good for portion control, but bad for the wallet

I still did not purchase any of these “healthier” choices. I snuck in my own popcorn. Sorry, but I don’t like the movie theater choices

I brought in this white cheddar popcorn:

The ingredients are very simple: popcorn, canola oil, whey, maltodextrin, cheeses, salt.

Mr. Cyclist thought I was ridiculous sneaking this in, but then he did enjoy it as well.

It is amazing! It kind of reminds me of sriracha sauce (also a new favorite of mine).

Anyway, we have perfected the recipe ingredients, so here you go:

Ingredients:

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
• 2 tsp. szechuan peppercorns, ground (you can do this with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle)
• 1-2 Tbsp. light mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp. roasted red chili paste
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. crushed garlic
• pinch of salt

Pour this mixture on the fish:

We have also used the sauce on white fish, and it turned out just as tasty!

There was a lot of lime for my birthday–skinny margaritas and lime pie! Perfect for this warmer weather. Sam made me the lime pie, and my Mom got me this cute little lemon-lime tart earlier in the day.

By the way, this mini lemon tart is still almost 200 calories! What the heck!

And of course, Psycho Holiday Baker got me the most decadent cake the day before: “Million Dollar Cake”. I am not sure why it is called this. It could be due to the extremely rich layers of chocolate mousse, cheesecake, and brownie!

And you got to love this card from my brother telling me that I must eat unhealthy foods on my birthday

Earlier in the day we did have some tasty healthier food.

Mat-the-w made some bruschetta with me as his sous chef.

Dad made a delicious pasta primavera with the veggies and chicken grilled, and then mixed with the pasta. The key was to top it with smoked gouda! Yum! You can find a similar recipe here.

There was quite a lot of rich food this birthday weekend, including some nachos last night Hehe. No worries, I already ate some veggies and an apple today. Back to my normal routine.

So long year 26. It was nice, but now on to year 27!

Most turkey and chicken sausage you find will be closer to 9-16 grams of fat per link, and will contain many more preservatives or additives. Since this sausage was so light, the taste was so-so. I would not recommend using these sausages for cooking in a mixed dish because of the lower fat content. They do not add flavor to the meal because they are so light (and typically, that is what you use sausage for!). These sausages would be much better grilled by themselves. Or, cook your dish first, and then add the sausage at the very end.

For recipes, I would use a slightly higher fat sausage–I tend to choose this Al Fresco brand  (or Aidell’s brand) when they have it at the store. Their products have 5-10 grams of fat.

Anyway, let’s move on to the recipe!

Crock Pot Lentils with Kale and Sausage

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 shallot, minced (optional)
• 2 tsp. minced or crushed garlic
• 1.5 tsp. dried sage (fresh would be better)
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 10-12 oz. natural chicken or turkey sausage (not too low fat like the ones I used!), sliced
• 1.5 cups dry lentils
• 1 large bunch of kale, leaves torn from the stems
• 1 cup water
• 1.5 cups reduced sodium chicken stock (you may need to add a little more as it cooks down)
• 1 cup red wine

Directions:

1. Heat your crock pot on high. Meanwhile, prep your vegetables.
2. Add olive oil, onions, shallots, garlic, and seasonings and allow to heat up in the crock pot.
3. Next, add your sliced sausage, and stir to combine.
4. Next add the lentils, liquids, and lastly, the kale.
5. Cover and heat on high for about 1 hour.
6. Reduce to low heat for 4-5 more hours.

This dish could cook all day if you were to go to work and come home for dinner. The lentils need a while to cook and soften. This is an easy, full of fiber, complete meal!

Well, now Triscuit decided it would follow along with the brown rice health fad. Even though brown rice is gluten free, the crackers are not gluten free.

I did a comparison of the two. As you can see, the generic, original, reduced fat version is on the right.

New Triscuit negatives: soybean oil, sugar, yeast extract (basically like MSG), lower fiber, lower protein, somewhat small serving size for the calorie level

Triscuit positives: Brown rice as first ingredient, contain some sweet potato, sodium is lower

Generic original reduced fat cracker negatives: higher sodium, TBHQ preservative, still contains some vegetable oils

Generic positives: More simple ingredients, less oils used, larger serving size for the calories, more fiber, more protein, more iron, cost about $1.00-0.70 less.

One big problem I have with the new Triscuit is that it seems like all they were trying to do is make an addictive cracker. Once you open the box, it is hard to stop. Probably because yeast extract is an addictive taste additive. I do like that they were trying to go a little more natural and use more brown rice. But, the third ingredient is still some type of white wheat!

In conclusion, I will very seldom buy these crackers, or any type of cracker like this because I still know there are healthier cracker options out there. However, I still like the Triscuit brand for trying to be better than the rest of the big brand crackers.

For now, it will be back to my Mary’s Gone Crackers!!

I recommend this to my patients all the time, but they complain that it takes too much effort. If it’s not part of your routine, it’s time to create this new habit. It may be a little difficult in the beginning, but it will get you feeling healthier in no time

People are always wondering what I am eating for lunch, so I will post a few examples for you. You can also follow me on Instagram where I post many of my lunches

Brown Rice “Pizza” Tortilla

This was one that I made on my day off in the toaster oven. A brown rice tortilla, topped with fat free ricotta, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, sliced peppers, onions, and then topped with some cheese at the end.

Turkey Burger Salad

This is a typical lunch leftover. I usually will take whatever leftover dinner meat/protein that we have cooked and put it on top of some salad greens. A little crazy, but it is super easy.

Whole Foods Lunch

This is not really a pack-a-lunch meal, but Whole Foods lunches can be a treat from time to time. I usually get some type of kale salad with a protein source like tuna (pictured below). and of course, a kombucha to drink. The salad was only $4!! The trick is to fill it mostly with greens that don’t weigh that much.

Black Bean Burger Leftover Lunch

This is another leftover lunch from when we made homemade black bean burgers. I added a side of Brussels sprouts, all on top of  a bed of spinach. On the side, I think I had some salsa and light sour cream.

Lighter Tuna Salad

Most tuna salad can be crazy high calorie because of all of the mayonnaise. But, we make ours with a light or olive oil mayo and some other seasonings (and some mustard).

Just another typical lunch of a protein on top of some veggie or greens!

I use very little dressing due to the flavor of the other ingredients. And, I don’t like when my lettuce gets soggy.

You may be asking where are all of the carbohydrates? Well, I usually eat fruits and nuts for my snacks during the day, and more carbs in the morning and evening (example: oatmeal and sweet potatoes). If we had leftovers that work well to bring to lunch, I will include it (for example: beans or quinoa). I usually pack some sort of side to my lunches–maybe another fruit or random healthy snack like Mary’s Gone crackers!

My lunch bag is similar to this one below. I like it because it looks more stylish and like a purse–not a diaper bag or lunch box!

What is your typical lunch?