Kale Chips! Easy and SOOO delicious!

Oh my gosh!  As many of you know, I have NOT had good experience with Kale. In fact it was to the point I banned it from my own grocery cart every time "I thought" that I would try it just "one more time...". Yep!  Totally true!  I have tried it steamed, sautéed, in my Shake (that was a HUGE disaster) and yes, even these little beauties I pictured above.

Anyhow a very good friend of mine offered to come to my house and actually make them FOR me to regain my trust in this "supposed" awesome green!  So she did. I ate every last bit and now have a secret addiction!

Here is how to create a delicious snack that adds that crispy crunch that we love from those regular chips we "used" to buy!  ha ha

INGREDIENTS:
*Need 1 bunch of kale
Olive Oil
Sea Salt and/ or seasonings (i.e.: cumin, paprika, garlic powder?)
2 baking trays

How To:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Line tinfoil on cookie sheets if you want less mess!
Peel and break apart leaves off the stalk of the kale and rinse in colander. Dry with paper towel and place on cookie sheet. 

Drizzle olive oil over the leaves and then KNEAD all the leaves to ensure that each leaf is coated with oil. (*That my friends was the missing link the first time I tried them! ha ha) 

Sprinkle with a seasoning and/or a dash of sea salt. Some seasoning ideas include: cumin, paprika, garlic powder.  I actually used a rub that I have made that I like on my steak!)

Then line the cookie sheet with ONE LAYER of kale leaves (*also another link missing when I first made them!). If the leaves are all over on top of each other they won't bake well.

Place in oven for 5-10 minutes, take out and FLIP the leaves over and bake for another 5-10 minutes until leaves are crispy! Totally addicting! May you all enjoy and feel better about getting in those greens! xo

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Chow Mein

One of my lovely challengers, Terri shared a recipe and indicated how much she LOVED it so I thought I would give it a try. I LOVE chow mein and to have a healthier version than the local take-out order made sense to me! I took the recipe she used and adapted it to include my FAVE ingredients.  Again, another family favourite! When I made it, I cooked the spaghetti squash the evening prior and shredded it and then made the stir fry the next day!  It was easy peasy and quick to prepare!  10-15 mins to be exact having the squash pre-cooked!  Choose whichever works for you!

Ingredients

1 large spaghetti squash
2 chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)
1/4 c tamari (gluten free soy sauce found at the local Supermarket)  or you could use lite soy sauce
1 large clove red garlic minced ( or 3 cloves of reg. garlic, minced)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1.5 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp white pepper (optional)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
1 large carrot grated (I used my Titan peeler - peeled them into matchsticks)
1/2 c. shredded cabbage (*optional)
1 small package of fresh sliced mushrooms, rinsed

Directions: 
Cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise and scoop out seeds.  Add about 1" of water to a pyrex or glass dish. Turn spaghetti squash face down (skin side up) in dish.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until flesh is very tender.  When done, let cool for a moment and scoop out flesh with a fork so it breaks apart into strings and set aside.  When I made it, I let it cool and then put it in the refrigerator over night.

In a small bowl, whisk together tamari, maple syrup, ginger and white pepper and set aside.

Heat olive oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, celery and cook until tender (about 3-4 mins). Be sure to stir often! Then add grated carrots and shredded cabbage and cook another minute before adding sliced mushrooms. Cook another minute longer until heated through.  Stir in spaghetti squash, cooked chicken and soy sauce mixture.  Mix it until well combined, and if you are using pre-cooked spaghetti squash make sure it is heated through before serving!

Serves 4-6 ----->21 Day Fix: 2 Green, 1/2 red per serving
Enjoy!

Baked Zucchini with Parmesan

This recipe is my new ALL TIME favourite recipe for Zucchini! And it takes 30 mins or less to be ready and on your plate!   I had gotten in the habit of chopping zucchini, tomatoes, red onion and drizzling the veggies with olive oil and sprinkling with Panko crumbs and some Epicure 3 Onion Spices and popping it in the oven.  But lately I just find I need something quick, easy and to the point. I found this recipe online under damdelicious.net (excuse the language!) just before we moved because I was limited to dishes because most of them were packed! I followed the recipe I found and tweaked it to suit my family.  I hope you enjoy it too!  This recipe serves 4, however when I made it, I doubled the recipe and found the left overs just as good!

Ingredients

• 4 zucchini (quarter each zucchini lengthwise)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme 
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano 
• 1/2 tsp dried basil 
• 1/4-1/2 tsp garlic powder 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste) 
• Optional:  2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
• In a small bowl, combine parmesan, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic powder.  Add in some himalayan or sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste. 
• Place zucchini onto baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle the parmesan and spice mixture. Place in the oven and bake until tender (15 minutes depending on the size of your zucchini). Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. 
• Optional: The website I found the original recipe suggests to coat a cooling rack with nonstick spray and place on a baking sheet and then place zucchini on the rack then sprinkle with toppings bake it that way.  I didn't have a cooling rack to try it, but it would reduce having the zucchini cook in the olive oil that falls to the bottom and create a healthier option. 
• Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Notes

Adapted from www. damdelicious.net  Enjoy!!