Guacamole with Mashed White Beans

Guacamole is one of my favorite snacks.  It's also a great side or topping for just about any Mexican-inspired main dish, and is full of healthy fats, nutrients, and - thanks to the addition of white beans in this recipe - even more fiber and a good dose of iron.  A lot of people might balk at the idea of adding mashed white beans to a perfectly good guacamole recipe.  But what I've surprisingly found, after making it this way for several years now, is that I actually miss the addition of white beans whenever I have it elsewhere.  Shocking, right?  Well, it sure was to me.

But maybe you're still wondering, why add the white beans if you can't even taste them? 

Over the past several years I've learned more and more about the health benefits of including beans as part of your regular diet, and this is by far one of my favorite ways to include them.  White beans are a good source of iron, low in calories and sugar, but high in dietary fibery and protein, which may help control hunger, curb weight gain, and moderate peak blood sugar (source: livestrong.com).  Sounds good to me...especially that part about curbing weight gain.  Can't hurt, right? :)

I’ve made this guacamole for friends and guests many times, never mentioning the healthy addition of white beans, and no one has ever suspected a thing.  They always devour every last speck of it, so I'm taking that as a good sign.  Even my young toddler devoured it as part of his lunch the other day…by the SPOONFUL.

I should note that this recipe works great as a base recipe.  For example, if you’re like my husband and don’t like tomatoes, leave them out or cut back a bit.  Same for the onions.  Or if you just don't like red onion, use white onion.  If you like a little kick, don’t forget to add the jalapeno.  If you’re nervous about adding a whole can of white beans, then only add a ½ cup or even a ¼ cup...and then try adding more next time when you realize it doesn’t change the taste.  I'll admit, that's what I did at first...shhh.

Guacamole with Mashed White Beans
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Ingredients

2 ripe avocados

1 (15 oz.) can white beans (“Great Northern Beans”)

½ cup tomato, diced (plum tomatoes are my favorite for guacamole)

¼ cup red onion, finely chopped

Handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Pinch of salt (optional)

*Optional add-in:  1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

Directions

1.     Rinse and drain the white beans.  In a medium sized bowl, mash the white beans until smooth using the tines of a fork (or potato masher). 

2.     Scoop out the flesh of the 2 avocados and mash until combined with the white beans.  If you like your guacamole a little chunky, don’t mash until completely smooth.  Leave some chunks of avocado in the mix.

3.     Mix in the tomato, onion, (jalapeno if using), and cilantro.  Add a pinch of salt if desired, and serve with tortilla chips.

Sauteed Kale with Apple and Onion

I've never been a big "greens" eater.  In fact, I usually end up having to disguise them in a Green Smoothie just to eat them.  But when I saw my humongous bag of kale quickly approaching the expiration date, and I'd already made a week's worth of green smoothies with the stuff, I decided to give cooked kale another shot.  And I'm so glad I did!  The sweet curried apples and onions complimented the kale wonderfully and the result was a side dish I will gladly make often.  Even I, a person who doesn't even like the often raved about Kale Chips, ate a whole bowl of this stuff. 

Sautéed Kale with Apple and Onion

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 1 medium onion, finely chopped*


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 Tablespoon curry powder


• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar


• 1 lb kale, tough stems and ribs removed and leaves coarsely chopped


• 1/2 cup water (or 1/2 cup chicken/vegetable broth)


• 2 Granny Smith apples, chopped*


• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*My photo shows the apples and onions sliced.  I think chopping them would add a better texture and incorporate the flavors throughout the dish even better than if sliced.

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a 5-quart pot set over medium high heat until hot.  Then add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent.  


2. Add the curry powder, cider vinegar, water (or broth), and kale, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender and most of the liquid is evaporated. 


3. Add the chopped apples and cook, while stirring, until the apples are just starting to turn tender, about 2 minutes.


4. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

*Adapted from epicurious.com.

Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Dijon Viniagrette

Throwing frozen veggies in the microwave is certainly a quick and easy way to get your veggies on the table, but I was getting tired of the slightly soggy and boring result.  Knowing my 11 month old loves cauliflower (let's hope that never changes), I decided to buy a whole head of cauliflower last time I was at the grocery store and try roasting it.  I've roasted many a veggie  before with wonderful results, but never cauliflower.  Turns out, it's even more delicious when roasted.  The caramelization, the fact that it retains a slight crunch, and the lemon dijon viniagrette drizzled on just before serving turned this ordinary vegetable into a side dish that will be joining my regular rotation.  The viniagrette can be optional if you have picky eaters, but my 11 month ate it just as he normally would, and it definitely escalates the dish to a whole new "worthy of serving to company" level.  No longer will I smother my cauliflower in butter! 

Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Dijon Viniagrette

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets


• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided


• 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice


• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (as always, I prefer whole grain Dijon mustard)


• 1 clove garlic, minced


• Salt and pepper, to taste


• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


2. Spread cauliflower florets on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with approximately 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Lightly toss to coat (fingers work best!).


3. Roast in the oven for approximately 60 minutes or until fork tender.


4. While the cauliflower is roasting, whisk together the 1 Tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, and garlic.


5. When cauliflower is done roasting, transfer to a serving dish, drizzle with the lemon dijon viniagrette and serve immediately.

*Recipe slightly adapted from this one.  The original recipe was created by registered dietitian, Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN, so you can even feel great about eating it since it's incredibly healthy!

Sweet Potato Fries - 3 ways

When searching for a nutritious and delicious side dish that both the hubs and I could enjoy alongside our 10 month old, sweet potatoes immediately came to mind.  I mean really - have you ever met a baby that doesn't love sweet potatoes?  They're a pretty common first veggie, and my son fell in love with them at first bite.  And now that our little man is eating what mommy and daddy are eating, sweet potato fries were an obvious choice for a regular side dish. 

In hopes of exposing my son to more flavors, I prepared these sweet potato fries 3 different ways.  It was a bit of a taste test experiment sort of deal.  Go figure, he loved all 3 ways and didn't seem to care whether they were coated with the ordinary salt and pepper or a combination of a few random spices.  But in case your child is a picky eater, this is an easy veggie side dish to try as a means for introducing new spices and flavor combinations, so get creative!  Pumpkin pie spice, chinese five spice, garam masala, cajun seasoning...the sky's the limit.  Just peel and cut 3 sweet potatoes into sticks, and then toss them in your desired spices with a little bit of oil.  Below are just 3 of the ways I chose to prep them this week.  Which one do you think you or your little one will like best?

Tip:  I peeled and cut the potatoes into sticks one day, and then time got away from me (anyone else have that problem?), so I just put them in a container and covered them in cold water until I was ready to use them.  After draining them and patting them dry, they were perfectly crisp and ready to go even after 3 days sitting in the cold water.  That being said, this would be a perfect veggie side dish to prep on a Sunday and have ready to go for a quick weeknight side.  My 10 month old devoured them for dinner one night and lunch the next.  The hubs and I enjoyed every last bit of them as well.

Sweet Potato Fries - 3 Ways

#1 - Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into sticks


• 1 Tablespoon olive oil


• kosher or sea salt


• freshly ground black pepper

#2 - Ingredients (inspired by this yummy recipe)

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into sticks


• 1 Tablespoon olive oil


• 1/1 teaspoon garlic salt


• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder


• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger


• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

#3 - Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into sticks


• 1 Tablespoon olive oil


• 1/4 teaspoon cumin


• 1/4 teaspoon coriander


• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven and baking sheet to 450 degrees.


2. For each "way", combine oil and spices in a medium sized bowl.  Toss sweet potato fries in the oil and spice mixture until well coated.


3. Spread all 3 prepared sweet potato fries in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Flip, and continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes (or until they are lightly browned).  Total baking time is approximately 25-30 minutes.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

*Inspired by Simply Recipes.



Easy Oven-Roasted Asparagus

3 ingredients, 5 minutes to prep, and in the oven it goes.  Can't get much better than that.  This is the easiest and most delicious way I know to prepare asparagus.

Asparagus is one of those vegetables that screams spring, so with spring just around the corner, I figured it was about time we started eating it again.  It's also incredibly nutritious.  It's high in folic acid (great for any prego ladies out there), is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin.  And did you know that the larger the diameter, the better the quality?  Well now you do!  So grab a bunch of asparagus next time you're in the produce section and give this a shot.  It's quick, easy, healthy, and nutritious.  Works for me! 

Easy Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of asparagus


• Olive oil


• Kosher or Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


2. Wash and trim the woody stems off of the asparagus so they're all approximately the same length


3. Place asparagus in a single layer on a baking pan lined with foil for easy clean-up.


4. Generously drizzle with olive oil and season with salt (don't be skimpy with the salt!) and freshly ground pepper.


5. Roast in oven until the asparagus turns bright green and still has a slight crunch (I use a fork to test their done-ness), about 12-18 minutes.  Do not overcook or they'll start to lose their crunch.

Roasted Red Potatoes with Garlic and White Wine

Last week we had quite a few leftover red potatoes after making this delicious recipe.  Not wanting them to go to waste, I planned to use them as a side dish.  In the past I've always just drizzled them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe a little rosemary or another spice here or there, and while they were always good, they never really impressed me.  So after searching for something to give it that little something extra it was missing, I ended up with the recipe below. 

Turns out, the only thing I was missing was white wine!  The white wine cut the heaviness of the olive oil and transformed this side dish into one I will turn to often instead of just when "I want to use up a big ole bag of red potatoes".  And that's a win in my book. 

The original recipe (link at the very bottom) called for using 5 whole heads of garlic and roasting them alongside the potatoes and then squeezing the juice out of them on top of the potatoes (which I'm certain would be heavenly); however, I wasn't willing to use up my whole week's worth of garlic all for one side dish, so I just used several minced cloves instead.  I'm sure the roasted whole heads of garlic would bring this dish to a whole new level, but I found my impromptu version below gave a similar result with all the same great flavors. 

Regardless of which method you choose, no matter how you roast it, potatoes, garlic, olive oil, white wine, and a little S & P are an incredible pairing. 

Roasted Red Potatoes and Garlic

Ingredients

• 10 large red potatoes


• 6 garlic cloves, minced


• Olive oil


• Dry white wine (I prefer Chardonnay)


• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


2. Quarter the potatoes and spread in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. 


3. Drizzle a good dose of olive oil over the potatoes.  Then drizzle with dry white wine (using approximately equal amounts of olive oil and wine).


4. Sprinkle the minced garlic over the potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.


5. Cover tightly with foil and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

*Recipe adapted from this one.