You can do them both ways...

Hey!  Get your mind out of the gutter.  I'm talking about food here!  More specifically, I'm talking about stuffed peppers.  They're a pretty easy dish to make, but I always forget that I have them in my rotation.  A few weeks ago, I bought some ground turkey and was feeling a little ho-hum about what I would make.  I think the inspiration came to me as I was flipping through a cookbook; I couldn't stand the thought of making yet another meat sauce for spaghetti, and my thoughts turned to the Mexican flavors I love.  So I thought some stuffed peppers would be a perfect way to combine boring ground turkey and delicious Mexican spices!

I've seen a couple of different stuffed pepper recipes; some can take quite a while, particularly if you stuff the peppers with raw meat and bake them in the oven.  But I have a quick recipe, too, where you cook the meat filling in a skillet and then add the stuffing to the pepper.  I like the baked version because it allows the pepper to sweeten a little bit and the flavors seem to come together a bit better.  But, after work, do you really want to wait over an hour for dinner to be ready?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  So, here you go... Stuffed Peppers Two Ways


Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• 4 bell peppers
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup salsa, or 1/2 cup diced tomatoes and 1 T. chili powder
• 1 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Instructions:  The Long Way

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  Spray a pie plate or other baking dish with cooking spray.  Cut the top off of the peppers (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch) and remove seeds. Cut a sliver off of the bottom of each pepper so that it can stand in the baking dish.*
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey, rice, salsa (or tomatoes and chili powder).  Divide the mixture evenly among all peppers.
3. Bake the peppers for 45 minutes to 1 hour, using a meat thermometer to test doneness (should be 165 degrees).  Sprinkle about 1/4 cup shredded cheese over the top of each pepper and then place under the broiler until the cheese melts. 

Instructions:  The Short Way

1. Heat a skillet sprayed with cooking spray.  When hot, add the ground turkey and saute, breaking up the meat, until cooked through.  Add the salsa (or tomatoes and chili powder) and rice, stir to combine, and simmer until heated through.
2. While the turkey is cooking, prepare the peppers as you would in step 1 of the Long Way, and place in a microwave-safe baking dish.  Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes, or until the peppers are tender - not mushy soft, just enough that you could cut through easily with a fork or regular knife.
3. When the peppers are cooked, drain off any excess water and fill the peppers with the turkey mixture.  Top with cheese and cook under the broiler until the cheese melts.
4. See?  Isn't that faster?

*One note about the pepper prep, is you can cut them in half lenghtwise or leave them whole.  Up to you...

Shrimp Guaco Tacos

A few weeks ago, a couple of friends and I started a Wednesday night dinner called "Single Jen(n)s' Night" because my one friend Jenn and I both have husbands who are normally gone all week on business travel. Our friend Laurie joins us, even though she's not a Single Jen(n) during the week. Single Jen(n)s' Night is all about taking time to catch up with friends, letting Jenn have some adult company, and giving me an outlet for my blog.

The first of these recipes I tried on my unwitting participants was shrimp tacos. I've decided to call them "Shrimp Guaco Tacos" mainly because "guaco" rhymes with "taco"... but also because the tacos were served with homemade guacamole. So this recipe really has two parts: the tacos and the guacamole.

Make the guacamole first:

Single Jen(n)'s Guacamole
Ingredients:

• One medium ripe avocado (an avocado is ripe if it gives a bit when you squeeze it. It shouldn't be firm, and it shouldn't be squishy)
• One lime, sliced in half the "short way" across the center
  
• Fresh cilantro, about 1/4 cup, chopped
• 1/4 of a small red onion, finely minced
• One small tomato, seeds removed, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. First, get the avocado flesh into a medium mixing bowl: Using a sharp chef's knife (and a lot of caution!), slice the avocado in half around the pit. Holding the avocado with both hands, twist and lift one half until it separates from the other half. The pit will remain in one half. Take the half with the pit in one hand and, with your other hand, use the blade chef's knife to whack into the pit. Twist a quarter turn, and the pit should loosen from the avocado. Now use a spoon to scoop the flesh from the avocado into the mixing bowl. Great job!
2. Using a citrus reamer (or a fork), squeeze the juice from one of the lime halves over the avocado. Add a pinch of salt and some pepper, and mash the avocado with a fork. You don't want it to get too smooth, but you also don't want too many lumps.
3. Add the onions, tomatoes, and cilantro to the avocado, and blend with the fork. Taste and see whether you need to add more lime juice, salt or pepper.
   
4. Enjoy! Serves about four (or one, if you really, really, really like guacamole...like I do!)
   

Shrimp Guaco Tacos
Ingredients:

• One pound of medium or large raw shrimp (go ahead, use jumbo or colossal if you want!), peeled and de-veined (thawed if frozen)
• About 1 T. of Chili powder (Penzeys Spices Chili 9000 is my favorite!)
• About 1 t. of minced garlic (fresh or dehydrated both work well)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• One half of a fresh lime
  
• One Bell pepper, sliced into strips (I like to use yellow or orange for color)
• Cooking spray
• 1 package of small (6") corn tortillas (usually 12 per package). Corn tortillas have a much lower glycemic index than flour tortillas, more fiber, and fewer calories. Usually they are only about 120 calories for 2 tortillas. Use flour if you prefer!
  
• Single Jen(n)'s Guacamole
• Salsa of your choice
  
• Shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese and reduced fat sour cream if you'd like
• Fresh cilantro
  

1. Ensure that the shrimp have been rinsed and patted dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add the chili powder and garlic, then allow to marinate for about an hour.
2. Heat a skillet or frying pan over medium high heat, then spray with cooking spray. Add the pepper strips, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften. Keep the peppers in the pan, moving them to the edge so that there is enough space in the center of the pan to put the shrimp.
3. Spray the pan with more cooking spray if necessary. Add the shrimp. Cook for about 2 minutes, then turn the shrimp over to cook on the other side. They should not cook for more than about 4-5 minutes total.
   
4. While the shrimp cook, if you have a gas stove, then you can do this neat trick with the corn tortillas that makes them a bit more pliable and less likely to crack in the middle. Turn on a burner to about medium. **USING TONGS**, place a tortilla directly on the burner. After about 10 seconds, AGAIN using tongs, turn the tortilla over. Do this repeatedly until the tortilla is a little bit blackened, and warmed all the way through. Be sure not to leave the tortillas unattended, they can catch fire (and have in my presence!).
5. Once they've finished cooking, give the shrimp and peppers a good stir to ensure they are well seasoned. Squeeze the lime over the shrimp and peppers, and stir to distribute the lime juice.
6. Each serving is 2-3 tacos: each taco is a tortilla with a scoop of the shrimp and pepper mixture, topped with a bit of guac, salsa, and if you would like, sour cream and cheese. Fresh cilantro is another nice touch.
7. Enjoy!
   

Holy Posole!

A few weeks ago I was skiing in Colorado... Aspen, to be specific. Just before heading home, we spent the day in Denver having brunch at Eri's friend Kimmy T's house. On the way there, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things and saw the most beautiful array of chili powders, chilies, and other Mexican spices that we just don't see here on the East Coast. Not in Hull, anyway! Eri, who was traveling with me, had told me she would be the very delighted recipient of a posole recipe from Kimmy's fiance, who is of Mexican descent. So she scooped up some chili powder and hominy, and I did the same, excitedly dreaming of the spicy soup.

Once I got home, I looked at a few recipes, and as I usually do, just made something that "felt" right. I made it once with pork (boneless center cut loin ribs) and once again with chicken breasts. The pork definitely brings a bit more flavor (and more fat), but the chicken tastes quite nice and is a bit lighter. Technically, chicken is used in "green" posole, not red, but what the heck. I'm a gringa. Also, the soup tastes much better on the second day, so I'd advise making it ahead of time to let the flavors really come into their own. You can follow the same recipe with either the pork or the chicken, so here it is...

Posole Soup (serves about 4)
Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (or boneless pork ribs) (you could use boneless or bone-in, just account for the weight of the bone in the total weight)
  
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth plus about 1 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or the equivalent in prepared or dried garlic)
  
• 1 can hominy, drained (Yeah, I cheated and used a can of Goya hominy. If you have time and interest, you can use dried hominy, soak and cook, but allow an "overnight's" worth of work for that)
• 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes with chilies (I used Trader Joe's fire-roasted tomatoes with chilies)
• Hot chili powder, 1/4 t. to start (I used 1/2 t.)
  
• Chipotle powder, 1/4 t. to start (I used 1/2 t.)
• Oregano, 1 t.
  
• Fresh cilantro, 1-3 sprigs
  
• 1/2 lime
• Salt to taste
• Garnishes: diced avocado, tortilla strips, diced onions, cilantro
  

Directions

1. Place the chicken in a saucepan and cover with the broth. Add the bay leaf and garlic. Place a lid on the saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
2. Remove the chicken from the broth, and strain the broth through a mesh strainer. Return the broth to the saucepan.
3. Add the spices (chili powders and oregano), tomato, and hominy to the broth. Bring to a simmer.
4. Shred the chicken using two forks, or your hands (careful, it's probably still hot!) and add it to the soup mixture.
5. Tear the cilantro and add it to the soup; squeeze the lime juice into the soup, and taste. Adjust seasonings to your taste (you may need to add salt and a bit more chili powder). Try not to add more than 1/8 t. of chili powder at a time - it's very spicy!
6. Simmer the soup for about 30 minutes, covered, to allow the flavors to blend. Add water or broth if needed.
7. Top with the toppings of your choice and enjoy!

Nutrition information per serving if made with chicken, about 1.5 cups (for soup only, no toppings included): 236 calories, 2 g fat, 29 g protein, 5 g fiber, 24 g carbs

Mardi Gras, one day late

Wow - has it really been three weeks since I last posted? Yikes! Well, a lot has happened. Actually, I was on vacation for one week - the rest of the time I was just too pootered (apparently) to post. The important thing is, I'm back!

I have another recipe to post (Holy Posole!) which I'll save for tomorrow, but today's recipe is an adapted Shrimp Etouffe, partly in honor of Mardi Gras (yes, it was yesterday!) and partially because I had the Holy Trinity (pepper, celery, and onion) in the fridge. So using a few recipes for inspiration, I created this one - the main adjustment I made was to use 1 T. olive oil instead of the 4-8 T. of butter typically called for in these recipes, saving about 700 calories total. I had this with some roasted cauliflower to get a few more veggies in.

Jen's Shrimp Etouffe

Ingredients:

• 1 bell pepper (red, yellow, green, or orange), cut into chunks
  
• 3 medium celery stalks, coarsley chopped
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1/4 c. all purpose flour
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 t. (or more to taste) cayenne pepper
• 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 t. thyme
• 1 15-oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes with chiles
• 12 oz. raw shrimp, deveined and peeled
  

Directions:

1. Finely chop the celery, onions, and pepper (or pulse in a food processor). Heat olive oil in a saucepan over a medium high heat and add vegetables. Cook, stirring, about 10 minutes or until vegetables soften. Add the flour and stir completely until flour is incorporated. Stir frequently so that it doesn't burn, about 5 minutes, then gradually add the chicken broth, stirring to incorporate each addition. Turn the heat down to a medium-low. Add seasonings and tomatoes, stir to incorporate, cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Stir every few minutes to ensure it's not sticking.
2. Add the shrimp, stirring to ensure they're incorporated; replace the lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes being careful that the shrimp doesn't overcook. Serve over rice.

Nutrition information per serving: 200 calories, 17g carbs, 5g fat, 21g protein, 2g fiber

Sneaky Chili

Lately I haven't been getting enough veggies, and I was trying to think of a more interesting way to get them than green beans. One of my girlfriends who has kids was talking about a cookbook she has that helps parents "sneak" vegetables into kids' foods. So I'm thinking... I'm on a food processor kick (see the Madras Meatballs recipe) and I'm looking for something different to do with veggies. Why not put those together and think of a way to boost the nutrient content of something I love? And hence Sneaky Chili was born! The recipe is built very much in the same way Tasty Turkey Chili was, with similar technique... If you don't like the veggies I've selected, as my sister (who hates peppers and mushrooms) doesn't, use whatever veggies you have on hand that you like.

Sneaky Chili
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground turkey breast (you can sub veggie crumbles or crumbled tofu)
• 2 small onions or 1 medium onion
• 1 T. canola oil
• 1 T. chili powder
  
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 yellow or red bell pepper
• 2 carrots
• 2 parsnips
• 1 cup mushrooms (pre-sliced or roughly chopped whole ones)
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1/4 c. tomato sauce
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with chiles

Directions

1. Peel and quarter onion, and mince in a food processor
2. In a skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the turkey, taking care to break it up into crumbles.
3. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat; add the olive oil and heat til shimmering. Add the onions and stir. Saute for 2-3 minutes; add tomato paste, chili powder, and garlic. Turn heat to low and cook while you prepare the veggies.
4. Trim the pepper, carrots, and parsnips and add to the food processor; add the mushrooms. Pulse until vegetables are minced.
5. Add the vegetables, diced tomatoes, and turkey to the onion-tomato mixture and stir to combine.
6. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the vegetables are all cooked through. Serve over brown rice or a baked sweet potato

Per Serving (assuming 6 servings): 169 calories, 15 g carbs, 3 g fat, 20 g protein, 3 g fiber

Madras Meatballs

So I just bought my first domain name - healthytastyeasy.com - and that was exciting. It got me to poke around and look at other foodies' blogs. I stumbled across nomnivorous, which I think is a nicely written, personable blog, and saw this recipe for Tikka Masala Meatballs (which in turn was inspired by Big Girls, Small Kitchen and Pretty Girls Use Knives). To me, cooking is about expressing yourself and trying new things. And like nomnivorous, I very seldom follow a recipe exactly. Besides, I typically stay in the European (French, Italian, German, Spanish) and Latin American cuisine genres - very seldom do I experiment with more Asian flavors. So - mainly because I didn't have exactly the same ingredients - I've tweaked the recipe very slightly. Here's my take on the recipe, which I'm calling Madras Meatballs. With some brown rice, the recipe makes four decent sized servings for dinner - but you could get away with six servings if you had a side dish or appetizer.

Ingredients Meatballs

• 3/4 c. oats
• 1 medium onion
• 1 lb. ground turkey breast (you could also use ground chicken breast)
  
• 1 egg
• 1 T. tomato paste
  
• 1 t. ginger
• 2 t. dried cilantro (or chopped fresh - 2 T.)
• 1 t. salt
• 2 cloves garlic (or equivalent pre-minced)
• 1 t. cumin

Sauce

• 2 medium onions
• 3 carrots
• 1 T. canola or other neutral vegetable oil
  
• 2 cloves garlic (or equivalent pre-minced)
• 1 t. cumin
• 2 t. dried cilantro (or chopped fresh - at least 2 T.)
• 1 - 2 t. hot curry powder (I used McCormick Hot Madras Curry powder) - use as much as you would like, depending on taste. E's not crazy about heat so I kept it closer to 1 t.
• 1 1/2 t. ground ginger (you can use fresh if you have it)
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with chiles (I used Trader Joe's fire roasted tomatoes with chiles)
  
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 c. light coconut milk

Directions

1. (Note: This recipe works really well if you use a food processor, but it's optional. My directions will assume you're using one.) Turn on your oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray.
   
2. Place the oats in the food processor and pulse until they look like coarse flour. Pour the oats into a bowl for now.
3. Peel and quarter the onion. Place the onions in the food processor and pulse until they are minced.
4. Add the turkey, the processed oats, the egg, tomato paste, salt and spices to the onion mixture in the food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are incorporated.
5. You can make the meatballs any size you would like, I made smallish ones using a small cookie dough scoop. You could use an ice cream scoop, spoons, or your bare hands to shape the meatballs.
6. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet (I ended up with 40 small ones) and cook under the broiler for about 10 minutes, watching to ensure they don't burn.
7. Wash out the food processor, you'll need it for the sauce! Peel and quarter two onions; remove the ends from the carrots, and peel if you'd like to (I didn't, I just washed them) and cut the carrots into 1-inch chunks. Place the onions and carrots in the food processor and pulse until they are minced. In a skillet, heat 1 T. canola oil over medium-high heat and add the onions and carrots. Add the garlic and other spices, stir to combine, and cook for about 5 minutes to allow the flavors to combine and heat up a bit.
   
8. Add both cans of tomatoes and the coconut milk, stir to combine, turn down the heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 15 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through (they should have cooked pretty well under the broiler).
9. Serve over brown rice (I like to use Trader Joe's microwaveable pre-cooked brown rice). Have some plain yogurt on hand in case you went a little overboard with the spice - it'll help balance that heat.

Per serving: 319 calories, 9 g fat, 29 g carb, 32 g protein, 6 g fiber

Notes on this recipe:

• If you don't have diced tomatoes with chiles, you can use regular diced tomatoes and add chopped jalapenos, or crushed red pepper, or a pinch of cayenne, or just up the curry powder.
• If you don't have coconut milk, you could use regular milk, or you could just go all-tomato.
• You don't have to use diced tomatoes, you can use crushed or whole peeled and break them down yourself.
• Fresh herbs and spices or dried? Usually 1 t. of a dried herb is about as powerful as 1 T. fresh. Use your taste buds to guide you here.
  

Chicken Pot Pie Stew with Drop Biscuits

Just before we got the Blizzard here in Massachusetts earlier this week, I started craving warm comfort food. I also want to make something delicious for E, because isn't the way to every man's heart through his stomach? Sure, I know I have his heart, but I like to spoil him - especially when he's traveling. I saw America's Test Kitchen over the weekend - one of my favorite cooking shows ever - and they did a segment on "the perfect" chicken pot pie. The key, they said, was to cook the ingredients separately before joining them together, to allow each one to develop its own personality and flavor. Makes sense to me.

I didn't want to "spend" a lot of calories on the crust, and I also wanted to save a little time on preparation, so decided to try this as a stew with quick drop biscuits.

The stew recipe is inspired by ATK and Martha. The biscuit recipe is from Cooking Light.

Chicken Pot Pie Stew (Serves 4)

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
• Chicken broth (enough to just cover chicken breasts)
• 1/2 c. Dry white wine
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 T. olive oil
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 onions, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 t. dried thyme
• Low fat milk (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Poach the chicken breasts in the broth - cover the breasts in broth, and bring to a boil. Cook about 10 minutes, until breasts are fully cooked through. Remove breasts from poaching liquid and transfer to a cutting board to cool. Strain the poaching liquid into a 4-cup measuring cup, ensuring you add no more than 1 cup of poaching broth. Add the wine to the measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the total amount of the liquid to 2 1/2 cups.
- When it is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken using two forks.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil with the thyme until the carrots are tender; add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the flour to the onion / carrot mixture and stir for about 1 minute.
- Add the liquid to the pan gradually, stirring as you add it, and cook it, stirring, until it thickens.
- When the sauce has thickened, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the peas and the chicken. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until it bubbles around the edges.

Per Serving: 272 calories, 20g carbohydrates, 6g fat, 30g protein, 3g fiber

Drop Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• Cooking spray

Directions
- Preheat oven to 450º.
- Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives** until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk; stir just until moist.
- Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 12 minutes or until golden. Remove biscuits from pan immediately, and place on a wire rack.

**after trying to use two knives, I tried an apple corer / slicer and found that it works as well as a pastry blender!

Per biscuit: 119 calories, 17g carbohydrates, 4g fat, 3g protein, .5g fiber

Bring it all together
Use pasta dishes or plates with rims to serve. Slice one biscuit (or two!) in half and spoon one fourth of the stew over it. Enjoy!

Kitchen tools I can't live without

I believe that for the most part, you shouldn't have any "one trick ponies" in your kitchen - every tool that you have should be able to serve at least a couple of different roles, with a couple of exceptions (citrus reamer comes to mind). With that said, here's a list of tools that I can't imagine not having in my kitchen:

• Digital kitchen scale - this is the one scale I love to have around! It's a must for accuracy in portion control. Eri gave me one for my birthday last year and it's hands down, my favorite and most used kitchen tool!
  
• Salad spinner - this one does double duty on lettuces and fresh herbs, taking the once onerous and tedious task of washing your lettuce and making it fun. That's right, fun.
• Kitchen Aid stand mixer - I have the "lowly" Artisan model (my sister has the bigger, better model), but this is my prized kitchen possession. I have the citrus juicer attachment as well as the shredder / slicer attachment, and these both make life so easy - especially when you don't want to drag the Cuisinart out. The attachments are so easy to clean, too!
• Parchment paper - no, it's not "green" per se, though you can buy recycled parchment paper, but this makes cleanup very easy. I use it when baking cookies and anything else that tends to make a mess on baking sheets.
• Kitchen gloves - these are disposable rubber gloves that you can use when dealing with smelly or gross food (think onions, garlic, raw meat and seafood, etc.). They help keep your hands clean, and keep them from retaining smells that are hard to get rid of.
• Electric griddle - OK, I use this only for pancakes, but I like it better than the stove top griddle because a) it's got a larger surface area, b) it holds heat more evenly, and c) I can control the temperature by selecting it on the dial, instead of checking my front and back burners to see that the flames are about even.
• Wooden spoons - there's just something nice about using a wooden spoon instead of a plastic or metal one. I feel like I'm "connecting" better with the food that I'm making when I use a wooden spoon: it's not going to bend like a plastic one, and it's not going to scratch your bowls like a metal one.
• Nonstick skillet - this is used for frying eggs, sauteing onions, making shrimp arrabbiata, and so much more. The trick to keeping the nonstick skillet nonstick is to ensure you're not scrubbing it with anything too scratchy. If something does happen to stick to it, soak the skillet until the food can be removed easily with a rubber spatula.
  
• Meat thermometer - sure, you can use your senses of touch and sight to tell whether meat has cooked properly, but wouldn't you like to know for sure?
• Rubber spatula / spoonula - I love that I'm not leaving too much behind in the baking dish or the mixing bowl, because the spatula will scrape it all up. The one I use most now was a giftie from my BFF Eri, so I'm not sure who made it, but I absolutely love it.
• Immersion blender - this one is excellent for those of us who want the results of a blender or food processor for soups / sauces, but hate to clean. They're pretty inexpensive, too! Mine has a cute little attachment that you can use to chop and nearly pulverize things like nuts or frozen cranberries!
  

Where I shop for healthy food

I have a few favorites that I frequent for my grocery shopping and healthy ingredient pantry stocking:

• Stop & Shop (local to the New England area, a "sister" chain to Giant in the mid-Atlantic). S&S is the grocery store I grew up with, and they've done a nice job in the past couple of years of introducing more and more natural and organic products. This has culminated in the launch of the "Nature's Promise" line of products, natural and organic foods that are bottom line-friendly. As always, read the labels to ensure that the ingredients and the calories are bottom-friendly, but Nature's Promise is my go-to brand within S&S. Fave S&S / Nature's Promise products: eggs, baby carrots, chicken broth, frozen veggies.
  
• Trader Joe's. TJ's has a ton of unique and interesting products you just won't find in "regular" grocery stores. They also have great prices on spices and herbs, and a wonderful selection of nuts and dried fruits. Their product offerings change with the seasons, so go often! Fave TJ's products: multigrain english muffins, Fair Trade Morning Blend coffee, pre-cooked frozen brown rice, olive oil.
• Whole Foods. A lot of my friends call this store "Whole Paycheck" - and with good reason! But when WF has sales, they're often really good ($0.39 / lb butternut squash is a recent good one!). And their prices for the "mainstream" organic food like Kashi and Amy's are usually better than you'd find at a "regular" grocery store. Their prepared food section is also quite nice. I always order my Thanksgiving turkey from WF and have always been happy with the quality. Fave WF products: Amy's breakfast scramble wrap, anything from the cheese section, Greens + bars, Bell & Evans chicken.
• Nuts Online (www.nutsonline.com). I love, love, LOVE Nuts Online. They have a wonderful selection of coffee, baking supplies, spices, nuts, dried fruits, snacks, etc. I've gotten wonderful gift baskets and custom snack mixes from them and everyone raves about the quality. They're always adding new products and often offer free shipping or other savings for their customers. Fave NO products: Copenhagen coffee, organic whole wheat pastry flour, organic raw cacao powder, Southern Heat Snack Mix, dried whole cranberries.
  

healthy.tasty.easy. Kitchen Staples

While for most recipes you'll want to have fresh ingredients on hand (meats, vegetables, dairy), there are several key ingredients you can keep in the pantry or freezer which will make preparing healthy food quickly an easy task.

Pantry

• Canned beans (pinto, garbanzo, black, cannelini)
• Canned tuna (packed in water)
  
• Rice (brown, long grain, medium grain)
• Canned tomatoes (diced with or without chiles, crushed, whole, tomato paste)
• Broth (chicken, beef, vegetable)
• Pasta (whole wheat spaghetti, linguine, ziti)
• Spices: cinnamon, chipotle, cayenne, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla beans and vanilla extract
  
• Herbs: basil, sage, thyme, tarragon, oregano
• Salt, baking soda, baking powder
• Whole wheat pastry flour
• Sugar: organic granulated sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar
• Cocoa powder and chocolate chips
  

Fridge

• Minced garlic
• Yogurt: fat-free or low-fat Greek yogurt
• Eggs (eggs actually keep for quite a while)
• Lemon juice or lemons
• Buttermilk

Freezer

• Pre-cooked rice (from Trader Joe's)
• Chicken breasts
• Ground turkey
• Frozen veggies: green beans, pre-cut peppers, peas