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If you’re looking to eat healthier in the new year, that doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to comfort food favorites. With nutritious spins, you can still enjoy staples like mashed “potatoes” (say hello to cauliflower!) and Buffalo chicken dip.
Keep reading to get culinary inspiration.
Loaded Mashed Cauliflower
“In my 10 years on the low-carb diet, I have come to the conclusion that the best way to stay on a healthy diet is to make sure you never ever feel deprived. So I still make my favorite recipes, but I use healthier substitutes,” says Vered DeLeeuw of HealthyRecipesBlog.com. “Loaded mashed cauliflower is the perfect example: It’s just as flavorful and indulgent as the original, but using cauliflower in lieu of potatoes saves you some serious carbs and calories.”
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Loaded Mashed Cauliflower by Vered DeLeeuw, founder of Healthy Recipes Blog
Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
4 slices bacon
1 medium head cauliflower
½ cup shredded sharp cheddar
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Get the full recipe at HealthyRecipesBlogs.com here.
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Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
“Turns out, Buffalo chicken dip can actually be decadent and kind of healthy at the same time,” shares Cara Lanz of MidwesternHomeLife.com. “I swapped cream cheese and bottled dressing with an easy white bean hummus and Greek yogurt blue cheese, then piled on tons of spicy white chicken, and just enough [Colby-Jack] cheese to make it gooey.”
Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip by Cara Lanz, Midwestern HomeLife
Makes 8 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes (oven); 1 hour (slow cooker)
Ingredients:
15 ounces Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons tahini
1 lemon (divided)
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder (divided)
salt & pepper
½ cup Greek yogurt
¼ cup blue cheese
2 cups cooked chicken breast
½ cup Buffalo sauce
½ cup Colby-Jack cheese
green onions, blue cheese and Buffalo sauce, for serving
Get the full recipe at MidwesternHomeLife.com here.
LOADED POTATO BACON BOATS: TRY THE RECIPE
Healthy Chicken Chili
“No one said comfort food can’t be healthy. So I filled this hearty chili with white meat chicken, three kinds of beans, hominy and a warm and zesty sauce,” says Lanz. “It’s a stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish that fills you up and warms your soul. And since there’s no meat to brown, you can just throw everything in and get on with your day.”
Healthy Chicken Chili by Cara Lanz, Midwestern HomeLife
Makes 8 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 4-9 hours
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 can black beans
1 can black-eyed peas
1 can chili beans in spicy sauce
1 can hominy
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 4.5 oz can green chiles or jalapeños
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions and fresh corn
Get the full recipe at MidwesternHomeLife.com here.
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Hearty Stuffed Butternut Squash with Quinoa and Toasted Pine Nuts by Serena Poon, CN, CHC, CHN, Holistic Nutritionist and Chef, SerenaLoves.com
“The flexibility of these recipes leaves so much room for variation and creative energy — it gives everyone a chance to be a chef in their own kitchen,” says Serena Poon, holistic nutritionist and chef, of SerenaLoves.com. “For example, I used butternut squash, but you can also make the recipe with acorn squash, kabocha squash, etc., and changing up the choice of nuts adds a different earthiness to the final product.”
Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 75 minutes
Ingredients:
2 medium butternut squash, halved, seeds removed
4 teaspoons avocado oil
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup tri-colored quinoa (any other quinoa is fine too)
1 ⅓ cups vegetable broth, homemade or low sodium
1 bunch curly kale, stems removed, leaves rough chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt or sea salt, to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ teaspoon fresh ground white pepper, to taste (optional)
15 oz. cooked chickpeas (if using canned or bottled, rinse and drain)
1 medium orange, zested
½ juice of half of the zested orange above
⅓ cup fresh pomegranate seeds
¼ cup pine nuts (raw or toasted, optional)
Get the full recipe at SerenaLoves.com here.
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Black-Eyed Peas And Rice
“Leave your dried black-eyed peas in the pantry (or shelf) and ditch the hours of cooking for one dish,” comments KeyVion Miller a registered dietitian. “Grab a can of black-eyed peas and a few more ingredients to make a healthy dish in 20 minutes. You’ll thank yourself for it later.”
Black-Eyed Peas And Rice KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N/Registered Dietitian
Makes 9 servings
Prep time 5 minutes
Cook time 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups black-eyed peas, canned
1 cup brown rice
1 ½ cups unsalted chicken broth, 2 cups if doing stovetop version
5 dried bay leaves
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
Get the full recipe at TheMillersKitchen.com here.
For more New Year’s resolution ideas, plus how to crush them, click here.
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