Tag Archives: healthy

that’s a wrap…some Friday belleiciousness 

30 Friday Jun 2017

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Although our kitchens aren’t getting much use lately (summer, travel, renovations…), we do occasionally crank it up to produce a home-cooked meal.  On a recent, rare, at-home evening, one of us decided to put together a “nutritionist-approved” feast…(yes, we have both been seeing a nutritionist for a while now, and we are trying our very best to avoid grains and sugar – among other delightful morsels!) 

Here’s what we came up with on this particular night…


Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2 lb assorted mushrooms, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1 lb ground chicken breasts

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 t minced ginger

2 t Thai Kitchen red curry paste (the ingredients are super-simple in this brand)

1 t salt

1/2 c cashews, chopped

1/2 c cilantro, chopped

1 package lettuce leaves or one head romaine (or your preferred lettuce), washed and separated 

The step-by-step:

Chop mushrooms and onion…


Sauté in coconut oil…


Remove mushroom mixture and add chicken, garlic and ginger to pan.  Chop and stir chicken until thoroughly cooked.

Stir in red curry paste…


Season with salt and keep warm.

Crush cashews and chop cilantro to be served as garnish…


Assemble and enjoy!!


#belleicious…and healthy to boot!

a&a

 

a flavor-filled fast feast…

31 Friday Mar 2017

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We saw this Coconut chicken curry from Epicurious and made it on the fly.  It was delish! 

Served it with cauliflower rice and peas on the side to round out the meal . 
Here’s what you’ll need.  (All the cashews had been gobbled up so we substituted pine nuts with great success)


And we had slightly less meat (more like a pound and a half) and were generous with the spices.
Here’s what you need to do 

Via Epicurious





Feast complete…bon appetit!
a&a

meanwhile, back at the ranch…dressing that is

13 Friday Jan 2017

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We belles are a bit particular about our salad dressings…no bottles for us (well…except for our fave French Poodle).  For the most part, we would rather create our own vinaigrettes, caesars, and whatnot as we kinda like to know what’s in there (and we are always doing our tweaking anyway!).  

One belle was havin’ a hankerin’ for a bit of Ranch dressing the other day, and that happens to be one she never felt she had perfected.  Picking up a bottle full of ingredients that can’t even be pronounced (we don’t need to learn those words anyway) was out of the question – AND…we have both been making great efforts toward keeping things healthy and whole.  So…some googling went down and here’s what happened…


The Belles’ Pretty Darn Good Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing

2 T dried parsley

2 t garlic powder

2 t onion powder

1/2 t salt (we use Pink Himalayan)

1/4 t pepper

1 cup Greek Yogurt (we use Cabots full fat version)

1/4 c buttermilk (full fat is best)

2 T mayo (try Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Mayo – available at Amazon)
1 t lemon juice

1 t dijon mustard, optional (we kinda prefer it without, but it’s an option)


Blend dried herbs/seasonings.  Place in blender/food processor/Vitamix with all other ingredients.  Give it a good pulse or two.  Guess what?  You’re done!  Store in a tightly-lidded jar in the fridge and enjoy to your heart’s content, belles!

Now that’s a trip to the ole ranch you can feel good about, belles!

a&a

guilt-free dessert…a skinny-belle friend-1-1

23 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by in belle-icious, healthy belle

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One belle was recently assigned “dessert” for a large family dinner. Knowing that several loved-ones had recently celebrated great success with weight-loss and general feelin’ good on the Whole 30 plan, she figured a waistline-friendly dessert would be much appreciated (and better for those who might not have fully embraced the concept)!  But coming up with a dessert sans dairy, sweeteners (not even the chemistry lab ones, aka artificial ones), grains, or alcohol might have stumped a less-determined belle.

Well…pears, ghee, cinnamon, and walnuts to the rescue!!  Yum!!


Baked Cinnamon Pears 

– 4 Pears, plan on one-half per person (we used Bosc) and adjust recipe as needed

– juice of one lemon

– 1/2 c Ghee, or clarified butter, melted

– 1 t. Cinnamon (plus more for sprinkling)

– 1 c. Toasted walnuts (we toast with olive oil and salt)


Wash and peel pears, then cut in half. Toss or rub fully with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown before they bake (the lemon also adds another dimension to the flavor).

Place pears in baking dish, cut side down. Combine cinnamon and ghee, then poor over pears, making sure to fully coat. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon

Toast walnuts. At this point, the dish can be stored countertop or in the fridge until dinner begins. About a half-hour before serving, place pears in the oven at 350 degrees. Let the aroma cause great anticipation.


Top each pear with walnuts. Serve…and bask in the accolades. You’ve pulled off a skinny (and incredibly delicious) dessert!

PS…vanilla or cinnamon ice cream would be da bomb with this…for those wishing to throw caution to the wind, of course. Shut the front door!!

a&a