30 Healthy Recipes {That Nourish & Satisfy}

This just in: Greens are the new Christmas cookie.

Um, ok, that's not entirely true. There's nothing like a homemade Christmas cookie, and you know it. But that doesn't mean that healthier options can't be delicious in their own right. 

I've never been one for "resolutions" {I tend to set smaller goals year-round} but I can see how the start of a new year is a good starting point for establishing new routines. It's a fresh start, a clean slate; 365 untarnished days of hope and new resolve. 

For many people, this is the time to attempt new food-related goals including weight loss, trying their hand at cooking {or cooking more often} and maybe even allowing their palates to become more adventurous.

I went through my own set of adventures with nutrition last year and I can tell you that it turned out to be a great experience. As it turned out, limiting myself from eating certain foods resulted in having to get creative and try new things that I may have never thought to try before! Win!

So, if you're one of the thousands out there who are looking to improve your diet without sacrificing the enjoyment of eating flavorful, yummy food, I've got you covered. That's right. It's not all cupcakes and cream puffs around here. 

I'm sharing a one-stop shop for some of the best healthy recipes I've posted to date. Just one bite is all it takes to prove that nutritious can be delicious!

Looking for more wholesome options? Follow my "Delish Nutrish" Pinterest board for lots of ideas from my favorite bloggers!

{Scroll below for links to recipes. Not all are pictured here.}

Beverages
Blueberry-Ginger Cobbler Smoothie

Haute Hydration -- Flavor Combos to Spice Up Your Water!

Veggies & More

Raw Baby Dragon Bowl with Five Spice Dressing

Orange Glazed Cauliflower

Curried Brown Rice with Zucchini

Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Cauliflower Mash
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Quinoa, Beet & Bean Burgers

Gluten-Free Linguine with Avocado & Arugula Pesto
Sweet Potato, Coconut & Chipotle Soup

Quinoa Dishes
Quinoa "Burrito Bowl"

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Pineapple-Cilantro Quinoa

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Spiced Quinoa

Lean & Meaty

Teriyaki Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Asian Chicken Salad with Ginger-Sesame Dressing

North African Turkey Meatballs with Brown Date Rice
Hearty Turkey Chili
Chicken with Tomatillo & Cilantro Sauce
Red Curry Spaghetti Squash with Chicken

Fish Dishes
Tandoori Marinated Tilapia with Mango Salsa

Fish en Papillote on a Bed of Vegetables
Soy-Glazed Cod
Sear-Roasted Haddock with Blood Orange Salsa

Desserts and Treats

Individual Strawberry Crisps

Chocolate-Hazelnut Risotto
Gluten Free Oatmeal & Flax Cranberry Cookies

German Chocolate Granola

Here's to a delectable New Year! 

The Kitchen Prep: 2012 Year in Review!



Do you make New Year's Resolutions?

I don't. I'm among that group of people that feels like resolutions made for a certain time frame are just another way to make ourselves feel inadequate and guilty. {And believe me - a Catholic girl -I've had plenty of guilt to deal with throughout my lifetime.}

I believe in taking time throughout the whole year to set goals, evaluate, and adjust.

See, the problem with traditional resolutions is that they tend to take an "all or nothing" approach that can often set us up for failure. For example, saying, "I will lose 10 pounds by March." is great and all... but then it doesn't leave you with much wiggle room at the end of February when you're only down 2 pounds {which is an accomplishment in itself!}, and often times the resolution gets scrapped altogether. {"Pass the damn chocolate cake."}

Progress is progress. That doesn't mean I don't see the value in striving to achieve certain goals, or the benefits of a "no excuses" approach, especially for those of us who tend to justify our way out of being held accountable for things. {"But I couldn't really exercise that month because I stubbed my toe SO badly."}

But, as I mentioned a few days ago, I'm learning to be gentle with myself. Because I tend to be my own worst critic, and there's nothing worse than getting a lashing you can't walk away from because it's coming from yourself.

One thing I am practicing is allowing myself to self-congratulate every once in a while. Are you good at this? Or are you like me, undermining every kudos received, no matter how great the accomplishment?

This year has been a year of growth for The Kitchen Prep, which I attribute to moving my "dreams & schemes" to my priority list instead of leaving it on my "things for the future" list. It's been uncomfortable to do some of the things I've had to do in order to get where I am right now: self-promote {thank you to my personal friends who have not yet "de-friended" me!}, share deeply personal things, schmooze {let's be real}, believe in myself enough to get business cards, attend conferences, call myself a "Blogger"{not just in my head}, admit to failure, admit to success.

But you know what? It's been worth every growing pain. I've put together a little review of the things that YOU have helped me accomplish in 2012:

• Featured or mentioned on several blogs, websites, and Facebook pages such as: Steamy Kitchen, Shecky's Girls Night Out, Hello Cotton, Yummly, Haute 31, Crazy for Crust, Family Fresh Cooking, The Huffington Post, JELL-O, and Swoozie's to name a few.
• Attended my first blogger's conference and met some amazing people.
• Got recipes "pinned" by some great brands and representatives like Red Star Yeast, and Real Simple.com.
• Was asked to be part of the Curator Network for AOL's Kitchen Daily & will be continuing to develop my partnership with them throughout 2013.
• Worked with Twelve Saturdays and Haute Cocktail on the Tailgate Thursday Series and with Dofino Cheese on developing some recipes with their products .
• Took part in the 5 week Willow Bird Baking Challenge hosted by the fabulous Julie.
• Improved my photography enough to have pictures on foodgawker, TasteSpotting, and Tasteologie. {FINALLY!}
• Got to review some great products from Petit Amuse & NatureBox.
• Had a recipe published IN PRINT in the most recent issue of Taste of the South Magazine! {Man, has it been hard to keep that secret!}

It hasn't been easy... but it's been FUN. And in the times when I've felt the need to justify the amount of time I spend working on the blog or have questioned if it's all worth it, I always come back to the same answer: Yes. I love my little blog. And I love sharing it with great people. And even if half the time I'm really just talking to myself... it's ok. Because I love food, and cooking, and baking, and writing.

But enough of all that yammering on, part of the reason I wanted to share this post is to talk about the recipes that you made the Top 10 most viewed for 2012...

10. Nutella Caramel Sauce

9. Cuban Bocaditos {Tea Sandwiches}

8. Cuban Sandwich "Cinnamon" Rolls

7. Chocolate-Whiskey Cupcakes

6. Autumn Cupcakes

5. Honey-Coriander Baked Chicken Wings 

4. Banana Whoopie Pies

3. Chubby Hubby Bars

2. Nutella Caramel Swirl Cheesecake Bars

and the Number 1 spot goes to...

Chocolate, Caramel, Marshmallow, Whiskey, & Bacon Bark

Looks to me like I have a lot of Cuban-food-loving, Nutella-craving readers with a sweet tooth... my kind of people! ;)

There are a lot of things I'd like to work on this year, both personally and for The Kitchen Prep. And I plan on trying to accomplish them one manageable bite at a time!

Happy New Year to you, friends. And thank you for helping to make 2012 one of the best yet in my book. Wishing you nothing but the best in 2013!

XOXO,

Dianna

The Kitchen Prep

 

Florentine Cookies

I'm going to be honest: I had grand plans of posting tons and tons of amazing cookie recipes throughout the month of December leading up to Christmas.

But if my eyes aren't deceiving me, the calendar says that it's the 27th... a mere 4 days away from the New Year. And while I've been able to share a few recipes here and there, it didn't quite work out as I had anticipated.

Does that ever happen to you? You look forward to something so much, and then when it's over you realize it didn't go at all like you had planned.

Sometimes things happen that kind of dash your plans to bits: Changes in a work schedule. Life events that take priority over being in the kitchen and blogging. Surgery. Recovery.

And so, plans change.

We are forced learn to be flexible, even those of us who are quite rigid most of the time. We learn that our "plans" are more of a rough draft than a strict itinerary. We take it day by day and do what we can, when time allows. And we learn to be content with that.

Or at least, that's been the case with me personally as this year comes to a close and we look to the possibilities and experiences that lie ahead in the New Year.

With that said, I'd like to share a great cookie recipe with you, even though Christmas has come and gone for this year. {Because heaven knows you don't need it to be Christmas to make cookies.} This was a cookie that I brought to an Italian Potluck party at a friend's house earlier in the month. Everyone that tried these cookies raved about them... one person told me it was the best cookie she ever had, which is quite a compliment in my book!

 

As it turns out, these are the perfect cookie to share for today's post, because they sort of represent what I was trying to explain earlier. They start out a bit hard and rigid... kind of rough and difficult to work with. You watch them in the oven and think, "These aren't going to turn out." But sure enough, they eventually soften and relax. They let the heat wash over them and mold them into their new form.

They stop trying to hold together and just let you see right through.

 

And when they do, they turn out to be one of the prettiest things you've ever seen.

So, as we wrap up 2012, I'll be working on finding the balance between planning and experiencing, scheduling and anticipating. It's a challenge I feel grateful to take on because it means that I'm learning, growing, and getting a chance to continue to work on it all.

Perhaps my mantra this year will be, "Be the Florentine!".  :)

How are you "preparing" for 2013?


Florentine Cookies
 Adapted from Food Network

1 3/4 cups sliced, blanched almonds (about 5 ounces)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Zest of 1 orange, finely grated {alternatively you can use about 1/4 tsp orange extract, but the taste won't be quite as strong}

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Optional Topping:

 

1/4 to 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

*For a runnier drizzling consistency, add about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon canola oil

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.

 

2. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the almonds until finely ground but watch to make sure they do not start turning into almond butter. Combine ground almonds, flour, orange zest, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

 

3. In a small saucepan, melt sugar, cream, corn syrup, and butter over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil, then cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat, add vanilla, then stir and pour into almond mixture and mix until just combined. Set aside to cool, about 15-20 minutes.

 

4. Using a teaspoon measure {will yield 3 inch cookies} sprayed with a little non-stick cooking spray for easy removal, scoop a teaspoon of mixture and roll into a ball. Place 3 to 4 inches from each other on baking sheet {they will spread a lot}.

 

*Note: If, after a while, your mixture has hardened and it hard to scoop, heat in the microwave on high for 30 second intervals until it reaches a softened state once again.

 

5. Bake cookies for 10 to 11 minutes until they are thin and lacy with an even golden color. Be careful not to over bake.

 

6. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool slightly on baking sheet before gently removing them with a spatula and transferring to a baking rack.

 

Optional:

 

Lightly drizzle cookies with melted chocolate and in refrigerator for 15 minutes or until set.

 

State of the Blog Address: One Baker, Under Blog

You know what's super exciting??? {For me, anyway.} I am just moving right along on reaching 100 posts. Considering I've taken several {extended} blogging hiatuses with all the craziness that has been going on this year, I would say that's not too shabby. Oh yeah, and it's a new year today, too, which is also pretty exciting I suppose. ;)

I am so thrilled that all of you have joined me in this fabulous adventure, and - at the risk of sounding completely nerdy here - I get extremely giddy when I see new followers who are "strangers" and comments on my posts. So, here's your official shout out. {You also get a real shout out when I yell to my hubby upstairs, "Hey babe!! I have a new follower!!!"}. Yup. Me = Geek. I'm ok with it.

The good news about me not reaching my goal of 50 followers yet is that it gives me time to work out the kinks in this relatively new & dizzying world of blogging, learn more about what you want to read and cook, and read more inspiring & fabulous blogs out there that give me ideas about where I want The Kitchen Prep to go in the future. {Although, to be quite honest, I am so backlogged on my Google Reader that I stopped following most of the blogs I love out of sheer overwhelmedness. I'm making that a word.}

In the spirit of New Year's resolutions {and since we all know there will be no "Eat less sugar." promises made around here}, I thought of a few things I'll be working on over as I continue to grow this little project in 2012:

1. Being more consistent. {Because, let's face it... no one likes an absent blogger.}.
2. Becoming a better photographer. {Because the camera phone and poor lighting just won't hack it anymore. And because my sweet hubby got me a brand new Canon Rebel T3 and this fabulous book. Yippee!}
3. Being more relevant.{Because the world does not revolve around lil ol' me}.
4. Connecting. {Because no woman is an island}. Keep an eye out for some more opportunities to connect with me and The Kitchen Prep, coming soon. ;) I'll also be making more of an effort to lurk less & comment more on the blogs I love!

 I hope you'll hold me accountable on all of the above!

As a side note... can I just tell you how much fun it is to share these recipes with you? Whether I know you "for real" or not, when I come across something that is just too delicious not to share, I immediately think of you. Yes, you. Well, the collective "you". Because what fun is it to keep exciting stuff to oneself?

So anyway, if you're here, you're a friend of mine. And if I had a big enough house {and access to background checks -- just kidding!}, you would all be invited to my kitchen so you could taste these treats in person. But in the meantime, I hope you'll keep reading The Kitchen Prep from wherever you are and consider sharing it with others who you think are cool enough to join our little foodie circle. ;)

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and DELICIOUS 2012! Happy New Year!