A Practical Guide To Healthy Living

I know the blog’s been lean on posts lately.  Last week was “vacation” week, and then this Tuesday night L. came down with a high fever and stomach thing that threw us under the bus.  Those of you with kids know how this works . . . you lose entire days of your life tending to these poor kids.  When you can finally leave the building, it’s like being re-born, and then there is just so much to do to catch up . . . .

But enough whining.  I did cook for myself while this was going on.  A mama’s gotta keep her strength up, right?  For whatever reason, last weekend I was craving sweet mango chutney, so I was cruising the Indian foods section at Whole Foods.  While I was there, I couldn’t resist buying a 2 lb. bag of dried, split desi chickpeas, (Chana Dal); split chickpeas with the skin removed. They’re pretty and yellow and small.  They caught my eye as a legume I hadn’t yet tried, and their small size lead me to believe they’d be quick to cook.  They are, and I am hooked.

First off, though, let’s talk about the health benefits of chickpeas . . . so if you make this easy recipe, you’ll feel even better about yourself as you munch. Chickpeas are a good source of fiber, which has cholesterol-lowering benefits.  Their high fiber content also prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly, so they’re an especially good choice for folks with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. And when combined with whole grains like rice, chickpeas provide virtually fat-free high-quality protein.  They’re cheap, too.  Really, no downside to these puppies – so eat up!

Easy Chana Dal

Rinse and pick over the dal.  Place the dal in a bowl and cover with cool water.  Let soak for 2 hours.  Drain and rinse the dal again and place it into a medium saucepan with 3 c. of water.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes, or until the dal is tender.  Remove from heat and drain. (Note:  you could soak & drain the dal the night before and keep the dal in the fridge to cook the next night if you want to speed this up.  You can also cook your dal in the pressure cooker – I don’t have one!)

Meanwhile, sauté the onion in the olive oil until translucent.  Set aside.

Place the dal in a large bowl.  Add the sautéed onions, garam masala, salt and pepper and mix.  Serve over rice with chutney to taste.

Serves 4.

Now – if I hadn’t been freaked that I was getting a stomach virus, I would’ve added a bunch of steamed baby spinach to this mix.  I’d steam a 5-6 oz. box of the stuff (maybe more, if you’re a spinach lover like me) and season it with salt and pepper.  I’d add it to the dal mix, and probably up the garam masala because of the added spinach.  Taste it and see what you think.  Other steamed, chopped greens would be tasty too, I’m sure.  If you fool around with this, let us know what you did and how it turned out in the comments below!

© 2010, Semi-Sweet. All rights reserved.

Today’s recipe is an adaptation of this one, from a nice site called Healthy Slow Cooking (thanks for visiting and commenting Kathy!).  This boasts a trifecta of some of D.’s most despised foods – artichoke hearts, fake chicken and olives, so of course I was psyched to try it when he wasn’t around for dinner last night!

I could make a meal off the artichoke salsa component of this recipe.  After a few tastes, I had to stop myself from just eating it straight-up out of the bowl.  This is definitely one to keep in the back pocket for parties – it’d be great with pita chips.

In any case, today’s recipe is vegan, healthful, and very quick to throw together, even with the from-scratch salsa.  Indulge your artichoke-lovers with this one tonight!

Slow Cooker Artichoke Salsa “Chicken”

Spread ½ the salsa on the bottom of the slow cooker, then top with the chik’n, artichoke hearts and the remaining salsa. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve over quinoa.

Serves 4

Artichoke Salsa

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. (If you’re actually serving this as salsa, serve it at room temperature with pita chips, otherwise, add to the recipe as directed.)

*If you’re not keen on chicken substitutes, I think this would be good with real chicken – I’d use 12 oz. of chicken cutlets or pounded-out breasts, and I would marinate them for a few minutes in an olive-oil and lemon marinade.  Although I really liked this, I understand that the funky chicken is not for everyone!

© 2010, Semi-Sweet. All rights reserved.