100 Calorie Spicy Snack Ideas...pt 1

Turkey Pepperoni with Cream Cheese.

Ingredients:
17 quarter-sized slices of Spicy Turkey Pepperoni (such as Hormel)
1 tablespoon Fat Free Cream Cheese



1) Lay the pepperoni out in a single layer on a baking tray. Toast in the oven for 2-4 minutes until crisp. (alternatively, microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until crisp). 
2) After the pepperoni slices have cooled, bab cream cheese on each pepperoni slice.

Enjoy.

P.S.  Needless to say, you don't have to crisp the pepperoni, but I find it provides a satisfying crunch. 

Spicy Coconut Green Beans

This is a quick recipe that you can either saute lightly or allow to cook until the beans are completely tender.  It uses no curry powder, which makes it a great side dish for any dinner menu. 

Ingredients:
1 lb Fresh Green Beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup grated unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic or garlic paste
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock (or water)
salt to taste


1) Heat oil in pan on low heat.  Add coconut, cumin seeds, garlic and pepper flakes. Stir on low heat until garlic or coconut starts to brown.
2) Add beans and stock or water.
3) Cover and cook on low, stirring often, until beans are tender. 

Kid-Friendly Chicken Currry

I tried this kid-friendly chicken curry yesterday and it was a resounding hit! It's very similar to the French-Indian fusion recipe already posted, which I said was a stepping stone to a full-blown chicken curry.  Consider this "step 2" of the stepping stone to a full-blown chicken curry.

Ingredients:
1-1.3 pounds chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1-2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small-medium tomato
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 cup chicken stock
1-3 dried red chillies (optional)
3 black cardamom pods (optional)

1 2-inch piece of cinnamon bark (optional)


1. Combine chicken, yogurt, ginger and garlic paste, salt, turmeric and garam masala. Allow to marinate for at least 1/2 hour.
2.  Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds.
3.  When mustard seeds pop, add onion, cumin seed, red chillies, black cardamom pods and cinnamon bark.
4.   Fry, stirring occasionally, until onion becomes translucent.
5.  Add tomato and heat through.
6.  Add chicken, including all the marinade.
7.  Add chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and allow to simmer on medium heat approx. 15 minutes (until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 170 Degrees F.)

Serve over a bed of rice or quinoa. 

French-Indian Fusion Chicken Curry--Trial 1

Here's something for fans of tangy chicken dishes.  

I had a jar of Herbes de Provence sitting around in my spice cupboard just waiting to be used.  I tried a modified chicken curry with it, and liked the results.  The curry that's produced was a little on the tangy side for my official taste tester (my husband!), but I didn't mind the extra tang.  This recipe is a good stepping stone recipe for those hesitant to try a traditional chicken curry.


1-1.3 pounds chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 cup goat milk yogurt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon herbes de provence
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 black cardamom pods
1 small onion, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 cup water or chicken stock


Step 1
Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place in a sealable bowl.  Add yogurt, pepper, salt, turmeric and herbes de provence.  Mix and set aside, (covered and kept cold),  for at least half an hour.
 
Step 2
Heat the oil in a sauce pan.  Add mustard seeds.  When mustard seeds start to pop, add onion, cumin and cardamom.

Step 3
When onions become transclucent, add tomato and heat through.

Step 4
Add chicken with marinade, along with stock/water.  Stir and cook, covered, on medium heat until heated to an internal temperature of 175 F.

Serve immediately.  It goes particularly well with brown rice.  

Low-Fat Spicy Ground Turkey

Here's my all time favorite low fat, low carb, high protein recipe.  It's a Mexican-Indian fusion that uses lean turkey.  You can substitute any ground meat you want.  It makes a fabulous substitute for ground meat dishes like Sloppy Joes or Keema.

It can be made either in a slow cooker or on the stove-top.  I highly recommend the slow cooker--it just develops the flavors a lot better. 


Ingredients:
1 pound extra lean ground turkey (I use 99% fat free)
1 cup medium-heat Salsa (such as Pace ready-made salsa)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 pinches black pepper
1-2 dried red chillies (optional)
1/2 cup water


In slow cooker:

1.  Mix all ingredients well in slow cooker pot
2.  Cook on high for 4 hours.  At the two hour mark, stir the contents of the slow cooker and break up and large chunks.


On the stove-top:
1. Fry mustard seeds and cumin seeds in 1-2 teaspoons of oil until the mustard seeds pop.
2.  Add ground meat and brown.
3.  Add remaining spices and heat through.
4.  Add salsa and water.  Cook, partly covered, on low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  

Spicing it Up for Weight Control!

This blog is the result of my own frustrating search for waistline-friendly Indian and Indian-inspired recipes.   

 

Spices are important to me for one very good (albeit atypical) reason:  Weight Control. 
    

16 years ago, I underwent a weight loss journey, shedding nearly 60 pounds.  Maintaining it has been a challenge.  That's because,  like many of you,  I was in LOVE with the taste of fat. 

As part of my weight loss and maintenance journey, I discovered that using spices, especially Indian spices, made eating healthy a lot more enjoyable.  Just substitute a spice for fat and voila! You have something so new and exciting that your taste buds won't even miss the fat anymore. 

I hit a real snag when trying to find healthy but spicy recipes.  There are plenty of diet-friendly recipes out there.  There are plenty of spicy Indian and Indian-inspired recipes out there. But boy, do they hardly meet!  

Thus, this blog was born. 

I love experimenting with  different spices, taking classic Indian and Sri Lankan dishes and making them healthier or taking  American diet-friendly foods and spicing them up a bit.  Doing this helps me resist fat, and helps me control my weight.  It also helps me explore the depth of culinary flavors that our beautiful world has to offer.
   

I'm not one of those who can forgo food to be thin.  So, I eat, but try to make it healthy.  Every once in a while, I have a little food fun with a not-so-waistline-friendly recipe.  But, hey, a little bit of fun is healthy too.  So, here goes......   Hope you enjoy the blog!