Roasted Chickpea Coleslaw

Coleslaw can easily tow the line between healthy and unhealthy. It all depends on how you dress it. We all know mayo gives it the full flavor, but also the full fat content. But this blog’s purpose is to find ways around the bad ingredients without sacrificing flavor. Plus, this recipe adds something unique in the form of roasted chickpeas for added protein and crunch.

Ingredients: 1 can of chickpeas, 1 12 oz pack of broccoli (or cabbage) slaw, 1/4 chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, 2 tablespoons of yellow mustards, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of agave nectar

Directions: Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas. Toss with any desired spices (black pepper, garlic powder, sea salt and nutritional yeast were used here). Bake on 350 for 20 minutes. Broil for 5. They should have a nice crunchy yet moist consistency.

Toss slaw mix with onion and chia seeds. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. You can add the chickpeas before the dressing or on top of you prefer.

You’ll find that the mustard and vinegar provide a great tangy flavor, balanced with the sweetness of the agave. Plus the chia seeds give additional moisture once they gel. Makes a great BBQ side or a vegan meal all on its own.

Pulled Pork Sweet Potato Sliders

So, the title kinda sells itself. Pulled pork? Amazing. Sliders? Give it here. This dish takes the bad stuff out with eliminating the sugary, processed BBQ sauce and the white bread. Plus, it’s a dump and go meal, so it requires little prep time.

Ingredients: Pork shoulder/Boston butt (3.5 lb used here), 3 Sweet Potatos (1 makes about 3 sliders), 1/4 onion (red used here, any will work), 1 clove of garlic, 1 can of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons agave nectar

Directions: Dice onion and garlic. Cook over a medium skillet until browned. Reduce heat. Add 4 tablespoons of tomato paste, soy sauce, the vinegars, and the agave. Mix thoroughly in pan. Once done, pat the pork down with the mixture. Try to cover as much as possible.

Place the pork in the slow cooker. Add about a cup of water (depending on size of cooker) and any additional spices (garlic powder, cayenne, etc). Place on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5. Once done, use fork to shred.

Sliders: Cut potatoes about 1″ thick. This will give them enough size to house the pork while not giving an overwhelming potato taste. Lightly season with olive oil and s&p. Bake on a baking sheet for 30 minutes on 350.

While higher in fat than most proteins, the substitution of a good complex carbohydrate like sweet potato for a plain, old white bun will be the real difference maker when it comes to your diet. Just stick with some broccoli on the side and not French fries😜.

Grilled Romaine Salad

Now this one had us a bit skeptical. It sounds a little pretentious and something someone attempting to be on top of food culture would serve. Plus, throwing a green on the grill seems like a watery, wilted mess. But, turns out, it’s almost like a new veggie to throw in a sautée. And its size provides a nice base for a warm, wedge salad.

Ingredients: romaine stalks, 1/4 onion (red used here, any will work), 1/2 red pepper, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 lemon slice, 1/2 avocado. Any protein will work: 2 pieces of bacon, 1 hard boiled egg and 2 slices of ham were used here.

Directions: Mix the vinegar, oil and juice of the lemon wedge. Cut the romaine stalks in half. Season with black pepper and salt. Lightly distribute the dressing over the half of romaine.

Once prepared, place romaine on grill. We have used a stove top griller but it will work the same on a normal outdoor grill. The only advantage here is allowing the onions and peppers to cook with the risk of them falling through.

It’s best to cut piece by piece. It definitely beats a normal salad and serves as a good healthy option for summer grilling.

Blazin’ Burgers over Coolin’ Quinoa

Happy Memorial Day! MDW officially kicks off summer, so that summer body better be ready! It’s kind of ironic: we kill ourselves in the gym and with keeping a healthy eating plan, only to spend the summer eating fatty cuts of processed meats, nutrition-less fried startches, and washing it down with adult beverages. Then, it’s a sleigh ride into the holidays and their indulgences so we can start over again next January. Vicious cycle.

But there are ways to stay on track even when attending fun events like BBQs and beach parties: BYOS (Bring your own sides). While hotdogs and hamburgers aren’t exactly tofu, the proteins aren’t the biggest culprits. Mayonnaise based sides like potato salad and cole slaw and heavily processed potato products like chips and French fries are the real culprits for the extra belly fat. Well, that and the beer (we’ll let you know when we find a comparable substitute for that one ;).

Quinoa: 1 cup of quinoa, 1 cucumber, half of a large tomato, quarter of a red onion, bunch of cilantro, 1 lime

Quinoa is usually described as a good fill-in for rice, but it’s actually more flexible in that you can serve it either warm or cold. In this case, we are using it as a nice, cooling base for our sizzlin’ hot burgers.

To cook, 1 cup of the quinoa was combined with 1 1/2 cup of water in a pot and boiled until all the water was absorbed. Quinoa does not have much of a taste on its own, so normally we heavily season it to give it a flare. In this case, we added a quarter of the lime and cilantro into the boiling water to add some zest to it. Once cooled, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, cilantro, and the juice of the remaining lime were added. Put in refrigerator to chill.

Burgers: For our meat, we choose 1 lb organic, grass fed beef (makes about 5 burgers). It will give you all the flavor of a regular hamburger without the nasty, processed extras.

To compliment the chilled quinoa, we went extra spicy with our seasonings. Cayenne, chipotle, cumin, black pepper, salt, a pinch of raw sugar, and a dizzle of balsamic vinegar for moisture were added, so these bad boys are anything but flavorless. They were cooked on a stove top grill for about 10-15 mins each side.

Garnished with avocado and green peppers, the meal has a southwest yet All- American feel. This goes to show you that BBQ food doesn’t have to be fatty and repetitive. Happy summer!