Healthy, Hearty Comfort-Food Nutrition

By Julia Lacy-Adele

As the co-owner of iSatori and the wife of a fitness guru, I field a lot of questions about how to stay healthy, lean, strong, and fit. But by far the most frequently asked question I get is: How do you eat?

While I'm sometimes tempted to say "with a fork," I know people are really asking for tips on how to prepare healthy meals that taste great. Which happens to also be my passion!

It seems in this world of modern conveniences and fast foods, people have lost touch with the reality of food. With the nutrients they provide and the joy they are to prepare.

But let me emphasize one thing: cooking healthy from scratch is both easier and tastier than you've been led to believe. Really!

Most of the meals we eat take less time than it takes to grab a "quick" convenience meal. (After all, I'm a busy working mother as well!) And they taste a heck of a lot better. Plus, you'll look and feel better too.

Here are a few of our favorites. Give them a try and then get online on our message board at RealSolutionsmag.com and let me know what you think. Or share some of your favorite recipes!

Baked Chicken Fingers

Baked Chicken Fingers are a favorite with our three little girls! I usually double or even triple the recipe and freeze the next batch for a quick and easy dinner on busy nights.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
3 cups bread crumbs (plain or Italian)
3 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut chicken breasts into strips (approximately six strips per breast).
• In a medium bowl, whisk eggs together.
• In another medium bowl, pour bread crumbs.
• Dip each chicken strip in the batter and then into the bread crumbs.
• Repeat.
• Sprinkle with salt/pepper.
• Bake in a glass pan (sprayed with olive oil spray) 350 degree oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and meat is white and tender.
• Serve with a big salad and enjoy!

Chicken, Bean, and Collard Soup

Being from the South, this collard greens soup is a true comfort food for me.

Ingredients:
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts (remove all excess fat)
6 cups chicken stock
1 lb collard greens
1 cup carrots (peeled and chopped)
1 cup celery (cleaned and minced)
2 cups yellow onion (peeled and chopped fine)
3 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
1 Tbsp light olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cans white (cannellini) beans (rinse and drain)

Directions:

• Immerse greens in a large bowl of water for five minutes to allow all dirt and debris to loosen. Remove from water and repeat. Make sure greens are cleaned thoroughly. Remove all stems and discolored areas of greens. Chop.
• In a large heavy pot, add oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and thyme. Simmer until veggies are medium brown and onions are opaque.
• Add stock, chicken, beans, and collards. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook on low heat until chicken is opaque in color and veggies are tender when pierced with a fork.
• Serve warm and enjoy all the wonderful nutrients in this delicious soup.

Turkey Chili

Chili is another favorite in our house. It's a snap to throw together, and there are not a lot of foods that are heartier than a good bowl of chili.

Ingredients:
2 lb lean ground turkey
1 can Great Northern beans 2 Tbsp light olive oil
2 cups onion (peeled and chopped)
1 medium red bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
3 cups chicken broth
5 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
1 ½ Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp coarse salt
fat-free sour cream
2 green onions (cleaned and chopped)

Directions:

• In a large heavy pot, combine onion, pepper, and garlic with one tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook until onion is transparent.
• In a large skillet, brown ground turkey over medium-high heat. When turkey is browned, add to the onion mixture. Add stock, chili powder, cayenne, cinnamon salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for one hour.
• Serve warm, topped with fat-free sour cream and chopped green onion.

Disappearing Chicken Mac

This one-dish meal disappears quickly at our house. The girls love it!

Ingredients:
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (remove all excess fat), chopped
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups whole-wheat macaroni noodles or your favorite type of pasta
1 small can tomato paste
1 lb baby spinach
1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas)

Directions:

• In a large, heavy pot, combine stock, chicken, and garbanzo beans. Bring to a rapid boil over medium-high heat for five minutes. Reduce to medium-low heat.
• Cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
• Add macaroni noodles and tomato paste. Cook until macaroni is tender when pierced with a fork.
• Add spinach and cook for three minutes.
• Serve warm and watch it disappear!

Beef and Barley

This is another healthy and hearty soup. It's especially good when you want something rich tasting without all the guilt.

Ingredients:
1 lb round steak (cut into small 1" x 1" cubes)
6 cups beef stock
1 Tbsp light olive oil
1 cup barley
1 large white onion (peeled and chopped)
1 large carrot (peeled and chopped)
2 cups frozen baby peas
3 large cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)
1 green pepper (seeded and chopped)
1 Tbsp light olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh oregano (cleaned and chopped)
1 Tbsp fresh parsley (cleaned and chopped)
fat-free sour cream

Directions:

• In a large heavy pot, combine all ingredients. Over medium-high heat, bring all ingredients to a rapid boil for 20 minutes.
• Reduce heat to a medium low and cook for 40 minutes or until meat is tender.
• Serve topped with fat-free sour cream. (It doesn't get much easier than that, does it?)

Editor's Note: For more suggestions from Julia on how to streamline your cooking for fast, delicious, healthy meals, click here. And to find 24 more fabulous, healthy recipes, check out the The Lean System Success Plan!

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