Friday Food Frenzy 20

Alright. Who let me slack?! It's a new year. I need to get back on the wagon all around, which doesn't just mean exercise, but it also means eating right! I tested out a few recipes that I absolutely fell in love with in December. I meant to share my thoughts with you on several occasions but time just seemed to escape every single day. So here we go...

Oh Gina at SkinnyTaste... I love you! I tried out her recipe for "No Bean Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili" on a snowy Sunday afternoon. Perfect on a cold, snowy football day. I think I never really cared for chili since I don't like beans but this sounded yummy, and the sweet potatoes gave it a nice twist. I will be perfectly honest: I don't like things spicy but my husband and I added a little extra chili powder to our bowls when we tasted it because it tasted like it needed a little something more. However, I thought it was yummy. And even more importantly (and SHOCKINGLY), my 16 month old daughter who is somewhat of a picky eater LOVED it. Though she didn't care for the turkey when I reheated it to give her more the next day, she devoured the sweet potatoes. She isn't really into much meat and hasn't done much with sweet potatoes (or any potatoes) since her baby food puree days. She doesn't like them mashed, but apparently she likes them cut into small pieces. She couldn't get enough of this chili. I definitely will be cooking more of this chili this winter. Thank you, Gina!!! You introduced something my baby girls loves now! :)

Photo Credit

Now to sing the praises of Skinny Mom. I grew up around a lot of Greek food since my family is half Albanian and half Romanian (there are some similar foods amongst the ethnicities). A favorite of ours is spanakopita. Which, if you're familiar with it, it is not a very healthy dish despite the spinach (or other veggie of your choice) that is stuffed inside this yummy "pie". Skinny Mom has a recipe for a "Skinny Pie-Style Spanakopita". I must be honest (as always): I was SOOOOOO skeptical. This was a favorite of mine that my grandmothers use to make (which is now my aunts and parents as the years progress). I thought "how could this possibly be good without butter?!" 

Photo Credit

Folks... THIS IS DELICIOUS!!! And only 193 calories in 1/6 of the pie! I did my first test run of this dish the same day I mentioned the chili above. I was so impressed that I made it on Christmas Day for my family... my parents are amazing cooks and I sometimes feel intimidated cooking for them since I try to cook on the healthier side, but even THEY were impressed by how great this was (my dad just didn't like seeing me use the cooking spray on the sheets of phyllo dough). And they were shocked to see how quick and easy this was because cooking spanakopita is usually an all-day affair! One small modification I did make was that this recipe called for 1/4 cup of fresh dill. I don't love dill so I just sprinkled some dill weed into the mixture to put some in without it being too overpowering. I would honestly eat this every day, I loved it THAT much. 

'Til next week! 

~Aly