Creamy Salad dressings don’t have to be full of saturated, trans fat, and bad for you. 

Sure Kraft Ranch dressing is creamy and pretty yummy when dipping chicken fingers or dressing your salad. 

However, it is full of trans fat, chemicals, artificial coloring and preservatives.

Homemade Creamy Chipotle Salad Dressing!

Ingredients

• 2/3 cups Plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili powder
• 4 teaspoons Lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Directions

Step 1
Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
Step 2 
Wash and chop romaine lettuce, add chopped onion, and tomatoes.
Step 3
Pour dressing over salad and toss well.Top with grilled chicken and sliced avocado for a yummy, well-balanced meal.

This is a wonderful alternative to mayo and sour cream based dressing and because the Greek yogurt is fully packed with protein.

Are you following the gluten-free trend?

While we are not diagnosed with Celiac or any other serious digestive issues, my husband and I are doing an experiment by eliminating gluten from our diet. I have never been one to consume very much of it, but he did and has been experiencing some digestive and allergy issues. To try to restore health back into his life, we are going gluten-free for the next couple of weeks. Hence, the new gluten-free recipe!!

These muffins are not too sweet, in fact my husband said they could use a bit more sugar. I, on the other hand, think they are fine just the way they are, so I will let you and your family make that judgement call.

Do you have a hard time trying to get out the door on time and have a healthy breakfast?

Most of us head out the door without breakfast, leaving us only to raid the snack machine at work or sneak a doughnut from the break room.

Good news!

You can prep this breakfast before you go to bed and

it is waiting for you in the morning.

How awesome is that?!

Let me introduce you to endless delicious possibilities with…

OVERNIGHT OATS!

Overnight Oats are quick and easy to prepare, bursting with nutrition, and so yummy!

You can  give this breakfast a whole new taste just by adding your favorite fruit, add nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, such as raisins.  Say ADIOS to boring breakfasts!!

The base always stays the same:

• 1/2 Cup rolled oats
• 1/2 Cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 Cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)
• 1 Tablespoon of Chia seeds (helps with the creaminess)

From there you can add your favorite fruit, nuts, seeds, raisins etc.  I also like to top mine off with a spoon of Almond Butter for a nice dose of healthy fats.

So, there you have it.  A well-balanced breakfast that you can grab and go.  No excuses now 😉

Be Well!

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Jill Tarpey is leading us Wednesday by Wednesday into making better food choices and being more healthful. Tune in every Wednesday to get some great recipes and advice from someone who really knows health. In an effort to fuel her passion to serve as well has enhance the lives of others through their nutritional choices, she started Eat Well SA(San Antonio). Her vision is to educate you on how to incorporate a healthy array of foods into your life. Eat Well is not a diet, nor does it embrace any one specific dietary agenda. She also offers customized programs that are educational and teach you the tools you need to maintain healthy, well-balanced eating for your busy lives.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Oh boy do I have an AWESOME recipe to share with you! Your family will love these sweet little treats that are bursting with the flavors of fall.

Serve up these sweet, whole grain pumpkin cupcakes to the kids at Thanksgiving and don’t worry adults LOVE these too. They might even choose these over pumpkin pie!  You don’t even have to tell them they are 100% whole grain, they will never know.

Ingredients:

Cupcake

2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ground ginger
1 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
4 Large Eggs
2 cups Canned Pumpkin
1 1/2 cup Brown Sugar (You can also use Stevia baking replacement to reduce the sugar. I did and they turned out great!!)
1/2 cup Olive Oil

Frosting

8oz Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
1 cup Powdered Sugar

Directions

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350
Step 2:  Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners
Step 3:  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
Step 4:  In a large bowl, whisk eggs and add pumpkin, sugar (or baking stevia substitute), and olive oil.
Step 5:  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
Step 6:  Divide among the muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes or until the toothpick test comes out clean.
Step 7:  While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the frosting.
Step 8:  In a bowl, mix the butter and cream cheese until well combined. Add the salt, vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup and mix well.

Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and mix until fluffy.

Place icing in the fridge until cupcakes are cooled and ready to ice!

Remember to eat well!

Jill Tarpey is leading us Wednesday by Wednesday into making better food choices and being more healthful.  Tune in every Wednesday to get some great recipes and advice from someone who really knows health.  In an effort to fuel her passion to serve as well has enhance the lives of others through their nutritional choices, she started Eat Well SA (San Antonio). Her vision is to educate you on how to incorporate a healthy array of foods into your life.  Eat Well is not a diet, nor does it embrace any one specific dietary agenda. She also offers customized programs that are educational and teach you the tools you need to maintain healthy, well balanced eating for your busy lives.

We love favorable food!

There are some scary ingredients in pre-packed foods and some most consumed convenience food is cereal and granola bars.  They make for quick breakfasts and easy snacks.

The good news is that you don’t have to sacrifice convenience for wholesome nutrition!  By making better choices at the store, you can make better choices for the food you choose to fuel you and your families bodies with.

Let’s do some comparisons, starting with granola bars.

(Hey Special K may only have 90 calories, but they almost have 90 ingredients too!  Yikes.)

Red flags in the ingredient list are hydrogenated oils, Red # 40, and BHT (A scary preservative used to lengthen shelf life, but is also found in embalming fluid and jet fuel.)  Here is a much better option…..

Cascade Farms Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars

With half the ingredients of the Special K bars and very little preservatives, these would be a much better alternative to the sugar filled, artificial bars.

I would also HIGHLY RECOMMEND these delicious bars:

Be Kind Bars are the bomb!!

Remember to look for foods that have simple ingredients lists.  Eliminate the fake stuff, artificial ingredients and preservatives.  Go for the simple, wholesome, well-balanced snacks and your body will love you!

 Jill Tarpey is leading us Wednesday by Wednesday into making better food choices and being more healthful. Tune in every Wednesday to get some great recipes and advice from someone who really knows health. In an effort to fuel her passion to serve as well has enhance the lives of others through their nutritional choices, she started Eat Well SA(San Antonio). Her vision is to educate you on how to incorporate a healthy array of foods into your life. Eat Well is not a diet, nor does it embrace any one specific dietary agenda. She also offers customized programs that are educational and teach you the tools you need to maintain healthy, well-balanced eating for your busy lives.

I LOVE carrot cake!  It is by far my favorite cake out there, I will take it over chocolate any day.

I am always looking for a healthy alternative to the delicious treat. Something I can have often and not get off track of my healthy, balanced eating by consuming multiple slices of cake.

The answer: Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Muffins.  They are awesome! They’re the perfect handful of sweetness to satisfy that carrot cake craving.

These muffins would make a great snack by themselves or pair them with some Greek yogurt and a handful of almonds and you have a wonderful, well-balanced breakfast.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!!!

Jill Tarpey is leading us Wednesday by Wednesday into making better food choices and being more healthful. Tune in every Wednesday to get some great recipes and advice from someone who really knows health. In an effort to fuel her passion to serve as well has enhance the lives of others through their nutritional choices, she started Eat Well SA(San Antonio). Her vision is to educate you on how to incorporate a healthy array of foods into your life. Eat Well is not a diet, nor does it embrace any one specific dietary agenda. She also offers customized programs that are educational and teach you the tools you need to maintain healthy, well-balanced eating for your busy lives.