Tag Archives: FaveDiets

The Best Black Eyed Pea Recipes for the New Year

If you’re not from the Southeastern United States, you might not know much about this New Year’s tradition. Instead of alcohol and appetizers, ring in the new year with a black eyed peas recipe. In the South, black eyed peas have been associated with good luck for centuries. If you want good luck in 2024, go with black eyed pea recipes!

Besides good luck, choose black eyed peas on New Year’s Day for a healthy start to to the year. Beans and legumes (black eyed peas are beans and not a vegetable) are a fantastic source of fiber and protein, while being naturally low in fat and cholesterol.

To get your 2024 going on the right foot, here are 7 of the best black eyed pea recipes for the New Year:

Creamy and Spicy Black-Eyed Peas – Is this the craziest black eyed peas recipe you’ve ever seen? This vegetarian black eyed peas recipe was my first ever attempt at cooking with this legume, and the result was a smashing success. If you want to bring in the New Year with some boldness, then these spicy black eyed peas are for you.

Low Fat Caribbean Beans and Rice – The combination of rice and beans is a classic low cost one, and this recipe takes that combination up a notch. Black eyed peas and rice is a stellar duo, and you are sure to love the Caribbean flair found in this dish. (more…)

The Homemade Soup Diet Made Satisfying With These 10 Recipes

On a cold winter day, nothing beats a hearty and warming bowl of soup. There are so many delicious varieties of soup out there that it’s hard for me to pick a favorite!

Click for Potato Leek Soup by Terry Grieco Kenny

Unfortunately, some healthy eaters shy away from soup recipes thinking they are loaded with salt, fat and excess calories. This would be true if you only had restaurant bisques and canned soups. However, simple soup recipes can very easily be diet friendly.

Soup recipes are terrific for those looking to be healthier as they are a great way to get in your daily allotment of vegetables and water. To top it all off, having a bowl of healthy soup before a meal will make you less likely to overeat.

To get you started on the warming and delicious path of low calorie soup recipes, here are 10 healthy soup recipes for weight loss for you to try:

Provencal Vegetable Soup: This is definitely one of the tastiest healthy vegetable soup recipes out there. Loaded with more vegetables than you can shake a stick at, this one is easily one of the must-tries, and perfect for vegetarians.

Fresh Homemade Tomato Soup: If you, like me, grew up only having tomato soup out of a can, then you will especially love this flavorful and nutrient-dense vegetable soup dish. (more…)

Santa’s on a Diet! Try These Healthy Christmas Cookie Recipes

Ah, Christmastime! From fond family memories to delectably sweet treats, this time of year holds a special place in many of our hearts. When I think of Christmas, one of the first things I think of is Christmas cookies.

However, the heavy emphasis on cookie recipes during this time of the year can be a disaster waiting to happen for those who prioritize healthy eating. On one hand, you don’t want to ingest all the fat, sugar and calories found in your typical easy cookie recipe. On the other hand, you don’t want to be a Grinch and thumb your nose at all that holiday cheer. What is a healthy eater to do?

Compromise, of course! This holiday season, you can have your cookie and eat it, too. When you make Christmas cookie recipes at home using wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour, skim milk, all-natural margarine alternatives, you can make healthy cookie recipes perfect for the season. Here are my 10 favorite Christmas cookie recipes:

Gingerbread Men – What makes this recipe so great for your health is that it has no milk or eggs in it at all, plus it uses all-natural, no-calorie stevia instead of sugar.

Sugar Cutout Cookies – Sugar cookie recipes are usually the most dangerous baked goods because they are not filling at all. This vegan recipe uses whole wheat pastry flour and stevia to make it light and sweet, yet healthy. (more…)

Get the Most of Thanksgiving with Leftover Turkey Recipes

Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday of the year. I mean, as a food person, how can I not love Thanksgiving, as the holiday’s primary focus is a huge meal chock full of tasty dishes.

When I say a huge meal, I mean huge. Even if the dinner itself turns out to be small, my family gobbles up all of those pre-Thanksgiving grocery store sales and cooks up mountains of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. However, cooking up so much food for Thanksgiving inevitably leaves us with lots of leftovers.

While reheated turkey leftovers are great, sometimes you need to be a little creative in order to use up all of those turkey leftovers. Here are my top 6 ideas for cooking with leftovers.

Soup

This is definitely a classic in my house, as nothing beats a good bowl of soup on a cold day. Simply dice up some leftover roast turkey and add it in instead of chicken in your favorite soups. Here are two great leftover turkey recipes for soup:

10 Healthy Beet Recipes to Enjoy this Seasonal Vegetable

Matthew Kaplan is the Editor for FaveDiets.com, a free online resource featuring hundreds of free healthy recipes, healthy cooking tips and loads more. Be sure to check out FaveDiets on Facebook and on Twitter.

In my experience, beets are one of those love/hate food items that everyone has an opinion on. Either you love their sweet, uniquely earthy taste, or you despise these purple orbs like none other. I can see both sides of the debate. After all, my first gross-out experience with food was watching my father slurp down a bowl of cold beet borscht, a repulsive idea to my youthful sensibilities.

Thankfully, I have since learned to appreciate the distinct taste that comes with fresh beets. The sweetness is there (after all beets were once a trusted source of sugar), but so are so many different flavors. From earthy roasted beet chunks to silky and buttery beetroot slices, nowadays there isn’t a beets recipe that I will not try. (more…)

The 15 Best Healthy Pumpkin Recipes You Haven’t Tried

Matthew Kaplan is the Editor for FaveDiets.com, a free online resource featuring hundreds of free healthy recipes, healthy cooking tips and loads more. Be sure to check out FaveDiets on Facebook and on Twitter.

Oh, pumpkins – what would fall be without you? After all, from Jack-o-lanterns to pumpkin pie, it is awfully hard to avoid those seemingly ubiquitous orange orbs this time of year. Try as you might, pumpkins are always the “it” food item this time of year.

However, while pumpkins and pumpkin dishes appear everywhere, the one place where they rarely make an appearance is the average home kitchen. This is too bad, as pumpkin recipes are delicious and, when done right, highly nutritious as well. If you have seemingly banned pumpkin from your recipe repertoire, then it’s time to reconsider. (more…)

New Turnip Recipes for Delicious Fall Meals

Matthew Kaplan is the Editor for FaveDiets.com, a free online resource featuring hundreds of free healthy recipes, healthy cooking tips and loads more. Be sure to check out FaveDiets on Facebook and on Twitter.

Fall has always been such a wonderful time of the year. From the leaves changing colors and crisp weather to holidays and football games, it’s hard not to enjoy the season. To top it all off, I adore fall foods. Apples, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and more are in season, making fall all that much better.

Fall is the ideal time for root vegetables (think sweet potatoes, beets and carrots). One of my favorite root vegetables to cook with is the turnip. Sure, other root vegetables, like potatoes, may get all the glory, but try a turnip before you shun this colorful root.

If you have never seen a turnip before, first think of what a beet looks like. Now imagine if that beet was mostly white but with a light pink crown next to the greens. That’s what a turnip looks like. I find it has a subtly sweet taste when cooked, but it can be bitter if eaten raw. When buying turnips, look for smaller ones that have a smooth skin and a slightly sweet aroma. (more…)

Health Buzz: Why Whole Grains Matter and Healthy Cooking from Around the World

We’re excited to introduce our first-ever special guest to Health Buzz! It’s Mary Hartley, registered dietician and nutritionist representing CalorieCount.com. In honor of Whole Grains Month, she digs into real reason whole grains are important for your body. Also in this episode of Health Buzz, our host Jamie Yuenger brings you 10 ways to reduce stress from Self.com and a great series about cooking healthy dishes from around the world by our own Maris Callahan. Don’t miss the recipe! It’s fall squash and Caribbean Chicken from FaveDiets.com.

Health Buzz is a weekly show that brings you the latest and greatest in health news from around the web. Click to watch this week’s show!
Health Buzz with Jamie Yuenger
See more episodes of Health Buzz here!

5 New Recipes to Enjoy Dried or Fresh Figs

Matthew Kaplan is the Editor for FaveDiets.com, a free online resource featuring hundreds of free healthy recipes, healthy cooking tips and loads more. Be sure to check out FaveDiets on Facebook and on Twitter.

In the fruit world, few fruits are as overlooked as figs. Outside of the ubiquitous Fig Newton, few of us consume figs with any regularity. This is too bad, as figs are bursting with flavor and nutritional value. Whether from fresh figs and dried figs to fig recipes, reconsider adding figs to your healthy eating routine. Here are five reasons why you should be eating figs.

Fresh figs are a seasonal delight

If you have never had a fresh fig before, then you are in for a real treat. They taste very similar to dates or raisins, and are overflowing with sweetness. Prime season for fresh figs is during the tail end of summer and early fall, so be sure to snap up some fresh figs the next time you see them in stores.

Dried figs are always an ideal treat

If you can’t find fresh figs near you, then reach for some dried figs. Available just about everywhere year round, dried figs are like a much more flavorful version of a raisin; Or like a less sweet version of a date. I love keeping some dried figs on hand as a quick afternoon snack, as it cures my sweet tooth better than most other dried fruit varieties. (more…)

7 Recipes to Enjoy the Juicy Health Benefits of Grapes

Matthew Kaplan is the Editor for FaveDiets.com, a free online resource featuring hundreds of free healthy recipes, healthy cooking tips and loads more. Be sure to check out FaveDiets on Facebook and on Twitter.

Is there any fruit as ubiquitous as grapes? From the ancient Greek gods to California farmers, I think everyone loves grapes. I mean, what’s not to love about those little round orbs of sweet goodness?

But are they healthy? Compared to other fruits like apples or bananas, grapes definitely do pack quite a sweet punch. However, grapes are actually incredibly healthy for you. A cup of grapes does have about 14 grams of sugar, but it also has about a gram of fiber. In total, a cup will only set you back about 60 calories without any fat.

On top of all that, grapes are a nutrient powerhouse. They are a great source of manganese, vitamin C and potassium. For additional health benefits, grapes are loaded with cancer-fighting antioxidants. So are grapes healthy? In short, absolutely! (more…)