Links to Upcoming Cooking Classes + Local Shopping Trips

Hello, Kansas City friends!  I have received quite a few requests for more information about the upcoming cooking classes I will be teaching at the Culinary Center of Kansas City.  For simplicity, I've decided to take a minute to link to them on my blog.  Just click on the title and it will take you to the Culinary Center's website where you can read the class description and enroll.

Saturday, February 4, 10am - 12:30pm "Sweets for your Sweetie...100% Real Food"

Thursday, March 1, 6:30 - 9pm, "Healthy Homemade Fiesta"

Monday, April 9, 6:30 - 9pm, "Healthy Snacks from Scratch"

I am also excited to tell you that, solely by word of mouth, my consulting business is really taking off!  In addition to doing one-on-one family consulting, I've been having a lot of fun leading group grocery store tours and in-home group cooking demonstrations.  If you have a group of friends that would benefit from a lesson on label reading, deciphering grocery store lingo, learning how to maximize your dinner prep time, or anything else you can dream up, I would love to be of service!  Email katie@healthnutfoodie.com for rates and more information.  (These services are currently limited to the Kansas City metro area.  I am still more than willing to do phone consulting nationwide.)

More tasty recipes, tips, and tricks coming soon...

~ Katie 

White Chicken Chili... and Upcoming Cooking Classes

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of teaching my first cooking class at the Culinary Center of Kansas City.  The class was full and we all had a great time!  The title was "New Year, New You in 2012", and the participants learned how to make three recipes from my cookbook that are super healthy, budget-friendly, and simple to prepare.  The recipe we enjoyed first was White Chicken Chili.  Everyone, including the staff members, were totally digging this chili!  It made me so excited! For those of you that have already purchased my cookbook, this is the last recipe in the winter section of Feeding our Families.  I hadn't really planned on putting anymore of my cookbook recipes on the blog, but this has been receiving such rave reviews, I just can't help myself!  It is perfect for cold winter nights and, because it uses pureed beans instead of the heavy cream found in many versions, it is perfect for New Year's resolutions!

(For those of you that have been following Healthnut Foodie since its conception, feel free to appreciate the irony that I am now a culinary instructor.  Darren, my mom, and I have all shared some good laughs over this!  Just a reminder that you can do anything you put your mind to...including learning to cook!)

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients (Serves six, leftovers are fantastic):

For the chili:

3     cups cooked shredded chicken, about 1 pound

3     cups prepared white beans, or two 15-ounce cans

1½  cups frozen corn kernels

4     ounce can diced green chilies

1     large yellow onion, or 2 small

4     cloves garlic

2     tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1     quart chicken broth

½    cup sour cream, or more to taste

3     green onions

¼    cup flat-leaf parsley   


For the seasonings:
1    tbsp ground cumin
1    tsp ground coriander
1    tsp dried oregano
1    tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne

Instructions (1 hour, 20 minutes, 20 minutes active):

Prepare your ingredients:  Dice 1 large or 2 small yellow onions.  Mince 4 cloves garlic.  Thinly slice 3 green onions.  Coarsely chop ¼ cup flat leaf parsley. If necessary, drain and rinse white beans. 

In a small bowl or ramekin, combine all ingredients listed under “for the seasonings”. 

Prepare your white chicken chili:  Heat a 4-quart or larger stockpot over medium heat for about 5 minutes. While pot heats, use a hand held blender or mini food processor to puree 1½ cups beans with 1 cup of the chicken broth (this will help thicken the soup). When pot is hot, add 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and heat an additional 30 seconds, until oil shimmers. Add diced onion and garlic and saute for about 6 minutes. Add combined seasonings and stir continuously for 2 minutes, being mindful not to let the spices burn. Add remaining chicken broth, shredded chicken, whole beans, pureed beans, frozen corn, and green chilies to pot. Increase heat to bring just to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about an hour.  Remove from heat. Stir in green onions, parsley, and ½ cup or so of sour cream. 

Getting it in the table: Ladle soup into bowls. Serve with your favorite whole grain crackers, fruit, or cut up veggies and dip. Enjoy!

Notes: This is a very flavorful soup, but has very little heat. This makes it super kid-friendly. Our entire family looks forward to this simple dinner. Vegetarians, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth. This dish is naturally nut-free and gluten-free. If you choose to double the recipe to freeze for a future dinner, freeze the second batch of soup before you stir in the sour cream (to prevent the cream from curdling when reheated). If you forget and add the sour cream, reheat the soup at just over medium low, no higher.

Looking for some more healthified comfort foods?!?  Give one of these a try...

French Onion Soup

Butternut Squash Sloppy Joes

Turkey and Brown Rice Vegetable Soup

Loaded Baked Potato Mash

Top Recipes of 2011

Happy New Year!  Before I dive head first into 2012, I decided to take a moment to look back on what was the most popular in 2011.  In case you missed a post or two, here are the top ten viewed recipes on Healthnut Foodie over the last year.  They are all delicious and I cannot wait to revisit them again with my own friends and family in 2012!!!  Thank you again so much for your support!

The Ultimate Homestyle Mac 'n Cheese

Healthy(er) Rotel Dip

Flaky Fruit Pie Crust...100% Real Food

Black Bean and Corn Enchilada Pie

Pink Buttercream Frosting...dye-free!

Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars

Vegan Protein Bars

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders

Easy Entertaining = Pozole Verde!

What was your favorite thing to make in 2011?

(It doesn't have to be from this blog.)

Holiday Cheer...from our family to yours!

As we take a timeout to celebrate my very favorite time of year, I want to take a quick minute to say thank you for all of the support I have been given this year.  To those of you who regularly read Healthnut Foodie, leave comments, and share the real food message with others, thank you!  This past year, I've had the opportunity to share my message locally to groups large and small, have been a guest on multiple radio shows, and have been featured in several national magazines. Holy moly!  Solely by word of mouth, I have also been able to help dozens of families through my in-home consulting business, and I have been blown away by the complementary emails and Facebook messages I've received in regards to my book.  In 2012, thanks to those of you that have mentioned my passion to the Culinary Center of Kansas City, I will begin teaching monthly "real food" cooking classes as well. (Yes, I get the irony.)  

Here's the deal...YOU are the reason I've been given these opportunities.  You are the ones talking about Healthnut Foodie to your friends and family.  You are the ones mentioning me to the media.  You are the ones sharing how switching to real food helped your family, and you are encouraging others to do the same.  Without your support and willingness to help, many of these opportunities would have never happened.  I am humbled and honored by the community I am being blessed with.  Again, thank you.

Today, I pray blessings rain down on your family, and that you get to experience true comfort and joy with those you love.  Have a holly jolly Christmas!!!    ~Katie  

Green Avocado Icing...preserve the traditions, preserve your health

Are you looking for a way to make green frosting that doesn't require the use of petroleum based food dyes?  Look no further!  After a failed green frosting attempt using spinach last March, I went back to the drawing board to develop a way to safely frost our holiday Christmas tree cookies.  I decided to try making avocado frosting after volunteering to bring the cookies to Annie and Ellie's preschool holiday parties.  I'd already made a batch of triple chocolate peppermint crinkles, but was having a bit of mommy guilt over depriving my kiddos, and their friends, of sugar cookies.  (My childhood favorite.)

Our family really enjoyed the frosting, but I was curious to see if our friends, and the preschoolers, would be as willing to embrace a not-so-traditional topping on a very traditional holiday treat. 

I watched with a discerning eye as all the little children took their first bites.  They all shared smiles of approval, and no one seemed disappointed that the cookies were not the bright green hue we've all become so accustomed to.  After getting additional stamps of approval from friends, neighbors, and even my holistic chiropractor, I knew exactly which one of my holiday recipes I wanted to share next!

Curious as to why our family is so passionate about avoiding food dyes?  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the consumption of food dye has been directly linked to an increase in ADD/ADHD and other behavioral issues in children.  They have also stated that consuming these dyes will put your children at an increased risk of developing cancer.  Commercial food dyes are also derived from petroleum and offer no health benefits whatsoever.  (You can read an article I wrote earlier this year with more details here.)

Avocado icing is a simple way to protect your children's health without giving up a favorite holiday tradition!

Avocado Icing

Ingredients (Makes about 2 cups):

Ripe avocado, 1 medium

Real butter, 2 tbsp, room temperature

Lime, 1

Pure vanilla, 1 tsp

Organic powdered sugar, 2 - 3 cups, sifted

Instructions (5 minutes):

Sift 3 cups of powdered sugar.  Depending on the size and water content of your avocado, you may or may not need all of the sugar.

Place flesh of one avocado and butter in the bowl of your stand mixer. (You can also use a hand held mixer and mixing bowl).  Squeeze the juice of one lime over the avocado, to prevent the avocado from browning.  Cream avocado and butter for 2 - 3 minutes, until there are no lumps.  

Add vanilla and 2 cups of the powdered sugar.  Mix over medium to medium-high speed until well combined and fluffy.  If frosting is too thin, add additional powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency has been reached.  Chill until ready to decorate cookies, up to one day.  To prevent browning from oxidation, press down on the frosting with the plastic wrap, to remove all air.  This will extend the shelf life of your frosting.  (The extra from the batch in my fridge from Wednesday is still green!)

Decorate cookies to your heart's content!

Notes:  This frosting is naturally gluten-free, vegetarian, and nut-free.  It can easily go dairy-free and vegan by eliminating the butter.  The result will be a thinner frosting, but still totally useable!

By the time we went to church today, all of the green Christmas tree cookies had been thoroughly enjoyed.  However, we still had plenty of bright pink candy canes, yellow stars, purple bells, and silver angels to share, all made with different types of food.  I wish I had a video camera of our friends taking hesitant first bites as Darren proudly shared our treats.  It was priceless.  For some, you'd think we were asking them to try fried crickets. What did they have to say after trying a bite (and then polishing off the cookie)..."Wow!  These are really good!  They taste just like real cookies!"  More to come...


Looking for some more great holiday recipes?!?  You may also enjoy...
Chocolate Raspberry Torte
Pink Buttercream Frosting...dye-free!!!
Peppermint Bon Bons
Loaded Baked Potato Mash