On reading a cookbook from cover to cover

I like to find easy recipes that have familiar ingredients. I don’t want them to involve too many steps or be complicated in any way. If I like the recipe, I add it to my binder of recipes and make it over and over. I won’t tweak a recipe until I’ve made it at least once – usually more than once – because cooking doesn’t come naturally.

This is how I cook. We have family favorites. I know which ones I like to take to other people or make when people gather around our table.

And then one day in February, I read a cookbook – from cover to cover. “Dashing Dish: 100 Simple & Delicious Recipes for Clean Eating” by Katie Farrell came recommended by a friend and I’m so glad I impulsively ordered it from Amazon. I didn’t stop at just reading it. I wanted to make nearly everything in it and started a grocery list as soon as I closed the book.

Katie Farrell is the founder of Dashing Dish, a place to find healthy alternatives to the food you crave. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Some family favorites are now from the pages of “Dashing Dish.” {Tweet that.} And I’m going to share a couple with you:


Blueberry Pancake Muffins
1 ½ cups oats
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup low-sugar maple syrup
1/4 cup skim milk
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon maple (or vanilla) extract
1/2 cup sweetener that measures like sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries, divided (or ½ cup frozen blueberries, thawed and drained of juice)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with foil or silicone liners and spray with cooking spray. Combine the oats, applesauce, syrup, milk, egg whites, maple extract, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, salt in blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and fold in ¾ cup blueberries.

Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups, filling each almost full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Halfway through baking, add the additional ¼ cup blueberries to the muffins. Remove the muffins from the pan immediately and allow to cool at room temperature on a cooling rack.

Yields 12 muffins
Nutritional Info Per Serving – 50 calories, 1 gram fat, 9 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 2 grams sugar, 2 grams protein


Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small onion, diced
1 (4-ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers (or diced green chilies for a milder version)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
2 (15-ounce) cans white beans
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained
1 (15-ounce) can creamed corn
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 ½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (or low-fat cream cheese)

Optional toppings – bacon and green onions

Spray a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts on the bottom of the slow cooker. In a larger bowl stir together onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, beans, corn, creamed corn, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours or on low heat for 8 hours. Remove the chicken breasts just before serving and shred it. Return the chicken back to the chili and add yogurt. Stir to combine.

Yields 8 servings (1 ½ cups each)
Nutritional Info Per Serving – 196 calories, 2 grams fat, 23 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 4 grams sugar, 21 grams protein


Do you have a favorite cookbook?
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