Potato Cakes-Thinny style!

Thinny Potato-Cakes! I was in the mood for something crunchy on the outside and yummy in the middle! So I decided to make these...What I love about these cakes is that when it comes to the topping there is a lot of versatility, they taste great with so many flavors! I have been addicted to Tzatziki sauce ever since I was a kid after eating it in a greek diner. So I like to top mine with a dollop of that, (see recipe at bottom of page) if that's your thing.

Things you'll need
2 large peeled potatoes or 4 small cooked then mashed, I used my little food processor
1 onion diced
3 minced garlic cloves
1 package mushrooms (diced)
1/2 pepper diced
1 stalk celery diced
2 eggwhites
1 whole egg for coating, but you will probably have some left over. (I did)
Garlic powder
breadcrumbs for coating (italian style)
Fresh dill
Chives-(optional)
Oil for sautéing the veggies.

Step 1

Get your mushrooms, celery stalk, onion and 1/2 a pepper-wash, and dice them all up. (set aside)

Step 2

Peel your potatoes and steam them, or boil, or even microwave them till soft-If you do microwave them, check on them so that they don't burn. Once they are done, either blend them in a food processor or a potato masher. (if using a food processor add a tiny bit of oil before processing.) After its mushed, put it in a bowl, let it cool off.

Mashed up potato and fresh dill

   Step 3

Get your pan, pour a shallow layer of oil and heat it; once hot, add all your diced veggies and cook till soft and translucent add a bit of salt, set aside and let it cool down, while that is cooling, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Once the mushroom mixture is cooled add it to the potatoes, along with 2 whisked egg whites, 3 minced garlic cloves, and the chopped fresh dill, salt, pepper and a little shake of garlic powder and Mush that all up well using nice clean hands.

Step 4

Take your breadcrumbs and shake some onto a plate, take 1 whole egg and crack and whisk it into a bowl.  Start forming patties one at a time, if you have a brush, use it to spread a little egg on each side of the cake, if you don't ..Do what I did, hold the patty in one hand and dip your fingers into the egg and brush it onto both sides of the patty (evenly), then coat with bread crumbs and place onto a baking sheet (after you have sprayed it with cooking spray) Do this until all cakes have been made -it should make 8
once they are all on the sheet, use the cooking spray and give it a good once over.
*Pop them in the oven!

Cook for 30 minutes, gently turn cakes over half way through cook time.

Topped with Romano cheese and Chives

Tzatziki and chives

Condiment ideas

Sourcream(light)

little parmesan or romano cheese

Tzatziki sauce

Applesauce

Ketchup

Hot Sauce

Tartar sauce and lemon

Drizzle of Honey mustard, ranch, any lite dressing of your preference, I think it works best with something in the creamy family! 

Salsa, and/or guacomole,

Another yummy topping for this is my white sauce, (see creamy lasagna rollups for recipe).

Tzatziki Recipe
1 container of reduced fat sour cream, or greek yogurt, the sour cream has a slightly sweeter thicker flavor and consistency, the yogurt is thinner and more tangy, so this is your preference, I like both. You could even do half greek yogurt, half sour cream..this is one of those recipes that everyone has a certain version of how they like it. So taste as you go! :)

1 cucumber, peeled, then cut lengthwise, scooped and shredded,  whatever you can't shred, dice it up, using a cheesecloth or paper towels, drain as much water out of the cucumber as you can, once that's done, cut the shredded cucumber pieces, so they are not sooo long.

Add the cucs and the rest of the ingredients below to a bowl, combine well 

1 tbsp. olive oil
Juice of a half a lemon (or a little more, taste as you go)
3 regular sized minced garlic cloves,  or 4 small ones.
Salt  to taste

Fresh dill, about 1 tsp.(optional)

Fresh oregano (optional) 

Put in the fridge for at least one hour, and serve with whatever you like! 

Thinny Stuffed Mushrooms!

I used the basic method for making stuffed mushrooms, but with no cheese for this protein packed dish,  I used Garbanzo beans for the base of the filling instead, and I think they came out great! These are not only tasty but low in fat, calories and healthy! I used lemon to top it off, Lemon is what really brings the flavors alive!

Things you'll need

2 Packages of Button mushroom
1 lemon
About a 1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 stalks celery diced (including the leaves)
1/2 purple onion diced(or one regular white onion) 
5 garlic cloves minced
1 can garbanzo beans. (chickpeas)
salt, pepper, garlic powder-onion powder which I love! 
Olive oil, or canola oil, ( I used canola oil to fry the onions, celery and stems of the mushrooms)Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. 


Other Items you'll need
Cooking spray, I like to make my own, get a mister bottle, and fill it with olive oil! Healthier then the chemical cooking sprays!
food processor, or blender or you can use a fork(to mash the beans)
baking sheet


Step 1
Pre Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Wash mushrooms and pat dry, pop stems out, be careful not to break the shroom., place stems aside, along with minced celery,onion and garlic cloves.

Step 2

Take 1 can of beans drained and rinsed, and mash them up by any of the above following method, I used a food processor. Put your mashed beans in a bowl and set aside

Step 3
Take all ingredients from step 1, and cook them up in a pan, with your oil, and onion powder, garlic powder salt and pepper, eyeball it, don't hold back on the garlic and onion powder, you can always add more salt and pepper to them once finished. Cook till onions are translucent and celery is soft.

Step 4
Let the mixture cool, about 10-15 minutes, once cooled add it to the bean mash, with your 1/4 cup bread crumbs and with clean hands combine together well, spray baking sheet with mist oil and start filling up your mushrooms,  pop them in the oven for about a 1/2 an hour...once done, let them cool for 4 minutes, and serve with lemon wedges!

PRE-OVEN Shroom

Ready to serve!

Tip 1: This mixture also makes delicious patties, but for them to stick in patty form, I add 3 egg whites, or a vegan substitute! I also added in a bit of thyme and then a little tartar sauce and lemon to top, reminiscent of a 'crab cake'.  See pic below..

Tip 2: If you only have one package of mushrooms, you will have some left over mixture, I made them into small patties, without egg and they were very tasty as well.

Holistic Gals Thinny 'Fries'

Holistic Gals Thinny 'Fries'

Ahhhh, fries! You'll be hard pressed to find someone who dislikes these crispy little spuds! Undoubtedly one of my favorite foods, for sure! Reminiscent of youth, and all things that were simple and joyful.  However, I now enjoy them baked and not fried, I actually think they taste better without the copious injection of lard. I'm positive that I certainly am not the only one, nor the first, and certainly not the last to put up a recipe of a healthy french 'fry'... but, I digress, and still want to share my simple method, hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


Things you'll need
Preheated oven at 450 degrees (15 minutes is good)
Nonstick Baking sheet and/or a piece of foil
Ziplock bag (or similar type bag) or a bowl
2 Potatoes
Few generous shakes of dried Thyme & Oregano
Few generous shakes of Garlic powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
Few shakes of Paprika
3-4 Tbsp Olive oil
(If you have a favorite herb that you want to add and think it would be a nice addition, go for it!-Rosemary or a bit of sage would probably be great!)


*Serves 2

Step 1;

Take your potatoes (washed and patted dry) and slice them in half length wise, then keep slicing them length wise till it looks like the above photograph! 

Step 2;

Take your ziplock bag (or bowl) and throw the potatoes in there, then add all other ingredients. Take that bag and give it a real good shake and feel it up! I mean make sure every nook and cranny has been evenly coated with the oil and herb goodness!

Pre-Oven

Step 3;

Grab your baking sheet and lay it with foil, spray the foil with an oil mister or baking spray, not a lot,  just enough to ensure the potatoes won't stick. 

Lay your potato slices on the foil and pop those babies in the oven! After the first 15 minutes, flip them and let them cook for an additional 15 minutes,  after that if you want them even crunchier, let it cook for another 5 minutes, then take them out!

Ready to serve!

I Paired this with my 'Thinny aioli', granted it doesn't really taste like the fat filled mayo version, it has more of a tang cause I used greek yogurt, but It's great anyways! and if your a garlic lover, like myself, this is for you, if not...pass on the 'aioli' and stick with the good old stand by,  Ketchup.  Or whatever else you like. 


The simple 'Thinny aioli'
3 heaping Tbsp of Greek yogurt, 1 or 2 garlic (2 if your really like that intense flavor)cloves minced then mash it some more till it forms a paste with your knife, then add it to the yogurt,  a drizzle of Olive oil, few dashes of salt, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, mix that all up well, then put it in the fridge for at least 40 minutes. Garnish with
dried Oregano if desired.

Mangia!

Mini stuffed sweet Peppers!

   Fun colorful party food!

Almost gone! Had a ravenous crowd! 

Things you'll need;

• 24 mini sweet peppers
• 
  
• 8 ounce of regular cream cheese, or the choice of your preference,I used a light version. If you have a vegan melting cheese, go for it!
• 
  
• 1/4 cup shredded sharp chedder cheese or regular
• 
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 
  
• 8-10 Baby Portobello mushrooms(or white)
• 
  
• 1 large elephant garlic clove(or 2-3 regular cloves)
• 
  
• 1/4 purple onion
• 
  
• couple of shakes garlic powder
• couple of shakes onion powder
• 
  
• salt & pepper to taste

Baking pan

*You can make it vegan, just sub the cheese with your favorite vegan brand!

Easy Directions;

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Take the cream cheese out of the packet and let it soften, shred the chedder or (buy shredded chedder) and set aside.
• Now, you want to take your peppers and chop the top of their heads off! Make sure to get all the seeds out, (there shouldn't be too many) once done set aside.
• Now, take your mushrooms and mince them. Take your onion and garlic, and mince that too! Put a little bit of vegetable oil in a skillet, about 1-2 tablespoons. Preheat the skillet on a medium to high heat, when that's hot enough add the mushrooms,onion and garlic mixture and cook till moisture is gone. Add a few dashes of salt while cooking. 
• Once that's done, put the mushroom mixture in a bowl and let it cool (10-15 minutes) Once that that has cooled, add the mix to your bowl of cheese and the rest of the ingredients and mix well. 
• Take a plastic ziplock bag put your mixture in it to make a piping tool, snip a little piece at the corner of the bag off and start stuffing your Peppers!! Once Peppers are stuffed, sprinkle with paprika. and put those babies in the oven for around 30-35 minutes! Once done, let sit for 3 minutes so the inside isn't scolding hot- and serve!

Tips;

*If you dont want to make the piping bag-I do NOT suggest using a little spoon to stuff these with because they are narrow and that will be messy, however, you can make a little slit lenghtwise and stuff them like that!-and in the summer months, you can grill these too! *If you have company,-and have some chives on hand chop those up and serve sprinkled on top.


*I think another nice addition to the mix, would be diced celery!

Vegetarian chik'n lentil lemon salad

Vegetarian chik'n lentil lemon salad
Easy, healthy, low cal and pretty darn delicious! 

Things you'll need;

• 1 can of lentils(drained)
• 1 bag of Faux chik'n, I use Qourn(I think it works best) 
• 1 bunch of romaine lettuce, and a quarter of iceberg lettuce(chopped)
• (Or sub one for the other of you don't have both.)
• 1 onion
• Olive Oil
• Dried thyme
• Dried oregano
• Garlic powder
• Onion Powder
• Salt&Pepper
• red pepper flakes
• 1 whole lemon

Recipe

Step 1;

Halve the onion and thinly slice one half ; thickly slice the other.

Chop up the romaine and iceberg lettuce, add the thinly sliced onion and lettuce to a bowl and toss!

Step 2;

take out a pan, and pour 1/3 cup of olive oil, preheat on a medium to a high heat, once thats heated up, add the thickly sliced onion and faux chik'n; tossing well with olive oil, dash with sea salt and stir again, let it cook, once it starts to sizzle stir it around and let it cook some more, nows the time to add all your herbs except for red pepper, and thyme, stir all of them in well, no measurement required just add a few liberal shakes at a time, taste, and adjust accordingly. cover the pan, let it cook for a minute or so, stir, and if everything is tender and to your liking, turn it off, cover and remove from heat.

Step 3;

Take your can of drained lentils and put them in a small pot, add a generous amount of dried thyme, a few dashes of black pepper, and a shake of garlic powder and a little bit of olive oil. blend herbs well, stirring as needed and cook till its warm.

Step 4;
Take the onion and 'chik'n mixture (still warm) and the warm lentils, add it to the salad bowl, add the juice of one lemon, 3 shakes of Pepper flakes, and toss well as to coat everything in the bowl, adding any additional olive oil or more herbs if needed, and serve!

This pairs well with a sweet or baked potato,a chowder type soup...warmed pita bread, a roll, croutons anything you like really, or just by itself, which is how I had it! This is tasty served warm or cold! 

Mangia!

TIPS
This reminded me of a chicken ceaser salad but much healthier! 


If you want this to be vegan and not vegetarian, just use a different brand of Faux chik'n


I was all out of other veggies, but you could add any other vegetables you like, but just remember if you do that it will need more lemon and herbs etc..


A Purple onion would have worked great, but didn't have one on hand, any onion will do. 


And if your in the mood to makes this a little richer, add some parmesan or any cheese you like.