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Dec 12 2015

Comfort food and joy

by Marilyn McKenna

We’re up to our eyeballs in food traditions this time of year. Just today a “Christmas Kringle” arrived on my doorstep, a much-anticipated annual gift from a longtime family friend. A Kringle is a Danish pastry filled with a variety of delectable goodies, from apple-cinnamon to salted caramel cheesecake. This exclusive holiday edition is cranberry-nut. […]

Filed Under: Newsletters Tagged With: Christmas, Comfort Food Makeover, Easier Than Takeout, Kringle, Newsletter

Oct 25 2015

Recipe: No-Bake Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bites

by Marilyn McKenna

I have yet to taste a no-bake energy bite that I don’t like. And really, if you start with “clean” ingredients the end result can’t go wrong. In this version I combine my favorite fall flavor (pumpkin) with my all-time fave, chocolate. Makes 16 balls. Serving size: 2 balls. Ingredients: 1 cup pumpkin puree 2 scoops […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Afternoon Snack, Comfort Food Makeover, Energy Bites, Healthy Snack, Pumpkin Spice

Sep 7 2015

Banana Zucchini Quickbread

by Marilyn McKenna

End of summer scenario: You’ve got a zucchini in your garden that’s as big as a baseball bat. What to do with it? Suggestion: Make it into a healthy treat for your family and you to enjoy! Grate that puppy and you’ll have a head start on some yummy banana zucchini loaves. Enjoy one now and […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Fuel The Day Breakfasts, Recipes Tagged With: Banana Bread, Chia Seed Recipes, Coconut Oil Recipes, Comfort Food Makeover, End of Summer Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Zucchini Bread

Sep 6 2015

Chorizo Stew with Kale

by Marilyn McKenna

As much as I hate to bid farewell to summer I adore the warm and colorful flavors of fall. This stew is a perfect match for a cozy Sunday night dinner on a crisp fall day. Spanish chorizo is slightly different from Mexican chorizo, so use Spanish if you can find it. Its slightly sweet, […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Chorizo Recipe, Chorizo Stew, Comfort Food Makeover, Spanish Chorizo, Stew

Aug 30 2015

Recipe: 2-Ingredient High-protein, Low-carb Toffee Crunch Pancakes

by Marilyn McKenna

These yummy pancakes aren’t just high-protein (15g) and low-carbohydrate (3g) , they’re also low-sugar (less than 1g) and only 128 calories … for all three! As far as breakfast options go, these pancakes stack up in a way that almost nothing else can. Their subtle nutty flavor is due to the Toffee Crunch flavored Nuts […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Fuel The Day Breakfasts, Recipes Tagged With: Comfort Food Makeover, Fuel the day Breakfasts, High Protein Pancakes, Low-Carb Pancakes, Pancakes

Mar 19 2015

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

by Marilyn McKenna

The number of ways you can switch this up to suit your and your family’s taste is limited only by your own imagination and your taste buds. I used Yukon Gold potatoes, onion and asparagus because that’s what my home-delivery organic produce source dropped on my doorstep this week. Maybe next week I’ll have carrots […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Comfort Food Makeover, Roasted Chicken, Roasted Chicken With Vegetables

Mar 15 2015

Turkey-Taco Meatloaf

by Marilyn McKenna

This is so unglamorous it’s not even funny. But truthfully, this is the kind of stuff my family eats. This is typical Sunday night fare for us. It’s loaded with tex-mex flavors and veggies, and the best part is that it can be repurposed as the filling for tacos or on a taco salad later […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Comfort Food Makeover, Meatloaf, Turkey Meatloaf, Turkey Taco Meatloaf

Mar 11 2015

Skinny Chicken Salad

by Marilyn McKenna

I have impulse control problems, so waiting until summer for a delicious chicken salad is just not happening! This lightened up version of chicken salad is delicious on a bed of greens, between two slices of bread or try a big scoop on top of a baked sweet potato like I did! Sweet and savory in […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Chicken Recipes, Chicken Salad, Comfort Food Makeover, Skinny Chicken Salad

Feb 18 2015

Dad’s World-famous Venison Chili

by Marilyn McKenna

Okay, “world-famous” might be a stretch, but when my family and I showed up at my dad’s house after a long day of traveling and were greeted at the door with the smell of this amazing chili it became an instant hit! My dad has a friend who is a hunter, and because he knows […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Chili, Comfort Food Makeover, Dad's World-famous Venison Chili, Venison Chili

Feb 11 2015

Cinnamon Apple-Pear Sauce

by Marilyn McKenna

Is there anything better than homemade Cinnamon Apple-Pear Sauce, served up warm with Sunday brunch or for dessert? I use raw, organic agave nectar as the sweetener, but try other natural sweeteners if you prefer. My inspiration came because I had an abundance of both pears and apples on hand because of my organic produce home-delivery […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Apple-Pear Sauce, Applesauce, Cinnamon Apple-Pear Sauce, Comfort Food Makeover

Feb 6 2015

Un-sloppy Joes

by Marilyn McKenna

Un-sloppy Joes in lettuce cups Un-sloppy Joes atop portobello mushroom caps This comfort food makeover is a great addition to your recipe repertoire for two reasons: it’s healthy (buffalo is as lean as ground turkey yet the taste is virtually indistinguishable to beef), and it’s versatile. I call it “Un-sloppy Joes” because I eat it either in a […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Comfort Food Makeover, Healthy Sloppy Joes, Sloppy Joes

Jan 30 2015

Bloody Mary Buffalo Chili

by Marilyn McKenna

A fun take on traditional chili with the addition of Bloody Mary mix and spicy Montreal steak seasoning, this chili is also made healthier by using lean ground buffalo instead of beef. Makes 8-10 hearty servings. Ingredients: 1 T olive oil 2 stalks celery, diced 1 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, chopped 3 pounds ground […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Healthy Families, Recipes Tagged With: Bloody Mary Buffalo Chili, Buffalo Chili, Chili, Comfort Food Makeover, Healthy Comfort Food

Jan 11 2015

Sweet Potato Hashbrowns with Eggs

by Marilyn McKenna

My new vegetable spiralizer is in big demand in my kitchen! I’ve had success with making zucchini “ribbons” which I put to good use in my “Chicken with Zucchini Ribbons and Avocado Pesto” so I thought I’d start testing other vegetables to see what I could come up with. Here I used a sweet potato […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Fuel The Day Breakfasts, Recipes Tagged With: Breakfast Ideas, Comfort Food Makeover, Healthy Sunday Brunch, Paleo Breakfast, Sweet Potato Hash

Nov 30 2014

Light White Turkey Chili

by Marilyn McKenna

A few days after Thanksgiving and the leftovers are no more welcome than houseguests who have stayed just a little too long. I tossed everything but the leftover turkey I used for this recipe and the cranberry sauce. Besides the turkey, all the other ingredients were things I already had on hand, some because of Thanksgiving, […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Chili, Comfort Food Makeover, Healthy Recipes, Turkey Chili, White Chili

Nov 23 2014

Skinny Stroganoff

by Marilyn McKenna

When Rob and I got married one of the first gifts he gave me was The New Housekeeping Cookbook (such an optimist, isn’t he?). In it I found what would become a staple for our newlywed dinners, especially those first few cold winters when we lived in Chicago. I’m talking about Beef Stroganoff. All those years ago […]

Filed Under: Comfort Food Makeover, Recipes Tagged With: Comfort Food Makeover, Healthy Dinner Ideas, Stroganoff

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