The Picky Eater

Anjali Shah is a food writer, board certified health coach, and owner of The Picky Eater—a healthy food and lifestyle blog. Her work has been featured on Oprah.com, Women's Health, Cooking Light, Reader's Digest, CNN, Food Network, Glamour, Ladies' Home Journal, Whole Foods, SHAPE, and at Kaiser Permanente. Anjali grew up a “whole wheat” girl, but married a “white bread” kind of guy. Hoping to prove that nutritious food could in fact be delicious and desirable, she taught herself how to cook and successfully transformed her husband’s eating habits from a diet of frozen pizzas and Taco Bell to her healthy, yet flavorful, recipes made with simple, wholesome ingredients. Through her blog, Anjali shares her passion for tasty, healthy cooking.

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{Guilt-Free, Healthy 7 Layer Bean Dip}
Total Time: 20 mins  |  Yields: 10 servings
Serving Size: 1/10 of the dip

1 (15 oz.) can Low sodium refried black beans (there should just be two ingredients on the can—black beans and salt)
2 mashed Avocados
Lime Juice (a couple squeezes)
Fresh Cilantro, chopped
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper
8 oz of 0% Greek Yogurt
Prepared Taco seasoning (all natural blend if
you can find it)
1 bunch of Green onions, chopped
3-4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 Red bell pepper, diced
¼ cup low fat Mexican Cheese blend
Corn tortillas, olive oil cooking spray, dash of salt (for homemade tortilla chips)

Warm up refried beans in a small pot over medium heat. Add in taco seasoning to taste (about 1 tsp). Once all combined, set aside to cool.

Peel, pit and mash avocados in a small bowl. Add lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Combine yogurt and 1 tsp taco seasoning mix in another bowl. Cut corn tortillas into eighths, spread on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with olive oil cooking spray. Spray the tops of the tortillas with cooking spray, season with salt, and broil at 350° low until the tortillas are crispy and golden brown.

To assemble: Spread refried beans on a large, shallow serving platter. Spread avocado mixture over bean dip. Spread yogurt mixture over bean dip. Sprinkle with green onions, bell peppers and tomatoes. Cover with grated low fat Mexican cheese. Serve with the homemade corn chips!

Nutritional Info Per Serving: 133 Calories, 7g Fat (1.1g Saturated), 120.8mg Sodium, 11.5g Carbs, 4.6g Fiber, 1.4g Sugar, 6.3g Protein


COOKING TIP:
An easy way to make your recipes healthier is to make healthy swaps! Substitute whole wheat/quinoa/ other whole grains for white grains. Use only (up to) 1 Tbsp olive oil for cooking and add more flavor by using spices. Throw in additional veggies that "blend" nicely into recipes—like adding cauliflower to mashed potatoes, butternut squash to mac & cheese, red peppers, tomatoes and carrots to pasta sauce, and fresh baby spinach to smoothies or soups!


{Chunky Black Bean Soup}
Total Time: 40 mins  |  Yields: 4 servings

2 tsp Coconut oil
1 Red onion, diced
2 Red or yellow bell peppers, diced
2 tsp Fresh oregano, chopped
5 cloves Garlic
1 tsp Ground cumin
½ tsp Chipotle chile powder
¼ tsp Salt
2 cups Low sodium vegetable broth
2 (15 oz.) cans unsalted Black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp Fresh lime juice
Toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado, 1 tbsp low fat plain Greek yogurt (per bowl), a few crumbled blue corn tortilla chips

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add oil to the pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in oregano and next 4 ingredients; Cook 30 seconds. Stir in stock and beans. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 10-20 minutes on low heat. Mash the beans in the pot with a potato masher until the soup has a nice, chunky consistency.

Nutritional Info Per Serving: 250 Calories, 3.3g Fat (2.2g Saturated), 218.7mg Sodium, 43.1g Carbs, 14.4g Fiber, 1g Sugar, 14.3g Protein