Simple Potato Chips

March 7, 2014 / ktbuchs87

There are a plethora of healthy chip recipes out on the internet. I have tried probably about half of them and usually end up with a soggy pile of potatoes that no one could even generously call potato chips. I set out to try and figure out what the secret trick was to make crispy and yummy chips. I think that I got pretty close, not exactly like a bag of Lays, but pretty close. I will say that you might want a few special tools to make sure you get as close to a store bought potato chip as possible. These two tools are a Silpat and a mandoline. The Silpat really helps so that your potato slices don’t stick to the pan while you are cooking them, but if you don’t have one parchment paper can work as well. The mandoline helps to slice the potato very thin, which is uber important to a crispy chip. If you don’t have a mandoline, you can use a regular knife. Just make sure to cut the potatoes as thin as possible. Alright enough talking, let’s make some chips!

Simple Potato Chips

3-4 medium potatoes (I used red potatoes because that’s what I had on hand. Russet also works really well)
1 big pot of boiling water
1 big bowl of cold water
Olive oil
sea salt
pepper or garlic powder or any other seasoning you want, optional

1. Bring your pot of water to a boil. Wash and dry your potatoes. With either a mandoline or a knife, slice the potatoes into thin rounds.

2. Bring your bowl of cold water over to the boiling water and place your potatoes into the boiling water. Cook for 2-5 minutes and then immediately put them into the cold water. Drain the potatoes and pat dry as best as possible.

3. Preheat oven to 450 and line a large baking sheet with either a Silpat or parchment paper. Lay your potato rounds in a single layer on the baking sheet, making sure they aren’t touching or overlapping. You may have to make them in batches.

4. Lightly brush or spray the potatoes with olive oil (you don’t need a ton), and then sprinkle with sea salt and any other seasonings you want.

5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and flip over the slices and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Keep checking to make sure your chips don’t burn. Remove from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack. This also helps them to crisp up a little as the cool.

You can experiment with seasonings as well as cook time to make the perfectly crispy chip. This is just what worked best for me and my oven. Now go enjoy your tasty snack!

Playing the Blame Game

March 3, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Often times in life, it is so easy to blame anything and everything for things that go wrong. We are all quick to point the finger at situations, circumstances, and even other people that might have caused our problems. Very rarely ,at least for me, do we blame ourselves for our hardships. I feel that bad health is one area of life that we are very quick to play the blame game. So often it is fast food, poor medical care, various diseases and ailments, environmental factors, or a myriad of other factors that take the rap for our poor health. I am totally aware that in some cases, these factors can be totally true and can be a big contributor to bad health. However, so many times it is our own fault, we just don’t want to admit it.

I get it. Believe me. I don’t like to take the blame for things just as much as the next guy. Is there anyone that really enjoys saying they’re wrong and it’s all their fault? I don’t think so. But more and more, we are not taking responsibility for our actions when it comes to health and that is hurting us more than helping us. By constantly passing the buck, we can feel less motivated to step up and make a change. It can get easier and easier to feel like we have no power over the food we put in our mouths, the lack of movement we make throughout our day, or way to change our current circumstance. Our health no longer becomes our problem; it’s somebody else’s issue to deal with. If someone could get rid of all the fast food restaurants, then you could be healthy. If someone made fresh and organic food affordable and easily available, then you could be healthy. If someone could make getting access to health professionals easier and less expensive, then you could be healthier. If someone could get an inexpensive fitness center in your neighborhood, then you could be healthier.

That someone? It’s you. All the excuses need to stop. They waste time and they accomplish nothing. I don’t expect you to revolutionize the health world and make a change for everyone. I do expect you to revolutionize YOUR health and make a change for YOU. Accept responsibility for your actions and your choices. Will all fast food restaurants ever disappear? Not likely. Can you make the choice to eat something else? Absolutely. Will organic food become cheaper than conventional and pop up in every single grocery store across America? Maybe some day. Can you make the best possible decisions while grocery shopping and still eat a nutritious and healthy diet? Of course you can. Will you be able to workout and train like all the A-list celebrities? Perhaps if you win the lottery. Can you find free and simple ways to workout? Definitely. There are ways to make a healthy lifestyle work for every person, you just have to be willing to do the work and stop passing the blame to someone else.

Like I said before, I know that there are some situations where there is no way you can take responsibility for health problems. I don’t want to make anyone feel bad or guilty. I just believe that the more you try and take control of your health, the better off you will be. When you take charge of your actions and health decisions, then your health starts to become a priority. I don’t expect you to do it all on your own either. Ask for help and guidance along the way! Find people who have successfully changed their health for the better and see how they did it. Read health blogs, articles, magazines, or books and start implementing their tips or advice. If it works, keep it. If it doesn’t, move on and try something new. The more ownership you start to take of your health, the more you want it to keep improving. Don’t get discouraged, get empowered to start taking steps in a healthier direction!

What Do You Want?

February 28, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Hello Readers!

I know that I usually have a recipe for you on Friday, and I promise that I have some more coming your way soon, but I wanted to take today to try and find out what you are looking for when it comes to food. Do you want more breakfast ideas? More dinners or desserts? Snack ideas? I want to makes sure that I am putting out content and recipes that you guys find helpful and will actually use.

I don’t get much feedback on the things that I post, other than to see how many views each page gets per day. I would love to actually hear from you guys about what works for you and what doesn’t. I want my blog to actually be helpful and not just another voice in a huge crowd. Believe me, there are hundreds of health and food blogs out there and I appreciate that you choose to come and take a look at mine. To keep you engaged and coming back for more, I need to know what you guys want!

So comment on posts you like. Let me know when you try a recipe and it works out deliciously (or not). Ask for new ideas or recipes. All of these things can help me make this blog even better and give you the things that will help you on your healthy journey. My goal is to help anyone struggling to lead a healthier life. I have been in that position, just starting out and having no clue which way to turn. I hope that this blog can end that struggle for at least a few of you! Give me your opinions and I will do my best to make this blog what you need and want! Have a great Friday and an awesome weekend!

If you are also interested, you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest as well. I post a lot of my meals on Instagram and offer little health tips on my Twitter, so check them out!

Misconceptions About Healthy

February 24, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I believe that there is sometimes a common misconception when it comes to eating well: healthy diets must contain organic foods. They also assume that because of this idea, eating healthy is expensive. These two ideas about a healthy diet can cause people to shy away from changing their current eating habits. Either they don’t have the money to buy all organic all the time or they don’t even have access to organic food. They keep eating the same way and tell themselves this is the only way that they can eat. I’m here to say that this just isn’t true at all. I want to help people see that a diet full of delicious and healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive and it also doesn’t have to be 100% organic.

Let’s start with the organic idea. Thanks to marketing and media, the word organic has taken on the association of healthy and that just isn’t necessarily true. Don’t get me wrong, I am not here to bash organic food. I fully support the organic movement, but not everything you see labeled as organic is good for you. I have talked before about the “health halo” that words like organic, gluten-free, and all natural assume. But an organic candy bar is still a candy bar and a candy bar is not doing anything good for your health. Sure, you can feel good that you aren’t eating pesticides or factory made preservatives, but don’t think that the organic candy bar is going to miraculously change your health. Be careful in thinking that as long as everything you buy is organic, it’s healthy. Packaged and processed organic food is still inferior to whole and real food.

Expense is the other issue that hinders people from changing their eating habits. The fact is organic food is more expensive. I wish that we lived in a world where organic practices were the norm and everyone could afford it. Unfortunately that isn’t the case, but that doesn’t mean your health is doomed. I don’t buy all organic food, yet I still manage to have a healthy diet. We are on a tight budget and we can’t afford to buy all organic. Many of you are probably in the same boat. This doesn’t mean that you can’t eat well, it just means you have to be smart about how you shop. When it comes to produce, you can use this chart to choose which foods to buy organic and which you can buy conventional. Generally foods that you peel or discard the outer layer can be bought conventionally without too much worry. Because I have a limited budget, I tend to favor those foods a little more. I buy plenty of bananas and oranges and other citrus, but I also don’t worry too much about buying the other foods non-organically. I just make sure to wash all my produce thoroughly. In the end, a conventionally grown apple is still an apple and it will still trump processed food any day.

That same idea translates to other foods as well. If you can buy organic, that’s great, but don’t stress out about it. As long as you are avoiding the food-like substances that you can find in the aisles of the grocery store, you can still have a healthy diet. Check out this post and this post, to get some more tips on how to be a savvy and healthy grocery shopper. The biggest key is to have a plan and know exactly what you need/want before you get to the store.

When I tell others that they need to eat whole or real foods, I don’t want them to immediately jump to the organic conclusion. I don’t want people to think that I am saying the ONLY way to be healthy is to eat organically. It isn’t the only way and no one should feel stuck in their eating habits because of money or availability. There are ways to eat better, shop better, and ultimately feel better. It’s totally ok if it isn’t an overnight transformation, as slow and steady wins the race. When faced with the choice of what food to eat or buy, make the best choice possible available to you. If that means buying the conventional lettuce, buy the conventional lettuce. A conventional salad trumps organic junk food every time!

Asian Collard Wraps

February 21, 2014May 15, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Lately, collard and beet greens have become an obsession for me. I am just really digging them, especially lightly sauteed with just a little garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. I know that not everyone is as super excited about dark leafy greens as I may be, but I do know that dark leafy greens are nutritional powerhouses and you should be eating more of them! While you might not be as enthusiastic about eating plain greens like me, this recipe will make you want to eat all the greens! They are my version of the lettuce wraps you can get at P.F Changs mixed with cabbage rolls. Yeah, we’ll go with that! The other nice thing is you can use whatever you have on hand for the filling, you could even add ground turkey or chicken if you were so inclined. Go give them a try!

Asian Collard Wraps

Wraps with leftover filling on the side!

1 bunch of collard greens (or cabbage)
1/2 cup millet, brown rice, quinoa, or whatever grain you have on hand (I used millet)
2 shredded carrots
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced (or 2 tsp powder)
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp liquid aminos, soy sauce, or coconut aminos
1 batch of my sweet and sour sauce (optional)

1. First, wash your collard greens and cut off the stems. If you are using cabbage, peel off the leaves keeping them as whole as possible. Bring a large pot of water to boil and get a large bowl full of cold water. Once the water is boiling, dunk your leaves into the water for a few minutes until they are nice and pliable. Then immediately place them into the cold water. Once you do this with all the leaves place them on a paper towel to dry.

2. Place your 1/2 cup of millet or whatever grain you are using, and 2 cups water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the millet is cooked through. Add in the carrots, ginger, onion, garlic, oil, and liquid aminos. Stir so everything is combined and heat on low for about 3 minutes.

3. Remove your filling from the heat. Place a heaping tablespoon full into the middle of your leaf and then roll up the leaf like a burrito so that all sides are closed. Continue with all the leaves until you run out of filling or leaves.

Now you could eat these just as is, but I kicked it up a notch and cooked them in a large pan with my sweet and sour sauce. It really added a nice flavor. All you have to do is cook the sauce in the large pan, then add in your wraps. Cook until the wraps are heated through, about five minutes. Now go and eat those delicious and healthy collard greens!