Recipe for Napa Cabbage and Red Cabbage Salad with Fresh Herbs and Peanuts

A wonderful Phase One Salad with lots of crunch!

 

For anyone who may have over-indulged at Thanksgiving, this healthful salad with two kinds of cabbage is a perfect choice to get you back to healthy eating. If you did over-indulge a little, I think the thing to do is get back on track, and don't waste energy feeling guilty! In fact, for special occasions like Thanksgiving or holiday parties I give myself permission to have a few treats I'd normally avoid eating, and then to balance out those splurges, I try to make sure my other meals are nutritious and filled with low-glycemic foods.

Cookbooks by Food Bloggers Will Make Great Christmas Gifts for Serious Cooks

If you're been paying attention to food blogs the last few years, you've probably noticed more and more food bloggers are writing cookbooks. I've long ago realized that I can't possibly buy every food blogger's cookbook or write about it on my blog, but recently I had the thought that maybe I could support my fellow food bloggers by maintaining a list of their books. This post will get added to the cookbooks section in the left sidebar of the blog (below An Ever-Growing List of Some of the Cookbooks Kalyn is Using) and I'll do my best to keep up with adding new books as I hear about them.

Kalyn's Top Ten List of Turkey Leftover Recipes (and Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!)

One of my top ten ideas for Turkey Leftovers is Turkey and
Cannellini Bean Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Rosemary.

(Updated Thanksgiving 2009) It's Thanksgiving Day and all over America people have spent weeks thinking about the menu. I've tried to help those who aren't completely abandoning their diets with Thanksgiving Recipes that are tasty and South Beach Diet friendly as well. Today I'll be spending the day at my sister's house enjoying a nice holiday meal, and reflecting on all the things I've had to be thankful for this past year. I hope my readers are having a wonderful holiday too, spending time with people you love. I'll be (gasp!) taking a few days off from blogging after Thanksgiving but before I sign off I want to share my favorite ideas for using leftover turkey.

Brown Rice Casserole Recipe with Leftover Turkey (or chicken), Mushrooms, Sour Cream, Cheese, and Thyme

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving day, and some of you may even be cooking one of my Thanksgiving Recipes in honor of the big feast day. This week I've been giving suggestions for using up leftover turkey, such as Turkey and Guacamole Quesadillas or Turkey and Pinto Bean White Chili. This flavorful casserole with healthy brown rice, turkey, mushrooms, sour cream, cheese, and thyme is another option for something to make with your leftover turkey, or make it with chicken if you're not cooking a turkey this year. It's been months now since I vowed to make more casseroles for the blog, and if you grew up on casseroles like I did, you'll probably like this idea to use your leftover turkey. My casserole is missing the canned soup like the ones mom used to make, and I'm using low-fat sour cream and low-fat cheese, so it's really not as decadent as it looks in the photo.

Recipe for Leftover Turkey (or Ground Turkey) and Pinto Bean White Chili with Lime and Cilantro

Thanksgiving is only two days away, and I'm through sharing Thanksgiving Recipes and have moved on to testing recipes for leftover turkey. I started yesterday with a tasty Turkey and Guacamole Quesadilla, and today I'm sharing this white chili recipe made with leftover turkey and pinto beans. This can also be made with leftover chicken, or use ground turkey if you don't have any leftovers. I used both dried and fresh cilantro for one of the seasonings, but if you're not a cilantro fan, there are plenty of other flavors even without the cilantro.

Recipe for Turkey and Guacamole Quesadilla (to make from leftover Thanksgiving turkey or chicken)

Yes, I realize Thanksgiving is still three days away! But in the crazy world of food blogging, if you're suggesting recipes people might cook for a special occasion, you need to let them know before that day arrives. I've finished posting Thanksgiving Recipes, and now I've been working on recipes for turkey leftovers. For the next three days I'll share a new recipe using turkey, and then on Thanksgiving I'll post my top ten recipes for leftover turkey. Of course, if you're not cooking a turkey this year, any of these recipes could be made with rotisserie chicken. Let's get this Thanksgiving leftovers week going, starting with my favorite way to make quesadillas, with leftover turkey, cheese, and just the right amount of slightly spicy guacamole.

Five Fun Things on Friday (11-20-09)

On Friday nights I sometimes share fun things from the week, and if you've kept up on the blog, you already know about what's in the box in the photo above. Keep reading to hear more about the other fun things, and if you've been having any fun this week, do share about it in the comments!

Whole Wheat Couscous Salad Recipe with Persimmon, Grapes, Green Onion, Mint, and Pine Nuts

Have you ever cooked with Fuyu persimmons? I'd never even tasted them until a few days ago when a huge box of persimmons arrived in the mail! They were from Andrea of Rookie Cookery, who had offered to send me some when I confessed on Twitter that I hadn't ever eaten them. Thanks Andrea! I really like the subtle, not too sweet flavor of Fuyu persimmons. When a friend asked me to describe the flavor I said it was something like a cross between mango and apple. If you've cooked with Fuyus or eaten them, please chime in with a comment about how to describe the flavor and how you've used them in recipes.

Recipe for Shredded and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Almonds and Parmesan

Now that roasted brussels sprouts have turned me into a brussels sprouts fan, I've been paying attention to how people cook the little guys, and lately I've noticed brussels sprouts being shredded into thin strips. When I looked for recipes, I found shredded pan-fried brussels sprouts, but not shredded and roasted ones, but since I love the leaves that fall off and get extra crispy when you're roasting brussels sprouts, I decided to try it and see how they turned out. I'd say it was a success, since I made these today and ate the entire bowl for lunch! I realize that some families have very determined brussels sprouts haters (and I'm looking at my sister Pam when I say that) but I'm adding this to my growing list of Thanksgiving Recipes as another option if people in your family are open-minded about brussels sprouts.

Recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash with Rosemary, Pecans, and Gorgonzola Cheese

It's time for me to stop thinking about whole wheat bread and get back to spotlighting Thanksgiving Recipes you might want to add to your menu. This amazing dish of butternut squash roasted with fresh rosemary and pecans and then gently tossed with Gorgonzola cheese just before serving sounds like it was inspired by the Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Gorgonzola I was swooning over last Sunday. The truth is, last year at Thanksgiving time I bookmarked a recipe for Butternut Squash with Pecans and Blue Cheese from a blog called Eat Make Read. I save so many recipes that I forgot about it until this week when I saw it in my huge folder of recipes to try. Kelly from Eat Make Read found the recipe in Nigella Express, so apparently the combination of pecans, blue cheese, and roasted vegetables is one that a lot of good cooks are giving the stamp of approval.

Five Fun Things on Friday (11-13-09)

It's Friday night, which makes most people happy, and I'm especially happy this Friday because tomorrow we're having a big Denny family party for my dad's 84th birthday. Before I get too busy celebrating, I want to share five fun things I've spotted this week, including Drop in and Decorate, the story behind this logo that you may have noticed popping up on a lot of blogs lately.

Recipe for Baked Whole Wheat Flatbread with Olive Oil and Za'atar

Delicious and easy flatbread, with or without Za'atar!

Yesterday I shared the recipe for 100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. That recipe makes bread dough which can be stored in the fridge and used later, and I promised that today I'd show what I made with the rest of my dough. The book has several recipes for flatbread that look tasty, and I used the flatbread suggestions from Zoe and Jeff to make this Whole Wheat Flatbread with Za'atar. My rolling pin skills aren't really up to par, but I was still pretty happy with how the flatbread turned out. It turned out to be an effective way to deliver hummus to your mouth, and I think it would also taste good dipped into hot soup.

Recipe for 100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil (from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day)

I'm guessing there must be at least one regular reader of the blog who's looking at that photo and thinking I've abandoned my South Beach Diet principles and succumbed to the joys of freshly baked bread. If you had that thought when you saw the photo, here's the ingredient list for this bread: white whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, vital wheat gluten, olive oil, and water. Completely diet friendly and easy to make as well! I can't take the credit though, because the recipe is from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, the new book from the talented team of Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. (Full disclosure: I received this book from the publisher, although I did get to meet the adorable Zoe from Zoe Bakes in September at the BlogHerFood Conference in San Francisco.) Jeff and Zoe wrote this book after fans of their first book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, asked for bread recipes with whole grains, and I know readers of Kalyn's Kitchen who are avoiding white flour will be thrilled to hear about this healthier way of making bread. One batch of dough will keep in the refrigerator for many days, so check back tomorrow to see what else I made from the rest of the dough.

Halloween Recipes

These are recipes for the kinds of things I'd like to cook at Halloween. (If you're following The South Beach diet, notations after each recipe listing indicate Kalyn's opinion as to which phase of the diet each that recipe can be used for.)

Click for Latest Info About Printing Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen

Recipe for Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms with Thyme

(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites and Thanksgiving Recipes, November 2009) For a while now I've wanted to update this favorite recipe with a better photo, and when I got some lovely thin carrots at the market this week, it occurred to me that this would be perfect as a classic vegetable side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. If you're watching your carbs or sugar instake, you may think of carrots as being high in sugar, but adding the mushrooms to this combination significantly reduces the glycemic index, and carrots are approved for phase two or three of the South Beach Diet. I'm glad, because I'd probably be suspicious of a diet that didn't consider carrots to be a healthy food. Roasted carrots are really tasty alone, but the mushrooms make this more elegant than just regular roasted carrots.

Recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans (with or without Gorgonzola Cheese)

The very best recipes of all are probably ones that people excitedly describe and urge their friends to try, and if that's true, then this recipe must be doubly good. First my friend Trudy told me about the roasted brussels sprouts with pecans that were such a hit when she made them. I discovered that Pecan Brussels Sprouts from The Blackberry Farm Cookbook were the ones Trudy made, and I found that recipe online and adapted it a little for the Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans pictured above.

Kalyn's Kitchen Picks: Penzey's Turkey Soup Base (Get it Now for Thanksgiving Gravy!)

(Updated, November 2009) This post is a yearly public-service announcement for those of you in the U.S. who might be cooking Thanksgiving dinner, or planning to make turkey stock or turkey soup after the holiday. I've shared how much I love Penzeys Turkey Base, and again this year I'm giving you a reminder so you can order Turkey Soup Base from Penzeys in time for Thanksgiving. If you look carefully, you can see my Penzeys turkey base is mostly gone, and last night I ordered two jars!

Friday Night Photos: Cafe Trio in Salt Lake City

Sometimes when I love a certain dish at a restaurant I'll order it over and over for years, until in my mind, that particular dish is something I *must* order there. At Cafe Trio (just ten blocks from my house in downtown Salt Lake) Rosemary Flatbread is the appetizer that defines the restaurant for me. Who wouldn't love to start a meal with perfect crispy flatbread served with goat cheese, roasted peppers, caramelized onions, and tomatoes?

Recipe for Soy-Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Sesame Seeds

I'm adding this you-must-try-it recipe for Soy-Glazed Sweet Potatoes to the list we're compiling of Thanksgiving Recipes, and if your family serves those brown sugar laden sweet potatoes that show up at Thanksgiving, this version would be a nice change of pace. The recipe is from Deborah Madison's Local Flavors, a classic book I just discovered. When I was making this the first time I said on Twitter that I wasn't sure it would turn out, and Deborah Madison fans told me never to doubt her. After I tasted it, I could see they were right. It's early in the Thanksgiving recipe testing season, but I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be my favorite Thanksgiving recipe of 2009!

Recipe for Low-Sugar Flourless Apple Crisp made with Olive Oil (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Low-Sugar Flourless Apple Crisp made with Olive Oil

Yesterday I started my annual count-down to Thanksgiving by posting the 2009 edition of Low-Glycemic Thanksgiving recipes. That post has some recipes from this year that I think would make good options to add to the master list of Thanksgiving Recipes, and I promised I'd be adding even more ideas during November, starting with this delicious low sugar and healthful version of apple crisp. This is a recipe with something for everyone! Not only is this a perfect dessert option for anyone who's following the South Beach Diet or another type of low-glycemic eating plan, but it's also vegan, and with the right ingredient choices it could be gluten-free. (Of course, if you don't care about the whole low sugar thing, you can go ahead and make it with sugar too.)

Memorial Day Recipes, Fourth of July Recipes, and Labor Day Recipes

These are recipes for things I'd cook for a summer party on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, or Labor Day. They might be also good for Mother's Day or Father's Day. (If you're following The South Beach diet, notations after each recipe listing indicate Kalyn's opinion as to which phase of the diet each that recipe can be used for.)

Click for Latest Info About Printing Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen

Easter Recipes and Cinco de Mayo Party Recipes

These are recipes for the kinds of things I'd like to cook for an Easter brunch or dinner or to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. (If you're following The South Beach diet, notations after each recipe listing indicate Kalyn's opinion as to which phase of the diet each that recipe can be used for.)

Click for Latest Info About Printing Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen

Valentine's Day Recipes and St. Patrick's Day Recipes

These are recipes for the kinds of things I'd like to cook for a romantic dinner on Valentine's Day or to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. (If you're following The South Beach diet, notations after each recipe listing indicate Kalyn's opinion as to which phase of the diet each that recipe can be used for.)

Click for Latest Info About Printing Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen

Low-Glycemic Holiday Recipe Ideas for a South Beach Diet Thanksgiving 2009

Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin
would make a great Thanksgiving side dish!

Thanksgiving 2009 is the fourth year I've published a collection of low-glycemic holiday recipe ideas. Of course, these recipes are suitable for people on the South Beach Diet or anyone following a low-glycemic way of eating to control diabetes, insulin resistance disorder, or other health concerns, but they're also tasty choices even if you're not following any kind of special diet! This year I'm starting the countdown to Thanksgiving with this list of recipes from 2009 that I think you might like for Thanksgiving, as well as links to the recipe round-ups from Thanksgiving 2006, Thanksgiving 2007, and Thanksgiving 2008. (As more Thanksgiving recipes are posted during November, those links and photos will be added to this post. There's also a master list of Thanksgiving Recipes.)

New Year's Day Recipes or January Super Bowl Party Recipes

These are recipes for the kinds of things I'd cook for a party on New Year's Day or the Super Bowl. (If you're following The South Beach diet, notations after each recipe listing indicate Kalyn's opinion as to which phase of the diet each that recipe can be used for.)

Click for Latest Info About Printing Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen

Christmas Recipes and Ideas for Homemade Gifts from the Kitchen

These are recipes for the kinds of things I'd like to cook during the Christmas holidays. (If you're following The South Beach diet, notations after each recipe listing indicate Kalyn's opinion as to which phase of the diet each that recipe can be used for.

Click for Latest Info About Printing Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen

Thanksgiving Recipes and Leftover Turkey Recipes

These are recipes for the kinds of things I'd like to cook if I was having guests for Thanksgiving, plus some good ideas for turkey leftovers. (If you're following The South Beach diet, notations after each recipe listing indicate Kalyn's opinion as to which phase of the diet each that recipe can be used for.)

Click for Latest Info About Printing Recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen

South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for October 2009

Kalyn's favorite phase one recipe for October 2009 was this
Garbanzo Bean (Chickpea) Soup with
Garlic, Sumac, Olive Oil, and Lemon

Tomorrow we'll start counting down to Thanksgiving with a month of ideas for low-glycemic holiday recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen. I don't know how many people actually start a diet in the months of November or December, but what I do know is that all year long people starting the South Beach Diet visit my archived pages of South Beach Diet Monthly Phase One Recipe Round-Ups looking for phase one recipes. This month maybe bloggers have all been posting Halloween cookies or pumpkin bread, and it seems like I've found less phase one recipes than usual, but there are still some very delicious ideas here. Of course no one could ever find all the phase one recipes, so if you're a blogger who's posted a recipe recently that you think might be phase one approved, see after the recipes list for how to submit it.