POP goes my giveaway! (1 Month Supply of Pop Chips)

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**If you don't get the title (or it isn't making you sing a song in your head), please reference this amazing faux music video courtesy of Hugh Grant from the movie Music and Lyrics. I don't know why it's so catchy.**

Happy Valentine's Day! 

I am in Chicago this weekend and am planning to make a delicious Valentine's Day dinner tonight. Melty cheese, basil, and apricot appetizer, filet mignon, a salad, and parmesan roasted brussels sprouts, finished off with a chocolate cake from Portillo's. Hey, it's the least I can do for a husband who provided David Yurman for Valentine's Day... <3

In honor of this special day, I wanted to give you a gift! That's right. You're my valentine. Well, one of you, at least. One lucky reader will receive one month's supply of Pop Chips!

What the heck are Pop Chips? A naturally delicious line of popped potato, popped tortilla and popped corn chips with all the flavor and half the fat of fried chips. 

So, this Valentine's Day, I bring you...

To Enter the Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is courtesy of Pop Chips' "Bring The Fun" campaign, which gives you a chance to win a round trip for two to Jillian Michaels' Maximize Your Life Tour, a 1 year subscription to FitFusion, and a 1 year supply of Pop Chips! If you want to enter that giveaway, click here.

**I was not compensated financially for this post, but I am being sent a delicious box of Pop Chips! Yum**

Cinnamon Almond Banana Chips

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Crunchy round chips that have the sweetness of bananas and almond extract, with just a bit of cinnamon kick. Swap these with chips for a healthy, sweet-tasting snack!

You know what? Sometimes, you just deserve chips. Here's a news bulletin for you, though: chips are bad for you. They're filled with fat, trans fat, carbs, and carcinogens... none of which will keep you healthy (or, quite honestly, happy).

Yet, you deserve to have a little crunch in your life. That's where these delicious banana chips come in!

There's something very special about making your own chips. You always end up with less than you thought you'd yield (meaning that there's less in front of you to chow on). Second, when you make something yourself, you'll cherish every bite - because YOU brought those babies onto this earth (good job!)!

In the end, you're subbing these health-packed banana chips for health-destroying regular ones, you're eating less of them, and yet you're cherishing every bite. Sounds like a win-win-win to me. What could be better?

Cinnamon Almond Banana Chips

Servings: 2
Calories: 57
Bake Time: 60-90min

Ingredients:

• 1 Banana
• 1/2 Lemon, juiced
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Almond Extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 215 degrees.
2. Peel banana and cut into 1/8" slices
3. Combine lemon juice, cinnamon, and almond extract in a small, shallow bowl. Dip each banana slice into the mixture, then set on a greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for ~60 Minutes. Depending on the consistency of your slices, you may want to check on them periodically (perhaps every 15 minutes), starting at about 45 minutes. For thinner chips, they may be ready around this time. If your slices are thicker, you may need to wait 15-30 minutes longer.

Looking for other healthy recipes? Try these!

• Kale Chips
• Chocolate Mousse Filled Cupcakes
• Chickpea Choco Chip Cookies
• Protein Chocolate Banana Pancakes

Sriracha Polenta with Kale Chips

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This dish is not for the faint of heart. Grilled polenta slices look like corn bread but taste like the smooth-talking cousin of Quinoa; crispy Kale chips add a delicious, salty crunch; and Sriracha adds the flavor of fresh hot chilies and sweet garlic. It's hot, hot, hot! 

A few weeks ago, Justin and I had dinner with my parents in Wicker Park and I had my first taste of Polenta. "What is this stuff?" It looks like cornbread... but tastes like Quinoa. Whoa. Insert my "OMG" face here. You can bet I went back for seconds on that one...

Since I'd already had the good fortune to meet Polenta, it seemed like fate had intervened when it caught my eye at a recent trip to the supermarket. You mean it's already made and rolled up in a tube? Score! [Go ahead. Call me lazy. Do it. My boyfriend is taller than your boyfriend.]

In need of a quick dinner fix one night, I popped out the Polenta, ripped up some Kale, and went heavy on the Sriracha. My tongue may or may not still be burning. I can neither confirm nor deny... because I can not feel my tongue! Alright, I may be slightly dramatic. All I'm saying is... have some milk on hand; this dish is not for the faint of heart! [Or you can skip the Sriracha... if you absolutely must!]

Sriracha Polenta with Kale Chips

Calories: 30 each

Prep Time: 2-5 minutes

Cook Time: 10-16 minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

• Polenta (prepared, bagged in a long roll)
• Sriracha Sauce (to taste)
• 1 Recipe Kale Chips (requires 5 large leaves Kale, 1 tsp Olive Oil, and 2 pinches Sea Salt or Garlic Salt. Feel free to cut the Kale Chip recipe in half, or just have the leftovers as a side with the Polenta!)

Directions:

1. Slice and cook Polenta. Slice Polenta into 1/2"-1/4" thick rounds. Place in a lightly olive oiled skillet over medium heat. Continue to check and flip each polenta piece once they begin to brown (about 5-8 minutes).
2. Bake Kale Chips. Use this recipe for Kale Chips.
3. Final Prep! Remove Polenta from the stove and stack two pieces high. Drizzle Sriracha over each stack (careful, that stuff is hot!) and top with Kale chips!

Sea Salt Kale Chips

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Sometimes, a girl just craves chips. It’s like it’s hardwired into human DNA (except it’s totally not – but these Kale chips just might be!). But the issue, it seems, is that… well… CHIPS ARE HORRIBLY BAD FOR YOU! Even the baked lays you can find in grocery stores are filled with processed ingredients and substitutions that are shady. In the end, all we really want is a little crinkle. That snap, crackle, pop that you get when you bite into a chip (or shove a handful in your mouth, amiright?!).

So when I heard that people were making chips out of Kale, I was intrigued.

I have to be honest here – I haven’t read any of the recipes on Pinterest, etc. I wanted to start from scratch instead of being "inspired" to "copy" someone else's recipe. So I’m not sure if other recipes add more salt, more seasoning, more olive oil, etc. But you know what? I don’t freaking care! These are delicious and low calorie and low sodium (for Chips, at least). And, best of all, for the many friends I have who beg me for low-ingredient recipes, there are only three ingredients... and the only prep required is ripping and tossing! Purrfect.

Sea Salt Kale Chips

Prep Time: 2 Minutes

Bake Time: 8-10 Minutes

Servings: Makes enough for 3-4 people to snack on!

WW Points (Old): 1

WW Points Plus (New): 1

Calories Per Serving: 25 (Based on this recipe making 3 servings. If you eat the whole thing, it's 75)

Nutrition: High in calcium,Very high in manganese, High in potassium, Very high in vitamin A, High in vitamin B6, Very high in vitamin C, Very high in sodium

Ingredients:

• 5 large leaves Kale
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 2 pinches Sea Salt or Garlic Salt (or 1 pinch of each!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Wash Kale and rip into chip-size pieces.
3. Toss with olive oil and salt.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until Kale pieces are crispy.

Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salsa (and Semi-Homemade Tortilla Chips)

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Once upon a time, Justin and I were in the mood for something spicy. And by spicy, I mean salsa. But we wanted spicy, chunky salsa. And we wanted some color. Hence the corn.

The salsa itself is pretty darn hot... unless you cut the Sriracha Sauce in half (which is do-able, but why, why, why would you want to?!). But here we were, a delicious bowl of Salsa in front of us, with no chips. How could we forget the chips?!

Justin muttered to himself... Darn. I wish we had chips.

My response? Give me ten minutes.

And, true to my word, ten minutes later, I had semi-homemade tortilla chips (thank God we had a bag of "authentic" corn tortillas hanging around!). And the rest, as they say, is history! :)

...oh, but did I mention the whole bowl is only 206 calories (and with 42% of your daily FIBER intake?!)

 

Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Calories Total: 206 (for the salsa recipe only)
Calories Per Serving: 52 (based on 4 servings)
Prep Time: 2 Minutes

Ingredients for Salsa:

• 1/2 Cup Corn (Look for Whole Kernal Corn and try to avoid any corn that says "Sweet," "Sweetened," etc)
• 2 Tomatoes, diced (or 1 cup Canned Crushed Tomatoes with No Salt Added)
• 1/2 cup Organic Black Beans (if buying a can, look for no added salt or low sodium)
• 2 tsp Sriracha Sauce (or 1 tsp for a more mild salsa)

Ingredients for Homemade Tortilla Chips (Just in case!):

• 8-10 corn tortillas (look for the lowest calorie bag. I've found that authentic is actually better in this particular quest!)

Directions for Salsa:

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well
2. Serve with chips! 

Directions for Homemade Tortilla Chips (Just in case!):

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Stack Tortillas on top of each other and then cut them, all at once, into 4 triangle pieces for large chips or 8 for small chips.
3. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crispy. Make sure to test a chip before you turn the oven off! If they're not crispy enough, keep them in for another few minutes.