January, 2013

Whenever I order potato pancakes at a restaurant, they’re so greasy I can’t eat them. So naturally, I had to find a way to make my own healthy potato pancakes. After a few attempts I finally made some on Tuesday that turned out great with very little oil. The trick for me was draining the potatoes well but saving the starch and using a cast iron skillet. Finally… healthy potato pancakes! I’ll be posting the easy recipe soon.

hey jenny,

im going to make a chicken pesto lasagna what kind of cheese should I use? and can I use green peppers and onions will that mess up the taste of the pesto I wanna keep it simple and I don’t want to use red sauce so if you have any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My Response…

Chicken pesto lasagna sounds great! Part skim mozarella is naturally low in fat and melts nicely in lasagna. It’s what I use on my pizza. I would not use green peppers with pesto for their strong taste. If you want to keep it simple, I would just use the noodles, ricotta, chicken, mozarella, and pesto. I wouldn’t even use onion because pesto is such a distinctive flavor. One other possible addition would be fresh spinach since it’s the base for pesto and can’t compete with the flavor. Spinach also kicks up the nutrition. Good luck with it. If you mess it up, just mash it all up and call it a casserole!

Do you spend Superbowl Sundays on the couch eating unhealthy snacks, watching guys in better shape than you play football? Is your fridge the only place you’ll ever see a 6-pack? Then try what I think are the best healthiest nachos ever.

They are low fat and I use so many healthy ingredients, you can have these nachos for dinner. They take a little work but you won’t feel like an over-stuffed football by the second half… you won’t need a time out to take a nap… your waist band won’t snap from too many chicken wings… the sofa springs won’t be audible every time you sit down… you won’t need double coverage to hide your stomach… your stomach won’t hurt from having one turnover too many… your friends won’t be scrambling to get your heart started again… your trip to the bathroom won’t be third-and-long… I think I will cut back on these really bad jokes… but make sure you roll out my nachos… they are the bomb. – Jenny Jones

Click here for the recipe.

Click here for the video.

I can’t decide what to do for my next cooking video. Should it be…

~ Polish cabbage rolls

~ Double chocolate almond biscotti

~ Sweet & spicy chicken fingers

~ Caramelized apple oven pancake

~ Thighs & Fries

~ Spicy chocolate -cherry cookies

~ English muffins

~ Apple pie bars

Today is national pie day!

How much do you love homemade pie? This is my lemon meringue pie made with Meyer lemons. A Meyer is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange and tastes sweeter and less acidic than a regular lemon. Meyers have a thinner skin and more juice and are considered a gourmet lemon. I grow mine in the back yard so they’re free. If anybody made a pie today, send me the recipe. Not if anybody ATE a pie today… only if anybody MADE one! Happy Pie Day!

I love to cook. And I really love to bake. I created this site to share my best recipes, hoping to motivate more people to cook at home and make eating healthy foods and meals (and desserts) a priority. It’s hard to do if you don’t cook at home. Mine are simple recipes, mostly comfort foods, and they are as healthy as I can make them. I always try to:

• Incorporate as many vegetables as possible
• Avoid saturated and trans fats
• Use less sugar & little to no butter in my baking
• Bake with whole grains when possible
• Reduce unhealthy fats
• Increase fiber

I’m not selling anything and you’ll never see ads on this site.

I invite you to try my recipes and send me your comments. You can also share your own healthy recipes here. Well, thanks for visiting and I hope you like it. 🙂

p.s. I also transferred all my cooking posts from the jennyjones.com archives so there’s tons of stuff to see.

People always ask me why I never get sick. In fact, I have never taken a sick day in my life, never missed a day of work. My immune system seems to be working very well and I credit my healthy diet and lifestyle. I drink a lot of green tea and combined with the healthy foods I eat every day, something seems to be working. Besides eating healthy foods overall, there are certain foods known to boost the immune system and that can prevent a cold or flu.

So I have put those “superfoods” into a video to motivate everyone to keep your immune system strong during cold and flu season. Now you will know what to eat to prevent the flu or avoid a cold. I also think a positive mental outlook makes a difference, too. If you feel a cold coming on, don’t just accept it. Fight back by eating healthy foods to prevent getting sick.

Sometimes, I don’t have time to bake my homemade mac & cheese with the crumb topping but I still want my mac & cheese! So I worked on the easiest, fastest, (healthiest!) way to get  some quick mac & cheese into my pie-hole. This recipe has only FOUR ingredients and takes just twenty minutes! It’s lower in fat than most and creamy delicious. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

When it’s cold outside, what makes me feel warm and snuggly? Soup. Unless George Clooney comes over, then I don’t need soup. But he never shows so I make soup. This time it’s minestrone made with eleven different vegetables and my own homemade beef stock made with marrow bones.

Vegetables are essential to good health for their anti-aging benefits and the more different colors you use, the wider array of antioxidants.

Click here for the recipe.

For quick healthy meals, I always keep canned  salmon on hand for these delicious patties. I make them with red pepper, parsley, onion, soft whole wheat breadcrumbs and egg, browned in olive oil with a side of steamed vegetables.

Salmon is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids that protect the heart so I eat a lot of salmon sandwiches, too. I think it’s a Canadian thing… Click here for the recipe.