Swiss Chard, Sweet Potato, and Goat Cheese Tart...with Teff Crust

Slowly, slowly, things are changing around here. I think perhaps we've been doing things a bit backwards...or maybe sideways.  I might just be in the "very slow learner" camp when it comes to eating healthy nutritious foods.

Instead of embracing whole foods, flavors, fats, and the best foods that can be found, we've been caught up on the "low calorie/low fat" treadmill.

I don't think it has worked for us very well.

As we all experimented with the "lower carb" lifestyle this summer and watched some excess pounds melt off, we moved carefully up the "carb ladder" after a couple of weeks to reach a more balanced "whole foods" array of food options.

My, my, my...there are a wonderful array of better food and recipe options that we have been missing.  We concentrated too much on low calories and low fat.  By choosing lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and proteins, we've each noticed positive changes.  

The door is flung wide open now.  We're slowly removing processed white flour, rice, and sugars from our recipes and experimenting with all sorts of wonderful and diverse options.

No more low calorie/highly processed snacks.

No more "baked" chips this or "low fat" that candy options.

Well, let me qualify that bold declaration...

In moderation of course, if the previous article doesn't shamefully showcase what can happen during a day the Kenney's spend at a place like Silver Dollar City in Missouri.

This vegetable tart is a good example of small changes.  Instead of a white flour tart crust, it uses a mixture of teff flour and whole wheat flour.

This Gluten Free Girl blog article does a terrific job of explaining the history and nutritional benefits of incorporating teff flour into cooking and baking.  And, yes, it's a gluten-free grain.

In fact, I enjoyed reading her article so much that we're going to canvas this vast city of Houston and find an Ethiopian restaurant so we can sample their "injera" bread, made with teff flour that is used for scooping up their fragrant dishes.

It feels like the sky is the limit right now as we uncover more and more ways to prepare dishes that involve less calorie counting and more whole food nutritional awareness.

This Swiss Chard, Sweet Potato, Goat Cheese Tart made with a teff crust is a good example of one of our dinners that has shifted in ingredient focus.

My first love is to travel to foreign cultures to sample their cuisine.  When I can't do that, I find myself buried in my kitchen traveling to countries through stirring, tasting, and creating their signature dishes at home so my mind can travel there in a different way.

I am finding a new way to "travel" in the kitchen as well.  Perhaps I am feeling more confident about the chemistry behind cooking and want to know how many ways we can avoid using such processed ingredients in our cooking. 

What tastes good?  What doesn't taste good?

I've been so busy in my kitchen this summer.  It's too hot to do much of anything outside in this humidity soaked part of the country.

So, I've been experimenting and creating and changing up a lot of recipes.  I've been writing and photographing these fun food journeys and I cannot wait to highlight my new finds here at "thyme".

I feel like it's a challenge.  It will be a journey, of a different sort.  

And I'm all about taking journeys...what about you?

This recipe is replicated from the blog:  The Flour Sack
(The only change I made is I substituted goat cheese for the feta cheese...just a matter of preference)