Healthy-ish Carrot Cake Muffins....

Today is Easter and I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that March is nearly over. Normally our family has big holiday celebrations, but this year Easter just snuck up on  us so rather than doing a big family dinner some of the family came to our house for brunch. I made these healthy-ish carrot cake muffins and pineapple cream cheese frosting. I looked at a couple different recipes and ended up using this one with a couple modifications. I was worried they wouldn't have the right texture because there's no flour and a lot of wet ingredients, I was pleasantly surprised by both the taste and texture. Check it out!

Ingredients:

2 cups Almond Meal
1 cup ground rolled oats
1 tsp sea salt1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
4 eggs
⅓ cup Sugar free maple syrup (pure maple or honey if desired)
¼ cup avocado oil
3 cups carrots, finely shredded (use food processor or cheese grater)
½ cup raisins
3/4 cup crushed pineapple with juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl (Flours, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg) and set aside
3. Beat eggs, olive oil and maple syrup together with a whisk.
4. Add in carrots, raisins and pineapple
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until fully 6. incorporated.
7. Place into lined muffin cups- makes about 15 muffins when cups are filled
8. Bake for 25 minutes

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients: 
8 oz softened cream cheese
2/3 stick of softened butter 
1/3 cup crushed pineapple + 3 Tbsp Juice
3 to 4 cups of powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Beat softened butter and cream cheese until thoroughly mixed.
2. Add 3 Tbsp of pineapple juice and mix thoroughly.

3.  Slowly add powered sugar until you reached your desired consistency.
4. Fold in crushed pineapple.


Let muffins completely cool prior to frosting. I recommend refrigerating the frosting prior to use to make it easier to spread. Enjoy!!!

Quinoa Pasta Salad

Hi All-

Since grad school started I've done very little blogging and posting of recipes, but I tried to take as many pictures as possible and keep creating new tasty things so that I'd have many recipes to share when grad school ends. And guess what?! I graduate in 5 weeks! Right now instead of doing homework (as I should be) I'm writing and sharing this yummy meal. It's a just a little taste of what I hope to spend my free time doing after graduation.

This has been a go-to meal for my hubby and I because I can prep it ahead of time and it keeps for several days (in fact I think it tastes better after a day in the fridge). This recipe has a lot of room to be creative and add vegetables of your choosing, these are just some of my favorites!



Quinoa Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 box quinoa pasta (8oz) (I use ancient harvest brand) Cooked and drained
2 small cucumbers diced
2 bell peppers diced
3 cups chopped raw broccoli
1/3 cup crumbled Feta Cheese (seasoned, fat free or your choice)
1 cup shredded carrot
1 can garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can smoked sockeye salmon in EVOO (remove skin and drain oil)

Dressing: 1 tsp ground sea salt, 1 Tbsp minced tried onion, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/8 cup EVOO

Method:
Mix all ingredients together with dressing & enjoy! It keeps in the fridge 4-5 days and is great served on a bed of lettuce and topped with cherry tomatoes like in the picture below!

Lunches packed and full of good nutrition!

Stuffed Bell Peppers...

Ingredients:

1/1/2 cups cooked grain (brown rice, quinoa, millet)

1/3 cup crushed almonds or walnuts

1 lbs cooked ground turkey, beef or pork

1 onion, finely chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

4 celery stalks, finely chopped

4 bell peppers (green, red, or yellow)

2 teaspoons olive oil or ghee

salt to taste

Directions:

       1.  Sauté onion and garlic with oil for 1 minute.

       2.  Add celery and sauté for 3 minutes.

       3.  Mix with remaining ingredients, except peppers and crushed nuts.

       4.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

       5.  Cut off tops of peppers and scoop out insides.

       6.  Steam peppers until slightly tender.

       7.  Fill each with stuffing and top with crushed nuts.

       8.  Place in casserole dish with 1/8 inch water, bake in oven for 30 minutes and serve.

Adapted from Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Tradition and Modern Nutrition, by Paul Pitchford.

Meal Prep

Do you meal prep for the week? Or a couple days at a time? I try to every week because it saves us money and time. It also saves us from over eating or eating food that's less than good for us. My clients often ask what's the easiest way to eat well so I'm going to share what works best at our house.

Butternut Squash sauteed with zucchini, Broccoli, and Tuna

Every weekend I cook a protein source (chicken, turkey, beef or pork mostly) steam veggies and cut up tons of veggies and fruit. Honestly it takes me no more than an hour to do everything. I package up 8 lunches and put all the other stuff (extra protein, veggies, and fruit) in big containers. We use the leftover meat and veggies through out the week to make dinners and the cut up fruit for snacks smoothies.

Our lunches normally look something like this:

Salsa Verde chicken with Quinoa, Broccoli and Pineapple

Salad Toppin's

Throughout the week our dinners consist of quick things like salads topped with protein and veggies with homemade dressing, quesadillas or healthy nachos, Tilapia with veggies with rice, green protein shake smoothies and omelettes. We both work late so our dinners are always quick and easy, but if I didn't meal prep we'd be eating take out (spending lots of $) or oatmeal (boring!) every night!

In my fridge you'll always find a big tub of chopped veggies, cooked and drained beans for salad and more. The best part about prepping is that if you have everything prepared in the fridge there's no reason that you can't eat well and when you're too exhausted to cook there's always something to eat, just throw everything in a bowl and you can create healthy meal like the ones below!

"Pork Fried Rice"

Roasted Veggies with Balsamic and Parm

Too Tired to cook, throw everything in a bowl and top with Siracha


Happy 4th of July! It's a 3 day weekend for most of you so make a little time for meal prep and let me know how it goes!

3 More Ways to Use Your Shaker Cups...

Do you have a shaker cup or blender bottle? You know those ones that have a little ball shaped whisk that floats around at the bottom? They look remarkably like the Tupperware quick shake my mom had when I was kid, but now they're fancy, colorful and most of all trendy. Even if you're not a protein shake slugging "gym rat" they're a great tool to have on hand. I use mine for slugging protein shakes, but also for a lot of other stuff too..

1. Salad Dressing... Homemade vinaigrette keeps well in the shaker bottle because of the air tight seal and it doesn't need to be to refrigerated so it can just stay in the cabinet until you're ready to shake and serve again, again and again.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 c Olive Oil
1/2 c Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 c Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 c Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar (flavor of your choice)
3 Heaping Tbsp Minced dehydrated Garlic
2 Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/8 cup Braggs Amino Sauce
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 Heaping Tbsp Savory Blend Dehydrated Herbs

Directions:
Combine everything in a large shaker cup and shake before serving. It taste better the longer the seasonings is soaking in the vinegar and oil.


2. Iced Coffee... After we're done with our brewed coffee in the morning I pour the leftovers into a shaker bottle and put it in the fridge for the next day. The next morning all you have to do is throw in a scoop of your favorite protein powder an you have a flavored, protein filled iced coffee. Chocolate is my favorite way to create a mocha flavor.

3. Fluffy Eggs... When I make eggs I really like them fluffy and the shaker cup is a great way to make your eggs or egg whites fluffy. Rather than whisking your scrambled eggs toss them in to your shaker cup and shake away. You can add your milk, salt and/or pepper to the shaker too!

What's for Breakfast?!

If I'm home Sunday's I normally sleep in til 7am, yahoo! Seth likes it when I make him breakfast so I try to make him something a little special when I can. This week I made him one of my favorite things with some extra toppings.

Banana and egg pancakes are super simple and delicious if you like bananas! Here's how to make them:

Ingredients:

Seth's Pancake topped w/strawberries, bananas, granola, PB and cinnamon.

2 whole eggs
3/4 cup egg whites
1 ripe banana
Cinnamon to taste
1 Tbsp Vanilla extract

Direction (Makes 2 Giant Pancakes):

1. Smash banana with fork in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Crack eggs and pour egg whites in bowl with smashed banana.
3. Whisk in vanilla and cinnamon until bubbly and well mixed.
4. Pour batter in prepared skillet heated to medium/high and cover for 2 minutes.
5. Remove lid and flip pancake, cook uncovered for another 2 minutes
6. Serve and top with anything you like, enjoy!

Can you see mine in the back? I put spinach in it...weird, I know.

Not Your Typical Nachos...

Before we get started I want to make it clear I'm not encouraging tortilla chips as an everyday snack, but we make homemade nachos as a special treat about twice a month. Our homemade nachos are not your average nachos though. Give them a try and see whatcha think, we like them better than any restaurant variety.

Ingredients:
2 Servings (12-18 chips) Store Bought (no more than 4 ingredients: Oil, Corn, Salt & Lime) or homemade
1 lb ground Grass fed Bison
5 oz Shredded Raw White Cheddar Cheese
1 white or yellow onion
1 12oz bag of spinach
1 cup Mississippi Caviar
1 Avocado
1 Bunch Cilantro
Fajita seasonings for ground bison
Optional:
Jalapenos
Extra Salsa
Greek whole milk plain yogurt or sour cream
Finely Shredded Red Cabbage (look for a future post on my purple nachos)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place chips on an oven safe dish and top with cheese, set aside.
3. Brown the ground bison and seasonings in a skillet on the stove top, drain grease. Add diced onions and spinach, continue to cook spinach until wilted. Turn off heat and cover.
4. Put chips and cheese in oven, and set timer for 5-8 minutes (keep an eye on the cheese until it's golden brown).
5. Remove cheesy chips from oven and top with ground bison/spinach, Mississippi caviar and toppings of your choice.
6. Enjoy!

Green Bean Casserole

I have something to admit, I love Women's Day Magazine. I think it's a guilty pleasure kind of thing because I only buy one or read it on vacation. When I was in Boston visiting my sister and her husband I bought a copy of Women's Day at the airport because of this recipe for Green Bean Casserole. I wanted to recreate a more healthy version, here's is what came up with:

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

3 tablespoon(s) olive oil, plus more for the dish

Kosher salt

Pepper

2 pound(s) green beans, trimmed and halved

(about 1-2 links) Italian chicken sausage, casings removed

1lb extra lean ground chicken

3/4 cup almond meal

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan

2 tablespoon(s) grated Parmesan

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove(s) garlic, finely chopped

3/4 cup(s) milk

4 ounce(s) neufchatel cheese 

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 teaspoon(s) fresh lemon zest

12oz of fresh spinach or 1-10oz box frozen spinach chopped spinach 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. grease a 2-quart baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the beans and cook until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to cool. 

2. Meanwhile, cook the sausage and ground chicken cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, about 5-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the almond meal, ground flax and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. 

3. Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the onion, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until very tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. 

4. Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the neufchatel cheese, nutmeg, cayenne, and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes; stir in the lemon zest and toss with the green beans.

5. Fold in the spinach and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the sausage mixture and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Read more: Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Sausage Recipe - Woman's Day 

Kangaroo Meatballs

This week has been a bit hectic at our house, but today I made sure I found the time to cook up the Kangaroo meat I bought last week. The grocery store was out of Bison so I figured it would be fun to try. I’ve never cooked with Kangaroo before so I did some research on cooking methods and nutrition. 

Kangaroo is a very lean red meat and in flavor it’s similar to Venison. It's best served medium rare or rare. If using ground Kangaroo meat as I did make sure to combine it with something that has fat (bacon, egg, pancetta etc). I made Tabbouleh Kangaroo meatballs served with mixed greens, tomatoes, Ricotta Salata, Tzatzki, hummus and Pita bread. 

The tabbouleh salad adds a lot of flavor and texture to the meatballs. This recipe would be great with beef or bison as well.

Ingredients:

1lb Ground Kangaroo (I bought mine at Sprouts Market)

1 Yellow onion (diced)

2 Tbsp Crushed Garlic

1/3 Cup Tabbouleh Salad (premade available at Sprouts Market & other specialty markets)

1/3 cup Almond meal

1 beaten egg

Salt, lemon pepper

1 Tbsp bacon grease or coconut oil (bacon grease adds a little flavor)

Directions:

1. Combine meat, diced onion, crushed garlic, Tabouli salad, Almond meal and egg in a large mixing bowl by hand. Add desired about of Salt and lemon pepper and mix thoroughly.

2. Roll meat in to balls with 2 inch diameter. This should give you 10-12 balls.

3. Heat bacon grease or coconut oil in skillet big enough to accommodate all balls without touching each other. 

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

5. Brown the meatballs on medium to high heat. 

6. Place meatballs in glass dish and cover with foil, place in oven. 

7  After 10 minutes pull the glass dish out and remove foil. Put back in oven for 5 minutes. (Keep an eye on them if you prefer your meat rare. I prefer my ground meat cook all the way through (no pink) and that took 15 minutes).

8.  Enjoy!

Nutrition for 1 Ball:

Calories: 84  

Fat: 2.7 

Carbs: 4.5 

Protein: 10.8 

Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup Adapted from Wellness Mama

This Halloween I bought two massive pumpkin thinking that we would carve them as we have in years past. Well, Halloween came and went and we never carved them, I HATE to waste anything that we've purchased so I was determined to make something with these giant pumpkins.

Seth doesn't love the flavor of pumpkin so I was struggling to put something together that I wouldn't be eating alone. I came across this recipe for Loaded Sweet Potato Soup on Wellness Mama's site (btw, she has some great stuff going on over there). Of course a loaded sweet potato soup could potentially have bacon, cheese, scallions and sour cream...all things Seth willing eats so that's where the inspiration for this new fall favorite came from. I like my soup to have lots of texture, not runny like a broth or traditional cream soup. This recipe gives you the flexibility to decide what consistency you'd like.

This soup is very flexible, you can use as much pumpkin or sweet potato as you'd like, I've made this 3 times now and each time I play with the ratios of pumpkin to sweet potato. Most recently I used 4 cups of pumpkin and 1 Camote Yam. The texture was slightly changed but the flavor remained close to the same, so have fun with this one and get creative with your toppings.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups Pumpkin Puree (canned or homemade)
2-3 Large Sweet potatoes or Yams ( I use Camote or Garnet)
1.5 cup Cooked and diced Bacon, Canadian Bacon or Pancetta (nitrate free)
1 Large diced Yellow Onion
3 cloves minced  Garlic (about 2-3 heaping Tbsp)
1 Quart Chicken Broth
1/3 cup Full Fat Coconut Milk or Dairy Cream
1 Tbsp Coconut Butter or Dairy Butter
2 Tsp to 1 Tbsp Ground Ginger
1 Tbsp Dried Tarragon
Fresh Ground Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Optional Toppings:
Plain Greek Yogurt
Shredded Cheese (Seth likes Sharp Cheddar & Jack)
Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms
Scallions
Diced Apples and Honey
Fried Onions
More Bacon or meat of choice

Directions:

1. Peel, diced and boil sweet potatoes in a large stock pot. I prefer to leave the skin on because I like the texture and added nutrient value.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, brown diced onion, garlic, and meat of choice (if using bacon or pancetta wait until onions become nearly translucent to add meat). After browned removed from heat and set aside for later.

3. When the potatoes are soft enough to mash with a fork, turn off the burner and drain water. Return the stock pot to stove (no heat yet) add chicken broth and mash potatoes by hand or with a Braun Mixer.

4. Add pumpkin and coconut milk and turn stove on low. Mix together until coloring is even.

5. Add browned onions, garlic and meat. Season with Tarragon, Ginger, Salt and Pepper. Keep heat on low for 20-30 minutes and stir regularly until heated thoroughly.

6. Top, serve and enjoy!

Notes: This soup taste even better the next day. I've made it with Coconut products and Dairy, I prefer to use butter and cream. but also enjoyed the coconut version (using coconut products doesn't make it taste like coconut). Of all the meat options I liked the Canadian Bacon the best, it browns well with the onion and adds a great texture to the soup.

Bison "Tutto"

"Tutto" means everything in Italian. That was Seth's creative name for this meal...it has a little bit of everything! His came with a BIG grilled cheese, but the main dish is a healthy dose of veggies and Bison. This Bison Tutto makes for a quick weekday dinner and LOTS of leftovers when you're feeding two. Plus, it's a very affordable and filling dish!

Bison Tutto Served with Baked Mozzarella "grilled cheese."

Ingredients:
1 lb ground Bison (ground beef or pork if you prefer)
1 large diced yellow onion
2 Garlic Cloves
1 cups sliced mushrooms (baby bellas or white button)
1 head of cabbage thinly sliced (thinly sliced zucchini)
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can Arrabiata or Marinara (no canola oil or added sugar is preferred)
Salt, pepper and oregano (to liking)

Optional:
Parmesan or Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

1. Partially brown meat in pan, add diced onion and garlic. Add mushroom and cook down. (if not using bison drain grease after browning, grass fed bison is very lean so there's little to no fat to drain)

2. Add thinly sliced cabbage or zucchini, cover, stir frequently under medium heat until tender. Drain excess liquid if needed.

3. Add fire roasted tomatoes and marinara sauce, mix and heat thoroughly.

4. Remove from heat and serve. Top with cheese if you'd like and enjoy! Maybe even have it with a glass of Malbec!

Serves 6
*Made with grass fed Bison, Cabbage and Arrabiata sauce
Cals: 265
Fat: 7
Carb: 27
Pro: 24
Fiber: 8
Sugar: 9

Porky Balls!

I hope you have a sense of humor and can get past the title because this recipe is amazing.

Do you struggle to get your loved ones to eat veggies?

Are you looking for a healthy high protein snack?

Are you sick of eating the same thing all the time?

If you answered yes to any of those questions you must keep reading!

This recipe was inspired by my lovely cousin Melanie. She recently made one of her childhood favorites, Porcupine Meatballs and posted about how good they were on Facebook. When I saw that recipe I knew Seth would love them, they're simple and have all of his favorite things (meat, rice and marinara sauce).  But, I also wanted something I could eat on the go in between appointments and something with veggies! I played with the recipe, made some tweaks and came up with a little ball of hearty goodness that Seth willing eats not knowing how healthy it is! Thanks for the inspiration Mel, I'll have to bring some over to have you taste test!

Ingredients:

Balls:
1.25 lbs 95% Lean Ground Pork (You could use beef or poultry)
1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella
1/2 cup Uncooked Brown Rice
2 Tbsp crushed Garlic (2 large cloves)
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cups Shredded Carrots
2 cups raw spinach

Ready to be browned  in skillet

1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Egg
Salt and Pepper to liking

Sauce:
1 16 oz Jar Tomato or Marinara Sauce (look for one with very few ingredients, avoiding canola oil and added sugars)
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix all ball ingredients by hand in a large bowl, you will need to mix and squeeze to bruise the spinach well enough to stick to meat mixture.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Scoop and roll 14-16 meatballs to the size of your liking and place in skillet (med-high heat) to brown. Roll or flip the balls around to brown all sides. This should take 12-15 minutes.

Browned and ready for sauce.

4. Use a slotted spoon (to drain any grease) and and place balls in a large baking dish (glass 8x12 is my preference).

5. Mix Water and Sauce together and then pour evenly over the balls.

6. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes, remove from oven and take foil off. Put in the oven uncovered and bake another 10-15 minutes (watch to make sure all the sauce doesn't evaporate).

7. Let cool and serve!

Ready to be put back in the oven for 15 minutes uncovered,

Serving Size 2 Balls:
Cals: 198
Fat: 6
Carb: 12
Sugar: 2
Fiber: 2
Protein: 24

Oven Roasted Veggies

Oven Roasted Veggies

 I get bi-weekly vegetable delivery from It's Organic, it's a big box for about $35/month. I still have to grocery shop for veggies each week (or more) because we eat so many veggies, but I look forward to our It's Organic delivery because it forces me to cook things I wouldn't normally buy. Rainbow Chard, for example is something I wouldn't buy on my own; I've made it a couple of times but never really cared for it. Until...today! This was the easiest preparation I've done so far and it was so yummy! Here it goes:

1. Set Oven to 375 degrees

2. Wash and cut veggies of your choice in to 2 inch pieces, I find the ones below roast better than others:
Rainbow Chard or Swiss Chard 
Onion
Cauliflower or Broccoli
Brussels
Tomatoes
Red Bell Pepper

3. Rub baking sheet with Coconut Oil moistened towel to prepare pan.
4. Place veggies on baking sheet and place in preheated oven for 5 mins.
5. Remove veggies from oven after 5 mins and stir around, spray with Olive Oil and sprinkle with 1/2 cup hemp seed, place back in oven until golden brown (about 10mins for a full baking sheet).
6. Remove from oven and enjoy your veggies warm!

Baked Salsa Tilapia

I hope everyone had a great weekend. My weekends always feel like someone pressed fast forward. They're busy in a good kind of way, on Sunday evening I'm always left wanting more. This weekend was no different. I worked half day Saturday, got my training in, ran some errands and headed to a friends house for their Maker's Expo Party (great party idea), everyone makes something completely homemade to share, they are brewers so we had some yummy beer and cider. I made lentil burgers and someone made amazing bacon wrapped plantains. Their was tons of other food, but the beer and bacon wrapped plantains were AMAZING! Sunday morning started with some paperwork and a workout, then prep work for my Sunday group, they were on fire today, they did a great job at the workout.

Tonight I made Baked Tilapia and Greens. I used the linked recipe, but used salsa and diced celery rather than frozen veggies and no butter. I served it on top of mixed greens with olive oil and cider vinegar, I'm out avocado but would have topped it with that it I had some. Yum! I sure hope my Sunday crew is eating a healthy dinner tonight too!
Check out the nutrition on this guy:
6oz Filet with mixed greens & Olive Oil/Vinegar
Cals: 325
Fat: 18g
Carbs: 7g
Pro: 32g
Fiber: 4g

Enjoy and rest up! Monday will be here before we know it!

Dessert Hummus

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I have to admit I'm a terrible sports fan, I love playing sports, but watching them bores me to tears. Luckily no one forces me to watch; instead of watching the game or interrupting others who actually care about the score I'm spending some time in the gym and kitchen where I can do the things I love on Super Bowl Sunday.

Going in to Fitness Rehab this morning was just what I needed, 30 mins of yoga and foam rolling (I'm so super sore from dead lifting with Cara yesterday) and then Spin. I can actually touch my toes again. My Monday morning Yoga students will happy to not hear moan as I forward fold after sun salutations.

The recipe I'm making for today serves as great dip for parties, but I really like it because I love nut butters and they are healthy in moderation. I eat them very conservatively because they pack so many calories and fat in to very small portions. This dip allows you to stretch your serving of nut butter out so that you can eat each slice of your apple with dip or make ants on log without over indulging.

Today we are making Sweet Hummus or Dessert Hummus, whichever you'd like to call it. The best part of this recipe is that you may have all the ingredients at home right now!

Grown Up Ants on Log with Dessert Hummus

DESSERT HUMMUS

1 12oz can Garbanzo Beans or White Beans drained and rinsed
1/2 cup Granulated Stevia (or sweetener or choice Maple Syrup, agave etc)
1/4 cup Nut butter (Almond, Peanut, or Cashew)
1/2 t salt
1 t Cinnamon
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/8 cup Ground Flax or Quick Oats
1/4 cup optional add-ins, Raisins, mini chocolate chips, slice almonds, Vanilla protein Powder, or crushed peanuts.
(if you need more moisture add water 1 T at a time)

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor and mix until creamy or to your desired consistency.




2. Enjoy with sliced apple, carrots sticks, celery etc!

Gluten Free Cheaters Cookies... Seth Approved!

To all guilty Chocolate Chip Cookie Fans-


These only take about 5 mins to prep and 10 mins to bake!

So I've mentioned before that I like to make stuff that's not so healthy, make a version of it that's more healthy and then make Seth guess what's in it. He likes everything, my family calls him Mikey because he'll eat pretty much anything...except when it comes to my baking. One time I made him brownies, or at least that's what he thought he was biting in to. Little did he know his "brownies" had black beans, protein powder and spinach in them. Yum! Well, I guess he didn't like them and ever since then he's hesitant to eat anything I bake until I made these delicious, super easy, gluten free cookies. They looked so "normal" he just walked up and ate one and said, "Is this real?!" I just laughed. So here it is, the Seth approved healthier cookie:

1 container of premixed Gluten free Cookie mix (I like Bob's Red Mill or Namaste)
1/4 cup water (as need to get doughy consistency)
1/4 cup Sunflower butter or Almond butter
1/2 cup liquid egg whites
2 Tablespoon Ground flax seed
2 Tablespoons Ground Chia Seed
2 Scoops Natural Whey Protein Powder (I like MRM)

Mix all ingredients and bake as directed!!! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chocolate Sunflower Butter Protein Balls

2 cups Chocolate Protein Powder
2 Crushed Rice Cakes
1/2 cup Almond Milk
1/4 cup Sunflower Seed Butter
1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed
1/4 cup Cocoa Power

Mix all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl by hand. It will be very doughy in consistency, then roll into 1-inch balls and a little extra protein powder or cocoa powder to keep the balls from sticking together. Place on a lined baking sheet and refrigerate. ENJOY!!!!

100 Calories
4g Fat
6g Carbs
10g Protein
2g Fiber
2g Sugar

Just Chicken and Rice?

I believe we all express our affection in different ways. Some people like to buy gifts or go to fancy restaurants, others leave sweet "forget me not" notes and flowers. And all of these are great, but they never really seem to fit what I want to say. Recently I've been wanting to say something to effect of, "I know you're busy and stressed, but I'm so proud of you. Keep up the great work." So what do I do to my show my affection? ...I simplify. I know it sounds strange, but I figured out that I show affection towards others by trying to make their life as painless as possible. If that means cleaning their house, I clean. If that means watching their kids, then I watch their kids.

In this case it means cooking. Seth is preparing for his 2nd of 4 CPA exams and he's stressed to the max with work projects and studying. I'm no good at helping him study and taking him out to dinner would be a waste of precious study time. But, preparing his lunches is something I can do. It's simple, but I feel good about doing it, and making sure he gets a balance of Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats in each meal may make a couple of percentage points difference on the exam. :)

So next time you see a guy in the cubicle next to you open his lunch bag, you better think twice, it's not just chicken and rice. It's a gift, a love note, a fancy dinner, and a warm embrace all inside a little brown bag. Enjoy!

Seth's Garlic Lemon Chicken and Spinach Rice

Ingredients:

2.5lbs Boneless Chicken Breast Tenders (12 tenders)

1 bag or bunch of Spinach

2 cups mushrooms

3 cups cooked brown rice

3 cloves crushed garlic

1/4 yellow onion chopped

3 Tbsp Olive Olive

Juice from 1 lemon

lemon pepper  

1. Heat 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil in a medium skillet, add crushed garlic, and chopped onion. Add Chicken tenders, sprinkle with lemon pepper and brown on medium heat until cooked through.

2. Remove chicken from pan and add mushrooms, spinach, lemon juice and remaining olive oil. Saute until spinach begins to wilt. Then add brown rice and continue to mix and heat thoroughly.

3. Remove from heat and serve chicken on top of warm spinach rice.

Serves 6 

300 Calories

27g Carbohydrates

8g Fat

30g Protein

3g Fiber

EggS!

This post was inspired by a couple of things...

1. I ate 4 of these in one setting and I believe any recipe that good should be shared.
2. It's almost Easter and while most foodie bloggers will be posting decadent egg shaped treats, I'll be posting the real deal....Egg Mc-No muffin needed!

So these little guys are full of protein, easy to make, keep well in the fridge and can be reheated. The options for ingredients are endless as far as veggies and meats or cheeses go. Here's my favorite and probably easiest version as far a prep goes:

The Ingredients:

2 cups Egg whites or Egg Substitute
3 whole eggs
1 cup cooked spinach (chopped, steamed and drained)
3/4 cup Salsa
6 oz diced cooked turkey bacon or shredded chicken (optional)
Black and Cayenne Pepper to taste
Cooking Spray

The Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a large mixing bowl combine egg whites and whole eggs, beat until well mixed. Add spinach, salsa, and meat if desired. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate, I let mine chill for 4 hours but definitely not necessary.

3. Spray non-stick muffin tin with coconut oil (or oil of your choice) and rub in the creases. Pour egg mixture in to muffin tin filling each cup half way. Then bake for approximately 20-25 mins, but keep an eye on the little guys because they may brown quickly depending on your oven. They will puff up and settle back down when they cool. Let cool in tins before removing and then ENJOY!
Makes about 14 Egg Mc-NO muffin needed muffins.
  

Serving size 1 muffin (with chicken):
Calories: 57 cals
Fat: 2g
Carbs: 2g
Protein: 8g
Fiber:1g

Hello healthy and delicious! Finally a muffin you can eat 4 of and not feel guilty! :)

Garlic for Grandpa, Kale Salad...

Hi All,
My grandfather passed away on Monday afternoon. He was 94 years old and we believe he died of "natural causes," but being that he was 94 he had many preexisting conditions including various types of cancer. He lived a long, full life and passed painlessly with his children at his side. Unfortunately  I did not know my grandfather or "Poppy" as we called him well, but we did get together on most holiday's for a meal. One thing I'll always remember about him was that he loved to eat, especially anything with Garlic (being Sicilian probably had something to do with it). So today I'm sharing one of my family's favorite garlic paste or dressing recipes; of course I've added my own twist but it's still super garlicky just as Poppy would have like it!

Here's the original Garlic Dressing that my family makes and keeps on hand to put on literally everything, salads, meats, veggies, pita bread, pasta, etc. I'm giving you fair warning this stuff is no joke...it's intense and everyone will know you eaten garlic after you've enjoy the oh so delicious combination of garlic, lemon and olive oil :)

Cino's Garlic Dressing  
Two heads raw Garlic (about 30 cloves peeled)
Juice from 6 lemons
3 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Olive Oil

1. Place garlic in food processor or blender with 1/4 cup of the Olive Oil. Process or blend until a thick paste forms.

2. Add the salt, lemon juice, and remaining Olive Oil.

3. Enjoy the GARLICKY goodness on anything!
(This big batch lasts about a week and makes about single 20 servings or enough to dress 3-4 large salads)

And here's my version in action... Garlic for Grandpa, Kale Salad!

The Dressing
4 cloves peeled raw Garlic
1 Tsp Bragg's Amino sauce or 1/2 Tsp Salt
Juice from 1/2 lemons
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar 
3-4 Pitted dates and soaked in 1/8 cup hot water
The Salad
2 large heads of Kale or about 30 leaves torn in to bit sized pieces
1 cup shredded Red Cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup Raw Sunflower, Pumpkin seeds or Pine Nuts

1. Place dates in 1/8 cup water and microwave for 45 seconds. Then place dates and hot water in the blender or food processor, add the garlic cloves and cider vinegar and 1/2 the oil. Process or blend until dates and garlic look minced and well mixed.

2. Then add the rest of the oil and lemon juice slowly, pouring each in a little at a time, then add the  Bragg's liquid aminos and blend or process well.

3. The dressing should be "whipped" in appearance, slightly sweet and very Garlicky! Pour over the torn kale, cabbage, carrots, and seeds of your choice. Toss well and enjoy.  I like to let the dressing soak in about 5 -10 mins before consuming because it's dense and more porous than lettuce so it really absorbs the garlicy-ness!
(this dressing recipe makes a very generous amount of dressing for one large salad but will keep for about a 7-10 days in the fridge)

Spicy and Oh Sooo Healthy! YUMMM! You can read about the health benefits of Kale here!!