Chocolate zucchini brownies

So I loved the taste of the "No flour/sugar banana muffins" so much, that I wanted to use it as a base for another muffin recipe. I had a huge beautiful zucchini and wanted to make zucchini bread, but instead we did chocolaty goodness with it :)

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

2 cups oats

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup honey

1 cup flax

2 eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup yogurt

2 cups shredded zucchini 

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

chocolate chips

Shred your zucchini and make sure to squeeze out the water as much as possible! 

Spray a muffin tin or line with cupcake liners, preheat the over to 400.

Put the oats in a food processor and grind until fine but not powder. Add in the rest of the ingredients (minus the chocolate chips).

Mix until everything is incorporated and the banana cannot be seen as chunks.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin pans and top with your chocolate chips. Bake for 20-30min. Depending on how much liquid you left in the zucchini  you may need to bake them longer..do the toothpick test, if it comes out clean your good to go! 

I kept 6 out to eat during the week, and placed the other 6 into a freezer bag to take out later, that way nothing goes to waste!

(you may get more than 12)

No flour/sugar muffins!

Nothing in the recipe is "unnatural." nothing is processed and its all healthy which is a super big plus! And whats even better? The WHOLE family loved them :) It always makes my heart flutter when I know that my 4 year old is eating healthy but she thinks its a treat. 

I found this recipe off of pinterest but after making the original i took it, tweaked it, and made delicious breakfast brownies..the reason i say breakfast is because i only eat my carbs in the morning before working out. 

No Flour/Sugar 

Banana muffins

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

2 ripe bananas

1 cup non fat yogurt 

( I use fage for its low carb/high protein)

2 tbsp ground flax

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla or any flavor extract of your choice

chocolate chips, almonds, raisins

Spray a muffin tin or line with cupcake liners, preheat the over to 400.

Put the oats in a food processor and grind until fine but not powder. Add in the rest of the ingredients (minus the "toppings").

Mix until everything is incorporated and the banana cannot be seen as chunks.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin pans and top with your toppings. Bake for 18-20 min.

I kept 6 out to eat during the week, and placed the other 6 into a freezer bag to take out later, that way nothing goes to waste!

Flank steak roll up

I don't care what people have to say about red meat, I LOVE it, and I will NEVER stop eating it..rawr! This is a really good recipe, high in protein, low in carbs, and since its flank steak its not very fatty either.

Flank Steak Roll-Up

1 Flank steak 

1 pack frozen chopped spinach

1 small jar of marinated bell peppers
 (drained and chopped)

1/2 container of crumbled blue cheese
(you could sub in feta if wanted)

Olive oil

S&P

cooking twine

Lay your flank steak out on a cutting board, trim off any excess fat. Salt and Pepper it. Mix the spinach, bell peppers, and cheese in a small bowl. Then place the filling in the middle of the steak. Roll it up with the twine and tie it tight. I clearly need to practice this part :)

Bake in the oven at 350 for about an hour (depending on the size/how rare you like it). Let the meat rest for at least 5 min, slice and enjoy!

"Globe" squash Enchilada stacks

So I've seen this little beauty in numerous recipes all over pinterest, but I've never seen them in my grocery store..until today! I'm SO glad too. This squash really is versatile and has a faint taste so its great to sub into recipes calling for lasagna noodles or tortillas. In this recipe, I used it to make Enchilada stacks, and they were delicious. It had all the flavor as typical enchiladas but without the extra carbs, and one was filling enough with a side of "refried" black beans. 

With this recipe I also made my family a regular enchilada pie using the same ingredients but with tortillas instead of the squash, if your planning on just making say 4 stacks, half the recipe.

Enchilada Stacks

1.5 pounds lean ground beef (or turkey)

home made red enchilada sauce

Shredded Mexican blend cheese

1 Globe squash, thinly sliced

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers

handful of olives

S & P

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

paprika

cumin

Cook the meat in a skillet over medium high heat along with the peppers and onions. Add in the spices to your liking. If your using extra lean meat there shouldn't be any fat to drain after cooking, if there is line a colander with paper towels and pour the meat in to drain. 

While this is cooking slice your squash really thin. 

I used three slices per stack.

Spoon in enough red sauce to cover the bottom of a small square pyrex dish. Place your first slices in the dish, spoon some of the meat mixture on top, a spoonful of sauce and a sprinkle of cheese.

 Repeat with the next layer. Top it off with more sauce, cheese, and olives if wanted.

Bake in the over at 350 for about 30 min until the cheese is melted and the squash looks wilted a bit.

My squash was still a little crunchy ( I cooked it for 20 min), but I didn't mind..it was soooo delicious!

Teriyaki glazed salmon

This, was super yummy. In fact I think seeing this picture makes me want to make it tonight for dinner :)

One of the best things about this dish is that its made in individual "tin foil" packets making clean up a breeze! You can put any sort of vegetable in the packet with the fish, we did broccoli since that's what we already had but I imagine snow peas, shredded carrots, and boc choy would also be super yummy.

Teriyaki Glazed Salmon

4 4oz. Salmon Fillets (skin removed)

1 tbsp Cornstarch

1 tbls brown sugar

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tbls minced ginger ( or garlic)

about 2 cups your choice of veggies 

Rip 4 pieces of tin foil big enough for the fish to be sealed in. Drizzle your fish with a bit of olive oil and some S&P.

Mix all the ingredients (minus the fish/veggies) in a bowl. 

Place the veggies first in the tin foil then place the fish on top, spoon over the sauce. The sauce is really good so don't hesitate to use it all up :). Fold up the foil to make a sort of tent, leaving room, not "smooshing" it flat but making sure its sealed.

Bake in the oven at 400 degress for about 15-20 min, until the salmon is flaking. 

Mushroom pizza bites

Pizza, whats not to love? 

I know the best part of the pizza to me is the crust, but lets face it, its also the worst. So if you want to have all the flavors of pizza without the guilt this should work ( I have another recipe i'm wanting to try with my oopsie bread too)! I wasn't a big fan of the cauliflower "pizza" crust and way prefer this.

Super simple, and way low carb. You can use whatever toppings you'd like, I did a combination version.

My daughter made regular french bread pizza too for herself and daddy :)

Mushroom Pizza Bites

3 mini portobella mushrooms

1 small can of tomato sauce

Turkey Pepperoni

Chopped bell pepper

Chopped onion

Cooked Italian sausage (crumble)

Shredded cheese

Olives

Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and remove the steam. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over them and some S&P. Spoon in pizza sauce and gently press in a couple pieces of pepperoni into the space. Pile on the rest of the toppings and back for 10-15 min at 350.

Viola! 

Sloppy Squash

Sloppy Joes are a comfort food in my household. The sauce though isn't so health friendly so I went on the hunt for a good recipe that could pass the test. It was SO easy and so awesome knowing that you can make this from scratch and add in way more veggies to make it even healthier!

1 pack lean ground turkey

2 cups of water

1/2 onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 cup all natural ketchup 

(look for low sodium and low sugar)

2 tbls brown sugar

1 tbls mustard

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste (if wanted)

Brown the meat and the onions together in a pan (about 10 min). Add in the bell peppers and garlic till the bell peppers are soft ( about 3 min). Mix in 1 cup of water and scrape the bottom of the pan for any bits of flavor that may be stuck. Add in the remaining ingredients and 1 cup of water, bring it back to a simmer- stirring occasionally until the mix thickens to your liking. We cooked it for about 15 min on low and we like it saucy! If you like it thick and less saucy let it cook longer.

We will never by a can of sloppy joe mix again. I served mine over some spaghetti squash with a little sprinkle of cheese. Delicious!

Chocolate Peanut butter frozen yogurt

If there's one thing in this world I wish I didn't have to cut out of my diet, it would be ice cream. I freakin love it. I could eat it every day for every meal and not get tired of it. But we all know that it has lots of stuff in it that isn't good for those of us looking to get fit. 

I think I found a nice little substitute to satisfy the cravings without undoing a day of healthy eating and intense workouts. 

This is the best yogurt I have found so far. Its really low in carbs and SUPER high in protein without any added junk.

When you mix these two ingredients with some unsweetened cocoa powder and a packet of truvia the magic happens!

1 Cup yogurt

1 tablespoon un-sweetend cocoa powder

1 packet truvia

1 tbls peanut butter

mix it all up in a bowl and place into a freezer safe container. Let it sit in the freezer for at least an hour. If its too frozen, let it thaw a little in the fridge. Super easy and yummy for when your craving something sweet

I love mexican food. But, when I used to make enchiladas with red sauce they were only half enjoyable because of the "twang" taste from the sauce. I really wasn't found of it so I decided to see what I could do about it :)

I came across a recipe for home made sauce, and oh my goodness it tastes  a million times better, is SUPER simple, and is a lot lower in sodium and other additives.

Red Enchilada Sauce

1 tbsp canola oil

1 small sweet yellow onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp chile powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp oregano

1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

1 tsp honey

Heat the canola oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add in the minced garlic, chile powder, cumin, coriander, and oregano and stir constantly for 1 minute.  Put in the tomatoes (crushed by hand using either a wisk or a potato masher) and juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and add the honey then cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes.

After the sauce has simmered for 30 minutes, blend the sauce with an immersion blender (or regular blender) until smooth. Taste and re-season if needed.The end. Super simple and way tasty!!!

I used the sauce to make Turkey enchiladas, below is that recipe.

Turkey enchiladas

1 Package of Jennie-O extra lean ground turkey

1 small can of diced green chilis

1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped

Chili powder

Cumin

garlic powder

S & P

Paprika

Mexican blend cheese

Olives if you like

Red sauce

Whole wheat tortillas

Cook the meat in a large skillet with the onions and spices. I don't usually measure my spices but I would go twice around the pan making sure to get enough so you have good flavor. Let the meat cook and cool slightly before trying to roll up the enchiladas.

Spoon some of the red sauce along the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Take one tortilla and lay it down in the pan, spoon in some meat, sprinkle of cheese and roll it up like a burrito. Continue to do this until you run out of room in the pan. You can squish them together to usually get one more in the pan if you'd like. Pour the red sauce on top and spinkly with more cheese. Bake in the oven at 375 for around 20-30 min until the cheese and sauce is bubbly.

I like to serve it with a corn and avocado salad :) 

Salsa pulled pork

So twice a week I go to the gym in the evening, so one of these days is a leftover dinner and the other is something made in the crock pot. The crock pot is your friend. If you don't have one, get one..now! If you work late, are in school late, or just like the idea of your food being done when you come home, the crock pot is the way to go! Like I said, I use mine at least once a week.A lot of people think that any meat cooked in the crock pot will have that "taste" that comes with it, well that's not true if you cook it right.

I made this to go into tacos, you could also use it for enchiladas, nachos, burritos, and one roast made enough for our dinner and a quart freezer bag for later. 

1 3-4 pound pork shoulder roast (boneless)

1 jar of chipotle salsa

1 can diced green chilis

1/2 yellow onion

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 lime, juiced

1 handful of chopped fresh oregano 

Slice the onions and put half the rings on the bottom and save the other half to put on top of the meat. Put just enough water in the crockpot to cover the bottom.

Brown the meat on all sides in a pan on the stove with a little of oil. Place into the crock pot.

Pour the lime juice and about a cup of the salsa on top of the meat ( you can add more if you'd like), then the chilis, oregano, and the rest of the onion slices. Put the lid on the crock pot and turn on high for 4-5 hours. If your going to be gone longer than that you can turn it on low for 8. Once the meat is able to shred turn the crockpot down to low, take the fat off the meat, then shred it up with a fork. Let it continue to cook on low for another 30 min. 

Oven roasted broccoli

 This is a super simple, way delicious, and nutritious side dish for any meal. My daughter gobbles this up like candy :). It crisps up on the outside but is soft at the same time. All you need is...

1-2 heads of broccoli

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup parm cheese (grated works best)

garlic powder

onion powder

salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 375

*if you have something else in the oven at say 350, you can just put the broccoli in at that temp, no need to be fussy about how high the oven is with this dish*

Trim the broccoli and put it in a bowl. Pour over the olive oil and toss the broccoli to coat. Then add in the spices and cheese. Add however much garlic and onion you like, if you want it to have a little kick add in some red pepper flakes. Mix it all up so the broccoli is evenly coated. Spread it out in a single layer onto a cookie sheet-to make clean up easy, line the cookie sheet with tinfoil. Bake for 20-30 min depending on how crispy you like it.

Spaghetti squash w/home made Alfredo sauce served with grilled chicken and roasted broccoli

Alfredo sauce

Alfredo sauce

If you serve this sauce over spaghetti squash its a great low carb healthy indulgence. Its rich, creamy, and of course easy to make. 

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup of unsalted butter

1 cup grated parm cheese

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

2-3 cloves chipped garlic

salt & pepper

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the cream and simmer on low for 5 min. Add in the garlic and cheese, stirring so they don't stick to the bottom. Stir in the parsley and serve!

Tilapia with Cauliflower veggie sauce

We were getting ready to leave town, which means I like to make sure I use up all the produce in the fridge so that it doesn't go to waste. This recipe was just complete randomness, yet it turned out really, really good. It came out with a sort of italin/thai mix in taste and I REALLY wish I had some coconut milk to put in it, but I was just using things I already had. I put this mixture on top of some Tilapia fillets served with yellow saffron rice. 

 

'

1/2 head of cauliflower 

8-10 mini sweet peppers chopped and de-seeded

3-4 dried red chilis

1 tbls of red curry paste

1 cup vegetable broth

1/2 yellow onion chopped

3-4 tomatos chopped

1 can tomato sauce

4 tilapia fillets

1 package Mahatma saffron rice

Preheat the oven to 375

place the fish on a tinfoil lined baking sheet, sprinkle with olive oil, S & P. set aside.

Put the cauliflower, tomatoes, onions, and peppers into a pan with some olive oil and sautee until they get a little brown. Stir in the chicken broth, tomato sauce, and curry paste. If you really like spicy food and don't have kids to worry about, go ahead and cut open a couple of the red chilis and put them in the pan. If you'd rather be safe just throw them in whole. Once this mix comes up to a boil, turn it down to a simmer for at least 15 min. 

^I had gotten this all done during my sons nap time so all I had to do later was reheat and cook the fish^

Spoon the mixture onto the tilapia fillets and place into the oven. 

The fish should take no more than 10 min to cook ( it should flake when poked with a fork). You can serve it with the saffron rice or to be super healthy and not carby serve it ontop of some sauteed spinach. 

Quinoa and Turkey stuffed peppers

Bell peppers were on sale this week so I wanted to make something with them for dinner. I stuffed these one's with Quinoa, lean ground turkey, onions, bell peppers, corn, and as you can see ooey gooey mozzarella cheese :)

It was delicious.

Even more delicious a couple days later as leftovers.

3 bell peppers (halved lengthwise and de-seeded, and save the top part you cut off-use whats around the steam to put into the mix)

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup cooked quinoa (so make a 1/2 cup batch)

1/2 yellow onion-chopped

1 package lean turkey

1 cup shredded skim/low fat mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 375

Cook you Quinoa, once done put it into a large bowl.

Saute the onion, bell pepper, and frozen corn in a little bit of olive oil. Then put into the bow . 

Cook up your turkey and add some spices! I did S & P, some cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder. You can really use anything you like.

Once the meet is cooked put it in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. 

Mix it all up together, add a little more S & P if needed. Place your bell pepper halves in a lightly oiled Pyrex dish. Scoop the filling into the peppers-really fill them! Don't worry about it looking pretty it'll taste good enough to please all the senses! Once all the peppers are filled top them with the mozzarella cheese and place into the oven. I cooked them for around 20-25 min. Depending on how toasted you want your cheese you could leave them in for shorter or longer. 

Lemon Garlic Asparagus

The nice weather is here so I'm spending less time with the stove and more time with the grill! Love it. This is just super simple asparagus that tastes delicious and has virtually no mess left to clean.

We cook ours on the BBQ but it can also be done in the oven at around 375 for 20-30 min.

To make it oh so simple I just place everything on tinfoil, which will then be folded into a neat little pouch. Drizzle the asparagus with some olive oil, S&P, and minced garlic. Lay down some lemon slices and fold it up! I try to keep mine as flat as possible so that all the asparagus cooks evenly. If your doing it on the grill just thrown it on whenever you put the meat on and forget about it till dinner is ready.

YUM!

You know if a 3 year old eats green stuff, its got to be good.

Stuffed Zuchinni

This is a recipe from a cook book my mother in law gave me called " The Lebanese Kitchen" by Salma Hage.

The cook book is FULL of amazing recipes and this is just my first of many that will be made from it. I changed some of the ingredients and didn't have everything that it called for, but it still came out amazing. The recipe calls for ground lamb, I used ground turkey- if you want to use beef that would be fine too. It also calls for a seven spices seasoning which I've attached a link to the recipe below. 

Both hubby and goose were pleased.

4 zucchinis halved lengthwise 

( I used the dark green ones, but I think your supposed to get the lighter green)

1 tbs olive oil + a little extra for drizzling

9 oz. any ground meat you please

1 yellow onion chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp seven spices seasoning

salt & pepper

14 oz can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 375

Place the halved zucchini in a roasting pan and brush with olive oil. Roast for 30 min. If you'd like you can scoop out the insides a little bit to make more of a "boat" or you can leave it as is. 

While your Capuchin is roasting you can cook your meat in a pan over medium heat. Once the meat is evenly browned add in the onions and garlic, cooking for another 5 min. Stir in the seven spices, S&P, and cook for another 10 min ( its going to smell amazing!). 

Put the can of diced tomatoes into a small sauce pan and add 2 1/2 cups of water to it. Bring it to a boil over medium heat-reduce to a simmer for 20 min.

By this time your zucchini should be done and ready to come out of the oven. When you take them out leave the oven on so its ready for when the food needs to go back in.

Spoon the meat mixture on top of the zucchini  pour the tomato sauce on top, and sprinkle with pine nuts. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and return it to the oven. Bake for 40-45 min. 

Quick fix chicken

So when I come home from the gym I need a quick healthy lunch otherwise I tend to grab at the not so healthy things that sometimes still consume my fridge. These grilled chicken strips are a god send! And whats even better is when they are on sale for buy one get one free (this week at Safeway). They are awesome for sandwiches, salads, wraps, anything you can think of for you protein intake. They are 97% fat free and each container has 2 servings. The regular grilled only has 100 cal, no carbs, and 26g of protein per serving! Perfect for a quick high protein lunch!

 I don't know why it keeps uploading the pic upside down but you get the idea :)

Beef with Brown gravy

This is a comfort food of mine, my mom used to make it for my brother and I when I was little and now I make it at least every other week for my family.

I don't have an official name for it but believe me, its yummy (and fairly healthy)!

I make it all in my electric skillet which makes clean up even easier.

Beef w/ Gravy

1 pd. Lean ground beef ( I used 93%)

1 packet of onion mix

2 tbsp of worcestershire sauce

1 cup mushrooms

1-2 packets of brown  gravy

Wide egg noodles

Mix the onion packet, Worcestershire sauce, S & P into the meat. Form into patties and cook on medium heat until done (I can usually get between 7-8). Once the patties are done add the gravy into the skillet following the directions on the packet. Add in the mushrooms and let it simmer for a few minuets. Place the meat back into the gravy and let it warm back up.

Usually I serve it over wide egg noodles. My daughter gobbles it up and typically asks for seconds.

Without the noodles it has 121.7 cal 5.2g fat 5.3g carbs and 14.4g protien ( meat patty and gravy) 

Tilapia with roasted peppers & blue cheese

When your trying to eat healthy and have a lot of protein, try to work fish in at least once a week. Tilapia has a very mild flavor and is relativity cheap compared to other fish.

This recipe could't be easier or more delicious (my hubby begs me to make it again).

If you don't like blue cheese you can try mozzarella or really any cheese your fond of! I served it on a bed of fresh spinach, this too can be sauteed or replaced with kale. 

Tilapia with roasted peppers & blue cheese

(serves 4)

4 tilapia fillets

2 bell peppers ( you can use any color)

1/2 of a yellow onion

2 cups spinach

Blue cheese crumbles

Preheat oven to 350

Chop the peppers and onions into bite size pieces, place in a pan with some olive oil and sautee until soft. Cover a baking sheet with either tin foil or parchment paper. Put the tilapia on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, S & P. 

Once the peppers are done, spoon them on top of the fish and sprinkle with blue cheese. Bake for 15-20 min or until the fish is flaky. Put a handful of greens on the plate and place the fish on top. 

Enjoy!

(I told you it was easy)

Decent snacks to satisfy your sweet cravings

Alright, so the other day I went to the store and decided to really look at snacks and pick a couple I felt were acceptable for me to eat while my natural lean muscled hubby gets the late night munchies. Having carbs late at night is never a good idea, but lets face it, it happens so lets pick wisely. 

I found these 3 sweet treats..

The cookie chips are AMAZING. Really thin but super sweet and satisfying, you could even crunch them up with some yogurt. The serving size is 5 cookies but I was satisfied after 1 because of how sweet they were. 

1 cookie chip = 24 cal 3.4g carb (which isn't too bad for a late night craving stopper)

So the chocolate covered pretzel thins (from trader joes) are that great combo of salty sweet. But yes they have lots of carbs. 

This was delicious. It really was. Almost like a mix between and wafer cookie and Twix bar. As you can see it has more protein in it compared to the other two finds which makes it even better. 

Just remember not to beat yourself up if you end up eating a brownie at the end of the night. Depriving yourself of the things you want all the time is why we usually fail when we are on our "diets." Giving into temptation every once in a while is perfectly fine, just remind yourself of your goals and why you started this journey in the first place and usually you won't want that second brownie. 

Breakfast DOESN'T have to be carby!

Breakfast back in the day for me used to be pancakes, french toast, biscuits, some sort of bread with bacon and eggs. 

Now on days when I'm not hitting the gym I make sure to eat a breakfast low in carbs and high in protein since I wont be moving enough to burn all the carbs. You can easily make healthy breakfast with leftover meat you have from the week, start making an extra sausage, piece of steak, or even cooked bacon (in the oven on a rack to get rid of more fat/oil) to use on days like this. Last night we made sausage and peppers for dinner so I had a left over bratwurst to cut up and toss with mushrooms, peppers, and a few onion slices. Adding oil to the pan isn't necessarily  just spray a little pam to make sure your egg won't stick. Don't be afraid to eat the WHOLE egg either. Yes, there is more fat in an egg when you eat the yolk, but the yolk also has over half the protein found in a egg and a lot of really good vitamins. Keep the ratio 3:1, 1 whole egg to 3 egg whites if you need more than a single egg like when you make an omelette. 

This meal has 279cal, 7g carbs, and 25g protein! High protein=stay fuller longer!