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!

Spaghetti Squash

This little beauty is an amazing versatile veggie that has little flavor on its own, which makes it even better to cook with! You can use it to replace spaghetti noodles of course, but you can also use it as a base for adding a little extra to meals without adding too many extra calories or carbs (1 cup has 42 cal and only 10 carbs). PLUS, its SO simple to prepare and can be frozen in portioned out baggies for future use *up to one month*.

Go to you market and get a spaghetti squash, don't be afraid to have left overs, you will for sure fall in love and want to have some in your fridge and freeze for future meals.

In order to cook it I start by puncturing it with my knife like you do a potato and put it in the microwave for 1 min intervals  Its pretty tough to cut through so by doing this a few times it loosens things up a bit. Once you can cut lengthwise all the way through scoop out all the pulp-if you feeling adventurous you can roast the seeds (here's a blog with the recipe perfectly normal chaos)

I cut each half into halves again and place into a microwave safe dish covered with saran wrap. YOU DO NOT NEED TO ADD WATER! The squash has so much liquid in it itself that adding water will just make a bigger mess-just leave the beauty alone and nuke it for 6-8 min until the strings come off easily with a fork.

If your going to portion it out do it once it cools and make sure to save some in the fridge for the upcoming week to use with whatever your little heart desires. 

Tuna is super high in protein! I made it here with a bed of spaghetti squash. I tossed the squash with some S&P then put it on a cookie sheet with tuna and cheese on top. Under the broiler for 10 min, delicious and SO filling. (337cal)

AMAZING with homemade Meat Sauce 

Here I used it as a bed for my breakfast. Topped it with an egg, bacon, and some light syrup (282cal)

Veggie packed meat sauce

So the great thing about making spaghetti sauce is you can add more or take a little out of things you like and dislike so don't be afraid to tweak the recipe. This is my version of a veggie packed lean meat healthy yummy tasting sauce :)

1 pack of either 95% lean ground beef or turkey (1.5-2pds)

2 cans of plain tomato sauce

1 can of petite diced tomatos

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

2 cups of raw spinach

1/2 of an onion 

3-4 garlic cloves

Cook the meat in a pot, since its so lean there won't be much for you to drain out. Once the meat has started cooking add in the onions and mushrooms. After the meat has finished cooking add in your tomato sauce, diced, and spinach. You can either chop or just smash the garlic depending on how you like your flavor-throw that in the pot too. Add in some salt, pepper, basil, ANY green herb you have on hand and let it come up to a boil. Once its boiling turn it down and have it on a simmer for an hour or so. The most important thing to remember about sauce is its all about your taste-so taste it! If you think it needs more or something add it, just remember that you can't take "too much salt" out so start with a little just to be safe. 

Serve it over regular noodles or breakout that spaghetti squash!

"oopsie" bread

This by far will become anyones best friend if you're on a low carb diet! Not being able to eat a sandwich is a killer but with "Oopsie" bread those days can be over!!! 

Look how delicious..

Now don't expect the same consistency as regular sliced bread, its more spongy but equally delicious (way better than those low carb gross chewy tortillas)!

So I made the recipe as it is but next time I will for sure add in some herbs like garlic powder, parsley, or even grated cheese. 

Though I haven't tried it yet, I'm pretty sure these would be ok to freeze. To re-heat i'd just pop them in the toaster!

Here's the recipe:

3 large eggs

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

3 oz cream cheese

1/8 tsp salt

1. Seperate the eggs, place the egg whites in a large bowl

2. Beat the whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form

3. Beat together the egg yolks, cream cheese, and salt

4. Fold the whites GENTLY into yolks

5. Using a spoon put mounds on a parchment lined baking sheet with space between

6. Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 min (they should give to the touch and be golden brown)

* you can also make "mini" ones to use as crackers*

Eating to nourish!

Alright, so I did it. I started a food blog! Now I'm sure most of you know I'm a stay at home mom with 2 kids on a mission to get fit and stay healthy! I made this site to share the recipes in hopes to inspire some of you to make them yourself and start your own journey.