Avocado Tuna Melt

 

Simply delectable. 

This dish is a clean meal, so easy to prepare, full of protein, fiber, and good fats, and will have your mouth craving it's creaminess when it's gone.

I am not a seafood fan, but tuna? I love the stuff, especially warm and sprinkled with cheese.

Cut open that avo and get started.

Ingredients 
1/2 medium avocado
1 can of tuna, in water
1 cup of lettuce, chop
1/6 tsp garlic powder (optional)
shredded cheese
diced tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 
Place a cup of chopped lettuce on a plate and garnish with diced tomatoes.
In a small bowl mix tuna, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. 
Gently peel avocado half.
Gently scoop out a bit of the center of the avo to make a larger hole.
Place mixed tuna inside the avo crater  and sprinkle with cheese.
place in a microwave save dish/bowl with sides to prop up the tuna filled avocado and microwave for 45 sec, or until cheese is melted.
Gently place heated tuna filled avo on top of the prepared lettuce plate.

 

ENJOY!!!!

Healthy Popcorn Chicken

Chicken is a staple in our diet. 

So I love making new recipes with it. 

This one was so fun and easy; a perfect healthy and quick dinner.

Adapted from food.com
Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 large egg
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs milk 
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. 
Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray or olive oil.
Cut chicken in 1 inch pieces. 
In a small bowl whisk egg, milk, mustard, and salt. 
In a pie tin, or on a large plate, pour bread crumbs.
Dip chicken in egg mixture then in bread crumbs. 

Line breaded chicken on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.

Bake for 10 min. Then flip. Spray flipped chicken and bake for 8-10 more minutes.--watch closely they will brown quickly. 

 Enjoy!!!!

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I love this easy recipe. 

I have made it several times for lunches at work. 

This is also a very versatile recipe.

It can be a simple meal or a complex palate teaser. 

Use your imagination. 

but here's what I did: 

Ingredients: 

1 large bell pepper (or 2 small),
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1-2 olives, diced
1-2 diced cherry tomatoes 
3 tbs shredded cheese
OPTIONAL: 1 tsp sriracha (I love the spice!)
OPTIONAL: 2 tsp plain greek  yogurt (great sour cream substitute!)

Directions: 

Cut bell pepper in half and rid of seeds and ribs (the white part lining the wall)
Scoop and fill bell pepper halves with quinoa
Top with diced olives, cherry tomatoes and cheese. 

Option 1) Microwave for 30-45 sec until warmed and cheese is melted.

Option 2) Heat oven 350 degrees and bake for 10-15 min. (This option cooks the bell pepper more if you don't like it raw--i like the crunch in the raw)

ENJOY!!!!

Have any other suggestions or add-ins that you've done?

Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce Chicken

Sun dried tomatoes are a luxury food for me. 

I love them on anything and everything 

(Well maybe not cereal). 

Most Italian restaurants have some dish with sun dried tomatoes and I usually go for that dish.

So when I found this recipe from Gabbi's Kitchen for a cream sauce chicken that had sun dried tomatoes I said "MAKING" and added the ingredients to my grocery list. 

Of course I adapted the recipe to fit this healthy foodies lifestyle by dropping the heavy cream and using plain greek yogurt 1:1.

Turned out wonderful!

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts, 
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tbs butter (I used Parkay) 
2 tbs flour
1/2 cup onion, chopped (I used half of a small onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (I used sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, worked just fine!)
1 1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
Whole wheat pasta

Directions: 

Heat skillet with 1 tbs olive oil
Rinse and pat dry chicken. Pound breast flat and then rub with salt and pepper as desired. 
Place chicken breast, ugly side down (you'll know) in heated oil and saute for 5 min on both sides, until chicken is NO LONGER PINK, COOK THROUGH. 
Remove from heat and place to the side, covered. 

Chop onion, and mince garlic. 
Melt butter in large sauce pan, then add onion and garlic. Cooke until soft. 
Add sun-dried tomatoes. Blend
Add 2 tbs flour and with whisk in hand slowly add chicken broth. Constantly whisk to remove lumps. 
Whisk in Greek yogurt. Stir for 3-4 min.
Take off heat and stir every once in awhile while it continues to thicken. 
Make Pasta. 

Serve chicken over pasta. 

ENJOY!!!!

Healthy Easy Stuffing

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

This my first married thanksgiving, and although we are nowhere near our families I am so thankful to be able to share this holiday with my amazing husband and new friends!

I was asked to make the stuffing...

Have I ever made stuffing?

 No.

Of course I have to make it from scratch.

And it needs to be healthier than the boxed alternative.

Also have no meat....other recipes I looked at called for some sort of sausage....WHAT?  

Who stuffs a turkey with another meat? That sounds so ODD and probably against some animal right policy 

(even though I, personally, am not stuffing the turkey with this as it is being brought as a side...still people. Sausage?)

ANYWAYS, this is what I came up with, and it was DELICIOUS!

Easy, healthy and flavorful.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of Oroweat whole wheat Premium Stuffing-Herb Seasoning--a mouthful I know. (you can also just get a loaf of whole wheat bread and let it sit out in the open air for ~2 days til it drys out and cut the loaf into cubes then season with desired herbs)

• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, plain (Optional--just added a little more umph to the mix)

• 1 tbs olive oil

• 1 tbs butter (I used parkay)

• 3 chopped celery stalks

• 1 large carrot peeled and chopped

• 1/2 onion, minced

• 3/4 cup dried cranberries 

• 3 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth) 

• 2 large eggs

• 1tsp parsley

• 1/2 salt

• 1/4 tsp oregano

• 1/2 tsp rosemary

Directions:

Heat a large skillet on medium high with 1 tbs olive oil and 1tbs butter
Peel and chop carrots, chop celery, and mince onion. Place in skillet and saute for 2-3 min. 
Add parsley, salt, oregano, and rosemary. Stir for 1 min
Stir in dried cranberries for 1 min. 
Remove from heat

Preheat oven 400 degrees 

Pour bread cubes and bread crumbs into a large bowl. 
Whisk eggs and pour over bread mixture.
Dump veggie mix from skillet into bread mixture and mix very well. (BE CAREFUL VEGGIE MIXTURE WILL BE HOT)

Spread evenly into a large baking pan. Evenly pour 3 cups of broth over mixture. Cover mixture with foil and bake for 25 min. 

Remove foil, stir stuffing, and bake for ~10 min, or until top of mixture is golden and crispy. (LESS TIME IF YOU LIKE IT MORE MOIST)

Serve while warm with some Turkey.

ENJOY!!!!

Roasted Tomato Spinach and Quinoa Bowl

Feta is my favorite cheese. 

Praise the Lord it is often too expensive for me to buy....

except right now, 

at Aldi's, 

where it is on sale for $1.49 for 8oz 

I bought 3 

SO now I am using it in everything:

Salads, wraps, breakfast, and now this quinoa dish. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry Quinoa, rinsed very well!
5-8 cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8-1/4 cup onion, minced (I used dried minced onion I had in my spice rack ~1 tbs)
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, just adds spice)
1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 tbs olive oil
Handful of spinach
salt and pepper to taste.
3-5 tbs crumbled feta cheese

 **Feel free to double/triple this recipe to serve more people. I ate the whole thing and was REALLY FULL but REALLY SATISFIED ***
Directions:

Heat a small pot with the 1tbs olive oil on Medium-High. 
Add sliced cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper to your liking, and saute until wilted.
Add onion and cook through. Add minced garlic cloves and mix all  for 1 min (Not cooked through) 
Add 1 cup chicken or veggie broth, red pepper flakes, quinoa, and salt and pepper to your liking. Bring to a boil for 1-2 min. 
Lower heat and simmer for 15 min. 
Blend in handful of spinach and simmer for 5 more min. 
Remove from heat and fold in feta cheese. 

ENJOY!!!!

Apple Vinaigrette Dressing

I like salad dressing but not the heavy stuff, with the exception of the ranch dressing at mine and my husband's favorite steak house in California; there is just something special in that.....

Anyways, we usually only have one jar of Wishbone Fat Free Italian dressing in our fridge, which usually does the trick. 
Light and Tangy. 

However, I was needing a little kick to my salad and thought of a vinaigrette. After looking at the store dressings and turning down every jar because of the UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF SODIUM and preservatives, I thought "Hey, I can make my own."

So this recipe is adapted from foodpluswords.com. 
She has some great recipes that are simple and healthy. 

Her dressing is an apple cider vinaigrette, however, I didn't have apple cider so I used apple juice--no sugar added. 

WHAT A TREAT!

After tasting this vinaigrette I vowed to try--key workd here--making my own dressings. 

WAY cheaper, and WAY WAY WAY healthier. 

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup apple juice (or apple cider)
1/4 pure olive oil
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs agave (or honey)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
ground pepper to taste


Directions:

Mix everything, but the olive oil in a small bowl or Jar. ( I just used the jar so I didn't dirty another dish). Then slowly add in 1 tbs at a time olive oil and whisk/swirl the mixture constantly around until it thickens.

DONE! 

You now have a lightly sweet, tangy, perfect kick-of-a dressing. 
~ 8oz  
Store in the fridge and it may settle and separate so just give it a good shake before each use.

ENJOY!!!!

Quinoa Chili

I have wanted to buy and make something out quinoa (Keen-wah) since I learned about it MONTHS ago!!!! Seriously, Months! So finally, when a dear new friend of mine offered to let me join her for a Costco trip (the glorious bulk store of the world in my opinion) I knew I was going to splurge. 

Go BIG or go home. 

So after reading around on the inter-web and being chilled to bones recently with the cold weather brewing I went for a easy to make chili.

Gluten Free, protein enriched, and fiber-full this seed from the Andes is a blessing to us health foodies who want a full stomach.

Follow the first 5 steps to get plain quinoa that you can make any recipe with, follow the rest for the chili.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion flakes
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
chopped chili pepper (only if you want some more spicy)
1/3 cup black beans
1/4 cup diced tomatoes + some juice
1/3 cup corn

Making Quinoa

1. Measure out 1/3 cup Quinoa seed and rinse VERY VERY VERY VERY WELL. 2 min Min under constant, handled seed, cool water. Doing this step helps get rid of bitter taste many find when they cook it straight out the bag.
2. Drain 
3. Heat 1 tsp olive oil on medium-high and add rinsed quinoa. Cook for a minute or so, till water is evaporated and Quinoa is toasted.
4. Add the 1 cup of water and bring to a rapid boil for 5-8 min
5. Either add flavoring (chicken broth, sat, etc) or simply reduce heat to medium low 10 min.
6. At 5 min of that simmer, add beans and spices. 
7. At 8 min of that simmer add dices tomatoes
8. At 10 min at corn and pepper and turn heat to medium-high
9. Cook for 1-2 min for rest of water to evaporate. NOT ALL THE WAY, just enough to keep everything moist not runny. 
10. Reduce heat to low while serving.

Top chili with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and shredded cheese. 

Enjoy!!!!

Funny short story: 

This pepper:

  was the hottest pepper I have ever eaten. 

My mouth burned for 1+ hours afterward.   

Tuna Pita

Need a new, easy, healthy lunch idea?

Tuna Pita. 

Full of omega-3, healthy fiber, and low carbs.  

Ingredients: 
1 pita ( I used Joseph's Heart Healthy)
1 tbs spicy Dijon Mustard
2.5 oz tuna (I used canned, in water)
1 1/2 tbs Greek yogurt
1 tsp paprika
pepper to taste
3-4 cherries tomatoes
had full of greens (your choice!)


Directions:
Mix Dijon mustard, Greek yogurt, pepper, paprika, and tuna in a small bowl till tuna is creamy.
Cut a flap open in pita--just enough to stuff it with ingredients, but not all the way off/in half. 
Fill pita with lettuce, then tuna--placing the lettuce first helps keep the pita from turning soggy from the wet tuna.
Top with tomatoes. 
Fold down flap...

Viola!

Nutrition Information:

141 Cal * 12 Carbs * 1 Sat Fat * 26 g Protein * 5 g Fiber

Roasted Chickpeas

Sometimes we just need a little crunch in our life. 

Don't go for the chips.

 Go for the Chickpeas. 

Your body will thank you later. 

They can be made sweet, spicy, salty...pretty much anyway that you can concoct in your mind and toss in a bowl with them you can have. 

So make em'!

Ingredients 

• 1 can Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Rinse Chickpeas in a colander, and then dry VERY WELL. (they will turn mushy if not)
Mix spices and olive oil in a small bowl. 
Add chickpeas into mixture and toss well. 
Lay on a baking sheet and place in oven. bake for 30 min or until crunchy. After the first 20 min or so shake pan to make sure they don't burn. Repeat as you see fit. 
   

ENJOY your very healthy protein enriched snack!

Nutrition Information:

 Makes about 5 severing. Serving size 1/4 cup.

100 cal* 14 carb* 0 sat fat* 4g protein* 4 fiber

Healthy Carrot Cake (with Homemade Frosting!)

I made this for my brother's birthday. He didn't know it was healthy until after he took a huge bite, grinned with a mouth full of cake, mumbled out "this is delicious!", and dove in to take another bite when I announced it. 

Everyone was pretty impressed. 

So make it, and enjoy every last bite!

Homemade Healthy Carrot Cake:

• 2 cup flour 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups shredded carrots (Note: Use big carrots and grate on small part of cheese grater)
• 2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven 350
Mix dry ingredients together and wet (wet includes carrot shreds), then blend together; slowly mixing them till fully combined.
Pour in two 8inch pans or one 13x9. 
Bake 35 min for 8 inc, 40-45 in 13x9 or until no longer wet in center.
Cheesecake Flavor Frosting:

• 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese

• 1/4 cup softened unsalted butter (you can't really get around this, you need the fat to create the whipped texture)

• 2 tsp vanilla
• Powdered sugar

Mix together and add in 1/4 cup of powdered sugar at a time until desired texture is reached.

ENJOY!!!!

Nutrition Information
Serving 15 slices
175 Cal * 9g Fat  *  1 Sat Fat  *  22 carbs *  9 sugar  * 250 sodium

No Bake AMAZE BALLS! (or bites)

"They" say these give your energy...
"They" say these are healthy...
"They" say they are easy to make...

I say they are bites of delicious splendor that explode with flavor in your mouth! So make them and enjoy. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup PB2 (or you choice of nut butter)
• 1/2 ground flaxseed ( I grind my own, its easier and cheaper
• 1/3 cup agave (or honey)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips (you choose your chocolate addiction, no judgment here!)    

Directions:

Place everything in a large bowl

 Mix together

And roll into balls!








Now, two options: 

1) Eat right away because I know you cant contain yourself
  
2) or place in the fridge to cool,set,and harden into perfectness that you will be thankful for in the end.  

(Choose option 2!)

ENJOY!!!

 

Slow Cooker Honey-Glazed Garlic Chicken

Mouthful of a title I know, but it did make your mouth water so keep reading and maybe no one will notice the drool. 

This was my FIRST crock pot/slow cooker recipe! 
Now, since I moved out to the mid west it was almost a taboo to say that sentence since its a staple cooking machine out here. 
So I knew it was time to break it out!

Thanks to one of my new favorite websites: myfoodfridge.com I was able to find this recipe at 6 am in the morning (I had been struggling for a few days with not having an ingredient or two and didn't want to run to the store; this website solved my dilemma) and had it cooking all day, allowing the house to smell like honey glazed deliciousness.

It was enjoyed on top of brown rice with side of mixed veggies. 

It's SUPER EASY so have no fear...

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (they can be frozen)
1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup natural ketchup
1/2 cup honey 
3 minced garlic cloves


Directions:

Place chicken at bottom of slow cooker/crock pot. Mix soy sauce, ketchup, honey, and garlic in a small bowl. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4. I found it was done at or before 6 hours ( I mean when I pushed on the chicken with a fork it just fell apart:See picture below). So I turned it to warm until dinner time!

 Serve over rice and spoon extra sauce from pot onto chicken. 

ENJOY!!!!

Chocolate Espresso Milkshake

It's been really hot at night here in the mid-west so a cold, chocolate, milk shake sounded phenomenal; So here is what I created. 

Note to everyone: If you freeze your bananas make sure you peel and cut your bananas before you freeze them. I had the "cut into thirds" part but the peeling I forgot and trying to "peel" a frozen banana is messy, mushy, hand freezing adventure in-and-of itself and I do not wish it upon anyone. 

So make this healthy milk shake and think happy thoughts!

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 frozen banana (precut and peeled before frozen)

• 4 frozen coffee ice cubes  or 2 tbs instant coffee granules (I froze coffee in an ice cube tray)

•  8oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or any milk of your choice!)

•  1 ½ tbs cocoa powder

• 2 packets Truvia or any sweetener of your choice!

• 1-2 tbs Chocolate chips or 5 dolci frutta pieces (if you don't know what these are, FIND THEM!)

Directions:

Place milk, banana, ice cubes, cocoa powder, Truvia and chocolate of choice--in that order--in a single cup blender (I use a GE Rocket Blender) till smooth and creamy. 

Enjoy with a bendy-straw—oh yes, it makes it that much more enjoyable. 

Enjoy!!!!