Showing posts with label healthy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

To die for cobb salad!

Here's just a quick post for the cobb salad I just posted today on instagram and facebook.  It's not really a recipe, per se, but the details might at least help you recreate it yourself!  It hit the spot.  :)



Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce/spinach
Hard boiled egg
Grilled chicken and venison
Avocado
Bacon
Tomatoes
Toasted, slivered almonds (a very key component, I must say!)
Green olives
Green onions
Black pepper

And that's pretty much it for the salad. Use whatever quantities of each you'd like.

I also made a quick sugar-free honey (well, honey-less) mustard dressing too!  I didn't measure (of course, ugh) but it's approximately:

1 T. yellow mustard
1 t. Rice wine vinegar
1-2 t. mayo
3-4 drops of plain liquid stevia (to taste!)
Lots of cracked pepper
And then I slowly drizzled in walnut oil until consistency and amount was right.  I think it was probably 1-2 T or so but it only made enough for one salad, so don't add too much! :)

Enjoy! xo

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Asian chicken lettuce wraps


I've been making these lettuce wraps for months. It sort of happened accidentally. I was making dinner one night, but I was super tired and had no desire to cook. At. All. Can ya feel me??  Every once in a while that happens.  ;) Then, on top of not feeling like cooking, I didn't have some of the ingredients. Who decides to make a new recipe without checking for ingredients first?  Yeah, me.  I was *this close* to just throwing in the towel and ordering pizza, but for some reason I followed through with it anyway and "winged" it, which I actually love to do most nights, so I guess it's all good.

So, the original recipe is here, but I tweaked it quite a bit (and my picture looks wayyy better. You'll see what I mean). I hope you like them as much as we do!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons sriracha, plus extra for drizzle
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon red curry paste
2 garlic cloves, pressed
3 Tablespoons peanut butter
6 Tablespoons boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste
8-12 large romaine lettuce leaves
1 carrot, shredded
chopped peanuts, optional
chopped cilantro, optional
chopped green onion, optional
diced avocado, optional

Directions:
1.) Brown chicken in large pan until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in chopped red pepper and cook until tender, 5 more minutes.

2.) Add vinegar, ginger, sriracha, sesame oil, worcestershire sauce, red curry paste and garlic, stir well until blended.  Add peanut butter and stir well. Add boiling water a tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency is reached.

3.) Assemble romaine leaves on plate. Place ground chicken mixture on each leaf and garnish with the carrot, more sriracha if you like, and any of the other toppings that sound good/you have on hand.

Enjoy!

Between me and you, sometimes I like to just chop the lettuce and toss it all together like a salad. But, shhhh, don't tell anyone.  ;)

Friday, November 2, 2012

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Spinach Smoothie!

I was taking a study break one day last week and was really craving peanut butter and chocolate!  But, since I have finally broken my weight loss plateau, I wanted to keep it as clean and healthy as possible.  So, I created this ridiculously yummy and healthy smoothie!  Enjoy!


Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie (with chia and spinach!)
Serves two-three

1 cup simply hemp milk (any milk would do)
3 heaping Tablespoons of all natural peanut butter
1 T chia seeds
2 T cacao powder
4-5 slices frozen banana
Two big handfuls of spinach
5-7 ice cubes (to your texture preference)
1 t. vanilla
4 medjool dates
Pinch of salt

Add all the ingredients into your Vitamix (or high powered blender), and blend until smooth and to your desired consistency. Top with a tiny dollop of whipped coconut cream and chocolate shavings. You'll think it's a fancy milkshake, but without the extra calories and sugar!

Whipped coconut cream
1 can of coconut milk, refrigerated for 4 hours or more (I keep a can in the refrigerator at all times so I can make this any time I want)

1 t. vanilla (or fresh vanilla bean is even better!)
1/2 t - 1t.  sweetener of choice, to taste (I have used organic raw agave, maple syrup, and coconut sugar, you could also use cane sugar or honey, or of course powdered sugar. I would like to use dates, but haven't had the time/patience to do it just yet.)

Open your can of refrigerated coconut milk, scoop out JUST the top white part that has firmed up. You don't want any of the water that's left in the bottom.  Use a mixer to whip the coconut cream until it is soft and whippy looking. Add vanilla and sweetener.  Start low on the sweetener, taste your whipped cream, add more if you want a sweeter cream.  And, done!  You could add cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, etc for a spicy kick.

Chocolate shavings, optional, but pretty!  

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Clean eating meal ideas


This month I'm going to really buckle down and focus on my clean eating principles.  5-6 meals a day (every 2-3 hours), whole foods only (no preservatives!), drink a crap load of water (12-16 glasses!) and combine a complex carb with a protein at each meal.  That is something I haven't really done in a while.  So, I've made a list of some of my own go-to meals. Keep in mind these can all be varied and changed up based on your own tastes, as well as your own personal food beliefs (vegan/grain free, etc), so just use these as a guideline.  If you have others to share, I'd love to hear them!

Happy Clean Eating!  <3


Breakfasts
Green Lemonade
Hard boiled eggs with fruit or raw vegetables, or chopped over whole grains
Rice and shine cereal (or any hot grain cereal) with fruit, honey/stevia and spinach (finely chopped!)
Fruit salad with hemp seeds
Eggs and sautéed veggies
Eggs over easy with gluten free toast
Almond flour pancake with fresh fruit “syrup” (mash and heat any fresh berries/fruit)
Sweet potato hash browns, eggs
Sautéed veggies with walnuts
Black beans with greek yogurt, salsa, green onion, fresh cilantro
Greek Yogurt and berries, with nuts
Raw buckwheat cocoa puffs cereal with almond milk and bananas
Egg “burrito” (two scrambled eggs cooked like an omelet, but roll your pre-cooked veggies inside for a burrito-ish meal) top with greek yogurt/sour cream/cashew sour cream, salsa and avocado!



Snacks
Raw veggies, avocado dip (mashed avocados with seasonings), hemp seeds
Smoothie (fruit/spinach), protein source: cheese sticks or yogurt in smoothie
Greek yogurt, honey, almond slices, berries,  protein powder
5-6 Medjool dates with raw walnuts tucked inside
Handful of any nuts with fruit and/or veggies
Greek yogurt with nut butter and bananas
Celery, carrots and apple with nut butter
Hard boiled egg, cucumbers (or any veg/fruit)
Roasted or steamed squash/sweet potato with cinnamon, agave/honey/stevia and chopped nuts
Sliced tomatoes, goat cheese, basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Cucumber, tomato, red onion salad with rice wine vinegar and grapeseed oil, salt/pepper
Black and green olives, cheese stick or nuts
Romaine or iceburg leaves with nut butter or hummus, rolled up
Deviled Eggs (two hard boiled egg yolks, greek yogurt or homemade mayo, mustard, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika)


Lunches/Dinners
Marinated, grilled Portobello mushrooms with goat cheese, and grilled veggies
Organic Corn tortillas, grilled veggies, greek yogurt (or cashew sour cream), salsa, guacamole
Fresh salad with lots of veggies, add nuts, meat, or hemp for protein
Greens with walnuts, dried cherries and goat cheese or blue cheese
Large fruit salad with spinach, almonds, hemp seeds
Taco salad with walnut “meat” (or real meat)
Quinoa stuffed peppers  (pine nuts, zucchini, onion, mushrooms, quinoa)
Whole grain tortilla (preferably brown rice or organic, sprouted whole wheat), spaghetti or pizza sauce, any 
sauteed or grilled veggies, mozzarella cheese. Broil until melty!
Any soup!  Soups are a great way to get your veggies in. Protein sources can be beans or meat.
Quinoa pasta with olive oil, garlic, any veg, or with marinara sauce
Grilled or pan seared haddock with sautéed veggies (your fave!), served on hemp seeds or brown rice, quinoa, wild rice, etc.
Tacos (organic corn shell, lots of homemade quac, fresh lettuce, organic salsa, meat or beans of your choice)
Spaghetti squash with grilled chicken, olive oil or marina sauce, fresh chopped veggies,  sprinkling of white wine vinegar
Protein of your choice with mashed cauliflower and roasted broccoli
Roasted sweet potatoes, greens salad with pine nuts
Salmon (grilled or baked), on a bed of hemp seeds, grain of your choice, or any sautéed greens, with salad  or roasted/grilled veggies.
Grilled chicken on bed of lettuce with lots of veggies, slivered toasted almonds, honey mustard dressing
Indian butter chicken with brown rice or cauliflower rice
Veggie stir fry with any protein source
Cauliflower crust pizza
Any seafood with veggies!


Monday, June 25, 2012

Blueberry Maqui Banana Smoothie

Blueberry Maqui Banana Smoothie
Have you tried any of the Navitas Naturals super foods yet?  OH, YOU SHOULD! They have such a great variety of amazing foods from hemp to cacao to more unusual fair such as lucuma and camu.  All of them are full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and their powders are an easy, tasty way to get super foods into your diet.

Recently I was able to review some of the Navitas Naturals products and combined a few into this delicious smoothie. I still want to experiment with the other powders, but today I will focus on the magic of Maqui.

Maqui are the berries from the Chilean evergreen shrub and contain a high amount of antioxidants, phytochemicals, anthocyanins, trace minerals and polyphenols. In addition to containing huge health benefits, Maqui powder from Navitas Naturals is also certified organic and is a Raw food. In other words, you need to get your hands on some of this.

One of the easiest ways to enjoy these powders is to slip some into your favorite smoothies.  You can't go wrong with any of their foods, so just jump in and enjoy.

Blueberry Maqui Banana Smoothie
3/4 cup frozen blueberries
1 medium frozen banana
1 T Maqui powder from Navitas Naturals
3 golden berries from Navitas Naturals (3 doesn't sound like much, but these babies are potent!)
1-2 medjool dates, pitted (add more for your sweetening pleasure)
1 to 1 1/4 cups of almond milk, depending on your preference in texture
3 ice cubes (mine are larger ice cubes, so if you have an ice maker or smaller trays you might need to add more ice)

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender (I highly recommend a Vitamix!), blend until super smooth! Slurp up!  xoxo