Tropical Fruit Quinoa

So I made the blackberry quinoa yesterday and a friend gave me the suggestion of making it with tropical fruit. I love pineapple and coconut so of course I was more than happy to try it out! It turned out really yummy. I used canned fruit though, I can't wait until spring comes and I can get fresh fruit easily. This one is a little higher calorie, but it has a ton a fruit in it and it's super filling.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup milk/soy milk/ coconut mil/ etc
1/4 cup water
1/4 quinoa (rinsed)
1/4 cup pineapple or 2 rings cut into chunks
1/4 cup mandarin oranges (I used a fruit cup)
2 tablespoons coconut

Directions:

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in berries and cinnamon.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 355  Carbs: 67  Fat: 8  Protein: 9  Fiber: 6  

Blackberry Quinoa

I have wanted to try to incorporate more quinoa in my diet. I was told about eating as a breakfast cereal so I thought I would experiment. This is what I came up with. It's nice and fruity, but it's also filling and satisfying. I also pit a little cinnamon on top and it reminded me of blackberry cobbler. So try it and let me know what you think about this recipe. 

INGREDIENTS

·         1/4 cup low fat milk/ soy milk/ almond milk etc.

·         1/4 cup water

·         1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed

·         1 cup blackberries

·         1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         2 teaspoons honey or sweetener

DIRECTIONS

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in berries and cinnamon.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 237  Carbs: 45  Fat: 4  Protein: 10 Fiber: 11

3-2-1- cake

 Link to recipe

This is a wonderful idea, thanks Jennifer! I have to admit that cake is a major weakness for me, but now I can cake whenever I want! Plus the recipe makes 32 servings so when you have those super strong cravings it's there and ready in 1 minute. You can also put all kinds of toppings on top so it doesn't get boring, just make good choices. For my first try I mixed the angel's food and devil's food....and let me tell you it was sinfully good! The calories change depending on what kind of cake mix you choose but if you use MyFitnessPal to log calories they have several different flavors already calculated. 

Another variation: (I tried this tonight)

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 tsp sugar/stevia/splenda/etc.

3 tbsp cake mixture 

Fat free ready whip to top

Mix the frozen strawberries and 1tsp sweetener, heat for 2 minutes. No need to add water because the strawberries make their own syrup, just mix in the cake mix and stir. Microwave for 1 minute and yum!

Nutritional Value:

Calories: 134  Carbs: 39g  Fat: 2g  Protein: 3g  Sugars: 14g  Fiber: 2g

Healthy Breakfast Pockets

This is the link to the original recipe that I changed a bit.

Yield: 16 Breakfast Pockets

Ingredients

Dough

·         1 pouch yeast

·         1/2 c warm water

·         3/4 c fat free evaporated milk

·         1/2 c vegetable oil

·         1/4 c sugar

·         1 egg

·         1 tsp salt

·         2 cup whole wheat flour

·         1 ½ all-purpose flour

Filling

·         1 lb sausage (I used the jenni-o Italian flavored ground turkey)

·         1 ¾ cup of liquid eggs (or 7 eggs)

·         1 cup chopped turkey ham

·         1 package weight watchers shredded cheese

·         1 bell pepper chopped

·         1/2 tsp salt

·         1/2 tsp pepper

·         1/2 tsp garlic salt

Instructions

Dough:

1.       In a bowl, dissolve yeast in the water.

2.       Add milk, oil, sugar, egg, salt, and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth.

3.       Add enough flour until it makes a soft dough but do not knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Filling:

4.       Cook the sausage and pepper over medium heat until browned. Drain. Add the eggs, turkey ham, and spices. Cook and stir until set. Sprinkle with cheese and keep warm.

Assembling the pockets:

5.       Preheat oven to 350°.

6.       Punch down the dough and cut into 16 equal pieces.

7.       Roll each piece into 7 in circle on a floured surface. Top with 1/3 c filling, fold, and pinch shut. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

To freeze:

8.       Allow to cool on the baking sheet. Once cooled, place in the freezer until frozen. Store in a ziploc bag in the freezer for 3-6 months. To reheat, place on a paper towel and microwave for 1 1/2-2 minutes.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 295 Carbs:25g Fat: 13 Protein: 19 Fiber: 2g

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Link to Recipe

Oh my goodness this a really good recipe! I love when I can find recipes that are yummy and healthy at the same time. This could be good for a breakfast, snack, or dessert. I made a few changes to the recipe. I changed the flour to half all purpose and half whole wheat flour and instead of sugar I used Stevia in the raw, plus I changed it from 32 servings to 24. 

Modified Nutritional info:

Calories: 158  Carbs: 21  Fat: 8  Protein: 4  Fiber: 2

Skinny Baked Spaghetti

If you like Italian food get ready to start loving being on a diet! I've been wanting to make baked spaghetti for a while now, but I wanted it to be healthy. So I started thinking of ways to make it with in a 300 calorie rage so that I could eat it and not feel guilty. Well I did tonight, 1st try and the recipe was a rousing success!!! Try it because baby you will love it! 

Recipe:

Ingredients- 

20 oz Lean ground turkey

26oz Jar/can pasta sauce

2x 8oz bags of Tofu shirataki noodle substitute 

8oz bag of weight watcher shredded cheese

3 cloves garlic 

1 tablespoon Italian spices (or to taste)

1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper (or to taste, optional) 

Directions:

Brown ground turkey with chopped garlic, Italian spices, and crushed red pepper. Once it is cooked add the pasta sauce and simmer for at least 10min. Rinse the shirataki noodles and squeeze as much of the water out as you can. Microwave the noodles for 1 to 2 min then drain any more water that seeps out. Add the noodles to sauce and mix all together. Put in 8x8 pan and cover the top with the entire bag of cheese. Bake for 350 degrees for 45min. Let cool for about 10min, makes 6 servings. 

Nutritional information:

Calories: 279  Carbs: 17g  Fat: 14g  Protein: 30g  Fiber: 4g

He way I used to make it:

Calories: 658.5  Carbs: 13.33g  Fat: 26.33g  Protein: 45g  Fiber: 2g

That is a big difference! But the recipe still tastes just so so good! 

Peanut Butter Brownies

Link to Recipe

This is a really good recipe, it tastes good and it certainly satisfies the sweet tooth. It's amazing to me that you can make brownies with no oil! No oil! Awesome! Plus these were so satisfying that I was content to just have one and put the others away so if you like sweets this is one to try. Unfortunately the picture doesn't make it look too appetizing because I made two mistakes. First I used crunchy peanut butter so the topping didn't get smooth like it was supposed to. Second I cut them when they were too warm...that was dumb. However despite the look they were every tasty. The below picture is how they are supposed to look if you don't make silly mistakes.They are super easy to make and they are kid approved. Both of my nieces loved them. They didn't know that they were secretly healthy :)

Pumpkin Spice Coffee

I was craving a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks this morning, but I knew it was a bad idea. So my lovely friend Keya linked me a recipe to help me out. I doctored it up and found that it was pretty good! Not exactly like Starbucks, but enough like it to kick my craving. 

The original recipe calls for espresso, but I don't have an espresso machine, so I just used strong coffee.

Recipe:

2 tablespoons pumpkin puree 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of your favorite no calorie sweetener

1/2 cup skim milk

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Fat free Reddi whip (optional) 

8oz strong coffee 

Mix all of the ingredients in a small sauce pan until smooth. Heat, but do not bring to a boil. Mix with your coffee or espresso and top with the Reddi whip. Enjoy :)

Nutritional info: 

Cal: 70  Fat: 0g  Sugars: 3g  Protein: 5g

Lets compare that to the Starbucks latte shall we? This is the nutritional information for a 16oz pumpkin spice latte with nonfat milk and whip cream.

Cal: 330  Fat: 7g (4.5 of that is saturated)  Sugars: 50g  Protein: 14g

So they have me beat on the protein, but that's about it. 

Outside-In Turkey Tamale Pie

Link to recipe

I am a Mexican food fiend! It seems like every time we "cheat" on the meal plan it's almost always Mexican food, so I deiced to start finding some healthy versions. This is a yummy crock pot casserole, it takes 3 to 4 hours to cook keep that in mind. Now you can't tell from this picture because of the toppings, but I'm not going to lie it's pretty ugly lol. So if you have a picky eater the look might gross them out, but I assure you that it tastes really good. This is going to be a recipe I use often for sure!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Parfait

Link to Recipe

I thought I would try this recipe because I am trying to will it to be fall. I ate this for breakfast, but I don't know if I would recommend eating it first thing in the morning. This would be a really good dessert or maybe an afternoon snack. The recipe makes one serving, but it is huge so make sure you are really hungry. I wasn't able to eat the whole thing. It was very tasty, however the texture was a little weird because it's cold oatmeal. I'm thinking about playing with the recipe to make a hot version and maybe a little less sweet so I can eat it for breakfast. All in all it is a good recipe and if you like pumpkin flavored things you should try it :)

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

I was originally going to do a hungry girl oatmeal parfait, but I ran out of time this morning. So I just did the hungry girl style oatmeal, yay improvising. It turned out really yummy perfect for the kiddos before school or anyone else for that matter. It was like eating apple pie flavored oatmeal yum!

Recipe:
1/3 cup old-fashion oats
3/4 cup Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
no-calorie sweeter of your choice (I used stevia in the raw)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 vanilla extract
Dash of salt
Half of an apple chopped to your liking (or a whole apple if you want)

Through it all together and cook for about 10min on the stove top. Then if you want to make it look pretty, because it's fun to eat pretty food, put a little fat free reddi whip on top, sprinkle a little cinnamon.

Nutritional info: (this info is based on a whole apple)
Cal: 220  Carbs: 52  Fat:5  Protein:4  Fiber: 8  Sugar: 27
Enjoy :)

High Fiber Scottish Oat Muffins

Link to Recipe

These are surprising delicious! I wanted to try the recipe because they were healthy, but they were really tasty. You can defiantly tell that they are wheat and bran but it didn't matter. The best way to describe it is like a wonderful coupling of carrot cake and banana bread. The recipe called for dates, I am not a fan so I didn't add them so it changed the calories a bit.

Calories (with out dates)
Cal: 150  Fat:7  Carbs:20  Fiber:3.5  Protein:4  Sugars:8

Banana Muffins

Link to Recipe

These were so good!! It's like having a single serving of banana bread, so it's easier to control your calorie intake. The original recipe is 79 calories per muffin, but I wanted to add a little to this recipe. For half of the recipe I put some walnuts on top and the other I shaved ultra dark chocolate on top. These are wonderful for breakfast or just an easy snack on the go. Yum!

Calories:
adding about 1/2 tablespoon of walnuts on top of each muffin
Cal: 112  Carbs: 17.8  Fat: 3.6  Protein: 2.7  Fiber: 1.17

adding 88% dark chocolate (I used about 5 squares for 6 muffins)
Cal: 102  Carbs: 19  Fat:2.5  Protein:2.5  Fiber:1.5

Black and Blue Berry Smoothie

On my meal plan I have to eat 5 smaller meals a day so some times eating gets old. Plus in the summer I don't want to eat that much. So smoothies are a life saver! This way I can make sure I get enough calories with out feeling like I eat all the time. This smoothie is packed with fiber and has a decent amount of protein as well. It's wonderfully refreshing and oh so yummy!

Recipe:
6oz greek yogurt
1cup blue berries
1cup blackberries
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon fat free redi whip

Blend away and enjoy!

(Tip: I recommend using frozen berries that way you don't have to worry about ice)

Peach-blueberry oatmeal muffinmania

Link to Recipe

I love to have a quick breakfast that I can grab on the go and muffins are perfect for that. Most muffins are filled with oil and packed with sugar, but not these! These are filling, fruity, and have a good amount of protein. Because it's summer I was able to use fresh peaches and blueberries and it was fabulous! I bet frozen would be great too. Highly recommended for people who have a hard time getting breakfast in.

Calorie info:
PER SERVING (1 muffin):
110 calories, 1.5g fat, 125mg sodium, 22g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 8g sugars, 3g protein

Fruit Tart

Link to Recipe

I loved this recipe. It was the first faux cheesecake that I tried. The crust is exceptional! The recipe called for just blue berries on top, but I made this for a party and I wanted to please everyone. I also chose to drizzle to top with local honey instead of the maple syrup, but I'm sure it's wonderful the other way as well. This one is a crowd pleaser for sure :)

Rainbow Spaghetti Sauce

This is a little thing I whipped up. I am still training my self to like veggies that I would normally never eat. So this would be good for picky eaters and kids. It's a good way to sneak the veggies into something that everyone loves....spaghetti!

Recipe:
Tomato Sauce (Either from a jar or home made whatever you have time for)
Red, Yellow, and Green Peppers
Shredded Zucchini
Lean Turkey Burger 
Spice the Sauce to your liking (I like to add some heat to mine)
Let it simmer on a low heat until all of the veggies are to your desired done'ness

Enjoy :)

Coconut Macaroons

Link to Recipe

I love this recipe so much. I have made it for several get-togethers and they go fast! Be careful not to over whip the egg whites though, if you do they turn out kind of weird. I drizzle 72% dark chocolate over the top, it adds rich chocolaty flavor, but it's better for you ;)

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

This recipe is amazing!!! It is so yummy and it is perfect if you are craving a milk shake. It is made with greek yogurt, so it is really creamy and it has a good amount of protein in it as well. Some times I use this as an evening snack when the sweet tooth attacks.

Recipe
6oz greek yogurt
1/2 of a banana
1 cup strawberries
splash of milk
Sugar free whipped topping (I used the fat free Reddi-whip it's only 5 calories for 2 tablespoons!)

Blend it up and enjoy!

Tips:

• If you use frozen fruits then you don't have to use any ice and it comes out really thick too.

• Plus banana's are higher in calories and can sometimes overwhelm any other flavors, this way you can put as little or as much banana as you like. 

• A good way to freeze the banana is to cut it into little slices and put them on a plate or cookie sheet, freeze them, and then put them in a bag that way they don't all stick together.

Hawaiian B-Fast Stacks

Link to Recipe

These are so good, fruity, and filling! There is just something awesome about the combination of cream cheese, Canadian bacon, pineapple, and salsa! I used mango salsa to add extra fruitiness! Plus they are super quick and easy to make. The serving size is two stacks for 249 calories so good :)