Kale Chips

Last summer I tried a few times to get good kale chips, but kept failing. I actually landed on something that worked today! Finally!!

I think the trick is getting them DRY! No water on them before you put them on the pan. These were from our CSA, so organic but that means hitch hikers, like a nice spider web I found. So they needed to be cleaned real well. I spun in my salad spinner but that isn't good enough. I then dried with a kitchen towel. 

Once dry I laid out on two baking sheets with pieces torn into bite size pieces. 

Next you want to toss in some oil. I used my sprayer with coconut oil then sprinkled each batch with some pink Himalayan salt. 

Next I popped into a preheated oven. Here's the other important part. LOW heat! I did 275 on convection oven setting. I set the timer for 10 minutes expecting to rotate pans and put in for another 5-10 minutes. BUT at only 10 minutes they were perfect!!! 

Serve plain or in soup, healthy way to get that kale in. 

Greek Turkey Burgers

I love when last minute ideas become a success. I had bought some ground turkey on BOGO sale but didn't really have a plan for it. We had some of this Greek style yogurt cucumber sauce at home (from Costco) so decided to roll with the greek theme. 

Here's the burger recipe: 

1 lb ground turkey

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp oregano

1.75oz of fresh spinach (frozen for a couple hours so it crumbles well)

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1 egg

Mix all together well with hands, then broiled until cooked (internal temp of 165 degrees)

We served the burgers with the sauce on top and in between these flat-breads (also from Costco):

Fix Count: 

Yogurt sauce a blue

Flatbread a yellow

Burgers a red and half a green

Sloppy Joe in a Bowl

Or as my kids called it: spaghetti soup. Which they all ate it, score!

This makes a large pot so plan on left overs for lunches. I love dishing it out and having it ready to grab the remainder of the week. It definitely had a canned tomatoes taste which I am not a complete fan of. But that's rather unavoidable when using canned tomatoes. Would be so good with 4 cups diced up fresh tomatoes in place of the two cans.

Makes about 10 servings
Takes about 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1 tsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey or lead beef (or half and half)
2 - 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
15 ounce can tomato sauce
3 Tbsp coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons hot sauce
12 ounces whole wheat pasta
shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Directions:
In a large pot (I used my enamel coated cast iron) place oil and add vegetables once oil is shimmering. Add in meat and cook until browned.
Add in cans of tomatoes/ sauce. Use an empty can and fill halfway with water, add to pot. Stir in sugar and sauces.
Drop in the noodles and stir til covered. Cover the pot and simmer for 11 minutes until the pasta is cooked.

Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Fix count: 1 cup= 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green
Cheese topping: 1 blue (or 1/2 blue if you don't want to use a full blue of cheese)

Adapted from original recipe here:
http://www.aspicyperspective.com/one-pot-sloppy-joe-noodle-skillet/2/

Clean Cajun Seasoning with no salt

I found a great jambalaya recipe but it called for Cajun seasoning mix. When I looked up the ingredients I was a bit shocked by the additives and yuckies added in. Decided to just make my own batch. I researched a few and decided on my own concoction without any salt.

Mix together: 

1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin

Cauliflower Crust Pizza 21 day fix Kid Approved

Craving pizza but don't want to total wreck your clean eating? Look no further! Cauliflower crust pizza! This stuff is so crazy good it ALMOST tastes like real pizza crust.

You 're going to want to pick up some cheese cloth, it's very important to squeeze out all the moisture so your crust can get nice and crispy.

Unlike pizza dough, you cook this crust before you place your toppings on so make sure to allow time for that. We like to make our own as a family so it works out great that the kids can continue to play, I call them in when the pizza is ready and they decorate theirs. Then it's only five more minutes and it's ready to eat! Helps with their patience factor too.

Time: 60 min Serves: 1 pizza serves 4 Fix Count: 1.5 Green, 1 Blue, ½ Red 

Ingredients 

1 fresh cauliflower head 

¼ cup Parmesan cheese 

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided 

2 eggs 

1 tsp dried oregano 

½ tsp sea salt 

¼ tsp crushed red pepper (optional) 

4 garlic gloves, pressed 

1 can tomato sauce, no salt or sugar added 

1 small can tomato paste 

2 Tbsp Pizza Seasoning 

1 tsp of each: oregano, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, basil, black pepper 

12 slices ham 

1 bell pepper, chopped 

1 cup mushrooms, sliced 

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. 
2. Break apart cauliflower head and place in blender. Using stick, press florets down until blended together to resemble dough or paste. 
3. Strain liquid from cauliflower dough ball using cheese cloth. Very important to get all liquid out. 
4. In medium size bowl combine cauliflower dough, parmesan cheese, ½ cup shredded mozzarella, eggs, oregano, pressed garlic cloves, salt and red pepper flakes (optional). Fold together with your hands or spatula until well blended; spread out onto baking sheet. The thinner you make it the better, but make sure it stays held together. 
5. Place crust in oven and bake for 40 minutes or until sides are browning. 
6. While crust cooks make your pizza sauce in a blender: tomato sauce, paste, and pizza seasoning. Set aside, you will have leftovers for next time you make pizza. 
7. Take crust out of the oven and assemble pizza. Placing ½ cup of pizza sauce on bottom. Feel free to adjust toppings to your choosing but remember to track container counts. These toppings included in overall fix count: ham, bell pepper, mushrooms, and remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese. I like to add black olives and added ¼ cup which adds ½ of an orange container to the fix count. 
8. Once toppings are placed, put under broiler for 3-5 minutes, until cheese is bubbly. Slice up pizza, ¼ of whole pizza counts as one serving. 

Acorn Squash Lasagna 21 day fix

We have so much squash these days! This was a super tasty way to use up one of our acorn squashes, and of course you could do it with any squash.

Multi-tasking, multi-cooking. Getting it all done as quick as possible because with little ones you don't have a lot of time to cook.

The whole wheat lasagna noodles are nice and thick so you want to be sure and cook them a little before you assemble the casserole.

Once the squash is softened you drain and mash to make a delicious filling. I added ricotta cheese but you could also add cottage cheese.

Time to assemble the lasagna. I didn't have enough red sauce so I increased the amounts in the recipe below.

Time: 80 minutes Serves: 6 generous portions Fix Count: 1 Yellow, 1 Green, ½ Red, ½ Purple 

Ingredients 

8oz box whole wheat lasagna noodles 

1 acorn squash, skin removed and diced into 1 inch squares 

15oz park-skim Ricotta cheese 

1 cup spinach (fresh, chopped or flash frozen crumbled) 

2 cans diced tomatoes, no salt or sugar added 

1 chipotle chili pepper in adobe, diced 

2 Tbsp skim milk 

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. 
2. Put chopped squash in pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Drain and place in medium bowl to cool. Fold in ricotta cheese and chopped spinach. Set aside until ready to assemble lasagna. 
3. While squash is cooking, get pot of water boiling for lasagna noodles and prepare tomato sauce. In shallow pot pour in cans of diced tomatoes and chipotle pepper (I used 1 but use more for added heat or omit if you like no spice). Bring to a simmer (not boiling) stir in milk and let cook over low heat to thicken. Prepare lasagna noodles, place in boiling water for 4 minutes. 
4. Assemble lasagna in rectangular pan. Place one layer of noodles, followed by a third of the squash mixture, top with a third of the tomato sauce and repeat each layer. 
5. Cook for 35 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool and divide into 6 servings.

Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers

These were a fun dinner idea I came across on the Beachbody Blog. I did a little different of a recipe though.

The kids were huge fans of them. Emma calling them "pumpkin! pumpkin!" Mary dug right into the meat filling and Isaac and Emma munched on the pepper.

Topped with cheddar cheese.

Ingredients:
6 peppers

Filling:
Package of ground turkey
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
dash of salt & pepper
12oz package of frozen cauliflower rice

Instructions:

1. Cook meat, onions, garlic in large pan. Add in spices. Once meat is cooked, add in frozen cauliflower rice for 3-5 minutes. 
2. Preheat oven to 400°F
3. While meat cooks, cut off tops of peppers, set aside. clean out peppers and carve fun jack-o-lantern faces in each. Place in baking pan and pour in 1/4 cup of water. 
4. When filling is cooked, add 1 cup to each pepper, place pepper lid on and cover pan with foil. Place in oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and tops, sprinkle half a blue fix container of shredded cheddar cheese on each pepper, return to oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. 
5. Add tops and serve, enjoy the festiveness. 

Fix Count:
2 green, 1 red, 1/2 blue

***Side note: we found the mixture to be lacking a little in flavor (typical for turkey) if I make this again I'd probably double the seasoning and maybe add in some cayenne for a little kick.***

Chicken Farro Soup in an Instant Pot

This is my take on Chicken Noodle Soup and I have to say it was delicious! It's fix approved and makes a nice big batch which is a huge help in meal planning for the week. It's low on yellow containers so add in some whole wheat crackers if you're needing a little more on the side.

I have been experimenting with my instant pot a lot lately. It's amazing what this thing can do! I started with the saute feature and cooked my veggies before turning it into a slow cooker. If you don't have an Instant Pot you can still make this recipe, just do it all in a big stock pot on the stove top and increase your cook times for the chicken and farro. 

Here are the veggies cooking on saute. Just like a stove top!

Time: 60 minutes Serves: 5 - 1½ cup servings Fix Count: 1 Red, ½ Yellow, 1 Green, ½ Spoon 

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter
2 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
4 cups broth
2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 1-2 inch cubes
½ cup farro
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions 

1. Turn Instant pot to sauté, melt butter in pan and add in onion, carrots, and celery. Saute for 5-7 minutes. 
2. Add broth, water, and chicken and set Instant Pot manual - high pressure for 5 minutes. Use 5 minute quick release to open lid when chicken is finished. Give it a quick stir while adding in the farro. Close lid and push manual at high pressure for 1 more minute. When finished use 10 minute quick release to open lid. 

Granola Protein Bites

These are delicious! I don't make them often because we tend to eat the whole pan. But they are great to make when we're feeding a group of people.

The mixture is pretty clumpy in the food processor, that's okay it'll come together in the end.

I moved mine to my stand mixture but you could just transfer to a large bowl and stir in the dry ingredients with your hands.

Press firmly into a glass dish and put in the fridge to help set.

Here's the quick recipe. Honestly I make this different every time and it's always so good! You can't go wrong really, just mix in what you like, take out what you don't. It's a treat so the fix count would be a yellow treat swap. 

1 cup dates
1 cup dried blueberries
2 scoops vegan chocolate Shakeology
3 Tbsp nut butter of your choice (needs to be smooth and runny)
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup unsweetened coconut

Food processor: first 4 ingredients. 

In stand mixer combine mixture with oatmeal & coconut. 

Will be dry just smash together. Put in pan and place in fridge. 

Cut into squares.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup - Kid Approved and Fix Approved

We have squash running out our ears this week! So I whipped up a batch of this right after breakfast today. Divided it up for the week and popped half of it in the freezer for later. If we end up wanting more I'll just make another batch with the squash sitting on my counter.

It's very simple and the girls loved it! Isaac wouldn't try it but I'm sure he would like it if he could get passed the fact it's a soup. 

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and chopped (mine was pretty big)

2 green tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled & chopped

1 celery, chopped

2 Tbsp butter

1 quart of vegetable stock

1 cup of water

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cayenne

pinch of black pepper

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in large pot until bubbly, add in onion, celery, and carrot. Cook vegetables until softened. 
2. Toss in squash, apple, stock, and water. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 30 minutes or until you get to it. I think it was more like 45-50 minutes for me. 
3. Use an immersion blender to smooth out soup. If you don't have a stick blender you could use a food processor or blender in batches, it might be messy. I highly recommend an immersion blender. 
4. Once blended smooth, toss in spices and stir to combine. Serve warm, YUM!

Fix Count: 

Makes about 12 cups. 

1 cup servings I counted as 1 purple, 1 spoon

You could count as a couple green. However I used Autumn's rule about pumpkin for the soup. Since it's pureed there is more of it in a cup, therefore more calories. The green and purple container are the same size but the purple counts for more calories. So in this case the pureed squash would fit better with the calorie count of a purple container. Have any questions on calorie count? I'd love to chat about it. 

Wondering what this fix container count is all about? Join my challenge groups with the awesome 21 day fix program! By purchasing through me you become a part of my team and get me as your FREE coach. If you order through amazon or beachbody you will be assigned a random FREE coach. 

21 day fix Turkey Chili

We had chili last night for dinner. I know I know a lot of places around the country are still blazing hot, but we're in Minnesota here. Although it's humid there is a little fall in the air which gave me a hankering for chili. I couldn't believe how well the kids ate it. It was doused in greek yogurt and covered in cheese for them, but they all asked for seconds and this is unlikely from my kids with any meal that is combined in one dish. I experimented with the spices because I didn't want to settle on just adding a tsp of chili powder! Seriously, 1 teaspoon, meh. It turned out great, not too spicy but spicy enough for dad. The greek yogurt helps tone it down so add more if you need, it's a red and since I only used 1 tablespoon I didn't count anything additional for it.   

Turkey Chili – Kid Approved

Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6, 1½ cups each
Fix Count: 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Blue (topping)

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil

1 large onion

3 bell peppers (yellow, red, orange)

1 lb raw lean ground turkey

2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes)

1 can kidney beans, rinsed, drained

1 can white beans, rinsed, drained

1 Tbsp chili powder

¼ tsp ground Chipolte Chili

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp coriander

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp sea salt

8oz can tomato sauce, no sugar added

Greek yogurt, optional topping

Shredded cheddar cheese, optional topping

Instructions

1. Heat oil in large stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and bell peppers; cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes or until onion is soft. Add in turkey and cook until turkey is browned. About 8-10 minutes. Add in spiced during this time.
3. Add in tomatoes, sauce, and beans. Lower heat and let simmer for at least 15 minutes. Longer if you need to. The longer you cook it the better the flavors combine.   
4. Serve in 1 ½ cup portions and top with 1 Tbsp of greek yogurt and 1 blue container of shredded cheese. 

Tip: The yogurt helps to knock the heat back a bit and was a huge hit with my kids. If you like it spicier omit the yogurt. We usually have enough for lunch the next day. 

Roasted Beet Hummus

I love beets, unfortunately my husband does not.... but he LOVED the beet hummus. Last time I made this I made it with a can of chickpeas because I thought it needed that to be 'hummus' official. I had forgotten the garbanzo beans last minute last time and tasted it, then I remembered and added the beans in. To my surprise I preferred it without the chickpeas, so this time I left them out completely! I actually just ate a whole blue container of this with a spoon, PLAIN! It was that good ;-P

Roasted Beet Hummus

Ingredients:

4 beets

4 garlic cloves

3 Tbsp tahini

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp cummin

1 tsp salt

4 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

Roast beets and garlic. Spray with some coconut oil and wrap in aluminum foil. Roast at 375°F for one hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely. The skins come off so easily after they are roasted. 

Toss everything into a food processor and blend. Viola! Done!! Divi-up in blue container servings so it's a quick grab and go snack. Eat with fresh veggies, whole wheat crackers, or by the spoonful. 

Fix Count: 1 blue container (since it is made with beets - green and not chickpeas - yellow; you could probably have a little more than a blue container and still count it a blue because of the olive oil and tahini being high in healthy fats)

Squash Mini-Quiche

Our CSA has been loading us up with squash and zucchini. And of course a new fresh dozen eggs every-week. It's been wonderful. Working on finding kid friendly recipes, unfortunately it's like pulling teeth trying to get my oldest to eat anything 'egg' related... well besides cupcakes. He did however take a bite and ate it! My middle kiddo loved them, but she loves eggs. So I will venture to say they are for the most part kid approved. 

This recipe is similar to my previous posted Zucchini Egg Cups, however I used more veggies for this and I think they turned out better. The nutmeg gives it more flavor too. 

I used my spiralizer to cut up the squash. Threw in some diced scallions then covered with beaten egg mixed with nutmeg. So simple. 

Sprinkle some Parmesan on before you pop it in the oven, or whatever cheese you have. Back for 15-20 minutes and enjoy!

Mini Squash Quiches

Ingredients

12 eggs

sprinkle of nutmeg

salt + pepper to taste

3 small yellow squash or zucchini, spiralized with a veggetti

1 large scallion, diced

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Spiralize squash and divide evenly into 12 muffin cups. Evenly distribute diced scallion (greens and whites). Crack eggs into dish, add in seasonings, beat until combined making sure to incorporate lots of air to help eggs get fluffy while baking. Pour eggs evenly into 12 muffin cups. Each cup equals one egg. Top with a sprinkle of cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Fix count:
1 quiche muffin = 1/4 green, 1/2 red

Honestly I ate like 4 or 5 and counted it as 2 reds, 1 green, 1/2 blue containers

Zucchini Pie

A friend gave me this recipe (http://www.skinnytaste.com/crust-less-summer-zucchini-pie/) while we were chatting about using up CSA veggies. I changed just a few things to what I had on hand. Turned out pretty well, I'm surprised. 

I used my food processor to shred the zucchini and a kitchen towel to squeeze the liquid out. 

Ingredients

2 zucchini, shredded and squeezed out liquid

1 large green onion, whites & greens chopped 

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup of low fat milk 

1 tsp EV olive oil

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400° 

Combine zucchini, onion, & cheese. 

In smal bowl combine dry ingredients. In another small bowl combine wet ingredients. Then mix wet ingredients with dry until combined. Now pour over zucchini mixture and into greased pie pan. 

Bake for 30 minutes. 

This didn't seem to be kid approved by my kids but I liked it! They were excited when they heard the word pie but then refused to try it. Makes a great adult side dish. :)