Healthy Breakfast Round-up

  We always hear that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But so many of us don't enjoy eating breakfast  or have a hard time finding something healthy to eat in the morning. Eating a healthy breakfast has been hard for me in the past because it's the one meal of the day that I really don't want to cook or put a lot of effort into. Sure you can get up and prepare a  fresh vegetable frittata or fancy egg white omelet if you want, but I want something quick and easy. Cracking an egg in a skillet to cook for 2 minutes or toasting a bagel is about all you're going to get from me.
   I have been alternating these three breakfasts for the last couple of weeks. I can't eat the same thing everyday because, well, I get bored. But it would be too expensive to buy items for a lot of meals so I just rotate 2-3 breakfasts for a couple of weeks then come up with more ideas to rotate the next time. All three of these have my top priorities for breakfast; they have less than 300 calories and all contain a protein, a healthy carb, and a fruit.

   My number one go to breakfast is Greek yogurt with blueberries and granola. I love it because it's easy, refreshing, and absolutely no cooking is required. This is a pretty typical breakfast of someone who likes to eat healthy. I like the Chobani non-fat vanilla yogurt the best. It seems to have the best consistency of all the Greek yogurt I have tried. I also really like blueberries with my yogurt. They are so nutritious and full of antioxidants. I try to include as many 'superfoods' into my diet as possible. Plus, blueberries are little man's absolute favorite food, so we always have them in our fridge.
   As for the granola, I actually use Kashi GoLean cereal. Granola can be 200 calories or more per serving and is generally full of sugar. I found this at the grocery store while comparing granola and knew I could use it to add crunch to my yogurt while saving about 150 calories! It has only 60 calories per 1/4 cup and is loaded with 18g of whole grains, 8g of fiber, and 9g of protein.

Greek Yogurt with Blueberries and Kashi

1/2 cup nonfat Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup Kashi GoLean cereal

Makes 1 serving
200 calories

  Another breakfast I've been eating is a toasted whole grain English muffin with egg whites, turkey, and Babybel cheese served with fruit. This one takes a little more effort so I really only have it once or twice a week.

    I start out by toasting the English muffin in the toaster oven. Then I cook my eggs, weigh the turkey, and shred the cheese. Layer it all on the toasted muffin and broil it until the cheese is melted. It is served with fruit. In this case, fresh watermelon picked from the garden the day before. My husband's Great-Grandfather has a garden with TONS of watermelons and they are to die for!
   I always use 100% whole grain bread products and use egg beaters for convenience. I like this Delifresh turkey because it is only 45 calories per serving (I only use half a serving for this sandwich).These mini Babybel cheeses are awesome! There are a lot of different flavors, all for a nice, portion controlled, 60 calories.

 
Turkey Egg and Cheese Muffin

1 whole grain English Muffin
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1 oz deli turkey
1 Babybel cheese (I used sharp original)

Makes 1 serving
235 calories (without fruit)

Lastly, a whole wheat bagel thin with either eggs or Laughing Cow cheese served with, you guessed it, fruit. There is nothing fancy or innovative about this breakfast, but I find myself eating it often. It's complete simplicity and with the Laughing Cow cheese it's the perfect on-the-go breakfast. I am obsessed with this cheese. It comes in a million different flavors. Its smooth and creamy. It's perfect on bagels, wraps, sandwiches, crackers or eating straight from the wrapper. And its only 35 calories per wedge for the 'Light' and 45 calories for the regular. I use it almost everyday to make my lunch wrap and Ethan loves it on his quesadillas.

Bagel Thin with Scrambled Eggs/ Laughing Cow Cheese

1 Bagel Thin, toasted

1/4 cup Egg Beaters and/or 1 wedge Laughing Cow Cheese

Makes 1 serving
145 calories (with eggs or cheese)
180 calories ( with eggs and cheese)

*Does not include fruit. I usually have about 1/2 cup of fruit for an additional 50 calories.

   Most morning I will also have one up of coffee with 1Tbsp Natural Bliss Vanilla creamer. I love this stuff. I switched from my favorite Creme Brulee creamer when I decided to start eating as clean as possible. This creamer contains milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla flavoring. No artificial ingredients. I just love being able to pronounce all the ingredients to foods I'm putting into my body. It feels good!

  

Enjoy!

DIY Workout Shirt

   A few months ago, I donated everything in my closet that didn't fit me anymore. After gaining a lot of weight during my pregnancy, and not being able to lose it, that amounted to about 90% of my clothing. I had been holding on to some items for years and it felt really good to finally be letting go of it all. It was a cleansing experience and I couldn't have been more proud of myself afterwards for letting go of that excess baggage.
   Boy, do I regret it now! I would have a closet full of clothes that seemed brand new. But instead, I have even less to wear because everything I kept, is falling off of me now. I have bought a few things, but I am trying to keep the shopping at a minimum until I reach my goal weight.
   Which brings me to workout clothes. I threw out every piece of exercise clothing I owned. Obviously, the last time I wore them I was much smaller. Apparently, spandex tanks, yoga pants, and running shorts are not the most forgiving. So when I came across a tutorial on Pinterest for turning an old t-shirt into a workout tank, I knew I had my next project. This works best with a loose fitting tee because it will cinch in a good bit. I made two, but I am enjoying them so much, I plan on making many more and trying more styles. Here's what I did:

1. Start with an old t-shirt.

2. Cut off the sleeves and collar, staying as close to the seam as possible. ( I left the collar on the grey shirt because it was already a deep V)

3. Cut the sleeves and collar a little deeper so that it resembles a tank top. (I used a washable pen to draw out my lines before cutting.)

4.  Use the original collar (or a long strip of fabric) to cinch the back across the shoulders. This will make it look like a racerback tank. Tie a double knot and cut off the excess.

5. Admire your work!

Toddler Approved Green Monster Smoothie

 Today for my mid-morning snack I decided to make a green monster smoothie. These smoothies, made using spinach or other leafy greens, are all over the internet lately. I have been wanting to give it a try for a while now. It was REALLY good! I used banana, strawberries, spinach, almond milk, and water to make mine.
   Ethan LOVED this smoothie. After I filled my cup, I poured the rest in a little cup for him and he was all about it! Ethan has always been a great eater, but lately he has been spitting out anything green.  You can't even tell there is spinach in it, so it is a great way to sneak vegetables to a picky toddler, child, or even an adult. Next time, I will make Ethan his own smoothie, so he doesn't insist on drinking mine!

Here is Ethan trying his smoothie.

"WHOA, Mom! That is awesome!"

Here is Ethan after insisting on having my smoothie.

This is the face I got every time I took my smoothie back!

Green Monster Smoothie
Makes one 24oz smoothie (130 calories)

1/2 banana, peeled, sliced, and frozen
1 cup strawberries
a handful (or two) spinach
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup water
ice

Place banana, strawberries, almond milk, spinach, and a few cubes of ice in a blender. Blend until well mixed, adding water if needed. *I used a little less than half a cup of water to get the consistency I wanted. Pour and Enjoy!

Notes: This smoothie can be made a million different ways. Try adding peanut butter or Greek yogurt for more protein. Or, try making it using different fruits. You can always use cow's milk, I just prefer unsweetened almond milk because it is lower in calories and sugar.

Weight Loss and Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

  You may have noticed I haven't made any new blog posts in over a month. I have been on a brief hiatus to focus on my health. I am proud to say after 15 months I am finally at my pre-pregnancy weight! Getting healthy has been quite a journey for me. My weight has yo-yoed for years and I have always struggled to lose weight and keep it off. I lost 30 lbs before getting pregnant, only to gain close to 50 throughout my pregnancy with Ethan. Diabetes and heart disease are serious issues in my family so I knew how important it was for me to start living a healthy lifestyle now, before I started having issues of my own.
   I have begrudgingly tried so many diets and forms of exercise in the past; some worked, some didn't. But I never once enjoyed it enough to turn it into a lifestyle. This time has been different. I am enjoying eating clean, healthy foods and I am loving the way exercising makes me feel. I worked with a weight loss clinic for the first month, doing a complete overhaul of my diet and taking HCG injections to help me along. I drank a gallon of water everyday and lived off of only chicken breast, green veggies, and a handful of fruits. It was tough, but I felt better and better everyday knowing I was becoming healthier and cleaning all of the toxins, from the junk I had been eating the past 26 years, out of my body. Now, I am on my own, but remain eating a low calorie diet made up of lean protein, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. I love the way real food tastes now. I love feeling satisfied after a small portion without feeling like I'm going to burst because I ate so much food. I love my body again and I love having nothing to wear because all of my clothes are falling off of me!
   Of course, eating nothing but plain chicken and steamed vegetables, I had nothing interesting to add to the blogosphere last month. But fear not, I have started cooking again and look forward to sharing some delicious, healthy recipes with you!

   Tonight for dinner we had a turkey breast tenderloin I rubbed with a salt-free blackening seasoning from a local company, Dak's Bistro. I served it with a green bean salad and Crash hot sweet potatoes. I have made these sweet potatoes several times, I just changed the recipe up a little bit to lower the calories per serving. They weren't really unhealthy before, so I only made a few small changes. You can find the original recipe here .

Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4 (110 calories per serving)

2 small to medium sweet potatoes, peeled
cooking spray
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut peeled potatoes about 1- 1 1/2 inches thick. Cook in boiling water for about 10 minutes, until just tender. Drain potatoes and let cool about 10 minutes. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Use a fork to slightly smash each potato disk. Spray tops with cooking spray.
Combine sugar, salt, and spices. Distribute spice  mixture evenly amongst potato slices.
Bake on 375 for about 20 minutes. Broil last few minutes for sugars to caramelize.

In the original recipe, both sides are coated with sugar/spices and a butter/olive oil mixture is used to aid in caramelization. These have much less fat and sugar, but still taste delicious.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Asian Salad with Sesame Encrusted Chicken Fingers

    This week my vegetable box from Purple Pumpkin Produce included a head of napa cabbage and a head of red cabbage. I have never bought napa cabbage and immediately started searching for a recipe to use it in. I found a couple of different recipes for cabbage salad and decided on using this one from Farm Flavor. I have really been on an Asian kick lately so I already had most of the ingredients on hand. I changed it a little bit just to suit my tastes and the ingredients I already had in my kitchen.
   I knew these Sesame Encrusted Chicken Fingers would go perfectly with the salad. I have made them a couple of times and they are delicious. A while back,  I came across a recipe on one of my favorite healthy food blogs, Skinny Taste, and crossed it with my famous  baked chicken fingers.   They are a great spin on the traditional chicken fingers when served with Asian inspired dishes. I am playing around with even more fun twists to put on these chicken fingers. I'm thinking buffalo chicken fingers? Sounds tasty, huh?  Stay tuned for that one.

Crunchy Asian Salad with Sesame Encrusted Chicken Fingers
(chicken fingers adapted from Skinny Taste and my chicken fingers )
(salad adapted from Farm Flavor )

For the chicken fingers:
3 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce

For the salad:
1 head napa cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 small head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup matchstick carrots
4 scallions, chopped
handful Thai basil and/or cilantro
1 pkg ramen noodles, crushed (do not use spice packet)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbsp butter
1Tbsp sesame oil

For the dressing:
6 Tbsp rice vinegar
4 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Siracha
1 tsp hot mustard
1/2 tsp hoisin sauce


For the chicken fingers:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees and set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet; spray with cooking spray.
Combine the sesame oil and soy sauce in a bowl and marinate the chicken tenders for 15 minutes.
Combine canola oil, sesame seeds and breadcrumbs in a skillet and cook over med-high heat, stirring constantly, until browned. Remove from heat and let cool.
One at a time, remove tenderloins from soy sauce mixture and coat with the panko. Place each tenderloin on prepared baking pan and coat with cooking spray. Bake 10-12 minutes until cooked through.

For the salad:
Combine napa cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, scallions, and herbs in a large bowl.
Melt butter and sesame oil in a medium skillet. Saute ramen noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds until toasted. Remove from heat and let cool.
Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a mason jar and shake until well combined.

To serve:
Toss vegetables, noodle mixture, and dressing in a bowl and top with chicken fingers.

Enjoy!

Classic Lasagna with Bechamel

  I made this lasagna last night for my mother-in-law’s Birthday. It’s been a couple of months since I’ve made my Dad’s famous bolognese sauce and it has been on my brain the past couple of weeks. Since it makes so much, we usually eat it a couple of nights in a week and freeze the rest. It is the perfect meal to feed a crowd so I decided to make it for Renee’s birthday dinner. At the last minute, I decided to have some fun and make lasagna with the sauce instead of spaghetti.

   I’m not a huge fan of ricotta cheese in lasagna, so I decided to go the classic route and use a béchamel instead. It is one of the simplest sauces to make and it can be used in a variety of dishes. The only ingredients you need for it are butter, flour, milk and a little nutmeg. Sometimes, it’s even better with a little cheese melted in, but for lasagna, I like to keep in simple. Believe me, there is PLENTY of cheese in this recipe!

  The bolognese gets better the longer it simmers. Mine cooked for about 6 hours before I assembled my lasagna. I only used about half of the sauce and saved the rest for another night. You could seriously feed an army with this sauce. It’s pretty well known around these parts as the best spaghetti sauce you’ll ever eat. So, even if you don’t want to brave the lasagna recipe, do yourself a favor and at least make some spaghetti, k?

   I'm a fan of what some refer to as a 'crunchy lid'. I would be happy to just peel off the entire top layer of the lasagna and have it for my meal. But, I settled for a nice big corner piece so everyone could enjoy the deliciousness that is the 'crunchy lid'.  If you are not interested in a nice brown top, just add some spaghetti sauce to the top layer before adding the cheese and it will be gooier. Gooier? Is that a word?

  Classic Lasagna with Bechamel
 (serves 8-10)

For the Bolognese:
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2-5 cloves garlic, minced ( of course I use all 5)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2Tbsp butter
2 large cans plum tomatoes
1 jar tomato basil sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 lb ground beef
1lb sweet Italian sausage
dried Italian seasoning
1-2 Tbsp sugar
Fresh basil, chiffonade

For the Bechamel:
1/2 cup (1stick) butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups milk
Pinch nutmeg
salt to taste

For the Lasagna:
12 lasagna noodles ( boiled 10 minutes, until al dente)
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

To make the bolognese, brown beef and sausage til cooked through. Add some dried herbs, salt and pepper to taste; drain.
Meanwhile, saute the onion and bell pepper in olive oil and butter until translucent. Add minced garlic and saute another 2-3 minutes.
Combine veggies with meat and add tomatoes, tomato paste, jarred tomato sauce, and sugar. (Break the plum tomatoes up a little bit, depending on how chunky you want your sauce.) Season with more dried herbs, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for as long as possible. Add fresh basil just before serving.

To make the bechamel, melt butter in a saucepan over med-low heat. Once melted, add flour. Stir constantly until well combined and no lumps remain. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn it!
Slowly add the milk, about a half cup at a time, stirring between each half cup until combined. Sauce should start to thicken up after each addition, but be careful that it doesn't get lumpy. After all milk has been added, add the nutmeg and salt to taste. Continue to cook the bechamel until it reaches a nice thick consistency ( about 5 minutes) stirring occasionally to avoid lumps. It is ready when it will coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.

To assemble the lasagna, coat the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with bechamel. Layer 3 lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly. Cover noodles with a couple of ladles bolognese, more bechamel, and about a cup of mozzarella. Continue with 3 more lasagna noodles, bolognese, bechamel, and another cup mozzarella. Make one more layer of noodles, sauces and cheese. You should have 3 layers in all. Top final layer with 3 remaining lasagna noodles and cover with bechamel. (If you want the top to be gooey, add a little bolognese; if you want crunchy, just use a little bechamel.) Top with remaining cup of mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, bake lasagna for 30 minutes. Raise temperature to 400 and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Keep an eye out to make sure it doesn't burn. You want the cheese to get brown and crispy but not burnt. Remove from oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

Serve with a green salad and garlic bread. Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Pizza on Homeade Naan

   This pizza was unlike anything I've ever made before....and it was DELICIOUS! Brian always likes it when I make pizza, but of course I always want to try something new and interesting besides the normal pepperoni. I'm not a huge fan of store bought pizza crust, but making it homemade can be a real chore. Then this recipe for homemade naan caught my attention. This makes 8 (6 inch) flat breads. I made four pizzas and saved the rest for another night. The flat breads come out soft and chewy but get crispy in the oven. These flat breads would also be great for wraps, quesadillas, or just by themselves.

    I got the pizza recipe from Simply So Good. It is originally from the CPK cookbook. I've never ordered the Thai Chicken Pizza from CPK, but if you like it, this is the recipe for you! The sauce was easy to throw together and the toppings were simple. I sprinkled some chopped Thai Basil on top of the pizzas after taking them out of the oven. I have Thai Basil in my herb garden, but cilantro would work just as well. The recipe is for 8 individual pizzas. I think this was a successful dish and a nice twist on traditional pizza. Nothing about it is complicated, but it does take time to prepare the flat breads, so I would probably only make this on the weekend.  Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Homemade Naan
(from Budget Bytes )

2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
2-3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 large egg

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes, until frothy. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).
At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. I ended up using about 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.
Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.
Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface. Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Brush with melted butter.

Thai Chicken Pizza
( adapted from Simply So Good )

Spicy Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp roasted sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp siracha
2 Tbsp water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until well combines and slightly cooked. (Sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.)

Pizza Toppings

2 chicken breasts, chopped
1 Tbsp siracha
3 cups shredded mozzarella
4 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup shredded carrots
3 Tbsp roasted peanuts
4 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
fresh Thai basil or cilantro, chopped

Saute chopped chicken breast in a little olive oil over medium high heat until cooked through. Stir in siracha.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
To assemble pizzas, spread about 1 Tbsp peanut sauce over each flat bread. Sprinkle 1/8 mozzarella over top of each pizza. Continue topping each flat bread pizza with about an 1/8 of the remaining toppings; cooked chicken,  green onions, carrots, and peanuts.
Place pizzas on pizza stone or directly on oven rack. ( I only made four pizzas which fit nicely in my oven, but you may have to do it in batches if making all 8)
Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Remove from oven and drizzle with sweet chili sauce and sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs.

Enjoy!