Healthy in NO TIME!

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers from JillianMichaels.com

I just LOVE a nice, warm, healthy meal.  But I don't always (or ever lately) have time to start from scratch when I FINALLY have time to start from scratch!  Today I wanted to share a few of our favorite, healthy go-to meals and a link to some yummy-looking freezer meals you can prepare once a month and have when you NEED them!

As a general rule of thumb, we avoid ALL processed and white-flour carbohydrates.  We also try to avoid gluten/limit it to one meal a day/five days a week (including lunches).

Also - when looking at the ingredient list, you want to recognize all of the ingredients, and avoid anything that has sugar - in any form (including corn syrups of any kind) - in the first five ingredients. 

We also follow the MyPlate.Gov guidelines for portion sizes and prepare our food - even freezer meals - in correct portions.

If you have a favorite/go-to meal that is healthy and delicious, please message me!

Here's the link to some good options -- tweak a few of the ingredients for the above guidelines; but otherwise really healthy options!

Avocado Hummus:
Directions: Simply add the following to your food processor:
- 1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado, cubed
- Juice from 1/2 of a lime
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt -1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or powered chipolte

Blend until smooth....Serve with veggies - peppers, carrots, celery, etc.!!!

Coconut Chicken and Lemon-Broccoli:
I made this last night, and it was SOOOO good!

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Pan grill 2-4 chicken breasts until the crust outside is golden brown but not fully cooked through. In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, 1 TBSP coconut oil or REAL butter (not margarine), and 2 minced garlic cloves, and microwave until oil/butter is melted. After Chicken is done on the stove top, pile your coconut mixture on top and then put in oven for 10-15 minutes or until coconut mixture has browned, but careful not to burn.

Steam broccoli and then add some lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and S&P.

This dish goes so great together and is really tasty!

Homemade Peanut Butter:
So here's how I make homemade peanut butter if you love having 1-2 Tbsp as a snack with celery like I do! You can buy "natural" peanut butter at the store like Adam's, but I prefer making it myself because I use coconut oil! So dang delish and healthy. You will need a high powered blender (we have a Blendtec).

Ingredients:
dry roasted/non-salted peanuts
unrefined/cold pressed coconut oil

How to:
Melt about 1/2 cup of coconut oil in the microwave and pour a tiny bit into the blender. Add about 1 cup of peanuts and gradually go back and forth with small amounts of coconut oil/1 cup peanuts until a smooth consistency. Don't pour tons of peanuts in there at once because it won't blend! You can add salt in the end, but we like it without since it has such a nice flavor. I use about 4-5 cups peanuts to 1/2 cup coconut oil--it just depends so go with the flow:)

Black Bean Salad:
Cook some ground turkey with a can of black beans (including the juice). Season it with Lemon Pepper Salt, Minced Onions, and a handful of flax meal. Serve over a bed of lettuce/spinach, no salad dressing needed because of the juice from the beans.
Melinda Added: A Black Bean salad like this also makes an amazing Southwest Salad when made with some taco seasoning cooked in with the turkey and some tomatoes, finely-diced cilantro, and cucumbers mixed in with the lettuce/spinach.

Curry Seasoned Chicken Breast:
Place the chicken breasts into a glass dish and sprinkle Curry and Seasoning Salt on them (make sure it's organic/doesn't have sugar in the first five ingredients or MSG's added). Cook in cooking spray, olive oil, coconut oil or just broil in the oven. Cut them up into strips for future easy-access protein. Serve with steamed brown rice, baked sweet potatoes, or quinoa. YUM! 

Spaghetti:
Make with spaghetti squash and a low-sugar marinara sauce, serve with extra lean hamburger, grilled chicken, shrimp, or salmon.

Turkey Burgers:
2 ½ lbs of ground turkey made with 2 finely-diced onions, ¼ red and ¼ green peppers, add in 2 packages of taco seasoning, a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce, and two eggs. Mix all ingredients together, weigh out into individual portion sizes, grill and freeze extras. It makes 10 servings and is SO GOOD! You could also make this into a meatloaf and cut it into 10 servings.

Tuna, turkey, or chicken wraps, no cheese:
You can use mayonnaise for your fat and do melts/sandwiches for your family.

Marinated Chicken:
We eat this a lot! You can buy the McCormick marinades, tenderize the chicken a bit, poke it full of holes with a fork, and marinade it. 4 days in a Ziploc in your fridge. Cook on the grill and you have the BEST, most tender chicken you have EVER had! ;-D

Beef Stir-Fry:
WinCo actually has a frozen bean mixture – white, yellow, and green beans with carrots. I buy sirloin steak at Costco in bulk and slice, season, and cook it. Then I measure out individual servings of meat in containers and set it aside. Next, I sauté some onions and the frozen bean mixture in a few servings of olive oil, add in some eggplant or zucchini or squash, season it, measure out ½ cup servings, and then add it to the cooked beef. This is great to freeze for later! Actually makes a TON and goes a LONG WAY!

White Chili:
We use lentils, celery, onions, carrots, and green chilis and cook them in a crockpot until they are tender. You can use any beans, or add chicken/turkey, but the chilis really add a lot of flavor. And we use the mild ones for our kids. Then we do just a small amount of plain yogurt/Greek yogurt to give it the creaminess you are expecting. It’s awesome!!!

Black Bean Soup:
Again, just black beans, onions, carrots, celery, seasonings – it’s awesome! Sometimes I add salsa, sometimes I don’t. Always serve with a salad.

"Lasagna":
Steam or sauté your veggies (squash, zucchini, broccoli, green beans, etc.) and layer with cottage cheese and low-sugar marinara sauce. Top with cheese and melt the cheese.  Even my kids love it!  Or you can serve it over Spaghetti Squash! Or layer sliced zucchini in place of the noodles!

No-crust Quiche/Frittata:
I don’t know the difference between the quiche and frittata, so I don’t know what you would call it. ;-D
I just made this last week. I used eggs and egg beaters together, a little water for the fluffy egg/omelet effect, and then filled it with veggies – sautéed peppers, broccoli, onions, and fresh tomatoes. We serve it with salsa.

Taco Salad:
Make a normal taco salad, just leave out the chips and the dressing and add in one serving of your low-sugar dressing when you eat it.  Or use salsa and a little ranch together - awesome!

Omelet:
Make a breakfast omelet with veggies and one serving of protein; or do eggs and turkey or canadian bacon with sauteed green and red peppers.

Chicken Fajitas:
Lots of onions with one red and one green pepper and a low-sugar Fajita Seasoning mix. Serve over a bed of shredded lettuce (any kind) and a serving of ranch.  Or - serve in whole wheat tortillas with a small dollop of sour cream. YUMMY!

Cauliflower Pizza:
 I haven't tried this, but I have seen it pinned all over Pinterest - add some meat/veggies for your topping, and you're set! Makes one 9-12in pizza – 6 slices

Crust:
2 cups shredded cauliflower
1 egg
1 cup finely shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt

Topping:
1/2 cup piza sauce or marinara sauce
1/2 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
topping of choice

The "Munchies" Strike

Especially this time of year, we all have those darn munchies hit! So what do you do? What do you reach for? Might I suggest: NOTHING? (Food-related, that is.)





The munchies aren't generally a sign of lack of nutrition or some physical need your body is trying to fill. If you haven't nourished it properly and have them, choose your next "healthy" meal of veggies, protein, etc. Cutting corners on "junk" isn't going to satisfy it physically any more than it will really make you feel better emotionally.  

However, if you HAVE nourished it properly, the munchies are probably just a reaction to you being bored, depressed, anxious, overwhelmed, etc.


So I would really suggest that, instead of scouring your cupboard for the least-offensive thing you can munch on, you re-train your body to react to non-food effects with non-food answers. Maybe you should pick up a holiday craft to work on, a hobby, a good book you can read when you get the munchies. Or if you can/need to, get away from temptation all together and go for a walk or go visit someone (preferably someone who won't have a ton of food laying around for you to grab and mindlessly eat). ;-)


If you physically HAVE to have something, munch on some crushed, softened ice -- and drink lots of water. But try to redirect what you are feeling and get away from the need to solve it/respond to it with food.


That will be one of the best gifts you can give yourself - this Holiday Season and always!

Peanut Butter made with Coconut Oil?

I don't know about you, but I have heard and read and seen ALL OVER THE INTERNET that people are using COCONUT OIL now in place of other oils because of its amazing nutritional benefits (and it helps with weight loss - so even if it wasn't more nutritious, lets be honest, MORE PEOPLE would still be using it! LOL!)

So I got curious about what it does for the body.  I found an article on the benefits of using coconut oil on Dr. Oz's website (DrOz.com).  According to that article, Coconut Oil helps regulate blood sugar, thus lessening the effects of diabetes. It assists the body in losing weight. And it improves calcium and magnesium absorption in the body, which benefits dental and bone health. AWESOME, right?

Then my friend Carrie - from All That is Sweet in Life - shared her recipe with me for making PEANUT BUTTER with Coconut Oil!  Today I am so excited to share that with you (and even more excited to try it).  She says that her kids even love the taste of it so much that they can't eat regular peanut butter any more!  Healthy AND so delicious that kids LOVE it?  Double/triple/quadruple WINNER!  (Maybe next week I can get her to share some of her secret facial masks!  Thanks, Carrie!)

Homemade Peanut Butter Using Coconut Oil
So here's how I make homemade peanut butter if you love having 1-2 Tbsp as a snack with celery like I do! Made with coconut oil, this is so dang delish and healthy. You will need a high powered blender (we have a Blendtec).

Ingredients:
Dry roasted/non-salted peanuts
Unrefined/cold pressed coconut oil

How to Make:
Melt about 1/2 cup of coconut oil in the microwave and pour a tiny bit into the blender. Add about 1 cup of peanuts and gradually go back and forth with small amounts of coconut oil/1 cup peanuts until a smooth consistency. Don't pour tons of peanuts in there at once because it won't blend! You can add salt in the end, but we like it without since it has such a nice flavor. I use about 4-5 cups peanuts to 1/2 cup coconut oil--it just depends, so go with the flow! :-)

P.S. - I also asked her to share with me the best places to get Coconut Oil, because I am CERTAIN that not all Coconut Oils are created equal. She isn't getting paid to share and neither am I - this is just some expert advice from the source to make our lives easier!  She says that she usually buys a gallon of it, which lasts their family of four about a year. Make sure you buy UNREFINED!

1) Nutiva (Her local Costco is also carrying this brand - so price it and check it out!)
2) Tropical Traditions
3) Mountain Rose Herbs
   

Health: It's a Matter of "DO"-ing

How many times in life do we need a shift in thinking - a change in our focus? EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. OVER. HERE. LOL! And we hope that you will find those shifts in thinking for yourselves here at The Mommy 15. 

Today, I wanted to talk briefly about a shift in thinking about food.  So often, people tell you what you shouldn't eat.  Don't eat sugar, don't eat carbs, don't eat processed foods, don't eat after 7:00 at night, whatever it might be.  It's generally focused around DON'TS.

But it has been my experience that when I focus on the DO'S instead of the DON'TS, I get a lot farther and feel a lot better.  Check this out:

Most of us grew up with the Food Guide Pyramid, which we may - or may not - have paid enough attention to that we could actually talk about it, quote from it, etc.  HOWEVER, with the obesity and downward trends in health in the United States today compared to even 50 years ago, the government has revised the food guide pyramid to show us simply a PLATE and what should be on that plate at each meal:
 

If you take a salad-sized plate and divide it in half - on one half, you should have 1/2 grains (about 1/2 of a cup of most grains) and 1/2 protein (3-4 ounces).  On the other half, you should have 1/4 fruit (a small apple, 1/2 cup of other fruits) and 3/4 vegetables (1 cup raw, 1/2 cup steamed).  And then add in a side of dairy.  For small children, the same visual applies, the plate - and therefore the servings - would just be smaller/adjusted accordingly.  It's GENIUS, really!


If you look at the MyPlate.gov guidelines, American people should be the healthiest people alive!  Why aren't we?  Because we just don't sit down and DO what our bodies need us to do in order to protect them!  We don't like it when someone says that we shouldn't eat this or drink that because our bodies, quite frankly, are so used to being UNhealthy that they crave the things that make us fat, sick, unable to think clearly, and unhappy.

But - since it can be overwhelming to think of all the changes we need to make when we focus on cleaning out our cupboards and re-visiting our pantries and fridges, think instead of what you SHOULD eat in a day and start ADDING those things to your diet.  And once you get all of the "DO" things in, know what?  You probably won't WANT the "DON'TS" because your body will be so SATISFIED by what it has eaten!

Here's a little DIY Activity I made up in college that really helped me - and it's something you can get the ENTIRE family involved in:
1) Take two regular-sized envelopes and tape the backs together so that the openings are facing out and open. Don't tape the flaps together, just the backs.
2) In a document, create a word strip for every serving of food you SHOULD eat in each meal for the entire day.  Do a little research for each member of your family - the recommended amounts are based on age, gender, and physical activity.  For example, a 25-year-old female needs 2 cups of fruit a day, so since 1/2 cup is one serving, she would have four strips of paper that each said "fruit" on them. She also needs 2 1/2-3 cups of vegetables a day.  So three strips of paper that each said "vegetable" on them.
3) Below the opening on one envelope, write the word "EAT" or "DO"; on the opening of the other envelope, write the word "ATE" or "DONE".
4) Place all of the word strips in the "EAT" side.
5) As you plan and eat meals throughout the day, move ALL of your word strips to the "ATE" side BEFORE you eat anything NOT in the envelope.
6) Hang the envelope on the refrigerator so you remember and can easily access it when you are hungry/want to eat something.

You can have each family member decorate their envelope however they want - and even their strips of paper, so they won't get lost.  I also laminated my strips of paper and covered my envelopes with tape so they would last longer.  It's a fun, easy way to switch the focus to what you are "DO"-ing instead of what you shouldn't be!

You can make it a family game - or a competition between you and your spouse or one of your children.

New Favorites

I have a few new favorite foods I wanted to share.

1) Chicken Fajita Salad.  I take 3 oz of chicken and 1/6 of an onion, 1/3 of a green pepper, 1/3 of a red pepper and dice it all up.  Then I cook it all together with cooking spray until it's pretty tender and stir in one serving of the Fajita seasoning mix with the LOWEST amount of Sodium from my grocery store (McCormick in my grocery store - but I don't know what it would be in yours).  Then take a mixture of salad greens - romaine, iceberg, Spring mix, etc. - and chop it into really fine pieces.  Think shreds of lettuce on your favorite enchilada.  Add the chicken fajita mixture to the salad and mix it all together.  VIOLA!!!  I honestly probably use four cups of salad to that one serving of chicken fajita.  You can also put the chicken fajita mixture in a whole wheat/low carb tortilla with a tsp. of sour cream - hold the cheese - and add a low fat dressing to your greens.  Or you can take the entire salad and put it in a whole wheat/low carb tortilla with a tsp. of sour cream.  Delicious way to get your veggies in when you are NOT in the mood for a salad! *Note: I make up a whole bunch of the fajita mix ahead of time and freeze it.  Then when I want a salad - I get the mix out of my freezer, cook it on the stove, add the seasoning mix, and I'm set for a FAST lunch or late dinner when I don't have time or energy to make anything else.  It's awesome!

2) Banana smoothie.  I place a medium-sized, medium-ripe banana and 1/2 cup of nonfat milk in my blender.  Then add a dash of nutmeg and a dash of cinnamon (careful with the nutmeg - a little goes a LONG way; go to town with the cinnamon, as much as you like).  Blend together.  Add in some ice chunks and blend that together until smooth and VIOLA!  I'm telling you - this is an AMAZING snack!  When I can't get my kids to eat anything else, I add in a small scoop of protein powder and sometimes a little fiber one plain cereal - they drink it RIGHT up!  And I'm not fighting them at the table for an hour to get them to eat their dinner and/or waking up to screaming, hungry two-year-olds in the middle of the night.  Win/win situations are my SAVING grace!

3) Yogurt and cottage cheese.  My mom used to make this fruit/jello salad.  You take some fruit cocktail and mix it into cool whip and then add a package of unprepared jello.  I am sure you have had this in MANY forms.  But the calories and SUGAR in this salad -- um, through the roof, even for a small serving.  So I reformed it: Get 6 oz of low or non-fat plain or vanilla yogurt, add 1/4-1/2 cup of cottage cheese, and mix in a serving of Crystal Light.  You get the same flavor/texture as my mom's old fruit salad jello mix but without all the extra sugar and junk.  And the cottage cheese and yogurt combined give you a good dose of protein while still getting some calcium in your meal.  It's so good my two-year-olds LOVE it!  A perfect pre-bed snack!

Snack Attack!!!!

Ever need a healthy snack but just don't know where to turn? Oh, pick me . . . pick ME!!! I just discovered another great one (in addition to 94% fat free popcorn and carrots or my sugar-free root beer float). Ruffles makes a fat free potato chip -- that my husband can't distinguish from a regular potato chip. Pretty cool, eh . . . eh? So I LOVE to do chips and salsa . . . with a twist. I mix 1/2 cup cottage cheese with as much salsa as my heart desires and have . . . chips and creamy salsa. So much healthier than cream cheese and oh so yummy! If you can't find the chips, you can go to a LOT of work and make your own (thinly-sliced potatoes slowly baked until crispy but not burnt. I'll look for instruction -- if you want). BUT WHO HAS TIME, RIGHT? Try a low-fat or whole grain cracker (1 g of fiber or more per serving, less than 4 g of fat per serving -- and MEASURE OUT THAT SERVING). It'll still do the trick!