Clean Eating Tacos

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I am on day three of Advocare's 24 day challenge. A huge part of this plan is clean eating, and I mean uber clean eating. No dairy, no sugar, no refined flour and only low glycemic carbs. This morning, I weighed in at the 48 hr mark and found I'd lost 2.5lbs already. Some could be water weight, but I've actually been drinking more water than I ever have before. I've been drinking 120+ ounces a day. So far, I'm pretty impressed. I've had the challenge adjusted, so that I am only using Advocare products that are safe for breastfeeding and as mentioned previously, I'm downing water like never before, which helps with flushing out any toxins. I feel really good. I have energy, and seeing immediate results is always motivating. Any who, I'll post about my 24 day journey as I go along. If you are interested in checking out any Advocare products or the 24 day challenge, you can do so here. Tonight, I'm making tacos. I'll be going tortilla-less, by using butter leaf lettuce as my taco vessel, and I'll subbing black beans for my carb, but the rest of the family will be having wheat and black bean tortillas. 














Ingredients:

• 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 green chile, diced (I used a mild Anaheim, since my 2 year old will be eating this)
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups spinach or kale, chopped
• 1 lb lean ground turkey (I'm using 99% fat free)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• salt to taste

Over medium heat, saute tomatoes, green chile and onion together until onions are translucent. Add garlic and spinach, saute another minute. Add turkey, breaking up in to little pieces and cook until meat is fully cooked (meat is completely white and firm- no pink). Add all spices and stir together.

Serve in lettuce cups or on whole grain tortillas. Top with avocado or other favorite toppings (keep it clean!)

Serves 4

Clean Eating Turkey Meatloaf

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These days, I am trying to eat clean. I fall of the wagon here and there, and I'm not always super strict with dairy, but for the most part we eat pretty clean around here. At the grocery store, I try to stick to the peripherals, unless I am buying whole grains and nuts, because for the most part, the aisles at the grocery store are junk. Processed, sugary, junk. Recently, I've become much more aware of just how much sugar our processed foods contain. So stinking much. Did you know that women should try and stick to about 25 grams of sugar per day? Kids anywhere from 12-16 grams, and males around 35 grams. Did you know the typical cup of flavored yogurt contains around 26 grams of sugar. Insane! There's my sugar consumption for the day! Any who, I'm on a journey to keep junk and sugar out of my body and since I'm the cook around here, I guess my family is on the same journey. Except, if you know my husband, you know he eats ice cream or some sort of treat every night. Without fail. He is a sugar addict, but at least I control breakfast lunch and dinner, for the most part.

Clean Eating Turkey Meatloaf
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp cooking oil (avocado, grape seed, coconut)
1 medium white onion, diced
5 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
3 eggs whites
1 cup oats
1 lb lean ground turkey
small can of tomato sauce (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saute pan, add cooking oil, onion, and celery. Saute on medium-high heat for 7 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute for another 3 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, add ground turkey, 3 egg whites, 1 cup of oats, sauteed onions, celery, garlic and all spices. Mix together using your hand until all ingredients are incorporated. Place turkey mixture in a loaf pan and top with tomato sauce (optional). Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Cooking times can vary depending on your oven, altitude, etc, so I would recommend using a meat thermometer. The meat should reach 165 degrees before you take it out.

Chevre and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast, served over Sautéed Kale with Lemon

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I love stuffed chicken, especially when it is filled with tangy and creamy goat cheese. Chevre stuffed chicken has to be one of my all time favorite dishes. Recently, I have been on a kale kick. Mostly, because I have been using it for juicing and bought a giant bag, that I have also been using for sauteed kale. This is like the never ending bag of kale! Kale is such a super food and is packed with loads of vitamins and minerals, so I feel really good about giving this to my family. This dish requires a bit of cooking time, but has pretty minimal prep. Enjoy

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

4 cups spinach, chopped

1/3 cup green onions, diced

5 ounces chevre (goat cheese)

1 tsp basil, plus a pinch

1 tsp rosemary, plus a pinch

Salt and pepper to taste

4 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add olive oil, garlic and spinach to a large sauce pan. Sauté until spinach is wilted. Pour spinach in to a bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Next add the green onions, chevre, herbs and salt and pepper to bowl. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.

Slice a lengthwise slit in to the chicken, to make a pocket. Stuff the chicken with the goat cheese mixture. Sprinkle a pinch of basil and rosemary over the top of the chicken. Salt and pepper to taste.

Place chicken in to a large pyrex dish, or on a large baking tray. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Sauted Kale with Lemon

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil                                                                                                                      

2 cloves of garlic, minced

½ cup chicken or vegetable stock

8 cups of kale, chopped

2 tablespoons lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot sauté garlic and olive for two minutes over medium heat. Add chicken stock and kale. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook on low for 15 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated. Add lemon and salt and pepper to taste. 

Serves 4

Healthy Chicken Fried Rice

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Most of you already know, but for those of you who don't, I am pregnant with my second child. This pregnancy is crazy different than my last one. Last pregnancy, I was a pretty healthy eater and didn't have too many out of control cravings.  I am really trying to maintain the same type of eating throughout this pregnancy, but I get the weirdest, most unhealthy cravings. I'm talking, hot dogs, chili dogs, chili cheese fries, tater tots nachos, cinnamon rolls, etc. I'm just going to say it. If I didn't know the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and always gave in to these cravings, I would have gained 25lbs by now and I am only 16 weeks. Every once in a while, I give in to a craving. I won't lie and say this has been a hot dog-free pregnancy or even a chili cheese fry-free pregnancy, since that is  far from the truth. Last week, my mother-in-law was kind enough to make me cinnamon rolls, when I was craving them. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I ate three in one sitting, but once I got my fill, I didn't crave them anymore. On a side note, my hubby has polished off the remainder of the batch. Who is the pregnant one here, again?

One of my healthy vices has been juicing. I cannot go a day without some fresh fruit and veggie juice. If my morning is tight and I run out the door without juicing, it is the first thing I do when I get home. Veggies have not been my favorite, this go around. But, I really enjoy a nice tall glass of fresh juice.

One of my more recent cravings has been Chinese food. Instead of going down to Armani Chef  (which I fully admit to doing in the past 16 weeks) and ordering a delicious, but not so healthy meal, I decided to make some healthy, Chicken Fried Rice. I loaded it up with veggies, and used brown rice and olive oil to keep it on the healthy/clean side.

Side note: I shred and chop my veggies very finely, as you may notice in the picture. This is not necessary, I just do this in hopes that my 19 month old, will accidentally eat them. If they are big, she picks right around them. If you have a toddler who refuses veggies, this technique may help a bit. Shredding and dicing them small, will also help them cook faster. On weeknights, I am a huge fan of meals that are on the table quickly

Ingredients:

1 lb of chicken breast, diced
3 tbsp. olive oil (divided)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp ginger, minced
4 egg whites, plus two full eggs, whisked together
1 cup carrots, shredded
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
2/3 cup broccoli, chopped
2/3 cup peas
2 1/2 cups of brown rice, cooked
1.2 cup green onions, diced
3 tbsp. of light soy sauce or tamari if you cannot have gluten

Directions:

First, cook your rice as per the cooking instructions and set aside (1 cup dry, should yield close to 2 1/2 cups, cooked). Next, fire up your wok, or a large sauté pan. Make sure the pan is hot, before you start. Cook the diced chicken in 1 tbsp. of olive oil for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. Cooking time may depend on how big your diced chicken bites are. Next add the garlic and ginger. Sauté for 1 minute. Create an empty pool in the middle of your pan, and pour in your eggs. Scramble them in the center, before mixing in with the chicken. Add the two remaining tbps of olive oil. Stir in the carrots, celery, broccoli and peas. Let cook for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Lastly, stir in the rice, green onions and soy sauce. Serve.

Yields 4 servings

Enchilada Inspired Stuffed Poblano's- Low Carb Friendly

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First off, I must apologize for neglecting my blog lately. Life gets busy with work and family. I've also been displaced since we sold our home at the end of December. So, I haven't really had a great kitchen, and a lot of our stuff is in storage. Who knew we'd be waiting for almost 9 months for a Short Sale. Hopefully, we'll be able to move in soon. :/ A functional kitchen = a happy and willing cook.

In the next two weeks, I have two beach vacations, so I've been trying to watch my calories, carbs and all of that fun stuff. Tonight I was craving enchiladas, but I wanted to do something lower calorie, as well as to use up some poblano peppers before they went bad. I must say, these were absolutely delicious. They were filling and they satisfied my enchilada craving. If you don't eat red meat, turkey or chicken would be a great substitute. Enjoy!

Ingredients

·         4 poblano peppers, cut lengthwise and seeded.

·         1 tablespoon olive oil

·         1 small onion, diced

·         3 cloves of garlic, minced

·         1 lb lean ground beef

·         1 6 ounce can diced green chiles

·         1 6 ounce can black diced olives

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         2-3 low carb tortillas, cut in to small strips

·         1 cup of red enchilada sauce

·         ½ cheddar (or blend of cheese)

·         A few dollops of sour cream (optional)

 

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large skillet. Add olive oil and diced onion. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and ground beef. Cook beef until browned. Add green chile’s, olives, salt, pepper and tortillas. Mix together. Place the peppers in a greased baking dish. Stuff the halved poblano’s with the mixture. Evenly distribute the enchilada sauce over the peppers. Top each pepper with cheese and bake covered for 45 minutes. Top with sour cream (optional).

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

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Every now and again a big giant bowl of pasta sounds delicious. I typically try to stay away from carbs after 2pm, but sometimes you just have to give in. Giving in every now and again allows us to be sensible. Have you heard of those people who do fitness competitions and the month before the competition they go on a ridiculously strict diet, then once the competition is over they go eat the most unhealthy thing and tons of it. I had a friend consume and entire cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory after a competition once. On a side note, I'm sure I would do the same thing if I competed. The point is,  if you give in every now and again and you are less likely to binge eat. On that note of being sensible, as much as I want to go with the delicious refined white pasta, I try not to give in to that temptation too often and typically go with a whole wheat, whole grain or a quinoa pasta. Though, sometimes I have a full on splurge and go for the deliciously processed white pasta. Tonight, I was not only good by going with a whole grain pasta, I went and extra step and did 1/2 pasta with 1/2 Shirataki noodles, which are tofu based and super low cal with no carbs. I'll post the recipe below calling for spaghetti noodles, but know you can make this lower calorie and lower carb by substituting 1/2 or all Shirataki noodles.

2 tbsp. of olive oil

1 pound medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 red onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced 

2 tsp red pepper flakes, more or less depending on spice level desired

1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 cup dry white wine

Salt and Pepper to taste 

1 12 ounce package of spaghetti noodles

1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

 

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Adding salt to the boiling water will ensure your pasta has flavor

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium to high heat. Add the shrimp and cook, for about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate. The shrimp will not be 100% percent cooked at this point, so no taste tests!!!

Add your noodles to the pot of boiling water and cook per the directions on the package.

Next, add the other tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, then add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 1 minute. Next add the tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stir occasionally for about 20 minutes. Add the shrimp back to the pan and cook for one minute on medium to low heat.

Strain the noodles or better yet, use tongs to transfer the noodles directly in to the sauce. NEVER, EVER, EVER rinse your pasta noodles. That is seriously just sinful.

Finally toss the noodles and the sauce with the shrimp together. Add the parsley and basil and toss again.

This should make 4-6 servings. Enjoy!

Agave Chile Glazed Salmon

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I recently had a delicious piece of salmon at an Italian restaurant down the street. It was grilled and had perfect charred marks. It had a slight glaze on top that made the salmon have a crispness to it. It was so delicious. I just had try and replicate something similar. The fish counter at my grocery store had some amazing salmon today. It was fate. I didn't feel like going with an Italian flair, although a good caponata on top never hurts. Tonight I went super simple and served the salmon with a veggie quinoa and mashed cauliflower. Enjoy!

For the glaze

1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp chile powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

4 Salmon fillets

Directions

Preheat grill to 300 degrees

Heat the coconut oil so it melts and is not in the normal wax like state. Combine coconut oil, agave, chile powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Brush the top of the salmon with the glaze.

Spray the grill with non stick grill spray. Grill the salmon glaze side down for 4 minutes. Gently flip and grill the other side for another 4 minutes