Trail Mix...

So, my husband LOVES to have something to snack on with him at all times of the day, BUT it has to be filling and have some protein to keep the headaches at bay- so we have come up with our homemade trail mix. I find it super easy to make a huge batch so that it lasts a long time, plus, when you make your own, you only put your favorite things in it and for-go picking around those weird little unidentified objects! So, here's what we put in ours, but again, if you have a different preference, change it up a bit and just use this as a guide/idea!

(I go to Trader Joe's for my trail mix ingredients because of their quality, variety, and prices... but you can go anywhere YOU like!)

Ingredients:

1 bag raw almonds

1 bag raw cashews

1 bay raw sunflower seeds

1 bag golden raisins

1 bag Thompson raisins (dark)

1 bag dried cranberries

1 bag roasted peanuts (no or low salt)

1 bag roasted pepitas (greenish in color)

1/2 bag dried apricots (cut in half or thirds)

If your taste buds like any of the following, you can also use/substitute:

dried pineapple

dried mango

dried papaya

dried apples

dried peaches

dried cherries or blueberries (more expensive, but full of flavor!)

walnuts 

peans

macademia nuts

brazilian nuts (soooooooooo good for you!)

Directions:

I just get a huge bowl and start dumping! If I am tossing in dried fruit, I cut mine to make the pieces smaller and more bite sized. After I have everything in the bowl, I mix it up well, and start scooping into sandwich sized ziplock bags. Then, in the pantry they go, and we take them as we need one. My husband and I always leave a bag in our cars because it is a healthy and filling alternative when a "snack attack" strikes!

WHY RAW NUTS??? I choose raw nuts because they have great flavor, are better for you and your heart and they last longer than roasted nuts!

Taco Salad

This is an old classic for me, tried and true. It's a yummy way to get some good nutrients- lots of beans and fresh veggies- and you choose ground turkey, shredded chicken, or ground beef!

Ingredients:

Romaine lettuce, chopped

red bellpepper, chopped

kidney beans, rinsed and drained

black beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 2 lb. ground/shredded meat w/ taco seasoning

avocado, sliced

* tomatoes

* green onion

* olives

* corn, drained

*cilantro

Cheddar cheese, shredded

tortilla chips, crushed

(All of the * ingredients are optional ideas, depending on your taste buds and depending on what's in your fridge! The other ingredients are a must in my opinion!)

Directions:

Pretty straight forward, depending on how many you are serving (this is a great recipe for big groups) but you just need to wash and chop your lettuce, add your bell pepper, rinse your beans, and cook your meat. Shred some cheese, slice your avocado, and crush some chips on top and then add your favorite dressing and your done! Easy as that! Sometimes I just drizzle some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder before serving and other times I use the Balsamic Vinegar Dressing, then I toss it all together. You can get away with a simple dressing on this salad because there are so many different flavors with the wide variety of ingredients!

Kale Smoothie = Calcium

Ok, I can't help it, I have to launch off--- I try not to do this too often because I know my dietary beliefs are sometimes very different than others, but his one is near and dear to my heart. Since nursing my daughter, I have become even more concerned about getting more calcium in my diet because I know when you don't get enough calcium through your diet, your body will start leaching it from your bones. So, because I am not really a fan of dairy, for more reasons than just flavor, I look to my greens to increase my intake. You have to be careful when looking into calcium concumption because there is more there than meets the eye. For instance, it's not just the amount of mg/per serving, but it's the amount of mg that are actually useable and absorable to your body. An example, one cup of kale yeilds 170 mg of calcium while 1 cup of milk yeilds 302 mg of calcium. BUT- here's where is gets interesting- your body can absorb/use 50-70% of the calcium from kale (107 mg) while it can only absorb/use 30% of the calcium from milk (91mg). So, in short, greens (to me) seem to be like the wiser choice for concumption- especially because they are also LOADED with a ton of other vitamins and minerals- like vitamin A, C, folic acid, and fiber. (** Note: calcium requirements for 1 day are 800-1200 mg for an adult, and increase to 1600 when your prego). Here are some really interesting pages if you are interested in reading more. Calcium1 and Calcium2. Oh, and one more side note while we're here- a major component in ABSORBING calcium is Vitamin D3- which comes from the sunshine. You MUST have Vitamin D3 in order to be able to absorb dietary calcium, which means you should have AT LEAST 30 minutes of sunshine per day. On days when I know don't get this, I take this great suppliment called Osteo-sun. OK, so should I get to the recipe now??? HA! I try to make a kale smoothie 4 times a week, if not everyday- of course it's easier in the summer when you have more fresh fruits, but it's do-able with frozen fruit too. I use my Vitamix (my favorite kitchen appliance because it makes smoothies, soups, ice cream, sorbets, hummus, nut butters, sauces, fruit juice, baby food.... need I go on???!!) to make my smoothies, but you can also use a blender. I add a combination of the following depending on what I have on hand: 1 banana 1 orange 1 handful of frozen mango 1 handful of frozen pineapple 1 shake of frozen blueberries 4-5 frozen or fresh strawberries (with green tops!) 1 handful of frozen raspberries and/or blackberries 4-5 stems of raw kale (I pull the follage off the stem because the stems are bitter) 1 inch of juice (cranberry, orange, pomegranet, pineapple, whatever you have, of course, I think juice NOT from concentrate is better, although it's more expensive) ** If your blender gets stuck or your smoothie is too thick, add more juice. If you don't use frozen fruits, add some ice to the mixture.)

Here's what I start with, an estimation of the amount of fruit:

Then I add my Kale ( and or red cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes) juice, and flax seed:

Finished product:

See, even Emery like it!
Like I said above, I use a combination of these ingredients depending on what I have- with the exception of the kale- I always use kale!!! (You can use spinach, but your body doesn't absorb as much calcium from it due to the high concentrate of oxalate, kale has a low concentrate of oxalate). Anyways, have fun with the combinations, try different flavors and experiment! No two smoothies ever taste the same in my house- and try them on your kids, my 11 month old loves them!

GREAT CALCIUM SUPPLYING SNACK to have on hand: raw almonds! They have 750 mg of calcuim per cup! Wow-zers!

Tostada Pizza...

A few disclaimers.... it was late, I was in a cooking funk, I didn't want to eat what was on the meal plan.... so I got a bug up my nose to try to re-create a pizza I from CPK- thanks to Vali Nemetz. I pulled some ingredients together and wha-la! It turned out pretty good, in fact, my non-enthusiastic husband exclaimed "This is the best non-pizza tasting pizza I've ever had!" That's a compliment right?? Give it a whirl, tweak it, and enjoy!

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough (bobli, trader joe's, homemade, Papa Murphy's... you chose)
Shredded Chicken (cooked)
Salsa
black beans, 1/2 can
shredded cheese, you choose the flavor, about 1 cup
lettuce, thinly chopped, I used about 1 cup
tomatoes, dices, I used 1/4
green onions, chopped, I used 2 stalks
avocado, sliced, I used 1/2
sour cream, I used a few blobs
tortilla strips or chips

Directions
So simple! It is a great thing to make with left over chicken. I had made some shredded chicken in the crock pot with a jar of salsa (for a different recipe) and thought I'd use the leftovers here.

SO.... back to the recipe... take your cooked dough (like Bobli... if your dough is uncooked, cook it first without any toppings), mix your salsa and shredded chicken together, put the chicken and some black beans on top of the pizza and pop it in the oven for about 5-7 minutes to heat it up. Once it's warm, start adding the toppings, as much or as little of each that you like. First I put on the sour cream and smeared it around, then I put the tomatoes, avocado, cheese, lettuce, green onions, and then crunched some tortilla chips on top. That's it! Simple as pie... pizza pie! :)

Serve with: a green salad or by itself! I think CPK drizzles a little ranch dressing on it too, if you're a fan of ranch you could give that a whirl!

Homemade Rocky Road Ice Cream

So, thanks to Lisa, who left a request for some frozen treats on this blog- we are going to dedicate to her an ENTIRE week of SCRUMPTIOUS homemade treats to enjoy! Some of them are going to defy the rules of "healthy" but they won't lack in flavor or fun... stay tuned all week to find something that you might like to" treat" yourself with!

Entry #1 of Scrumptious Desserts:

Wow, so this is de-licious, and doesn't exactly qualify with the "healthy" motto of this blog calories-wise, but I always prefer to make something homemade, so think if it that way- you are getting just what you put into it- nothing extra in the fine print that some ice creams add! This ice cream is so yummy AND creamy AND chocolatey good, I couldn't resist including it in this weeks "Naughty Desserts" for all to enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)

1/2 cup unsweetened coco powder

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 TBSP vanilla extract

Directions:

In a sauce pan heat your milk and coco powder until it is smooth and slightly thickened (about 5 minutes). Then remove it from the heat and let it cool. Add your cream, milk, vanilla and spices (including vanilla). Stir and refrigerate until cold. Then pour in your mixture into your FROZEN ice cream canister. Last add your nuts and marshmallows and freeze until hardened.

Recipe from: the kitchen of Debbie Zaballos, my mama

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Thighs

I originally got this recipe from my sister Danika and I know she won't mind if I share. Prepare yourself for its mouth-watering-goodness. Another perk- thighs are cheaper than breasts and a nice change up if I don't say so myself :)

Ingredients:

1-2 packages of chicken thighs

Glaze:

1 TBSP cornstarch

1 TBSP cold water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Whisk these ingredients together over low heat in an small saucepan until it begins to bubble. Preheat your oven to 425. Lightly grease a pyrex dish, wash chicken thighs and cut off excess fat (warning, thighs are fattier than breasts so be prepared to trim them up a bit). After the thighs are prepped and in the dish, brush on the glaze, stick in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, turn them all over, brush on more glaze and cook for another 30 minutes (watch for them to get that yummy, dark glazed look and then they are done and ready to pull out!) You can also glaze the chicken at the 15 minute mark on each side to give them more flavor.

Serve with:

I love to serve this over a serving of chewy brown rice, the thighs are always really juicy and it's a nice compliment to the rice.

California Salad...

I thought I better through something green and raw in the mix, in case we are getting tired of soups and stews!! This is a classic and works well with big groups- like showers, parties, or potlucks!

Ingredients:

2 Heads of Romaine

2 avocados

1 cup candies pecans

1/2 cup cranberries

2 green apples or bosh pairs

4 green onions, finely chopped

2 cans mandarin oranges

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese 

1/3 chicken breast per person

Dressing: 2 options

1. Store Bought: Marston's Dressing

2. Refreshing Dressing:

     6 TBSP olive oil

     6 TBSP red wine

     2 TBSP lemon juice (fresh is best)

     1/2 tsp. salt

     1/4 tsp. pepper

     1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

     honey to taste

Directions:

Pretty self explainatory... Wash the chicken, cube it, add some olive oil to a pan, brown it, season it with S&P. Cut and wash the lettuce, chop the onions, apples/pairs, slice the avocados, throw in the cranberries, pecans, blue cheese (if desired), and mandarin oranges! Toss it all together with the dressing right before you serve it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Crock Pot)

The little saying, "Crock pots: Cooks all day while the cooks away" is enough to put a smile on anyone's tired face. How wonderful is it to come home to a yummy meal that YOU did not spend time preparing- instead- you dumped things in a pot, turned it on, and magically, when you came home, it was calling your name.... check out this simple recipe....

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts, no skin, no bones

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

* 2 serrano chilies, minced (optional)

1 49 oz. carton chicken broth

1/4 cup lime juice

Options for toppings:

tortilla chips

shredded cheese

avocado

cilantro

Directions:

Real simple: put the washed chicken breasts in the crock pot with the diced tomatoes (don't drain them, use the juice), onion, garlic, cumin, chilies, and broth. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. Remove the chicken, shred it, add it back to the crock pot, add your lime juice- let it sit for a few minutes. Then place your tortilla chips (if desired) in the bottom of your bowls, ladle soup on top, add any other toppings you desire!

Minestrone Soup...

This is right up there in the top favorites of mine!! It has a truck load of yummy vegetables, great flavor, and is perfect for a cold winters day. Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you, this soup is well worth it!  Thanks to Jennifer Stewart for sharing it with me!

Ingredients:

2 TBSP expeller pressed coconut oil

3/4 cup onion

1/2 cup leeks

1 cup carrots

1/3 head green cabbage

1 cup celery

2 cloves garlic

2 qts. chicken broth

1 small jar spagetti sauce

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups potatoes (diced)

3/4 cup peas

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can kidney beans

1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 cup small pasta

1 cup parmesan cheese

Directions...

OK, here we go. First you are going to saute over low-med. heat your "purple highlighted ingredients"- your oil, onion, leak, carrots, cabbage, celery, and garlic (assuming they have all been washed and chopped!).  Saute those for 5-7 minutes or so. Next add your chicken broth and spaghetti sauce. Bring that to a boil for 10 minutes. Add your salt, pepper, and potatoes next and cook for 10 minutes. Then you will add the "pink highlighted ingredients" from above- your peas, tomatoes, beans, parsley, pasta, and parmesan. Cook that until it's tender on medium heat. *Let your noodles be your guide, when they are ready, your soup is ready! ** One more side note, I used a can of white & a can of red kidney beans to beef it up even more, de-licious!

Serve with: warm french bread, crackers, or nothing at all!

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

This is a great way to serve fish, it has TONS of good flavor and a great sauce that goes well over rice... you have to at least try it! For the record, it's one of my all-time favorite meals!

Ingredients:

4 (6oz) Mahi Mahi Steaks ( I get 'em frozen at Trader Joe's)

Marinate ingredients:

3 TBSP honey

3 TBSP soy sauce

3 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 tsp ginger (comes in a jar already pureed, at Trader's or any grocery store)

1 clove garlic

2 tsp olive oil

Directions:

Mix all the "Marinate Ingredients" together in a shallow dish, season the mahi mahi steaks with a little s & p, then lay them in the dish to marinate for 15- 20 minutes in the fridge. When ready, put 1 TBSP olive oil in a frying pan and let it heat up, then lay the steaks in the pan and cook for 4-6 minutes over med.-high heat until they are slightly browned. Use the remaining juice that the steaks were marinating in- put it in a small sauce pan and let it cook over medium heat until until it reduces to a glaze. You will use this as your sauce to spoon over your fish. * For the record, mine never gets super "glazey" just so you know :)

Serve with: My favorite thing to serve over is a bed of brown rice. I put a serving of brown rice, a steak of fish, and then a few spoonfuls of the fabulous sauce on top of it all. I will also serve it with artichokes, asparagus, or a crisp, green salad.

Cocky Chocolate Chip Cookies...

These cookies got their "Cocky" name because they are really that delicious- even they know it! I also need to clarify, these are not healthy and nutritious, they are down right scrumptous! The original recipe is from this William Sonoma cookie cook book with a few tweaks!

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 c chocolate chips

**2/3 c shredded coconut (optional, not so much for flavor, but for chewiness!)

Directions:

 Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt) in a bowl. In a second bowl, beat the butter on high until it is light and fluffy (don't skip this step, it's what makes the cookies so cocky!). Then add both sugars, egg, and vanilla to the fluffy butter. Beat again with hand mixer. Add the dry mixture to the bowl slowly and continue to beat until it is all mixed together.  Last, add the chocolate chips and coconut. Hand mix one last time. Scoop 1 inch balls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Take cookies off sheet and let cool on a wire rack.  Serve with a class of milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Crisp Chicken Casear Salad

This is a quick and easy dinner that you can make in a pinch! You can cook the chicken how ever you like- brown it on the stove top with S & P, grill it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder- or give it a little kick with this quick marinate that's got great flavor! 

Ingredients for the Quick Chicken Marinate:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic (I use the frozen cubes from TJ's)

2 TBSP grill seasoning (I use Lawry's Seasoning Salt)

2 tsp. hot sauce

3 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce

2 TBSP red wine vinegar

** Marinate chicken breasts or strips in this and grill it, or bake it- I like it grilled best!

Ingredients for Salad:

Hearts of Romaine (pack of 3 from TJ's will feed 4 people)

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Croutons or Parmesan Crisps (from TJ's)

Caesar Dressing (refrigerated section in TJ's)

**optional: baby grape tomatoes

Chicken- either 2 breasts or a package of chicken tenders

Directions:

Take care of your chicken first, brown it or grill it depending on what you choose or what time allows. Obviously wash your lettuce, sprinkle on the parmesan cheese, chop the chicken into bite size pieces, toss on the tomatoes, then pour on the dressing and toss all ingredients. Serve in individual bowls with 2-3 parmesan crisps tucked on the side.

Turkey Chili....

This is a fabulous and hardy meal for a cool, fall day. Compliments of my momma... Debs!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 28 oz. can undrained tomatoes (diced or whole)

2 cups tomato juice

1 TBSP mustard

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 16 oz. can kidney beans, drained

* 1 16 oz. can white kidney beans, drained (optional, to make it a little hardier)

Instructions:

*Pull out your big pot for this guy, you can saute and cook all in one pan. *First, chop your onion and bell pepper and throw it in a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil and your garlic (I use the frozen cubes from Trader Joe's, they are great to keep on hand!) and let saute for a few minutes. Then add in your ground turkey and cook until browned. (Here's a helpful hint, when you first put your turkey in, break it up with a spoon or spatula, and then leave it to brown on one side, don't go turning it over and over, it won't ever get that good brown color that way. Once one side it browned completely, then turn it over for the next side to do it's thing). Next add your tomatoes and tomato juice, seasonings, and mustard. Give it a good mix-a -roo. Bring that to a boil, cover it up, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 1 hour. Last, stir in the beans (drained of course) and let it simmer for 15 more minutes. After that, it is ready to serve and your whole house is full of the delicious smell of homemade chili!

Serve with: I would like to recommend my favorite corn bread that is NOT homemade, heck, you just made the chili homemade, so give yourself a break already! It's from Trader Joe's and it comes in a box, you add an egg, oil, and water, and wha-la! it's done! It does take 35 minutes or so, so don't wait until the last minute! If you are feeling green, you could add a salad or some asparagus to go with it!

Simple Asparagus

Ingredients...

Asparagus (as many as you need to feed the fam)

Grape Seed Oil

Sea Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

Wash your asparagus, trim off the bottoms, and if you have an extra minute, use your peeler to peel the last inch of the asparagus so that it stays tender. After they are prepped, drizzle grape seed oil over them (I put them in a bowl or shallow dish, and roll them around so they all get a light coat of olive oil) then lay them flat on a roasting pan and sprinkle the sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder to your liking and pop them in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, test them with a fork, if they are close to your liking for tenderness, sprinkle on a handful of shredded parmesan cheese, put them back in the oven for 3-5 minutes to let the cheese melt. Delicious!

Options to serve with:

They are a great compliment to any meal as the veggie dish, I personally like them along side of the sweet potato fries!

Sweet Potato Fries...

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Ingredients:

Sweet Potatoes (anywhere from 2-5)

Grape Seed Oil

Sea Salt

Pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thoroughly wash the sweet potato skins, cut them into slices (cut them in half or thirds depending on how big they are, then cut them in half again, then slice them into wedges). Put them in a bowl, drizzle grape seed oil, sea salt, and pepper and toss. Pour them out onto a roasting pan or cookie sheet (for easy clean up use parchment paper). Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on how brown you like them. To test them, poke them with a fork, until desired softness. Enjoy!

Options to Serve with:

Chicken or fish with a green veggie or salad. (See Mahi Mahi recipes)