Apples & Peanut Butter - Green Smoothie

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 Tbsp Pb2 powdered peanutbutter 

1 small container non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt*

1 medium Granny Smith apple (core removed & apple cut into chunks)

1 tsp each pure vanilla extract and cinnamon

2 cups organic baby spinach

1 cup ice

Place ingredients in the order listed into a high-powered blender, blend until smooth and enjoy!

*You can replace the yogurt with your favorite vanilla plant based protein to make this smoothie vegan. The nutritional info will stay about the same. The main difference will be a creamy versus light texture. :)

Calories 290; fat 4g; carbs 50g; fiber 10g; protein 19g

Mediterranean Chicken (from the cookbook)

Ingredients:
8 chicken tenderloins (all visible fat removed)
1 14.5 oz. can petite cut diced tomatoes (I use the garlic basil flavored ones)
1 c. 98% fat free chicken broth
1 4.5 oz. jar sliced mushrooms (drained)
1 3.8 oz. can sliced olives (drained)
1 16 oz. can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½ tsp. ground black pepper
cooking spray

Directions:
Spray a large skillet with cooking spray & cook chicken on medium heat until golden brown. Add the onions and garlic and about ¼ of the chicken broth and cook until onions are soft.  Add the rest of the chicken broth and the other ingredients and let simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until everything is warmed and the flavors are mixed.

Serve over a bed of Israeli couscous.

Nutritional: Per serving (without couscous) - 233 calories; 4.5 g fat; 17% calories from fat
Serves: 6

Healthy Tip: Have some fats on your salad!

Too often when people are trying to eat healthier, they opt for salads with fat-free dressing.  The problem though, is that by not having any fats on your salad, your body is missing out on all of those fat-soluble vitamins (micronutrients) that it needs.  A great way to get the most out of all of those good veggies (and fruits) is to dress your salad with flavorful vinegar and a touch of heart healthy oil, such as extra virgin olive oil.  Then, add some good fats like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts or almonds to your salad.  By doing this, your body will absorb all of that nutritional greatness that it needs.

Italian Herb Chicken (from the cookbook)

Ingredients:
4 plum tomatoes
1 whole lime
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (preferably organic w/ Italian herbs)
5-10 (depending on your taste) whole garlic cloves,  minced
5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp. white wine (can be cooking or table wine)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (all visible fat removed)
8 oz. angel hair pasta, cooked

Directions:
Dice 3 of the tomatoes and place in a large skillet. Mash with a potato masher until they are smushy. Dice and add the last tomato without mashing. Add the can of diced tomatoes including the juice. Next, cut your lime in half and squeeze all of the juice out into the pan. Add the minced garlic (5 - 10 cloves to taste), the basil and the wine. Stir and let simmer over a low to med/low heat. Cut your chicken into either strips or bite size pieces and cook until golden brown on medium heat in a separate skillet.
When cooked, add your chicken to the sauce and let simmer on low heat for at least 10 minutes (the longer it simmers, the more the chicken absorbs the flavor of the sauce).

Spoon over your cooked angel hair pasta.

Nutritional: Per Serving (without pasta) - 178.25 calories; 0.5g fat
Serves: 4

Mango Spinach Smoothie

I know what you're thinking... "A spinach smoothie? Yuck!"  Think again!  This mango in this smoothie gives it such a nice tropical flavor and totally masks the spinach.  Yes, I said totally!  This version is nice and creamy and isn't too sweet - plus it only packs 165 calories which makes it great for either a snack or as a mini-meal (for those doing multiple low-cal meals per day).

1 individual container Dannon Oikos Greek Nonfat Plain Yogurt
1 cup Silk Almond Milk (unsweetened original)
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup Dole Premium - Mango Chunks All Natural (Frozen)

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  That's it!

Nutritional Info: Calories 165; Carbs 19g; Fat 3g; Protein 18g; Sodium 243mg; Sugar 16g

If you like yours a little sweeter or a little more tropical, you could always swap out the almond milk for 6oz of pineapple juice.  Just make sure to readjust the nutritional info in you're counting. :)

Turkey Quinoa Meatballs with Veggie Marinara

Who isn't looking for a good quinoa recipe nowadays? With all of the health benefits it has to offer, I'm always looking for ways to add it into my food. Since it is kind of mealy, I am happy any time I can work it into something else.

I was surfing around on Pinterest and came across a turkey quinoa meatball recipe. I thought it looked pretty good so I started looking around some more. After checking out quite few recipes, I knew how I wanted to make them! This recipe has been adapted from formerfatdudes.com. I changed the meat to be leaner, added more veggies, and changed the type of quinoa and tomatoes. Their recipe looked good, but this one is leaner and packs more of a protein punch.

I love making many different types of marinara, so this one was a no-brainier. I actually adapted it from my own garden vegetable marinara recipe and think I might just use this as my go to sauce. :)

Turkey Quinoa Meatballs

1.25 pounds ground turkey breast
3/4 cup cooked black quinoa
1/3 cup grated onions*
1/3 cup grated carrots*
1/3 cup grated zucchini*
2 tablespoons crushed tomato (buy a 28oz can & use the rest for the sauce)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 egg

*Grate the whole vegetable and save what you don't use in the meatballs for the sauce.

Preheat oven to 500F, line a large baking sheet with foil and a sheet of parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together meat, quinoa, onions, carrots, zucchini, crushed tomato, garlic, worcestershire, seasonings and egg until well combined. You will want to do this with your hands to get everything mixed well. Be careful not to over mix - this will keep the meatballs tender.

Shape in to 13 even-sized meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Roast until cooked through about 20 minutes, turn over once about 15 minutes in so they brown evenly (although the meatballs will be light in color, the bottoms will brown up).

Place over cooked polenta and top with veggie marinara (recipe below), fresh basil and shaved Parmesan. As an aside, when I make my polenta, I add grated Parmesan but omit butter or cream.


Veggie Marinara Sauce

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp (more to taste) crushed red pepper
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste
Remainder of grated veggies
6-7 cloves garlic (sliced)
The remainder of the crushed tomatoes
Tablespoon (or more) fresh basil

Warm up oil with seasonings in a deep 10" wide pan. Add onion, zucchini and carrots and let sweat out over med+ heat for about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for and additional 10 minutes. Lower to med-low heat and allow to simmer for as long as everything else takes to come together. The natural sweetness of the veggies helps take the sharpness out of the tomatoes. The longer the sauce cooks, the less acidic it becomes.

Nutritional Info:
Meatballs (each) - 94.5 calories; 12g protein; 8g carbs; 1.5g fat
1/2 cup sauce - 123 calories; 2.8g protein; 15g carbs; 5.5g fat (don't stress over the fat, it is a good fat from the olive oil)
1/2 cup prepared polenta w/ Parmesan - 123.5 calories; 4.6g protein; 20.8g carbs; 2.7g fat

You could also serve these over spaghetti squash instead of the polenta which would cut the calories and be very tasty.

Pineapple Ginger Soy Chicken (from the cookbook)

When walking through the grocery store last night, I saw that they had fresh pineapple on sale.  I LOVE fresh pineapple!  I like it as is, grilled, and as part of a meal.  After picking one up, I thought to myself that my Pineapple, Ginger Soy Chicken would be a great choice for dinner!

The recipe calls for canned pineapple and the addition of water.  When using the fresh pineapple, you can reduce the amount of water used and use as little or as much pineapple as you like.  I used about half and cut it into tidbits.  Also, you will want to add the pineapple as soon as the chicken is cooked when using fresh. You can also omit the garlic and increase the ginger if you prefer - if you don't have fresh ginger, no worries - just use powdered.

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
   (cut off all visible fat - cut into bite size pieces)
5 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
3 large garlic cloves, minced
   (more or less according to individual tastes)
½ inch cube of fresh ginger, minced
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple in its own juice
1 ½ c. water
cooking spray

Directions:
Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and cook chicken on
medium heat until golden brown. Add the water, soy sauce, garlic
and ginger and cook an additional 5 minutes.  Add the pineapple
and let simmer on low for 20 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Nutritional: Per serving (without rice) - 137.5 calories; 1g fat; 6%
calories from fat
Cooking Temp: Medium, then low
Serves: 4
Price Range: $5 - $10
Comments: This dish is low in calories and fat and is delicious!  My
kids think cooking with pineapple is weird, but still love this dish.