food recipes.

New Favorite Salad

I have been watching what I have been eating lately, and as you know, I love my salads... however, I was bored with the ones I have made in the past and decided to get out of my comfort zone--and while doing so, I've found a new comfort zone I haven't left in the past 2 weeks. Alright, it's a cabbage salad! Oh my goodness. This salad is so freakin' good it's ridiculous. And it's incredibly low in calories, but filling!

One Head of Cabbage

Olive Oil

Garlic Salt

Pepper

That's it... seriously, so delicious. However, after trying that for my first time.. I then added some mix-ins. So here are some options that I have found to be absolutely mouthwatering. ;)

Green apple slices

Hard Boiled Egg Whites (my preference)

Walnuts (candied or not)

Almonds

Shredded Mozzarella 

Yellow Onion

Craisins

Chicken

Broccoli

Carrots

Baby Shrimp

I'm sure tomatoes would be good, however, I do not care for them at all, but I can tell by the "dressing" that it would be light enough to pair well with some cherry tomatoes or tomato wedges. 

Pre-made salad toppers <--- LOVE these and they are time savers;)

That's all I've made so far, but you can make so many different variations that you just need to try it for yourself! Enjoy it guys :)

Let me know what mixes you come up with!

Protein Popsicles!

Alright, so this morning, after waking up, the only thing I could think of was popsicles. Granted, I had been looking at them all night on Pinterest, and it is 100+ degree weather here. I decided to attempt to make some. I purchased popsicle molds yesterday with the intention of making some soon, but I didn't realize "soon" meant "right now." lol. But here is what you will need:

Popsicle Molds

2 Scoops Vanilla Protein (whey, rice, soy)

8 Strawberries

1 Ripe Banana

1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (or milk of choice--the measurements are estimated but it looked about a cup to 1 1/2 cups)

2 Packets truvia (or 2 tbsp of sweetener your choice; optional)

5-7 Ice Cubes <-- If you are using frozen strawberries nix the ice and just use the strawberries as your "ice."

This recipe is more than enough for 4 popsicle molds. You will have some left over to drink! 

Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth! Once it's at a nice consistency, stick the molds in the freezer on a flat surface (as flat as you can) and let sit for 3-5 hours. 

Enjoy!!

I had so much smoothie left over. I just had it as breakfast along with my eggs :)

Cookie Dough Dip

Hey guys! It's been a while since a post, but this one is definitely worth the wait, I swear! Okay, so do you want a cookie dough dip that is vegan, delicious, and totally healthy?! Well, here it is!

1 can Garbanzo Beans drained and thoroughly rinsed

3 tsp Vanilla Extract

1-2 tbsp Truvia or sweetener of choice ---going off of estimation, I eye this measurement 
1/8 tsp baking soda (optional, but does add flavor)

3 tbsp of a nut butter ---I use Justin's Almond Butter with Honey. Peanut butter would work, but it would give a peanut butter cookie dough taste

Up to 1 cup Almond Milk (Vanilla or Original) adding 1 tbsp at a time 

1/4-1/2 Cup Carob Chips ---or Chocolate chips 

Add all ingredients into a food processor except the carob or chocolate chips. I haven't used a blender, but some may have luck with them. 

Blend until smooth, add the chips. Enjoy with Graham Crackers or Fruit! Totally guilt-free and delicious! :)

Green Tea "Seaweed Salad"

Sometimes, when we go to get sushi, I only crave the Seafood Seaweed Salads.. if you have not had one, you need to. They're amazingly refreshing, healthy, and filling. So, inspired by this craving, we set off to make our very own. This version uses green tea pasta...and oh my goodness, it's a new favorite! Be ready to have your socks blown off!

Ingredients needed: 

don't worry, i'll put pictures for all of them 

For the sauce:

4 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar

4 tsp sugar (we use baking Truvia which only needs 1/2 the amount called for sugar, so we used 2 tsp)

4 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil or roasted sesame oil

For everything else:

1 packet organic Cha Soba green tea noodles

1 packet Sea tangle Kelp Noodles (no cooking needed for this part)

1 block of Firm or Extra Firm tofu

1 calamari steak

12 large shrimp

Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste

*THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF LEFTOVERS!*

 A lot better than other pastas right?

Alright, so you're going to boil your green tea pasta like any other pasta, then once they are soft, drain them and let them cool in the fridge while you cook the rest of your meal :) 

Keep these babies in the fridge until later :)

Cook your shrimp, and let them cool--you're going to cut them into thirds, so don't worry about a shortage of shrimp!;)

Cut your tofu out of the package and cover it with paper towels to soak up some of the water. It is suggested you "press" it for about 30 minutes, but..."ain't nobody got time for that!" -- haha 

With that in mind, just take as much water off as you can, then cut the tofu into small cubes. Once that's done, drizzle some olive oil onto your pan and begin cookin'! We seasoned them with garlic salt and pepper. Nothing crazy because of the sauce going on top. 

Cook until browned a little on the outside then set aside in a bowl or on the cutting board to cool.

Sadly, we forgot to take a picture of the calamari steak:( but it was the same concept as the tofu, except we cut it AFTER it was cooked! 

Go ahead and cut your shrimp into thirds--you're almost done!

Take the green tea pasta out of the fridge and put it in a large bowl. Rinse your  kelp noodles in warm-hot water then place on top of the noodles. Begin stacking the rest of the ingredients. 

Take a couple of tablespoons at a time and drizzle the sauce on top. We had plenty left over to add to our individual bowls.

This was an amazing dinner! It was delicious and filling:)

Enjoy it! :D

Blueberry Pancakes 

Good morning! I woke up STARVING, which is usually the case, and I usually have a difficult time eating something that keeps me full until lunch. BUT! I've found the solution...drum roll please...... 

Blueberry banana protein pancakes! Okay, this is a super simple recipe that is super delicious--"the best blueberry pancakes I've ever had" -Zach. :) See why I keep him?<3

Let's get started.

You'll need:

1 Large extra rip banana

1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (You can get mine here, vegan and only 70 cal a scoop)

2 Egg Whites

1 Egg

1/2 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

Non-stick spray

Mash up the banana

Then add the eggs!

Stir until smooth. At this point, you could be done if you don't want the protein or blueberries! The batter is thin, so cook it on Medium or Medium-Low and be patient...I have that problem when I'm hungry;)

If you want the protein, add it in now and mix it up! :)

My protein is vegan and made from brown rice, so it will look darker than yours if you are using whey protein. :)

Add in those delicious blueberries!

Heat the pan to medium heat and spray with non-stick spray. Cook like regular pancakes--about 2 minutes on each side :)

They're so good! I couldn't wait until I got both on my plate before I started eating.... 

I topped it with Sugar Free Syrup, but you could do agave, honey, peanut butter, Truvia, or nothing! They're sweet naturally:) 

This batter will easily make 4 pancakes. I gave 2 to Zach..however, if you can finish 3, I'd be surprised. They're quite filling because of the banana and protein! 

They're good and good for you! Don't feel guilty about these at all!

Green Beans for Breakfast?

Yet another experiment of mine :) I've seen it before, but I never actually thought I'd crave them for breakfast.....green beans! 

Again, I used fresh green beans, so if you do, be sure to cut the stems off (I forgot and was left picking them off when I began eating)

You'll need:

10 fresh green beans

1 egg

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Butter (I Can't Believe It's NOT Butter Light) :)

I didn't take a picture of all the ingredients together, but there's only 2 main ones...

Turn on your stove on medium-high heat and throw your beans in the pan/wok. Wait until the pan is hot and add a little bit of butter--I never really measure because I tend to use my spatula and just take a scoop out of the jar. 

When the butter has melted, add your garlic salt and pepper. They'll begin to sizzle and that's perfect! They'll begin to brown a little and when all of them have a hint of color, take them off and place them on a plate. 

Next thing, cook your egg! I didn't take pictures, I forgot. But, just cook a normal over-easy egg and season it. Finally, place the egg on top of the beans and BAM! 

Enjoy it! It was filling and very, very low calorie :)

Honey-Cinnamon Shrimp and Veggies

Being a girl and having mother nature at call, I was in desperate need of something sweet. However, as much as I would like to say this was a substitute for my cravings, it merely subsided them..which I suppose is a pretty good start considering it was a full meal and not dessert.

I need to eat healthier and become more active again--not that I have become sedentary, but I've been..."taking a break" for the past couple of months, going off and on to the gym and having more cheat days than before. So, going along with eating healthier, I was in my gerontology class and watched this video called "How to Live to 101" and I was intrigued.. Not only about the concept itself, but how these people were successfully, healthily living to this age. Watch the video, it's only Part 1, but it will keep your interest, I promise! Here! Okay, so if you watched it, they called their diet a "rainbow diet" and I've decided that I should start to eat this way.. and maybe add more tofu ;)

So, ON WITH THE RECIPE!

You'll need: 

1-2 cups large shrimp (frozen or fresh)

2 cups Panko Original breadcrumbs (keep 1/2 cup separated)

2 red bell peppers

1/2 yellow onion

2 cups fresh green beans

5 cloves of garlic

3-4 tbsp honey (separated)

1/2-1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp Truvia (or a sugar/sweetener of your choice)

First thing, if you have frozen shrimp and, like us, didn't set it out to thaw, blanch them real quick. Here's a little help for you if you need it :) 

Once you have your shrimp ready, begin slicing and dicing! 
Slice the peppers and chop the onion--I prefer larger pieces of onion. 
For the green beans, we simply cut them in half! Hard I know ;)
The longest part, was separating the garlic cloves... Set the veggies aside.

On to the fun part! Take 1 tbsp and spread it on top of your shrimp. Mix it around so that all the shrimp are covered with honey. 

You're going to mix the shrimp in the breadcrumbs--being sure to coat all the shrimp :) (It's fairly self-explanatory) 

Take the shrimp, and with a hot pan, either spray with nonstick spray or olive oil to create a frying effect--which is what we did. Be sure to not OVERCOOK the shrimp, especially if you've blanched them already. You can add the 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs you have left if they look bare. After "frying" the shrimp, go ahead and spread some of that yummy cinnamon on top. Cinnamon is very potent so you don't need much, but trust me, it makes a difference in flavor!

Next thing, is take your veggies you so conveniently have placed in a bowl, and again, in a large pan or wok, begin cooking! 

Once they heat up for about 2 minutes on medium-high heat, with constant stirring, add 2 tbsp of honey and keep stirring. You can break up this process if you want to make sure all of it is coated. When the onions are beginning to brown and the peppers have a beautiful sheen to them, add the cinnamon and truvia and stir a couple more time:) Turn the heat off and put them on a plate for serving! (I added a little more cinnamon to mine) :)

There you go! A delicious, healthy meal that will help your sweet tooth, to a degree, but any degree is better than scarfing down that ice cream or chocolate bar you'll regret later:)

Enjoy!

Love, Kelli and Zach <3

A Little Slice of Italy

Tonight, while running last-minute errands, we decided to make pizza for dinner. The only challenge was, we've been trying to eat healthier and we promised to hold each other accountable for this responsibility, but we just could NOT pass up pizza tonight :) Not just any pizza though, a healthier, more delicious pizza than a simple cheese or pepperoni. 

Ingredients you will need:

A baking sheet 

1 Artisan Pizza Dough (Even healthier? Opt for wheat pizza dough)

1/2 cup Archer Farms Basil Pesto Cream Sauce (You can choose a different sauce, but this one is highly recommended) 

1/4 cup Fresh Spinach Leaves chopped

and

1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper chopped

1 tbsp. Minced Garlic

1/4 cup Yellow Onion diced 

1 cup Medium Shrimp (Ours were frozen and not shelled)

2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Alright, now that you've gathered your ingredients, the process of making this pizza is VERY simple. :)

Preheat your oven to 425 on Bake. While the oven is heating up, you can continue on with dinner. 

Place your dough on the baking sheet, then take your sauce, and pour it on the dough, spreading it evenly throughout the entire pizza with the back of a spoon. 

After the sauce is even enough or as thick as you'd like, spread the spinach and bell pepper on the dough. 

Make sure to spread the spinach and pepper as evenly as possible. 

After this, take the shrimp and place it all over the pizza. This may take a little more effort than simply spreading the ingredient.

Once placing the shrimp on the dough, take your onions and the minced garlic, and spread them. The garlic was a tad tricky, but all you need to do is pinch a little at a time and spread it as best you can. 

Finally! Take your mozzarella cheese and spread that ALL over your pizza :) This is honestly my favorite part :) I love cheese haha.

After this, place the baking sheet with your new delicious creation in the oven for about 8-14 minutes (or until the dough is a golden brown.)

**HINT** If you aren't sure if your shrimp will be completely cooked underneath all that cheese, before placing it in the oven, slightly uncover a shrimp or two in the middle of the pizza and watch those until they are thoroughly pink. 

Once the dough is a golden brown, change the oven to BROIL and let the cheese brown a little. This takes literally 3-5 minutes. 

Slice and Serve! Knives and Forks may be needed! :)

Eating "Light"

When I really wanted to start losing weight and become a more-fit-version of myself, I immediately filled my refrigerator with tons and tons of salad mixes and dressings. But to be honest, they got boring and I never wanted to eat a salad. I began to make my own salads, they're interesting, yummy, HUGE, and still, very low calorie. :) Here's one of my all-time favorites. 

Ingredients

2 Cups Italian Blend Salad Mix 

1 Cup Shredded lettuce or cabbage

2 Hard-Boiled Egg Whites

1/2 Cup Fresh Spinach 

9-10 Pieces Raw Broccoli

1/4 Cup Red Bell Pepper Chopped 

1/4 Cup Red Onion Sliced

4 Medium Strawberries Sliced

2 Tbsp Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette

Burger Salad

The other night at work my boss was talking about grilling up some burgers and from that moment on, I HAD to have burgers for dinner. Then, my common sense kicked in and told me I'd be off track by doing that :( So, I made my salad with a twist. This salad has a little more calories because of the meat, but it was delicious! These salads are so big though! I couldn't even finish it!

Ingredients

2 Cups Italian Blend Salad Mix 

1 Cup Shredded lettuce or cabbage

2 Hard-Boiled Egg Whites

1/2 Cup Fresh Spinach 

9-10 Pieces Raw Broccoli

1 Medium Red Bell Pepper Chopped 

1/4 Cup Red Onion Sliced

1/4 Cup Mozzarella 

1 Extra Lean Burger Patty Sliced 

*The size of the patty will vary, but it depends on how hungry you are. ;)

2 Tbsp Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette 

and for dessert? 6 Strawberries Sliced :)