LetUsRap- Asian Lettuce Wraps

this is my man's absolute favorite :) It is quite tasty, if I must say so myself :)

Serves 4

What you will need for the wraps:
3-4, cooked chicken breasts (about 4 oz for each person)
1, head of butter leaf lettuce- thoroughly wash leaves  & carefully pat dry, trying not to damage leaves
1, bag each (or mixed) shredded red cabbage and shredded carrots ( you can buy already shredded bags or shred 2 carrots and about 1 cup of red cabbage)
1, small cucumber- diced
1, small red onion- diced
1/8 C Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp honey
pinch of salt
1, handful of peanuts

Wrap Instructions:
place rice wine vinegar, honey, cucumber, onion and pinch of salt in small bowl, mix and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Place your cooked chicken breast and peanuts in your food processor and shred away.

What you will need for the peanut sauce:
4, TBSP smooth peanut butter- If you use organic like I do, you may need to microwave for 10 sec)
4, TBSP low sodium Tamari ( you can use low sodium soy sauce)
1, clove minced garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes

Sauce Instructions:
mix all ingredients together in a small bowl until 'silky smooth'.

Serving Instructions:
place your shredded chicken in a medium bowl in the center of a tray then place cabbage & carrots, peanut sauce and cucumber/onion mixture in smaller bowls around the chicken. Don't forget your lettuce!

How to build the wrap:
take a leaf, fill it with a little of everything and drizzle with peanut sauce... roll (or fold in half)... eat... delicious!

I prepare a side of steamed brown rice or quinoa to add to the wraps too.

This meal is so delicious, simple to prepare and clean up :)

Healthy Lunch in a bad economy

Eating healthy can be expensive- that's a fact! Just compare organic and non-organic fruits and vegetables the next time you're at the grocery store. Or a bag of potato chips to a bag of apples. And how can you possibly make a healthy meal for your family for under the price of a Ten-Dollar pizza? Not to mention, the price of groceries is rising and will continue to do so if something doesn't drastically happen with our economy. I have much more to blog about this topic but will do so at a later date.

Today I want to tell you how you can have a healthy, quick lunch for under $4. It's pretty simple actually. Just follow the steps below:

Step One:  run to the nearest Jason's Deli (JD for short) and order their salad bar to go.

Step Two: pile your salad container as full as possible with lettuce and veggies. The more greens the better- spinach, broccoli. Don't forget your protein source- The Incredible edible EGG- you will want to get about 4-8 eggs. But, LEAVE THE PASTA, BREADS AND PUDDING ON THE SALAD BAR. 

As far as your dressing is concerned, if you don't make your own dressing put some balsalmic vinegar and a little olive oil in the small dressing container and spice it up with some sea salt and pepper. If you MUST have ranch or another dressing only put 2 scoops into your container.

If you would like, you can fill the medium sized container with fresh fruit from the salad bar- Be sure to LEAVE THE FRUIT SALAD ON THE SALAD BAR.

Step 3: when you get home place half of the contents that's in the salad, dressing and fruit containers into two of your own containers- glass, rubber made, tupperware even ziplock.

And there you have it! 2 Lunches or 1 lunch and a dinner for under $4.... you just can't hardly beat a deal like that :) In the morning on your way out the door for work, grab your containers put them in that cute little cooler and go :)

Chocolate Cherry Garcia Protein Shake

This is part of my 'green collection' believe it or not. Because I put a super food up in here!
KALE!
That's right- KALE! You can't even taste it. But your body will thank you :)

What you will need:
1 Cup Kale; washed, stems removed
1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder of your choice
6 oz. purified water
1 cup frozen black cherries

What to do:
place water, whey & kale in a blender (I use the magic bullet) and blend until Kale is smooth
Add cherries and blend until smooth

pour into a glass a enjoy :)

Breakfast Bowl; aka, TM's throw up in a pan ;)

a friend of mine inspired this breakfast recipe. It's so delicious despite how it looks ;) It has become one of my Saturday morning rituals after my run.

Serves: 1
what you will need:
4 egg whites
1 cup raw spinach- washed and dried
1/4 cup organic all natural salsa (homemade is preferred)
1/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained (if you're using from a can, make sure ingredients listed on the label only contains black beans and does not include artificial ingredients or fat)

what to do:
spray cooking pan lightly with olive oil and heat pan.
once pan is hot, add spinach and saute'
add your egg whites and toss ingredients often until eggs are almost set
then add salsa and black beans- tossing until eggs are fully cooked.
place on a plate and enjoy with a cup of hot green tea :)

Grilled Eggplant

I prepared this as a side dish with grilled steaks. All of the herbs I used were from our herb garden. Grilled steak recipe can be found right here on this site :) I didn't get to take a picture :( But, I plan on making it again this week for it's 'photo shoot' ;)

What you will need:

1 Eggplant, cleaned, ends cut and discarded; and cut into either rounds or strips
3 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TBSP Balsalmic Vinegar
pinch of oregano
pinch of dill
pinch of rosemary
pinch of basil
pinch of sea salt

what to do:

whisk all ingredients in a bowl- except for the eggplant, of course ;)
Brush mixture on both sides of the eggplant.
place on grill 6 minutes. Then turn and grill another 6-7 minutes.

How was is rated:
hubby liked it- grandma too. But, my son- that's a different story :) And my cousin wasn't a big fan of it either. So, 3 out of 5- not too bad ;o

Going GrEEEEEEEn with the Protein Smoothie

Summer Time means smoothies :)

And I've been experimenting with the 'GrEEEEEn ones'

This one I like to call my Tropical grEEEEEn protein smoothie:

What you will need:

blender

1 cup Kale (washed & stems removed)

1/2 C organic pure apple juice

1/2 cup frozen or fresh pineapple

1/2 cup frozen or fresh strawberries

1 small banana

1/2 scoop pure vanilla whey protein (I use Sun Warrior)

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 tbsp ground flax seed for added fiber (optional)

place first 2 ingredients in blender and blend WELL. Add remaining ingredients and blend. The more you blend- the better. I like to use at least 1 frozen fruit so that I don't need ice- I love my smoothies super cold :)

if you didn't know, Kale is a SUPER FOOD so drink up, buttercups ;)

Chicken Parmesan With Zucchini Pasta

My guys love this cheesy dish and have requested repeats on numerous occasions.

This recipe I revised from the Cook Yourself Thin Cookbook.

1 Jar of Spaghetti Sauce, Either homemade or for time sake I use Archer Farms Organic All natural sauce.

1/4 C freshly grated parmesan

1 Slice whole wheat bread or Ezekiel bread- toasted and finely crumbled

1 large egg white, lightly beaten with a fork

4, boneless, skinless chicken breast

4 tsp olive oil

1/4 C part-skim ricotta cheese

4 Zucchini's

On a plate combine your breadcrumbs, 1/4 C grated parmesan and parsley. Place the egg white on a second plate. Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper. Dip the chicken into the egg whites and then into the breadcrumb mixture. Place on your george foreman (or cook in skillet with 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat. 2-3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.)

with mandolin or vegetable peeler, slice zucchini lengthwise into 1/8 inch thick long strips- turning the zucchini and slicing on 4 sides until you see the center seeds. Discard the centers.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and cook until wilted, tossing often.

Place your spaghetti sauce in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until warm.

Place your zucchini on plate, lean your chicken breast up against zucchini and place a 1 Tbsp ricotta cheese next to your chicken breast. Cover with spaghetti sauce. Drizzle 1/2 tsp olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tsp Parmesan cheese and serve.

Tip: when cooking chicken breasts, I place in a ziplock bag and beat with a coffee mug until the chicken breasts are flat and even- this helps with the cooking time and I think it tenderizes the meat. I, of course, take the chicken breasts out of the bag prior to cooking ;)

Serves 4

Calories per serving: 350

Tuna Steaks

I just tried this out tonight. It is quite delicious!

1 4-6oz frozen or fresh tuna steak (DO NOT THAW IF FROZEN)
2 TBSP low sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 TBSP walnut or sesame oil
1 TBSP oil
4 garlic cloves
ginger
sea salt
pepper

whisk soy sauce, walnut oil, fresh graded ginger- lots of ginger, & garlic in a small bowl. Then add ingredients to a ziplock bag and place the tuna steaks in ziplock and coat steaks evenly with mixture. Let sit in mixture for 30minutes in refrigerator.

Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. season steaks with sea salt and pepper. Add seasoned steaks to the hot oil. Cook on each side 2-3 minutes- No longer. You want the steaks medium rare.

Serve with mixed greens or green beans :)

Why don't you thaw your tuna steaks? because if you do, they will be tough and that's one thing you don't want you tuna steaks to be.

Salsa & Black Bean Soup

This is what I served the ladies at Bible Study today. It got great reviews so I thought I would share :)

What you will need:

Crock Pot
1 lb frozen chicken breast or tenders
1 jar of 'Clean' salsa
1 C frozen corn
4 C low sodium chicken broth ( I use organic)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
2 cans of black beans- rinsed & drained
graded cheese
1/4 C plain greek yogurt

what to do:

place all ingredients in crockpot except for cheese & greek yogurt. Cook in crockpot 8 hours on low- or if you're in a time crunch, 4 hours on high.

stir in greek yogurt while hot.

set out bowl of graded cheese and let your guests add the amount of cheese desired- if any.

You can also soak 2 C dried black beans overnight and and place them in the bottom of the crockpot to cook for a full 10 hours for a really 'clean' meal.