Eat Clean: Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

I cannot take any credit for this recipe. I've been making for quite awhile now when I'm in a pinch- like today 😳

I got the idea from a young lady who I used to follow on Facebook. For the life of me, I cannot remember her name. When I do, I will mention her in this blog for proper credit 😇
 Ingredients🍎🍆🍒

Frozen chicken breasts

Jar of organic salsa

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours.

This is great in corn tortilla's, in salad with fresh avocado or in a baked sweet potato. Delish! 😜

 

Eat Clean: Apples and Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

 

Simple. Clean. Yummy!

I like to make this on my food prep day. I will separate into individual  serving sizes so its grab and go! It makes the house smell so yummy!

1 C Steel Cut Oats

3 C unsweetened vanilla coconut or almond milk

1/4 C powdered stevia

3 organic gala or Fuji apples

I like to use the slow cooker bags for easy clean up. Be sure to spray slow cooker or bag with organic cooking spray.

Place all ingredients in coated slow cooker and stir until all ingredients are well incorporated. 

Turn your slow cooker on high to cook 4 hours. Be sure to stir often.

If you like a little sweeter, you can add a smidge of raw organic honey right before consuming. Top with walnuts. Enjoy!

Chicken, Broccoli & Cauliflower Casserole

This casserole is absolutely scrumptious! It's also easy to make.

What you will need:

Chicken Breasts cut into bite sized pieces
Head of Broccoli (thoroughly washed)
Head of Cauliflower (thoroughly washed)
Chicken Broth
Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 White Onion, cut into strips
Minced Garlic
Mushrooms (optional)
Sea Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil


What to do:

Cut up broccoli and cauliflower into bite sized pieces. Try to keep the pieces about the same size. Place broccoli and cauliflower in a casserole dish and place in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet,  add chicken, salt and pepper to taste and cook until brown-ed.

Add chicken to your casserole dish with the broccoli and cauliflour.

Using the same skillet add a little more olive oil. Saute garlic and onions. Add garlic and onion mixture to your casserole dish. (I had to use red onions here because I was out of white onions- but white onions are better in this dish)

Now add to your skillet unsweetened coconut milk, stirring vigourously, then add your chicken broth. Salt and Pepper to taste. Use as much milk and broth as you would like- depending on how much gravy you prefer. Keep stirring and incorporate any chicken residue into the gravy. I probably use 1/2 cup of each.

Pour the gravy mixture over your casserole ingredients and mix ingredients together.

Top dish with mushrooms and place in your 425 oven for another 15 minutes.

You can steam some brown rice as a side dish or add it to the casserole mixture once removed from the oven. Serve hot and enjoy!

Eating Clean: Perfect Turkey Cakes (meatloaf)

I've finally done it! I've perfected the turkey ball! Well, they are really Turkey Meatloaf Muffins but you could use the same recipe to make balls and turkey ball just seems to be so much more fun to say :)

What you will need:

1lb lean ground turkey
2 egg whites
1/2 C quick cooking oats
1/2 of a fresh Zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped 
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp yellow dry mustard
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chipotle pepper spice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp garlic powder

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 375 & coat muffin tin lightly with olive oil or cooking spray. You can also use a loaf pan. 

In a large mixing bowl add all of the dry ingredients: oats, cumin, thyme, mustard, pepper, chipotle, salt & garlic and mix together using a spoon.

Next, add the ground turkey, egg whites, chopped onion & zucchini to the dry ingredients and mix together really good with your hands.

Fill your lightly greased muffin tin with the mixture and place in the oven for about 30 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. When the muffins begin to brown they are ready.

These are so moist, delicious and of course, nutritious!

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

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.

Planning our Thanksgiving Dinner- The Clean Way

We are going to have a house full this year for Thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to it. The way I see it, I have 2 options here.

1. I can ditch all of my hard work and eat like the rest of the people in this land that I love and wrestle the guilt & put in extra gym time after Thanksgiving day.

or

2. I can incorporate my healthy eating habits into the Thanksgiving meal that I prepare. And hopefully encourage my loved ones to live and cook healthier :)

I think you know which option I've chosen. If it were option 1, I wouldn't be writing this blog :)

So, here is the menu for the Jameson household Thanksgiving day- twenty ten:

• Pumpkin Hummus with Pita bread
  

• Oven Roasted Turkey with Rosemary(of course)

• Cranberry Sauce

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash & Chestnuts

• Mashed sweet potatoes

for the mashed potato lovers- cauliflower garlic mashed potatoes

and for dessert, CLEAN Pumpkin Pie :)

All of these recipe's can be found in the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook & Cook Yourself Thin.

I hope this has inspired you to cook healthy for your families this year. Cheers!

Quick Lunch in a bag

on Sunday's I cook several chicken breasts & make a big pot of brown rice, quinoa or couscous for the week. On a day when I don't have a lot of time to prepare my lunch, like today. I make what I call my 'quick lunch in a bag'. It goes a little someth'n like this:

1 cup broccoli*
1/2 cup cooked brown rice, quinoa or couscous
3 oz. cooked chicken breast cut into cubes
1 garlic glove, minced
1tsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
1 ziplock steam bag

I throw all ingredients in the ziplock steam bag, shake it and microwave for 2 1/2- 3 minutes. Open & dump into bowl. And there you have it! "quick lunch in a bag"!

On days I have to go into the office , I throw all ingredients except for olive oil in ziplock steam bag the night before and refrigerate. In the morning on my way out, I put it in my insulated lunch bag. When lunch time rolls around, I add olive oil & pop in the microwave. You'll be finished eating by the time everyone else is still microwaving their processed frozen weight loss cuisine's ;)

*you can also use frozen broccoli- just place frozen broccoli in ziplock steam bag and microwave for 1 minute. Then add the rest of the ingredients and microwave for 2 additional minutes.

Sweet & Spicy Tofu & Veggies

Friday night I prepared this meal for me and my man before we went out to the movies- he didn't know he was eating tofu ;) He really liked it and so did I. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph this meal because, honestly, I was a little skeptical :)

2 tsp olive oil
12 oz firm tofu, drained & cut into cubes
1 minced garlic glove
1/2 c sliced onions
1 sliced red bell pepper
2 cups shredded chinese cabbage
1/4 c low sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (I added a little more because I like it HOT)
2 cups cooked brown rice

in a small bow mix broth, vinegar, soy sauce, honey & pepper flakes.

Heat olive oil in a wok or large skillet. add tofu and cook 5 min. add garlic, onion, bell pepper & cabbage. cook until onions soften (approx. 7 min)

add broth mixture and simmer for 3 minutes.

Serve with brown rice

254 cal, 7g fat, 492mg sodium, 36g carb, 4g fiber, 8g sugar, 13g protein

Strip Steak in Mustard Marinade & Spinach Summer Salad

we had this for dinner tonight. I've been using this marinade for about a year now. I tweaked a recipe that I had gotten from the southbeach diet. The spinach summer salad is something I just threw together.

Makes 4 servings

4, strip steaks (a serving size is 4oz. so you may have to cut your steak in half once grilled- depending on the size of steaks you have chosen.)

Marinade:
1 tbsp whole grain dijon mustard
1 tbsp low sodium worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground mustard
pinch of sea salt
pinch of ground pepper

mix all marinade ingredients into a small bowl. spread evenly on each steak and let stand for approx. 10 minutes. place steaks on a heated grill and grill to your satisfaction.

196 cal, 22g protein, 1g carb, 13g fat


Spinach Summer Salad:
1 cup fresh baby spinach
4-5 tomatoes sliced in quarters
1/4 cup diced red onions
1 raw cucumber peeled & halved
2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette dressing
(you can add fresh mushrooms to this dish as well, my man is no fan of fungus so I leave them out for the most part)

place all ingredients in salad bowl and toss.

Tuna Melt

this is great for lunch! I'll put it in between 2 slices of ezekiel bread and apple slices or alone with steamed broccoli, carrots or brussel sprouts.

1 6oz. can tuna, drained

1 egg white, beaten

2 tbsp. oatmeal (quick or regular)

2 tbsp. onion, diced (or ¼ tsp onion powder)

1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt or salt substitute & pepper to taste
1 slice (divided) pepperjack cheese made with skim milk

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except cheese together in a small bowl. Heat a small non-stick frying pan over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. (I use my George Foreman.

Make two small patties by spooning half of tuna mixture into each side of the pan/grill and lightly pressing with fork to flatten into a patty. Cook until both sides are brown. Top with cheese

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories - 146.5
Carbs - 4.5 g 
Protein - 25.5g 
Fat - 2g 
Fiber - .5g

Walnut Crusted Salmon

I'm a salmon girl. just <3 it!

1 3-4 oz salmon(thawed)
1 tbsp chopped walnuts
pinch of cinnamon
olive oil
mix walnuts & cinnamon in baggie. place salmon and coat with walnut & cinnamon mixture. heat tsp olive oil in pan. place coated salmon in pan and cook for approx. 4 minutes per side.
228 calories, 13g fat, 24g protein, 3g carbs

I like to have this with a salad & homemade dressing.

Salad Dressing
mix about 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp olive oil, and pinch of cinnamon, salt, pepper, garlic powder & oregano in a bowl and drizzle on greens.

French Toast Sundae

I altered a recipe that I got from Cook Yourself Thin. I win the best mom of the year award every time I make it ;)

serves 4

4 slices wheat bread (without crust)
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tsp honey
1 c mixed frozen berries (unsweetened)
sugar free syrup
dollop of Redi Whip
cooking spray

preheat oven 375. spray a cupcake pan with cooking spray. whisk egg, egg white & honey in a bowl. dip bread into mixture. place in muffin pan. Bake for 11 minutes. Add frozen berries and dollop of Redi Whip. Drizzle with sugar free syrup (1 tsp should be plenty).

Enjoy that mother of the year award! ;)

Asparagus (aka Veggie Tales)

tired of broccoli? have some Asparagus. Not only does asparagus provide fiber & potassium, it is also a natural diuretic...bye bye water weight ;)

Ingredients:

Fresh Asparagus
Olive Oil
sea salt

Instructions:

preheat oven to 400. wash and trim asparagus. place on a cookie sheet drizzle with about 1 tbsp of olive oil. lightly salt with sea salt. use your hand to rub the asparagus around coating each one with the oil & salt. place in heated oven about 15 minutes or until soft. Some even like it burned a bit- like my man ;)

My Favorite Shake

Here is my favorite protein shake. I <3 me some protein shakes!

6 oz water (if you're needing extra calories use skim milk)
1 scoop vanilla flavored whey protein
1 tbsp organic all natural peanut butter
1/2 frozen banana

place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

again, the secret is the FROZEN banana :)

Chicken Florentine

I serve this one with a side of couscus made with low sodium chicken broth.

1 tsp olive oil4
4oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
14 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp dried basil or 1 tbsp fresh basil
10 oz fresh spinach
2 tbsp freshly shredded parmesan cheese
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil and cook chicken until lighly browned on each side, approximately 6 minutes.2. Rduce heat to medium and stir in tomatoes, oregano and basil; place spinach on top of the chicken and cover tightly.3. Simmer, stirring occassionally, until chicken is cooked through, approzimately 15 more minutes. Serve topped with a little parmesan cheese.

Nutrients per serving: Calories: 186, total fats:4g, saturated fat: 1g, Trans fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 67mg, Sodium 336 mg, Total carbohydrates: 9 g, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 0g, Protein: 30g, Iron: 3mg

Love Me Chicken Tenders

I got this recipe out of one of my favorite magazines. The whole family likes this one. Serve with herb spring salad or raw spinach salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil & pepper dressing.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup corn flakes, crushed
• 1/3 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Low-fat cooking spray



Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and then lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2) Crush the corn flakes. In a large zip-lock bag, mix together the flakes, pecans, paprika and parsley.

3) Lightly beat the egg whites and dip the chicken pieces into them.

4) Next, place the egg-covered chicken into the bagged corn flake mixture and shake until the chicken is coated.

5) Place the chicken pieces on the baking sheet and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. When the chicken is done the juices will run clear.

6) Finally, mix the honey and mustard together to make the dipping sauce. Serve alongside the chicken.

Makes 4 servings