Healthy Recipes and Ideas: What I've Been Eating
Dinner: Spicy Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps- First cook 1 tsp-2 tsp fresh minced garlic, EVOO or coconut oil, and yellow onion on the stove. After the onions are translucent add in 99% lean ground turkey (i used a lb or a little more). I purchased Trader Joe's gluten free Taco Season Mix and added that to the meat (ingredients: The Taco Seasoning Ingredients: sea salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, cane sugar, paprika, onion, garlic, black pepper, red bell pepper, oregano, chili pepper, and smoked paprika). I added in a tsp or so of extra chili powder to my liking. After the turkey is fully cooked you can serve it in Lettuce cups. I purchased a head of lettuce and gently pulled the leaves off to keep them in the shape of a cup. I added on cabbage, tomato, and low fat mexican cheese blend. After your tacos are ready you can add a splash of lime on each of the tacos and a dap of greek yogurt or sour cream on the side. I served these with black beans and whole wheat tortillas but didnt even end up needing the tortilla after 2 big taco wraps and beans. Get creative with it and add in bell peppers or green onions etc!
Breakfast: I made scrambled eggs with some veggies i had in the fridge. I used egg whites and 1 whole egg and put in chopped spinach, tomato, yellow bell pepper, cilantro, minced garlic, tomato, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Served 2 people
Lunch: Turkey Sandwhich- Whole wheat fiber bread, sprouts, crushed red pepper, dijon spicy mustard, arugula, avocado and nitrate free turkey (trader joes). Served with a side of organic baby carrots, sliced cucumber, and a dallop of spinach and kale dip ( I LOVED this trader joe's delight but now that im pregnant i havent really been all that into it, i highly suggest trying it though.. its pretty good if you dont have pregnant food adversions)
Breakfast: Kashi blueberry waffles ( TO DIE FOR and fiber full). With olive oil butter (next time id probably use coconut oil) low sugar maple syrup and blueberry flaxseed with a side of bananas. Served with orange juice. Yum
Lunch: Spinach Shredded Chicken Salad- rotisserie chicken (easy and ready to go for salads and sandwhiches- i never use the skin), shredded carrots, sliced cucumber, red bell pepper, garlic and herb goat cheese, and a trail mix berry medly (raisons, dried banana, mango, dried coconut, and mango). I had this with Champagne Vinaigrette mixed with balsalmic vinegar.
Breakfast: Morning Veggie Scramble: 1 egg, 2 egg whites, sauteed spinach, minced garlic, red orange and yellow bell peppers, onion, and low fat cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Side of blueberries and sliced banana
Dinner: "Healthier" Tuna Melts- I mixed tuna (canned in fresh water) with onion, celery, relish, seasoning salt and pepper, 2 tsp dijon spicy mustard, dill, chopped carrots, finely chopped cucumber and greek yogurt together in a bowl. (you can also use Mothers Market vegan mayo but i didnt have any on hand). Layer as much as you'd like on top of fiber whole wheat bread. I added sliced tomatos and yogurt pepper jack cheese on top and put it in the oven on broil until the cheese browned. Sliced cucumber salted on the side. We went to a movie and had yogurt land for dessert YUM... okay and some popcorn. Splurge a bit more on the weekends.
Dinner: Almond Crusted Chicken and Kale Salad- I made this up one night when I wanted to add some flavor to my chicken. I took chicken breast strips and smothered them with dijon spicy mustard and a little honey. Then used the vitamix to blend up whole almonds until they were finely chopped ( add a little salt and pepper). I rolled the chicken in the almonds and put them on a cookie sheet that was oiled with EVOO. Bake them in the oven on 360 for about 20 minutes or so depending on how thick your strips are. If you want to go even easier with this meal you can use chicken that is already cooked then add on the mustard and almonds and put on the baking sheet for a shorter amount of time until the almonds are crispy. Its your choice. I made this with a citrus kale salad. I used kale, goat cheese, shredded carrots, lemon, EVOO, salt and pepper, balsalmic vinegar, and green apples ( you can add in pomegranate and mango or other citrus fruits as well, and sunflower seeds but i didnt have any). Make sure you massage the lemon, vinegar, and oil into the kale leaves and let it sit for a good half hour so the kale is softer. Bake the sweet potato with coconut oil, nutmeg and cinnamon with a little honey or sugar to sweeten if you'd like.
Dinner: Orange Chicken and Teriyaki Broccoli. This is a quick easy meal when you get home late for work and you are too tired to cook. Steam the broccoli, and cook Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken (in their frozen section). I use coconut oil and just a tiny bit with a splash of water to fry the chicken so its crispy. When they are fully cooked I use only half of their sauce packet. I added on Trader's Terriyaki sauce to the broccoli and the chicken to taste. Pepper the broccoli if you'd like. This dish would have been good with a side of brown rice but I didnt want to cook for that long so I skipped and had extra broccoli.
Breakfast: Egg on a Bagel. Cook 1 egg over easy & add pepper and seasoning salt to taste. Slice avocado and add onto a bagel of your choice. Everything bagels are great with this but i had small sarah lee wheat bagels left over so i used one of those. I would have added turkey bacon to this if I had more time. You can play with this dish and add tomato or lemon pepper as well. Side of navel oranges (my absolute favorite fruit).
Breakfast: Egg veggie scramble: Cauliflower, diced spinach, diced cucumber, orange bell pepper, mushroom, feta, and nitrate and msg free turkey baco, 1 egg 2 eggwhites, minced garlic, salt pepper and crushed red pepper.
Lunch: Quick Chicken Veggie Wrap- whole wheat tortilla, add on greek yogurt, lemon, pepper, salt, nitrate and msg free turkey bacon, avocado, sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, you dont really see it in the pic on the left but i also used a little bit of butter lettuce, and add on the shredded chicken breast. (you can use turkey as well). Wraps are really yummy grilled (use a gorge forman quick grill) but these were huge and too stuffed to do that, they were falling apart so I couldnt grill them.
Breakfast: Greek yogurt, mix it with blueberry flaxseed and honey, slice strawberries, add granola, sliced almonds, granola, and dried coconut. I had this with a side of applesauce as well. Cottage cheese and blueberries would be a yummy addition.
Lunch: QUICK Chicken Lime Tacos: Whole wheat tortilla, orange bell pepper, minced garlic, shredded chicken flavored with lime juice salt and pepper and chili powder, avocado, salsa verde, low fat mexican blend of cheese, and a blend of greens. EASY and so delicious. My hubby loved these.
Ordering out: Dinner & leftovers: California Pizza Kitchen- I go back and forth with what i get at CPK but this time i was feeling like adding some healthy benefits for the baby....I ordered the garden salad with light vinegairette to start and then had some of their new bread (its now cooked and much smaller pieces with olive oil and balsalmic vinegar with some herbs they put in there), and then got the veggie pizza on honey whole wheat and added on chicken and goat cheese. I believe there is a combo of eggplant, mushroom, tomato, broccoli, corn, and asparagus. I LOVE spicy food so I always add crushed red pepper. This was a slice I ate the next day for a snack.
Dinner: Sausage Pasta- Chicken Sausage (tomato and mozerella flavoried) grill on the stove (nitrate and msg free), sauteed spinach with garlic and lemon and EVOO, then sautee sliced red bell pepper, sun dried tomatos, and onion as well as the artichoke hearts in garlic and EVOO. Add in tomato sauce (you can make your own from scratch but I used trader joe's organic basil flavored tomato sauce thats ready to go for pasta dishes). Cook your noodles on the side ( i used brown rice penne noodles from traders). I put the spinach on the plate first and layer on the noodles and then the sauce. This is just a different way to do it, i find i eat less noodles this way.. but I also would add spinach in the pasta sauce if my hubby would eat it that way ( but he tends to hate cooked spinach and wont eat it)
Dinner: Quick Easy Comfort Food- Semi Healthy for comfort food- Trader Joe's sells these veggie patty's by Dr. Praeger's they are yummy and gluten free. I put those on a cookie sheet with tader's sweet potato fries for 20 minutes in the oven on 425 (flipping the patties once halfway). While they were cooking in the oven i made a quick salad. I used spinach and a leafy mix from traders, shredded carrots, a berry blend of cherries blueberries and cranberries, sliced pear, crushed red pepper, garlic and herb goat cheese, champaigne vinegairette mixed with balsalmic vinegar. I ate my little patty with ketchup and had the fries with ketchup and light ranch. Dessert was a vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from traders, and later i had a cold navel orange for a snack ( i get hungry every couple hours now).
ENJOY! Let me know which recipes you try and how you tweak them! Also add comments of things you'd like to see me try or any suggestions you may have. I truly enjoy cooking, my mom has always cooked and a lot of my memories of her in childhood are times we spent in the kitchen. I love watching her make "carol concauctions" as we called them, she never used recipes and made most things up with what she had in the fridge. I owe all of my love and zest for cooking to her! <3 Its nice to not just feed my body well but now to feed another life inside of me gives me great joy and a wonderful responsability.
