Tuna Macaroni Salad

One of the recipes I made this week was this healthy take on Tuna Macaroni Salad that uses greek yogurt as a subtitute for all the mayo you'd usually use.  It tasted great and I'm happy I found a healthy version of one of my favorite summer foods!

You will need:
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
2 cans of chunk light tuna packed in water, drained
3 cups cooked whole grain pasta (I accidentally made 4 cups so it came a little more dry than it probably should, but still tasty!)
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
2 tbs light mayo
1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
1 tbs red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
-Mix everything together

Literally, that's it!  I'm a huge fan of mac salad with tuna and peas in it, so when I came across this recipe I was pretty pumped.  The greek yogurt really saves you a lot of the fat and makes you feel a lot less guilty about eating this!  I also used whole wheat pasta to make it even better.

Estimated nutrition info from livestrong.com: Yields 6 servings, serving size: 1 cup.  Calories 244; Total Fat 2.5g; Saturated Fat 0.2g; Cholesterol 13.3mg; Sodium 261.8mg; Carbs 43.7g; Dietary Fiber 4.8g; Sugars 5.4g; Protein 17.7g.

Portobella Mushroom Pizza

I took a turn cooking family dinner for my friends last Sunday and decided to try out this recipe for Portobella Mushroom Pizza.  It's such a fun and healthy twist on normal pizza; you cut out the starch by using mushroom caps instead of dough!  It's also perfect because each mushroom cap is the perfect portion for 1 person.

You will need:
4 large portobella mushrooms (I used 6 since I was cooking for more people, so in that case you can also use a little more tomato and onion etc to make more of the sauce)
4 tomatoes, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 onion, chopped
5 leaves fresh basil, chopped
parmigiano reggiano cheese
fresh parsley
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs olive oil
salt

the sauce simmering away

empty mushroom caps just waiting to be filled!

"pizzas" ready for baking

 Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 400F.
-Heat up the olive oil in a pan.
-Add the onion and stir until it’s slightly brown.
-Add the tomatoes, garlic, leek, and a pinch of salt to the onions. Saute the ingredients until the tomatoes are soft.
-Squeeze about 1 table spoon of fresh lemon juice over the ingredients.
-Add about 5 leaves of chopped, fresh basil.
-Spray olive oil on a baking sheet and place the mushrooms on the sheet with the bottom side up.
-Add the mixed ingredients from the sauce pan into each mushroom and top with grated parmegiano cheese.
-Bake for 12 minutes.
-Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Ready to serve!

Just out of the oven

close up

so much cheesy, saucy goodness!

This was such an easy and creative recipe.  You could also play around with the toppings a bit and put on whatever you want.  It's full of veggies, super tasty, and each mushroom cap is only 200 calories!  If you're looking for a healthier twist on plain old pizza, you should definitely try this.

Estimated nutrition info from livestrong.com per 1 mushroom cap: Calories 209; Total Fat 12.6g; Saturated Fat 4g; Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 187.8mg; Carbs 12.9g; Dietary Fiber 3.3g; Sugars 2.9g; Protein 8.9g.

Mom's Three Bean Salad

This past Sunday afternoon as I was standing in my kitchen singing along to Enya, mixing up this three bean salad that my mom always makes and wearing a dress that my mom also owns, it suddenly dawned on me: I have officially turned into my mother!  The whole scene was literally a flashback to any number of such afternoons in my childhood, but instead of my mother dancing around the kitchen with me watching, this time it was me!  This is not at all a bad thing; those of you who are fortunate enough to know my mom already know what an amazing woman she is, and for those of you who don't know her, you can take my word for it.  I'm happy to be a living replica of such a wonderful woman.  So in honor of my mom, and the fact that Mother's Day is right around the corner, I'd like to share one of her recipes with you: her Three Bean Salad.

You will need:
2/3 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cans each, drained: green beans, yellow wax beans, kidney beans (use the low sodium kind!)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery

Directions:
Mix everything together in a bowl.  Literally, that's it!

Since I didn't make anything during Week 12, I made 2 recipes on Sunday to make up for it and this was one of them.  This salad is really light and refreshing, with a touch of sweetness from the sugar.  It's the perfect side dish for a cookout or a picnic. The beans are full of protein and the celery adds a nice crunch.

Estimated nutrition info from livestrong.com: Yeilds 8 servings, serving size: 1 cup.  Calories 240; Total Fat 9.5g; Saturated Fat 1.4g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 87.6mg; Carbs 35.9g; Dietary Fiber 7.6g; Sugars 19.2g; Protein 6.4g.

Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Basil Dressing

In keeping with my warm weather recipes, I made this Quinoa Vegetable Salad last week and was so glad I did!  It was packed with yummy vegetables, filling quinoa, and the lemon-basil dressing was a nice, light touch.

You will need:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3 roma tomatoes
1 orange bell pepper
1 1/2 cups corn
4 green onions

For the dressing:
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp basil (or fresh if you have it)

veggie prep!

Directions:
-Rinse quinoa, and cook according to package directions.
-In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and basil. Set aside.
-Slice green onions, dice roma tomatoes and bell pepper.
-When quinoa is done cooking, let cool. Then place all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
-Pour dressing over top and mix well to combine.
-Can eat immediately or chill before serving.

Everything in one bowl, just the way I like it!

pretty :)

If you're looking for a light but filling summer side dish, look no further.  This quinoa salad is something I will definitely be making all summer long to take to cookouts and picnics.  You could also throw in other veggies as substitutes for anything you don't like, but I think it's perfect the way it is!

Estimated nutrition info from livestrong.com: Yields 6 servings, serving size: 1 cup.  Calories 269; Total Fat 8.1g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 288.3mg; Carbs 40.8g; Dietary Fiber 9.5g; Sugars 1.3g; Protein 9.6g.

Skinny Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

These cupcakes are such a perfect summer dessert that won't hurt your diet plans.  The original recipe is here.  The day that I made them we were having Chicken Tinga for dinner, a Mexican dish that a friend of ours made for us.  The cupcakes were perfectly refreshing after the somewhat spicy meal and they weren't too heavy to eat on a warm spring day.

You will need:
1 box white cake mix
3 tsp Raspberry Lemonade flavored Crystal Light Drink Mix
1 6 oz. container Yoplait Light Raspberry Lemonade flavored yogurt (my grocery store didn't have this flavor so I just used Light Raspberry)
2 egg whites
1/2 cup water
1 8 oz. container Cool Whip Lite

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a medium size bowl or stand up mixer, mix cake mix, egg whites, Crystal Light mix, yogurt, and water until well mixed and lump free.
-Pour mixture into a 9x13 inch pan or two 8 inch round pans (or a cupcake tin like I did!  I made 20 cupcakes but you could make bigger ones and do about 16).
-Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until cake has cooked through. Let cake cool and top cake with Cool Whip Free topping. For optional toppings, use fresh raspberries or lemon slices. 

adorable pink cupcakes before being frosted...

...and after!

Insta-cupcake

Initially I was nervous that a "skinny" cupcake recipe wouldn't come out quite right, but these cupcakes were the perfect texture and consistency, and the flavor was great!  The bite of the lemonade flavor was balanced out perfectly by the sweetness of the cool whip frosting.  Even the cool whip was a great touch instead of real frosting because it wasn't too heavy or too sweet.  This is a great summer dessert recipe that you don't have to feel bad about!

Estimated nutrition info from livestrong.com for 20 cupcakes (serving size: 1 cupcake): Calories 32; Fat 0.9g; Saturated Fat 0.8g; Cholesterol 0.3mg; Sodium 26.8mg; Carbs 4.4g; Dietary Fiber 0g; Sugars 2.5g; Protein 0.7g.  I got this recipe from the same place as the Skinny Chicken Florentine I made in week 9, and once again our nutrition info differed a lot, so I just went with what livestrong.com gave me since that's the site I always use.

Skinny Chicken Florentine

I made this recipe for Skinny Chicken Florentine last Friday night and it was a big hit.  My only complaint was that the recipe says it makes 6  1 1/2 cup servings, but we only got 3 out of it, so you'd have to double everything if you want to feed more people.  Also the nutrition information provided on that site and the nutrition information that livestrong.com generated for me were different, so I just stuck with the info that I had gotten.

You will need:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 box (approx. 5oz.) frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed to remove as much liquid as possible
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 large garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp. from my jar-o-garlic)
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs flour
1 tbs lemon juice
1 can no-salt low fat added chicken broth
pinch nutmeg
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
8oz. whole grain pasta

cooking the chicken

ooey-gooey yumminess

Directions:
-Cube 'n cook chicken
-Cook pasta according to package directions
-Mix cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and spinach together until smooth 
-In a large pot, heat olive oil
-Add flour and whisk for 30 seconds
-Add chicken broth and stir until thickened (about 3 minutes)
-Add lemon juice, garlic, nutmeg, oregano & pepper
-Bring to simmer
-Remove from heat and add blended cottage cheese, spinach, chicken, Parmesan cheese & pasta. Stir to combine
-Place in lightly sprayed casserole dish
-Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes

ready for the oven...

Ta-da!

final product on my plate!

This is a great cold weather recipe that will satisfy your cheese and carb cravings without ruining your diet.  It tasted great, was easy to make, and isn't that bad for you - what's not to like about that?  

Estimated nutrition info from livestrong.com:  Yields: ~5 cups, serving size: 1 cup.  Calories 432; Fat 16.9g; Saturated Fat 6g; Cholesterol 56mg; Sodium 889.6mg; Carbs 38.4g; Dietary Fiber 5.4g; Sugars 3.8g; Protein 31.5g.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars

I made these Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars last week to change things up from the dinner recipes I had been trying and they came out great.  I ate them for breakfast all week long, they were so satisfying!  Not sweet enough to be dessert but not too dry or bland either.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt (I used regular salt, just use half the amount)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large mashed banana
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I used low fat)

dry ingredients

after adding wet ingredients

Directions:

-Mix together the quick cooking oats, light brown sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, and ground cinnamon.
-Add in the vanilla extract, milk and egg. Mix the ingredients together.
-Add in the mashed banana and peanut butter. Combine all of the ingredients.
-Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 8 by 8 inch metal baking pan. Bake at 350 F degrees for 20 minutes.
-Cut into squares and enjoy!

All done!

so light and fluffy!

These are just like making your own granola bars, except way better since you know all the ingredients and what's going into them.  They're perfect in the morning with some fresh fruit and a cup of coffee.  These bars  were so tasty and satisfying, I would definitely make them again!

Estimated nutrition info from livestrong.com:  Yields: 8 bars, Serving size: 1 bar.  Calories 160; Fat 5g; Cholesterol 0.9mg; Sodium 164.8mg; Carbs 24.5g; Dietary Fiber 2.1g; Sugars 10.1g; Protein 5.4g.

Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Potatoes

My first ever experience making St. Patrick's Day dinner was a complete success.  The corned beef was juicy and flavorful, and the vegetables were cooked to perfection.  There are only 7 ingredients, and it all went straight into the crock pot, which made for very easy prep.  The hardest part was chopping the veggies!  The original recipe I used is here.

You will need: 

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick pieces 

10 baby red potatoes, quartered  

1 onion, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

4 cups water 

1 (4 pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet 
6 ounces beer (I didn't have any at the time so I omitted the beer and it still came out fine)
1/2 head cabbage, coarsely chopped 

Look at that beautiful hunk of meat!  And what a wonderful job of chopping veggies someone did...

Directions: 
-Place the carrots, potatoes, and onion into the bottom of a slow cooker, pour in the water.
-Place the brisket on top of the vegetables. Pour the beer over the brisket. Sprinkle on the spices from the packet, cover, and set the cooker on High. 
-Cook the brisket for about 8 hours. An hour before serving, stir in the cabbage and cook for 1 more hour. That means total cook time is 9 hours, so be prepared!

Nothing says Irish like corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes

Perfectly cooked corned beef

Delicious veggies

Ta-da!!!

Chicken Orzo Salad

As usual, this recipe came to me via Pinterest, you can find the original here.  I followed the original recipe and what I got was a refreshing, light salad that's perfect for the coming spring and summer months.  It was incredibly easy, meaning you literally throw everything into one bowl and stir.  Next time the only thing I might change would be to add slightly more dressing, since it did get a little dry when I ate it for leftovers throughout the week, but besides that, perfection!

You will need:
1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo

3 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken and picked the meat off)

1 1/2 cups trimmed arugula

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped red onion

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

6 tbsp goat cheese crumbles

 

Salad prep!

Directions:

-Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well.

-Combine pasta, chicken, and the next 6 ingredients (through oregano) in a large bowl; toss well.

-Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

 

Finished product

 I brought this over to my friend's house for a cookout and it was a big hit.  It's such a fresh, warm weather recipe that's perfect as a side or the main dish.  

Here are the ESTIMATED nutrition facts:  Serves 8, serving size: 1 cup.  Calories 347; fat 16g; saturated fat 5.6g; cholesterol 79.9g; sodium 396.9; carbs 30g; dietary fiber 1.8g; sugars 2.8g; protein 21.9g.

Pesto Ranch Crock Pot Chicken

I'm excited to share my first crock pot recipe with everyone!  This recipe that I made during week 5 was so easy and so yummy.  There are only 4 ingredients, which was what initially drew me to the recipe, and using a crock pot just makes everything so much easier in general anyway (original recipe here). 

You will need: 
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (I used 6 breasts and it worked just fine)
6 ounce jar of pesto 
1 package Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix 
1/2 cup chicken broth (use the low sodium kind if you can find it!)

Raw chicken, chillen

Directions:
-Turn crock pot to high setting.
-Place chicken thighs, pesto, ranch dressing and chicken broth into crock pot.
-Stir gently to combine all seasonings.
-Close with lid and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

Finished product!

I served the chicken with some rice and it was just so moist and juicy, I got great reviews from my friends/taste testers!

Nutrition info generated from livestrong.com for 6 chicken breasts (the ones I used were about 9 oz each so they were pretty big), per serving: Calories 455, Fat 16.3g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 151.7g, Sodium 1257.8g, Carbs 6.8g, Dietary Fiber 0.7g, Sugars 1.4g, Protein 61g.

The sodium content is pretty high thanks to the ranch dressing packet, and if you had a homemade pesto recipe that might also bring down the fat and cholesterol counts.  Important to note also that 9 oz chicken breasts are pretty big so you could really eat a half at a time like I did and that would be plenty.  Let me know if you try out this recipe and what you think!

Shmammy's Turkey Chili

These are by far the funniest recipe directions I've ever received, so even if you don't make this you should still read through and have a nice laugh!  One of my best friends (Shmammy) sent me this Turkey Chili recipe to try out last week, and it was delicious!  I wanted to share it with everyone before the weather gets too warm for a dish like this, so here you go (you're welcome in advance):

I can practically smell it cooking.

You will need:
1 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic (or 3 tbs minced garlic)
1 cup mushrooms
2 tsps cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tbs chili powder
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 28 oz. can of dice tomatoes
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
1 15 oz. can pinto beans 
1 cup of water (optional)

Directions:

-Get a big pot!

-Saute 1 cup of chopped onions and 3 cloves of garlic!  (or a few tbs if you have the jarred minced garlic like me!)

-Do that for like 3 min?

-Put the mushroomies in there!  I think the recipe said a cup but I like me some mushrooms so I put in a lot more.

-Let that cook for 5 min!

-Add in 2 tsp of cumin!

-1 tsp of oregano i think? haha

-1 tbs of chili powder!

-Let that get all yummy then add in 1 lb of ground turkey!  Go for the lean!

-Cook that until it's no longer pink and add 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes!

-Add 1 can of kidney beans and 1 can of pinto (Add what you like! Black beans? Even corn? Woohoo for southwestern!)

-1 cup of water is optional depending on how thick you want it.

-Let that simmer for 30 min!

-Eat with multigrain crackers!  A yummy baguette!  Goldfishies!  Cheese!  Sour cream!  Put it over brown rice!  Yummmmmmmerooni!

These directions had me cracking up laughing!  I served it over brown rice and sprinkled some low fat cheddar cheese on top...DEEE-LICIOUS! 

The finished product

I put the recipe into my food tracking site (www.livestrong.com) and it generated the following nutritional data: Yields approx. 8 1 cup servings.  Per serving: Calories 287; Fat 4g; Cholesterol 32.5mg; Sodium 411mg; Carbs 39g; Dietary Fiber 14.6g; Sugars 4.8g; Protein 24.8g.

If you try this out, let me know how it goes!

Broccoli and Quinoa Casserole

Here's the recipe for the Broccoli and Quinoa casserole that I made during week 3 (Original recipe is here).

This is the photo from the site where I found the recipe

You will need:

One 10 oz can condensed Cream of Broccoli soup (or mushroom), low-sodium if you prefer
1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise (original called for 1 full cup. WOW.) 
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/4 cups reduced fat shredded cheese (cheddar, colby-jack, etc)
1/2 teaspoon Splenda/sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups cooked broccoli 
1 1/2 cups  COOKED quinoa (see note)
Feshly grated Parmesan cheese

To cook quinoa:
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
-Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear.  In a small saucepan combine the quinoa, water, and salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook for 18-20 minutes, or until fluffy and the white ring/tail is visible.  Fluff with a fork.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a shallow (8×8 in or 5-6 cups) casserole dish – or individual ramekins – with vegetable cooking spray.
-In a large bowl combine the soup, mayonnaise, milk, shredded cheese, Splenda, pepper, and nutmeg until well mixed. Stir in the quinoa and broccoli.
-Spoon mixture into prepared casserole.  Sprinkle on a couple tablespoons of Parmesan and bake for 35-40 minutes (20-25 minutes for ramekins) or until bubbly on the edges and golden.

Makes 8 generous 1/2-cup servings.  Per Serving (estimate): Calories 199,  Protein 10 g; Fat 9 g; NET Carbs 14 g; Fiber 2 g; Sugar 1 g; Sodium 297 mg

This is a photo of my casserole...doesn't look quite as pretty, but it tastes delicious!