~zucchini nachos~

-Zucchini Nachos- Wash then slice 1 large zucchini into "chips" Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until tender in a single layer. Top with shredded cheddar and colby cheese and return to grill until melted. Remove from the grill and top with your choice of toppings, I chose: sliced tomatos, avocado, green onions, and cilantro. I then squeezed half a lime over the whole thing. And there you have it, a perfect summer side dish, or main entree {maybe serve along side beans and rice} without all the guilt. Melaine

~paleo friendly mini blueberry muffins~

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixer, blend: 3/4 cup egg beaters 3 T. honey 2 T. coconut oil, melted 2 T. coconut milk 1/4 t. salt 1/4 t. vanilla In a separate bowl mix the following: 1/4 t. baking powder 1/2 cup coconut flour Add the dry mix to the liquid mixture, and blend. Add 1/2 cup fresh blueberries. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This is a small recipe. Mine made 8 mini muffins at 103 calories each. Melaine

~protein packed summer salad~

This was a delicious salad I made for lunch, so I thought I'd share it with you. It's packed with protein and is very filling.

Mix 1 can tunafish with 2 teaspoons of mustard and 1 tablespoon olive oil based mayonnaise. Place on top of 1 cup mixed greens. I got mine at Trader Joes, mix of lettuce, kale, etc. Squeeze on a little fresh lime juice and top with dressing of your choice. I used reduced fat cilantro dressing from Trader Joes which was delis! Melaine

~espresso protein shake~

I was craving something sweet this morning so I whipped up a concoction and it turned out delicious!

Enjoy!

Melaine

~clean banana muffins~

Looking for a healthy way to start your day?

Give these muffins a try.

Recipe makes 12 muffins at 199 calories each.

Melaine

~the best homemade pesto recipe~

I love pesto, especially on sandwiches, or crackers, or pasta......

Here's one for you to try!

Nutritional info per 1 Tablespoon:

fat: 3.6 grams

sat. fat: 0.4 grams

sodium: 2.7 mg

cholest. 0 mg.

carbs: 1.4 grams

fiber: 0.6 grams

sugars: 0.3 grams

protein: 1.3 grams

Melaine

~a couple recipes~

Kale Chips:

Wash and dry your kale. 

Tear apart leaves and toss in a bowl with sea salt, olive oil, and garlic.

Put olive oil on a cookie sheet and spread the kale leaves out in a single layer. 

Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. 

Let cool. They will crisp up as they cool.

 Pumpkin protein muffins:

Mix together 2 scoops vanilla protein powder, 4 tablespoons pumpkin puree, 2 cups egg whites, 1 1/3 cups oats, 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. 

Bake at 350 for approx. 20-25 min. 

Makes 9 at 95 calories per muffin~give or take depending on your protein powder.

Enjoy!

Melaine

~an eating clean dinner recipe~

I do not eat clean.

I admire all the people that can do it, but I would just miss my cookie dough too much.
However, the idea is enticing to me.

I have a couple back issues of Clean Eating Magazine and I was flipping through them and came across a recipe that looks very yummy.

I haven't made it yet, but thought I'd share in case it looks like something you'd like to make!

I love squash so I am dying to try this.....

Butternut Squash Lasagna with Caramelized Onions & Walnuts

Serves: 12
Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Total time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lb)
• 2 tsp olive oil, divided
• 3 medium Spanish onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 10 sage leaves, finely chopped
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 1/2 cups Everyday Marinara Sauce
• 1/2 lb oven-ready whole-wheat lasagna noodles, about 12 noodles (TRY: DeLallo Organic Whole Wheat No-Boil Lasagna)
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Lightly brush cut sides with 1 tsp oil and place, cut sides down, onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake in oven for 25 minutes, until squash is tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tsp oil in a large sauté pan on medium-high. Add onions, stir and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, until onions begin to soften. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook for about 40 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are very soft and golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
4. Scoop out flesh of squash into the bowl of a food processor. Add ricotta, nutmeg, egg whites and Parmesan and process until smooth. Add sage and season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and gently fold in caramelized onions.
5. Reserve 1/2 cup mozzarella, cover and refrigerate until needed. Assemble lasagna: Cover bottom of 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with about 1/2 cup Everyday Marinara Sauce. Top with a single layer of lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly, then 1 cup butternut squash mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers once, starting with 1/2 cup Everyday Marinara Sauce. Sprinkle walnuts evenly over mozzarella. Repeat layers once again. Finish with 1/2 cup Everyday Marinara Sauce, a layer of noodles, remaining butternut squash (about 1/3 cup, depending on size of squash) and remaining 1/2 cup Everyday Marinara Sauce. Cover dish with foil, place onto a baking tray and bake in oven for 45 minutes at 375°F. Remove foil, top lasagna with reserved 1/2 cup mozzarella and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
6. Remove lasagna from oven and allow to rest and set for 15 to 20 minutes before cutting into 12 servings. Enjoy! Lasagna can be kept frozen for up to 3 months, refrigerated for 2 to 3 days.

Nutrients per 1½-cup serving: Calories: 260, Total Fat: 9 g, Sat. Fat: 3 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g, Carbs: 34 g, Fiber: 7 g, Sugars: 8 g, Protein: 14 g, Sodium: 250 mg, Cholesterol: 20 mg

TIP:
Try roasting the squash the evening before you put this lasagna together. The caramelized onions may also be prepared ahead of time. Prepare both in large batches and refrigerate in 1-cup servings. To use, simply drain any excess water and use as desired. By using these time-saving tips, you can whip up our veggie lasagna in about 1 hour!

Recipe from here.

Melaine

~PB2~{and another smoothie recipe}

 I discovered PB2 not that long ago, and found it is a great alternative to high fat peanut butter. 

You can order and read about it here.

I bought the plain powdered version, but am anxious to try the chocolate.

I tried the recipe below yesterday and it was so good, I finished it off before remembering to take a picture for you. Yes, it was that good.

This is not a very low cal. option, but good for after a hard workout.

It says it serves 2, but I drank the whole thing.

Here is the list of ingredients from powdered PB2. As you can see the calories in 2 Tablespoons are only 45, compared to regular peanut butter which has about 190. 

Quite the difference.

I shared a cookie recipe using PB2 on my friend Tessa's blog a while ago.

  Here is the link if you want to look that up.

I have found that getting enough protein in your diet is very important.

It not only helps keep you full feeling longer, but it also helps in building and repairing muscles.

If you are wondering how much protein you should eat per day {it's more than I bet you think}

bodybuilding.com has a way to calculate it. Go here for that info.

I've found it tricky finding high protein and low fat foods. Here are a few of my favorite choices:

nonfat greek yogurt

turkey jerky

southwestern egg beaters

egg white frittata

PB2

supreme protein bars

nonfat milk aka tall nonfat vanilla latte at Starbucks :)

chicken and hummus plate at Starbucks

protein plate at Starbucks

are you seeing a trend here? 

So, calculate your protein intake for the day and see how many you are consuming.

It's hard and you have to gradually work your way up.

Good luck!

Melaine

INGREDIENTS:

Roasted peanuts, sugar, salt.
Serving size: 2 Tablespoons (12 grams)
Servings per container: 15
Calories: 45
Calories from fat: 13

Value and % Daily Value*

• Total fat 1.5 g 3%
• Saturated fat 0 g 0%
• Trans fat < 0.01 g
• Cholesterol < 0.01 mg 0%
• Sodium 94 mg 4%
• Total carbohydrate 5 g 2%
• Dietary fiber 2 g 8%
• Sugars 1 g
• Protein 5 g
• Vitamin A < 1%
• Vitamin C 0%
• Calcium <1%
• Iron 0%

~pumpkin protein shake~

Here's an easy dessert you can whip up in your blender that is full of protein!

~enjoy~

Melaine

~the easiest dessert for that sweet tooth~

Sorry, I know this recipe contains bananas and y'all asked for non banana desserts.

More to come, I promise.

This one was just too easy not to share.

Simply mash 2 ripe bananas, add 1 cup oats and 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 15 min.

Enjoy!

Melaine

~2 easy banana dessert options~

I have a HUGE sweet tooth, so finding desserts that don't come with 5000 calories is hard for me.

5 chocolate chips isn't gonna cut it.

Here is 2 dessert options I have made recently

{sorry, the photos aren't that great}

and loved!

The first is a shake.

It comes in at 225 calories.

Mix in blender: 

1 frozen banana

{peel before freezing}

1/2 cup almond milk

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Blend until smooth.

Obviously you will need to adjust the calorie count depending on your protein powder etc.

 The second dessert is like a sundae and it comes in at 256 calories.

This recipe serves 2.

layer in a bowl:

{remember, cut this recipe in half for 1}

1 large banana

1/2 scoop protein powder mixed with 6 oz. nonfat greek yogurt

sprinkle on 1/2 cup blueberries

and

5 sliced strawberries

add

1/4 serving of granola

and

20 chocolate chips

DELISH!

If you have any good dessert options I'd love to hear! 

Melaine

What to feed the family!

Someone had asked in another post - if lower calorie, easy to make meals, even existed.  In my opinion, yes!!  It's called

I guess we all have our own definition of what "easy," looks like - my definition is, if my girls can make it with just a little help from me (they are 11 and 14), then it's easy enough.

My sister had been trying to get me to sign up for Emeals, for several months. I wasn't clear exactly as to what it was, and didn't look into it.  Recently though - as I was visiting her in Pullman, Wa, I was able to see how it works first hand - and I LOVE Emeals!  What it is, is a 3 month subscription for a flat, one time fee.  Each week they send you a weeks worth of meal plans, recipes and grocery list.  You get to choose the meal plan when you sign up in the beginning.  I chose the "low fat," meal plan, but they have many others (11 different plans) - you really just need to go check them out, click on their logo above. 

So far, every single one of the meals we have made - we have enjoyed.  I'm sure we will eventually find a dud, but I've been pleased with the results so far.  What I love the most is, printing out the week of meals, handing it over to my girls and having them choose which ones they want to be in charge of (they both make at least one dinner a week).  It's SOOO EASY!  It saves me TONS of time!!  This is where life and dinners fall apart for me - it's all in the planning.  It takes way too much time to come up with a meal plan for the week and a grocery list - I want it done for me, and now I have it!   I also love the variety of dinners this brings to our table - that we would have never tried otherwise.

I've also found that it's very easy to tweak the recipes to make them even lower calorie or even more enjoyable - by substituting an ingredient - and trust me, I'm no cook - but I can do it!

This is an example of one of our favorites - as you can see, it was one Rebecca had chosen - Oh... and I have the kids rate the meals with stars afterwards, so we know whether or not to make it again someday!  It's a great subscription - worth checking out!

Sorry this isn't the greatest picture and really doesn't to the meal justice, I actually took this a while ago (with my phone) to send to my sisters - 

Shine on....

Carrie

~a seriously healthy dinner~

For me, in the past at least, "healthy" meant putting applesauce in my chocolate muffins, or flax in my chocolate chip cookies. Maybe using whole wheat flour in my banana bread.

Catch the drift? 

But as I age I am starting to look at healthy foods in a new light.

I think these foods take a while to get used too, at least they did for me.

On Jan. 1 2013 when I started out in this "journey" sticking to my calories was hard! 

I was a royal bitch the first week and a half and I detested looking at vegetables let alone eating them.

I started off by juicing.

Disguising those veggies in with oranges and apples.

However, I have grown to actually CRAVE fruits and vegetables!

It's really weird. 

Last night I was seriously craving fresh fruits and vegetables so I made a easy dinner, and want to share the recipe with you.

It totally filled me up and was really low in calories. It's an egg white frittata, which sounds weird if you are not used to eating egg whites. To me, the look of egg whites is gross. But when I think about it, I guess a raw egg isn't much better looking.

Something about pouring egg whites into a bowl makes me want to gag.

But, I am here to tell you that I lived through pouring egg whites, no gagging.

AND, the best part, I actually liked the egg white frittata!

Here is the recipe and the details on the nutrients:

{feel free to print out these recipe cards for your own use}

 Dice up all the fresh veggies and sauté.

 It turned out really pretty too right? 

 I served it with juice I made in my Breville.

 This is my sons favorite juice.

It's a gorgeous bright red color due to the beets, but I tell him it's because of all the raspberries!

Really there isn't any raspberries in it, but he drinks these down almost every morning before school.

I don't really measure anything out.

I think for the one last night I did 4 oranges, 2 small apples, 1 large beet, about 3 cups of spinach, and maybe a cup of carrots. 

Anyway, all in all, I give this dinner a 10 out of 10!

If you have any super healthy recipes, I'd love to hear about them.

Melaine