NO Pasta Lasagna

I haven't always loved pasta the way I tend to like it now, I have decided the older we get the more of a desire we have for comfort foods.  Since this does not go well with the fact that the older we get the slower our metabolism is I am always looking for ways to cut carbs.  This is especially hard for me as I tend to love anything bread related.  When I saw a recipe for a no pasta lasagna I decided I had to try.  It turned out great! It is a great thing to make Sunday and freeze and/or have for dinner and then lunch throughout the week.  We made this on Sunday night for dinner and then brought it for lunches.  It makes a very good size so if you are not wanting a lot of leftovers I suggest cutting in half and cooking in a smaller dish.  I used a 9 x11 glass baking dish.  Hope you enjoy!

per calorie counter if you do this as a 8 serving size dish

you will be eating about 240 calories per square, if you do 6 large squares you will be eating about 320 calories per square. 

What you need:

- 1 red or white onion, diced

- 1 lb of ground turkey (you can use beef but that will change the calorie count)

- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste

- 2 crushed garlic cloves

- 1 lb of zucchini cut into medallions 

- 1 green pepper, sliced thin

- 1 red pepper, sliced thin

- 1/4 cup of goat cheese, softened

- 1 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt

- 1 cup Ricotta cheese

- 1 head of broccoli, roughly chopped

- About 1/2 cup of mozzarella, optional*

- 1 egg 

- Blend of Italian spices, I have a basil, oregano and parsley plant so i chopped up a decent amount of the 3 and then used salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1) Spray olive oil into a large skilled and add diced onions.  Saute on med heat until they begin to soften.  Add ground meat to the skillet, let it start to brown slightly, and then add tomatoes, tomato paste, spices, and garlic.  Continue to cook on medium heat until meat is done. 

2) In a medium bowl, beat egg in bottom, then combine:  Egg, Greek Yogurt, Ricotta Cheese.  Once well mixed, stir in chopped broccoli.  

3) Preheat over to 375 and lightly spray baking dish with non-stick spray.  Layer in bottom a heavy layer of Zucchini medallions.  Add a layer of green and red pepper spaced out.  On top of that ladle some of the tomato and meat sauce.  On top of the meat sauce spoon layers on the broccoli mixture evenly spaced but coating the dish well. Continue to layer until you have used all ingredients.  At this point I put a thin layer of mozzarella on top, but if you are watching diary it can easily do without this layer.  **If you plan to freeze your dish then stop here, let it cool and place in freezer.  When you are ready to eat, let it thaw completely and then move on to the next step.**

-Place in over and cook for about 45 -60 min.  Remove and allow to sit for 10 min before serving.  Enjoy!! 

** This dish freezes well

** My dish had a decent amount of water in the bottom when done, I was able to simply tilt it slightly to get rid of some of that water and then it kind of soaked up by the next day. If that bothers you then I would suggest to drain the tomatoes before you use them.  

My Grandma's Tomato Pie (lightened up)

My family always spends a lot of time together around the holidays.  Now that I live away from home I love going home for the holidays and having all of my favorite dishes. All my aunts, my mom and my grandmother make the family favorites.  We always have a very hearty, very southern and very large spread.  One of my favorite things of all time is my grandmother's tomato pie.  I love tomatoes and this has never sounded appetizing to me.  I spent about 20 years passing up the tomato pie to the next, and in my mind, more appealing dish.  I remember one holiday while I was in college I finally tried the famous tomato pie and it was one of the best things I have ever had.  I was so upset with myself for passing it up all those years.  I make up for it now by making it a few times during the summer when the tomatoes are at their best! Although my grandmother's recipe is the best, I have created a lighter version with less mayonnaise and adding a hearty helping of spinach to make myself feel better when I got back for seconds and thirds.... Although this is still not the healthiest recipe it is definitely a great alternative to many other comfort foods... I hope you enjoy!

A Lighter Version of

My Grandma's Tomato Pie

 

 

What you need:

-1 pie crust (Until I get a recipe down for my own pie crust I have been using the kind you roll out, pre-made)

- 4-5 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced in large pieces

- 1/4 cup of light mayo

-1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt

- 1 garlic glove, minced

- 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

-1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

- 2 cups of fresh spinach, chopped and packed tightly

- Fresh basil (I use about 3 Tablespoons)*

-Fresh oregano (I use about 2 Tablespoons)*

- Salt and pepper to taste, if desired

 

*If you using dry herbs then I would use about 1 Teaspoon of each.  Taste and you can always add more.  I use fresh herbs as I am growing them but there is nothing wrong with using dry.

 

 

What to do:

 

- Preheat over to 375 degrees. Roll pie crust out into pie pan.  Using a fork, prick small holes in bottom of crust.  Bake crust (empty) in oven for about 10 minutes or until barely starting to turn golden.

 

- While crust is cooking place diced tomatoes in a strainer and sprinkle with salt (I use very little).  Let water drain from tomatoes.  Shake them around so that you can get rid of as much water as possible.

 

-While tomatoes are draining chop up spinach, basil and oregano and set aside.  In a medium bowl mix mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, minced garlic.  Add spinach, basil, and oregano to mayonnaise/yogurt mixture.  Stir in half of both kind of cheese.  This mixture should be pretty thick but still able to spread.  If you need to add a little more yogurt to help that is fine but you shouldn't need to add very much.

 

-Remove pie crust from oven and fill evenly with diced tomatoes. 

 

-Spread mayonnaise/yogurt/cheese mixture evenly over the tomatoes. 

 

-Sprinkle the rest of both cheeses evenly over top. 

 

 

-Put pie back in over and cook for about 45 minutes or until cheese starts to brown and pie is bubbly.

 

-Remove, let cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

 



Chicken Fajita Salads

Who doesn't love a good burrito bowl?? In an effort to cut a few calories and carbs when we were thinking about making fajitas for dinner, I thought I would try to make my own burrito bowls.  Ditching the rice for some lettuce and trying to make as much of the add-ins at home ended up being pretty easy and pretty tasty! This is a great salad for grilling season as you can throw the chicken and veggies on the grill for more flavor and a quick dish. 

Chicken Fajita Salads

* use your best judgment for how many salads you intend to make with regards to the 

amount of ingredients you will need, I listed ingredients based on making 2 salads and still had a little leftover veggies and guacamole 

What you need (for the salad):

- Your favorite lettuce

- 1 green pepper 

- 1 red pepper 

- 1/2 red onion, sliced 

- 2 Tablespoons of sour cream 

- 1/2 Tomato, diced

- 1/8 cup of corn (fresh or can)

- 1-2 Tablespoons of red onion, diced 

-  boneless skinless chicken breast 

-1 teaspoon of olive oil

-1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar

- 1-2 slices of jalapeno, diced (optional)

- Homemade Taco Seasoning

- Chipotle ranch dressing (optional)

What you need (for the guacamole): 

- 1 avocado 

- Half of a medium tomato, diced

- Lime juice 

- 1 Tablespoon cilantro, chopped 

- Salt & pepper to taste

- 1-2 slices of jalapeno, diced (optional) 

What to do: 

- Earlier in the day slice up the red pepper, green pepper and sliced onion put in a plastic bag and toss in half of the taco seasoning.  Work the seasoning around so that all the veggies are covered and place in fridge for flavor to set in.  In a different bag place the chicken in the bag with the remainder of the taco seasoning.  Work seasoning around so chicken is evenly covered and place in fridge for flavor to set. 

- Turn grill on and let it warm up.  When grill is ready you want to grill the chicken until done and the grill the veggies in a grill basket or aluminum full until they start to darken.  

- While veggies and chicken are cooking you can make the guacamole and and the pico for your salad.  

- For the guac - you want to slice the avocado in half so you can scoop out the inside into a small bowl.  When in bowl use a fork to slightly mash up (I like my guac a little chunky).  Then you want to throw in the diced tomatoes, onion, cilantro and jalapeno (if you like heat).  Using the fork mix this up well.  Add a squirt of lime juice, about a teaspoon and a dash of salt and pepper and mix well.  Taste, and if you desire to add more salt/pepper do so now.  

- For the pico - in another small bowl mix the diced tomato, diced onion and diced jalapeno (if you want the heat) drizzle with the olive oil and red wine vinegar and mix well. 

- Once chicken and veggies are done remove and you can now set up your salad.  You have all you need to make the salad the way you wish.  You can use the sour cream or if you prefer to ditch the sour cream you can touch it with a dash of the chipotle ranch.  Remember there is a touch of oil and vinegar in the pico so you might want to try it without the dressing first! 

** keep in mind what you like and add/remove ingredients  I like jalapeno and onion so a lot of that is in this recipe but that may not be what you like so keep that in mind! This would be great with beef or you could do vegetarian and add more veggies. 

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I do not have a picture but had to pass this along! Last week I was going to make fajitas but realized I didn't want to use the packaged taco seasoning that I am sure is full of salt! So I decided to make my own.  I Googled a few recipes to try and navigate what should go in it and I found a great combination! This smells EXACTLY like what you would buy in the store but it's great because most of you will have everything you need on hand and you know exactly what you are putting into your body! Enjoy! 

What you need:
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/3 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
14 teaspoon cumin

What to do: 
Mix all ingredients together and they will form a dry rub great for chicken, beef or veggies! 

**This made enough to dry rub vegetables and chicken for 3 people

Avocado Chopped Salad with Shrimp

I have had this recipe on my pin board for months and finally tried it..... it was very good and makes a large amount.  If only cooking for 1-2 I would cut the recipe in half.  I found this recipe here. She also offers a recipe to serve the chopped salad with a potato gallette instead of the shrimp so check that out if you are not into seafood.  

AVOCADO CHOPPED SALAD

with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

For the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together and set aside for flavors to blend.

1/4 cup diced cilantro
2 large ripe Haas avocados
1 medium ripe tomato
2 green onions, thinly sliced

For salad:

Chop avocados and tomato into small pieces.

Strain vinaigrette to remove lime zest. Stir in cilantro.

Toss all vegetables and vinaigrette together.

** I topped our salad with grilled shrimp that had been seasoned with only Paprika! Delicious! 

Spicy Green Beans and Kale

I adapted this recipe from one that I saw on the food network website.  At our house we eat a LOT of kale. We can't get enough of it!  When I was shopping I grabbed some green beans just trying to get some variety of green items in our diet.  I should have known I would find a way to incorporate the kale into the green bean dish.  I can't say enough good things about this dish, it was amazing.  I can't wait to make it again the flavor was wonderful.  We had second helpings of the veggies and then I brought ALL of the leftover vegetables to work the next day for lunch.  This was very quick and easy as well, probably 25 minutes total prep/cook time. 

Spicy Green Beans and Kale

This Makes 4 solid sized servings

What you Need:

- 3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (next time I make this recipe I will reduce this by half)

- 1 small/medium sized white onion, sliced

-1 lb of green beans, cleaned and trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

-1/4 cup white wine vinegar (can also use white wine)

- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

- Large handful of Kale, rinsed, removed from stem and roughly chopped

- 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

- 3 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese

What to do:

- Warm olive oil in a large saute pan over low heat

- Add onions and cook until translucent (about 4 min)

- Add green beans, salt and pepper and cook for about 2 min

- Add vinegar (or wine) and cook until green beans are almost tender (about 5 min)

- Add red pepper and kale and cook until kale has wilted (4-5 min)

- Add lemon juice and Parmesan, toss to coat and serve immediately

Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad (with a kick)

I love spring and summer because it makes dinner so easy as you can grill all of the time! Grilled chicken and a few veggies and you have yourself a great meal! Whenever I eat out I am always a sucker for the Buffalo Chicken Salad.  I love the combination of hot sauce and the blue cheese with the crunch of the vegetables.  This is one of those things (along with chicken salad) that you would think would be easy to do at home, but whenever I make it at home I am never satisfied.  Well I can now scratch the Buffalo Chicken Salad off of the "mine is never as good as when you go out" list.  We made this combination of Buffalo and BBQ Grilled Chicken and put it on a salad and it was a quick, easy and delicious meal! 

Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad (with a kick)

What you need:
* use your best judgment on amount of ingredients depending on how many salads you are planning to serve
- Grape tomatoes, sliced
- Hard boiled eggs, sliced
- Onion, diced (use what you prefer, I think red would be best, I used a white onion and some green onions since I had them on hand. 
- Fresh corn
- Blue Cheese (Gorgonzola would work). 
- Chicken tenderloins 
- Paprika
- Cayenne Pepper 
- BBQ sauce of your choosing 
- Buffalo sauce of your choosing
- Spring Mix of Lettuce 
- Dressing of your choosing: I use a homemade Greek yogurt ranch

What to do:

- Use Paprika and Cayenne to make a dry rub for chicken.  Grill chicken until done. 
- Toss chicken in buffalo and BBQ sauce.  I suggest a 2 part BBQ and 1 part Buffalo mixture
- Add toppings to salad, drizzle with dressing and enjoy!

Spicy Black Bean Dip

Wow, I have not posted in well over a month! I apologize, I have been doing quit a bit of traveling and thus, no cooking.  I did my fair share of eating, drinking and lounging in the sun on vacation so now back to business. I had my friend Sabrina over for dinner last night and had planned on making this Cilantro Lime Black Bean Dip that is fantastic! However, when I did my grocery shopping for the week the produce selection was scarce and I was unable to grab any cilantro.  I planted some last week but it hasn't grown enough to really utilize at this point. I decided to just throw together some things I had on hand for a Spicy Black Bean Dip and it turned out really well.  I didn't do much measuring so I'll try to get the recipe as close to correct proportions as possible! Luckily, I think this is something you can't really mess up and can just taste and add spice as you desire so make it your own! 

Spicy Black Bean Dip

-Yields a little over a cup

What you need: 

1 can of black beans (drained)

1 Tablespoon of green onions (chopped)

2 Tablespoons of white onions (chopped)

1 large clove of Garlic

About 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil 

About 3 Tablespoons of Lime Juice 

Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Cayenne Pepper to taste

1/4 of a jalapeno (seeds in for more heat, out for less heat)

*Shredded cheese, optional for garnish

Directions: 

- Mix all ingredients in a food processor until well blended.  I like a creamier dip so I added small amounts of lime juice until I reach the consistency that I enjoy! I recommend adding more lime juice and not more Olive Oil to get a nice flavor! Garnish with shredded chees, chives and/or sour cream. 

Mexican Sweet Potatoes

I have to throw it out there that I don't LOVE sweet potatoes.  When I have the option of sweet potato fries verse regular, I always want regular.  Alex loves sweet potatoes and has been eating them a lot lately.  Given they have a great deal of health benefits and are much better for you than regular white potatoes- I have been looking for ways to help myself enjoy them a bit more.  I think I found it! I originally found the recipe on this blog.  My version is below with a few notes. I was really happy with the final product and at about 196 calories a half you can enjoy and enjoy!

Healthy Mexican Sweet Potatoes

Serving Size: 6 servings if using as a side 
3 servings if using as a main dish
 

What you need:

- 3 medium sweet potatoes

- 1 can of corn

- 1 can of black beans

- 1/2 medium onion (yellow is probably best, I used red as I had half of one in the fridge) 

- 2-4 canned Chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (the more you use the more heat it will add).

- 1 Tablespoon of butter

- 2 Tablespoons of cream cheese or plain Greek yogurt

- 1/4 cup light sour cream

- 1 teaspoon of salt + whatever you like to add for taste

- 1/2 cup cilantro roughly chopped

Optional Ingredients:

- 6 Tablespoons of shredded cheese of your choosing (I used a shredded Mexican blend). I tried one with cheese and one without and was very happy with both.

- Cayenne Pepper - I like to add this to my roasted corn with a little salt and pepper. 

What to do:

- Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Wash sweet potatoes and poke holes all around potato.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place whole potatoes on sheet.  Bake in over for 35-55 min. until cooked through.  ** I cooked mine for 45 and probably should have let them go another 10 minutes or so

- While potatoes are cooking, drain corn and cook over medium heat (no oil or butter) in a medium sized pan.  Cast iron is best, but I just used a regular non-stick pan.  Sprinkle corn with a dash of salt, pepper and cayenne (if you choose).  Do not stir for a few minutes to allow corn to roast, mix well and then let it continue to roast (about 10 minutes total). Pull off of the heat and place in a small bowl with the black beans (drain black beans).

- Saute onion with butter over medium heat until soft.  Pull off of the heat and set aside.

- Remove sweet potatoes from oven when they are tender to the touch of a fork.  Let cool for about 5 minutes.  Cut potatoes in half and remove flesh and place in a mixing bowl.  I left a think layer of the potato in the skin in order to help it hold its form. 

- Mix the sweet potato flesh with the cream cheese, sour cream, hot peppers, salt and pepper. You can use a mixer or just the spoon depending on how soft the potatoes are, I had to use a mixer.  When well mixed fold the corn, beans, onions and cilantro into mixture with a spoon. 

- Scoop mixture back into potato shells.  Put about 2 Tablespoons or a few pinches of the cheese on top of potatoes and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

** I stuffed my potatoes with heaping spoonfuls but I still had a lot of the mixture left over.  I stored it in the fridge and plan on putting it in a bowl with a little cheese, broiling until cheese melts and then serving it at our BBQ as a dip for tortilla chips. The stuffing itself tastes awesome! 

  

Nutrition:         

Calories 196 per half 

Total Fat: 6.5 g

Cholesterol: 18.5 mg

Sodium: 188 mg

Carbs: 28.1 g

Dietary Fiber: 5.1 g

Protein 7.8     

Weight Watchers Points Plus Points:

5 per half.  

 

Meal Planning

I feel as though I haven't posted in a while but I wanted to assure everyone that I am still trying to plan my meals! I am really working on creating a balance between wanting to cook yummy foods and not going overboard with the calories.  

I am posting a sample of my meal plan for this week.  I will post the recipes as I make them throughout the week with notes on how things turned out. 

My plan is to try and stay around a 1300 calories for my main courses. I am working out pretty consistently so will probably end up eating around 1500 calories a day. In addition to my weekly 3 course meal plan  I have created a list of snacks and their calorie count so that I can grab something before/after the gym or if I get hungry mid-day.  Using the list I can still stay around the desired amount of calories. 

Also, you will notice I have factored in nights to eat out as I want to be as realistic as possible. These nights will probably go a little over my goal but I figure that as long as I can stick to the plan then I will be cutting back more than usual and that will help my overall fitness goal. 

If you want any of the recipes prior to my posting them, just shoot me a message!

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Breakfast	Dr. Oz Breakfast Smoothie 300 Calories	Peanut Butter Toast w/ Apple 265 Calories	Dr. Oz Breakfast Smoothie 300 Calories	Peanut Butter English Muffin w/ Apple 253 Calories	1 egg, wheat toast, apple with Peanut Butter 337 Calories
Lunch	Kale Salad 211 Calories Turkey Burger w/o Bun 300 Calories	Dr. Oz Lunch Smoothie 600 Calories	Mexican Sweet Potato 196 Calories Cottage Cheese 100 Calories	BBQ Chicken Salad 389 Calories	Lunch Smoothie 608 Calories
Dinner	*Date Night*	Mexican Sweet Potato 196 Calories Kale Salad 211 Calories	Grilled Chicken and veggies w/ Caprese Salad 545 Calories	Dr. Oz Dinner Smoothie 350 Calories Buffalo Bites 320 Calories	*Dinner out*
Total Calories	811	1272	1141	1312	945
Calories Left for Snacks and other meals if I do NOT work out.	489	28	159	None	355