Healthy Recipes

So I have had a few requests for different healthy recipes and such. So I am just posting it on the blog rather than emailing each individual. Awesome blog post I know. ;)

First off, these are my favorite sources of PROTEIN

Jenni-O Extra Lean Ground Turkey (comes in a 20 oz package)
Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt. I really like the Chobani brand, but the Dannon isn't bad either.
Chicken Breast. Just a plain old Chicken breast. (put it in a salad or something)
Canned Tuna (does it get any simpler?)
Canned Chicken
Premier Protein Shakes Vanilla or Chocolate (you get these at Costco I think it is $18 for 24 of them. They are great to just stack up in the fridge and grab right after a workout or if you have no time for bfast)
Salmon
Tilapia or any white fish
Pork Roast
Fat free Feta Cheese (so yummy on crackers or on salads)
Deli Turkey
Fat Free Cottage Cheese (add some fruit in there, berries, even frozen ones are good)
Beans (black, kidney etc)
Nuts (Cocoa roast almonds are the bomb, they even come in little 100 cal packs)
Pumpkin seeds
Quinoa (also a grain!)
Smuckers Natural creamy Peanut Butter
Turkey Bacon
Turkey Sausage
Lean thick red juicy Steak. Yep, gotta have me some red meat sometimes!
Jenni-O Extra lean Turkey Burgers (Costco also sells a huge pack of turkey burgers, Kirkland brand, very tasty too)
Pre Marinated Chicken breasts (I have found these at both Walmart and Target. THey usually Lemon pepper, tomato basil, or just seasoned. They are great to just cook up and have a side of rice and lots of veggies. quick meal)

Favorite GRAINS

*one thing to remember with grains. always check the label. There is typically a whole grain image on there that will tell you how many grams of whole grains are in there. Also check the nutrition information. Low sugar, like 1 gram. high protein, and most definitely high fiber. If it has all those, it's a winner.

Thomas Multi-Grain Light High Fiber English muffins.
Whole Wheat bread. Check the label, make sure you are getting some protein as well as fiber in there, if not get another bread.
Wild Rice
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Bagel (again check the label, low or no sugar, decent protein and fiber)
Quinoa
Whole Wheat, High fiber Tortillas. I cannot remember the brand name for these. But they sell them at Costco & they are about 100 calories each. Awesome.
Whole Wheat or Multi Grain Pita Pockets
Kashi Original cereal. Has great protein as well as fiber
Whole Grain cream of wheat. Not just regular cream of wheat, whole grain. check the label.
Oatmeal, always a winner.
9 grain cereal. My favorite carb load 24 hrs before a marathon.

VEGETABLES & FRUITS

Please know that HALF your meal, each and every one, should be from this category. Green and colorful are usually best. It doesn't need to be complicated. I often get the steam in the bag broccoli, or green beans. Frozen peas are great. Yellow squash and zucchini steam really fast. Baby carrots are great, no chopping, just cook them up. Brussel sprouts, asparagus, avocados. They sell bags of already chopped up cauliflower and broccoli which makes for great snacks. The mini red yellow and orange peppers are delicious and sweet and are great to munch on. Make salads, not with iceburg. any other lettuce, is great. Spinach is my fav.
Fruits: Blueberries, Raspberries, strawberries, bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, grapes, mangos, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe etc. All yum. Add fruit to your salads too, so good.


SPINACH SHAKE

 Few handfuls of ice
 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (35 cal a cup)
1-2 tablespoons natural peanut butter (smuckers is my favorite, only 1 g sugar, look for brands with low sugar)
1/2 - 1 banana 1 scoop protein powder. (my favorite is Jillian micheals vanilla whey powder but any flavor brand will do)
A bunch of raw spinach leaves. I put in a couple cups at least. Blend it all up and enjoy!
 Note: when I make the smoothie I only put in one tablespoon of peanut butter, but I put in the entire banana. Ben puts in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, but only half the banana. Do what you like best.


SOFT TACOS

 20 oz Jenni-o extra lean ground turkey
 2 Green peppers Onion
1 can Black or kidney beans
 Taco seasoning
 Chobani plain no fat yogurt (a great sour cream substitute)
Salsa
Lettuce, tomatoes
High fiber, low calorie tortillas (you can usually find some that are under 100 cal. ea.)

Brown meat with onions, add peppers. Cook for a few more minutes. Add taco seasoning, beans and some water. Let simmer for a few minutes. (whatever the taco seasoning packets says) Fill tortillas with meat, top with yogurt, salsa and veggies.

*you can also use this recipe with a pork roast. Just put the pork roast in the slow cooker in the morning, put the taco seasoning in there with a very little water and let it cook the day away.


SPINACH BERRY CHICKEN SALAD

2 Cooked chicken breasts  (even boiled is fine)
Strawberries
Blueberries
any sort of nut (optional)
Spinach
Romaine Lettuce
Light Poppyseed dressing (Panera sells a great one, only 15 cal a serving)

Chop everything on up and toss together. you can also add Bleu or Feta cheese if you want. Heck, throw some apples in there too. It's a salad, do whatever you want.

WILD RICE

I know, a recipe for wild rice. Just a tip really, not a recipe. Instead of boiling the rice in butter and water. skip or half the butter and boil it in chicken broth. It will come out with a great flavor and won't need anything else to make it edible. Also know that wild rice take a good 50 min to cook. Just warning you.

EGG WHITE OMELETS

Eggs whites (how ever many you want)
Peppers
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Turkey Bacon

Whip up the egg whites, spray the griddle. pour the whites on. Use your spatula to scoop the egg whites into a nice shape. once slightly cooked through all your goods on one side. Let it cook for a minute, then fold the other side over everything. Let it continue to cook for a couple minutes then enjoy! You can either cook the bacon beforehand and add to your omellete, or you can cook it on up after and enjoy by itself. Just a little more protein. Also know that the egg whites are a little harder to keep together (I often have scrambled eggs by the end, still tastes great) But if you add one whole egg to your whites they will hold together much better. Just sayin.

TURKEY BURGERS

Turkey Burgers (either Jenni-o extra lean, or Kirkland brand from Costco)
season with some chili powder or whatever sounds good to you. Seasoned salt etc.
Avocados, or wholly guacamole
lettuce, tomato
light ranch (Bolthouse has new yogurt ranch sold in the produce section, it is great. 45 cal a serving)
Whole wheat Hamburger buns

Toast buns, spread on the ranch. Top burger with guacamole, lettuce and tomato..YUM!


SWEET POTATO FRENCH FRIES

(go along great with turkey burgers)

Wash sweet potatoes. (about 2) You can either peel them or not, whatever you want.
Slice up to french fry size. Put in bowl, cover with about 1-2 TB Olive oil. As little as you can get away with. Stir around until evenly coated.
Then shake on some seasoning. I put... A lot of chili poweder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne for some kick.
Stir around until everything is once again, evenly coated.
Line large cookie sheet with foil.
Spread fries on sheet so they are in a single layer, they won't cook well if they are ont top of each other.
Cook at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes stirring once. Keep on eye on them and adjust time to how crispy you like your fries. So stinkin good and good for you.

*my sister made these and did not like the sogginess of the french fries. I am not chef and don't know how to fix the problem, lower temp, longer cooking perhaps? Not sure. The flavoring of these things are fantastic, but they don't always come out super crispy (they aren't fried.....)


PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE YOGURT

Sounds bad for you huh?
1/3 C. Chobani Fat Free Plain Greek yogurt
1/2 TB Peanut butter
Something chocolate. I have used: plain cocoa powder (needed to add a little bit of a banana to sweeten it) hot cocoa powder, chocolate protein powder.
Stir it all up until smooth and enjoy and know that it isn't horrible for you.



Rock Star- Kick Trash- Best Post Long Run- CHILI EVER

Let me share a quick story with you. My bros and sis were training for a marathon together. We wanted to run a 19 miler together, and the only time we could go was at night. We all went together and didn't get home until close to midnight. It was a fabulous run and we all had a great time. My bro and I were so tired, he just crashed on my couch and I died in my bed. I was soooo tired. But I could NOT sleep. I sat there, and all I could think about was how stinking hungry I was. I was starving. But mostly I was thinking about the Chili I had made the night before. The leftovers were in the fridge and it was all I could think about. Finally, at 4 am I couldn't take it any longer. I snuck downstairs, past my bro, and opened the fridge. As soon as I opened it my brother called out "Holy crap Em, I'm STARVING. are you getting something to eat?" I heated up the pot of chili. We were pigs. WE didn't even serve it out into individual bowls. We just sat over a pot of chili, raving about it, best thing we had ever tasted, until every last drop, bean, and piece of meat was gone. Then we both happily returned to our beds and slept peacefully.

So now, the before each long run or race I make a big pot of chili. Let it sit. And enjoy bowl after bowl once my race/run is done. It is the bomb. Here it is

1 Onion, Chopped
3 cloves garlic-diced
several stalks celery chopped, like 5-6.
2 green peppers chopped
2 jalepeno peppers chopped
3 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup water
2-3 cans Fire roasted Diced tomatoes
2 cans Tomato sauce (more is you want more sauce)
3 cans kidney beans
1 can chili beans
1/4 C. Ketchup (I don't even know why I put this in here, I just do, it probably doesn't even do anything)
Soy Sauce (eh, I just pour some in, prob like 1/2 -1 TB)
1/4 C Brown Sugar
Chili Powder (lots)
Cumin
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt Pepper

Browned Extra Lean Ground Turkey

Saute onion and garlice for a minute. Add celery and peppers, water & bouillon. once things are nice a softened. add all the canned goods. Then start adding all that great flavor. I really have no idea how much of each season I put in. I put in A LOT of chili powder. Then some of everything else. Stir it up, taste it and add more if I need to. Don't forget the salt, it adds all the flavor. This chili is best made the night before, put in the fridge over night and reheated and enjoyed the next day. I don't even know how healthy this is, I just crave it like crazy when I have really pushed my body.


VEGGIE STIR FRY

2-3 cloves Garlic
Ginger
1-2 bags Broccoli Slaw
1-2 lbs Shrimp, cubed steak, or chicken. Whatever meat you are feeling like eating
broccoli, sugar snap peas, carrots, peas or any other veggies that sounds good to you, I think fresh pineapple would be awesome in this too.
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil

Saute garlic for a min, add ginger. cook another min. Then add all the veggies, continue to saute. If your meat will cook quickly add it after the veggies, if it will take a while. Add it with the veg. Add a little soy sauce (about 2 TB or to taste) and then a very little sesame oil (like a few drops really). Stir it all on up and enjoy.You don't even need to have rice with it, just eat it on up.


QUINOA TABBOULEH

2 Cups Water
1 Cup Quinoa
1 pinch of Salt
1-2 TB Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 C. Lemon Juice
2 Cooked Chicken Breast, diced
1 pt grape tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, diced
2 bunches green onions, diced
2 carrots grated
1 C. fresh parsley chopped

Bring water to boil. add Quinoa and pinch of salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. While cooking. In a large bowl combine: chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, parsley & carrots. Add quinoa when cooked. In a smaller bowl combine: olive oil, salt, lemon juice.  Pour over quinoa/veg mix and stir until combined. Cover and cool in fridge for 1-2 hrs.


BAKED CHICKEN

3-4 Chicken breasts (or however many people you are serving)
1 cup chicken broth
Seasoned Salt or Mrs Dash

Line pan with foil
pour broth over chicken
sprinkle with seasoned salt

cover pan with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 min. After 30 min bring temp down to 320 and cook for another 15 min. (this is from the www.fit2fat2fit.com website) I am thinking when I have made this I haven't cooked it as long as this recipe says, but just check your chicken to see when it is done.

TILAPIA

It is the bomb to cook and high protein low cal, low fat. I just throw it in a frying pan (i spray the pan first with non stick awesomeness) keep it at med high. let those fish sizzle for a bit, season them with either lemon pepper, seasoned salt or just salt. Then I flip them over, let them brown up on the other side. Then I add a little water, maybe some lemon juice if I am in the mood, cover it, turn down the temp and let them finish cooking without drying out. They cook up quick, less than ten minutes and I don't even thaw them out. I top with salsa sometimes, or grilled pineapple. Serve with some wild rice and a few awesome veggies and we are good.


Okay so there are a lot of ideas to get you going. Don't forget about Turkey sandwiches, Egg white and turkey bacon english muffins, banana and peanut butter sandwiches, chicken or tuna salad (light mayo, apples, celery, tuna or chicken) All of it pretty good for you and not terribly boring.