Low Carb Burger

By on

My In-laws came down several weeks ago to help us work on the back garden of the house we are trying to sell.  Dad offered to go and get low-carb burgers for everyone from Hardees because I had no food or dishes to cook with in the vacant house.  It was delicious!  It was basically a large beef burger between huge stacks of lettuce instead of a bun.  I didn’t miss the bun at all!  When I got home, I looked up the calorie content to record in my journal and was floored!  It may have been low carb, but it stil had 36 g of fat and 470 calories!  They had so much mayo on it to more than make up for the lack of bun.

A few weeks later I decided to try my own version of the low-carb burger and see if I could get the calories under control. Every bit as tasty…with about 200 fewer calories.

I started with a lean  Jennie-O Turkey burger pattie, cooked with garlic salt on the Foreman grill. I lighted spread it with reduce fat mayo.  Then topped with 3/4 oz of thin sliced cheese, ketchup, red onion, mustard, and pickles.  Then wrapped the whole thing in huge romaine lettuce leaves.  It was less than 300 calories and sooo good.  Definitely will be doing this again!

 

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

By on

It’s hard to believe Grocery Shrink Plus is already in it’s 5th week!  If you haven’t signed up yet you are missing out.  We’ve been trying all sorts of new recipes and tecniques.  It’s so much fun!  And I’m really loving the facebook group.  It’s so fun to see the photos of everyone’s family and food.  The ladies are so encouraging!  I love to see little notes like this one:

We’re really enjoying these recipes, Angela!  Everything is so easy to make, healthy, and delicious.  I feel so much more organized in the kitchen as well. Thank you so much!–Stephanie

With Grocery Shrink Plus, everything is laid out for you.  I hope this is freeing.  Freeing enough that you can relax and let your kids help you in the kitchen.  The day we made chicken nuggets, little Brandon stopped in to help.  I was surprised how good at it he was! Read more…

In the Lunch Box

By on

I have two kiddoes that go to school every day.  When the school lunch menu comes out each month, I let them write their intials by one meal a week that they will purchase.  That’s a special day for both of us.  It’s a relief not to have to pack a lunch.

I’ve been watching closely what comes back home in the lunch box and my ideas of a good school lunch have changed.  They don’t have time to eat a lot of food and I’ve learned to pack half of what I think.  My rule of thumb is one protein source; one fruit or veggie; and a carb for energy.

We get stuck in the sandwich rut so I was proud of myself the day I made this:

I used little silicone muffin cups to separate the little things.  I was shocked to see the pepperonies come home–I thought I was giving them a treat.  They do the best with a half a sandwhich some grapes or berries and a whole grain cookie.

What typically goes in your child’s lunch box?

Strawberry Spinach Salad

By on

Here’s my lunch today–and it was even tastier than it looks.  And talk about healthy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad–Serves 1

2 cups spinach leaves

4 oz sliced fresh strawberries

4 oz grilled chicken breast, sliced (I throw mine on the Foreman grill)

12 almonds, chopped, and toasted in the microwave on high for 1 minute

2 Tablespoons (1 oz) Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette Dressing

Layer all ingredients on a plate and eat right away.

Lunch on the Go

By on

We were filming today and yesterday for a show that’s a secret.  It’s a pilot for a new reality series, but that’s all I can say about it.  (It’s a one time thing for us–not like the Dugger show.)  It was great to have so much motivation to get my house organized–even my bedroom, and my kids have had a blast with all the attention from the crew.  But that’s why I’ve been quiet here and also why my newsletter didn’t make it out this week.  There was a lot more work to do than I wanted to admit since we were welcoming the film crew into every nook and cranny of our home–even our master bedroom and the basement!

I just have a short break while the filming crew goes for lunch and thought I would show you a picture of an easy lunch idea for mom’s on the go.  I took this lunch with me to the soccer fields on Saturday.  I packed traditional sandwiches for the rest of the family, but made this salad to go along with my Fit Yummy Mummy plan. 

This is 2 cups of romaine, 1 cup of navy beans, 4 oz grilled chicken, 3 sliced baby bell peppers, a sprinkle of parmesean and light ceasar dressing.  It was so delicious and filling.  And fast to throw together since I had large batches of beans and chicken already cooked and sliced for the week.  The only bummer was I forgot to pack a fork–and ate the salad with my fingers.  Until Brandon suggested I use one of his sliced apples as a scoop.  It worked great and next time I might add some tangy chopped apples to the salad.  It complemented it well.

Veggie Chips Part 2

By on

I told you I’d let you know how the veggie chips turned out.  Super Yum!  Even the kids liked them. 

Here’s how I did it:  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Peel and thinly slice root vegetables.  (I used sweet potatoes, radishes, and beets–what neighbor’s shared from their gardens.)  A mandoline made the slicing really fast and easy.

Then I tossed the slices in 2 Tablespoons of oil and sprinkled with salt, placing them on a greased cookie sheet.

I baked them for 15 minutes on the middle rack, then flipped them and baked for 15 minutes more.  The pan on the lower rack burned badly.  The pan in the middle did great.  If I was more patient I would have turned off the oven after the second 15 minutes and let them dry in there for a few hours while the oven cooled down.

Cold Suppers–Classic BLT

By on

 

The classic combination of bacon, lettuce and tomato is widely loved, but often forgotten when we make our meal plans.  I like mine with cheese and pickles too :).  For those watching their carbs, it can be made into a wrap with a tortilla, pita or flatbread.  For those wanting to bulk up a bit, try making it club style, layered with several slices of whole grain bread as pictured above.

Add nutrition by adding veggies such as thinly sliced cucumber, sweet peppers or avocado.  Ad flavor by spreading the bread with fat free plain yogurt and sprinkling with lemon pepper.

To keep from heating up your kitchen, fry your bacon on a glass plate between two layers of paper towels in the microwave.  If you have an aversion to microwaves, a Foreman style indoor grill does wonders too.  We prefer Turkey bacon as it cooks up flat and has more meat than fat on it.

Serve with fresh grapes, veggies sticks and a large tossed salad (hopefully from stuff you gleaned from your kitchen garden.)

Cold Suppers: Chicken Ceasar Salad

By on

This refreshing meal is low calorie and  full of protein and veggies.  Serve wtih fresh fruit.

In a pretty bowl combine the first 5 ingredients.  Serve with dressing on the side and fresh parmesan.

1 head Romaine Lettuce, chopped

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 small can of black olives (whole or sliced), drained

1 tomato sliced, or a handful of grape tomatoes

2 cups lowfat garlic and onion croutons (see recipe below)

2 cups of roughly chopped chicken (use the leftovers from a roasted chicken dinner or grill 1 lb of chicken breast sprinkled with lemon pepper)

Reduced Calorie Ceasar Dressing Mix:

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all and store in a snack size baggie in the fridge.  When ready to make dressing, mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 1/2 cup plain yogurt and contents of mix.  Blend well.  If dressing is too thick, add a little skim milk or lemon juice until it reaches desired consistency.

Bread Machine Lowfat Garlic and Onion croutons:

The secret to these croutons is baking the flavors into the bread!  This reduces the need for the oil to stick the flavors to the bread.  Bake this flavorful bread in the bread machine overnight.  Then in the morning, slice and toast in the oven before the house heats up.

1.5 cups water

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1/4 cup honey

4.25 cups whole wheat flour (fresh ground hard white wheat is my favorite)

2 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed.  Bake on the whole wheat cycle.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When bread is cool, slice the bread into cubes and place in a single layer on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Spritz with olive oil, or non-stick cooking spray.  Sprinkle lightly with salt if desired.  Toast for 12-15 minutes or until bread is golden brown.  Place on a cooling rack.  Bread will crisp as it cools.

15 Minute Meals

By on

Note:  This post is full of links to more information.  Try right clicking on the link and selecting “open in new tab” so you can come back to the original article easily when you are ready.

Everyone has days that are packed so full you don’t have time to cook a decent meal.  The normal solution is to grab some fast food.  I’ve done it when we could afford it, but it wasn’t the healthiest alternative.  We’ve already talked about some mixes to have on hand for viable alternatives to eating out.  And there are some easy recipes that come together in about 15 minutes if you keep the right pantry ingredients on hand. 

When I’m stressed, I can usually get a main dish on the table, but sides dishes are another story.  I found some coping strategies that help me fill our table in no time. 

It helps to have a lettuce salad always prepared and ready to put on the table.  Check out this post for how to make it last:

Other fast side dishes I keep on hand are:  frozen veggies (just warm to serve), cottage cheese, home canned unsweetened applesauce, pineapple in juice, and whole wheat day old buns kept in the freezer (butter, sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesean or mozzarella and broil for 2 minutes for fast garlic bread.)

Here are some main dish pantry meals I always have on hand for a fast meal:

Spaghetti (just whole wheat pasta and jarred sauce.  Warm and serve.)

Tacos (I keep homemade taco seasoning ready to go, shredded cheese, lettuce, tortillas (in the freezer), and salsa.)  It’s just brown and season the meat, warm the tortillas throw everything on the table and eat!.)

Grilled Burritos:  When my freezer is filled with sale priced or homemade tortillas, there are lots of options!  I also keep canned refried beans on hand for emergencies, though like to make my own.  Here’s a post about how to make these yummy burritos fast.

Mackerel Patties:  Inexpensive but super healthy canned fish star in this fast dish!  There’s even a how to video at the post here.

While dinner is often the eating out monster, breakfast can be tough too.  Click here to read about how to make perpetual breakfast batters to always be ready to cook and eat on the run.

And if you are partial to Egg McMuffin Sandwiches, you’ll love the 90 second breakfast recipe here.