Food & Recipes

Finding balance between eating healthy and enjoying food is a something I am constantly chasing after. I've battled my food for most of my life, and I have learned over many years how I must eat to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Never forget that it's not all about food - exercise is important too. But doing one without the other, to me, is just as bad as doing neither.

Here are some recipes that I follow pretty regularly to make balanced, healthy meals for Jason and me.

BBQ Chicken Flatbread

Yields: 1 Serving
Ingredients

• Flatout Spinach Flatbread
• BBQ Sauce
• 3 oz. cooked chicken, diced
• About 1/4 c. of shredded, reduced fat cheese

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray cooking spray on the foil.
3. Lay your flatbread on the foil and spray the top with a little bit of cookie spray.
4. Put 1-2 tbsp. of BBQ sauce on the flatbread and spread around.
5. Spread your chicken around on the flatbread. 
6. Sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes. Keep an eye on it. You'll want the edges to almost look burned. That's how you know it's crispy. 
8. Enjoy!

Sorry this picture is a little dark...my lighting was not the best.

Chocolate Strawberry Homemade Pops

Yields: 4 Popsicles
Ingredients

• 1 c. Light Chocolate Silk milk
• Handful of frozen sliced strawberries (make sure the buy the bag that has no sugar added)
• Popsicle molds (Target has them for $2.99 on the seasonal summer isle in the back)

Directions

1. Place strawberries in the molds.
2. Pour milk over strawberries.
3. Freeze overnight.
4. Enjoy!!!

Curry Quinoa Salad with Chicken

(recipe adapted from here)
Yields 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 c. uncooked quinoa
• 1 c. water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 diced peeled ripe mango 
• I can't cut a mango to save my life so I used 2 of the little cups of fruit and just drained out all of the liquid first
• 1 lb. chicken 
• I used Tyson's frozen grilled chicken strips and put them in the crockpot for 4 hours with a little bit of curry powder. About half the bag was the perfect amount
• 2-4 c. baby spinach (or whatever lettuce you want to use)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add curry powder and garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add quinoa and 1 cup water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 16 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat; stir in salt. Cool completely. While doing this, pull chicken out of the oven or crockpot and let it cool as well.
2. Add mango and chicken to cooled quinoa; toss gently.
3. Combine cucumber, mint, and yogurt in a small bowl; stir well. Divide spinach evenly among plates, and top each serving with about 3/4 cup quinoa mixture. I added a little bit of feta cheese and paired with a light raspberry vinaigrette.

Blueberry Muffins

(recipe adapted from this one)
Yields 12 muffins
80 calories/muffin

Ingredients

• 1.5 c. all-purpose whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c. granulated sugar (I used baking Splenda)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 (6-ounce) container nonfat Greek yogurt (I used Fage)
• 1/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 c. canola oil (I used unsweetened apple sauce)
• 1 egg (I used egg whites)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1.5 c. fresh blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. 
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl combine, Greek yogurt, milk, oil (applesauce) and vanilla. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients just enough to combine. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top. 
3. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Three Cheese Mac n Cheese
(makes two servings, double recipe for four servings):

331 Calories per serving
Ingredients

• 1 box Kraft Whole Grain Mac and Cheese
• 1/4 c. 2% cottage cheese
• 1/4 c. skim milk
• 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 tbsp. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
• 2 slices whole grain bread

Directions

1. Make mac n cheese according the the box directions. 
2. While the regular mac n cheese is cooking, toast both pieces of bread. Once they're toasted crumble them in a skillet and stir in 1 tbsp. melted butter (or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter).
3. Once the mac n cheese is done, add the rest of the butter and add the 2% cottage cheese and stir until melted down. 
4. Add milk, stir, add both cheeses, and stir well.
5. Put your mac n cheese in a casserole dish and top with the bread crumbs. 
6. Place in the over and turn on the broiler. Broil for about 5 minutes, or until the top is crispy.

Mommy's Chicken Pot Pie
(4 large servings, more servings if you have another side dish):

635 calories per serving
Ingredients

• 1 lb. diced chicken
• 2 small cans 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 bag of mixed veggies (carrots, green beans, peas)
• 2 pie crusts (one package)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Dice 1 lb. of chicken and cook it in a skillet. 
2. Once the chicken if finished, throw in the veggies and both cans of soup. Stir and let simmer on the stove.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (unless otherwise specified on the pie crust package).
4. While the mixture is simmering, lay the first pie crust in your pie plate. 
5. Fill the pie crust with the mixture. 
6. Cover the mixture with the second pie crust and press the edges together.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is a little bit brown. 

Spice Cake Pumpkin Muffins
(makes 24):

93 calories per muffin
Ingredients

• 1 can of pumpkin
• 1 box of spice cake
• Cinnamon to taste
• Powdered sugar to taste 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven according the the directions of the spice cake. 
2. Pour entire contents of pumpkin into a mixing bowl along with the box of spice cake. 
3. Mix together until blended evenly. I used my stand-mixer, but I've also used a handheld mixer as well as my hands in the past. 
4. Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way full. Sprinkle cinnamon on each muffin.
5. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes depending on how soft you want them in the middle. 
6. Once you're done baking, sprinkle powdered sugar on top of each muffin and let cool. 

Chicken Skillet (adapted from Betty Crocker recipe):
Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 diced red peppers 
• 1/2 chopped red onions
• 1 can reduced sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa
• 1 Old El Paso® flour tortilla for burritos (8 inch) (from 11.5-ounce package), cut into 2x1-inch strips
• 4 oz. low-fat shredded Cheddar cheese 

Directions

1. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink in center.
2. Stir in vegetables, beans and salsa; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender.
3. Sprinkle with tortilla strips and cheese. Cover and cook about 2 minutes or until cheese is melted

Chicken Roll Ups (adapted from Dashing Dish recipe):

Ingredients:
for the chicken

• 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. EVOO
• 2 tbsp. water

for the Tzatziki sauce 

• 1/2 c. 0% fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 medium cucumber, grated and squeezed dry
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. lemon juice  

for the pita toppings

• High fiber/low carb tortillas (or pita) 
• Reduced fat feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Place all of the ingredients for the chicken in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2. To make the sauce, start by grating the cucumber over a small bowl. Blot the excess moisture with a paper towel until dry.
3. Add the yogurt, garlic, salt, and vinegar to the grated cucumber. Whisk until everything is well combined. Cover and refrigerate until serving (I put mine in a medium sized mason jar and kept the excess for other meals).
4. Place one sliced chicken breast onto each tortilla or pita bread. Top each with 1/4 cup yogurt mixture, feta, and onion if desired. Roll pita over chicken, and enjoy!

Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole:

Ingredients:

• 5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1 cup fat-free sour cream
• 2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup (98% fat free)
• 2 cups crushed Reduced-fat Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 T poppy seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Saute raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. Let chicken cool slightly and place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.
3. Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. Pour over the chicken.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over rice

Half-Veggie Lasagna (yields 8):

Ingredients

• 4 c. (32 ounces) part skim-milk ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture
• 6 c. store-bought or homemade tomato sauce
• 12 no-boil whole wheat lasagna noodles (8 ounces)
• 1 lb. mozzarella cheese (4 cups), shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour about 1/3 of the mixture into a separate bowl. Add spinach (to the larger portion), and stir well to combine.
2. Spread a small bit of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish or dishes. Arrange a layer of lasagna noodles on top. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, followed by 1/3 of the remaining sauce; sprinkle with 1/3 of the grated cheese (make sure to pick which side you're going to have be the non-veggie side; pick a side and stick with it). Repeat to make two more layers, ending with cheese.
3. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; continue baking until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Let cool slightly before serving.

Source

Crock pot Buffalo Chicken:

Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/4 c. chili sauce
• 1 packed Hidden Valley dry ranch dressing

Directions

1. Spray the inside of the crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place raw chicken inside the crock pot.
3. Top with chili sauce and sprinkle dry ranch dressing on top.
4.  Set crock pot to 8 hours on low.
5. After it's cooked, shred chicken. Buffalo chicken can be served a variety of ways (sandwich, plain, salad, etc.) 

Feta Turkey Sliders:

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. lean ground turkey
• 1/4 c. feta cheese (I used garlic and herb crumbled feta)
• 3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
• Italian seasoning to taste
• Garlic powder to taste

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Mix everything together (I used my hands).
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray.
4. Form mixture into the size and shape burger you want (my first few were kind of thick, but my last ones were thinner and it was much easier to cook the thinner ones).
5. Cook until all the way through. There should not be any pink in the middle. Flip them every few minutes.
6. Sprinkle a little bit of feta cheese on top.

Chicken Biscuits - Sansom Style:

Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
• 1/2 c. BBQ sauce (I use Sonny's Mild & Sweet because it's Jason's fav)
• 1-2 cans of Pillsbury biscuits
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Dice and sautéchicken in a skillet. 
3. While the chicken is sautéing, open the can(s) of biscuits and spray a regular sized muffin pan.
4. Smash the biscuits until they're pretty flat and lay them in the muffin pan. They shouldn't fill the whole thing, but they should cover the bottom and come up about halfway around the sides. 
5. Mix in BBQ sauce with sautéed chicken.
6. Scoop about 4-5 pieces of chicken into the middle of each biscuit in the muffin pan. 
7. Put in the oven for about 7-8 minutes. 
8. Pull out of the oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Cook for another 1-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

Three Cheese Ziti Bake (or, Three Cheese Pasta Bake):

Ingredients

• 3 c. cooked whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 c. fresh spinach leaves
• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• 1.5 jars three cheese marinara sauce
• 2 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened 
• 1 c. shredded mozzarella
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. oregano 
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile cook ground turkey in a large nonstick skillet, until meat is cooked through, (no longer pink). Stir in cream cheese, crushed tomatoes, spinach, and spices and turn off heat. When pasta is done, pour into a colander to drain. Add pasta to sauce mixture.
3. Pour everything into prepared casserole dish, and sprinkle mozzarella over the pasta. Cover casserole dish with foil. Bake for 15 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 5-7 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted. 

Jason's dinner is on top - Ziti Bake - and my sandwich and salad is below.

Oats in a Jar:

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. (about) Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter (creamy)
• 1/2 c. Quaker multigrain hot cereal
• 1 c. water
• Sweetener to taste 

Directions

1. When your peanut butter jar is almost empty (about 2 tbsp. left), set it aside and wait until breakfast.
2. Pour oats (or hot cereal) in a regular bowl and add water. Heat for 2 minutes or according to the directions given. 
3. When oats are cooked, add in sweetener to taste. Stir well.
4. Pour oats directly into peanut butter jar and mix well. 
5. Let cool and thicken up...and then it's time to enjoy!

Banana/Blueberry Smoothie:

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/2 c. fresh blueberries
• 1 c. Silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• Ice

Directions

1. Pour milk into the blender
2. Cut up banana and add to blender
3. Pour in blueberries to the blender
4. Add ice.
5. Blend well.

Caribbean Chicken:

Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken fillets
• Caribbean Jerk marinade (I used the Great Value brand)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 lime

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Pour half of the marinade into a bowl or container. Submerge raw chicken breasts in the marinade for 20 minutes.
3. Place chicken breasts in a oven safe pan and pour remaining marinade over the chicken breasts. Add salt and pepper as needed.
4. Bake chicken for 30 minutes.
5. Squeeze lime over chicken and serve.

Cookies and Cream Cookies (recipe adapted from Lovin' from the Oven blog):

Yields 24 Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 stick softened margarine
• 6 Tablespoons Stevia in the Raw
• 6 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¼ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt substitute
• 11 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.  
2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in the Oreos and chocolate chips until just combined. 
3. With a medium spoon, scoop onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked, but still soft.
4. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.   

Taco Bake:

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 packet Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning
• 2/3 c. water
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained (no salt added)
• 1 small jar medium salsa
• 1/2 c. Kraft fat free cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2. Brown the ground beef and drain out the oil.
3. Mix all of the first five ingredients in a large skillet.
4. Pour mixture into a square casserole dish. 
5. Spread salsa over the top.
6. Sprinkle cheese to cover the top in a light layer.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Fish Cake Spinach Salad (recipe adapted from the Fit Cook blog):

Ingredients

• 2 filets of white fish (tilapia)
• 1/4 cup red pepper, chopped
• 1 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp mustard (yellow or Dijon)
• 1 egg white
• the juice of half a lemon
• Emeril's Fish Seasoning
• salt + pepper
• 2 c. spinach leaves
• 1/2 cucumber sliced
• 1/2 avocado sliced
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil** in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the red pepper, and cook until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Add another 1/2 tbsp olive oil to the pan. Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides, and cook on each side for about 3 minutes, allowing the fish to brown (brown = more flavor). Use a spatula to break up the fish, then transfer it to the bowl with the onion and pepper.
3. Add the Greek yogurt, mustard, fish seasoning, egg white, and lemon juice to the bowl and stir with a spoon until well combined. Set bowl aside and let mixture cool.
4. Prepare spinach, cucumbers, and avocado on a large plate. 
5. Serve 1/4 to 1/2 (depending on how much you want) of the mixture on top of the salad.
6. Pour balsamic vinegar on top and it's ready to eat!

Mini-French Dip Sammies (recipe from Plain Chicken blog):

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound deli roast beef, thinly sliced
• 4 slices provolone cheese
• Arby's sauce, horseradish sauce, or ranch dressing
• 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 packet Au Jus Gravy mix

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Separate crescent rolls into 8 triangles.  Spread 1/2 teaspoon Arby's sauce or ranch dressing on each crescent.  Top each crescent with 1/2 slice provolone cheese and roast beef.  Roll up crescents and place on baking sheet.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.
3. While crescents are baking, make Au Jus according to directions on packet.