Zucchini Cakes (21 Day Fix)

Did you ever eat potato pancakes growing up? I sure miss those!! I found a kinda similar, not really at all, recipe in the form of Zucchini Cakes! They were very good and very filling. 

Ingredients

• 3 medium zucchini
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, smushed/pressed
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup almond flour (or any flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• coconut oil

Directions

1. Grate your zucchini. I used the food processor. EASY. 
2. Place zucchini in a bowl with the 1 tsp salt and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Then, extract all the water from the zucchini. You can place it in a cheese cloth and squeeze. You can also place it in a colander and press the water out. You want to remove as much water as possible so the cakes form and stick together. 
3. In a large bowl, mix together the zucchini and remaining ingredients (except the coconut oil)
4. Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a large pan.
5. Use a 1/4 cup to scoop out the zucchini mixture. Place in pan and "press" down to form a small cake. 
6. Cook 3-4 minutes, flip over and cook another 3-4 minutes. Cakes should have a golden brown crust. 

You can eat 4 of these to count as 1 Green and 1/4 Yellow (the flour -- if you are being super serious.) You've also got some Teaspoons in there from the Oil. 

Zucchini Cakes & Spaghetti Squash

Grilled London Broil

(This blog post is from April 2014. It's been saved as a draft for a long time. I think I was waiting to post a picture. I want to post it so it's out of my draft file!)

London Broil is a tough cut of meat that requires marinating for more than an hour. So plan ahead! 

Grilled London Broil Marinade

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 8 ounces Apple Juice

Mix the ingredients in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Add 1 or 2 London Broil "steak cuts". Marinate over 4 hours. 12-24 hours is ideal. 

Grill to desired temperature. We use a meat thermometer while grilling in order to make sure my steak is a wonderful medium-rare and the husband's is a medium. 

Beef and Broccoli (21 Day Fix)

How delicious is Chinese food? And how BAD is it? Very. Very very very bad. I found this recipe on Team Beachbody and decided to change it up a little bit. I find the hardest part of making a good beef and broccoli recipe is the chosen beef. I think it's not so much which type of beef you use - but how you marinate it. It's usually recommended to use Flank Steak - and I agree. However, in "Use what you have", I chose a sirloins steak for this dish. I like this recipe because it incorporates peppers, and I added some extra veggies. It is very filling too!

Healthier Beef and Broccoli
Note - You must marinate the steak 4+ hours. Prepare wisely!
Ingredients

• 1 pound flank steak, cut into strips
• 1 tsp. coconut oil
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 3 medium bell peppers, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 cups snap peas (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp (dry) Ginger

Marinade Ingredients

• ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce 
• 2 TBSP Rice Vinegar
• 1 tsp Seseme Oil
• 2 TBSP Honey
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1/2 tsp (dry) Ginger or 1 tsp Fresh Grated Ginger
• 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce 
• 8 TBSP Water
• 2 TBSP Corn Starch
• 2 TBSP Honey
• 1 garlic clove

Directions

1. Combine the Marinade Ingredients in a ziplock bag. Add the sliced steak to the marinade and place in fridge for 4+ hours. 
2. Combine the Sauce Ingredients and set aside.
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Add beef; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink. Remove from skillet, keep warm.
5. Add broccoli, bell pepper, snap peas, garlic, and ginger to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove broccoli mixture from heat. 
6. Add Sauce mixture to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat for 30 seconds, or until thickened.
7. Return beef and broccoli mixture to skillet; cook, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until well mixed and heated. 

Measure out the meat - 1 red container worth, and two cups of broccoli & peppers, and 1/2 cup of snap peas for 1 yellow. The soy sauce mixture counts as 1/2 yellow. Serve with 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice. 

Total count: 2 Greens, 1 Red, 2.5 Yellows. This dish was VERY filling. I was able to get 4 servings out of it. 

If you need less yellows, leave out the snap peas and reduce the rice. You can throw in some shredded carrots to bulk the dish up a little more. 

Greek Marinated Chicken

We wanted to get back to basics this week.... reboot our diet after a rough weekend with amazing food and the Super Bowl snacking. 

This recipe isn't the *healthiest* because of the yogurt. But by using greek yogurt, it can be healthier. You can use plain yogurt - but I don't know how that will turn out. You can serve it with some Tzatini sauce. Mine didn't turn out like this picture (that I swapped from Pinterest.) 

Greek Marinated Chicken  
Ingredients

• 1 cup greek yogurt 
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano 
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1 medium lemon zest juice from 1/2 lemon 
• 1 tsp salt 
• freshly cracked pepper 
• 3 to 4 lbs chicken pieces (I used boneless skinless, the picture used skinned and boned. Maybe that's where I went wrong?)

Directions

1. Combine marinade. 
2. Place pieces in marinade in gallon ziplock for 3-5 hours. 
3. Bake 375 45-60 minutes or grill.

Hearty Beef Stew - 21 Day Fix

I went searching through the Team Beachbody website and found a recipe for beef stew. I figured I'd give it a try. The only downside to this is the prep + cook time is almost 90 minutes. It takes an hour to cook after you get all your vegetables and meat chopped. Plan accordingly! I prepped it and then worked out while it cooked. 

It's very delicious and feels like a cheat meal! You wouldn't know you are "dieting" when you eat this.

Ingredients:

• 1½ lb. raw lean beef stew meat, boneless
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
• 1 (14 oz) can of low-sodium beef broth (or vegetable broth)
• 14-oz of water (use the beef broth can)
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ medium green bell pepper, chopped
• ½ medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 4 large red potatoes, cubed
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place beef, onions, tomatoes, soy sauce, hot sauce, 1/2 cup broth, and bay leaf in large stock pot.

2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, carrots, and potatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, for 60 minutes, adding additional broth as needed.

Yield: 6-8 servings

A two-cup serving counts as 1.5 Green, 1 Yellow, and 1 Red. 

You can serve it with quinoa, but take the serving/container into consideration.

Homemade Hummus

I love hummus. I can eat it with a ton of veggies, lots of pita chips, those little bagel chips.... more pita chips. Since it's ok on the 21 Day Fix, I thought I'd make my own. I found a basic hummus recipe and plan to dress it up with either a roasted pepper or avocado. Or extra garlic. 

Tahini is hard to find. My Walmart doesn't carry it, but Schnucks carried *one* brand in the Ethnic aisle. Luckily it's not too expensive and goes a long way. One $7 jar will make 5-7 hummus recipes. You can make your own and I found a recipe here. 

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), reserve liquid
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup tahini (sesame butter)
• Sea salt & Pepper (to taste; optional)

Optional Extras:

• Roasted Red Pepper
• Avocado
• Extra Garlic

Directions:

1. Place chickpeas, lemon juice, oil, and garlic in food processor or blender and pulse until chickpeas are mashed.
2. Optional: Add in the "extra" item you might want to flavor it with. I added one avocado this time. 
3. Add tahini; pulse for 1 minute. If hummus is too thick, add some of the reserved chickpea liquid. Add salt if desired.