Tuesday, February 10, 2015

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

Monday, February 9, 2015

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. 


Sunday, February 8, 2015

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. 

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

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.

Monday, February 2, 2015

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.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

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.