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.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas - 21 Day Fix

I found this recipe somewhere -- and it's not a difficult recipe to follow. Unless you're doubling it. And you double it, and you get to the end of the recipe and it says "Divide among 2 bags.". UGH! I doubled an already doubled recipe? Crud. So lots of leftovers.

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients

1.5 – 2 lbs. Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless 

1/2 medium – large white onion, sliced vertically 

3-4 Bell Peppers, any color, sliced into strips 

2 cans (10 oz.) Rotel diced tomatoes, undrained (I used “Mild”) 

2 cloves garlic, diced or pressed

2 tsp. chili powder 

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. paprika

*Divide all ingredients into 2 large freezer bags

Directions
Cut things up. Put in crockpot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

Dish out 1 cup of veggies and 3/4 cup of chicken for 1 green and 1 red.
Add some whole grain torillas (yellow), and lettuce and homemade salsa (green).

Here's what mine looked like. They were SUPER filling. It counted as 1 Red, 2 Green, 2 Yellow, and 1 Blue (Cheese). I can't wait to eat them again!!!

Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup - 21 Day Fix

I made this last week and it doesn't even feel like a "diet". You can add cheese and greek yogurt to it. Eat it with a salad for a very filling dinner or by itself as a nice lunch. If you're not on a diet, indulge with some tortilla chips! 

Chicken Taco Soup

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer (or broth)
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• greek yogurt or sour cream (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours (can we say Super Bowl!).
2. Once it's done cooking, pull out the chicken and shred. I used the Mix 'n Chop to do it. Add the shredded chicken back to the crockpot and let cook another 15-minutes. 
3. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of greek yogurt (or sour cream), and crushed tortilla chips, if desired. 

Approx 6-7 1-cup servings. 

Measure 1.5 cups and count as  1 Green, 1 Red, 1 Yellow 

Make sure if you add greek yogurt and cheese you count those in addition! 

21 Day Fix Stuffed Peppers

I love Stuffed Peppers. Jason LOVES LOVES stuffed peppers. It's what he brought to the relationship, actually. I tried to make them healthier with ground turkey. He didn't care for the change. Because I love him, I went back to beef. 

I had to change up this recipe a bit from the 21-Day Fix SUPER friendly one I found online. We don't have lean beef in our house. We have a quarter of a grass fed, non-hormone raised cow. So while not the leanest meat, it can still be healthier than store bought beef. 

She also premade a lot of things and then measured. I'm all about "throw in a whole can of corn and see how it turns out." Turns out I made 10 peppers, so I'm not completely sure on the containers. I have probably overestimated the containers. However, I kept this recipe as if the mixture divides nicely into 6 containers. It would also depend on the size of peppers you are able to find. 

I cooked six and froze four for later. I prepped these the night before so they just had to be put in the oven. It is not an easy prep process!  

Note - when making stuffed peppers - you *must* boil the peppers to soften them up. Otherwise the peppers don't cook thoroughly and still have a little crunch to them. 

Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients

• 6 Sweet bell peppers of your color choice
• 1 pound lean ground turkey or beef, seasoned with 21 Day Fix Southwestern Seasoning 
• 1/2 Cup Dry/1.5 cups cooked brown rice or quinoa, cooked just shy of done
• 1 (15 ounce) can of Black Beans, drained/rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can of Corn, drained/rinsed
• 1 pound lean ground turkey or beef, seasoned with 21 Day Fix Southwestern Seasoning 
• 1 (15 ounce) can of petite diced tomatoes 
• 1 (15 ounce) can of tomato sauce 
• 1 cup of your favorite shredded cheese

Directions

1. Cut the caps of the peppers and clean out. Pre-cook the peppers by placing in boiling water for 5-10 minutes. 
2. Cook brown rice, or quinoa according to directions 
3. Brown ground meat and season with Southwest seasoning (See 21 Day Fix book). Set aside to cool.
4. Drain and rinse black beans and corn.  
5. Combine in large bowl meat, tomatoes, corn, rice/quinoa, beans, and sauce.
6. Stuff peppers with filling.
7. Bake at 375 Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes. 

I counted it as 1 Red, 2 Yellow, 2 Green, 1/2 Blue. As mentioned above, that's per 6 peppers. It's probably less since I split the filling into 10 containers. 

21 Day Fix Stuffed Peppers

Salmon Patties & Tzatziki -- 21 Day Fix Friendly

My mom used to make salmon patties and I always loved them. Usually I ate them on a bun with tarter sauce. Can't do that, but it is an item loaded with lots of protein. Eat it with some homemade Tzatziki sauce and veggies.

Salmon Patties

Salmon Patties

Note - these are best made the night before!

Ingredients

• 10 ounces canned salmon
• 3/4 cup whole grain panko bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp diced onion
• 2 tsp parsley 
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together. (The Mix N Chop does this very well!) 
2. Form into four patties. 
3. Place patties into sealed container -- otherwise they will stink up your fridge! 
4. Let rest at least 20 minutes. I prefer overnight. 

To Cook

1. Place 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan. 
2. Place Salmon Patties in pan and cook on each side approximately 5-6 minutes. The salmon is already cooked so you're just trying to warm them up and cook the egg. 

Note - as you can see from the picture, one of mine fell apart. I wasn't concerned because I wasn't eating these on a bun. It also shows I don't have enough binder. I might add a tablespoon or so of greek yogurt next time, or milk. Usually you add some mayo to salmon patties to help bind them. That's a no-no on the 21DF.

Each Salmon Pattie counts as 1 Red and 1/2 Yellow.

This Tzatziki recipe was shared on facebook and is very delicious. If you grind up the cucumber a little more, it'll make a great dip for veggies! And on the 21 Day Fix it counts as a protein, so you can indulge in it!

Tzatziki:
Ingredients
2 cups Greek yogurt
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1/2 English cucumber, seeded and finely chopped
Pinch of salt and pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together.



Ugly Beans, Peas, Parmesan Breaded Tilapia, and Tzatziki

2. Store in air-tight container. The longer it sits, the better it is!!! 

Fill up the Red container (3/4 cup), and it counts as 1 Red. 

It was noted that you could add more lemon juice and make it into a salad dressing.
Edit - I use my immersion blender to mix it - it finely grinds the cucumber chunks.
Also, I have found this lasts through the expiration on your yogurt - so look for a longer expiration if making this, and note it on your storage container. 

If you look at my picture, you can see cucumber chunks. I wish I would have finally chopped those up - but I got a little lazy, and hungry. 

Recipe for the Ugly Beans can be found here. I'll post my own blog soon too!

Roasted Red Pepper & Spinach Stuffed Chicken - 21 Day Fix Friendly

Now that we are into Week 3 of doing the 21 Day Fix, I've been trying to branch out and find some new recipes. I found this recipe on pinterest but it was slightly different. I like my version better -- I was better able to incorporate the cheese without worrying about it melting out. 

I didn't do a great job pounding out the chicken breasts so mine didn't roll as well as it should. 

Roasted Red Pepper & Spinach Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 - 6 ounce chicken breasts
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 Roasted Red Pepper (or a 7-8 ounce jar.)
• 2/3 cups mozzarella cheese
• 2 gloves garlic
• 3 Tablespoons Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs
• 3 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1. Filet the chicken breast and pound it flat
2. Dice/Chop/Use magic shears* to cut up the spinach, Dice the Roasted Red Pepper, Crush/Dice the garlic
3. Mix the Spinach, Pepper, Garlic, and Mozzarella cheese together. Add some pepper. 
4. Place 1/4 of the mixture on each pounded chicken breast. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. Place in a 9x9 glass dish. 
5. Mix together the Panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and place a heaping tablespoon on top of each rolled chicken breast. 
6. Back at 375 for 40 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degree. 

Counts as 1.5 Red/Protein, 1/2 Green (Veggie), and 1/2 Blue (Healthy Fat)

Magic Shears - I *love* these herb scissors I got from Crate & Barrel. They are great to have in the kitchen to avoid the tediousness of chopping up any herbs. Cilantro, Parsley, Chives, Spinach -- I use them for lots of things!