Stuffed Chicken

Jalapeno popper stuffed chicken

2 large boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2 package (4oz) of fat free cream cheese - softened

4 stripes of bacon cooked and chopped OR 4 tbsp jarred bacon bits

1 jalapeno - diced

1/2 cup onion - diced

1/2 cup cheddar or colby jack cheese - shredded

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Cut chicken breasts in half long ways to make them thinner and pound in between plastic wrap with a meat mallet until very thin, sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, bacon, jalapeno, onion, and cheese. Put 1/4 of the mix onto the middle of the chicken and roll them up. Secure with toothpicks. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Bake chicken for about 20min or until fully cooked. Try dipping it in fat free ranch!

You can also dip these and egg wash and breadcrumbs for crispy chicken!

Broccoli cheese stuffed chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 pkg frozen broccoli florets

1 cup shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese

1 egg

1 tbsp water

1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

spices for breadcrumbs - parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Cut chicken breasts in half long ways to make them thinner and pound in between plastic wrap with a meat mallet until very thin, sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. In a bowl combine cooked broccoli and cheese. Place 1/4 cup of broccoli cheese mic in the middle of chicken, roll and secure with toothpicks. Whisk egg and water. Dredge chicken in egg and roll into breadcrumbs. Line a baking sheet with foil and cooking spray. Cook for about 20min or until done. 

Panini's!

 Who needs to buy a $60 panini press when you have a George Foreman?! This thing is my new best friend :) There are TONS of different ways to make your sandwich and this is one of my favorites.

Chicken Pesto Panini


You will need:


2 slices whole wheat bakery bread
1 slice provolone cheese
1 tbsp pesto
deli chicken
tomato
spray butter










Heat your George Foreman on Medium. Spray your bread with spray butter. Spread on the pesto and add the remaining ingredients. Press George Foreman down and cook for about 3-4 minutes. There you have yourself a homemade panini! 








You can make a melt (turkey, ham, bacon) steak and cheese, veggie! The ideas are endless.

Healthy Protein French Toast

This is my new favorite breakfast! 

French Toast 
This made 5 pieces 


5 pieces of whole wheat french toast
1 egg whole egg
3 egg whites
2 tbsp almond milk or skim milk
1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 tbsp truvia
sprinkle of cinnamon


Whisk all ingredients in a bowl, dredge bread in the mixture so it's completely covered and place on a griddle. 


Blueberry topping


1/2 cup blueberries
2 tbsp agave nectar


Combine the two in a bowl and microwave for about a minute. Smash the blueberries with a fork and pour over the french toast! 

Buffalo Tuna Grilled Cheese

2 slices whole wheat bread
1 slice 2% american cheese
1 can light tuna in water
1 tbsp buffalo sauce (i used buffalo wild wings mild sauce)
1 tbsp light or fat free ranch dressing
1 tbsp light butter, spray butter, or olive oil pam


Drain tuna and place in a bowl with buffalo sauce and tuna, mix. Butter or spray your bread slices, top with tuna and cheese and cook for about 3 min on each side. viola! 


Super simple lunch, dinner, or snack! Packed with protein and super yummy! When buying buffalo sauce look for one with lower sodium. Surprisingly BWW's Mild sauce is lower than most store bought brands! 

Healthy chorizo breakfast burrito

Ok yall, dont knock it till you try it. I love chorizo and egg breakfast burritos but they are loaded with fat, sodium, etc. Here is a healthier alternative. SOYRIZO!! Its made with soybeans and is completely vegetarian. Has about 60% less fat, no cholesterol and no sodium nitratel. My husband thought it was "ok", def not a juicy and dripping with grease like the real stuff but still yummy in my book :) 

Squeeze the Soyrizo out out of the casing and cook over med high heat for a few minutes. Add about 5 eggs and 2 egg whites (whisked) to the pan and cook until eggs are done. 

Serve with whole wheat tortillas and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese! 

Protein pancakes!

Pancakes are my favorite breakfast food. I could eat them every morning. Here are a few of my favorite recipes I've made so far :) 
When i bake with protein powder i like to use the "cheaper" stuff that you can find at wal-mart near the pharmacy. It's about $15-20 per tub. And for my shakes i use the "better" stuff like Gold Standard Whey or Muscle Pharm Combat :) That way if im experimenting with a new recipe and it's a total fail I dont feel so bad for wasting it! 

Banana Blueberry protein pancake


1/2 cup oat flour (i make by own by putting quick oats in my ninja food processor)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 egg or two egg whites
1/4 cup almond milk or skim milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 tbsp truvia
banana
blueberry


Mix everything except for banana and blueberries. Pour onto griddle and top with banana slices and blueberries, flip. I topped mine with greek yogurt and sugar free syrup :)

Pumpkin Pie Protein Pancake


1/2 cup oat flour
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 1/2 tbsp canned pumpkin
1 egg or two egg whites
1/4 of a banana (mashed)
3/4 cup almond milk or skim milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tbsp chopped pecans
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tbsp truvia


Mix all ingredients, pour onto griddle, flip. I topped mine with greek yogurt, cinnamon, shopped pecans and sugar free syrup. 

Peanut Butter Cup Protein Pancake


1/2 cup oat flour
1 scoop chocolate peanut butter protein
1 tbsp PB2
1 egg or two egg whites
1/4 cup almond milk or skim milk (more if needed)
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 tbsp truvia
1 tsp baking powder


Mix everything well, pour onto griddle, flip. I topped mine with a mixture of greek yogurt and natural peanut butter mixed together, semi-sweet chocolate chips and a little sugar free syrup. 


You may be asking yourself why all of these recipes include flax seed, and what is it. Well, here is a website that explains the benefits that go along with it: 


http://www.livestrong.com/article/30291-benefits-consuming-ground-flaxseed/


(I buy mine at natural grocers but you can also find it online :)

Tuna cakes

These tuna cakes are packed with protein and super easy to make for lunch or a quick snack. These bad boys have about 25 grams of protein each!! 

Makes 4 cakes


3 (15oz)cans light tuna (drained)
1                  egg
2                     egg whites
3 tbsp          whole wheat bread crumbs
1 tbsp          parsley
1tbsp           dijon mustard
1/4 cup        diced onion
salt & pepper


Mix everything together and shape into patties. Heat a frying pan with a little olive oil and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Top with cottage cheese for extra protein! 

Protein Milkshake

Am I the only one that could sit and eat ice-cream every night before bed?! I don't think so. Here is a way that you CAN and without the fatty sugar filled ice-cream!!


1 frozen banana
3-4 ice cubes
1 scoop chocolate protein (i use muscle pharm combat - chocolate milk)
2 tbsp peanut butter (or if you're watching your weight try PB2)
1/2 cup milk (you can also use almond milk - more or less depending on how thick you like it:)

Peel and freeze a ripe banana. Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. 

You can do this without the protein in you prefer. Maybe add drizzle of chocolate syrup instead. I like to drink a protein shake before bed that way my muscles are being fed. Musclepharm's Combat protein not only has whey isolate but also casein which is awesome to take at night before bed because it's slower digesting and helps prevent muscle breakdown while you're asleep. Try it! 

Chicken and asparagus in white wine sauce

Simple dinner that could be served with whole grain pasta or mashed potatoes. I love cooking with white wine however, Seth isn't to fond of it so in this recipe i just use a little less than it calls for to make him happy :) The sauce is a light sauce and is NOT thick at all. 

 

Serves 2

2               boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half (longways - to make them thinner)

2 tbsp       butter (i use country crock light)

salt & pepper

1/2 cup    whole wheat flour

1/2 cup    dry white wine

1/2 cup    fat free/less sodium chicken broth

2 tbsp      minced garlic

1 pound    asparagus spears (trimmed)

2 tbsp       parsley

1 tbsp      lemon juice

1/2 cup    water

1/4 cup   corn startch 

               whole wheat pasta or mashed potatoes

Preheat oven to 400. Boil water for pasta. Place the halved chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until about 1/4 in thick). Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Melt butter in a skillet over med-hi heat. Dredge chicken in flour and place in the pan. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until done. While the chicken is cooking place the asparagus on a baking sheet with olive oil and salt & pepper place in oven for about 10 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and add wine, chicken broth and garlic and bring to a light boil. Combine water and corn starch in a cup and mix until dissolved and add to pan. Mix for about 3 minutes until sauce slightly thickens then turn the heat down to a simmer and let it sit for about 3-5min. 

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Pizza is one of my favorite foods ever!! We used to order pizza and eat the frozen stuff allll the time. Now that we're eating clean I can't even remember the last time we ordered a pizza. And that's all because I make my own at home that taste almost as good and the "bad" stuff. This is super fast and simple and you can personalize it to your own liking. 

Pita bread (I like to use Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran & Whole wheat pita bread. These tiny things have 5grams of protein each and are heart healthy)

Pizza sauce

Part skim/low fat Mozzarella cheese

Chicken breast 

Buffalo wing sauce (watch the sodium - we use buffalo wild wings Mild)

Light or fat free ranch

Preheat oven to 375. Dice up chicken breast and cook in a skillet with 2tbsp of buffalo sauce until the juices in the pan dry up. Place pitas on a baking dish and top with pizza sauce, cheese, chicken, more cheese and bake for about 10min. Top with a little drizzle of ranch and enjoy!! 

*Try making it with fresh veggies such as bell pepper, mushrooms, spinach, onions, tomatoes, olives, etc*

Protein Cinnamon Swirl Bread

From bodybuilding.com here is Jamie Eason's Protein cinnamon swirl bread. I tweaked the original recipe a bit. Again, no butter and no sugar but still as good as ever! I almost ate half the loaf before Seth came home from work :/

Makes 16 squares
1 square = 55 calories, 1 g fat, 8 g carbs, 5 g protein

1/3 cup      truvia
2 tbs         cinnamon
1 1/2        cups oat flour + 2 scoops vanilla whey protein
1 tbsp        baking powder
1/2 tsp      salt
1/2 cup     truvia
2                 egg whites
1 cup         unsweetened almond milk 
1/3 cup or 1 4oz jar of baby food applesauce and ¼ cup vanilla yogurt 


Preheat oven to 350. Spray a loaf pan or 8x8 pan with non-stick spray. In a small bowl combine 1/3 cup truvia and 2tbsp cinnamon (set aside). In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients and in another mix together wet ingredients. Combine the dry and wet and whisk. Pour a small amount of mixture on the bottom of the pan so it just covers. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon mixture (i added more cinnamon). Pour the rest of the batter in the pan and top with the rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 25-30min. 


All of Jamie's recipes look amazing and i cannot wait to try more of them!! Next are the lemon berry bars :) I'll keep y'all posted.

Protein oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Here's a healthy alternative to one of my favorite guilty pleasures, without the guilt!! These things a seriously amazing. With no butter or sugar and packed with protein, you might ask yourself "how could they be so good"?! Each cookie has about 4 grams of protein!! Make them at home and see for yourself. I bet you can't eat just one ;)

2 cups	Oats (not quick oats)
1 scoop	Vanilla protein powder
1tsp	Baking soda
1/2 tsp	Salt
6 tbs	coconut oil (softened in the microwave for a few seconds)
1 1/2  tsp	Vanilla extract
1	Egg
1/4 cup 1/4 cup	Truvia Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (the higher the coco % the better)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Place 1 1/2 cups of oats in a food processor (i used my Ninja) until oats are ground into flour. In a bowl mix together oat flour with remaining dry ingredients and in another bowl mix wet ingredients. Then mix the wet and the dry until combined and spoon onto baking sheet. Bake for 8-10min or until light golden. 

Egg Muffins

Egg Muffins?! Genius. 

I came up with this idea for my husband, who wakes up at 4am to hit the gym before work. He never used to eat breakfast because he was always short on time. NOT ANYMORE...thanks to his amazing wife :) 

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray a muffin tin (i used Texas size)

Place veggies, meat and cheese in tins

(I used green pepper, onion, bacon, colby jack cheese)

Each tin holds about 1 1/2 eggs so i used 5 eggs and 3 egg whites (whisked)

Cook for about 18-20min. Cool, put in baggies and place in the fridge. In the morning microwave them for about 30 seconds and ENJOY!! 


*Try switching it up and adding, chicken, turkey, sausage, tuna, spinach, the ideas are endless*

WHOLE Wheat VS White

Hey y'all and thanks for stopping by my new blog page! I am constantly having people ask me for my yummy healthy (and not so healthy) recipes, workout plans, etc. So i figured I'd make a blog so you can have all of these things at the tips of your fingers :) So here goes nothing. 


After having our daughter last November I decided it was time for a change. I was determined to lose my baby weight and make the switch to a healthier lifestyle. The first and easiest step was switching from white to WHOLE WHEAT/GRAIN. Eating white flour products is like eating sugar, that's how your body processes it. The only reason we have white bread is because someone found a way to make softer, better tasting bread by taking away all the natural nutritiousness. When buying whole wheat bread check the ingredients and make sure it says "WHOLE", they like to trick you. 
Some benefits: 

• Excellent source of dietary fiber.
• Can help protect the heart by reducing cholesterol and lowering the risk of heart disease.
• Can help a person lose weight, as whole wheat gives a sense of fullness with fewer calories.
• Whole wheat bread also takes longer to digest and converts slower into sugar, so the person can stay fuller and energetic longer.
• For those who are watching blood sugar levels, whole wheat bread has a lower glycemic index than white bread.

So fill your pantry with whole grain pasta's, bread, tortillas, cereal, flour, crackers, etc.