Green Smoothie

 

I don’t know about you…but after a hard workout I come home and drink a TON of water. Sadly after birthing 4 kids, I can’t drink water while I workout or I’d never get through it without hitting the bathroom every 10 minutes (sadly I am NOT joking)!

The weather lately has been magnificent, in the 80’s warm and sunny! It has brought out the “smoothie” in me 😉 I haven’t ever tried smoothies as far as a meal replacement, I tend NOT to get full off them and feel like, well there was “x” amount of calories down the drain that didn’t stick to my ribs. So I usually just forego liquid food and end up eating food or munch a Luna bar instead.

I have though now, added this green smoothie to my post workout regimen. It is clean, refreshing and makes me feel re-hydrated after my runs. This drink is full of all kinds of yumminess fruits, veggies, and protein!

If you are a person who is ok with drinking a meal, (and no I don’t mean a bottle of wine…oh how I miss thee…) you can drink the entire content of this recipe and still be looking good in the end..REAR end 😛  

**Parent alert….even kids like it** 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fresh baby spinach, washed and packed
2 medium strawberries WITH the tops left on, washed
1.5 tbsp flax seed
1 medium sized banana ( I slice mine into 8 pieces (1 banana) and keep in freezer to make a thicker smoothie and so I don’t have to add ice)
2 oz. Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt, Plain (I freeze mine in an ice cube tray. Each cube is 2 oz., see pic below)
16 oz. Almond Breeze Almond Milk, Vanilla Unsweetened
1/3 cup fresh mango, sliced
2 tsp toasted unsweetened coconut
2 tbsp. honey or your favorite sweetener

 

 

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, add all ingredients except honey and coconut. 

Blend until well mixed and a gorgeous green color. 

Add honey (or whatever sweetener you are using) one of two ways:

1. I use honey and drizzled the glass before adding my smoothie, Starbucks style

2. After everything is blended add sweetener and blend again.

I then garnish the drink with a little toasted coconut that I keep in the cupboard in a mason jar for sassy little drinks like this 😀

 

Like this recipe? Then you might like these other low fat low cal recipes I made too!

• Coconut Strawberry Cake Cocktail
• Mocha Cappuccino Banana Bread Bites
• Carb-less and Gluten Free Turkey Burger

 

Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf

I am entering a contest in the The Mr. Food Test Kitchen for the ultimate weeknight meal…Since I hated meatloaf for so long, I thought I’d share my newly found love with everyone. Hope it wins!!

I am not a meatloaf fan, I am not sure my kids are either. I don’t make it that often to really know. I decided to try a new way of approaching how I made it. In previous attempts I changed different additives to the meatloaf, bread crumbs here and Worcestershire there, ketchup this time, tomato sauce the next. Nothing ever resonated enough for me to sit up and say HEY this is good…UNTIL…I decided to stuff a meatloaf. Yes you heard me, STUFF it, not in my mouth, but stuff the inside with goodies I knew my kids would eat and with some veggies that I am always trying to stuff down their throats! So anyway, this was the best meatloaf in the entire world, maybe I should have named it that? There were no leftovers and you won’t believe how easy it is to make. You could even have change-out ingredients to your own liking! Change out the cheeses, omit the spinach and use arugula, the possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did, this was a real accomplishment for me. although I wouldn’t say I HEART MEATLOAF, I would say, I HEART my stuffed turkey meatloaf! This is the only meatloaf that will ever be made in this household 😀

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lb ground turkey 80% lean
1 lb cooked bacon, chopped + reserve 1 handful
2 cloves crushed minced garlic
2 tbsp oregano or Italian spice blend
1 egg
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 C bread crumbs
1 c. grated Romano cheese + 1/4 cup reserved
1 c. grated Parmesan  cheese + 1/4 cup reserved
2 c. loosely packed fresh spinach leaves
Salt/pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Cook off bacon and drain fat on paper towel. When cool crumble into bite sized pieces.
3. In large bowl, mix ground turkey, egg, 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce, bread crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper.
4. Spray foil covering a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place turkey mixture onto baking sheet and form a rectangular shape.
5. Sprinkle the bacon evenly over the meat mixture, pressing firmly into meat.
6. Sprinkle cheeses evenly on top of bacon.
7. Place the spinach leaves on top of cheese evenly.
8. Starting at short end, start rolling up tightly, using foil to start the rolling process. You may need to tuck in spinach leaves as you roll. Seal ends when rolling is complete.
9. Spread remaining pizza sauce over top, add the remainder of the cheese and any left over bacon. Bake for around 1 hour or until juices are clear or until thermometer inserted in meat loaf reads 160°F. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
10. Serve over mashed potatoes or rice.

oops, looks like i left a piece of garlic uncut, hope I get that bite!!

make sure to press the bacon into the meat

stuffed meatloaf

rolling meatloaf

top of the meatloaf

while it cools…STOP and get your drool on!

Thai Chicken and Spinach Wraps with Peanut Dipping Sauce

I want to thank Kimberly over at Badger Girl Learns To Cook for allowing me to share my love of cooking with her foodie friends. I want to thank my mom, Monica Mooney, the creator of Sweet Heat Chefs for encouraging me to begin cooking and sticking with it when I wanted to quit. 

My name is Jasmine, I am 12 years old. My love of food and cooking began when I was around 2. My mom had me up on the counter mixing cookie dough and adding ingredients to the bowl as she went. As I got older, chopping and slicing came into my repertoire, and a few nicks here and there I eventually learned my lesson on how to do it correctly. 

I would like to talk about some yummy Thai wraps that are so flexible you can change out the ingredients any way you like and make them to your own liking. That is the fun one can have with food. 

You know the saying, “don’t play with your food?” Well my mom always told me TO play with my food. I have 4 other siblings and I think we all enjoy cooking and or helping out in some way in the kitchen because of my mom’s encouragement in that way.  

Like a typical mom, as I know anyway, my mom is always trying to get her kids to eat more vegetables. I have to admit, at 12 years old I still don’t like too many vegetables. I know I should eat them and that they are good for me, I just can’t get past the taste of some of them (cauliflower being the WORST! Sorry mom I don’t like your roasted cauliflowerL) So, when my mom started putting spinach into different foods, I was rolling my eyes like the typical pre-teen. Yet when I tasted it…I actually liked it! Spinach is now one of my favorite vegetables and that is what inspired my Thai Chicken & Spinach Wraps making it a fun “Thaifusion” of flavor! 

FILLING INGREDIENTS

1 bundle Saifun noodles
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, grated
4 chicken breasts cut in half and diced in smaller than bite sized pieces, or ½ lb ground chicken
Salt/pepper to taste
½ can bamboo shoots, diced
½ can water chestnuts, diced
1 cup shredded, carrot
2 tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium
2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
2 cups washed baby spinach leaves
12 rice paper wrappers

PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium
¼ cup hot water
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoons sesame seed oil
1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter, your preference

DIRECTIONS FOR PEANUT SAUCE

Combine all ingredients, EXCEPT, the peanut butter and mix well. Using a whisk add in peanut butter and mix well. Refrigerate until the wraps are finished.

DIRECTIONS FOR WRAPS

1.       Take Saifun noodles and place in heat resistant bowl. Heat up 2 cups boiling water. Pour boiling water over noodles and cover, set aside.

2.       Preheat skillet with 2 tablespoons coconut oil. Add garlic and ginger cooking only a few minutes so as not to burn garlic. Add chicken and salt/pepper. Cook a few minutes until pink is almost gone, then add soy sauce, carrot, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Cook until chicken is cooked thoroughly.  Remove from heat and set aside.

3.       Set out a bowl or pie dish (I used pie dish) large enough to fit 1 rice wrapper in it without bending. Fill with warm water.

4.       Take 1 rice wrapper, dip quickly in water making sure all of wrapper is wet, and place on a piece of wax paper that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  The layers are as follows:

a.       Spinach

b.      Chicken mixture

c.       Saifun noodles

The noodles don’t need to be drained at all; I just grabbed them directly out of the water as I made my wraps.

5.       Roll the wraps as you would an eggroll and set aside on a plate.

The rice wrappers get softer and stickier as they sit. After you dip it in the water quickly it will not be soft, do not dip again in water and be sure to roll quickly to avoid a sticky mess!

6.       Continue with the remaining rice wrappers or until all filling mixture is used.

7.       Serve over coconut rice and a garnish with cilantro and the peanut dipping sauce.

Change-out ingredients

You can use pork, beef, shrimp, salmon (my favorite) and even ground turkey as the meat

You can use Napa cabbage or bok choy instead of spinach

You could add onion, shallots, mushrooms and even celery

Chicken Veggie Surprise

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken breasts, cut in bite sized chunks
2 cloves garlic (microplaned)
 4 T. Olive Oil
½ pound penne pasta or some small pasta that is your favorite
1 pkg. frozen spinach
¼ c. sundried tomatoes or fresh petite grape tomatoes (optional)
5 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (reserve ½ cup)
2 t. chopped dried rosemary
2 T. dried onion
Salt/Pepper for taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Unthaw frozen spinach.  Once unthawed you will need to squeeze all excess moisture from spinach and set aside until needed.
2. Cook chicken and garlic in olive oil until browned.
3. While chicken is cooking cook pasta until al dente.
4. When chicken is done, add spinach and tomatoes. Cook for  about 5 minutes.
5. While cooking mix together in small bowl; parmesan cheese, rosemary, dried onion, salt and pepper.
6. After pasta is done, drain (reserve 1 c  of pasta water) and add to chicken and vegetables in pan along with the parmesan mixture. Mix all ingredients together and heat through. If the dish is looking too “thick” add some of the pasta water you reserved, ¼ c. at a time and stir thoroughly before adding more until you have reached desired consistency.
7. Add the reserved parmesan cheese to top.