Easy Jambalaya

I got this idea from a friend....who got it from a friend....who got it from who-knows-where.  Gotta love those kind of recipes!

Since we're now up to our eyeballs in basketball practices and games {six nights a week!} I've found that the dinners I make are hardly ever complex {not that they really were before}.  I'm always turning to something quick and easy and this recipe is no exception.

Ingredients:

     1 box jambalaya rice mix

     1 bell pepper, chopped

     1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

     1 lb. kielbasa, sliced {I used chicken smoked sausage}

Directions:

Cook rice according to directions on box.  In the meantime, saute bell peppers and kielbasa or other sausage of choice.  When rice is done, stir into sausage and peppers.  Add black beans and heat through.   

**On a side note....  

Not wanting to wait for my Amazon shipment, I went to Walmart at 10pm last night in search of PB2 {see previous post}.  And guess what???  They were completely sold out too!  I don't know who's buying up all of my favorite peanut butter, but I would really appreciate it if they'd leave just one little jar behind.  Is that too much to ask?  Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now....just don't come between a hungry girl and her favorite snack!  =)

PB2 Protein Rice Cake

Have I told you how much I'm in L.O.V.E. with PB2?!?!  I've told just about everyone I know about it {and how they can buy it locally at Kroger} and now....they're always SOLD OUT!  I like to think it's because I've been spreading the word about this miracle product.  ;-)  It's starting to get a little frustrating, though.  I guess I'll go back to buying it off Amazon.  

Anyway, here's a little something I whipped up for breakfast today....

{165 calories, 4g fat, 25g carbs, 8g fiber, 16g protein}

This would also make a great afternoon snack.  Who says rice cakes have to be boring???

Ingredients:

     1 low sodium rice cake

     1 small container lowfat Live Active cottage cheese

     1 packet Truvia {or 12 drops liquid stevia}

     2 Tbsp PB2

     1 Tbsp sugar-free jelly

Directions:

Mix PB2 and sweetener of choice into cottage cheese.  Spread on top of rice cake and top with sugar-free jelly.

Sucker For A Protein Shake

I feel like I've come a long way since the days months I spent "addicted" to Atkins shakes.  Whether I like it or not....I am still, however, a sucker for a good protein shake.  There's just something about the ease and convenience of a pre-made shake that really fits into my "grab-and-go" lifestyle.  I've been turning to these PURE PROTEIN ones lately for a quick snack or post-workout boost.  I really like that they're high in protein {23g} and low in net carbs {3g}, fat {1.5g} and calories {120}. The vanilla's tasty too!

Cookie Dough Dip {With Chickpeas!}

It sounds strange, I know....but just wait 'til you try it.  

Why is it that cookie dough is almost always better than the actual cookies? When I make cookies, I usually end up consuming about five cookies worth of dough before I even try one {or two, or three} hot from the oven.  I have a serious problem when it comes to cookies, so I try not to make them very often.

Recently, however, I've been running into recipes for chickpea cookie dough dip all over the internet.  I attempted one of these recipes about a month ago.  I made a few tweaks and changes to the recipe and it turned out less than mediocre.  I was having a major cookie dough craving tonight, though, so I decided to give it one more shot....this time I followed a recipe exactly and it turned out AMAZING!  Can chickpeas really taste like cookie dough???  The answer is YES!

I found the recipe here at Natural Noshing.  I don't have a food processor, so I just used my Magic Bullet and it worked good enough for me.

I was watching three of my friend's kids, so I thought I'd try it out on them and see what happened.

This is what happened....

They downed all the apples {with a little help from me, of course} and we had to open a bag of pretzels.  It passed the "picky eater" test and was approved by six kids ages 4-10!  Go ahead and try it....you might just LOVE it!  =)

Ingredients:

     1 1/2 cups chickpeas {1 can} rinsed, drained and patted dry with paper towels

     1/3 cup peanut butter or other nut butter

     2 tsp vanilla extract

     1/8 tsp salt {if using unsalted nut butter}

     2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk

     3-4 Tbsp agave {or honey}

     2 Tbsp flaxseed meal

     1/3 cup chocolate chips

     *Optional - 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Directions:

In a food processor {or blender} add chickpeas and process until finely chopped.  Add peanut butter, vanilla, salt and almond milk.

Add agave, flax meal and protein powder.  Process until well blended.  You may need to add a little extra almond milk.

Stir in chocolate chips.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few hours.  

Veggie Curry In A Hurry

I'm so bad at planning meals ahead of time....it just makes me feel so boxed in!  I always start with good intentions, but inevitably, by the time spaghetti night or stir-fry night roll around, I'm not in the mood for the dinner du jour.  I have issues with structure, I know.  Yesterday around 4:00 p.m. I was trying to decide what to have for dinner {per the norm} when I remembered I had a block of tofu in the garage fridge.  I try to get sneaky with tofu every now and then and "surprise" my family at dinner time.  Sometimes it goes over well, other times....not so much.  This time, I had a brilliant idea {I hoped!}....

I decided to marinate it and use it in place of chicken in my chicken curry in a hurry recipe.  I used 2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbsp fish sauce and 1 tsp seasoned rice vinegar.  After rinsing and pressing the water out of the tofu {place on a plate with paper towels and put a heavy skillet on top for about 20-30 minutes} I chopped it into small pieces and put it in the marinade.  I let it sit for about 10-15 minutes {stirring occasionally} and then popped it into a hot skillet sprayed with cooking spray.  It got a little crispy on the outside and it really soaked up the flavor of the marinade.  It was GOOOOOD!  I couldn't stop myself from snacking on it!  That's what led me to my next ingredient....chickpeas.

I followed my chicken curry in a hurry recipe and simply added the tofu and 1 can of chickpeas {rinsed & drained} when I would normally add the chicken.  So Simple!  My family had theirs over jasmine rice, but I decided to try something a little different and have mine over lettuce {a little trick I learned from my sis-in-law}.

I will definitely be making this again....and the tofu is so great by itself, I might make it more often just for snacking!  The family seemed pleasantly surprised by the great-tasting tofu....well, most of them.  =)

Sugar free jello is one of my go-to snacks when I'm craving something sweet and trying to avoid the giant bag of chocolate chips hiding in my pantry.  {Sometimes I'm successful...sometimes I'm not!}  I usually just buy the little "snack packs" and keep them in the fridge for sweet tooth emergencies.  Then I had an idea - what if I turned this nutrion-less snack into something a little healthier???  And thus was born....PROTEIN JELLO!

1. All you need is a small box of Jello and some vanilla protein powder.

2. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and mix in Jello until dissolved.

3. Add 1 cup cold water.  Pour into blender bottle {optional}.  Let cool a little and add 2 scoops vanilla protein powder.  Shake {or mix} until well blended.

4. Divide into four servings.  Cover and refrigerate a few hours or until firm.

And there you have an easy, LOW-CARB, LOW-CALORIE, HIGH-PROTEIN snack!

Per Serving:

{65 calories, 0g fat, 1g carbs, 0g fiber, 14g protein}

Time To Relax

The first official day of SUMMER VACATION seems to have gone okay....b-ball camp, cub scout day camp, a playdate and taking a class at the gym with my oldest son. The little princess didn't even put up a fight on the way to the kid zone.  I'm calling it a success!  How do I treat myself after such a successful day???

PJ's, fuzzy socks, an episode of The Bachelorette and an entire pint of ARCTIC ZERO!

Veggie Taco Salad

Let me just say HOORAY for finally breaking out my old camera again!  I've been trying to use a little point and shoot for a while and it just hasn't been cuttin' it. Live and learn, I guess.  

I was in the mood for a meatless dinner tonight, so I made refried bean tostadas for my family {forgot to take a pic...sorry!} and whipped up some veggies for me.

I just dug around in the fridge and used whatever I had....

First, saute the onions and peppers in a little olive oil spray {since they have a longer cooking time}.  

Then add the zucchini and mushrooms, saute them them for a couple minutes and add about 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbsp taco seasoning.

Let it simmer a little {just like you would if you were using ground beef} and then serve however you like.  I made a salad using romaine lettuce, my sauteed mexican veggies, a little salsa, some cilantro and about half of a diced avocado.  Just look at all that goodness!

Ingredients:

1/2 bell pepper, sliced

1/4 sweet onion, sliced

1 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

Romaine lettuce, chopped

2 Tbsp taco seasoning

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp salsa

1/2 avocado, diced

Cilantro 

Directions:

Saute onions and peppers in small amount of olive oil or cooking spray.  Add zucchini and mushrooms.  Saute a couple minutes then add taco seasoning and water.  Simmer.  Serve over lettuce and top with salsa, avocado and cilantro.

Grilled Sesame Ginger Chicken & Roasted Veggies

Not wanting to make yet ANOTHER trip to the grocery store, I decided yesterday that I would make tonight's dinner using only things I already had.  I knew I had some frozen chicken, but when I went to make the marinade, I realized I was missing one of the key ingredients.  Plan B....search the fridge.  I found a bottle of this....

and thought, "Hey, that could work!"  I marinated the chicken in the dressing overnight and added a sprinkle of this....

Then my husband grilled it to perfection....

I was a little nervous and crossed my fingers that it would taste okay.  {That's the problem with making things up on the fly - it might be great, but it could be gross!} Fortunately, the whole family loved it - even our pickiest eater.  oh, how I love successful culinary experiments! 

Now for the oven-roasted veggies....

I peeled and chopped the sweet potatoes into small pieces, sprayed them with a little olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper.  Then I chopped the zucchini and removed the tough stems from the asparagus.  I sprayed them with olive oil as well and seasoned them with garlic salt and pepper.  Both pans went in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Yum!  A quick, easy and healthy Sunday dinner.

Food Court Lunch

My husband was off work yesterday, so we took our 4-year-old and went to the mall to exchange a couple things.  At lunch time, we decided to head over to the food court....not my first choice, but the hubs had his heart set on bourbon chicken from Cajun Cafe {the real stuff!}.  It was incredibly hard for me to turn down those juicy, delicious chunks of melt in your mouth chicken, but I was really excited to discover that you can now order a salad there.  The base of the salad is simple....lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and red onions.  Then you choose what meat you want on top. I resisted the bourbon chicken {which I'm sure has plenty of sugar in the sauce} and went for a more basic blackened chicken.  It wasn't greasy or saucy - just delicious and full of flavor.  I also ordered my dressing on the side and ended up using barely any of it.

How great does that look?!  I don't know what the calorie count was, but I'm pretty sure it was better for me than the bourbon chicken with two sides of grease-laden veggies.  The food court is looking better and better these days!