Salsa Chicken

So I am about 16 weeks pregnant and still craving all things carbohydrate these days. 

Much to my dismay this little baby does Not like lettuce. AT ALL. 

That means a huge shift in my menus and finding ways to trick my body into eating vegetables without noticing it.

One of the easiest ways I have found is to mix them into food that just seems warm and heavy and delicious. And if it happens to be super simple to make- all the better!!!

WIN, WIN!

This recipe is just that.

Put 2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker

Open up a can of black beans (try not to break off the tab because a can like this does NOT like can openers....)yay for me.

Once you finally get into those beans drain and rinse them and pour them into the slow cooker with the chicken and 1 container of your favorite salsa. I prefer to use fresh pico de gallo with chunks of fresh veggies, but you can use any kind you like.

Close the slow cooker, (plug it in...this step is important...and yes I have forgotten once or 5 times)

turn it on low for 4-6 hours stir it up to shred the chicken and enjoy!

You can eat this on its own, serve over some brown rice or in shells as tacos and top as desired with fresh cilantro and a dollup of greek yogurt. Yum and so so soooooo simple!

Your welcome for this one!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Chicken Marsala with Mashed Cauliflower

Want a quick meal for a weeknight dinner that tastes like you slaved over it all day?

This one is PERFECT!

From start to finish the whole meal should take less than 40 minutes

and that includes getting the table set.

Ingredients for the Mashed Cauliflower are:

1 head cauliflower

1/4 cup milk (or less depending on how wet your cauliflower is)

1 TBS butter

garlic powder*

parsley*

black pepper*

* to taste

Ingredients for the Chicken Marsala:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup Marsala wine

1/4 cup water

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 Tbs butter or coconut oil

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 TBS parsley

1/2 tsp rosemary

salt and black pepper

 

Get the cauliflower cooking.

Chop up the head of cauliflower removing the green pieces and most of the stem

and then place in a steamer over a pot of boiling water.

You can boil it directly if you want I just find that by steaming it

I avoid it soaking up extra water and creating a very running mash later on.

Now onto the chicken.

You can pound this out if you want but I learned a trick a while back 

that is a whole lot faster and less messy.

Place one chicken boob on the cutting board and 

using a very good meat cutting knife 

(I use these serrated ones I got suckered into buying 

from a sales booth at the NEX one Saturday- 

they were supposed to magically cut tomatoes with no sharpening...

I have never heard the end of it from my husband but I am happy to announce 

they are dynamite when it comes to splitting chicken breasts!)

Anyway, I place my hand on top of the breast 

(fingers together and up to avoid any accidents!!) 

and then cut through the breast all the way through the middle 

so you end up with two halves of each breast that are thinner.

Place the now thin breasts on a cutting board or shallow pan 

and sprinkle evenly with a thin coating of whole wheat flour 

and a touch of salt and black pepper and set aside for a few minutes.

 

Once the chicken is ready (and you have washed your nasty chicken hands of course!)

warm up a medium to large size saute pan and place 2 Tbs of butter in there to melt.

Now as I noted you can replace the butter with coconut oil if you are trying to be super strict here but I have made it both ways and the butter does a better job coating the mushrooms instead of just soaking into them so I would choose butter if you twisted my arm for which is better 

(but REAL butter none of that 1 step away from plastic stuff 

that likes to masquerade as a healthier choice).

Throw the mushrooms in there and saute them until they are soft and browned fully 

(about 10 minutes). 

Once they are cooked through pull them out of the pan and set aside.

 

In the same warm pan place your flour coated chicken and cook about 4 minutes on each side or until the meat temp reaches 165 degrees and then pull it out and place in a serving dish.

While the chicken rests place the mushrooms back in the pan and pour the 3/4 cup of Marsala wine and 1/4 cup of water over them carefully and sprinkle with rosemary and thyme. 

Now you can buy Marsala cooking wine in the grocery store and use that instead of regular wine just beware that it will generally have added salt so I chose not to use it if I have a bottle of plain Marsala around.

 

 Let the sauce simmer together for 5-10 minutes

 

and then pour it all over the chicken in your serving dish and serve.

 

While the sauce is simmering you can throw together your mashed cauliflower. 

Once its soft enough to stick a fork easily through it remove the cauliflower form the heat.

Strain any excess water from it, using a colander or cheesecloth  and then treat it just like you would potatoes. I use my Vitamix because as you know- I am addicted to it and why not, but you could easily mash these by hand or use a hand mixer.

Add the milk and butter to the cauliflower pieces and blend or mash to your desired consistency and then add your preferred seasonings. I really like parsley and cauliflower together so I always use that and usually add some fresh ground pepper and garlic powder (of course feel free to add minced garlic instead if you prefer a more dense flavor!) also have fun experimenting!

Replacing the milk with Greek yogurt will give you creamy think mash and 

adding a dash of Parmesan cheese would be great also. It's your kitchen- you are in charge here so have fun and don't be afraid to try new things!

 

Now that everything is done, plate it and eat up! delicious

not-so-hard 'fancy' meal in 30-40 minutes!

Make sure everybody gets enough sauce and mushrooms on top of their chicken- 

that is the best part!!

 Hope your family enjoys this one as much as mine does!!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Peanut Butter Banana Clean Cookies

I am always in search of some clean eating baking ideas. I have about a zillion recipes pinned on my pinterest board but no matter what I try my kids reject them. I have liked almost every recipe I try but I do notice that without the sugar and flour the texture ends up moist or mushier than 'normal' baked items like cookies and muffins. I have tried and tried to find something my kids would happily eat and these cookies are the closest I have gotten. They both tried one right of the bat and liked it and have each had 1 more since then, If given a choice between them and any other snack item though chances are they are picking the alternative...I'm not sure why it really is but I am obviously still in search of the perfect baked good recipe to keep them happy so if you have found a great one please feel free to share it with me!

Anyway, since the kids like these and I think they are delicious I figured it was good enough to share. I followed this recipe originally posted by Sally's Baking Addiction.

If you try it and like it be sure to check out her blog and show her some love.

She highly suggested using quick oats here instead of regular ones. I have slowly replaced most of my pantry with clean items and was afraid I might only have steel cut ones up there but I was lucky enough to find half a container of quick oats hiding up there. If you don't happen to have them on hand though just pulse regular oats in a food processor for a few seconds. This will allow them to become a bit lighter and sticker so your cookies will hold together better and they will cook a touch faster.

Mash up your bananas (the riper the better because not only are they easier to mash but they will make for much sweeter cookies)

then fold in the peanut butter (you could totally use almond butter here if you prefer. I just LOVE peanut butter), oats, cinnamon, honey and salt and mix it up well until you have a big sticky messy ball of yumminess. 

 

 

Now pay attention here...there are NO EGGS in this batter so feel free to taste test it as you go...

just make sure you have enough left to actually form some cookies out of!

Now for the fun part. The add-ins.

Add whatever you like here, I thought if I added some chocolate chips

it would trick my kids into gobbling them up. And in all honesty I think that's why they were so willing to try them in the first place! I also threw in about 1/3 cup of sliced almonds and some chopped up craisins. 

A fun little healthy treat they discovered on a visit to my mom's house so in our house they are lovingly referred to as 'nana berries'

anyway, pick your add ins and fold them through the batter and drop spoonfuls onto some big cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

 

Now this dough will not spread so flatten out the dough a bit to make sure they cook evenly and then pop in a 325 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

Once the cookies have cooled you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week, in the fridge for about 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Then pull them out one or two at a time for a quick breakfast on the go, a quick snack packed with energy or an after school treat. YUM.

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/3 cups quick oats
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup Homemade peanut butter
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 medium ripe bananas, (mashed)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds 
• 1/4 cup chopped craisins (or other dried fruit of choice)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
Combine everything together into a large bowl.
Mix everything until the dough is well combined and the dough is thick and sticky
(I found a rubber spatula worked great here).
Drop this yumminess onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and slightly flatten the tops into desired thickness. Don't worry about a bit of crowding, these little suckers don't spread.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are very slightly brown. Be careful not to over bake them.
Allow to cool on the cookie sheets completely. Pack them into an airtight container separating with wax paper and keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks or the freezer for up to 3 months.

Creamy Potato Mushroom Soup

Yum. Soup.

Seriously. 

I LOVE soup.

It makes me feel warm and happy.

It is filling yet healthy

and now that I have my beloved vitamix it only takes minutes to make.

It's the perfect way to use up leftover veggies

and makes a super quick and easy lunch when I'm starving

and out of leftovers.

I make all kinds of soups and rarely follow a recipe.

The one I made a few days ago though

is a quick and easy standby and you don't need a vitamix to make it.

(I use mine of course because I love watching it work but it's not necessary)

So here is my (very roughly measured)

recipe for "no-cream" Creamy Potato Mushroom Soup

Why is called no cream you ask???

Because I want things I make myself to be as healthy as possible 

and heavy cream rarely makes the cut in this house unless its a birthday or \special occasion and that is pretty much only to be poured straight into the ice cream machine...yum...

but I digress-

So how do I make this creamy you ask? I use cashews.

Mix 1/2 cup of cashews and 1/2 cup of water in a blender on high 

or in a food processor until it is smooth and fully combined- no nut chunks here!

Just deliciousy creamy yumminess. 

Seriously- this is so surprisingly good that I use it to thicken any soup that I prefer a bit creamy.

Here is a picture of it all blended up and bubbly waiting to be the base of my soup:

While you are busy watching this magic cream come together

put a pot of 2 cups of chicken stock (I prefer homemade or organic 

but this is your kitchen so be free and use what you have-

this recipe is easily made vegan by using vegetable stock or plain water instead)

 peel 2 medium or 3 small potatoes and chop them up and throw them in the pot of boiling stock

and let them cook until soft enough to poke a fork through.

 Now lets turn our attention to the mushrooms.

I happened to have half of a large container of mushrooms in the fridge leftover from some chicken Marsala so I just threw all of them into a warm pan with about a teaspoon of EVOO and a chopped up onion but if you are the measuring type I would say about 1 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms.

Saute those beauties up until they are glistening and soft and the onions are translucent.

Now for my favorite part....

turning chunky things into smooth things!

Pour the broth and potatoes and 1/2 the mushrooms and onions into your blender with the cashew cream blend on high until the potatoes have reached your desired consistency.

I hit the soup setting on my Vitamix and it ends up steaming hot and so creamy and fluffy.

Yum, perfect- except you are not quite done yet.

Now its up to you. You can simply toss the rest of the mushrooms and onions on top of each serving if you like the big chunks or add it all into the blender and pulse it a few times just to give the soup some texture.

and VOILA- soupe du jour fait par vous!

 

This recipe can be so easily modified by adding veggies you have in the house

but when I want something really satisfying there is no better solution for me than potatoes. by only using a few and layering in so many other vegetables and flavors it tastes like a huge treat

but it's still a healthy choice!

Have fun with your food. 

Good food does not have to be complicated

and easy food does not have to be unhealthy.

~eat well, be well

Patty

Creamy Potato Mushroom Soup

2 cups chicken stock

2-3 small to medium yellow potatoes (or whatever you have in the pantry)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup cashews

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 onion, chopped 

1 tsp EVOO 

peel and chop the potatoes and add to the stock in a sauce pan.

Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft. (10-15 minutes)

While the potatoes are cooking 

place the water and cashews in the blender and blend on high 

until a smooth cream consistency is reached. 

Leave the cashew cream in the blender while you heat up a saute pan

with the tsp of EVOO. 

Add the chopped onion and mushrooms to the oil and 

cook until mushrooms are cooked through and onions are transparent.

Once everything is cooked through add the stock, 

potatoes and half the mushroom and onion mixture 

into the cashew cream in the blender and turn on high. 

(if using a vitamix use the soup setting)

Blend to your desired consistency.

When the soup is creamy and smooth 

add in the remainder of the mushrooms and onions and 

pulse to chop them a bit if desired. 

Serve hot and then portion out the leftover soup and 

save it in the fridge or freezer for an easy lunch another day!

This generally makes 4-5 servings for me.

Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker

Oh my goodness I am almost embarrassed to admit how afraid I have been to cook a whole chicken.

I'm not sure what about it kept me from it the most.

The thought of pulling out the giblets

or the spare hair and feathers still stuck to it

the possibility of missing some of those pesky little bones or what. But to be honest raw chicken in general grosses me out even the boneless skinless chicken boobs. But prices are going up and I hate paying so much more for someone else to do things that I am quite capable of doing myself so I promised myself that sometime in August I would do it. I would buy a whole bird, cook it, eat it and make my own stock. 

I found this recipe on 100 Days of Real Food (one of my favorite recipe sites on the web, oh and did you hear she just published her first cookbook? SOOOO exciting! If you have not discovered her yet head over there and check it out, you will NOT be sorry!

I only modified her recipe slightly because I mean she DID say it was the best whole chicken recipe ever!! But I used red pepper flakes instead of cayenne. Here is the ingredients you need:

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large onion
• 1 large chicken

If you plan on making stock also you need

• an additional onion
• carrots
• celery
• bay leaf
• parsley
• thyme
• water

Before you tackle the bird go ahead and mix all the dry spices together in a bowl

 

Peel and coarsely chop up your onion and place it in the bottom of you slow cooker.

Then grab the whole chicken.

Open it up, pull out the baggie of disgusting little bits inside (don't look, just pop it out and hide it under a paper towel in the sink until you are ready to throw all the packaging away!)

If you are not as grossed out as me at this point. Congratulations.

If you are. keep going, you can wash your hands 1000 times in just a minute.

Rinse off the chicken (I also washed out the inside cavity) 

Now if you are a Real Housewife junkie (like me) I would remind you not to clean

your chicken like Adrienne...no soap, just hot water required-

pat the poor little animal dry and then coat

with the dry spices. Rub it in there good trying to cover all the surface area and even getting some into the cavity.

I had a friend tell me to get it up under the skin but I could not bring myself to stick my hand in between the meat and the skin and it came out just fine on top. Perhaps as I get braver I will give that a try but this is all about baby steps!

Once the bird is covered in spice place it on top of the onions in the slow cooker.

close it up and turn it on for about 5 hours on high

or until it starts just pulling off the bone

I left mine untouched about 4.5 hours and when I checked on it I could already see the meat pulling off the center bone so I scooped some of the onion and juices from the bottom on top just to make sure it did not start to dry out before my husband got home from work for dinner.

Once it's all cooked just pull the meat off the bones and enjoy!

The first night we just served this with some brown rice and it was super moist and delicious.

My 6 year old declared it the "best chicken she has ever had in her whole life" so I guess it was a winner! The leftovers we put away in the fridge and used during the week for chicken enchilada's, chicken salad (with mashed avocado instead of mayo) and chicken white bean chili and it tasted great in all of them.

I also decided to give the chicken stock a shot. I left the juices and cooked down onion in the slow cooker, added back in the carcass once we picked all the meat off it, threw in some baby carrots, chopped celery, a bay leaf, some parsley and thyme and a second peeled and coarsely chopped onion. I filled the slow cooker up with water and turned it on low and left it all night. It smelled amazing when we came down the next morning. I would say it was super easy (because it was) but the next step was a little time consuming and messy. You need to drain out all the bones and chunks of veggies and stuff. I found it was easier to do it in a few steps. I used a large colander and drained the biggest stuff out all at once and then poured small amounts at a time through my smaller colander and then measured it by cups into freezer bags that I stacked and put in the freezer to use for fall soups, stews and my favorite pulled pork recipe. We used some of the homemade stock in the white bean chicken chili I made last night and we could all taste the difference in flavor, It was definitely worth the mess of all that straining!!

I am so happy I tried something new. It was delicious, easy and a total hit and will also save me money at the store. WIN,WIN, WIN!!!!!

So off with you- go buy a chicken and try this one at home!!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Keep Those Cravings at Bay

It's 2:30 in the afternoon and I. am. hungry.

What can I eat?

Something sweet? yes. 

Well, maybe. No, no, don't cave.

How about fruit? 

Are you kidding? I don't want fruit.

Something Salty? Eww, no.  All I have is the piddles of my husbands potato chips and those are 3 weeks old. Gross.

Cheese? Crud, I forgot to cut it and that is way too much work.

ROAR!!!!! Must find something to put in my mouth NOW!!!!

Does that ever happen to you?

Because its a pretty regular occurrence in my head.

I am always struggling with wanting to put food in my mouth but not wanting to

make bad choices. I have found that if I try and ignore the cravings though that I over eat at dinner or become a crabby monster that no one wants to be around. 

If I try and push them off by just eating 1 or 2 crackers or sneaking a bunny graham from my son's afternoon snack bowl that I will just keep putting tiny thing after tiny thing in my mouth trying to satiate my cravings and in the end I am still unsatisfied and have eaten more calories with less substance than if I had just made 1 bad choice in the beginning.

So what is a person to do???

There are several tricks I have learned to help me navigate my snack monster attacks

• Pour a glass of water while you try and decide what you are going to have
• Sometimes your body tries to trick you and when you think you are hungry you are really just thirsty. Pour a glass of water or brew some tea or coffee and drink it slowly while you decide  or prepare your snack and you may find you don't really need one after all. Even if you are still hungry it will help you feel full faster and help you avoid overdoing it on the snack.
  
• Think about what you like ahead of time and have them ready to grab easily
• Preparation is such a huge part of success when you are trying to make big changes in the way you and your family eat. Grabbing something quick does not have to mean it is a bad choice.  Keep healthy snack options on hand like raw nuts that are easy to grab a small handful of. Keep cheese cubed in the fridge so it's easy to grab just a few chunks. Pre-slice and wash fruit and veggies so it is as quick to grab a few slices of apples and some peanut butter as it would be to open a bag of processed snacks. Next time you make some healthy muffins or pancakes make extra and freeze them so you have a quick snack to pull out of the freezer when you want some carbs that won't destroy your day. 
• Avoid packaged snacks 
• Try not to be fooled by those 100 calorie snack bags. Check out the ingredients, they are usually super duper processed and or could be low in calories but still high in sodium, carbs, and sugars. BEWARE of the quick fix. 
• Invest some time in yourself and experiment in the kitchen. Maybe try the recipe you pinned 3 months ago for homemade granola bars or that banana blueberry oat bake that looked so good. When you make it yourself you control what goes in, and usually taste a whole lot better anyway!  Plus you can portion it out and freeze the leftovers to make that snack easier to get to the next time you want it- or thrill the neighborhood kids after school when they walk into the "healthy snack lady's house" and find something warm and delicious to try
• Sit down, eat your snack, move on
• Don't eat on the go unless it's necessary. 
• Give your body time to recognize that you are eating and enjoy it. 
• Try not to always eat while you watch a certain show or you will train your body that when that show is on you need a snack (even when you are not hungry at all)
• Eat in moderation
• Whether you choose some nuts and cheese, sliced up fruit, a bit of greek yogurt and granola, a muffin or even decide you can't help yourself and you just HAVE to have some of the chocolate chips that are open up there ( I mean who will notice a few gone, you are the one who does the baking right?!?!) DON'T OVERDUE IT.
• and maybe stop buying chocolate chips unless you need them for something very specific...

So now that I have shared some of my tips here is a small list of some of my go to snacks, if you have some great ideas feel free to share them with me in the comments, I am always looking for new things to try.

•  Raw almonds or pecans and a cup of tea 

•  homemade granola bar 
• (I love Pioneer Women's recipe but there are healthier options out there) 
  
• Greek yogurt with some blueberries 
• sliced apples or pears sprinkled with cinnamon and microwaved for a few seconds
• a cup or grapes or your favorite fresh fruit 

• a slice of homemade bread topped with some homemade peanut butter
• sliced up bell pepper and greek yogurt or hummus
• nut balls 

 

• or try some homemade peanut butter banana muffins like these ones from the Detoxinista

So be strong, be in control and be prepared for those cravings. Ignoring them usually won't do you any good so face them with better choices and than pat yourself on the back for being great today!!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Nut Balls

NUT BALLS!!!!!!

Oh my goodness I seriously laugh every time I say that. I like to keep asking my husband if he wants to try my nut balls. I should grow up but sometimes its just too fun being me.

So seriously, I have had some major sweets cravings lately. I don't know where they came from. We have been eating so good now for 11 months and cut out candies and most sugar and I swear I want to tear into a bag of Hershey's kisses or miniature candy bars...or chocolate ice cream...or some chocolate chip cookies...or fudge...you get what I'm saying. Anyway just because I want it doesn't mean I want to ruin all my hard work or give into my cravings so I went in search of a treat that would feel like a cheat but not REALLY be that bad. and.... I found it! HUZZAH! Nut balls!

Here is what you need:

2 1/2 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup nut butter (almond or peanut-I used homemade peanut butter)

1/2 cup cacoa or cocoa powder (cacoa would be better but this is what I had on hand)

2 handfuls (or so-don't you like my exact measurements!!) unsweetened coconut

1 stick of butter (8 TBS)

4 Tablespoons coconut oil (melted)

ground cinnamon to taste (~1 TBS)

flaxseed meal (optional) ~2 TBS

Put the almonds in your food processor or blender and grind them up 

Pour the ground almonds into a mixing bowls and add the nut butter, cocoa powder

and unsweetened coconut stirring it all together.

Once the peanut butter has been well incorporated add in the softened butter and the coconut oil and mix until the butter breaks down and is evenly distributed through the chocolate mixture.

Add in the cinnamon and flaxseed meal if desired and mix it through.

 

It should look a little something like this:

Form this into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil and refrigerate

for about an hour and then enjoy!

(I had a picture of this I swear...but now I can't find it and we ate all the balls...sorry!)

You can wrap them or store in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

If you don't want the messy hands that forming balls can mean I also tried to line a 

baking dish with foil and spread it into bars and cool then cut apart. 

It worked just as well but I did have to refrigerate it a touch longer and then you lose the funny bit about eating the nut balls, but hey- the taste is really what's important here right?!?!

Anyway, the kids liked them and they met my need for a chocolate fix although they are NOT sweet

so just be prepared for that if you are just starting to cut out sugar in your house they may be a bit of a surprise to your taste buds but try them- it is such a great thing to try new things and 

help teach out taste buds that different things can be yummy too!

So go grab some nuts so you can eat some balls.

HAHAHAHAHA...sorry!!

~Eat Well,

Be well

Patty