Clean Chicken Fried Rice

No Need For Take Out Anymore - Make This One At Home 

We love chicken friend rice but what I don't love is all of the awful chemicals that tend to be used when you buy it from a take out place. This weekend when we were snowed in, I decided to try making it myself instead. Not to brag but I kind of knocked this one out of the park. It was a huge hit!! My only complaint was that the left overs the next day were a tiny bit dry so plan to eat this one all up on the day you make it! 

Ingredients 
1 bag of frozen mixed veggies (I went with organic but you could use either)
Brown Rice
3 organic brown eggs (again any egg would work)
1 onion diced
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up
Olive oil for sautéing the chicken
3 cloves of garlic
Braggs liquid aminos( You can find this in the organic/ health food section of most grocery stores)
Pink Himalayan salt
Black Pepper
Organic raw honey
3 small pads of unsalted organic butter

Directions 
Cut up chicken into bite size pieces. Use about a tablespoon of olive oil to sauté the chicken.
After the chicken is cooked season with the garlic cloves, pink Himalayan salt, pepper and a drizzle of honey
Add in the chopped up onions and allow them to cook until clear
While onions are sautéing cook the mixed veggies according to package
Also cook rice according to package. I used enough rice for 4 servings.
Once you add in the mixed veggies drizzle the Braggs Liquid aminos over the mixture. I didn't really measure exact amount just made sure I was covering everything. I would assume I used 3 - 4 tablespoons
Then move your mixture to one side of the pan. Crack your three eggs into the pan and quickly move them around until they look like scrambled eggs. Combine that with your chicken and veggie mixture.
Lastly add in the cooked rice. Mix well. I then added in a bit more salt, pepper and braggs. Followed by three small pads of organic butter. I let it sit for 5 minutes then served it!

Enjoy!

Roasted Balsamic Chicken Dinner

Invite The Neighbors Over - This One's A Winner 

You know those recipes that are the ones that you pull out when your having company over or you want to make someone think wow this chick can cook? Yeah yeah I get it. I have a few of "those" recipes up my sleeve. My lasagna with homemade sauce, bruschetta chicken, my chili. The list goes on but this recipe is getting added to the collection. I was amazed with how tender the chicken was and what a great flavor it had. I wish I could give you "specifics" for this recipe but I can't because I made it up as I went along. Thats one reason why I am blogging about it now because I don't want to forget how I did it. 

Here is what you will need:

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts 

Pink Hymilayan Sea Salt 

Black pepper

3 cloves of fresh garlic

Mrs. Dash - Italian Seasoning 

1 pint of cherry tomatoes or whatever tomatoes you have on hand 

5 tablespoons of organic butter cut into "butter pads" for each tablespoon 

1/2 cup of fresh basil chopped 

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil 

1 cup of balsamic vinegar 

Whole wheat bread crumbs 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Rinse tomatoes pour into the bottom of a 13x9 inch glass pan

3. Cut chicken into bite size pieces 

4. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash. Use as much or as little as you prefer

5. Using a garlic press - mince garlic then distribute onto chicken pieces 

5. Mix together balsamic & olive oil then stir and pour over the dish 

6. Add in chopped basil 

7. Place butter pads over the top 

8. Sprinkle with whole wheat bread crumbs on the top 

9. Bake for 35 minutes covered then another 20 uncovered to brown

* I served this over whole wheat cous cous. It tasted even better on the second day so be sure to enjoy the leftovers! 

Chicken Noodle Soup - The Best I Ever Made

Fixate Cookbook - A Girls Best Friend

This past week I got to finally try some new recipes from the much anticipated fixate cookbook. All the ones that we tried last week were amazing but my favorite was the chicken noodle soup recipe. In fact, this is the best chicken noodle soup I have EVER had. My little one was actually the one who picked it from the cookbook to try. He's a die hard soup fan so I was not surprised he picked this one! 

Here are the ingredients you are going to need:

Ingredients 

2 tsp - olive oil 

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cups chopped celery

5 cups of organic chicken broth

2 cups of organic vegetable broth 

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts 

1 1/2 cups sliced organic carrots 

1 tsp dried oregano 

1/2 tsp of pink himalayan sea salt 

1 tsp black pepper

1 1/4 cups of dry whole wheat pasta 

2 chicken bullion cubes 

Directions 

In a stock pot place chicken breasts and broth as well as olive oil - bring to a rolling boil 

Add remaining ingredients and cook until vegetables are tender 

Add pasta, reduce to a lower heat and gently boil for 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat and enjoy! 

He was over the moon excited about his yummy soup!

* Recipe found in the Fixate cookbook and modified slightly* 

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Cauliflower Crust Pizza

YUP... I did it - totally turned a head of cauliflower into a pizza crust. Tricked everyone! 

About to conquer this bad boy! 

I have been wanting to try this all the rage trend for quite some time now and decided this was the week I would give it a shot. My mission was to trick my two boys (my hubby and my son) into thinking this was the real deal and that it was just a new kind of pizza. Much to my surprise it totally worked. I never would have guessed it because my husband and my son are not fans of cauliflower. I remember looking at the giant head of cauliflower thinking there is no way in hell this will taste like a pizza but I went for it anyways. Fooled me that's for sure! I will say this was way more work than using regular pizza dough. It took me about an hour from start to finish to make this meal and I totally made a mess of my kitchen! Check out the recipe and be brave and give it a try! You might just be able to trick your family too! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 head (Small Head) Cauliflower - the one I used was a little big and I did not use all of it.
• ¼ cups Parmesan Cheese
• ¼ cups Mozzarella Cheese
• ¼ teaspoons Pink Salt
• ½ teaspoons Dried Basil
• ½ teaspoons Dried Oregano
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 whole Egg - I like to use brown organic eggs.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

2. Wash cauliflower then trim the off the stems. I mostly just used the heads and left the stems.

3. Place into a food processor and pulse until it is fluffy like snow.

After I used the food processor this is what it looked like.

4. Place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 6 - 8 minutes depending on how hot your microwave gets.

5. Place the cauliflower into a dish towel and hold over the sink. Ring out the dish towel to remove all of the moisture from cauliflower. Be careful you need and oven mitt so you don't burn your hands. I know this step seems bizarre but I promise it works.

Removing out as much moisture as I could

6. Then place what’s left of the cauliflower into a bowl and mix with the egg, cheese, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and oregano and dried basil. Mix together with your hands.

Ingredients You Will Need

7. Roll into a firm ball and place on a greased cookie sheet or pizza dish. A baking stone would be best but I did not have one.

8. Gradually flatten out the ball into a circle that looks like a pizza. Bake for just a few minutes until it looks golden.

Ready to bake

9. Take it out and top it like a pizza. I kept it simple and did sauce and cheese. 

10. Put it back into the oven until the cheese is melted. Remove allow to cool and enjoy!

All baked and ready to eat! 

This won't be as firm as regular pizza is so you will want to plan to eat this one with a fork. Give it a few minutes to cool before cutting it. I was too excited to try it and cut it a bit too soon!

 

Even though he does not look all that amused gave it a thumb's up! 

Baked Oatmeal Cups

Baked Oatmeal Cups 

This past weekend I went on a baking spree. I was in full on Martha Stewart mode. My husband was pretty pumped about all the fancy dinners and fun breakfasts that I made. These oatmeal cups were super easy and tastes great. A little less clean that I would personally like because of the brown sugar but it was a hit with them so that is all that matters. My plans were to make these ahead of time on Sunday so I could pack them for breakfasts at the beginning part of this week! I hope your family loves it as much as we did. 

Ingredients

• 2 eggs

• ¼ cup melted coconut oil

• 1 cup packed organic brown sugar

• ½ cup organic applesauce - no sugar added

• 1½ cups skim milk (or whatever milk you like)

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• ½ tsp. salt

• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• Optional: your favorite toppings (fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper or paper/foil muffin liners.

1. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add the applesauce, milk, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk until well combined. Stir in the oats and baking powder.

1. Fill the muffin tin with ¼ cup of the oat mixture in each muffin cup. Add your favorite toppings. Push the toppings down into the oat mixture with a spoon.

1. Bake for 30 minutes. Let them cool for 5 minutes before eating. Store in an airtight container. 

* We loved the chocolate banana chip combo the best! These were super moist! Made about 18 oatmeal cups. 

Mediterranean Rice Noodle Dinner

Mediterranean Rice Noodle Dinner 

This past summer I had bought the Clean Eats cookbook in effort to find some new clean eating recipes. Most of the time all of our dinner ideas come from Pinterest but I was wanting to change things up this week so I reached for my cookbook. I rarely make dinners without a protein but as we gear up for lent this one seemed to be perfect. It only took about 30 minutes from start to finish to make. This will serve 4. 

Ingredients

1 package of rice noodles

1 lb of vegetable spaghetti - I bought mind at Wegmans but you could shred your own

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1pint of cherry tomatoes 

10 fresh basil leaves 

Zest and juice from 1 lemon 

3 cloves of garlic 

1/2 cup of kalamata olives

1 - 2 teaspoons of sea salt

1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Parmesan cheese for topping 

Some of the ingredients you will need! 

Directions 

Cook rice noodles in a separate pot while you begin to cook the main dish 

In a large skillet warm the olive oil and toss in the vegetable spaghetti 

Add in garlic and tomatoes and cover for about 10 minutes so that the vegetables can soften

Stir occasionally 

Add in the lemon juice, olives and basil 

Once noodles are finished toss them into the mixture. 

Add in salt and pepper as well as the butter 

Portion out and sprinkle with parmesan cheese 

Enjoy! 

Creamy Mashed Cauliflower

A Healthier Alternative to Mashed Potatoes 

Welll I was trying to trick my little one into thinking the the mashed cauliflower was mashed potatoes. I was careful not to let him see the head of cauliflower and even when I was mashing them I said we were having mashed potaotes. Well didn't that little bugger know right away. He took one bite and said "I don't like these potatoes mommy." DARN IT!!! Didn't quite fool him but I myself really did enjoy them. That night when I made them I also made a turkey meatloaf and some plain couscous. He LOVES couscous and I was able to trick him into thinking the turkey meatloaf was the same as a reguar one so I guess thats a mini win for mom. 

I thought it even looked the part, but didn't get it past him! 

This recipe was really simple to make. Here is what you will want to do. 

Ingredients

Stock pot full of salted water

1 head of cauliflower 

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Himilyan sea salt and black pepper to taste

*optional - 1/4 cup of milk 

Directions 

Clean and cut cauliflower head into small sections

Bring salted water to a boil on the stovetop

Add in caulifower - boil until tender 

Using an food processer or mixer add in milk butter and salt and pepper. 

Whip until it has the same consistency as mashed potatoes would 

Enjoy! 

Makes about 4 1 cup servings 

Garlic Chicken Parmesan with Spinich and Bow Tie Pasta

Healthy & Delicious Easy Dinner 

As part of a nutrition habit challenge I am participating in my family and I are striving to include veggies in all of our dinners for the month of February. I have been trying to find new ways to add things in without too many complaints from my boys. This past week I added in spinch with our pasta and it totally worked. Nobody complained and my little one actually loved this meal. He was a huge fan of the bow ties ;) Hope your family loves it as much as ours did! 

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 2 chicken breasts-chopped into bite size pieces
• Sea salt
• ¼-1/2 cups parm cheese
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 box of bow tie pasta 

( I also sprinkeled Herb de Provence in it as well while cooking the chicken) 

Instructions

1. Saute garlic in butter for a minute or two
2. Add chicken pieces, salt, and cook until no longer pink in the middle.
3. Make sure to stir chicken to coat with butter and garlic
4. Add parm cheese and stir until the chicken is coated.
5. Add spinach and cook until wilted
6. Mix in cooked bow tie pasta and toss all together 
7. Top with a hint more of parmesan cheese

Broccoli & Cheese Eggs

Broccoli & Cheese Scrambled Eggs 

Ingredients
6 brown organic eggs
1/4 cup of milk
1 cup of cooked broccoli chopped up
1/4 cup of motzerella cheese (you could use a different type but I prefer motzerella)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions 
Heat & spray a skillet with cooking oil
Crack eggs into a bowl and add in milk
Pour into skillet
Once eggs begin to cook add in broccoli
Finally once eggs are done add in cheese and mix into eggs

Enjoy! This is the only way I can get my little one to eat broccoli right now!

Hearty Winter Chilli

Hearty Winter Chilli 

Lately all we have been craving is warm cozy dinners at our house. This weeks forecast had cold temperatures and some snowflakes in the forecast so we decided it called for some hearty chilli. I combined two recipes to make this one. Some of the recipe was from Beachbody's Turbo Fire Chilli and some of the recipe was from my family recipe for chilli. I wish it didnt have the canned goods in it, but it's certianly better for you than canned chilli! Stay warm and cozy this week and enjoy if you make this one for your family! 

Makes 6- 1 cup servings 
Ingredients 
1 lb. lean ground turkey
½ cup diced tomatoes

8 oz. whole kernel corn, canned
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper diced up
2 cloves garlic
8 oz. black beans, canned
8 oz. kidney beans canned
1 tablespoon of parsley 
1 teaspoon of salt 
1/2 teaspoon of pepper 
1 1/2 tsp of chilli powder 
1 can of tomato soup
1 can of water
Taco Cheese (optional as a topping)

Directions
Brown ground turkey first. After turkey is browned add in the above listed ingredients. Allow to simmer on the stovetop for 1hour - an hour and a half. Top with cheese if you wish! 

Clean Chili Mac

My husband was getting grumpy about all of my clean healthy meals so I decided I needed to set out to find something that he would approve of. I tricked him into loving this clean version of Chili Mac and Cheese.  We absolutely loved it and enjoyed it as leftovers the second day! 

(Makes 9 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground meat 
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 large onion, chopped fine)
•  8 fresh cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, no sugar added, low sodium is best
• 1 cup water
• Whole grain macaroni, cooked to package directions (as much as you like)
• Salt to taste
• Parmesan cheese for garnish
  DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium to large soup pot, cook the meat in the oil.
2. When the meat is about half way cooked, stir in all the spices.
3. When the meat is finished cooking, stir in the pasta and remaining ingredients.
4. Served topped with parmesan cheese.

Cranberry Apple Crisp

Cranberry Apple Crisp

This weekend I was wanted to come up with a fall dessert that not only tasted great but also was mostly “clean.” Here is what I came up with.

In order to like this dish you need to enjoy the flavor of cranberries. I enjoyed the tangy flavor but my husband was wishing it were a bit sweeter. This turned out great as a hot dish but also tasted delicious when I had it as a morning snack today!

It would make a nice side for a Thanksgiving of fall gathering. Here is what you will need:

3 medium to large crisp red apples, peeled and sliced
1 dry pint of fresh cranberries ( I used organic )

1 lemon

¼ cup of brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon
2 cups of old fashioned oats

¼ cup

2 – 3 small pads of butter to put on the top for baking

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the apples and cranberries and pour into an eight inch-square baking dish.

Squeeze lemon over mixture

Sprinkle pumpkin pie seasoning, cinnamon and brown sugar over mixture and stir.

In a small bowl combine oats, flour and another teaspoon of cinnamon as well as pumpkin pie spice. Mix and then coat mixture with this. Add butter pads over the top to be melted into mixture.

Bake for 40 – 45 minutes uncovered until bubbly and fruit is soft.

Serves 4 - 5

Chicken Pineapple Salsa Stir Fry

Chicken Pineapple Salsa Stir Fry 

Ingredients

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts – fat trimmed

3 garlic cloves minced

12 oz of fresh medium salsa

1 can of diced pineapples drained (fresh would be great too but I was low on time when I made this recipe and had some canned pineapple on hand. Typically I would always pick fresh over canned but in a pinch this was easier).

Brown rice

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place into a large skillet to brown

After chicken begins to turn white add in minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste. In a separate pan cook brown rice according to package, I made 2 servings of the rice for this recipe.

After chicken has cooked the whole way thru then add in diced pineapple and the 12 oz of fresh salsa

Cover and let this simmer together for 5 – 8 minutes.

Next add in the cooked rice – mix ingredients together and allow it to “marinate” for a few minutes before serving.

Serves 3 – 4 depending on portion size

Clean Chicken Lo Mein

Clean Eating - Chicken Lo Mein

As always, I hit another Pinterest jackpot. Sometimes it a miss but usually Pinterest is a hit for me. This recipe I found was nothing less than awesome! I am not a huge fan of Chinese foods but I really liked this one. My little one also really enjoyed it as well, which is rather surprising since he is two! Aside from the sodium in the soy sauce this recipe is pretty healthy and very filling. Hope you love it as much as we did!

Ingredients

·  ½ lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks

·  1 - 13.25 to 16 oz. box of linguini or fettuccini pasta, broken in half (I used whole wheat)

·  4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thin 3 inch long strips

·  1 medium red bell pepper, cut in thin 3 inch long strips

·  4 cloves garlic, minced

·  ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce

·  1 teaspoon garlic powder

·  1 teaspoon corn starch

·  1 tablespoon sugar

·  ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

·  4 cups organic chicken broth

·  2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1.     Add the chicken, then the pasta, then the remaining ingredients to a large stockpot and cover. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir and reduce the heat to medium-low.

2.     Cook covered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until most of the liquid is gone and the chicken is cooked through.

3.     Remove the lid and let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Calories: 332 Fat(g): 4.7 Saturated Fat(g): 0.3 Protein(g): 17.6 Carbohydrate(g): 53.9 Fiber(g): 7.2

Flourless Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

Flourless Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

I have no words for this recipe other than WOW! This morning, I wanted to make something different that was on the clean side but also felt like a treat for breakfast. I searched Pinterest for a bit and found a few recipes and went for a hybrid of what I have found. The combo was killer! You have to give it a try and let me know if you agree. Be advised you might want to double the batch. I made this for the first time and it only made 9 – I could have ate nine by myself they were so great!

Ingredients – makes 9 muffins

For the muffins:

·  ½ cup organic cinnamon applesauce ( I used a local farm homeade apple sauce) 

·  ¼ cup cashew butter

·  ½ cup oats

·  1 teaspoon of brown sugar

·  1 egg

·  ½ tsp. vanilla extract

·  2 tsp. cinnamon

·  ½ tsp. baking soda

·  ¼ tsp. salt

·  ⅓ cup raisins

For the streusel topping:

·  2 Tbsp. quick oats

·  1 tsp.  brown sugar

·  1 tsp. coconut oil

·  ¼ tsp. cinnamon

Directions 

1.    Preheat oven to 375F and prepare a muffin pans with muffin / cupcake wrappers. I used a pretty one just for something fun. These were also more on the petite side.

2.   Next, prepare the streusel topping by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

3.   Add all muffin ingredients except for raisins to a high-speed blender in the order listed and blend on high until oats are broken down and batter is smooth and creamy. Stir in raisins by hand.

4.   I used a cookie scoop to portion each serving out into the muffin wrappers.

5.   Then you will want to bake this for 15 minutes, or until the tops of your muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before removing.