Friday Night “Fake-Out”: Homemade Pizza

Every Friday night, my fiancé and I like to celebrate the arrival of the weekend by ordering some takeout. Most of the time, this means eating pizza – either from a local shop or by heating a frozen pizza in the oven. While this isn’t the healthiest option, it is one of my “cheat meals” and weekly traditions I most look forward to, and life is all about moderation, after all.

But lately, I’ve been modifying this Friday night treat and making it healthier – by making it myself. This way, I know all of the ingredients I’m eating – the fresher, the better!

I recently purchased 100% whole wheat pizza crust from Boboli, which means I’m starting my base of the pizza already on a much healthier note. Usually, the nutritional downfalls of pizza are thick, white crust with lots of calories and no filling fiber, so this solves that dilemma.

Then, I top it with tons of fresh veggies and turkey pepperoni, and voila! Delicious pizza, in about 10 minutes or less, and much healthier than what I’m accustomed to. One of my favorite parts about this is that my fiancé can make his half however he prefers (i.e. meat lovers’ style) and I can make my half with all the veggies and turkey pepperoni I prefer. That’s a win/win in my book!

Ingredients:

• 12” 100% whole wheat thin pizza crust (I like Boboli brand)
• Organic tomato sauce
• Salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to taste
• A few handfuls of shredded cheese (I prefer low fat mozzarella)
• Turkey pepperoni
• Any veggies you have on hand: onions, broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, etc.

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to around 420 degrees, or what your pizza crust packaging suggests.
2. Spread tomato sauce onto your prepared crust, and season with a bit of salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
3. Top with cheese, veggies and turkey pepperoni (or the toppings you prefer).
4. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, and enjoy once out of the oven and cool enough to bite into.

Black Bean Summer Salad

Every other month or so, my fiancé and I try to use up some of the cans that have been sitting in our pantry. It’s a great way to not only make the most of what you have on hand, but also cut down on spending at the grocery store. Something I seem to always have in my pantry is canned beans – whether it be black beans (like in this case), chick peas, red kidney beans, or any other variety.

This was the inspiration behind my bean summer salad I’m sharing with you today. This salad makes a perfect side, or it can even be served as a main entrée type of salad. The best part is, it’s so versatile! You can throw just about any veggies and beans in the mix, and it will still taste delicious.

I also like to use up the bean salad leftovers the next day for lunch by tossing a can of tuna (in water, drained), and shaking up a container so it’s a tuna-based bean salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of beans, your choice (I used no salt added black beans)
• 1 cucumber
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• ½ avocado
• 2 scallions (could also use 1/2 red onion)
• Two handfuls of crumbled low fat feta cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Chop all veggies into bite size pieces. Wash and strain canned beans.
2. Toss all veggies, feta cheese, and beans into a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice (note: can increase or decrease the amount of olive oil and lemon juice, pending on how much dressing you prefer).
3. Mix well until dressing is incorporated throughout. Enjoy! Suggested serving size: 1 cup

 

21 Day Fix Tally: I would count a one cup serving as ½ green, 1 yellow, and 1 teaspoon. I use very minimal avocado in my salad, but if using a whole avocado (as opposed to the half listed here), please account for a blue container, as well.

Healthy Avocado Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is a summer classic. Whether you’re at a cookout or simply looking for a cold sandwich to make for lunch, it’s a go-to favorite packed with flavor. Unfortunately, traditional versions of chicken salad are also packed with calories and fat – since it’s mostly mayo-based.

This weekend, I decided to lighten up the classic chicken salad by using my favorite mayo replacement – Greek yogurt! It worked wonders; in fact, my fiancé, who is usually pretty picky about food, even enjoyed it, not knowing there was yogurt as a base. The secret here is the avocado that was also used – making it creamy and satisfying, just like the chicken salad we are all used to!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 avocado, mashed
• ½ onion, grated
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Fresh lime juice from half of a lime
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Boil chicken breasts. Once cooked, pulse through a food processor to shred the chicken. Refrigerate to cool.
2. In the food processor, grate half an onion very finely. Then, in a bowl, mash up a whole avocado. (Tip: I like to use the Pampered Chef Mix N Chop utensil – makes it super easy to mash anything!)
3. Once the chicken is cooled, combine the mashed avocado, grated onion and all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Scoop on top of your salad or enjoy on some wheat bread for the perfect sandwich!

21 Day Fix Tally: 1 red, 1 blue for a scoop of chicken salad (which should be about the size of your red container)

Homemade Sriracha Fish Sticks

I love spicy foods. Hot sauce, sriracha, jalapeno peppers – you name the spice, and I’ve likely cooked with it! So when I spotted these Blue Diamond Bold Almonds in a NEW Sriracha flavor, I knew that they’d not only make the perfect spicy snack, but would also be great incorporated into a healthy weeknight dinner.

Luckily for me, my dad is a fisherman, so I’m regularly provided with the freshest fish around! This week, we had some monkfish that I was dying to play around with, so I instantly thought homemade fish sticks would make the perfect pairing with the Blue Diamond Sriracha flavored almonds.

So I got to deboning my fish – which, let me tell you, is no easy task. Here’s a quick YouTube video if you’ve never deboned a fish before. Feel free to use whatever fish you have on hand – halibut would be nice here too, in my opinion.

Once you have boneless fish fillets ready to go, it’s time to start cooking! Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients (serves 4):

• Boneless fish fillets – I used monkfish (see deboning video link above)
• 1 tin of Blue Diamond Bold Sriracha Almonds
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Spray a oven safe baking pan with your nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut fish fillets into sticks. Season fish sticks with a bit of salt and pepper.
3. In a food processor, pulse the sriracha almonds until a flour like consistency is formed. Transfer crumbs to a tray.
4. Beat two eggs in a dish. Then, take your seasoned fish sticks and coat them in the egg.
5. Once drenched in egg, coat your fish sticks in the almond crumbs. Ensure that all sides of the fish sticks are covered.
6. Place on your pan, and into the preheated oven it goes for approximately 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

21 Day Fix Tally: Fixers – using almond as a breading is a GREAT alternative if you’re out of yellow containers for the day. I’d count one serving of this as 1 blue (for the nuts, to be safe); 1 red (fish). There was minimal egg batter, so I don’t think you need to count that as another red.

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds.

Strawberry Protein Pancakes

When weekend mornings roll around, I like to mix up my usual grab-and-go protein shake routine and spend a few extra minutes whipping up guilt-free, yet super tasty protein pancakes. If you look on Pinterest, you’ll probably find a million different ways to make protein pancakes, and trust me, it feels like I’ve tried them all.

So, I wanted to share my all-time favorite, go-to protein pancake with you all. The batch I made over Memorial Day weekend was the tastiest yet – thanks to the addition of fresh strawberries and my “secret ingredient,” Almond Breeze’s Hint of Honey Vanilla almond milk.

At just 60 calories per serving, the Hint of Honey Vanilla almond milk adds creamy, rich depth to the pancake batter, but without sacrificing one’s waistline. It gave it just a hint of sweetness, which was great because it helped cut back on syrup afterwards.

If you don’t have this type of almond milk on hand, any milk should work just fine. Similarly, if you don’t have fresh strawberries, feel free to use blueberries, raspberries, or even make these plain (still delicious, I promise!).

Ingredients (for 1 serving, 4 mini pancakes):

• ½ banana, mashed
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• ¼ cup egg whites
• Sprinkle of cinnamon, to taste
• 1 tablespoon of almond milk – I used Almond Breeze’s Hint of Honey Vanilla
• Fresh strawberries, optional
• All natural agave syrup as a topping, optional

Directions:

1. Mash ½ of a ripe banana in a bowl, until a thick puree forms.
2. Add protein powder, cinnamon, egg whites, and almond milk. Stir well, until a pancake batter consistency is achieved.
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Drop in a SMALL ladle-full of the batter. Cook on one side for about 3-4 minutes, and flip. Repeat until the remainder of the batch is cooked.
4. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and sliced strawberries. Enjoy!

Note: The first pancake will take longer to cook, as the pan is just heating up. Pancakes made towards the end will only take about a minute on each side.

21 Day Fix Tally: These protein pancakes should be counted as 1 purple and 1.5 red containers. If drizzling peanut butter on top, please factor in 2 tablespoons.

This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze almond milk.

Honey Dijon Crusted Chicken Cordon Bleu

One of my favorite go-to snacks are nuts – especially almonds. Blue Diamond has a line of bold flavored almonds that satisfy just about every craving I’m having. For example, when I’m wanting something smoky and BBQ-esque, they have Smokehouse flavored almonds; sweet cravings call for Toasted Coconut or Honey Cinnamon flavored almonds. They hit the spot without sacrificing my waist line, so I like to keep a tub or two in my office desk drawer at all times.

But when I spotted these Bold Honey Dijon almonds by Blue Diamond (which were so delicious as is), I knew I wanted to incorporate them into a dinner dish. I immediately paired the mustardy flavor with a favorite of mine – prosciutto – and so the following take on chicken cordon bleu happened. And perhaps the best part of this dish is that it was served on the table in less than 30 minutes. Hello weeknight meal! My family loved it so much that it has been added to our “regular rotation” – or our list of favorites that we have at least once a month.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 eggs
• 1 6 oz. can of Blue Diamond Bold Honey Dijon Almonds
• 6 slices of thinly sliced prosciutto
• Cheese of your choice (I used cheddar)
• Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Spray a nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Butterfly your chicken breasts so that one breast makes two thin pieces. With a hammer, pound each chicken cutlet to make them even thinner. Salt and pepper your chicken.
3. Place one slice of prosciutto and some cheese on top of each chicken piece, then roll the chicken to create a spiral piece.
4. In a food processor, pulse your Blue Diamond Honey Dijon almonds until they are fine crumbs. Place the almond crumble in a shallow dish.
5. Beat your two eggs in another shallow dish and place near the almond crumble, to form an assembly line.
6. Dip your chicken in the egg, then coat in the almond crumble. Place on your baking sheet, seam side down. Spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray and bake about 25-30 minutes.

21 Day Fix Tally: I would count this as 1 blue (almond crumble and cheese); 1 red (chicken/prosciutto or ham).

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds.

It’s That Time of Year: Tone It Up Bikini Series

Today begins the first day of the Tone It Up Bikini Series, an annual 8 week free fitness challenge that will get you ready to rock that two piece as soon as summer arrives. I (loosely) followed this challenge last year, and it definitely helped me lose some weight in time for the warmer months. So this year, I’m trying it again and am also going to put 100 percent into it – doing it by the book!

The Bikini Series is free – all you have to do is visit ToneItUp.com and check out the Weekly Schedule each week. There, the trainers – Karena and Katrina – will post a week’s worth of workouts that you can complete at home, at the gym, or even while traveling (hotel stairs make for a great workout, FYI). Of course, Tone It Up members who pay for the program get added tools and tips to stay on track, but for the most part, there is no cost involved and the workouts range in levels, so even beginners can take part in the fun. Hooray!

This is just the challenge I was looking for. It’s always good to switch up your fitness routine, so just as my body was getting accustomed to the 21 Day Fix Extreme workouts (which were a KILLER), along come the Tone It Up girls – perfect timing.

On Day 1 of the Bikini Series, Karena and Katrina ask each challenger to map out 5 of their goals during this program (#TIUintentions). This got me thinking, what are my intentions? After a brainstorm, I hope to achieve the following:

1. To complete the ENTIRE series, 100 percent.
2. To limit weekend splurges. Yes, I will still have my cheat meals, but just not during the entire Karena and Katrina say that if you spent Friday – Sunday cheating, that can make up for half of the eight weeks in the end – YIKES!
3. Wake up at least three times per week to get my workout in. I just feel so much more energized when I fit in a workout during the morning – but the hardest part is waking up. Karena and Katrina of Tone It Up like to call morning workouts your “bootycall” – so clever.
4. #150bySummer – yep, 150 miles during the 8 weeks. I GOT THIS!
5. To run a 10k again. I ran my first one last year, and it felt AMAZING. Time to get back into training mode so I can achieve this again.

 

Lastly, to keep on track, I prepared these DELICIOUS salads for the week. Want to make them yourself? Here’s what you’ll need:

• Romaine lettuce
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Red onion
• Raisins
• Toasted walnuts, chopped
• Light feta cheese
• Grilled chicken
• Balsamic and EVOO, whisked together

I am so excited to have these for lunch this week. Here’s to an amazing 8 weeks ahead, Tone It Up ladies. Can’t wait to see all of the before and after pictures, and most importantly, for all the summer fun ahead!

Peanut Butter Bars, using Almond Breeze Almond Milk

There is nothing better than the smell of freshly baked sweets coming out of the oven. And just because you’ve embarked on a healthy lifestyle, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the smell – or taste – of a gooey, delicious treat. In fact, there are so many clean eating substitutions you can make when baking – for example, substitute oats/oat flour for white flour, or Almond Breeze almond milk for whole milk or cream.

That’s exactly what my new cookbook, “Dashing Dish: 100 Simple and Delicious Recipes for Clean Eating,” has taught me – eating healthy doesn’t mean I have to stop having sweets. I do, however, need to be cognizant of the ingredients in such treats and go from there. So, with a fresh, new package of Almond Breeze almond milk, I was inspired to make these delicious peanut butter bars.

Here’s what you’ll need for about 8 bars, made in a 9×9 inch baking pan:

Adapted from “Dashing Dish: 100 Simple and Delicious Recipes for Clean Eating,” by Katie Farrell

• ½ cup unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup mashed banana
• 1 egg
• 1 cup oats
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda or baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 packets of stevia (optional)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (or any flavor on hand)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Soften your peanut butter by placing it in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. Then, combine the peanut butter and all other ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until you have a smooth, lump-free batter, and pour that batter into your pan.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cool and then cut into 8 bars. You can wrap these in plastic wrap and store the bars in the fridge for the week. Grab and go when you’re on your way out the door! They need to be kept in the refrigerator for no longer than a week, given the fresh ingredients that go into them.

One bar has about 177 calories, 9 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbs, 13 grams of protein

21 Day Fix Tally: I would count 1 bar as 1 yellow container, 1 red container, and 2 tsp. This may seem like a lot of containers for just one bar, but they are very filling and make a great breakfast, accompanied with a piece of fruit. YUM!

This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze Almond Milk.

Brownie Batter Overnight Oats

I recently raved about overnight oats in a blog post, but weeks later, I’m still needing my oats fix at least twice a week. It’s the perfect way to satisfy a sweet tooth while watching what you eat – that’s right, 100 percent guilt-free!

And since I’m the world’s biggest chocolate lover, I knew I had to try a brownie batter-inspired overnight oats recipe, courtesy of the Dashing Dish. I tweaked it a bit to make it more friendly for those on the 21 Day Fix, but I love the Dashing Dish for her creative, delicious, and still nutritious breakfast ideas.

I also like to top my oats with fruit, so for this specific brownie batter recipe, I thought some sliced banana would perfectly complement the oats. Feel free to use fresh berries, or get creative with slivered almonds or other types of nuts.

Ingredients (makes two mason jars’ worth):

• ½ cup water and ½ cup skim or almond milk, combined to make 1 cup
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 tablespoons of chocolate protein powder (but any flavor could work well, too)
• 1 packet stevia (optional)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. You may need a whisk or spatula for this, as the batter will be very thick at first stir.
2. Divide into two mason jars, and cover the jars. Refrigerate for two hours or more.

21 Day Fix Tally: I counted a jar as 1 red and 1 yellow container. If topping with fruit, be sure to count a purple container, as well.

Skinny Black Bean Sliders

The Super Bowl was this past weekend, and as a Massachusetts resident, I was pretty pumped to see the Patriots take home the championship. The Friday prior to the big game, my office held a potluck where we were all encouraged to bring in our favorite game day foods.

I immediately thought – SLIDERS! But the only caveat was – the food couldn’t contain any form of meat or poultry, to please all employees’ taste buds.

So that week, I turned to The Skinnytaste Cookbook – which has been my Bible as of late – and scoured the vegetarian section. I found Skinnytaste’s Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Mayonnaise, and realized this would be a cool, healthy, and equally as delicious take on the traditional all beef slider.

On a hot toasted slider bun, smothered with spicy, creamy Dijon sauce from my last post, and topped with cheese and lettuce for that classic burger look, these were a hit and something I’ll definitely be making again for myself.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz can black beans, rinsed, drained and dried well
• ½ of a red or green bell pepper
• 3 chopped scallions
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp all spice or cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• ½ cup of oats (quick or traditional)
• Toppings of your choice: slider buns, lettuce, cheese, etc.

Directions:

1. Open your can of beans, rinse, and dry well. You don’t want extra moisture here. Mash up the beans with a fork or Pampered Chef Mix N Chop, to create a thick paste. Set aside.
2. Throw bell pepper, scallions and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. In a bowl, combine the chopped mixture with oats, egg and spices. Stir this in with the mashed beans from step 1.
3. Using a 1/3 measuring cup, create eight slider patties and place them onto a baking sheet covered with wax paper. If it looks too wet, throw it in the refrigerator for about half an hour. From there, freeze the patties for at least two hours (I froze them overnight).
4. Sauté frozen sliders on a lightly sprayed skillet on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side. Skinnytaste says you can also bake in the oven at 375° on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Serve on your favorite bun and with your favorite toppings. This can also make a great meal for Meatless Mondays!

21 Day Fix Tally: One small slider alone should be counted as 1 yellow container, to account for the oats and beans in the mixture. If enjoying this with a wheat bun, count that as a yellow too – or try a lettuce bun to get a green in!