Quick and Easy Watermelon Frozen Yogurt Pops

I have been toying with the idea of getting popsicle molds for a while. And I look at some. And add them to my Amazon cart. And delete them from my Amazon cart and figure I will just wait and get some when I need them.

Well I recently moved into an area where the ice cream truck comes multiple times a day. Playing it's Pied Piper music that drives my four year old to the place where she has to have a popsicle or she is going to lose it. (She is just slightly dramatic.) And since we weren't even close to summer when this started happening, I figured I needed to bit the bullet and finally commit to some ice pop molds.

And in my best fashion, I continued to put it off. We found ourselves in mid-July when I finally gave in and ordered some molds. And then a few weeks later I ordered another set because they were awesome. And I was kicking myself for waiting that long in the first place.

The molds we ended up with were FoodWorks Silicone Popsicle Molds and I fell in love with them for a few reasons.

• They weren't a drippy mess. I had visions of my four year old coming in the house or standing in my kitchen with popsicle goo dripping on my floors and down the front of here. With these, even if she takes forever to eat them they are a squeezy tube. No drippy messes.

• The caps seal really well. I was a little bit afraid to just stick the cap on and throw them into the freezer on their sides or wherever I could stick them. But no problems. And B can recap hers, stick it back in the freezer and finish it another day (that doesn't typically happen but at least its an option.)

• I can stick them anywhere I want in the freezer. I don't need to have space for a stand or holder or a flat area where they need to be chilled so they don't spill everywhere. 

• Dishwasher safe. Enough said. 

For the past month we have been playing with recipes. This one is my absolute favorite. 

Watermelon Lime Yogurt Pops

What you need:

2 cups of cubed watermelon

3/4 cup greek yogurt* 

Juice of 2 limes (about 1 TBS)

Sweetener of choice to taste**

Blend it all together. Pour into popsicle molds. Freeze and enjoy! 

* to make them dairy free I have also used coconut milk yogurt

**I used about a tablespoon of raw honey to sweeten ours

21 Day Fix Conversion: (For 2 popsicles)

2/3 Purple

1/3 Red 

1/2 Teaspoon (if using honey)

(Truthfully...there is so little greek yogurt per serving that I tend to not count it. Especially if I only have one. Because 1/6 of that container is like an extra bite of chicken. I would be a little more concerned if it was something I ate everyday.) 

Fixate - Another 21 Day Fix Tool for Success

One of the biggest challenges many of my clients come to me with when doing the 21 Day Fix or the Fix Extreme is recipes. And I know I have struggled with this as well. I have clocked many hours in the kitchen trying to fit my standby recipes into those Fix containers. Many times they end up being a big old failure but sometimes they totally rock. Either way it still adds up to lots of time in the kitchen. Now that I am juggling two kiddos my time to devote to such activities has been cut way
way down.

I was super pleased to wake up this morning to an announcement that will really change the game when it comes to the 21 Day Fix (and take A LOT of the work out of meal planning.) Autumn is coming out with a cookbook to work with the 21 Day Fix. She has taken 101 of her family recipes and made them container friendly. AND there are recipes in there that are vegan, vegetarian, paleo, and gluten free. 

"This book is for everybody," says Autumn. "You don't have to be graduates of 21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix EXTREME^®. You also don't have to be a chef or great in the kitchen. It's for anyone who wants to make healthier versions of the foods they love."  In addition to all of the recipes, Autumn also included a detailed checklist for her must-have kitchen and pantry staples, as well as the basic utensils and tools that every cook needs. So if you aren't familiar with cooking at home, this is a great tool to add to your healthy eats arsenal. 

Fixate will include sections for breakfast lunch and dinner, as well as snacks, desserts and even some Shakeology recipes. For a free sneak peek at some of the recipes click here.

Can't wait to get your hands on it? Fixate is going to be available mid-July.

Can it get any better?

Of course it can! Purchase one of the following from me this month and I will send you a FREE copy of Autumn's cookbook once it is released.

• 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack
• 21 Day Fix Kickstart Challenge Pack
• 21 Day Fix Extreme Challenge Pack
• 21 Day Fix Extreme Kickstart Challenge Pack

• OR sign up as a coach with ANY challenge pack

To join my June 21 Day Fix accountability group fill out the application below. 

Preseason begins begins June 22st with our official kick off date on June 29. I will be providing accountability, meal prep tips and tricks, recipes and MY 21 Day Fix and Fix Extreme meal plans including a 7 day Countdown to Competition plan.

I am so excited to help you achieve your goals! 

Fill out my online form.

Online contact and registration forms from Wufoo.

Turkey Quinoa Enchilada Bake with Homemade Enchilada Sauce (in a slow cooker!)

It is one of my 2015 goals to start running a free group every month on Facebook. One that will focus on health in various ways. Providing support and meal planning and sharing recipes and other things I have learned so far on this journey to being the healthiest, awesomest me I can be.

So to kick it all off, this month I am doing a Rock your Crock group. It is a ten day crash course on clean eating with the focus being on crock pot meals....because (as I have admitted many times in the past) I am a lazy cook and the crock pot is my dream come true.

Walking in the door late from coaching cheer practice or a busy day out and about, it is nice to have dinner ready to go. And with so many of the recipes being of the dump in the crock pot and turn it on variety, it has really become my very favorite appliance.

So today I am bringing you a really yummy recipe that fit the bill for my I want Mexican food cravings. I wouldn't say it is a "true" crock pot recipe as you can't really throw it all together and leave the house for the entire day (it only took 2 hours for mine to be done) BUT there is something to be said for the fact that you don't' even have to turn on the oven. And what I can do with the 2-3 hours it is in the crock pot vs the 30-40 minutes it is in the oven. But it is nice to have a quicker option in case you need to get dinner on the table faster.

Because I do think this would also make an awesome casserole. I would probably bake it at 350 for 30-45 minutes, add the cheese and then bake until the cheese is melted. I would also make sure the quinoa is cooked first, eliminating the extra water.

For this recipe I also made my own enchilada sauce. I had no idea what was in enchilada sauce and how to make it but after about 30 seconds of research I found tons of recipes. And they were so easy. So easy. Add this to the list of things I will probably never buy again because the homemade version is easier and better. Plus in the way I always tend to do things fashion, I was missing some of the ingredients so I subbed what was in my fridge and things still turned out pretty great. You've got to love when that happens.

So here is what I did:


1 lb ground turkey (or you can skip this to make it vegetarian friendly)
1 can rinsed black beans
1 can corn (or you can use frozen corn - about 1 cup)
1 1/2 cups rinsed quinoa
1 sweet bell pepper
2 cups fresh salsa
1/2 large onion (red or sweet) minced
1 cup water
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried cilantro
1 go of homemade enchilada sauce (or 1 can)

Plus any toppings you like. For us this included limes, shredded cheese, avocado and fresh cilantro. You may want to add plain greek yogurt (a great protein packed sub for sour cream), minced green onion or anything else you like in or on your enchiladas.

** optional add ins: chili powder, small diced jalapeno, chilis

You can also add some spicy. I can't do spicy and I like to make my meals preschooler friendly so I allow my husband to add his own spicy-ness level which works out really well for us.


First melt about a teaspoon of coconut oil in a skillet and brown the turkey. (I seasoned with a little salt and pepper.)

Then put everything into the crock pot. Turn it onto high. Cook for 2-3 hours or until all the liquid is gone and the turkey is cooked through.


Easy Peasy.

I served mine over a mixed green salad with cilantro lime vinaigrette (which is pretty much my favorite dressing of all time.) And it was awesome.

Mocha Mint Shakeology

Somehow when my hubby and I are living in the same house and sharing our shakeology....we can't quite seem to figure it out. At first it seems like we have a TON and are on shakeology overload. So I play with the shipping dates. Then the next thing I know, we are running really low so I panic and play with the shipping dates again.

And we are left with mornings like this one.....

Not even a scoop left in the bag and tracking the next shipment.

I pretty much always have packets laying around for occasions such as this (and they make traveling really easy.) But all that I have left at the moment is the vegan chocolate. And I kind of hate the vegan chocolate.

I mean it's okay. I needs some doctoring in my opinion. It is kind of gritty and chalky (**Beachbody has actually reformulated the vegan flavors to make them less gritty. I have yet to get my hands on the new formula. So I will update once I get to sample those.) But this is nothing that can't be fixed with a half a banana or a tablespoon of nut butter. It smooths it right out and makes it taste all chocolatey and delicious.

I came up with this little recipe this morning to make my chocolate vegan shakeology taste like a super yummy treat. And I had some mint leaves in the fridge that needed to be used up. Chocolate and mint together is awesomeness. Throw in some coffee and who needs Starbucks?

Making my Grandma's Meatloaf 21 Day Fix approved!

I don't eat a lot of meat. And I refuse to eat the soy substitutes that offer themselves up willingly as meat alternatives. It is just not my thing. After being on the 21 Day Fix for two weeks, I have found myself eating more meat than I typically do. (That and a ton of eggs.) Like so many things, there is an emphasis on protein and veggies. And despite the fact that there is protein in beans and quinoa....those things still fall into the category of complex carb. So I am left with trying to fill my red container with things I like eating (so not chicken.)

I do love my grandma's meatloaf recipe and despite it's tastiness, it is not the healthiest thing you can eat (which probably explains a lot.) But we are Pennsylvania Dutch in descent and I was raised with grandparents that believe in eating meat and dairy and fresh produce from the garden. And really, that isn't that bad of a belief system. If it is all about eating real food then this totally qualifies. I usually save making her meatloaf for a holiday or other special occasion. So as this was cooking it really smelled like something special....like Christmas. It made me all warm and fuzzy inside.

All warm and fuzzy feelings aside, I knew in order to have it fit into my ratio (which is kind of how the fix is set up....) I had to make it over a little bit. So I painstakingly cut the ketchup (except for a teeny tiny squirt on top) and cut back on the cheese. I also cooked it in muffin tins so it was immediate portion control. (And let me tell you I squealed with delight when two of my little meatloaf muffins fit in that container!)

So here is what I did:

2 lbs lean grass fed beef
1 cup cheese cubed* (I used sharp cheddar)
2 eggs- beaten
1 small onion diced
1/2 cup finely diced mushrooms
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ground mustard
coconut oil
Ketchup (preferably Heinz and organic)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tins well. (I used coconut oil)

Take a teaspoon of coconut oil and heat in a large skillet. Add diced onions and mushrooms (and any other veggie you would like to add - like peppers) saute for a few minutes and remove from heat. Allow to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste, mustard, Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.

In a large bowl mix together the beef, eggs, cheese cubes and sauteed veggies. (Just suck it up and use your hands. Gross but it works so much better.) Once well mixed add the tomato paste mixture and keep mixing until well combined.

Spoon into muffin tins.
.

Squirt a teeny tiny squiggle of ketchup on top (or completely skip this step, but seriously the cooked ketchup on top is worth a little cheat.)

Cook for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

And dinner is on the table.

I love that it only takes these little guys a fraction of time to cook as the big meatloaf in the bread pan (which takes an hour and half to cook.) And of course they are way cuter. Eating tiny size food is super fun (and my preschooler loves it as well. She is so much more likely to eat mini anything.)

21 Day Fix Container Conversion:

1 Red 
1 Blue
1/2 Green
1 teaspoon (oil)
_________________________________________________________________________________

*Do not cheat this and use shredded cheese. So not as good. Not even worth having cheese in it at that point!

Spaghetti Squash Casserole (and how using what you have can turn into amazing!)

I've been playing a game lately that has really challenged me creatively. It's called use up all the food in your freezer and garage (I have squash hanging out in the garage from my farm share this fall. Thanks to the freezing winter we've had, it has all kept really well! And a ton of soup frozen in my freezer.) I don't want to wait until summer to try and get through this stuff. If we are being honest here, soup in the summer is kind of awful! And I want to make the most of what I have -- less clutter, less storage of stuff. I am adopting a use it up or donate it to someone who can use it mantra this year. And it starts with my freezer (and helps lower my grocery bill!)

Last nights dinner was made with spaghetti squash from the garage, spaghetti sauce from the pantry (yes I use jarred spaghetti sauce - total cheater and a little bit lazy) and some frozen ground beef from a half a cow my mom bought and had butchered this fall. (But you could totally leave out the meat and serve this as a side dish too!) Using-up-what-I-have success! Of course the cheese and other veggies I grabbed at the store. Here's what I did:

SERVINGS: 6

1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeds removed
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
1 lb ground meat (I used ground beef but turkey would work too!)
1 sm onion, chopped

1 tsp dried basil1 tomato, chopped1 pepper, diced1 carrot, shredded1 c feta cheese2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I also reserved a little bit for on top!) 16 ounces tomato sauce1/4 c chopped parsley (used dried)

Directions
1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Coat a 13" x 9" baking dish and a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place the squash, cut side down, on the sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a sharp knife. With a fork, scrape the squash strands into a large bowl.



2. MEANWHILE, warm the oil in a medium skillet set over medium heat. Cook the ground meat until cooked through. Drain and place cooked meat in bowl. 

3.  Add the onion and basil. (Add a little more oil if necessary.) Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add remaining veggies. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mixture is dry.

4. ADD the feta cheese, mozzarella, parsley, sauce and veggie mixture to the bowl with the squash. Stir to mix. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and bread crumbs.

5. BAKE for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and heated through.

You can also top it with some fresh grated parmesan cheese for a little zing! Yay dinner! 

Possibly The Easiest Broccoli Soup Ever (or pureed soup heaven)

I used to think I hated soup. Not really my thing. The cooked carrots in soup made me gag and I just can't handle the texture most veggies have after swimming around in broth for such a long period of time. But now I have to renege because I have discovered that pureed soup is my jam. I am obsessed.  Give me a veggie, some stock and my immersion blender and I will make it happen.

I had some kohlrabi in my fridge. And I love kohlrabi (super weird I know) but my grandpa used to grow it. Every summer I looked forward to getting some from his garden (along with a ton of sweet corn). I would just cut and eat it raw. Yummy, awesome goodness.  

Kohlrabi is also a super nutrient dense food (meaning it has a ton of stuff that is great for you for not that many calories.) It is rich in vitamin C and some B vitamins too. According to fitday.com it contains "vitamin B6, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid and folate. B vitamins play a role in increasing metabolic rates and maintaining healthy skin and hair." Seriously, I didn't need an excuse to love the stuff but anything that helps my metabolism goes straight to the top of my favorite list. They are like the teachers' pets of all the veggies out there. Gold stars all the way.


And, of course, broccoli is pretty awesome too. So this recipe is a win, win. Easy, fast, healthy and yummy (I may or may not start salivating when I think about it.)

Since soup has become my dumping ground for random veggies, I decided to take some inspiration from a broccoli soup recipe I found online and just modify it a little bit. It may be the best soup I’ve ever made (either that or I am just getting better with practice.)

Here is what I did –

2 boxes of veggie stock

2 heads of broccoli

2 large kohlrabi

1 sweet onion

TBS (or so) olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

I cooked the onion and kohlrabi in the bottom of the pot with some olive oil until the onion started to become translucent. I added the stock and the chopped up broccoli and brought it to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Let it cool and blend.

So it turns out kind of like a cream of broccoli soup sans dairy. Of course it isn’t as creamy as the real thing without the help of some type of dairy. If you aren’t avoiding dairy completely (or need a little something to make you feel like you are cheating) you can grate some parmesan on top or even add a little goat cheese. 

On a side note the original recipe called for just using water, boiling the broccoli in it, putting the broccoli in a blender and slowly adding the water back in until the soup was the desired constancy (You can check out the recipe I used for inspiration here.) I like stock and the flavor it gives it so I used stock. And if you don't have kohlrabi, skip it. Add a potato. Whatever. Just another reason I love making soup! It is hard to mess up. A great way to use up veggies that are (rapidly) heading toward their expiration date. And it is super easy to double or triple the batch, freeze and pull out on a freezing night -- like tonight-- or a day where getting a cooked meal on the table will just not happen. Heat and eat. Whoot!

What Can You Do in 7 Days?

I had a little baby brain storm over the weekend as I was shopping for matte top coat online. I knew it would probably work and I would probably like it but I really wanted to try it first. Returning it via mail (and opened) would be such a pain if I hated it -- even though I knew I could return it and get my
money back. So what was stopping me was the convenience of being able to try it first with no commitment (which was soon solved with a trip to the mall.)

I have been talking about how much I love Shakeology for months now and I know a lot of people that want to try it but are hesitant to order it. It is a big commitment and even though there is a 30 day money back guarantee -- sometimes returning something (and a trip to the post office) can be a huge pain. So why not make it easy?

I decided to do a 7 day Shakeology mini-group. So what does this mean?

You get --

7 days of Shakeology
7 days of clean (and easy) dinner recipes
7 days of Shakeology recipes
7 days of motivation to get your body moving

and maybe some prizes and other stuff thrown in there too....It is the week after my birthday so I will be feeling super generous.

It's just a week....what can you accomplish in a week?

Send me a message or email to scyobe@gmail.com if you are interested!

Fourth of July - Cleaning up Grandma's Freezer Slaw

Happy Fourth! 

I love the Fourth.

I love that the good old colors of the USA can be represented in things with fresh berries. I love that John (typically) doesn't have to work and can come home from wherever he is. Plus we have fireworks, beer, playing outside, grilling and more beer. What isn't to love?

In an effort to bring something a little more healthy to the table this year, I am taking my very favorite coleslaw recipe and cleaning it up by replacing the sugar with honey. I am also mixing in some broccoli slaw with the cabbage so at least there are some extra veggies in there.

Now I am not a creamy dressing girl. On anything, coleslaw included. I love me a good vinegar based coleslaw dressing - just like my Grandma made it.

Now my Grandma's recipe calls for 4 cups of sugar! 4 cups! That is a ton of sugar. When I was google searching vinegar based coleslaw for some other options, I didn't really find anything that would be close to the same. I was torn. Do I chalk it up to a "treat" and just go with it the way it is or do I experiment? Since I have been playing around with recipes (while standing on my soap box preaching about healthy eating) I decided it was in everyone's best interest to clean it up.

And I cheated and bought pre cut cabbage. I hate the cutting part and with the travel this weekend

So here is what I did:

1 bag angel hair shredded cabbage
2 bags of broccoli slaw

And those get dumped in my big travel bowl

 1/2 cup honey*
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed

Combine all these ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add to the cabbage while hot.

Refrigerate or freeze and thaw before serving.

*I played with the honey and didn't really measure it. I mixed everything up in a large pyrex measuring cup to make sure I got all the honey whisked in with the vinegar. The lowest measuremtne was 1 cup. I I tried to eyeball half a cup, but I think it was a little less. I whisked, tasted and added another large squeeze of honey. This did leave my dressing with some bite.

I did consider not cooking the dressing to help keep the health benefits of the honey & apple cider vinegar in tact. However, my love for wilty lettuce won that battle. I love how the hot dressing "cooks" the cabbage a little bit. The slaw still has a lot of bite and crunch but that little bit of heat makes it just a little wilty. (I seriously have a wilty lettuce obsession, borderline problem.) Plus the apple cider vinegar I had was pasteurized so it was already heated anyway. Some say the heating process destroys the benefits, some say it doesn't. It's another one of those health arguments that makes my head spin.

I did use apple cider vinegar because I like the taste it brings and just in case any of those enzymes that are so good for you aren't destroyed (it's like a bonus!) The orginal recipe did call for all white vinegar which is a little bit less acidic than apple cider vinegar. If you aren't hanging with people who are a fan of vinegar, you may want to stick to the white or do 1/2 and 1/2. I could eat vinegar on everything so we play it up in this house.

Happy eating (and drinking! Don't forget to toast to America and everyone who sacrifices to keep us safe.) Cheers!

The next best thing to salt and vinegar chips (and how I handle those crunchy, salty cravings)

I've never been a huge chip girl. I am more of a chocolate or artificial cheese flavored popcorn kind of girl. But every once in a while I get a hankering for some greasy, crunchy chips, preferably salt and vinegar flavored. The stronger, the better. I could eat them until it feels like there is a hole being burned in the center of my tongue from the vinegar-ness. They were the one snack food my mom would cave and buy if I was having friends over. (Typically we lived in a no junk food house.) So eating salt and vinegar chips not only gives me a party in my tummy but there is that deep seeded association that they are for super fun times. (Yay sleepovers!)

I am trying to avoid processed foods and really commit to clean eating, I knew I had to find another way. And since I don't really eat meat, I knew if I could get some more protein in my diet, it would be killing two birds with one stone. I turned to my friend the garbanzo bean. I knew they could be roasted and get super crunchy but I always found that I burnt them before I could get them good and crunchy. They were often burned on the outside and still soft on the inside.

So I channeled a much more patient person and tried to get them to take over my body to cook these
babies for me, because I knew what I had to do. Lower the temp and lengthen the time. (I am so not patient. At all.) I picked a time when I knew I would be home and I knew I would be preoccupied (like sitting at the dining room table and writing a blog post.)

I set the oven temp to 250 and let the oven preheat while I rinsed the garbanzo beans (Typically I use dried beans - it's super easy as long as you think ahead. I had some cans on hand for dinner emergencies and since we are moving across the country again I figured it would be smart to use them up.)

Make sure to dry the beans after they are rinsed. This really helps. I like to cook mine on parchment paper so if the paper gets wet from the beans it takes even longer for them to roast (and for this impatient chick right here, it takes long enough as it is. I don't need to add any extra time to this recipe.)

And I set the timer for 25 minutes. And I stirred them. And I set the timer for 25 minutes. And I stirred them. And I set the timer for 25 minutes and I stirred them (you get the idea.)

They roasted for probably 2 1/2 to 3 hours. This will vary based on your oven temp too. It is pretty easy to tell when they are done. They shrink up really small and sometimes crack in the middle. Once they aren't so hot they will burn a hole in your mouth, test one. If it is crunchy, they are done. If it crunches on the outside and is still soft in the middle, give 'em another stir and stick them back in the oven.

I have also had better luck getting them crunchy dry roasting them instead of tossing them in olive oil. I just rinse, dry and throw them in the oven. When they are done and it is flavor adding time, I can toss in olive oil and any seasoning I am feeling like. Plus I like the idea that I don't have to commit to making a whole batch one flavor. I can flavor them before I eat so I have lots of options depending on what I feel like (and anyone who has traveled with me knows I need lots of options, hence the entourage of suitcases I typically travel with.)

So for the salt and vinegar chip goodness, all I do is toss them with a little malt vinegar and some salt
and whala I have crunchy salty burn a hole in my tongue vinegary goodness. A really great, protein packed crunchy snack that is even good thrown on top of salads.

These babies, although they have lots of good for you nutrients, do have calories. All legumes pack a lot of calories (think along the lines of almonds and other nuts.) I like to have about a 1/4 or 1/3 of a cup of crunchy chickpeas with half an apple as a snack. The apple combined with the protein really helps fill me up.

Happy Eats!

Gooey, Yummy Orange Sauce (the way Chinese food is supposed to be sauced)

I love Chinese food. So much. But since being exiled to to the Pacific Northwest, I have found that there aren't any crazy good places to get Chinese food out here. So I started googling and Pinterest-ing (is that a verb yet?) and have tried scads of stir fry and other supposed "takeout fakeout" recipes. Nothing has come close to even touching my Chinese food want. The sauces are too runny and thin or they have a blah flavor or they call for way too much spice (probably to mask the fact that there is no real flavor in there in the first place.)

Well I have a huge announcement because I have found a sauce that makes me jump up in down in happy circles (or maybe hum to my food while I eat it and chair dance.) And it was toddler approved, which is a big deal in this house these days.

What I like about this recipe is that it is for a sauce. It is super quick and easy and I can throw in there anything I want. This time it was with a bag of frozen veggie stir fry plus some extra peas for B and whatever veggies I had in the fridge that needed eating (or tossing soon!) I was due for some seafood so I cooked up some shrimp for in there too (easily swapped with chicken, beef or tofu.) Then I threw it all over some brown rice. Done. Dinner in 20 minutes or less. My kind of cooking.

So the origin of this recipe was an article on Yahoo Voice by Natalie Ivette. I made some changes to clean it up and it was awesome. It got thick and yummy and made everything kind of goo together in the best possible way. For the juices, I squeezed my own. There wasn't a ton of juice called for an it only took a few minutes. The recipe called for brown sugar and I subbed honey.  I also used the soy sauce. I have read conflicting things about soy sauce. Some say it's not clean. Some say it is okay in small amounts. Again I use it probably less than once a week so I'm not going to sweat it. If it was something I used all the time, I would be more concerned. I did read the labels and try to find one without scary ingredients. (The one I found had six ingredients and they were all things I could recognize - like soybeans and vinegar.) I have also read conflicting views on cornstarch. Again, I barely use it so I wasn't worried (and that was what I had in my pantry.) In the future, I will probably switch to arrowroot as a thickening agent.

Orange Sauce for Chinese Stir-fry 

- 2/3 cup orange juice (I squeezed some oranges)

- 1 teaspoon lime juice (again from a lime not a bottle)

- 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

- 1 teaspoon honey

- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

- 3/4 teaspoon grated ginger

- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or arrowroot)

- 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

1) In a small bowl, combine orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, vinegar and honey. In another, combine cornstarch and water - stir until the cornstarch is dissolved.

2) In a skillet, heat sesame oil over medium-high heat. When really hot, sautee garlic and ginger for 1 to 2 minutes- do not let stick. (I might have skipped this step and it all turned out fine.)

3) Give orange juice mixture a stir and pour it into skillet. Bring to a boil for a minute or so.

4) Reduce heat to low and add dissolved cornstarch, while stirring. (You want to be sure to stir constantly, until completely combined, or the cornstarch could clump while adding to hot liquid!)

5) Turn the heat back up to medium and stir continuously until sauce thickens considerably. It should thickly coat the back of the spoon. 

At this point I set the sauce aside and cooked my veggies, shrimp and rice. I wanted the sauce to get extra thick (I was paranoid it wouldn't thicken as I haven't had much luck in the past.)

Crunchy Tilapia (so good it makes me do my happy dance)

So I used to love chicken nuggets and I knew the greasy (yummy) fried ones were really bad for me. That being pretty much common knowledge for everyone on the planet, I started buying chicken and breading it (in Panko! OMG I love panko so much.) and making some awesomely tasty chicken nuggets in the oven free of all the grease, chemicals and stuff that generally falls in the bad for you category. I seriously ate this multiple times a week when I was pregnant and John was traveling for work. It was like my inner child was doing a happy dance since Mom finally let us go to McDonald's and get a happy meal (with a really good toy! And I wasn't allowed McD's as a kid. Or sugar cereal. or anything that might have been tasty in the 80's and early 90's. I literally had a t-shirt that said "if you love me don't feed me junk" Then I was all Mom you suck. Now I am thanking my Mom all the time. And blaming my food crazy obsessions on her.)

For the first half of my pregnancy I pretty much rocked some crispy crunchy panko breaded chicken on a regular basis. Then, towards the middle/end of said pregnancy chicken started to make me gag. Two years later it still makes me gag. I can't touch it, see it, think about it without getting a little gag-y. (All the books and documentaries don't help this situation.) I have pretty much sworn off chicken.

What in the world does all this chicken talk have to do with Tilapia? Well just because the thought of eating chicken makes my stomach cry doesn't mean I don't crave that crunchy nugget-ness that chicken has all the real estate in. What about fish? Fish sticks usually conjure up the image of lumpy soggy gross cafeteria food but there is no reason that fish can't deliver that happy dance to my tummy the way chicken used to.

I told you the pic was totally lickable!

So I have experimented with breading fish and it is really hard to get it crunchy! I don't know if fish just naturally makes things a bit soggier or what but I always ended up with one side kind of crunchy and the other side--well I just scrape all the soggy crumbs into the sink and eat that side naked. But looking at the picture of this recipe in the cookbook, Clean Eating for Busy Families, it made me want to lick the page. (I still want to lick the page, especially now that I have made it and found it to be fantastic.) Since I hadn't been to the store (I was doing a 3 day cleanse - read about that here - and I didn't trust myself not to open a giant bag of Smartfood white cheddar popcorn and eat it in the middle of the isle. That stuff is like crack. I have to avoid walking past it in the store or multiple bags of it seem to leap into my cart on by their own will.) I was working off of what I could find in the house. Frozen tilapia, check. Pistachios umm...no but I did have cashews. Zero eggs but I had flax (which really is an awesome egg substitute.) Whole grain totilla chips--absolutely not (we would have had the popcorn scenerio in the kitchen every day of this cleanse around 3 p.m.) But I had some Panko. Let's do this!

So I did it and it rocked.

This book rocks. Quick & easy recipes. You should get one (or two and give it away as an awesome present!)

Here is the recipe I followed. (Based on Michelle Dudash's recipe in Clean Eating for Busy Families)

Ingredients:

1 flaxseed "egg"

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (I used dried cilantro so I cut this in half)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I used Annie's brand horseradish mustard)

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 ground up cashews (I threw them in the food processor and they made an awesome finely ground powder)

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon of chili powder (which I skipped cause I don't do spicy)

1 lb tilapia fillets

Directions:

The "egg," cilantro and mustard get combined to make kind of a paste.

So all of rest of the ingredients (minus the tilapia) get combined in a bowl (or a long shallow tupperware as I find it easier to coat the pieces of fish.)

First schmear the fish with the cilantro and mustard goo (this could be super fun & messy job for kids of the appropriate age) then into the breading bowl the tilapia go. Coat well on both sides. (I found it to be easier to goo one side then place it in the breading and then goo the other side and flip it. But however you can get it to work.)

Bake for 14 minutes at 425. I baked them for 8 minutes on one side and then flipped them for the remaining 7. This allowed both sides to get crunchy (which made this heaven for me.)

I would love to try this recipe with the pistachios.  My cookbook tells me they are chock full of protein (1 oz has as much protein as 1 oz of red meat) and since my diet is generally meat-less I am always looking for plant based protein sources.

There is also a simple sauce that goes with it. Since I don't do dairy I would have to come up with a sub for the mayo but I will include it for all of you diary eating folk.

1/4 cup mayo

1 teaspoon lime juice
1 pinch chili powder
1 pinch salt

Blend all ingredients and viola sauce!

So easy. So quick. So great.

(and awesome on top of a big old yummy salad!)

Let's talk about Tofu...my favorite crave-worthy to-feta

I thought tofu was weird stuff but when I dove face first into trying the vegan thing last summer, I needed to figure it out. And most of the time it was a disaster. I didn't know the difference between Silken and non silken or why it had to be firm or extra firm. Poor John had to choke down many a dinners (with plenty of hot sauce!) I knew there had to be a way to do it right. After about 8 months of trial and error I found an amazing crave-worthy tofu recipe.

I was searching for a feta cheese substitute. Now the consistency is different. The flavor is a bit different. The key is not to expect feta. The flavors marry well with anything feta would go with but it isn't a feta replacement. But it is easy and yummy and I am in love with it. (And if I can get my meat craving husband to eat it and really like it, I am convinced that anyone can.)

This stuff is good on tossed salads, on pasta salads, in hot pasta dishes, and I am even going to try stuffing it into a portobello cap tonight. I have yet to find a way I don't like this tofu.

I found the recipe on food.com which is a recipe site I tend to have a lot of luck finding yummy food stuff on. I did lessen the oil quite a bit and up the vinegar (I like stuff to have a lot of bite.) I felt like the 1/4 of olive oil made it very greasy the first time I made it. Start with less, you can always add more is a pretty successful mantra I have found in the kitchen (especially for a girl who can sometimes be too lazy to get out the measuring cups and measure things.) I have also subbed out the herbs in the recipe when I was out of basil or oregano and it still turned out great, just with a little different flavor. I think this marinade is awesome, adaptable and quite frankly when I buried it in pasta salad over the holidays this past year, I found it to be as success (and something I could eat--which can be really hard at holiday get togethers and parties. I usually end up starving or eating bread.)

The other super important part is to press the tofu. Drain the package and set the tofu on a giant wad of paper towels on top of a plate or cutting board. Add another giant wad of paper towels on top of the tofu. Stack some big heavy books on top. Check back in about 15-20 minutes. Change the paper towel (or kitchen towel if you are a better person than I am) and press it again. The more water you get out, the more flavor the tofu can absorb. This was a huge, giant, aha lightbulb in my adventures of trying to cook tofu. It is worth the time and the (minimal) effort needed to allow the tofu to absorb all of your marinade awesomeness.

My favorite way to use the to-feta....

Take whole wheat noodles boiled drained and hot. Drizzle with olive oil.

Mix them over a bunch of fresh baby spinach (this makes the spinach kind of wilty and warm. Ah-mazing!)

Add some chopped up sundried tomatoes, chickpeas, yellow raisins, the to-feta and some garlic.

Toss and eat.

Love it. Super easy. It is yummy warm or cold. My favorite though is room temperature.


And here is the recipe for the to-feta as it appears on food.com:

My to-feta on a big old yummy salad. *tummy growls* 

Ingredients:

Serves: 16
Yield:1 pound 
Units: US | Metric


1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 lb firm tofu, herb flavored, cubed or crumbled


Directions:

1. Place everything but the tofu in the bowl and whisk together.
2. Add tofu, stir, and let sit for at least an hour.

Let them eat...Greek! Clean Spanakopita Deliciousness

I wish I was Greek. The food. The culture. The food. I don't get cravings for Italian food or any other heritage-y food (I don't know anyone who craves German food except maybe my Grandpa. Beer, absolutely. Pretzels, yes please. Food, not really.) But do I ever get a hankering for all things Greek. Give me some feta and some olives and I am a happy girl. Grape leaves. Mmmmm.

But one of my all time favorites is spanakopita. The spinach. The flaky crust. Yum yum yum. So when I saw a recipe for spanakopita casserole on Clean Eating Magazine's website, (it's a pretty awesome site!) I pinned it immediatly. Because this is something I could eat. All. The. Time. And it's clean? whoot! I love meals that are healthy but still feel like I am being a little bit bad. Sure this isn't the greasy, yummy spanakopita from the street cart at the Art Festival downtown in the summer. Washed down with a giant ($10) beer from the cart next to it. But it rocks. The spinach is yummy and mixed with some creamy feta. The sweet pepper, mint and dill gives it lots of flavor.

Yes it breaks my no animal products rule by adding feta cheese. And I did use feta this time. I didn't have time to make some vegan "feta." For me it is all things in moderation. If I am watching my animal product intake and I have a little cheat (like some feta) it is still so much better than where I was a year ago. (Seriously, I had no idea how much dairy I actually ate until I tried to cut it out of my diet. Crazy business.)

But, oh, the spanakopita goodness - Mine wasn't as "clean" as it could be. I could only find one type of phyllo and it wasn't whole wheat.  (Small town, limited grocery options.) I also couldn't find fresh mint so I used dried and didn't really measure it. I just dumped some in the spinach mixture till it smelled amazing. No fresh dill either but dried worked just fine for the dill too.  I also didn't mist everything with (clean) cooking spray or cut the phyllo into strips. I just layered it in the pan and it turned out just fine.

I would actually really like to try this with some tofu "feta" which is super yummy and I am also obsessed with on my salads.

And I clearly need to work on my food photo taking skills as my flaky phyllo crust looks kind of like cheesy chicken. Oh well. Here is to improvement all around and cheers to Meatless Mondays!

Here is the recipe and what it was supposed to look like....

By Diane Welland MS RD

Serves: 6
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
• 3 large bags fresh spinach (9 oz each) or 36 cups loosely packed spinach
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 4 sheets whole-wheat phyllo dough (13 x 18 inches each; Try: The Fillo Factory)
• Olive oil cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add pepper and onion and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add spinach in batches, waiting 2 or 3 minutes between intervals; cover tightly and cook, tossing frequently, for about 15 minutes.
2. Drain spinach mixture in a colander, removing any excess liquid, before placing it in a large bowl; set aside. When spinach mixture is cool, mix in dill, mint and egg white. Then fold in feta until well blended. Set aside.
3. Working quickly, roll phyllo out onto a clean work surface. Carefully cut each sheet lengthwise into approximately 4 3-inch-wide pieces. (TIP: Or cut each sheet in half lengthwise, then half each of the 2 sections again to create 4 equal pieces.) Place 3 or 4 strips across the center of a 1 1/2-qt or 9 x 9-inch casserole dish misted with cooking spray, leaving about 3 to 4 inches of excess hanging over on both ends. The strips should be overlapping slightly. Mist strips with cooking spray. Turn the casserole dish clockwise and place 3 or 4 strips across the original layer, at a 90-degree angle. Mist strips with cooking spray. Continue turning and layering until all strips have been used, about 4 layers in total, misting with cooking spray after each layer.
4. Spoon spinach mixture into center of phyllo-covered dish. Fold phyllo hanging over edges into the center of spinach mixture, covering the top (no spinach should be visible). Mist with cooking spray.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly brown and crispy. Let casserole sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Cut into 6 pieces and serve. TIP: Phyllo can be cut with a knife, kitchen scissors or a pizza cutter.