Recipes I mention in the video…

• Baked Rigatoni & Zucchini
• Homemade Sauce
• Simply Meatballs
• "Lighter" Stuffed Shells

Oh! I almost forgot. He totally ate it. There was a bit whining and fuss. He told me he “doesn’t like spinach!” and then proceeded to only eat the noodles. But he ate it all the same!

No complaints from the husband. This is his kind of meal. :)

I made them just for myself with some leftover ground turkey meat I had after making Grilled Honey Mustard Turkey Oat Burgers this weekend. You can of course double or triple the recipe for more servings. You know I’m all about the ‘idea’, so take it and run with your favorite taco toppings. I’m thinking pinto beans or even using my Spicy Black Beans and Zucchini instead of the turkey next time.

Here’s what I did tonight…

• 6 oz lean ground turkey raw (around 4 oz cooked)
• about 1 tsp of my taco seasoning
• 4 large inner leaves of romaine lettuce
• 4-5 strips of green bell pepper chopped
• 1/4 of a tomato chopped
• 1 oz Fancy Mexican shredded cheese
• about 2 tbsp salsa

Brown the turkey with the seasoning until gray. While "browning" clean the leaves and chop the veggies.

Evenly distribute the cooked turkey to the leaves, top with diced peppers, tomatoes, cheese and salsa.

Wrap and eat! All the flavor of tacos with a fresh twist!

Here’s the recipe!

• 1/2 sweet onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey (8oz)
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 1 small-medium zucchini chopped
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 package of Whole Wheat Pizza dough
• 4 oz fancy shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Brown with ground turkey with the onion and garlic. Add the chopped pepper and zucchini. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes while you prepare to work with the dough.

Sprinkle you counter or cutting board with a bit of whole wheat flour. Separate the dough into 4 equal parts.

Add the tomato sauce, basil and oregano to the skillet. Stir and lower heat to medium-low. Let it simmer while you prepare the dough again.

Roll out the dough into rectangles. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay one of the rectangles on the cookie sheet. Scoop about 2 ladlefuls of the turkey mixture in the middle. Top with 1 oz of cheese and fold over to create a long skinny stromboli. Place a few slits on the top.

Note: They will be hard to move so making them on the sheet with be a big help.

Once you make all four. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Once finished let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

EAT! :)

I’m calling this "Naked" Chicken Parm because I’m leaving the chicken bread-less. I often wondered why Chicken Parm HAD to be made with a deep fried breaded piece of chicken. Then I realized, hey, I’m making the rules here. It’s my kitchen and I’m not making it that way anymore.

Glad I did! It was a hit. Everyone liked it except the toddler. When I asked him why he said… "Cause it has sauce on it." Being Italian my mom almost fell off her chair. My son doesn’t like sauce, it’s kind of hysterical as its the husbands favorite. It’s a phase, he’ll get over it. Actually he’s been especially picky these last few weeks. He ate better at 2 then 3!

• 4 boneless chicken breast with all visible fat removed
• 3/4 cup sauce (I used my homemade)
• 2-3 ounces part-skim Mozzarella cheese
• dried parsley
• Kosher Salt & Pepper

preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Lay the chicken breast on a sheet of saran wrap. Top with another sheet and bang away! You want to thin the chicken out to about 1/2 inch.

You can use a meat mallet or rolling pin as my eager little assistance demonstrates. :)

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and spray with non-stick spray. Season both sides of the chicken with a bit of a Kosher Salt and Pepper. Once the pan is hot add the chicken breast. Don’t crowd the pan, do them in batches if you have to. Flip after 3 minutes and cook for another 3 minutes.

At this point the chicken isn’t done. Remove from the heat and place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Top the chicken with a bit of sauce and cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until chicken is done (no more pink when you cut in half.)

I served with a side of whole wheat spaghetti and garlic sauteed with olive oil and garlic. SO YUMMY!

As for the nutrition information it will vary on the size of your breast and how much cheese and sauce you use. The one pictured is about 7oz with about 1/2 oz of cheese. I’d count it as 8-9 points. After I snapped the picture I gave half to my step-father and enjoyed my (approx) 10 point chicken parm with broccoli and spaghetti meal. :)

As for the addition of Flax. I’ve been reading so much about how they are great additions to your diet. Like in 4 Ways to Feed Your Brain or 5 Foods to Try Now, Flax seem to be listed in more and more of these types of articles.

The thing about flaxseeds though, you have to ground them a bit to get their benefit. According to WHFoods.com "…the nutrients in ground seeds are more easily absorbed. "

However, they last longer whole. So I buy a bag of whole seeds and keep them in my freezer (they will go rancid otherwise) then throw them in my magic bullet or blender when I want to use them. It works for me.

• About 2 cups baby spinach leaves (2 big handfuls)
• Half of a large roasted red pepper cut into strips (reserve some of the liquid)
• about 1 tbsp your favorite light Italian dressing
• 3 oz leftover cooked chicken breast
• 1 oz shredded part skim mozzarella cheese (28g)
• 1/2 tbsp whole flaxseeds (5g) pulsed in the blender
• 1 tbsp bacon bits (5g)

Slice the red pepper. Take about a tbsp of the liquid in the pepper jar and combine it with the dressing. Toss the baby spinach leaves with the dressing/liquid picture and pile it on the a plate.

Top the spinach with the red pepper and chicken. Sprinkle the cheese, flaxseeds and bacon bits on top.

Enjoy! :)

Here are a few more shots. I wasn’t really happy with any of the pictures so I couldn’t decide on the best of the worst. I hate photographing salads!

Yup, that’s the mood I was in. I had a bag of soy crisps calling my name from the pantry. I just couldn’t get them out of my head. Normally I’d grab the bag, and I’m not kidding, eat the whole thing. I rarely can stop at a serving size. But today I wanted to hold back a bit. The husband and I are planning on taking the toddler out for dinner and I already ate a good breakfast and lunch. So I decided my snack should be a bit controlled.

So instead of just grabbing the bag I decided to DO something with them. I’m always more satisfied when I make something anyway, so I heated up the oven and turned my plain old bag of so crisps into something fun and satisfying. I used what I had on hand, which wasn’t much, but as always, take the idea and run with it!

• 1 oz (28g) of your favorite soy crisps (like these, I also put more in the store)
• 1/4 of a green pepper diced
• 1/2 oz fancy shredded mexican cheese blend
• sprinkle of chili powered and dried cilantro

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Arrange soy crisps on small plate. Top with peppers and cheese.

Bake for about 5 minutes until cheese melts.

Sprinkle with chili powder and cilantro. Serve with a side of salsa.

If you notice below I changed my NI for recipes. I can’t promise I’ll go back to all my old ones, but from now on I’ll post it like below…

For me incorporating these type of foods are a necessity. If I don’t get a pizza/stromboli fix I’ll end up calling Dominos and I really rather not do that! Hence my obsession with making whole wheat pizza dough, healthy pizza sauce (and pasta sauce) plus all of my other pizza ideas. In my opinion making your own is ultimately more satisfying, tastes better and is better for you! You really can’t go wrong.

So this is my latest in curing a pizza like craving. Similar to a rolled up white pizza or “healthified” calzone this idea uses a controlled amount of whole wheat pizza dough (the equivalent of 2 slices worth) and cheese to make an awesome lunch! It was so good I didn’t share! ;~)

• 4 oz (114g) whole wheat pizza dough (I used 1/4 of a Trader Joe’s)
• 1/4 cup fat free ricotta cheese (even a little less)
• Sprinkle of garlic powder, dried basil, Kosher Salt & pepper
• Handful of baby spinach leaves
• 1 oz mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees

Stretch and roll out the dough to create a long thin oval. Smear with the Ricotta and sprinkle with spices. Top with spinach leaves and mozzarella and roll.

Place roll on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake on the middle rack for about 20 minutes until crust is firm to the touch.

Serve with a side of jarred or leftover tomato sauce!

Here’s a little before and after cutting shot.

So, like usual, take this idea and run with it! Use a tortilla or even a rolled out slice of bread! Fill it with your favorite veggies and shred or slice them. Even skip the mustard in the roll and serve to your kids on the side as a dipping sauce with chopsticks! Whatever works!

Here’s how I made the ones pictured (which was my lunch today, by the way!)

• ½ slice of Lavash bread (I use because it’s square, If you can’t find it, try flat out bread or a tortilla would work too!)
• 1 laughing cow cheese wedge
• squirt of honey mustard
• 3 slices of thin sliced turkey breast
• 1 slice then sliced lean ham
• 3 slices of turkey pepperoni
• 5-6 baby spinach leaves with the stems removed
• 2 baby carrots shredded

Smear he cheese and mustard on the bread and then start layering the ingredients as seen in the pictures. Notice I leave about 2 inches on the end “free”. As you roll the fillings will squish outwards.

Roll as tightly as you can. Cut chunks with a serrated knife (more like lightly saw through as to not squish). I normally cut the very end off to get a flat edge.

Have FUN! ;~)

The idea is inspired by the buffet style broccoli salads you may see at a party or event. Except I skipped the mayo, limited the cheese and bacon, replaced the sugar with Stevia and added some carrots for color. I LOVED the results and I kind of wish I made more, so feel free to double!

I can’t lie, I made this for myself and I ate the whole batch slowly throughout the morning! It’s GONE!

• 3 cups raw broccoli florets (273g)
• ½ cup of carrots grated/shredded
• ¼ cup diced sweet or red onion
• 2 tbsp real bacon bits (14g)
• 1 oz fancy shredded cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend
• ½ cup non-fat unflavored yogurt (114g)
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2-1 tsp powdered Stevia extract (based on taste – used for sweetening)

If you like, blanch the broccoli. Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop in the broccoli then remove after a minute and place in a large bowl of ice cold water.

Place the broccoli, carrots, onion, bacon bits, and cheese in to a medium-large bowl.

In a smaller bowl whisk the yogurt, vinegars and stevia to make the dressing.

Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture. Stir to coat and refrigerate for a at least 10 minutes.

Serve!

It’s really the results of having too many peppers and not being quit sure what to do with them. Plus I wanted something warm on this overcast day.

Now I’m going to give you the idea and recipe using my George Foreman Grill (GFG). You can use a skillet but you’d have to flip, of course, and maybe use a technique like my water pot trick.

I’m a huge fan of the GFG not because it “knocks out the fat” but because, in the words of my favorite Food Network Star, it’s a multi-tasker. I use it as a grill, panini press, grilled cheese maker, quesadilla maker, for veggies, burgers, hot dogs. I never have to spray it with non-stick spray unless I want the flavor and the model I have goes in the dishwasher!

Ok, not sure where that review came from, anyway, here’s the idea…

• 1 pepper cut in half and cleaned (I used a green bell that was halfway red)
• 1 lite tortilla
• 1 oz fancy shredded Mexican cheese blend
• pinch of kosher salt
• sprinkle of chili powder
• sprinkle of ground cumin
• a few sprigs of fresh cilantro or a sprinkle of dried cilantro

Heat the GFG.

Cut and clean the pepper. Place the pepper on the grill skin side down. Close the top and cook for about 3 minutes. That should just give you scorch marks.

Remove the peppers and slice.

On one side of the tortilla sprinkle about ½ of the cheese. Top with sliced peppers. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and spices. Fold the tortilla in half (quesadilla style).

Place the tortilla on the grill open side upwards, close the top and cook for 4-5 minutes. That should melt the cheese and toast the shell.

Cut in half with a pizza cutter and enjoy!

Note: Nutritional Information may vary depending on your tortilla.

The only problem with not buying sauce is that I have to make sauce, but (here’s another quirk) I rarely make my homemade spaghetti sauce in the summer. Why? I’m not quite sure but I probably won’t cook up my first fall batch until sometime towards the end of September.

This is all leading to the fact that when I’m craving pizza and want to make it at home in the summer I don’t have sauce available to me because I won’t buy it and I won’t make it. Yes, you are totally allowed to call me crazy now. I deserve it.

Anyway, so what I do do is come up with alternative sauce options that still cure my hankering for pizza. Traditional pizza not crazy pizzas. I can come up with a billion other things to use besides a tomato based sauce knockoff that would probably be delicious (pesto, BBQ sauce, taco sauce, salsa) all of which would make interesting tasty pizza alternatives. However, normally when I’m craving pizza, I want it pretty traditional. Plus I couldn’t sell the husband on a pesto pie anyway. Then again I didn’t sell him on this either.

So today with some whole wheat pizza dough defrosted from Trader Joe’s I made two little pies. One for me and one for the toddler. Each using different “sauce-less” ideas.

I’m going to post the recipe (idea) for 1 servings but just remember, have FUN. With a little whole wheat dough you can really make anything you want!

• 4oz (114g) of whole wheat pizza dough (Don’t have a trader joe’s try my homemade)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste and/or a ½ of a fresh tomato sliced thin
• Sprinkle of garlic, basil, kosher salt, pepper, onion powder and parsley
• 2 oz of cheese
• Your favorite toppings (I used diced bell peppers, diced zucchini, diced baby spianch, diced turkey pepperoni)

Preheat the oven to 425.
Roll out the dough to desired thickness.
Smear with tomato paste or sliced tomatoes.
Sprinkle with Spices
Top with toppings
Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes on the lowest rack.
How much easier can you get!

Here’s our little pizza making station. I made mine with the tomato slices and the toddler’s with the paste. Both were delicious!

P.S. Notice the pizza image at the top of the page. Do you see what’s in the background? I gave the husband the choice of homemade pizza or leftover Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. Do you believe he chose the leftover KFC?!? Just look at that pizza – how do you NOT want to eat it. Not to mention its 10x healthier for you! Oh well, now I have another 4oz of dough to use for myself tomorrow! :~)

Oh! and don’t even get me started on the huge glass of soda!

Here’s the idea, a little leftover lean protein, a ton of veggies, a slice of cheese and a whole wheat pita. Really, how can you go wrong?

• thick slice of sweet onion diced
• ½ of a small zucchini diced
• ¼ of a red bell pepper diced
• ¼ of a green bell pepper diced
• 2 oz of cooked chicken or turkey breast or any lean cut of meat
• 1 slice (1oz) Muenster Cheese
• ½ large whole wheat pita or 1 small whole wheat pita
• Koshers salt & pepper
• non stick cooking spray

Spray a small non-stick skillet with non-stick cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add the onion and let cooke while dicing the other veggies. Add the zucchini and peppers, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook until just turning tender. Stir in the meat and cook for a minute to warm it up.

Push everything in the skillet close together and lay the cheese on top. Cover for a minute to allow cheese to melt.

Scoop into the pits using a spatula. Server with a side of baby carrots!