Healthified 7 Layer Dip

The only bad thing about this dip is how difficult it is to not eat the whole thing. You will definitely want to grab a plate and step away. Perfect for parties or pot lucks.

1 can Fat Free Refried Beans

Romaine Lettuce, shredded

2 Roma Tomatoes, chopped

Colby Jack or Cheddar, shredded

Plain Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream

Salsa

Guacamole

Home taco seasoning or homemade

1. Mix Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream with Taco Seasoning

2. Layer in this order:

    Beans - warm the beans so they are easier to spread

    Greek yogurt mixture

    Salsa

    Guacamole

    Cheese

    Lettuce

    Tomatoes

Serve with multigrain tortilla chips 

Meal Plan Monday: January 4th - January 10th

Happy New Year!  I'm so excited for this year.  It is going to be good things, I can feel it.  There are things that I wanted to accomplish last year that I have already tackled, such a creating a 5 minute workout for anyone looking to add exercise to their day.  Please comment if you would like a copy.  I started the Hammer and Chisel workout program this morning.  This program, once again, uses the containers that we were first introduced to with the 21 Day Fix.  It's nice to continue to try new Beachbody workouts but have a little comfort in knowing the meal plan.

Here is what we are having this week:

Monday:  Slow Cooker Kielbasa and White Bean Cassoulet
Recipe from Real Simple

Tuesday: Cheeseburgers

Wednesday: Cashew Chicken
Recipe from Wegmans

Thursday:  Pesto Pasta

Friday: Dinner Out

Saturday:  Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers
Recipe from Lisahov Health & Fitness.com

Sunday:  Chicken Lombardy
Recipe from My Recipes.com

Meal Plan Monday: All Time Favorites

We are in Disney this week so we will be eating from that Meal Plan instead.  I have put together a list of my most popular meals on the blog.

1. Pita Pizza - Recipe Inspired from Fits Simple - I added sausage, made the sauce less chunky and added arugula on top.

2.  Egg Roll in a Bowl - This recipe is great for Friday Night "Take Out" nights.

3. Zoodles and Turkey Meatballs from the Fixate Cookbook - This is the number one recipe on the blog and of my Pinterest posts.  You have to get the cookbook for the recipe!  It's so good.

4. Cracker Barrel Chicken Tenderloins

5. Tomato Pesto Grilled Cheese - I want one just thinking about it.

I can't wait to share the awesome meals we have at Disney.  Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram!
I will be doing the 3 Day Refresh after my trip.  Leave a comment, if you would like to join me or if you would like some more information.

 

Quick Snack: Cinnamon Raisin Yogurt

This has become one of my favorite snacks. It reminds me of an oatmeal raisin cookie.
Mix together the ingredients below:
6oz Plain Greek Yogurt
Cinnamon
1-2 oz Agave
1.5 tbsp raisins

MexiKale Salad

Inspired by Wegmans

I loved this salad idea from Wegmans but I wanted to use some ingredients that I knew my family would enjoy.  This salad makes a ton making it great for a cookout or potluck.  The salad dressing is light and refreshing.  Great for hot summer days.  

You could also add chicken for a full meal.

Ingredients

Dressing:

1/4 cup lime juice

1/2 cup EVOO

1/4 cup honey

1 green onion, sliced

salt

Salad:

1 - 16oz bag of Kale

1.5 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 can of black beans, drained

1 red pepper, chopped

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

4oz Monterey Jack Cheese, cut into small cubes

Instructions:

1. Puree lime juice, olive oil, honey, and onion in blender. Season with salt.
2. Toss kale, corn, black beans, red pepper, red onion, half the cheese, and dressing in large bowl. Garnish with remaining cheese.

If you are making ahead, do not add any cheese until you are ready to serve.  Make sure to toss the salad before serving as the dressing will settle to the bottom.  

Servings: Between 12 -24

Wawa Kale and Quinoa Salad

For those that may not know, Wawa is a convenience store/gas station in the East Coast.  They make awesome subs and have great coffee.  I first discovered this salad when we were heading home from a dance competition.  I was hungry but not in the mood for a sub.  So I walked over to the cold case to see what I could find and, too my surprise, saw the Kale and Quinoa salad.  I wasn't expecting much but it turned out to be so delicious.  It is so good that I now crave it and try to angle for Wawa stops during our summer travels.  Sadly, the last time we went they were out so I looked around my kitchen to see if I could make it myself.

Serving:1 person

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled

1/2 cup apple, chopped

1/2 cup yellow pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp dried cranberries

2 Tbsp goat cheese, crumbled

1 cup baby kale or regular kale cut to bite sized pieces

2 Tbsp Champagne Vinaigrette (Recipe at EatingWell.com)

Note: If your grocery store has a bulk food section, like Wegmans, buy the cranberries out of the bin.  They are juicer than the pre-bagged kind, like craisins.

Note 2:  You can add rotisserie or baked chicken for protein. 

Directions:

1. In your dish layer the ingredients in the following order: quinoa, apples, peppers, cranberries, goat cheese, kale.
2. Top with dressing if eating immediately.  If eating later, add the dressing right before.

1.5 green, 1/2 purple, 1 yellow, 1/2 blue, 1 orange (1 red, if you add chicken)

White Pizza on Pita

Inspired by Cooking Light

I love arugula.  I could eat an entire bag.  I don't know what it is but it just makes me happy.  This pizza was stupid good, shut the front door good.  It came together very quickly which was just what we needed since hubs and I went to the grocery store together after work and were very hungry.  

Grocery store tip:  Meal planning and planning your grocery list really helps with cutting down costs. 

Ingredients 
4 whole grain pitas
2 tsp EVOO
3-6 cloves of garlic depending on your love of garlic
2/3 cup light ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely shredded
12 very thinly slices ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups baby arugula

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2.  Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes or until garlic is lightly browned. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon. Finely chop garlic. Reserve oil.
3. Place chopped garlic, ricotta, oregano, pepper, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until almost smooth (about 2 minutes).
4. While mixing the the ricotta, toast the pitas by placing them directly on the oven racks.  Remove after two minutes and place them on baking sheets.
5. Spread ricotta mixture on the pita, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Arrange mozzarella over ricotta mixture. (3 slices per pita) 
6. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or cheese begins to bubble.
7. Combine reserved oil, lemon juice, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Add arugula; toss to coat. Top pizza with arugula mixture.

1/2 green, 1 yellow, 1 blue

Fixate

I am obsessed with recipes. I get tons of emails a day with recipes, I have pinned thousands of recipes on Pinterest, I read magazines and I LOVE cookbooks. So you can imagine how excited I was when I learned that Autumn was coming out with a cookbook to support the 21 Day Fix workout programs. Like, I'm probably going to treat this like Black Friday excited!

The cook book is going to include Paleo, gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian recipes.  Recipes for Shakeology and COCKTAILS!  Perhaps I should not be that excited about the cocktails.  I tested the Sangria recipe and it was delicious.

If you are not doing the fix program, no problem.  Anyone can benefit from these recipes.  If you want to make sure you are getting the right portions you can purchase Portion Fix to go with it or even better a 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack.

I am anxiously counting down with every Beachbody Facebook post.  To order the cookbook when it releases you have to be a Team Beachbody member.  Make sure you register if you haven't already ready.  

I can not wait to Meal Plan!!!

Food Inspired: Tomato Pesto Grilled Cheese Panini

Inspired by Cooking Light: Fresh Food Fast Cookbook

I made these sandwiches and then headed to dance with my youngest daughter.  An hour later I received a text message from Hubs that simply said, "Dude, that sandwich."  Followed by an explanation that it was DA BOMB.  And he didn't even have the tomato on it.  We are big pesto fans in this family.  It was a nice change from a regular grilled cheese.  It reminded me of a pizza your find at a gourmet pizza restaurant.  Because I used a remade pesto this came together very quickly.  I had four sandwiches made in 15 minutes.  

Serving Size: 1 Panini

Ingredients:

2 slices whole grain sandwich bread
1 slice beefsteak tomato
1 thin slice provolone
1 Tbsp shredded mozzarella
1 Tbsp pesto
Spray Coconut Oil

Directions:

1. Top slice of sandwich bread with provolone cheese, pesto, tomato, mozzarella.  Top with other slice of bread.
2. Heat a grill pan on medium pan.
3. Spray grill pan with coconut oil.
4. Place sandwich on grill. Press down on the sandwich.  Spray the top of the sandwich with coconut oil.
5. Flip when the bread is browned (about 1.5 min.) and cook on the other side.
6. Remove sandwich from grill when second side is browned (another 1.5 min.) and cheese is melted.
7. Let the sandwich cool a bit before cutting so cheese does not ooze out.  

I packed two of the sandwiches and some prepped cucumbers for my daughter and I to eat during her break at dance.  It was still da bomb.  Make you dance good.  I can't wait to have one straight from the grill. 

Dance Mom dinner

Be Inspired!

With Love, 

Alli

Food Inspired: Healthified Bacon-Wrapped Mozzarella Stuffed Burger

 

Inspiration: Foodbeast

I hate to even call this an inspiration because really I would file this under the"please don't eat that" category.  This burger has been shared all over Facebook and I challenged myself to clean it up.  It does have cheese it just melted into the burger.  I think my burger is the same size a the top portion of the original!  We grilled ours to perfection instead of deep frying.  Deep frying a burger, really?  I'm pretty sure even with the added homemade fries, made in our Actifry, my burger came way under the original calorie count.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef

4 strips of cooked turkey bacon, crumbled or diced

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Combine ground beef, bacon and cheese together in a large bowl.
2. Make 4 patties.  They will be bigger than usual because of the cheese and bacon.  Mine averaged between 5 and 6 ounces.
3. When the grill is hot, spray the grates with oil.
4. Grill the burgers on medium heat for 5 minutes on each side or until it is no longer pink inside.
5. Serve on a whole grain bun or make a lettuce wrap.

Food Inspired: Healthified Copycat Turkey Bacon Ranch Wrap

  

Inspiration: Arby's

Ingredients

4 Flatout Light Original flatbreads or favorite wrap
8 oz 98% fat free roasted turkey deli meat
8 slices precooked bacon/turkey bacon
4 slices Cheddar Cheese
1 tomato, thinly sliced
Red onion slices
1/4 cup Ranch yogurt dressing
Iceberg or Romaine lettuce

Directions

1. Spread ranch dressing all over the center of the flatbread.
2. Top with turkey, bacon, lettuce, cheese, onion, and tomatoes. Fold the sides in, and then roll up.

Food Inspired: Cheesesteak Burgers

                       

Inspiration: Cooking Light Magazine

I loved the idea behind this burger but I wanted to make it closer to the original.  Everyone loved them. The best part was that they didn't need mayonaisse or ketchup. They were great on their own.  

Ingredients

1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 green pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

4 slices provolone cheese

4 whole grain hamburger rolls (or go sans roll)

1 lb lean ground beef (I use 90/10)

Directions

1. Combine onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and beef. Shape beef mixture into 4 patties.  Put to the side.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add onion and pepper; sauté 6 - 9 minutes.
   
3. Once the onions have browned remove from heat.
   
4. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 3 minutes. Turn patties over; cook 2 1/2 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
5. Top patties with onions and peppers. Cover the onions and peppers with cheese; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
   

Be Inspired.

With Love, Alli

Food Inspired: Clean Eating Cracker Barrel Chicken Tenderloins

Inspiration: Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel's chicken tenderloins are one of my favorite items on their menu.  There are many copycat recipes online.  The ingredients usually include store bought Italian dressing, lime juice and honey.  I wanted to clean the recipe up a little bit and make it more 21 Day Fix approved so I made my own Italian dressing.

Ingredients

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp sea salt
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp honey
1 lb Chicken Tenderloins

*Italian seasoning could be used as a substitution for the dried herbs.

Directions

1. Combine the first 12 ingredients to make the marinade.
2.  Place chicken in a container or large zip lock bag to marinate.
3.  Pour the marinade over the chicken.  Let the chicken marinate for an hour up to 24 hours.
4.  Cook the tenderloins at medium heat in a grill pan or skillet.  Brown the chicken on both sides.

Complete your Cracker Barrel meal with a clean Mac and Cheese and green beans.

Food Inspired: Egg Roll In a Bowl

Inspiration: Dani Stout and Gluten Free with Southern Charm

My family loves egg rolls but I'm not always a fan of the deep fried greasy wonton.  I came across these recipes on Pinterest and new it would be a hit.  I did a little combining and threw in some of my one flavors for my version of Egg Roll in a Bowl.

Ingredients

1lb Ground Pork

1 - 10oz bag of Asian Slaw (Napa Cabbage, Carrots and Celery)

1 tbsp Sesame Oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

4 tbsp tamari or low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp rice vinegar

sea salt

Directions

1. Cook the pork in a sauté pan.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

2. Remove the pork from the pan.

3. Add the sesame oil.

4. Add the onions.  Cook for 2 mins then and garlic.  Sauté until the onions are cooked. (I like to give the onions a head start so the garlic does not burn.)

5. Add the slaw mix and ginger.  Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.  The slaw will cook way down.

6. Add the ground pork back to the pan.

7. Pour in the tamarin or soy sauce and vinegar.  This is a great time to scrap the bottom of the pan for great flavor. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve over brown rice or lo men noodles for a heartier dinner.  

Side Dish Idea

Quick Broccoli Slaw - Combine broccoli slaw with a ginger sesame dressing.

Be Inspired.

-With Love, Alli