Healthy Cajun Jambalaya Recipe
Happy Fat Tuesday! Satisfy your craving for a Fat Tuesday favorite!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound shrimp (medium sized, peeled and deveined
- 1 pound raw chicken/turkey sausage
- 1 cup brown rice
- 2 cup chicken broth
- 1 large onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 cups celery
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes (or 1 can diced tomatoes in a pinch)
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 6-10 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons avocado or refined coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons no sodium creole seasoning
- 3-5 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 bunch green onions (garnish)
Instructions:
- Heat dutch oven over medium heat. While the pan heats up, chop chicken/turkey sausage. Add oil and chopped sausage, cook approx. for 5 minutes until sausage starts to brown, stir occasionally.
- Chop onions and bell peppers into a dice. Saute onions and bell peppers until they soften, about 5 minutes.
- Chop garlic into fine dice and add to dutch oven. Chop celery and add to dutch oven.
- Add chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, bay leaves, and spices; bring to a boil.
- Rinse and drain rice, once the dutch oven is boiling, add in rice.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes until most the liquid has been absorbed. Add the shrimp and cook until shrimp turns whitish pink and starts to curl, about 2-5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, remove bay leaves. Let rest 5-10 minutes and chop green onions.
- Taste and add salt/pepper or hot sauce if needed.
- Serve and garnish with green onions, then enjoy!
Turkey Avocado Grilled Cheese
Many different surveys have reported that grilled cheese is in the top 10 most common comfort foods in the US. Here’s a healthy twist on this classic comfort food – Turkey Avocado Grilled Cheese!!
Ingredients:
- 2 slices ezekiel bread
- 3 ultra thin slices of cheddar cheese
- 5 oz sliced turkey
- 1/2 avocado
- 3 slices on tomato
- 2-3 pats butter
Instructions:
- Butter both sides of the bread and put 1 piece of the bread into the frying pan (before turning the heat on) to assemble sandwich.
- On one side of the bread, put down 1 slice of cheese, then half of the turkey, avocado, tomato, and 1 slice of cheese.
- Then add the rest of the turkey, last cheese slice, and second piece of bread (again with both sides buttered).
- Turn on frying pan to medium high heat and cook until the the bottom cheese slice starts to melt.
- Flip to other side and cook until golden brown and all the cheese is melted.
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bars
Ingredients:
- 2 cups peanut butter
- 3 cups rolled instant oats
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1 tbsp instant espresso powder (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ cup cacao nibs (optional)
Instructions:
- Place peanut butter, honey, coconut oil, espresso powder, cocoa powder, and salt in a pot over medium low heat until melted and smooth.
- Put oats in large bowl and add peanut butter mixture. Stir until evenly combined.
- Line 9” x 13” pan with parchment paper. Add mixture to pan and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.
- Cut into approx. 24 bars and store in fridge. Bars will be soft and gooey at room temp.
Moo Goo Gai Pan Recipe
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:
- 1 lb chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 lb button mushrooms, quartered
- 1.5 cup snow peas
- 1/4 cup bamboo shoots, drained
- 1/4 cup water chestnuts, drained
- ½ tbsp coconut flour mixed with 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp white pepper
- Marinade ingredients:
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp coconut flour
- Sauce Ingredients:
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions:
- Combine all marinade ingredients and chopped chicken in a large bowl and let sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- Mix sauce and set aside.
- Heat large frying pan or wok on medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp coconut oil and marinating chicken. Cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is done then remove chicken from pan and put on plate, set aside.
- To the heated pan, add 1 tbsp coconut oil, mushrooms, and snow peas to pan; cook for 5 minutes.
- Add bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, garlic, and chicken; cook for 2 minutes.
- Add sauce ingredients and stir. Add flour & water mixture and stir until sauce thickens.
- Turn off the heat, sprinkle with white pepper and enjoy!
Abs Are Made in the Kitchen
There is an 80/20 rule to getting results: 80% is nutrition, 20% is exercise.
To maximize your muscle building and fat burning, eat more of these foods:
1) Lean protein: 35% to 40% of your daily food intake should be protein, so eat more chicken, fish, lean beef, pork and eggs
2) Healthy fats: 35% of your daily food intake should be healthy fats, so focus on including more avocado, tree nuts & peanuts, and seeds
3) Plain full fat greek yogurt: an excellent source of lean protein and healthy fat that is rich in calcium
4) Berries: packed full of fiber which helps keep you full and antioxidants which improve blood flow and help you make the most of your workouts
5) Quinoa: whole grain and packed full of fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates that will give you fuel slowly
6) Beans & lentils: an amazing source of protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates, they’re also full of vitamins which have shown to decrease blood pressure and keep your bones healthy
Banana Berry Collagen Smoothie
Collagen protein is an easy, delicious way to improve your health and vitality! Collagen is nothing new, but recent studies have shown how incredible it is at supporting your body!
Eating collagen protein eases joint pain, improves digestive health, reverses skin aging, reduces cellulite, builds muscles and burns fat! Sounds like magic, right?!?!
Go get some collagen protein and give this delicious smoothie a try!
Banana Berry Collagen Smoothie
1/2 small banana
1 cup berries (mixed or pick your favorite)
1 big handful spinach or power greens
2 scoops collagen protein ~20 gram (vanilla or unflavored)
1 cup pea milk (has 10 times the protein of almond milk!)
1/2 avocado (optional)
1-2 cups ice
– Add everything to a blender, blend until smooth and ENJOY!
Snacks are Awesome!
SNACKS ARE AWESOME!
Here’s a few delicious, healthy, high protein snacks that are delicious!
Turkey roll-up, Peanut butter no-bake energy balls, and Hummus & veggies!
TURKEY ROLL-UPS:
3 pieces of turkey (or other deli meat)
2 oz cream cheese
1 piece pickle, cucumber or tomato
1 tsp no salt seasoning
– Stack the slices of turkey and spread the cream cheese on the slice. Sprinkle with spices, place the vegetable on the edge and roll into a tube. Can substitute cream cheese for 1 slice of cheese.
PEANUT BUTTER NO-BAKE ENERGY BALLS:
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
3/4 quick oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup hemp seeds or chopped almonds
1/4 cup pumpkins seeds or chopped peanuts
– Put flax seeds in the coffee grinder (or buy ground flax seed). Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes. Form into small balls and store in the fridge for up to 7 days.
HUMMUS & VEGETABLES:
1/3 hummus
1 cup vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, celery, cucumber, and bell pepper are the best)
– Put hummus in short, wide mason jar or other container. Chop vegetables and stick into hummus.
Healthy food doesn’t have to taste like “diet food.”
Healthy food doesn’t have to taste like “diet food.”
This food is extremely healthy and DELICIOUS!
1 organic kale burger
1 Qrunch organic quinoa burger
3 eggs fried in coconut oil
2 tbsp cheese cheese
2 tbsp green salsa
3 tbsp red salsa
Post Workout Meal Ideas
Eating the right food after a workout is extremely important! You muscles burn through their energy storage and are broken down by working out. The right foods will not only rebuild the muscle energy stores and help with protein synthesis, but also enhance overall recovery.
Here are some post-workout meal ideas:
- tuna salad sandwich on wheat bread
- grilled chicken with rice and roast vegetables
- fruit and cottage cheese or greek yogurt with crackers
- egg omelet with avocado toast
- salmon with broccoli and sweet potato
- hummus with vegetables and pita
Delicious Blueberry Coconut Parfait
Want a tasty treat that won’t ruin your new year’s resolutions?! Try this delicious blueberry coconut parfait!
Blueberry Coconut Parfait
– 1/2 cup quinoa
– 1 cup coconut milk
– 1-2 pints fresh blueberries (or any other kind of berry)
– 4 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
– 16 oz plain greek yogurt
– 4 tbsp chia seeds
– 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Add the quinoa, chia seeds, vanilla extract, coconut flakes, and coconut milk to a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Cool quinoa by putting it in a bowl in the freezer. During this time, layer yogurt and blueberries in 4 cups. Layer in quinoa and another layer of yogurt and blueberries. Repeat until all the ingredients have been used.
