Peanut Chicken Stew š„£ ā£
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So, Iām totally against giving up the foods I love in order to meet my fitness goals. BUT sometimes compromises have to be made. This stew is a great example. Traditionally this dish has more sweet potato and peanut butter, and often is served vegetarian over rice. In my take, Iāve lowered both the carbs and the fat, and added (more) chicken. Itās still šÆ amazing. No missing out on favourite foods here!ā£
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To make 4 servings: Dice 1 large red onion and 3 cloves garlic. SautĆ© in a stock pot sprayed with avocado oil. Once softened, add 1/4c tomato paste, 1/4c PB2, 1/4c crunchy peanut butter, 2c cooked, cubed sweet potato and 4 c chicken stock, and hot sauce to taste (I used about 1 tsp). Simmer for about 40 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to purĆ©e the stew. If you donāt have one, carefully purĆ©e in batches using a traditional blender. Once blended return to heat and add 1 bunch of collard greens (washed, ribs removed and cut into bite sized pieces). Stir through to wilt well. Add 6 cooked diced chicken thighs and youāre ready to go! Add salt & pepper to taste.ā£
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This would also work well with shredded chicken breast in place of the chicken thighs. Feel free to adjust the amount of chicken stock you use to get the thickness you like best! šā£
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Broccoli Slaw Power Bowl
Broccoli Slaw Power Bowlā£
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Sometimes you just need your meal to be quick and easy, right? You can get broccoli slaw at most grocery stores. I love the fresh crunch it adds to this bowl and the fact that itās ready to use right out of the bag. No cooking, chopping or washing needed! This bowl comes together in about 3 minutes flat if youāve cooked a batch of farro and grilled some chicken ahead of time. But it tastes awesome and is super satisfying. Thatās a win in my books!ā£
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Put broccoli slaw in a bowl, and drizzle with 2 tsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp tzatziki seasoning powder. Mix through. Top with cooked farro and grilled chicken. Crumble feta over top of that farro and chicken. Finish with a generous squeeze of lemon and enjoy! šā£
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
š Pumpkin Spice Muffins š ā£
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Thanksgiving is finally here! All the pumpkin things are happening this week! A few days ago I did pumpkin spice baked oatmeal. But if youāre looking for a traditional muffin, try these. I canāt get enough right now! ā£
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š„ 2 c oats, ground (use your food processor to process rolled oats as finely as possible)ā£
š„ 2 tsp baking sodaā£
š„ 2 tsp baking powderā£
š„ 2 tsp pumpkin pie spiceā£
š„ 1 tsp ground ginger, optional ā£
š„ 1 c brown sugar zero-cal sugar replacementā£
š„ 4 large eggsā£
š„ 1 c pumpkin purĆ©eā£
š„ 2 tsp vanillaā£
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Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl.ā£
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Mix wet ingredients in another.ā£
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Mix wet ingredients into dry. If mixture looks too dry, add a little more pumpkin purĆ©e. Youāre going for a thick consistency, but the mixture should not look dry.ā£
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Scoop into 12 muffin cups. Bake for 25 min at 350, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.ā£
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Drizzle: Add 1 tbsp almond milk to 1/3 c zero-cal icing sugar replacer (I like @swervesweetie). Stir thoroughly and adjust the milk quantity to get the consistency you like. Drizzle over fully cooled muffins.
Turkey & Wild Rice Soup
Iāve promised you ideas of how to use up your leftover turkey…so letās start with whatās quick and easy – turkey and wild rice soup! This is one of my favourite leftover spins, especially if Iāve taken the time to make the broth myself. If you donāt have the time or inclination to make turkey broth just use prepared chicken stock. šā£
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In a heavy bottomed stock pot sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, sautĆ© 2 diced carrots, 1 diced yellow onion and 4 diced celery ribs until softened. Add 8 c turkey (or chicken) stock, and 1 c wild rice. Simmer until rice is cooked through. Before serving add cubed leftover turkey and diced fresh herbs (thyme and rosemary are perfect).ā£
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For the stock, use either homemade turkey stock to purchased chicken stock. To make turkey broth, simmer your turkey carcass with lots of water and a few roughly chopped carrots, onion, celery ribs and garlic cloves on low heat for 5h. Strain and use the clear broth. ā£
Sweet Potato & Turkey Sammie
Okay, so the cranberry aioli isnāt isnāt very photogenic, but these little sammies still taste awesome and will help you along with getting all that leftover turkey used up. As a bonus, youāll use up some cranberry sauce too!ā£
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Slice a sweet potato into 1/4ā thick rounds. Ā Set the sweet potato slices on a cooling rack set over a cookie tray and roast in the oven at 425F for 30 minutes.ā£
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To make the cranberry aioli, mix 1 tbsp cranberry sauce with 1 tbsp light mayo.ā£
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Top a slice of sweet potato with a bit of the cranberry aioli, leftover sliced turkey breast, and some kale. Ā Top with another slice of sweet potato.ā£
Cobb Salad
Happy Hump Day! Iām still using up leftover turkey here! š¤·āāļøā£
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Today Iāve got a healthy Cobb salad coming at ya. Iāve swapped the bacon for turkey bacon and used some apple cider vinegar instead of dressing. To keep the flavour quotient high I used some good quality blue cheese, and of course some leftover turkey.ā£
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To create this salad yourself, chop and wash romaine lettuce. Ā Line a large salad bowl with the romaine and top with 1 tbsp diced onion, a few quartered cherry tomatoes, 1 slice of cooked diced turkey bacon, 1 sliced hardboiled egg, a handful of diced leftover turkey, 1/2c black beans, 1/4c crumbled blue cheese and toss with apple cider vinegar or your favourite dressing. ā£
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If you donāt have leftover turkey hanging around in your fridge, just swap the turkey for diced grilled chicken!ā£
Kale Caesar with Chic Pea & Turkey
Kale Caesar Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Turkeyā£
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One last leftover turkey idea for this week! I love chickpeas…so much! Iāve replaced the croutons from a traditional Caesar salad with roasted chickpeas, which are crunchy and delicious. Enjoy!ā£
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To roast the chickpeas ā”ļø Drain and rise a can of chick peas. Ā Add all of the chickpeas to your air fryer along with 1 tbsp oilve oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Ā Set the air fryer for 20 minutes.ā£
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To make the caesar dressing ā”ļø I used @gourmetduvillage dried caesar mix in 1c greek yogourt, along with 1/2 of a freshly squeezed lemon and 1/4 c almond milk. Ā This dressing is yummy and makes for a super quick prep.ā£
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To assemble ā”ļø massage 1 head of ribbed and chopped kale with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Ā Mix the dressing into the kale. Ā Divide into four portions. Ā Top each salad with 1/4 of the roasted chickpeas, diced leftover turkey breast, and parmesan pieces. ā£
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Pad Thai
Itās Fri-yay! Does that mean treat dinner at your house tonight? It does at ours! But treat dinner doesnāt have to equal āoverdoing itā dinner. ā£
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I love Pad Thai so much. Ā I do not so much love how overstuffed I feel after eating way too many rice noodles. (Which inevitably happens because I love Pad Thai so much.). In this version, Iāve replaced the rice noodles with spiralized zucchini noodles, and amped up the veggies. Ā I like to peel my zucchini before I spiralize it, because I think it makes the zucchini do a better job of passing for ārealā noodles, for but the choice is entirely yours.ā£
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To make one generous serving of this healthy Pad Thai ā”ļø Spiralize 2 medium zucchinis and set aside. Ā Saute 1/2 lb shrimp and 1 finely diced clove of garlic in a pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray over medium heat until the shrimp are cooked. Ā Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside. ā£
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To make the Pad Thai sauce whisk together 1/2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp zero cal brown sugar replacer, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp tamarind paste, 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, the juice of 1/2 fresh lime and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes. Ā Add the sauce to the pan and stir over low-medium until the sauce thickens. Ā Add the zucchini, 1 red pepper sliced into matchsticks, 1 cup bean sprouts, and 1 green onion sliced into 1ā segments. Ā Stir constantly. Ā Once the zucchini and peppers are warmed through, stir in the shrimp, and move this deliciousness onto a plate! Top with chopped peanuts, cilantro and fresh lime juice.ā£
Breakfast Cookie
Happy Saturday Friends! Itās chilly out this morning! These healthy – husband approved – breakfast cookies will keep the chill out of kitchen – and your tummy! Enjoy!ā£
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š„ 2 large bananas (the riper the better!)ā£
š„ 3/4 c rolled oatsā£
š„ 3/4 quick oatsā£
š„ 1 eggā£
š„ 1/4 c peanut butterā£
š„ 1/2 tsp vanillaā£
š„ 1/4 tsp saltā£
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Mash the bananas well in a medium sized bowl. Ā Once the bananas are mashed, add all remaining ingredients and stir well. Ā Scoop the batter onto a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet, about 1/3c at a time to create 8 cookies. Ā They will be large! Ā Shape the cookies up as needed, because these cookies will not spread very much, nor will they rise. Ā Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.ā£
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To make these like a jam thumbprint cookie, just before you put the cookies in the oven spray the back of a 1/2 tsp measure with non-stick spray, and create a depression in the centre of each cookie. Ā Fill the depression with 1/2 tsp of your favourite jam.ā£
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Chocolate Zucchini Muffin
Sometimes all you need is a good book, a cup of tea and a chocolate muffin right? Especially when youāre settling in for a Sunday read. These muffins are super chocolatey, but not too sweet. Ā The zucchini totally disappears into these muffins but helps to keep them lovely and moist.ā£
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To make 15 mini muffins:ā£
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š„ 1/2 c rolled oats, ground into flour by running through your food processorā£
š„ 3 tbsp cocoa powderā£
š„ a pinch of saltā£
š„ 1 tsp baking sodaā£
š„ 1 tsp baking powderā£
š„ 2 tbsp granulated @swervesweetieā£
š„ 2 eggsā£
š„ 1/2 c grated and squeezed zucchini (about 1 medium)ā£
š„ 2 tbsp mini chocolate chipsā£
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Mix all ingredients together. Ā Divide into a mini muffin tray (I sprayed mine with non-stick spray first) and bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.ā£