Szechuan Pork and Veggies

I love, love, love Asian food. But you can not eat very healthy with all the oil and huge portions of rice they give you at restaurants. Therefore, mostly when I eat Asian, I make it at home. Luckily, most groceries carry a decent assortment of sauces to replicate those spicy, complex Asian flavors.

Szechuan Pork and Veggies

3/4 lb. boneless pork chop, trimmed of fat and cut into strips

3/4 lb. or about 3 c. of fresh broccoli cut into small pieces

10 white button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 yellow pepper, cut into strips

1/2 red pepper, cut into strips

1/2 small yellow onion, sliced

2 tbsp. lite soy sauce

1-2 tbsp. Szechaun sauce

Serves 2 - 380 calories each

In a large saute pan add peppers, broccoli and onion to about 1/2 c. water and a few tbsp. of soy sauce. You may need to cover the veggies for a few minutes to steam them. Once the veggies are cooked mostly all the way through, remove lid and allow the sauces to evaporate. Next add in raw strips of pork, Szechaun sauce and mushrooms. Stir frequently and cook thoroughly. 

You can certainly add brown or white rice to this if you want. 

Mini Zucchini Muffins - 25 calories a pop!

Growing up in a Southern home we ate a bit of zucchini bread. Now, I know there is no true substitute for the rich flavor of real butter and sugar, but I tried! Instead of opting for a bread I chose mini muffins, better portion control and they would freeze better. That is, if they last that long!

MINI ZUCCHINI MUFFINS

1 c. organic unbleached white whole wheat flour*

2/3 c. tapioca flour*

1/2 c. baking Splenda

1 -2 tsp. cinnamon (I prefer 2)

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 egg

1/2 c. Almond Breeze Coconut Almond Blend Unsweetened Vanilla Milk**

1 3/4 c. shredded fresh zucchini, unpeeled (about 2 - 7" small)

3 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce

1/2 tsp. orange zest (optional)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. granulated brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with baking spray (the kind with flour - or use paper muffin liners). In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients (flours, splenda, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt). In a smaller bowl combine all wet ingredients (zucchini, egg, milk, applesauce, vanilla, orange zest). Once both bowls are mixed well pour wet batter into dry bowl and mix until blended. 

Pour by tablespoon into mini muffin pan. Once all batter is poured out sprinkle tops with 1 tsp. granulated brown sugar (a little goes a long way with this stuff). You can add more if you like, it's only 10 calories per teaspoon. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until desired. Some folks like their muffins more moist than dry and vice versa. 

Recipe yields about 34 mini muffins - 25 calories each.

*If you only have one type of flour - you may use whatever you have, all purpose, rice flour, etc. This just happened to be what I had in the cupboard. Just make sure you are essentially using 1 2/3 c. flour. You will need to adjust the calories based on your substitution - my recipe total flour calories is 625.

**If you would rather use soymilk, skim milk, whole milk, etc. you may use that as well. Just adjust the calorie contents accordingly - my recipe uses 20 calories of the blended milk.

Broco Cauli Chicky Cheese Soup.

I've been craving broccoli cheese soup for awhile. The issue is that if you go out and try to get yourself a cup at a restaurant you will be paying pretty high in calories for it. The average for one cup is about 150-175 calories. So of course I had to fit foodie it up! Here's my version, coming in at only 68 calories per cup and it has chicken! Now this soup has several steps, make sure to read all the way through!

BROCO CAULI CHICKY CHEESE SOUP

1 lb. fresh broccoli crowns

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen cauliflower - you can use fresh too, but frozen is generally cheaper and easier!

7 c. water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 tsp. Seitenbacher veggie broth seasoning (you can omit this if you like and sub another chicken or veggie bouillon cube)

7 oz. cooked chicken breast, shredded

2 oz. Cabot reduced fat Pepper Jack cheese

1 tbsp. corn starch

Here's what you do. 

Cook chicken breast with a little olive oil cooking spray, salt and pepper in the same pot you will be using to make your soup. Once mostly done, set aside to cool.

Next: Chop your broccoli into small florets. 

In the pot you cooked your chicken in add garlic, onion, seasonings and 2 cups of water. Do not clean or wipe out all that chickeny goodness in the bottom! Bring to a boil and add broccoli and cauliflower. Cook for several minutes until veggies are done but not overcooked and colorless. 

While that is cooking, shred your chicken using two forks.

If you prefer, you can dice instead. 

Next, remove about a cup and a half of the broccoli florets from the pot and set aside next to the chicken. We will re-add these later. The rest of the contents of the pot will go into a food processor or blender. Once blended to desired consistency add back in some of the cooked florets, pepper jack cheese and the chicken and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in 1/2 c. cold water mixed with corn starch to thicken soup a bit. 

Makes 10 - 1 cup servings - 68 calories each. 

**You don't have to blend it at all if you prefer a chunkier soup with a brothy quality. And you also don't have to pull out some florets before blending if it's too time consuming or you like the smoothness of the soup. I wouldn't recommend blending the chicken, that could be bizarre. I prefer a bit of texture to my soups. 

Fit Foodie Meatloaf!

I don't remember ever making meatloaf before in my life. It wasn't something we ate often growing up but for some reason I had a craving for it recently. Blame the weather, blame needing comfort food after a stressful last few weeks, blame the stars. Whatever the cause, here is what I made. I have to admit, it turned out better than I imagined!

FIT FOODIE MEATLOAF

Loaf:

1 lb. 96% lean ground beef

3 slices of light Italian bread (or any other light bread with 40 calories or less per slice)**

2 egg whites

2 tbsp. chili sauce

1/4 c. onion, diced

1/4 c. carrot, diced

1/4 c. green pepper, diced

1 tbsp. Worcestershire

2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. grated horseradish (from the bottle, not fresh)

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. Adobo seasoning (you can omit this if you like)

1 tsp. black pepper

sea salt (use your own judgement)

Sauce:

1/4 c. chili sauce

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire

1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

The night before, set out 3 slices of light bread on your counter to dry out. Once the bread is crusty enough you can either a) put it in a food processor and grind to crumbs or b) place them in a plastic sandwich bag and using your palms (or a meat tenderizer mallet) crush to crumbs (this is what I did, and is much more fun). 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with baking spray and set aside. In a large bowl combine all loaf ingredients and mix thoroughly with hands. Place into loaf pan and spread out evenly. Next combine all ingredients for the sauce into another bowl, mix well and spoon over the top of your loaf mixture. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

Makes 6 good sized slices at 155 calories each. 

Take the leftover meatloaf (if there is any!) and make into meatloaf sandwiches!

Potato, Kale and Sausage Soup

I've been wanting to try Kale in a soup for awhile, so I scoured for a recipe to take hints from and then, made up my own (as usual).

POTATO, KALE & SAUSAGE SOUP

1/2 lb. chopped & cleaned kale

10 oz. uncooked hot Italian sausage

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 medium red potatoes, diced, skins on

6 oz. plain Greek yogurt

3 beef bouillon cubes

1 tbsp. Seitenbacher vegetable seasoning

10 c. water

sea salt to taste

Spray Dutch oven or soup pot with olive oil cooking spray. Over medium heat add onion and garlic, cook for several minutes. Next add crumbled sausage, cook all the way through. Then add in potatoes, kale, water and seasonings. Simmer covered for 40 minutes. Remove from heat, wait 5 minutes and stir in yogurt.

Makes 11 -  1 cup servings - 100 calories each

Pinterest Finds... Kale Chips & Roasted Chickpeas

I have officially joined and am obsessed with Pinterest. Of the tons of recipes I keep coming across that look super tasty I tried two of them last night.

Kale Chips and Roasted Chickpeas - such yummy snack food.

ROASTED CHICKPEAS

The original recipe can be found over at  theKitchn.

I didn't stray too far from the original recipe except I used half the olive oil and added garlic powder as well as sea salt and garam masala. 

1 can rinsed, drained and dried chick peas

1/2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tbsp. garam masala

1/2 tbsp. garlic powder

1-2 tsp. sea salt (to taste)

Roast at 400 degrees onto sprayed baking sheet, making sure to shake them around a bit every 10 minutes or so, for 25-35 minutes or until desired crispiness. 

Yields about 3 - 1/2 cup servings - 130 calories each.

crunchy,  fiber & protein packed snacks. delish!

I also came close to sticking with the recipe for the Kale Chips but again used less oil. It's amazing how little oil you actually need versus how much oil most recipes will call for... pure silliness.

KALE CHIPS

1 bunch Kale, washed well and dried, chopped into  1 1/2" or so strips (about 4 cups)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

sea salt to taste

Toss Kale with olive oil and vinegar mixture. Sprinkle on sea salt and spread out onto sprayed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Keep an eye on them, should take about 10-15 minutes.

One batch - about 260 calories

You can eat either (or both!) of these tasty, crunchy snacks instead of chips or popcorn and get the added bonus of vitamins, fiber AND protein!

So go ahead, give them a try! Let me know what you think!

Double Re-Do - Aztec Blend with Squash

So the first time I made this dish it was tasty, but a little too sweet for me and I felt like I could make it better. Therefore, I tried it again.

Here's what I did:

(and it's much prettier!)

DOUBLE RE-DO - AZTEC BLEND WITH SQUASH

1 package of cleaned and cut butternut squash (or about 1 lb. cut into 1 inch cubes)

3/4 c. dry of Indian Harvest (or Wegman's) Aztec blend rice

2 tsp. Seitenbacher Vegetable Broth and seasoning

1/2 oz. of toasted blanched almonds, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

5 baby bella mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves garlic, roasted and minced

1/2 bag baby spinach

salt to taste

Roast salted squash at 450 degrees on a baking sheet sprayed with olive oil cooking spray for 35 minutes, flipping halfway through. While squash is roasting cook Aztec blend as package directs, adding vegetable seasoning to boiling water. Your squash and Aztec blend will take about the same amount of time to cook. About 25 minutes in, place two cloves of garlic (in their skins) on baking sheet as well and roast with squash.  Saute in a small pan with olive oil cooking spray onion and mushrooms until done. Remove from heat and set aside. Once squash and garlic is roasted, remove from oven. Mince roasted garlic and add to butternut squash on baking sheet. Also at this time add Aztec blend, mushrooms and onions to baking sheet as well. Mix thoroughly. Place back into the 450 degree oven for another 5 minutes. Remove and add fresh baby spinach, mix again and place back into oven for about ten minutes or until spinach is wilted. 

This entire recipe is 940 calories. You can either divide into thirds making it 313 calories each. Or halves (good sized!) for 470 calories each. 

Adding in the spinach not only adds color but also a good source of vitamins. If you liked the sweetness from the first recipe add in dried cranberries or raisins. It will raise the calories some but not too much. 

Perfect for a hearty meal packed with veggies!