Be Unstoppable!

When I was on Weight Watchers before I hated football Game Days. I mean, I didn't! They were a blast, but I hated the fact that I felt the need to deprive myself of EVERYTHING that I wanted to eat on Game Day.

Wings.
Pizza.
Tacos.
Beer.

I'm not going to lie--those things still taste reallllllll good. I still struggle to say no! So, instead of saying no--why not try a healthy alternative!

Here are some delicious football game day eats, just in time for the Super Bowl (Go SEAHAWKS!)! Not only are they delicious, but they're HEALTHY!

First up...

Healthy Cauliflower Barbecue Bites

 I've only made these once at this point, but OMG I love these!!!! I LOVE wings! And these, though they're not as hearty as chicken, they definitely give you your wing FIX!

What do you need?
Prep the cauliflower....

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • Garlic powder
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • PAM original
  • Kroger Buffalo Wing Sauce
  • Sriracha Hot Sauce


Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degree F
  2. Prep the cauliflower by cutting off the stems and prepping the florets.
  3. Coat the cauliflower florets with PAM cooking oil.  Then toss the cauliflower in garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Bake the cauliflower for 20 minutes.
  5. Make a sauce of about 2/3 buffalo wing sauce and 1/3 sriracha. **Add more sriracha if you prefer spicier**
  6. Up the oven to 450 degrees and bake for another 5 minutes.
  7. Serve with blue cheese or ranch (whichever you prefer) and celery if you'd like!

Then Enjoy! Yum!!

Cauliflower Buffalo Barbecue Bites - NOM! So good!

 Tortilla Pizzas

 This is one of MY FAVORITES! I have been eating this since I started Beachbody and it is one of my favorites! I LOVE me some pizza and beer, especially on game day! And I'll be damned if someone says I can't have that on game day! Soooooo I lightened it up! :-)

 The big thing with pizza is all the carbs, so I lighten it up the most by using tortillas instead of pizza dough for my crust! Then your toppings can be whatever you want! I like veggies and light proteins like ham, chicken, or turkey bacon. So the what you need list is very short and flexible!

What do you need?
  • Large flour tortillas
  • Whatever toppings you want!
    • Some combinations to try:
      • Olive oil, cherry tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella
      • Pesto, spinach, mozzarella
      • Cheddar cheese mix, ham and spinach
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
  2. Make your pizza how you like it!
  3. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until crispy!

Then Enjoy! Seriously - my favorite thing ever!!! Totally cures my pizza fix!

Try some stuff out--olive oil, pesto, or tomato sauce is totally cool!
Veggies - tomatoes, spinach, artichokes, basil, etc.
Protein - chicken, turkey, ham, turkey bacon

Keep you toppings light just like your crust!

And if you want a beer with your pizza? Totally fine! I'm all about balance and substitutions, not about deprivation. So instead of a high calorie beer, try a light beer! I know, I know--light beer has a bad rep! But I loved Corona Light and that is still my Game Day, at home go-to!

This is a go to! So keep these toppings in your fridge even NOT on Game Day and you'll have a healthy, junk food-tasting fix!

Beer and pizza can 

 Fish Tacos

 I came across this recipe when I was doing T25 and I LOVE it! Fish tacos man!! You can't go wrong!! This is so so light and delicious! All good carbs, lean protein, and yummy veggies!

Cod Fish Tacos from the Focus T25 recipe book! So good!
What do you need?

  • Corn tortillas, small
  • Cod fillets
  • Cole slaw mix
  • Cilantro
  • Lime


Directions:
  1. Bake cod filets per package directions
  2. Take 3 corn tortillas and top with cod fillets
  3. Add cole slaw mix on top of cod fillets
  4. Add ripped up cilantro and squeeze lime atop fish tacos
That's it!! Easy!! Super simple and super delicious!



And that's it!

Healthy Game Day treats for you to try out at your Super Bowl party!! Annnnnnd Go SEAHAWKS!!
I love Thanksgiving! It's such a fun time to spend with great people--people you love! I WISH that I could've spent mine with my family, but unfortunately home is too far with too short of a holiday break to travel back.  

So, instead for the last couple of years, I have spent Thanksgiving with my local "adopted" family at what we've come to call Orphan Thanksgiving. Everyone who does not have a place to go or doesn't have family close by comes and joins us for a Thanksgiving feast.

Last year I made my Grandma Jane's twice baked potatoes. They're truly one of, if not my most, favorite foods.  They're delicious--but also quite butter heavy. And russet potatoes in and of themselves don't have the highest of nutritional content. So, instead, this year I decided to stick with my twice baked potato theme and instead make twice-baked sweet potatoes.

This recipe was one that my mom sent me from Sunset magazine! She knows I LOVE me some sweet potatoes, and she knows even more so that I love me some twice baked potatoes! Nom nom nom! Soooo delicious!

So, this year for Thanksgiving, I made...

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Goat Cheese & Bacon

These were actually super simple to make--I hesitate to say easy, because twice-baked potatoes are labor intensive and time-consuming. I won't shy away from that statement. You do have to bake the potatoes twice, stuff them, etc. And depending upon how many you're making, they can take a few hours!

I was making 20, but I came to the realization that that didn't mean I needed to double every timing aspect of the recipe.  But regardless, I'll share with you what I did for my 20 person sweet potato feast--with a few modifications.

What you'll need:
  • 10 sweet potatoes (of varying sizes)
  • 1 lb of bacon - I used maple glazed
  • 10 oz of goat cheese
  • Olive oil - extra virgin
  • milk (I used an almond/coconut blend)
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • chopped chives
  • kosher salt and pepper to taste


 First things first, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.


While it heats up, prepare the potatoes.  Prick the potatoes multiple times with a fork, and slather with olive oil so that it coats the potato skin.

Once the oven has heated, baked the potatoes for 1 hour to 75 minutes. (I did 90 minutes and this was too much).  Your potatoes should be cooked and tender, but not mooshy.  I know...it's a "technical" term haha.

While the potatoes are baking, sautee the bacon.  I cut my pound of bacon into 1 inch pieces and cooked until well-done. Once cooked, drain on a paper towel to remove the majority of the grease. Pat dry once drained.  Once dry, roughly chop the bacon, and then set aside half of the bacon for filling and half for later.

Once the potatoes have been cooked, please please PLEASE allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes before trying to scoop out the insides. Be sure to leave the oven ON.


 Once cooled, scoop out the insides of the potatoes. If you're new to twice-baked potatoes, make sure that you leave a little bit of potato on the interior of the potato skin. That will ensure that your potatoes maintain structure once filled with filling.  


Once the filling has been scooped out, crush the potato removed from skins with a fork. Then mix in half of the roughly chopped bacon.  Crumble half of the goat cheese into the potato + bacon mixture, and then mix in. As the goat cheese melt, you'll find your mixture gets VERY creamy.  

Fill the potato shells with the entire mixture, evenly dispersing it between the potatoes. 

Chill these filled potatoes before attending your party (assuming the party is not at your house...).

Prior to enjoying, bake for 20-30 more minutes.  Then top with crumbled goat cheese, remaining bacon, and chives!

I make no promise that these are "healthy," but they're a a healthier option! And it's always fun to try to find healthier options of your holiday favorites!

To make this completely 21 day fix approved--switch out regular bacon for turkey bacon! And/or decrease the amount of cheese! :-) And stick with smaller sweet potatoes!

ENJOY! And try to stay healthy this holiday season my friends!
Okay so in the maybe 4 hours since I posted this picture on instagram, I had about four different people ask me for the recipe! So I figured this merited a a blog post! 

I LOVE protein pancakes! I've toyed around with a number of recipes and this is my favorite so far! I modified this recipe from one I found on pinterest from Lexi's Clean Kitchen!  I didn't have a lot of her ingredients and I wanted to make it accesible for someone who didn't have a lot of organic ingredients or typical "health" food staples.

So here's my version:

Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
-1/3 cup pumpkin puree (original recipe called for homemade but I just used canned pumpkin from the store)
2 tbsp whole-wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1.4 tsp pumpkin spice (if you have it--otherwise I used a few extra shakes of cinnamon, 1 dash of ginger, a big shake of nutmeg because I love nutmeg, and a shake of all spice)
1 heaping scoop of chocolate Shakeology (the original recipe called for vanilla protein powder, but I only had chocolate so I added that instead)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tbsp honey

My batter turned out REALLY thick actually, so I would suggest thinning it maybe with a little bit of almond milk.  It should spread easily into a circle, when you pour it into the pan (you know--you've made pancakes before).  

I usually put about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter into the pan and then top it with chocolate chips! For these I used Nestles dark chocolate chips and put about 8 chocolate chips on top of each pancake!  

I'll refine this recipe as I make it more, but I wanted to share now because it's JUST THAT GOOD!!! 

Enjoy! :-)


How often do you CRAVE delicious, creamy ice cream but pass it up because of the calories??? Well, how about a delicious, healthy treat that is as easy as peeling a banana? (Seriously wishing I could insert some adorable little smiley/winky face here).


This Banana Peanut Butter Sundae is perfectly healthy, made with all natural ingredients!

And, as I mentioned, the recipe is as easy, as well--peeling a banana!

What you'll need:
-1 banana (frozen)
-Milk -- I prefer Almond Milk or a Coconut/Almond Milk Blend (only a couple pours)
-Peanut Butter (I used natural peanut butter)
-A blender

Recipe:
-Blend 1 frozen banana , 2 tablespoons peanut butter, and a couple pours of milk to thin out the mixture enough to blend!

DELICIOUS!!!

I hope you like it!

Oh and side note, it's 21 day fix approved, counting for 2 purples and a tablespoon! :-)

Until next time,
Sorry for the late MOTW!  I've had a few oddball weekends! My parents came to visit a couple weeks ago and we went to Niagara falls so I was out of town for a bit and didn't do as much cooking that weekend. We ate out a ton, but I tried to make sure I was getting in lots of fruits and veggies, despite it all!!  It's all about balance after all people! :-D

Isn't it gorgeous?? I highly recommend you check out Niagara Falls if you ever have the chance!
Despite all the eating we'd done, after my parents left and headed home, I found myself with some serious craving for some carbs!  How often do you crave something carb filled and just delicious? Daily would probably be my response. So, after they left, when I was picking out my MOTW recipe to get me through the rest of the week, I stumbled across a gem, which has now become my personal favorite!

Paleo Phad Thai


 This was a recipe I found on Chelsea Eats Treats.  I instantly new this guy would be a hit! Why? 1) Phad Thai, 2) Spaghetti Squash, 3) Sriracha, and 4) PHAD THAI!!!!

This recipe was delicious and so easy!  And what makes it so healthy is that you're talking out all of that unnecessary carb and adding in some delicious spaghetti squash in it's place! Delicious!

Literally, all I did was cook up some chicken, cook a spaghetti squash, sautee a bunch of shredded cabbage (I used the store bought cole slaw mix), some green onions (I think I would do more next time), throw everything together and scramble some eggs along with them. The trickiest part was the sauce, which calls for lime juice, rice vinegar, sugar, water, fish sauce (I left this out and it was fine), oil, and red pepper flakes. Then garnish it all with some peanuts. I didn't have any peanuts, so I actually think I would melt some peanut butter into the sauce next time.

I liked to eat mine with a little squirt of sriracha on top! Yum!!

For the specific recipe, check out Chelsea Eats Treats! Gotta give credit where credit is due! :-)

Until next time,

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