 I could eat this everyday and it is very filling. I used a whole grain piece of toast and cooked an egg over easy with 1 slice of turkey bacon. I added a tomato and 1 thin slice of deli cheddar cheese. I'm not sure if the deli cheese works on the 21 day fix diet but it made this open faced breakfast sandwich so yummy!
My husband and I decided to try this program called 21 day fix. This program is designed to teach people how to eat healthy portions and the amount of fruits, veggies, starches and protein we should consume in a day. My goal with this was to not only lose some weight but to adopt a healthier lifestyle. This is not an easy task since I bake for a living! While I was waiting on my program to come in the mail, I decided to start cutting back on my portions some. By cutting back some the first week and starting the program last week, I've lost 10 pounds so far! It's been crazy how fast the weight has been coming off so far. This is also the first "diet" (such a dirty word) that I have not felt like I'm starving all the time! I told my husband that we are not going to call this a diet because I want it to be a lifestyle change. I've said all of this to share some recipes I have come up with that fit into this program. I'm learning new ways to cook and trying new veggies and fruit. It has been really fun so far!  This was my first green smoothie. I made it with vanilla protein powder to take place of a meal and added spinach, 1 whole apple and a dash of cinnamon. This one was very tasty!!! I have also experimented with vanilla protein powder, blueberries and butter extract to make it taste like blueberry muffin batter. I'm having fun coming up with different combinations!  This was a snack I made using homemade clean granola and diced apples. I used dates to help sweeten the granola.  Cajun toasted sunflower seeds!!! My new favorite snack! I tossed these with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then used a salt free Cajun seasoning. I baked them on a sheet pan at 350 degrees for about 15-20 mins. Very yummy!!!!! I'm going to play around with different flavors with this snack.  Roasted Cherry Tomatoes is also an awesome snack! These little gems get so sweet when you roast them. I used a tablespoon of olive oil and a tiny bit of sea salt with some pepper. I baked them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. I will mix these with my sunflower seeds sometimes for a snack.  Bruschetta chicken over zucchini noodles with whole grain couscous. I bought a spiralizer a few months ago and love it!!! I used that to make my zoodles :) The bruschetta part is diced tomatoes, garlic and salt free Italian seasoning cooked together. I grilled my chicken and cooked my zoodles with some olive oil on a sheet pan. This is a great meal!  Ground Turkey Taco Salad
Baby spinach as your bed of lettuce 3/4 cup of seasoned ground turkey (I used cumin, chili power, garlic and onions to flavor mine) 1/2 cup fresh tomato salsa 1 cup of grilled corn 1/4 cup goat cheese Very yummy salad!  This morning kicked off the birthday week for my husband. Yes, I know he is spoiled! I let him pick some of his favorites for me to cook. We started off this morning with apple turnovers. These things should be illegal! You can eat 4 without even realizing it! I take major shortcuts with this recipe but it has a nice wow factor to it. All the recipe consists of is puff pastry, apple pie filling (you can make your own too), powdered sugar and heavy cream. I roll the puff pastry out and then cut it into 6 squares. I put a couple of tablespoons of apple pie filling in the middle and fold it over. I used a fork to crimp the edges to make it pretty. Once I have them all put together, I brush the tops with melted butter and add a sprinkle of granulated sugar to the top. They bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 mins. The icing is super simple too! I just mixed 1 cup of powdered sugar with a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream. The consistency of the icing is totally up to you! Very yummy breakfast on this cold morning!
 I just want to thank Pinterest for introducing me to this amazing cake! This cake has the potential to be a show stopper depending on how you want to dress it up. I'm thinking that coffee gelato would go perfect as a topping for this luscious cake. A simple dollop of whipped cream would be just enough to top this cake off as well. I plan on playing around with different flavors that go with chocolate in order to create new versions of this cake. I love baking homework!!!!!
 It's comfort food time!!! We had an ice storm where I live recently so this is code for: cook all the comfort food you can shove into your mouth! lol I started our ice storm comfort food extravaganza with homemade gnocchi. This was my first time making gnocchi and it was a good trial run. It is a good use for leftover mashed potatoes. I turned my gnocchi into an Italian chicken and dumplings. This dish definitely fit the comfort food bill!  I always like to make treats during ice storms. This recipe came from a lady I met at my school. She made these as a treat for a classroom party and I was hooked. Haystacks are almost foolproof! I say almost because I know some out there (not to mention any names...Scott) could mess them up. lol The recipe consists of only 4 ingredients! 1 cup butterscotch chips 1/2 cup peanut butter chips t tablespoon crisco 1 1/2 cups chow mein noodles Melt the first 3 ingredients on the stove or in the microwave and then pour over the chow mein noodles. Scoop mounds of the mixture onto wax paper to set up for about 30 mins.   This dinner turned out amazing! I coated my salmon with a mixture of horseradish stone ground mustard, a splash of white wine, dill, parsley, sea salt and pepper. It was so flavorful! The salmon sat on top of some lentils that I had cooked for a previous meal. I placed a baby spinach salad with avocado, tomato, goat cheese and lemon juice to add some freshness to the wrap. All this yummy goodness was packaged into a flour tortilla shell. I will be making this again!
 I've been on a bread baking kick! The bread to the left is my version of the yummy bread you get from Outback. This is a hearty bread that goes well with a steak meal.  This bread to the right is another French bread recipe. I've been trying different recipes for this bread to find the perfect one! This recipe was really good! I tried to put sesame seeds on top but forgot to brush it with butter for them to stick. Needless to say, the seeds fell off! Lesson learned :)
 I adapted this recipe from Ina Garten. She has a mustard roasted chicken recipe that is really good. I used Dijon mustard and rubbed it all over the chicken. I then seasoned with sea salt and pepper. I sprinkled seasoned panko bread crumbs on top of the chicken. The last thing I added to give a little extra flavor was a sprinkling of onion powder. My kids loved this chicken and I was able to save the bones to use in some stock!  These are the chicken bones leftover from dinner. I added water to the pot along with a diced onion. A pinch of sea salt and pepper were added for flavor. I also added some parsley and a bay leaf. This stock will be used in some homemade chicken and dumplings this weekend! Yummy!!!!!
 I have a confession to make....these cookies were made from a boxed cake mix. This is one of those mommy tricks that make kids really happy! I use cake mix all the time in cookies. It takes no time at all to whip up a huge batch of cookies. The cool thing is that you can play around with flavors and create some really cool cookies! I went with the red velvet this time since we are in the love month! Here is the recipe!
Ingredients: 1 box cake mix 1/2 cup oil 2 eggs 2 cups chocolate chips or any other flavor Mix the eggs and the oil together and then add your cake mix. Once you have used your muscles to mix this cookie dough, add your chocolate chips. I then use a small melon baller to scoop my cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone liner. You can use cooking spray too if you do not have one of these baking liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes. I let them cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Have fun with this recipe! | AuthorI am a mom of 4 who is finally chasing her dream to start a baking business. ArchivesJanuary 2015 Categories |
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