Lunchtime Summer Salad from my Little Urban Garden

Today's lunch is special because when it was time to eat, I got to go out and pick my first round of Bibb Lettuce from our little city garden!

I washed the greens and added:
2 strawberries,
4 cherries,
1 diced slice of red onion,
s&p,
1/4 avocado and this
AMAZING lavender-infused balsamic vinegar that a friend gifted to me as an early birthday present. I had a little side car of cottage cheese for some protein…Lunch is served! I love summer.

This is my signature move, ladies.

Cauliflower. I mean... if you have been following my Facebook page or know me in real life, you already know that cauliflower is MY JAM! So even though many of you already know about it, this blog would seem incomplete if I didn't dedicate a post to my beloved Superfood.

On this particular day, Benny had a bowl. Nat had 2 bowls. Elle had 3 bowls. Stair-step Noodle Success.

The facts: cauliflower packs tons of vitamin C, fiber & antioxidants. But the really good stuff is this fancy word Glucosinolates which you can learn more about here. Bottom line, its SUPER good for you and your family.

Now, my kids eat pretty well, but theres no denying that they love mac'n'cheese above all else. It reigns supreme and is the BEST bribery tool in our dining room drama.  So I do what I can…and try to balance the meal so this is where cauliflower has been HUGE!  Any time cauliflower is on sale, I buy 5-10 pounds, steam it, puree it, and package it up using my Squeeze Station.  I put the pouches in the freezer and pull out a couple each week to be fridge ready for macaroni emergencies.  I boil the noodles, drain, add the cheese and then become a rule-breakin' mama…I omit the milk and butter. Oh yeah, you heard me.  #risktaker  For each regular size box of mac'n'cheese, I use one-4oz squeeze of cauliflower puree and voila! Healthier "cheesy noo-noos" with a dose of hidden veggies.

Jessica Seinfeld turned me on to the hidden veggies and this has since become my signature move any day of the week. My kids are so used to it that its a non-issue and they go back and forth between restaurant mac and mine without batting an eyelash.  If you try it the first time and think a flavor difference is very noticeable, I challenge you to fix mac'n'cheese a few more times with it before you make a final decision.  It's too good of a veggie opportunity to give up too soon!

Other cauliflower yums to try:
Eggs - Using the Pureed cauliflower mentioned above, simply squeeze a little bit into your eggs before scrambling.  If you are concerned that kids will notice, put a bit of cream cheese in the eggs as well. They'll be extra light and fluffy and have a nutrient bonus! Cheese improves everything.

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce - put it on everything!

Cauliflower Fried Rice - make it your own with whatever veggie or protein additions you love in traditional fried rice

A KitKat a day keeps the Swimsuit away = The simple snacks that you will ALWAYS find in my fridge

Truth:  There was a time in my life when my standard snack throughout the day was the snack size KitKat bars like you pass out on Halloween.  I don't know what it was but they were my JAM!  (ok, I do actually know… #sugaraddiction) But it was one day, soon after having baby #3, that I finally came to grips with the fact that the KitKats had to go. I knew that if I was going to get anywhere with my weight loss, there had to be an overhaul of my nutrition --> meaning, lose the KitKats.

The KitKat Khronicles: 4 weeks post pardum after kid #3 in 3 years. Enjoying life but not feeling confident in my own skin.

I disposed of the remaining KitKats in the most reasonable way one can imagine: #eatthemALL, and then made a vow to not buy them anymore. Now here's the thing with such a "vow":  You have to REALLY want the results more than you want the KitKat... And I was certain at that point that I REALLY wanted the results.  At that point, I felt a complete disconnect from my own body.  When I looked in the mirror, I wasn't seeing who I felt I could be. It didn't feel like my body matched the spirit and energy that I had inside and I was willing to do the work to feel better about myself again.

60 pounds gone and Kicked the KitKat Habit. Boom! 

I'll tell you more about the structure of my weight loss nutrition and fitness regimen in future posts, but today I want to focus on what I used to replace my beloved KitKat snacks.  I realized that for me, my overhaul needed to be dramatic - as in - clean out the house and start fresh. I am fortunate to have an amaze-balls hubby who supported my decision to get rid of chips, pretzels, cookies and any other treats that were common-place around here.  I realized I needed to have quick, ever-present snacks in the house that would support my goals and satisfy.  Before I knew it, they were my staples - and many of them remain my daily go-tos over 18 months later.

Apples: My morning snack, I probably have an apple every single day. Somethin' 'bout that crunch. #Satisfies
Also, Grapes: Something that you can grab a handful of and get that "hand-to-mouth" eating satisfaction…(PRO TIP: Summer is coming…Freeze the grapes! Snack-a-licious.)

Between the kids & me, a 5-pound (!) bag of carrots and a giant tub of hummus usually gets us through a week…#thanksCostco

Carrots & Hummus: My afternoon Snack, savory goodness that might be on the shortlist for "if you have to pick just one snack for the rest of your life"

Dark Chocolate Chips: These were actually added to the snack list AFTER I was making good progress with my goals and felt that I could allow some treats on the reg. I still use a measuring cup to eat them out of so I don't go at them mindlessly.  Also, I keep mine in the freezer. I don't know why…

Hard Boiled Eggs: 2 whole eggs is generally considered a portion, and thats a hearty snack. Plus the protein will be effective in keeping you feeling fuller longer. I prefer them to be peeled and ready to grab. (#sundayprep)

I love both of these, but would not recommend eating them together. Unless thats your thing... #notjudging...

Cottage cheese: add berries in the morning, add veggies if I want savory, but eating it plain happens more often than not.

Pickles: Can't Stop. Won't Stop.

Gold medal: Cookie dough, Silver: Cookies & Cream, Bronze: Mint Cookie

Quest Bars: Now, these are not a daily snack for me, but its the thing I keep in my purse, next to my apple, so when I'm running around and need something to get me through, I've got an option ready to go. Chocolate chip cookie dough, anyone?!

I may or may not have an Amazon auto shipment of this stuff…by the case. #hubbysfavoritetoo

Popcorn: At the end of the day, sometimes you just want to munch. This is another snack that I added in only once I was seeing results and could practice will-power. Seriously!  Air-popping your own fresh corn in a bit of coconut oil on the stove top is super yummy, but when you can't wait, SkinnyPop is the BEST.

Take your weight, divide the number in half…thats how many OUNCES of water you should be drinking every day.  How are you doing??

Water! Ok, so maybe not a snack, but seriously: do you know that the same part of your brain is responsible for interpreting hunger and thirst signals…but many of us have trouble recognizing the difference. Try drinking a big glass of water before reaching for a snack, then wait 15 minutes and see how you're feeling. Water is seriously amazing stuff.

There's no denying there was a definite sugar addiction happening during my KitKat days and thats not an easy thing to break.  For me, it was a limb that I stepped out on at the time to try Shakeology, a protein shake, and that made a tremendous impact for me.  The chocolate shake totally helped me to wean off of the KitKats without suffering from night sweats*.

One of my favorite shake recipes has caramel and coconut extract plus the chocolate shake…think: Girl scout cookies!

*Dramatization

What's your favorite healthy snack? Comment below, I'd love to know what's keeping you on track with your goals too!

Southwest Seasoning: Tacos, Dressing, Chili, Soups…#ANYTHING!

I love southwest flavors and would put taco seasoning in just about anything to enhance flavors.  We all know the store bought stuff packs way too much sodium to use as regularly as I'd like, so I like to put together a bulk supply of my own seasoning blend to keep in the pantry.  I keep mine salt free and add that as needed based on individual recipes.  I've made a couple notes about salt additions below the recipe.  Let me know what you think!

Mama's Salt-Free Southwest Seasoning
-Bulk Preparation-
Makes about a cup. Store in an air-tight jar in the pantry to use as needed.  Most recipes would use about 2 tablespoons at a time.

1/2 Cup Chili Powder
1/3 Cup Ground Cumin
3 Tablespoons Coriander
4 teaspoons Onion Powder
4 teaspoons Garlic Powder
4 teapoons Paprika

*Salt:  For about every 2 tablespoons of this seasoning, I would add about 1teaspoon salt to recipes, but I prefer to add it at the time of cooking so its only on an as-needed basis.

Use it to make Heathy Southwest Ranch Salad dressing too!

Mason Jar Food Prep: Southwest Ranch Taco Salads (21 day fix approved!)

When you're trying to balance healthy nutrition with a family's worth of busy schedules, work, and the day-to-day "must-dos," grabbing snacks and haphazardly throwing together a lunch are simple ruts to fall into. But then, weekly meal preparation can feel daunting.  The idea of preparing so many meals ahead of time seems like surely it will eat up my entire #SundayFunday and that is not a trade-off I'd like to make.  While there's no denying that meal prep takes a bit of time, when done right, it's consolidated, streamlined time.  What you can do in an hour of prep on a Sunday can eliminate 30 minutes a night (or morning!) while you're tired or rushed and not able to make decisions that are well-balanced and working towards your nutrition goals.  There are plenty of time saving tips out there but one that I've found to be especially useful are Mason Jar salads.  The beauty of these is that once you have the concept, they can be whatever you want them to be. Its really just preplanning your food and storing it conveniently (and in a "green" way!) in Mason Jars. The idea is you layer your salad ingredients with the dressing on bottom, heartier ingredients towards that bottom (think cucumbers or beans - things that won't get soggy in the dressing), all the way up to the lettuce which won't even touch the dressing until you shake it all out at lunch time. *PRO TIP: When you're shopping for your jars, purchase Quart Size WIDE MOUTH Jars… much easier to shake out the salad. #dontmakethesamemistakeidid! #liveandlearn

One of my favorite Mason Jar salads is Turkey Taco Salad with Southwest Ranch dressing.  The dressing I use even offers an extra punch of protein rather than an oil or healthy fat. And it's 21 day fix approved for anyone working with that program. #Bonus

To start, you'll just cook up a pound of lean ground turkey as if you're making regular taco meat.  You can always use prepackaged, lower-sodium taco seasoning, but I like to prepare a bulk amount of this Southwest Seasoning and keep it in the pantry for whenever my life needs a little fiesta, but margaritas aren't socially appropriate. #its5oclocksomewhere

Once the taco meat is prepared, 1 pound can be portioned into about 4, 3/4 cup portions. 

 The salad part itself is up to you.  Your choice of lettuce (I tend to keep spinach and kale on hand so thats what I used), tomatoes, black beans, cucumbers, sweet peppers, fresh cilantro…these are all excellent ideas to add into this salad!  

Start with your dressing.

The most important part is ordering the layers. Given the above ingredient ideas:  Start with dressing, then add beans and tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, taco meat, and once there's a good bit of distance from the dressing, add in your lettuce, herbs, and shredded cheese or avocado if you'd like!  Finally, if you want any crunch in your salad, the last thing you'll want to add are some crunched up tortilla chips.

Add your hearty veggies…like tomatoes...

…Cucumbers...

…and peppers.

Next add your protein.  I added some black beans to my taco meat as well.

Now its time for the stuff that you don't want to get soggy.  I added fresh chopped cilantro...

Baby kale, Baby spinach & shredded cheese.

Repeat this with all 4 portions of prepared taco meat and store in the fridge for the easiest grab-n-go lunch salad you ever did meet.  

Once you're ready to eat, simply open the jar, dump it all out onto whatever plate or bowl you've got handy in the office lunchroom and enjoy!  

It should be noted that since my "office lunchroom has been known to be my SUV in the carpool pickup line at preschool, I HAVE eaten it directly out of the jar.  If you're in this scenario, simply give the jar some really good shaking before opening to get the dressing distributed a bit.  Not as pretty but just as tasty and less cleanup!

Portions & Ingredients:
2T Southwest Ranch Dressing (recipe below)
1/2-1 C Vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc)
3/4 C Turkey Taco Meat 
1/2 C Baby Kale, packed
1 C Baby Spinach, Packed 
1/4 C Shredded cheese OR 1/4 Avocado
2T Crushed Tortilla Chips

Southwest Ranch Dressing
1/4 C cottage cheese
1T Plain Greek Yogurt
1.5T unsweetened, plain almond milk
1T Southwest seasoning
Combine ingredients and blend in vitamin/food processor to a smooth, dressing consistency.  Add up to another tablespoon of almond milk to adjust consistency.

Almond Meal Chicken Nuggets: Make some Memories for Dinner

As a kid, my husband learned early how to make a few meals on his own: Mac'n'Cheese, Grilled cheese, Quadruple-decker PB&J, and Chicken Tenders. #classickidfood

When his single-working-mom had to work past dinner time, he could easily coat some chicken tenders in ranch, crunch up corn flakes in a ziploc, and toss the chicken before baking. Just a couple of simple steps to a home-cooked dinner. To this day, homemade chicken tenders still remind him of helping out in the kitchen.  When we were first married he would make us his "Famous Chicken" dinner every once in a while…and while his nuggets might not win any James Beard awards, I can certainly appreciate that he was sharing his memories with me through his cooking. These days we make our nuggets a little bit differently, but the process is still a chance for our little ones to help out in the kitchen like he did as a kid.

We use egg whites, bread crumbs & almond meal and make a yummy honey mustard dipping sauce - although my husband still can't has no desire to stop using ranch as a dipping sauce as well.

If you have Panko breadcrumbs on-hand, that's a perfectly good substitute for the Ezekial bread crumbs that I use.  They will turn out just as delish. I promise.  I just like the Ezekial crumbs for the extra nutty-flavor and nutrition that the "live-grain" bread brings to the table.

Start by cutting up a pound of chicken breasts into "Nuggets." This is an adult-friendly task, but don't worry, kids, the fun is headed your way soon!  (Want to remove a step?  Buy chicken tenders…no cutting needed. We just like the smaller size of nuggets.)

Whisk 2 tablespoons water into 2 egg whites.  Once blended, cover the chicken with the egg mixture and soak for about 30 minutes.

Once the chicken has soaked in the egg whites, put the bread crumbs of choice & almond meal into a ziploc bag.  Shake to blend.

I toasted 4 slices of Ezekial bread, cut them into quarters and pulsed them into a fine meal.  You can skip this step and use Panko Crumbs if you prefer.

A couple pieces at a time, let the excess egg drip off the chicken and move it to the bag.  Let the kids shake it around to cover in crumbs.

We like to dance during this portion of our cooking.

 

Once all the chicken is coated in crumbs, we place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet and lightly sprinkle with sea salt. I often put paprika and pepper on the adult portions as well.  Bake at 425* for about 20 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking time.

While the chicken is baking, we make our honey mustard.  So simple. 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons dijon mustard, 2 TEAspoons vinegar (we have apple cider vinegar on hand so I'm using that…white or rice works well too!)  Mix it up. Done.

Cut up some fruit, veggies and dinner is ready to go!  Finger food at its finest, and some memories-in-the-making too!

Chicken Nuggets:
2 Egg whites
2 Tablespoons water
1 pound antibiotic-free chicken breasts OR tenders
4 slices Ezekial bread, toasted and pulsed to crumbs in the food processor OR 1C Panko Breadcrumbs
1/2C Almond Meal
Salt & Pepper to taste

Honey Mustard:
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 teaspoons vinegar

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees and cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk egg whites and water.
3. Soak chicken (cut if desired) in egg white mixture for about 30 minutes in the fridge.
4. Combine Ezekial Crumbs/Panko and Almond meal in a ziploc bag.
5. A couple pieces at a time, add chicken to the bag (let excess egg white drip off before placing in the bag). Seal bag and toss the chicken pieces to cover completely in the meal. Remove chicken from the bag, shaking off any excess and place on parchment lined pan.  Repeat until all chicken is coated.
6. Lightly season chicken with sea salt.
7. Bake chicken for 10 minutes, flip pieces and cook for another 10 minutes.
8. While Chicken is baking, combine mustard, honey and vinegar.  Blend well and reserve for dipping at dinner!

Mama's Meal Planning: 101

Whether you're looking to get a handle on your nutrition, your time spent in the kitchen, or your budget, Meal Planning is an activity that can help with all of it!  Going into the week already knowing what is for dinner each night and what groceries are needed will absolutely add efficiency to a busy family's life.  If you are a SUPER planner, some people even like to do the dinner meal planning for the whole MONTH ahead, although thats not something I've found myself able to stick to.  Each week I'll see a recipe or hear about a meal that sounds too #delish to put off for a whole month. I want it in my belly asap I would be scratching out a monthly plan far too often. 

My favorite kind of meal planning sessions is when I have a little buddy nearby.  #startthemyoung

When I first started meal planning, it was for nutrition.  I was working to lose weight and having very prescribed days was pivotal to my success. Then it just became habit. I loved that I knew exactly what I needed every time I walked into the grocery store, and I didn't get stressed in the afternoons thinking about what I'd be putting on the table because all I had to do was look at my calendar and pull stuff out of the fridge.

When I was in "losing weight mode" and followed 21 day fix like a religion, these were my go to tips for staying on track week after week.  Now that I'm in "maintenance mode"I still find these tips to be really beneficial because the more prescribed the day to day is, the more flexibility I have for the occasional ice cream with my kids and wine with my girlfriends.  When I know that my day-to-day eating has been on track, I don't have to worry about the occasional splurge or treat.

1. Tip número uno: Have a plan to Plan ahead!  Don't wait until Sunday night to meal plan if you can help it.  Once the plan is set, theres still shopping to be done and let's be honest, we want to be relaxing on Sundays! It might seem early, but I try to start thinking about my meals for the next week on Thursdays.  That gives me time to not get it complete until Friday and still have Saturday or Sunday to get the shopping and prep in.  Allowing that flexibility makes it more realistic to me and less of a hard deadline.  Trying to do planning, shopping, AND prep on a Sunday, when you really just want to relax with your family, is a recipe for something not getting done…and of those options, I'm gonna bet on the planning getting the drop.

2. Start simple. When in doubt, allow a day or two of your week to be protein, veggies, and maybe a starch if needed.  When I’m not sure of what to make, I know that a salmon filet, tons of veggies and maybe some roasted potatoes or quinoa will satisfy!

3. Create a Schedule. In my planning, I keep the following mindset: Mondays – Fish, Taco Tuesday, Wednesday Sandwiches, Thursday Casserole, Slow-cooker Friday, Grill/Roast Saturday, Cooks choice Sunday.  It doesn’t always end up working out exactly like that, but it gives me a starting point that seems more manageable than "Food." 

4. Once you've got your daily schedule, organize Pinterest Boards that correspond with each day's theme. I have separate boards for each day of the week so when I’m looking for Monday ideas, I’m only looking at fish dishes on my Monday board. Streamline.

5. Stumped on meal ideas? Ask a friend. What seems played out in their house might be a bright new idea in yours, and vice versa. 

Need a template to get started?  Here's a super basic place to start!

Want to check out my meal boards on Pinterest?  Follow me at https://www.pinterest.com/mamasbluebinder/