Meal Delivery Services

So I know these meal deliveries companies have been around for awhile. Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, Purple Carrot, etc. but we never tried them before. They are a bit pricey and out of our weekly budget for the regular price of the service, but with coupons they are very affordable. I always seem to see $30 off coupons, but after doing some googling I was able to find $40 off coupons. By using this coupon, 3 meals for 2 people each is only $20. This is so much cheaper than if all the supplies were purchased at a grocery store. The regular price is completely worth it also for the convenience and quality of food, but it's just not something we can afford. Finding a way around paying full price has been great because we are really enjoying the meals.

 

We have tried one week of Hello Fresh and one week of Blue Apron so far and are pleasantly surprised with the meals. My husband also loves cooking the meals and learning new recipes we can use in the future and small things you wouldn't think to do or mix together but works and tastes delicious. Plus it's a win win for me because I don't have to cook. Another plus is having my husband see that healthier options can taste good too and to broaden the types of food he eats. Who knew he liked radishes and cabbage?! :)

 

The meals only take about 30 minutes with prep and cooking which is not bad at all. They are full of flavor, there's a good variety of meals to choose from each week and are good portions. Portion size is one thing my husband was worried about. When we received the first box and saw all the supplies it didn't seem like enough for us, but once the meals were cooked and plated it was plenty. The only downfall is there isn't enough for leftovers for lunch the next day. We like leftovers but at the same time they seem to go to waste a lot too.

 

I have heard Hello Fresh is better than Blue Apron but from our experience they are equally as good.  We are excited to try more companies and more meals. Here are a few of our meals we've made so far, we as in my husband haha:

 

 

If anyone is thinking about trying one of these services I highly recommend it. If you need help finding a coupon to use let me know!

Postive vibes,
Jenn

Honey Garlic Shrimp

 

The recipe calls for:

 

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 tbs garlic, minced

1 lb shrimp, uncooked, peeled & deveined

2 tsp olive oil

red pepper flakes

 

 

-- Combine the honey, soy sauce and garlic in a large baggie. Add the shrimp and mix it up so it is covered with the marinade. Let sit for however long you want/can. For me, I whipped this up quickly without much prep so it didn't marinate long, but you can marinate it during the day before dinner so more flavor is absorbed.

-- Heat olive oil in a pan on medium. Once heated, add the shrimp. Heat the shrimp until they are fully cooked through, make sure to mix it a little or flip the shrimp. Sprinkle some red pepper flakes on the shrimp while it's cooking.

 

I didn't get to go grocery shopping this weekend because I was away but next time I would add some sort of veggies. I think broccoli or edamame would go great with this. This time I just cooked a little quinoa and poured the shrimp over it.  7 pieces of shrimp was only 80 calories so I had 14 pieces.

 

This recipe takes only 10 minutes for prep and cooking. Can't beat that!

 

Enjoy!

Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Pasta

This was the first time I have ever cooked shrimp and it was a huge success. So delicous and low in carbs/calories. A good source of protein and a great vegetable to go along with it. This is such a different recipe than I normally make, but it is one I will for sure be making again. The shrimp was on sale so I splurged a little. It was also my first time using the Veggetti that I received as a Christmas gift from my brother this year. So easy to use!

 

 

The recipe calls for:

frozen, peeled, de-tailed shrimp (20)

2 medium-large zucchini

1/4 cup white wine

4 garlic cloves, minced

crushed red pepper

2 tbs olive oil

parmesan cheese

 

-- Use a veggie pasta maker and turn the whole zucchini into pasta. Pat with a paper towel to get rid of some of the excess water.

-- In a large pan heat the olive oil for about a minute then add the garlic and crushed red pepper. Heat this for about 2 minutes while constantly stirring so the ingredients don't burn.

-- Add the frozen shrimp to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until the shrimp is fully pink.

-- Remove the shrimp, add the white wine and cook for about a minute then add the zucchini. Cook a little while then add the shrimp in again. Cook for a minute or so while mixing the ingredients. I drained some of the liquid out of the pan to save some on some calories.

-- Serve with a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top and a glass of white wine. (optional)

Sushi Facts

Sushi used to scare me and I never wanted to try it.  Once I tried it though I have become addicted! I eat sushi at least once a week. It's fun trying different kinds and testing out all the restaurants.

There are many health benefits of sushi. Some are that it is low in fat and high in protein. To me sushi is very filling so you don't need a lot of it for your meal. I usually get two rolls for dinner and one roll for lunch with maybe a small salad.

I always forget about the brown rice option! There is always a dollar or two extra charge, but even if you don't get it with brown rice sushi is still healthier then a million other things you could be eating especially while eating out. Another tip is to always ask for the low sodium soy sauce. It tastes the same as the regular and it's better for you.

This was taken from www.sushiencyclopedia.com and is very interesting:

"It consists of mostly protein, a little less than half the amount of carbohydrates (compared to protein in grams), and beneficial fat to lower your cholesterol. This is a golden ratio of food components when dieting. Bodybuilders use similar ratios of each of these components to drop their body fat. (Yes, they take unsaturated fat pills to melt away fat in difficult areas) Weight gain can result from an imbalance of carbohydrate, protein and unhealthy fat. In many cases, people eat foods that contain too many carbohydrates, and saturated fat compared to protein."

Since I have started to become obsessed with sushi it has helped me with my dieting. It is so tasty yet beneficial to my body so it's a win win! I am eating sushi as we speak...

Best Part of Warm Weather: Grillin'

Shoprite got their first corn of the season!  They were on the smaller side though.  I should've took a trip to the farm, it would've been local and probably bigger.  Oh well, next time for sure!  The farmers market by me opens on June 23rd so I can also go too.  I can't wait for it to open!  That will be a nice Sunday tradition when I need good produce.

Decided last night was a good day for grilling.  We always grill burgers and that type of stuff, but I wanted to grill some fish this time.  We put a spice of our choice on the flounder, I picked cajun seasoning and grilled them up.  The corn was also cooked on the grill and I made a little salad to top my flounder.The salad just has chopped tomato, garlic and basil and the grilled corn.  I also added a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  I really wanted to add avocado to the salad but unfortunately I couldn't find a ripe one.

Salmon Salad

This recipe is as easy to make as your basic tuna or chicken salad.  You can have it alone or as a sandwich.  For lunch one day I brought just the salad to work.  I had some leftover Kellogg's Savory Herb Crackers so I added a little of the salad to each cracker.  This helped fill me up more and they went very well together.  You could also probably make this into a sort of spread instead of salad as well by adding more olive oil and mustard.  This would keep the salad on the crackers better.  For those that aren't a fan of capers, a nice substitute could be some chopped up olives, green or black.  I think the flavor of olives would go just as good with this salad recipe.

The recipes calls for:

1 cup flaked salmon
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp capers
fresh dill, chopped

-- Cook the salmon, let it cool and then use a fork to make it flake,
-- Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl.  Add as much dill as your taste buds prefer.
-- Pair the salad with something you like or eat it by itself and ENJOY!

Trying Out Recipes

Before adding the panko bread
crumbs & coconut.

The crab cakes were soooo good! They have scallions, red pepper, mayo & obviously crab meat. There are some panko bread crumbs & shredded coconut inside the cakes then they are dredged in the mixture also. When serving the two suggestions were with lime wedges & sweet red chili sauce. I didn't use either, but Jeff loved the chili sauce on them. I read that panko bread crumbs don't soak up the grease in the pan like regular bread crumbs do so that will save some calories. Also, they are lower in sodium. We had some of the panko/coconut mixture left even with following the recipe, but I think it could be used to coat chicken, shrimp or any white fish too.

The salad would've been much better with a different dressing. We used a pear balsamic which wasn't a good choice. But hey, nothing wrong with experimenting. The cucumbers & feta cheese were a good combination though. I'd make it again using some other dressing. With a different dressing it would look more appetizing as well.

Fish Tacos

The taco shell is stuffed with some chopped up tilapia seasoned with a little salt/pepper/garlic powder & the homemade salsa. The other piece of fish is seasoned/topped with the same things & instead of it being in a taco shell I broke up some pieces for the top. Accompanied by some asparagus & light sour cream.

Tonight's Healthy Dinner

Tilapia with a little sauce & Spaghetti Squash

with garlic, red peppers & some parmesan cheese.

I haven't been cooking dinner that much anymore because for one I didn't know many healthy things to cook. But someone reminded me of spaghetti squash & I haven't had it for a long time. I think I remember not liking it too much, but I think that was because it wasn't flavorful enough. You definitely need flavor or else it is super plain & boring. Both things were easy to make & simple yet delicious. Yum!

Crab Deviled Eggs For Easter

The recipe calls for:

4 oz lump crab meat

6 hard boiled eggs

1/2 stick chopped celery

2 tbs mascarpone cheese

1 tbs mayo

1 tbs sour cream

1 tbs dijon mustard

1 tbs lemon juice

3 tbs chopped fresh chives

salt & pepper

-- Add & mix the crab meat, celery, cheese, mayo, sour cream, mustard, lemon juice & chives together in a medium mixing bowl. Add some salt & pepper to your likely.

-- Cut the hard boiled eggs into halves. Remove the yolk & discard.

-- Spoon the crab mixture into the egg halves & serve.

Never made deviled eggs before so when I was looking at recipes I came across this one with crab & had to make it. I like the traditional deviled eggs so I made some of those too for tomorrow, but these are much tastier! I suggest maybe using only 1 tbs of the cheese if you want it less calories. The good thing about this recipe is the yolk (the "bad" part of the egg) is not added to the mixture so it cuts out some fat.

Tilapia Stuffed Manicotti

I came across the Clean Eating magazine in Starbucks over the weekend and the front cover made me buy it! Amazing advertising that's for sure. I will definitely be checking out that magazine again. What caught my eye was this delicious rich and creamy manicotti picture. I immediately went to the page with the recipe on it and saw it was stuffed with tilapia. I haven't cooked fish yet so I figured something this yummy would be perfect to start with. The recipe has quite a few steps, but it is worth them all.


The recipe calls for:

olive oil cooking spray
10 green onions
10 whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 carrot
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
12 oz fresh tilapia fillets
4 oz light cream cheese
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp dry dill
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese




-- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8x8 glass pan
with cooking spray and set aside.
-- Rinse the onions & trim off the white tops and discard.
-- Prepare the lasagna noodles. Put the green onions in the boiling water for 90 seconds, remove and set  aside.
-- Grate the carrot and set aside.
-- In a large non-stick pan on medium heat, add the oil and heat for 1 minute. Then add the tilapia to the pan. Cook for 3 minutes covered. Flip the fish and cook for another minute. Once mostly cooked start to break up the fish into pieces. Keep on the heat until the fish is fully cooked then remove from heat and set aside.
-- In a medium saucepan on low heat add the cream cheese, milk, dill & salt. Whisk the mixture constantly until it is smooth then add half of the mozzarella cheese mixture. Whisk for about 30 seconds or until the cheese sauce is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat & take out 1/2 cup of the cheese sauce, set aside.
-- Stir the tilapia, carrots and the remainder of the cheese sauce together. Lay the lasagna noodles on a carving board and add 2 tbsp of the mixture to the end of the noodles. Roll them up and wrap the onions around the bundle, tie in a knot. Place them all in the glass pan.
-- Add the reserved cheese sauce & the other half of the mozzarella cheese over the top of the bundles.

The recipe nutritional facts are 447 calories & 12 g fat per serving.
(2 1/2 bundles)

You can also make different meals with the cheese sauce alone. Or you can just use a variety of vegetables or a different white fish. Instead of lasagna noodles you can use elbow, shells, penne or whatever your favorite is & make it a casserole dish.

I think next time I make this instead of discarding the white part of the green onions I plan on chopping it up and adding it to the mixture. I really liked the green onion flavors and wished it was in every bite. I also would like to try using a different pasta.

All fish lovers should try this recipe out and if you're not a fish fan substitute in something you like!