21 Day Fix Approved Buffalo Pizza

The recipe calls for:

whole wheat pizza dough

2 chicken breasts

1 cup hot sauce 

chili powder

garlic powder 

oregano

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese

-- Heat oven to 400 degrees.

-- Season chicken with garlic powder  and chili powder. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

-- While the chicken is cooking, season the dough with some garlic powder and oregano. Add the sauce. 

-- When the chicken is done, cut into pieces and mix in hot sauce. Add the chicken to the pizza and top with cheese. 

-- Cook in the oven for about 8-10 more minutes. 

Feel free to add other toppings too like spinach or onion. The original recipe called for those two toppings but I didn't use them. 

Enjoy!

Balsamic Chicken & Veggies

This came out really good, I was surprised I liked it so much. It had a little kick to it which I liked. You can always make it spicer or leave that out if you don't like spicy food though. These type of veggies paired well with this sauce.

It's quick and easy!



The recipe calls for:

1 1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs honey
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup & 2 tbs fat-free italian dressing
2 cups matchstick carrots
1 cup snow peas
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
pepper

-- In a bowl, whisk together the italian dressing, basalamic vinegar, honey and red pepper flakes.
-- Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the chicken. Season with pepper and cook for about 6 minutes, flip chicken after 3 minutes.
-- Add half the dressing mixture to the pan and flip the chicken to fully coat it.
-- Remove the chicken from the pan and put on a plate/serving dish.
-- Add the carrots and snow peas to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes then put the veggies over the chicken. Add the tomoatoes to the plate.
-- Add the remainder of the dressing mixture to the pan and whisk constantly for about a minute until the sauce thickens. Pour the sauce over the chicken and veggies.

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)

Mexican Chicken Salad or Burrito

The recipe calls for:
ground chicken meat
avocado, chopped
black beans, rinsed & drained
shredded lettuce
fat-free greek yogurt
taco sauce
taco seasoning

Optional:
shredded cheese
burrito wrap (whole-wheat is best)

-- Cook the ground chicken meat in a pan.  Mix in the seasoning packet and a little water.  Add the beans to the pan to warm them up.
-- Put chicken and bean mixture on top of shredded lettuce. Add chopped up avocado, a little fat-free greek yogurt and some taco sauce.
-- Mix it all up and enjoy your mexican chicken salad!
-- The other less healthy option is to put all those ingredients into a burrito wrap. If you choose this option use a whole-wheat wrap.


The meat mixture makes for great leftovers, I am eating it as we speak for lunch.

Grilling Burgers In The Winter

Who says you can't grill a good burger during the cold months?  Not me!  Instead of freezing outside in the snow, use a grilling pan.  We have a cast iron grill pan that works great for this.

I try to stay away from beef and red meat so grilling chicken burgers is usually my go to.  Simply by adding a great spice to the chicken patty makes it more enjoyable and not bland.  Just add some to each side of the patty and grill it.  Here are some of the favorite spices used in my house:

 Healthier Options:  Skip the bun or the cheese, or both! :)

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...

Leftovers Inspiration: Buffalo Pizza

Homemade pizza dinner instead of ordering in!  Much quicker then delivery, much healthier and without the guilt the next day...

Use what you have!  I had leftover homemade buffalo hummus, the 5 grain flax flatbread leftover and was craving pizza so I added the hummus to the flatbread, sprinkled some part-skim mozzarella cheese and a few dashes of buffalo hot sauce.  YUM!

It's so weird, years ago I didn't even like pizza, now I am pizza obsessed!  At least there are healthy alternatives.

My Very First Homemade Hummus

And it surely won't be my last!

Quick, easy, delicious homemade Buffalo Hummus.

I am never buying hummus again!  I will forever make it from now on.  Making hummus homemade helps you skip from consuming all the added preservatives that is in store bought.  It's fresh and you know what your eating without any questions.  All homemade hummus will have one main ingredient, CHICKPEAS!  Chickpeas are high in protein, fiber and other good nutrients.

This recipe was just a few ingredients.  It is made up of 1 can of chickpeas, about 3 tablespoons of buffalo hot sauce, 3 garlic cloves, a few dashes of cumin, some garlic powder, a couple splashes of olive oil and a little bit of water.  Blend them all together in a food processor and you have hummus!

Hummus is something you can easily make in a lot of different flavors.  Always use a can of chickpeas, some sort of liquid and whatever else you like!  You can make it your own and it tastes much better than store bought.

Friday Night Pasta

Simple.  Easy.  Delicious.  Healthy.

What more could you want?

This pasta dish is made up of just a couple ingredients that mostly everyone has at home.  Whole wheat pasta, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, pepper and a little bit of grated parmesan cheese.  Watch your portion control, skip the bread and ENJOY!

Leftovers Inspiration: A Different Kind Of Coleslaw

The recipe calls for:
10 oz coleslaw mix
1/4 cup jalapeño ranch dressing
2 tbsp taco sauce
few dashes of chili powder
few dashes of cumin
few dashes of garlic powder
dash of lime juice
dash of salt & pepper

-- Combine all the items for the dressing and then mix it well with the coleslaw mix.

Super easy and very tasty!








The only unhealthy part of this is the ranch dressing, but it's a great vegetable side dish and fun for summer BBQ's.  You could also use light dressing or 1/3 cup if you don't mind coleslaw with a little less dressing.

Jalapeño ranch dressing is hard to find, but you could use light ranch and then add cut up jalapeños which would be just as good.  I just used what I have so you can do the same and make it your own.

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

The recipe calls for:
1 thick chicken breast
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
salt
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles, plus some for garnish
4 green onions, chopped

-- Cook the chicken however you like.  You can cut it up into cubes and cook it in a pan or you can do what I did.  I boiled the chicken for 30 mins and then shredded it.
-- Bring the water and quinoa to a boil then put it on low, cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes.
-- Whisk together the hot sauce, olive oil and some salt to make a sauce.
-- Cook the broccoli in pan with some olive oil for about 5 minutes.  You want the broccoli to soften a little, but still have some crunch to it.  Add the shredded chicken to the pan with 1/2 of the sauce.  Let the chicken soak up the sauce.
-- In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the quinoa with the chicken, broccoli and sauce mixture.  Add the carrots, cabbage, most of the onion, blue cheese and the rest of the sauce together.
-- Sprinkle the top of the dish with some onion and blue cheese crumbled.

Seriously, UH-MAZING!!!