No Bean Chili

Hi all! So, here in Charleston we had a pretty cold snap (at least for us). It was about 43 degrees out and I was freezing. I was really craving a hearty bowl of chili. Of course, on the whole 30 plan there are no beans in the diet (if you want to add beans, that’s fine). So, pondering my dilemma, I came up with this no-bean chili recipe.

It’s really yummy, easy, and gave me that comfort food feel. Sometimes, we all just need some comfort food, and this really hit the nail on the head. Feel free to add spices or veggies to your liking, this is just what I had on hand at home.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey or beef (I used turkey)
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tbsp ground red pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cumin (depending on how spicy you like)
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder (I don’t always use this)
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Brown turkey or hamburger in skillet on medium high heat for about 5-7 mins or until completely cooked. Drain.
2. Add bell pepper and onion and cook for about 3-5 mins or until they are somewhat tender.
3. In a large saucepan or dutch oven simmer diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, low-medium heat.
4. Add meat mixture and spices to the dutch oven. Simmer for about 30-60 minutes. The longer it cooks the better the flavor.

Spicy Hamburger Skillet

Hi all! I am back with another healthy and delicious meal. This one was fun and easy to create, which are always my favorite. I don’t know about everyone else, but I do not want to spend hours in the kitchen creating something that taste good and is yummy. I mean sometimes I don’t mind spending a long time in the kitchen, but I definitely don’t want to do it every night.

I created this recipe one night when I had been gone all day, walking up and down stairs, and wanted something fast and yummy. So, I won’t keep you waiting any longer!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground hamburger meat
• 1 zucchini chopped
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 tbsp ground red pepper (less if you don’t like too spicy)
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Brown hamburger in medium-high skillet for 5-10 minutes, or until hamburger is completely cooked.
2. Add vegetables to pan, and cook for 5-7 minutes or until tender.
3. Add can of diced tomatoes and spices cook for 3 minutes.
4. Serve over spinach.

3 Ingredient Energy Bites

Hi everyone! Hope you all are having a wonderful Friday. I know most are, because we all have a love affair with Friday, don’t we? I am super excited, because I am actually posting twice in one week!! This doesn’t happen often 😉 , but I am trying to make it a priority to be better with my blog.

So, today I have a super easy and super healthy snack! I love it because it literally took me 10 minutes to put together. I put mine in the refrigerator overnight, but you could easily put them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes and serve right away. These of course are whole30 approved!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cashews crushed
• 1 cup almond butter (I used crunchy)
• 1/4 cup strawberries sliced
  • you can double or triple this recipe to make more, I just wanted a few. This makes about 1/2 dozen pretty large bites.

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl, and stir together well.
2. Take the mixture and roll into balls (it will be a bit sticky). You can add a little bit of almond milk or a tiny amount of coconut or olive oil to help with stickiness. I didn’t and it was fine.
3. Refrigerate over night or freeze for 20-30 minutes.

Sweet Potato Tacos

Hi all! I am back with another whole30 approved meal. This recipe is super simple, and very delicious. I chose to serve mine with green beans, but any vegetable side would do. The husband loved it, which is always a good thing, and I will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation of meals.

If you are not doing whole30 you can add cheese and other toppings, although, I honestly didn’t miss the cheese. I really thought I would, but it was fantastic just as is. I topped mine with hot sauce, but salsa would work as well! Hope you all enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 avocado peeled and sliced
• 1 pound ground hamburger
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 tbsp red pepper
• 1/2-1 tbsp garlic powder (I like garlic so I use the full tbsp)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
2. Oil outside of sweet potatoes and wrap in aluminum foil and bake for  hour (you can also cook in the microwave wrapped in a paper towel for shorter time).
3. Place hamburger in medium-high heat skillet. Cooked until browned about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add diced tomatoes to skillet and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
5. Add spices and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Top sweet potatoes with hamburger mix, and top with avocado. Serve with side of choice.

Chicken Mexican Bake

Hi everyone! I hope everyone has been well. So a couple of weeks ago I started whole 30, so I have been creating recipes that are whole 30 approved. It has been a journey so far, but a fun one. I always love new challenges when it comes to cooking, so having to come up with meals with limited ingredients has been fun.

Today I have a one pan chicken mexican bake. This was a huge hit with my husband. It gives you plenty of protein and veggies, and is absolutely mouth-watering! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breast diced into cubes
• 1 bell pepper sliced into long pieces
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 1/2 cups kale chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles drained
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1/2 tbsp-1 tbsp ground red pepper (depending on how spicy you like things)
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place diced chicken breast in sprayed baking dish.
3. Top chicken with bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, and kale.
4. Drizzle with olive oil and add spices.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked throughout.

Kale, Chicken, & Sweet Potato Soup/Weekly Menu/Grocery List

Hi all! First I just want to wish everyone a happy Valentine’s Day! Hoping you all are getting to spend it with those you love. Today, I am giving you a recipe for soup, a weekly menu, and a grocery list. Also, I have started whole 30, so everything that I will be posting for the next 30 days will be whole 30 approved! Even if you aren’t doing this program, the food is still amazing and super healthy!

Let’s start with the weekly menu:

• Monday: Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Tuesday: Steak, Potatoes, and Green Beans
• Wednesday: Balsamic Chicken and Veggies
• Thursday: Stuffed Chicken and Green Beans
• Friday: Steak and Broccoli Skillet with Roasted Potatoes
• Saturday:  One Pan Chicken, Potato, and Veggie Dish
• Sunday: Kale, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Soup

Grocery List:*

• 3 sweet potatoes-$3.50
• 3 Idaho potatoes-$3.00
• Kale-$1.00
• Broccolli-$1.00
• Mushrooms-$2.00
• 3 Avocados-$5.00
• Baby Carrots-$2.00
• Lime-$0.50
• Bacon-$7.00
• 2 Steaks and 1 small flat-iron steaks-$10.00
• 1 pound hamburger meat-$4.00
• Chicken Broth-$3.00
• 3 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
• Balsamic Vinegar-$3.00
• 2 can green beans-$2.00
• Spinach-$2.00
• Total=$46.00

*All prices are rounded up and based on my local grocery store, your prices may vary. Also, I didn’t put spices and some things that most people have already in their  pantry. This grocery list goes with the entire weeks meals.

Now for the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 large chicken breast boiled and shredded
• 1 large sweet potato chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 1-2 cups kale torn into pieces
• 4-5 small mushrooms sliced
• 1 cup baby carrots sliced
• 1 carton (about 4 cups) chicken broth
• 1-2 tbsp Lime juice or 1 lime (if you use the lime cut into slices and squeeze the juice into the soup)
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tbsp oregano
• pepper to taste (I don’t use salt, because there is plenty for me in the broth)

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven place broth and all veggies. I cook this on medium heat while my chicken is boiling, so about 30-40 minutes.
2. Add chicken to soup.
3. Add seasoning and lime juice and simmer for another 15 minutes.
4. Serve.

Avocado Breakfast Eggs

Hi everyone! Today I am posting my very first breakfast recipe! I realized that I have only been posting dinner recipes, and I always plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So I thought I would start to share some more of those meals.

Also, I am going to post another weekly menu soon. I realized I haven’t been giving you guys my menus for the week. I will pick up on that, and hopefully that will help with your meal planning as well.

The thing I love about this breakfast, is it’s extremely healthy and so very tasty! It’s also super easy to make, and we all love that. 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado per 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of cheese per avocado
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder per half of avocado
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• hot sauce of  your choice to top (I love Siracha on avocados)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut avocado in half.
3. Remove seed and make the seed holes a little wider to fit egg.
4. Crack egg and put it into the hole of the avocado. I place my avocado halves on a muffin pan.
5. Season and top with cheese.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes or to egg preference.

Beef, Spinach, and Onion Ramen

Hi all! Sorry it’s been some time since my last post, I had a few things going on. My husband and I took a trip to Knoxville, and then I started a contract teaching position where I lead a simulated flight academy. I am super excited, but  it made my blog fall to the back burner for a week or so.

Also, my husband and I are really starting to look into sail boats. We haven’t decided if we are going to get one to live on, or just to take out for a few weeks at a time. Anyways, no matter what we decide I am experimenting with meals I know I could make underway. Hence, this ramen recipe. It is so simple, still mostly healthy (I don’t use the season packets), and very tasty!

Ingredients:

• 1 package Ramen (any flavor), throw out the seasoning packet
• 1/2 pound beef
• 1 cup spinach chopped
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp season salt powder
• 1/2 tbsp rosemary
• 1 tbsp parsley
• pepper to taste (I don’t add salt because I get enough with the season salt)

Directions:

1. Brown hamburger in skillet on medium-high heat until cooked throughout. Also cook noodles according to package instructions and drain excess water.
2. Add onion to cooked hamburger and cook for about 3 mins.
3. Add spinach to the onion and hamburger and continue cooking for another 3 mins.
4. Add cooked noodles to the skillet, and all seasoning. Heat for about another 3 min. Serve.

Whole Wheat Rotini with Italian Sausage

Hi everyone! Today, I am posting a recipe I just made last night. My husband had been gone all day sailing, and had to wake up the next morning super early for a flight. So, he needed something quick, healthy, and filling. I poked my head around my refrigerator and cabinets, and came up with this yummy meal. It was so good, and took so little time. We were full and happy, so I decided to share it with all of you!

This is a quick recipe, and you can change it to fit whatever you have on hand in your pantry/refrigerator. If you don’t have sausage you can use hamburger, black beans, mushrooms, or whatever you feel like. Also, if you want to be a bit fancier than me, you can make your own pasta sauce (I have done this before, but like I said I needed super fast). That’s the thing I love about recipes, you can always adjust them to make them your own!

Ingredients:

• 1-2 Italian sausage links cut up into small cubes (I cut in half length wise, and then dice)
• 2 cups whole wheat Rotini
• 1/4 small red onion diced
• 1 cup Kale chopped
• 1-1 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded italian cheese

Directions:

1. In a skillet cook italian sausage for 2-3 minutes a side or until cooked throughout.
2. When sausage is done cooking start rotini according to package instructions.
3. Add onion to the sausage in skillet and saute for about 2 minutes, and then add Kale and sautee for another 2-3 minutes or until Kale is wilted.
4. Let pan cool for a few minutes, and then add spaghetti sauce and heat for a few minutes or until sauce bubbles.
5. When pasta is finished, drain the pasta. Put pasta back in pan, and add the sauce mix.
6. Serve with cheese on top.

Chicken ‘Stir Fry’

First off I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope you all rang in the new year with the ones you love! I am here with a new healthy recipe, that will help you get started on your new year healthy eating!

This recipe was so simple and taste absolutely great. I also loved that you can make it in one pan, because we all know clean-up is so much better with fewer pans! This is loaded with protein and vegetables, and if you want to make it vegetarian substitute the chicken for beans of your choice, and mushrooms. Hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!

Ingredients:

• 1 large chicken breast diced into cubes
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/2 bag of frozen peas and carrots
• 1/2 small red onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 1 small tomato diced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar to taste (or about 1/4 cup)
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Spray skillet with cooking spray and turn on to medium-high heat.
2. Place cubed chicken into skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes a side, or until cooked throughout.
3. Add frozen peas and carrots to skillet, and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until peas and carrots can easily be stirred.
4. Add all additional vegetables to skillet. Pour olive oil and vinegar into skillet, and add all seasonings.
5. Turn the skillet down to low-medium heat, and simmer for about 5-7 more minutes, or until all vegetables are soft and spinach is somewhat wilted.