Spaghetti With Disguised "Noodles"

No.  I'm not dead.  Sorry for the hiatus.  Here's a new entry.  Hope you like it. : )

Tofu.  The word ignites shear disgust and terror at my very core.  Whenever you mention this word all I can think of is the moldy tofu that once graced my TV screen on an episode of Anthony Bourdain.  I know what you are thinking in your mind and to answer you, yes he ate it.  However, what I'm about to tell you will blow your mind.  I ate tofu tonight and liked it!!  Don't run.  Don't hide.  I will tell you how you can enjoy tofu by using it as a substitution for noodles.  You have to trust me on this.  I am a picky eater when it comes to substitutions for my favorite carb-hearty foods.  A friend of mine who is a dietitian let me try Shirataki noodles (made out of tofu) one day and I couldn't believe it.  They were actually tasty.  Did I mention these suckers are basically low carb, already cooked, and gluten-free?  Triple win!!  I decided to take this new food friend on a journey with a commonly pinned Pinterest recipe that I made some changes to.  Success!!!! Below is the result of my adventure and I hope you enjoy!!  By the way, if you live in the KC area, you can find the noodles at the Price Chopper and Hy-Vee in Liberty.  I can't seem to find any over near my neck of the woods, but you might try health food stores.  They will be in the refrigerated section.  The noodles come in a packet of liquid (weird, yes).  This recipe has only 9 carbs per serving compared to 40 carbs in one cup of regular pasta (that's just the pasta, not even with the sauce- crazy!!)  Inspiration for Recipe Here

Creamy Spaghetti Casserole With Shirataki Noodles
Ingredients:

3 (7 or 8 oz) bags of Shirataki noodles *
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I used 97/3 for this recipe)
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. cottage cheese
1/4 c. sour cream
26 oz. jar pasta sauce
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. In a skillet cook the ground beef on medium high heat until the meat is no longer pink.
2.  Add the green pepper, onion, and garlic and cook until onions are soft.
3. Add the jar of pasta sauce to the meat and veggies.
4.  Cook on low heat while you prepare the other parts to the recipe.

5. Mix together the cream cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
6. Rinse all the Shirataki noodles under running water (Don't be alarmed by the smell! This will go away when they cook! Promise!!)
7. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.
8. Layer 1/2 the noodles on the bottom of the pan.
9. Put 1/2 of the meat mixture on top of the noodles.
10.  Layer 1/2 the cheese mixture on top of the meat and then top with 1 c. of shredded mozzarella.
11. Repeat steps 8-10 once more.
12.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Makes 12 servings
*I used two bags of fettuccine Shirataki noodles and one Spaghetti shirataki noodle bag.  Feel free to use whatever kind you like.  I was just trying to use up my spaghetti one.
*Also, sorry for the terrible pictures.  Our good camera is non functional so I had to use my phone camera.  Awesome.

MMM MMMM Muffins!

It is fall!!  For lots of people that means time to bake and cook until our kitchens look like the refrigerator and pantry exploded all over.  Today was one such day for me and I just wanted something pumpkin-y!!  I found an awesome muffin recipe here but I felt like it needed a few extra things.  So here is the recipe I came up with.  I'll admit some recipes with almond flour can taste a bit grainy and weird, but people, this recipe is amazing.  I had one...and then I had another...just to make sure it was blog-worthy of course! : )  Just to give you an idea nutrition wise...a pumpkin muffin at Panera has 590 calories and 89 g net carbs.  My little guy is 195 calories with a net carb count of a little under 10 g carbs.  This also got the husband's stamp of approval with the request that these muffins be a fall tradition.  Then he said, "scratch that.  I think this recipe needs to be a year-round tradition."  I would call that a success!

Protein Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
2 scoops NNW Healthy 100% Whey- Cinnamon Bun Flavor (you can substitute vanilla protein powder if you'd like)
2 Tbsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
4 eggs
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter (softened)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all dry ingredients together including the walnuts.  In a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients until well blended.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little bit at a time.  Use muffin liners in your muffin pan and spray each liner with nonstick spray.  Fill each liner 3/4 to full of batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Yield: 18 muffins

Pizza and Bread Sticks Without the Flour!

When I threw out all of my white flour it posed a dilemma.  What the heck am I supposed to do now for breads, muffins, pizza crust, etc.?!!!!  After much experimenting in the kitchen, I bring you my two favorite low-carb recipes for pizza crust/ bread sticks.  Note:  These you will eat with a fork, but you will not miss a typical pizza crust.  Hope you love them!! P.S.  My husband could not get enough of either of these.

My Favorite Garlic Bread Stick/Pizza Margherita Recipe
(adapted from Mom, What's for Dinner? Here)
Note:  This recipe makes 7 bread sticks, but you could easily double it or triple it to make it into a pizza crust as well!

Ingredients for Crust:
1 cup mashed cauliflower- (1/2 head)
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
Ingredients for Garlic Butter
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
Topping
1/2 tomato, sliced
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4-5 good sized fresh basil leaves, minced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Steam cauliflower for about 15 minutes over stove or in microwave.  I have a pasta-n-more thing that I used in the microwave.  When cauliflower is cooked, use a hand-held potato masher to mash cauliflower. Combine all ingredients for crust in a bowl with cauliflower.  Place parchment paper on cookie sheet and grease the paper.  Take crust contents and mold into a rectangle with hands.  This will seem very soft.  It will firm up in the oven-trust.

Place crust in oven for 15 minutes.  Mix softened butter and garlic in small bowl.  Take crust out of oven and spread garlic butter on top of crust.  Layer tomatoes, basil, and cheese.  

 Place crust back in oven and back for about 5 more minutes.  Cut into bread stick-like rectangles.  Enjoy!!

My Favorite Pizza Crust Recipe  

(adapted from Here)

Ingredients for Crust:

2 eggs

1 8 oz package of cream cheese- softened

1 cup Parmesan cheese

3 sprigs fresh oregano

2 Tbsp. fresh basil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients above for crust.  (Note:  This will not be "firm" like a pizza crust.  It may even be slightly soupy.  Trust me, it will become firm in the oven.)  Spoon "crust" into a greased 9x13 pan.  Place in oven for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Topping:

any kind of low sugar pizza sauce

1/2 lb. Italian sausage or other favorite topping

1 green pepper sliced

1/2 onion chopped

1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

While crust is baking, take Italian sausage and cook it in a pan with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, pepper, and onion.  Spoon pizza sauce onto crust until crust is covered.  Top with cooked sausage, peppers, onion and cheeses.  Crank oven up to 425 degrees.  Bake until cheese is completely melted - about 15 minutes.  Enjoy!!

Makes 10 pieces.

My New Addiction

Before I started getting back into shape the thought of protein powder absolutely disgusted me.  Something healthy?  In powder form?  No thanks, I'll pass.  That was me last year.  However, let me tell you that since then I have done a complete 180.  Hello, My name is Elizabeth, and I am a protein powder addict.  I think it is important to note: NOT ALL PROTEIN POWDERS ARE CREATED EQUAL!!  Yes, there are some really nasty protein powders out there.  I know because I tried them.  My world was rocked one day when a dietitian at Hy-Vee introduced me to NNW Healthy 100% whey protein.  She likes it because it has Stevia as a sweetener and according to her, has a great protein profile.  I just like it because it tastes good and has a great serving of protein. : )  Holy moly.  This stuff is like a dessert shake if you follow the recipe below.  I usually do the first recipe after my workout and then the second recipe if I'm on the go and need a little pick me up before a workout.  I do not do both in one day.  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!!    Oh, I also tried PB2 for the first time.  It's a peanut butter in powdered form.  It gives you the flavor of peanut butter without the extra calories and it is easier to shake up with my blender ball container for my on the go shake.  You can find both the protein powder and PB2 at Hy-Vee in the health food section, but I think there may be some Price Choppers that have them too.  By the way, this stuff is not cheap.  I usually buy the 2 lb bag which is about $20, but it is worth it and the bag lasts me for a few weeks.

Funky Monkey Post Workout Shake

1 c. milk (you can substitute almond milk)
1/2 banana ( I like to freeze my bananas-gives better texture for smoothies)
1 Tbsp. all natural peanut butter
1 c. ice
1 1/2 scoops NNW Healthy 100% Whey Protein Powder (peanut butter chocolate flavor)

Blend and enjoy!!!

Funky Monkey With Regular 2% Milk

Funky Monkey With Almond Milk

On The Go Pre Workout Shake


1 Tbsp. PB2 peanut butter
1 1/2 scoops NNW Healthy 100% Whey Protein Powder (peanut butter chocolate flavor)
1 cup almond milk (you can also use regular milk)

Shake and enjoy!!

On The Go Shake Nutrition Info

Easy Summertime Mexican Soup

I know, I know.  After reading the title of this page you are probably thinking, "soup? In the summertime?  Is she crazy?"  Maybe.  I eat soup year round regardless of whether it is 30 degrees or 100 degrees outside.  This soup is one of my favorites because it is EASY and always yummy!!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Easy Mexican Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium zucchini, sliced
6 cups chicken broth
2 (14.5 oz) cans stewed tomatoes (Mexican flavor)
1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can corn
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
Tortilla chips
Shredded Monterery Jack cheese
*2 chicken breasts

Directions:
Cook onion, olive oil, and garlic in large soup pot over medium heat until onions are clear.  Add zucchini and the rest of ingredients except chips and cheese.  Bring soup to boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes until zucchini are tender.  Spoon soup into bowl and add chips and cheese to your liking.

Yield: About 10-12 servings

*If you want to add chicken to this recipe, go for it.  I would recommend boiling the chicken breasts for about 30 minutes in a separate pot of water, cube the chicken, and add it when you add the zucchini and other ingredients.

Note: Everyone in my family likes to assemble their soup differently.  I like just cheese on top.  Some put the chips on the bottom, soup on top of chips, then cheese on the very top.  It is all up to you!!

I Go Nuts for Brownies!!

 

A regular brownie has about 23 carbs.  This brownie has 8.6 net carbs.  Ok, I'm just going to go ahead and be up front and honest with you.  THESE BROWNIES ARE TO DIE FOR!!! I'm always a little bit skeptical when cooking with "alternate" ingredients such as almond flour and artificial sweeteners ( I won't mention the awful "cinnabon" cake I made this weekend), but holy cow, are these good.  They were approved by my awesome trainer (who after tasting these went out and bought the ingredients immediately to make them the same day- no joke), my dad, and his staff.  Comments I received ranged from, "there is no way those are healthy," to "you should open up a bakery."  They are fudgy, chocolately, and REALLY, REALLY, GOOD!!! They are also rich, so these are perfectly portioned out if you use the muffin tins.

That being said, I can not claim this recipe as my own although the girl that came up with these...genius!!! You can find the recipe Here  Scroll down to the "Simple Cocoa Brownie" recipe.  I did not add the cranberries to make the holiday brownies, I only added nuts to the basic batter.  I went ahead and used the Xylitol pictured below as well as the liquid Stevia.  Both of these are natural sweeteners so you don't get the bitter taste as you would with Stevia in the Raw.  Both ingredients I found in my local Hy-Vee health food section. You can also find both types of flour I used in the health section at Hy-Vee.  I like the Bob's Red Mill brand. 

A few pointers of this recipe:

*I used the Xylitol/Stevia combination(pictured above)

*I used 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

*When I added the cream, I heated it up a bit before adding it in so it wouldn't clump my chocolate.  Nevertheless, my chocolate clumped a bit, but I kept my heat on low and continued to whisk and it turned smooth eventually.

*I divided the batter into 12 silicone muffin cups (they will not even fill the cups half way- no worries- it is perfect portion control.)

* I started checking them at 15 minutes.  I only baked them for a total of 18 minutes, so start checking on them early!

*ENJOY!!! 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a brownie I have to attend to. : )

My New Favorite "Pancake" Recipe!

So typically I'll have two eggs and either bacon or Canadian bacon for breakfast along with a glass of 1% milk.  But sometimes the old eggs and bacon gets a little monotonous so I have to find ways to mix up my breakfast routine.  I stumbled upon a recipe for these pancakes here, however, I had to change up the recipe a bit so I put my version below.  They are super easy (aside from the tricky flipping-they are easy to break) and quick!! I like to top mine with 1/3 cup of blueberries and some lite syrup.   These are a bit carb heavy with the banana so these are best in the morning or post workout and make sure you pair these with some other protein like some meat/ glass of milk/etc.  Yummy!  Enjoy!!
*Note: I like these better than the previous protein pancakes I posted. : )

Best "Pancakes" Ever
makes 3-4 small pancakes (1 Serving)

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. Almond Flour (I use Bob's Red Mill brand- you can find it at your local grocery store in Health food section)
1 egg
1 medium banana
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1.  Mash banana in a bowl.  Add all of the other ingredients and blend well.

2.  Pour batter onto greased pan (2-3 Tbsp of batter per pancake will give you about 3-4 pancakes).

3.  Turn pancakes when edges appear firm and cooked.  These pancakes will not bubble like regular pancakes.  Also, don't mess with them until you have to.  If you try to flip too early, they will break!!

4.  Gently flip pancakes when underside is light golden brown.  Let pancakes cook on other side until entire pancake is firm.

5.  Top with your favorite fruit and lite syrup.  Enjoy!!