Cranberry Salad

This is a tradition every year at the holidays at our house. It is sweet and tart at the same time....and the bonus is that even my picky hubby will eat it!

1 cup pineapple
12 ounce bag of cranberries, chopped
2 apples, diced
3/4 cup stevia (the original recipe called for sugar, but I substitute stevia...you could use another natural sweetener)
2 bananas, sliced

Mix the pineapple, cranberries, apples, and stevia. Right before serving, add in the banana. enjoy!

Cranberry Salsa

I was looking for a fun holiday recipe...something that would make a nice snack or appetizer. This is perfect...sweet, tart, and with a little kick. I didn't add all of the green onions or cilantro, but you can adjust it according to your taste. I would also suggest putting the green onions and cilantro on the bottom of the food processor bowl. I didn't and I had to process mine longer than I would have liked to get the green onion and cilantro processed as well as the cranberries. No matter...it still tasted great!

1 12 ounce bag cranberries
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onions, cut into 3 inch lengths
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 limes, juiced
3/4 cup stevia (you could try using another natural sweetener too)
1 pinch salt

Combine cranberries, cilantro, green onions, jalapeño pepper, lime juice, stevia, and salt in the bowl of the food processor fitted with a medium blade. Chop to medium consistency. Refrigerate if not using immediately. Serve at room temperature.

Holiday Tips and Tricks

Staying on tack during the holidays can be TOUGH! There is so much temptation....party food and appetizers, delectable desserts, etc. It is a time of year for a lot of traditions, and in my family that includes a lot of foods that we don't normally have the rest of the year. A lot of our socializing centers around food...ever notice that? For me, that means that I have to focus on using a few "tricks" to keep myself on track.

1. Get your water in. No matter what, make sure that you are drinking all of your water. This will help to keep you full when that food is tempting you. I have my own special water cup that I keep with me at all times. It's a good habit to be in all year, not just the holidays!

2. Stay active. Get your workout in. Try to do it first thing in the morning so that the day doesn't get away from you. Our days tend to get busy during the holidays and the last thing that you should be skipping is taking care of yourself. You will get those endorphins going first thing in the morning and rev up your metabolism for the day...all good things! (I also find ways to get "extra" in like parking farther away in the parking lot while I am Christmas shopping so that I have to walk a little farther!)
Make it a family activity!

3. Watch your portion size. So often during the holidays we let our portion sizes get out of whack! Really focus...do you need that extra helping? Will a taste of that pie suffice? How much do you REALLY need?

4. Lighten up your food! So many of the dishes we serve during the holidays are so high in calories. Try using healthy substitutes. For example, use stevia or honey instead of processed white sugar. Try steaming vegetables and tossing them with a little coconut oil to make them a little healthier. Use low fat yogurt instead of sour cream in your mashed potatoes. Cut back on the oil and butter where you can. The most important thing is to be conscious of what you are using in your recipes.

5. Make sure you have healthy options. I always make sure that I have a baked sweet potato on the side for myself and that there is a dish of steamed vegetables. If there are healthy alternatives available, it is a lot easier to make better choices.

6. Don't skip breakfast! It is not going to save you any calories. In fact, it will probably make you overindulge later. Keep your metabolism revved up all day long by not skipping any meals...and have some small snacks too to keep yourself on track!

7. Eat slowly. We tend to gorge ourselves at holiday meals. Take your time and savor each bite. Give your body a chance to tell you it's full. I like to force myself to wait five minutes before taking a second serving. Usually I find that I really am not hungry for more. Leftovers are always better the next day so there is no reason to try to pack it all in at once!

8. Go easy on alcoholic drinks. These can pack on the pounds pretty quickly. Be aware and don't overindulge.

Mexican Quinoa

This is one of my new favorite dishes.  It has a nice little kick from the jalapeño and a great tang from the lime juice...a GREAT combination!

1 TBS olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, minced
1 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5) can fire roasted diced tomatoes (I didn't have these so I added chopped red pepper and a little water)
1 cup corn kernels
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 avocado, halved and diced
juice of 1 lime
2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and jalapeño. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.
Enjoy!

*This lends itself well to "doctoring." For instance, I substituted chopped red pepper and a little water for the tomatoes since I didn't have any. I also used only half of an avocado since that was all I had on hand. Despite both of these things, it was still GREAT!

Coconut Oil

This is one thing that has totally won my kids over....and me too! I was leery at first. I mean, did I really want all of my food tasting like coconut? I like coconut, but wouldn't that be overkill? Add to that the cost and I was hesitant to make this a staple in my diet. All I had to do was try it once and I was sold!

Rest easy...your food will not taste like coconut. That was one of my biggest fears. I actually think it has a slightly buttery taste, but that is just my opinion. It is light and does not taste greasy to  me. I use it to toss with vegetables instead of butter. I also sauté vegetables and other things in it (I use coconut oil to cook my coconut shrimp from my coconut shrimp recipe). There are a LOT of other uses for coconut oil too, not just for cooking.

The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, cholesterol level maintenance, weight loss, boosted immune system, proper digestion and regulated metabolism. Who doesn't want all of those health benefits? I actually don't go through a jar very quickly so it lasts a long time.

Try it...you'll like it!

Coconut Shrimp

Coconut Shrimp with sautéed brussels sprouts

I have always loved the coconut shrimp that you can order in restaurants, but I knew that I needed to find a clean eating version. This recipe fits the bill! As an added bonus it is so fast, easy and delicious, you will find it hard to believe that it can be healthy! But...it is!

1 cup vanilla almond milk
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 TBS canola oil (I used coconut oil...you could probably substitute olive oil as well)
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp agave nectar

In two shallow bowls, set up a dipping station with the almond milk in one dish and the coconut flakes in the other. Prepare a skillet over medium heat with the oil. Submerge the shrimp in the almond milk. Take shrimp, one at a time, out of the almond milk and roll in the coconut flakes to cover. Place the shrimp in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip the shrimp and continue cooking until the shrimp is cooked through and the coconut flakes are golden brown. Drizzle with agave nectar and serve.
This makes 2 servings.

This was my first time making this and I learned a few things....I used frozen shrimp and didn't thaw it first. I think the coconut topping would have stuck to the shrimp better for me if I would have thawed it first. I also don't think my skillet was heated enough when I first put the shrimp in. My meal was still delicious though and I just scooped up any topping that fell off and ate it with the shrimp!

Easy Avocado Tuna Salad

I love avocados, especially when mixed with other things. This recipe has just the right amount of crunch and flavor. Bonus...this is probably one of the easiest lunches you will ever throw together!

1/4-1/2 an avocado, chopped

1 can tuna, drained

2 TBS red onion, chopped

1 TBS olive oil

all-natural sea salt and pepper to taste

1/2 a red pepper, seeded

Mix the first three ingredients together. You may adjust the avocado and onion according to your taste. Drizzle olive oil over mixture and toss together. Season with salt and pepper. Fill half of a red pepper with mixture. Enjoy!

Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry

Major YUM!!! I love this recipe...and so did my daughters! I served it over brown rice, but you could just eat it plain too.

 

1TBS olive oil

1 cup broccoli florets

1 yellow onion, quartered

1 cup carrot matchsticks

1 cup snow peas (I substituted green beans because my daughters are not fond of snow peas)

1 cup white mushrooms

2 TBS minced garlic

4 TBS water, divided

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1 " cubes

1 tsp all-natural sea salt

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Sauté broccoli, onion, carrots, snow peas, and mushrooms with the garlic and 2 TBS water. Cover skillet and cook vegetables for three minutes. Uncover and continue cooking and tossing vegetables for 3 minutes. Add chicken and remaining water to skillet. Stir-fry mixture until the chicken is completely cooked through with the juices running clear, about six minutes. Sprinkle with salt, remove from heat, and enjoy!

*NOTE: I substituted green beans for the snow peas and sautéed them for 1-2 minutes first before I added the rest of the vegetables. I also doubled the recipe and added extra vegetables because I have a family of six. :) 

Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is great on its own, but it is also a great substitute for sour cream in recipes. Thought you had to go without the creamy sauces? Try using greek yogurt instead of cream or sour cream. You can also use it instead of sour cream on tacos, on top of chili, in mashed potatoes....in just about anything! Higher in protein than regular yogurt, Greek yogurt packs a bigger nutritional punch. It has less sugar and less sodium than traditional yogurt. In addition to protein, Greek yogurt also provides important nutrients, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium which help healthy bone growth. 

And let's face it...throw in a little fresh fruit and it is just plain good!