Homemade spaghetti sauce

Here is my homemade spaghetti sauce served over steamed kale with 2 of my turkey muffins.  Great meal!!  I love this sauce because it is easy, full of veggies and just plain delicious.

Homemade spaghetti sauce
2 TBSP Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 each chopped onion and bell pepper
about 4 carrots chopped
large can of crushed tomatoes about 28 oz, or 5-7 large tomatoes boiled, peeled and crushed
garlic powder
oregano, basil, thyme

Start with the oil in a large pan.  Saute the carrots about 3-5 minutes then add the bell pepper and onion.  Saute until soft.  Add the tomatoes.  If you are using fresh tomatoes you may need to add a bit of water to have a thinner consistency.  Add the seasoning of your choice.  I used 1 TBSP garlic powder and about 1/2 TBSP each of oregano, basil and thyme.  You could also use crushed red pepper flakes if you like a spicy sauce.  Simmer on low for 30-45 minutes until desired consistency.

This sauce stores really well and I just love the fresh taste!!  So easy too.  You can also make a double batch and freeze half for later.

Banana Nut Protein Muffins

 I love banana nut muffins.  Since we eat a lot of bananas here, we always end up with a few overly ripe ones.  So what better to do with them, then make muffins.

Banana Nut Protein Muffins
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/4 cup stevia
1 cup greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 cups oat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 TBSP ground flax
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mash the bananas.  Then add eggs, stevia, yogurt and vanilla. Mix well.  Add the protein powder, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground flax and cinnamon.  Mix well  Fold in the walnuts.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Makes 12 large muffins.

Each muffin has 135 calories, 5.4g fat, 14g carbs and 8.3g protein.

Southwestern Egg Cups

This recipe is from #busygirlseatclean who I follow on Instagram.

I have been wanting to try this recipe out for a while but just haven't had all the ingredients until now!!  I am kinds funny about eggs.  I never eat eggs out because I am so picky about the way I like them cooked.  I like my scrambled eggs done well so this recipe worried me a bit.  But no worries, these were cooked perfectly for my taste.  I am so happy because now I will have a quick easy egg muffin instead of living off boiled eggs each day!!

Southwestern Egg Cups
Mix together in a small bowl:
1/4 cup each corn, black beans drained, chopped onion and chopped bell pepper

In another bowl, beat 2 eggs, 6 egg whites and a dash of Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle.

Spray 9 muffin openings with non-stick spray.  Divide the eggs evenly between the 9 openings.  Mine filled about 1/2 to 3/4 full.  Then add the veggie mix to the eggs.  I had about 2 spoonfuls of veggies per muffin.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  I baked mine for 23 minutes until they were a bit more brown, since I wanted to ensure they were cooked all the way through.  These turned out better then I had anticipated.  I think it is the veggie combo that really steals the show. 

Per each egg muffin- 48 calories, 1g fat, 4g carbs and 5.3g protein.  I had 2 for my serving size with oats and blueberries!!

Zucchini Noodles

I have seen many people use zucchini as noodles on blogs or instagram.  Not sure what they are using but I decided to give these a try with my mandolin.  I used the thick julianne blade.  I started with thin but they were just too thin. The thick blade worked out great.  I cut a whole zucchini which became the amount above. 

I simply dropped the zucchini into boiling water for about 5 minutes until slightly tender like a noodle.  I drained and served with some homemade spaghetti sauce and a serving of my turkey spinach meatballs.  What a great meal.  Since I skipped all the carbs of pasta, I was able to add a piece of Ezekiel garlic bread!  Yummy!!

Creamy Pork Chops

This is a pretty simple dinner, grilled pork chops, brown rice and squash.  I wanted to make a sauce to go with the rice and this is what I threw together.

I started by cooking boneless pork chops in a bit of extra virgin olive oil.  I seasoned them with a little season salt and some grilling spices, you can use whatever you like.  After they were completely cooked, I turned the heat off and added 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt to the drippings in the pan.  I added some black pepper and voila!!  This was a great sauce for the rice and the pork chops.  It was seasoned nicely and turned out really creamy.

Sometimes I saute mushrooms in a little butter and seasoning then add the greek yogurt to make a mushroom cream sauce.  Or you could add a little dijon mustard for a zingy flavor.  All of these are much better than any cream of whatever soup.  Plus the greek yogurt adds some protein to the meal!

Turkey Spinach Meatballs

I like to bake these on Sundays and use them throughout the week.  They reheat really nicely and are quick and easy.  We usually use these for pasta or Jeff's favorite, a meatball sandwich!!

Turkey Spinach Meatballs
14 oz extra lean ground turkey
9 oz bag of baby spinach wilted, or you could use 10 oz frozen spinach
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2cup grated cheese, I used the 3 cheese blend parmesean, romano and asiago
2 TBSP garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything in a bowl until combined.  I use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop out the mix, then divide it into half.  So each meatball is about 1/8 cup.  This made 21 meatballs today, sometimes more or less. Go figure!

Bake at 450 degrees for 23-25 minutes.

Serving size is 4 meatballs.  Each serving has 160 calories, 5g fat, 5.4g crabs and 22.6g protein.  Yummy!!

Pumpkin Protein Bar with Chocolate

These might be the best things I have made in quite some time!!  I was expecting a thinner bar but it really ended up more like cake.  Yummy!!  I made 6 bars with chocolate and 6 bars without.  Any guesses which ones will be gone first!!

Pumpkin Protein Bars with and without chocolate
1/2 cup splenda brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
4 egg whites
15 oz unsweetened pumpkin
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp each ground clove, ground ginger, baking powder and baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups oat flour
2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix sugar, applesauce, egg whites, pumpkin, milk, vanilla, spices and salt together well.  Then add remaining ingredients.  Bake in a greased 13x9 cake pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Cool bars about 30 minutes before topping or cutting. Makes 12 bars.

For chocolate topping, melt 2 TBSP mini chocolate chips.  Spread on 1/2 the bars.

Pumpkin bars without Chocolate contain 155 calories, 4.4g fat, 16.3g carbs and 13g protein.

Bars with chocolate contain182 calories, 6g fat, 20g carbs and 13.3g protein.

The next batch I make, I will use regular splenda instead of the brown sugar.  I am not sure what the taste difference will be but splenda brown sugar has almost as many calories as regular brown sugar. I'd like to see if they taste as good as the regular recipe, but with fewer calories.

Oatmeal Raisin Protein Bars

I was having a craving for sweets and thought some oatmeal raisin cookies sounded great.  But of course, that's not on the diet.  So I threw these together and yum!!

Oatmeal Raisin Protein Bars
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup splenda
4 egg whites
pinch each of cinnamon, allspice and ground cloves
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 TBSP natural peanut butter
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix ingredients.  I microwaved the PB for about 10 seconds to help with mixing.  Pour into a greased 8x8 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Makes 9 servings

Each servings has 118 calories, 3.7g fat, 12.3g carbs and 10g protein.

Turkey Muffins

No these are not for dessert!!  I have run across quite a few meat muffin recipes and this is what I put together. I wanted something that would work for Italian and Mexican dishes.  I wanted to be able to grab these muffins re-heat and eat.  This was my first batch and I think they turned out great.  I ate the first one with a little mustard and sriracha sauce as a snack.  Yummy!!  I am planning to use these in two days for dinner with whole wheat noodles and homemade spaghetti sauce. I had some ground beef that needed to be used up so I mixed meats.  You could use all turkey or mix with pork.  Just use whatever you have around.

Turkey Muffins
1 lb ground lean turkey
3/4 pound ground beef 90%
1 cup quick oats
3 egg whites
2 tsp. each dry mustard, black pepper
1/2 tsp. each salt, cumin, thyme
2 tbsp garlic powder

Mix together.  Spray muffin tins.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.  This made 13 muffins.

Could also add chopped onion and celery.

This recipe had 125 calories, 14.7g protein, 5.6g fat and 4.3g carbs each.  Serving size would be 2 or 3 depending on the dish.  Enjoy!!

Tuna Guacamole

 

 

I have never been a big fan of tuna.  My family always made tuna helper and I was not a fan!! I eat it quite a bit now but this is my favorite way to eat tuna!!  Simple and quick too! 

 

Tuna Guacamole

Mix 1 can albacore tuna with 1/2 an avocado.  I add a little salsa to spice it up. 

 

Pair it with veggies or chips and you have high protein, filling meal.