Friday, September 14, 2012

Turkey Meatball & Basil Subs

As of last Sunday night, homemade Turkey Meatballs will now be a staple in our house.  We are running out of days to have favorites..... Taco's & Stirfry make up a 'constant' in our household and now meatballs have been requested 1x per week.  If I can make all our meals THIS healthy and tasty.... then nooooo problem :)

1. Pull all your ingredients out:

  • 1 package lean ground turkey (thawed)
  • 3 eggs
  • Wheat Germ
  • Ground Flaxseed
  • Italian Style Bread Crumbs
  • Parsley Flakes
  • Oregano Leaves
  • Salt & Pepper
2. Make your meatballs :)  I cook with a little of this and a little of that until the consistensy is right or tastes better, so you do what you feel works for your eaters. 

3. Put the ground turkey, the three eggs and give or take 1/3 c wheat germ & 1/4 c ground flaxseed in your mixing container. Season and 'knead' - When everything is mixed, if it needs more 'binding' then add breadcrumbs.  I probably ended up adding about 1/2 c breadcrumbs to make the consistensy I needed.
In a good size pot, put some marinara sauce and get it warming up.
Now, you are ready to make small meatballs *Remember you are working with poultry, so the smaller the better because you want to get these thoroughly cooked.  I'd estimate I used about a tbsp of meat mixture per meatball.

4. Work quickly rolling balls and putting in a deep pan with a trace of olive oil over medium heat.

5. Let cook until slightly browned and then flip to another side to cook more.
6. When you have everything significantly browned, then toss the meatballs around to get a better shape
and brown overall. 
 
7. Remove from the frying pan and submerge the meatballs in your marinara sauce.  Let simmer in the sauce for a while.....
8. When you are ready to make your sandwiches, pull out your mozzarella cheese, parmesean cheese, Fresh Basil and Italian Seasoning (& Bread).


Assemble and ENJOY!




Monday, September 10, 2012

Breakfast Smoothie

How to make the most amazing nutrient dense breakfast on the go without consuming a gazillion calories.... ................did I mention it's vegan?

Do this in bulk and you wil be able to grab and make your breakfast quickly and bring it with you whenever you want. 

Start out with all your ingredients to make a months worth of smoothies:


Add into each ziplock bag: 
1/2 of a Frozen Banana (I suggest peeling before you freeze in the first place)
1/3- 1/2 Cup Organic Blueberries
3 oz Non-Fat Greek Yogurt (or coconut yogurt if you want this 100% dairy free)
2 cups loose or 1 cup heaping & packed  Organic Fresh Spinach 
1 tbsp Chia Seeds

I don't put the wheatgrass in the baggies ahead of time, rather add to the blender when I'm making it.

Here they are in my freezer ready to get blended on the go....

When you are ready to make your super duper breakfast, microwave your solid chunk of stuff for 30 seconds, break up a bit and then plop in your blender.  Add a little bit of 100 % juice, vanilla coconut milk or vanilla rice milk to give some liquid to the mix and help the blendability <- Is that a word?  :)  Add your wheat grass (as much as you want).  Wheatgrass Nutritional Information.

Blend really well and if you want it colder and more smoothieish (I'm full of non-existant vocabulary today) then add some ice.  Careful not to blend too much or the chia seeds act as a natural pectin........you should have seen my solid gelatized smoothie this morning :)

If drinking this post workout then add 1 serving of Rice Protein (upon blending time), otherwise, I personally leave out.

Looks horrendous, but tastes delicious.



Nutritional Information:


- I have been drinking a smoothie every morning for about a month and a half now.  I noticed that after 11 days of this routine, I had lost 7 pounds.  I did nothing different except drink this smoothie for breakfast!

Just to give you an idea of what you can do differently:

I have a huge bag of baby kale that I have been trying to use before it goes bad.  I swapped it for the spinach this morning and there is absolutely no taste difference, but a TON more nutrients!  I also didn't have vanilla yogurt, (only plain) so I added 2 pitted dates for extra sweetness.


Like my 'To-Go' Smoothie Cups?!