Clean Eating Zucchini Ravioli

Can I just say that I LOVE recipes that incorporate veggies in place of pasta or rice! Because I DO! It's the best way to get more greens in and an excellent way to balance carbs. 

Personally,  I try to have most of my complex carbs earlier in the day when I need the most energy and then eat more lean protein sources and veggies for dinner.  I'm not perfect with this by any means- but I try my best. I typically workout earlier in the day, so if you workout at night, you may want to plan to have a complex carb as part of your post workout recovery meal.

Anyways- this zucchini ravioli right here is a DREAM! It is SO delicious and I know you are just going to love it! I made it for the first time impressed myself with the fancy factor that this delivers. My husband devoured it and I absolutely cannot wait to make this again. Please enjoy and if you make it- let me know how it works out for you!

INGREDIENTS: 

• 3 medium zucchini- peeled with into thin ribbons
• 1 cup part- skim ricotta
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (divided into 2- 1/2 cups)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp each of onion and garlic powder and oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 3/4-1 cup no salt tomato sauce (depending how much you like)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350. After you wash and peel the zucchini into ribbons. Take the middle part that is leftover after you start to see that you can no longer peel an even ribbon and finely dice leftover zucchini. Sauté the diced zucchini 1 tbsp EVOO, a little salt and pepper for about 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Mix together the ricotta, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, spices, chopped basil and diced zucchini for your filling. Lay two zucchini ribbons flat side by side and then another 2 on top in the middle, forming a cross and scoop filling into the middle. Alternate folding up sides to make a ravioli and place folded side down in a sprayed casserole pan. Repeat this (this made 8 for me- serving 2-3 per person). 

Top with tomato sauce and remaining other 1/2 cup of cheese. Cook for about 20-25 minutes and then broil on high for about 3-4 minutes until bubbly and golden brown. Top with some more fresh chopped basil and ENJOY!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bite

Sometimes...you just need a little bite of sweetness to get through your day or night! Am I right or am I right!?

I am a sucker for mini bites. If I could eat little appetizers all day long, every day- that would be pure bliss! I wanted cookie dough so bad, but definitely didn't want to whip up a batch of cookies and over indulge and also didn't want to deal with the mess. So I thought what is the closest I can get to enjoying the cookie dough taste?? A few minutes of pondering and I came up with this gem.

It will take you you all of 2 minutes tops to put together! Enjoy this with a small glass of unsweetened almond milk for a snack or weekend dessert.

Ingredients

2 tsp oats
1 tsp vanilla protein powder (I use Shakeology)
1 tsp peanut butter (could use almond butter)
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp dark chocolate chips

Directions

Mix all ingredients together and form into one cookie dough ball just for yourself!! No sharing ;)

*If you do want to make more of these for friends or later in the week, you can easily double, triple etc the recipe! I just like the individual bite so I can control not going overboard!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Donuts

The struggle is real when your craving a donut, but don't want to gobble up 250-450 calories in just a few bites of bliss. You can still have your donuts and eat them too- just need a donut baking pan (can get at Bed Bath & Beyond, Target or Amazon) and a few minutes to whip up the magic in your kitchen :)

Fall is my favorite season and although we are heading into Spring time (thank goodness!), I still feel that it's perfectly acceptable to honor the greatness of pumpkin, cinnamon goodness. So here is a donut that will run you about 100 calories per donut and give you a taste of that Fall spice that is oh so nice!

Ingredients

3/4 cup oat flour (OR you can blend 1 cup oats into flour if that is what you have on hand)

1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking powder

1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup will work too!)

1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla extract

1/4 cup unsweetened Vanilla or regular almond milk

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

Coconut Sugar Sprinkle Topping (optional)
1 1/2 tsp coconut sugar
1 tsp tsp cinnamon

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350. Spray donut pan with non-stick cooking spray. Mix all dry ingredients in separate bowl until well incorporated. Whisk egg in separate bowl and add all other wet ingredients until well blended. Then mix in wet ingredients with dry to incorporate all together until free of lumps. Pour batter into donut pan. Bake in oven for about 12-15 minutes until batter comes out clean. 

Take donuts out of pan with butter knife. Sprinkle with coconut sugar sprinkle, if desired and enjoy!!

Healthy Turkey Meatballs and Zoodles

I really did a lot of work over the last year to figure out healthier versions of the foods I love. What I love to do most now is help people with finding healthier swaps that may work well for them too! So this recipe is for you pasta lovers out there and those who love Italian food and are afraid that you'll have to "give it all up" now that you're trying to be healthier!

I'm not a supporter of completely cutting things out of my diet. In fact I don't diet. I find foods that are healthier versions of what I used to love- foods that will give me  more energy, make my skin glow and help fuel my metabolism. All of this is really important and by having just a few swaps that you love, it can make all the difference. So for example- I LOVE pasta! But I know I can't eat it all day, every day. It makes me bloated and not to mention sluggish. So a GREAT alternative is zoodles. You can get a zoodler online (through Amazon) or you can take a peeler and carefully make noodles that way.

I used a peeler for my zoodles of this meal and sautéed the zucchini in 2 tsp of olive oil with a splash of water a little pepper, basil and oregano to season. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until softened up a bit- but not mushy!

The turkey meatballs are a great crockpot meal that you can use as part of your food prep. You could also make a double batch of meatballs and put the other batch in the freezer for another meal at a later time.

Here's the recipe for the turkey meatballs:

Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella or parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs (I used gluten free- you could also toast up some bread and and make into bread crumbs in a food processor!)
• 1 tsp Bragg's liquid aminos 
• 1 tsp each of basil, oregano, onion and garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper
• Sprinkle of cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

• Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix together
• Combine turkey, egg and liquid aminos and mix together well
• The add dry ingredients to turkey and mix well
• Form into balls (should make about 10-12 meatballs)
• Pan fry meatballs for about 4-6 minutes in skillet with cooking spray to get a nice golden brown color- turning every 1-2 minutes.
• You can then put into crockpot on high with tomato sauce and cook for about 2-2.5 hours
• Another option if freezing right other batch or if eating immediately is to cook meatballs in oven at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until cooked completely through.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies

I was really craving some banana bread, but also didn't want to go through the "production" of making it and really didn't want to wait that long for it to bake LOL So, I decided that I needed to come up with a cookie that satisfied the banana bread craving and only take about 10 minutes to bake! Win-win right there!

Hopefully you will love these as much as I did! They are awesome for a treat paired with a little unsweetened Vanilla almond milk or have two for breakfast with some coffee and a piece of fruit to round things out!

If you are following the 21 Day Fix, I would count these as a yellow treat for the week. The good news is that I made a small batch recipe that makes just 4 cookies at a time, so you don't over do it and turn into the cookie monster! :) #thestruggleisreal But if you are making these for the family- you can easily just double the recipe and make 8 cookies etc.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies 
(Makes 4 cookies, 2 cookies per serving)

Ingredients 

• 1/4 cup oats
• 2 tbsp almond butter (you could use Peanut Butter, but that may change the taste up a bit)
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1/2 banana (mashed)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• a few chocolate few chocolate chips sprinkled on each cookie

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mash the banana until smooth for the base of your batter
• Add the 2 tbsp of almond butter
• Add vanilla extract and incorporate all wet ingredients together
• Then add ground flaxseed and oats and finish mixing
• Spray some cooking spray on a non-stick pan and measure out 4 cookies or 8 if you are doubling the recipe
• Top with a few chocolate chips for each cookie
• Bake for about 10-12 minutes and enjoy!!

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

With it being closer to the Super Bowl, there will be more opportunities for parties and with parties...ultimately comes chances of over-indulging!! Ahh! haha There are definitely ways around this and ways to still be able to join in the fun and still stay on track with your health and fitness goals!

Buffalo Cauliflower bites are one of my fave go-to's for any game days or just for one of those nights where you really really want to order food and just need that quick little fix! PLUS these are so simple to make, you'll be making these a regular at your get togethers!

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower OR you can buy pre-chopped cauliflower at places like Whole Foods
• 1 bottle of wing sauce (I used Wing-Time Sauce from Whole foods)
• Green onion for garnishing

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Wash, dry and chop up cauliflower into flowers
• Eyeball it :)...use about quarter to half the bottle of sauce
• Mix around until evenly coated in a bowl
• Place cauliflower onto a sprayed pan
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and slightly still a bit crunchy

If you are looking a healthy alternative to a dip you can pair these with:

Lemon Garlic and Dill Greek Yogurt Dip

• 1 cup Fage greek yogurt
• Season with pepper, 1 teaspoon of dill and chives, 1/2 teaspoon of onion and garlic powder 
• A little squeeze of lemon

Enjoy!!

Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake

I can't tell you how many times I have tried to make a mug cake and it either came out way too dry or was cooking a ton on the sides, but not enough in the middle! Maybe you can relate??

I decided to make one yesterday because I was due for a snack and figured this would be a great way to get a protein serving, healthy fat and fruit in and let's be honest...I wanted CHOCOLATE...bad. There's always a healthier alternative to your cravings...you just have to get a little creative!

I don't know what it is, but sometimes when I'm hangry, I come up with some pretty awesome recipes haha So I hope you enjoy this one. It's a guilt free way to cure your chocolate craving!

There are a few helpful tips that I discovered that I'll share with you first...

1- the art getting these mug cakes to bake evenly is getting a wide coffee mug. A lot of  coffee mugs are short and more slender, but if you have one that is wider- it works wonderfully. Like a big hot cocoa mug. I think it just helps the liquid evenly cook better.

2-It comes down to timing. You should microwave the cake for 1 minute 30 seconds and then check it every 10 seconds thereafter. I microwaved mine for about 2 min 10 seconds, but yours may vary.

3- a recipe that has the right consistency of both dry ingredients and liquid ingredients- which I have!

Ingredients

• 1 scoop protein powder (I used vegan chocolate Shakeology)
• 1/4  tsp baking powder
• 5 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 drops of liquid stevia (or 1 tsp honey to sweeten)
• 1 tsp coconut oil (melted)
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 5 dark chocolate chips

Directions

• In a separate bowl, combine Shakeology and baking powder, then all wet ingredients and mix until smooth like cake batter. 
• Melt 1 tsp coconut oil in mug in the microwave for about 20 seconds
• Swirl the melted coconut around in the mug to make sure the edges are oiled to bake in the microwave.
• Pour in half the batter and then add in chocolate chips (you could even add in a tsp of nut butter too if you wanted!) then add remaining batter
• Microwave the mug cake for 1 min 30 seconds and then 10 second intervals from there until firmly set. 
• Take a butter knife and move it around the outside of the cake edges. 
• Take a plate and place on top of the mug and flip over. (The cake should come out easily!)
• Garnish with whatever your heart desires! I used 1/2 cup mixed berries and 1 tsp unsweetened coconut flakes :)

Enjoy! Xo