So, I decided the other day, that I would LOVE to have some granola to put into my Greek Yogurt and on top of my Frozen Yogurt...but of course I didn't have any.

So rather than running to the grocery store and buying their version of "Healthy" Granola (which is truly packed with un-needed sugars and preservatives), I decided to try and make my own.

I scoured the internet for versions of the stuff without a ton of added sugars and that would be super simple to make...I ended up finding some good looking recipes, but having limited ingredients I just decided to make up my own...and let me tell ya...it's so yummy!!

This would be a fantastic recipe to make with your kids as well, because not only is there not much to it, but it's also very healthy and tasty! They'll love to make it and then eat it up as a snack (or breakfast!)!

 

Here is my VERY minimal, SUPER simple recipe :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Old Fashion Oats (not the quick cooking kind)
• 1/4 Cup 100% Pure Maple Syrup (not the kind with all the additives)
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 TBSP unpacked Brown Sugar (though I wish I had added 2)
• 1/4 Cup Wheat Germ (Optional)
• 1 oz Chopped Butter Toffee Almonds (Optional, but they add a great flavor and texture...these are Blue Diamond Brand)
• Ground Flax Seed (Optional, but it adds some great nutritional value to the granola)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325º. Put oats, wheat germ, flax, almonds, and cinnamon in bowl and mix around. Next add maple syrup and brown sugar and stir around until mixture is evenly coated.
2. Spray baking sheet with oil and spread mixture out on pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring it up after about 12 minutes.
3. Take out and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Serving: 1/2 cup - Makes about 6 servings.

I thought I'd love mine for my yogurt the best, but actually, my favorite way so far has been with milk (it tastes like delicious, healthy cereal!)...I also love to just grab a handful as a snack in between meals.

Hopefully, some more recipes for Granola will come soon!

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

I forgot to take the normal step by step pictures, but I wanted to post this one anyways because it came out totally tasty and very low calorie!  Double bonus :)

Veggie Lasagna 

 

 

Ingredients

• 3 servings whole wheat lasagna
• 1 jar of sauce
• 2 servings chick peas
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta
• 1 cup pieces or slices mushrooms
• 1 cup spinach
• 3 medium zucchini
• 2 large peppers
• 2 cups shredded mozz cheese

Directions

1. roast veggies ahead of time by layering them on a cookie sheet, lightly misting with olive oil and adding some garlic and pepper, cook noodles, layer everything together, bake at 350 for 1 hour covered.

Meat free Hummus Wrap

Okay so I made this one afternoon and fell totally in love. I've made it about 10 times since, adjusting things around, trying different stuff in them and no matter what, it's always good!

First of all, I found these awesome low calorie wraps. They are called "Flat Out" and they are 90 calories. I love that they are soft, but be warned, wet wraps like stuff loaded with salsa causes them to fall right apart. But for the hummus wrap, these are perfect.

So onto the super easy part...
Just spread some Hummus (I've used plain and roasted red pepper) onto the wrap. I use 2 tablespoons. Then I add one tablespoon of ranch. I just love ranch and can't seem to cut it out of my diet.

I slice the cucumbers into long slices and layer them onto of a bed of spinach. Then I added some sprouts and some egg whites on this one.  Sprinkle a little garlic salt and enjoy!!

Alternate foods I've used have been onions, peppers, sunflower seeds and fresh green beans, but the options are unlimited!

Frozen Banana and Peanut Butter bites

I'm a major snacker in the evening while I'm watching TV, so I HAD to come up with something healthy to get me by!

I came up with these!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium banana
• 2 tbsp. Chocolate PB2 (powdered peanut butter)

Note: If you can't find PB2 it's perfectly fine to use Natural Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, or Sun Butter (if you have a peanut allergy). I find PB2 in my supermarket's Organic Section. If your supermarket doesn't have an Organic section, look in the Peanut Butter aisle or Order Online!

Directions:

1. Cut banana in half length ways (like you would for a banana split) and smear the PB on to one side
2. Put  the banana back together and wrap in plastic wrap. Place banana in freezer.
3. When banana is completely frozen, take out and remove from plastic wrap. Cut into bite size slices (might be a little tough, so BE CAREFUL!) and enjoy! 

Note: If you don't plan on eating the entire banana right then, put the left over pieces in a freezer safe container or zip top bag so the pieces don't get mushy. ALSO, if you want an extra BANG! to the snack, dip in organic chocolate!

Remember your calories will change if you change the filling or dip into chocolate!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry "Green" Smoothie

So, I've been seeing the term "Green" smoothie a lot lately, but never really understood what it meant.

Since stepping into this lifestyle change, I've figured out what it means! It means blending green veggies (such as Spinach or Kale) with other vegetables and fruits...go ahead and read up on it more RIGHT HERE. Because I haven't even scratched the surface with that explanation haha.

Anyway, they are delicious!! I know what you're doing right now...you're turning your nose up, waving your arms back and forth and saying "No way, No how".

Well...

Get over it, chump.

They are SO good for you, and they aren't necessarily "Green" in color either, if that's your main issue. Depending on what you mix with them, they could be pink, red, blue, purple, brown...it goes on and on! And if your issue is the leafy greens...you can't even taste them. Ok...well you can taste Kale a little I think, but you can't taste the spinach AT ALL.

So here's the recipe for my first concoction, but don't worry...there will be many more down the road...I can assure you of that ;)

Ingredients:

• 2 good hand fulls of baby spinach
• 1 cup Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk
• 1 container of Strawberry Greek Yogurt
• Sweetener to taste (such as Agave Nectar or Stevia)
• 1 1/2 cups of ice

Note: I would also recommend a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder and some frozen strawberries. I was out of both (well I had 2 frozen berries left...wth? LoL), but it would have been tastier with those things I think :)


Directions:
Throw spinach and milk in first and pulse a few times (just to get the spinach chopped up a little), then throw in your other ingredients and blend until it's to your desired consistency!

I garnished with  a frozen berry and a frozen banana treat

 

There are so many ways to make these smoothies your own! If you change up the recipe, We'd love to hear your suggestions or additions in the comments section!

Italian Zucchini Sticks

Ok so I only made enough of these for one serving, so excuse the measurements (or lack thereof haha) I just sort of "winged" it ;)

These were VERY delicious though! Can't wait to have them again (probably this week) :)

And I used Italian Bread Crumbs, but I would have preferred Whole Wheat bread crumbs that I had seasoned myself...I just couldn't find them at the store...guess I'll have to make my own when I have some wheat bread that needs used up!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a Medium/Large Zucchini (or 1 small)
• 1/3 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
• 2 TBSP Parmesan Cheese
• 1 large egg white
• Extra Seasoning to Taste (I used Onion Powder and Garlic Salt and fresh Ground Pepper)
• Spray Olive Oil
• Marinara for dipping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Spray a baking sheet with Olive Oil. 
2. Cut your zucchini into sticks (like a French Fry). Put your bread crumbs/parm/spices into one bowl and your egg white in another bowl.
3. Cover your zucchini sticks in egg white and then in the bread crumb mixture and place on the baking  sheet. When you've covered all of the sticks spray the sticks with Olive Oil and place into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown (I did turn mine once during baking).
4. Serve while hot with marinara sauce!

Servings: 1

Original Recipe can be found HERE.

Chicken Salad with Greek Yogurt

One of my favorite meals in the summer is without a doubt, Chicken Salad.

It's so light and fresh that it just makes me go "Ahhh".  And with 10" of snow on the ground, the farthest thing I'm feeling right now is "Ahhh" LoL. So I'm thinking to myself...I'd really love some Chicken Salad right now, to make me remember that lovely summer feeling it gives me.

But how one earth can one eat Chicken Salad when she's going through a Lifestyle change and calorie counting? I mean, it has TONS of mayo in it!!

I HAD to figure out a way to make it, and make it healthy, so I Googled my little heart out and talked to some girls I'm in a group with...the main consensus was...Greek Yogurt.

Ok...sure...sounds great! I've never had it and it's so good for you, of course it was the logical explanation. So I trek into the kitchen, chop my fruit, veg, and chicken and pull out the Plain Greek Yogurt. I open it, stir it, smell it (I always smell stuff), and think to myself "Just try it. You like regular yogurt, how can this be so different". I dip the spoon in and have a little taste.

OH YUCK!!! This stuff is terrible!

But I'm NOT going to give up. I refuse. There must be some way to use this stuff and not have to hold my nose while gagging it down...I open the refrigerator and search the shelves. Soy Sauce...ok...this could work! I love Soy Sauce! I mix it in really well and have a taste...eh...it's DEFINITELY better, but still needs something...a bit of sweet I think. I grab the honey bear. Yep. That's what it needed. I mix it into my chopped veg, fruit, and chicken and take a taste...IT'S GOOD!

Thank Goodness. I was really going to miss my Chicken Salad if this didn't work...

So here goes....my Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad...oh and if anyone can come up with a clever name, I'd love to hear it! I'm not good at coming up with that kind of stuff.

Chicken Salad with Greek Yogurt

Ingredients

• 2 small chicken breasts (or 1 large)...it came to about a cup diced.
• 1 celery stalk, chopped to your preferred size (I cut in half long ways and then diced)
• 1/2 cup of small grapes, halved
• 1/2 apple (your favorite type...I used Golden) diced

Dressing

• 1/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 TBSP Soy Sauce
• 1 TSP Honey (or use Honey Flavored Greek Yogurt)

Directions

1. Chop or Shred Chicken, add into a bowl with the chopped fruits and celery.
2. In a separate bowl mix up your dressing.
3. Dump it over the top of your chicken and fruits and mix so that your dressing is covering the rest of your ingredients.
4. Now eat it up! I ate mine on Wheat Thins Flat Bread Crackers and it was delicious :)

Mine made approx. 2 cups, but you could easily double the recipe. You could also add other fruits/veggies to your liking, even some nuts would be good (just remember to adjust the Nutrition Information for whatever you add!)

Serving size is per 2/3 cup

Carrot Orange Smoothie!

Remember those delish orange creamsicle pops? Well you're in for a treat if you like those, because this smoothie loaded with vitamin A and C!

Did you know that carrots are an excellent source of antioxidants, and the richest vegetable source of the pro-vitamin A carotenes. Carrots antioxidants help protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer and also promote good vision, especially night vision. Pretty awesome huh?

This was super easy to make and turned out great! The kids sucked a glass right down as well, which is always a plus.

Ingredients

• 1 serving  vanilla whey protein
• 1 small orange
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 cups chopped carrots

Directions

1. Rip up 1/4 of your orange peel and add it into your blender or processor. Add in 2 cups of carrots, half the orange, one scoop of vanilla cream whey protein, 1 cup of orange juice and 1.5 cups of ice, blend together, add more juice if needed.
2. Drink fresh and enjoy!

This makes 4, 1 cup servings. Serving size below is per 1 cup.

Lemon Pepper Chickpea Stir-fry!

This turned out very yummy and at 200 calories a serving, makes a great meal!

Chickpea and Zucchini Stirfry

Ingredients

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 medium onions (I used one yellow, one purple)
• 2 medium zucchinis cut into chunks
• 1 medium red pepper
• optional 1 cup of chopped spinach, kale or other green leaf
• lemon zest and juice from half of lemon (I thought this was too much, next time I'll use less)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil or ghee over medium-high heat and stir in a good pinch of salt. Add the chickpeas and sauté until beginning to color, then add the onion or shallot. Continue cooking until the chickpeas are deeply golden. Add greens and cook until wilted, then remove everything in the skillet onto a large plate.
2. Heat the remaining oil  in the same skillet over medium heat, and sauté the zucchini until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pepper and cook for an additional minute, then add the chickpea mixture back in.
3. Mix well, taste for seasoning, and remove from the heat. Add the lemon zest and juice, and toss well. Serve with freshly cracked black pepper.

Servings: 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side dish ● Total Calories: approx 808

Oatmeal Bake - 2 ways

SO...if you are anything at all like me, you get pretty darn tired of eating the same thing day in and day out...especially for breakfast.

Generally for breakfast, you want something quick that you can feed yourself and your kids on the way out the door, BUT you still want it to be healthy and filling. SO whenever I saw this recipe on the Kath Eats blog, I just KNEW I had to try it.

I mean, what's better than good, healthy oatmeal that you can actually TAKE with you if you need to?!

I'll tell you what...nothing (that I've found so far)!

So being trapped inside my home from a snowstorm, I had NONE of the ingredients to make this, but Chelsie did, so I lived vicariously through her...she made a version with blueberries and bananas and sent me pictures to drool over (I couldn't taste her's after all because I was stuck at home and besides that...New York is a long way to travel from Missouri...even for yummy food haha).

FINALLY, a week later, I got to the grocery store and was able to make this delicious concoction. OH MY GOSH...it's fantastic! I did change up the Recipe from the original one I found (as did Chelsie), so I will post the recipe for Chelsie's first (with photo) and then my recipe (with photo).

You have to try this...it's so easy (as ALL of my recipes are, if you haven't noticed), and so good and so ridiculously healthy.

Chelsie's Blueberry/Banana Oatmeal Bake

Ingredients

• 1 extra large egg
• 2 cups, dry, oatmeal (Old Fashioned, but if you all you have is Quick Oats, they work too)
• 1 ½ cups 2% milk
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 medium banana
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup unpacked brown sugar

Directions

1. preheat oven to 375º.  Mix dry ingredients, oatmeal,  baking powder and cinnamon, set aside.
2. Mix wet, one egg (beaten), mashed banana,  milk, vanilla, mix well and pour into dry ingredients, mix all together and spread into 8 inch square sprayed baking pan. Add blueberries to top.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, then add brown sugar to top, turn oven to broil and leave in another 3-4 minutes. Remove and cut into 9 squares.

Nutrition: Servings: 9  ● Total Calories (for pan): 1120  ● Calories per serving: 140

Since I'm not crazy about the taste of banana's baked into things, I cut down the amount of banana I used. I also used Unsweetened Almond Milk and Splenda Brown Sugar on mine...BUT after reading a few things that made my stomach turn, I have decided to use up my Splenda supply and switch to something a little less...poisonous. SO when I figure out what that will be...I will post again...besides, I have a few different ideas for this recipe that I hope will be mind blowing. (we shall see...haha) ☺

Trisha's Cinnamon Banana Oatmeal Bake

Ingredients

• 1 small banana mashed (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small banana sliced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats (Quick Oats will work too if that's all you have)
• 1 ½ cups Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 TBSP Cinnamon
• 1 Large Egg (beaten)
• 1TBSP Vanilla
• 1 TSP Baking Powder
• 2 TBSP Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
• 5-6 Whole Pecans, Chopped Finely (optional) 

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375º. In a bowl mix together wet ingredients (egg, mashed banana, vanilla, almond milk), set aside.
2. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients (oats, cinnamon, baking powder). Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well.
3. Pour mixture into a greased (I sprayed mine) 8x8 pan (I couldn't find my 8x8 so found one close to this size) and add sliced bananas to the top. Bake for 25 minutes.
4. When it has finished baking, pull it out and sprinkle the brown sugar and pecans on top. Turn oven to 'Broil' and leave in oven for another 5 minutes.
5. When it's finished take it out and cut into 9 pieces (if you used 8x8 pan) or 8 pieces (like I did because my pan was rectangle) and ENJOY!!

You can refrigerate leftovers and when you want one take it out of the fridge and pop it into the microwave for about 25 seconds, reheat in the oven, or slide your piece into the toaster!

Servings: 8 (or 9) ● Total Calories (for pan): 1096 ● Calories per serving (if cut into 8): 137 ● Calories per serving (if cut into 9): 122

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!!

Mexican Zucchini Bake ~ Pasta Free!

Okay so for years I have made this yummy Mexican pasta bake, it's loaded with flavor and of course calories. So I attempted to remake this yummy dish using zucchini (aka noodles) instead of pasta and it was delish!

One thing I didn't do that I should have done is roast the strips of zucchini first. Just spray a cookie sheet with non stick spray and throw these in the oven for like 15 minutes first.

Ingredients

• 4 servings skinless chicken breast
• 3 1/2 servings black beans goya
• 26 servings mild salsa
• 2 medium whole tomatoe
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups corn
• 3 medium zucchini
• 1 medium red pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozz cheese

Directions

1. Cook chicken, slice the zucchini into long slices about 1/4 inch thick and roast on 350 for about 15 minutes (just until they start to soften up and brown up. Spray 9x13 baking dish with non stick oil.
2. Mix up 2 jars of salsa, a can of black beans, 2 cups of frozen corn nibblets in a bowl, spread a layer onto of the zucchini noodles. Cut cooked chicken into thin shredded pieces and sprinkle over the salsa mix. Add the shredded mozz cheese and repeat creating another layer. Finish the top off with fresh cut tomatoe slices

• bake for 35 minutes on 325. 

Egg-static about Protein!

I know, I know, it's an incredibly lame title, but it made you smile a little didn't it? Come on. I know it did ;)

Today's post is about a great way to get in lots of protein! That is...if you like eggs. If not, you better just skip this one ;)

I'm really terrible about eating meat and therefore, had to find another alternative to the protein dilemma...my resolution? Scrambled Eggs! Quick, Easy, Healthy :)

I know, I know...everyone knows how to make scrambled eggs, so I won't go into too much detail about it...but I just wanted to be sure and remind everyone about them. Sometimes people forget about them! And honestly...they are the perfect breakfast/lunch for the "not so hip on meat" or "SO tired of chicken" person ;) They keep you full for awhile (that means less snacking!) and they are a fantastic low-cal treat!

PLUS....you can dress them up a million and one different ways.

Here's how I did mine...

• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (about a palm full if you don't want to measure)
• Garlic Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder to taste 
• 1 tablespoon Chunky Garden Salsa

Combine egg and whites (reserve your yolks for another recipe maybe!), cheese, and spices in a bowl. Pour the mixture into a small skillet sprayed with Olive Oil (if you don't have an Olive Oil Misto Bottle, I would use about a tsp....not much...just enough for the eggs to not stick) and scramble! When it's nice and firm dump it out onto a plate (or into a bowl) and put your salsa on top...then enjoy your fantastically easy 5 minute Protein boost :)

Other ways I've enjoyed my scrambled eggs lately?

Grated Parm instead of Cheddar Cheese

With Spinach! (Pics of this below!)

Add some Peppers and Onions

Enjoy it inside of a whole wheat wrap

See? The possibilities are endless! 

And don't worry...we'll add other egg-citing Egg recipes ;)

Nutrition for the combination posted above

Chelsie's Eggs With Spinach

Zucchini Noodles

These "guiltless" noodles are ah-mazing!  Not only that, but they are so easy to do, low calorie and you are getting in some veggies instead of carbs!

Ingredients
Zucchini (one per serving)
Olive oil for coating
Garlic salt

Yep that's it!!

 First take your zucchini and your handy little veggie peeler and slice down the zucchini creating your "noodles" until you have them all peeled up.

Then take your olive oil and a light coating to your pan. To save calories, use the Misto bottle! I love this thing!! If you are anything like I was, you just dump the oil into the pan right? Well that's adding a lot of extra calories. One tablespoon of olive oil is 120 calories, when you just dump it in the pan, you are getting around 3 to 4 spoon fulls easy. With the sprayer, I might get 1 at most!!

Okay now that your pan is coated, turn your burner on medium high heat, put all your zucchini into the pan.

You want to cook it until it starts to get the nice golden edges. I let mine sit for a bit then stir, once it starts to brown up, it goes pretty fast. Actually the whole meal is fast. Less then 10 minutes total I'd say.

 At this point I add my garlic salt. You could add it at anytime, and you could skip the sodium and add just garlic if you wanted.  See how nice and golden they are starting to look? Oh and the smell is just delish!!

I consider these ready to eat! Time to pour them into my bowl and gobble them up :)

Welcome!

Welcome to our new little blog!

We are Chelsie and Trisha...Two friends and photographers who happen to live half way across the States from each other :)

We started this blog because we are both trying to live healthier lifestyles through not only eating right, but also by exercising.

We thought we would share with you not only our journey, but also, our favorite low calorie/healthy recipes and snacks! And of course anything else we feel would be beneficial to share ;)

So go ahead and become a blog follower (over on the right) or save this blog to your favorites, because you're definitely going to want to come back!

Cheers to a longer, happier, healthier life!!

Trisha and Chelsie (the Low Cal Gals)