Unwrapped Cabbage Rolls

This little ditty started because of two reasons. 1. I have a HUGE head of cabbage my mom gave me from her garden. 2. My gal, Andrea, posted a pic of hers on Facebook the other day and my mouth started watering! So she sent me over a pic of the recipe (which is wonderful as it stands) but y'all know me: I can't do anything according to the original recipe. The original has a small can of tomato paste added to it and was about twice the size (which is great if you want leftovers) but the hubs isn't a fan of "tomato" in the form of paste. So that got dropped ASAP.

I have to say, this totally tasted like hamburger helper (to me) but with cabbage which is 10000 times more awesome than pasta. Also, you can easily use ground turkey or chicken. I suggest adding extra cumin and maybe paprika if you do that during the browning stage. I stayed with a super lean ground sirloin (again, playing to the hubs "wants"). 

If you need a carb: add an extra cup of water and cup of brown rice when you put the tomotoes and cabbage in the pan to cook. I found this filling enough without it!

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Unwrapped Cabbage Rolls

3/4-1 lb. of lean ground sirloin

1 small red onion - diced

1 tbsp. EVOO

2 tsp. garlic powder

OR 1 clove of garlic - minced

1 small head of white cabbage - chopped (about 2-3 cups-ish)

1 can diced tomatoes (I used organic and green chile flavor)

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 c. Water

In a deep frying pan, heat the EVOO and add meat, onions and garlic. Brown those puppies. 

When brown, add the can of tomatoes, more garlic (if you're into that), salt, pepper, cumin. Stir first, THEN add the cabbage and 1/2 cup of water. Cover and reduce temp to a simmer. Stir every 5 minutes to help incorporate the cabbage as it cooks down. Cook for 25-30 minutes. 

Eat that awesomeness!

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SUPER SIMPLE. Clean and easy and filling and flavorful! And Alice didn't try it. BOOOOOOO! I think she would have liked it.

Challenge-Friendly: YES! Great for Cleanse and Max.

Broccoli Salad

Continuing with my holiday nostalgia, broccoli salad was one of those dishes from my past that still rocks my socks when I think about it. So how do we make it healthier? Again, ditch the mayo and go Greek!

This is lovely and tastes delicious because the cranberries add that sweet while the almonds and broccoli have that crunch. I surprised myself a bit because I actually like this flavor MORE than the past versions!

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Broccoli Salad

2+ cups broccoli florets

1/2 c. Dried cranberries

1/2 c. sliced or chopped almonds

2 strips turkey bacon - cooked and chopped

Dressing:

1/2 c. Greek yogurt

1 lemon - juiced

1/4 c. White vinegar

1 tsp. dried ground mustard

1 tbsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

1/8 honey mustard dressing

Cut stems off florets and make sure pieces are small and bite sized. Mix dry ingredient together. 

Combine dressing ingredients and pour over dry ingredients. Stir and serve or cool in fridge.

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I actually didn't want to open a package of turkey bacon his for two pieces so I chopped up some salami pieces we already had. Still tastes awesome! The honey mustard dressing I used is Brianna's Organic which I love to the money. You need the sweet of it to balance out the vinegar. You could also use Dijon and honey if you don't have the dressing around. My mouth is happy!

Challenge Friendly: Max Phase only. Y'all know I suggest going easy on the dairy during your challenge so just keep that in mind!

Avocado Potato Salad

With the summer season approaching and Memorial Day Weekend bringing back memories of cookouts, potato salad and outdoor grilling, I once again found myself craving several dishes that spark that nostalgia. Even though I'm not a heavy potato person anymore, potato salad was one of the first that came to mind. But, dude, I can't bring myself to buy and eat the huge jar of Miracle Whip anymore! As good as Mom's potato salad sounds, I needed a life hack to get my kicks.

Enter in Greek yogurt. We know the wonders of using it as a creamy replacement so it was just a matter of spicing it up and making it taste reminiscent enough to hit the sweet spot. And it worked for me! Even Alice has been devouring it (and now claims she likes avocado ... But we'll see about that).

While not as healthy as it possible could be, I say it's healthy enough for me to feel okay indulging in this traditional dish! Also note that I love a mustard version so adjust your mustard to your tastes. Enjoy!

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Avocado Potato Salad

5 large russet potatoes - skinned, diced

1/2 red onion - diced

2 celery stalks - diced

1 avocado - chopped

1 lemon - juiced

1/2 cup bread and butter pickles - chopped

6 hard boiled eggs (yolks for dressing)

Dressing:

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt

1/8 c. Milk 

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. yellow mustard

1 tbsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

Black pepper

Yolks from eggs

Dash of sea salt

Soak the avocado in lemon juice to help keep from browning (about 45 minutes to an hour) and add juice and avocado to the bowl. Boil potatoes until soft. Boil, peel eggs and chop the whites while adding the yolks to the dressing. Combine all top ingredients in a big bowl.

In a separate bowl, add all dressing ingredients and combine well. Pour over potato bowl mixture and gently combine until everything is coated and lovely.

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You can't screw up potato salad! Just add more or less of the seasonings contingent on taste. Even add a bit of the pickle juice if you need it sweeter. I love the variety from one person to the next when I try new people's versions!

Challenge Friendly: NO. But it sure beats a mayo heavy dish!

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

HOLY SPICY-NESS BATMAN! I've been dying to make this since I pinned it on Pinterest and finally did. Now, I'm not a super awesome-can-handle-spicy-gal but I like a little hot here and there. Needless to say that my addition of a full serrano pepper was NOT the little spice I wanted ... but I ate it anyway ... as fast as I could ... because that's what you do with spicy food once you start mowing down!

I love love love this recipe from Pinch of Yum but I didn't add everything she did since I didn't have it on hand. My green onions I thought I had DIED. I totally forgot to get fresh cilantro from the store so I used my cilantro paste instead (can be found next the real herbs in the produce section). And I couldn't find a green mango or papaya so no fruit in this bad boy. I do like her suggestions of chopping and adding other crunchy veggies like cucumber or zucchini. I think yellow peppers might even make a good addition.

So here is how I made it today. Honey instead of sugar. No green onions, so I used red onion. Very thinly sliced and diced my cabbage (because who wants to eat a big leaf of raw cabbage? That stuff hard to chew!). The kicker is the dressing. HANDS DOWN. Throw whatever you want into the salad, the dressing is what makes it. Also: thank goodness again for my slap-choppy-thingy because getting my baby carrots, onions, hot pepper, and peanuts diced down was a snap. And life hack today: natural canned chicken in water. You gotta do what you can as you can.

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Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

• 1 Chicken Breast (boiled and chopped/shredded OR 1-20 oz. can natural chicken in water)
• 1/4 head of a big white cabbage - sliced thin or grated
• 1 large carrot or 1 c. baby carrots
• 1 green papaya (if you can find it!)
• 1/2 c. fresh cilantro
• 1/2 c. onions - diced
• 1/2 c. peanuts - chopped

Dressing:

• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 serrano pepper - minced
• 2 tbsp. liquid aminos
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or white)
• 1 tbsp. raw honey
• 1/2 a lime - squeezed
• 1 tbsp. EVOO
• ½ teaspoon fish sauce (found in the Asian section)
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• ¼ cup water

Slice, dice, shred, grate and make a happy salad with the crunchy stuff and chicken.

I put all the ingredients for the dressing in the processor and blended them until combined. You can use a blender for that too.

Pour over the salad and mix everything together.

Made 4 portions.

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I was prepping this at lightning speed trying to get it done so Dave could take some with him but that didn't happen. It still took me about 10-15 to throw together so prep is minimal.

I seriously would cut back on the hot pepper if you can't handle spice. If you don't have a hot pepper sitting around, you could use pepper flakes instead.

Also the honey: it offsets the vinegar and makes it more palatable so for as small of an amount as it is, I'm calling it ok for this dish!

I would love to have it with the papaya so if anyone sees a small green papaya around, tell me!

Challenge-Friendly: YES. I'm on Day #5 of my cleanse and this was awesome!

Chicken Chili

Buried deep, waiting on Polar Vortex Episode II, I CRAVE COMFORT FOOD! But I'm also on my first full 24-Day Challenge post-baby. Must eat clean and I sure as heck don't need to fall back into making cornbread, using cheese, or lathering sour cream on my comfort food. So the Pinterest perusing began as I looked over white chicken chili recipes. For the most part, they all had some things in common, so I took those ideas and ran with what was in my kitchen. The biggest flavor factors for this are definitely the combination of chili powder, cumin and jalapeño. And please don't leave out the jalapeño! I can't deal with a ton of heat so I only used one, but at least use a half. It just helps warm it up just a touch! I'm not calling this "white" since I had veggies and kidney beans, but dang this is good chili!

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Chicken Chili

2 chicken breasts

1 1/4 c. Dried bean/lentil/veggie mix

1 can pinto beans

1 c. peppers, diced (any or all colors)

1/2 red onion, diced 

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 c. Extra water (add as it cooks)

1 c. corn

1 jalapeño, diced (more or less to taste)

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. cumin

1-2 tbsp. oregano

2-6 cloves of garlic, diced

For chicken:

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

Throw everything but the chicken and bottom 3 spices in the pot, stir together. Take bottom 3 spices and rub on chicken. Place chicken just in the water and let cook for 2-3 hours before stirring the pot. 

Cook in the crockpot on high for 4-6 hours.

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I'm in love! Better than ground turkey chili by far and lots of flavor so I didn't need toppers for it. New favorite stew by far. And it was THICK. So add more water if you need to! Why was I wasting my time trying to perfect turkey chili when this was waiting for me???

Also note: I used my no-msg chicken stock starter and 3 cups of water for the broth. But low-sodium broth should be just as flavorful!

Challenge-Friendly: YES. Full of protein. Pair with a side salad or extra veggies for more natural fiber.

Jerk Salmon and Garlic Spinach

O.M.G. So, I had my one experiment with jerk seasoning awhile ago and I haven't revisited the "jerk" realm until now. WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG??? Am I really that crazy to put off finding an awesome flavor?? Yes. Yes, I was.

Enter Pinterest - because face it, us recipe whores find everything on Pinterest. Google recipes? Are you insane? Go look on Pinterest like a good girl, now! Pinch of Yum's Caribbean Jerk Salmon Bowl with Mango Salsa caught my eye. (http://pinchofyum.com/caribbean-jerk-salmon-bowl-with-mango-salsa)

I had every intention of making this as a bowl ... And then in my rush I forgot. For me that's not a big deal because I'm the classic "mix it all together and eat it" girl, anyways. My friends dread going to a Mexican restaurant with me because I'm prone to cutting and mashing my burritos into their equivalent of visual "baby poop." LOL I'm off topic ...

THIS WAS AMAZING. And amazingly, no garlic for once. Yes, you heard me right. It didn't need it. It was fabulous on salmon, but I think any white meat or fish would hold up to the flavor. And next time, I plan on marinating for a few hours because the flavor of the leftovers today was even more insanely awesome from sitting.

Wait there was garlic! The spinach had garlic, DOH. The spinach is super fast side that's still full of flavor and a green for your plate.

As for the mango salsa I added to mine, I will post that recipe at some point. It's super simple!

Please remember that all the measurements are general. If you get more less of something, it won't kill the flavor. Just try to keep everything fairly equal and you'll be fine!

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Jerk Salmon

2-4 Servings of Salmon Filet

1 tbsp. EVOO

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. hot madras curry powder (or regular curry powder)

1 tsp. all spice

1 tsp. cinnamon

Dash of sea salt

Mix the dry spices together, then add the oil. Mix well and pour over the salmon filets. Rub all over to coat them well. Let marinade or cook right away in a hot pan. 3-5 minutes each side. Serve!

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Garlic Spinach

4 handfuls fresh Baby Spinach

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp. EVOO

Heat the oil in a pan. Mince in garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add Spinach and cook until wilted. Serve.

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I added Seeds of Change Quinoa and Brown Rice for my grain (super fast, not too processed ... But fast was the key term here: http://seedsofchangefoods.com/our_foods/product.aspx?c=rth&p=285) and my homemade mango salsa. DELICIOUS!!

Challenge-Friendly: YES. This was dinner on Day 1 of my Cleanse this time.

Crockpot Freezer Meal: Fajita Steak Taco Filling

Last month - in preparation for the arrival of Baby #3 - I went into full nesting mode one week and mass produced enough food to fill my freezer. I ended up with 9 crockpot meals, 5 dinners of turkey veggie pasta sauce, 6 meal sides of mango salsa, 4 bags of sweet potato hash and 4 jars of lemon garlic sauce - all so I wouldn't have to think or prep too much with the inevitable lack of planning that comes with having a new baby in the house.

This Fajita Steak mix is the first I pulled since #1: I knew Dave would dig it for his first cleanse day; and #2: because the extra prep was easy with the "toppings" I had in the fridge.

I truthfully can't find the original recipe I pulled this from as I was in overdrive on Pinterest and writing down recipes as I found them. So, if this is based off of yours, please feel free to take the original credit!

We prepped this tonight as "burrito bowl" style. This included making rice in faux-chipotle style (which I will also list below) with lettuce, guacamole (I would have used plain avocado but I had this on hand), organic salsa and jalapeños for Dave. This also works for lettuce wraps or as taco filling.

I love bowls at Chipotle and if I've ever coached you, we've probably talked about making "healthier" Chipotle choices if you are on the go and have no other choice but to grab something on the run. My normal suggestions for Challengers include: half rice (go brown not white), no beans (unless you are coming from a workout - extra protein), veggies, meat, salsas, lettuce ... Forgo the cheese and sour cream, of course. Guac is overkill for their bowls since all the nutrition you usually need is already there ... Plus the extra sodium from their prep.

Love this! Turned out great! I went no sodium when I prepped it for the freezer and did end up adding a couple of shakes of sea salt after I pulled the steak apart for a flavor kick just FYI.

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Fajita Steak Taco Filling

2 lbs. Flank/Lean Steak

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 red onion

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 fresh jalapeño (optional) chopped

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

To freeze:

Chop and slice all veggies to your preference. Combine all veggies and meat in a gallon size freezer bag. 

Mix spices in a separate bowl. Spread as evenly as possible over contents in the baggie. Shut Baggie and mix ingredients to ensure spices get coated over as much as possible.

Mark on Baggie: "Add 1/2 c. water."

Freeze 4-6 months in a standard freezer.

To make or do fresh: defrost contents for a day in the refrigerator. Place in crockpot with 1/2 cup of water. Cook for 6-8 hours covered. Shred steak and combine with all ingredients in pot for final filling. 

If cooking for 8-10 hours on low, I would add 1/4-1/2 c. extra water to make sure your mix doesn't burn dry while you are at work!

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Cilantro Lime Rice

1 1/2 c. Brown Rice (I used instant)

2 c. Water

1 lime - squeezed

3 tbsp. cilantro

Combine line juice into the water while bringing to boil. Add rice. Cook down. Add cilantro after rice has set.

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Things I would do for next time: MORE VEGGIES and real garlic. :) Probably add another pepper or two.

Challenge-Friendly: YES. Serve it clean with a simple carb and added greens for the best results!