Tag Archives: healthy carbs

Pizza Roll (Stromboli)

Tasty Tuesday, , , , ,

It is crazy hot here in Oklahoma, which is natural for July but makes the house very hot if I cook as usual. So I’ve been trying to use the Ninja Foodi more and I have to say, I’m loving it!

I found a recipe a few weeks ago that baked bread in it. Yep, bake is one of the settings. :) We love pizza but it is just too hot to heat the oven up to 425º to make it. So I thought maybe I can make a bread with pizza flavors in it and then we can just bake it in the Ninja Foodi.

So Saturday morning I started the sourdough pizza dough. :) We love sourdough pizza dough. After it had risen the requisite 5-6 hours, it was time to form it and let it raise the remaining 1-2 hours before baking.

Unfortunately I had a pretty bad headache and had to lay down. However, Tiffany and Michael rose to the challenge and proceeded to finish off dinner. Now I was planning to make more of a loaf of bread but Tiffany didn’t understand that and instead made more of a stromboli.

They started by patting the dough out. It was supposed to be in a long rectangle but the picture they took seems to look more like a large circle.

Then a thin bit of pizza sauce.

Then it was topped with some low fat toppings. We used some turkey pepperoni and a couple of strips of turkey bacon.

Normally we would have added 2 ounces of low fat mozzarella cheese but we didn’t have any, so Tiffany added a few crumbles of colby-jack cheese (which may have been a little too much fat but it just made it a light crossover, if so).

Then we add some fat free cheese. It’s our personal choice. ;) And rolled it up.

Clearly, it fit into the foodi nicely and it could handle another half batch of dough when we need it. ;)

We baked it on 400º for about 20 minutes. I’ll need to look into how to keep it from getting quite so dark though.

We sliced it . . . it was a bit crusty. ;) But oh so good! We served it with more pizza sauce, for the drier bites.

Over all, it was a good first attempt. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Cajun Sausage, Rice, and Beans

Main Dishes, Sausage, Tasty Tuesday, ,

I have made this recipe from Briana Thomas’ newest cookbook, Convenient Foods, several times. The first couple of times I made it we enjoyed it but the last several times we have loved it. :)

Start by water sauteing a chopped onion in your skillet or dutch oven. :)

I like my onions very soft and starting to brown before I add the next group of ingredients: cooked brown rice, drained canned kidney beans, 6.5 ounces of sliced turkey kielbasi, 1/4 cup water, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne.

It is very important to stir this all together, cover it, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Then add the optional 1/2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1/8 teaspoon THM Super Sweet. Cover and simmer 5 more minutes. This too is very important. It just really gives it a great flavor.

A couple times when I made this, I was out of smoked paprika but had plenty of plain paprika. So I added 1/2 tablespoon of paprika and then added a splash of liquid smoke. :) Yum!!!

Oh My! This is sooo good. It is making my mouth water and I’m full from eating my meal. :D

I also love her Hearty Barbecue Soup recipe. And I just saw that she has a birthday cake ice cream recipe. Birthday cake flavored ice cream is a new favorite flavor around here, so we’re going to have to give it a try.

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Cajun Sausage, Rice, and Beans

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons water
  • 3 cups cooked brown rice
  • 15 ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
  • 6.5 ounce smoked lean turkey sausage (kielbasi), sliced
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 Tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • dash cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (optional)
  • 1/8 teaspoon THM Super Sweet Blend (optional)

Instructions

  1. Saute chopped onion in couple tablespoons of water until desired tenderness/color obtained, adding more water as needed.
  2. Add cooked brown rice, drained beans, sausage, water, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Stir, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. (Add more water if it begins sticking.)
  3. Add vinegar and sweetener, stir, cover, and simmer another 5 minutes.
  4. Devour! 🙂
https://lifeofjoy.me/cajun-sausage-rice-and-beans/

If you haven’t gotten Briana’s cookbook, you really should. She has some great recipes in it. :) I make this one every couple of weeks. It is inexpensive and delicious. (The package of kielbasi from Aldi makes two batches. So I freeze half the sausage for use later in the month.)

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Breakfast Options

Breakfasts, Tasty Tuesday, ,

I have a couple of different meals I like to eat for breakfast for the two main fuel types: two for healthy fats and two for healthy carbs. And on Saturdays we like to have pancakes or some other special breakfast. I thought I’d share my norms with you today.

Healthy Carbs

  • Oatmeal: I like to cook my 1/2 cup oats with 1/2 cup of almond milk and a cup of water. Some times I like it like this and other times I add some cocoa powder.
  • Toast: One to two pieces of toast, depending on the size of the bread. I spread a thin layer of peanut junkie butter (about a tablespoon) and then either some strawberry jam, strawberries, 1/2 a medium banana, or other fruit on top.

In the beginning, these didn’t fill me up for long. But once I added the extra 1/2 cup of liquid to the oats it did. If I’m not quite full enough, I add a cup of chocolate milk but I’m usually okay because I have a quart of oolong tea each morning, which is about two big mugs. Oh, my quart of oolong has a scoop collagen in it. :)

Healthy Fats

When I have fats as my fuel source, I try to have vegetables. My main veggie of choice is either zucchini or cauliflower. I like to add onion, green or red pepper, and mushrooms as well.

  • Two Fried Eggs on a bed of diced zucchini sprinkled generously with nutritional yeast.
  • Breakfast Caulirice: the key to this one is to season it well. The recipe I follow uses some miso, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and parsley (and/or other herbs). Mix seasonings with two eggs and then add to chopped up (riced) cooked cauliflower and cook until eggs are done.
  • Bonus meal: I like to add sausage to sauteed veggies. This is wonderful eaten in an on-plan tortilla and a wedge of light laughing cow cheese (if’ I’m watching calories) or cheese of choice. The laughing cow is good because it eliminate my need for mayonnaise and is a lot lower in calories.

 

These are my breakfast go-tos. On Saturdays I usually make oat pancakes and then have a bit leftover for Sunday mornings. This gives me a good mix of breakfast fuels and provides veggies for breakfast easily a few mornings a week. :)

I hope this helps you in your search for healthy breakfasts.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Pasta Again :) (Goulash)

Ground Meat, Main Dishes, Pasta, Tasty Tuesday, ,

So at this point I guess I’ll admit that when there is a meal scheduled that we don’t feel we have the energy to make or time to make, we switch it up. And a lot of those times we end up with a pasta dish of some sort. We love pasta.

Yesterday I started painting late in the afternoon and didn’t get it finished until after five. At that point I was too hungry to wait to cook the spicy sausage and butternut squash dish, so we went for “hamburger helper” which is what we call pasta dishes. ;)

So like other pasta dishes, we diced some onion, mushroom, and bell pepper and cooked them in an oil-sprayed frying pan and added water to keep them from sticking. ;)

cooked onions and mushrooms ~ Lifeofjoy.me
We actually had diced green pepper too but I didn’t get a picture of it. :(

Meanwhile, we cook up the ground meat; we use cheap ground turkey. Brown it and then rinse it.

Taco Mac Salad ~ Lifeofjoy.meAnd also boil the pasta. :) This time we used the brown rice macaroni noodles. I really love these! Be sure to measure out the proper serving amounts. We actually use a scale and weigh in grams to get every gram we have coming to us.

Season with salt and pepper. I also used some oregano. Oh, and a little nutritional yeast (don’t add it if you don’t want to ;) ).

When the macaroni is done, drain it and add it to the meat and cooked veggies,

along with an eight ounce can of tomato sauce.

Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Those in wanting a crossover, can add some cheese but it is fine without it. We add nutritional yeast and more salt individually. We also serve with a side salad.

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Pasta Again 🙂 (Goulash)

Ingredients

  • ground meat
  • ~ 1/2 onion, diced
  • ~ 1/4 bell pepper, diced
  • ~ 2-4 mushrooms, diced
  • brown rice macaroni (248 grams which is about half the bag)
  • 8 oz tomato sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • sprinkling of oregano
  • spray oil

Instructions

  1. Boil pasta and drain.
  2. Brown meat and rinse with very hot water.
  3. Spray skillet with a little oil (we use olive oil spray) and cook diced veggies until desired doneness. 🙂 Add a few splashes of water as needed to keep them from sticking to the pan as they cook.
  4. Add rinsed meat and seasonings of choice.
  5. Add drained macaroni and tomato sauce.
  6. Stir to combine.
  7. Serves 4
https://lifeofjoy.me/pasta-again-goulash/

This is an easy and tasty THM-E meal. I hope it helps you include a few more healthy carbs in your menu.

Until next time,

Michele ºÜº

Another Pasta Skillet

Chicken, Main Dishes, Pasta, Tasty Tuesday, Veggies, , ,

We love Aldi’s brown rice & quinoa pasta. This pasta is a THM E meal, which means it is a healthy carbs and low fat meal. We like to weigh the pasta to ensure that we get the right amounts cooked for each of us. :) Measuring by cup doesn’t usually yield the correct amount of food.

So, bring the measured amount of pasta to boil. Be sure to check the serving size because it can vary per type of pasta.

Meanwhile saute your chosen vegetables. Seriously, pick whatever veggies you like. It is best to stick with non-starchy veggies since you’re having the carby pasta. Only spray your pan with a light coating of oil of your choosing (we either us olive or coconut spray). Then if your veggies need a bit more moisture, add a bit of water to the pan to help keep them from sticking.

This time we chose onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and zucchini.

Tiffany has discovered that although she does not like raw tomatoes, she does like them cooked. :)

We added some minced garlic and stirred it in.

I just used the jarred variety this time. You don’t have to add garlic if you don’t prefer it.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and then add it to the cooked veggies.

We had some chicken breast that we’d cooked up a few days prior in the crock pot. This is what we used but you could use any low fat meat. Canned chicken breast or canned tuna ( or fish from a pouch) would work well too.

This night Tiffany decided to add one wedge of Light Laughing Cow Cheese to add a bit more creaminess, but we’ve done it without it and it is just fine too. :)

Stir it in and serve. Of course add whatever seasonings you like.

This had me saying “Mmmm” with the first several bites and declaring how much I was enjoying it throughout the meal. The serving size of pasta is quite filling, so we didn’t serve it with anything else but a side salad would be good. Just keep it low fat to stay in E mode. :)

I hope you like this “recipe”. I’ll include what we used below but know that you can use whatever non-starchy veggies you like (and even a bit of the starchy ones, since it is an E).

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Another Pasta Skillet

Ingredients

  • Brown Rice & Quinoa Pasta
  • Veggies of your choice: onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini were our picks this time
  • You could add some carrot or peas or a bit of corn if you like
  • Seasonings of choice: garlic, salt, and pepper were ours
  • Optional light laughing cow cheese wedge (1)
  • Protein: cooked chicken breast was ours

Instructions

  1. Boil measured pasta until done, and drain.
  2. Spray pan with cooking oil, lightly.
  3. Saute diced/sliced veggies.
  4. Add seasonings, drained pasta, and protein.
  5. Serve
https://lifeofjoy.me/another-pasta-skillet/

I hope you enjoy this “recipe;” we sure have.

Michele ºÜº