Samara's Creamy Tuna Salad

3 cans tuna in water

2 avocados, diced or mashed

1-2 T mustard, to taste

1 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper to taste

Optional Add Ins:

~pickled jalapenos, diced

~diced celery, if you like some crunch

~steamed cauliflower, diced or mashed (optional ~ I just like to sneak those veggies in where I can and I had some leftover from breakfast)

~hard boiled egg/whites, if you want some more protein

Mix ingredients together and chow down. :)

Note: this is what I used because this is what I had, you can mix the measurements to taste...ie. more tuna, less avocado, etc. ~ go ahead ~ mess with it and make it your own!

Sugar Free Food Choices

Yeah, they look just like Lara Bars! :)

One of my concerns at the start of the 10 Day Sugar Free Challenge was what I will use to fuel my body while I’m living the life as a nomad, on the road between gyms for classes everyday. The past few days, in the essence of time, I’ve been living on hard boiled eggs and cold oatmeal. And that’s fine, but I was looking for some bars to fill the void left by the sports bars I normally rely on. Well, yesterday, I happened upon the Crazy Healthy Granola Bars by Alex at Spoonful of Sugar Free. So, last night, I whipped up a version of her Reese’s cup version. Of course, I ate one (well, maybe one and a half) while cooking them and they were great. I’ve already eaten one this morning before my early morning Spin class! I don’t know why I hadn’t tried this sooner! 

For breakfast this morning, I wanted something new as well, so I whipped up an easy batch of Quinoa Cottage Cheese Pancakes. Easy and delicious!

No, those aren't choco chips.
 It's spinach;
leftover from multitasking. ;) 

1/2 c. Quinoa Flakes (gluten free and a good source of protein! yay!)

1/2 c. cottage cheese

4 egg whites or the equivalent of Egg Beaters Whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend all of these ingredients in a blender and then cook just as you would any pancake. Serve with your choice of toppings (fresh fruit, pumpkin puree, agave nectar, etc.)

Modifications (add any of these items to the mix before cooking):

Gingerbread: pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves (this is what I had this morning, with pumpkin puree on top ~ Yum!)

Fruit: blueberries, strawberries, diced apple (fold in the fruit after blending)

Apple Nut: diced apple and 1 T almond butter (blend in the almond butter and then fold in the apples)

Nutrition Facts (of the basic recipe before add ons)

Serving Size: 2 pancakes

Calories 183

Calories from Fat 27.0

Total Fat 3g

Saturated Fat 0.5g

Cholesterol 7.5mg

Sodium 310mg

Total Carbohydrate 27g

Dietary Fiber 0.5g

Sugars 3.5g

Protein 14g

Hungry Man Dinner in a Hurry

What do you do when you come home from a full day of work and you’ve just finished a Spinning class and you and your husband are famished and you don’t have enough leftovers in the fridge to make a full dinner? 

If you don’t mind eggs for dinner, then do what I did and whip up this quick and easy dinner in less than 15 minutes. We also heated up some frozen mixed veggies on the side.

Huevos Rancheros

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can Rotel, drained

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 medium onion, diced 

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp Olive oil

2 eggs

Salsa

Heat oil in sauté pan. Add onions and cook until softened. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about a minute. add beans, Rotel, and cumin and heat through. Mash ingredients together to desired consistency. 

Fry eggs and serve atop mashed beans and top with salsa. 

Nutrition Facts

Serves 3

Amount per Serving

Calories 326

Calories from Fat 95.6

Total Fat 10.62g

Saturated Fat 3.22g

Cholesterol 430mg

Sodium 1216.97mg

Total Carbohydrate 33.63g

Dietary Fiber 11.17g

Sugars 5g

Protein 21.8g

Preparing for Sugar Free Challenge

In preparing for RunToTheFinish's Upcoming 10 Day Sugar Free Challenge, I've prepared a full day's menu to get us on the right track. The lunch menu may look complicated, but it's really not, and I've broken it down into parts. You can cook all your veggies at lunch (just double the recipe) and serve the other half at dinner.

My husband is working on the 4 Hour Body guidelines, so I've added black beans and lentils to the meals for sustenance. If you're not in need of that extra bit, cut out the lentils at dinner. But keep the beans in for lunch so you have something to keep you nice and full for the day!

I hope you'll join us in the challenge. Let me know what you think of the recipes. We had the lunch last night for dinner and ME gave me two thumbs up. :)

One Day's Full Menu

Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs with spinach and peppers

½ C. Egg Beaters

1 C. baby spinach

1 T. broth, chicken or vegetable (can be substituted with water)

1 bell pepper, chopped

Heat sauté pan over medium heat. Add spinach and broth or water and stir until spinach is wilted. Remove spinach from pan and set aside.

Spray pan lightly with cooking spray. Add eggs and then turn down heat to low. Scramble eggs until desired consistency. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red peppers to taste. Mix in spinach and chopped peppers and serve. Options, add a side of whole wheat toast.

Cinnamon Coffee

In lieu of sugar or stevia, add cinnamon to your coffee.

Lunch

Broiled Tilapia salad serves 2-4

Ingredients:

4 Tilapia filets

Cooking spray

Salt and pepper

2 cans black beans, drained rinsed

1 can Rotel tomatoes with lime and cilantro with juice

1/2 chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cumin

1 T olive oil

Shredded lettuce

Diced bell peppers

Dressing:

2 T cider vinegar

1 T olive oil

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp kosher salt

Few shakes tabasco sauce

Tilapia:

Turn on broiler. Place tilapia filets on rimmed baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and add salt and pepper. Place under for broiler for 5-10 minutes until browned.

Black Beans:

Heat olive oil, over medium heat, in a medium sauce pan.  Add onion and sauté for approximately 5 minutes until glossy. Add garlic and cumin and stir a few seconds until fragrant. Add beans and Rotel with juice, salt and pepper to taste and heat through.

Salad Dressing: Whisk ingredients together until emulsified.

Steamed veggies

1 c frozen mixed veggies

2 T broth

1-3 tsp crushed red peppers to taste

Place veggies and broth in a large sauté pan over med- high heat. Cover and steam for 5-10 minutes until just heated through. Mix in chili garlic paste and salt and pepper to taste.

Time Saver Note: double this recipe and use the other half for dinner

To plate: scatter chopped lettuce on plate with diced bell peppers. Drizzle with dressing. Add black beans on top and then add tilapia filets. Top with guacamole and sliced peppers.

Nutrition Value does not include the guac. You can find the recipe and nutrition facts here: Hungry Girl Holy Mole Guacamole

Nutrition Facts

Serves 4

Amount per Serving

Calories 284

Calories from Fat 72.3

Total Fat 8.03

Saturated Fat 2g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 1224mg***

Total Carbohydrate 22.3g

Dietary Fiber 7.84g

Sugars 2.96g

Protein 29.32g

***I couldn’t get the sodium down in the calculations, due to the canned beans. If you rinse the beans thoroughly, you’ll drop a lot of that sodium. Or cook dried beans to control the sodium even more.

Dinner:

Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables and Lentils

4-4oz chicken breasts

2 cups stir fry vegetables

¼ tsp salt

Cooking Spray

½ - 1 tsp Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning Blend or Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

¼ cup Chicken broth

Directions:

Place chicken breasts in a baking dish. Lightly spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and crushed red peppers. Bake at 375 for 20-30 mins, until juices run clear.



Place frozen veggies and a few tablespoons of broth in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Cover and steam veggies until heated through. Remove lid and add Mrs. Dash or crushed red peppers, and salt to taste. 



Serve sliced chicken on top of veggies.

Nutrition Facts

Serves 4

Amount per Serving

Calories 167

Calories from Fat 18.5

Total Fat 2.06g

Saturated Fat 0.5g

Cholesterol 70mg

Sodium 295.63mg

Total Carbohydrate 7g

Dietary Fiber 3.25g

Sugars 3.25g***

Protein 26.69g

***Don’t let the sugar stat set you back. It’s just natural sugars from the vegetables.

Lentils

1 cup dry lentils

3-4 cups water

1 tsp salt

½ lemon, juiced

2 T Olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ cup parsley

Bring the lentils to a covered boil in salted water and then turn to low and simmer, with lid ajar for 20-30 mins, until tender. Drain and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix a minced clove of garlic, juice of half a lemon, 1/2 tsp salt and a handful of minced parsley. Add cooked lentils and mix.

Nutrition Facts

Serves 4

Amount per Serving

Calories 132

Calories from Fat 63.4

Total Fat 7.04g

Saturated Fat 1.01g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 744.75mg

Total Carbohydrate 19.47g

Dietary Fiber 9.14g

Sugars 0.04g

Protein 8.16g





Things For Which I’m Thankful:

Two for Tuesday classic rock

My husband’s laptop working J

Julia and Jacques

Samara's Black Bean Chicken Casserole

• 1 can Frijoles Negros Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 3 cans Chicken Breast In Water (canned), drained
• 1 can Chick Peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• ¼ - ½  cup Chicken Broth
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt

Directions
Heat oil in a saucepan and add garlic and stir until aromatic. Then add beans/peas. Heat through, then add tomatoes with juice. Blend or mash together until smooth. Add broth until desired consistency. Add cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste.

Stir in shredded chicken. When heated through, serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt or Guac.
**You can also make this ahead of time, put into a casserole, and reheat in a 375 oven for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbling.

Serving Size: 1/6 casserole

Amount per Serving

Calories 272

Calories from Fat 34.8

Total Fat 3.87g

Saturated Fat 0.33g

Cholesterol 52.5mg

Sodium 806.67mg

Total Carbohydrate 25.96g
Dietary Fiber 8.75g

Sugars 2.33g

Protein 30.71g