Cabbage Rolls

Today we had the cabbage rolls that I made and froze awhile back.  I set the dish in the fridge in the morning, about 15 minutes before time to bake I set out at room temp, then baked for one hour at 350.  Since it was frozen I cut one open to make sure the meat was cooked through. 

Overall it was okay, but the kids wouldn't eat the cabbage part, just the insides.  Also, it was one of those dishes that to me the turkey just didn't have enough flavor with, so we thought it'd be worth a try a different time with either sausage or ground beef.  Either way, a healthy Advocare and Eli friendly meal that just needed a little bit extra to spice it up. :)

Breakfast Bars

So I tried another Pinterest recipe to try to find breakfast bars that are healthy for my husband and daughter to have (and if it's diet friendly for me to have too!)  This latest one was okay- but was super dense and heavy.  Not sure how to tweak it to change.  That being said, it's chewy and super healthy if you want to try.  Pictured is a double batch, which I should have made because we barely ate any! 

Preheat oven to 350 and grease baking dish.  Mix together the following ingredients, pour into dish and bake for about 25-30 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oat flour (can pulse whole oats to make flour)

1 cup whole oats

2 tablespoons chia seeds (can omit)

2 tablespoons flax meal (can omit)

1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce

1 egg

3/4 cup of milk of choice

1/2 cup raisins, craisins or golden raisins

1/4 cup of chopped nut of choice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon of salt

handful of chocolate or white chips (optional)

I do wonder if I had only made a single batch and spread it thinner if it would have tasted better.  Maybe someday I'll try again, but I got other recipes to try first :)

Stuffed Peppers

So Sunday before work I didn't feel good...didn't sleep well and had a headache.  However I promised Lyle one of his favorites- stuffed peppers.  You can make these several styles, usually we go for either Mexican or Italian.  I made this ones Italian and he was so happy to have them!  I also had to make them because I was worried the peppers would go bad.  I have been having issues with produce again, so I'm back to buying one week at a time and hoping they last.

Italian stuffed peppers-

For these I browned ground mild sausage (that was what was in the freezer), when it was halfway through cooking a threw about a half a cup of coarsely chopped onion in, and about 3/4 threw I threw in some chunky cut mushrooms.  We like lots of yummy stuff in the peppers and Lyle prefers a little crunch to veggies.  If you like your onions soft put them in with the sausage right away.

When it is all cooked, if you need to drain the pan of oil, then dump a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce in the pan.  Heat through (doesn't take long.)

Cut off the tops of some bell peppers- can be any colors, ours happened to be green, and scrape out the insides and seeds.  Put a touch of olive oil in the bottom of a baking dish.  Use a big spoon and fill'er up with the meat sauce mixture.  Top with some mozzarella cheese and pop in the oven at 350 until the cheese is bubbly and brown, these took about 20 minutes.  The peppers with be soft but with a little crunch too.

  Lyle had one of these for dinner, then went to the neighbors to mooch off a birthday party of hotdogs so he could take the other two to work and brag about it!

These can be allergy friendly for Eli- just make one in a separate pan with no cheese on top.

And Advocare friendly- no cheese on top (or very little) and use a leaner meat- ground turkey or ground chicken.

Cabbage Rolls

So I finally got around to making the cabbage rolls I've talked about.  They take some effort to prep, hence the delay.

They look pretty good, but I tossed them in the freezer so I can make it some day the kids are home to help us eat them.  They are Advocare and Allergy friendly.

First you take a head of cabbage, cut out the core, and put the rest in a pot of boiling salt water.  After several minutes the leaves start to peel and you can peel them off with tongs, one at a time and put them on paper towel to dry and cool.

At the same time chop one cup of yellow onion and soften the onion in a little cooking oil in a skillet. Set aside to cool.  

You then make a mixture of ground beef (I used ground turkey breast), raisins, the cooled onions, cooked rice, and salt.  You roll these up in the cabbage leaves and put in a baking dish.

Then in another bowl you combine 1 16 oz can of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of beef broth (I used chicken broth because of the turkey) and 1/2 tsp paprika.  Pour this over the cabbage rolls.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 350

Can serve with some sour cream on top.

I'll let you know how it tastes when we try it!

Spaghetti Squash

Well, Pinterest did it again :)
Yesterday I made some spaghetti squash- the first time the kids or myself have ever had it.  I put some spaghetti sauce and turkey meatballs on it and it was Advocare and Eli friendly!  No extra food being cooked for someone else.
I didn't know what to expect, but it was pretty good!  It doesn't taste anything like noodles, which for some reason I thought it would from what I've seen people pin about it.  It kind of has a sweet flavor to it and just a little crunch.
To cook it I split the squash in half (this is for sure the hardest part....I wasn't sure I was going to be able to!  This thing wouldn't go easy even with Cutco knifes!)
You scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff (kind of like a pumpkin, just less of it).
Coat it with olive oil, salt and pepper it and I put some garlic on it.
Pop it in a baking dish with a cup of water in the bottom and throw it in the oven at 375 for about an hour.  You test it to see if it's done by taking a fork and scraping a small part, if it pulls apart easy it's done. :)
Let it cool for 25 minutes, then take your fork and scrape the insides into a bowl. 
That's it.  Done.

Tonight- cabbage rolls :)

Advocare 10 Day Herbal Cleanse Results

So at first the results don't look that awesome...only lost one pound.  161 to 160 pounds.  It is too bad I didn't get back to my lowest weight.  However....in only 10 days... I lost
2 inches from my waist- 38 inches to 36 inches
1/2 inch from my hips- 40.5 to 40 inches
and 1 inch from my chest- 37 to 36 inches

For only 10 days, only kicking butt on exercise about every other day, and several little cheats in there that's pretty awesome!  And, most importantly it's a start.  I want to get back to my lowest- 155 lbs, 35 inches at waist, and 39 inches at hips.  I wonder if it's the Catalyst that's really helped me get inches off.  I'm also going to be one of those people who claim the reason the weight didn't change is because muscle weighs more than fat!  It might be a delusion, but I don't care.  I definitely am stronger than I was, and I'm still rebuilding myself back where I was.  I used to be able to jog for 15 to 20 minutes at a time and I can barely handle 5 at the moment.  So this is my jump start/wake up call to keep going.  And I've ordered more Catalyst to help protect those muscles I'm building!

To order advocare products you can use this link... http://www.advocare.com/130346245

And I plan on keeping up the cooking the healthy stuff!  Tonight we're trying spaghetti squash with turkey meatballs, and I'm making and putting in the fridge some cabbage rolls!  Both Eli and Advocare cleanse friendly!

Advocare Herbal Cleanse Day 10

So today is the last day of the cleanse!  Last day to drink those fiber drinks!  Yay!  Yesterday Ella and I cooked up a storm!  Chicken salad, breakfast bars, and kale chips!

First is Eli's version of chicken salad.  I had cooked chicken I shredded up, threw in some chopped celery, cut up red grapes, a tablespoon of relish, a little salt, pepper and sugar, then put some dijon mustard and yellow mustard.

 The next chicken salad was for everyone else.  Same chicken, celery, grapes, salt, pepper and sugar.  Then added a few hard boiled eggs and mayo until it tastes yummy.  It hit the spot.  Serve on bread, tortillas or bed of lettuce.

 Ella's version of breakfast bars.  She got the recipe from her Disney for Kids Cookbook.  It is butter and marshmallows melted in a pan, then added peanut butter.  Then removed from heat and granola added, press into a pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.  Let sit for 30 minutes to cool.  These are very sticky and I should have greased the pan or something because they are hard to get out of the pan!

 My breakfast bars is from Pinterest, and it's supposed to be from Dr. Oz.  You mix vanilla, honey, peanut butter and quick oats together with whatever dried fruit you want.  I used cranberries and raisins, but his recipe actually called for tart dried cherries.  Refrigerate for 2 hours.  This is actually advocare friendly, because you can have everything in it.  Just moderation :)

 Kale chips was something different.  I'm not sure I made them right.  I washed and dried the leaves and put olive oil on them like the recipe....but I think too much oil.  It was supposed to bake for 10 minutes at 275, but it was closer to 20 minutes before they started getting crunchy.  Salt after baked.  I think less oil, maybe a little higher temp and waiting for them to get a little crunchier might have been better.  Really they just have no flavor. 

Tonight is leftovers because I don't have time for my other recipes.  Tomorrow I will have weight/measurement results! :)