Zucchini Lasagna

Who doesn't love recipes that exclude a yellow container? Carbs are my biggest downfall and I could seriously live off of them! Instead of using regular noodles why not use zucchini? Swapping out a green for a yellow is a win win for me. I will say that I couldn't eating this stuff! It may have been a bit too good haha. This is perfect too with all of the farmers markets that will be starting soon. There may be some questioning about how " clean"  this recipe is because of the tomato sauce and sriracha but if you have a clean, homemade sauce you would like to use go for it! Also, instead of sriracha you can always use regular hot sauce or you can omit it if you don like spicy.

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 medium sized zucchini
• 1 pound of 98% ground chicken
• 4 sweet Italian turkey sausage links 
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 1 red or white onion chopped( I used red)
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
•  large jar of organic pasta sauce without added sugar ( I used roasted garlic)
• 15 ounces skim ricotta cheese 
• 2 cups of part skim mozzarella ( I but the fresh and shred it because its free of anti-caking agents)
• 1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese ( do not use kraft ultra processed part! I will jump through the screen and attack you!)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 egg white
• 1/8-1/4 cup sriracha to taste
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoons of onion powder
• 2 teaspoons parsley 
• Himalayan salt and pepper to taste ( do not ruin this recipe with iodized salt! I will again... jump through and attack)
• 2 teaspoons of coconut oil or olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep: Approx 40 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

Servings: 8 servings

21 day fix: 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue, 1/2 purple ( sauce), 1/4 teaspoon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Add coconut oil to skillet and sauté peppers, onions, and garlic for about 2-3 minutes
3. While they cook, peel the casing off of the chicken sausage.
4. Add chicken and chicken sausage to the peppers and onions and brown.
5. While they meat is browning, begin to slice your zucchini with a mandoline ( be careful not to amputate a finger! I almost did). Keep the slices thicker ~ 1/4 of an inch thick
6. Once your meat is brown, add the pasta sauce to the skillet along with 1 teaspoon of garlic, oregano, fresh basil, salt, pepper, parsley, onion powder and sriracha. 
7. Allow to cook on medium/low for 15 minutes 
8. While your meat sauce cooks; add ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, egg white, and a teaspoon of garlic powder together in a mixing bowl. 
9. When the meat sauce is ready, place about 1/2 meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan . Place a layer of the zucchini noodles on top followed by 1/2 of ricotta cheese mixture. Next, spread 1/2 cup of mozzarella on top of ricotta followed by a second layer of meat sauce. Place the last layer of zucchini noodles on top of meat sauce. Finish with the final layer of ricotta cheese and top with the remaining 1.5 cups of mozzarella cheese. ( I like to save most of the cheese for the top because I like it to be all brown and bubbly) 
10. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. 
11. After 30 minutes, remove foil and return to over for an additional 30 minutes. 
12. Once the cheese is nice and brown an bubbly remove and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
13. Serve warm and enjoy! 
14. Prepare to resist going back for seconds!

Baked Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Oh I wish everyone reading this could be in my apartment experiencing how absolutely amazing this smells. My two roommates and the ones boyfriend were drooling while looking at it! This recipe is 21 day fix approved and clean with no sugar added and lightly sweetened by bananas, apple sauce, and the carrots.  I came up with the idea of this when I was baking carrot cake cupcakes for easter. At the time I was doing 21 day fix extreme so I was not able to sample one; plus they weren't gluten free. This breakfast is super healthy and packed with tons of vitamins and minerals. This turned out so good I feel like I'm cheating when I am eating it!

INGREDIENTS

4 yellow containers of old fashioned oats ( if you don have a food processor use oat flour)
1/2-3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 green containers of finely shredded carrots
1 very ripe bananas*
2 purple containers of fresh pineapple
1 egg
4 teaspoons of unrefined coconut oil
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
4 orange containers of walnuts or pecans
1 blue container of shredded unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon coconut extract
coconut oil spray


Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Bake time: 30-35 minutes
21 day fix:1 purple, 1 yellow,  1/2 green, 1 orange, 1/2 blue, 1 teaspoon

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Place the oats in food process and process until fine like flour
• add in baking powder, carrots, egg, bananas, milk, coconut oil, pineapple, cinnamon, and vanilla, coconut extract. Blend until combined. 
• Spray a 9x9 baking pan with coconut oil
• Pour batter in pan
• top with chopped nuts and coconut 
• Bake for 35-45 minutes until center is set and the edges are brown
• Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve warm. Enjoy!

SWEET POTATO AND QUINOA CHICKEN SOUP

This sweet potato and quinoa chicken soup is so nutrient dense it is insane! Check out my list below shows all of the vitamins and minerals that it contains. The recipe is super easy if made in a crock pot and it stores well.

      Health benefits

• Vitamins A, C, B-6, E. B-2
• Potassium
• Magnesium
• Iron
• Manganese 
• Folate
• Zinc
• Copper
• Phosphorus
• Choline
• Fiber
• Protein ( all essential amino acids)
• Calcium

      Ingredients

• 1 1/2 yellow containers of minced uncooked quinoa
• 1 can of black beans
• 6 yellow containers of raw cubed sweet potatoes ( 2 medium)
• 3 green containers of fresh spinach
• 1/2 green container of diced onion
• 1/2 green container of diced bell pepper
• 1/2 green container of diced green onion
• 1 1/2 lbs of diced chicken breast ( 6 red containers)
• 1 can of low sodium diced canned fire roasted tomatoes 
• 5 cups of low sodium chicken broth
• 2-3 T of chili powder to taste 
• 2 Tsp Himalayan salt
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 T ground black pepper
• 1 T onion powder
• 1/2 T cumin
• Hot pepper sauce to taste ( I probably used 1/4 cup) 
• Cheddar cheese (optional)

Note: Anyone that doesn't use 21 day fix containers here are the equivalents: Green= 1 1/4 Cup, Red =3/4 cup, Yellow: 1/2 cup

       Preparation 

Cook: 3-5 hours in crock pot on high

Servings: 7 servings 

Serving size: 1.5 cups

21 Day Fix: 1 Red, 1 Green, 2 Yellow, 1/2 blue (optional)

1. Spay the bottom of you crockpot with coconut oil spray
2. Add to crockpot chicken, beans, quinoa* (make sure you rinse), sweet potatoes, spinach, onion,  peppers, tomatoes, seasonings *, pepper sauce, and chicken broth. 
3. Allow to cook on high until potatoes are tender ( approx. 4 hours) 
4. Serve warm and top with raw green onions and 1/2 blue container of cheddar cheese (optional)

*Note: I really just estimated what I used in seasonings so feel free to add more or less to your liking. Also, I used a seasoned pack of quinoa that I had so if you have some seasoned quinoa you can use that just make sure in the ingredients in only contains quinoa and spices with sea salt. If you don't have seasoned quinoa you can use regular just MAKE SURE YOU RINSE IT in a small strainer first or your soup will have a bitter taste. 

Tonight I made these stuffed peppers and man they were DELISSHH!!! I made them for my family and everyone loved them! My mom said she even liked them better than regular stuffed peppers. The recipe is very clean and is 21 day fix friendly:) The main ingredients are the peppers, quinoa, and ground turkey....all super nutritious and packed with vitamins and minerals. Check out the facts about quinoa below and why is is healthier than rice!

Quinoa

• Has all 9 essential amino acids making it a complete portion
• Contains 2x the amount of fiber in comparison to white rice
• Is a seed not a grain
• Has 4x the amount of iron than brown rice!
• One serving has 29% of your daily recommendation of magnesium
• One serving contains 6 grams of protein

In terms of the recipe, I browsed a couple online to get some ideas:) Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Serves: 4 people ( makes 8 half peppers)

Serving Size: 2 half peppers

Time: 90 minutes ( approx 30 min prep and 60 minutes cook)

21 Day fix: 1 Red, 2 green, 1/2 yellow, 1/2 blue, 1 tsp

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Bell peppers
• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 2 yellow containers of plain cooked quinoa
• 1 C. chopped onion
• 1/2 T of coconut oil
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1 can of organic,low sodium tomato sauce
• 1 tsp of the following seasonings : garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, oregano, basil, himilayian salt, and ground black pepper
• Tabasco sauce for taste 1-3 T
• 2 blue containers of cheddar cheese ( I got a block of white cheddar and yellow and grated them. I like to do this because they don't have the anti caking agent in them that pre-shredded cheese does)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Cook quinoa per instructions on package ( make sure you rinse before cooking)
3. Cook onions and garlic in skillet with coconut oil
4. Set onions aside and brown turkey in same skillet
5. Meanwhile cut peppers in half and clean out the flesh and seeds
6. Take a 9 x 13 pan and place tomato sauce in bottom
7. Once turkey is cooked, combine onions, quinoa, turkey, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, seasonings, tabasco sauce, and one blue container of cheese and mix.
8. Fill each mixture with the filling. 
9. Place peppers in pan and cover with aluminum foil
10. Bake for 50 minutes
11. Remove peppers from oven and take off foil. Top the peppers with the remaining container of cheese and place back in the oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly :)
12. Allow the peppers to rest for 10 minutes and serve! ENJOY

So I completely understand that no one wants to think about pumpkins right now.. this needs to be tropical chili to remind us of summer not fall! Anyway, I was craving something to really hit the spot during 21 Day Fix and boy did this do it! I had my best friend come over, who isn't on the fix and try it. No joke.....She licked the bowl. I also sent a bowl to my other friend who is a health and fitness fanatic and he really enjoyed the texture and the taste as well. I got the base for the recipe from Pinterest and made some changes to my liking! Feel free to spice it up and make it your own.  

Serves: approximately 6-8 servings
Serving size: 1 1/2 cups
Time: 4-6 hours on low in crockpot
21 day fix approved: 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow,1/2 blue (optional) 

Ingredients

• 1 lb of lean ground turkey ( I used 93% lean 7% fat)
• Approx 3/4 C. chopped onion ( give or take make this your own)
• 1 bell pepper chopped (any color will do)
• 1 small hot banana pepper
• 1 large can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1 can of great northern beans 
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can of black beans
• 1/2 cup of frozen sweet corn
• 1 can of pumpkin puree ( not pumpkin pie filling!)
• 2-3 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 T. chili powder ( I added much more than this but I like mine spicy
• 1/2 tsp of cumin
• Hot sauce ( I used cholula)

Instructions

Place all of ingredients in crock pot on low for 4-6 hours. I cooked mine for about 6 hours. Serve warm. Top with a dollop low fat cottage cheese (this is what I used) or plain low fat greek yogurt and chopped green onions. Enjoy!