Fit Foodie Approved Pizza

I LOVE pizza. I mean love it. Aaron and I recently decided if we weren't making pizza at home or eating Dewey's or Lou Malnati's (or trying somewhere new) that it wasn't worth the calories (i.e. most delivery places). 

So this pizza recipe is a saving grace for us on our journey! It keeps us on track yet it is super satisfying! I adapted it from the Fixate Cookbook.  

Easy Pizzas (Modified) - Serves 1

What You Need: 
1 Whole Grain Ultra Thin Pizza Crust from Golden Home  or Azteca Ultragrain Tortilla
1/4 C Sauce - I use a clean Marinara or Pizza Sauce from Trader Joe's. (sugar free with no other artificial junk in it)
1/2 - 1 C or more of veggies of your choice - Peppers & Mushrooms are my favorites
1/2 C meat of your choice or 3 slices of natural lunch meat - I go for natural ham
4 TBSP (2 each) of Mozz and Parm

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Assemble pizza with toppings.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Alternatives for your crust: English Muffin, Pita, Pizza Dough (all wheat)

Shredded Chicken - Perfect for Meal Prep!

I decided to do a blog post with my recipe at 9pm on a Tuesday (while I watch Fallon) so you all would get off my ass for my lunch recipe today. ;) LOL. Kidding! I was going to do it anyways, but all the comments and messages just prompted me to post it a little quicker. Thanks for the motivation friends.

This shredded chicken is simple. It is plain so you can dress it up however you like throughout the week! I will also share the exact recipe I made for lunch with it because it was SOOOO good. 

What you need (5 servings, 3/4 cup each):
1.5 lbs of chicken breast
2 celery stalks
2 medium carrots (or about 10 baby carrots...yeah, that is what I had on hand and used)
Water

Instructions: 
1. Place chicken in the bottom of your crockpot. 
2. Add in celery and carrots.
3. Pour enough water in to just slightly cover the chicken. 
4. Cook on high for 4 hours. 
5. Once it is done cooking, take out and shred.  
6. I measure mine out into about 3/4 cup chicken which makes roughly 5 individual portions.  I put a couple in my freezer and the rest in my fridge for lunches this week! 
7. Boom, you have shredded chicken for any meal throughout the week. You can throw southwest seasoning on it for Taco Tuesday or put in a wrap with some veggies. Whatever you want! But....how I ate it today was simply the best. (Are you singing that now? I am...)

For ONE serving of this mouth watering lunch you need:
1/2 cup brown rice, you know I love my Trader Joe's precooked rice. 
2 cups kale
3/4 cup of your precooked chicken
1-2 tsp szechuan sauce 

To prep ahead, I would:
1. Cook chicken as noted above.
2. Cook brown rice per instructions.  
3. Sautée kale in a pan sprayed with olive oil cooking spray until it is somewhat wilted. I did about 4-5 minutes. Don't burn it! 
4. Throw it all in a container and heat it up when you are ready to eat! 

Let me know if you try it and how you like it! Just remember, healthy food does not have to be tasteless or boring.  This is super simple but really full of flavor, even with just a tiny bit of sauce! I love the San-J sauces because they are clean and not full of crap ingredients! You should be able to find it in your grocery stores Asian food isle. 

Deconstructed Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

So, I made this recipe which came from the Team Beachbody blog, however, 1) It wasn't enough protein me for in 1 serving so increased it and 2) It was BLAND, nothing a little Frank's Red Hot Sauce can't fix (or Sriracha if you prefer)....

I also preferred taking it apart and throwing in brown rice, making it into a bowl vs a wrap. This is a recipe I would recommend doubling so you can throw some in the freezer! You know I love to do that.  This is a perfect meal for lunches throughout the week! You can precook it and eat the meat cold in your bowl or warm it up, whichever you prefer! 

Total Time: 19 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: 9 min.
Yield: 4 servings, 2 wraps each or 1 bowl

Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. raw 93% lean ground turkey breast
½ medium red onion, chopped
½ medium red or green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 green onion, chopped
⅔ cup chopped water chestnuts
1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 large head of lettuce, I use romaine (no iceberg folks, has no nutritional value whatsoever), roughly chopped up
4 cups cooked brown rice (I use Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, precooked, all I do is heat it up) 

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add turkey, onion, and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until turkey is cooked through and onion is translucent.
3. Add garlic, green onion, water chestnuts, soy sauce, and vinegar; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Add cilantro; mix well. Remove from heat.
5. Put 2 cups of lettuce, 1/2 cup brown rice and 3/4 cup of the meat mixture together in a bowl, drizzle with the hot sauce of your choice & dig in! 

Wraps! This was before I discovered the hot sauce gave it more flavor, I tried extra reduced sodium soy sauce (Trader Joe's brand of course) and it didn't even do the trick! Gotta go w/ the heat! 

Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs (...melt in your mouth)

One of my challengers found this recipe on the Team Beachbody Blog and I knew I had to try it! 

Of course, I did a little modifying because we aren't really onion or garlic friendly in this house. Shit, according to my Gastro Doc, I shouldn't eat anything, including the tomato sauce in this recipe! Thanks reflux. 

As usual I doubled the recipe, I am all about making life simple so if that means rolling 36 meatballs instead of 18 so that I can have extra meals that are at my fingertips (or in my freezer), for busy nights then I am going to do it! The 36 meatballs served as 2 meals yesterday (kiddies dinner), 4 lunches for Aaron and I this week plus 2 extra containers in the freezer with enough to feed all 4 of us 2 dinners next week (or whenever). 

Total Time: 6 hrs. 22 min.
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cooking Time: 6 hrs. 2 min.
Yield: 12 servings, 3 meatballs each

Ingredients:
2 lb. raw 93% lean ground turkey
1 tsp. sea salt, divided use
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup whole grain panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs or GF breadcrumbs if need be)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
4 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
4 tsp. olive oil, divided use
1/2 medium onion, sliced
2 (28-oz.) can whole tomatoes, crushed
2 tsp. dried oregano leaves

Preparation:

1. Combine turkey, 1/2 tsp. salt, pepper, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, and cheese in a large bowl; mix well! (I use food safe gloves bc I am weird like that)
2. Roll mixture into thirty-six 1½-inch meatballs. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 tsp oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add half of meatballs; cook, turning occasionally, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until meatballs are browned on each side. Place browned meatballs in a 3-quart slow cooker. (My slow cooker also works on my stove, AWESOME, 1 pot mess)
4. Repeat with the remaining meatballs. Set aside.
5. Add onion to same skillet; cook, over medium-high heat, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
6. Top meatballs with cooked onion, tomatoes, oregano, and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt; cook, covered, on low temperature for 5 to 6 hours, stirring once or twice.
7. You can serve over whole grain or quinoa noodles (GF option).  Zoodles or Spaghetti Squash noodles would be yummy too! 

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

So last night, I had "Easy Pizzas" from the Fixate cookbook on the menu but for some reason, I wasn't feeling the toppings I had planned (veggies, natural ham, red sauce...the usual) and I was SOOO close to caving and going out and getting pizza from a new place "near" our house. I put "near" in quotes because no place I like to eat or ever want to try is NEAR our house. 

Anyways, I was looking at menus, drooling, then it dawned on me, I had my amazing crockpot buffalo chicken in the fridge AND I had my pizza crusts that we use for our Easy Pizzas, so why not make my own healthier version of a restaurant worthy pizza?!

What you need (1 serving):
4oz of Crockpot Buffalo Chicken, get recipe here. 
1 Whole Grain Ultra Thin Pizza Crust from Golden Home (I find these at my local grocery store) 
Franks Red Hot
3 tbsp reduced fat shredded cheddar
2 tsp yogurt ranch (I use Bolthouse Farms)  

1. Make sure you make the chicken first! It takes 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 on low. 
2. Once the chicken is done & you are ready to start getting your pizza together, preheat your oven or your toaster oven (I use my Breville Smart Oven) to 425°. 
3. While that heats up, cover your pan with foil, non stick spray is not needed. 
4. Lay your pizza crust on the foil. You can also use a whole wheat or sprouted grain tortilla, it just does not crisp up as much.  
5. Drizzle Frank's Red Hot over your crust, now this is totally up to you and your taste buds on how much you use. I like mine hot! 
6. Top the pizza with the 4oz of Buffalo Chicken and 3 tbsp of reduced fat shredded cheddar.
7. Place in Oven or Toaster Oven, bake for 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling. 
8. Take out, drizzle with 2 tsp of yogurt ranch.  
9. Let it cool, slice & serve!

Writing out this recipe seriously makes me want to go make one right now! Typically I would eat closer to 6oz of meat (give or take) on my meal plan so I did a little picking at the meat while my pizza cooked to get my portion in...hey, I was hungry. 

This pizza would be great with a side of celery & carrots!