Preserving the Good Life

I never knew that converting broccoli into something that my family would eat and enjoy could be so easy!  Now it’s one of their favorite side dishes and something that my boys will even ask for!

3 ingredients (4 if you’re a garlic lover)- 30 mins in the oven on 350° and it’s that simple!

Preheat the oven to 350°.

• Broccoli – 2 heads chopped (makes enough to fill a roasting pan)
• 2 T – Mrs. Dash (I prefer the Garlic Herb Blend)
• 6 T – Olive Oil
• 2 garlic cloves (optional)

Cut the broccoli into little florets and spread evenly on the roasting pan.  Drizzle with Olive Oil and sprinkle with Mrs. Dash.  If you like garlic, mince 1-2 cloves on top of it too.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until crisp.  After 15 minutes I do stir/flip the broccoli so it roasts evenly.

We use this recipe with broccoli, zucchini, squash…they’re all delicious with a little bit of Mrs. Dash and Olive Oil.

Yes – it’s that simple!

My crowd loves hotwings, so I started looking for a healthier version. I know cauliflower is no comparison BUT….give it a try before you wrinkle your nose. Since I’m always trying to find ways to get my boys to eat vegetables,  I thought why not give this a try.  Guess what? – they liked it!

Preheat the oven to 450°.

• 6 cups of cauliflower (or 1 head)
• 3/4 cup of Frank’s Hot Sauce
• 1 T butter, melted
• 2 t garlic powder
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 1 gallon size ziploc bag

Spray a pan with olive oil.   Mix the Frank’s Hot Sauce, butter, garlic powder and the salt and pepper.

Pour the cauliflower in a gallon size ziploc bag. Pour the hot sauce mixture over the cauliflower, seal the bag and shake.

Place all the cauliflower on a pan and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes.  I like to leave mine in there longer than 20, the more it cooks, the more water that is going to drain from the cauliflower.

This is one of those recipes you can prep ahead.  Often times, I mix mine up and put the ziploc bag in the refrigerator until I’m ready to cook it.

We enjoy this by itself, with Greek Ranch Dressing and even the next day served cold!  Low calorie and delicious!

This is probably one of my favorite refreshing summer time recipes.  I’d love to say I dreamed this up myself, but this is a Pampered Chef recipe that I’ve modified over the years.

This takes a few minutes to assemble, but I promise it’s worth it!

• 12 oz Angel Food Cake, cubed
• 3 cups of assorted berries – rinsed
  • Blue berries, black berries, strawberries, raspberries – I mix them up
• 5- 6 Limes
• 14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk (Fat Free)
• 16 oz Whipped Topping thawed
• 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened (1/3 less fat)
• 1 pint of Lime Sherbet softened

Thinly slice 2 limes.  Zest the other 3-4.  Cut those 3-4 limes in half and juice them; set that aside.

Cut the Angel Food Cake into chunks; set aside.  Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, lime juice and about 1 tablespoon of the lime zest together.  Fold in the Whipped Topping; set the Mousse aside.  Save a few berries and lime zest for the garnish. Slice Strawberries and mix all the berries together; set aside.

Begin placing your layers in the trifle bowl.

1. Angel Food Cake
2. Lime Sherbet, spread evenly
3. Berries
4. Mousse, spread evenly

Place Limes around the outside of the trifle dish ~ before you add the mousse, the mousse seems to help the limes stand up.

Repeat layers:

• Angel Food Cake
• Lime Sherbet, spread evenly
• Berries
• Mousse, spread evenly

Sprinkle the top with lime zest and garnish with berries or whipped topping.

This is best if assembled the day you’re going to eat it.  You can cut the cake, slice berries and mix the mousse, just don’t put it together until the day you’re going to enjoy it.  Keep refrigerated!

This is so loved at my house that I’ve made it two different times this week for two different events!  Being a calorie counter, I must mention this – If you’re counting calories, dodge the mousse, that’s where it’s at…..

I love this time of year – fresh cucumbers means cucumber onion salad at my house!  Super simple!!!

• Cucumbers – 5-6 large, sliced
• Small Onion (red or white) – sliced
• 1 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 2 cup of water
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 T salt (pink himalayan)
• 4 T sugar

In a bowl mix: apple cider vinegar, water, olive oil, salt, pepper and sugar.  Add sliced cucumbers and onions.  (You can add tomatoes too, if you prefer).

Best if refrigerated over night before enjoying.  (Yes, it’s that simple!)

I love simplicity.  I love Crock Pots.  And I love pork tenderloin, cinnamon, apples and honey…..all of that combined makes this a perfect recipe in my book.

5 ingredients, a Crock Pot and 8 hrs is all you need!

• 3 lb pork tenderloin
• 6-8 Granny Smith apples – sliced
• cinnamon
• honey
• 1 cup of water

Layer the bottom of a Crock Pot with sliced Granny Smith apples and pour in one cup of water.  Sprinkle cinnamon on the apples, then drizzle with honey.

Cut slits in the pork tenderloin and place apples in the slits.  Sprinkle the pork with cinnamon and drizzle with honey.  If you have any extra apples, place those around the edges.

Turn the Crock Pot on low and forget it for 8 hrs.

Ta Da!

*Note:  I use a 3 lb tenderloin because I have a house full of growing boys.  The smaller the tenderloin, the less apples you will need.

At less than 100 calories per 1 cup – this refreshing salad is what I call “gimme a spoon” delicious!  I never knew REAL food could be this good and good for you!  It’s light, refreshing and super easy to make!

• 2 – Avocados
• 1 – Seedless Cucumber
• 1/4 cup Cilantro (I love cilantro so I use more)
• 4 – Roma Tomatoes
• 1 – Medium Red Onion
• 1 – Lemon – juiced
• 2 T – Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Dice the tomatoes and avocados.  Thinly slice the red onion and cucumber.  Chop the cilantro.  Put it all in a mixing bowl.

Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well.  The lemon juice and olive oil added to the avocado helps it make it’s own dressing.  I love this as a side with most anything!

REFRESHINGLY DELICIOUS!

In these recipes if you look closely you’ll notice that the salt has a pink color to it.  That’s because I use Pink Himalayan Salt.  The health benefits from it are incredible!  I will talk more about healthy substitutes in another post.

Not only are these sinfully delicious but they’re HEALTHY!  Shhhhh don’t tell my boys!  I try to make one healthy sweet each week and keep them switched up so my boys don’t get bored.  This week, we’re enjoying these amazing brownies!  They’re super moist and don’t have any flour, butter, oil or sugar in them.  The only problem with them is they don’t last long enough!  I’m a dark chocolate lover, so I decided to use dark chocolate cocoa and dark chocolate chips in this batch.  If you prefer milk chocolate, feel free to use that instead of the dark chocolate.

There’s 5 ingredients and that’s it!

Remember those sweet potatoes that I cook on Sunday for the week ahead?  This week I threw in an extra one.  You’ll need to cook one large or two average sweet potatoes in advance for this recipe. (The potato pictured was exactly 1 cup.)

Preheat the oven to 350°.

• 1 cup of sweet potato – mashed
• 1/2 cup of almond butter – melted
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• Sprinkle of chocolate chips

Spray a loaf pan or small brownie pan with Olive Oil.  Mix the almond butter and maple syrup together in a glass bowl.  If needed, heat the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the almond butter.  In a mixing bowl, mix the sweet potato and cocoa, then add the almond butter and maple syrup.  Mix all four ingredients together until smooth and pour into the loaf pan.  Sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips and bake in the oven for 20 mins until cooked all the way through.  Cool completely before cutting.  IF there’s any left after your family digs in, these are best kept in the refrigerator.

I cut these into 6 brownies – 1 brownie is 215 calories of sinfully delicious YUM!

There’s so many healthy ways to fix chicken and this is one of my favorites.  Remember all those Sunday pint size salads you prepped for the week?  There’s weeks that I’m not feeling a salad come Friday or Saturday, so rather than throw them away, I use them to make this delicious dish!

• Chicken Breast – 3 thin sliced
• Baby Spinach – 1/2 bag
• Onion – medium, diced
• Grape Tomatoes – 1/2 container
• Garlic Clove – 2 minced
• Basil – 1 tsp (Mrs Dash or Oregano are good substitutes)
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Pepper – 1/2 tsp
• Olive Oil – 2 Tbsp
• Water – 1/4 cup

In a skillet heat the oil, add chicken and cook for 10 minutes.  Add onions and minced garlic, cook until onions are tender.  Add tomatoes, water and spices, cover and simmer 2-3 minutes.  Add spinach and cook 2-3 minutes until wilted.

Nutritional information:  270 Calories,  2g Fat, 50g Protein, 16g Carbohydrates

Enjoy!!!

It’s a good thing this stuff is low calorie because I love it!  It’s cool, light and refreshing! This dessert is perfect for summertime and super easy to make!  There’s 5 ingredients, mixed together and refrigerated.  It’s that simple!

• 3 oz package of Orange Jello
• 1 package of Sugar Free, Fat Free, Instant Vanilla Pudding mix
• 16 oz of Lite or Fat Free Coolwhip
• 20 oz of Pineapple
• 15 oz of Mandarin Oranges (drained)

Mix the orange jello mix, sugar free vanilla pudding mix and Coolwhip.  Then fold in the oranges and pineapples and refrigerate.  As it cools, it will thicken.  *I have found if you don’t drain the oranges, it will separate the longer it sits instead of thickening due to too much liquid.

Nutritional Facts per 1/10 of the recipe:  154 Calories, 2.5 g Fat, 162.2 mg Sodium, 29.5 g Carbs, 23.6 g Sugar

Don’t like oranges or pineapples – Don’t fret!  Try Peaches and Peach Jello.  You can also use 8 oz of Coolwhip and 8 oz of cottage cheese instead of 16 oz of Coolwhip.