Stuffed Chicken Pockets

Happy Labor Day Weekend to our American readers and apologizes for the lapse in posts! Summer is ending but it doesn’t mean your healthy eating plan needs to go into hibernation! Tonight’s post is an all-in-one flavor bomb that goes great over anything.

Ingredients: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1/2 white onion, sliced mushrooms, bell pepper (any color desired), bunch of spinach leaves, fresh mozarella, one garlic clove.

Directions: Chop all veggies. Fry over a medium heated skillet. Save some of the chopped garlic to season your chicken. Add spinach leaves once onions have browned. Let sit and cool.

Wash chicken breasts (about half of one is enough for one person). Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, minced garlic, and oregano. Evenly cut the breasts laterally. You need to have enough room for your stuffing without completely cutting in half. Season inside as well.

Once veggies have cooled, begin spooning into the inside of your chicken breasts. Cut the mozarella to size and evenly disperse throughout pocket.

Once all chickens have been stuffed, cook on 350 for about 45 minutes.

The key to making this dish taste original and not just regular old chicken, veggies and a little bit of cheese is to make sure the breasts are thoroughly seasoned, inside and out. Spices are what make or break a healthy recipe. Get creative!

Portobello Pizza

Pizza is the end all cheat meal. It’s carbs, dairy, grease, and fat all rolled into a delicious, handheld treat. While many feel like it’s the hardest thing to give up while maintaining a healthy lifestyle, there’s variations that deliver the taste without the trash.

Ingredients: Portobello mushrooms, tomato paste (preferably organic), chicken tenderloins, low fat shredded mozzarella cheese, peppers, onion, kale to garnish

Directions: Scoop out inside of portobello caps (a melon baller was used here), saving the extracted mushroom. Make sure to be CAREFUL while still insuring that a large amount of the inside has been removed. No one wants a holey pizza! Lightly sprinkle with salt to absorb moisture. Bake on 350 for about 15 mins.

Slice peppers and onions. Slice chicken to fit size of portobello cap and lightly season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Sauté the removed mushrooms and sliced veggies first. Once browned, add chicken. Cook for about 10-15 mins.

Once portobello caps have cooked, remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, spread a layer of the tomato paste on for your sauce. Then add chicken and cooked veggies. Finish with mozzarella.

Bake for about 10 mins and broil for 2-5 minutes. Watch carefully!

It’s important to remember that all bad food is based off of good, nutritional ingredients (like a bad movie derived from a good book)😜. Don’t think about what you’re giving up, but what you can spin into making healthy!

Whole Wheat Lasagna

Lasagna is usually not a dish that comes to mind when thinking of healthy meal ideas. It’s normally heavy, filling, and generally speaking, you don’t want to move after a helping.

But there’s always a way to adjust a recipe to make it a bit more healthy, and lasagna is no exception. This whole wheat lasagne still has the delicious, full taste but doesn’t anchor you to the couch for the next several hours.

This recipe does take several moving parts and time, but it’s well worth the work and gives you plenty of leftovers.

Meat Sauce: 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground sausage, 24 ounce jar of Organic Tomato Sauce, half of a diced onion, cut up mushroom halfs,

Grease pan with olive oil. After a few minutes of heating, add onions and mushrooms. Give time to brown. In a separate bowl, mash together sausage and ground beef, adding oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and whatever other spices desired. Add to pan and allow time to brown. Add tomato sauce. Mash meat with spatula to decrease lumps.

Noodles: Boil water in a large pot. Add whole wheat lasagna noodles. Periodically move noodles around so they are throughly cooked. Your workstation should be a bit crowded like below:

Cheese: tub of ricotta cheese from skim milk, bag of shredded mozzarella, two eggs.

Crack both eggs in large bowl and mix. Mix in ricotta and then add mozzarella. Add oregano, salt and pepper.

Layering: After noodles have strained and cooled, begin the layer process. Place some tomato sauce at the bottom of the lasagna pan. Add layer of noodles, followed by meat sauce, then cheese, and repeat once again. The final top layer should be of noodles. Add desired amount of cheese on top (we’ve kept it light here).

Cover pan with tin foil. Bake for 30 minutes 360. Once done, remove foil and broil for 10 minutes.

You’ll find that the final product is still filling, but the whole wheat pasta (along with portion control) gives it less of a heavy feeling and won’t leave you feeling like something is sitting in your stomach.