LEAN & CLEAN with "special" sauce!

yes it's me again, sorry for being such a stranger!!! Had to share with you a quick and easy recipe from Dr.Oz (I LOVE THIS MAN!!!!!!!!!) I'm a recovering fast food addict I know pretty gross judge all you want and clearly it's not in my fabulous eating clean way of life, but you my friend are in for a special treat fast food burger that is LEAN AND CLEAN!!!! ;) I did take this recipe from Dr.Oz. but  i did mess with it a little just to save a little more calories!!! :) It's the Big Mac make over!!! this recipe is for one! :) i'm lovin' it! 

Live, Love, Laugh & EAT,
  Sarah

you will need:
4 oz lean ground beef pattie ( you can either buy them premade patties or make it yourself *remember to make it a little bigger because it will shrink)
1 serving of a whole wheat bun
2 tsp of diced white onion
1/2 cup of chopped lettuce (i used spinach)
1 slice of low-fat/fat-free American cheese
2 dill pickle slices (optional)
1 tbsp of 0% fage greek yogurt or low-fat mayo
1/2 tbsp of low-fat french dressing
1 tsp of sweet pickle relish
1/4 tsp of white vinegar
pinch of salt & pepper (optional)

first cook your beef pattie in a non stick saute' pan or coat with cooking spray, while that is cooking in a little bowl combine and mix greek yogurt or the low-fat mayo, french dressing, sweet relish, vinegar and 1 tsp of diced white onion and a pinch of salt is optional that will be your "SPECIAL," sauce
pinch of salt & pepper (optional) from then you can toast your whole wheat buns or not and all you have left is to put your burger together with the remaining ingredients! (bun, some of the sauce, lettuce, beef pattie, cheese, remainder of sauce, 2 pickle slices (opt), remaining white onions and bun!)

for fries- it's one medium red potatoe cut shoe-string style on a non stick baking pan baked at 400 for 15 minutes and on broil (500) for 7 minutes! may take a little longer depending on the thickness of your cut. remember to stir them so they crisp up!

with greek yogurt- 343 calories
with low fat mayo- 378 calories
fries- 154 calories

Mango Madness

I'm going through a mango stage right now and no joke I could eat it all day with everything! So why not a salsa/pico? I seriously add this to my salads & burgers I don't even want dressing because it's so full of flavor! it's just a good tropical change! : )

You'll need
-2  ripe mangos
-1/2 red onion
-1 cup chopped cilantro
-1/2 jalapeno/serrano/habanero minced (use as much as you want)
-1/2 juice of lime
salt/pepper to taste

With your mango you'll want to cut it in half of each side of the pit (the pit is about the same length of the mango itself) and once you have two sides of the mango (it's like a mini mango bowl) you'll want to carefully cut into the mango horizontally and vertically about 5 lines each way so basically you're making cubes, and then carefully with a knife remove from the mango skin.

In a large bowl add and mix cubed mango, chopped cilantro, diced onion, and minced jalapeno (you can use any type of onion I just prefer red onions they're sweeter to me) then squeeze in the juice of lime and lastly salt and pepper to taste

There really aren't any rules to this you can add as much cilantro/onion/jalapeno to your taste! I really love the taste of cilantro so I add a little more, it just seems refreshing to me!

Live, Love, Laugh & EAT!
 Sarah

Not Your Mama's Chicken Tenders

Hello again :-) not exactly sure why, but I love chicken nuggets/tenders/strips/fingers you name it! I've been craving them this week a lot and looked in my pantry and seriously all you  need are 4 ingredients and of course your seasonings.

you'll need (i was expermenting and this makes one serving so just double, triple it if you need to)
-1 chicken breast (5-6oz) cut into tenders or you can actually purchase them pre-cut
-1/2 cup of Ezekiel Almond Cereal
-1/3 cup Panko Flakes (Japanese Bread Crumbs) --Hy-vee sells this and all Asian stores for $1.49
- 1 egg white

First ground up your ezekiel cereal in a food processor for a count of 45 seconds and in plate add your cereal and panko flakes and any additional seasonings and you can even add unsweetened shredded coconut

next dip your tenders in the egg white wash, and then coat it with your "breading" (you won't use all your breading either) and place on a baking sheet and bake it at 325 degrees for 20 minutes

I also paired this with fries I cut up a small red potato shoe string style (McDonald's style) and baked it as well with the chicken for 30 minutes (once the chicken is done remove and crank the oven up to 400 degrees and at the last 5-10 minutes turn on the oven to BROIL the fries for crispiness)

also raw potatoes take forever and day to cook so thanks to my friend Lacy she said to cook them on the stove (coat with a little olive oil) first and when they're slightly cooked throw them in the oven with your chicken



Oh Hi

Hi friends, so as you know I haven't posted/updated since November! MAI OH MAI!!! It's not as easy as I thought it would be, but here's how it works I make these meals, and take pictures on my cell phone of every single step and then I have to e-mail these pictures individually to myself, download the pictures and put the pictures together and yada yada *insert 10 other reasons here* yada yada, but PLEASE forgive me! : )

What's new with me?

I'm obviously alive and i'm doing GREAT!!! Smiles all day everyday! :-)  I have lost more weight and i'm feeling great....oh and guess what! I've never ever ever ever imagined myself doing this, but I'm co-instructing boot camp classes two times a week! I absolutely love it, I love seeing people really push themselves, and just the results with it!

What's coming up or be on the LQQk out for...
I still plan to keep thing REAL....real simple, real tasty, and real healthy! : ) Oh....dessert anyone? cheesecake? brownies? donuts?

Check out- My gal pal as Jen would say it, :-) website http://www.jen-fit.com/ or find her on facebook and "like" her pages, not only is she amazing, she's inspiring and I always look foward to her heathy recipes too!

Live, Love, Laugh & EAT,
   Sarah

Fish Tacos....WAIT before you say eww fish just continue reading!

So we meet again! : ) I don't have much to say this time shocker I know ;-) Firstly for those of you who just read "FISH," and are totally disgusted about it just take out the fish and replace it with your chicken or steak whatever your little heart desires! ALSO I have love for my Vegeterian friends too, obviously cut the meat out and use any veggies (onions, mushrooms, zuchhini, tomatoes, etc) you love and season it the same way with my FIESTA seasoning! Not going to lie this is my new FAVORITE dish! Ask my taste testers about it on my facebook fan page - (Taste Mai) Anyway let's get started no time for a siesta it's time for a fiesta! OLE! (this recipe serves 4)

Live, Love, Laugh & EAT!
  Sarah

Start out by making the "fiesta seasoning" i recommend you go ahead and make this batch b/c it's salt-free most pre packaged seasonings contain a lot of salt! In an air tight jar/tubberware add: ¼ cup chilli powder, 1 tbsp each of dried oregano, ground/seeded cumin and ½ tsp of garlic powder. Tip: for every pound of meat you'll want to use 1 tbsp and for chilli use 2½ tbsp for every pound of meat

Next you'll want to season your fish and it doesn't matter what kind of fish I used salmon fillets (and i removed the skin prior)  4 salmon fillets at 6 ounces each I used 1½ tbsp of fiesta seasoning. (16 oz=1 lb) I just put them in a mixing bowl added seasoning and just mixed it around until it was evenly coated let the rub sit in for about 10-15 minutes or longer, and bake in the oven at 350 until cooked at your liking! I like it slightly pink so about 8-10 minutes. Once salmon is done cooking for each person they can do it them selves however they want to eat it, but take a fork and break it up it so it's like "shredded" salmon.

While your salmon is sitting in the rub start on the "slaw" all you'll need is in a large mixing bowl add ½ of cabbage shredded, 2-3 tomatoes (any kind) diced, ½ bunch of cilantro chopped, 1 onion (any kind) diced, 1-2 jalapenos/serrano minced, squeeze in 1 whole lime for juice or add it in to your liking, and optional 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.

As for tortillas I used Corn Tortillias they're actually a lot better for you than your flour tortillas. I actually really wanted eziekiel tortillias but they didn't have any at Hy-Vee so the next best thing was (click on pic) you can have 2 of them! : ) now they come frozen and you want to keep them in the freezer after your done so they last longer. Just let them thaw out doesn't take long and warm them up in the microwave for about 10 seconds

Now you have all the steps to make your taco! Want sour cream? Use a greek yogurt! I made it a ranch style! 1 cup of greek yogurt add 1 tbsp each of dried parsley, dried chives, 1 tsp of dried dill weed and ½ tsp of garlic powder and mix! (I PROMISE YOU it tastes exactly like the real buttermilk ranch) you can also throw cottage cheese in the blender with those ingredients to get a dressing!

Healthy "Creamy" Tomato Soup

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Fall! The weather is just perfect to lounge around in sweats with a nice warm bowl of soup...a heatlhy one of course! ;-) Thank you to Jamie O. for her fabulous recipe!

Live, Love, Laugh & EAT,
 Sarah


Need: 
Blender
Any veggies you like!
3-4 celery stalks
1 large zucchinni
2 small-medium yellow squash
2 red bell peppers
1 red onion
1 pkg of mushrooms any kind I used baby bella mushrooms
1-2 jalapenos
4 fresh tomatoes and I used 2 cans of NO SALT roasted tomatoes (Hy-Vee Health Food Market)
1 can butternut squash puree (Open Harvest) or pumpkin puree (I used pumpkin @ Hy-Vee Health Food Market)

p.s. if you like basil you can add in fresh basil or dried basil too

Directions:

 Wash & Dice/Chop up all of your veggies it doesn't matter how because you are going to boil them until they're soft! I recommend boiling them in half water and half chicken stock or veggie stock (low sodium) that way it will give it a boost of flavor and if you don't want to use any stock that's fine just season your water with Mrs.Dash such as tomato basil, onion and herbs and salt is optional but i try to cut out as much salt as possible!

When veggies are soft scoop veggies and puree in a blender, put it back in a pot and then mix in your pumpkin or butternut squash puree and season again if needed and ENJOY!!! (you can toast up whole wheat pita bread as well or make a flatbread using whole wheat flour and water adding your favorite seasonings flattening it with your hands cooking it on a griddle, brush with a little olive oil and herbs and toast under a broiler)

1 cup is about 70ish calories, and for your "creamy" add 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup of fage greek yogurt to 2 cups of soup! 2 cups of soup with 1/2 cup of fage = 200 calories

GYRO

Okay...so my favorite after hours food to eat would have to be gyros and I know quite a few people who could agree too! : ) Might I also add the after hours price is ridiculous so why not save a few bucks and make your own and of course a healthy one!

Live, Love, Laugh & EAT,
 Sarah
p.s. pictures can be enlarged simply by clicking on them : )

Start by making your marinade first, in a small-medium mixing bowl add then whisk:

¼ cup lemon juice

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs prepared mustard (not a fan of mustard just use ½ tbs and add 1 tsp of the next 2 ingredients instead of ½)
½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp onion powder

1 garlic clove minced

Next take your choice of meat I used flank steak, cut the excess fat off and cut your meat ½ inch strips in the direction of the grain, and once you are done with that place your meat in a resealable bag along with the marinade and mix it around/shake it. Let it marinade for about 15 minutes if you're anxious to eat, but if not one hour is good.

While your meat is marinating you can make the yogurt sauce that goes along with it you'll need:

1 small container of 0% Fage Greek Yogurt or Plain Non-Fat Yogurt will do!

1 cucumber peeled and diced

¼ tsp dried dill (optional I can't stand dill so i went without!)

¼ paprika

¼ dried oregano

* if you like it spicy you can add Chipotle Tabasco sauce to your liking or what I used was ½ tbsp of Siriacha, you can get it now at any grocery store in the "Asian" aisle*

In a bowl add yogurt, and spices & hot sauce if desired mix well and then add your diced cucumbers to your liking, for one small container of the yogurt I added ½ a cup of diced cucumbers I just like that extra crunch in every bite

Now when you're ready to cook your meat, you can either grill, bake or pan sear it. While that is cooking you can toast your pita pocket/Ezekiel tortilla or in a pan flipping it on each side for 2 minutes each. Then once everything is done stuff your pita pocket/Ezekiel tortilla with your meat, lettuce, tomatoes, sliced onions and whatever veggies you like, (i added alfalfa sprouts) and top it off with your yogurt sauce and ENJOY!