Back to School: EASY Healthy Bulk Breakfast Burritos

From my old "Clean Eating" Blog... make these as "clean", as healthy, as filling as you want.  Use whole wheat, non whole wheat, gluten free or whatever wraps you want.  Sometimes we make bagels instead of burritos, but eggs and veggies make for a GREAT start to your morning!


We were going through the breakfast burritos at an amazing rate, so I found an even easier, faster way to make them... because you can count on me to constantly be on the look out for ways to make things more efficient so I have more time to be lazy:)

Baked Quiche Wraps!

Use whatever ingredients you like... for our Clean Eating Wraps, we like to use a variety of the following:
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Eggs
Spinach
Peppers (especialy red & yellow bell peppers for me!)
Sauteed Chicken
Onions (lots of onions!)
low fat cheeses

Not so Clean idea that my kids like, and helps extend the eggs are oven fries (cut really small).

Directions:

• Sautee your choice of veggies and meats in a skillet with a little coconut oil.
• Beat eggs in a separate bowl (I used 2 1/2 dozen for our pan, with LOTS of veggies)
• Pour all ingredients into a 9x13 baking dish
• Bake at 350 until done.  (Our 'new' oven is REALLY off temp, wise, so I'm really unsure of the time for a regular oven.  Probably 15-20 minutes?)

After the eggs cool (I just put them in the oven overnight), divide the pan into 16-18 servings.  I cut across the middle first, then in half the other direction... it makes it easier to get more even slices.

Lay out your tortillas with cheese and wrap.

Wrap each on with plastic wrap and you're ready to go!

I keep them in the fridge in a drawer and they're ready to go for my early morning husband and kids!

 What is your favorite easy-go to recipe?

Tasty Tuesday BONUS: Menu Planning and Shopping List for Paleo/Slow Carb w/ Vegetarian Options w/Recipes

Making a Meal Plan for a Variety of Eating Habits

I am very thankful that my children are fairly open to trying new things, and they are all used to eating healthy foods.  I'm proud of the fact that my children (for the most part) have taken control of their health, researched the things that are important to them and made choices that they believe and adhere to.  Because of that, I am more than happy to work with them to encourage and support their nutritional choices, even when they aren't the same as my own.  Even if it takes a little bit more work... its well worth it, to me.

I'm not about scheduled meals or a strict "meal plan", but I like to have the options organized so that everyone knows what there is to eat.  I make a large batch of food so that we have leftovers and all of my kids know how to cook, so if they're hungry, they don't have to wait for someone else to make it for them.  I like to make a two week meal plan, then make a grocery list to go with each plan.  Then I can choose a meal plan whenever it sounds good and have the shopping list to go with it.

Link to Meal Plan A

Grocery List for Meal Plan A

So, that's how it works for me.  I make a list of meals, then go through and make a list of groceries.  Fortunately, we almost always have the staples on hand, so it doesn't dent the budget too much (although this time, our cupboards were pretty bare, so the bill was higher than I'd like!).

How do you organize your meal planning and grocery shopping?  My favorite part about this method is that 2 or 3 months from now when I'm really swamped and busy, I can just reprint this exact plan and go shopping again without having to hunt down recipes and whatnot!

Links to some of the above mentioned recipes (Some I haven't tried yet, but I'll post them on my Tasty Tuesdays or Foodie Fridays for you as soon as I do!):

Mexican Soup (aka Taco Soup)

Chicken Onions & Spinach

Salmon Patties

Enchiladas (although this week, we're buying canned sauce)

Smoothies (and check back later today for my "Tasty Tuesday" Smoothie recipe)

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

Let me know if you have any questions!  I've been doing this for so long, I tend to forget that there are things I should explain!

Foodie Friday: Gluten Free Super Spicy Meat balls

Super Simple Super Spicy Meat Balls

*This is a repost from my blog 365 Days of Clean Eating

Ingredients:

**You can make these grain free as well!  Just leave out the cereal:)

2-3 cups of Gluten Free cereal.  I used Rice Squares.

1 pound of lean ground beef

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 Tbsp "Extra Spicy" seasoning from Mrs. Dash (you can leave this out, but I love these spices!)

1 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1 can of diced tomatoes

2 eggs

I just crush up the cereal using my hands, but you can stick it in a food processor if you want.  I ended up pureeing most of the diced tomato when my picky girl said, "Ewww... you're putting tomatoes in it?" but you can usually just leave them in chunks.

I always bake meatballs on a wire rack in a pan to catch the grease, even with lean ground beef, this helps keep even more fat out.  I can't stand cooking ground beef where it is sitting in the grease... yuck.

Viola!  These were SPICY!!!  Dang!  I'm glad I made some without the crushed red pepper for Abyni and I because I took one bite of a spicy one and my mouth was on FIRE.  Of course Kainan actually ate his with extra hot sauce.  Go figure.  I served them with the goulash type dish that I kind of made up on the go.  It was a little liquid-y because I didn't get the beef broth until late in the game, but it was very flavorful!

Foodie Friday: Taco Style Lettuce Wrap

Grain Free Taco AKA Taco Style Lettuce Wrap

*This is a repost from my blog 365 Days of Clean Eating

Ingredients:

• Refried Beans (I make refried beans from dry beans)
• Cooked Ground Beef (I cook in bulk and freeze to make this a quick fix)
• Tomato
• Cheese of choice
• Green Leaf Lettuce leaves, whole (or you can just make this as a salad)
• Sour Cream (just a little bit)
• Spices to taste (I use these Mrs. Dash flavors)

I slice tomatoes instead of dicing so its less messy... unless I'm making this salad style

I mix a little bit of refried beans into the taco meat to extend it (because, hey, meat is ExPenSive!) and also to make it stick together a little bit more for less mess!

Add the tomato and get ready to fold and eat!

Viola!  Grain Free Taco!

Verdict:  Um, yeah.  I've had one of these every morning this week.  I LOVE it.  Having the seasoned ground beef and beans already put together in the fridge or freezer has been perfect for a quick fix meal!

OAMC:  Add some extra ground beef to your Once a Month Cooking plan and leave seasoned ground beef and refried beans to your list to make this a quick and healthy fix for your family!

What are your favorite quick fix meals?  How many grain free meals do you suppose you make in the course of a week?

Foodie Friday: Salad Bar!

Salad Bar

This is a repost from my blog 365 Days of Clean Eating

My Family & a couple of the kids friends that were over for dinner:)

We have started back with the tradition of family dinners!!!  With our family, that makes for some interesting conversations, interesting AWESOME conversations.

We've discussed all sorts of things from the Cold War, to my husband's somewhat... unusual past (so far I've avoided being questioned, but the kids are merciless on their dad... and the reactions are priceless.  Apparently they thought he'd most been a goody two shoes most of his life.)  Kainan being in Public School now always brings new and interesting topics as well.  He is SUCH a character.  Basically, a table full of really good story tellers makes for EPIC dinner conversations!

We're doing well during the week, but on the weekends, there seems to be too much running this way and that, so I decided that I'd just lay out some fresh veggies and salad fixings.  I've found that my kids rarely think to open up the fridge and grab veggies, but if I have them out and easy to access, we all eat a lot more of them.

Patrick playing chess with the kids, noshing on veggies and hummus between turns.

Family Salad Bar with some of our favorite toppings:

**Except when linked to a website, the rest of this information is from the awesome book Eat Well, Be Well by Pierre Jean Cousin

Sesame Seeds:

"The seeds are also very good source of dietary proteins with fine quality amino acids that are essential for growth, especially in children. Just 100 g of seeds provide about 18 g of protein (32% of daily-recommended values)"

Kale:

Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.

Spinach:  Rich in antioxidants and stimulates pancreas function.  Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Iron, Zinc & Carotene

Sprouted Lentils:  Folic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Protein, Carbohydrates.  "Lentils are nutritious, digestible, regulate colon function and should be eaten frequently as a part of a healthy diet."

Lettuce: 

Vitamins A, C, D, Folic Acid, E, Iron, Manganese, Potassium, Zing, Lactucarium.  "Because it is rich in fiber, it helps food to pass quickly through the intestines and aids digestion.  Lettuce contains lactucarium, a substance that has sedativeand analgesic properties, and is thought to be useful in the treatment of mild insomnia."  (wow.  Maybe I should eat more lettuce, my insomnia is AWFUL!)

Carrots:

"Carrots are rich in antioxidants and protect the body from certain types of cancer.  They boost the immune system and are useful in treating a range of ailments, from poor night vision to stomach ulcers."

Flax Seeds:

Almonds:  

Vitamins A, B, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Oleic Acid.  Almods are an energy providing, nutritious snack.  They have a balancing effect upon the nervous system and are useful for digestive problems.

Dried Cranberries:

A substantial number of recent studies have shown that whole cranberries consumed in dietary form—in comparison with purified cranberry extracts consumed in either liquid or dried supplement form—do a better job of protecting our cardiovascular system and our liver. Several groups of researchers have summarized their health benefit findings by pointing out that it is the synergy among cranberry nutrients (rather than individual cranberry components) that is responsible for cranberry's health benefits. This synergy is only found in the whole berry as consumed in food form. This rule about whole dietary intake appears to apply to the antioxidant benefits, anti-inflammatory benefits, and anti-cancer benefits of cranberry.

Cabbage:  

A long established remedy for a variety of digestive ailments.  It is also rich in antioxidants and can strengthen the immune system and help the body to overcome infection.

Cheese:  

We keep to a minimum.  Some of us avoid most dairy (except yogurt), so we go light on the cheese, but my hubby especially likes cheese on just about anything:)

Salad!!!  With Poppyseed Dressing

Paris created a happy face Grilled Cheese & Apple Sandwich for herself and Patrick:)

This made for a mostly raw day for me (except for the hummus), and I think it was AWESOME.  I woke up feeling so much better the next day.  I don't think I could pull off an all raw diet right now, but I certainly like having it be a part of every day, and then a full day of it on Sundays sounds perfect!  (Other than the hummus I ate with some of my veggies!:)

I've decided that hummus is not a very pretty food, but its SO yummy!

We finished off our day in the front room where some of us worked off and on with a big Hollywood puzzle, talked about the Avengers and why Patrick doesn't "buy" the Iron Man concept, because no one explained how Tony Stark doesn't die when he's thrown through a tree just because he's wrapped in a suit of metal.

I just stood in the middle of the room and snapped a few pics as I turned... This is our front family room/office/art/game room (You can see more photos of our front room here on my Always Family Blog)

And our dog, Kitty laid around being spoiled by Kainan, as usual.

Foodie Friday! Prep for Healthy "Convenience Foods"

Food Prep for Healthy "Convenience Foods"

*This is a repost from my other blog 365 Days of Clean Eating which is 95% recipes.

My biggest challenge has been remembering to eat.  My appetite is non-existent, but once its time to eat, I need to eat and I don't want to put much time/thought into it.  I tend to get busy during the day and I want something convenient.  Sunday I took the time to make my family's bulk breakfast burritos, and while I was at it, I made my own precooked eggs as well.  *All of my calorie counts are from sparkpeople.

I used my itty bitty pan to cook egg "patties" = 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg = 100 calories*

I used my small skillet to make "Omelettes" = 3 egg whites, 1 whole egg = 120 calories*

I then put them all in a big ziplock bag in the fridge, so now I can just grab and go, and I don't have to mess up bowls/pans every day.

I also made chicken breast filets ahead of time with McCormick's Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning.  I weighed these and they were about 1.2oz or 2.2 oz.  I just take a small or large piece and I know its within that weight range.

I also bought a bag of ready to eat spinach (tastes great as a salad with a boiled egg or cut up chicken tender with a little sprtiz of balsamic vinagrette.)  I also like munching on celery for the crunchiness and lack of calories:)

I am really glad I measured!  You NEED to measure, people, the scales aren't going to show everything.  From my years of working at the gym, I chose these measurements.  There are a lot of spots to measure, but  its good to see where you're dropping inches, especially if the scale isn't showing a lot!

Tasty Tuesday Video! Clean Eating Marinara Sauce!

I finally got a cooking video uploaded today. It is a very simple, basic cooking video that I'm sure you'd all know how to do anyway, but if you want a peek at me being my apparently SPASTIC cooking self, you can watch it here. 

I plan on uploading a cooking video every Tuesday and a vlog or progress video every Saturday.  Let me know if you have any requests!

Next up:
Whole Grain Clean Eating Bread
Lasagna (95% of my videos will be clean eating or slow carb, this falls in the other 5%)