Sunday, August 16, 2015

Crispy & Sweet Parmesan Coconut Shrimp

I'm kind of on this Shrimp kick. I love Coconut Shrimp but it's not that healthy being deep fried and coated in flour and coconut. So I thought I'd dabble in some Shrimp recipes I thought up in my head. No background recipes either...let's hope you enjoy this Shrimp as much as we did! :P

*I used Frozen Raw Shrimp that's been peeled, deveined, and it's ready-to-cook, then I thaw it! 1 lb Shrimp cooks down to about 13-14 ounces. Serving size should be about 3 ounces of Crispy & Sweet Parmesan Coconut Shrimp, makes about 3 small servings worth.

Be sure to add your meal into your myfitnesspal app and to weigh/measure out all of your portions!

Serves 2 people
Time: 30 min

What you'll need:
15 oz - 1 lb Shrimp, thawed, un-cooked, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup Coconut (I couldn't find sugar free but if you can, try it!)
6 tsp Kraft Parmesean Cheese
3 Tbsp Egg Whites
1 tsp Cholula Original Hot Sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In one bowl add Egg Whites and Cholula; mix thoroughly (wet mixture)
3. In another bowl add Parmesan, Coconut, and Pepper; mix together (dry mixture)
4. Have a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil or use a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet and lightly spray with cooking oil. The cooling rack will help you get that 360 crispiness you want instead of overcooking your shrimp (I don't have a real cooling rack so I improvised :)
5. Dip one Shrimp in the Wet mixture then straight into the Dry mixture and right onto your cooling rack sheet; repeat until all Shrimp have been coated and placed upon cooling rack sheet
*My set up:
6. Cook for about 6 min, then pop in the broiler for 2 more min until pink and crispy
*Before:
*After:
7. Measure out and enjoy!

*I served mine with some mixed salad!

1 Serving Size:
3 oz Crispy & Sweet Parmesan Coconut Shrimp 158 calories
Total: 158 Calories 18.7 grams Protein

Homemade Crockpot Roasted Red Pepper Spaghetti Sauce

I love spaghetti but I hate that I buy the sauce from a jar! They add so much junk to it, it hardly is really "light" or "healthy". So today I took the plunge! I googled a bazillion sauce recipes until I found a couple that gave me a good general idea of what to do and that was simple enough! I hope you enjoy this!

Mine made about 1 "jar" or 3 cups worth. Double/triple for your preference. If you use more tomatoes or onion or even add more veggies or meat etc, your nutritional information will change from what is listed below! 
 
Be sure to add your meal into your myfitnesspal app and to weigh/measure out all of your portions!

Serves 2-4 people
Time: 4-5 hours*

What you'll need:
1.5 Lbs of Fresh Tomatoes (any kind, I used what I had Fresh Ripe Vine and Fresh Roma)
8 oz Yellow Onion
4 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Red Pepper
.2 oz Basil (5-10 leaves)
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Dried Thyme
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
*1 small can Tomato Puree if needed*

Directions:
1. Grab Crockpot, lightly spray with cooking oil
2. Depending on how you like your sauce, either dice or simply cut up your Tomatoes and Onion and throw into the Crockpot
3. There are many ways to roast peppers. This is what I choose; roasting your Red Pepper: wrap Red Pepper twice in Aluminum Foil, place on gas stove top, medium heat, flip every 5 min for a total of 20-25 min. Take off heat and let it cool. Once cooled peel off charred skin (I leave some on to add to that smokey flavor), take out stem and seeds (you can leave the seeds in for extra spice). Dice and throw into Crockpot
4. Add all Spices including the Garlic and Basil into the Crockpot
5. Set on High for 3-5 hours-the longer the better
6. You can choose to blend sauce for less chunks and more smoothness, depends on your taste. I used an immersion blender for a few pulses to break up the last of the onions. You could also use a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 small can of Tomato Paste or 1 Tbsp Corn Starch (equal parts water) for thickness if you feel its necessary (I used corn starch)
 *After a dip with an immersion blender:
7. Serve up or throw into a container for later! This freezes well or can be canned! I threw mine into a freezer bag and used it for the next time we had spag night!

**Serve with Spaghetti Squash Noodles and some Ground Turkey to really take this healthy sauce full circle!

1 Serving Size:
1/2 cup Roasted Red Pepper Spaghetti Sauce
40 calories
Total: 40 Calories

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Garlic Parmesan Shrimp and a Fennel & Arugula Salad with a Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing!

This meal comes to you from Pinterest (see below for the link)! :P I needed some new and different dinner ideas and Brian suggested something with Shrimp. I do NOT cook seafood nor eat it unless I see the coast (I know, whaaaat?) but I thought I'd make an exception because I love him ;) 

*Note: I used frozen, peeled and deveined raw shrimp (ready to cook). I thawed it by running it through cold water, letting it sit for 5-10 min, then straining it in a colander and letting it rest until my Fennel was sliced.

Be sure to add your meal into your myfitnesspal app and to weigh/measure out all of your portions!

Serves 4 people
Time: 30-45 min

What You'll Need for the Garlic Shrimp:

1 pound Shrimp, thawed, un-cooked, peeled and deveined
4 Cloves Garlic, minced or chopped (your preference)
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano 
1/2 tsp Dried Basil 
8 tsp Grated Parmesan (I used Kraft)
Juice of a Lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp worth)
Salt and Pepper to taste


What You'll Need for the Fennel & Arugula Salad with the Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing:
5 ounces Baby Arugala
3-5 ounces Fennel, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 tsp Lemon Zest
2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Salt
Pepper to taste
1/8-1/4 cup Fresh sliced Parmesan to serve

Directions for Garlic Parmesan Shrimp:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking oil
3. In a bowl, add your thawed Shrimp, minced Garlic, Oregano, Basil, Parmesan cheese, Salt & Pepper. Toss thoroughly 
*If you like some spice, add some Tony's Creole Seasoning :)
4. On your cookie sheet, spread your coated Shrimp evenly, no overlapping pieces. Lightly spray with cooking oil
5. Cook for about 6-8 minutes
6. Top with a spritz of Fresh Lemon Juice, measure out portions and enjoy!

Directions for Fennel & Arugula Salad and the Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing:
1.  In a large serving bowl add your washed Arugula, sliced Fennel
2. In a dressing jar or over your salad add EVOO, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice, Salt, & Pepper. Mix well
3. Place over salad, tossing so it gets covered. Top with Fresh Parmesan cheese
4. Measure out portions and serve immediately! Enjoy!

*Pair both together for an amazing, full of flavor, quick dinner! 
 
1 Serving Size:
3.3 ounces Garlic Shrimp 152 calories

1/4 of your Fennel & Arugula Salad with the Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing 65 calories
Total: 217 Calories


*Thanks to http://damndelicious.net/2014/12/05/garlic-parmesan-roasted-shrimp/ for this awesome and simple Garlic Parmesan Shrimp recipe. I changed a few things to fit my palette and cooking style, but overall simply divine! As for the Fennel & Arugula Salad and Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing, I simply saw it on the Food Network Channel-Rachael Ray's "3 in a Bag"-so my hat is off to her :)

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Healthy Ratatouille

Let's face is, Ratatouille is healthy lol I just omitted EVOO and added more veggies than normal! Makes a ton and is so tasty! Can freeze up to 3 months too! 

*Disclaimer: I am no French Chef! I saw the Disney movie and thought yum I want to try it out someday, so I found an Americanized version :)

Be sure to add your meal into your myfitnesspal app and to weigh/measure out all of your portions!

Serves 8 people
Time: 1 hour 30 min

What You'll Need:
1/2 Onion, finely chopped (about 8 ounces)
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small Eggplant (mine was WAY too big; next time I will cut it into quarters)
1-2 small Zucchini
1 Yellow Squash
1 Red Bell Pepper
 

1 cup Tomato Puree
¼ tsp. Oregano
¼ tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Some Fresh or Dried Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Slice and chop all your veggies. Onions and Garlic can be sliced or diced. Everything else should be in even slices
3. In a circular or square oven dish that's been lightly sprayed with cooking oil, pour Tomato Puree into the bottom. Drop the Garlic, Oregano, Crushed Red Pepper, Salt, Pepper into the sauce and stir it all together, making sure to coat the bottom of the dish as best you can. Then sprinkle in the Onions
4. With your evenly cut Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Red Bell Pepper, and Eggplant, begin to layer, starting on the outside/rim of the dish and moving your way into the middle and alternating your veggies. Mine turned out kind of ugly and I had a little bit let over, but that's okay you can save them or toss them
*Line up:
*Realizing I should have quartered my huge eggplant LOL:
5. Lightly spray the top of the veggies, sprinkle some Fresh Thyme and place some aluminum foil over the dish
*Ready for the oven: 
6. Cook for 45-60 min. Veggies and sauce should be bubbling but the veggies should not be soggy and limp
7. Serve up and enjoy! 

**I served mine with some Chicken Breast and tossed a dollop of Goat Cheese atop of my Ratatouille-the Goat Cheese adds the creamy omg factor!! 

1 Serving Size:
1 cup Ratatouille 62 calories

1/2 ounce Goat Cheese 35 calories
Total: 97 Calories


*Thanks to www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2010/08/layered-ratatouille.html for this awesome and simple recipe. I changed a few things to fit my palette and cooking style, but overall simple divine!