Meal-in-a-muffin and other healthy standbys.

A friend wrote me today asking where I find my "good" healthy recipes. To be honest, all over; on the web, recipe books, from adapting a recipe so far that I just make it into something we all like (and helps me with my weight loss goals). Truly, I am no expert but, I do feel passionately about food! Eating it, reading about it, making it, taking pictures of it, spending hours each night researching nutrition findings...You get the picture. Don't worry I am not going to start preaching over lengthy nutrition posts (although it is fascinating). I'll aim to share a few recipes each week that work for us. Here are some recipes that I have made this week:

Isa's Chili:
(I made this one up and it is a total standby for us--so good for you, high fiber, low cal, tasty, and filling)

1 lb. extra lean ground beef or ground turkey
2 green bell peppers seeded and diced
1 16-oz. can organic pinto beans
1 16-oz. can organic kidney beans
4 cloves garlic
1 4-oz. can mild diced green chilis
1 14.5-oz. can tomoatoes with green chilis
1 14.5-oz can organic diced tomatoes with juice
2 Tbsp. chili powder
Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Brown and drain meat. Toss all ingredients into crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Enjoy!

serve with some lite shredded mozzerella or shredded reduced fat cheddar and a piece of good healthy bread (I like Ezekial 4:9-low sodium or home made whole wheat bread/rolls)

Whole Wheat Pizza dough:
(adapted from Everyday Food)

1 1/2 C. warm water
2 packets active dry yeast
1/4 C. olive oil
2 Tbsp. sugar or honey
2 tsp. course salt
3 C. whole-wheat flour
1 C. All purpose flour (I have used bread flour or oat flour as well)


mix warm water and yeast in a bowl. Let stand until foamy. Brush another bowl with oil.

In bowl with yeast, stir sugar, oil, and salt. Stir in flours until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to oiled bowl. Brush top of dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm place until dough has doubled in size (usually 1 hour).

Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Knead until smooth (20 sec.) and divide into two balls.

Set balls on a plastic plate and set them in the freezer for an hour. Then freeze in freezer bag up to 3 months. Thaw in refridgerator overnight. Enjoy! We love to make our pizza using a fresh marinara sauce (recipe from my friend Adrianne) and top with veggies, good cheese and arugula salad mix.

Meal-in-a-Muffin:

This is a recipe I got from my trainer. I made a double batch today so I could have a healthy grab-and-go meal when I am on the run with my girls. I should have made more because I have a feeling I am going to be sharing them since my entire family liked these.I used banana and apple in my recipe today but, I am looking forward to making these with pumpkin!

2 cups flour (I use a combination of spelt and oat flours or all oat or any other flour you like)
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1 - 2 t cinnamon
sugar (I use a combination of 1/4 cup organic raw sugar or ¼ cup agave syrup, mixed with wet ingredients and 1 tablespoon Stevia Plus, mixed with dry ingredients)
1 cup non fat milk (or less if your fruit is very “soupy”) **
¼ c oil (walnut or olive or ?)
2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I used almonds and sunflower seeds)
1 cup fruit (bananas, blueberries halved, sweet potatoes cooked and smashed, apples diced small, grated carrot, or any combination you like)
Combine all dry ingredients, combine all wet ingredients, mix together, add nuts. You may need a little more milk. Put into muffin tin, divide among 12 (I use a ¼ cup measuring cup), and bake at 350˚ 15 to 25 minutes (depending on oven variation).

Freeze individually and eat on the go for a hearty, filling snack.