Guilt-Free Pizza

Finally, a healthy pizza that I can enjoy absolutely guilt-free!! I can't wait to experiment with different kinds of toppings!

Ingredients:

1 gluten free tortilla shell (I used Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas)

1/4 cup homemade pizza sauce (see below for a simple, healthy and delicious recipe)

2 mushrooms, washed and sliced

Small handful of baby spinach

1/2 tbsp sliced black olives

1/4 cup grated light mozzarella cheese (about 15g)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Meanwhile, take a tortilla shell out of the freezer (I let it sit out while the oven was preheating so it was mostly thawed when I was ready to use it). Top the shell with pizza sauce, toppings and finish with the grated cheese. Bake on a round pizza pan for 7 minutes and enjoy!!

To prepare the pizza sauce, combine the following ingredients. This makes about 1 cup of sauce. If you don't have all the spices I listed below you could try Italian seasoning instead.

Homemade Pizza Sauce:

1 - 5.5 oz can tomato paste

1/3 cup water

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried parsley

Sprinkle of dried thyme, rosemary, ground sage and fresh ground pepper

Approximate nutritional information per serving (1 pizza):

Calories: 221

Carbs: 33 g

Fat: 6 g

Protein: 9 g

Sodium: 370 mg

Fibre: 5 g

Marinate and Freeze Dijon Chicken

All the prep work is done ahead of time...it makes for very easy meals during the week!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp water

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

Prepare the marinade by combining the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Put the chicken breasts in a freezer bag along with the marinade, then freeze until ready to use. Simply take the chicken out of the freezer a day ahead and thaw in fridge. Grill or broil about 7 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through. 

Recipe adapted from LifeAsMom.com

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Low Fat Chicken Casserole

There is something very comforting about casseroles during the cold winter months. The trouble is, casseroles are often loaded with calories and carbs (probably why they are so comforting in the first place!) I decided to search for a healthy alternative and discovered this recipe. It is excellent! It will definitely be going into my regular meal rotation.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp oregano/Italian herbs

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

4 large carrots, chopped

4 medium potatoes, chopped

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine flour, pepper and herbs then coat the chicken in the flour/herb mixture. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown both sides of the chicken breasts. Remove and set aside.

Add the vegetables to the pan along with a few tablespoons of the broth and cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add remaining chicken broth and wine. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.

Put the chicken breasts into a roasting pan. Pour the vegetables and liquid over the chicken and cover. Cook for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.

Recipe adapted from LowFatCooking.About.Com

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Cabbage Roll Casserole

It recently dawned on me that I have never made cabbage rolls…and the more I thought about them, the more I wanted them! I understand that making cabbage rolls can be time-consuming, so I decided to start with a simpler version. This met all of my expectations! All of the delicious flavour of cabbage rolls with very little work. The original recipe called for beef, but I have always associated cabbage rolls with pork so I decided to modify the recipe and it turned out perfectly. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground pork

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Fresh ground salt & pepper, to taste

1-14oz can tomato sauce

1 can water

½ cup uncooked basmati rice

6 cups shredded cabbage (approx 1 lb)

Directions: Brown pork, onion, garlic, salt and pepper in a frying pan. Drain the fat. Add tomato sauce and water to the pan. Bring to a boil and stir in rice. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Place 3 cups cabbage into the bottom of a casserole dish and cover with half the pork/rice mixture. Repeat the layers and bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. It may be refrigerated before baking. This makes 8 servings (1 cup each).

Recipe adapted from the Best of Bridge, Grand Slam Cookbook

Approximate nutritional information per serving (1 cup):
Calories: 205
Carbs: 19 g
Fat: 7 g
Protein: 14 g
Sodium: 64 mg
Fibre: 3 g

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Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Appetizer

I had some peppers to use up over the weekend so I went through my pantry in search for ingredients to make stuffed peppers. I'm currently enjoying the leftovers as I type this up...my experimentation was a success!

Ingredients:

Main Course

4 bell peppers, sliced in half length-wise and seeded (use sweet mini peppers if making appetizers)

1 lb extra lean ground turkey

1 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cup cooked quinoa

1 – 28oz can crushed tomatoes (I used about ¾ can)

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp ground cayenne pepper

Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

½ cup of your favourite salsa

¼ cup grated cheese (Parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar, etc)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat oil in skillet. Add turkey, onion, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and cook until turkey is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in tomatoes, cooked quinoa and salsa.  Stuff peppers with this mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Top with cheese (optional) and bake for 5 minutes more. Serve immediately.

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Beef Stew

My mother-in-law makes a great beef stew - this is very similar to hers and is one of my favourites. I love that you don't have to worry about being exact with your measurements. Just throw what you have into the pot and you're good to go! It also freezes very well.

Ingredients:

Approx 3 pounds stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces

Gluten free flour (approx 1/2 cup, rice flour and all-purpose GF flour work well)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp canola oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 cups low sodium beef broth

2 cups water

6 large potatoes, peeled and chopped

6 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup frozen peas or corn

Directions:

Coat beef in flour, add some salt and pepper. Heat oil in large pot and begin to brown the onions. Add the beef (and any leftover flour that was used in the coating) and brown the meat. The more generous you are with the flour, the thicker your gravy will be. Stir the meat often with a wooden spoon while browning to help prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Once the meat is browned, add the beef broth and water. The meat should be covered completely so add additional broth or water if necessary. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure it isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot too badly.

Next add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the frozen peas or corn in the last five minutes and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 8 servings (1 cup each).

Approximate nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 522
Carbs: 60 g
Fat: 14 g
Protein: 40 g
Sodium: 313 mg
Fibre: 7 g

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Hearty Turkey Chili

The inspiration for this recipe came from Martha Stewart, but I put my own twist on it. The beauty with chili is that you can easily modify the recipe to accommodate what's in your pantry (which is key to sticking to the grocery budget!)

Ingredients:

1 lb extra lean ground turkey

6 slices bacon, chopped

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 - 28oz can diced tomatoes

2 - 19oz cans beans, rinsed and drained (black, kidney or pinto)

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp Frank’s Original Hot Sauce

Freshly ground sea salt and pepper, to taste

Shredded cheese and jalapenos for garnish

Directions:

Cook bacon in skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain off the fat and set bacon aside. Put onion, bell pepper, carrots and celery into the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes. Return bacon to the pan along with the garlic and cook for one minute more. Add turkey, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and cook 8-10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked throughout.

Transfer the mixture from the skillet to a large pot. Add the tomatoes, beans, 2 cups water and hot sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Serve over rice and top with shredded cheese and jalapenos.

Makes 6 servings (1 cup each). 

Approximate nutritional information per serving (1 cup, does not include garnish):
Calories: 351
Carbs: 41 g
Fat: 9 g
Protein: 28 g
Sodium: 492 mg
Fibre: 12 g

Recipe adapted from MarthaStewart.com

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Turkey Spinach Lasagne

 

I owe my cousin and aunt all the credit for finding this recipe. Last year when we were visiting them they served us this meal and it has been one of my favourites ever since!

If turkey and spinach doesn’t appeal to you, I’ve also used this recipe to make a more traditional lasagne by simply leaving out the spinach and using ground beef instead of turkey (also very good!). This freezes very well and is great even with gluten free noodles.

 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground turkey

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 5.5oz can tomato paste

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg

500g low-fat cottage cheese (can substitute with ricotta cheese)

1 pound fresh spinach, washed but not dried

9 oz oven-ready, GF lasagne noodles (Rizopia brown rice noodles work well)

250g light mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add ground turkey and cook about 10 minutes. Once turkey is fully cooked, add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper then simmer for 20 minutes. At this point the sauce should be fairly thick. Stir in parsley and basil and set aside.

While the sauce is simmering, beat the egg in a medium bowl. Stir in cottage cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a separate skillet, cook spinach over medium heat until wilted. Set aside.

Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce into a 9x13 in baking dish. Lay down pasta sheets in a single layer over the meat sauce (do not overlap the noodles). Sprinkle on 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese, 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 of the spinach and another 1/3 of the meat sauce. Repeat the process one more time (pasta, 1/3 mozzarella, 1/2 cottage cheese, 1/2 spinach, 1/3 meat sauce). Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the meat sauce.

Line a piece of tin foil with parchment paper. Spray the parchment with non-stick cooking spray. Cover lasagne with the prepared foil, parchment-side down and bake for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from MarthaStewart.com

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