Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies That Actually Taste AMAZING!!

This one is no joke, folks! While they may not be healthy, they are much healthier! I took a very popular choc chip cookie recipe (NOT the one on the yellow bag- think more along the lines of a big name newspaper) I cut the sugar in HALF and used raw sugar instead of regular, used 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 butter, instead of just butter, and used half white flour 1/2 whole wheat flour.

They were good fresh from the oven, but after cooling and sitting for a couple hours, let me just tell you- they were freaking DELICIOUS! I couldn't tell the difference between this and the full sugar, white flour, butter version! My family is kinda chocolate chip cookie snobby. It has to be one hell of a cookie to impress them. They went NUTS for these!

Even my youngest, J, finished her cookie, looked down at her empty hand and exclaimed "ohhhhhh noooooo!!!"  Cute and true story, folks!

 

You will need: 

• 1/2 cup refined coconut oil, room temp
• 1/2 cup butter, room temp
• 3/4 cup raw sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp vanilla
• 7.5 oz all purpose flour (I measured this on a food scale)
• 7.5 oz whole wheat flour (also measured on a food scale)
• 1 and 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 lb of chocolate chips

1.  In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil, butter, and sugar with an electric mixer until very well combined.
2. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla. Beat for another minute.
3. Beat in the rest of the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips. The mixture will look very crumbly. Just keep on beating it, it WILL come together into a firm dough.
4. Add the chocolate chips and mix them in by hand. I almost had to knead them in. The dough really is a bit tough, but don't let this deter you!
5. Scoop out about a Tbsp at a time and roll into balls. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet with a good two inches between them and place in fridge to chill for 2 hours. This step is super important! Do NOT skip this step!
6. Preheat oven to 350 F. Go straight from the fridge to the oven and bake for about 12 minutes. You want it slightly undercooked. After you remove them from the oven, they will continue baking to perfection while they sit on the cookie sheet. 

That's it! You're done! Like I said earlier, they are yummy when they first come out of the oven, but the texture is a bit crumbly and you can taste that they are whole wheat. After about 2 hours or so tho, they get softer when you bite into them and they are chewy and just ohhhh so delicious!

You simply must try them and if you do, comment back and let me know what you think! :)

Freezer Prep For Crock Pot Meals

 Who couldn't use a few extra meals in their freezer, assembled and all ready to thaw out and pop into the crock pot? I spent yesterday doing just that. Lots of chopping, bagging, and washing dishes later, I was left with 11 meals (plus one in the crock pot cooking away so I didn't have to cook after all of that. LOL) and 3 bags (9 cups) of chicken stock.

The meals I chose were fairly easy to throw together, were fairly inexpensive, and only one required cooking anything ahead of time. (Tho the pot roast I had simmering away in the crock pot also served as lunch the next day after I transformed the leftovers into a delicious pot roast soup)

I wound up with:

• 2 meals worth of Sloppy Tamale Bake
• 2 meals worth of Enchilada Wrap Fixins'
• 2 meals worth of Italian Style Sausage and Peppers
• 1 meal worth of Steak Fajita fixins' 
• 1 meal worth of Chicken Tortilla Soup
• 1 meal worth of Chicken Salsa
• 1 meal worth of Chicken and Quinoa Skillet
• 9 cups of homemade Chicken Stock
• And the batch of Pot Roast Soup from the leftovers

What I used/did:
**For Enchilada Wraps, please click the name and it will bring you to the site where the recipe is located. Great stuff on that site, too!** I also stored everything in gallon sized Ziploc Freezer Bags. I recommend removing the bag you want to cook from, the night before, and placing it into a bowl in your fridge to thaw overnight. It helps when doing this to do everything "like" at once, so you aren't running around, going back and forth like a chicken with it's head cut off! (chop all veggies at once, slice any meats needed at once, etc)

Italian Sausage and Peppers:

• 3 lbs of sausage (I used chicken sausage because it's what I had on hand, but I usually use Turkey Sausage), sliced into rounds
• 2 jars of Organic Spaghetti Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
• Parmesan Cheese to top with when cooked

1. Take TWO of the gallon freezer bags and place into each one, 1/2 of the sausage, 1 jar os spaghetti sauce, and 1 Tbsp of Italian Seasoning. 
2. Squish it all together, squeeze air out and seal bag. Freeze.
3. When ready to cook it, simply take it out of the freezer and put the bag into a bowl in the fridge to thaw overnight. 
4. Pour contents into the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.
5. Serve on rice, noodles, or cauliflower rice and top with parmesan cheese.

Salsa Chicken:

• However many chicken breasts you need for your family (I usually use 4 large ones for this)
• 1 large jar of Organic salsa
• Mexican Blend shredded cheese to top with when cooked

1. Place chicken and salsa in ONE of the gallon freezer bags and squish it all up. Remove air and freeze.
2. When ready to cook, take out the night before to thaw as mentioned above.
3. Place contents into crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high of 4 hours.
4. When the chicken is done, shred the chicken and place into a baking dish. Top with some shredded Mexican (or Cheddar Cheese) and bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes or just until cheese is melted.

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

• 1 lb chicken breast
• 1) 15oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 6 cups of chicken stock
• 1 cup of onion, chopped
• 1 cup bell peppers, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese

1. Add everything to ONE freezer storage bags. Let out air and squish it up a bit to combine. Freeze.
2. When ready to cook, take out the night before and place in fridge to thaw.
3. Pour contents into crock pot and cook on Low for 8 hours or on High for 4 hours.
4. When done cooking, shred the chicken in the crock pot.
5. Serve it up and top each serving with a little shredded Mexican Blend cheese and crispy tortilla strips

Easy Steak Fajitas:

• 1.5 to 2 lbs of steak, sliced into strips
• 1 onion, sliced into strips
• 2 bell peppers, sliced into strips
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1.5 oz package of Fajita seasoning (I use an organic mix)
• tortillas to serve on
• cheese, lettuce, tomatoes or whatever you like to eat on your Fajitas

1. Place everything into ONE freezer storage bag. Let out air, seal and squish to combine.
2. When ready to cook, take out the night before to thaw in fridge.
3. Place contents of bag in crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours. 
4. Serve on tortillas with desired fixins'.

Chicken and Quinoa Skillet:

• 4 to 5 chicken thighs
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp Mrs Dash Extra Spicy mix
• 3/4 cup of chicken stock
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup of pre rinsed, dry (uncooked) quinoa
• parmesan cheese to top with

1. Place all ingredients, EXCEPT the quinoa, into ONE freezer storage bag. Let air out, seal and squish a bit to combine. Freeze.
2. When ready to use, take out of freezer the night before to thaw. Place contents of bag into crock pot. Add the quinoa and give it a little stir to mix.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4, until chicken is done.
4. Top with a little parmesan cheese and serve.

Wordless Wednesday

The scenery while camping last weekend

The Dinner That Makes Itself...

Imagine this: You pour yourself a nice hot cup of coffee, sit back and kick your feet up, and watch as the chicken marches itself over to the pan and jumps right in. The can opener opens up the can of tomatoes and black beans and escorts them to their final destination before waving goodbye and retiring itself back into the drawer. The quinoa giggles as it measures itself out and joins the pan party... That would sure be amazing. But it's just not gonna happen. Close enough tho! Minimal ingredients that all come together beautifully, everything cooks up in one pan, which means less dishes for you to wash. Even better, right?

This dinner turned out so damn delicious that everyone went back for seconds. Everyone except for me. Because when I went back for seconds, it was all gone. Sheesh!! Do I need to start cooking less delicious meals so that I can walk away with a nice full belly? LOL

Chicken and Quinoa Skillet

 

You will need:

• 6 chicken thighs, skin removed
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1) 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (NOT drained)
• 1/2 can black beans, rinsed well
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup of dry quinoa (pre rinsed)

1. In a large pan, heat up your olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes on both sides. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels.
2.  Add onion to skillet and cook for a couple minutes, until they start to soften up. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Return the chicken to the pan and add all of the remaining ingredients, making sure to kinda smoosh the quinoa down around the chicken so it has more access to the liquids.
4. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
5. Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese and serve it up! :)

What a Crock! Chicken Tortilla Soup Edition!

Get it? "What a crock?" Cuz it's cooked in the crock pot? Yeah? No? Okaaaay, moving along. I had been seeing this recipe popping up all over Pinterest and Facebook, so I figured eh, why the hell not give it a try. It's getting really chilly, really quickly and what is better than a nice warm bowl of soup to fill your belly?

I was NOT disappointed. I did make some tweaks to the recipe and that is the version I'm posting here because I quite enjoyed it!

You will need:

• 1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded into nice size pieces (you can also use uncooked chicken breasts and cook them in the liquid and shred when done, but this was how I did it)
• 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup of chopped onion
• 3/4 cup of chopped bell peppers
• 3/4 cup of canned low sodium black beans, rinsed well
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup chunky salsa
• 1/2 cup dry whole wheat elbow macaroni noodles
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• Mexican Blend shredded cheese to top with
• Tortilla strips to top with

1. Add all ingredients to your crock pot except for the chicken, noodles, cheese, and tortilla strips.
2. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
3. An hour before it is finished, add the chicken and the noodles. Stir well,, recover, and let finish cooking.
4. Top with a little shredded cheese and crispy tortilla strips.

Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole: Recipe Make Over!

This is another not so healthy family favorite, revisited and made over. While it still isn't the healthiest dish out there, it is much healthier than the original and there are still areas where it can be made even more so. But ya know what? I'm a firm believer in "all things in moderation". And sometimes, I just need to indulge myself and enjoy something like this. 

Even with the healthy makeover, this still remains a family favorite. In fact, Mr and the kiddies actually like it more than the original! SCORE!!

BACON CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE

Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole:

You Will Need:

• 2 packs of extra lean ground turkey
• 1/2 sleeve roasted veg. Crackers (like Ritz)
• 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk (you can use reg milk)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Prepared mashed potatoes (however much you want to use)
• 3 slices of Turkey bacon

1. Preheat oven to 350º. In a large bowl, finely crush the crackers and add the garlic powder and parm cheese. Mix well, add milk and stir. Let sit for a couple minutes to absorb the milk.
2. Add the ground turkey and using your hands, mix very well. Spray a large baking dish with non stick spray and press meat mixture evenly into the pan like a flat meatloaf, leaving about an inch between meat and sides of dish.
3. Bake for 35 minutes. While it's cooking, cook up your bacon and mashed potatoes (if you aren't using leftovers) and crumble the bacon. 
4. When the meat is done cooking, remove from the oven, remove any grease with a baster, spread mashed potatoes evenly on top of meat. Top with shredded cheese and the bacon pieces. Pop back into the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes then serve.

Whoa! Would you say THAT to your best friend?!?

"Holy crap! That dress makes your ass look huge!"

"Ugh! Look at how fat you are!"

"You're disgusting!"

"A fat lazy blob! That's what you are!"

How many of you would say that to your best friend?

Now, how many of you talk like that to yourselves?

See where I'm going with this? If you wouldn't say that kind of stuff to your best friend, why the hell would you say it to yourself?? Shouldn't we be our own best friend and support system instead of our own biggest critic and worst enemy?

I will fully admit that I am guilty of doing this far too often, myself. It is something I struggle with every single day, every time I pass by a mirror. But I am working on that and I urge you to as well! Some of my usuals thoughts are "My belly is so fat and disgusting!" "My legs are huge!" Gawd, my breasts sag too much!" "Move over Batman- just look at these bat wings under my arms!" and "My ears stick out too much!" "Why am I so fat?!?" This list can go on and on. If I were to tell you that my husband was the one saying all of this to me on a daily basis, would you say that it qualified as a form of abuse? More than likely, yes. But guess what? Saying it to ourselves is STILL abuse.

I urge you to stop the self hate! There are always going to be plenty of haters out there to do that for you. Take a moment today to stand in front of a mirror and look at yourself with kinder eyes. Look at yourself through the eyes you would use to look at your best friend, or your daughter. I want you to replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts! This doesn't mean that you have to accept that you will forever be this way. You can still change things, I am still losing weight. But I refuse to further tear myself down in the process!

My belly helped support 3 babies and kept them safe and sound for 9 months each.

My legs are strong and powerful!

My breasts provided nourishment for my beautiful babies and helped them thrive.

My arms have cradled and rocked my babies, and comforted and hugged them as they have grown.

My ears have alerted me to their cries when they needed me and I get to hear their never ending fighting laughter as they play.

And I am NOT fat. I have fat. There is a difference!

Find those positives and celebrate them, my friends! You are beautiful just the way you are!

Breakfast Braid- Remade

This had been a family favorite for quite a while when I made the decision to get serious about my health. It was one of the things that had to go. Not that it was necessarily all that bad, but in trying to stay away from as much processed crap as we could, I didn't like using the store bought pizza dough in a can and the regular old greasy sausage. So, those were the most important changes that were made, as well as cutting down on the cheese. And guess what? It is still delicious!

Mr and I had just gotten home from camping overnight and we were staaaarving, so I rolled up my sleeves and jumped right in. I also used it as a great learning experience to teach my middle daughter, L, how to make this from scratch. I made one to show her how to do it, and then I let her make one all by herself. She did AWESOME! I'm so proud of her. :)

You Will Need:

For the dough:

• 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp Raw Honey
• 1 cup warm water 
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil) 
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

For the Filling:

• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 package ground turkey sausage
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, place your warm water, honey, and yeast and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes to proof. Add in your flour, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and oil. Mix until combined and then give the dough a quick knead while it's in the bowl. Cover with a damp towel and place in an area free of drafts until you are finished cooking the filling. In a large pan over medium heat, cook your onions for just a couple minutes. Add the ground turkey sausage and continue cooking until the sausage is cooked through. Add your eggs, mix together, and cook til eggs are done. Place the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and roll out into a long rectangle. (about 10x15) Sprinkle half of the cheese down the middle of the rectangle, lengthwise.Then add your egg and sausage mixture on top of that, followed by the remaining half of cheese. Along both sides of the dough lengthwise, cut strips an inch part, horizontally. It should look like the long sides of your dough has thick fringe like a blanket. Gently fold the strips over, alternating sides like you are braiding. (hence the name, yes?) Fold and press both short ends under to seal. Spray the top with nonstick cooking spray, sprinkle with a tiny bit a Parmesan Cheese and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. When it is done baking, if the crust seems a little hard, don't fear! Simply throw a piece of tin foil over the top and gently mold the foil around the breakfast braid. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so and it will be perfectly soft when you remove it.  Slice that bad mamma jamma up and eat!

Lemon Parmesan Baked Cod with Roasted Broccoli

 

 How is THAT for yummy looking? My middle kiddle isn't normally too fond of fish unless it is in stick form (siiiigh) but she really liked this. My teenager and my hubster raaaaved that it was the best cod they had ever had. Which of course makes me beyond happy to hear. That says a lot cuz we've had a lot of cod over the years, so this one is definitely a keeper!

          Lemon Parmesan Baked Cod:

• cod fillets (however many you want)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs or cracker crumbs (I used roasted vegetable generic ritz crackers, crushed)
• 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder (I use garlic salt mixture from Trader Joe's)
• parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top
• 1 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2.  Mix the garlic powder into the breadcrumbs. 
3. Spray a baking dish with non stick spray and place fish fillets in the dish. 
4. Brush each fillet with olive oil on both sides and coat with your breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes. 
6. Remove from oven and squeeze fresh lemon juice over each fillet. Sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese and bake UNcovered for another 10 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

           Roasted Broccoli: (This stuff is addictive! My kiddies HATE broccoli and will wolf this down like animals and groan when it's gone!)

• Several heads of broccoli, chopped up into smaller pieces
• 1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• Parmesan cheese to top with

1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray baking dish or cookie pan that has sides with non stick spray. 
2. Put broccoli and olive oil in a Ziploc baggie. Shake it up really well. 
3. Place broccoli in the baking dish and spread out evenly in a single layer. 
4. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 25 to 35 minutes. 
5. Remove from oven, remove foil, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and mix it all together. Pop back in the oven UNcovered for another couple minutes just til the broccoli is cooked to your liking. 

A squeeze of lemon over this is delicious as well!

Throwback Thursday! Live, Laugh, Love, Bake.: Sometimes You Just Gotta Rock.

 Not much has changed since I first posted this. I don't bake nearly as often, but there is nooo shortage of rocking out like a total idiot, let me assure you! ;)

Live, Laugh, Love, Bake.: Sometimes You Just Gotta Rock.: Sometimes I get really down in the dumps.   And sometimes, when I get really down in the dumps, I have to bake.  And when I bake, I h...

Cheesy Taco Pasta

     THIS. Omg, this... This is TOTAL comfort food. It's like this tasty dish jumps out of the pan, goes to the kitchen, pours you a cup of hot cocoa, sits you in front a lit fireplace, and snuggles you. That kind of comfort food. And it is insanely delicious. Creamy and cheesy with just a hint of spice. Oh, did I mention that it is a fairly healthy recipe? Cuz it totally is! You can eat this bad boy and not feel guilty in the least! Not that you should ever feel guilty about eating food, but well, you know what I mean. Right? Riiiight? Yeeeah, you know what's up. Let's dive right in!

EASY CHEESY TACO PASTA

• 10 oz whole wheat pasta (shells or elbow mac) 
• 1 lb lean ground beef  (or lean/extra lean ground turkey breast)
• 1.5 oz packet reduced sodium taco seasoning 
• 1 and 1/2 c chunky salsa 
• 1/2 c water 
• 1 small can of diced green chilies, drained of any liquid
• 1/3 c light (or fat free) sour cream 
• 1 c shredded mexican blend cheese plus a little extra to top it with 
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. 

2. While pasta is cooking, cook up your ground beef in a large pan over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. When it's cooked through, drain any grease from pan. 

3. Add the taco seasoning, salsa and water and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or so until pasta is done cooking. 

4. When pasta is done, drain pasta and add it to the beef mixture. Add the chilies, sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper and stir to combine til cheese is melted. 

5. Remove from heat, top with a little extra cheese, and serve immediately.

Greek Turkey Burgers

    Since I am revisiting my recipes and making them healthier, I thought this one was a great place to start. Between the saltiness of the feta, the sweetness of the roasted peppers, and the slight kick from the chilies and paprika, these are seriously delicious, and a huge family favorite. I basically added extra veggie power by throwing chopped spinach and diced chiles into the burgers and cutting the amounts of feta and paremsan cheese I originally used. And I skipped the bun all together and served it on a bed of fresh spinach and lettuce with just a drizzle of Balsamic Vinaigrette. Much healthier and ohhhhh sooooo delish! Why don't you give it a try and let me know what you think?




                              *******************************************************

Greek Turkey Burgers

You Need:

• 1 (20 oz) package lean ground turkey breast 
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 small can of diced green chilies
• 1/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
• a handful of fresh spinach, semi finely chopped (about a cup)
• 1 and a 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 slice of mozzarella cheese *optional to top burger with

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, mixing very well.
2. Divide into equal sized patties. (I usually get anywhere between 5 and 7 patties depending on how big I make em)
3. Coat a pan with non stick spray and place over medium to medium high heat.
4. Cook patties for 7-8 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in the center.
5. Top each burger with cheese.
6. Serve on your choice of buns. I love mine served without the bun, on a bed of spinach and lettuce with a drizzle of Balsamic Vinaigrette..  

Wordless Wednesday

Inspirational Tuesday

Well hello there!

Man... it's been a while, uh? It has been bugging me that I haven't been active on here for so long, but in the midst of everyday life with kiddies and sports, the general who ha of domesticated life, and working on improving my health, something just had to give.

It was especially difficult for me to focus on the getting healthy part while baking and cooking  terribly delicious but not so good for you stuff. So I stopped. Since the last week of May 2012, I have lost just a few lbs shy of 100 lbs. No gimmicks or tricks, just hard work and dedication. I still have about another 90 to go, to get to where I'd like to be, but I KNOW that I will get there.

Meanwhile, I look forward to getting back  into the swing of things on here. It was so therapeutic to be able to come here and write. How I have missed it. While I will still post yummy goodies, the focus will be on more healthy recipes that are still delicious. And my family. Always my family. ♥

Here's a little before pic/ current pic to show what I've been up to. ;)