Clean Eating: Cheesesteak Pasta

Pasta is so good. It's one of my favorite dishes, which probably explains why it makes an appearance on my blog 3 out of 5 times. It's just that it's so easy. All you have to do is perfectly boil some noodles and then add it to a delicious sauce. It's a quick and easy meal that I don't have to put a whole lot of thought into. And when it turns out to be delicious...well, that's just a bonus.

Today, I pay tribute to pasta. But I also have to lend a little respect to ground buffalo. It is definitely one of my favorite meats and is a good substitute for beef. If you find yourself with these ingredients on hand, you should definitely give this a try.

Ingredients:
8 oz ground buffalo
1.5 cup frozen pepper stir-fry (I used Bird's Eye brand)
2.8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
3 oz dry quinoa pasta elbows
4 tbsp light cream cheese
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flake
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Directions:
Fill medium pot with water. Bring to a boil. Add salt to taste and add pasta. Return to boil. Cook for 9 minutes.

Meanwhile, spray a large saute pan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add frozen peppers and mushrooms. Cook until veggies are tender. Remove to bowl lined with paper towel.

Add ground buffalo to pan. Brown meat, breaking up with wooden spoon. Add a little water to help break up the meat. Sprinkle flour over browned meat. Stir until flour is cooked.

Add vegetables, cream cheese and milk to pan. Stir until cream cheese is melted and sauce is thickened.

Add cooked pasta to pan and stir for 3 minutes until pasta is evenly coated in sauce.

Good enough to eat on its own, or enjoy it with a fresh salad.

Nutrition Facts
Serves 2
Serving Size 421.4g
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Calories - 476
Calories from Fat - 142
Total Fat - 15.8 g
Saturated Fat - 7g
Trans Fat - 0g
Cholesterol - 70mg
Sodium - 723mg
Total Carbohydrates - 46.2g
Dietary Fiber - 5.3g
Sugar - 5.1g
Protein - 32.3g
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Vitamin A - 16%
Vitamin C - 17%
Calcium - 33%
Iron - 100%

Clean Eating: Low Carb Pizza

Drat! I knew I was going to blog this meal, and I was so excited about making it, I forgot to take pictures of the process. So, I'm blogging this anyway, and hopefully, I'll remember to take some pictures when I make this next time. In the meantime, here is a picture of the finished product, and it was delicious.

Ingredients:
For crust:
1 eggplant, peeled
1 egg
1 oz. pork rinds
2 oz. mozzarella cheese

For toppings:
2 medium tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 lb turkey sausage (make your own)
2 bell peppers
1 onion
8 oz. mushrooms
2 oz. mozzarella cheese


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

To make crust, grate peeled eggplant using the large grate option. Dry grated eggplant on paper towels. Place in a large bowl. Grind pork rinds in a food processor until consistency of bread crumbs. Add to eggplant. Grate mozzarella cheese and add to eggplant mixture. Add egg and stir to combine.

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add eggplant mixture to pan, and press to make an even layer. Cook until edges start to brown. Turn eggplant patty over on a plate and slide back into the pan to cook the other side. Do not fully brown other side of patty as it will continue to cook in the oven. Remove from heat.

Wash tomatoes and cut off top stemmed area. Cut an X in the bottom of the tomato. Add to a pot with water. Place over high heat and bring to boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place in ice bath to cool tomatoes. Once cool enough to handle, peel tomatoes and place in food processor. Add basil, garlic, sea salt and pepper. Pulse grind until it becomes a sauce.

Coat a medium pan with cooking spray. Cook onions, bell pepper and mushrooms until softened. Remove from pan. Using the same pan, cook turkey sausage (prepped from this link) until browned, breaking until chunks while it cooks.

Add tomato sauce to top of eggplant patty. Top with sauteed veggies and turkey sausage. Grate mozzarella cheese on top. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.


Nutrition Facts
Serves 4
Serving Size 308.8g
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Calories - 267
Calories from Fat - 115
Total Fat - 12.8g
Saturated Fat - 6.1g
Cholesterol - 107mg
Sodium - 805mg
Total Carbohydrates - 14.1g
Dietary Fiber - 5.6g
Sugar - 4.6g
Protein - 28.2g
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Vitamin A - 14%
Vitamin C - 33%
Calcium - 26%
Iron - 12%  

Clean Eating: Chicken Chili

Fall is well on its way, and it's time for me to start working on soups, stews and chowders. First on the list is chili, one of my favs. What's not to like: meat, good; beans, good; cheese, good. It's just a bowl full of delicious goodness that leaves me feeling warm and satisfied.

Ingredients:
8 oz. chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tomatoes
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/3 cup great northern beans (cooked from dried beans)
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 oz. reduced-fat cheddar cheese
4 tbsp light sour cream

Directions:
Fill a large pot with water. Cut an X in the bottom of each tomato and place in water. Bring water to a boil and cook for 5 minutes until flesh begins to peel.

Meanwhile, cut the onion and red pepper into chunks. Place vegetables in food processor and pulse grind until pureed.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and garlic to pan. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cut chicken into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse grind until chicken is finely ground.

Moving vegetable mixture to one side of the pan, add chicken to the other side of the pan with spices. Brown chicken and combine with vegetables.

Once tomatoes are finished cooking, drain water and rinse in cold water, adding ice if necessary to bring down the temperature of the tomatoes. Once cool until to handle, peel tomatoes and remove stemmed end. Add tomatoes to clean food processor. Grind into sauce.

Add tomato sauce, beans and chicken broth to the pan with chicken and vegetables. Stir to combine making sure to deglaze the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium-low heat until everything is heated through.

Serve in bowl with 1 tbsp of sour cream and 1/2 oz. of shredded cheddar.

Nutrition Facts
Serves 4
Serving Size 390.3g
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Calories - 259
Calories from Fat - 75
Total Fat - 8.3g
Saturated Fat - 2.3g
Cholesterol - 46mg
Sodium - 709mg
Total Carbohydrates - 24.5g
Dietary Fiber - 7.2g
Sugar - 4.2g
Protein - 23.6g
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Vitamin A - 61%
Vitamin C - 155%
Calcium - 18%
Iron - 13%