RECIPE: Zucchini "Pizza" Bites!

Soo I have been avoiding gluten to the best of my ability since July 2013 and the search for pizza options is always on my mind. If you live in Columbus, Harvest Pizzeria and Spagio have awesome gf pizza. I’ve also made my own dough before and was pretty successful. When I came across this recipe for pizza toppings on grilled zucchini slices I could not wait to try it!

The recipe called for an 8-ball round zucchini to have larger slices for the base, but as I mentioned I was eager and couldn’t find one at the store so I just picked the biggest zucchini I could. The recipe is really simple and flexible, I cut up the zucchini, sprayed a skillet with olive oil and grilled the slices on one side. Transferred the slices to a sprayed cookie sheet grilled side up. I added Prego to half and Kirkland (Costco brand-the best pesto oddly enough) Basil Pesto on half. Sprinkled a little mixed Italian cheese, put a piece of turkey pepperoni on the prego ones and  cut up small slices of cherry tomatoes and onion for the pesto pieces.

Baked it for about 7 minutes and that’s it!

The recipe I was working off of put the slices on an actual grill, grilled one side, flipped them, added the toppings and continued to grill. I liked the idea of baking them more and the topping/sauce options are endless! Be creative!

RECIPE: Tomato Veggie Stew!

This recipe is my savior during the cleanse, especially because I work such long days figuring out what to eat for lunch is always tough. I made this on a Sunday night and reheated for lunch a few different days throughout the week. My fiance loves to eat this too!

This recipe is from Advocare tumblr:

Tomato Basil Chicken Stew

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: About 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes (with their juices)
• 1 (14 oz.) can cannelinni beans
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Method

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Saute for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute or two until fragrant.

Add in remaining ingredients, and stir to combine. Use a long spoon to crush the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer partially-covered for 10 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

RECIPE: Morning Egg & Veggie Muffin!

This recipe is perfect for people doing Advocare who have a busy schedule or aren't big breakfast eaters. Delicious muffin style eggs with veggies, make a batch at the beginning of the week and heat one up every morning with some whole grain granola or oatmeal, my favorite is Kind Bar Peanut butter clusters, so good.

So egg & veggie muffin:
14 egg whites (I just buy a carton of them)
4 whole eggs
4 scallions chopped
2 carrots shredded
1/2 red pepper minced
1/2 zucchini shredded
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp oregano
Pinch of sea salt and pepper

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees  and spray muffin tin with fat free or vegetable oil spray
- Mix all of the veggies in a large bowl then fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full
- Whisk eggs and seasonings in a large bow and using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop egg mixutre and fill each tin.
- Bake for 30 minutes until they rise and are slightly browned

Hummus Crusted Chicken on a Bed of Veggies!

Hummus Crusted Chicken & Veggies

This chicken is served on a bed on zucchini, squash and onion. Hindsight I wish I would’ve added peppers or something with a bit more flavor, maybe mushrooms if you like those. I also served it with Uncle Bens Wild Rice and then my fiancé added Siracha to his and loved it.

3-4 Chicken Breasts

1 zucchini diced or shredded

1 butternut squash diced or shredded

¼ cup of diced onion

4 minced garlic cloves

2 tablespoons olive oil

Hummus, I used roasted red pepper

Smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and other seasonings to your liking

2 lemons

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put all of the veggies in the bottom of greased baking pan. Add oil and toss. Lay the chicken breasts on top, season with salt and pepper and anything else desired. Coat the top of the breasts with hummus. Add paprika. Cut 1 lemon and squeeze the juice out over the dish. Cut the remaining lemon and place throughout the dish. Pop it in the oven for 25-30 minutes (depends on how thick the breasts are).

If you want prepare some type of rice and serve altogether!

RECIPE: Homemade Turkey Burger

I had a few different recipes I was working off of then kind of did my own thing!

Mix the following in a bowl:

1 lb ground turkey

2 eggs

1/3 of a zucchini diced

¼ cup of chopped spinach

1 chopped scallion

½ tablespoon of minced garlic

Salt

Pepper

Italian Seasonings

Soul food seasoning

Garlic powder

Basil

Form into patties, ( I did three and they were huge so I suggest four), they will be pretty mushy but once they start to cook the egg rises and it will solidify. Grill on each side then cover and simmer until cooked through.

Optional topping:

Diced red peppers and onions in a hot sauce or hot dog sauce and ladle over. I just used a little ketchup.

Asparagus:

Clean, cut, dab of oil in the pan, coat the asparagus, salt, pepper, Italian seasonings and crushed red pepper flakes for a small kick. Cook with lemon juice!