Small changes for healthier lunches!

As we always seem to be on the quest to eat "healthier", I think we often change the more obvious foods in our diet, while sometimes overlooking the little changes we can make that will cause a difference.  I just wanted to take some time to share a few new food products that I have been using lately that I am just in love with for their taste AND because they are much healthier alternatives to what I usually would use.  Most of the summer, I try to make healthy, light lunches at home for us as I am also looking for quick and healthy ideas that I can make during the work/school year.  I found a few products and used them for some lunches this summer that will be perfect to take to work this school year...

First, when my mom was visiting she bought this Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado Yogurt Dressing.  The name sounded right up my alley, so I tried it and was sooo impressed!  The taste is great.  It's super creamy and you can taste both the avocado and the cool cilantro flavor:  it's clean and fresh tasting.  Not only is it tasty though, it is healthier in comparison to your average ranch dressing that most people use.  

So, a 2 Tbsp serving of Hidden Valley Ranch has 140 calories, while the Bolthouse Farms dressing has only 40 calories.  Fat??? 14 grams in the Hidden Valley Ranch as opposed to 3.5 grams in the Bolthouse Farms!!!!  Hidden Valley Ranch also has double the carbs and cholesterol than the Bolthouse Farms dressing has. 

  VS  

The next new thing we tried, was a new brand/type of tortilla/flatbread.  We eat tortillas A LOT! Very often for lunch I will make sandwich wraps, substituting the bread of a normal sandwich for a tortilla in an attempt to eat "healthier."  My favorite brand is La Banderita from Mexico...yum!  But it wasn't until recently when we decided to cut some carbs that I realized that there were much healthier options out there!

I bought a flatbread called Flatout and the flavor is light Italian herb- incredibly tasty.  The brand claims half the calories and half the carbs of other brands as well as high fiber and protein.  The flatbread uses whole wheat flour while the tortillas do not.  When comparing the two...

The amount of _____ in 1 tortilla/flatbread:

                            Flour tortillas                    Flatout flatbread- light

Calories                       220                                    90      

Carbs                           34 g                                   14 g

Fat                                7 g                                   1.5 g                              

Protein                          9 g                                     5 g

VS 

Basically I can make two small changes in a normal meal and make it MUCH healthier, and in my opinion, tastier!

Two lunch ideas that came from my new favorite dressing:

Cilantro Avocado Chicken Salad

Shredded chicken

Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado Yogurt Dressing

Mayo

Salt and pepper

Season shredded chicken with salt and pepper.

Mix undetermined amounts of the dressing and the mayo, to your liking, into the shredded chicken.

Taste to see if you need to add more.

(LOL sorry for the vague instructions but that is literally what I did...and remember these are super QUICK ideas that require minimal ingredients!)

You could take some saltine crackers to eat with the chicken salad or make a wrap, which was where I went with it.  I used my new healthier flatbread and topped it with cheese, the chicken salad, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions.

Voila!- something new and different!

Salted Cucumber Slices with dips

Seasoned salt

Sliced cucumbers (or other veggies)

Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado Yogurt Dressing

Hummus

Another lunch idea I incorporated the dressing into was to use it as a dip for some cucumber slices topped with seasoned salt.  While many people would probably choose a ranch dressing to dip their veggies in, this dressing is a great alternative...Delicious, refreshing, simple, AND healthy!

You could obviously try a variety of veggies...  I also dipped my cucumbers in some Tastefully Simple Red Bell Pepper Hummus that I had made.  Yum!

 

smallchangesbigdifferences.<3LML

Chicken Veggie Alfredo (with homemade sauce)

One "throw together" meal I can always rely on is any combination of chicken, veggies, and pasta!  I even think I may have a few recipes similar to this one already posted, but in this one I made my own Alfredo sauce!  

This can be a quick recipe if you can multi-task in the kitchen...

Chicken Veggie Alfredo

Whole wheat penne pasta

Chicken tenderloins

Olive oil 

Salt and pepper 

Garlic Garlic (dried minced garlic)

Seasoned salt 

Cherry tomatoes

Zucchini 

Squash

Asparagus 

Garlic salt

Alfredo Sauce

1 Pint heavy cream

2 tbsp Butter 

2 tbsp Minced garlic (fresh or jar) 

Parmesan 

Salt and pepper

Parsley

Start by boiling water to cook your pasta...

Heat a pan and drizzle with olive oil.  Add chicken tenderloins to pan.  Salt and pepper both sides and add Garlic Garlic and Seasoned Salt.  When chicken is almost cooked through, remove from pan and cut into chunks.  Return to pan to finish cooking. 

While chicken is cooking, chop all veggies. 

Don't forget to start cooking your pasta!

When chicken is finished cooking, add chopped cherry tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and asparagus to the chicken.  Season with garlic salt to taste.

 Cover and cook until veggies are done to your desired tenderness.  Usually when the veggies turn a little brighter in color, they are done perfectly for me!

Is there anything more beautiful?!

So I looked up some random recipe for Alfredo sauce that called for a pint of heavy cream, but I think I ended up using about 3/4 of the pint...add the heavy cream to the chicken/veg mix.  

Add the 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp garlic, and then the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste!  

Mix over medium heat...

As you mix, the liquid will begin to reduce and thicken.

Continue cooking over medium heat and mixing until the liquid becomes thick enough to be a "sauce."

Add some black pepper and parsley and give one last stir...

Add your cooked pasta to the pan and fold the pasta into the mixture.

Serve and top with parsley and black pepper.

                                             

HomemadeAlfredoRules.<3LMl

Steak and Cheese Hoagies

I have been making steak and cheese for years, but I think I've finally nailed it... I started with Steak-Ums (Lol), then changed to a frozen prepared steak for cheesesteaks from Walmart, and tried all different cuts of real beef.  They were all fairly good, but most of them were too tough/dry to fully enjoy.  This week I found some EXTRA thin cut beef and it totally made the difference!

Steak and Cheese Hoagies

Steak- Extra Thin Cut Beef Top Round (for Milanesa)

Olive oil 

Garlic Garlic

Onion Onion

Seasoned Salt

Garlic Salt

Fresh black pepper

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

1/2 cup beef broth

Onion

Green Pepper

Hoagie/sub rolls

Mayonnaise

Provolone cheese slices

So this is the meat that I used.  It was so thin that I didn't even have to cut it...I literally just tore it apart with my hands!

Drizzle olive oil in pan and heat on medium.  Cut/tear meat into thin strips and add to pan.

Season meat generously with Garlic Garlic, Onion Onion, and Seasoned Salt.  I live by these seasonings!  I use them on everything I cook.  They are made by Tastefully Simple and I have them linked above if you are interested in ordering... if not, just go ahead and season with dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, and any seasoned salt.  Add some cracked black pepper.

            

As the meat starts to brown, add 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce and mix into the meat.  Keep turning meat with tongs as it browns.  You are looking for the liquid from the Worcestershire sauce to cook out eventually.

                            

Meanwhile, you can go ahead and slice your peppers and onions.  Usually I just do green peppers and onions, but this time I had gone out to the garden and grabbed some fresh hot banana peppers and poblano peppers as well, so I went ahead and threw them in for my sandwich.

Drizzle another pan with oil, heat on medium, and saute your peppers and onions.  I also like to season my peppers/onions with seasoned salt and pepper.

While sauteing your veggies, don't forget to keep an eye on the meat!  Once you have noticed that the liquid from the Worcestershire sauce has boiled out, add the half cup of beef broth.  Do the same...turn the meat with tongs and cook until the broth liquid has reduced and cooked out.
Now is a good time to taste and add more seasonings if needed...

Depending on how "done" you like your veggies, they are probably finished after 10-15 mins. or when your onions are fairly translucent.

The buns that I use are from the bakery at Walmart, super soft and delish!  I highly recommend them, or just use any other sub roll...

Once the liquid from the beef broth has cooked out, turn heat to low and separate your meat in the pan into servings for each sandwich you will make.  Put provolone slices on top of each serving.  We love our cheese here, so I put two slices per sandwich.  

Cover and heat until cheese starts to melt!

Add a sprinkle of garlic salt on top of the melted cheese.

Mmmm.  Cheeeese.....

Add mayo to your bun, scoop that goodness out the pan and throw it on the bun...top with those yummy sauteed peppers and onions, squish it down and chow time!

With hot peppers...

Daaaaaaaaaamn.  That's good...

<3LML

Ground Pork Lettuce Wraps

Pork Lettuce Wraps

As soon as I discovered that the kids loved lettuce wraps, this recipe became part of my dinner rotation.  It is SUPER simple and each time I make it, it seems to get better too!  I obviously started with a base recipe and made it my own, adding stuff and not including other things to fit our needs.  The original recipe is below.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps- Original recipe

The original recipe calls for chicken and I have seen recipes that use either chicken or pork.  I think I have decided that I prefer to use pork, no real reason, but feel free to experiment though as I've made both and they are pretty similar!

Iceberg lettuce leaves

White rice

1.5 lb ground pork

Half an onion chopped

Olive oil

2 tbsp minced garlic (fresh or jarred)

Chopped green onions

1/4 cup + hoisin 

1 tbsp + soy 

1 tbsp rice vinegar

Sesame oil drizzled

Black pepper

Optional toppings:

Peanuts

Sesame seeds

Red pepper flakes

Bean sprouts

Rice noodles

Pull lettuce leaves in whole or almost whole pieces from the head of lettuce and wash/drain.  Set aside.

Prepare and cook 1 cup of white rice while you are making the pork mixture.

Drizzle a pan with olive oil and heat.  

Add ground pork to pan, break it up, and cook until browned.  

Add chopped onion and minced garlic and cook with the meat until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant, stirring frequently.

Add chopped green onion and mix it in.

Add hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to the pan, mixing until meat is coated in sauce and it is heated through, maybe about 10 mins.

Drizzle the mixture with sesame oil and stir.

Crack fresh black pepper over top of meat mixture.

Taste the meat and at this point you may add more hoisin sauce and soy sauce if you wish.  I just add and mix until it tastes good to me, so sorry!- no exact measurement of the amount.

Add peanuts and sesame seeds, again, the amount to your liking, and fold into the pan with the pork.

 

Take a lettuce leaf and spoon rice onto it and then pork mixture on top.  Add additional toppings like red pepper flakes, bean sprouts, and rice noodles.  Roll up and enjoy!

  

<3LML.