Spiralize All The Things

Have you heard of these interesting little contraptions that allow you stick a vegetable in them, and turn them into VEGETABLE PASTA? I know, I know, who would've ever thought of something so clever. Actually, I think I'm really late to the party on this one. My friends have been talking about "zoodles" forever now, and since I don't do a TON of the cooking anymore (Hubs has taken on most of that since my business really took off), I didn't jump right on board because I figured this was something I'd have to slave the day away to achieve NOODLES MADE OF VEGETABLES.

But thankfully, I stumbled upon one of these Veggetti things at Target the other day, and decided I needed to woman up and give it a shot. I loaded us up on some fresh zucchini, ground turkey, and some organic pasta sauce, and was off to the races.

And here's my findings:

This thing is friggin' genius.

SO SIMPLE, SO FILLING, SO GUILT-FREE, AND ZERO "PASTA BLOAT".

Here's what I did…

• Spiralize 1 large zucchini
• Brown your ground meat (I prefer to use organic ground turkey)
• Heat a couple TBSP olive oil in a separate pan, while meat is browning
• Dump spiralized zucchini (aka "Zoodles". Get it?) into heated olive oil
• I seasoned my zoodles with some ground black pepper, a little pink himalayan salt, and some garlic powder, while they were sautéing 
• Once zoodles were cooked through, and took on a "soft" appearance (cook to taste), I pulled them off the burner
• Dump your pasta sauce into your browned ground meat
• Serve yourself up your hot zoodles with some quick and easy meat sauce on top, and even sprinkle with a little parmesan!

Obviously, you can go above and beyond what I did, and make your homemade pasta sauce from scratch, BUT when you're in a pinch for a quick and healthy meal, THIS was the jam.

I even made you a video!

Steph's FAVE 'Skinny' Crockpot Taco Soup

First of all, I h.a.t.e. the word "skinny".

I guess a better word to use would be "healthier", or "light", or something like that. But "skinny" is usually the popular choice, so I just used it.

Ok, good. Now that that's off my chest, we can move on. PHEW.

So, I first discovered this recipe YEARS ago, right when we had moved to Arizona. I had just had our third baby, and I was ALL about the crockpot. It's easy, you throw it all in the thing and it cooks for you while you go about your business, AND usually you eat for a couple days from one batch of whatever you threw in that magical little cauldron. I was breastfeeding at the time, and the original recipe called for a lot of onion. And my baby HATED when I ate onions. So, once I figured that out, I customized the recipe to my little nugget's liking as fast as I could, so we could all sleep at night ;-)

Since then, this has become a STAPLE in our house. And it's even BETTER as leftovers. OMG.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1- 1.5 lbs lean ground turkey
• Half of a medium onion, chopped (like I mentioned above, I got away without the onion, and it was still SO yummy)
• 10 oz can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 15oz can Red Kidney Beans
• 1 15oz can Black Beans
• 1 15oz can Pinto Beans
• 1 15oz can Yellow or White Corn (optional, in case of allergies)
• 1 packet of your favorite taco seasoning OR you can use my homemade CLEAN taco seasoning recipe***
• 1 cup water OR low sodium chicken broth

Here's what you do:

In a large skillet, brown your turkey meat the same way you'd prep for tacos! Once meat is brown, follow directions on packet (OR if you're using my homemade seasoning, use that to taste, and add water) let your meat simmer to soak up all the seasoning goodness. Usually while the turkey is browning, I load everything else into the crockpot. I don't drain any of my cans- just dump them right on in there! If you want to drain your cans, that's totally fine, but you'll probably want to add a little extra broth or water to your mixture. Once all of your cans are emptied, add your turkey meat to the crockpot too, and cook in the pot on HIGH for 2-4 hours OR on LOW for 4-6 hours. You really can't go wrong on cook times, but the longer those flavors have to meld together, the better ;-)

Serve with some organic corn chips, a little dollop of plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream if you'd prefer- tastes the same to me), and a sprinkle of some shredded cheese (ALL of these are optional), and you're ready to dive in! ENJOY!


***Homemade Taco Seasoning Ingredients

• 1 part chili powder
• 1 part ground cumin
• 1 part garlic powder
• 1 part onion powder
• 1/4 – 1/2 part crushed red pepper

Caprese {Cauliflower Crust} Pizza

If you’re anything like me, PIZZA is the go-to treat meal of the week.
Every Friday, my family and I LOVE to indulge in pizza from our favorite delivery place. I am a firm believer in the fact that having one solid, amazing treat meal per week is good for you. Helps you to get that out of your system each week, so you’re less likely to stray from the plan during the rest of the week.

And while I appreciate a couple slices of cheesy pizza heaven… it has a tendency to make me feel a little bit… well, gross afterward. That grease, and that gluten in the crust gets me every time. So, I’ve heard tons about this cauliflower crust craze, and thought it was time to give it a shot. Actually, I should admit that I’ve made a cauliflower crust pizza before, but it was less than perfect. My crust came out super soggy, and wouldn’t hold together. Tasted great, but wasn’t much like pizza at all, lol! THIS TIME though… this time, I discovered THE SECRET to perfect cauliflower crust!

Here’s what you’re going to need:
1 full head of cauliflower {about 4 cups of cauliflower florets}
Your favorite salt-free seasoning mix {I used Mrs. Dash, but if you’re following the 21 Day Fix meal plan, you can use those seasoning mixes} I also added some Himalayan Salt and ground black pepper. 1/3 cup of shredded mozzarella
1 egg, beaten
Parchment paper
Then for your toppings, it’s really up to you.

To create a Caprese Pizza like I made, you’ll need:
Fresh mozzarella {I found a “round” from Trader Joe’s that was pre-sliced}
Fresh basil leaves
Fresh tomatoes, sliced

I wish I had taken pictures of the entire process, but I’m going to explain it all as best I can!
First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While your oven is preheating, you can prep your crust! The head of cauliflower I used produced almost exactly 4 cups of florets.

Place all of your florets into a blender or food processor, and pulse until you’ve achieved a rice-like consistency. Then, in a medium pot, bring about 1 inch of water to a boil. Then put your cauliflower rice into the pot and boil for about 5 minutes. Drain your cauliflower rice in a colander and let it cool!

Now here comes the SECRET! Once your cauliflower rice has cooled, lay a thin dish towel out on your counter, and dump the rice onto the towel You’re going to twist it up like cheese cloth, and SQUEEEEEEEEZE! You will be surprised how much water those littler suckers hold in! Squeeze until you don’t get much liquid anymore, and then dump all of your drained rice into a large bowl!

You’ll then add your beaten egg, your 1/3 cup of shredded cheese, and your seasonings {I just seasoned to taste, to offset the sweetness of the cooked cauliflower taste}. Once you’ve mixed that up really well, you’ll dump your mixture out onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Then you’ll get your hands a little dirty by molding your “dough” into whatever shape you prefer! I have a rectangular baking sheet, so I made my crust into a rectangle, and kept it about 1/3 of an inch thick. Once you’ve got a good shape, stick it in the oven, and bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes, depending on how hot your oven gets!

Once you’ve got a delicious looking crust, now you can place all of your toppings on however you’d like! Get creative, and have fun! Once you’ve got your toppings loaded, put it right back in the oven for 5-10 minutes depending on what toppings you’ve got {if you’re using only veggies, you won’t need to go a full 10 minutes, but if you’re using some pre-cooked meat, I’d go a little longer}. ENJOY, friends!