Turkey Sauce and Angel Hair Pasta

This is an excellent recipe. I know you will love! It has less 3 grams of fat in the entire dish (which means each serving has about 1/4 gram) It is filling and very healthy!


Turkey Sauce and Angel Hair Pasta
2 pounds ground 100% lean turkey
1 large egg
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 cup of uncooked oatmeal
2 plum tomatoes (pitted and chopped)
1 tbsp. fresh basil
2 cups of tomato sauce (NOT marinara but regular tomato sauce)
dash of oregano, dash of salt, dash of pepper
1 pound of whole wheat angel hair pasta

1. mix the ground turkey with egg, oatmeal, onion powder, garlic - pat it down like you would for meatloaf in a flat pan
2. bake in oven at 375 for 40 minutes
3. take it out immediately after it is done and mush (the warmer it is the easier it will be to mush)
4. add the chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, dash of spices (oregano, salt, pepper) and tomato sauce to the ground turkey and mix well - warm on stove and then set aside
5. boil water, once water comes to a boil pour the angel hair pasta in - cook for 6 minutes (angel hair pasta cooks quicker than other pastas)
6. place angel hair on plate and pour over sauce

Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving 101

So this post is very important to me because it speaks about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all that we are blessed with and to a time to give back to those who are not as fortunate as we are. It is also a time to spend with loved ones- family and friends and share in those delicious traditional foods. Thanksgiving is also a time when a lot of us eat more than we should. Did you know that on average a person consumes more 3,000 calories? How is that possible you ask? Well you have the appetizers which normally consist of nuts, poppy kock, mushroom puffs, olives and so forth- easy 400 calories right there. Then you have the turkey with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, string beans, rolls, butter, and all your other traditional family recipes and then you have dessert...So when I say 3,000 or more I stress the more. But it is Thanksgiving so why not eat as much as you want, right? WRONG! Thanksgiving is not a time to over do it- it is a time to indulge a little but you need to be careful how you indulge and where you indulge. In this post I will share a few recipes that you should all have. It will leave you feeling much better at the end of the day- both mentally and physically.

Appetizers
Serve: honey roasted peanuts, salted cashews, and mini clementine cuties

Main Meal
Serve turkey with homemade cranberry sauce (2 pints cranberries, water and sugar in the raw- heat up the cranberries add the water and 1/4 cup of sugar)

Spiced String Beans (3 lbs of fresh string beans with 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1/4 tsp. cumin, 1/4 tsp. paprika and 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 cup of water- mix together and cook uncovered for 30 minutes


Mashed Potatoes (peel potatoes leaving some skin, boil them and then mash them - add 2 tbsp. of diced onions, 1 tbsp. of unsalted butter, dash of salt

Candied Sweet Potatoes (6 sweet potatoes -peeled and baked for 1 hour. cut them into cubes and pour over 1 cup of orange juice, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 c. bourbon- bake for another 45 minutes (stirring occasional)

Spinach Salad- 2 cups of fresh spinach, 1 8 oz. can of mandarin oranges, sprinkle some sunflower seeds, sliced strawberries and honey mustard dressing (light) mixed in.

Butternut Squash Muffins (skip the roles and use these instead)

Stuffing- 8 cups of whole wheat bread cubes, 1/4 cup of chopped celery, 1/4 cup of dried cranberries, 2 cups of mushrooms, 2 cups of chicken broth, dash of salt and pepper, 1/4 tsp. onion/garlic mixture, 1/4 tbsp. fresh parsley- Bake in oven for 1 hour











Dessert
Peanut Butter Balls (14 oz of 100% natural peanut butter, 1 cup of unsalted butter, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 3 cups confectionery sugar AND 14 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips, boiling water and 2 tbsp. of unsalted butter) - mix peanut butter, vanilla, melted butter and confectionery sugar together and the roll them into 3 inch balls. place in fridge for at least 2 hours. Then in a double broiled melt the chocolate with the butter. Dip the firm peanut butter balls into the choc mixture covering half way. Place down on parchment paper and place back in fridge over night or until ready to serve.

Pumpkin Choc Chip Cookies 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened, 1 cup of 100% pure pumpkin puree, 1 large egg, tsp. vanilla. Follow these steps:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheets.
COMBINE flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Crust Free Apple Pie (4 green apples peeled and slice, place into a baking dish, sprinkle with lemon juice, then mix 2/3 cups of veg. oil, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1 cup of sugar and 4 eggs. Mix together and pour over the apples. Preheat oven to 350 bake for 1 hour and then mix 1 tsp. of cinnamon with 2 tbsp. sugar and sprinkle over while hot. Serve cold or warm- but must let sit for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Fresh Fruit/Nuts

And you can also search my blog for other favorites such as:
Baked Squash
Real Carrot Cookies
Moroccan Carrots
Nutella Balls
Apple Cranberry Crisp

All American Turkey Veggie Burgers (4th of July Post 3)

So most people like to eat burgers on the 4th of July and if you don't like to eat burgers well...don't take this the wrong way but you're weird. (Just kidding!) Burgers are a staple and with all the other food you're eating that day you need to try to cut calories where it can be done and what can be made healthy needs to be. So instead of reaching for the ground beef burger that is loaded with fat (not the good kind!) reach for a turkey veggie burger. Yes I know what you're thinking, "that sounds too healthy" well it is healthy but it is also so yummy, you'll never want a regular burger again! I promise!!!

Turkey Veggie Burgers (makes 6)

1 1 /2 pounds of 100% lean white ground turkey

1/2 onion chopped
2 large eggs
1 cup of quick oats
1 1/2 cup of canned mushrooms chopped
handful of fresh chopped spinach
1/2 cup of red pepper chopped 
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1. chop the onions, mushrooms, spinach and red pepper
2. mash the ground turkey meat
3. then mix the vegetables and turkey together
4. add in the garlic salt, eggs and oats
5. mix well and then form them into round 1 1/4 inch thick burgers
6. place on the grill and grill one each side for 5-6 minutes or until done.
7. serve on whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and condiments of your choice!!

Calories: (with the bun, let, tomato and onion) 350 calories! verses 550 calories- that's a 200 calorie saving and a whole lot of nutrition added!!

Wrap Party

Lunch time? What do you normally have? A sandwich? A salad? Soup? Too busy to eat anything? I feel you. Well a perfect change is a wrap. I know most of the time when people think of a wrap they think it's heavy and filling. They might associate with a lot calories since the wraps you get at a restaurant or the ones you may see at a party have about 220 calories and 45 grams of carbohydrates - and this is just in the wraps, then you have to think of all the fillings. Well my wraps are far from that. Here are four different wrap recipes- all of which you and anyone at your wrap party will love, love, love, love!!

You will always use Xtreme Wellness Wraps
(I like the tomato basil but they have spinach and regular as well)

Turkey and Pastrami Wrap
4 Xtreme Wellness Wraps
1 package of smoked fat free turkey deli
1 package of pastrami deli (cut off the fat trimmings)
1 large tomato
7 slices of lettuce
3 tbsp. of Helman's olive oil light mayo
2 1/2 tbsp. ketchup (Heinz without high  fructose corn syrup)

1. lay each wrap out on a plate
2. for each wrap take 4 slices of turkey and 4 slices of pastrami. fold them loosely and lay them on top of the other.
3. then cut the tomatoes in thin strips- place 6 slices on each wrap and then cut the lettuce into medium sized pieces and lay them on top.
4. mix the may and ketchup together and then scoop two scoops on each wrap- spreading it somewhat evenly.
5. then tightly roll the wraps. cut it diagonally
Serve and Enjoy!! 
 
Tuna Wraps
4 Xtreme Wellness Wraps
3 5oz cans of tuna (drained in water)
3 tbsp. of Helman's olive oil light mayo 
1 tomato 
7 slices of lettuce

1. lay each wrap on a plate
2. for each wrap put about 2 scoops of tuna
3. lay 2 slices of lettuce and 2 slices of tomato on each
4. then tightly roll the wraps and cut diagnoly