Taco Tuesday! Clean Eating Tacos!!

I know today is Wednesday... but, this was our dinner last night for Taco Tuesday!!  It's a favorite in our house!  It's the one meal that I know everyone gladly chows down every single week without complaining!  It's quick and easy and it's a winner all around and we never want to miss it!

Healthy Taco Tuesday

So, this recipe has evolved over the years as our family has grown and they now eat a LOT more food!!  What used to be my 1 lb of ground turkey meat suddenly wasn't enough to feed the masses!  So, I've had to find different ways of increasing bulk but not sacrificing taste or healthiness!

What I started doing, which has worked wonderfully, is adding black beans and brown rice to my ground turkey and it still tastes the same but makes the meat go a lot further!  The amount you add of each is totally up to you, depending on how far you need for the meal to go!!

Directions

• 1 lb ground turkey (browned)
• cooked brown rice (optional - and the amount can vary, I used probably 3-4 cups cooked)
• black beans (I use 2 cans drained)
• 21 Day Fix Taco seasoning (to taste)

After the meat and rice are cooked, mix all the above ingredients together until heated.

Toppings:

• Spinach or lettuce
• Avocado
• Cheese
• Greek Yogurt mixed with lime (instead of sour cream)
• Cilantro

21 Day Fix Approved Containers:

1 Red (ground turkey and greek yogurt combo)
2 Yellow (includes rice, beans and 2 corn tortillas)
1 Green (from tomatoes and spinach)
1 blue (1/2 from avocado, 1/2 from cheese)

Interested in joining a 21 Day Fix Challenge Group?  Click here to fill out an application!

My Kids' Favorite Green Smoothie!

It took some training…but I love that I have trained my kids to like healthy things.  But what they have realized, is that healthy doesn't mean gross!  In fact, their favorite after school snack is a "GREEN SMOOTHIE"!!  Yes, you heard it right…a green smoothie!

This is something that they actually request!  (And they know what kind of ingredients are in it!)

My Kids' Favorite Green Smoothie

Here's what's inside and the order from bottom to top:

• Handful of ice
• Large handful of spinach (if I have kale too I will throw some of that in also)
• 1 Orange, peeled (or a clementine, whichever I have)
• 1 lime, peeled
• 1 banana
• 1-1.5 cup of frozen pineapple
• Water (I fill the water to cover the amount of ice I've put in
• Few drops of liquid Stevia

BLEND WELL!

My kids HONESTLY LOVE this!!  Enjoy!!

Dinner…Plan "B" - Clean Baked Ziti

Well, even with the best of intentions on my meal plan…I was in such a rush this morning and TOTALLY forgot to put my crockpot meal IN the crockpot!  Ooops!!!  See…even with a meal plan sometimes you have to go to plan B!  That's ok…I'm going to make a "clean" Baked Ziti…It's a kid and hubby favorite.  (And, to be honest, I LOVE it too…sometimes I love it so much I make myself a different meal because I'll just keep eating it!!).

So, I know there are lots of ways to make this…complicated or easy…well, I go for the easy route.  This really is a "go-to" meal for me because it IS so easy.  It's a one dish meal, which I love and we can literally go through more than half of a 9x13 pan! (Yes, I have BIG eaters in my family).

Here it is…you can add spices if you want, but honestly, it tastes great the way I make it!  (That being said, I KNOW people have a way more gourmet way of doing this, but, remember people…I'm a busy mom and I go for EASE!!).

Clean Eating Baked Ziti

Clean Baked Ziti

Ingredients 

• 1 box of Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
• 32 oz jar of clean marinara sauce ( I use one from Costco that literally has 6 ingredients in it, yes, I'm sure it would be better for me to make my own, but I don't have time for that!)
• 1 lb of ground turkey, browned
• 1.5 - 2 cups of shredded low-fat mozzarella (divided)

  

  Marinara Sauce

Cook the pasta for about 7 minutes ( you want it a little under cooked), brown the ground turkey, mix all the ingredients together, (ground turkey, marinara sauce, pasta, 1/2 of the cheese).
Place in a 9x13 baking dish, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Bake for 25 minutes uncovered at 350 degrees.

Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken

I am a HUGE fan of the slow cooker.  It is a life saver for me and my family (if we want to eat dinner at night!).  I've always been a collector of slow cooker recipes and this is on of my family favorites…it's a winner with my hubby and my kids!  I love to serve this over brown rice and with a side of veggies!

Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon
• 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions

•  Put everything in the crockpot and place on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.  

I like to prepare mine and stick it in a freezer bag and freeze it, then pull it out and place it in the crockpot frozen and cook it for about 8 hours. 

Serve over brown rice with a side of veggies!  I like to shred our chicken before serving over the rice!
ENJOY!!