Black Bean and Lentil Burgers (Vegetarian, Low Fat, Whole Grain, Clean Eating)

• 1 cup black beans, (canned or cooked)
• 1 cup lentils (cooked)
• 1 cup oatmeal (uncooked)
• 2 ribs Celery (finely diced)
• 1 small Onion (finely diced)
• 1 cup Mushrooms (finely diced)
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• (play with the spices, have fun)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup veggie broth
• 2 tbs of ground flax seed
• 3tbs of warm water

1. Combine ground flax seed with 3tbs of warm water. Set aside and let it gel a little.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350
3. Have a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper ready to go.
4. Put cooked beans and lentil in a big mixing bowl and mash them.
5. Add oatmeal. Mix oatmeal with the bean really well.
6. Add Celery, Onion, and Mushrooms (you can cook them first if you like, dice them first and then put them in a pan with a little water or low sodium vegetable broth and cook them till the are done, no need to add any oil)
7. Add spices
8. Add liquid
9. Add flax. (be sure to follow instructions).
10. Mix every thing together really well
11. Use your hands to form into patties.
12. Put patties on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
13. Cook in the oven for 15-20  minutes or until they are looking slightly crispy on the top. You can try flipping them half way through.
14. Serve on a nice whole grain bun with all of your favorite burger accessories, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, tomato,hummus, ketchup, mustard, really just go wild. You can also serve it on a nice bed of leafy greens. Also, serve with baked sweet potato fries, it will make for an even happier experience.
15. This should make 4-5 decent sized burgers or 8-10 smaller burgers. You can freeze them as well.
16. *Tips: Too crumbly? Add more liquid. Too watery? Add more starch.

Cabbage on the Grill (Vegetarian, low carb, clean eating, low fat, high fiber)

• 1 large head cabbage
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, or to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat grill for medium heat.
2. Cut the cabbage into 8 wedges, and remove the core. 
3. Place all the wedges on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap the cabbage. 
4. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. 
5. Seal cabbage in the foil.
6. Grill for 30 to 40 minutes on the preheated grill, until tender.

Easy Pasta Sauce (Vegetarian, low fat, clean eating, high fiber)

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 large tomatoes, cubed
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1. In a skillet over medium-low heat, saute onion and garlic in the vegetable oil. 
2. Place tomatoes into onion and garlic mixture. 
3. Stir in diced bell pepper, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. 
4. Let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn down heat if it starts to stick.
5. Serve over whole grain pasta

Options:

• You can use canned tomatoes if you prefer 
• After the sauce is cooked,  you can puree the sauce to make a thick sauce for pasta

Smothered Cabbage (fat free, vegetarian, high fibre, clean eating)

• 1 head cabbage
• 1 or 2 yellow cooking onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt, pepper
• little water or broth
• drizzle of maple syrup or honey

1. Take cabbage, discard the core, and cut the leaves into thin shreds.
2. Slice onions.
3. Press cloves of garlic.
4. Water saute the onions and garlic until they start to caramelize.
5. Add the cabbage shreds and stir/turn so it gets coated with the onions.
6. Once the cabbage wilts (and it wilts down a whole lot) add salt, pepper, a little water or broth, and a drizzle of maple syrup.
7. Cover the pan tightly, turn the heat down to a low simmer and cook for at least 1-1/2 hours, or longer.   
8. You may want to take the cover off toward the end to allow the moisture to mostly evaporate. 
9. At the start the pan is probably too full to stir, so it is good to keep covered it until the cabbage started to wilt down. By the time the cooking was completed the pan was only about 1/3 full, so it cooks down a lot.
10. The cabbage should be completely wilted and soft and starting to caramelize, and the liquid should be mostly cooked away. 
11. Taste and correct seasoning.

Great as is for a side dish or as a topping for baked potatoes, or in a soup with rice.

Cornbread (vegetarian, fat free, clean eating, high fiber)

Yummy served with chili!

preheat oven to 425*F

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup whole grain medium grind corn meal (bob's red mill)
• 1 tbsp flax seed meal
• 2 tbsp sugar (or honey or sweetener of choice)
• 1 cup of soy milk
• 3/4 cup of water ( or you can just do 1 3/4 cups of soy milk)
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

1. lightly grease pan (you can use something like this):

2. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
3. Pour into pan.
4. bake for about 25 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean from the center.

Chicken Stir Fry with Veggies (Paleo, Low Carb, Low fat, Trim Healthy Mama E or FP)

Ingredients:

• 2 large skinless chicken breasts cubed,
• 1/4 - 1/2 cabbage sliced thin,
• 2 carrots sliced, (you can substitute broccoli for a lower carb version)
• 1 large onion diced into large pieces,
• 4 cloves garlic minced,
• 1-2 inches ginger minced,
• fish sauce,
• oyster sauce,
• olive oil

1. On med-hight heat, heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in pan for a minute and add onions and breast.
2. Cook stirring frequently for 4 minutes or until you can no longer see pink on the breast.
3. Add the garlic and carrots and fry for another 3-4 minutes stirring frequently.
4. Add cabbage and stir briefly to incorporate and cover.
5. Let the stir fry alone now for 3-4 minutes. Uncover and check for doneness.
6. At this point, the cabbage is probably not ready yet, stir it around to make sure all the cabbage gets direct heat from the pan and recover for a few more minutes.
7. Check and again for doneness. Repeat this until the cabbage is done to your liking. I like it al dente, and this usually only takes 7 minutes or so. The chicken and the other ingredients don't suffer at all if you need to let the cabbage cook longer.
8. Turn off the heat and open your bottle of fish sauce. I usually add a really good long squirt (3 seconds) all around the pan and then put the bottle on the dinner table in case anyone else needs more to their taste.
9. Then take your bottle of oyster sauce and dab 4 or 5 - one tablespoon sized dabs. Stir the stir fry around to incorporate these seasonings.
10. Finish with a little white pepper if you wish and serve!

We enjoy this with quinoa for an E, or you can serve with cauli rice for a fuel pull or lower carb version (the fat content is negligible and and there are two carrots and an onion in here, but I don't THINK there would be enough fats or carbs to take it out of the fuel pull category).

5-6 generous servings.

Skinny Peanut Butter Chocolate (low carb, clean eating, Trim Healthy Mama S)

•  4 tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
• 1-2 tbsp organic cocoa
• sprinkle of sea salt
• splash of vanilla extract

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  
2. If your coconut oil is at a solid, heat gently to make stirring easier.  
3. Put 2 lightly salted almonds in each well of an ice cube tray and poured the heated skinny chocolate on top.
4. P.S. This recipe makes 8 large cubes and each cube is 90 cals, 9 grams fat, 2 grams protein, and 1 carb. A majorly delicious (S) .

NOTE:  This does not call for sweetener.   The peanut butter makes it sweet enough for me.  However, if you do use sweetener, I would grind it first.  Otherwise the chocolate is gritty. 

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore (low carb, low fat, clean eating, THM E)

• 4 - 8 skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 10 oz pkg of sliced fresh mushrooms
• dried oregano
• thyme
• sweetener of choice
• black pepper, and sea salt to taste
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 29 oz can of tomato sauce (or canned crushed tomatoes)
• cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper to taste
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper

1. Place your chicken into your slow cooker.
2. Throw in onion.
3. Smash and chop garlic cloves
4. Add mushrooms
5. Add a few hefty pinches of dried oregano and thyme.
6. Add a few pinches of sweetener or honey
7. Add few good pinches or several cracks of black pepper, and sea salt to taste
8. Add tomato paste
9. Add tomato sauce
10. Add cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper to taste
11. Stir and cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 (ish).
12. Halfway through cooking time, chop and add green and red peppers.
13. You want meat tender, cooked, and falling off the bone or falling apart if boneless, break meat apart, and stir.

Wonderful served over thinly sliced and sauteed cabbage along with a sprinkle of parm or part skim mozzerella.

Cheeseburger Soup (low carb, low fat, Paleo, Trim Healthy Mama S)

• 2 lbs of lean ground turkey (or lean ground beef)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella
• spinach, chopped (to taste, as much or as little as you like)

1. Cooked ground meat with onion and garlic in a skillet. 
2. Added cauliflower and cook it until the cauliflower was cooked al dente. 
3. Pour this into a crockpot and added chicken broth, cream, garlic powder. 
4. After letting it simmer (approx 2 hours), add shredded mozzarella and spinach and leave it alone until dinner time (approx 2 hours). 

Lasagna Style Spaghetti Squash (low carb, clean eating, low fat, healthy)

Ingredients:

1. 1 spaghetti squash
2. 1 lb ground turkey
3. 2 cups of your favorite pasta sauce (sugar free)
4. 2 tablespoons fresh basil
5. ½ cup low fat ricotta cheese
6. ½ cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese (plus extra for topping)
7. salt & pepper

Roast the squash

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. 
• Wash spaghetti squash, cut off stem and slice squash lengthwise. 
• Scoop out the seeds and gunk. (save the seeds and roast them!)
• Season with salt and pepper, and place in baking dish (9×13 works well) with a little water in the bottom of the dish — as the squash cooks, you can add more water if it dries up. 
• Roast for 45-60 minutes, depending on squash size, or until inside is soft and easily “fluffs” with a fork. It will look like very tiny spaghetti noodles.

While squash is roasting:

• Brown ground turkey in large skillet over medium heat. 
• Remove sausage from the pan drain and set aside.
• Add sauce to the pan and simmer. Add the ground turkey back into the sauce.
• In a bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and fresh basil, set aside.

When squash is tender:

• Remove from oven and using a fork, scoop, fluff, flake, scrape, whatever you’d like to call it, to get the inside of the squash to look like spaghetti noodles. 
• You don’t have to get at ALL of the squash, you can scoop more later when you get to the bottom after it’s been filled and you’re enjoying it for dinner.

Now we FILL THEM:

• Start with a scoop of the red sauce
• follow with a layer of the cheese mixture, (you can add extra mozzarella on each layer too!) 
• Repeat the layers until you’ve over filled your squash, ending with a layer of red sauce and then topping them with mozzarella. Totally over fill these.

The cook them: 

• Turn the oven to broil and put them back in to brown up the cheesy top. Enjoy

Zucchini Lasagna (low carb, low cholesterol, clean eating)

Ingredients:

• 4-6 zucchini
• Fat-free or lowfat ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3-4 cups grated fat-free or lowfat mozzarella

For the sauce:

• 1 can each diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste
• cloves of garlic [ to taste, usually at least 6-8], chopped
• 1 onion, minced
• diced mushrooms [1-2 cups]
• Turkey sausage or ground turkey [maybe a pound]
• 1 cup of beef broth
• Fresh or dried basil, oregano, thyme ... whatever herbs you have
• Salt, pepper,

1. Heat a little olive oil in a pan. Add onions and saute until they start to soften. 
2. Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds to a minute, before it gets browned, add turkey and crumble in the pan with a spatula, and saute until cooked, about 3 minutes. 
3. Add mushrooms (and any diced veggies if you are adding them) and saute another few minutes. 
4. Add tomatoes, herbs, and beef broth; bring to a simmer and then reduce to low heat. 
5. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until onions are really tender.
6. While the sauce cooks, heat the oven to 450 degrees. Slice the zucchini into 1/4 slices, spray with a little olive oil (like PAM Olive Oil Spray), salt, pepper, and herbs over them, and bake until they're tender. Remove and lower oven to 350.
7. Mix an egg into the ricotta [you need about 2 cups of ricotta, or more for a larger baking dish]. Set aside, along with the cheese.
8. In a rectangular pan, spread a little of the sauce on the bottom [maybe easier if you pick out chunks of turkey in this layer] - just enough to lightly coat the bottom to keep the zucchini from sticking. 
9. Place slices of the zucchini along the bottom, overlapping them as you would with lasagna noodles to create a continuous layer.
10. Very gently, using a spatula, spread a layer of the ricotta/egg mixture over the zucchini. You have to finesse it a little to not move your zucchinis around.
11. Spread a layer of the red sauce over the ricotta. Again, do it gently so you don't mix everything up into a mush. Sprinkle mozzarella over the sauce [a decent amount] and then some of the parmesan to fill in the holes, so to speak.
12. Add another layer of the zucchini slices over the cheese, and repeat in the same order, ending with a layer of cheeses on the top [you should have enough for 2 or 3 layers]. 
13. Cover with foil and bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the pan. 
14. Remove the foil and bake another 15-20 minutes so the cheese gets melted, bubbly, and golden. 
15. Remove from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes.

Salsa Cheddar Chicken (clean eating. low fat, low carb)

• Non-stick Spray
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup or so of salsa
• 1 cup or so of reduced fat cheddar cheese, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.
2. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat.
3. Spray with non-stick spray and add chicken.
4. Sear it until it is well browned, flip and sear the other side.
5. Place browned chicken in a 9" x 13" baking pan.
6. Spoon the salsa over the breasts.
7. Sprinkle the cheddar over top and bake for 15-20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and cheese has melted.

Tex-Mex Chile con Carne

1 kg boneless pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and silver skin, cut in large cubes
2 tbsp coconut flour
2 tsp salt
pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Jalapeño peppers
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2 - 4 Anaheim or banana chiles
1 tsp chili powder (or 2 fresh serrano chiles)
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp dried oregano
¼ c chopped coriander leaves
800g chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh)
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups beef or chicken stock
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Heat the oil in a large heavy casserole
D redge the meat with the coconut flour, salt and pepper and brown in the fat. Remove the meat to a bowl.
Meanwhile prepare all of the peppers by de-seeding and chopping.
Add more fat to the pan if necessary and sauté the onions and garlic until transparent. Add the peppers and stir 5 minutes until they start to soften.
Mix the spices and herbs together and add to the pan, stir 1 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients including the meat, stir to combine well.
Bring to a steady simmer and cook about 2 ½ hours until the meat is very tender and the liquid thickened. Or bake in a moderate oven for about 3 hours. 1/2 hour before serving add cocoa. 

Serve with all the usual Tex-Mex trimmings - guacamole, fat free sour cream, grated reduced fat cheese, and coriander leaves.

Guacamole (Paleo, Low Carb, clean eating, low cholesterol)

Ingredients

• 1 large zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large ripe avocado, cubed
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco, or more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Place zucchini in a microwave-safe dish, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave on High until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. 
2. Drain in a sieve, pressing lightly on the zucchini to extract any liquid.
3. Transfer the zucchini to a large bowl; add avocado, cilantro, onion, garlic, lime juice, hot sauce and salt and coarsely mash until combined.
4. Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Easy Stir Fry (low carb, clean eating, Paleo, low fat)

Here's an easy recipe with ground beef and broccoli slaw!  Quick and yummy too!  This one is way too easy:

• 2 pound Lean Ground Beef
• 1 (12 ounce) bag broccoli coleslaw mix 
• 1 tsp. ginger, chopped fine
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Sweetener or honey to taste
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• salt or pepper, if desired 

1. Spray pan with non-stick spray and cook the burger until crumbly. 
2. Add the ginger and add garlic.  Cook for a few moments and then add the broccoli slaw. 
3. Stir fry the whole thing until the broccoli is done to your liking. 
4. Add soy sauce and sweetener, and continue to cook until sweetener is dissolved and liquid is absorbed. Taste test, and determine whether or not you'd like to add more splenda, soy sauce, or salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings accordingly.
5. Place in serving bowl, and top with toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately. Serves one.

NOTE:  Adjust amounts to your liking, of course. You can use just the burger and slaw, add cheddar cheese to the mix (no ginger or soy sauce, unless you like that sort of recipe) or add Tabasco to it. I think it's pretty versatile and extremely easy to get your serving of veggies with the meat.

NOTE: To toast pine nuts, I placed them in a heavy pan, over medium-low heat, and tossed and shook the pan to keep them moving, until they started to show some browning and until they started to smell toasted and more intense.

Enjoy! I hope to hear from someone if they like this recipe.

Cheesecake (low carb, clean eating, low fat)

 

• 3-8 oz. packages reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup Sweetener of choice
• 3 egg whites (or non-fat egg product from dairy case)
• zest of 1 lemon, minced, optional
• zest of 1 orange, minced, optional
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons condensed fat free milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 9 inch springform pan with non-stick spray.
2. Beat cream cheese well with electric mixer until smooth. 
3. Slowly beat in sweetener. 
4. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. 
5. Add remaining ingredients. 
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 10 minutes. 
7. Turn heat down to 275 and bake for 1 hour. 
8. Turn off oven and run knife around edge of pan and return to oven to cool slowly. 
9. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight up to 3 days.

Mexican Lettuce Wraps (Low Carb, clean eating, paleo, low fat, healthy)

• 1 lb lean ground beef 
• 1 lb lean ground turkey 
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 green onions chopped
• 20 large iceberg lettuce leaves, whole, washed and dried (you could use romaine, or Bibb lettuce)
• 1 cup reduced fat cheddar or monterey jack cheese, shredded (I used a mixture of both)
• 1 cup fat free sour cream
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 large avocado, diced

1. In a large pan over medium heat add the ground beef. Cook until lightly browned. Drain if there's excess grease.
2. Add the white part of the green onions to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. 
3. Add onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes more.
4. To assemble the wraps, top a lettuce leaf with taco meat, shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, and the green tops of the green onions.

This recipe yields 10 wraps each with 1.6 Net carbs

Instant Flax Meal Peanut Butter Hot Cereal (low carb, Paleo, high fiber)

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 C flax seed meal
• 1/2 C boiling water
• 2 T peanut butter (or nut butter of choice for Paleo)
• 1/4 t cinnamon

1. Pour boiling water over flax seed meal and stir well.
2. Stir in peanut butter and cinnamon.
3. Let thicken for 1 to 2 minutes. Eat.

Nutritional Analysis: Each recipe has 5 grams of effective carbohydrate plus 10 grams of fiber, 14 grams protein, 29 grams fat, and 351 calories.

Pudding in a mug (paleo, low carb, lower fat)

• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp cream
• 2 Tbsp cocoa
• 1 Tbsp granulated splenda (or honey or Stevia to taste)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp oil

1. Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe container. 
2. Microwave 1-2 mins depending on your microwave. 
3. Best to start with a smaller time to avoid over doing. 
4. Great warm with some whipped cream and sugar free syrup.

Options

• Try a 1/2 cocoa & 1/2 instant coffee mix instead for a Moccha version
• Push in a few frozen berries
• Drop in some small chunks of high cocoa solid chocolate (like 80% Lindt)

Fajita Stir Fry (Paleo, Clean Eating, Low Fat, Healthy)

• 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 T. lime juice
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 pounds lean trimmed sirloin beef, sliced thinly sliced against the grain into 1-inch wide strips
• 1 small yellow onion, cut into small wedges
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into quarter-inch strips
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into quarter-inch strips
• 1 medium plum tomato, diced
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Place meat in bottom of glass dish
   Combine 2 Tbsp water with garlic, lime juice, chili powder, and cumin in jar and shake well: pour over meat and marinate at least 2 hours in the refrigerator
   Heat oil in skillet over medium flame
   Add meat strips in single layer and cook without stirring, one minute
   Turn and continue cooking for one additional minute
   Add onion and peppers and continue to cook for four minutes, stirring occasionally
   Put tomato into skillet: cook one minute
   Sprinkle with cilantro, remove from heat and cool three minutes