Healthy Eats: Snack Platter

So as I sit and write this, we are smack dab in the middle of Covid-19 stay at home orders. Even if you are reading this 20 years from now, you’ll likely remember this pandemic and the endless all-day snacking that most people couldn’t refrain from. We have some tricks to make your snacking a little more guilt-free and balanced for your macro needs. Give our snack platter a try – complete with protein, carbs, a bit of fat, and tons of nutrients.

We love fresh veggies dipped in ranch dressing or dip. While you can find low fat/low cal dips they aren’t always wholesome. We do our best to avoid too many “chemical” creations throughout the day. Wholesome is always best for us. So we like to make our own dip.

Ranch Greek Yogurt Dip

  • 1 cup plain, nonfat greek yogurt
  • 1/2-1 whole ranch dressing seasoning package (any brand is fine)

Stir the ingredients vigorously to remove any lumps and clumps from the seasoning packet. Greek yogurt is high in protein, moderate in carbs, and is a good base for many things that use mayonnaise like tuna salad or egg salad. Trick of the trade, replace your mayo with Greek yogurt and a little mustard – very satisfying!

Veggies are largely fair game. Of course there are vegetables with more nutrients than others, less carbs than others, but let’s be REAL, no one gets fat from eating carrots. So wash and slice your favorite veggies – radishes, peppers, grape tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers – these are all really yummy with the ranch dip.

I love chips! The crunch, the salty seasoning, the happiness that spreads through me when I eat them – half kidding half serious! So here comes my find of the century – FLEX chips. They come in 3 different flavors and it is hard to believe they are pretty good for you. Made from plant based protein, they are low in carbs and calories and pack a decent amount of protein in them.

This snack platter has a balanced macronutrient breakdown. You can eat a lot of this and not feel bad! You’ll be having a “meal plan approved” snack. I bet you’ll feel so much better about your eating habits by replacing today’s snacks with the healthier version!

We have tons of recipes and healthy EATS to satisfy your palate!

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

Healthy Eats: Grilled Tofu & Vegetables

Well I’ll just come right out and say it, I used to be very anti-tofu. I’m not sure why. I guess in my head I determined I had eaten it and disliked it. I’m not sure I had even tried it, and now that it has become a weekly staple in our house. Typically, I use extra firm tofu and slice it into equal portions. I then season it and either grill it or broil it. The result is grilled tofu with a texture mixed between chicken and feta cheese. It tastes great the next day as a protein topper on a cold salad or warm with a plant-based (or regular) pasta dish. I was surprised how much I actually like tofu and I think if you give it a try you might be too!

Again, I think the variety of tofu matters. For us, the extra firm has the right texture, moisture, and macronutrient breakdown (see picture of label below). It’s easy to slice it into 5 equal (as equal as possible) chunks then season with some yummy spices (we like Penzey’s.com) and pop on the grill or under the broiler. We do the same to our vegetables. Season generously and grill or broil.

Since I’m on the topic of seasoning, we get asked a lot about SALT. “I know I shouldn’t have much salt” is something I hear almost daily. The truth is the body needs sodium and as long as you aren’t adding excessive amounts to your food you are probably well within the recommendations for daily intake. If you have a heart condition or high blood pressure, then regulating your salt intake is a bit more critical. If you do not have these ailments, then adding a bit of salt or seasoning that has salt to your veggies should be fine. Make the healthy food taste good so you’ll want to eat the healthy food! One thing we do avoid is adding salt to regular grocery store meat (chicken, pork, steak, etc.). These meats are preserved with a sodium solution that already has plenty of salt in it. So just add salt-free seasoning to your meats.

So if you’re looking for the recipe here, sorry there really isn’t one. Just slice the tofu (extra firm) into proportion depending on what the label says, then season and grill or broil. It doesn’t take long…give it a few minutes on each side. You can also squeeze a bit of fresh lemon on it while its cooking – yum! Pair it with your favorite vegetables and if you’re macros allow for it, add a bean pasta to it. We’ve tried many, the spaghetti varieties have the best numbers, lower on carbs, higher on protein. Here is a picture of the black bean box and label. They have several flavors and several different brands make this pasta now.

There’s more where this recipe came from! Click here to check out additional health EATS!

*The exact portions will vary per person. If you’re wondering how much tofu you get and whether you can add pasta to it, contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

Healthy Eats: Plant based sausage, egg & rice bake

Part of shifting our eating to “partially plant-based” is redoing some of our favorite meals to utilize less (or no) animal proteins and more plant based proteins. My husband, Justin, has a few favorites that needed to be adjusted. First things first, BREAKFAST, the very most important meal of the day. In our regular egg and rice bake there is 3 whole eggs and 1 1/4 cups of egg whites. There’s also cheesy goodness too. In general there is a lot of animal proteins and fats. A quick redo and our plant-based sausage, egg & rice bake is not only healthier and more sustainable for the environment but it also TASTES better!

Here’s how to put it together. You’ll need the following ingredients:

  • 1 cup of cooked white or brown rice
  • 2 TBSP rice flour (or regular white flour)
  • 2 whole egg
  • 1/3 cup liquid egg whites
  • 2 plant based sausage links (see pictures – Aldi brand) ** These are the best plant-based sausage links! If you can’t find them, try to find an alternative with similar numbers on the nutrition panel! **
  • 1 tsp hot sauce

Stir together cooked rice, rice flour, and 2 whole eggs. Spread into the bottom of a loaf pan. Cut up your frozen sausage (lightly cooked in the microwave first) and place on top of the rice crust. Whisk together egg whites and hot sauce and evenly pour on top of the crust and sausage. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes depending on your oven. There should be no jiggle left when you shake the pan!

Each egg bake should be 1-2 meals depending on your macronutrient needs. *The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day! There is no need to guess at how much or how often you should eat – let us help you eat right for your body type and goals!

All of the Check Total Health “Healthy Eats” are created and tested by us! Try our other recipes here.

Healthy Eats: Chickpea Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

If there are cookies being made there is not a chance I didn’t try the dough. In fact, given the choice, I’d rather have the dough than the cookies any day! It took me a few batches of my Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookie Bars before it dawned on me that the yummy dough could be left raw and divided into equal portions. So now that’s what I do, I make a few batches of the cookie bars for the whole family then a smaller batch of just dough for me and the kids since my husband has no interest in the dough! Guys, the kids go nuts for both the cookies and the dough. It’s a sneaky way to get some healthy proteins from the garbanzo beans and the pea protein instead of hot dogs, chicken fingers, and pepperoni. I know I can’t be the only mom who struggles with getting my kids to eat the healthier things in life!

This dough has the same ingredients as the cookie bars, minus the baking powder, and the same simple process to put it all together. And since there are only pasteurized egg whites and no whole eggs, this is safe to eat uncooked! Here’s how this dough comes together:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cans of Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup of natural peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup of pasteurized egg whites (we buy these in the carton)
  • 2 servings of pea protein powder (we buy Naked brand and use 4 total scoops to get the 2 servings)
  • 3 TBSP mini chocolate chips
  • 2 TBSP cup agave nectar

In a large food processor add the drained and rinsed beans, peanut butter, pea protein powder, agave nectar and baking powder. Pulse until starting to combine then drizzle in the egg whites until a nice thick dough forms. If there are some small chunks of the beans left, that’s fine, they end up tasting like peanuts! The dough will be thick so you may have to scoop some into a bowl before you can lift out the blade and empty the mixing bowl completely. Then use your hands or a strong spoon to fold in the chocolate chips.  Divide the dough into 6 portions of approximately 3.75 oz each. Store in small containers and keep refrigerated.

The macros are the same whether it’s dough or cookie bar! This Chickpea Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough has 300 calories, 20 g of protein, 30 g of carbs, 13 g of fat per serving. Again, you should end up with six servings.

We’ve been making healthy food taste oh so good since 2008. Try our recipes, they will not disappoint even the most discerning palette.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day! There is no need to guess at how you should eat – let us help you eat right for your body type and goals!

Healthy Eats: Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Do you love the classic peanut butter/chocolate chip combination? I know I do and I always have. How about cookies? Could you eat your way through a pan of homemade cookies? I can and I always could! So what if we made the cookies a complete meal with good carbs from chickpeas (garbanzo beans) instead of flour, good sweetness from natural peanut butter and agave nectar instead of white sugar, and healthy protein from egg whites and pea protein powder? We knocked this recipe out of the park. These Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookie Bars are sweet, filling and satisfying. Here’s how to whip them up…

Chickpea Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans of Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup of natural peanut butter
  • 1 cup of pasteurized egg whites (we buy these in the carton)
  • 4 servings of pea protein powder (we buy Naked brand and use 8 total scoops to get the 4 servings)
  • 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup agave nectar
  • 2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large food processor add the drained and rinsed beans, peanut butter, pea protein powder, agave nectar and baking powder. Pulse until starting to combine then drizzle in the egg whites until a nice thick dough forms. If there are some small chunks of the beans left, that’s fine, they end up tasting like peanuts! The dough will be very thick so you’ll have to scoop some into a bowl before you can lift out the blade and empty the mixing bowl completely. Then use your hands or a very strong spoon to fold in the chocolate chips. Use your hands to press into a 8×11 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes depending on oven. You do not want to over-bake these, they will be dry. If baked just right they should be a little soft like a perfect cookie bar!

Cut the bars into 12 equal portions. I just eyeball it and try to get as close as possible. I have eaten for breakfast, lunch, post workout, snack, etc. They are great anytime of the day and ooohhh so delicious with a cup of coffee. Here’s the numbers we’re working with for your macros: 300 calories, 20 g of protein, 30 g of carbs, 13 g of fat. I hope you enjoy my Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookie Bars as much as I do. If you’re more a fan of dough than cookies, see my recipe edits to just enjoy the dough!

Healthy food can taste great too and we know how to do it! Try our other tasty healthy EATS by clicking here.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day! There is no need to guess at how you should eat – let us help you eat right for your body type and goals!

Healthy Eats: Partially Plant Based Macro Nutrition

There is a food movement picking up steam and it’s called plant based eating. It seems I get asked almost daily what I think about plant based nutrition. For two fitness professionals (my husband Justin and myself) who have followed macro-based meal planning for nearly a decade, we personally took an interest in the concept and wondered if it would be possible to reduce animal based proteins and still live by our macro-based nutrition plans? For years we thought there was no way we could eat enough protein from plants and beans to still “hit our numbers”. We couldn’t imagine a meal plan that didn’t feature chicken and turkey as it’s main protein sources. Could we add more plant based proteins, healthy seafoods, etc. and reduce animal based proteins?

Aside from growing tired of chicken, pork, and turkey, we had some plant based inspiration from two documentaries. We were a little late to the game, watching 2008 documentary Food, Inc. just last year in 2019. This movie examines the US agricultural business and claims that the food is unhealthy and produced in a manner harmful to our environment and abusive to both people and animals. To say we were turned off from livestock would be an understatement. We had already had our issues with chicken texture, quality, taste, etc., but to see how they are raised, kept and slaughtered was really icing on the cake. Of course there was still the issue of how could we possibly eat enough beans to hit our protein needs? So next, at the end of 2019 we watched the incredibly popular 2018 documentary The Game Changers which follows elite athletes not just surviving but thriving on plant-based nutrition. For years we’ve thought only protein from animals could sustain muscle mass but now our wheels started turning that maybe plant based alternatives could at least partially serve our protein needs and allow us to reduce/eliminate livestock.

So shortly after Christmas 2019 we decided to 86 chicken, pork and turkey from our macro-based weekday cooking. Trust me that was a lot of our everyday eating. If you look through my recipes on my Healthy Eats blog there are many that feature these proteins. So for the past month and a half we’ve filled our protein macros with bean pastas, tofu, fish/seafood, lentils, chickpeas, eggs, grass-fed beef/bison/elk, and nuts. I know we aren’t the first to coin the term “partially plant-based” but it really is how we are eating now. We focus more on the quality of food and less on the quantity of meat. We’re developing yummy recipes that go beyond just beans and allow for us to still live within our macro-based nutrition. Soon, we’ll have a “partially plant based” recipe section to compliment our other clean eating recipes so you too can dabble in the nutrition that has us feeling great.

We are by no means suggesting everyone should boycott chicken, pork and turkey but for us it just felt like it was time for a change. It’s only been about a month and a half with these changes in place so are we stronger, leaner, healthier? Well it’s hard to answer that because we were already in a good spot health wise. We’ve kept lean physiques for years with our macro-based nutrition. We eat clean and train mean all week long then we live life to the fullest on the weekends. We love to have fun with our family & friends which includes delicious eats and drinks on the weekend. So for us it wasn’t about losing weight or even growing muscle; for us it was about changing the quality of our macro intakes. So far so good. We feel well fed, the food is yummy, and workouts have by no means suffered, you could even say they’ve been better fueled.

We are now more informed and better educated on the concept of plant-based eating. You could certainly go full plant-based and still live by a macro plan. For us, partially plant-based is where we are most comfortable but who knows, we could go “all in” at some point! Stay tuned for recipe inspiration…

Healthy Eats: Cabbage Steaks

I first discovered Cabbage Steaks when I was making a delicious St. Patty’s day dinner for hubby and me. I needed a nice side dish to compliment my corned beef hash. The recipe I found for cabbage steaks brushed both sides with oil, topped with salt, pepper and garlic and roasted in the oven. They were delicious and an immediate hit in our house.

Since macro-based meal planning is what we do and how we eat, I decided to remove the oil from the cooking process and hoped the cabbage steaks would still be delicious. Spoiler alert – they were! So now we make the cabbage steaks sans the oil, just a little cooking spray on the pan. The rest of the process is similar and the cabbage is a staple a few nights a week.

Here’s how to roast up your very own meal plan approved cabbage steaks:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Pick a nice medium head of cabbage from the store. Remove the outer layers of loose leaves (usually one to two layers should do it).
  3. Slice the cabbage into 3/4 – 1 inch “steaks”.
  4. Spray cooking spray on foil or parchment lined baking sheet. Then place cabbage steaks on the sheet.
  5. Generously add seasoning. We’ve tried many different combinations. Simple salt, pepper and garlic is perfect, or pictured here is “everything but the bagel” seasoning. You really can’t go wrong – be creative and let me know of any winning combinations!
  6. Add cabbage steaks to the oven and set your timer for 25-30 minutes. Use tongs to flip the cabbage steaks over and lightly re-season the new side of the steaks. They may lose a little of their “steak shape” once flipped. That’s okay – they will still taste incredible!
  7. Return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes. You may want to broil the cabbage steaks at the very end to get a little color on them. 

The cabbage steaks have a buttery taste to them and are so amazing with turkey meatballs. We hope you’ll like this recipe as much as we do.

Check our our entire index of Healthy Eats!

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

 

Healthy Eats: Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

There are two main reasons to avoid cooking with oil:

  1. The composition of oil changes when its heated up and toxins can be released depending on the boiling point of the oil
  2. It’s hard to know how much oil is in your portion of food once the dish is finished. Keeping close watch on your fats, carbs, and proteins is very important in macro-based meal planning.

I get asked often how to saute vegetables without adding oil. It’s simple really, add other things that are meal plan approved. In this dish – Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms – I use soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. That’s it – no salt, no pepper – nothing else! These veggies are an amazing topper to steak, ground beef, grilled chicken, salad, etc. The flavor is rich and delicious, you won’t miss the oil one bit!

Here’s how I prepare the Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms. First chop your large onion into medium size wedges then separate each layer. Next slice your mushrooms or buy the pre-sliced mushrooms and simply open the pack! Place onions and mushrooms in the saute pan and add your liquids. I add approximately 1 TBSP each of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce and about 1/2 TBSP of the Worcestershire sauce (for one large onion and one regular size pack of sliced Portabello mushrooms). Then turn your pan on to high heat. You’ll saute until the liquid is pretty much gone and the mushrooms and onions have a nice golden brown color to them. It should take about 6-8 minutes total on high heat.

The Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms are so easy to make and truly delicious. Add them to your healthy cooking this week!

We create our recipes and fine tune them for macro-based eating that tastes great too! For additional Healthy EATS, click here!

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

 

Healthy Eats: Meatballs & Cabbage

I’m getting more and more dependent on meals I can prepare in advance so my husband can just pop in the oven if I’m still at work or busy with the kids! I love when the whole meal can be in one tinfoil pan too. This means easy to cook and easy to clean up…for a working mom it doesn’t get much better than that! I usually spend one day each week prepping a few pre-made pans of food for the nights I work late. Turkey meatballs and cabbage has become one of our very favorites for flavor and ease of preparation!

In my recipe for EASY Stuffed Peppers I explain that ground meat loses about 25% of its weight when cooked. So if you’re measuring your meat raw you need to account for this decrease. For the Meatballs & Cabbage recipe I measure 4 oz +/- for each meatball. So if you have a package of 40 oz of ground turkey (Sam’s and Costco sized packages) then you should get 10 meatballs.

Again, super easy to assemble. I take a head of cabbage and remove the outer 1-2 leaves. Then slice into thin “steaks” and place in the bottom of tinfoil pans. Usually 1 head of cabbage will make two pans for me. Then I thinly slice a sweet onion and spread around the two pans as well. I season the vegetables with salt, garlic powder and pepper. Before I portion out the meatballs I season with Italian seasoning or a mixture of whatever spices I have on hand. I’m a big fan of the Penzey’s salt free blends! Place the meatballs on top of the cabbage and onions. Add 1-2 TBSP of low sugar tomato sauce to the top of the meatballs and bake uncovered at 400-425 degrees (depends on your oven) for 55 min-1 hour.

Some helpful notes:

5 meatballs per pan seems to be the max to not have too much liquid cook out and saturate the cabbage. Add your fat portion after the meatballs are cooked. We love feta or Parmesan on the meatballs & cabbage meal but you could also drizzle a good quality olive oil!

We have so many healthy EATS that you can make right in your own kitchen!

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

 

Healthy Eats: EASY Stuffed Peppers

So there’s stuffed peppers then there’s EASY stuffed peppers. If you’re looking for the easy way to make this meal, then you’re in the right place! In my regular recipe, I first cook the ground turkey. It’s something I thought was necessary for portion control. Turns out, after some research, there is consistency that ground turkey/beef in general loses 25% of its weight when cooked. So, if you measure each raw portion of meat to be 4 oz, then cooked it will be 3 oz which just happens to be a perfect fit in a small to medium pepper.

How to Prepare:

For the EASY stuffed peppers, all you do is clean the peppers and remove the top and inside membranes and seeds. Season your ground lean meat with Italian seasoning. I also like to add fennel seeds as it makes the meat taste and smell like sausage when its cooked! Measure your raw meat to be 4oz give or take a little and stuff it into the pepper. Top with a few tablespoons of low sugar tomato sauce and 1-2 oz of cheese of your choice. You can also wait and add the cheese after the EASY stuffed peppers are cooked. Feta is one of my favorite cheeses to top with!

Bake the peppers at 400 degrees uncovered for approximately one hour. Let cool slightly before serving. Make a few pans up ahead of time with chopped vegetables and you’ll have easy weeknight healthy cooking ready to go for your family!

Check out more healthy EATS recipes here!

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!