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Healthy Eats: Peanut Butter Chocolate Pudding

Who would have thought that cottage cheese could have the texture of pudding and the flavor of cheesecake? Not me! As a kid I was incredibly grossed out by cottage cheese. The texture, the taste, pretty much everything about it. But, after some time in the food processor with other delicious ingredients, cottage cheese is the perfect backbone to a peanut butter chocolate pudding. And the macros on this little number put it as HEALTHY! The recipe is simple, and you can either keep the pudding in the fridge or try freezing it to make it more of an ice cream. The articles I read about freezing the pudding make it sound like you have to let it defrost before you can eat it, and I don’t know about you, but I never want to have to wait to eat my last meal!

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of low fat cottage cheese

3 TBSP natural peanut butter

2 TBSP cocoa powder

2 TBSP maple syrup

1/4 cup chopped cocktail peanuts

1 TBSP semi sweet (mini) chocolate chips

Blend cottage cheese, peanut butter, cocoa powder and maple syrup in a food processor until smooth and consistency of a thick pudding or loose frosting. Divide equally among three containers and top each with chopped peanuts (equally divide) and 1 tsp mini chocolate chips.

Nutrition facts per serving: 307 calories, 30 g carbs, 13 g fat & 19 g protein

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!

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Healthy Eats: Pistachio Peppermint Bars

Perhaps one of the most surprising and delicious combinations I’ve ever tried, the Pistachio Peppermint bars are salty, sweet and everything in between. They have a great balance of carbs and fats and pair with any protein of your choice for a fully balanced meal plan approved meal.

You’ll need a food processor and the following ingredients:

1 cup of old fashioned oats

1 cup + 1/4 cup pistachios

1/2 cup shredded coconut (divided in half)

2 TBSP olive, avocado or coconut oil

2 TBSP maple syrup

5 peppermint candies (crushed)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor pulse the oats, 1 cup pistachios and 1/4 cup coconut until a finely ground mixture. Add in the oil and syrup continue to run the food processor until the mixture is thick but moist. Sometimes I add 1-2 TBSP of egg whites if it’s not moist enough. Spread the mixture into an 8×8 pan and use plastic wrap to evenly spread with your hand if necessary. Then take the remaining pistachios, coconut and crushed peppermint and sprinkle on top. Use your hand/plastic wrap to push the topping into the batter. Bake for approximately 10 minutes – depending on your oven a little less or a little more but careful not to overbake and dry them out. Each batch makes 8 servings (picture is a double batch).

Nutrition facts: 177 calories, 15 g carbs, 12 g Fat and 4 g protein

We’ve been making healthy food taste great for more than a decade. 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!

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Healthy Eats: Chicken Nuggets

A healthy and homemade version of every kid’s favorite protein: Chicken Nuggets! We use storebought shredded chicken from Aldi, beaten egg and shredded mozzarella to form these delicious nugs! I’ve baked and air-fried them and both ways are tasty and moist. These homemade chicken nuggets go great on top of a salad or on the side with veggies too.

Ingredients:

Shredded and chopped chicken breast – 1 beaten egg (may only use half of it depending on your portion of chicken) – 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Chop up your shredded chicken then stir in 1/2 – 1 whole beaten egg and the shredded mozzarella. Form into “nugs” on a parchment or tinfoil lined baking sheet. Bake or air-fry on 375 degrees for 10 minutes per side or until desired degree of doneness. You could make in bulk and freeze after they’ve been cooked. Pull out and reheat for a convenient and quick healthy meal!

We’ve been making healthy food taste great for more than a decade. 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!

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Healthy Eats: Breakfast Burritos

It can be challenging to get appropriate protein, carbohydrates and fats locked into a single burrito, so why not make it two! The Breakfast Burritos include protein tortillas, white rice, cheesy eggs and hot sauce. They can be premade in bulk then reheated. As always, each person’s individual portions and macronutrients will vary.

Ingredients (per serving):

2 Protein Tortillas – 1 c rice – 1/4 c Egg Whites – 2 Eggs – 1/3 c shredded cheese – hot sauce to taste

Lay out tortillas and fill each with 1/2 cup cooked long grain white rice such as jasmine or basmati. Drizzle the rice with hot sauce. In a frying pan, cook 2 beaten eggs and 1/4 cup egg whites. Add 1/3 cup shredded cheese until melted. Divide the egg patty in half between the two tortillas. Wrap and roll! Store in the fridge until ready to reheat and eat.

Nutrition Facts:

816 calories – 83 g carbs – 31 g fat – 58 g protein

We have an entire index of healthy homemade creations. Check out more of our recipes here.

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

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Healthy Eats: Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bake

Some breakfasts bring the yummy factor first thing in the morning and set your day off to an amazing start! The Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bake is one such recipe. First let me say you’ll never catch me eating cottage cheese on its own. I have a serious issue with both the texture and the taste of it; however, when it’s baked with other delicious ingredients, it usually takes on the flavor and texture of its pairings.

The Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bake is easy and fast to pull together. Make them in bulk and reheat in the morning to save on time! Here’s the step-by-step guide to make these tasty treats:

  1. Line loaf pans or circular baking dishes with a tortilla of your choice (always taking into consideration your macronutrient numbers). I used a sundried tomato wrap with roughly 200 calories and 35 g of carbs.
  2. Mix your egg whites (1/2 cup) and cottage cheese (1/2 cup) with a 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese (or cheese of your choice).
  3. Pour the mixture into one of your tortilla pans and repeat to make enough for each tortilla.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes depending on your oven. The egg mixture will puff slightly and brown a bit. It should also be set and not jiggly.
  5. Let cool then wrap in plastic wrap or tinfoil until you’re ready to eat on busy mornings ahead. The last picture shows the Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bake after 10 minutes in the air-fryer!

Nutrition facts: (adjust portions of egg whites, cottage cheese, and shredded cheese to meet your macronutrient requirements)

430 calories – 46 g carbs – 38 g protein – 12 g fat

We have so many healthy recipes to choose from. They are all perfected and taste-tested by us! Try our other 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!

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Healthy Eats: Apple Cider Dijon Pork Tenderloin

This marinade became a fast favorite in my home. Apple Cider Dijon Pork Tenderloin is a weekly staple in our healthy repertoire. We’ve expanded the marinade for use with chicken and turkey tenderloins as well. It’s delicious on grilled or baked proteins. It’s also incredibly easy to put together in a time pinch. I usually marinade the pork for about an hour before we cook it.

Ingredients:

2 pork tenderloins trimmed and silver skin removed

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP sugar free syrup

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

3-5 cloves chopped garlic

2 tsp each fresh or dried herbs – pick 2 each time, I’ve tried all the combos and they are all delish (Thyme, Basil, Rosemary, Oregano)

Combine all ingredients in a large sealable bag. Shake and move around until the pork is well coated with the marinade. Let sit at room temperature for 30 min – 1 hour before grilling or baking to desired degree of doneness.

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

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

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Healthy Eats: Chocolate Granola Pancake

I go to bed excited about the next morning when I know I have a Chocolate Granola Pancake waiting for me! How can something so delicious also be so nutritious? Careful selection of the ingredients and ensuring portions meet your macro meal planning numbers ensures the nutritious efficacy of this TASTY breakfast staple! See original breakfast pancake for base recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup egg whites
  • 1/2 cup Simply Nature Coconut Cacao or Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Granola (found at Aldi) **Note: any other granola may be substituted – aiming for 20 g of carbs per 1/2 cup serving**
  • 1 scoop Super Seed Beyond Fiber

Directions:

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Meanwhile in a small mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Batter will be lumpy due to the granola. Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour in the batter, be careful not to the let the batter sit too long as the fiber powder will cause it to thicken greatly. Cook the Chocolate Granola Pancake until it’s easy to slide a spatula underneath the pancake, usually 4-6 minutes. Flip the pancake and cook another 1-2 minutes.

I like to make a stack of the pancakes on the weekend, wrap each meal in tinfoil, and store in the refrigerator for fast breakfasts on weekday mornings. Pancake as pictured is topped with 1 TBSP natural smooth peanut butter and 2 TBSP sugar free syrup.

Approximate nutrition facts (per pancake with peanut butter topping): 395 calories , 16 g of fat, 33 g of carbs, 33 g of protein

We’ve been making healthy food taste great for more than a decade. 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!

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Healthy Eats: Pickled Green Beans & Red Onions

I’ve never been a big fan of pickles (unless they were deep fried ;0), but pickled green beans and red onions have my taste buds singing! I was introduced to pickled green beans by a dear friend of mine who produced the most epic charcuterie board one evening for a get-together. I became obsessed and quickly looked up recipes. After a little trial and error I found an easy, healthy, and quick way to create pickled green beans. Of course, I couldn’t stop there and expanded my recipe to also include red onions. Now, I always have a jar or two in the fridge of both pickled green beans, red onions, cucumbers and asparagus. The recipe works for almost any vegetable. Once pickled, they make amazing toppings on salads, healthy additions to charcuterie boards, or just a quick nibble when you’re between meals and hunger is kicking in.

Ingredients:

  • A few large handfuls of green beans (ends trimmed or snapped off)
  • 1 medium to large red onion sliced thin and layers separated
  • 3 cups of water
  • 2 cups of apple cider vinegar
  • 3 TBSP salt
  • 2 TBSP Swerve, Stevia, Truvia, etc. (zero calorie sugar substitute)
  • garlic cloves
  • peppercorns
  • dried red pepper flakes
  • dried dill (fresh is fine too but I find the dried gives better flavor)

Here’s how I set everything up:

  1. Line up three mason jars. Place a few garlic cloves and peppercorns in all three jars. In two of them add red pepper flakes (1 tsp) and dried dill (1 tsp). I just eyeball the measurements, it doesn’t matter if its not exact. The two that have all the goodies get the raw, trimmed green beans placed in them. The jar with just the peppercorns and garlic will be for the red onion. You can also add an additional tsp of sugar substitute to the red onion jar if you like them a little sweeter.
  2. Over medium high heat, bring the water, vinegar, salt and sugar substitute to a boil. Once this mixture boils, remove from heat and place the sliced and separated red onion in the liquid for about one minute. Use tongs to remove and place directly into the remaining third jar. Let the liquid cool for a few minutes then pour over the vegetables in all three jars. This recipe should yield enough to do 3-4 jars total. Make sure the green beans and red onion are completely covered. If you added more sugar to the onions, shake this jar up so the sugar dissolves.

The pickled veggies will taste great by the next day. If you can wait 2-3 days they’ll be even better. So far they’ve not made it in my fridge longer than 1 week because we eat them so fast, but given the other recipes I had explored I believe they should hold up for a couple of weeks.

Cooking is my passion and healthy cooking is my mission, 70-80% of the week anyway! Check out my plethora of ideas to help inspire your healthy eats.

*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!

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Healthy Eats: Buffalo Chicken Salad

Some healthy foods taste healthy. Some healthy foods taste borderline naughty. My Buffalo Chicken Salad is one of the latter. I created it one Sunday late morning while attempting to nurse a hangover without blowing my macro based meal plan. The flavors are bold! If you like buffalo chicken wings, blue cheese, and ranch, you are going to love this Buffalo Chicken Salad. Let’s put it all together.

You will need the following ingredients:

Here’s how to make the magic happen while following your meal plan:

  1. Measure your chicken and chop or shred it. Place on tinfoil and into air fryer. Crisp for 6-10 minutes on 350. Remove and top with hot sauce. Caution: a little goes a long way – if you like heat, load it up!
  2. Prepare your salad in a large bowl. Add greens/lettuce, chopped tomatoes, peppers, chopped pickled green beans, and pickled red onions.
  3. Measure your dressing to keep the macros in line. Remember you’re adding 1 oz of blue cheese crumbles per serving too so you want to make sure your fat allotment stays in check.
  4. After you’ve dressed your salad, add the measured cheese, and top with your crisped chicken portion.

This Buffalo Chicken Salad is so good, perfect for a week night meal when you need that taste of naughty but it’s not quite time yet, perfect for a hangover cure, really just perfect! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

For more recipe ideas that will keep your healthy cooking tasting like so much more than healthy cooking, visit our Healthy Eats index.

*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!

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Healthy Eats: Cranberry Pecan Granola

The smell of fall in the middle of spring? That’s what you can expect when you toast up this incredibly healthy homemade granola! Clusters of toasted oats, delicious pecans and juicy dried cranberries come together with pumpkin pie spice to form a scrumptious breakfast or post workout carbohydrate. The main benefit of homemade granola is you can control the sugar/sweetness and therefore the total carbohydrates. Store-bought varieties often pack upwards of 50g of carbs in only 1/4-1/2 cup, whereas my Cranberry Pecan Granola has only 25 g of carbs in 1/2 cup! Here’s how to put this tasty treat together:

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup pecans (or walnuts work well too)
  • 2/3 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
  • 3-4 large egg whites (or approx 2/3 c liquid egg whites)
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup agave nectar
  • 2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice (or make your own by mixing together cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves & nutmeg – just eyeball the ratios but cinnamon should be the largest portion)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. This is a low and slow kind of deal! In a large bowl whisk the egg whites until they are nice and frothy. Add in the molasses, agave nectar and pumpkin pie spice and stir until combined. Add the oats, cranberries, pecans, and sunflower seeds and toss until evenly coated.

Spread on a parchment lined large baking sheet so that the cranberry pecan granola is spread as thin as possible. Bake in 15 minute increments, stirring each time. The granola should be perfectly toasted right around 1 hour (give or take depending on your oven). Let it cool completely before moving to a plastic bag or container.

Nutrition: 1/2 cup = 161 calories, 24.3 g carbs, 5.5 g fat, 4.5 g protein

This incredibly healthy granola tastes amazing and compliments your protein shake perfectly for a post workout carbohydrate or as a side next to your eggs with breakfast. *The exact portions will vary per person but there is no reason to guess at how much granola you should eat or what you should eat with it! Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

Try our other tasty healthy EATS by clicking here.