Tony's Tuna (only better!)

Ingredients:
1 can tuna (packed in water) - drained
Dash or two of EVOO
1 hard boiled egg white - chopped
Green olives - chopped
Capers - drained
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl.
Serve over a salad, on whole wheat bread, in lettuce wraps, etc.

Recipe courtesy of Tony Horton ~ based loosely on recipe for Tony's Tuna found in the Power90 food plan booklet

I love mayonnaise as much as the next girl (maybe more?) but when I decided to start eating healthier, I knew that mayo had to go. In the same thought, I realized that I could never eat tuna again. But then I purchased Power90 and read through the little booklet that it came with for food ideas, and I discovered Tony's Tuna...made with EVOO. Eureeka! Really, I'm pretty sure all I got from Tony's Tuna was the egg, and olive oil,  maybe the capers? Which is why I say this is based loosely off of that. I forget how the rest ended up in the bowl, but want to give credit where credit is due. Now, if only I could get as into the Power90 as I am the tuna.

So this is not rocket science. It's tunafish for crying out loud. However, it is delicious tuna. And healthy tuna. And tuna that fills you up. I know the egg white sounds weird. Trust me- you don't even taste it. It just adds a little texture, and that much more protein to an already protein-packed lunch. Personally I love this over arugula and mixed greens, and sometimes I add a little balsamic and EVOO for dressing. MMMM.

BONUS RECIPE - A slight variation:
I had a tiny bit of tuna left in a bowl and I was starving. I looked on the counter, saw I had whole wheat english muffins (um, yum!) and my creative juices started flowing (along with my watering mouth). I put the remaining tuna into the food processor, with more green olives and roasted red peppers. Get that all worked together and choppy, almost like a tapenade consistency. I put that on a toasted english muffin, added dots of The Laughing Cow Creamy Swiss, and broiled it for a hot minute, and... Voila! Instant classic. I'm thinking this would make an amazing lettuce wrap... Hm..

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Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients:
2 tsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 pounds uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast (tenders or four 4-oz pieces)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup canned chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Optional: chopped onions and/or sundried tomatoes

Directions:
In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Sauté chicken until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, whisk balsamic, chicken broth, mustard, thyme in bowl to combine.

Into skillet, add remaining 1 teaspoon oil as well as mushrooms and garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes more. Add liquid into skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown, about 2 minutes longer.

Serve chicken topped with mushrooms.

Recipe Courtesy of the fabulously witty @avbarto of www.bitchsesh.com

So, this chicken is to.die.for. I have no other words for it. It is super easy, super tasty, and super healthy. It is 100% comparable to Chicken Marsala, with like 25% of the butter, fat, etc. (I confirmed this with my friend SalPal who's husband is 100% Italian and makes Chicken Marsala with more butter than I would like to mention. While I am sure it is out of this world..I don't think my waistline would agree).

A while back I had seen AVB posting on good ol' Facebook about this amazing-sounding Balsamic Chicken. She posted a picture of it and I was sold. She was nice enough to share her recipe with me, and now I am sharing it with you. Because sharing is caring.

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Nan's Sausage "Appys"

WARNING - Before you keep reading: These cheesy golden, baked lumps of goodness are not on my list of things to eat while I am trying to lose weight - and probably shouldn't be on yours either.  Make at your own risk.

Ingredients:
1 lb hot Italian sausage
1 lb grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk
2 Tbl dry minced onion
(or 1/4 cup chopped onion - but I always use dry and I'm pretty sure my mother does too, which would lead me to believe that Nan did as well...so I have no idea why it even says this on the recipe)
4 Tbl dried parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook the sausage meat (minus skins) in a fry pan until done. Drain.

In a large bowl, mix all other ingredients well. Add sausage into the mixture.

Drop by spoonfuls onto **GREASED** cookie sheet.
((I have included the stars and the underline because it is strongly emphasized on the hand written recipe that my mother gave to me.))

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of ~ Lil, the real Nanny McPhee (who gave it to Mumma, who gave it to me)

Sausage appys are one of those recipes that every family has. Everyone knows what they are, and everyone loves them. There really is nothing not to like about them...sausage and cheese married and living in a biscuit? Shut up. They are one of THE BEST things to make for a party you are hosting, or bring to a party that you can't show up to empty handed. They seriously are so good. They don't look all that pretty, actually they're pretty scary looking if you don't know what they are, but once you start eating them, you can't stop. I have made a believer out of many. I promise you will fall in love.

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Springtime Stir Fry

Ingredients:
1 lbs chicken pieces - optional
10 asparagus spears - quartered lengthwise
1 cup snow peas
1 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup fava beans
*I swapped out the beans for sliced baby bella mushrooms
2-3 Tbl canola oil
1 tsp grated ginger
Chopped scallions - to taste
Chopped nuts (I used roasted, salted cashews, but peanuts would be great)

Directions:
Heat oil, grated ginger, and 1 chopped scallion in a fry pan over medium high heat. Add chicken, and cook almost all the way through.

Meanwhile, in separate fry pan, place asparagus spears, snow peas, broccoli, beans and/or mushrooms, and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Combine chicken, sauce, and veggies and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until veggies are softened but still crisp inside.

Serve topped with remaining chopped scallion and nuts sprinkled over.

Can be served over white/brown rice.

Recipe courtesy of Greatist - 52 Healthy Meals in 12 Minutes or Less

I love Pinterest. There are SO many great things: recipes, fashion advice, makeup ideas, home decor, etc etc etc. I could seriously peruse for hours (and I do). I am 99% positive I came to Greatist via way of this glorious website. And thank goodness I did. Otherwise I never would have found this fantastic, and yummy, list!

This stir-fry was great. It was super light and pretty flavorful despite not having a ton in it. I may add more ginger next time. I also think that I have added garlic to it last night, too. Yes, I forget what I did 12 hours ago. The recipe online doesn't include chicken, or the extra nuts for garnish (but I also didn't use beans). I would think tofu would work well with it as well.

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Lemon Caper Dijon Salmon

Ingredients:
1 lb salmon
Lemon juice - appx 1/4 cup
Dijon Mustard - appx 2 Tbl (I use one from Trader Joes)
Splash Vegetable Stock
EVOO - appx 1 Tbl
Capers - appx 2 tsp, drained
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 lemon - sliced
Parsley - to taste

Directions:
Preaheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray bottom of glass baking dish with cooking spray (or use a little extra oil). Salt salmon, skin side only, and place into dish skin side down. Cover with lemon slices.

Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl and whisk together. Pour over fish in baking dish.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until fish becomes flaky.

Enjoy!

Honestly, I made this up. I love love love fish + lemons/capers and decided I wanted to alter the usual. So SO good. The mustard gives it a bit of a tang, but it doesn't overpower the lemon because you have the lemon juice and the lemon slices directly on the fish. Um...yum. I served this with a broccoli/cauliflower mix. Why such a delicious dinner tonight? Because it's Tuesday of course. :)

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Bake-Tastic Butternut Squash Fries 2.0

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds -- large enough to yield 20 oz. once peeled & sliced)1/8 tsp. coarse salt
Optional: additional coarse salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Slice the ends off the squash, and then cut it in half widthwise. Peel squash with a vegetable peeler or carefully with a knife. Cut the round bottom piece in half lengthwise and remove seeds.
Using a crinkle cutter or a knife, carefully cut squash into spears/French-fry shapes. (For exact nutritionals, measure out and use 20 oz.) Pat spears firmly with paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Sprinkle evenly with salt.
Lay spears out on a layer of paper towels, and let stand for at least 5 minutes, to allow the salt to draw out any excess moisture. Then pat with paper towels again. If you like, sprinkle with additional salt.
Spray a broiler pan, a baking rack placed over a baking sheet, or a baking sheet with nonstick spray, and then lay spears flat on it. (Use two pieces of bakeware, if needed.)
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, and then carefully flip spears. Bake for about 20 minutes longer, until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. Enjoy!

Nutrition:
Per Serving (1/2 of recipe): 125 calories, <0.5g fat, 158mg sodium, 33g carbs, 5.5g fiber, 6g sugars, 3g protein

Recipe courtesy of Hungry Girl ~ Bake-Tastic Butternut Squash Fries 2.0

Ok- Can we talk about excited? I have a new found love for squash (which I never in a million years thought would happen) and can't wait to try to make these fries! I have tried making sweet potato chips to no avail... I'm thinking this method might just solve my crispy chippy problem, too!

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White Bean and Poblano Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Two 15.5-ounce cans white beans, rinsed
3 large poblano chiles, seeded and chopped
1 large white onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried chipotle chile powder (optional)
4 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup light sour cream
chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and stir frequently until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Add 2 cups white beans, the poblanos, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beans break apart, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the chicken broth, cumin, oregano and chipotle powder, then lower the heat to low. Add the remaining beans. Heat through.
Top portions of the chili with cheese, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and some chopped cilantro.

Recipe Courtesy of The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans ~ White Bean & Poblano Chicken Chili

This is the easiest (least time consuming) chicken chili recipe I have found. It also contains way less ingredients than a lot of the ones I have come across.

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Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped carrots
7 bell peppers, variety of colors (1 cored, seeded and chopped; tops removed and reserved from remaining 6 then cored and seeded)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 pound baby spinach
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and cooked according to package directions
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup roasted, salted cashews

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until transparent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes more. Add carrots and chopped peppers, cook until just softened, then add parsley and spinach (in batches, if needed). Let spinach wilt then stir in cinnamon, cumin and cooked quinoa and toss gently to combine. Add salt, pepper and cashews and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Set aside to let filling cool until just warm.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9- x 13-inch baking pan with oil then set aside.

Divide quinoa mixture evenly among remaining 6 bell peppers, gently packing it down and making sure to fully fill each pepper. Top each pepper with its reserved top then arrange them upright in prepared pan. Cover snugly with foil and bake, checking halfway through, until peppers are tender and juicy and filling is hot throughout, about 1 hour. Transfer to plates and serve.

Nutrition:
Per serving (1 pepper): 250 calories (90 from fat), 10g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 280mg sodium, 36g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 9g protein

Recipe Courtesy of Whole Foods Market ~ Roasted Bell Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa

These peppers are to die for. I had never made stuffed peppers before, and so I was really excited to try this vegetarian version. This was super filling, but you could totally add ground turkey or even ground beef if you so desired. The cinnamon combines with the sweetness of the peppers, and the salty crunch of the cashews really makes it happen for your tastebuds. If you prefer savory dishes, cut back on the cinnamon and play around with the spices a bit.

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White Bean and Escarole Side Dish

Ingredients:
1 can-canelloni/white beans
1 bunch escarole lettuce
1-2 Tbl-extra virgin olive oil
Pinch-red pepper flakes
S&P to taste
Optional-minced garlic or garlic powder

Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat entire contents of can of beans (including liquid) and the red pepper flakes over medium heat. Bring to just boil.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in larger frypan and add escarole in. Add S&P and garlic if using. Cook down.
Once both parts are cooked, add beans into frypan and stir to combine.

Recipe Courtesy of one of the strongest, most insipirational (and FABULOUS) women I know, Erin Power

This side dish is absolutely delicious. It is so simple and inexpensive to make. The liquid from the beans creates almost a creamy sauce when heated, and combined with the unique taste of escarole, it is just so yummy.

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