Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Tasty Tuesday: 21 Day Fix Tomato Sauce and Meatballs

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am almost one week into my month long Isagenix cleanse, and so far so good! I drink two shakes a day for breakfast and lunch, then a 600 calorie or less dinner. It really hasn't been too bad so far. I was surprised, however, by how much I crave the actual act of eating. The shakes keep me pretty full, but I miss the act of physically biting, chewing, and eating. At least I'm not starving 24/7 like I thought I would be, and the all natural supplements they have you take give me CRAZY energy! Like I mentioned last week, a bunch of my friends and I are making the month of April our get healthy/get in shape month, so I'm especially glad that I have my sister in law Deanna's recipes to help me with my 600 calorie dinner plans! 

Speaking of my sister in law...today Deanna is sharing with us her spin on the "Grandma's Tomato Sauce" from the 21 Day Fix, Fixate Cookbook, as well as some basic turkey meatballs to go with it!


Hi, I'm Deanna! I'm a wife to an amazing husband and mommy to our adventurous 2 year old son, Matthew. I live for family, nutrition & fitness, and of course a good book- especially the kind that help me make delicious food! I have a BS in Health Science, I became a Beachbody coach in June 2015, and am currently working on my Holistic Nutrition degree!



When I started doing Isagenix I was really surprised to find how easy it was to go over 600 calories in one meal! When I first read up on the diet plan I thought 600 calories would be no problem to stay under for dinner! But then you start adding in calories with dressings, and cheese, and sauces, and before you know it you are well over the 600 calorie mark! Fortunately, Deanna is a Beachbody/21 Day Fix recipe expert, and I have loved using her recipes as a source for healthy dinner eating! Today Deanna is sharing her version of the 21 Day Fix "Grandma's Tomato Sauce" and Turkey Meatball recipe!


Fixate Cookbook's Grandma's Tomato Sauce




Ingredients:
 
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste, no salt added
¼ cup red wine (I used a Cab/Syrah mix)
2 cans (28oz) whole peeled tomatoes, crushed or pureed in blender
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1 (3oz) Parmesan (or parmigiana) cheese rind- I used the closest part to the rind from a high quality wedge and put the whole chunk in.  But a nicer deli may have excess rinds.
3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil

Directions:
 
1.      Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2.      Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
3.      Add garlic and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.  Do not let the tomato paste burn.
4.      Add wine; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.
5.      Add tomatoes, agave, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat to low; gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
6.      Add cheese rind; cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
7.      Add basil; mix well.

TIPS:

·        -Choosing the right canned tomatoes can be tricky.  Look out for tomatoes that appear pale and watery, or taste bland and overly acidic.  Also, choosing whole peeled tomatoes and blending/ crushing them will give you the best chance for great flavor! (Companies save the best tomatoes for whole canning!)

·        -The parmigiana rind is not completely necessary if you cannot find one/ don’t want to buy a cheese wedge.  It is in here because it ads great flavor for very little calories.

·      -  You can cook the sauce for longer to further develop the flavors, but when doing so, add 1 to 2 cups water, ¼ cup at a times to achieve desired consistency; cook, on very low heat, covered, stirring about every 5 to 10 minutes for 4 to 6 hours.

*I personally allowed the sauce to cook about 1 hour after adding the parmesan chunk.*
*I also highly suggest having every ingredient pre-made and portioned ready to be added in.  When you have to stir the pot constantly so the paste and wine don’t burn, you will NOT want to have to walk away to grab the tomatoes to blend them.*


And here are some delicious Turkey Meatballs to pair with the tomato sauce...


Back to Basics: Turkey Meatballs




INGREDIENTS:
1lb Extra Lean Ground Turkey
1/2 purple onion, finely chopped
1 Cup spinach, finely chopped
1/3 Cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 Egg
¾-1 cup quick oats (start with ¾ and add ¼ if the mixture is too wet to roll)
1 tsp. Himalayan Pink salt
½ Tbsp. cracked pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place 1lb turkey into a large mixing bowl.  Add chopped spinach, feta cheese, spices, egg and oats.  Mix well.
I like to use an old fashioned potato masher, but using your hands works just fine.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Roll mixture into approx. 1-inch balls and onto lined baking sheet. 
Cook at 350 for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

ENJOY!

*Add ‘Grandma’s Tomato Sauce’ and serve over your favorite whole grain noodles or spaghetti squash for a well-rounded, healthy meal!


Friday, April 8, 2016

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! As always I am linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for some Friday Favorites!

ONE

I feel like there are so many fad diets that are all the rage right now, and I was VERY hesitant to ever commit to doing one myself. I've always been happy just sticking to the whole eating healthy and exercising thing. It worked for me. It took me basically a year of steady diet and exercise to lose all the baby weight from having Hadley, and even though I am the same number on the scale as I was pre-baby....stuff just isn't the same. Know what I mean?! A TON of people on island have had success doing this Isagenix month long "cleanse," so I finally caved and I'm giving it a try. I guess I can't really say if this is a favorite yet or not, but I have high hopes! I'm one whole day in, and I can at least say that the shakes aren't bad, and they actually kept me full! I'll keep y'all posted on my Isagenix experience and results!

TWO

Let's Sail Away Dress

I was on a quest to find some cute summer sundresses, and I stumbled upon ThirtyOne Boutique. They have such cute stuff for summer, and for really great prices! Here are some of my favorites that are sitting in my shopping cart...thoughts?!
 
Charcoal and White Romper

Casual Day Dress

THREE
Steve Madden Agathist Leather Strap Sandal

Speaking of summer shopping...I'm also in serious need of some new summer sandals. I feel like I live in flip flops all day out here, so I'm looking for some sandals that I can wear everyday, but are cuter and nicer than flip flips! I really like the Steve Madden ones above, and I'm also eyeballing these Sam Edelman ones...

Sam Edelman Greta Sandal

FOUR

Hadley's diaper genie was smelling all kinds of ripe, and no amount of baking soda in the lid was doing the trick! I was complaining to my friend Amy about it, and she mentioned that a friend of hers puts a cotton ball with Lemongrass Essential Oil in the lid of the diaper genie, and it does a great job of covering the bad diaper smell. I've never really used Essential Oils, but Amy let me sample her Lemongrass oil, and it totally worked! No more bad diaper smell! It's turning me into an Essential Oil believer!
 
 
FIVE
 
And just in case you've had a bad week, here is a seriously cute panda who totally understands your pain...
 
 
Super random, but super funny! I've watched this about ten times now, and I'm still laughing!

Have a great weekend!!!

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Spring Break Music Festival 2016

Last weekend was the annual Spring Break Music Festival & Chili Cook Off, and our first year attending as a family of three! Last year we didn't go because we had just gotten back on island with a six week old Hadley, and didn't make it because...exhausted. We did, however, go two years ago and had a lot of fun...




One of the big draws of the festival is the Home Brew Beer Tent. Home-brewing beer is kind of an underground hobby out here, so it's really fun to go and sample all the different creations, and then vote on your favorites! Our friend Wes enters his home brews every year, and this year he had a stout, a orange creamsicle beer, and my personal favorite, a honey blossom beer that smelled just like fresh honey! IT WAS AMAZING! 

Johnathon and I had plans to take turns hitting up the beer tent while the other person kicked it with Hadley at the playground nearby. I went to the beer tent first and ran into our friend Dawn who very kindly offered to hang out with Hadley for awhile so that Johnathon and I could enjoy some beer sampling together! Thanks Dawn!!! Johnathon and I had a lot of fun trying all the different beers, and enjoyed our few child free minutes together in the beer tent! 


After relieving Dawn, we resumed our original plan of rotating between the beer tent, and the equally rowdy playground scene...


She's walking now and there is no stopping her!

View of the Chili Cook Off and Beer tents

The festival started in the middle of the day and went all afternoon, and it was HOT!!! Because it was so hot we didn't want to keep Hadley out too long, so we sampled all the different types of chili (my favorite was the green chili!), hit up the music pavillion to hear one of the bands play, then checked out the beach before heading home!



This year's Spring Break Festival was decidedly less rowdy than the festivals of years past, but was lots of fun all the same! We finished out the day in the best way possible...with back rubs, a Tinkerbell movie, and an 8 o'clock bedtime! #Springbreak2016 #Itwasjustlikecollege #butnot #imokaywiththat


Happy Spring Break from Kwaj!