Celebrating the Movies with Healthy Alternatives

A few weeks ago we celebrated watching the Academy Awards. At my house we just love Oscar night, the pre-game show is probably the best! (well this year it was). Brent makes us print ballots and we make our own picks, and of course... he wins every year!!!

This year, we had healthy alternatives to the usual junk food we would usually have eaten in the past. You know, we eat with our eyes, so I made a Spring Mix salad with colourful berries.

I also made the most amazing, kid and husband friendly recipe. Chicken tenders, but not the frozen processed kind, the homemade kind that are full of great wholesome ingredients.

I would say that since I started this blog, this has to be the most family loved recipe I have made. Here's the recipe. They can get messy with all the breading and the BBQ sauce, but use tongs and let me tell you... it'll all be worth it.

BBQ Chicken Tenders  (adapted from  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/.html_3)

About 24 tenders

Ingredients

    1 cup prepared barbecue sauce

    2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

    2 tablespoons honey

    1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (see Note)

    1/2 cup all-purpose flour

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

    2 large eggs

    1 3/4 cups coarse dry breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat

    1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (my addition and it made them so crunchy)

    Olive oil or canola oil cooking spray (PAM)

Preparation

    Combine barbecue sauce, mustard and honey in a large bowl. Set aside 1/2 cup of the sauce in a small bowl. Cut any large chicken tenders in half lengthwise, then add all the tenders to the large bowl with the remaining sauce; stir to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

    Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

    Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly beat eggs in another shallow dish. Place breadcrumbs in a third shallow dish. Coat each tender in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in egg and let any excess drip off. Then roll in the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess. Place the tenders on the prepared baking sheet. Generously coat both sides of each tender with cooking spray.

    Bake for 10 minutes. Turn each tender over and continue baking until the outside is crisp and the tenders are cooked through, about 10 minutes more. Serve with the reserved sauce for dipping.

Nutrition Per tender : 67 Calories; 0 g Fat; 8 g Carbohydrates; 8 g Protein; 1 g Fiber

I served them with another healthy alternative, 'Sweet Potatoe' fries, although they weren't home made, they were still better than white potatos!

Chicken Enchilada- Weekend Mexican Fiesta time

This is an old recipe I have had around for a while. I just adjusted the ingredients so they were a bit healthier and let me tell you, it's still delicious! It just takes a bit of time to assemble, so it's a good weekend casserole type dish.

Chicken Enchiladas

1 (3 to 5lb) whole chicken, cooked and debones (or 3 large chicken breasts)

1/4 cup light Italian dressing

1 small can diced green chilies

1 small can sliced black olives (optional)

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 dozen small whole wheat flour tortillas

1 large can enchilada sauce (if you can't find, use salsa that is not chunky)

1 cup light cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup light monterey jack cheese, grated

1 jar of mild red salsa

Cut up chicken meat into chunks and saute it in the Italian dressing. As meat cooks, shred the meat between two forks. Add chilies, olives, onions, and enough mild salsa to the mixture. Set Aside.

Shred and combine chesses together in separate bowl. Heat enchilada sauce in skillet (just warm the sauce, you don't want it boiling). Cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with enchilada sauce before assembling.

To assemble enchiladas: dip tortilla in sauce just long enough to soften. Place in baking dish and add mixture and cheeses down the center, allocating enough for 10 enchiladas. R0ll tortilla and place seams down in pan. Repeat process until entire dish is full. Sprinkle remaining enchilada sauce and cheese on top . ( the more sauce on top, the more moist the enchiladas will be).

Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are heated thoroughly.

Nutritional Information for 2 enchiladas

332 calories

21g carbs

10g fat

37g protein

2g fibre

3g sugar

Here's Melanie enjoying a Chicken Enchilada with a side of Garden Salad.

My favourite little Café- The Green Bean

Located downtown Oakville, The Green Bean Coffee House, is my favourite little café.  We enjoy a nice fresh healthy lunch and a delicious beverage whenever we go http://www.greenbean.ca/.  It's located in the little town square area with a little patch of grass outside and a nice patio too. But since it's winter time, we have to go inside. But let me tell you, this time we certainly were surprised, they had remodeled the inside and it felt so glamourous!

Look at those walls, dark red and dark brown stripes. And a great chandalier... so dramatic.

Pale Mella against the stripes.

My mom with chandeliers on her head.

And look at this patterned ceiling... oooh I just love the bold colours and patterns.

Ok, enough with the decor and onto the food. Since we wanted to try a few things and keep our portions in check, we decided to split a large field greens salad with tomatos, cucumbers and roasted red peppers with the tiny little salt and pepper on the side - how cute! and....

.... this is our favourite, a BBQ Chicken Scroll. What a cool name eh? It's grilled chicken with a delicious BBQ sauce and some melted cheese and then pressed and melted. Served with a side of salsa and a few tortilla chips and some fresh fruit. It's really delicious and Melanie absolutely loves it (we just ask for no onions)!

And of course, what would a trip to the Café be without a delicious Cafe Latte? And this was so milky and 'skinny', and the design.... makes you want to pay almost $5.00 right????



Homemade Chicken Fried Rice

When you have lots of leftovers in your fridge like.... basmati rice, chicken, veggies.... that's the time to make Chicken Fried Rice. Melanie's favourite.

This is the end result in my Wok pan.

Directions:

Put about 1Tbsp of good for you oil in your wok and heat it up high, add your cold, cooked basmati rice, cooked chichen and some asian inspired sauce such as soya sauce, peanut sauce, or teriyaki sauce and add some hot chili sauce if you are so inclined. Add the veggies you have around, I cut up some little carrots and some frozen peas. (some of the only veggies Melanie will eat cooked.)

Then I crack and whip up a couple of eggs and place them in the middle of the pan and cook it up and mix it all around.

To pump up the veg. quotient, I added lots of cooked broccoli to mine.

Nutrional Information- this is for about 1 cup (without all the broccoli I added to my portion)

Calories  436      

Fat  10 g

Carbs 51 g

Fibre 5 g

Sugars   3 g

Protein    34 g



Healthy Alternative- Snack Ideas for the whole family

Like I've mentioned before, I still like to have a little snack at night. Now, though, it's a healthy alternative. It's organic, or low fat and should have some protein and is a healthier version of the 'not so good' for you junkfood I used to eat. Here are some healthy snacks I recently bought at the Organic Garage. My place for good organic food and snacks.

These are a nice lightly salted Sweet Potato Tortilla Chip by a company called Food Should Taste Good. Isn't that a funny company name?

Some good for you ingredients listed here.

The nutrional details... This was a little bag. Good amount of Fibre and Protein.

These are good- but only I like these Neal Brothers Organic Cheese Twists. That's good, more for me!

1 cup would be 120 calories with 2 g of protein and 1g of fibre.

Look at those Organic ingredients.

Now this little snack is for Melanie. She just loves these. It's like a little gummy bear, but less slimy and better for you. 

One pack has 130 calories and even 1 g of fibre.

See, made with 66% Fruit ingredients- no sugar, they use Rice Syrup.

Here's another one for Melanie. This replaces the Teddy Grahams. And look, it's still Teddy bears, but these are certified organic.

The cookies are fairly large and for 8 of them it`s 110 calories, 1g of fibre and 2g of protein. Look at those ingredients, organice whole wheat flour, no sugar, but cane juice, Love it!!! And so does my daughter.

Carob Nut Balls- A Healthy Vegan Alternative

When my friend Jenny and her family came over the other day they brought these Spirit Balls, and so now, for your pleasure, here is the recipe.

Here's the link to the Carob Nut Balls - they were Super Stars! http://franlife.blogspot.com/2007/12/recipe-carob-nut-balls.html

Carob Nut Balls- Spirit Balls

1/2 cup carob powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup raw honey, brown rice syrup or agave nectar (up to 1/2 cup if you like them sweeter)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup puffed cereal*

1/2 cup chopped nuts*

COATING OPTIONS

unsweetened coconut

carob ganache (see bottom of recipe for directions)

cocoa or carob powder combined with a dash of cinnamon

Thoroughly combine the almond butter, carob powder, cinnamon, honey and vanilla. The dough will be quite stiff. Knead in the nuts and cereal. With wet hands, form into walnut-sized balls. Make sure the surface is glisteningly damp. Choose which coating you'd like to use and roll balls in either coconut, carob ganache, or cocoa/carob powder. Personally, I tried them all, just to see how pretty each variation can be. I found the coconut coating to be the nicest, and easy to coat by shaking the balls in a ziploc bag with the coconut.

Refrigerate til firm, or freeze in an air-tight container to store for a week or more.

*If you have the option, choose a tiny puffed grain like quinoa or millet. Otherwise, crisp rice will work great, or a flake cereal crushed into smaller bits. If using sweetened cereal, use smaller amount of honey.

Makes about 20 balls.

Nutritional Information per ball:

104 calories

14g carbs

 7g fat

 3g protein

 3g fibre

 9g sugar

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I promised I would share this lovely recipe when I posted the picture on Valentine's Day. So here it is... in the shape of a heart. But heck, depending on what you are celebrating, you could make it in the shape of a Shamrock, or Baseball (you, know for Opening Day for Baseball- ya, I live with a Sports Nut).

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Meatballs  (adapted from http://appetizersnacks.com/50/appetizer-meatballs/)

Ingredients:

1 package frozen meatballs (I chose PC Blue Menu Chicken Meatballs)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 large can pineapple tidbits

remaining pineapple juice from the can

2 peppers- red/orange

1/4 cup white or rice vinegar

Salt to taste

Directions: Mix brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, pineapple juice, and vinegar together to create the sauce and pour over frozen meatballs in a slow cooker. Add fruit and vegetables,  Cook on low heat until meatballs are heated through (2-3 hours?). Serve over rice.

Nutrional Information (for meatballs) : (makes 7-8 servings)

301 calories

29 g carbs

12 g fat

21g protein

2g fibre

20g sugar

Another Fabulous Tea/Dance Party- Healthy Styling!

We hosted our little Tea Party and Dance Party Extravaganza with my friend Jenny and her family and boy did we enjoy the food bits (they brought some 'Spirit Balls'- recipe to come), lots of talking tidbits and the dancing was just Fabulous!!! With a Capital F for Fun!

Here's a panoramic view of spread with all the food and teas you could imagine... and there's Melanie in the background sitting and knitting in front of the iPod dock listening to the music before our friends arrived. 

Some lovely Rainforest Crisps, Ace Bakery raisin and walnut crackers, salt free rice crackers, whole wheat baguette.

Some extra old sharp white cheddar cheese that Melanie and Jenny inhaled, they did leave a few pieces for the rest of us.

Some homemade Coffee Cake mini muffins and Cranberry Walnut scones (I have shared those recipes with you before).

Some homemade Dark Chocolate Pistachio, Almond and Cranberry Bark (I have also shared this recipe with you before).

Delicious Berries.

Our guests brought these lovely 'Spirit Balls'. They were Vegan and quite delicious (recipe to come).

Beautiful Couple. Jenny and Szos- tea party participants.

Their gorgeous Georgia.

The Dancing Party in full force.... to Justin Bieber of course!

Ta da!

So much love the air! And on our faces! There are some pictures/movies of the grown ups dancing... but those would be way too embarassing!!! Next time, we are 'Tea Partying' at their home in Toronto. Can't wait!



Grown Up Grilled Cheese

Apple, Turkey and Cheddar Grillers (adapted from www.besthealthmag.ca/recipe/apple-turkey-and-cheddar-grillers)

This is definitely a 'Grown up Grilled Cheese'. Thin slices of Granny Smith apple, layers of turkey and cheddar cheese make a wholesome and delicious meal good for on the go families.

Ingreditents: (for 1 sandwhich)

2 teaspoons butter

2 slices whole-grain bread, such as Stonemill Golden Flax Bread

2 thin slices of cheddar cheese (I would use light cheddar next time)

1 slice extra lean roasted turkey breast

2 thin slices of Granny Smith apple

 Directions:

Spread 1 tsp of the butter over one side of each of the slices of bread. Arrange one slice of bread, buttered side down. Top with one slice of cheese, apple slices, turkey and remaining slice of cheese. Cover with second slice of bread, buttered side out.

Heat dry skillet over medium heat. Place apple, turkey and Cheddar sandwich in skillet and cook until golden brown and toasted on each side and cheese is melted, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Slice and serve. For a complete meal, I served it with a Spring Mix Salad with Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Nutrional Information (per sandwhich, with salad):

486 calories

40g carbs

24g fat

26g protein

9g fibre

14g sugar

New Baby in my Life- Stephanie my niece

I am so excited to share with you that my little sister had her baby on February 29, 2012- a leap year baby!  She decided to come 3 weeks early... yikes! Mom and baby are doing well, they are just all getting adjusted to it all! Everyone is tired but elated!!!

Here she is in my arms, so cute and tiny. 5.8lbs (almost half the size of Melanie's birth weight). You don't see my face, but when I first came in the room, my sister Julie had this little tiny baby on her chest, all curled up in a ball, and I just cried with love for this new precious little princess, nose dripping and all! You know that her name means 'Crown', so she is in fact a little princess in training.

Here's Melanie holding her little Cousin Stephanie for the first time. Soooo cute! Can you see the love? Julie called us at about 6:15am and told us the great news... Stephanie made her mommy's blood pressure go up... so the doctors decided to welcome Stephanie a little early. So all day at work, I couldn't wait to meet her (I was going after work with Melanie), but let me tell you, at lunch, Nancy and I went to Babies 'r Us and bought a whole bunch of pink things!!! Ooooh that was so much fun!

Look at this precious picture of Stephanie holding Melanie's thumb, can you believe the tiny size of her fingers. Melanie was such a good cousin. I can just see Melanie taking on a 'big sister' role in this little angel's life.

And then the feet kissing picture.... oh my goodness, my heart complety melted!!! Stephanie was supposed to be covered with a blanket, but as you can see, she kept on wiggling and kicking it off. Julie was telling me the nurses told her that whatever we are wearing, a baby should be wearing an extra layer on top. Of course I said, I don't think Stephanie understands that, maybe she'll be like Melanie, who to this day, still wears little clothes and never really sleeps with blankets. Thank you God for this gorgeous little Girl!

On a side note: Wondering how much more wonderful this news is 41.4 lbs lighter? Well, this summer Brent was in the hospital for a week and his room was a 'really' long walk down many corridors and it was killing Melanie and I to walk there every day. We were so out of shape (me, a lot more than her). Well, Julie and Stephanie were in the Maternity ward which is about the same distance from the front doors of the hospital as where Brent was, a bit of a hike! But let me tell you, we walked fast, with presents, our big winter coats and scarves and we weren't even out of breath at all. In fact, it was like that walk was 'nothing'. All I can say is that 'we have come a long way baby'! Thanks Stephanie for showing us how much better we will be able to play with you, and chase you and play horsey with you!

Scrapbooking Night- food and crafty fun!

When Nancy and I get together for Scrapbooking night, we always have fun. This time, we were at Nancy's and spent lots of time talking, laughing, snacking and.... oh yeah... scrapbooking.

I came into the scrapbooking room 'the kitchen', (we both have dreams of having a whole room dedicated to scrapbooking) and saw her all set up with her photos, papers, scissors and wine.

Nancy is serious about her wine, check out the glass... Queen of Everything! Check out the shoes/boots on the glass.

I had some tea... in a cat mug, how cute? Nancy had some delicious wholesome foods. Some cut up fruits, some healthy crackers with extra old white cheddar, a bit of peach conserve, a square of Lindt 70% dark chocolate and a few candied pecans (those were good!)

This is my litte page of Melanie in SK, she's just so cute here!

Here's Nancy's page about her Mexico trip with her boys.  Thanks again Nancy for a fun Friday Night Scrapbooking Party. Next Month... my turn, and wait 'til you see what I'm gonna prepare for our 'healthy snack'!