Cooking with FFN

My prepped meals ready to go in the fridge!

I have to admit, it's hard to cook healthy meals for my family when we are super busy.  I was so excited when my friend, Barbie, shared this amazing idea...what if we could show you how to cook meals for your families that were not only healthy, but also time and cost effective? With that idea came "Cooking with FFN". I love the ease of having these delicious meals ready to go each week! Barbie lined out all the details and now, I'm pleased to offer you the first week I tried this out.  It's so nice to know all I needed was about an hour to prep FOUR meals for my family!  I just popped them into the crockpot while my BodyFX shake was mixing up in the Magic Bullet!

Stay tuned for more recipes to keep you on track!

Chicken Fajitas

2 Green Peppers (Or 1 Green/1Red)

1 Onion

3 Chicken Breasts

½ Cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 Packet Low Sodium Taco Seasoning

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp paprika

1 tsp sea salt

Cook in crock pot on low 6 hours or on high 3-4 hours

Serve with whole grain tortillas, black beans and a side salad.

 

Spinach and Salsa Chicken

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast

2 cups of salsa (or Pico de Gallo)

Frozen bag of spinach (I usually use 1/2 the bag, but you could use more or less)

1 to 2 tablespoons of Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning

Directions: Place all items in freezer bag, you can add or wait for the spinach 

Write on bag:

1. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4.

2. Shred the chicken and mix together with the spinach.

3. Serve on whole-grain/whole-wheat tortillas, over brown rice.  Don't forget your side salad!

Beef &Butternut Squash Stew

1 ½ pounds Lean Beef chopped in cubes

2 pounds Butternut Squash - cubed in 1/2”

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Large Onion Chopped

1 Sprig Rosemary (or 1tsp) *If using sprig remove before eating

1 Sprig Thyme (or 1 tsp)  *If using sprig remove before eating

32 oz Low Sodium Beef Stock

1tsp Pepper

1tsp Salt

3 TBS Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients. 

Cook for 3-4 Hours on High or 6-8 Hours on low in Crock Pot

Add a side salad for your side!

Bonus Recipe:

Tomato, Kale & Quinoa Soup

2 Cans (14.5oz) Petite Diced Tomatoes – Low Sodium

1 Can (15oz) Great Northern Beans-Low Sodium, drain & rinse

1 Onion, diced

3 Cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried basil

¼ tsp dried rosemary

¼ tsp dried thyme

2 bay leaves

32oz Vegetable broth – Low Sodium

Sea Salt & Pepper *to taste

1 Cup uncooked Quinoa//Keep in Separate bag till cooking

1 pound fresh Kale, Coarsely Chopped  **Added towards the end of cooking//Keep in Separate bag

** You may also add 1.5-2 pounds of Chicken or Lean Beef **

Put Bag one in Slow Cooker add Quinoa Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours.  Then add Kale cook until wilted.  Serve immediately.

I certainly plan to do this weekly!  It was so easy & dinner was ready when we got home!  

Make Your Own Almond Butter

I love almonds. I love them raw. I love them roasted. I love them with cinnamon, cocoa, smoked. I just love almonds. 

Up until the last couple of weeks, when I've wanted a nut butter, I've always bought almond butter. I pay close attention to the labels & make sure they only use almonds in my almond butter, but sometimes it just doesn't taste good, ya know?   Two weeks ago, during one of our winter storms, I embarked on a mission to make my own. My first experience was okay, but I really wasn't satisfied.  I used already roasted almonds, purchased from a store. And it still didn't taste super fresh. So this week, I bought some raw almonds.

I measured out 1 cup.

And roasted my own!

   

All you have to do is spread almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in a cold oven. Turn oven on to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake almonds, stirring occasionally, until light tan and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Be careful! The nuts will continue to cook after removing from oven.

I let them cool while I ate my breakfast this morning. And then popped them into my food processor. 

You'll go through several phases as they're processing. 

  

First, you'll get chopped up almonds. Then, it will look a little like almond "meal", basically a little gritty looking. After that, the oils will begin to release and it will start to stick to the sides of the food processor.  But...keep going. It's not ready yet!

  

It will kind of get thick & you'll notice heat coming off your food processor. No worries (unless the quality of your food processor isn't very good). The almonds are starting to break down, release their natural oils and make almond butter. (Mine started to ball up & I had to stop and break it apart.) At that point, I went about 5 more minutes, alternating between slow & fast. 

Finally, it started getting smoother. And the smell was positively divine!

And then...it was finished!!! I grabbed my scales & some 2 oz portion cups & divided it out 1 oz per cup. 

 

I now have six 1 oz servings of freshly ground almond butter! Make yours and let me know what you think!

Remember, when following the FirstFitness Nutrition program, you can enjoy 1/2 cup of almonds for a snack. Have some with a little celery! Yum!

2. 
   

Menu Monday rolls back around!

Whew!  I made it through a weekend trip to Eureka Springs without doing too much damage.  We had a wonderful weekend.  Our stay at 5 Ojo Inn was fabulous!  Jan & Richard are wonderful hosts and we are already planning our next trip.  They served up a great (not totally FFN friendly) breakfast, but we were able to not do too much damage to our wasitlines and even indulged a little!

Anyway, while we were in Eureka, we happened upon a few cool places--Fresh Harvest and The Spice Boat.  The Spice Boat had the most amazing spices, fresh from the docks and packaged without any additives.  We even bought some tea too.  Fresh Harvest was an Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar shop.  If you're in Eureka, you really should stop by!  They are worth the trip!

Even though we had a great weekend, I'm so glad to be back home where I can control what I am eating and how it's prepared.  This is our last week of softball and will end with a tournament over the weekend.  You got it...another "I can't plan for this completely" weekend.  And we have football on Friday night.  My crockpot will be getting a workout this week!

My menu this week will obviously include Shakes & Fruit for breakfast as usual.  For lunch, I have planned to have dinner leftovers or tuna using the Lime Infused EVOO we bought at Fresh Harvest. It is positively life changing stuff! (LOL) I'm planning some fish & chicken for our dinners...check out a few of the recipes I'm trying this week:

Seared Salmon with Cinnamon & Chili Powder

Baked Slow Cooker Chicken

Quinoa Pilaf (this is actually my favorite Quinoa recipe.  It's the first one I made that everyone LOVED)

Have a FFN Friendly week!

Jenn

30-Day Weight Loss Challenge

I'm looking for 5 people to work very closely with to help lose weight & get healthy! Our focus will be on your nutrition and following a simple-to-do program with guaranteed success. 

I personally know how hard it is to get motivated & stay motivated while trying to lose weight. 3 years ago I tackled my weight problem head on with the help of a coach and can proudly say I have lost (& maintained) 60 pounds! 

My private online group will begin October 5, 2014. There is a cost involved, but this program gets results! Call, text or message me if you're interested! 

Jenn

870-403-8921

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts #ffnrecipe

Another #ffnrecipe for veggies!  This time it's Roasted Brussels Sprouts!  Cheyenne (and Dusty) love them!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• a few grinds of black pepper

Preparation

1. Trim the bottoms from the sprouts if they appear dry or yellowed, and peel away the loose outer leaves. Slice the sprouts in half through the stem.
2. Place an oven rack a few inches below your broiler and turn on the broiler. Set a cast-iron skillet over high heat. When drops of water evaporate on contact, the skillet is ready for roasting.
3. Toss the sprouts with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour them into the pan and quickly flip them cut-side down. If they don’t all fit cut-side down, that’s OK; just flip as many as you can. Do not stir the sprouts.
4. Put the pan under the broiler. Roast for 3 minutes, then begin checking for charring. Remove the pan when the tops of the sprouts are evenly charred, about 5-7 minutes total.
5. Serve immediately for maximum crispiness. After cooling, the sprouts are still tasty but lose their crisp texture.

To Make a Double Batch: Place a baking sheet in the oven while the broiler is heating. Remove the baking sheet and arrange all the sprouts cut-sides down. Place the pan back under the broiler to finish cooking.

Nutritional information

Serves 4 as a side dish
Serving Size: ~2/3 cup
Total calories: 110
Total fat: 4.5
Saturated fat: .5 g
Sodium: 200 mg
Carbohydrate: 12 g
Fiber: 6 g
Protein: 4 g