Zucchini Tots

I LOVE TATER TOTS!  I love the salty, fried potato goodness.  I needed something to fill the hole that tater tots left behind.  These are not tater tots, but they are pretty yummy all the same and went well with my salmon burgers.

I came across the recipe here.  There is also cheese in them so that made them pretty awesome too.

1 cups zucchini, grated 
1 egg
1/4 yellow onion, grated
1/4 cup cheese (cheddar or Parmesan work the best)
1/4 cup bread crumbs - I used Italian style
Salt and Pepper


I grated the zucchini and onion and then put them in some paper towels and squeezed the liquid out of them.  This is a VERY important step.  If you don't get rid of the liquid, your tots will never set.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.  Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and then distribute the mix into 12 mini muffin holes.  Cook for about 20 minutes until they have set and the tops are golden brown.

Breakfast Sandwiches

I have been eating Overnight Oatmeal every morning for breakfast for months now because it is made ahead of time and I can just grab a jar and go.  This morning, I tried something new!

I fried up 2 slices of Center cut bacon and toasted 2 English muffins.  In a muffin tin, I put 2 egg whites each in 2 muffin holes that were sprayed with cooking spray.  I then cut up the bacon and put them in the egg whites (1 slice per muffin) and put them in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked completely.

Then I put 2 Tablespoons of shredded, reduced fat cheddar on an English muffin half and put an egg on it.  I made the complete egg sandwich and put it back in the oven until the cheese is all melty.

Delicious!!!  One for me, one for The Hubs.  Breakfast is served and it is less than 250 calories!!

You can make these ahead of time and freeze them as well, which I REALLY enjoy.

Peanut Butter Banana Wrap with Mini Chocolate Chips and Golden Raisins

I love all things that have peanut butter and chocolate, so I decided to make a snack wrap today with those things in mind.  To make it seem healthier, I also added some banana and golden raisins.  I can convince myself that something is healthy if I can add some fruit and/or veggies to it.  It is my super power.  :)

-1 Low carb, multigrain wrap (60 calories)

-1 Tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter (85 calories)

-1 teaspoon mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life chips, 25 calories)

-1 Tablespoon of Golden Raisins (depending on what brand, 30 calories)

-1/2 banana (depending on size, 50 calories)

This wrap is about 250 calories and is very filling.  As you know by now, I need a snack pretty much every day at about 3pm and this hit the spot!  It is filling and satisfied my peanut butter/chocolate craving.

Tomato and Basil Salad

The garden is getting a little out of control, so this week I made a very simple salad for my lunches this week.

4 cups of chopped, seeded tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped basil
1 can white beans
1/2 cup quinoa dry, cooked and cooled
2 oz of any hard cheese grated such as pecorino or parmesan
2 Tablespoons of Balsamic

This makes me 5 servings to have as a salad or in a wrap.  Nutritional facts: Saturated fat: 2.4 grams, dietary fiber: 5.6 grams, sugars: 2.4 grams, protein: 9.5 grams, 187 calories.

Health Calculators

I came across this app available on iPhone and Android.  You can also access it via it's website as well www.healthstatus.com.  It has a VERY extensive calories burned calculator.  Calories burned calculators aren't the most accurate things in the world, but this gives you a good estimate on how many calories you have burned doing various activities.  It also has calculators to determine your Ideal Weight and it also has a calculator that uses your weight and age and tells you how long you have to complete various activities in order to burn so many calories.  It is a pretty neat app.  Check it out!

Ice Cream Sandwiches!

Behold the 77 calorie ice cream sandwich!  The first 3 I made on the plate above were gone in about 30 seconds after making them because the kiddos and I scarfed them down.

I just took one sheet of graham crackers and broke them in half and then put about 2 Tablespoons of chocolate frozen yogurt on one half and put the other graham cracker on top and gently pressed the 2 crackers together.  Make a bunch and keep them in the freezer because they are a yummy snack for less than 100 calories!

My Version of a BLT

Vegetarians, look away.  Today I wanted some bacon.  I do not like turkey bacon.  I like REAL bacon.  I cooked up 2 slices of center cut, thick sliced bacon (80 calories).  While it was sizzling away I pulled out one of my low carb tortillas (60 calories) and spread a Laughing Cow Veggie Cheese (45 calories) wedge on it.  Then I placed some spinach on top of the cheese and a sliced Roma tomato on top of that.  Once the bacon was done, I drained the grease on a paper towel and put it in my wrap and wrapped it up.  It was OH.  SO.  HEAVENLY.  It wasn't too bad for me either.  The only problem is that I wanted another one when I was finished with it, but I had some blackberries instead.  See, I can have self control some times.

Back to Basics: Salad

I make my breakfast and lunch ahead of time every week, so I don't have to think about what to have to eat.  This keeps me on track to make better food choices.  Instead of making one salad to last me the entire week for lunch, I decided that I would make a new salad every day this week.  Call it my super convenient salad bar.  Sunday night I boiled some eggs and chopped up mushrooms, red bell peppers, cucumber and broccoli and bagged them individually.  I also picked up some bagged salad.  This will be the basic salad all week.  I can change it up every day by adding leftovers like chicken or steak or BACON!  I can also add dried cranberries, walnuts, almonds, fresh herbs from the garden or deli meat.  The possibilities are endless!

What is your favorite kind of salad??

Good for Puppy's Tummy

My little Lilly is still a puppy and still eats EVERYTHING!  Sometimes it causes her to not feel so great, so here is a bone that helps her feel better.  I found it here.  Pumpkin helps soothe their stomachs.

-2 eggs
-1/2 cup canned pumpkin
-2 tablespoons dry milk
-1/4 teaspoon sea salt
-2 1/2 cups brown rice flour  (you can also use whole wheat flour, but rice flour is easier on their tummy)
-1 teaspoon dried parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs and pumpkin until smooth.  Mix the other ingredients in with it.

Lilly loves them!

Roll it out on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to be between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.  Use a cookie cutter or just cut them with a knife into strips.  My daughter had a ball cutting these out and making tine marks with a fork in the middle.  

Put them in the oven for 20 minutes and then flip them over and bake for another 20 minutes.

Fresh, Crunchy Snack

I am loving cucumbers these days so I got some Veggie Laughing Cow and spread it on a slice of Ezekiel Bread.  Then, I layered on some baby spinach and cucumbers.  Delicious!  It was only 137 calories too!

Meatless meatballs

This evening I made my spaghetti squash with tomato sauce.  To change things up a little I decided to make some TVP meatballs.  They were so yummy!  The one thing I would change since I had mine with spaghetti sauce was to omit the cumin.  


Preheat Oven to 375 degrees
1 cup texturized vegetable protein (TVP)
1 cups boiling water or broth
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
3/4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 egg


Boil the water or broth and then turn heat off and add the TVP.  Set aside.  Saute the onion and garlic until translucent.  add tvp, onion mixture, and the remaining ingredients in a food processor.  Then spoon them (about a heaping tablespoon) on to a sheet pan and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Cheesy Snack!

I LOVE GRILLED CHEESE!  Not a surprise, I know.  Anyone who knows me, knows I would kill for the last grilled cheese sandwich on earth.  These days I have to be a little smarter about it though.

I got a light multigrain English muffin and toasted it.  Then I sprinkled 1/4 cup of sharp, reduced fat, shredded cheddar on both halves and popped it under the broiler until melted and then put one slice of my garden tomatoes and VOILA....Cheesy Goodness.  It is a nice lunch or afternoon snack for less than 200 calories.

Mediterranean Crunch Salad

My lunch for this week is Mediterranean Crunch Salad and I found it at the Whole Foods site.  I altered it a bit to fit my tastes and you can do the same.

1 can of Garbanzo beans (15 oz)
1 chopped English cucumber
1 cup of quartered cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup diced onions
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup of finely sliced kale, thick stems removed
20 Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced,
3 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon, finely chopped fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon, finely chopped parsley

As always, this is good as a salad, side, or in a wrap.

My version makes 5 servings and is 170 calories.  It has .7 grams saturated fat, 4.9 grams dietary fiber, 3.4 grams sugar, and 6 grams protein.

Happy Birthday to my favorite pup!

Yesterday was my Lilly Bean's first birthday and to celebrate, I made some homemade Frosty Paws (Ice cream for dogs).  It is so easy to do!  In my food processor I added:

32 oz of plain yogurt (I used organic.  Nothing but the best for my pooch!)
1 ripe banana
2 Tablespoons of natural peanut butter
2 Tablespoons of honey

I zapped it all until smooth and then distributed it among small containers to toss in the freezer.  Keep an eye on your dog while he/she is eating.  Besides the fact that they will most likely be scooting it all over the house trying to get every last drop of yummy goodness, he/she may also be silently chewing on the container the ice cream is in....or maybe that is just my doggy.

Cool as a Cucumber!

It is going to be 100 degrees here today.  I do not want to cook anything.  I had overnight oatmeal for breakfast and this was my midmorning snack.  I sliced half of a cucumber into 4 thick slices, scooped out the center and added some mozzarella, sun-dried tomato and basil Laughing Cow cheese...easy, cool and delicious....plus, only 43 calories!!

Strawberry banana breakfast wrap

I made some homemade almond butter because....well I love it.  My favorite almond butter is Justin's Almond Butter, but it has 200 calories per serving.  Mine has only 98 calories because it has no added oil.  My favorite thing to make with my almond butter (other than straight off the spoon) is to add it to a breakfast wrap.  I get a low carb tortilla (mine is 60 calories) and smear some almond butter, slice up 3 strawberries and half of a banana and roll it up.  My wrap is 221 calories.

Mediterranean farro salad

I know I am late with my post today. I have been without power since Friday. I could whine and complain about it, but I have a generator and my town is not underwater and I am not watching fires come closer and closer to my home. I will just be thankful that I can do some of my everyday activities that I enjoy (thank you gas stove). Please excuse any typos or formatting issues as I am doing this all on my iPhone.

Here is my lunch for the week. I can keep it in a bowl or toss it in a wrap.

3oz fresh mozzarella, diced
4oz kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups farro uncooked
About 25 cherry tomatoes quartered
1/4 cup diced red onion
3 minced garlic cloves (or less)
About 30 chopped basil leaves
2 Tablespoons balsamic
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook and cool your farro and add it with all the other ingredients. Enjoy!!