Best Ever Healthier Banana Bread

This is a recipes that I altered so much to make it healthier and to my taste that I will claim it for my own. It is the best I have ever had!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. melted coconut oil
• 1/4 c apple sauce
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c Stevia
• 1/4 c honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 c wheat flour
• 3/4 c. white flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c light sour cream
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c chia seeds
• 1/4 c. unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350
Mix melted butter, applesauce and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Next add flours, baking soda, and salt. Mix well then add sour cream, bananas, nuts, and coconut.
Prepare pan/pans (I used mini loaf pans) with pam. Pour into prepared pans, sprinkle with sugar in the raw if desired (gives a nice crunch) and bake for 40- 60 minutes (depending on size of pan), or until toothpick comes out with only a slight amount of the bread on the toothpick.

Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes



Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

12 oz. orzo 1 bunch fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved 1 lemon, zested and juiced 4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 2 Tbs. fresh parsley, minced Kosher salt Fresh ground pepper Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions

Bring 2 large pots of water to boil. Add a big pinch of salt in each.

To one pot, add asparagus and blanch, about 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus.

Place blanched asparagus in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep them green.

To the second pot, add the orzo. Cook per package instructions. When tender, drain and place in a large bowl.

Add blanched asparagus and tomato halves.

Mix olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir into orzo and vegetables. Stir in parsley and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

This can be served warm, room temperature or cold.

From http://www.abigmouthful.com/lemon-orzo-salad-with-asparagus-and-tomatoes/

Serving Size: 8

Number of Servings: 8

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 8
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 222.1

• Total Fat: 7.9 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 3.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 34.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.8 g
• Protein: 6.1 g

Baked Chicken Nuggets

• 16 oz (2 large) skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into even bit sized pieces
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 6 tbsp whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I could only find white not wheat)
• 2 tbsp panko
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• olive oil spray or Pam 

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray or Pam.

Put the olive oil, salt and pepper in a ziploc bag and the breadcrumbs, panko and parmesan cheese in another

Put chicken in olive oil then lift into bread crumb mixture and shake. Lift these out and place on baking sheet, spray top with olive oil or Pam and bake for about 8 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.
Sooo good and you wont miss all the fat and oil from frying!

Healthy Shepherds Pie

My family loved this! The cauliflower does not diminish the taste and makes it so healthy.

This is another recipe from Iowagirleats.com but I changed a couple of things. The picture is her version because I forgot to take a picture.

For the mashed potatoes:

2 large potatoes
1 head cauliflower
2 Tablespoons butter
salt & pepper to taste

Peel and cut potatoes in 2 inch cubes. Cut up cauliflower. Boil potatoes for 5 minutes then add the cauliflower and cook for about 10 more minutes, or until very tender. Drain and "mash" the mixture. I used my Kitchen aid mixer. Warm the milk and butter and add to the potato mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

For the filling:

1 lb. ground turkey
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper
3 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons  tomato paste
1 Tbs. each soy sauce & worchestershire sauce
1 can chicken broth
2 cups frozen vegetable medley

Brown the meat with onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add the flour when the turkey is cooked. Next add the soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, tomato paste, and chicken broth.
Cook for 5 minutes then add the frozen vegetables.

Put this in a casserole dish and top with potatoes and sprinkle with some cheddar cheese ( I used reduced fat, about 1/2 cup), season with more salt and pepper and bake at 400 degrees until bubbly ( about 20-30 minutes).

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Sweet corn and Tomatoes

This recipe is from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients (serves 1) I quadrupled this for my family but only did 3 chicken breast and sliced them to put on top.

• 1 chicken breast, pounded thin
• 6 Tablespoons Homemade Lemon Dressing, divided
• 1/4 cup brown basmati rice, dry
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup fresh sweet corn, cut off the cob
• 1/4 cup red onion, minced
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

Instructions

• Marinate chicken breast in 3 Tablespoons lemon dressing for 15-20 minutes. Grill on high heat then set aside when done.
• Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in rice, place a tight fitting lid on top, turn the heat down to low and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and all the water has been absorbed.
• Heat 1 Tablespoon lemon dressing in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté corn and red onion for 3-4 minutes, or until onion is soft. Add in cooked rice and 1 more Tablespoon lemon dressing. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
• Stir cherry tomatoes into corn and rice mixture, plate, then top with grilled chicken. Drizzle with remaining Tablespoon of lemon dressing.

Lemon Dressing:

Ingredients

• 2 lemons, juiced
• 6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, microplaned or finely minced
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

• Place ingredients into a container with a tight fitting lid, like a mason jar, and shake to combine.

Asian Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tb grated ginger root
• 1 tb prepared lemongrass (usually found in a tube in the produce section)
• 1 cup water
• 32 oz low sodium chicken broth
• 1 small grocery store rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 4 ounces  angel hair pasta
• juice from one lime
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large stock-pot over medium heat and saute garlic, ginger and lemongrass for 3 minutes.
2. Add water, chicken broth, lime juice, carrots, salt and red pepper and bring to a boil.
3. Add pasta and boil until pasta is al dente.
4. Remove from heat, stir in chicken, cilantro and green onions. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Roasted Lemon Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 pounds small yukon gold potatoes
4 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
coarse sea salt
paprika powder
3 garlic cloves
2 lemons
pepper
parsley
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400F. In a bowl :

• Zest one lemon
• juice both lemons
• Get 4 tbsp oil, a really, really good pinch of black pepper, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt (no more than this), a heaping tsp oregano and 3 garlic cloves in there (grated or chopped of course).
• Now pour in 1/3 cup of chicken broth.
• Mix these together
• quarter or half potatoes and spread onto a baking sheet
• Pour mixture over and sprinkle with salt and paprika
• Put them in a preheated oven for 30 minutes, take them out, flip them over and put them back in for another 20 minutes. Check for readiness.
  Serve with a royal amount of chopped fresh parsley sprinkled all over.

You can also add asparagus for the last 20 minutes and stir together. I loved the potatoes and asparagus roasted together.

* This is originally from Kayotic Kitchen