Crustless Veggie Quiche or 29 veggies in 7 minutes

This can be breakfast or dinner!  My family likes to have breakfast for dinner anyway, so here's a healthy solution.  I like to make creative combinations that save me time, so this one uses the steamed potatoes and veggies from dinner the night before, but they won't be recognized as recycled!

Here's the text just in case you can't see the graphic.

10 eggs, or egg whites

2 Cups leftover dinner veggies

1 Cup leftover steamed potatoes

6 Slices crumbled Cheddar cheese

1/2 Cup milk

1 Scoop Blendfresh Green (optional)

1 Scoop Blendfresh Orange (optional)

Bake about 50 mins at 350 in an oiled 8x11 glass pan.

Serves 12 breakfast or dinner.

  For more recipes feel free to like my page www.facebook.com/jenngibbswellness.

Pumpkin Muffins - the first ever Recipe Card!

I don't know about you, but I started out with a file box of recipe cards, just like my mom did.  Then I graduated to a binder (or several!) to collect my favorites.  Then finding a recipe turned into typing a search into my favorite recipe website and if it looked really promising, printing off a recipe.  

Well I have been getting nostalgic lately for the old fashioned stuff like quilts and hand made furniture.  No wonder vintage is back with a vengeance!  We all want to be connected to our traditions.  So, to pay homage to the recipe card box, I'm going to post my "recipe cards" as I share my favorites.  Maybe they will make it into your recipe card file too.  

I have a new Blendtec blender (which I LOVE) and I've never made muffins in a blender before now, but this took just seconds and I was the hero.  I am all for quick and easy when it comes to dinner prep!  Warm soup and fresh muffins - how can you beat that for a rainy night?  I adapted this recipe to my own style (more healthy, but still very tasty).  It also has a lot of fiber, which goes nicely to keep you satisfied with a light meal like soup.

As a side note, I love the Orange Fruits and Veggies Blend by Blendfresh.  If you aren't familiar with it yet, it's a powder made of 12 fruits and veggies dried at low temperatures to protect their nutritional value and enzymes, and then powdered so they won't spoil.  It makes it easy to add extra plant nutrition to your foods.  For example, the bottle of Orange has carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, banana, mango, pineapple, acerola, apricot, peach, yellow bell pepper, lemon and orange in raw, whole food powder form.  But the beautiful thing is that while you and your family will enjoy all the benefits of added vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber, no one will even taste it!  Awesome ;)

If you'd like to learn more about or purchase any of the whole food blends from Blendfresh, just click www.blendwithjenn.com to learn or shop.

In case you can't see my old fashioned recipe card graphic above, here is the text version of it.

Pumpkin Muffins

In your blender jar combine and blend 20 seconds:

1 C canned pumpkin          2 C buttermilk
3 eggs                                1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt                             1/2 t baking soda
1 tsp baking powder           1 t cinnamon
1 T coconut (or other) oil    1 C oats
1 T (optional) Blendfresh Orange Fruits & Veggies Blend

Next add:
1 C flour and pulse 4-6 times.

Pour into 12 muffin tins and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

A Compromise on Instant Oatmeal?

Some days the kids just want a "fun" cereal for breakfast.  Translation: "Please can I have extra sugar and less fiber from a brightly colored package before you send me off to sit still at school for half a day".  Uh, maybe not.

But we want them to have a little fun sometimes and feel like they have choices, and most importantly to not grow up feeling so deprived that they binge on cold cereal the second they go off to college.  So being the stealthy, healthy mom that I am, I've engineered a compromise.  Here's how it goes.  On special days they can pick a flavored instant oatmeal packet.  In the beginning they would watch me pour it into their bowl, then I'd walk over, add the water, and as they happily ran off to get ready for the day I'd grab a handful of regular oats and add them to the bowl.  (The regular oats aren't even called instant, but cook up in just the same amount of time in the microwave and actually give the kids something to chew on versus drinking down the instant stuff).  They've figured out what I'm up to and these days they don't even mind.  They're used to the taste of less sugar now.

So they get to pick the fun flavor they want from a brightly colored assortment, and I get to give them an added dose of fiber so they will stay full until lunch and keep their tummy from hurting from too much processed food.  Plus the goodness in the oats will dilute down the sugar from the instant packet since the body has something more hearty to digest, creating a more positive glycemic effect on blood sugar.  By doing this I'm also teaching them to adapt recipes to be more healthy at the same time.

Oats even have some protein, did you know that?  Lots of vegan protein powders use it as a main protein source.  Just think, you get all these benefits and you slash your grocery bill too by adding the less expensive regular oats to the more expensive flavor packs.  Everybody wins!

Let me know how you like it!  If you're on Instagram post a pic of your bowl and tag me with @coachjenngibbs .  Thanks!

The Magic of Flavor - Capers and Lowfat Tilapia Piccata Recipe

If you're like most of us trying to be health conscious, you've probably tried the "eat clean" baked chicken breast and steamed broccoli phase.  For many body builders, this is a staple go-to meal and is accepted as is.  But let's face it - they have a much bigger motivation than the average person.  They have a deadline to bare just about everything in a tiny swimsuit on a stage.  Been there, done that, it can be very intimidating.  And yes, it is a great source of strength for food choices!

But what if you just want to eat healthy and not be bored?  Don't get me wrong.  I DO encourage people to begin planning their meals and snacks with a lean protein and vegetable and then see what else you decide to add.  It's an easy strategy.  So yes, chicken and broccoli (adapt if you are vegetarian).  But it doesn't have to be flavorless.

I want to share one of my secret weapons; the caper.  You may have heard of them or had them once or twice, maybe in a Mediterranian restaurant, but likely they aren't in your fridge.  I would think they'd be more mainstream as tasty as they are.

Capers are small, pea sized buds from the caper bush.  They are pickled for flavor, but they taste nothing like a pickle!  Some call it a tart flavor, but I say think of the flavor of a salt and vinegar potato chip.  If your not a fan of the chips, just imagine what a little of that flavor would be like to liven up chicken or fish, or in a green or bean salad.  Just a little unexpected zest that makes it fun for almost no more calories.  Hooray!

If you go to fancy Italian restaurants you might have seen Chicken Piccata as a dish on the menu.  The traditional version is to dredge your chicken breast (or for fish too) in beaten egg, dip in flour, then fry in olive oil.  When it's done squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top and decorate with capers.  I've opted for the healthy version in the picture above.  Super easy - I dare you to try it.

Tilapia Piccata (lowfat version)

Frozen tilapia loin
Salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste
Lemon
Capers

Place frozen tilapia in a pan and season.  Bake in a 350 degree oven about 20-25 minuted depending on the size of the cut, until fish flakes easily with a fork at the center.  Squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle capers on top.  Enjoy with a giant salad!

If you need help finding them, just look in any grocery store (this pic is from Walmart!).  It's in the aisle with the olives and canned artichokes.  Grab some of those while you're there to keep on hand for your next pasta salad.  Enjoy and share!

The Secret to Getting the Most from your Green Smoothie

Green smoothies have become a popular way to get more fresh fruit and veggies and all their wonderful parts into our diets.  If you aren't sold, you should try one!  As if more produce wasn't reason enough in itself, when we do this we are sneaking in all the fiber, extra water and phytonutrients that come with them for very minimal effort.  My kids have grown up associating a glass like this with sweet deliciousness instead of "yuck,green!".

 TIP:  If you have a hard time with the color, try putting it in a colored cup and drink with a straw, or just add blueberries for a lovely shade of purple every time.

Unless your veggies are fried or coated in a not-so-good-fat dressing, we want LOTS of them in your diet. Making smoothies is one easy and creative way to quickly put the raw, fresh version straight into your body. 

 My recipe:  I use a full size blender filled with about 2 cups of water, a big handful or two of greens, some ice or frozen fruit to chill and then top off with fresh fruit.  The secret ingredient I like to add to make the most of the iron in my greens is coconut milk.  

I buy it in a liter box from Costco (I like the So Delicious brand).  Doesn't that just add extra fat calories you ask?  It does, but coconut fat is special - medium chain fatty acids like what is in breast milk - good for the human body; joint, skin, hair, brain, etc.  That in itself is a topic for another day. 

So yes, I want to add coconut oil to my diet as a supplement, but specifically with my greens?  Absolutely!  Part of what makes them green is the iron.  Quick story - during my pregnancies I suffered from a mild case of anemia, which means lack of iron in the blood.  In real life that means there weren't enough little molecules  roaming around my bloodstream to carry the oxygen fast enough for me.  For example, if I stood up too quickly my brain would take a quick brake (the little oxygen was going to my muscles instead), and my vision would go black, hearing would temporarily disappear, and if I was lucky I could steady myself on a chair or a wall until it returned in a few seconds, or feel my way down to the floor without fainting.  That's a fun side note, and hopefully one you have never experienced, but the point is that ABSORBING the iron from my diet was very important for my body.  It is for most women in general.   

Greens are a great source of iron - more on that is coming.  And according to a Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry research article "iron utilization and iron absorbtion was greater in diets in which the fat was supplied as coconut oil".  A stimulating read to be sure, but the point is that you'll actually use the iron from your diet better when combined with coconut oil.  So why not pack one more punch in that smoothie?  Yay for good fats!

So take a risk and try it out.  My bet is you'll enjoy the creamy texture it adds and you'll feel good about your food choice all day!

ps-
If you love medical data and studies here is the link of the article - enjoy!
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf60198a036

Help! My family wants Mexican food!

Starting with this picture is like reading the last chapter of a book first; it takes all the suspense away.  But I really was proud of the solution I found ,so it's okay.

It was Sunday night.  Earlier in the day I had filled the crock pot with chicken breasts and the best intentions before we left for church.  Seasoned with just a little garlic and dried onion, I had planned to come home to enough chicken for a nice Sunday dinner and extra to help me stay on track through the week.  Perfect plan right?  I had even cleaned the kitchen so it would be so easy to make a nice Sunday dinner for the family.

The problem was I had planned nothing other than chicken breasts.  I make sure when I shop to stock up on lots of fresh veggies, so I had a number of things I could steam or make a salad from.  But I had made a salad the night before, and I've been looking at lots of steamed veggies lately, so neither one of those had much appeal.  Combine this weak spot with the family asking "what's for dinner?".  Uh oh.  This is where your metal gets tested.

Like a bunch of baby birds chirping, I keep hearing "Mom, I'm hungry..." (insert whine as you read).  I had made a good start, but now it was showtime and I didn't have a good finish planned.  With 11 days left until the Beachbody Classic physique competition, this was no time to be hungry and without a plan.  I stalled to give myself time to think.  First I would take care of the noise-makers in the room.

Enchiladas are a quick go-to (I'll give my super easy microwave recipe in an upcoming post), but we didn't have enough corn or flour tortillas to make a whole pan.  It is more dangerous for me to keep uncooked, fresh tortillas in the fridge to tempt me, so I opted for quesadillas to use them up first.  I was thinking I might make myself a corn taco, but wondering how to handle the cheese situation (corn and cheese are both off limits until after the show).

I had to get creative, and fast.  I can honestly say I would not have come up with this if I had not had a rock solid "why" or goal in mind.  I came very close to just having one quesadilla.  What's the harm?  It's only one.  It won't ruin everything, can't be more than 200 calories, right?  But for me I know this is a slippery slope, and I have made a commitment to myself to say no to those things TEMPORARILY for a greater reason.  It was hard.  I'm not saying this lightly.  I'm making food I like for everyone else and still don't know what I will be eating, but desperately trying to figure it out before my resolve wanes.  But then I realized, not only do I want to do my best and be proud of my choices - especially when they are hard - but I will be in this exact same situation again.  And so will the good people I coach.  And I had a chance under pressure to make myself think to the next level and find a solution that worked, and that I could advocate as a substitute.

So there you have it.  You can see the results in my picture above.  I did serve my family refried beans along with their meal (PLEASE give your family some fiber if you are serving white flour tortillas!).  I topped them with a few sliced orange bell peppers for color and so I wouldn't miss the cheese as much.  In the heat they softened and were really very good.  And as I had mentioned, I was not in the mood for a salad again on this day, hence the steamed broccoli.  And my own personal solution to not having a quesadilla?  I shredded some of the chicken, mixed the enchilada sauce with it and topped with avocado.  Absolutely delicious.  In the end I did not feel ripped off at all.  In fact, I came out last with my plate and there were a few envious eyes.  My husband even said "I would have eaten that instead if I had known you were making it"!  The most delicious part though, was knowing I had kept my word to myself and as a payday I not only am closer to my goal, but I have a new recipe to look forward to on Mexican night