Category Archives for "Recipes"

My meals at my house are simple to make, healthy for you, and enjoyable to eat. Often I use just a few ingredients for a recipe. This recipe has become a family favorite. I didn't know what I would find roasting cabbage for the first time, but it was actually really yummy. Roasting vegetables does something magical and roasting cabbage is no different. This is fantastic. I'm going to serve this with salmon cakes, a salad and dilly beans. 

Roasted Garlic Cabbage

• 1 big green cabbage, cut into thick slices
• 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
• 5 large garlic cloves, minced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 F. Brush both sides of each cabbage slice with the olive oil or ghee. Spread the garlic evenly on each side of the cabbage slices, and season them to taste with salt and pepper. Roast in your oven for 20 minutes; then turn the slices over and roast them again for another 20 minutes or until the edges are crispy.

Roasting vegetables does something magical. Give it a try.

Enjoy Good Food,

Coach Nancy

I am on a quest to try a new recipe each week. Last week I tried Cauliflower Nachos. They were a nice treat to have with some chicken wings. 

This week my new recipe is Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls. Lori, who sent me this recipe, told me if I liked stuffed cabbage rolls I would like this one. She was right. What she didn't tell me was how quickly I could put this recipe together. I used a short cut which made it go even quicker. 

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 head of cabbage, shredded *
• 1 24- ounce jar of pasta sauce

Brown the ground beef along with the onion. Add the garlic and the cabbage. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the jar of pasta sauce. Simmer until it is heated through. 

How simple is that? 

*Shortcut: I used a bag of shredded coleslaw instead of taking the time to shred my own cabbage. 

Lori said she added cauliflower rice to the pot at the same time as the cabbage. You can rice your own cauliflower but my shortcut is using either fresh or frozen rice cauliflower.  Win Win! More veggies and another shortcut. 

Enjoy Good Food,

Coach Nancy

Food Police do not really exist. I do not sneak into your house in order to peak into your fridge and cupboards. There aren't any cameras in the grocery store so I can monitor what you buying. Eating healthy food doesn't mean it has to taste like cardboard and look even worse. Nutritious foods do not exclude desserts. Thinking out of the box (literally not grabbing a box of sweets) is totally possible. Check out this recipe for a quick dessert you can whip up for your family in a short amount of time. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding

• 2 cups Water
• 2 Scoops Chocolate Protein Powder ( I use Beverly International UMP)
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a high-power blender or food processor. Blend or process until completely smooth. You may eat it right away, but it is best after it has been completely chilled in the refrigerator.

(SHHhhhh.... don't tell anyone but you can eat this for breakfast as well. I would add some cut up veggies to eat along side.)

Enjoy Good Food,

Coach Nancy

Valentine's Day is widely known as a day to get and receive chocolates. I love giving and receiving gifts like most everyone I know. I just don't need a lot of extra calories. I created this recipe as a treat for everyone after training. 

Valentine's Day Treat

• 1 cup frozen mixed berries. (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) 
• 1 Tablespoon pecans
• 8 ounces water
• 1 scoop vanilla UMP protein powder by Beverly International

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. By adding more of less water you can control how thick you want this shake to be. 

Enjoy good food,

Coach Nancy

Happy Valentine's Day. I don't tell you enough how much you all mean to me. Thank you for choosing to spend a portion of your time with me each week. Helping others is truly the one thing I love to do. 

There are several ways to get a squash cooked and ready to eat. You can do it the hard way, or the easy way, although I prefer the flavor you get from roasting in the oven.

Oven Method 1 (Practice Your Knife Skills)

Preheat your oven to 325

Cut your squash in half. Be very careful. Squash are hard and usually round so cutting them in half can be difficult. Scoop out the seeds. Again the squash is now a slippery round object. Place in a pan skin side down with ¼ inch of water in it. Bake until soft. Now use a spoon to scoop out the squash to use. (Careful they are very hot, the water is very hot.)

Oven Method 2 (Easier)

Preheat your oven to 325.

Pierce it (the squash, not the oven) with a sharp knife all around the skin.

Roast it on a pan (you don't need any water) for about 1 hour.

Remove from oven, Let it cool until you can easily handle the squash. Slice in half long ways, remove the seeds and take the flesh out with a spoon or fork.

Microwave Method

Just pierce the squash as suggested above, then microwave it for 8 minutes (flipping it over at 4) and cut as described in Oven Method 2.

The skin of a squash is edible, so don't be afraid to try it. It won't bite back! 🙂

You can find some wonderful recipes for all sorts of squash online. Here are some of my favorites. 

Stuffed Butternut Squash for Breakfast

Stuffed Acorn Squash Anytime

Pumpkin Soup

Enjoy Good Food,

Coach Nancy

My goal this year is to try one new recipe a week. With your help I can reach my goal. You see I love having someone tell me, "I just made this great recipe because........" Then I get to hear first hand what they loved about it. Since I hang out with people who are busy like me, have families, with teens, and yet also want to eat healthy I find I want to try that recipe too. After completing my goal this year, I will have at least 52 recipes that are tried and true. Here is one that Lori sent to me. By the way she sent me another that is on my list to make in the coming weeks. Help me reach my goal by sending me recipes. When you send me them also tell me why you loved them. Lori said this recipe was soooooo good especially over the zucchini noodles. 

Lasagna Soup

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz)
• 1 jar marinara sauce (25 oz)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4-6 medium zucchini, spiralized into noodles
• 1/2 cup mozzarella or shredded parmesan cheese

Brown your meat in a pan along with the onions. When the meat is done add in the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the Italian seasonings, diced tomatoes, marinara sauce, and chicken broth. Simmer for 30 minutes.

While that is cooking spiralize the zucchini. Saute lightly for 2-3 minutes then serve the soup on top. The cheese is optional.

This can also be made in crockpot. Place the first 8 ingredients in a crockpot. Stir to break up the meat. Cook for 6 hours on low then stir in the zucchini noodles. Let sit for 5 minutes and serve.

As you can see I didn't even get a picture of the soup before it was 1/2 gone. Yum. I imagine this soup would be delicious over Vegetable Fettuccini too. 

Enjoy good food,

Coach Nancy

Protein, Produce, and Water = PPW.  Consuming protein, produce, and water three times a day is PPW3. All the other food  and drink I take in, is extra and often lands as extra fat on my hips, in my gut, and just all around. My body feels healthier and looks leaner if I stick to Protein, Produce, and Water three times a day. (PPW3) To help keep me going, I've brought back this favorite from the depths of my cookbook. 

Chicken Veggie Pad Thai

• 2 pounds cooked chicken meat, cut into small 1” chunks
• 3-4 Tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 1 Tablespoons Coconut Aminos
• 4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice (or use a bottled lime juice)
• ½ Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 12- ounce package of broccoli slaw
• 4 medium carrots shredded or cut into small strips

Heat a skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Add coconut oil, fish sauce, coconut aminos, lime juice, and vinegar. Add broccoli slaw and carrots.  Cook, stirring frequently, until soft but still firm, about 3- 4 minutes. Add chicken and garlic and cook until heated through.  

To make your own broccoli slaw use just the stalk ends of broccoli and run it through your food processor. It's messier then buying the bag of slaw at the store but it uses up those stalk ends.

Toss or garnish with and cilantro.  Enjoy! 

Enjoy Good Food and eat PPW,

Coach Nancy

It's almost Game day. What is your  plan for food? Traditional munchies on your menu? Why not break out of your normal and try something new? I'm going with a meal that can be tailored to each person - Fajitas. My family loves the spicy foods of the South. I can fix beef fajitas and then provide the fixin's so that everyone can create their own Super Bowl Feast. 

5-INGREDIENT SLOW COOKER STEAK FAJITAS

• 2 pounds beef, sliced (top round steak works well here)
• 2 bell peppers, sliced, choose your favorite color
• 1 onion, sliced
• 15 ounces salsa 
• 2 Tablespoon fajita seasoning (3 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin)

Add all ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well. Cook on High 2-3 hours or on Low 4-6 hours. This recipe will serve 6 people. I love serving this on top of Cauliflower Rice.

I'll also serve black beans, more salsa, chopped raw onions, guacamole, cheddar cheese, sour cream, refried beans, green chilis, hot sauce, and some tortilla chips. Yes, even your coach will have chips on game day. 

Need some other helpful ideas for your game day food? Try Sweet Potato Sliders or Chorizo Stuffed Potato Skins, or Mexican Casserole.

Go Team,

Coach Nancy

I love having a recipe passed to me thats been proven to taste great. Its even better when it is meal made in one dish that I can make quickly. Win/ win. Thank you Stacy for passing this recipe along just when I needed it most. Keep them coming as I have a goal to try a new recipe once a week this year. 

Sweet Potato, Zucchini,  and Beef Skillet

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped and color will do
• 3 sweet potatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup beef broth or water
• 1 zucchini, diced 
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper

In a cast iron skillet add the ground beef, onion, and garlic. Cook until beef is no longer pink. Add the rest of the ingredients. Put a lid on the pan and simmer until potatoes are soft. This will be around 15 minutes depending on how large you cut them. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Serve over cauliflower rice. This will serve about 5 people. 

Hints to make this go even faster. I used frozen shredded zucchini as I didn't have any fresh. Saved me time chopping. You could use frozen onions and peppers in place of fresh. I used spaghetti sauce and still added the other seasonings. It was perfectly balanced. I also saved time by not peeling the potatoes. 

As a side note. 6:15am had a discussion on whether or not white potatoes were evil and sweet potatoes were not. I used a mixture of both in this recipe. There isn't any 'bad' foods. There are foods you should limit. Potatoes, whether white or sweet, should be one of those foods you chose to have on a limited basis if you are trying to lose weight. In this recipe they could be left out entirely if you are trying to drop weight. 

Enjoy Good Food,

Coach Nancy

Ask the Coach was a highlight during Fun Friday this week. One question that was asked was; "what is my favorite breakfast?" My answer is a hash with fried eggs. This is one of my favorite hash recipes. Breakfast doesn't have to be complicated or take an excessive amount of time. I grabbed a few things from my freezer and whipped up a delicious meal for the kids in about 15 minutes.  You could take a bit more time to do all the chopping yourself but its nice to have frozen veggies as an alternative to doing it all yourself. 

Breakfast Hash 

• 1 butternut squash pealed and diced, and roasted for an 30 minutes
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 peppers, your choice of colors sliced
• 4 cups of kale, chopped fine
• 2 teaspoons Paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Add your veggies to a pan and saute until soft about 15 minutes.  Season with the spices. Enjoy with an egg on the side. 

OR

Breakfast Hash  in a Hurry​​​​​​​​

• 1 roasted frozen butternut squash pealed and diced. (You can also buy it this way at the store.) 
• 1 frozen onion, diced
• 2 frozen peppers, sliced
• 1 cup of frozen kale, chopped fine
• 2 teaspoons Paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

All ingredients go in your preheated pan, Saute for about 15 minutes until hot. Add your spices, stir and serve. Enjoy with an egg on the side or a few sausage links. 

Either way you chose to make Breakfast Hash it will taste yummy! 

To Your Best Health,

Coach Nancy