Author: Mel and Tammy

Shwarma-Spiced Grilled Chicken with Garlic Yogurt Sauce

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It’s been awhile since I blogged but I’m excited to get back on to share one of my favorite grilled chicken recipes. Skinny Taste is one of my go-to sites and I absolutely love this one. The chicken is so flavorful and tender, and the garlic yogurt gives it a rich acidic kick without the fat. Paired with grilled veggies, and boom it’s a complete low-carb meal! So easy and budget friendly too. It’s starting to warm up out there, so this would be the perfect backyard dish to whip up for a few folks or a group!

-Mel

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Healthy Chicken Crust Pizza

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Happy National Pizza Day! What better way to celebrate than with a healthier riff on a classic! I made a margarita style pizza (adapted from Optavia), but you can switch up the ingredients! Next time I’m going to make a white sauce veggie pizza with roasted garlic, artichoke hearts, zucchini, mushrooms, and olives. Now you can eat pizza and feel good about it! Cheers!

-Tammy

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Mexican-Style Breakfast Casserole

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We go camping A-LOT! We are gone a minimum of once a month! We typically camp with a lot of friends and family. I am constantly trying to come up with healthy, easy, and most importantly, delicious breakfasts and dinners! I found this recipe and modified it to my liking. I think this will be a HUGE hit with my camping peeps. I meal prepped this casserole so I can eat it all week long. I loved it just as much the next days of eating it! After all, it is a casserole…they’re usually as good IF NOT BETTER the next day! I topped my serving with my FAVORITE SALSA IN THE WHOLE WORLD! If you get a chance, check her out on Instagram @originalsalsame. Trust me, you will thank me later! Feel free to use any corn tortillas you prefer. I found yellow corn tortillas that were 25 calories per 1 tortilla!!! I usually enjoy lettuce wrapped tacos, but happy to have found the low cal tortillas! Enjoy my loves!

-Tammy

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Cajun Shrimp with Cauliflower Grits

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First blog post of 2021. Let’s just say I’ve gained more than a few pounds in quarantine. I’m a teacher so I sit now for 10 to 13 hours a day. However, I’m so very grateful for so many things including this recipe I’ve adapted from Optavia. This recipe comes together very quick! Because I love Cajun spices, shrimp, and grits, this recipe brings me so much joy! The grits are not actually grits at all, but are made from cauliflower! Healthy recipe for the win! I will be making this AT LEAST once a month! Here’s to a healthy 2021!

-Tammy

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Strawberry Pina Colada Breakfast Smoothie

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I needed to switch up my smoothie routine. Don’t get me wrong,  I love my berry smoothie with greens and oatmeal, but I had it too many days in a row. When fruit is on sale, I buy it, take it home, wash it, cut it up, and stick it in the freezer. Feel free to use fresh or frozen. When I made mine, everything was frozen (except coconut). It’s getting warmer, so pina colada sounded good. I created this one and it turned out SUPER yummy. Enjoy!

-Tammy

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Cheesy Eggy Breakfast Toast

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Good morning! I have no idea what day it is, but that’s okay…and that’s the new “norm”, isn’t it? My kids have been making their own breakfast for many years. So it’s really nice that I now have the opportunity to make them breakfast on some mornings, like today! I happen to love Dave’s Killer Bread, so that’s what I used for myself. I used regular wheat bread for the twins. My crazy hubby doesn’t like eggs, so this breakfast wouldn’t work for him. However, my twins love eggs! Kayla likes runny yolks, but my son doesn’t. You’ll see in the photos that two of the yolks are broken. That’s on purpose. I broke them for my son. I actually sprinkled “everything bagel seasoning” on mine after it came out! I think adding some avocado and bacon on top would be magical! Stay healthy friends!

-Tammy

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“Make Your Own” Frittata

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Here’s one of the easiest brunch recipes you can make in 30 minutes! Frittatas and egg scrambles are so easy and versatile. I really just want to show you the method here, you can make it any way you want, depending on what you have in your fridge. As long as you have eggs you’re good! We have a few other Frittata recipes we’ve blogged too. My favorite has to be the Asparagus Cheese one, sooo good with the ricotta in it!

https://familyapron.com/2020/03/25/baked-asparagus-cheese-frittata/

https://familyapron.com/2015/07/19/simple-caramelized-onion-and-mushroom-frittata/

 -Melanie

Health tips: Low carb, Keto, low fat, diabetes friendly

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Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken with Stuffing and Green Beans

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One of the people who has really brought me comfort and continues to inspire me during this time of quarantine is Rachael Ray. She’s been posting videos of herself along with her husband John, her dog Izaboo, and recipes! Well, I got a wild hair up my you-know-what and decided to make a super amateur video that I posted on Facebook. I found a recipe I wanted to revamp….almost like a Thanksgiving casserole (and I am truly “thankful” for this gift of time with my family). It was super simple, super easy, and I had all the ingredients on hand! It came out great, but I forgot to spray my slow cooker first and I didn’t have an liners left….ooops! I also browned by chicken breast really quickly because “color equals flavor”. It would not have tasted as good if I didn’t brown the chicken first! But by all means, you can absolutely throw everything into the crockpot! I can’t see what you’re doing, so no worries! But the meal brought me comfort in all this rainy weather too! I’m going to share it with you all. Stay healthy!

-Tammy

Health Tips: you can make this “kidney friendlier” by omitting all salt and buying a lower sodium stuffing mix.

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Keep you Healthy, Make-ahead, Breakfast Smoothie

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In the midst of all the Corona virus chaos, I feel so blessed with the gift of time. I feel so fortunate to be able to work with my own kids at home and have more time to cook and blog. And I know now, more than ever, is a time to stay as healthy as possible. I decided to meal prep my breakfast smoothies. I prepped 5 at a time, one for each weekday morning. I put the majority of the ingredients in a 1 quart container and into the freezer. If you don’t have containers, just use quart size freezer bags. In the morning, I throw the contents of the container into my blender and add greek yogurt and almond milk…and maybe a tiny squirt of agave if I want a touch of sweetness. I take my time drinking it because I love the flavor so much. The oats keep me filled until my lunch. Please feel free to modify this recipe to what you have in your pantry, fidge, and freezer.

Stay safe, healthy, and for cryin’ out loud….stay home. ❤

 -Tammy

Health tips: low fat, covid-19 approved 🤗

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Baked Asparagus & Cheese Frittata

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In these tough times, we all have a lot of free time at home and it’s a challenge trying to cook healthy while also searching for the ingredients you need at the store. If you’re lucky enough to find eggs (by the way, highly recommend Instacart, this is the only way I was able to snag eggs), try this low-carb recipe I found through Eating Well. I was pleasantly satisfied, soooooo tasty. And it can be enjoyed any time of day. The fluffy ricotta mixed with the eggs and veggie mixture makes for a luxurious texture and flavor!

Source: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/251622/baked-asparagus-cheese-frittata/

 -Melanie

Health tips: Low carb, Keto, low fat, diabetes friendly

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