Clean Eating Slow Cooker Lasagna

Slow Cooker Sundays is back! 

Mike loves lasagna. Anytime I ask him what he wants for dinner on the weekend he always answers with "lasagna" (the same way the kid says it in the movie Big Daddy). Usually I find that it is too time consuming to make, and I used to find that it was not healthy at all. I have made clean versions of lasagna before, one even vegetarian. But this one was by far the best, AND it was fairly quick in terms of prep time.

Add some fresh made garlic bread and a simple salad, and it's the perfect comfort meal for a freezing Sunday evening.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

-9 lasagna noodles (you can use whole wheat, rice, or kamut pasta-I used kamut)

-1.5 lbs extra lean ground beef (2 small packages)

-1 large can of no salt added tomato sauce

-1 small can tomato paste

-1 container light ricotta cheese

-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

-1/4 cup grated Parmesan (fresh not the Kraft container kind)

-1 medium onion chopped

-6 white mushrooms chopped

-2 cloves garlic (pressed)

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 tsp onion powder

-1 tsp oregano

-1 tsp parsley

-1 tsp basil

-pinch of salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown ground beef and drain fat. Add onion, mushroom, and fresh garlic. Cook until onion is translucent. 

2. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, and spices. Simmer for about 10 mins. 

3. Mix cheeses in a bowl until well blended.

4. For the noodles you have 2 options: a)pre cook by boiling according to package directions (use this option if you are pressed for time and can only cook in slow cooker for 2-3 hours) or b)use uncooked noodles (use this option if you have 4-5 hours to cook in slow cooker).

5. Layer meat sauce, noodles, and cheese until both mixtures are all used.

6. Cook on low in slow cooker for 4-5 hours OR if you pre cooked the noodles you can cook for 2-3 hours.

For my garlic bread:
-fresh slices of multi grain bread
-no salt added butter
-1 clove garlic (minced)
-1 tsp parsley

1. Mix butter, garlic, and parsley
2. Spread on fresh bread
3. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 8 mins 

Getting my ingredients together

Ground beef, onions, mushrooms, and fresh garlic

Added the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and spices

Mixing the cheeses

Boiled kamut lasagna noodles

Layering

Ready to start cooking

Fresh garlic bread

Ready to eat!

Clean Eating Toasted Chicken Fajitas

Mike and I both love fajitas and quesadillas. I usually make them once every week or two. They're incredibly easy, full of flavour, and make great leftovers. Now that I have my Cuisinart Griddler, I am determined to make use of it for any meals possible. So knowing that there is a wrap involved, I knew I had to toast my fajitas this time. It is such a small thing to add into the recipe but it made a huge difference. We normally just heat the tortillas up in the microwave once assembled to melt the cheese. They often come out a little soggy. But now I just wrap everything up, pop it on the grill press and it toasts the wrap while also melting the cheese inside. YUM!

Ingredients

-2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

-1/2 of each red and green peppers cut julienne style

-1 small onion thinly sliced

-olive oil

-pepper to taste

-2 tbsp chili powder

-2 tsp cumin

-1/4 cup water

-4 large whole wheat tortillas

-avocado

-salsa

-cheese of choice

1. Heat olive oil in pan (I use a wok) and add chicken strips. Cook for 3-4 mins each side or until cooked through.

2. Mix water and spices in a bowl, and add to chicken.

3. Steam vegetables (I use a steamer).

4. Stir steamed veggies into chicken until seasoning is evenly mixed.

5. Assemble fajitas to your liking. I had fresh avocado slices, some clean organic salsa, the chicken and vegetable mixture, and topped with grated cheese.

6. Wrap up and place on panini grill for about 4 mins.



Chicken, veggies and spices in the wok




Assembling my tortilla




Fajita getting toasty on the grill



Clean Eating Sweet & Salty Pork Stir Fry

I've only started eating pork in the last few years. It can actually be a fairly lean meat if you buy the correct cut and trim all access fat.
I love Asian inspired food, and so when I found this recipe on Clean Eating Magazine's website I was excited to test it out. 
You can find the original recipe here. I made some changes so here is my recipe:

Ingredients
-1 lb pork tenderloin trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch cubes
-2 cups brown basmati rice
-broccoli
-mushrooms
-baby carrots
-1/2 tbsp garlic powder
-pepper to taste
-2 tbsp low sodium tamari
-1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
-1 cup orange juice
-olive oil (I use a sprayer)

1. Cook rice according to package directions-I use a rice cooker
2. Choose your preferred method to cook vegetables-I use a steamer
3. Spray pan with olive oil and add pork. Cook for 3-4 minutes and then add pepper and garlic powder before flipping and cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Add tamari and rice vinegar.
4. Add orange juice and stir in vegetables.
5. Serve over rice and enjoy!



Veggies in the steamer





Pork getting full of flavour





Mixing the veggies in




The finished product...a yummy stir fry!



Portobello Mushroom and Avocado Panini

So this one isn't clean, and it could be a little healthier, but it was VERY tasty! It was also another excuse to use my Cuisinart Griddler (which I have at least twice a week since New Years).

Ingredients
-Any type of bread can be used here. I got some herbed panini buns from the grocery store.
-Portobella mushroom cut into slices
-Avocado cut into slices
-Any other toppings, I used a little mayo
-Olive oil in a sprayer
-Cheese of choice, I used jalapeno havarti for some spice

1. Saute mushrooms.
2. Spray olive oil on outsides of both top and bottom buns.
3. Place bottom bun on grill and add toppings, then top with other bun.
4. Grill for 5-7 minutes.

I added a Greek salad to this quick and easy meal.

Healthy Grilled Salmon and Veggies

I received a Cuisinart Griddler as a gift at my bridal shower. I had secretly wanted this for over a year and would always see it going on sale at Canadian Tire. However, I could never justify spending close to $100 on something I didn't "need". So needless to say it was one of my favourite gifts. I received it in August, and only opened it and used it for the first time on New Years Eve to make paninis. It was awesome! I think this is going to become my new cooking method of choice. Who needs a stove?
This recipe was actually from the book that came with the Griddler, you know the one with the instructions. There are a few recipes in there and I had already taken salmon out for dinner so I thought this would be perfect. The recipe is actually for a "not fried fish and chips" but I just used the seasoned oil mixture part for the fish. I substituted the grilled potatoes for roasted ones in the oven. Here is the recipe, enjoy!

Ingredients for seasoning mixture:
-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1/2 tsp dried thyme
-1/4 tsp sea salt
-1/8 tsp paprika
-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
-2 salmon fillets

To be honest I always eyeball my spices, so I did not follow the measurements by any means.

1. Mix oil, lemon juice, and spices
2. Coat salmon fillets in mixture (I let mine marinate in it while I got everything else ready)
3. Grill salmon (You can cook this in a pan, a counter top grill, or a BBQ)

I used the following veggies:
-red pepper
-zucchini
-portobella mushroom

I seasoned my veggies with a little bit of olive oil, garlic powder,black pepper, and parsley, and then grilled them.

I used about 15 mini potatoes and cut them in half. I seasoned them with olive oil and Cajun seasoning and cooked them in the oven for about 30 mins at 350 degrees.  

Potatoes seasoned and ready for the oven

Salmon marinating in seasoning and oil mixture

Veggies all spiced up and ready to grill

Salmon on the flat top and veggies on the grill top

Salmon grilling

Veggies grilling

The finished product YUM!

Clean Eating Slow Cooked Pork "Roast" and Veggies

It has been quite some time since I've posted anything, but I'm hoping that I will have more time in 2013 now that all of my wedding planning is over.
Here is a very simple clean recipe that I threw together in my crock pot. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
-2 pork loin chops (boneless and trimmed of fat)--> I got mine at Costco and they are very thick so I was able to cut the 2 chops into about 5-6 pieces for easier cooking
-seasoning/herbs of your choice--> I used poultry seasoning because I find that it has a good mix of herbs that really taste good on any kind of meat
-3 small/medium sized potatoes cut into 2 inch cubes
-4 medium sized carrots cut into sticks
-1 small onion cut into large pieces
-1.5 cups low sodium vegetable broth

Directions:
1. Rub seasoning on meat inside slow cooker
2. Add in vegetables and broth
3. Cook on low for about 6 hours

That's it! How could it get any simpler? It ended up being a tasty and hearty meal, enjoy!

My Life According to Instagram: July-Dec 2012

Once I got engaged and realized I would have less than 5 months to plan a wedding, my blogging obviously went on the back burner so I would have time to run around like a chicken with it's head cut off. So here are some photos from my Instagram from July-Dec of 2012!







Mike and I at our good friends wedding. We were both in the wedding party:)





Good friend Melissa and I at her wedding



Me with 2 of my bridesmaids at my bachelorette



Visiting my brother in Ottawa





BRIDE-getting ready the morning of the big day in a shirt I made







All dolled up and ready to rock!




Yoga on the beach in the Dominican Republic

 

One of my honeymoon dinner outfits



Honeymooners!



Very neat wedding gift we received from friends with our wedding "theme"



Loving my wedding band:)







One of the teasers our photographer gave us!





First Christmas dinner at our house



My new Canon Rebel T4i from the best husband ever!