Asian Lettuce Wraps

Ready for the easiest meal you've ever made? These lettuce wraps are here to please. They look pretty impressive to a group when you serve them on a platter, too. This dish is practically just prep work which makes it a fast go-to weeknight meal or even a striking appetizer for a dinner party.

I developed this recipe when I had a girl's night at my house. All of my friends were on diets for the summer and were eating low carb. I tried to think of the most satisfying meal that used practically no carbs and lots of veggies. Around the time, my family and I had just returned from a trip to Disney World where I ate at Animal Kingdom's Yak and Yeti (I highly recommend). There, I ordered asian lettuce wraps that came prepared very similar to this dish. 

I went to the grocery store and put my own spin on the delicious dish I had. To keep things simple, I purchased the sauces from the store rather than making them from scratch. I used butter lettuce instead of iceberg because it is easier to peel and each piece forms itself into a cup, making it less messy than other types of lettuce.

Serve these pre-made or on a platter like I did at your next event or dinner. 

Lettuce Wraps

Preparation:  15 min

                  Cook Time: 20 min  Total Time: 35 min                       

Ingredients

        

          3 chicken breasts

          1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (bought from grocery store)

          3 tbsp crushed peanuts or cashews
          1/2 cup rice

          1/2 cup shredded carrots

          1 head butter lettuce, peeled into individual pieces

          3 tbsp cilantro

          1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (bought from grocery store)

           2 tsp sesame seeds

          Japanese Cucumber Salad*

Instructions

*Make ahead - Japanese Cucumber Salad (optional - cut cucumbers and add raw instead)

         1. Cook rice according to manufacturer's instructions. Rinse rice before use.

         2. Cut raw chicken into strips or chunks. We cut ours into strips.

         3. Cook chicken in a skillet over medium-low heat with teriyaki sauce. Turn occasionally until cooked 

              thoroughly. (About 8-10 minutes)

         4. While chicken is cooking, begin preparing all side items. I placed all of the accouterments on a large 

               plate so that people could build their lettuce wrap however they desired. I put the sweet chili sauce in 

               a small prep bowl. You could also use peanut sauce.

         5. Once chicken is finished cooking, add the sesame seeds and crushed nuts and toss. 

              Place the chicken on the platter and serve.

Shrimp Stacks

When we sat down to begin planning our honeymoon, we had a million ideas of where to go. If you've read my previous posts, you know I have been dying to go to Italy for years now! I'm a bit of a travel nerd, so I am constantly watching travel documentaries on Netflix. One of my favorite people to watch is Anthony Bourdain. He has an amazing series called Parts Unknown, where he travels to countries all over the world and dines out. 

One particular destination he travelled to that caught my eye was Japan. I've heard wonderful things about Japan from friends of mine that have been. I started researching places to go and things to do and fell in love. It is so unique and simply beautiful! The Japanese culture was particularly attractive in the food department to me. Most of their meals are very simple. Pickled vegetables, a bowl of rice and a fish or meat. As I was thinking about their culture and food, I felt my stomach grumble. I was all of the sudden starving and craving something simple like I had just watched.

This simple and delicious meal was born that night. The ingredients you find here are similar to what you'd find in a sushi roll. I've made homemade sushi before, and I can tell you, it's better to go out for sushi than to make it yourself. Trust me... I make my own breads and pastas from scratch! Sushi is very time consuming and doesn't keep for long in the fridge. 

Think of these shrimp stacks as an inside-out sushi roll without the seaweed. 

I decided to use brown rice for this meal, but I think white rice would work better. If you rinse your rice in a colander before you boil it, it will become sticky. I did this and then packed some rice into a ramekin, about halfway full. Turning it over onto the plate, I tapped the bottom of the ramekin until the rice loosened from the sides and stuck to my plate. If you don't have a ramekin, simply shape the rice with a round cookie cutter or your hands. 

Here's how to make this delicious meal:

Shrimp Stacks

Preparation:  10 min

                  Cook Time: 25 min  Total Time: 35 min                       

Ingredients

        

          1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

          1-2 avocados, mashed
          1 tsp lemon juice

          1/2-1 cup rice (depending on portion - we used 1/2 cup for 2 people and 3 stacks each)

           Eel sauce (purchase from the grocery store)
           Salt & pepper

           Japanese cucumber salad*

           Chopped cilantro for garnish (about 2 tbsp)
           1 tsp sesame seeds
           (optional: top with Sriracha for a kick!)

Instructions

        

         *make ahead - Japanese Cucumber Salad

         1. Cook rice according to manufacturer's instructions. Rinse rice before use.

         2. Marinate shrimp in a bowl with 1 tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper for 5 min.

         3. While rice is cooking and shrimp is marinating, cut your avocados and mash them in a bowl.

          4. Sautee shrimp over medium heat in a skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil or butter until pink
          (less than 5 minutes).

          5. Take cooked rice and form into discs on a plate. Top with mashed avocado, shrimp, cucumber salad,
           and lemon slice. Garnish with eel sauce, cilantro, and sesame seeds.

Cauliflower Casserole

Cauliflower Casserole

We recently had my little nephew in town, who is just the most darling thing! He just turned one and learned to walk two weeks before coming to our house. He has baby blue eyes and blonde hair and smile that melts your heart. I've been feeling baby fever since he left.

Isn't he the cutest?!?

Garrett (my husband) and I are newlyweds and are not quite ready to have a child yet - despite my new day dreams of a sweet baby of our own. We are both entrepreneurs and dedicate a ton of time to our businesses. A baby right now just doesn't seem viable for our life - especially because I'm knee deep in my sommelier studies. 

Having a child in town - I realized how difficult it is for some mothers to get their children to eat healthy food. My other nephew seems to only want chicken nuggets or something sweet. Honestly, I've been burned out on veggies too. I've loved watching other food bloggers come up with fun ideas for various vegetables so that your healthy meal feels indulgent. 

I personally love all vegetables, but I've been serving them up very plain. I have been craving salty foods - macaroni and cheese, twice baked potatoes...all the foods I know I don't need. 

After searching our cabinets and refrigerator, my cauliflower casserole was born! My husband came home and saw the cheesy, decadent, bacon-topped creation and immediately wanted a spoon. 

"What are these? Grits?" 

I agreed until he finished his plate and then broke the news to him that they were not grits, and in fact, they were a veggie he hates - cauliflower! As I paused waiting for him to be disgusted from eating a plate full, he smiled and said "Why haven't you ever cooked cauliflower like this before?".

Trick your kiddos or husband with this awesome recipe! It's a great quick fix for supper.

Cauliflower Casserole

Preparation: 15 min

                  Cook Time: 20 min  Total Time: 35 min                       

Ingredients

        

          1 crown of cauliflower

          8 oz of plain greek yogurt or sour cream

          1-2 tbsp of garlic powder

          1/2 tsp of onion powder

          1/2 tbsp chopped green onion

          1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

          Chopped bacon for garnish

          Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

        

          Preheat your oven to 375.

          Begin by removing the florets from the stock of the cauliflower crown. Add the florets to a 

          microwavable bowl and add 3 tbsp of water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 7-10 

          minutes or until tender. Remove from microwave and and drain. Allow to stand for 2 minutes (this 

          makes the cauliflower more fluffy). Pulse the cauliflower in a blender or food processor until it had a   

          smooth, grit-like texture. Place the cauliflower back in the bowl and mix in your spices, 

          greek yogurt/sour cream, and green onions. Bake the mixture in a hollow dish for 30 minutes, adding  

          the cheese for the last 3 minutes. While the cauliflower is baking, cook your bacon on low-medium heat

          until crunchy. Chop your bacon and garnish the top of the dish when finished.

Black Bean Soup

Ahhh summer. I love days by the pool, nights out on the town and how social everyone seems to become during this time of year. In Atlanta it's been a strange summer this year. Rather than grabbing my bikini and running to the nearest watering hole, I've been land-locked by all of the rain. It seems each day that I think we may just get a full day of sunshine, I step outside with hopes of a pool day and end up having to head home.

During the summer I always try and lighten up my recipes with low carb meals. The only problem is my favorite food is Mexican food and I find myself dying for queso a few days in to the healthy eating regime. With all this rain and my cravings for Mexican food, it suddenly dawned upon me...SOUP! There is something so satisfying about a bowl of hearty soup with a large dollop of greek yogurt (my substitute for sour cream), that helps all those naughty cravings go away.

The best thing about this soup is not the calorie content, but the price tag to make it. I came up with a Meals Under $10 Challenge to see how low I could get our grocery bill for the month. I'm a girl who likes the finer things in life, and our meals out on the town were cutting into that budget significantly. This soup is so simple it's a nice reminder that sometimes, less is more. 

(Rather than cook the beans from dry, I prefer to save time with canned black beans with low sodium.) 

Black Bean Soup Recipe

Preparation: 10 min

                  Cook Time: 35 min  Total Time: 45 min                       

Ingredients

        

          1 can black beans

          1/2 cup chicken stock

          1/2 red bell pepper

          1/2 green bell pepper

          1/4 cup chopped red onion

          1 tbsp cumin

          1 tsp garlic powder

          1/4 tsp chili powder

          Salt & Pepper to taste

          2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro + extra for garnish

          Optional: top with Cilantro Lime Rice

Instructions

          Pour your beans into a sieve and give them a quick rinse. 

          Chop your onion and bell peppers and add them to a large pot with half of your chicken stock.     

          Cook the ingredients until tender on medium heat (about 5-8 min) stirring occasionally. 

          Once tender, add your black beans, remaining chicken stock, and spices. Cook until warm.

          Transfer 3/4 of the soup to a blender, food processor or use an immersion blender to blend 

          the soup. Add the blended soup back into the pot and mix. 

          Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain greek yogurt. Garnish with cilantro.

          Enjoy!

Greek Chicken Meal Prep

Greek Chicken Meal Prep

With our wedding just 50 days away, it's time to get serious about our dieting. I am not obsessive about my calories throughout the day, nor do I keep a meal diary. The main idea of losing weight and eating healthy is making it easy on yourself and having your healthy foods available when you're hungry so you don't become too impatient to cook a healthy meal and end up with ketchup and grease on your lips, wondering how you got in the McDonald's parking lot in the first place. (Maybe that was just me?)

The one thing that I don't like is leftovers. I like variety. The idea of eating the same thing each day sounds like a prison sentence to me...I'm a foodie, what would you expect? So in order to keep myself accountable to sticking to the diet, I needed lots of variety of similar meals.

The first one I came up with was a greek chicken dish with a Mediterranean salad, brussel sprouts and tzatziki sauce. Doesn't sound too bad for a diet, does it?

The one thing to keep in mind as you do this and experiment with your own ideas is to keep it simple. The simpler the ingredients, the lower the calories.

I added lots of dill, some lemon juice, olive oil, water, pepper and dried thyme to the mixture and let the chicken cook over medium heat so that it would cook slowly and absorb moisture.

Next, we want to cook our brussel sprouts while our chicken warms up. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and grab an 8x8 inch pan for your sprouts. Spray it down with olive oil spray or avocado oil spray. Begin to cut your brussels into halves, cutting off the tails as you chop.

For seasoning, crack fresh pepper over the top, dusting all of the brussel sprouts in the pan. Follow by spraying the brussel sprouts with the oil you used in the pan until they are all covered in the oil. I also like to add 1/4 cup of water to help them with moisture so they accomplish that soft-to-crunchy ratio. So that the flavors mixed well, I added dill, 2 tsp of lemon juice and 2 tsp of chopped garlic.

Let your brussel sprouts cook for about 30-45 minutes or until nice and golden like in the picture below. I check on them every 10-15 minutes to toss them and add additional oil so they don't become dry.

Looking good so far.

Once your chicken is cooked, remove the large chunks of dill and discard. Using tongs, grab the chicken out of the skillet and place it on a cutting board. I like my chicken cut into strips, so I cut my chicken diagonally. Once my brussel sprouts were done, I allowed them to cool, and then put them into my containers.

For the salad, I bought a salad kit from Taylor Farms to make things easier on myself. 

Tip: don't put the dressing on the salad or it will wilt.

Click here for my tzatziki sauce recipe:

I hope you enjoy! If you like this recipe or have any recipes you want to share, please let me know in the comments!

Tzatziki Sauce

Tzatziki sauce is like dieting crack for me. I am a sauce person. You can count on me to order extra sauce on the side or three types of dipping sauce at a drive through. The only problem with my sauce obsession is that it can pack on tons of unnecessary calories. One tablespoon of ranch or barbecue sauce can be almost 100 calories! Yikes! In steps, tzatziki sauce. It goes with so many different foods as a delicious accoutrement. The best part? One tablespoon of this sauce is only 10 calories.

Here's how to make it:

You will need a lemon, 8 oz plain non-fat greek yogurt, 2 cloves garlic, dill and a cucumber.

Add your greek yogurt to a bowl and then begin grating your cucumber with a cheese grater. I'm not a huge fan of the skin of the cucumber, so I grate it off with a vegetable grater prior to using the cheese grater.

Next, chop the dill and add 2 tbsp to the mixture.

Follow by finely chopping your cloves of garlic and mix it into the dip. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice and mix. You can also add salt and pepper to taste if you like, but I think it's pretty good on it's own!

Skinny Tacos

The skinny series....you asked for it, so here it is! It seems so difficult to indulge in our favorite foods and cocktails and keep it low cal, but the truth is - you can do it! Rethinking how to make my favorite foods has been a fun challenge for me. I'm currently 27 years-old and I've been able to maintain my weight since high school. I know what you're thinking..."oh you just have good genes"..Wrong! 

My metabolism actually slowed down significantly my senior year of high school and that was really hard for me. Instead of reaching for that third slice of pizza and a brownie to go with it, I had to sub my cravings for a salad. 

I became really obsessive with my weight around that time. I worked my summers as a life guard and definitely felt the pressure to maintain a trim figure. Most of my coworkers were on the swim team during the year, which meant they had perfectly chiseled abs and arms that I envied. 

During that time, I knew if I wanted drastic results with my body, I had to dramatically change the way I was eating. This is when I started cooking..ALOT. I did research on healthy vs non-healthy foods and began experimenting with various combinations of a small list of food and oils I found on the internet. I didn't use cookbooks or magazines, I just started playing. 

It's been almost 10 years now, and I have come up with a giant list of my own skinny recipes. I have come to realize that you don't have to sacrifice flavor to achieve a perfectly balanced and low calorie meal.

Over the next several months, with my wedding approaching, I will be sharing my 'Skinny Series' with you all. I'll be publishing healthy recipes and cocktails that take 30 minutes or less to make with few ingredients. Please let me know if you have any requests for a meal you love that could be skinnier. I love the challenge!

Start by adding chopped garlic, diced red onion, shrimp and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Next, add taco seasoning mix and fresh cilantro.

Cook the shrimp until bright pink and remove from heat.

On a bed of whole romaine, add shrimp down the spine. Top with a small amount of grated cheese, chopped cilantro and salsa. Instead of sour cream, use 1 tbsp or so of plain greek yogurt to add a little tang.

Serv Size: 4-5 tacos

Ingredients:

1 lb of shrimp

Taco Seasoning mix**

Romain hearts

1-2 tsp lemon juice (based on your preference)

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1/4 cup of chopped red onion

1 tsp chopped garlic

Shredded cheese for topping

Taco Seasoning mix: (make ahead)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Over medium heat, begin adding garlic, chopped onion and shrimp to an olive oil coated pan. (Use spray olive oil to save on calories) Add lemon juice and toss. Follow by adding half of your chopped cilantro mixture to the pan. Next add the taco seasoning mix and stir until it is evenly coating the shrimp. Once the shrimp is bright pink (about 8-10 minutes) take the pan off of the burner and set aside.

Arrange your washed romaine hearts on a plate. Add 4-5 shrimp to each piece. One filled romain heart will serve as one taco. This recipe makes 4-5 tacos. Finish by sprinkling shredded cheese and the remaining amount of cilantro. Serve with a small side of salsa and plain greek yogurt.

Want to pair this with an equally skinny cocktail? Try my skinny margarita recipe!

Skinny Margaritas

As part of my skinny series, I wanted to provide you guys with some yummy cocktails in addition to food recipes. This one is super easy to make and doesn't use anything artificial. I hope you enjoy!

Look how perfectly ripe these citrus fruits are!

Juice the oranges and limes and store the juice in a pitcher. I use this citrus juicer to make things faster.

Add 1-2 slices of cucumber, quartered.

Add 2-3 mint leaves.

Add a slice of orange, quartered.

Muddle.

Add ice and 1-2 tsp of truvia nectar. (depending on your preference of how sweet you want it because this stuff is very sweet!)

Add 1/2 shot of cointreau and 1 shot of of silver tequila.

Top with juice and club soda. Garnish and serve.

Ingredients:

12 limes

6 oranges

1 cucumber

Fresh mint

Truvia nectar

Club soda

Silver tequila

Cointreau

Directions:

Start by juicing your limes and lemons and reserve it in a pitcher. Each of these cocktails are made individually because they taste and look the best this way. Begin by cutting two thin slices of cucumber and quartering them. Add three pieces of mint and one slice of orange and muddle. Add a small amount of ice. Add 1/2 shot of cointreau and 1 shot of tequila. Next add 1-2 tsp of truvia. Follow by filling the glass with juice until there's about 1/2 inch left in the glass. Mix the drink in a cocktail shaker and pour back into your glass. Top the beverage with club soda and garnish with a lime and mint leaf.

Enjoy!

Want more? Pair this recipe with my skinny taco recipe for a skinny fiesta!