Guilt-Free, Craving Busting Pasta

Yes, you read that right... 

I've made a miraculous discovery - Quinoa pasta my friends. This pasta is made of white rice flour and Quinoa flour. It's gluten free, dairy free and trans fat free! it even tastes like real pasta! Again- you read that right. 

Throw it together with veggies and chicken and you've got one flavourful dish. Now, I'm not saying it's THE most low cal thing out there, but it's great when you're craving pasta and you don't want to feel sucky about it. I'm switching to this brand forever. 

Ingredients 

1 package of GoGo Quinoa Fusili 

2 chicken breasts, diced

Handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half 

2 handfuls of spinach, chopped 

1 small handful of fresh basil, chopped

2 handfuls of sliced white mushrooms 

6 cloves of garlic, chopped 

1 handful of packaged diced pancetta 

Extra virgin olive oil 

1 teaspoon dried basil

Red pepper flakes

Salt 

Pepper 

Parmesan

Directions 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees celcius. 

2. In a small skillet on low heat, fry diced pancetta to desired crispiness. 

3. In a medium skillet, over low heat add a slug of olive oil and 2 chopped garlic cloves  to fry mushrooms until golden brown. 

4. Make pasta as directed on the package. 

5. In a medium bowl, season cherry tomatoes with salt and pepper, a slug of olive oil, 2 chopped garlic cloves, dried basil and mix well. Spread on a cookie sheet and place in oven for 10 minutes. 

6. In a large skillet over medium heat, add a slug of olive oil, 2 chopped garlic cloves. Once heated add in diced chicken seasoned with salt and pepper and toss until cooked through and slightly browned. 

7. On low heat, mix mushrooms with pancetta and spinach and fresh basil for 1 minute. 

8. Still over low heat, combine mushrooms, pancetta and spinach in pan with chicken. Once pasta and tomatoes are cooked to your desire, toss in skillet along with the rest of the ingredients until well combined.

9. Season with salt and pepper, red pepper flakes and serve with parmesan if desired. 

Indulge in your craving. It ain't THAT bad. 

Tahini Aioli

Ahhhhh Aioli. The perfect companion to any meal.

Slather it on a wrap, use it as salad dressing, or dip your sweet potato fries into them. This time, it's guilt free. No mayo, no dairy my friends. You're welcome. 

Ingredients

1/4 cup Tahini 

Juice of a small lemon 

1 garlic clove 

1 Tbsp water

1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped 

1/4 tsp salt 

Ground pepper to taste

Directions

Mix it all together and what do you get?! Deliciousness!

Caramel Popcorn with a Kick

Here's the perfect snack to make for almost any occasion- girls night, boys night, game night, Bachelor night. The bowl will disappear in 10 minutes flat, I promise. Double or triple the recipe according to the number of guests you have. One bag for four people should be about right.

Caramel Popcorn with a Kick

Ingredients: 

1 bag of Popcorn

1 tbsp Whiskey
1 tbsp Siracha Sauce
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

1/3 cup of Butter

2/3 cup of Brown sugar

Directions: 

1. Make 1 bag of microwave popcorn and let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 225F.
3. Mix together:

• Whiskey
• Siracha Sauce
• Baking soda
• Salt
• And set aside

4. In a frying pan over medium heat,

• Melt butter
• Whisk in brown sugar.
• Whisk continuously for about 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add the whisky, Siracha mixture.

5. Poor half the caramel over the popcorn. Add in 1/3 cup of peanuts and poor the rest of the caramel over the popcorn. Mix well. (I used two spoons to mix it, it works really well).
6. Put the covered popcorn on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 45 mins to an hour.
7. Let cool and serve.

Bon appétit mes amis!

Traditional Three Layer Dip

I'm not going to lie to you guys and say this is skinny. This is on the 'fat' side of the scale and it's absolutely delicious. A crowd pleaser to say the least. 

Three Layer Dip 

Ingredients: 

1 Can of refried beans 

1 package of Taco seasoning 

1 container of medium salsa 

1 container of low-fat sour cream 

1 container of low-fat cream cheese 

1tbsp of cajun seasoning 

1 diced tomato

4 green onions

1 cup of shredded cheese 

Directions: 

1. Combine the can of refried beans with the package of taco seasoning and spread in the bottom of a casserole dish or bowl. 

2. Pour the container of medium salsa over the refried beans. 

3. Beat together the sour cream and cream cheese with the tablespoon of cajun seasoning and pour over salsa layer. 

4. sprinkle diced tomato, cheese and green onions over sour cream layer. 

5. Serve with Tortilla chips. 

Voila! 

Bon appétit mes amis! 

Skinny Pancakes

It's Saturday morning and your craving a greasy, delicious breakfast covered and syrup and butter. My friends, have I got a great skinny substitute for you. 

I give you- Skinny pancakes! You will not believe how easy and tasty they are. It really doesn't even need syrup. 

Skinny pancakes

Makes about 4 small pancakes. 

Ingredients: 

2 Eggs

1 Ripe banana

1tbsp hemp hearts (optional) 

Directions: 

1. Mush up the banana in a bowl with a fork. 

2. With a beater, beat in the two eggs and hemp hearts. 

3. Spray some non-stick cooking spray in a pan and warm up to medium-high heat. 

4. Once heated, pour batter into the pan and flip until both sides are golden brown. 

5. Serve with syrup and fresh fruit if desired. 

You can make big batches of these and bring to work for the week. They are so satisfying and healthy. 

Creamy Spaghetti Squash with Bacon

Craving pasta? Who doesn't? 

Here's a healthy alternative that's actually satisfying, and bacon is involved- need I say more? 

Creamy Spaghetti Squash with Bacon

Ingredients

1 Spaghetti squash 

4tbsp of olive oil 

2 cloves of garlic 

1/4 cup of milk - whatever percentage you like. The higher the percentage- the creamier the sauce

4tbsp of grated parmesan cheese 

Directions

Squash

1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. Cut the squash in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds. 

3. Place the squash on a baking sheet rind side up and cook in oven for 30-40 minutes. 

4. Once done, use a fork to scrape out the insides of the squash. 

Bacon

1. Heat frying pan over medium heat and fry bacon. 

2. Once done, set aside on paper towel. 

Sauce

1. In a frying pan, heat olive oil and saute the garlic over medium heat. 

2. Once it browns, add the milk and continue to whisk. 

3. Add in parmesan cheese and continue to stir until it's well mixed. 

4. Pour over the squash and mix well. Crumble cooled bacon and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. 

Serve with seasoned chicken breast. A great cure for your comfort food cravings and it's only a little bit naughty. 

Bon appétit mes amis!  

Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri

Let's face it- pork is boring. And it's for this reason I think it's often forgotten about. Pork is the simple way to diversify your meals when you're stuck in a chicken rut. Chimichurri is a great - low fat way- to make bland pork explode with flavour.

But shhhhh, don't tell anyone how easy it is...

Pork Tenderloin 

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin

Crushed sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

2tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425F.

2. Place the pork tenderloin on a cooking sheet with aluminum foil. 

3. Smear the olive oil over the pork.

4. Sprinkle crushed sea salt and freshly ground pepper over the pork and rub in with hands. 

5. Place in oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until it's only a little bit pink inside.

Chimichurri

Ingredients

2 heaping handfuls of flat leaf parsley

3 large garlic cloves

2tsp of dried oregano

3tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4 cup of olive oil

Sprinkle of Red chilli flakes
Dash of Salt + pepper to taste

Directions

While pork cooks in the oven, combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender.

Once the pork is done, slice it thinly and cover with your freshly made Chimichurri.

Ta da! 

Bon Appétit mes amis!