Snack Smarts

It's best to eat 3 small meals a day with a snack in-between. One of the reasons are to keep your blood sugar more level. A lot of people eat fruit for a snack. This is a great idea except fruit have a lot of sugar in them. Depending on when your next meal is you could experience the "sugar-high" then the "sugar-low." There is a simple solution to this problem.

Eat some protein with your fruit!

For example:
Banana and some peanut butter
Strawberries and some nuts

The protein will help you avoid the "sugar-high" and the "sugar-low."
Nuts also have some excellent nutritional value to them.

Boost Your Metabolism

I was watching a "health" show this weekend. Here are 2 simple things I learned to help boost your metabolism.

Two things that help boost your metabolism are:
1. Cinnamon
2. Spicy foods

So, add cinnamon to your apples, your yogurt, oatmeal...
Add some spicy seasonings, pepper or Tabasco sauce to your food.

Taco Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

By: Desireé Johnson

½ lb. ground beef

2 T. tomato sauce

1 T. taco seasoning

¼ onion, chopped

¼ c. mushrooms, diced or chopped

6 green bell peppers, hollowed out

1 can black beans, drained and warmed up

⅛ head of lettuce

½ c. cheddar cheese, grated

6 T. sour cream

Directions:

Brown the beef. Mix in the onion, mushrooms, tomato sauce and taco seasoning.

Then layer everything in the hollowed out peppers in the following order: black beans, taco meat mixture and cheese. Fill about ⅔ - ¾ full.

Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes.

Top with lettuce and 1 T. of sour cream.

Note:
To make this even healthier, substitute the ground beef with extra-lean ground beef or turkey.




The following photos show each of the layers....

Cut the top off of your peppers and clean them out...

 ...add the black beans...

 ...add the taco meat...

 ...top with cheese and bake.

 Once baked stuff with lettuce and a dollop of sour cream.

 The finished product (cut in half).

Stuffed Pork Chops

By: Desireé Johnson

1 pork chop

1 t. Garlic & Onion Medley seasoning (McCormick Gill Mates)

4 slices pepperoni

1 slice cheddar cheese (any cheese will work)

4 toothpicks

Directions:

Cut a “pocket” through the thickness of the pork chop; be careful to not cut all the way through. Stuff the pepperoni and cheese inside the “pocket.” Put toothpicks through pork chop where the “pocket” opening is at. Try to close it up good so the cheese doesn’t come out while cooking. Season the outside of the pork chop with the Garlic & Onion Medley seasoning. Grease the BBQ grill well, using a paper towel dipped in oil and brushed thoroughly over the grill rack. Place pork chops on grill and close. Cook through thoroughly.

Egg-Sausage Breakfast Sandwich

By: Desireé Johnson

6 whole grain English muffins

light or fat free mayonnaise

mustard

Directions:

Toast English muffins. Lightly spread on mayonnaise and mustard. Add your Homemade Sausage patties and Egg patties.

Servings:

Makes 6 breakfast sandwiches

Note:

This is a healthy breakfast if when you make the Homemade Sausage you substitute the ground pork with extra-lean ground pork.
Homemade Sausage and Egg patties can be wrapped in freezer wrap and frozen together for a quick Grab-N-Go breakfast. Just grab your frozen Homemade Sausage and Egg patties, an English muffin and packets of mayonnaise and mustard, throw them in your lunch box and you have an excellent breakfast!

Click on the following buttons for the individual recipes that create this delicious breakfast sandwich!

Egg Patties

By: Desireé Johnson

(Great for breakfast sandwiches)

3 egg whites

1 egg yolk

¼ c. skim milk

⅛ c. cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

In a bowl mix all ingredients together well. 

Note:
To cook these egg patties as patties is a bit tricky. Here is how I did it (see photos below for a visual). Get 6 mason jar lid rings. Place “upside-down” in frying pan and spray both pan and lid rings well with non-stick cooking spray. Flip the rings “right-side-up.” Heat the pan and rings up on medium high. When pan and rings are nice and hot, turn temp down to medium and slowly pour just a small amount of egg mixture into each ring. Pour just enough and slowly enough that the egg starts to cook when it touches the edges of the rings and pan and “seals” before it has a chance to run out. Once all rings are “sealed” pour remaining egg mixture into all lids, (fill lids about ½ full). Let eggs cook till they are bubbly and not runny at the edges. With a fork carefully take rings off the eggs. Then flip egg patties and finish cooking.

Servings:

Makes 6 patties.

Nutrition:

Approximately 30 calories per patty!

Get 6 mason jar lid rings. Place “upside-down” in frying pan and spray both
pan and lid rings well with non-stick cooking spray.

Flip the rings “right-side-up.”

...slowly pour just a small amount of egg mixture into each ring.
Pour just enough and slowly enough that the egg starts to cook when it touches
the edges of the rings and pan and “seals” before it has a chance to run out.
Once all rings are “sealed” pour remaining egg mixture into all lids,
(fill lids about ½ full).

Let eggs cook till they are bubbly and not runny at the edges.
With a fork carefully take rings off the eggs.

Then flip egg patties and finish cooking.

Homemade Sausage

By: Desireé Johnson

(This recipe is adapted from the Biggest Looser Cookbook)

¾  lb. ground pork or ground pork tenderloin

1 T. dry onion flakes

1 t. minced garlic

½ t. dried thyme

¼ t. ground sage

⅛ t. cayenne pepper

¼ t. black pepper

⅛ t. salt

Directions:

Mix ground pork and all seasonings together really well. From as patties or links and cook in frying pan on medium heat till cooked through.

Trick:
One helpful trick when cooking patties, to keep patties from "shrinking," is to sear or just cook one side, flip patties then push them down flat with spatula. (May need to flatten a couple times). If you push down on seared side the patty won't stick to the spatula and patties tend to stay flattened better.

Note:

If you like your sausage spicier add more cayenne pepper

Servings:

Makes about 6 patties or links.