"Apple of My Eye" Sauce

I will never buy store bought applesauce again.  As it is, I only bought unsweetened apple sauce for baking purposes, but now I don't even need to do that any more.  This morning I was taking stock of my pantry, and I realized I was out of apple sauce cups.  I like the cups because they 1/4 cup and are perfect for substituting oil in a double batch of homemade waffles.  I also like to substitute applesauce for oil in things like brownies and corn bread.  What I did have were 6 lunch box sized apples that had been rolling around in the fruit bin for way too long.

Does this happen to anyone else?  The family says they want apples when you ask what kind of fruit to buy, but the no one ever eats them so they just sit there, getting bruise and mealy? Well if it does, now you can use them to make the best all natural, clean apple sauce.  This recipe could not be easier, and it tastes so much better than store bought!

Ingredients:
6 lunch box sized apples (small to medium sized), any variety
1 cup water

Directions:
Combine the water and the apples in a medium sauce pot.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce, and simmer approximately one hour until the apples can be mashed with the back of a spoon.  Turn off the heat, and allow to cool.  Puree in a blender or food processor until you achieve your desired consistency.

The apple sauce has no added sweater to it, but if you are looking for more of a sweet treat, you could drizzle with raw honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.  This would be great as a topping for waffles, pork chops, oatmeal, yogurt.  I plan on using mine in baking, so I will be freezing it in small containers.  Otherwise, store in the refrigerator for about a week.  Makes 2 cups, 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp equals 1 Purple 21 Day Fix container.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake

I was raised with the mantra of "If it's not chocolate, why bother?" If you ask me what flavor ice cream I want, it's always chocolate.  If you offer me a slice of cake, I'll want it to be chocolate.  Brownies are one of my favorite foods.  However, due to food intolerances and a family history of diabetes and high cholesterol, I don't eat these foods a lot.  Until now.  I have been playing around with minimally processed ingredients, heart healthy fats, and cleaner sugar substitutes.  This has all led me to Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake.

I'll admit, this wasn't 100% my idea.  I had some leftover sweet potatoes, and I new I could bake with other forms of squash, so it seemed like it might work.  I also felt like the natural sugars from the sweet potato would cut down on the amount of added sugar I needed.  But, since I was using cocoa, I knew I needed some sugar.  So I turned to the internet.  I wanted to use coconut sugar has my other sugar (because I had some on hand) and because I knew it worked in a 1:1 ratio of regular sugar.

After comparing what other bakers and bloggers had done, I finally settled on a plan.  My last hurdle was the flour.  I knew I could replace the dairy in a regular cake with cashew milk, the sugar with coconut sugar, and I had figured out how much sweet potato to use, but the gluten free flour was still a mystery to me.  If you've ever tried to bake with gluten free flour, it's always a gamble.  I decided on using a gluten free flour blend, and converting the measurement to grams.  So, if you are not gluten free, then just use the same weight of regular flour.

Ingredients:
2 eggs (This is one of the few foods I don't have an issue with so I refuse to abandon them.  If you can't tolerate eggs, you could try flax or mashed banana)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup cashew milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup mashed sweet potato (about 1 sweet potato)

1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cocoa powder
156 grams flour

Directions:
Combine the eggs, coconut oil and sugar in a blender and blend until well combined and the sugar is dissolved. Add the cashew milk, vanilla and sweet potato and blend until smooth.  In a mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently to incorporate. Pour into a greased baking dish or round cake pan.  Bake for 20-30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Refrigerate for up to a week.  Reheat individual servings for 15 seconds in the microwave for optimum texture.

Tip: I used a 2 inch biscuit cutter to cut mini cakes that perfectly fit into a yellow 21 day fix container.

Fabulous Fruit Punch

My Husband has developed a fruit punch addiction.  It started when he got sick after Easter.  Nothing tasted right, he was trying to drink plenty of fluids, and the only thing he wanted was fruit punch.  He started drinking Hawaiian Punch, but I really wanted something healthier for him.  I managed to switch him to Juicy Juice, but I still felt like we could do better.  So I made my own!

This punch was really easy to make, and I used ingredients I already had on hand.  It made about half a gallon, although I suspect it will go a little further if he mixes it with sparkling water.  The juice is made from a mix of fruits, veggies, water and some raw honey for sweetness.

Ingredients:

1 beet, peeled
8 baby carrots
1 lemon, peeled
1 lime peeled
1 apple
1 cup mixed berries
4-6 cups of water
1/4-1/2 cup raw honey

Directions:

Chop the fruits and vegetables into small pieces and place in a zip top bag.  Place the bag in the freezer over night.  This step is optional, but you may end up with more pulp if you don't freeze the produce.

Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup honey and the fruit in a blender.  Blend until smooth, adding more water as necessary (I used 4 cups). Using a fine mesh strainer to catch any pulp, pour the blended ingredients into another pitcher.   Set the pulp aside for another use (Refreshing Fruit Popsicles!)

Once you have strained the juice, add additional water until you reach your desired consistency.  I used 6 cups of water total, but next time I may use less to make a juice concentrate.

Ultimate Meal Prep

When it comes to meal prep, simplicity is the key.  The less steps you have to take to get a meal on the table, the better.  I have complied a list of my favorite recipes that can either be prepared in advance, in bulk (and frozen), or made on a Sunday night to feed you the rest of the week.

I have a few rules when meal prepping that make things go faster, as well as saving you time and money.
1.  Make meals with like ingredients.  
If I am prepping one chicken meal, I am preparing many chicken meals.  If I grill chicken for dinner, I will also grill extra chicken for salads, sandwiches or to keep in the freezer.  The same goes for ground meat.  It is just has easy to brown 2 pounds of ground meat as it is to brown 1 package.  Additionally, buying large quantities is often cheaper.  You can either freeze the unused portion to grill later, or divide it among different meals.  This also works great when buying produce.  I will get giant bags of onions, potatoes, peppers, green, carrots, etc from Costco, and then use them to make all my freezer meals.
2. Chop Once
If you have to chop onions for one meal, you might as well chop the onions you need for all your meals.  If I am making slow cooker meals, I will line up all my gallon zip top bags and drop the ingredients as I chop.  This is a great job for any kitchen helpers too!  Just set things out assembly line style and chop away!
3. Measure out your serving sizes
The easiest way to to know how much food you have on hand, is to know how many servings you can have.  I like to portion my meals into 3 servings (3 people in our family) so that I don't have to worry about leftovers or worrying if I am eating too many servings. I also know that if I am feeding more than 3 people, I will need to pull more food out of the freezer.
4. Keep the freezer and pantry stocked for emergency meals
Keep items you regularly use in the freezer and pantry.  Meat, eggs (out of the shell), milk, cheese (if you plan on grating), bread, flours, sugar, onions, peppers, tomatoes and other produce (except greens) all freeze well.  Even if it comes out a little mushy, once you cook it you won't be able to tell. I also always double any meal I am making, and freeze one for later.  Just defrost over night, and you've got dinner.  My personal goal is to only buy fresh produce and milk every week because my pantry and freezer is so well organized and stocks.
5. Shop the sales
Base your meals around what is on sale.  Most items run on a 6 week sale cycle so buy 6 weeks worth.  Meat has been on sale lately, which is awesome.  This also means that my freezer is over flowing.  Every week, I buy a few packs of whatever I use often and toss it in the freezer or make it into a meal I can freeze for later.

Soups/Stews:

Vegetable Soup

15 Bean Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Breakfasts:

Baked Oatmeal

Balanced Breakfast

Slowcooker Oatmeal

Oatcakes

Steak and Eggs

One Pot Meals:

Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta

Roasted Red Pepper Baked Ziti

Sausage and Kale Stew

Slowcooker:

Chicken Burrito Bowls

Pulled Pork

Chicken Chili

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Cincinnati Chili

21 Day Fix Friendly Sweet Potato Fries

Who doesn't love french fries? I rarely meet a potato I don't like, and sweet potatoes and french fries are at the top of my potato love affair list.  That means sweet potato fries are basically a match made in heaven.  Unfortunately for me, deep frying a sweet potato is along the lines of calling strawberry ice cream a serving of fruit.  That is why my recipe for Baked Sweet Potato Fries is so awesome!  

You will need roughly 2 medium sweet potatoes for 4 people.  You'll want to eat the whole batch yourself, but we are trying to be healthy here, so let's call it 4 servings.  Each serving of this recipe is 1 Yellow 21 Day fix container and 1 tsp.  

Start by slicing the sweet potatoes into a fry like shape (whatever that means to you as long as they are uniform).  Put your potato pieces in a bowl of ice water and soak for one hour.  

Drain and rinse the potatoes, pat dry and place in a gallon sized zip top bag with 1 TBSP Corn Starch and 1 TBSP All Purpose Seasoning.  Shake until the potatoes are well coated by the corn starch mixtures.

Toss the Corn Starch coated potatoes with 4 tsp melted coconut oil.  Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Try to keep them from touching each other for the crispiest of fries.  Clearly my baking sheet was too small...

Bake in 425 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Flip/stir/shake around and then return to the oven for another 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and shove a few in your mouth when no one is looking.

Let me know if you try these!  I'd love to hear how you liked them and if you sprinkled them with anything other than All Purpose Seasoning (a little cinnamon and sugar perhaps?). These are also great leftover smashed in a quesadilla with a little chicken and black beans!

I served mine along side Crockpot Pulled Pork and a simple cole slaw salad.  

Rattlesnake Pasta- The First Meal I Cooked For My Husband

When my husband and I were first dating, we used to go out to eat a lot.  I would get out of school, change out of my scrubs, shower off the anatomy smell, and then he'd come over, pick me up and we'd go eat somewhere.  This went on for a few weeks, until I finally decided it was time to take our relationship to the next level.  I was going to cook for him.  He'd eaten food I'd made for parties, but I'd never just cooked a meal for the two of us.  I wanted it to be really good, I wanted it to be something easy, and I wanted it to be spicy since he loves spicy food.  So I made Rattlesnake Pasta.  

  

Rattlesnake pasta, has no snake, it's made with spicy Italian sausage, tomatoes, green chillies, and bell peppers.  It's not smooth like a traditional marinara sauce, because it's full of different textures and flavors.  Because I am always on the look out for ways to make things healthier, I like to use Hot Turkey Italian Sausage.  I use one link per person, because I like leftovers...and sometimes seconds.

Ingredients:
1 package Hot Italian Sausage
1-3 cups Tri Color Bell Peppers (the more peppers you use, the less pasta you need)
1 onion
1 can tomatoes and green chilies
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp minced garlic
Pasta of your choice

Directions:
Cook the pasta according to package directions, minus 2 minutes.  Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Brown the sausage in a skillet, and set aside to cool.  In the same pan, add the pepper and onions.  Cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the canned tomatoes, garlic and Italian Seasoning to the peppers and stir to combine.  Slice the sausage into bite size pieces, and add to the pan.  Bring to a bubble, and then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until thickened.  Once slightly thickened, add the pasta and pasta water if the sauce seems dry.

Taste the sauce and add Salt and Pepper if desired.  Garnish with parmesan cheese and try not to eat it all in one sitting!

Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta- 21 Day Fix Recipe

Oh my gosh, this pasta is good.  It came out of a need to fill a macaroni and cheese craving while still limiting my dairy.  I can have a little bit of dairy, but full blown macaroni and cheese with a pound of cheese, cream and butter is way to much.  Butternut squash to the rescue!  This recipe isn't dairy free, but they dairy has definitely been cut back a lot.  It also has a secret serving of veggies which is always great.

Ingredients:
1 box pasta (I used Gluten free penne with 6 servings per box)
1 package Italian sausage links (4 servings)
12 oz Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
8 oz Gruyere Cheese, grated
16 oz Butternut Squash, cubed
2 tsp all purpose seasoning.
Unsalted Vegetable Broth

Directions:
Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain and distribute between baking dishes.  Grill the sausage links, allow to cool, slice and add to the pasta in the baking dishes.

Meanwhile, steam the butternut squash and transfer to a blender with the ricotta cheese and all purpose seasoning.  Blend until smooth, adding vegetable broth as necessary.  Add half the gruyere cheese, and blend until incorporated.  Taste, and add more seasoning if necessary.  You should end up with a nacho cheese consistency.  

Stir the cheese sauce into the pasta and sausage mixture until well combined.  Sneak a taste and get super excited by the cheesy goodness.

Top with the remaining gruyere cheese, and wrap in aluminum foil to freeze.  Alternatively, pop in a 350 degree oven until bubbly or about 30 minutes.

There you go!  Macaroni and cheese you can feel good about.  The whole recipe serves 6, or 3 servings per pan.  If you are serving a larger crowd, you can just make one pan.

with mushrooms sautéed in olive oil with garlic and parsley

21 Day Fix Conversion: 1 red, 1 yellow, 1/2 blue, 1/3 green.