Meatballs!

Today's recipe is for delicious yet healthy meatballs that you will swear your grandmother made.  Actually this recipe is derived from one of my grandmother's recipes that I just adjusted a bit.  It's simple and easy to make and does not require a lot of time.

What You Need:
Large pot
Frying Pan
Mini food processor/blender or chopper


Ingredients:
2lbs 93% lean ground beef
2 pieces of bread (I used weight watchers)
1-2tsp Olive Oil
2Tbsp grated Romano cheese
1 large egg
2 cloves garlic (minced, grated, or pressed)
1tsp Parsley
1Tbsp Oregano
1Tbsp Basil
1tsp Salt
1/2tsp Black Pepper
1tsp Garlic powder
1/2tsp Thyme
Tomato Sauce (homemade or canned)

• First you want to put your pot with tomato sauce on medium heat.  You need enough sauce to fully cover your meatballs while they cook (aprox 15).  I usually have my large pot, pictured above, filled 1/3 to 1/2 way up.

• Next, we want to make our own homemade healthier breadcrumbs.  In your chopper or blender add ripped up pieces of the bread, 1Tbsp of Romano cheese, Basil, Parsley, Salt, Pepper, Garlic powder, Thyme and any other spices you wish.  I also add two spice blends from Penzeys Spices (for my tastes)  called "Mural of Flavor" and "Herbs de Provence" they are basically just Italian spice blends.  Lightly pulse and blend the bread and spices together. 

What you end up with should look like this..

• Next, in a large bowl add your beef, Egg, 1Tbsp Romano cheese, bread crumbs and garlic. Now here is where we go old school, with freshly washed hands you want to mix all your ingredients together with you hands. Smush, mush, squeeze and mash it all together until it looks evenly mixed together.

• In a frying pan over medium heat and 1tsp of Olive Oil

• Grab a fist size worth of meat and using your hands form into a ball

 

• Using your other hand slightly press the meat down so that the top and bottom are more flat

• Add your meat balls to the hot frying pan

• You want to lightly brown them on both sides

•  Once browned remove the meatballs from the frying pan and place in the tomato sauce.

• Repeat this process until you have used up all the meat.  You should be able to make 15 meatballs.  If needed you can add another tsp of Olive Oil to the pan.
• Lightly stir the meatballs to ensure all are covered with sauce.  You want the sauce to be hot but not boiling. Cover and let simmer for at least a half hour.
• Then Enjoy!

You can enjoy these meatballs alone as a yummy snack or on top of your favorite pasta dish.  I love these meatballs on top of a bowl of whole wheat pasta and sprinkled with some Romano Cheese.

This recipe yields 15 servings and is 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus per serving

Music Monday! Stronger!

I love this song! Kelly Clarkson shows young girls and women everywhere the meaning of empowerment and inner strength. This song and this video sends the message that there is life after a failed relationship.  It's all about finding the strength and courage to go it alone!

Another great thing about this video is that they used footage submitted by her fans! Kelly encouraged fans to be a part of her new video.  She posted an instructional dance video with the choreography and had fans send in their home videos to be used in this music video.

What do you think? 

Interesting!

We know to avoid processed foods because they are not healthy and cause us to gain weight, but now new video shows that we can't even digest them properly.



What do you think?

Banana Bread!

If you are like me, some of your bananas seem to go bad before you can eat them all. I love keeping bananas in the house for a healthy mid morning snack but I don't like them once they start getting all brown.  A great way to avoid throwing out old bananas is to turn them into Banana Bread!  I have created a Low Fat, sugar free banana bread that is delicious and healthy!

 

What you need:

• A Large Bowl
• A Loaf Pan
• Wooden Spoon
• Cooking Spray
• Potato Masher & Hand Mixer (optional)

Ingredients:

• 3 Bananas
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 Cup Water
• 1 & 2/3 Cups of Flour
• 1/4 Cup of Coconut Oil (any oil or butter product will work)
• 2/3 Cup of Truvia (or sweetener of your choice)
•  1tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2tsp Salt
• 4Tbsp Chocolate Chips (optional)

Pre-heat your over to 350

In a large bowl mash up your Bananas.  Mix in your eggs, water, brummel & brown and splenda.  You want a cake batter like consistency.

Then mix in  your flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  If you are like me and have a sweet tooth you can add in 4tbsp of chocolate chips.  This also makes the banana bread a sweet chocolaty treat.

Spray your loaf pan with cooking spray.  I like to use PAM.  You want to fully coat the inside of the pan so that your bread will fall out easily.  Then pour your batter into you loaf pan.

 

Place your pan in your pre-heated oven for about an hour and 15 minutes or until golden brown. (TIP:  You can tell if your bread is fully cooked by inserting a knife into the center.  If your knife comes out clean your bread is done)

 

Once your bread has cooled you can turn your pan upside down and the bread should easily fall out.  Place on a plate, slice it up and indulge...

Enjoy!!

This banana bread yields 11 servings and is only 4 Weight Watcher Points Plus!

5 Points Plus if you add the Chocolate Chips!

 (If you don't want to make the recipe sugar free you can use the same amount of sugar instead of splenda)

Music Monday! Dream Big!

This is an amazing song that always puts me in a good mood. It has a great message and even if its not the kind of music you usually listen to, I'm sure you will love it if not just for the great message it holds. It never ceases to inspire me when it comes up on my play list!

Reward!

So today I treated myself!  After a long day of filming in NYC I had some time to kill before meeting up with my friend and decided to treat myself to a pedicure.  After a long year with a lot of death and relationship drama I back tracked on my weight loss efforts a bit.  I gained back a few of the pounds I have lost and I am determined to re loose them again as well as more.  As a reward for hitting the 5lb mark this week (I'm actually at 6.6 but whose counting) I decided to treat myself to a relaxing pedicure.  It was wonderful and exactly what I needed today.  I am even more excited for my 10lb reward a massage!! :)

Tuesday's Tip! Other uses for Coffee Grounds!

 Coffee! Though I don't drink the stuff, most people depend on it to get their day started, but what happens to all those coffee grounds?  When we throw coffee grounds into the garbage they break down and release methane.  Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more powerful than CO2. Lucky for us there are lots of ways to put them to good use and keep them out of landfills.  Coffee grounds can be useful for beauty, cleaning, and even in the garden.  Here are a few ideas on how to reuse coffee grounds.

TIP: If you plan on hanging on to the grounds for a little while before using them you want to dry them out so they don't get moldy. To do this just spread a thin layer on a cookie sheet and place in a sunny spot 

• Of course you can compost them.
• Use as fertilizer for acid-loving plants such as tomatoes, carrots, roses, azaleas & blueberries.
• Try storing them in your refrigerator and freezer instead of baking soda to eliminate odors.
• Keep out ants by sprinkling some grounds where they enter.
• Fill an old sock full of dried coffee grounds & insert into a smelly pair of shoes to eliminate of the stink. 
•  After dicing onions and garlic you can scrub your hands with old coffee grounds to get the smell off of your skin. 
• You can mix them with mashed avocados for a organic facial mask. 
• Keep those pesky neighborhood cats out of your garden by sprinkling a small amount around beds or pots.
•  For those of you with dark hair, you can massage them into your scalp to prevent dandruff.
• You can use them to exfoliate your skin.
• Use them as a chemical free way to scour away grease on your pots and pans.
• Steep them in hot water to make an all natural brown fabric dye
• If you are crafty you can give paper an “aged” look by dipping it in water that has soaked overnight with coffee grounds.
• You can make an at home anti-cellulite scrub using 5 tsp. ground coffee, 1 tsp. sugar or salt & 2 tsp. essential oil. Apply with your hand or a loofah in a circular motion, leave on five minutes and then wash off.

Tip: You can dry out used coffee grounds and mix them with fresh grounds to make coffee with them one more time!

Do you have more ideas on how to reuse coffee grounds?

Music Monday! Skyscraper!

This is a great inspiring song for anyone who has been through trying times.  It's all about rising above everything that has happened and being a better, stronger person because of it.  The video shows that your  heart is strong enough to go through pain without breaking. We are all resilient and though we go through ups and downs we are all strong enough to make it through.