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…Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: Bell Pepper Nacho Bites…

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Who does NOT love nachos?

OK… if you do not love nachos there is no way we can be friends. The savoy mixture of seasoned meat with cheese and fresh veggies…It is making my mouth water to just think about it!

I decided to create a simple, healthy, and cost effective alternative to one of my favorite dishes.

This would be a great dish to have as a finger food when you have people coming over OR it can be a great snack/meal.

Ingredients:

  • 1 package ground lean meat (turkey, chick, lean beef)
  • Assortment of Bell Peppers (red, orange or green and I made 4-6 “bites” per bell pepper)
  • 1 cup low fat Cheese
  • 1/4 cup Salsa
  • 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
Directions:

1. Cook meat thoroughly, add desired seasoning if desired

2. Drain meat and mix salsa/tomato paste to coat meat for flavor

3. Scoop out seeds from peppers and cut into boats (each pepper = 4-6 pepper boats/bites)

4. Scoop meat into pepper boats and sprinkle cheese on top of the meat

5. Either heat up in microwave for 2-3 minutes or stick bell pepper boats onto a non stick baking sheet in the oven at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes (or until all of the cheese is melted)

6. Remove boats from oven (or microwave) and top with your choice of vegetable (such as minced onions, lettuce, etc.)

You can also top these bits with low fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.

By substituting the chips for the bell peppers you are able to cut out a huge overload of carbs without sacrificing the quality or flavor of this dish.

By using lean meat, this will also allow you to cut the amount of fat that is traditionally in this dish.  You can get creative and add diced tomatoes, olives, and other things that you will traditionally find in nachos.  Please be mindful when you add more items.  That can compromise the healthy nutritional value of this meal.

Bon Appétit

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Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: Chocolate and Cinnamon Breakfast Bites…

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There are a few ways that you can make this, but I decided to make mine in a unique way.

This is a GREAT breakfast option for those who need to grab food and GO in the morning.

Ingredients:

  • I tbsp. cinnamon
  • 1 scoop protein or 1 pack or 1/4 cup (*** PLEASE be aware that different protein powders will produce different results. For this Recipe I used the Advocare Vanilla Meal Replacement Shake***
  • 1/4 cup of honey
  • 1/2 cup of oat flour
  • 1/4 cup of Chocolate peanut butter (BUT you can use regular peanut butter)
  • 3/4 cup of whole oats
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

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You can MAKE your own oat flour! All you need is rolled oats and a food processor OR blender.  Put a few cups of rolled oat into the food processor/blender and mix it until it becomes fine like “Flour”. You can also purchase it BUT I just decided to make my own.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and a bowl.  Contents in bowl will start to clump together BUT it will not be a paste or batter.  You will want to grab small amounts of the mixture and roll them into small balls (about the size of a ping pong ball). Stick them in the freezer (Leave them in the freezer LONGER FOR BEST RESULTS! I stuck mine in the freezer overnight but around 4 hours should be good enough) and then enjoy.

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Like I stated in the video, I also dipped my breakfast bites with Greek Yogurt! You can use 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt and drizzle about 1 tbsp of honey to make a dip. You can also find caramel, chocolate, or other flavors at your local store and use those prepackaged yogurts to dip your bites.

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You can make these several different ways! You can use regular peanut butter with cinnamon. You can use other spices, you can use other types of nut butter, you can pretty much get as creative as you would like!

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…Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: FroYo Bites…

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Seeing as there are only a few weeks left of summer (insert cheering from parents who have had to stay home with kids all summer) it can get hard to find health and fun treats for the family to enjoy.  I do my best to try to find treats that will be healthy, affordable, and fun for every member of the family to help create.

For this recipe I decided to make FroYo bites.  This is a simple, easy, and tasty treat that can be enjoyed by all members of the family!


Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Any flavor of Greek yogurt that you like. (you can even use plain unfloavored Greek Yogurt).
  • 1/2 cup Fresh fruit/berries
  • 1/2 cup Granola crumbs (you can even use graham cracker crust)
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

Directions:

  • In a mixing bowl mix the granola, honey, and coconut oil. This will make the granola clump together
  • In cupcake paper (you can use actual paper of silicon cups) pack in a thin layer of the granola/honey/coconut oil mix.
  • Once you create a small base layer dollop on top of the layer your favorite flavor of Greek Yogurt.
  • This is where you can get creative! You can mix in nuts, chocolate chips, fruit, berries, or pretty much anything you want into or on top of your Greek yogurt.
  • Fill your FroYo cup to the top (making sure that it DOES NOT overflow).
  • Place your FroYo cups in the freezer and freeze for about 4 hours (sometimes it does not take as long and sometimes it will take longer! I froze mine over night to make sure they would freeze completely.)
  • Once frozen peel the treats out of the cupcake wrapping.
  • ENJOY!!

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Like I stated above you can get as creative as you would like with this treat! And, it is quick, not very messy, and great to allow kids to help you make.  You can make a whole batch of them and everyone can have their very own unique FroYo Bite.

As a disclaimer: YOU WANT TO WATCH WHAT YOU ADD TO YOUR FROYO BITES! If you add a ton of sugar and added things, it can quickly decrease the health value of this snack. You will also want to use GREEK YOGURT. I tried making this treat with regular yogurt. Yes it was good, BUT having the thick consistency that Greek Yogurt offers makes the treat better (in my opinion).  

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE CUPCAKE WRAPPING BEFORE YOU EAT IT. You do not want to get a mouthful of paper/plastic/rubber while trying to enjoy these treats.

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…Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: Chobani Greek Yogurt Turkey Wraps & Chocolate Pudding…

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Greek yogurt:

The product that you can find sandwiched between “regular” yogurt, , sour cream, and cottage cheese  that you can find stocked at your local grocery store.  Greek yogurt tends to be thicker and creamier (some companies have come out with the whipped and lighter versions of Greek yogurt).  There are 100’s of flavors and combinations of Greek yogurt for you to choose from.  Why is Greek yogurt becoming such a popular health food?

It can help with your digestive system:  Greek yogurt contains probiotics which is a healthy form of bacteria that can help to regulate your digestive tract. Consuming Greek yogurt gives your body an extra amount of good bacteria so that it can aid in food digestion and food waste regulation.

It contains nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and a good dose of protein! The additional protein helps to encourage cell growth, and assist with helping to build/repair the muscles and tissues that you may use and abuse when you workout.

It is a food that contains a small amount of lactose so it is a friendly food for those that may be lactose intolerant.

Greek yogurt is a food that would be a great addition to your diet.

Today I created two foods (that you can enjoy TOGETHER) that pack a lot of protein, that are very filling, and they are extremely delicious!

I also wanted to create something that can utilize food you may already have in your fridge.  As Thanksgiving is quickly approaching we all know that there is usually left over turkey and cranberry sauce.  I created this finger licking meal/appetizer option for you to enjoy:

Turkey Cranberry Wraps

Ingredients:

  • 1 large Tortilla (whole wheat is preferred but you can use other variations)
  • Lettuce (about a handful…enough to create a base layer on the tortilla)
  • 2-3 oz of Turkey (you can also use chicken or another lean meat)
  • 2 tbsp Cranberry Sauce
  • 1 cup Greek Yogurt (fat-free)
  • Optional: Nuts, cheese, sliced veggies, ect.

Directions:

  • Lay out tortilla on cutting board or plate
  • In a bowl mix together Greek yogurt, cranberry sauce (and any other optional things you would like to add such as chopped nuts, who dried cranberries, etc.)
  • On the tortilla make a small base layer of the Greek yogurt mixture (I made a layer that was about 3 inches in width and it extended the full length of the tortilla)
  • Once the Greek yogurt layer is added and smooth, place a layer of lettuce on top of the Greek yogurt.  You can also add sliced veggie or any other additional items you would like
  • Carefully fold the top and bottom OVER the food that you placed in the middle of the tortilla and roll it
  • You can serve it as one big wrap or cut it into smaller pieces.
  • Watch the following video to get some idea of what I did…

 

Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt (fat-free)
  • 1 tbsp. coco (I used dark chocolate coco but you can use another version)
  • 1-2 tbsp. Walden’s Farm Syrup (Add syrup to create the level of sweetness you would like! For this mixture I used 1 tbsp.  You can also use honey, regular syrup, stevia, or something else.  Add sparingly as you mix the ingredients together so you do not over sweeten the product)
  • 2 tbsp. chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chocolate chips but you can use another version)
  • dash of vanilla extract
  • Optional: nuts, dried/fresh fruit

Directions

  • Combine all of the above ingredients into a bowl and mix
  • Add other garnishments BUT BE CAREFUL as to what you add! The more things you add you can quickly make this healthy dessert option not as healthy.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

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