Food for the Big Kid...at Heart that is:-)

It has been almost a year that I had taken a 180 turn on my food consumption and grocery habit. Proudly to say, I am living and continue to live the fat loss lifestyle. Not sure on how my B feels about this honestly. He knows that it's good for him, but on occasion, he would give me the pout look when I serve nothing but steamed vegetables (no salt please, ha!ha!) or anything grilled (except for steak:-). He would often say, "Where are my carbs?" Little does he know, veggies have carbs too! I guess he'll never grow out of what he believes that carbs only equal to white bread, white pasta, white rice, or white potatoes. Sometimes, I would just compromise and try to indulge him with familiar foods. But the health freak in me,  tries to put a healthier twist to it. Tasty, but healthy. And oh, he doesn't need to know:-).

For instance, natural free range chicken breast is always on my weekly grocery list every week.  One can also get tired of having grilled or baked chicken all the time. Since B loves chicken nuggets from McDonalds (only once in a blue moon that we buy those), I tried to recreate my own version of it at home. Chicken nuggets/chicken tenders. Using almond ground meal, egg whites, whole wheat flour, a little bit of salt and pepper.  Cut your chicken breast in strips. Pat dry with paper towel. Season them with salt and pepper.  Dredge the tenders with a little bit of whole wheat flour mixed with paprika. Dipped in egg whites and coat with almond meal flour. You can deep fry them in olive oil or for a more healthy alternative, try baking it. They come just as crispy as when they are fried.

Ahhhh, broccoli! Who doesn't love them? The only time B would eat his broccoli is with melted cheese on top. And it so defeats the purpose too. So I thought why not make cheddar broccoli soup? I used low sodium chicken broth, low fat cheddar cheese, and just a little bit of heavy cream (gotta cheat a little, right?). In a medium pot, saute onions, salt, pepper, and nutmeg for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme cook, stirring, until fragrant, for 20 seconds. Add 3 tablespoons all purpose flour and cook, stirring until the mixture is well blended and smells fragrant for 2 minutes. Add your chicken stock and whisk slowly. Let it boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened. Add the broccoli and cook until tender. Remove the pot from the heat and puree in a blender or food processor. Return to the pot.  Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and let it simmer. Add 1 and 1/4 cups of lite cheddar cheese and cook until melted. B loved it:-)

If I could only eat pizza everyday, I would. Although, I don't remember the last time I've had it. It's so bad for you. So for a treat, I made some home made pizza for B. I cheated because I did not make my own dough. I used whole wheat dough and pizza sauce from Trader's Joe. It was still good. I used lean turkey deli as my meat, lite mozzarella, spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes. Layer them up and bake in a 425 degree oven until brown and crispy. 

This shows you that we can still eat our childhood favorites without compromising our waste line. There are numerous recipes online that offer a healthier alternative. Who says healthy does not have to taste good?