Ratatouille

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 small tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 medium Yukon Gold potato or sweet potatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil over medium and cook onion until tender and lightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Arrange the onion on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Overlap tomato, squash, and potato on top of the onion. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with thyme and Parmesan, and drizzle with more oil.
3. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, 30 minutes more.
   
   
   I  put this over quinoa and drizzed olive oil and black pepper over.  Yummy.  Can add chicken too, of course :)

Creamy avocado and white bean wrap

Ingredients
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded red cabbage
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons minced red onion
4 brown rice tortillas or corn tortillas or you could just use chips!

Directions
1. Whisk vinegar, oil, and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot and cilantro; toss to combine.
2. Mash beans and avocado in another medium bowl with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and onion.
3. To assemble the wraps, spread about 1/2 cup of the bean-avocado mixture onto a wrap (or tortilla) and top with about 2/3 cup of the cabbage-carrot slaw. Roll up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut the wraps in half to serve, if desired.

Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin or pureed squash
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• bread crumbs or crumbled crackers for topping (I used Blue Diamond Pecan Nut Thins)-Whatever g.f. crackers you like would work-
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 350°
• Combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, & pumpkin in a food processor or blender and stir together with cooked quinoa and cheddar.  Salt & pepper to taste.  (I thought it was salty enough but did add pepper).
• Spread quinoa & cheese mixture  in a 9 x 9 baking dish, top with crumbled bread or crackers, & cover with foil.
• Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Macaroni and Cheese

Im posting this with the assumption that you could use gluten free pasta easily in this (let me know if I'm wrong). It was easy and tasty and I think the kids would love it!

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/03/skillet-creamy-macaroni-and-cheese.html

Name...? fast and easy

1/4 C. brown rice

1/4 C. Beans (black or kidney or mixed...)

1/2 avacado

Tofu (if you like! optional) or chicken

add some hummus to the side

egg salad

NOT YOUR AVERAGE EGG SALAD

• 2-4 cups mixed greens
• 1/2 c cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• salt & pepper

1. Set a skillet over medium-high heat and lightly coat with nonstick spray.
2. Carefully crack both eggs into the skillet. Let cook for about a minute.
3. Add about a tablespoon of water to the pan and cover. [The water and the lid will help the eggs cook by gently steaming them.]
4. Let cook a few minutes more until the tops are white. For very runny yolks (i.e. over easy), cook for 1-2 minutes; for slightly cooked/slightly runny yolks (i.e. over medium), cook for 2-3 minutes; for gross yolks (i.e. over hard), cook 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and remove lid.
5. Place greens and quinoa on a plate, slide the eggs on top, sprinkle shredded cheese on top and season to taste.
6. Split egg yolk open and devour.

Black bean nachos

Black Bean Nachos
by www.trainermomma.com

10 Beanitos Black Bean chips
1/3 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup monterey jack cheese, reduced fat
1/2 cup pico de gallo (I bought mine in bulk from Costco)
2 Tb Greek yogurt, fat free
1 tsp lime juice

In a small bowl, mix Greek yogurt with lime juice and set aside.

Lay the chips on a microwavable dish. Sprinkle the black beans and cheese over chips. Microwave for 50-60 seconds until cheese is melted.

After the cheese is melted, top with pico de gallo and yogurt mixture.

Eat immediately.

Serves 1. 325 calories per serving.

Southwestern salad w/corn and avocado

Prep: 20 minutes. Stand corn cob, stem removed and pointy end up, in a deep bowl. Cut downward with a sharp paring knife to remove kernels.

Ingredients

• 2 small heads romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (about 12 cups)
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 (9-ounce) bag baked tortilla chips (optional)

Preparation

1. Combine lettuce and next 5 ingredients (through cilantro) in a large bowl.

2. Whisk together oil and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl. Drizzle over salad; toss. Serve with chips or Quesidilla, if desired.

Turkey BLT wraps

2 strips turkey bacon Cooked

1 tsp olive oil

Tomatoes sliced

Large Lettuce leaves

Wrap bacon and tomatoes in the large lettuce leaves. Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes before wrapping it up.

Pasta dinner (without the pasta)

Pasta (Without the Pasta) Dinner
by www.trainermomma.com

1 lb lean ground turkey or beef
32 oz jar of marinara sauce (I've been using Classico Tomato Basil lately)
parmesan cheese, shredded
vegetable of your choice (zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, etc.)
seasoning blend

Brown up the meat and drain off the remaining liquid. Add a jar of your favorite marinara sauce.

Steam up loads of vegetables and fill up your plate/bowl. Season to taste. Top with 1/2 cup of the meat sauce and 1 Tb of the parmesan cheese.

Around 200 - 220 calories depending on what your vegetable is.

breakfast burrito

Breakfast Burrito (Or anytime of the day, of course)

2 eggs scrambled
1/4 cup red and orange peppers, chopped
2 Tb refried beans, fat-free
Brown rice tortilla (the best, and also expensive... boo)
2 Tb cheddar cheese, reduced-fat

1 or 2 pieces of turkey bacon
2 Tb salsa
freshly ground pepper to taste

add everything to brown rice tortilla. yummmmmy!

Lunch made easy

Lunchskins: Reusable sandwich and snack bags made from cute pastry bag fabrics–they saved more than 12 million plastic bags from being in landfills last year. These can be washed in the dish washer or washing machine.

Other options are available from people on Etsy, but they may not be made of food grade materials.

KlipIt by Sistema: A cool container that holds a sandwich in one place and two sides in the other side. Available at The Container Store or in Old Navy stores for a limited time. They also make other cool containers you will want to check out.

Lunch ideas:

• Peanut butter and crackers
• sandwich-gluten free bread, of course
• Rollup with cucumber, bell pepper and salad dressing
• Brown Rice Tortilla, spread with PB, wrapped around a banana—can add a drizzle of honey
• Tuna salad and crackers
• Quesadilla (just cheese, or add some ground beef) serve with salsa
• Hard boiled egg, , fruit and veggie
• Fruit smoothie: I love this trick—make several smoothies, freeze in 8 oz containers and pop them in your child’s lunch. They will defrost and be ready to stir or spoon up by lunch
• Baked chips (whole grain/healthy versions)—dips or sauces if you like
• cheese stick, apple/grapes
• Crackers, lunchmeat, cheese (homemade lunchable)
• Waffles
• Cliff and a piece of fruit and vegetable
• Soup in a thermos
• Sides:

• Nuts
• Cheese sticks/slices
• Snap peas
• Canned fruit
• Carrot sticks
• Dried apples
• Broccoli and ranch
• Cucumbers
• Grapes
• Bell pepper slices

DRINK:

Water. Really. No fruit drinks. It is a lot of money and they really need to rehydrate with some good old water. Check out the Kleen Kanteen or the SubZero Stainless steel containers instead of the plastic ones.

Fresh Vegetable Soup

This was SO easy! I really liked it, let me know what you think!

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 sweet yellow onion

2 carrots

3 stalks of celery

1-2 zucchini

1-2 yellow squash

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried sage

1 14 oz can of flavored diced tomatoes (with juice)

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups carrot juice (if you don't have carrot juice, just use 6 cups total vegetable stock)

sea salt/pepper to taste

2 cups baby spinach

Directions:

Saute onion and garlic

add:

vegetable stock

chopped carrot

chopped celery

thyme

sage

tomatoes

simmer on med low for 45 minutes

add:

spinach

zucchini

squash

taste and re-season

cook 3-5 more minutes

Tip: This is salt and pepper to taste!

Speedy potato

2 medium sweet potatoes (around 6 oz or one 12 oz potato cut in half), scrubbed
1 tsp light butter (I used Smart Balance Light)
2 - 4 tsp brown sugar

Using a fork, poke each potato several times on each side. Plae all the potatoes in a microwave-safe dish. Cover the dish loosely with a paper towel. Microwave for 3 minutes. Flip the taters (they are hot!), and continue to zap them 2-3 minutes at a time until they are tender.

Cut them down the middle, add the butter and some brown sugar. Return to the microwave and cook another 30 seconds until the butter and sugar are melted. If desired, mash the butter and sugar mixture into the cooked potato and serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings. One 6 oz potato has 162 calories

Brown Rice tortillas

I found brown rice tortillas at good earth that are Super good!! They come in a pack of 6 and were in the fridge part of the good earth near the back of the store (Orem location). I've had egg and meat burritos. oh ya

Chicken and BBQ baked beans

1 can of black beans (or kidney)

1 Cup cooked barley (cook like you would brown rice... or just use brown rice)

Chicken

1/4 C. BBQ sauce

Combine all the ingredients.

Yummy with steamed broccoli or veggies...

Delicious shake ideas

1 scoop of protein powder

fruit of your choice (banana, strawberries, blackberries ect...)

1/4 C. oats

1/2 C. water

ice cubes

Another idea, take the 1/4 C. oats out, blend everything else and then add 1/2 C. of rice crispy cereal.

Or, instead of 1/2 C. of water, replace with milk.