Burger Pizza

Burger Pizza

adapted from Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients:

8 oz lean ground beef (I use grass fed from Wallace Farms)

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

14 1/2 no salt added diced tomatoes, drained (can use fresh tomatoes as well)

3 T Dijon mustard or regular

1 C low fat ricotta cheese

1 C 2% mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 C baby arugula or baby spinach

1 whole wheat crust (I used whole wheat dough from Trader Joes)

follow directions on dough bag

mushroom slices (optional but as always I pile on the veggies where I can)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450F. Preheat a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add beef, onion, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking up beef with a spoon or spatula until no longer pink, Stir in tomatoes and Dijon mustard. Set aside. Place crust on a pizza pan and spread ricotta cheese over top. Top with beef mixture, spinach and top with mozzarella. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and dough is cooked. Remove from oven and let rest for 1 minute before slicing.

Enjoy!

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Strawberry-Kiwi Dessert Pizza

Father's Day weekend was kicked off with a date night as Cosi Cucina's....one of my favorite local Italian restaurants in Des Moines.

Sunday, Trey woke up bright and early to celebrate (oh wait, that's every morning)

Happy Father's Day Dad!

ok, I'm bored

seriously, how do you get out of this thing...

we then ventured down to Winterset to celebrate Father's Day with J's dad and family.

His mom made this yummy dessert that I had to share with ya'll. It has great curb appeal and would be fabulous for a summer picnic.

Strawberry-Kiwi Dessert Pizza

from my mother-in-law's kitchen, who clipped it from the DSM Register

Ingredients:
For the crust:

3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 C all purpose flours, plus some for dusting (you could probably use all whole wheat)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C low fat cottage cheese

1/3 C sugar
3 T canola oil

2 T skim milk

3/4 tsp almond extract (YUM)

For the topping:

1/3 seedless raspberry jam (maybe you can pick some up at the farmer's market!)

2 T orange juice (my favorite is Simply Orange)

3 T coconut flakes, divided

2 kiwi fruit, peeled and thinly sliced

3 large strawberries, thinly sliced

Instructions:

To prepare crust, in small bowl whisk together the flour and baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In food processor, puree the cottage cheese. Add sugar, oil, milk, and almond extract, then process until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and pulse 5 to 6 times, just until dough clumps together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and using floured hands press the dough into a ball. Knead 2 or 3 times, but do not overwork. Dust with flour, wrap in plastic and refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare topping. In small bowel whip jam and orange juice together. Set aside. To bake and assemble the pizza, position rack in the middle of oven. Heat the oven to 400F. Coat 12 inch pizza pan or large baking sheet or pie pan with cooking spray. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 12 inch circle about 1/4 inch thick. Roll the dough back over the rolling pin and transfer to the prepared pan. Spread the jam mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4inch border around edge. Bake until crust in golden and crispy, about 15-20 minutes (my mother-in-law under baked it just a tad to have a softer crust...I recommend this!) Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Place the cooled crust on a clean pizza pan or large serving plate. Sprinkle evenly with half the coconut. Arrange the fruit on top and sprinkle remaining coconut. Serve immediately or wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 3 hours before serving.

Nutrition per serving (serves 8): 207 calories, 6g fat, 35g carbs, 4g protein

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

www.sarabconsulting.com

Product Reviews - Kashi Pizza & Ezekiel 4:9 Tortillas

Product reviews
Kashi's Frozen Pizza


As I perused the aisle of the Health Market at Hy-Vee the other day I spotted these Kashi frozen pizzas for sale. I do love Kashi products so I thought I would give it a try... I'm a sucker for a sale.

the description sounds delicious!

Although this pizza actually looked like the pizza on the box with spinach, onions, red peppers, and feta galore....it may have actually tasted more like the box too :)

so that may be a little harsh, but overall I will not plan on purchasing again. It didn't really satisfy J and I for dinner although it pairs nicely with a side of veggies.

Price: about $5.99/pizza

Nutrition facts and ingredients

Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Tortilla
another favorite of mine...Ezekiel products....love the bread!

While I was at Whole Food in Omaha the other week I discovered these....

fabulous ingredient label...no HFCS, partially hydrogenated oils, or even sugar here!

Although, J and I enjoyed their nutty flavor and health benefits over regular tortillas, they tend to be a little brittle and fall apart when wrap up.
I will probably stick with my go-to brand for whole wheat tortillas, Stacey's Organics.

Until next time....

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Back to School Recipes & B-Day Fun with the Family

On Thursday I did another presentation at Continental Western Group on "Back to School the Healthy Way." The focus was on why it is important for kids to eat healthy, how to pack a healthy lunch, and lunch time makeovers.
Of course, there were food samples! The idea behind the samples is they are all easy recipes with minimal ingredients that can be prepared by both a parent and a child (some may need supervision).

Pizzadillas
from kidshealth.org
Ingredients:
4 whole-wheat tortillas (8 inches) - I use Amy's Organics
2/3 cup fresh or frozen spinach, finely chopped
2/3 cup 2% mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade)
Cooking spray

I found this marinara made in Coralville, Iowa at the Coralville HyVee
Instructions:
Lay 2 tortillas on a flat surface. Divide spinach and cheese between the tortillas.
Top with remaining 2 tortillas.
Place skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray.
Gently slide 1 pizzadilla into the pan and cook until light golden brown on one side (about 1-2 minutes).
Using a thin spatula, gently flip over the pizzadilla and cook for 30-60 seconds more or until cheese is fully melted.
Remove pizzadilla and cut into triangles. Repeat with remaining pizzadilla.
Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.
You can wrap and refrigerate leftovers to take to school for lunch.

Strawberry Bars

loosely adapted from kidshealth.org

Ingredients:
1 c white whole wheat flour
1 c rolled oats
1/4 c butter or margarine, softened

1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c light brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 c strawberry jam - make sure it is a product that does not contain high fructose corn syrup

3/4 c sliced fresh or frozen strawberries

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large bowl, mix everything together except the strawberry jam and strawberries.
Measure out 1/2 of this mixture. Leave the rest in the bowl, and set it aside.
Take the mixture and press it into the bottom of the greased pan. You can use your hands or a spoon. Make sure you cover the entire bottom of the pan!
Using a large spoon, spread the strawberry jam on top of the mixture in the pan. Follow with the strawberry slices. Spread it evenly all over.
Take the mixture that was left in the bowl, and spread or sprinkle it over the strawberry jam. Press it down lightly.
Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes.
Cut the bars into 12 squares to eat and share!

Each participant got their own sack of samples!
I also sampled Banana Roll-ups.

Birthday fun with the family!

Mom and Dad had us kids over for cake and homemade ice cream. Mom created another cake masterpiece! It's a baby stroller :)

Peyton looks guilty....is that chocolate on the side of her mouth?

Emmerson tried teaching Peyton how to start a race

it seems she left her in the dust

"Wait for me Emmerson!"

"oh my, a camera....how do I look?"

Jazz (my parents and I's little sister from Big Brothers/Big Sisters)

Emmerson catching a ride from J

I love family time!

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Boston Bound Part IV- the sights, the sounds...the food

So J and I did do other things in Boston beside run 26.2 miles...we explored the many historic sites...like Fenway :) and ate our way through the Freedom Trail.
Here's a little recap of our trip:
Day 1
We treated Carl and Julia to a Italian feast aka "Carbo load"
at Allora Ristorante in Marlborough, MA (suburb of Boston)


Mediterranean Salmon stuffed with spinach, feta and sun dried tomato over fennel and arugula salad

Lobster and Ravioli chunks of lobster, baby spinach, red onion and zucchini simmered in tomato alfredo sauce
Day 2
see Boston Bound part III
Day 3
Boston Marathon
Day 4
it was time to say "good-bye" to Carl and Julia and head to the city to explore the sites


they dished us up with a lovely home, comfy bed, and awesome home cooking

Downtown Boston

J had to get in on the Dunkin' Donuts craze while we were out there
they are EVERYWHERE on the East Coast....not sure I'm sold on the coffee

More baked goods at Bova's Bakery in the North End
The Freedom Trail:
directions...follow the red brick line to see Boston's historic sites (approx.2.5 miles)
warning...this may not be the best thing to do after running a marathon

Here we go!

we saw the State House...ooooooohhh

the site where the Declaration of Independence was read....ahhhhhhh

Paul Revere's grave and home...


a large steeple and clock....more ooohhhs and ahhhs

"hey...I didn't know they had Starbuck's back then....did you J?"

and OF COURSE we found some historic food....the oldest restaurant in America...
Union Oyster House est 1826
we finally got a table after making our reservation in 1856

New England Clam Chowder...YUM...coming from someone who doesn't typically like this soup

J ordered oysters....not me

but after J's persuasion and my hesitation I tried one and...........was done

we made it all the way to Bunker Hill aka the end of the trail

we were exhausted...J looked like a British solider defeated at Bunker Hill

and I fell asleep in the hotel lobby waiting for our room

Boston Common
the oldest park in the country...lots of "oldest" stuff in Boston


I felt like I was taking my senior pictures

Fenway Park

J and I finally had our celebratory drink...cheers!

Red Sox's WON!


Day 5
Boston Duck Tour

J made me sit in the driver seat....can't wait till we have kids so I don't have to do the korny pics anymore

a slice of heaven...I mean Boston Cream pie at the site it was created, Omni Parker House

Regina's Pizza, this has to be where pizza landed in the US because it was GOOOOOD

of course, I had to get one with veggies on it

a few random pics:

wish this was my spice rack

J picked up a new cellphone out there...it's called the Banana Berry

I receive Bible Verse emails every day....this just happen to be the one I received the morning of the marathon (pretty appropriate):

Put no high value on your wisdom: let the fear of the Lord be before you, and keep yourself from evil: This will give strength to your flesh, and new life to your bones. -Proverbs 3:7-8

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good
http://www.sarabconsulting.com/