Category: Cait’s Cafe

Eating clean, for me, is easy Monday – Thursday.  Come Friday – Sunday, all I want to do is pig out on unhealthy snacks.  About 6 months ago I decided to “meal” prep my snacks so that it would be easier to stay on track.  Surprisingly, this helps me not only over the weekend but during the entire week.  It’s easy to do and I encourage you to have a snack tray in your pantry as well as the fridge/freezer.  Try it out!

This week’s fridge/freezer snacks included boiled eggs, snack baggies of grapes, cucumber, strawberries, mini peppers, sugar snap peas, Greek yogurt, to-go peanut butter, and string cheese.  I freeze a few yogurts and snack baggies of grapes so that when I’m craving a sweet treat I can choose something much healthier.

 

**Tip: DO NOT keep junk food in your house as it’s sooo tempting to eat it.  If you have children and need to have some snack foods for them, try making a healthy snack tray just for them to grab from.  It will help keep you on track if you’ve got your family members on board with you.

 

Monday – Thursday I wake up, shower, get dressed, hop in the car and go to work in a “meh” mood.  But on Friday’s I wake up, go through the routine, and smile the whole way to work knowing that after 8 hours I have 2 whole days to play outside, sleep in, etc.  It’s seriously one of my favorite days.

Friday’s tend to be our date night where we indulge in greasy burgers, fries, and beer.  So we re-named Friday, FRY-DAY!  Catchy right?!  😉  Lately there’s been a snag in our date night plans…. I’m trying to fit into a wedding dress.  Fries are out of the question for a while and you guessed it, I’ve got a solution for my fry dilemma.  GREEN BEAN (BAKED) FRIES!!!!!  I love these crunchy little things and they go well dipped in almost anything.

Grocery List: $5-$10

• 1 Egg
• 3 Tbsp EVOO
• 1 Pound Green Beans (this batch I used about 1/2 pound)
• 1/3 Cup Flour
• 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs (I use an Italian blend)
• 1/2 Cup Panko
• Optional dipping sauces: Ranch, BBQ, Ketchup, Mustard

Let’s Bake

• Preheat your oven to 425 degress
• Trim & rinse your green beans, set aside to dry
• In a shallow dish, beat 1 egg & 2 tbsp. EVOO, add green beans to soak
• In a large zip lock bag, add flour, bread crumbs, & panko, add egg soaked green beans
• Zip up the bag and shake the crap out of those beans until well coated, set aside
• Line a cookie sheet with foil and drizzle 1 tbsp. EVOO on foil
• Place those well coated green bean fries onto your cookie sheet and pop in the oven for 15-17 minutes
  • Put on broil if you need to crisp them up!

I am not prejudice about my potatoes.  I like red, yellow, brown, big, small, fried, baked… you get the point.  But when I’m in a hurry and need a quick side dish, these win!  Perfect for a quick dinner side dish or a non traditional BBQ side dish.

This time around I used baby reds, but you can truly use any type of potato you prefer.

 

Grocery List: $5-$10

• 3-4 baby red potatoes (serves 3)
• EVOO
• Cooking Spray
• Spices (Italian, Onion, Garlic, whatever floats your boat)
• Chives to garnish
• Optional garnishments: sour cream, cheese, bacon, bacon bits

 

Let’s Cook

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• Wash and scrub your potatoes – I keep the skin on mine so I scrub good
• Cube your potatoes.  Here’s an awesome tutorial
• Spray a shallow sheet pan with PAM or other cooking spray
• Place potatoes on sheet pan and sprinkle your choice of seasonings on top
  • Try something with bold flavors such as garlic Italian or onion and garlic seasoning.  You can also buy pre-made roasted potato seasonings.
• Drizzle EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on top and use your hands to coat seasoning and EVOO on all of the potatoes.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until soft
• Enjoy!

 

 

The work week is winding down and I’m usually out of dinner ideas or am just too lazy to cook.  So, here’s a stupidly easy ONE POT chili to make that is sure to warm you up and satisfy your hunger. Or in my case, my hangry attitude.

 

Grocery List: Price Varies

• 3-4 Chicken Tenders or Rotisserie Chicken Shredded
• 1 Can White Beans
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 1/2 Yellow Onion
• 1/2 Cup Frozen Corn
• 1 Cup Water or Chicken Broth (I used 2 cups to make mine more brothy)
• McCormick’s White Chicken Chili
  • Garnishments: 1 small avocado & vegetable crackers

Let’s Cook

• In a large pot, add 1 tbsp. EVOO and chicken tenders – cook evenly
• Shred chicken tenders and set aside
  • Save yourself some time and use a rotisserie chicken – shred desired amount of chicken and set aside
• Add green bell pepper and yellow onion to pot (add EVOO if needed) and stir around until tender
• Add broth, corn, beans to pot and stir all around
• Add McCormick’s White Chicken Chili mix
• Add chicken last so that it doesn’t become tough
• Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes, reduce heat and serve

 

My first attempt at Cauliflower Mash and it was actually really freakin’ good!  I read a lot of different recipes but when it came down to it, I just used the same ingredients I would have in mashed potatoes.  One thing I would do differently next time is let the cauliflower sit in a strainer over a bowl just to get all the extra water out.  Other than that, this cauliflower mash was amazing.

Grocery List: 

• 1 Medium Head of Cauliflower
• 1 tbsp. Butter
• Pinch of Cheese
• Salt & Pepper to taste
  • I use a garlic salt to add more flavor

Let’s Cook!

• Separate the cauliflower into florets and chop core finely
• Put cauliflower into a pot, cover with water & boil for about 15 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender.
• Once cauliflower is done, put to the side in a strainer (over a bowl) to get all excess water out.
• In a separate bowl, add milk & cheese
• Add cauliflower, mash generously
• Add Salt & pepper to taste
  • Actually taste your mash to see if it needs more butter, cheese, S&P before serving it
  • Paired mine with a yummy steak topped with mushrooms & onions.  Together this made for a healthy and scrumptious dinner.