Cauliflower Rice

Watching your carbs? Cauliflower rice can be a lifesaver for those of us who are trying to eat more vegetables, or trying to avoid too many carbohydrates. It's relatively quick, depending on your method, completely simple and a really delicious way to get the experience and feeling of rice without all the calories. 

If you don't have a fancy-dancy food processor, you can use any old cheese grater you've got laying around and the result is the same. It's a little more word, but hey, if you go the cheese grater route you're burning more calories to boot. Win-win. 

This recipe is great because cauliflower rice can be used as a foundation for lots of other recipes, like cauliflower crust pizza, egg-fried cauliflower rice, or even chicken and "rice" soup. The possibilities are endless. 

Cauliflower Rice

Gather:

1 head of cauliflower

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp butter

1-2 tbsp of coconut oil

salt and pepper (or seasonings of choice) to taste

Method:

If using food processor, chop cauliflower into small pieces and then place in processor. Pulse until cauliflower is reduced to the size of rice. 

If using grater, select the right size grater, and grate until entire head is tiny rice-sized pieces.

After cauliflower is rice sized/shaped:

-Sauté onions in pan with butter and coconut oil

-When onions begin to soften, add cauliflower rice and stir everything to mix in the butter and oil evenly. 

-Season "rice" with preferred seasonings

-Place a cover on the pan and allow "rice" to cook and soften, about 5-7 minutes. 

Done! This makes a lot of servings. It can be eaten on its own, or as a base for dinners and meal-prepped lunches. Feel free to spice differently based on whatever meal you are having. Cauliflower rice tastes great with soy and teriyaki sauce too (almost better, IMO)

Eat healthy!

Mini-Meatloaf Meal Prep

Welcome to our last week of Meal-Prep Menus! We made it through the first month of the new year, with delicious, easy to make recipes for every taste. Hopefully you've tried out the meals on the blog and that you have a new favorite make-ahead lunch. This week, we have protein-filled, satisfying mini-turkey meatloaves. Make them on Sunday night, and chow down all the workweek long. 

These mini-turkey meatloaves are low fat, super high protein, with added vegetables for extra nutrition. The ingredients are few, the directions are easy to follow. This dish is perfect for lunch or make them all and serve for dinner for the family. I mean, nothing says home-cooking like meatloaf, right?

Spinach + Mozzarella Turkey Mini Meatloaf

Gather:

2 lbs Ground Turkey. Turkey breast is preferred, because of the lower fat content.

4 cups fresh baby spinach

Fresh basil (handful)

1 sweet onion

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/3 cup tomato paste

1/2 cup  shredded mozzarella

Italian Seasoning to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

Favorite Pasta Sauce (homemade or store bought, no judgements here!)

Method:

• Sauté minced sweet onions in pan with olive oil, just until translucent-not browned. Remove from heat
• Chop spinach and basil very finely
• With your hands, mix onions with ground turkey, basil + spinach, tomato paste, bread crumbs and cheese. 
• Add salt and pepper, Italian Seasoning to mix and combine well.
• Free form the turkey mixture into loaves about 3 inches wide by 5 inches long. 
• Place in a glass baking dish and cover them with your favorite pasta/tomato sauce
• Bake for about 25-30 minutes at 350F.

If using for meal-prep, after baking place each loaf into a container with veggies of choice. 

See, eating healthy is easy. And tastes pretty darn awesome. 

See you back here next week with a healthy weekend breakfast recipe!

Quinoa Burrito Bowl

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Back for another week of make-ahead lunch ideas that are delicious, healthy and satisfying. This time around, may we present the delicious flavors of The Burrito Bowl. Yup, no need to hit up Chipotle, or your local burrito shop. For less money and healthier results make your own little bowl of heaven and feed your body better ingredients to fuel your muscles and keep you awake and working.

The combination in this dish  features some of our favorites. Complete amino-acid profile Quinoa, vegetables like tomatoes, corn and peppers. Protein from beans (and chicken if you like!) all topped with the healthy fat of avocados via guacamole. The right mix of flavors and nutrients to make your lunch a little more interesting and powerful. Feel free to add veggies of your choice or to sub in different protein options. This recipe is a great outline for a dish that is easily customized for any diet. 

Burrito Bowl

Gather:

1 cup quinoa (cooked)
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 15 oz. can sweet corn
1 large bell pepper

1 tomato, diced
1/2  onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon cumin
4 tablespoons chopped, fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime
salt + pepper

For Guac:

1 whole avocado

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

salt + pepper to taste

Optional: grilled chicken or steak cubes, cheese

Method:
-Cook quinoa according to package directions and set aside, and toss with 2 tbsp of cilantro. If you wish, you can mix the diced tomato directly into the quinoa, I like the mild flavor it gives the grain. 
-Heat beans and corn on stove, sprinkling with  half the salt, pepper and cumin. You aren't cooking the beans and corn, only heating to combine flavors and spices. 
-Slice up pepper, onion and garlic, adding the other half of the spices. Cook until peppers begin to soften, about 4-5 minutes. 
-To make guacamole: this is a simpler recipe than most. We are just going to mash one avocado, add lemon juice and salt and pepper. Alternatively, you can slice the avocado and top it with lemon and salt and pepper. 
-To make the bowls, layer tupperware container (3 cup container or so) with quinoa on bottom, then corn, beans, pepper + onion mixture. If using, add protein of choice, followed by guacamole. 

That's it. A simple, flavorful dish that is ready in about 15 minutes start to finish. Double the recipe if wanting to prepare for the whole week. Eating healthy shouldn't be difficult, and feeling satisfied should never be an obstacle. Stay tuned next week for another healthy make-ahead lunch idea to start off your 2015! 

Melt-in-Your-Mouth-Chicken

This recipe is called "Melt in Your Mouth Chicken". Do we even need entice you any further? Our version is healthy, incredibly easy, and so delicious that it literally...melts in your mouth. And you thought eating healthy was going to be difficult.

Chicken is a protein staple of any omnivorous lifter, runner, cyclist,  basically athlete of any kind. But chicken can also get boring. It's a good choice for being high-protein, lean, and inexpensive, but sometimes it feels like there is only so much you can do with it. There are many a time when a husband or wife has come home to chicken on the grill, or chicken in the oven to utter the words, "Chicken for dinner,  again?"
So, Norton is here to save your chicken blues with today's recipe that packs a lot of flavor along with all of the benefits listed above. (This may be where the phrase, "winner, winner, Chicken Dinner" comes from. Maybe not.)

So, before ramming your head into the wall when you realize you are having chicken again for dinner, try this instead and save your noggin some pain.

Melt in Your Mouth Chicken
Gather:
4 boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup of plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt (we recommend Mrs. Dash )
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Method:
1. Mix yogurt, cheese, and seasonings.
2. Spread mixture over chicken breast and place in baking dish.
3. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

The original recipe calls for mayo, but substituting with plain greek yogurt adds protein, tangy flavor and cuts a lot of fat and calories. You're welcome. 

Give it a try, and don't let your diet get boring! Set yourself up for success!

Recipe courtesy of Amber Cox Fitness

A Quick Guide to Meal Prep

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Last week on the blog we offered our readers an easy recipe to make eating healthy during the week much easier. (Easy Chicken Salad)

This week, in addition to a simple recipe, we at Norton wanted to provide a quick guide to meal prepping, so that:

 1. You can make and design your own meals, 

 2. You understand why it's important to plan your meals ahead of time.

Prepping your meals before your week begins enables you to be sure that you are sticking with your goals. Whether you have a calorie goal, a macro goal, a "points" system, having and cooking your food in advance puts you in control of your food intake and keeps you on top of your goals. 

Another positive aspect of meal planning is that getting your meals cooked, portioned out and in the fridge means no worrying about making food during the week, no desperate stops at fast food restaurants (which is where regret normally begins), and that the diet part of your fitness regimen is off your mind...because it's already done!

Knowing why to prep is one thing, but knowing what to make is another. Throughout the next weeks we have some awesome recipes to offer you, but the main things to keep in mind is that you need protein, fiber and some fat. Basically, a protein, some type of grain or starch, vegetables (the more vegetables the better!) and some healthy oils. This combination will keep you satiated, and provide the fuel your body and muscles need to perform at their peak. 

This week's recipe has it all. (And makes enough for 8 meals. Or enough for 2 people for 4 days. If you're only cooking for one, then half the recipe.) 

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Bowls

Gather:

• 16 oz cooked quinoa

• 16 oz cooked brown rice

• 4 cups roasted asparagus, chopped

• 4 cups roasted broccoli florets

• 4 cups roasted cauliflower florets

• 32 oz grilled/baked/broiled chicken, cubed

• 8- 3-cup tupperware containers.

• Salsa or Hummus

Method:

Directions

 -Place 1/4 cup brown rice and 1/4 cup quinoa into each container. 

-Top with a total of 1 1/2 cups of your cooked vegetables. Mix up the type of vegetables for each bowl so you have a variety each day.  Add 1/2 cup of the chicken.

-When re-heating, add salsa or hummus to add flavor to bowls. 

Note: To roast vegetables, place them onto a large baking sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and season with kosher salt and pepper. Cook in oven at 375 degrees until fork tender. Time will vary depending on vegetable.

Enjoy, and stay fit!