Category / Recipes & Yums

by tessbrennan

Healthy squash grown locally for a healthy diet

Healthy Local Vegetables for Healthy DietThere’s a small farm stand in my neighborhood on Sunday mornings.  They park on the corner and set up a little table and offer locally grown produce for those interested.  I love it! Excellent produce, locally grown, fresh from the fields, & MUCH cheaper than at the grocery store.  Today I picked up some really good looking stuff! Cabbage, jalapeños, summer squash, morrows, and green beans.

In my attempt to maintain my retained girlish figure, I push myself to make sure I eat extra fruits and veggies, even to the point where I will make myself an extra serving at dinner, including things my hubby and daughter will not eat. SmileHoping she will notice the good example and begin eating more.  She must take at least one taste of everything.

Squash is something we all eat, and I fix it many different ways.  Tonight, I just steamed a yellow squash cut into chunks and consumed it with a bit of sea salt.  Yummmers

I wanted to share some of the health benefits of these great produce treats.

Summer squash are effective diuretics and their potassium content means they are beneficial for those with high blood pressure. Summer squash does contain small amounts of beta carotene. Because of their high water content, all squash are low in calories.   (Wholefoods with recipes for health and healing, Nicola Graimes)

I love to shred these babies up and add them to my tomato sauces, lasagnas, and soups. Just adds a bit more nutrition to the dinner being made and some more fiber as well.

If you would like more information on methods for lowering blood pressure naturally, please, feel free to contact me.

by tessbrennan

Healthier Chicken Lasagna–Didn’t have Ground Beef

Healthier Chicken Lasagna

I’ve been cutting way back on our beef consumption. In doing so, I haven’t purchased ground beef in a lllllloooonnnnnggggg time.  Therefore, when I began making lasagna for dinner, I discovered I had no ground beef.

ENTER GRILL AND CHICKEN BOOBS!

2 chicken boobs, grilled and cubed small
1 zucchini shredded
1 jar of Ragu Spaghetti sauce (I use mushroom since it’s the only way I get mushrooms in my home)

Mix these 3 things together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix:

1.5 cups of 6 cheese Italian mix
2 cups of small curd cottage cheese
1 egg
1 cup of parmesan cheese

Prepare 1/2 box of high fiber penne pasta (7 g of protein per serving)

Spray a lasagna dish with olive oil
Drop a cup of sauce mix into bottom of dish
Layer penne pasta on top of sauce mix
Smooth 1 cup of cheese mix over penne pasta
Sauce
Pasta
Cheese
Sauce
Cheese & sprinkle with parm.

Cook in 375 oven for 30 minutes – allow to cool for 5-10 minutes & serve!

Awesome, easy switches for improved health!

(Hubby didn’t even realize it wasn’t beef!)  So, in this meal, we have increased fiber and protein content by switching out brands of pasta, reduced fat and red meat by switching out beef for chicken, AND added veggies by adding a shredded zucchini!

Switching brands can save your life!

So can switching little things in our daily life!

by tessbrennan

Healthy Peanut Butter Cup Shake

This protein shake rocks my world!  I Love it! Tasty way to start my day, boost my blood sugar and keep it from dropping later in the morning. I consider this one of my Fun Foods. Its fast, easy and starts my day off right! Everything I need, nothing I don’t.

Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Protein-Shake

You will need

8 ounces (1 cup) Lowfat milk/Soy Milk/Almond Milk (even water)
2 scoops of Chocolate Life Protein shake (with Leucine)
1 heaping teaspoon of natural, organic peanut butter
2 ice cubes

Blend in mixer, Pour in Cup, & ENJOY!

(Almost posted a photo of my Fast Food Mustache – then decided NOT)

Smile

by tessbrennan

Healthier Cookies–Works for most Recipes

I prefer to make the cookies my family eats.  As a part of our healthier choices, I make as much of our food as possible so that I know what is in the recipes and so I have some control of the nutrition going into my families bodies.

We’ve found that by simply adding a 1/4 cup of Protein Powder, the cookies have a touch of nutrition and protein to offset the sugars.

Here’s how we “fix” the cookies.

 

  1. Cut the sugar content in half.  This way you actually get the flavor of the cookies &/or chips.
  2. Try mixing flours.  We will substitute 1/2 the flour of the recipe with Oat Flour, Soy Flour, Rice Flour, or whole wheat flour. (no one even notices the difference)
  3. Substitute 1/4 cup of Instant Protein Powder for flour.  This adds protein to the cookie.  We should always be eating a protein with our carbs to help level out the blood sugar and keep it from spiking.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes! We do it with all our cookies, our cakes, & even our bread recipes.

If you’ve got the Drive, we’ve got the Vehicle!

The Healthy Grease Monkey is a project by Tess Brennan dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers who are smart about Nutrition & what they put in & surround their body with, passionate about protecting our environment, and are committed to supporting local entrepreneurs. Those who are about healthy weight loss & dynamic living. If you would like to find out what it is like to live a healthy life, we invite you to explore our product line or find out more about our services. 

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