Paying Attention to Food

Lol, well, I always pay attention to food! What I really mean is I want to stop taking shortcuts and start eating more REAL food rather than processed pre-packaged food.

I really feel like I could do better with my choices of food and I know I can provide better foods for Nick. I'm stuck in a rut of buying pre-made stuff: meatballs (full of meat and god knows how many other fillers and additives), chicken nuggets (full of chicken and god knows how many other fillers and additives), boxed this, pre-packaged that.  Nick's stuck in the habit of going to the bag of chips or pretzels or goldfish or whatever, when he's hungry. You know....they tell people goldfish are a good snack. But really? Come on.

Our family doesn't NEED to eat gluten-free or sugar-free, at least not for any medical reason. But I think the recipes that ARE gluten-free or sugar-free are healthier and use as replacements items that are of other benefits...higher in protein or healthy fats (as in almond flour) and such.

I'm not making any radical changes. But am making changes where I know I can make them. I feel like I've got the exercise and fitness part of my life working well and on auto-pilot, now it's time to concentrate on the diet.

So here are a couple things I've made recently, all taste just as good or better than the pre-packaged stuff, cost less money and make me feel good about eating and serving them. In the case of the chicken nuggets and meatballs I made huge amounts and froze them in small vacuum sealed packages for use later.

Chocolate Chip Brownies
(These are so good, chewy and chocolatey!)

1 (16) ounce jar almond butter
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups agave nectar (or honey)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, blend almond butter until smooth with a hand blender
2. Blend in eggs, then blend in agave and vanilla
3. Blend in cocoa, salt and baking soda, then fold in chocolate chips
4. Grease a 9 x 13 pyrex baking dish
5. Pour batter into dish
6. Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes
   

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

3-4 chicken breasts, diced into chunks
1/2 c. mayo
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp yellow or dijon mustard

Breading:
1/3 c. sesame seeds (optional)
3/4 c. almond flour
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt

Put raw chicken pieces into mayo mixture and coat well. Then roll in breading mixture. Place on a cookie sheet that is covered in foil and greased. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until cook through and browned.

Homemade Meatballs and/or Meatloaf

2 lbs ground turkey
2 lbs ground beef
1 bag crushed pork rinds
1/4 cup ketchup
1/8 cup A-1 sauce
2 eggs
3 Tbls yellow mustard
salt
pepper
Johnny's seasoning
garlic poweder
1 cup pureed carrots
1 cup pureed broccoli

Mix all ingredients thoroughly, form into meatballs or meat loaves. Bake at 350 until cooked through and lightly browned.

Note: The pureed carrots and broccoli can be baby food (seriously!) or you can cook and puree your own. Either way works great for adding sneaking veggies into the food. Just be sure the baby food you choose doesn't have any additives or fillers.