Easy Southwest Turkey Salad

Kid tested, everyone approved!

I love using frozen fruits and vegetables. Besides the fact that they're always nice for a quick, easy dinner, here's an article with a little more explanation why: 

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/fresh_vs_frozen_vegetables_are_we_giving_up_nutrition_fo
On that note, tonight's dinner was centered around this little gem:

Easy Southwest Turkey Salad (it's not really a salad, but we likened it to a “taco salad”)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 T oil (I used olive)

1 tsp minced garlic

14 oz package Birds Eye “Ultimate Southwest Blend” (corn, black beans, poblano peppers, onions and red peppers)

1 lb ground turkey

1 T clean taco seasoning

¼ C water

1 avocado, diced

3/4 C salsa (there are usually great deli salsas in most local grocery stores, which are fresh and clean)

Fresh cilantro (optional)

Corn chips or brown rice

Directions:

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.

Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add vegetable blend and cook until heated through, making sure to stir often to keep from sticking.

In a separate skillet, cook ground turkey until thoroughly cooked. Add taco seasoning and water and cook an additional 2 minutes.

In a blender (I used my trusty magic bullet), combine avocado and salsa and blend until most of the avocado is blended.

Spoon avocado over turkey/veggie mixture and sprinkle fresh cilantro over top.

Serve with corn chips or over brown rice.

Tikka Saag Recipe

We love Indian food at our house. This is one of our favs, so I adjusted a few things to make it "clean". If you want to add meat you can add cooked, diced chicken when you stir in the spinach. Let me know how you like it, if you try it!

Clean Tikka Saag

1 lb frozen chopped spinach 1/4 cup water 2 T oil (coconut or olive) 2 large onions, minced 5 cloves garlic, minced 1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger root, minced 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup milk of choice (coconut would be great, I just used skim, if you're not eating clean, cream would be great) 1 teaspoon garam masala Place the spinach into a large pot with 1/4 cup of water, bring to a boil, cover the pan, and remove from heat. Allow the spinach to steam for about 10 minutes, then place into a blender, and blend until very finely chopped. Set the spinach aside. Place the onions, garlic, and ginger, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, garam masala and turmeric into the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tender, about 10 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes and salt and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Pour in the milk, stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and add the spinach. Stir the spinach in and cook until the spinach starts to stick to the pan, about 5-10 minutes. Serve over hot brown rice.

Clean Chocolate Mug Cake

My totally unpretty (it's a word), Clean Chocolate Mug Cake. Yum!

This recipe is from The Gracious Pantry (her picture is much prettier as well!). With only a couple small changes I made, here is the recipe:

Clean Eating Chocolate Mug Cake

(Makes 2 servings)

NOTE: You’ll need a large mug (a small or regular sized mug won’t cut it) or bowl

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
• 6 tablespoons coconut sugar (I used Sucanat)
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons non-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon safflower or coconut oil

Directions:

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients in your mug. Be sure they are well combined.
2. Add the wet ingredients and mix well again.
3. Microwave for up to 5 minutes on high. (3.5 was perfect for mine)

Note: The cake will rise up over the mug during cooking. Don’t panic.