A Healthy, Flourless Hummus Based Cookie!

Healthy cookies? Yup they are! And they're hummus based! The other good thing is that you can call the batter hummus and eat it all before baking lol! They’re also  totally flourless and made with chickpeas soooooo you’re basically eating beans AKA they’re basically health food like I said above haha. 

Recipe type: Snack/Dessert

Prep time:  10 mins Cook time:  12 mins Total time:  22 mins

Serves: 16 cookies

Peanut Butter Banana Chickpea Cookies 

Ingredients

1-15oz can chickpeas, vey well rinsed and drained

½ cup creamy peanut butter

1 small, very overripe banana

2 tsp vanilla extract

⅓ cup coconut sugar*

2 tbsp ground flaxseed

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

⅓ cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper or Silipat) and set aside.

Make sure to rinse the chickpeas well so they don't taste beany. 

Shake off the excess water before dumping them into a large food processor. 

Add in the rest of the ingredients (except chocolate chips). 

Process for a full two minutes, or until batter is very smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides. Stir in chocolate chips.

With wet hands, spoon batter onto cookie sheet. It will be very wet and sticky (like hummus). You can use your wet hands to pat them down into smooth cookies. You should have about 16.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Store cooled cookies in the refrigerator.

*Recipe via Alexis at Hummusapien

Squash Lasagna!

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Because we ALL love lasagna but not the ton of carbs that come with it. So here’s a clean and healthy solution. The carbs and sugars will vary depending on the marinara you choose but an estimate is below

 Prep Time 15 mins
 Cook Time 1 hr 17 mins
 Total Time 1 hr 32 mins
 Servings 4 Servings
 Calories 474

Ingredients
1 small spaghetti squash (approx. 3½ to 4 lbs.)
Nonstick cooking spray
4 cups all-natural marinara sauce
3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil (optional)



Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and membrane.
4. Place spaghetti squash, cut side down, on baking sheet. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until tender.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 350º F.
6. Scrape spaghetti squash flesh into stringy noodles.
7. Lightly coat 4-quart baking dish with spray.
8. Evenly layer half spaghetti squash, half marinara sauce, and half ricotta cheese in baking dish. 9. Repeat with second layer.
10. Evenly top with Parmesan cheese.
11. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.
12. Garnish with basil if desired.

Nutrition Info
Portion Fix Containers
1 Green
2 Purple
1 Red
1 Blue

Via Team Beachbody

Food Swaps: Shrimp Scampi Pasta vs Shrimp Scampi Zoodles

Food Swaps! They’re so important to learn when it comes to getting HEALTHY and this Shrimp Scsmpi comparison is one of my faves!

Low Carb vs High Carb! Comparing Zucchini Noodles & Pasta - Shrimp Scampi recipe included also ⬇

A simple swap can make ALL the difference in your carbs! I love pasta but rarely do I just have it. Most typical pasta plates look like the right pic (around 2 cups pasta) and 88+ grams carbs

On the left is what I usually do! There's around 6 oz of zoodles (about 3+ cups) which is only 10 grams of carbs. This means more volume for less cals.  It's important to remember though that carbs are NOT bad - You NEED them! Just be mindful of portion sizes when meal planning depending on your goals AND the types of carbs you eat! Pasta tends to be very heavy, causes bloat and raises insulin leading to cravings

Quick Shrimp Scampi
3-4 zucchini squash
2 bags raw peeled shrimp (about 400 g each)
1-2 cloves of garlic (preference)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper
juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp butter OR 1 tbsp coconut or olive oil

Use a vegetti or similar to spiralize the noodles. Put zucchini noodles into a colander and salt liberally let sit for 20 minutes (very important!) After 20 minutes, rinse and pat dry with a paper towel
Melt butter/oil and the 1-2 garlic cloves in a skillet or saute pan. Saute noodles over med-high heat for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Sautee shrimp in butter/oil then add spices + lemon juice and simmer until cooked through (usually no more than 5 mins). Add on top of zoodles. Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese if desired and ENJOY 😋

The Best Low Carb Pizza

Guilt free pizza without giving up the taste!
If you love pizza, and come on, who doesn’t, you HAVE to try his low carb, gluten free, guilt free option!

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 pound ground chicken thigh (more flavor/fat than ground chicken breast but you can use breast or all ground chicken also)
1/2-3/4 cup grated (powdered) Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan or Mozzarella
1/4 cup frozen spinach (optional)
Salt, pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In large bowl mix ground chicken thigh, cheese and seasoning

Thaw spinach and remove excess water with paper towel or cheesecloth, add to mixture

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and press chicken mixture into even thin layer

Bake for 20 minutes

Remove from oven and top with desired toppings (ideas: red onion, cilantro, chicken, bacon and sugar free or low sugar bbq sauce!)

Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and brown
notes

If using ground chicken breast, reduce cooking temperature to 375 and reduce cooking time to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Add additional time after toppings until cheese is melted and golden, being careful not to overcook.

Once pizza cools a bit, it can be picked up like regular crust

If mixture seems too wet, add more grated parmesan. I used freshly ground chicken thigh so there was less moisture. If you’re using a roll of chicken, it could be more wet and need extra cheese

Personalize it with your favorite toppings and seasonings in the crust as well

Separate into 4-6 and freeze chicken crust (no toppings) individually for quick meal

Serving Size:
1/4 Pizza
Calories: 193
Fat: 8
Carbohydrates: 0
Protein: 27

7 Day Clean Week Intro to Meal Prep Group Begins Soon!

Who wants to join me for a week of cleaning up your diet and kickstarting a healthy, lean lifestyle with more energy and TONS of knowledge on how to be able to make healthier choices, balance your macros, NOT spend 2 hours in the gym every day and SEE results!

Think about what you could accomplish by the time summer rolls around if you started NOW

A few of the coaches on my team & I will be hosting an Introduction to Meal Prep & Clean Eating group starting in a few weeks & we'd love to have you

It provides EVERYTHING you need to succeed including

7 day supply of Shakeology

Meal plan

Recipes

Shopping list

Workouts

Various meal prep guides

Fitness/nutrition tips & videos

1:1 coaching 

Daily support & feedback

And it's ALL for less than what you probably spend in lunch or Starbucks in a week. So is it worth it? Absolutely! You just have to make YOURSELF a priority! This is how I started with this plan & have never looked back since

If you're interested, send me an email at ellieperico@gmail.com & I will get in contact with you. Or you can message me on Facebook by joining my event page (link below) and I'll send info there!

CLICK HERE TO SEE INFO IN THE FACEBOON EVENT FOR THIS GROUP 

Stop wasting time & let's do this!