Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

I've told you about our weekend ritual of having pizza on one of the weekend nights. It's something my kids look forward to every week and it provides us all with some much needed downtime. Though I love the Cauliflower Pizza Crust, changing things up is a good thing too. That's why I'm so happy I stumbled across this whole wheat pizza dough. It's amazing and sooooo filling. It's my go-to pizza dough and my kids love it too!

*As you're making this, keep in mind, I live in high altitude so you may not require as much flour. You can remedy that by adding more water to the mixture, or cutting down the flour to start. I would recommend adding more water. You can do it slowly and once the mixture makes a ball, you'll be good.*

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
MAKES 2 MEDIUM PIZZAS (I usually double the recipe and get 3 big pizzas out of it)
PREP: 10 minutes         RISE: 70 minutes          READY IN: 80 minutes + 15-20 minutes cook time

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour 
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons dry instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey

DIRECTIONS

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1. In a mixer, with a flat beater, combine flour, yeast and salt. 
2. Add 1/2 cup water, olive oil and honey to the mixture.  
3. On the mixer, switch out the flat beater for the dough hook. 
4. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of water (and more, if needed). You will know when the dough is ready if all the dough balls up around the dough hook, away from the sides of the bowl, and when you raise the hook, the dough stays on it.
5. Knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic (about 3 minutes).
6. Place back in the mixing bowl, and let rise for about an hour, or until it's doubled in size.
7. Cut dough into 2 (or 4 if you want personal size), and knead into small balls. Let rise for another 10 minutes.
8. At this point, either start prepping your pizza, or freeze dough for later use.
9. If you're making your pizza now, top with sauce and toppings and place in the oven at 350º and cook for 15-20 minutes.

NUTRITION FACTS

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*Does not include toppings, pizza crust only*

    1 slice (8 per pizza)    96 calories   1.1g fat   18.4g carbs    2.6g protein    0g sugar   

Enjoy!

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am always trying to perfect different types of cookies in the kitchen. And to help myself not feel to guilty about cooking up goodies, I try to make them as healthy as I can. And great news, I made THE PERFECT HEALTHY COOKIE!!!

I've tried about everything, and I've failed an awful lot. Trying to use no oil or refined sugar really makes things tough! I've tried substituting applesauce for the oil, but it often times makes cookies way too moist. I've tried putting yogurt in cookies, but sometimes it leaves a bad after taste. I've even tried melting down coconut oil and putting it in my cookies, but depending on the flavor I'm going for, it doesn't work all the time. Anyways, I'm here to tell you, I'm made a darn good cookie. I approve, and more importantly, so do my kids (and my husband!). It seriously won all of us over!!! It doesn't have flour, oil or refined sugar (and only a teaspoon of honey!!! so most of the sweetness comes from the natural ingredients). ***Please note that I do live in high altitude so I would suggest starting out with a little less oats than I did, unless you want a more dense cookie.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
30 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 15-20 minutes            READY IN: 30-35 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 4 cups of rolled oats
• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup vanilla almond milk, unsweetened
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

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1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Take the rolled oats and grind them up in your food processor (or use oat flour if you want, but the measurement will most likely be different).
3. In a mixer, combine the ripe bananas, eggs, and milk until combined.
4. Add the ground rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, peanut butter, and honey. Combine until all mixed together. The dough will not be completely stiff, it's more the consistency of a muffin mix. 
5. Add the the chocolate chips and mix together.
6. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper, and place the cookies on the sheet (I used a cookies scooper to put on my cookie sheets).
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, let cool and enjoy!

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 cookie    77 calories   2.3g fat   12.3g carbs    2.2g protein    3.2g sugar   

Enjoy!

Peach Frozen Yogurt

The past few days in Utah have been so nice and warm that it got me in the mood for a nice, cool treat on the porch with my babe. This is my new favorite summer treat...and I don't even like peaches! It's so fast to make and only 3 ingredients that you will most likely find in your kitchen!

Next time you want to venture to the store for some creamies or go on an ice cream run with your kids, MAKE THIS!

Peach Frozen Yogurt
4 SERVINGS 
PREP: 2 minutes           COOK: 1 minutes            READY IN: 3 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 16 oz bag frozen peaches
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey)
• 1/2 cup low fat or fat free vanilla yogurt 

DIRECTIONS

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1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor until combined and creamy! 

NUTRITION FACTS

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   1 serving   171 calories  1g fat  41g carbs   2g protein   39g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Eating Well

Salsa Chicken Casserole

When trying to eat healthy - I usually try to steer clear of the word "casserole." With it usually comes loads of calories and fat - usually. But this particular casserole doesn't have loads of those things in it - just loads of awesome! I pinned this recipe years ago - saving it... and then forgetting about it. But after making it last weekend (and then again last night for dinner!), I'm pretty sure it is going to become a regular in our household.

I made it a little differently than the original recipe does because I wanted shredded chicken instead of the whole chicken option - but either way it worked, and tasted awesome!

Salsa Chicken Casserole
6 SERVINGS 
PREP: 30 minutes           COOK: 30 minutes            READY IN: 60 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 cup rice, cooked
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey cheddar
• 1/4 cup light sour cream 
• 1/4 cup cilantro

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. In 8 x 8-inch pan, mix together shredded chicken, rice, black beans, corn, salsa, and chicken broth.
3. Add in spices and mix thoroughly. 
4. Cover pan and bake for 30 minutes (or until liquid is absorbed)
5. Take rice out of oven and mix in cheese and sour cream.
6. If desired, bake for additional 5 minutes.
7. Serve topped with cilantro.

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1 serving    406 calories   9.6 g fat  54 g carbs    27 g protein    3 g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Baking with Blondie

Dijon Chicken Salad

This is one of those dishes that I came across online and just HAD to make. This is the perfect make-ahead salad to pack in your lunches for the week, or just for a healthy weeknight dinner.

A little warning, it's a little time consuming with the different steps to prepare, but if you buy pre-grilled chicken and pre-roasted peppers that will save you a lot of time. If you have time to make it by scratch you wont be disappointed! I fed this to my 10-month-old and he loved it! I ended up not adding all the dressing to the salad but I did just enough to coat it and get the flavor.

Dijon Chicken Salad
6 SERVINGS 
PREP: 20 minutes           COOK: 30 minutes            READY IN: 50 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 quart fat free, low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (or 2 fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds or sliced raw almonds (optional)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 bunch asparagus, roasted and diced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 large bell peppers, roasted (or store bought works great too)
• salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

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1. To roast your peppers preheat oven to 450º. On a lined baking sheet, spray with coconut oil. Cut peppers into quarters and place skin-side up. Bake peppers for 15-20 minutes, or until the skin begins to blacken (its okay if its black--that's what you want). Once peppers are done transfer them to either a ziploc back or a covered bowl to allow them to steam. 
2. While peppers are roasting, mix asparagus with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. When peppers have about 10 minutes left, throw asparagus on the baking sheet. Allow them to roast 5-10 minutes (depending on the thickness of asparagus). Allow asparagus to cool before chopping. 
3. For the salad add chicken broth and bay leaves in a large skillet with a lid and allow it to come to a simmer. 
4. Add chicken breasts to the skillet and bring broth to a boil. Cover pot. Allow chicken to cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on size of chicken. 
5. While chicken is cooking you can prepare the other salad ingredients. Chop garlic, onion, asparagus, basil and parsley and place them in a large bowl.
6. Take your peppers out of the bowl, or whatever you placed it in, and remove the skin. They should just slide right off. Chop peppers and add them to the salad mixture. 
7. Once chicken is cooked, shred it into bite size pieces and add it to your salad. 
8. To make the dressing, add all ingredients to a blender until combined. Add dressing to your salad and toss to combine. 

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 serving    120 calories  2g fat  6g carbs   16g protein   4g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from stiritup.me

Healthy Habits Challenge: 7 Keys to a Healthy Life

Welcome back for another week of our Healthy Habits Challenge. We sincerely hope that our words help to increase motivation and desire to live a healthier (and happier) lifestyle.

This week I'm going to cover Keys 3 and 4 to our

7 Keys to a Healthy Life

If you missed the first two keys, click here!

To live a healthier lifestyle and see improvement in our physical endurance and strength, resistance training is a huge factor. It helps the body build and maintain strong healthy bones and burns excess fat by building healthy lean muscles. Who doesn't want that?! A good resistance training program usually includes 3-5 days a week - but you can alter your workout depending on your goals.

So what is resistance training you ask? Let me tell you! The most common form is weight training - but don't let that scare you away. If weights work for you - great. Do it! But if you are like me, I feel a little silly going to the gym and picking up any sort of weight - let alone actually doing a full on workout with them. Sooooo a great resource is to design your very own program, catered to your needs. When I started to research this more, I came across this AMAZING resource from the McKinley Health Center in Illinois. They give you a step by step guide to creating a program that works for you, including defining your fitness goals, planning how much and what kind of resistance training you need to meet your goals, and then identifying which exercises to do. Check it out, it will definitely help you figure out how to do the whole strength training thing!

• 
  I have to admit something to you - I used to dread this type of workout. It demanded so much, and I was a little intimidated by it. BUT for the past few months I've been trying to do more cardiovascular training and I feel like I've taken a complete 180 - I love it!!!
  
  
  To get your cardio on, remember that the goal is to get your heart rate a-movin. In order to keep your heart happy and body lean, it's recommended that we do 4-6 days per week (20-45 minutes per session) of cardio. 
  Want some good exercise plans?? Below are some that I have found work me hard - and get my heart rate soaring. 
  
  
   
   This straight forward workout has been my go to for the past few months. You don't need any equipment, and boy do you feel the burn! 
  
  
  
  Another great, quick workout to burn those extra calories you snuck in after work. And it only takes 9 minutes!! Do this 3 times and you have one heart raisin' workout. 
  
  
  
  Another great workout, designed by our very own Deb, is this 60 minute HIIT workout. For more workouts like this one, click here.
  
  
  So where do we go from now?? So far we've talked about nutrition, hydration, resistance training, and cardiovascular training. All very simple things -  but all necessary to make the impact we want to see in our healthy habits. Work hard this week to organize a workout plan that works for YOU. Because let's be honest, if we aren't doing this for ourselves... it's pretty hard to stay motivated, right? 
  
  
  Next week, come back for keys 5 and 6 of our Healthy Lifestyle Challenge! I'll look forward to sharing more about this shtuff :)

Ranch Roasted Chickpeas

Looking for a nice, healthy snack that even your kids will love? Well, look no further! We've been seeing roasted chickpeas all over Pinterest, but decided to put our own spin on it by trying a ranch flavor. My kids are hooked and now we'll try experimenting with other flavors. I love these as a snack by themselves, but also think they'd make a nice addition to a summer salad. I have yet to try that though, as they get eaten way too quickly around our house to last for dinner time.

Ranch Roasted Chickpeas
4 SERVINGS 
PREP: 3 minutes           COOK: 45 minutes            READY IN: 48 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 16 ounce can chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning 

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Open the can of chickpeas, drain and rinse. Dry off on a towel. 
3. In a small bowl, toss the chickpeas with the olive oil. Then add the ranch seasoning. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread out the chickpeas. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes, or until chickpeas are crunchy. If they are still soft, cook a little bit longer. 

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1/4 cup serving    165 calories   4.8g fat   25.6g carbs    5.6g protein    0g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Modern Parents Messy Kids.