I’m no expert on the subject, but my kids’ diet has been heavy on my mind lately. It’s an area where I have been slacking. Why? You know why. It’s HARD! Kids are picky and it’s easier just to reach for stuff you know they will like. That doesn’t make you a bad parent, by the way. But, we gotta keep trying to incorporate healthy foods into their diets. If we don’t, who will? Not them, that’s for sure.

Now, let’s get to these Sneaky Pizza Roll Ups. Why are they “sneaky?” Their mom (aka me) blended spinach into the marinara, that’s why! Now, let me tell you something about blending spinach into stuff. It makes the color of the food look… well, not very appetizing. This is not a concern wrapped up in the pizza rolls, but it might be when you set it out as a dipping sauce. Your two year old might not care, but your seven year might gag. If that’s the case, only make about half the sauce in the recipe, and just serve regular marinara as the dipping sauce.

Here’s what you need:

1 cup of marinara

1 cup of spinach

1 cup of cheese

1 refrigerated pizza crust (bonus healthy points if you can find a whole wheat kind)

2 TBSP Oregano

Here’s how you assemble or you might just want to skip right to the video because these directions write out about as clear as mud:

Blend the marinara and spinach in your high powered blender. Remember, if you don’t think the kids will eat an off-color dipping sauce, just blend a half cup of each and reserve another half cup of marinara for dipping.  Preheat your oven to whatever time your pizza crust directions state. (Mine said 400.) Roll out your pizza crust and pull out the sides to thin it out a bit. Spread a thin row of blended sauce across the crust. Leaving about 3 inches between, spread another row, and then another row.  Your pizza crust should look like it has stripes on it. Next, spread cheese over your rows of sauce, still leaving the empty spaces in between. Then, sprinkle oregano across the whole crust.  Starting on one side, gently fold over the dough over the row of sauce and then cut in between the rows. Fold the next section of dough over and cut again, and then do it again. You should have 3 or 4 long tubes now. Using a fork, press the sides of the dough together to seal up your “tubes.” Then, cut each “tube” into thirds. Use your fork to seal the ends to each roll-up.  Place each roll-up onto a baking plan. I lined my pan with foil and a little bit of Pam to prevent sticking. Bake until golden brown. My pizza crust said 8 minutes, but it really took closer to 15-16 minutes before they were cooked through.  Allow them to cool thoroughly! They get very hot in the middle and you don’t want your child to burn their tongue. Heat up remaining sauce for dipping, or just serve with regular marinara.

Clearly, when you watch this video, you will see that I am not going to win any culinary presentation contests. And, I’m ok with that. The idea here is “get the food on the table.” Plus, have you ever tried to cook with one hand while filming a video? Yes, I do have a tripod. Yes, I am too lazy to set it up most of the time.

Happy lunching!

xo Jaime

I love lemon. It makes me happy. It makes me think of spring in the midst of these dreary February days. It’s fresh, zesty and blends wonderfully with sweet and savory ingredients!

I also love rice. I think rice was the main staple of my diet in college. I’ve come a long since my days of Minute Rice with butter and salt at the University of Maryland College Park. Now I whip up fancy rice salads like this one which combines two of my favorite things!

This salad has no oil so it stays low-fat and is perfect served on a bed of greens. I used Jasmine Rice for the nutty flavor that it offers, but you can sub other rice types. Just remember that the Instant Pot cooking times in the recipe below are specific to Jasmine Rice. If you change it, then you need to cook the rice you choose to the proper times in the Instant Pot.

Check out a video on how to make this rice salad here and don’t forget to subscribe!

Dressing for this salad adapted from Ordinary Vegan

I frequently feature my neighbor, Sharon, on my blog so she can share her wonderful recipes. She is a dynamite cook! Today she is sharing her Thai Spring Rolls and two dipping sauces. Take it away, Sharon!

Hey y’all!!!

I’ve been wanting to try these Thai spring rolls for a very long time. I’m not going to lie – they were a little time consuming, but in my opinion, worth it! Once you get all set up and do the first two or three rolls, it’s a piece of cake!

I discovered Thai Spring Rolls in Cali at my favorite Thai place. When I went in to pick up my roasted chicken and rice and egg rolls, I became very curious about them sitting on display in the case. One day, while in line, I noticed all the people in front of me and several opeople behind me all ordered the spring rolls. On my next visit, I went for the gusto!

After much searching, I found a International Grocery Store that carries all sorts of wonderful Thai ingredients in the Tennessee town where I now live.  I purchased the wraps and rice noodles some time ago, but they’ve collected dust in my pantry waiting to be used. Finally, I decided today was the day!

First, I baked two chicken breasts at  425°with olive oil and  multi-seasoning for 20 minutes. After they cooled, I used two forks and shredded the chicken.   You can also use cooked shrimp if you prefer that over chicken .  Or,  you could go veggie all the way!

Next, I julienned an English cucumber, carrots, two jalapenos, and two avocados.  Thank goodness for my garden! I had kale, cucumber, jalapenos, basil, cilantro, chives and mint right at my doorstep.  You can find wraps with many different combinations of these ingredients.  I decided to use ALL of them!

I then brought water to a boil in a pan large enough to lay the wraps in. No need to boil the wraps, but you will give them a quick dip in the hot water before rolling them. Before dipping the wraps, I boiled the noodles, pulled them out and strained them. (See my note about this below.)

Now it was time to build the wraps.  I learned some lessons while building these so I’ll try to make your experience a little easier than mine! After dipping the wrap in the warm water, I first started on parchment paper and they dried out quickly and stuck to the paper. I found it best to roll them directly on my granite countertop. I also learned that it is better to put the noodles back in the water on the bottom of the pan during assembly because they stuck together. I pulled them out as needed and drain them as much as possible before laying them on the wrap. Finally, less is more!  Do try to get a little bit of everything in your wrap. But, be aware- the more you the use, the harder they are to roll.

Here is the order of ingredients I used when building of the wraps:

• Rice paper wrappers
• Rice noodles
• Kale (stack up from here with kale on the bottom)
• Avocado
• Mint
• Cilantro
• Jalepeno
• Carrots
• Chicken
• Basil
• Chives on one side of stack
• Cucumber on other side of stack

Lastly, I put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and laid them on the parchment as completed.

I prepared two different sauces for dipping -a peanut sauce, and Nuoc Mam Pha.

Peanut sauce

• 1 clove garlic grated or 1 inch Squirt from tube of garlic
• 1 thumb of Ginger grated or 1 inch squirt of Ginger from tube
• 2 T Tamari
• 2 T maple syrup
• 1/2 T srirachha
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup water

Nuoc Mam Pha

• 1 cup hot water
• 5 T sugar (I used stevia)
• 2 T fish sauce
• 2 1/2 T fresh lime juice
• 1/2 t sambal olek (you can find this at most groceries in the international section!)

My parents recently sent me a text that said a “Sushi Bazooka” was on the way and to watch for it in the mail. What the heck? A what?? My mom said that my dad saw it on television or Amazon or somewhere, and he decided that they needed one. He also decided that my brother and I needed one. Alrighty then! I can’t laugh at my dad too hard. My love for kitchen gadgets clearly comes from him. He texted me the other day to tell me he had just found a pressure cooker in the garage he’d never even used and forgot he had. I’m going for a visit to Maryland this weekend and though my parents will be out of town, I’m staying at their house. I might have to see what else in that garage!

Anyway, the “Sushi Bazooka” post will be coming soon since you know I have to review and link you up to this contraption. In the meantime, I want to share a 21 Day Fix Approved sushi “unroll.” This sushi bowl is sure to hit the stop for you raw fish lovers out there. I found my “sushi grade” tuna at Sprouts. The butcher recommended that I trim a very thin slice off each side of the steak and wash well before consuming. She said that although the tuna is “sushi grade,” it is still cut on the same board as the other fish. I’m very glad she told me that, and I certainly took her advice.

Now that I know I can successfully work with raw fish, I am ready to tackle my Bazooka! Stay tuned!

Wanna see me make it live? Check out my youtube video and make sure you subscribe!

Also, here is a link to Steve’s Kitchen where I found the great instructions for the sushi rice.

Want more info on 21 Day Fix! Hit me up with questions! I’d love to have you join my team. The fastest way to get a message to me is through my Facebook page! Hope you are following me!

My neighbor, Sharon, is back and this time with a recipe that is perfect for those of you watching your carbs this New Year!

(Post and Photography contributed by Sharon Harrod)

While visiting my family for the holidays I was learning about the next step to the Wheat Belly diet, which is called “wheat belly total health.”  One of my brother-in-law’s go to lunches is a bread free Reuben.  I decided to make several at a time and I refer to them as “Lunch Pods.” You can store them in the refrigerator pop one out at a time, heat it up and you’re good to go. The bonus is that they are very filling and delicious. You don’t even miss the bread!

 

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.