Level 4 approaches bootcampers! The main difference you will notice is that protein portions have been cut to 2-4 oz cooked meat per meal serving. I find that soups help me to stretch that protein serving into hearty, filling meals. Check out this soup that can be made in your slow cooker!

Slow Cooker Spicy Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup http://blog.vitacost.com/recipes-2/slow-cooker-spicy-chipotle-chicken-tortilla-soup.html

• 28oz can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
• 14oz can black beans, drain/rinse (can omit for a carb-free soup)
• 1 chopped red bell pepper
• 1 finely diced sweet onion
• 4 minced garlic cloves
• 1½ lb chicken breast
• 4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 ½ tsp chipotle chili powder (regular is fine if you don’t have chipotle)
• 2 limes
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼ cup cilantro, for garnish

Spray a 5-6 quart slow cooker with nonstick spray. Add tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, garlic, chicken, broth, spices, salt, and pepper. Juice 2 limes then toss in rinds. Cook soup, covered 4-6 hrs until chicken shreds easily. Remove chicken and shred. Remove lime rinds. Put chicken back in as well as beans and cilantro. Cook another 15 min, covered. Whole pot has 3 carbs with 6 Level 4 protein servings, or omit beans for carb-free soup that is only protein/veg.

Make use of that slow cooker with these cold, busy, tiring days of winter to keep you warm, full, and on plan! Do you have a favorite slow cooker recipe to share or would like help tweaking to fit the nutrition plan? Email me: [email protected] – I want to blog YOUR favorite recipes too! Feast on your ideas, feast on mine, and as always…FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day – whether you want to surprise someone with breakfast in bed or hope to be surprised yourself, plan to celebrate being in a relationship or being single, or would rather ignore the holiday all together, know that any day can be made special AND Meltdown Friendly. Today we’re revisiting a recipe reposted here. I love my raspberry scones. Whatever adjectives come to mind when you think of scones, ditch them! My limited experience with scones included hard, dry, dense, bland hunks of carbs that did not appease my taste buds or nutritional needs. This scone recipe from Dr. Oz, which I found years ago, is light, moist, and yummy. The only downside to the almond flour base and raspberry addition is that the fat/carb combo is only approved on Level 1. So I thought, why not adjust the recipe for other flavors that would avoid this particular nutritional combo…and I love CINNAMON!

Cinnamon Scones adapted from http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/raspberry-drop-scones

• 2 large eggs, beaten until frothy
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup Splenda (PRIMErs use Stevia)
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon, or to taste

Preheat oven to 375 and line pan with parchment paper. In large bowl, combine all ingredients (according to a conversion chart I found, use 1/3 tsp Stevia as a Splenda sub). Mix well, and then use spoon or cookie scoop to drop 4 large or 8 small evenly spaced scones onto the pan. Feel free to sprinkle more cinnamon on top of each mound – makes for a nice brown top! Bake ~15 min until scones begin to lightly brown. Cool for 10 min before removing from the parchment paper. Serve warm.

Counts as 4 fats servings (1 large or 2 small scones per serving), each with ¼ protein serving. Round out the protein/fat meal with a three-egg-white (or 1.5-egg) and veggie scramble. Other flavor variations include subbing pumpkin pie spice or unsweetened cocoa powder or using flavored extracts like almond, maple, fruit flavors, or vanilla. I haven’t tried this, but they might make nice mini-muffins too! Let me know if you try that!

Get Creative! Want to ramp up the Valentine’s Day appeal? Try using a heart-shaped cookie cutter to help form the dough into hearts or bake flat more like brownies and cut out hearts after baking. Who says you couldn’t add a little red food coloring to make the scones red or pink?

Enjoy the weekend, Meltdowners and until next time, feast with spice, feast with hearts, and as always…FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren

I admit I don’t eat as much fish as I should. I like ordering it restaurants now and again when others are cooking delicate the fish fillets and have better equipment. However, I recently found this recipe and thought I’d give it a whirl with some leftover zucchini and was very impressed!

Light & Tasty Tuna Patties http://blog.vitacost.com/recipes-2/light-tasty-tuna-patties.html

• 1 can no-salt tuna, drained
• 1 Tbsp old-fashioned oats
• ½ medium zucchini, shredded
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• ½ Tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp herbal seasoning
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp allspice

Use processor to shred zucchini. Cook zucchini over medium heat with a little oil. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and form 4 patties. Heat pan over high then add patties. Reduce heat to medium. Flatten patties with spatula and let cook several minutes. Flip and continue cooking until both sides are browned and center is cooked through. Serve hot or cold - I prefer to eat these cold by leaps and bounds!

Since the recipe didn’t specify, I used a 12oz can of tuna which worked great. I used oats but you might try subbing almond flour or omitting all together if you need to go gluten- or carb-free; however, I made 6 small patties so eating 2-3 at once would be a very small carb serving. I could’ve opened a can of tomato paste but likely would’ve wasted the rest so I opted for no-salt-added tomato sauce and used maybe 2 Tbsp. I used a bit of oil in the pan but it didn’t last long and just used nonstick spray between tuna cakes, which worked just fine and I still got a nice little crust on each side. I used the edge of my flat spatula to help form the shapes as they cooked. They were delicious and held together nicely as I ate them with a fork. On a carb meal, you could certainly add in a carb side – perhaps a nice baked sweet potato – as the carb serving in this recipe isn’t much.

That’s all for this week’s Friendly Feasting. Bootcampers are headed into Week 5, Nutrition Level 3 of their plan. As you prepare your meals this week, consider how you can feast fishy, feast fun, and as always…FEAST ON!!!
~Coach Lauren

Super Bowl XLIX is Sunday! Whether you plan to cheer for the Seahawks or the Patriots or just watch for the commercials, many of us find ourselves attending a Super Bowl party filled with high-fat dips, rich sauces, and lots of fried foods. How’s a Meltdowner to survive? Two suggestions: party with other NGPTers and/or bring your own healthy snacks to share!

Here’s a hummus recipe with chipotle peppers to spicy things up! Perfect for dipping veggies like baby carrots, bell pepper strips, mushroom caps, and cucumber slices.

Chipotle Chickpea Dip http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/05/chipotle-chickpea-dip.html

• 1 large clove garlic, peeled
• 15 oz canned chickpeas (no salt added, if possible), drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• ½-1 tbsp. canned chipotle peppers, chopped
• 1 tbsp. chopped red onion
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• ¼ tsp. chili powder
• ¼ tsp. cumin
• salt to taste
• more red onion for garnish

With food processor running, drop in garlic and process until chopped. Add chickpeas and lime juice and begin processing. If it’s too dry, add 1-2 Tbsp of water. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Adjust salt to taste. Serve garnished with chopped red onions. The entire bowl is only 3 carb servings, and this recipe makes a LOT of hummus!

Check out some of my past blogs with great appetizer and snack recipes to try this weekend:

http://www.wemeltyou.com/?s=appetizer

http://www.wemeltyou.com/friendly-feasting-maple-glazed-peanuts-bacon/

http://www.wemeltyou.com/friendly-feasting-3-healthy-tofu-dips-holidays/

http://www.wemeltyou.com/friendly-feasting-buffalo-ranch-chicken-meatballs-dry-seasoning/

Chilis:

http://www.wemeltyou.com/friendly-feasting-quick-easy-recipes-repost/ (check out the pumpkin turkey and buffalo chicken chilis here)

http://www.wemeltyou.com/friendly-feasting-blt-chili-sweet-pea-soup/

Have a fun, safe, and exciting Super Bowl Sunday. While jumping out of your seat, shouting at the TV, and listening to the half-time show, feast with spicy chipotle, feast with friendly hummus, and as always…FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren

Calling all vegetarians or those looking for a hot casserole side dish! This week’s recipe reminded me of a meatless and carb-free shepherd’s pie. Sauté up a bunch of veggies, top with a pureed tofu, egg, and spice mixture, and bake!

Herbed Vegetable-Medley Casserole http://blog.vitacost.com/diet-tips/herbed-vegetable-medley-casserole.html

• 2 cups chopped broccoli
• 1 cup chopped cauliflower
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 cup grated carrots
• ½ diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 oz package of tofu
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes – vegan “cheesy” substitute
• 3 egg whites
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp each salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium skillet sprayed with nonstick spray, brown garlic and onion. When tender, add other veggies and water. Cook until tender. In a blender or food processor, mix tofu, nutritional yeast, egg whites, and spices for 2 min. Spread veggie mix in a 13×9” baking dish. Top with tofu mixture. Bake 30-35 min until top browns.

Notes from My Kitchen:

Sub out other veggies as needed with what you have in the house. I chopped all my veggies in a food processor which made for quick work and small pieces. Season the veggie mixture too – it seemed bland compared to the topping.

Eat up with this dish! It’s all veggies plus less than one protein serving of egg whites in the whole pan. (Tofu can count as a protein or veggie so this can be your protein source or you can add more protein to the meal.) Works perfectly as a protein/veg meal or pick two snack. Feast with veggies, feast with tofu, and as always…FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren

How about a cookie or two!

What? Didn’t think you could have a treat on plan? Think again! Today I have for you two cookie recipes that use almond flour as the base and fit both Classic and PRIME. Almond flour can be purchased at any grocery store – check the health food, specialty food, or organic section or buy online. If you have a strong food processor, you can also make your own simply by pulverizing raw almonds to a flour-like consistency. ¼ cup almond flour counts as a fat serving on our plan. Another bonus: they use very few ingredients - keeping it simple in the kitchen! As always, use these recipes and any other dessert recipes as a treat – not an everyday option – when the cravings hit or you want to have a little something special and still stay on plan. Enjoy!

Chef Tess Almond-Raspberry Cookie Mix http://honeyvillefarms.blogspot.com/2013/08/smart-almond-flour-cookie-mixes.html#.VEF9mBbYcoH

• 1½ cup almond flour
• 2 Tbsp crushed raspberries
• 3/8 cup Splenda (Stevia on PRIME)
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 2 egg whites
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients and add a bit of water to reach cookie dough consistency, if needed. Lightly flatten 1 Tbsp dough into ½” thick disc and place cookies 1” apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 10 min till golden. Make 12 cookies/6 servings. 2 = 1 fat serving with a negligible amount of protein and carb but, then, best consumed on Level 1 at protein/fat/carb meal as the fat.

Chef Tess Almond Brownie-Bite Cookie Mix http://honeyvillefarms.blogspot.com/2013/08/smart-almond-flour-cookie-mixes.html#.VEF9mBbYcoH

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup Splenda (Stevia on PRIME)
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 eggs

Combine all. Add water if needed to make a thick dough. Scoop rounded Tbsp onto parchment paper lined sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 min. Remove from oven. Let cool on sheet 10-15 min. Keep in an airtight container. Make 16 cookies/4 servings. 4 cookies = fat and ¼ protein serving (½ egg in each serving)

Are you ready to start baking yet?! Next time you have a bridal/baby shower, pitch-in, cookie exchange, or other such event, don’t feel you can’t find things to eat on plan - be the one to bring a healthy dessert all can enjoy! Feast with almond flour, feast with few ingredients and as always…FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren

Meltdown 24 has arrived and so has brutally cold temperatures! Bootcamp starts on Monday and we’ve got TWO nutrition plans available now. PRIME plan followers, keep your eyes out for recipe ingredients you may need to remove. Many recipes I post can easily be tweaked to make them PRIME-approved, as I’ll show with today’s recipe.

Chicken Creole Soup http://www.recipe.com/chicken-creole-soup/

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 med onions, chopped (1 cup)
• 2 med stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
• 1 med bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 5 lb chicken, cubed
• ¼ cup almond flour, decrease or omit if you like
• 2 cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup brown rice – omit for PRIME
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 dried bay leaves

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and chicken. Cook 7-9 min, stirring, until onion is softened. Stir in almond flour and cook 5-6 min until light brown. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to med-low. Cover; cook 15-20 min, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender and chicken is no longer pink. Remove bay leaves.

Makes 8-9 protein/carb dishes each with a little fat from almond flour and oil. This dish is best eaten on Classic Level 1, however the fat can be minimized for other levels (1.5 fat servings in the whole pot) and the rice can be omitted for PRIME. I often omit carbs from soup recipes to make them fit more meals on any level of any plan. As with all my soups, I divvy the big pot into individual containers to help determine portion size. I freeze some that I won’t need in the next few days and most containers, frozen or ready-to-heat, come to work with me for an easy and warm lunch.

Let’s get a strong start to 2015, everyone! This soup will help soothe you from the cold temperatures outside while fueling you for a healthy day. Feast on Classic, feast on PRIME and as always…FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren

Happy New Year! 2015 has arrived! Unfortunately, with a new year also often comes an extra handful or two of pounds. January is full of new resolutions and intentions to get healthier. Many NGPTers opted for our new Holiday Challenge to stay the course from Thanksgiving to New Year’s and I congratulate all who managed to maintain their weight or perhaps even lose some during this tricky time of the year. For all of us, let’s start the new year off right with miracle noodles – a carb free pasta alternative friendly to the plan and your waistline! No excuses with this quick one-skillet dish.

Spicy Chicken Sausage Spaghetti w Miracle Noodles http://www.miraclenoodle.com/t-Spicy-Chicken-Sausage-Spaghetti-W-Miracle-Noodles.aspx

• 1 lb package of spicy Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 14oz cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• ½ Tbsp Italian Seasoning
• ½ Tbsp basil
• 2 Packs Miracle Noodle Angel Hair
• 2 Tbsp Braggs Amino (low-sodium soy sub), optional

Rinse and drain noodles. Put them in a pan with Braggs and cook over med-high heat until noodles are dried and have absorbed the Braggs. Remove from pan and set noodles aside. In the same pan add chicken sausage and onion and cook until chicken is browned and cooked through. Add garlic and cook for 2 min then add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and basil. Simmer on low for 5 min then add the miracle noodles and let simmer for additional 5 min. Salt and pepper to taste. Notice from the picture, I added slices jalapenos for even more spiciness!

As you can see I added jalapenos to my dish for extra spice! Can’t find spicy or Italian chicken sausage? Use ground turkey or chicken and add in extra spices – anything Italian or spicy. Make this to suit your taste! Feast for resolutions, feast for health, and as always…FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren

Let’s be honest, yesterday’s food was probably a disaster, and possibly a previous day or two was as well. In a blink we’ll be ringing in 2015, another excuse for fattening foods and alcoholic drinks. But that is nearly a week away! Commit to eating on plan December 26 until the evening of December 31 and keep up with your workouts. If you’re off work, try some new or varied workouts – perhaps you can sneak in additional workouts or try new classes or times to help offset the food temptations!

While I may be on vacation (hallelujah!), Friendly Feasting is still here to supply you with weekly recipes. Today, while we’re in holiday mood, I have a muffin recipe for you that calls for chocolate chips - raspberry and chocolate is one of my very favorite flavor combinations. I used sugar-free chips which still have plenty of calories and additives so this is definitely a recipe to use as a treat or on a cheat day as a cleaner option. Certainly this could be made without chocolate chips or even a different type of berry. If you want an all-carb, fat-free version, try spelt, brown rice, or oat flour and consider subbing pumpkin for the oil.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins http://detoxinista.com/2012/06/raspberry-chocolate-chip-muffins-grain-free/

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp sugar-free syrup
• ½ Tbsp vanilla
• ½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• ½ cup berries (fresh or thawed)
• ¼ cup sugar-free chocolate chips
• 6 muffin liners – USE these!

Preheat oven to 350 and put liners in muffin tin. Combine all except berries and chips and mix to uniformity. Gently fold in berries and chips. Use ¼ cup measure to drop batter into liners and bake 15 min. Turn pan halfway thru for even baking. Cool in pan 15 min then remove to cool completely. Omitting chocolate chips, this recipe makes a muffin is one fat and 1/6 carb serving, appropriate for L0-1. The all-carb recipe tweak mentioned above would make each muffin a carb with no fat serving and fit at any carb meal on all diet levels.

Enjoy your last week of 2014 and let’s prepare for 2015 in a meltdown-friendly fashion! I’ll be right back here next year! Until then, feast with berries, feast with sugar-free treats, and as always…FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren

Every Christmas Eve, my family gathers together, often at my grandma’s but sometimes at the home of my cousin and NGPT/Inferno participant, Dustin Headley. This evening is always a hot mess of appetizers and desserts. Pretty much everything involves crescent dough, fatty meats, cream cheese, salt, sugar, chocolate…the usual suspects! So I love finding appetizer and small bites recipes that taste good and pass the family test but still offer healthier alternatives.

Maple-Glazed Peanuts and Bacon http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/maple-glazed-peanuts-and-bacon-cocktails-2009

• ½ cup sugar-free maple syrup
• 3 cups unsalted roasted peanuts (1 lb)
• ½ teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 Tablespoon thyme leaves, minced
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3-5 slices of turkey bacon (3 oz)
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt (omit if using salted nuts)

Preheat oven to 325°. In a medium skillet, cook bacon over med heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then finely chop. In a medium bowl, mix thyme, salt, cayenne and dry mustard. Add peanuts, syrup, and bacon, and toss until peanuts are evenly coated. Scrape nuts onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast for ~30 min, stirring once, until syrup has thickened. Let peanuts cool completely, stirring frequently to break up large clumps. Transfer peanuts to glass jars or large bowl and serve. Can be stored in airtight container up to 5 days. This makes 12 fat servings.

Special bonus recipe: not quite as on-plan but a nice alternative for the holidays…

Christmas Chocolate Bark http://www.elanaspantry.com/christmas-chocolate-bark/

• 2 cups dark chocolate chips – I subbed unsweetened baker’s squares and Splenda
• ⅓ cup pistachios
• ⅓ cup dried cranberries – not approved for Meltdowns, could omit
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

In small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate. Pour chocolate into parchment paper lined 8″ baking dish (I just poured onto parchment paper on my counter). Sprinkle pistachios and cranberries over. Using a metal spatula, spread mixture evenly to ~½ in thickness. Sprinkle salt over bark (I omitted to save sodium). Allow to sit until set, 1-2 hrs. Cut or snap into pieces and serve. In addition to omitting cranberries, you can add in or use other nuts and seeds. Using unsweetened chocolate requires LOTS of sweetener – this is very bitter. Next time I may mix some sugar-free syrup into the melting chocolate. Not recommended for those bootcamping or on another major program.

As you prepare for entertaining or attending parties for Christmas or New Year’s Eve, keep in mind these recipes! Feast maple-y, feast pistachio-y, and as always…FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren