What's For Dinner - Buddha Bowls And Other Meals From May

We eat a lot of what I call "Buddha Bowls".
I usually prepare them with a combination of veggies and rice or sweet potato.  Sometimes I add in chicken or salmon. I usually add either a creamy avocado or tahini dressing (LOVE the tahini dressing).
I sometimes don't follow any one recipe exactly, but will vary the ingredients a bit or use elements from more than one recipe.  (That goes for just about any recipe, not just the Buddha Bowls.)

We love the Buddha Bowls.  They are healthy and can be created using a combination of many different foods.
Here is a great instagram site, @veggininthecity, with some amazing food bowls.  I just discovered it about two minutes ago and I'm sure I'll get all kinds of new ideas.
And here is my daughter Shelley's (@raw_Shelley) instagram and website.  She follows a mainly raw diet, is currently on a cleanse, so is posting about that at the moment.

This Buddha Bowl consists of sweet potato, brussels sprouts, chicken, spinach, raw pumpkin seeds and a creamy avocado dressing.

We stopped using salt and now use a salt substitute instead.  I try to make our meals with as little sodium as possible.  That's not always easy when using any packaged foods, but I have tried to choose products that have a low sodium content.

We had missed our normal pizza joint, but I discovered I could make our own very low sodium thin crust pizza. The one below has a crust made of wheat flour, a little oil, and water.  Toppings are no salt added tomato sauce with a little tomato paste, low fat mozzarella, spinach, onion...and I'm not really sure if there is anything else on this one.  Sometimes I add sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, or ground turkey.

One Pot Spicy Thai Noodles w/Chicken, Broccoli, and Cashews

 Turkey Stroganoff Burgers w/Mushrooms, and Peas

 A piece of baked chicken over wilted spinach w/ a side of mashed black beans w/salsa, and avocado slices.

Smoky Cauliflower Salad: roasted cauliflower, spinach, chicken, red onion, raw pumpkin seeds, dates, oil/must/cider vinegar dressing

Crispy Chicken Salad: Trader Joe's Breaded Chicken Tenderloin Breasts, Trader Joe's Soycutash, avocado, croutons, honey mustard dressing

Baked White Beans w/ Carmelized Onions, with chicken, asparagus, Glory tomato

In most of my dressings I add a packet of equal to make is sweeter.  I also use lots of seasonings...garlic powder, onion powder, salt substitute, pepper, italian seasoning, basil, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cilantro...depending on the recipe.
Many of the basis for these recipes can be found at my Copy Me That recipes site.

What's For Dinner?

Mmmmm...all of these meals were sooo good.  Definitely on our regular rotation.
I usually don't do a lot of measuring, so ingredient list amounts may be adjusted to taste. 

Sweet Potato Chickpea Buddha Bowl 
For some reason I could not get the link function to work with this recipe.  You can copy and paste the link below to view the recipe:
https://tinyurl.com/lj9vyht 

  I have also made this with brussel sprouts instead of broccoli.  I like both, but would have to say I prefer the brussel sprout version best.

 Salmon and Cream Cheese Wraps

 Along with the wraps I served an easy corn salad consisting of Trader Joe's frozen mexican corn (thawed), halved cherry tomatoes, and diced avocado tossed with an oil/rice vinegar/sweetener dressing.

 Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lentils and Dates

 I also added chicken to this salad.

 Tahini Noodles with Carrots and Chickpeas

Penne and Chicken Alfredo

I saute the chicken in olive oil, then added 1T butter, 4 T Lucerne whipped cream cheese and greek yogurt blend in chive and onion flavor.  Let that melt and add 2 T parmesan.  Add in spinach and let wilt a bit.  I also add salt substitute, pepper, and lots of garlic powder.  Mix in the penne pasta and serve.

What's For Dinner?

Above are some of the meals we ate in the month of March.
1) butternut squash ravioli (Rana) w/portobello mushrooms, salad
2) spaghetti and turkey meatballs (Trader Joe's)
3) linguini w/ portobello mushrooms/spinach
4) mahi mahi burger (Trader Joe's) on brown rice (Trader Joe's) w/ broccoli/carrots

Dinner and an Outfit

 Dinner was butternut squash ravioli with portobello mushrooms and a spinach/carrot/tomato salad.
We have had this ravioli twice now and it is so good.  It comes in a package in the refrigerated section and it's by Rana.  I just tossed it with a small amount of olive oil and topped it with some sauteed mushrooms.

thrifted:
boy fit jeans $5.59 American Eagle
sweater $6.38 Covington
navy earrings .99 cents
yellow bracelet $2.09
navy purse $7.38 Liz Claiborne
blue suede loafers $4.79 Isaac Mizrahi
~~~
necklace $5.59 via ebay

Blue Suede Loafers and More Trader Joe's Products

This is my second pair of blue suede loafers I've thrifted.  The first pair I had to re-donate because they ended up feeling too loose.  These Isaac Mizrahi brand ones seem juuuust right and, for $4.79, were a good price.  I find myself throwing these on a lot when I'm just hanging around the house.

 Here are some more Trader Joe's products we've tried recently.

The Kung Pao Tempura Cauliflower was a hit and cost $4.99.  We ate it over the Vegetable Fried Rice below which is $2.99. Very good.  I would eat this a couple of times per month. 
We eat the rice with lots of other dishes too.  Love the rice.

The Vegetable Biryani with Vegetable Dumplings was okay and a good price at $2.49.  It fed the two of us for dinner. I'm not sure we liked it well enough to purchase again, but it might be something I'd buy on a rare occasion for a change.

OOTD + New Trader Joe's Meal

Trader Joe's has provided us with another great addition to our meal rotation.  This week we tried the Kung Pao Tempora Cauliflower served over a small amount of the Vegetable Rice.  Yum!  We loved it.  I did add a tiny bit of rotisserie chicken to it.  We had this for a dinner and a lunch (for 2 people).  The cauliflower package says it provides 6 servings, but for us it provided 4 servings.  Well, 2 larger dinner servings and 2 smaller lunch size servings.

 We have a personal meal rating system for how good it is as to how frequently we could eat a particular product or meal.  This one rated at once every month or so.  I am actually craving it again now and could eat it more often that that. :)

Another product we tried recently was the Trader Joe's Vegetable Biryani with Vegetable Dumplings.
It was not bad.  I probably liked it more than hubby.  I would only rate this an every 3-4 month meal, but it's a decent option for variety.

thrifted:
dark brown cardigan $4 Reflex Jeans
short sleeved sweater ?
scarf $2.99
earrings .53 cents
jeans $5.60 Metro Blues
boots $7.50 Target
purse $5.99 Style & Co.
~~~~
necklace $7.99 (came w/matching earrings) Charming Charlie
 

Cold Weather Casual + Dinner (Trader Joe's Style)

 Two new (to me) Trader Joe's products made it into this dinner....Vegetable Fried Rice and Chickenless Crispy Tenders.  I loved both of them and will buy them regularly.  I did add a bit of shred carrots to the rice (and maybe soy sauce or stir fry sauce, I can't remember?).  This made for a really good meatless meal.

 thrifted:
black jeans $3.49 Forever 21
hooded toggle closure cardigan $4.79 Great Northwest Clothing Co.
scarf $2.49
purse $13 Nine West
boots ?

Dark Green Tee With Scarf + Dinner

Hubby discovered how to make a wonderfully delicious mole' sauce.  Sooooo good.  I'd never had it before.  We had it over a Trader Joe's bean burrito.  I made rice with onion and peppers.

I've recently decided to eliminate most chicken and turkey from my diet (I no longer buy beef or pork either) and so am trying out recipes with other protein sources.

Healthy Eats and Casual Style...Keeping It Simple

More and more these days I'm finding myself just wanting to keep things simple. These Trader Joe products are quick, easy, delicious, and help me do just that.
Hubby and I split the package of enchiladas and have 1 enchilda each for lunch about once a week.  They are loaded with sauce and yummy filling.  We top with a little bit of light sour cream.
I'm hooked on the guacamole for sure!  
We have a little of it on something just about every day.
Turkey meatballs are another of our favorites.  We have these once or twice a week.  One way is just as spaghetti and meatballs.  A second way is cut the meatballs into tiny bits and place the pieces on a split apart toasted english muffin that has a little pizza sauce spread on top.  Then top the meatballs with a little low fat mozzarella, garlic powder, and basil, then heat in microwave till cheese melts.  Mmmmmmm.....
Next is riced cauliflower.  We probably only have this about once a month, but it's good as a rice substitute for a stir fry using lots of veggies and either a little bit of chicken or shrimp.

Simplicity is also finding it's way into my outfits.  Slip on a pair of comfy leopard loafers with a pair of boyfriend jeans, tee, and cardigan... and I'm happy. :)
  
thrifted:
jeans $5.59 American Eagle
gray tee $1.99 Prospirit
cardigan $7 Chico's
bangle set $1.50
loafer $5.99 Express 

Trader Joe's Quinoa Cowboy Veggie Burgers With Black Beans & Roasted Corn

We love these black bean burgers and eat them about once a week for either lunch or dinner.  I top with mashed avocado with a dash of honey and garlic powder mixed in.  If eaten at our dinner meal we will also have a side dish such as 1/2 yam or broccoli.  
They are 180 calories so with the avocado topping that brings our burger (no bun) to about 250-275 calories.  If I use the Trader Joe's Guilt Reduced Guacamole then the whole thing comes out to only about 220 calories.
If you don't have a Trader Joe's near you then you might want to try similar products that are available in your supermarket offered by other brands.  I'm not sure how they would compare in taste and cost to Trader Joe's (which I'm partial to), but they assist in creating healthier food options, lowering calories, and are a big help in making meal prep quick and easy.  Since I prepare 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, and don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, I appreciate the short cuts these products offer on occasion.

Trader Joe's Pizza Veggie Burgers

Trader Joe's Pizza Patties are a lunch favorite of ours.  We usually have these pizza (soy protein) burgers a couple of times per week.  They are only 130 calories each. We don't eat them on a bun, but I'll top these pizza burgers with either pizza sauce or sundried tomatoes, a couple tablespoons of shredded low fat mozzarella cheese (melted on top), and a dollop of Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Guacamole that is made with greek yogurt and only 30 calories for 2 tablespoons.  This lunch is under 250 calories.
The pizza burgers are delicious and satisfy our pizza cravings. 
I believe they sell for $3.79 per box of 4 burgers.  So that would make hubby and I two lunches each.

Trader Joe's Meatless Breakfast Patties

I only started shopping at Trader Joe's a few months ago.  I have found so many products that we really enjoy and have incorporated them into our meals on a regular basis.

One of our favorite foods we've discovered is the Trader Joe's Meatless Breakfast Patties.  These patties are a really good tasting soy sausage.  Well, I call it sausage.  I suppose it's faux sausage.  We like these better than the MorningStar Farms brand.  They are $3.29 for a box of 6 patties.
We eat one of these sausage patties nearly every day with our breakfast.  They are only 80 calories and go well with our morning meal.

Our three usual breakfast options that we serve the soy sausage patties with are:

1)  1/2 serving of oatmeal with 1/4 apple, diced peaches (or 1/3 banana, blueberries), cinnamon, almond milk, sugar free syrup...plus 8 oz V8 juice...and the breakfast patty on the side

2)  egg tortilla wrap:  1/2 an egg, 3 tablespoons liquid egg (whites only), spinach, breakfast patty, 1/4 sliced avocado all wrapped in a 50 calories La Tortilla whole wheat low carb tortilla...plus 8 oz V8 juice

3)  1 toasted english muffin breakfast sandwich:  1 english muffin (100 calories), 1/2 egg, 2 T liquid eggs (whites only), breakfast patty, 1 T cheddar cheese...plus 8 oz V8 juice

All of these breakfasts are right about 300 calories and keep us full until lunch about 3 hours later.

Healthy Food Swaps: Featuring Trader Joe's Riced Cauliflower and Turkey Meatballs

In a previous post here I talked about portion control.
An alternate technique, to get around reducing the portion size, is to replace an unhealthy/high calorie food with a healthier/lower calorie one.  
For example:  Instead of having a large serving of rice with our chicken (or shrimp) and broccoli/mushroom stir fry I might substitute cauliflower rice for the long grain rice I would have normally had.  The cauliflower rice is a healthier option and far less calories...so I can have a good amount of it and not feel deprived.  We use cauliflower rice in other meals as well.

Another example of a beneficial food swap would be to replace regular spaghetti with spiraled zucchini.
The spiralizer we have is a Paderno.  At this site it is under $30...and that includes shipping.  It is very easy to use and clean.
Zoodles (spiralized zucchini noodles) are very good topped with a ground turkey marinara sauce.  You can add mushrooms, red peppers, onions, etc. to the sauce also.  Another good way to serve zoodles is topped with turkey meatballs and marinara.  You can use zoodles in any pasta dish.

Pictured above are the Trader Joe's brand frozen cauliflower rice and the turkey meatballs that we like and keep stocked up on.  They are quick and easy.  It just takes a few minutes to heat them in the microwave.
Since we no longer buy beef the turkey meatballs are a good swap for us.  I also use ground turkey to replace beef in other meals.  It's great as a burger patty or in taco salad to name a couple of options.
We have learned to eat our taco salads without the tortilla chips we used to have.  So now just lots of spinach, ground turkey w/ taco seasoning, a bit of light Catalina dressing, black beans, avocado, salsa, and low fat sour cream.  We are more particular about when we choose to have our carbs.


With many food swaps, I have come to enjoy them and don't find them a terrible trade off.  
Believe me...to hear myself making the above statement almost makes me turn my head to look to see who said that.  It boggles my mind to think that I could now feel that way.  I think I had preconceived ideas about food and was just set in my ways about what I thought I liked, disliked, and what I thought I would and wouldn't enjoy eating.  I just had to give these healthier foods a fair chance and give myself a chance to realize I could be happy and satisfied using them as a better option in many of our meals.

Portion Control: Plus a Before and After Pic

Before: Dec. 2011,161.8 lbs.  After: April 2016, 129 lbs.

The nearly 33 lb. difference, as displayed in the above photos, has made a huge difference in my life.  Even though I don't have an extreme 100 lb. weight loss to talk about...it is a significant amount to me.  I know that I am much happier and healthier having shed those pounds.  I also know I've struggled all my life with gaining and losing them (plus more).  This is the longest I have ever stayed on a diet ...and a healthy one at that.  I consider my current way of eating a permanent lifestyle change, even though I may call it my "diet".
 
I have learned that the amount of food I (in the past) thought I needed to feel satisfied was not an accurate amount of what I really do need to feel satisfied.  I just had to practice eating less and re-train my brain a bit.  Making a conscious effort at each meal, day after, day, week after week has made eating smaller portions more of a normal habit. However, I still have issues with portion control and must always think about keeping things reasonable. I will always have to be diligent at keeping my mind in check with the reality of what my body needs.  But, the more I do it, the better at it I get and it becomes less of a struggle.
My pre-planned meal guide is extremely important in helping me stay on track and I'll talk a bit more about that in a future post.

To exercise portion control I have reduced the amount of food I put on my plate at each meal.  I have a set number of meals to eat per day (6).  I count my 2 cups of morning coffee as meal 1...although I know it's not really a meal, but I'm not ready to eat food until about 2-3 hrs after I've started sipping on the coffee.   So breakfast comes usually between 10-11am ish.
The meals are not spread out too far from each other...so I know if I only get so much at meal 2 that's okay because in just 2-3 hrs I'll get more food.  I have found that the smaller portion I used to think might be too little to make me happy is just enough to satisfy me, be healthy for me, and keep me going until my next meal.  My afternoon and evening snack enable me to have a reasonable and healthy sized lunch and dinner.
One example of a portion size for me now:
Pasta at dinner time... In the past I might have eaten 3 ounces which is 1 1/2 servings.  Now I will eat 1 ounce of pasta which is half of a single serving.  I will use different varieties of pasta, depending on the recipe, and will bulk up the dish with chicken, turkey, or shrimp and vegetables. 
If we are having a low cal sauce, I use a lot less of it than I would have in the past.  If making an alfredo I make a healthier version using 2 T marg, a little unsweetened almond milk, 3 T fat free cream cheese, and a little light/low fat italian cheese, garlic powder, salt substitute, and pepper.  I make a quantity (for the two of us) that will lightly coat the pasta, not drench it....and will add chicken or shrimp and lots of broccoli to the 1 oz of fettucine alfredo.   Mmmm...so good.  (No more 1/2 n 1/2, loads of butter and full fat cheese.)

Another example of a revamped portion:  On a work day I'll use only half a can of albacore tuna for my lunch (about 2pm) rather than a whole can.  I will add a little low fat mayo to it and make a wrap with a low carb 50 calorie whole wheat tortilla.  I'll also put spinach in it to bulk it up a little more.  That will keep me satisfied till my 3:45pm low fat mozzarella cheese stick. 
Oh, and I must add, that for breakfast on work days I'll take with me and eat oatmeal.  1/2 serving of oats w/ unsweetened almond milk, walnuts, 1/2 banana, blueberries, sugar free (15 calorie) maple syrup and a Trader Joe's soy breakfast sausage patty along with 8 oz V8 juice.  So I have a hearty breakfast around 11am.

So just eating a bit less, making healthier choices as much as possible,  and eating at regular intervals has really worked for me.