Not sure I
can count this as a recipe or if anyone will ever be able to recreate the
delisciousness. Some times the best dinners are born out of an unexpected change
of plans and a picky toddler ;)
Our girl has
ALWAYS been a hearty eater. We’ve only had a few items be met with objections,
and her favorites for a long time cracked me up—a kid who squeals at the sight
of broccoli? You’re kidding, right? Somewhere in the beginnings of the (premature)
“terrible twos” though, she’s developed a few new teeth and some seriously
strong opinions. Two weekends ago, for example, homegirl subsided on nothing
but Trader Joe’s cereal bars and mandarin oranges. This past weekend, if you
wanted to serve her a banana, don’t you dare give it to her sliced, or it will
be fed to the dog. But offer it whole? Devoured. Oye.
|
Kiddo approved cous-cous with
Italian seasoned ground beef, carrots, and spinach |
I made our
favorite,
go-to chicken dinner Friday night, and discovered our girl LOVED it
the next day when I cautiously attempted to serve it to her for lunch. Same
thing happened the following day, so when I got home Monday evening I was
intent on quickly throwing together a couscous dish that would sneak some
protein and veggies in unbeknownst to the Boss Lady. So below is the “recipe”
(if you can even call it that!) for C’s dinner…which then morphed into the most
delicious thing I’ve made since I started 21 Day Fix again last month.
The last two
rounds of
21 Day Fix have been WONDERFUL. The support of REAL women with REALLY
busy lives. Delicious meals focused on portion control instead of calorie
counting (ain’t NOBODY got time for that). An easy, go to super food shake to
help meal prep be easy breezy and to really curb cravings throughout the day.
And…fantastic FAST workouts—seriously finished in 30 minutes—that eliminate the jiggley bits and make you feel STRONG.
We’ve had so
much fun and the results have been SO amazing that I’m gearing up to start a new group with new challengers on 3/16—leave
a comment below with your email, reach out to me on facebook, or send me an
email at fitfoodiefamATgmailDOTcom. You get accountability, support, and I share my meal plan and grocery list with you for all 21 days!
You could
totally commit to a program that lets you eat this, right????
|
Saved a "yellow" container for some vino!! |
OK—y’all
forgive me on this recipe. It was the most off-the-cuff thing I’ve done in a
while, but it worked so beautifully. I’m attempting to recreate the steps in my
head (but you have to remember my brain works at about 97.56 MPH 24/7!). 21 Day Fixers: I counted one “pit-za” as
one yellow, one red, one green, and a generous blue container. I wouldn’t have
this every night while “fixing”, but it’s a great treat meal!
21 Day Fix Approved “Pit-za”
(Yields: 2 servings)
Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp
EVOO, divided
1 lb lean,
organic ground beef
¼ cup
shredded carrots
1 can petite
diced tomatoes (divided)
1 ½ tspn garlic powder (divided)
1 tspn Italian
seasoning
1 tspn
oregano (divided)
Pinch of red
pepper flakes
1/4 cup
tomato sauce (add more if needed)
2 whole
wheat pitas
Assorted
veggies for topping (I used red and green bell peppers and sliced mushrooms)
½ cup mozzarella
cheese
¼ cup feta
cheese (optional)
Preparation:
Preheat oven
to 400 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat on the stove, and
add 2 tbsp of EVOO to pan to heat. Add ground beef and cook till brown and
crumbly. Drain excess oil. Add carrots, 1 tspn garlic powder, 1 tspn Italian seasoning,
½ tspn of oregano, and half of the can of diced tomatoes to pan and stir to
combine. ***At this point, I removed half
of the beef mixture and stirred into a package of prepared whole wheat couscous
with some finely chopped frozen spinach. This was the “toddler” version of
dinner because for some unknown reason, my kid doesn’t like pizza. Go
figure.***
Brush the remaining
tbsp of EVOO on the pita bread and pop in the oven on a baking sheet or pizza
pan to begin toasting up a bit. Keep an eye on them, so they don’t burn. I
recommend 5-7 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, using
my magic bullet, I puréed the remaining diced tomatoes with the remaining
spices (1/2 tspn of oregano, ½ tspn of garlic powder, and pinch of red pepper
flakes)—this was mostly because I didn’t want “chunky” tomatoes on my pizza.
You could skip this step—but at your own risk ;)
Pull pitas
out of the oven. Top each with a “red” container (for my 21 day fixers!) of the
meat mixture. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on both pitas. Top with desired
veggies, then sprinkle with feta cheese if using. Pop “pit-zas” back in the
oven for a few minutes to allow veggies to cook and cheeses to get melty
(probably 5-10 minutes)