Buttery Garlic Spaghetti Squash & Turkey Meatballs in Red Sauce

Buttery Garlic Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash
1/4 C Brummel & Brown butter
2 t garlic powder
Salt to taste

Directions
1. Roast spaghetti squash in the oven & then use fork to "strand" it. (Cut spaghetti squash in half. Scoop out seeds. Bake in 400° oven for 40-60 minutes, depending on how large your squash is. Look for it to turn soft or brown a little on the edges. Use a fork to "scoop out" the innards. It will become strands.)
2. Mix butter, garlic powder, and salt in a bowl with the squash until butter is melted.

My spaghetti squash yielded 6 1-cup servings.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 81.1; Fat: 3.8g; Carbs: 12g; Protein: 1.5g ; Sodium: 864mg; Fiber: 2.4g

Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
12 oz lean ground turkey
2 eggs
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1 t dried parsley
1 t minced garlic
1 t salt
1 slice of bread, crumbled

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil & spray with nonstick cooking oil.
3. Mix all ingredients together.
4. Form into little balls & place on cooking sheet.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until meatballs begin to brown.

Makes approximately 32 meatballs.

Nutritional Info (for each meatball)
Calories: 22; Fat: 1g; Sodium: 89mg; Carbs: 1g; Fiber: 0g; Protein: 2.6g

Red Sauce
Ingredients
1/2 C onion
1 t minced garlic
15oz can tomato sauce
14.5oz can diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1/4 C fresh basil, chopped
2 t Italian seasoning

Directions
1. In a sauce pan, cook onion until soft. Then add minced garlic and cook until aromatic.
2. Add tomato sauce, dicedt omatoes, tomato paste, basil, and Italian seasoning. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add meatballs to sauce and allow them to simmer for 8-10 minutes before serving.

Makes approximately 6 1/3 C servings.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 53; Fat: 0.3g; Sodium: 623mg; Carbs: 12.3g; Protein: 2.2g; Fiber: 3.1g

Stuffed Turkey Burger & Breaded Yam Fries

Stuffed Turkey Burger
Ingredients
6oz ground lean turkey
2 laughing cow cheese wedges
1 egg
1 t thyme
1 t oregano
1 t dried parsley
1 t minced garlic
1 slice of bread, crumbled

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients, except cheese wedges, together.
2. Form into 2 patties.
3. Squish each cheese wedge into a coin shape. Place on top of the patties.
4. Cover the cheese wedge with the excess turkey meat from the patties.
5. Grill. Enjoy.

Makes 2 patties.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 267;  Fat: 15.1g; Sodium: 1635mg; Carbs: 10.5; Fiber: 1.7g; Protein: 24.4g

Breaded Yam (or sweet potato) Fries
Ingredients
3 small yams
3/4 C bread crumbs
1 large egg
2 egg whites

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Peel yams & then cut them into fry strips.
3. Mix the egg and egg whites together in one bowl. Have a separate bowl for the breadcrumbs.
4.  Cover a baking sheet with foil & spray with nonstick cooking spray.
5. Dip yams in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumbs, and then lay them on the cooking sheet.
6. Once all yams have been dipped, bake them in the oven for 30 minutes on one side. Take them out, flip them, and then bake for another 30 minutes.

Makes approximately 4-5 servings.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 149; Fat: 2.4g; Sodium: 414mg; Carbs: 24.3 g; Fiber: 2.2g; Protein: 7.5g

Butternut Squash Mac 'N Cheese

Ingredients
1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, and diced (about 3 cups)
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups unsweetned original almond milk
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
12oz Brown Rice Pasta
1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon olive oil
Olive-oil cooking spray, for baking pan

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. Combine squash, stock, and milk in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Add noodles to boiling water; cook according to package instructions, about 8 minutes.
5. Mash contents of saucepan; stir in nutmeg, cayenne, and salt, and season with black pepper. Stir to combine.
6. Drain pasta, and transfer to a large bowl; stir in squash mixture, cheddar, ricotta, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
7. Coat a 9x9 inch baking dish with olive oil spray and pour in the noodle mixture.
8. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, remaining parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodles.
9. Cover with foil, and bake 20 minutes.
10. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top, 20 to 40 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

Calories		178.1
Total Fat		4.7 g
	Saturated Fat	1.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.3 g
Cholesterol		9.5 mg
Sodium		349.3 mg
Potassium		324.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		25.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	3.0 g
	Sugars	0.4 g
Protein		9.0 g

Energy Cookies

Ingredients
 2 whole ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 C nut butter
2/3 C unsweetened applesauce
1 scoop whey protein powder (vanilla & chocolate are the best)
1 t Vanilla extract
1 t butter extract (optional)
1 1/2 C oatmeal, uncooked
1/4 C dark chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°
2.  In a large bowl, mix mashed banana and peanut butter until completely combined. Then add in the applesauce, vanilla protein powder and vanilla and butter extracts. Mix again until completely combined.
3.  Add in the oatmeal and chocolate chips to the mixture and combine.
4. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
5. Drop cookie dough, by spoonfuls, onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and flatten cookies into circles. 
6. Bake cookies approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown and done. Remove from oven and let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to cooling rack.
7. When cookies are completely cool, store in a covered container.  

Protein Balls

You see that plate of little chocolate balls?  Yeah, they're delicious and the perfect preworkout or just plain snack item. I tend to munch on 2 of those with an apple as a morning snack.

Adapted from Fitnessista.
Ingredients
2 T protein powder
2 T creamy nut butter (i prefer almond)
2 T shredded coconut (if you're not a coconut fan, like me, I can assure you that you can barely taste it!)
1 T agave
1 packet of stevia
Pinch of sea salt
1 T dark chocolate chips (look for the Hersheys' Special Dark in the baking section)

Directions
1. In a small food processor, pulse protein powder, nut butter, and coconut until thoroughly combined.
2. Add agave, stevia, and salt and continue to process until a dough forms.
3. Add in chocolate chips and pulse to chop them up and mix them in.
4. Roll into balls. I use a small scooper and then I'll pack them and roll them in my hand.

1 ball = 1 serving
70 calories, 6g carbs, 4 g fat, 3 g protein, 18mg sodium, 5g sugar.

Easy-peasy slowcooker meal

Don't you just love it when an experiment goes right? Yeah, me, too!!
Ingredients
1lb chicken breast (about 4 thin breasts)
13.25oz package of noodles (I used whole wheat linguine)
1 jar of pasta sauce (I had butternut squash pasta sauce)
2 cups chicken broth

Directions
1. Mix pasta sauce with broth. Pour into slow cooker.
2. Place noodles into slow cooker. Break up if needed.
3. Layer chicken on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.