Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tuna casserole, the quintessential American dish. Perfect for potlucks and under $10 to make. Made with canned tuna, mushrooms, peas and noodles in a creamy sauce (and no canned soup) finished with toasted breadcrumbs – so good!

The first time I tried tuna casserole was back in 2011. Yes, you heard me right! In fact, when I told my daughter what we were having, she warned me she may be eating something else tonight. The good news is we all LOVED it, and I've made it for my family many times since then. Today I decided to give my photos a facelift since this was on the menu.

For those of you who haven't tried this yet, I originally posted this back in 2011 after getting many requests for a lighter version. Now it's become quite popular on my site. You can easily adapt this with different vegetables, swap the tuna for chicken, use whole wheat noodles – no rules to cooking, just have fun with it.

Can't wait to hear what you all think!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower "Rice"

Grated cauliflower makes a fantastic low-carb, grain-free stand in for rice when you need a little carb detox. You can season this any way you wish – here I brightened it up with lime and cilantro and served it with a broiled pork loin. It has a couscous-like texture, and is perfect with chicken, pork chops, steak or anything you would normally serve with rice.

Does it taste like cauliflower? Yes, it does so if you're not a cauliflower fan (I love it!) this may not be for you. But if you're a fan like me, you'll love this side dish! And it's also vegetarian, vegan and Paleo-friendly.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Sweet Potato Irish Nachos

Baked sweet potato wedges topped with my favorite nacho toppings – these are dangerously good!!

Irish nachos are basically loaded nachos made with french fries in place of the tortilla chips. I was really in the mood for them after my husband kept talking about this pub he used to go to that made the best Irish nachos. My wheels started turning and I knew I had to make them healthier. 

Sweet potatoes to the rescue! Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A, and the sweet flesh is perfect paired with savory-spicy seasonings. I find cutting them into wedges helps keep them sturdier than cutting them into thin fries and it's quicker to cut. I used a full fat sharp Cheddar from Cabot with a combination of light Pepper Jack cheese to give it a little spice. I think these make a great lunch or could be fun football food this weekend. Top them with anything you like, pico de gallo could also be fun.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Breakfast Egg White Spinach Enchilada Omelets

 

Enchiladas are one of my favorite all time favorite Mexican comfort foods. But enchiladas for breakfast you might ask? Well I say yes, why not! These are low-carb, gluten-free and grain-free by using egg whites as my "tortilla" – they turned out awesome! You can also have them for dinner – perfect for Meatless Mondays!

These are basically glorified egg white omelets, stuffed with sauteed spinach and topped with enchilada sauce, avocado and cheese. Prep them ahead and bake when ready to serve,  make them as hot or mild as you want. I used Frontera green chile enchilada sauce to speed this up, but I also think this would be awesome with homemade red enchilada sauce.  If you follow a Paleo diet, simply leave the cheese off.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Skinny Mummy Cake Balls

Easy Halloween cake balls made light by using a box cake mix, egg whites and fat free Greek yogurt – no no butter required!

Madison is having a Halloween party in school and I'm in charge of bringing the cupcakes, so I thought cake balls would be perfect for 4 year olds – and less mess than icing on cupcakes.  For an easy Halloween theme I decided to go with mummies and I think they turned out pretty darn cute. These are super easy – if I can make them so can you!

Cake pops were made popular by the very talented Bakerella who I'm actually going to meet next week, I'm so excited! Her cake pops are just darling and if you ever buy her books she's got tons of ideas. The traditional method of making cake pops is by crumbling cake with frosting and forming them into balls. My skinny version is so much quicker – I simply use a cake pop pan.

I played around with a few cake pop pans and machines out there and realized they are not all created equal. After testing out several, I had the most success with the Nordicware cake pop pan, which is only about $17 at Target. I actually own two so I can bake them both at the same time.

These are FAR lighter than traditional cake pops, but you'll still need some self control as they are dipped in white chocolate. Candy melts (available at Michael's) were used to coat the balls. They usually melt perfect for me but this time it was a little thicker than I liked so I had to add a drop of oil to thin it out. I may play around with other brands of white chocolate to see which melts the best.

One tip from making these several times: if you don't need to decorate so many cake balls you can bake them all and decorate what you need, then freeze the rest. Then thaw them to use for another day.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Candy Corn Fruit Parfaits

A delicious Halloween treat that's light and easy to make. If you need an idea for a healthier Halloween dessert at your next party – look no further!

Confession: I strongly dislike candy corns. As a kid I was always disappointed to find them in my trick or treat bag. But candy corns are such great inspiration for Halloween treats and decorations, I just had to share this.

You basically layer orange and yellow fruit in clear cups and top with whipped cream. I used mandarin oranges and pineapple because I love the combination, but you can also use mangos, melon, oranges – whatever. These cute little jars I found in Homegoods are perfect to use as cups, but you can use clear disposable plastic cups if you are having a party.

For a whipped topping that is lighter than the average whipped cream yet not full of "fake" ingredients I've been making this light whipped topping by whipping my cream and folding in Greek yogurt. Cuts the fat down and tastes delicious!

If you prefer to use whipped topping, go for it or if you want to have this for breakfast I say just top it with vanilla yogurt. But for dessert – I wouldn't change a thing! Hope you try this, you will LOVE it!!


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa

Blackened wild salmon filets seasoned with cayenne, paprika and herbs are seared in a skillet then topped with a fresh mango salsa – if you can take the heat, then you'll love this dish!

I picked up some wild salmon and was in the mood to make it blackened and thought it would pair perfectly with a mango salsa. I searched for a good blackened spice rub and came upon a recipe from Alex Guarnaschelli. Now, I'm a little bit of a spice wimp, I will admit and I had to open my windows while this cooked because the spice was making me cough (yikes!). Naturally I was kinda nervous that this would be too spicy for my taste buds, but the sweet mango salsa gave me a relief from the heat and although it was a little hot, I was able to eat it just fine (along with a glass of water).

Next time I make this, I may replace the cayenne for chili powder to tone it down, but if you like it hot I wouldn't change a thing! I used salmon because of all the wonderful omegas but you can use whatever fish you like (cooking time may need to be adjusted). This is ready in less than 30 minutes start to finish, so it's perfect for a weeknight meal. Enjoy!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...