My Favorite Meatloaf

My Favorite Meatloaf

One of my favorite meals...hearty, healthy and delicious.  Better than Grandma's, this has been a family favorite at my house for years.  Re-designed for a more healthy lifestyle, this meal will leave your kids asking for more.  We ate this on Sunday afternoon paired with a simple spinach and strawberry salad.

Ingredients

2 lbs of Trader Joes 90% Lean All Natural Ground Beef

One bunch of celery stalks diced

3 green onions diced

One orange pepper diced

1 cup steel cut oats

1/3 cup Heinz Ketchup

2 eggs

L&P Worcestershire Sauce to taste

Trader Joes All Natural BBQ Sauce

Coconut Oil

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add celery, onions and peppers. 

Cook stirring until tender, about 7 - 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.

Grease two 9x5 pans and fill each with mixture.

Create an indention in the top of the loaf and fill with BBQ Sauce.

Cook at 375 for 1 hour.

The Go-To Cheat: Pizza

The Go-To Cheat! Pizza
Now that I have been staying away from wheat for the last 3 months, I only have eat pizza about once per month.  One thing that I have recently noticied is that I gain at least five pounds every time I share this pizza with Gretchen.  It is amazing what wheat does to your body. Is it worth it?  You make the call!

1 Trader Joes Pizza Crust

Your Favorite Marinara

Pepperoni

Spinach

1 Yellow Pepper Cut into Slices

8 oz Trader Joes Goat Chedder

Grease the baking sheet with some coconut oil.  Spin the crust to the desired thickness.  Trader Joes crust is the best crust next to homemade!  Top with Marinara.  Shred about half of the cheese and place it on top of the pizza.  Add the pepperoni, peppers and spinach.  Top with the rest of the cheese.  Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes.  It's dangerously delicious!

Apricot Stuffed Chicken

I tried the Apricot Stuffed Chicken for the first time Monday, and it is already a family favorite!  This dish is short on preparation and long on deliciousness.  It is the perfect combination of creamy, sweet, salty and smokey! 

8 Boneless Chicken Thighs

4 slices of Trader Joes Fully Cooked Uncured Bacon

8 oz of Trader Joes Silver Goat Log

8 Dried Apricots

8 teaspoons of Apricot Preserves

• Preheat the Oven to 350 degrees.
• Rinse each thigh and place inside 1 apricot, 1 oz of Goat Cheese, 1/2 piece of bacon.
• Pull the sides of the thighs together and secure with a toothpick.
• Place the toothpick side down in a shallow baking dish.
• Top each thigh with a teaspoon of Apricot Preserves and spread slightly.
• Bake for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is done.  Cooking time may vary slightly.
• Serve with your favorite veggie.  We used a simple salad with spinach and red grapes.

Chicken thighs are used because they have more flavor and are the perfect shape for stuffing. There is no need to pound the thigh flat in preparation for stuffing.  If you do not have Trader Joes in your area, you can substitute with other brands.  The Trader Joe Silver Goat log is a plain, Chevre goat cheese that can likely be found at Kroger or other grocery stores.  If you have a Trader Joes in your area, lucky you, because they are awesome and much less inexpensive than other healthy grocers. 

Best Cheat Ever! - Stuffed Peppers

We ate these on Saturday night, my typical cheat night.  This is one of my old favorites that has been recently updated since I can no longer eat cow's milk dairy.  Warning:  These stuffed peppers are addictive and  disappear fast! So easy!

8 banana peppers

8 oz of Trader Joes's Silver Goat Log

8 slices of Trader Joe's Center Cut Uncured Bacon (Uncooked)

 

 

Cut off the top and de-seed the banana peppers.  Rinse.

Stuff each pepper with 1 oz Goat Cheese

Wrap each pepper with one slice of bacon.

Cook in the oven at 375 for 40 minutes or until the bacon is cooked.

Easy Jambalaya

1 PKG Trader Joe's Chicken Andouille Sausage
1 Can TJ's Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
3/4 Onion chopped
1 Yellow Pepper ciced
2 Jalepenos chopped
1 cup Celery chopped
1 cup uncooked Brown Rice
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Garlic, Cajun Seasoning, Hot Sauce to taste



Combine all ingredients listed above in a large pot. Bring contents to a boil. Cover and Simmer on Low for 35 Minutes.


Add 8 oz of Raw Shrimp, tails removed & deveined. Cover and cook for 6 minures. Enjoy!

My Lifestyle Plan



I live a busy lifestyle.  I am a full-time Real Estate Broker, Husband, Father, Chauffeur & Chef for my family.  Having to quit eating cow's milk dairy due to an allergy I developed as an adult, I began to investigate the affect of food and drink on your health.  I discovered that what you eat is the most important factor in good health.  Here is a summary of how I changed my lifestyle.  I was slow to adjust and it took a year for me to make all of the changes listed below.  My best, recent success has been in the last seven weeks with the new lifestyle fully in place. 

Steve Jolly's Five New Rules For Healthy Eating

1.  Eat approximately the same amount of food in 3 - 5 meals a day.  Portion size should be moderate.

2.  Your meals should mostly consist of equal portions of lean meat, fruits/vegetables and healthy fats. No cow's milk dairy.  No wheat. I know...It sounds harder than it really is.

3.  Drink mostly filtered water or something like vitamin water zero (water sweetened with stevia).

4.  Exercise 45 minutes per day, 5X per week. A mix of interval training, weight bearing exercises and stretching.  Meet me at the Green Hills Y or Get a trainer if you need help.

5.  Cheat a little one day a week.  It's not gonna kill you and just may keep you sane!

I will spend some time addressing the details of Rule #1 in my next post. Hope you Enjoy!