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*Tinga-Also known as Spicy Chicken Tostadas




So, if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram I'm sure you're more than familiar with my "Bean Tostadas"     :) Usually when I make them I'll eat them for a whole week! I love my beans. But, there is good news for those who aren't too excited about the pinto beans-There are Chicken tostadas!

This is a QUICK, EASY, YUMMY Meal. And it can give you Mexican cred when making this for a crowd lol. I know I feel authentic haha when I make it because my step dad who makes it, is from good ol' Mexico.  He makes some yummy Mexican food :)

What you'll need:
1 lb. Thawed Chicken breast
1-7 oz. can of Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce  
                                                  1 med. Red onion (today I used yellow)
Adobo for seasoning
Tostada shells
5-7 Roma tomotoes







Boil your chicken for 25-30 minutes. You may add sea salt for seasoning if you prefer. When done, let cool and then shred into tiny pieces. While shredding the chicken, saute' your onions in oil on medium heat. I cooked my chicken last night to save me some time today :) And it was super easy shredding because it was cooled and easy to pull apart.

Once your onions are nice & soft, add your chicken. You can add Adobo for seasoning. Keep your heat on low while chicken and onions are on. Meanwhile, add your tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of water to blender. You don't want to add all the tomatoes just yet because you may need to adjust later.                               

 Be careful when adding in your chipotle peppers because they are hot!

2 peppers, 5 tomatoes, and half the sauce
Shredded chicken/onions on low

























I would add 2 peppers in and a little bit of the sauce to your tomatoes to begin with. You can always add more later. After you blend this up, take your first taste test. You may need to add salt, more spice from the peppers or tomatoes if it's too hot. Today I left out 2 of the peppers, but it ended up not being hot enough :( I couldn't go back and add them bc I already emptied out the blender & put the sauce in with the chicken. Oh well! Hubby will appreciate it ;)  


So make sure you add everything in the blender nice & slow, and taste test as you go. Make sure you're totally happy with the sauce before adding in with the chicken.




After adding your sauce in with the chicken, you're pretty much done! Add more seasoning if you need and let simmer for 15 minutes. Voila!  Add whatever toppings you want...cheese, sour cream, lettuce or avacado.  You can use this with a hard shell, soft shell or like me just with beans ;)  Enjoy!!!



****Here is my recipe for Bean Tostadas

****Bean or Chicken Tostadas fit well with yummy Guacamole, Here's my recipe:





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Sweet, Healthier Good Ol' Banana Bread Muffins!




So those are my banana bread muffins! Lovely bananas seeping through the cracks :) I've made these like 3 times in the last month or so. Eating them now lol. That's a lot of baking for me. So these aren't as healthy as my carrot/apple/banana muffins (http://aperfectfitministries.blogspot.com/2012/09/my-favorite-muffins-good-eats-nutrious.html) because there aren't any vegetables BUT at least there is no processed sugar, which is the goal for my family. If you're wondering about the flaxseed, I use it in place of the egg because it has less calories and great benefits. We all need fiber, Omega 3's, and important amino acids. Google it if you've never heard of it :)


My ingredients :)
- 1 cup of raw honey, maple syrup (Grade B is the best) 
-1/2 cup of butter
-2 tbsp ground flaxseed/6 tbsp water
  (equivalent to 2 eggs)
-1/2 cup applesauce (I like chunky)
-3 ripe bananas
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1.5 cups of wheat flour
-1/4 tsp salt
*Coconut oil for greasing 

I wanted to include a picture of the honey I use from Trader Joe's because it is unfiltered, uncooked basically untouched! Real honey is tannish/beige. It hasn't been processed. Raw honey is the honey that has the healing benefits, antioxidants, & nutritional value that is similar to fruit. So the lighter honey is unprocessed and better for you. The darker honey doesn't hold the same benefits. More expensive but so worth it! I posted this one from Trader Joe's because it's under $6! Which is really cheap for raw honey. I've seen some close to $20 so that's a really good deal. Trader Joe's should pay me for all the free advertising I do for them ;)
Raw honey is the best choice!

processed, therefore darker















Preheat your oven to 325 F. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until nice and smooth. Grease your muffin pan with good ol' coconut oil and pour! Cook muffins for 25 minutes and Enjoy! 




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Love God.





My Favorite Muffins-Good eats, Nutritious Treats!

My ABC Muffins!

Lol. I just named them right now. Kinda clever-ABC for apples, bananas, & carrots! Okay So I'm going to attempt to post another recipe, hopefully it's clear and makes lots of sense so you can make these all the time :)

Here are the ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup honey, maple syrup or agave nectar (I've tried both)
  • 2 large bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup Chunky applesauce
  • 2 carrots, grated
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup oat bran
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Coconut oil for greasing the pan

 Ok, so I wanted to take a picture of my oat bran just in case someone didn't know what it looked like :) 
<------- I try not to ever use processed sugar when I'm baking so I think the healthiest alternatives are maple syrup & agave nectar. I use apple sauce because I try to throw fruit into everything lol. If I don't have applesauce or fresh fruit I most likely will not be making pancakes. It makes it extra moist & it's a good way to add needed vitamins. I only buy Earth balance butter. It's a vegan, Gluten free butter that I first bought in 2010. Been hooked ever since. It is more expensive but I don't even notice anymore :) Tastes the same to me and it has 400 mg of Omega 3s per serving! Sign me up! I've found it sold at Kroger, Trader Joe's, Meijer, Giant Eagle, Raisin Rack, Whole Foods, & sometimes Wal-Mart. 

  1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups. I use coconut oil for my greasing because it's super healthy & better than olive oil because it can withstand higher heat without burning.
  2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter & syrup until smooth. Mix in the mashed bananas, applesauce, carrots, & eggs. Stir in the flour, oat bran, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt until just combined. Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. (My oven does 17 min. exactly; mine's is old & powerful lol) Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing. Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze.




No, that is not melted butter-that's yummy banana oozing out! You can enjoy these goodies guilt free! Yum Yum do your body good :)
Kid tested, Mother approved! Cheers!



p.s leave a comment if you love them as much as I do :)
                                   
                                                     Love me,
                                                     Love God.




Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Okay so this recipe is perfect for the weather annnnd for a healthy diet. There are no creams or dairy unless you want to add some toppings! Of course I decline, but hubby likes it :) I got the idea from the Food Network but I've changed it up to my liking. I always try to add more veggies to everything! It's not that I don't like "good junky" food, rather my body doesn't do a very good job at disguising it! Lol, so while I'm in my home I'll do my best to do my body right :)







    Ingredients:


2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Adobo seasonig 
1 onion, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced 
1-2 jalapeno, diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
64 ounces chicken broth (2 cartons)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced Mexican style tomatoes
2 cups frozen organic corn kernels, thawed
1/ 4cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 can of organic black beans
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, diced

Yummy Toppings:
crushed tortilla chips
Sour cream
Monterrey Jack, shredded
2 limes, wedged
Avacado

I cheated with the bell peppers lol-Trader Joe's helped me out with the chopping! So just heat your oil on med-high heat in a large pot. Saute your onions, then add the bell peppers & jalepenos. Salt/pepper/Adobo seasoning/cumin. (I have a pic of the Adobo seasoning from the Tostada post in case you've never heard of it) StirAdd your chicken broth, I use  <------
look at my pretty roses from hubby :)
 one from Trader Joe's. (I do eat chicken sometimes, but it has to be organic or free range. Otherwise you're paying dirt cheap for junky, unhealthy chicken!) Then goes in your tomatoes, corn, cilantro.Add your diced chicken in last and let cook about 20 minutes. You'll probably have to season again with Adobo/pepper :) 



~The longer it simmers, I think the better the flavors will migrate :) Add your desired toppings and enjoy! Of course I make yummy guacamole with this meal!
This soup can be as healthy or "comforting" as you'd like it to be depending on your toppings.

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Yummy Stuff! Tostadas!

Okay, so the purpose of my blog was to SHARE! Share my trials, mistakes, revelations, joys, falls, errors, goals, and of course recipes! Ha. I love food, I really do. But I love feeling healthy and so in order to be at my best and for my children to---I have to have self-control and wisdom in this area...So for my first Food post I will share my recipe for Tostadas! Currently I am eating a vegan diet (and counting calories) to get rid of these last 10 lbs of Faith's afterbirth lol. My go-to vegan, healthy, yummy, long lasting and CHEAP meal are tostadas!

So I start with a bag of dry pinto beans, 1 onion (white, yellow, red or sweet will do), and dried chile peppers. You don't have to add these, I just like spice on everything. A handful is good :) The more the hotter. I throw the beans, chopped onions, peppers, and Adobo seasoning in the crockpot. Lots of Adobo. Fill it almost to the top with water. Done. I usually cook mine overnight on 10 hours so they'll be done in the morning. You can also follow the directions on the bean packaging like my mom does. She cooks hers on the stove for about 3 hours on medium heat!
I Loooovve my tostadas with refried beans, avacado slices, and hot Chile! That's it. Simple and healthy.
(Just wanted to add a pic of the beans, shells jalepeno & cilantro for the chile) Ok so this morning I woke up to yummy beans. I spooned them out of the crockpot into a pan with alittle bit of the bean juice. I then, smashed them up to my liking. You may need to add sea salt or more Adobo seasoning. Here's how they look


So now to make the chile, I take 5 tomatillos, 3-4 jalepenos and boil them for about 10 minutes. Then I add them to my blender along with a generous handful of cilantro. You may want to add two jalepenos at a time just so you don't overdo it with the heat. You can always add more but you dont want to ruin it. Then you add just a tiny bit of the juice from your boiling pot. Just enough to get the blender going. Lastly you add salt to taste.  
Blend until you get the desired consistency (soupy or thick). 



                                    
You can add more salt for taste or tomato in case you made it too hot. So there ya have it! Shells, beans, chile & avacado !




*My family likes cheese, lettuce, & sour cream on theirs but they don't need to lose 10 lbs like me so yea it's up to you! Hope this was easy to follow! Forgive me if it's not lol-it's my first recipe posting :) Enjoy!

p.s If you have any questions or feedback please leave a comment! I'd love to help or smile :) if you liked them


p.s.s. I've recently found a new Mexican seasoning, "epazote." I add it to the crockpot and it gives a great flavoring to the beans :) Google for a picture of it!


Tostadas fit lovely with Guacamole!!! Here's my recipe:
http://aperfectfitministries.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-bestest-guacamole-ever.html

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Love God.


Tofu Stir Fry!


Sound Yummy?
Well, if it doesn't then you MUST try this recipe. I started eating tofu 3 years ago when I started a vegagnish lifestyle. Tofu is a bland cheeselike food made from curled soybean milk. It is very high in protein. The good thing about Tofu is that you can season it however you like & it will taste like that. Alone, it is bland but it can adapt to whatever you make it to be.
I believe most things are better in moderation. Fruit, meat, cheese, nut butters, and definitely sweeter things. I would like to say you should NEVER eat "such & such" but I know that's close to impossible to abide by lol. So be wise in moderation. It's good to limit your meat sometimes, add in some salmon and every now & then things like Tofu :)

So, my good friend Jessica & I were on a mission and still are really, to good health. Many of our recipes were add-ons of each other and constant trial & error. I started making a spicy veggie lo-mein made just like this except without the tofu. And she came up with the genius idea to freeze the Tofu, which totally changes the texture.

So here's what you'll need. 
1 Frozen (thaw it out) Extra Firm, Organic Tofu
Broccoli
Red Bell peppers
Orange Bell peppers
Onion
Szechuan Spicy Stir Fry Sauce (they do sell non-spicy)
Bragg Liquid Amino
Garlic Powder
Adobo
Onion Powder
Pepper
Coconut Oil for frying




 
The cool thing is is that you can add whatever vegetable you like. Spinach would be great, as well as mushrooms, zucchini, or green bell peppers. The more the merrier!

So first you want to squeeze out all of the moisture in your thawed tofu. There should be a lot, so be ready. Once, pretty dry slice it up in chunky bits and throw it in a heated pan. You want to cook until browned on each side. Season well with garlic powder, onion powder, and Adobo. Keep an eye on it, and stir appropriately.
 

Once cooked, put it aside. Add more oil to your pan and leave on medium high heat. Add your chopped vegetables and cook until slightly tender. I try not to overcook my veggies so that I'm not "killing" all the enzymes so just enough. 


Once everything is cooked, add in your Tofu, Szechuan Stir Fry Sauce & Liquid Aminos. Liquid Aminos is a good salt replacement and tastes just like soy sauce but without all the sodium. Make sure you're careful when adding in the sauces because they're both salty. And the Szechuan is spicy so add a little at a time, then taste ;)
Finished! Quick, Healthy, Yummy, Stir Fry. 
Enjoy!

p.s. Be creative, add different veggies! I also use this sauce with fresh sauteed green beans-yum!
 
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Love God.

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