Tiny Tummy Tackles London

I have some good news and some bad news for you all. We'll start with the good news- I'm going to LONDON for a week! I've only left the country maybe once or twice when I was younger, so this is a huge deal for Tiny Tummy. The bad news? I will only have limited access to the Internet while I'm there, so BETT is taking a week-long hiatus. Hopefully I'll have plenty of fun Flab Free Food Finds and meals to share from when I'm there in order to make up for the week I'll be missing.

Have any suggestions for places I have to check out in London? Comment below or email me. You may even see your suggestion in an upcoming post! Pin It

Cheeseburger Mac Attack

As a child, I was never a fan of cheeseburgers. I loved me a good hamburger and I beyond loved mac and cheese, but something about a cheeseburger just wasn't appetizing to me. (Perhaps it was some kosher force in me propelling the two apart... but I doubt it.) Anyway, ever since I started using Pinterest, there is recipe after recipe for cheeseburger mac and cheese, and while I never actually inquired about the recipes past the photos, the pictures always look really good! Tonight, in an effort to try something new, I decided to put my instincts to the test and see if I could create my own cheeseburger mac, and it was actually quite delicious, so of course, I will share the recipe.

To make Tiny Tummy's Cheeseburger Mac Attack, you will need:

2oz high fiber elbow pasta (I used Fiber Gourmet)
3oz lean ground beef, seasoned to your liking (I used Trader Joe's 99% fat free)
1 small shallot chopped finely
1 slice fat free cheese (I used Kraft Cheddar)

To prepare, start by preparing your pasta according to package instructions. Then, set aside, and sautee your onions on the stovetop until they start to soften. Add the ground beef and continue to sautee until meat has browned/cooked. Add the meat/onion mix to your pasta and break your cheese slice down until it melts and mixes in with everything. Feel free to add more than one cheese slice, I'm just not a gigantic cheese-fan, so the one slice was enough for me. And FYI, using the ingredients that I did, the whole recipe has between 250 and 300 calories (even with the second slice of cheese!)

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The Spice is Right

Now that I've been taking formal, college cooking classes, I am frequently asked what the most valuable lesson I've leaned is. To be honest, a lot. We've learned a bunch of basic techniques such as how to julienne, chop, dice, slice, pan sear, poach, how to truss a bird, butterfly shrimp, break down a chicken... the skills are endless, but when it comes to the most important thing I've learned thus far (in a close second to how to properly how and cut with a knife), is how important proper seasoning is. At home, I don't cook with a lot of salt because a lot of the foods we eat are full of sodium- especially dishes ordered from a restaurant. But from a culinary standpoint, a dish is never complete without a little salt and pepper to amp up the flavor. Moral of the story, a little spice can makes a world of difference. Even if the dishes we make aren't exactly Tiny Tummy-esque, the rule carries over: the right spice can enhance any dish, so don't be afraid to experiment. Below are some pictures of the dishes I made in class this week. (If you couldn't tell, it was seafood week!)

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Berry close to the real thing (Another new dressing)

Growing up, a staple fridge item in our house was Trader Joe's Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing. I've always been a pretty huge sucker for raspberry dressing. Something about it is just so sweet and delicious, but it is also generally very caloric and chocked full of sugar. Luckily, our good friends at Walden Farms came to the rescue and created a sugar-free, calorie-free, DELICIOUS raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

This dressing is totally decadent and sweet, and I guarantee if you served it to guests in the typical mixed green, goat cheese, nut, raspberry vinaigrette salad, they wouldn't know the difference! This is a new fridge-staple for Tiny Tummy! Pin It

Chica Chica Yeah

In the office that I work in, companies constantly send free snacks in the hope that my boss with endorse them or throw them a bone in the media. While that doesn't happen too often, the rest of us benefit because there are always an abundance of healthy snacks around for the times we get hungry. I'm usually well-prepared when it comes to having a snack on hand, but the other day, after working a little later than expected, hunger struck, and The Good Bean was there to answer.

The company sent my boss a bunch of their different dried chick pea snacks to try, and since the sweet cinnamon bag was open, that was where my hand went. To whomever opened that bag, good choice! These guys were crunchy, sweet and delicious. And each bag contains a whopping 12 grams of fiber and protein (the other flavors have 14 grams of protein!) all for under 300 calories, and to be honest. I only had a couple and it completely staved off my hunger for that last hour of work. Now that I tried the cinnamon ones, I will definitely have to try the others. Have you tried these beans? What do you think? Pin It

Pattycake, Lentilcake, Baker's Man

Ever since I tried the lentil from Trader Joe's I've been a convert to the Lentil colt. I usually just mix some spices in and toss them over a salad for lunch, but I thought it was about time they made an appearance on the dinner table, so for dinner tonight, I decided to try making lentil patties (or burgers, if you will) which were not-shockingly, quite delicious. And since I used the precooked lentils, they came together in less than 15 minutes!

To make these Luscious Lentil Patties, you will need:
120g cooked lentils
1 shallot diced
2 T mushroom diced
1 small handful spinach
1 T carrots, shredded
a pinch of each of the following: cayenne pepper, turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
optional: 1/4 teaspoon of diced fresh hot pepper (You know Tiny Tummy likes to bring the heat!)

To prepare, start by sautéing your onions and mushrooms (and optional hot pepper) in a pan until they've browned. While those cook, combine your lentils, spices, spinach, and carrots, and mix well. Then, combine everything, mix well, and form into patties. If you're having trouble getting them to stick together, you can add an egg, but I didn't have a problem (probably because I mashed my lentils up really well). Finally, spray your pan on the stovetop and place your patties in the pan. Heat them just until they are warmed and and the other veggies have cooked up a bit.

Feelin' Frisky? Another option (if you're having trouble getting the patties to stick together) would be to add some cooked brown rice or freekeh. Amp up that fiber! Pin It

Cartwheels, Somersaults and Jumps for Joy

A couple of months ago, I came across the following bag at a local healthy food store on sale. I had never heard of them before, but the ingredients were pretty clean, and the stats were decent, so I decided how bad can cocoa powder and sunflower seeds be? I'm glad I tried them because they're not half bad.

If you're the type of person that likes to crunch of your cookies, you will probably like these. A lot. They aren't overly sweet or overly chocolatey, but they are definitely super crunchy. They also satisfy that chocolatey craving without making me want to eat the entire bag. As a side note, I love that on their website, they actually show pictures of each of the ingredients that they use, which shows that they aren't trying to sneak anything bad in there. Check it out along with their other flavors here. Pin It

Greek Yogurt Blizzard

While there are no Dairy Queens around me, and I've never tried their famous blizzard, I have to say, it looks pretty darn delicious in the commercials. I don't even know what goes into it or what it tastes like, but I imagine it is a mix of chocolate, peanut butter, and caramel oblivion.... and of course a mess of fat and sugar... a total calorie catastrophe. After seeing one too many commercials for these puppies, I decided to make my own take on it- a healthy version of course!

To make Tiny Tummy's Blizzard Blast, you will need:
1 container Greek Yogurt (I used Oikois, but any brand works all the same)
1 T Walden Farms caramel dip
1 T Walden Farms chocolate dip
1 T powdered peanut butter (If you don't have powdered peanut butter, feel free to use regular PB, but the adjust the nutritionals accordingly.

To prepare, simply mix everything into your container of yogurt and eat up! Try not to eat the whole container in one bite. It's that good! ;)

P.S.: The whole recipe has just over 100 calories and a whopping 17.5g of protein. To swap this from dessert to meal, add some chia seeds for some added fiber to keep you full and you've got a yummy, sweet breakfast! Pin It

All that BBQ Smokey goodness- No Grill Needed

Tiny Tummy loves a good charred flavor on just about anything, but living in NYC doesn't exactly lend itself to a BBQ. While I love to take advantage of my parents's BBQ in the summer months, and I have my awesome George Foreman Grill for other times, sometimes, I just wish I could sprinkle that smokey flavor on my food in two seconds. I think Senor Joe of Trader Joe's heard my prayers because he answered them with this smokey spice shaker.

Trader Joe's South African Smoke seasoning blend shaker makes a great addition to a meat rub, or even to a pasta dish, as strange as that sounds. I eat my spaghetti squash plain with just a few sprinkles of this spice, and it provides an instant pop of flavor. Not only is this shaker delicious, but it's pretty cheap too! Seriously, leave it to Trader Joe's to think of just about everything! Pin It

It's Never Too Late to Jingle All the Way

Last I checked, the holiday spirit has no expiration date, and fortunately, neither does tea. However, the supermarkets seem to disagree with me, as they put holiday teas on sale. Their loss is my gain because I get to try out the seasonal tea for cheaper and keep the holiday spirit alive, and they get to stock their shelves for the upcoming holidays.

So, this brought me to a trip down Candy Cane Lane... Usually I'm not a fan of peppermint tea, but every once in a while, I enjoy the minty kick, and this one was particularly intriguing because it's green tea. I have to say, it was actually pretty good. Decaf, green tea, and a little peppermint spice. I wouldn't say it's a mouthful of the holidays, but I'd happily drink it year round. Another winner from Celestial!

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Ring the Parm Alarm

When I was younger, my family didn't go out for Italian food very often, but when we did, my dish of choice was often chicken parm. Not the healthiest- fried chicken, tons of cheese, usually a side of spaghetti... you know, the works. Clearly, I don't order that anymore, but there's no reason you can't enjoy a chicken parm-esque dish, which is just what this next recipe is. Sans breadcrumbs, a fried crust, and mounds of cheese, chicken parm can be a healthy choice. As a side note, the picture below was Daddy Tiny Tummy's chicken parm, so the cheese load is a little heavy.

To make Tiny Tummy's Chicken Parm, you will need:

4 oz chicken breast (I used tenders, but a 4oz chicken breast would work all the same)

a healthy portion of onion powder, garlic powder, a pinch of black pepper, and optional paprika

3 T tomato sauce (I used my own homemade tomato sauce)

1 oz shredded fat free or reduced fat mozzarella cheese

To prepare, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. coat your chicken breasts/tenders in the spice mixture until well coated (it should resemble a "breading"). Then, top it with tomato sauce and cheese and roast it for about 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the cheese has melted. Doesn't get any easier or more delicious than that!

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New Pizza Possibilities

We all know Tiny Tummy loves ThinSlim muffins, brownies, and bagels, so when I heard they were coming out with a pizza, I had to try it ASAP! At only 100 calories with impressive fiber and protein stats, it seemed like a real win, so I quickly ordered some and got tasting.

In all honesty, I was a little bummed. The crust was a little rubbery, and when my initial reaction is "I can make this better myself with the same amount of calories, I'm usually tempted to just do so, but for anyone who doesn't cook and wants a super low-cal, healthy pizza, this will do the trick. But if you have a few minutes to throw something together, I highly suggest this recipe. Pin It

Crackin' Me Up

In the past, I've talked about that "need to crunch" that sometimes veggies just doesn't satisfy. There are definitely those moments when only a chip or a cracker will suffice. I have made ample chip swaps, but it's a bit harder to replicate healthy crackers. Fortunately, I don't have to thanks to Fiber Gourmet. I already knew I loved their cinnamon and everything crackers, but they recently release a new line of crackers in 3 new flavors.

The new flavors are cheese, nacho, and wheat- all of which are amazing. The cheese ones taste like Cheese Its, the wheat ones taste like Wheat Thins, and the nacho ones taste like a spicier Cheese It. All around- an excellent line. They have 60-70 calories per ounce. My one gripe is I wish they came in individual packages like the cinnamon and the everything ones do, but taste-wise no complaints! Pin It

Birthday Pancakes

Today is a very special day in the Tiny Tummy family... it's Mommy Tiny Tummy's birthday! She's turning 30! ... plus a few... Anyway, since we did the usual sushi for dinner, I couldn't let the day go by without making something for her, and since pancakes are her favorite, I decided to make her pancakes with a recipe I've been meaning to test out lately.

They say you can make pancakes with just bananas and eggs, but I was a little bit skeptical. I'm glad I decided to give it a try though because she LOVED them. And they couldn't have been easier to prepare. All you need is:

1 banana
2 eggs (or 1 whole egg + 1 egg white)
a dash of cinnamon
1/8 t vanilla extract

To prepare, simply mash the banana, beat the egg and egg white and combine the two along with the cinnamon and vanilla extract in a bowl. Then, spray a pan with coconut oil spray and cook on a medium heat until the pancakes are cooked through. They actually come out looking like real pancakes, as you can see above. Can't beat that!

Feelin' Frisky? Feel free to add chocolate chips, berries, extra banana slices, etc. -- I would have, but I wanted to make sure they were yummy first- and they were!!!

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Danielle Done Good

A few years ago, when I was following a low carb diet, I was constantly looking for chips to satisfy my crunchy craving, and I came across these. Since I'm a bit kookoo for for coconut, I had to try them, and let's just say both myself and Mommy Tiny Tummy were totally addicted. 

When I reintroduced whole grain carbs into my diet, I no longer relied on chips such as these to satisfy my crunchy craving, but they are still delicious nonetheless, so I figured I'd share them anyway. These chips also come in pumpkin, banana, and other fun, exotic flavors, though I've only tried the coconut ones. The nice thing is, they come in 2oz bags, so the portion control is basically built in for you. If you're a fan of coconut, I highly suggest these chips. Pin It