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healthy

Keto Dinner Recipes That You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less

August 20, 2019 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

After months of yo-yo eating (we eat what we want when we want only to regret it later and try to eat healthily), we’ve committed to living a Keto lifestyle. If you’re reading this post, you’re either already eating a low-carb diet or would like to make healthier eating decisions.

In my opinion, Keto* is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. So, our household has decided to get back on the eat-healthier bandwagon and adopt a new standard of better eating. I’m glad we did! Eating better just makes me feel better.

Like me, I’m sure you are strapped for time after getting home to prepare dinner. So, this post includes several dinner recipes that are low-carb and high on flavor that can be made in 30 minutes or less. Thanks to some wonderful fellow bloggers, I’ve created the ultimate line-up of dishes!

My version of Hibachi Steak Lettuce Wraps includes using soft ribeye steak cut into small chunks, then marinated in a soy sauce and canola oil marinade, and later cooked to perfection over medium heat. I prefer to cook my steak to medium-rare or medium. Spooned over romaine or green leaf lettuce, the steak wraps are delicious when combined with shredded carrot, red cabbage, and optional yum yum sauce.

If you’re someone who loves chicken, you’ll love indulging in Low Carb Spark’s Chicken Marsala recipe! If you’d rather swap out the wine for a substitute ingredient, there are smart options provided as well. The pan-seared chicken is smothered in a rich marsala wine mushroom sauce to create a scrumptious, easy weeknight dinner. The best part of this dish is that it is decadent in taste but low in carbs!

Looking for a dinner entree with a kick of spicy heat? Consider preparing Whip & Wander’s Cuban Picadillo, an entree with flavors of Latin American cuisine. The dish is a combination of ground turkey meat, tomatoes, olives, green onions, spices, and plenty of chili peppers, and it goes great when served on a bed of low-carb cauliflower rice.

Sometimes I think I could eat salad for lunch and dinner daily. I love a hearty salad made with ingredients that bring a flavor punch! If you love an Asian salad, then you’ll appreciate Drive Me Hungry’s Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad made with healthy ingredients. Because Jamie doesn’t include fried wonton strips or rice noodles in her recipe, the salad is low-carb. Making it is as easy as assembling the fresh ingredients in a bowl and preparing a shaker dressing made with soy sauce to pour over the salad!

One of my go-to meals almost once a week is preparing a seafood dish because it’s incredibly healthy and can be made in less than 30 minutes. That why I love the idea of Savory Tooth’s Keto Salmon Patties made by creating a salmon mixture, forming it into patties, and then pan-searing until they are crusty on the outside and tender on the inside. Julia also includes a dill-garlic dip to use for dipping (or smothering!) on the crispy salmon patties — the ultimate flavor bomb!

These Keto-inspired recipes are just the line-up you need to create delicious low-carb recipes for the work week. As long as you have the ingredients on hand and prep your workstation in advance, you will be able to get these meals on the table in 30 minutes or less!

Want a refreshing yet healthy drink to add to your meal? Try my Cucumber Mint Detox Water! Or perhaps you’re craving dessert after dinner? Give my Mixed Berry Popsicles with Coconut Water a try, a healthy alternative to ice cream.

I’d love to hear what you think of these recipes in the comment section below. Share your thoughts!

*Be sure to research the Keto diet and ask your doctor if it is right for you.

 

Filed Under: Dinner, Taste Tagged With: chinese chicken salad, cuban, cucumber salad, diet, healthy, KETO, marsala, salmon patties, time-saving

Soft Carrot Cake Energy Balls

February 5, 2019 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Soft carrot cake with cream cheese icing. For over a decade of my childhood, I ordered carrot cake for my birthday cake when dining out OR when my mom asked what kind of celebratory dessert I wanted. Every. Single. Year. Today, I eat fewer heavy desserts like dense cakes or cookies, but I still love sweets and I know you do, too!

My Soft Carrot Cake Energy Balls are delicious and filling enough as a breakfast bite or snack that you won’t be hangry by meal time. The recipe’s mixture consists of nature’s best ingredients including dates, raisins, chia seeds, and say it with me…carrots! Admittedly, I use peanut butter as the binder so if you’re someone with a peanut allergy, this is not your recipe.

This is the right consistency for the mixture to form into balls.

Did you know carrots are a power food packed with nutrients and vitamins essential to our body’s good health? We all know that eating carrots improves one’s vision, but they also slow the aging process. Yes, please! (And there are 8 more reasons to eat them!) I know you’re going to love how simple it is to make this recipe and the clean-up couldn’t be easier.

You may also like my recipe for No Bake Energy Bites made with chocolate chips and dried fruit! That recipe also includes chia seeds since they help keep hunger at bay and are super healthy as well.


onedelightfullife.com

7-8 energy balls

Soft Carrot Cake Energy Balls

Love decadent carrot cake? These breakfast bites are the next best thing but healthy!

20 minPrep Time

20 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 1 c. rolled oats
  • 3/4 c. shredded carrot
  • 1 c. smooth peanut butter
  • 1/2 c. diced dates
  • 1/4 c. raisins
  • 1/2 tsp. chia seeds
  • heavy pinch sea salt

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until completely combined.
  2. Test the mixture to see if it binds to make a ball. If it isn't quite ready, just add more peanut butter.
  3. Remove the blade from the food processor.
  4. Using your hands, roll the mixture into tight balls about the size of a quarter.
  5. Transfer the carrot cake balls to a Ziplock bag or storage container and refrigerate until you'r ready to eat them. They last a couple weeks, if refrigerated.

Notes

Some people enjoy this recipe with shredded coconut added.

Tags

Allergy
dairy free
egg free
seafood free

7.8.1.2
90

https://onedelightfullife.com/soft-carrot-cake-energy-balls/

onedelightfullife.com

Nutrition

Calories

2303 cal

Fat

135 g

Carbs

181 g

Protein

86 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info


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Filed Under: Taste Tagged With: breakfast, cake, carrot, chia, dates, energy, energy bites, healthy, oatmeal, peanut butter, raisins, snack, vegetarian

No Bake Energy Bites: A Mid-Day Snack to Keep You From Feeling Hangry

March 26, 2017 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Hangry – The word ‘hangry’ is a concise way to describe a common feeling. Hangry is a clever word combination of hungry and angry, and an adjective that describes being irritable due to hunger, according to Webster’s Dictionary.

Anyone who works with me knows that I keep snacks in my drawer (fruit roll-ups, whole fruit, or granola bars) so that in the event I begin to feel hangry, I’ve got relief nearby. Sometimes I can feel myself getting hangry mid-morning and nobody wants me to get hangry. Nobody. So, I grab a healthy snack.

Inspired by our healthier “lifestyle” (we’re not calling it a diet), I was inspired to make No Bake Energy Bites: A Mid-Day Snack to Keep You From Feeling Hangry. They taste like no bake cookies and curb your hunger thanks to the addition of oatmeal and chia seeds, a popular ingredient in smoothies and granola bowls. Chia seeds are a trending super food high in nutrients that provides boost of energy. You can purchase them in bulk at any health food store. Because they expand a bit when wet, they make you feel full! Oh, and total bonus…chia seeds are suppose to promote healthy skin and reduce the signs of aging. Well, duh! I think I’ll add them to every early morning breakfast.

These No Bake Energy Bites taste like a cookie but they’re healthy for you. This recipe included cocoa, chocolate chips, peanut butter, almonds, vanilla and honey add-ins. See the recipe card below.

Using quick oats as the base, the mix-in ingredient options are about as endless as your imagination. For example, you can make ingredient substitutions or try these flavor combinations:

  • butterscotch chips for chocolate chips
  • chopped dried bananas, bacon bits, and peanut butter
  • dried apple chips with raisins and cinnamon
  • sunflower seeds instead of peanuts or almonds
  • Nutella and dried berries like cherries or blueberries
  • crushed honey oat cereal and peanut butter
  • cranberries, raisins, and toasted coconut with Nutella (see photos below)

Making No Bake Energy Bites is as easy as combining all of the recipe ingredients in a bowl, mixing them (your hands are a great kitchen tool but beware – the added honey will leave your hands sticky), and rolling them into one inch balls after the mixture refrigerates for 30 minutes. It’s a cinch!

This recipe version of No Bake Energy Bites includes cranberries, chopped peanuts, chia seeds, toasted coconut, raisins, Nutella, honey, vanilla, and oatmeal.

Work together all of the ingredients by pressing your spoon into the walls of the bowl and then finish mixing.

If you initially have a hard time rolling the mixture into balls, squeeze it in your hand until the mixture is tight and then use both hands to form a one-inch ball. Tip: Layer parchment paper (or wax paper) between the layers of energy balls in an airtight container before you store them in the refrigerator for at least two hours. I’m impatient and put my Tupperware container of energy bites in the freezer for one hour. A-c-t-u-a-l-l-y, I must admit that I ate one before the rest even made it into the refrigerator. They’re simply delicious!

Cranberry Raisin with Nutella No Bake Energy Bites

There you have it! No Bake Energy Bites are healthy for you and will save you from hunger pains at work so you don’t “bite” your co-worker’s head off. Yes, I went there (insert eye roll). Grab some oatmeal and your favorite mix-in ingredients and get started making tomorrow’s mid-day snack (or breakfast)!


onedelightfullife.com

9 energy bites

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Bites

Fight mid-day hunger with this healthy grab-and-go snack that tastes like an oatmeal cookie.

40 minPrep Time

1 hrCook Time

1 hr, 40 Total Time

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Ingredients

  • 1 c. quick oats
  • 1/2 c. natural peanut butter
  • 1/3 c. honey
  • 1/4 c. cocoa
  • 2 T. chopped almonds
  • 2 T. milk chocolate chips
  • 1 T. chia seeds
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with a spoon.
  2. Refrigerate mixture in the bowl for 30 minutes.
  3. Remove bowl from the refrigerator and shape it into one-inch balls.
  4. Place energy bites into a airtight container. Separate layers with wax paper or parchment paper.
  5. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.
7.8.1.2
72

https://onedelightfullife.com/no-bake-energy-bites-a-mid-day-snack-to-keep-you-from-feeling-hangry/

onedelightfullife.com

Nutrition

Calories

98 cal

Fat

3 g

Carbs

16 g

Protein

3 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info


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Enjoy friends.

Filed Under: Snacks, Taste Tagged With: almonds, apple chips, bacon bits, balls, berries, breakfast, butterscotch chips, cereal, chia seeds, chocolate chips, cocoa, cranberries, energy, freezer, hangry, healthy, honey, hunger, hungry, instant oats, mid-day, milk chocolate, no bake, Nutella, oatmeal, oats, office, peanut butter, peanuts, quick oats, raisins, snack, sunflower seeds, toasted coconut, vanilla extract

Refrigerator Overhaul: How to reduce food waste and slim your waist

February 12, 2017 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Sometimes we have to admit that things have gotten away from us.

This week I had one of those moments when I opened the refrigerator only to find teetering takeout boxes and a lack of vegetables. I know you’ve experienced this moments at least once too.

So, how do we cut down on our refrigerator waste while trying to slim our waist? If you’re like me, sometimes you buy healthy food but don’t prep it for the week and end up tossing it later. Perhaps you don’t even know what’s in your refrigerator right now.

Reducing food waste and restocking it with healthy food starts with a total refrigerator overhaul. Follow these six steps:

  1. Toss food. You work hard for your money, which everyone can respect. But the food you buy just sits in the refrigerator and doesn’t get eaten. That’s a waste of your money. Example: Look at all those condiments! How many times a year are you going to actually use three kinds of horseradish? If it is expired or not something you’ll ever use, admit it and pitch it.
  2. Clean it. Remove all items from the refrigerator from every bin and door compartment. Use a warm sudsy sponge to remove grime. For those difficult to remove stains or bits, I spray diluted Simple Green and they scrub away with little effort.
  3. Check your thermostat settings for your refrigerator spaces. Make sure they are set to temperature for the items they house.
  4. Return items to the refrigerator by category and face them (labels towards the front.) Have a hankering for pickles? Store them on the door near the ketchup and mustard. Like items should be placed with like items. Place taller items towards the back.
  5. Visit the produce section of your local organic grocery store. Recently, I bolted to our city’s new Sprouts Farmers Market and came home with bags filled to the brim with berries to leafy greens. As you know from earlier an earlier post, I’m quite the hunter when it comes to tracking down low-cost produce and clearance grocery finds.
  6. Clean and store your prepped veggies in transparent containers with secure lids. Lettuce should be washed and completely dried before storing it in new Ziplock bags. The only way you’re going to actually make time for smoothies before work is if you clean and dice all your newly purchased fruit!

Open bags and packaging, rinse with water, and allow them to completely dry before placing vegetables in new see-through containers. Place grab and go items at eye-level.

Admitting that you’ve fell off the “healthy diet” wagon isn’t easy but the shame doesn’t last long if you own it. If you admit that you live a rushed lifestyle and that the only way for you to eat healthy on a regular basis is to have grab and go produce or meal prepped food, then make sure your refrigerator (and pantry) contain those items. Taking a couple hours each weekend to prep your refrigerator for the week, will pay off.

I’ve included two produce driven recipes that are easy to pack for lunch or prep for breakfast. Try this fruit-filled spinach salad or one of five smoothie recipes!

If I can do it, you can too. Walk over to your refrigerator, open the door, and be honest. You got this!

Let me know your tips for overhauling the lazy eater’s syndrome and getting healthy in comments section below. I’d love to hear from you.

*While Sprouts Farmers Market did recently like this Instagram photo, they are not an affiliate.

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: breakfast, clean, condiments, diet, dirty, DIY, fruit, healthy, how to, lunch, market, mustard, prep, produce, refrigerator, salad, smoothies, spinach, Sprouts, takeout, waist, waste

Crunchy Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

December 28, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Maybe the reason I decided to eat healthy for dinner was because I cancelled my YMCA membership this week. If I’m going to be lazy, I better eat low-fat dishes.

My Crunchy Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps are my first step to reprogramming my mind to eat healthier and get back into shape, even if that’s not in front of strangers at a high-priced sweaty gym. Maybe you feel the same sometimes?

Full of sweet but tangy flavor, these delicious lettuce wraps remind me that eating healthy is not only easy to prepare but pretty tasty too.

The key to keeping these lettuce wraps on the lighter side is to use ground lean 93/7 turkey meat as the base with fresh broccoli slaw and bib lettuce. The crunch comes from added fried wonton strips (optional) and the slaw, which nicely balances the soft meat mixture and bib lettuce exterior. I don’t add extra sugary or salty sauces on top leaving the wraps on the lighter side. There is enough flavor from the marinade ingredients. While these wraps can be served for a lighter-fare dinner entree, they could also be served for lunch.

crunchy-asian-turkey-lettuce-wraps

If you want to add heat to the meat mixture, you could add Sriracha or a pinch of red pepper flakes to the marinade. This colorful entree looks bright and appetizing when plated on white or dark contrasting plates. If you have leftovers, you can deconstruct the lettuce and create a bowl of “salad” out of the ingredients too.

My Instagram post of this recipe was quite popular yielding more likes than any of the 130 posts yet. Follow One Delightful Life on Instagram!

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onedelightfullife.com

Serves 6-8 lettuce wraps

Crunchy Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

A gorgeous 30 minute meal sure to please every palette.

10 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • Bib lettuce
  • 1 lb. 93/7 lean ground turkey cooked until its browned
  • Marinade:
  • 1/3 c. hoisin
  • 3 T Thai chile sauce
  • 1 T sesame oil
  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 1 T rice wine vinegar
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 chopped green onions
  • salt and pepper
  • Toppings:
  • broccoli slaw (purchased prepared in a bag-add as much as you like)
  • sesame seeds to garnish
  • wonton strips (buy in a package in the produce department)

Instructions

  1. Mix marinade ingredients in a small bowl and set aside
  2. Cook 1 lb. 93/7 ground turkey until its browned
  3. Add marinade to ground turkey, mix well, and simmer on low until fully heated.
  4. Spoon turkey marinade mixture into individual bib lettuce leaves.
  5. Top with broccoli slaw, sesame seeds, and wonton strips.
7.8.1.2
63

https://onedelightfullife.com/crunchy-asian-turkey-lettuce-wraps/

onedelightfullife.com

Nutrition

Calories

131 cal

Fat

2 g

Carbs

24 g

Protein

3 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info


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Filed Under: Dinner, Taste Tagged With: Asian, bib lettuce, broccoli slaw, chile sauce, crunchy, garlic powder, ginger, green onions, ground turkey, healthy, hoisin, lettuce, lettuce wrap, live lettuce, rice vinegar, sesame, sesame seeds, soy sauce, wrap

Easy to Make Baked Apple Slices

November 13, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Did you know that apples are a member of the rose family of plants, along with pears, peaches, plums, and cherries?

According to nyapplecountry.com, Americans eat more apples per capita than any other fruit. Why? Perhaps we know that they’re good for us. A medium-sized apple contains about 80 calories. They keep us feeling full, unlike other processed snack foods. Better yet, apples are fat-free, sodium-free, and cholesterol-free!

Clearly, I’m fascinated by the delightful qualities of apples. So much so that I tried my hand at baking apple slices this weekend. Initially, I wanted to make these bite-sized snacks to add to a copycat Panera Fuji Apple Salad (which I may still whip up), but yesterday’s chilly temperatures inspired me to add them to a bowl of warm oatmeal for breakfast. It was delicious!

My Easy to Make Baked Apple Slices make a great grab-and-go snack or a flavorful addition to salads, sandwiches, or even a bowl of ice cream. This recipe produces soft apple slices with crispy edges. I prefer to leave on the apple skin. Unlike other baked apple slices recipes online, I bake mine at a higher temperature for less time. Let me walk you through the simple steps to making apple slices.

After shooting this photo, I ended up adding natural peanut butter to my oatmeal bowl. It was a little thick, but oh so warm and delicious.
After shooting this photo, I ended up adding natural peanut butter to my oatmeal bowl. It was a little thick, but oh so warm and delicious.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After washing each apple, remove its inside core using a melon baller. If you don’t have one, you can simply slice the apple in half and remove the core with a knife. Carefully use a mandolin slicer on the thin setting to slice each apple. Lay the apple slices on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle the apple slices with pumpkin spice.

No need to sprinkle pumpkin spice on the apple slices on both sides.
No need to sprinkle pumpkin spice on the apple slices on both sides. One side is enough.

Bake for 10 minutes. Flip the apple slices using tongs. (They will be soft, but that’s okay. We’re not making dehydrated apples.) Bake for another 10 minutes. Note: Small end pieces of apple may begin to burn so watch them closely in the later minutes of baking. Remove as necessary. Oven temperatures vary and these instructions are meant to produce still-soft apple slices, not hard chips.

file_002

If you love apples as much as I do (ironic because I was once a teacher), then you’ll also enjoy my recipe for Salted Caramel Apple Martini  or Peanut-Butterscotch Apple Nachos. Have a super apple recipe for me to try, tag One Delightful Life on Twitter or add it to the comment section below. 

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Snacks, Taste Tagged With: apple, apple slices, baked apples, cinnamon, easy, fall, fat-free, Fuji, healthy, oatmeal, Panera, pumpkin spice, snack

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Hello! I'm Vanessa. Welcome to One Delightful Life, a blog created to add more delight to your life with delicious recipes, travel destinations, and lifestyle improvement ideas. Thanks for exploring my blog!

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