Stacy Craft

Cooking Through Trim Healthy Mama Week 3

January 20, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Join for recipe reviews as we are cooking through Trim Healthy Mama week 3.

Well here we are at cooking through Trim Healthy Mama Week 3. This week was pretty busy for me. And that meant that I didn’t get every recipe that I was hoping to made.

I’m ok with it though. When I started this journey, I told myself that I would no try and get the whole cookbook cooked in 30 days. That if it took a whole year, that it was ok.

My natural tendency is to go 110% so it is a bit of a struggle to give myself grace. To say that 3 THM recipes cooked is better than none.

If you want to start at the beginning of the cooking through the THM journey, check it out here. Or Pin it here so that you can refer back to it easily.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Cooking Through Trim Healthy Mama Week 3

Here are the recipes that were made this week:

Wicked White Chili Pg. 37

Deviled Eggs Pg. 228

Bust A Myth (BAM) Cake Pg. 298

Review of the THM Recipes

Wicked White Chili Pg. 37

Overall Impression:

The chili was a great texture. I have had problems before with white chicken chili being too runny and this was not at all. It was just right.

The chili had great flavor and was not too spicy.

Make It Again?

Yes! My kids are not big soup/chili lovers but my husband and I both really enjoyed it.

Cost:

$7.20 for 1/2 batch

Tips and Tricks:

I halved the recipe and omitted the seasoning blend.

The blender didn’t feel like being pulled out of the cabinet, so I supported that. I did take a potato masher and mash some of the bean right in the pot.

As I said above, the consistency was great so I don’t feel like I lost anything on that front and I saved myself a blender to wash.

Subs:

I used a stock pot instead of the crockpot. We also had a bunch of leftover chicken after grilling the night before so I just diced that up and added it to the chili.

Deviled Eggs Pg. 228

Overall Impression:

Deviled eggs are not really a new invention. They have been around forever and there are about a million variations. But I am a deviled egg purist (the only time you will hear that)!

I don’t like relish or any other weird ingredients added in.

I loved the simplicity of this recipe and I had never thought of adding the 3rd ingredient to deviled eggs. It really kicked it up a notch.

Make It Again?

Yes! Love these.

Cost:

$1.14 for 6 eggs

Deviled eggs are so economical to make. I love them for snacks, as a simple breakfast or a side dish. You can do this even cheaper if you have an Aldi near by but I shopped at another store this week so my eggs cost more than usual.

Tips and Tricks:

To get easy to peel hard boiled eggs, place the eggs into the water. Boil and set a timer for ten minutes once it starts to boil. When your timer goes off, immediately drain the hot water and replace with cool water.

Gently mash an egg against your counter with enough force to crack it multiple times. Start to peel away the shell while holding the egg under cool running water.

It should peel right off!

Subs:

This recipe has such a nice and consolidated list of ingredients, no subs needed.

Bust A Myth (BAM) Cake Pg. 298

Overall Impression:

While this was baking my husband said “what is that delicious smell coming from the oven?

And he was right, it smelled so great. A sweet little banana cake in my oven that I can eat with zero guilt.

The BAM cake has a good texture, mildly sweet and a hint of banana (I don’t use the added extract).

Make It Again?

Yes! 3 for 3 this week!

Cost:

$6.26

Tips and Tricks:

Add some FF Reddi Whip, Triple 000 yogurt or even a scoop of vanilla Halo Top icecream to the top for an extra indulgent treat.

Subs:

No Subs!

Check back next week. I have a big plans that I plan on cooking since this week was so bare.

Create A Cupid Paint and Canvas Valentine For Kids

January 19, 2020 by Stacy Craft 4 Comments

The create a cupid paint and canvas Valentine for kids is a great way to encourage creativity and imagination.

Valentine’s Day is such a fun holiday for kids. What’s not to love about a day filled with soft teddy bears, beautiful flowers and delicious candy.

Oh the candy. Candy in the Valentine’s cards, candy in heart shaped boxes. Treats at the class party. A special dessert at dinner. Maybe even a heart shaped donut for breakfast.

The sugar can get out of control quickly on this special day. So while I let my kids indulge on V-day, I typically choose to make a fun Valentine favor for friends that doesn’t involve sweets.

Last year we did “When it comes to friendship, you nail it” Valentine’s for the girls filled with a cute nail polish. And we did a “You make my heart Slime” for a unisex option.

So this year I wanted to make another cute homemade non-candy Valentine gift that would be perfect for classroom giving.

The create a cupid paint and canvas Valentine for kids are easy and fun to make.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Create A Cupid Paint and Canvas Valentine for Kids

To make this Valentine favor bag, you will need some tiny little paint palettes and mini canvases.

We first used these for a birthday party favor last year. They are the perfect size for a quick art project for preschool through elementary school children.

Things You Need:

Mini Art Canvases

Paint Palettes

Clear Favor Bags

Pink & White Twine or Curling Ribbon

Free Printable Create a Cupid Paint and Canvas Valentine for Kids Gift Tag (see below)

Free Create A Cupid Valentine’s Card Printable

To print these free Valentine’s favor tags, click the link below.

It is best to print on a card stock so that the tag is a bit more stable.

Create A Cupid Free Printable

Creating the Valentine’s Paint and Canvas Kits

To make these Valentine cards, start by printing the free gift tags from above.

Add one mini canvas and one paint set into a clear favor bag.

Punch a hole into the corner of one of the printable Valentine cards.

Secure the tag to the bag and close the bag using the twine.

Now you have some cute little non-candy Valentine favors to take to your child’s class!

Wasa Breaded Chicken Nuggets – THM S

January 14, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Wasa breaded chicken nuggets are a family pleasing Trim Healthy Mama S meal.

The other day I had some chicken breast on the counter for dinner. My daughter walked by and said “Ohh are we having chicken nuggets?!” Sadly for her we were not but it got me thinking.

I wanted a THM and kid friendly chicken nugget recipe that could make us all happy.

These Wasa breaded chicken nuggets are quick and easy to make and everyone in my family enjoyed them.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

More THM S Recipes:

30 Min Cheesy Salsa Verde Chicken

Meal Plan for 1/5/20-1/11/20

THM Pizza Lunchable

Lavash Lasagna Cupcakes

Wasa Breaded Chicken Nuggets – THM S

What is it about chicken nuggets? It seems like no matter what stage of food picky that they are in, they will always accept nuggets.

So homemade chicken nuggets are a great way to get them their favorite food without all of those processed and yucky ingredients that are in the fast food or frozen varieties.

These Wasa breaded chicken nuggets require just 4 ingredients plus spices! So they are easy to whip up and you can rest assured that your kids will eat the dinner you prepared!

Ingredients:

Light Rye Wasa Crackers

Grated Parm (Green Can Kind)

Eggs

Chicken Breast

Instructions for THM S Nuggets

To make these nuggets, cut the chicken into bite sized chunks.

Place the Wasa Crackers into your blender and mix until the consistency of bread crumbs.

Mix spices, parm and ground Wasa crackers together in a medium bowl.

Whisk eggs in a bowl.

Breading the Nuggets

To bread the nuggets, dip each chicken piece into the eggs.

Next, dip/roll the chicken piece into the breading mixture.

Place each breaded nugget onto a greased broiler pan. Using the broiler pan will prevent soggy nuggets.

Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Then broil for 2 minutes to crisp up the breading.

How Many Can I Eat?

If you bread 4 chicken breast with the mixture and have no leftover mixture, you can have 1/2 of a chicken breast in S mode.

If you eat more, you would go into XO mode because only 1 of the Wasa crackers is allowed in an S.

Fill your plate with a big salad or Mac and Cheese Zoodles.

If you prefer more chicken nuggets, use this breading recipe and just use chicken instead of pork.

Wasa Breaded Chicken Nuggets - THM S

Servings

Ingredients

Servings

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cut chicken breasts into bite sized chunks.
Blend Wasa crackers in blender until they are the consistency of traditional bread crumbs.
Mix Wasa crumbs, seasonings and cheese together in a medium bowl.
Crack eggs and whisk gently in a separate bowl.
Dip each piece of chicken into the eggs first and then roll in the "breadcrumb" Wasa mixture.
Place each piece on a greased broiler pan.
Bake at 400 Degrees for 15 minutes.
Broil on high for 2 minutes to get the Wasa breading a little extra crispy.

Trim Healthy Mama Weekly Meal Plan For 1/5/20-1/11/20

January 12, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

A Trim Healthy Mama Weekly Meal Plan For 1/5/20-1/11/20 with S, E and FP ideas.

The weekly meal plan features meals that I personally eat on Trim Healthy Mama.

You can use the Trim Healthy Mama Weekly Meal Plan for 1/5/20-1/11/20 as a guide for meal ideas and portion sizes.

I would love it if you would follow my Instagram THM Food Diary! Follow here.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Trim Healthy Mama Weekly Meal Plan For 1/5/20-1/11/20

A meal plan with photos of every meal for the week.

Sunday

Breakfast: Avocado “Toast” On a Wasa Cracker, topped with red pepper. Salami slices and a few grape tomatoes. THM S

Lunch: Deli meat, peach cup (rinsed) and a Triple 000 yogurt. THM E

Dinner: Smoked Ribs and Green Fries from my Cooking Through the THM Cookbook journey. THM S

Monday

Breakfast: Ezekiel English Muffin, Light Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge, Everything But the Bagel Seasoning, Deli Meat and grapes. THM E

Lunch: Tuna and half an avocado mixed together, grape tomatoes and Whisps cheese crisps to dip. THM S

Dinner: Breakfast for dinner – sausage, scrambled eggs and Cottage Berry Whip from THM cookbook. THM S

Tuesday

Breakfast: Mixed nuts, salami slices and gouda cheese THM S

Lunch: 1/2 Lavash Bread wrap with deli meat and avocado, air fryer mushrooms, string cheese and 1/2 Triple 000 with Bake Believe Chocolate Chips. THM S

Dinner: We ended up going to my mom’s house to eat because by husband was out of town and she was trying to help save my sanity!

I had planned to cook Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas THM S.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Triple 000 Vanilla Yogurt with a Tablespoon of Peanut flour and an apple THM E

Lunch: Salami Cheese Pepperoncini Bites with microwave steamed brussel sprouts tossed with butter and seasoning. THM S

Dinner: Wasa and Parm Breaded Chicken Nuggets THM S

Thursday

Breakfast: Salami, string cheese, 1/2 Triple 000 yogurt with Bake Believe chips. THM S

Lunch: Salad with leftover Wasa Breaded Chicken Nuggets and ranch. THM S

Dinner: Smarty-Pants Beef Stroganoff over Zoodles – Read more about it in this week 2 post of cooking through THM. THM S

Friday

Breakfast: Ezekiel English Muffin, Peanut flour made into PB with a teaspoon of Stevia, 1/2 banana. THM E

Lunch: Protein Packed Deli Meat Roll Up Salad THM S

Dinner: I ate off plan for a special occasion this night. THM E Chicken Taco Soup was planned.

Saturday

Breakfast: Zucchini, Smoked Sausage, Egg THM S

Lunch: Secret Big Boy (FP) I had a sip of this for breakfast and then saved the rest for a light lunch. My big breakfast kept me very full.

Dinner: Pearl’s Chili Topped with Cheese

Other Trim Healthy Mama Meal Plan Ideas:

Meal Plan for 12/29/19-1/4/20

Meal Plan 1

Meal Plan 2

6 THM Lunch Ideas for the Work Week

Follow along as I cook through the entire THM cookbook this year!

Cooking Through Trim Healthy Mama Week 2

January 11, 2020 by Stacy Craft 2 Comments

Cooking through Trim Healthy Mama week 2 brought on some new challenges for this girl!

We are on week 2 of my 2020 goal of cooking through the entire Trim Healthy Mama cookbook.

This week I had several of the well known recipes on my plate like green fries, cottage berry whip and the ever popular (and oh so scary) Secret Big Boy.

For dinners, Pearl’s Chili and the Smarty-Pants Stroganoff made the list. The stroganoff is not one that I have heard many people discuss, but you will definitely want to check it out.

Cooking through Trim Healthy Mama Week 2 will give you a review of each dish that I cooked and ate, the general costs to make those items and tip/tricks and subs that I may have done to slightly alter the recipe.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Cooking Through Trim Heathy Mama Week 2

Here is what I made on week 2 from the cookbook:

Green Fries Pg. 218

Cottage Berry Whip Pg. 374

Smarty-Pants Stroganoff Pg. 44

Choco Secret Big Boy Pg. 415

Choco Nut Big Boy Pg. 415

Pearl’s Chili Pg. 101

This week was tougher for me to try a lot of the main meals. My husband was out of town for the week so I entered survival mode.

We got dinner every night (thanks to my mom one night and breakfast for dinner a second night).

I even created one new recipe that my kids loved so I will share that with y’all soon!

But back to the cookbook for now!

Green Fries Pg. 218

Overall impression:

I like these a lot. In fact I ate the whole bag over the course of the day.

To be honest, I don’t know if my family would like because everyone else refused to try.

I’m the only one that really enjoys green beans in our house though so it was fine by me.

They get crunchy, a little salty and roasted. They have a mild green bean flavor so if you hate the veggie, you might not love these. However, mostly I noticed the crunch.

Make It Again?

Absolutely!

Cost:

About $1.60! A frugal side!

Tips and Tricks:

I did the entire frozen bag of green beans in my air fryer. I did let the beans sit out on the counter for about 45 mins to thaw out some before air frying.

The beans took about 20-25 mins to get to the crunch level that I prefer. After about 10 minutes, I just checked on them and shook the basket every few minutes to make sure they didn’t burn.

Subs:

I did not sub anything but I did omit the Nutritional Yeast. I am thinking about buying some for the upcoming week since it pops up so often.

Cottage Berry Whip Pg. 374

Overall Impression:

I made this the time that I started THM and quit after a few weeks.

Spoiler alert: it is still good a few years later!

It is so nice to have a quick and easy NSI dessert or no cook breakfast.

Make It Again?

Yes!

Cost:

About $1.30

Tips and Tricks:

If you hate cottage cheese, still try this recipe.

I was a full fledged cottage cheese hater until THM. Now I eat it by the bowl full for breakfast with tons of yummy add ins and love it!

If I can do okra in a chocolate smoothie (keep reading) you can do this!

Subs:

The only sub that I made was using my 2 year old Gentle Sweet in place of the Super Sweet. I just use the same measurements (mostly because I didn’t feel like looking up the conversion).

It was still sweet enough for me!

Smarty Pants Stroganoff Pg. 44

Overall Impression: definitely the favorite of the week! The whole family enjoyed it and my husband even got seconds (something he rarely does – if only I could be more like him!)

The sauce had really rich flavors.

I had my over zucchini noodles.

I wish my sauce had thickened a bit more. I’m not sure if it was because of the sub I made that it was a little runny. But it tasted good and no one else seemed to notice.

Make it Again?

Yes!

Cost:

Around $24 (cost was calculated using zoodles and not the Not Naughty Noodles – read below for money saving tips)

Tips and Tricks:

Use baby bella mushrooms to intensify the flavor of this dish! If you want to save money, use the white mushrooms.

The crockpot will make a cheap cut of meat yummy by dinner time. I ended up using a nicer cut of meat (my husband had been out of town and this was his first night home so I wanted to amp up dinner a little bit). But using a cheaper cut of meat could save you could save quite a bit.

Subs:

Portabella mushrooms, xantham gum for Gluccie.

Choco Secret Big Boy Pg. 415

Overall Impression:

My first thought after my first sip was “well I didn’t die!”

For all the okra scaredy cats like me: blend well and you will not have a texture issue.

There was no chocolate okra slime. No seeds.

My first impression of the drink was that it had the consistency of a thinned out Wendy’s Frosty and tasted somewhat similar.

It was good. I’m not on the OMG I love the okra smoothies quite yet but it was good.

I did detect the slightest bit of an okra after taste. I’m not sure why so I will have to research that. If you know, please drop me a comment!

Make It Again?

Probably not but I will be making more secret big boys because there are a bunch of them still left in the cookbook.

Cost:

<$1 if omitting the optional items

Tips and Tricks:

Blend, blend, blend. And then Blend again.

Subs:

I omitted protein powder because I don’t use it or buy it. Adding protein to the meal eliminates the issue of not using the powder.

Also omitted were the ingredients that are marked as optional in the recipe.

Choco Nut Secret Big Boy Pg. 415

Overall Impression:

I don’t know if this is cheating or not. But since it is my Cooking Through the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook, I’m going to rule that it is not.

I tried the Choco Secret Big Boy. And then I added the extra ingredient to make it the Choco Nut Secret big boy.

I was really expecting to love this because peanut butter is my life. But I actually preferred it as just the chocolate variety.

Pearl’s Chili Pg. 101

Overall Impression:

I liked it!

It was simple to make using the precooked ground beef that I always keep in the freezer as a time save.

I love that I typically have all of the ingredients in my pantry and fridge that you need for this recipe!

Make It Again?

Yes

Cost:

$6.71 (half recipe)

Tips and Tricks:

None really. I just loved that I didn’t have to get out my blender! And that I got to eat some beans in my S chili.

Subs:

I added beef broth in place of water just to add some extra flavor. I also used no sugar added marinara in place of tomato sauce because that is what I had on hand (and it is a trick my husband uses in his chili recipe).

Overall, cooking through Trim Healthy Mama Week 2 went well. I’m glad that I went ahead and tried out the blended okra Secret Big Boy.

I think future recipes will be easier because I conquered that little fear.

Check back next week for more cooking through THM fun.