Trim Healthy Mama

Low Fat Black Bean Tacos

May 24, 2019 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

These low fat black bean tacos are not only a tasty weeknight meal, they are also quick and cheap! A Trim Healthy Mama “E” Meal.

Do you have a weeknight fall back meal? A meal that is your go to when you forgot to thaw meat or just don’t feel like making something complicated? Low fat black bean tacos is that meal for us!

I am a firm believer that you need at least one meal that you always have everything on hand for and that you can whip up in just a couple of minutes. Having this plan helps me to stay within a grocery budget and prevents us from eating out due to lack of planning. That way we can purposely choose to eat somewhere that we really like instead of wasting money and calories at a drive-thru.

The second reason I like to have these tried and true, always on hand meals is to keep my family eating healthier and allowing me to stick to my Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle. Yes, I can eat out and even eat fast food on THM, but it is sometimes easier and certainly cheaper to eat at home.

And lastly, my family likes it. The whole family, kids and all. Maybe because kids like tacos? Well mine actually don’t but this recipe is completely adaptable and easy to make your whole Trim Healthy Family happy. I will show you how!

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.

Low Fat Black Bean Tacos

I feel like I often write recipes where my first comment is “well this isn’t really a recipe” because it is so simple (like the THM E Simple Ham and Beans or the THM S Grilled Sausage and veggies). These low fat black bean tacos are in that same ‘not really a recipe’ boat. But I like to share these things with you because these are my real deal, show up on my supper table meals.

We all know that Trim Healthy Mama cooking can get overwhelming if you let it. Trying to add in a bunch of special ingredients and complicated recipes are a couple of THM things that I don’t do often. Having these ultra easy meals can help you stay on plan and keep your dishes down to a minimum.

And we can all get on board with that right?

Preparing the Tacos

Your main ingredient is black beans. I use two cans for my family of 2 adults and 2 kids under 5. If my step kids are over, I would add another can or two.

Warm your black beans up on the stove. I don’t add seasoning or anything. Just warm the beans.

Remember that “this is so easy” comment? Are you believing me now?

If you are following Trim Healthy Mama, you want to serve your warm beans (drained) on a low carb tortilla or wrap. Even though an E meal allows you to have carbs, you are still trying to keep your carbs under the threshold.

And the recommendation for using the Mission Carb balance tortilla is one per serving. So pile my taco full of beans. Like really full. I should probably call these black bean burritos because a taco that big is really a burrito.

And if i am still hunger after, I would just have another small serving of beans and toppings without another shell.

Toppings For The Low Fat Black Bean Tacos

When I make these tacos for myself, I want to keep the meal as a Trim Healthy Mama E fuel. So my toppings are going to be low in fat to stay within the E meal numbers.

I like to spread a Lite Laughing Cow cheese onto my Mission Low Carb Tortilla. You could also drain your beans and melt your LLC in the pan with your beans. Not everyone in my family will eat the LLC so I just keep it separate.

After that, I just pull out anything in my fridge or pantry that fits in an E meal that would be good on a taco!

Here are some taco topping ideas:

Chopped Lettuce or baby spinach

Diced Onion

Diced Tomato or even canned Rotel

Salsa

Greek Yogurt (Sour Cream Sub)

Low Fat Cheese (keep it light to stay in an E)

THM E Meal or XO

The cooking process (or lack there of) is certainly a positive for a Drive Thru Sue or any busy mom. But aside from that, I also love that we can adapt this meal to many different members of our family.

For example, I usually want to keep my meal an E. So I have the low fat toppings listed above.

My husband is much bigger than me and usually needs a XO (crossover) at this meal. He would typically have his black bean tacos with real sour cream and regular cheese. By adding these fats to the carbs in the beans he moves into that crossover territory but stays on plan.

My daughter won’t eat a taco. I know. It is crazy but it is what it is. I’m assuming it is a stage because a life without tacos seems so strange! Anyways, she loves a big bowl of just black beans topped with lots of shredded cheese. So a XO for her as well.

Cheap THM Dinner

I love finding ways to incorporate inexpensive meals into Trim Healthy Mama. For one, I just like to save money. Keep more of what I work hard to earn. Gut the second reason is because I enjoy finding answers to problems and lot of people find THM difficult because of the expense.

And I’m not disagreeing with them. It can be expensive if you buy a ton of special ingredients and eat steak every night. Or you can invest some of your time into finding ways to make it affordable. And this recipe is one that makes it super affordable!

.60 per tortilla (And I only eat one since that is the recommendation by the sisters for this type of frankenfood)

.40 beans (my whole can is around .80 and I don’t think I eat half but I’m being conservative here with my estimate)

The remaining toppings are negligible amounts and things I usually keep at home but I will add in .40 just to allow for those. So my grand total for my meal is $1.40 per serving.

So add these low fat black bean tacos to your E meal plan today to help you meet your Trim Healthy Mama goals. And here are 7 more frugal THM meals to check out.

Want to check out what I eat every day on THM? Follow my THM Food Diary on Insta!

Slow Cooker Zevia Cola Pulled Pork

May 22, 2019 by Stacy Craft 5 Comments

Slow cooker Zevia cola pulled pork recipe is an easy 3 ingredient dinner that the whole family will enjoy.

I grew up in Memphis, TN where bbq is king. There are so many awesome restaurants that feature a slightly different take on the Memphis tradition. If you are ever in the area, some of my favorites are the Rendezvous, Central BBQ, Germantown Commissary and Corky’s.

We like to pile BBQ on everything here. You will find it piled onto nachos, stuffed in eggrolls, on baked potatoes, as a main course salad and of course on a big bun with lots of creamy slaw. Since we live in one of the BBQ meccas of the United States, we eat it a lot. Especially during graduation season, it is at just about every party that you attend.

And when we don’t feel like going out to eat bbq, we make this slow cooker Zevia cola pulled pork at home so that we can stay on the Trim Healthy Mama plan and still have a super easy meal. This is a twist on an old recipe favorite of mine that uses Coca-Cola. In an effort to eliminate sugar from my diet, I developed this equally delicious Zevia pork.

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.

Slow Cooker Zevia Cola Pulled Pork

I love simple crock pot recipes that will feed a big, hungry family. If it is on our weekly meal rotation, you can bet it is probably kid friendly and easy. And I like to save money, so it is probably pretty frugal as well.

Most of my recipes here on the blog are Trim Healthy Mama compatible and many also fit within low carb/Keto diets as well. This recipe is fun because if you follow THM, it can be an E or an S meal. I will show you how to make each variation below. (And if you stumbled upon this recipe and have no idea what THM is, you can read how I lost 60 lbs on plan here).

Crockpot Dump And Go

So when I’m looking for a crockpot recipe, if it wants me to sear meat or do anything remotely complicated I move on. To me the crockpot is meant to simplify my life and I’m certainly not getting an extra pot dirty!

So this recipe for slow cooker Zevia cola pulled pork is a ridiculously easy dump and go meal!

S Meal Variation (Low Carb/Keto Friendly)

Choose a piece of pork and place it in your slow cooker. You can use a pork loin/shoulder.

Coat it with several generous shakes of a Memphis BBQ seasoning. We use the Corky’s Seasoning and the Rendezvous Seasoning at our home frequently. If you don’t use a Memphis seasoning, it will probably be just fine. Just don’t tell this Memphis girl about it!

For your last step, pour an entire can of Zevia cola over the pork. For a twist, you can use a can of Dr. Zevia.

Turn your slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours.

After it is done, take the meat out of the slow cooker. Shred the pork and mix with your favorite on THM plan or sugar free bbq sauce.

My favorite low carb way to have the Zevia pulled pork is on a big salad. My first meal in the hospital after delivering my second child was a big pulled pork salad from Germantown Commissary. I told ya’ll we were serious about our BBQ here!

You could also try it in a low carb wrap, on a low carb bun or a lettuce wrap. Or as a quesadilla or pulled pork taco on a low carb tortilla.

E Meal Variation (Healthy Carbs/Low Fat)

On Trim Healthy Mama, an E meal consists of healthy carbs and one that is low in fat. Out of your pork options, a pork tenderloin is the one option that is deemed ok for an E meal. And it just so happens to be my favorite cut to use in slow cooker Zevia cola pulled pork so that is pretty awesome.

Follow the exact same instructions that are listed above. The cooking instructions don’t change a bit.

When you get ready to serve your pork, you will choose a healthy carb to put on your plate with your pork to convert this into an E meal. A big sprouted bun will make a nice “E” pork sandwich. A baked sweet potato topped with pulled pork and a Light Laughing Cow cheese wedge is surprisingly yummy as well. There is something about that sweet combo that makes it a yummy treat.

If you need other Trim Healthy Mama ideas, be sure to follow me on Pinterest and my THM Food Diary on Insta.

Slow Cooker Zevia Pulled Pork

Cook Time

8 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

Cook Time

8 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

Instructions

Place the tenderloin into the slow cooker.
Rub the tenderloin with the BBQ seasoning.
Pour can of Zevia cola over the tenderloin.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
Remove the tenderloin and shred the meat.
Toss with your favorite sugar free BBQ sauce and serve.

Other Trim Healthy Mama Recipes to Check Out:

5 THM Lunches Using One Rotisserie Chicken – Both E and S Meals

Mac and Cheese Zoodles – S Meal / Side Dish

7 Day Frugal THM Meal Plan

Simple Ham and Beans E Meal

$5 Grilled Sausage and Veggies S Meal

Cheesy Salsa Verde Chicken with Cauli Rice – 30 Minutes S meal

Mac and Cheese Zoodles

May 11, 2019 by Stacy Craft 1 Comment

Cheesy zuchinni spiralized into zoodles and covered in a rich and creamy cheese sauce for the perfect low carb/keto/THM S side dish.

Craving comfort foods can be enough to derail your low carb diet efforts. And I decided to do something about that! By the end of this you are probably going to have a new favorite side dish!

One of the benefits of eating low carb is that you can have a delicious steak. But I can’t live on beef alone (my hubby thinks I’m weird). I want a tasty side or two to go along with my big steak.

This low carb and keto friendly Mac and Cheese Zoodles recipe will complete your meal without any of those added carbs you would get from tradiational macaroni!

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.

Low Carb Mac and Cheese Zoodles

I seriously think we ate this low carb vegetable side every week for several months.

It makes the perfect side dish for two (which is great for us because the kids happily eat regular pasta). You can also easily double it up if you are feeding a bigger crowd.

These Mac and Cheese Zoodles are so quick and easy to put together and require just a couple of simple ingredients.

Ingredients

If you have been living a low carb or Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle very long at all, you will probably have what you need to make this delicious side dish recipe on hand.

You just need these keto staples:

1 Zucchini

2 Tbsp Heavy Cream

2/3 Cup Shredded Cheese

1 Tbsp Butter

1/2 Cup Water

1 tsp salt

Preparing the Mac and Cheese Zoodles

First spiralize your zucchini. I use this inexpensive spiralizer. You could also chop or grate the zucchini. I have tried grating it before and prefer the zoodles just from a consistency standpoint.

Salt the noodles and cover with the water. You can also sub chicken broth here for some additional flavor.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until almost all of the water/broth reduces and is gone.

Reduce heat to medium/low. Add butter, cream and cheese.

Stir gently until the butter and cheese are melted.

Add salt and pepper to taste. I sometimes add a shake of Cavendar’s seasoning. If you are following Trim Healthy Mama, this seasoning blend is not on plan but I’m not a purist and I love it so… sometimes I add it. It is just as good with just simple salt and pepper though!

I hope you love this Mac and Cheese Zoodles recipe as much as we do! This side dish goes great with a steak or my secret ingredient keto baked pork chops.

This recipe was adapted from Simply Delish Eats Cheesy Zucchini and made to fit the Keto, Low Carb and Trim Healthy Mama S diets.

Low Carb Mac and Cheese Zoodles

Servings

Ingredients

1 Zucchini Spiralized
1/2 Cup Water or Chicken Broth
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
2/3 Cup shredded cheese

Servings

Ingredients

1 Zucchini Spiralized
1/2 Cup Water or Chicken Broth
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
2/3 Cup shredded cheese

Instructions

Spiralize, dice or grate the Zucchini.
Place the zucchini and the water or chicken broth into a medium saucepan.
Sprinkle the zucchini with salt.
Bring the water/broth to a boil and continue cooking until almost all of the liquid is reduced.
Reduce heat to low or medium-low.
Add the butter, cream and cheese.
Gently stir until combined and the butter and cheese are melted.
Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

9 Things To Do If You Aren’t Losing On THM

April 19, 2019 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

As with any weight loss plan, there can be ups and downs with the pounds falling off. If you are stalled on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, you should review these 9 things to get back on track.

Trim Healthy Mama is a healthy way to lose weight and keep it off. After my 2nd pregnancy, it helped me lose 60 pounds of baby weight. But as with any plan, it can be frustrating if you are not losing when you are following the guidelines.

Do you feel like you are doing all the right things and still not losing? Or losing way too slowly?

I understand how frustrating that can be. You are dedicating time, money and sacrifice into a plan and you want to see results. And if you are like me you want to see them yesterday!

Here you will find 9 things to do if you aren’t losing on THM. Some of these tips are easier than other but they are all good things to consider. You deserve to be rewarded for all your hard work cooking those THM meals and avoiding the sugar that surrounds us these days.

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.

9 Things To Do If You Aren’t Losing On THM

Try these 9 tips to ensure that your plan is the most conducive to losing weight and leading you to a healthier lifestyle.

Review the Trim Healthy Mama Plan

If you haven’t read the book, you need to. Obviously I love blogs and other info that you can find on the internet but you really need to read the book if you haven’t.

OK, Off my THM soap box.

Next, get your book back out. Skim through it again. Do you have a good grasp on how to create each meal? Are you accidentally creating unintentional XO’s because you don’t fully understand the plan?

You might have understood it at one time and then things got cloudy. Whatever the reason, reviewing the plan can help to ensure that you are following the plan correctly.

Stop Eating Off Plan

So if you read about my start with THM, you know I ate a stinking cupcake on day one on my THM plan. And I’m not talking about a Gentle Sweet laced cupcake stuffed with other on plan ingredients. On day one, I ate one of those huge, $5 a pop gourmet cupcakes with sugar oozing off the top.

It was my Birthday. Who else even decides to start a diet on their birthday other than me? It isn’t smart. Anyway, I went off plan for a cupcake and then I got right back on plan 3 hours later. Grace people, grace.

My philosophy is that if I am going to go off plan, it should be for something I consider amazing. Mexican cheese dip, a big glass of wine or a delicious cupcake. I try to make it a planned and conscious choice to go off plan for something I really want. Not just a handful of my kid’s goldfish. Not. Worth. It.

But if you are experiencing a stall in your weight loss, evaluate the number of times you are choosing to going off plan or perhaps unintentionally going off plan. Sometimes you may feel like you are just going off plan once a week or once a month but it might have added up on you.

If you are deviating from the plan consistently, it could be derailing your efforts.

Evaluate Your E and S Meal Frequency

How many S meals are you eating a week? How many E? There is no magic number as to what you should be eating, however, if the weight is not coming off it is something to consider.

When you are first starting out, it is easy to kind of avoid E meals. They are scary to those that have been avoiding carbs like the plague before THM. And let’s be honest, bacon and cheese can sound more appealing than brown rice.

Enjoy those S meals but make sure you are getting in some E’s too. I have seen lots of people report that after they started to balance out their meals and include E meals, they started losing more weight.

One of my tips is to do an E snack if you are struggling with getting your E meals in. I sometimes find it easier to grab an apple and a string cheese at 3 pm than cooking a low fat/healthy carbs E meal for dinner. Find something that works for you.

Curb Eating Out

It is really easy to just go completely off plan when you are eating out. If your will power is not in a great spot, the temptation can push you into making a poor choice at a restaurant. If you are doing this often, it may be pushing you further from your weight loss goals.

If you attempt to stay on plan, it is still harder when you are out. That doesn’t mean you can’t do it and you can definitely make the best choice available. But since you are not preparing the food, you never really know what is going on in that kitchen.

If you do need to eat out, you can find some of your best Fast Food options to stay on plan here.

Exercise

I know, I know. No one really wants to hear that. But if you are losing slowly, a great boost can be exercise.

You don’t have to become a marathon runner, just a brisk walk after work or play some ball with one of your kids. Getting active is beneficial not only for your waistline but also your mood.

Count Calories

I am throwing the worst two right in the middle of this list! First I say exercise and now count your calories. If you are like me, one of the Trim Healthy Mama “selling points” was that I wasn’t going to have to count calories. I hate it.

Stay with me. Just try counting those calories for a couple of days. Do you have lots of high fat dairy? Indulging in too much red meat or high fat proteins? Has your Lily’s chocolate treat become more of a meal?

The truth is, you don’t have to count calories on THM and I love that. But if you are eating 4,000 on plan calories a day, you probably are not going to lose weight. Although you don’t have to count calories on Trim Healthy Mama, if you want to lose those pounds you should be reasonable with your caloric intake.

Do a Fuel Pull Cycle

If you evaluate your meals and you are eating too many calories, you may want to try a Fuel Pull cycle. I think of this as the THM cleanse.

It gets you back to making sure you are eating plenty of lean items and tons of non-starchy veggies. These are great filler items that help keep calories down while bulking up your plate and keeping you full. So when you switch back to your normal S, E & maybe even some FP meals or snacks you will incorporate more of these calorie friendly foods in your plans.

Helping to keep that caloric intake reasonable should help you get closer to your goals.

Reduce Your Frankenfoods or Personal Choice Items

The sisters created this plan in a manner that is actually very basic. It focuses on whole foods, protein and sprouted grains. In fact, when people complain about it being too expensive, it is often because they have gone too far with the frakenfoods and special ingredients.

The personal choice items are typically convenience foods designed to help you stay on plan when time or circumstances make that difficult. They are a better choice than some other prepared items and help Drive Thru Sues and other THM followers stay on plan (because who really has time to make their own mayo?).

If you read the book, they do ask that you limit your PC items. And if you stop losing weight, this is one of the first things that I would cut out or reduce.

On Plan Items High In Natural Sugar/Starch

In a recent poddy, Serene and Pearl discussed some of the foods that had once been considered by many to be forbidden on THM. Bananas, corn, honey and potatoes are some of the key offenders.

The sisters were pretty clear that these are foods provided by God and they are not off limits. However, if you are trying to lose weight and not just maintain, check your portions of these items.

So are you eating 3 bananas a day? If so, that is too much to lose weight due to the natural sugars.

Succeeding on Trim Healthy Mama

I hope these 9 things to do if you aren’t losing on THM help you to rise above your weight loss slump. Stick with it and meet your Trim Healthy Mama Goal!

And remember, just because the scale is not moving doesn’t mean you are not progressing. If you see other signs of progress, don’t be discouraged by the scale. Are your clothes fitting better?

Take pictures of yourself. Do you look thinner? Show the comparison to a family member or post it on a THM Facebook group. Sometimes you are your own worst critic. Be proud of your progress! You are strong!

Be sure to check out all of my THM resources before you go!

5 THM Meals with 1 Rotisserie Chicken

7 Day Frugal THM Meal Plan

Easy Weekly THM Meal Plan with E and S Meals

5 Things I Don’t Do on THM

My 60 Lb THM Weight Loss and 2 Week Meal Plan

Low Carb Dips for Pork Rinds

April 6, 2019 by Stacy Craft 1 Comment

Are you loving that you can have crunchy store bought pork rinds on your low carb lifestyle but struggling to find something to dip those little piggies in? 29 easy low carb, THM S and keto friendly dips are listed below to help you in your snack sessions.

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.

What is the hardest part of staying Low carb or Keto for you? For me it is when I am invited to some type of social event. There are always tons of yummy dips and treats there to tempt me off my diet.

Instead of falling off the wagon, just take one of these yummy low carb dips for pork rinds and a big bag of skins to curb your need to dip!

Low Carb Dips for Pork Rinds

Creamy and cheesy dips are one of the best part of a keto/low carb diet, right? They are so decadent and taste like you are cheating! But what do you dip into those delicious dips? Pork rinds of course.

And I have a low carb confession. I really don’t enjoy pork skins plain. I like the crunch that they provide but the taste is just a bit overpowering for me. So I find that some kind of dip really helps to mellow out the pork rind’s flavor.

I actually don’t follow a Keto or low carb specific diet. I have lost 60 lbs postpartum following the Trim Healthy Mama Plan. On THM, they recommend that you eat every 3 hours. Although there are several things on the plan that I don’t do, if I do eat an afternoon snack some of these dips are easy enough to be used then!

And if you are joining here on the THM journey, all of these are going to be used with “S” meals or snacks.