I sat down with Allison Schaaf, a registered dietitian and trained chef (yes, she went to culinary school AND studied nutrition), who is also the founder of Prep Dish. She created a simple system that helps busy women plan and prep meals without the stress or guilt. Spoiler alert: no black plastic containers required.

From Personal Chef to Prep Dish Founder

Allison started her career working in health spas and as a personal chef. While she loved helping her private clients figure out “what’s for dinner,” she realized she could reach so many more people by turning her tips and tricks into a repeatable system. That’s how Prep Dish was born. It’s a weekly meal plan subscription service that includes recipes, grocery lists, and a prep day plan that gets you set up for the entire week—in less time than you’d expect.

How Prep Dish Works

Each week, Prep Dish members receive a new meal plan. Inside, you’ll find:

• A full week’s worth of dinners
• A categorized grocery list
• Optional prep day instructions

Allison breaks it down into a 3-part process:

1. Plan your meals
2. Shop using a streamlined grocery list
3. Spend 1-2 hours max on prep day

The “prep day” might sound scary, but it doesn’t have to mean spending hours in the kitchen. With the Super Fast plan, you can get your prep done in under an hour. And yes, pre-chopped veggies are 100% allowed (and encouraged).

It’s Not All or Nothing

You don’t need to prep every single thing or follow the meal plan exactly as written. Allison encourages you to make the meals your own—swap chicken breast for thighs, try a different veggie, or double a recipe to use for lunch the next day. The system is flexible because life is unpredictable.

It’s More Than Just Food

Meal prep isn’t about perfection. It’s about having a plan so you don’t default to cereal or takeout (again). It’s about creating space to sit down with your family, even if it’s just for 20 minutes. It’s about removing one more decision from your already overloaded brain.

As Allison says, “I have the opportunity to meal prep so I can feed myself and my family delicious, nourishing food. And I get to create space for connection.”

Tired of Half-Used Ingredients?

One thing Prep Dish does differently: they use all of the ingredients. Buy parsley? You’re using the whole bunch. Need half a celery bunch? The rest goes in as a snack or another recipe. No more sad wilted herbs in the back of your fridge.

Picky Eaters or Busy Nights?

Allison has three boys, so she gets the real-life challenges of feeding a family. If you’re juggling soccer practice, late work meetings, or picky kids, Prep Dish helps you plan for those realities. Slow cooker meals for busy nights? Yep. Extra portions for leftovers? You bet.

Try It Free

You can test drive Prep Dish with a 2-week free trial at PrepDish.com/fitmagic. You get immediate access to multiple meal plans and all the tools to start planning meals without the overwhelm.

Bonus: More Than Meal Prep

Allison is also the founder of Miscarriage Hope Desk, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting women navigating pregnancy loss. After experiencing six miscarriages herself, Allison created a safe space where women could find resources, share stories, and know they’re not alone.

Meal Prep = Less Chaos, More Calm

At the end of the day, this isn’t about being the perfect cook or creating Pinterest-worthy dinners. It’s about making your week smoother and giving yourself one less thing to stress about.

So if you’re tired of asking “What’s for dinner?” and want to stop letting that question derail your evening—Prep Dish might just be your new secret weapon.

Give it a try. Your future self will thank you.

Links Meal Prep Monday podcast Instagram https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Facebook group Free Resources: https://www.fitgirlmagic.com/freeresources_podcast
5 Day Belly Fat Reset
Belly Fat Reset
Guilt Free Alcohol Guide https://www.fitgirlmagic.com/alcohol_evergreen_2025podcast

The post How to Make Healthy, Delicious Dinners Easy appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

Social media has made it really difficult to do because everyone is telling you what you “SHOULD” be doing and how you “should” be meal prepping.  But I am not about “SHOULDING” all over ourselves.  And if you are done shoulding on yourself when it comes to starting meal prep because as we know, 1 size DOES NOT fit all!   

And meal prep looks different for everyone! We all have to do it in our own way that fits with your lifestyle.  Today I answer your  most burning questions about meal prep and give you tips, tricks and hacks that make it possible for everyone to start meal planning.  

The first thing you need to do is to start testing what works best for you. Life is a bunch of experiments, so you won’t know how it is or how something works until you try it!  The same goes for meal prep, we can’t know how it will work for you or how you will set it up unless you actually try it out and see what sticks and what doesn’t.  

Meal Prep and Menu Planning  

To start, let’s figure out what the difference is between MEAL PREP and MEAL PLANNING.  This is something I get asked a lot as well as to which they should do. And really they tend to go hand in hand, but you can do one or the other.  So, the meal prep is you actually doing the cooking and preparing the food!  Meal planning is sitting down and figuring out what you are going to eat and cook, how many meals you need to make, for who, and for how long.  You can do one or the other or you can do both, it really depends on what works best for you.   

 Now let’s get started as if you were going to be going down both trails and doing BOTH Meal Prep and Meal Planning.  Pick a day that you are going to do everything in, or just the shopping in and the prep the next day.  For me, my day is Sunday.  

 When you make a plan, you need to make a menu. And now it does NOT need to be Martha Stewart meals, they can just be simple.  You need to then figure out how many days in advance are you going to make this plan.  Are you planning for just a few days or for the whole week’  What am I going to do for this week’ (So are you going to prepare food for 3 days, then after those 3 prepare another 3-4 days. Or are you going to do all 7 at once’)  I recommend when starting out to just pick a small amount of time to get the feel of meal prep. Start with 3 days planning and prepping and go up from there.  

How long will my food stay fresh’  

MOST food that is cooked fresh lasts for 3 days. I purposely plan for my food to be done in 3 days. (if I make something Sunday it’s done by Wednesday) I also freeze things and double cook.   

Double cooking  

I double the recipe in my crockpot so that I can throw some in the freezer for when I need it on a night, I may be busy or I’m traveling and it gives me a quick meal to make.  I also double cook while I am cooking dinner.  What is double cooking, I make enough dinner so that I have it for lunch the next day. (or multiple days, depending on how much I prepare.)  And every single week I cook a big batch of chicken enough for the first few days of the week. I grill, air fry or roast it and it’s ready to toss on my salads.  

TIPS FOR FREEZING FOOD: 

• Use glass (I get mine right on Amazon ) or BPA free containers to avoid plastics leaching into your foods. BPA is found in plastics and is a chemical agent that turns your body and starts to change the estrogen within your body. Too much estrogen in our system could be a precursor to cancer, so I removed as many products that could potentially turn into estrogen.  
• You need to COOL your food before you put it into the freezer! (this will prevent it from getting crystals and mushy afterwards.) Let cool for 30 minutes on the counter then put it into the fridge and make sure the steam and moisture are out and that it doesn’t have any in the packaging. Or you can let the food sit in the fridge overnight, then check again to make sure there is no moisture in the container before putting it into the freezer.  
• Make sure you label and date it!  You may not be able to tell what it is after it freezes so the better you know the less you will waste.   

I HATE TO COOK 

For you ladies that hate cooking, trust me, I hear you, I HATE COOKING too!  I am never going to be that Martha Stewart in the kitchen, it just isn’t going to happen.  I only cooking because I don’t want to starve!  So if you hate cooking, there is a lot you can do.  When you go to the stores now you can get things like pre-cooked chicken sausage, pre-cooked chicken breast, rotisserie chicken, premade burgers, there is so much premade stuff that doesn’t contain a lot of processed crap. Please be sure to read the labels. If you hate cooking these foods make it easy toss it on the grill or in the pan.  And the same goes for already prepared or cut vegetables.   

Even though I do not like to cook, I am a variety junkie!  If I don’t have a variety, I will lose my SHIT. And this doesn’t have to be every meal is radically different.  This can be one meal a week that you switch up or change just the spices in the meals.  And I like 5 things or less in the recipe!! So, no worries.  KEEP IT SIMPLE! I love Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/kimbarnesjefferson/ 

for this because it is so easy to find simple recipes that are ready in 30 minutes or less.  But if you want even more variety, head over to my website,  Iwebsite, I have recipes on there that are set up by high protein, plant-based and low carb.  Hit me up if you’re interested and I will get you those! 

Lunch can be a really easy meal to prep.  I eat a big ass salad every single day.  It is very easy to throw together and takes me less than 15 minutes to have my lunch all ready.  I throw in my chicken I prepare every week and add different veggies and spices in it to switch it up from day to day which gives me that variety that I need.  Switch up the protein you put in it as well, try salmon or black bean burgers to keep things constantly changing to avoid getting bored! 

When it comes to the storage of my prepped meats and vegetables, I do not portion my food together.  I just cook a bunch of chicken, chop it up and put it into its own container. Then, I do the same with my vegetables, that way I can put a little of each into something like a salad for my lunch.  By doing this, it gives me more control over my food to create new combinations every time I eat!  Of course, you can proportion everything out into containers if that works for your meals!   

I hear a lot, “why do I care about food prep..”   And my answer EVERY TIME is that food prep saves you TIME in the future!  And if we can make our days that much easier, especially if we have busy schedules, than why not try it out and see how it works for you.  And for me, I do not meal prep EVERY SINGLE MEAL! Heck no!   

I only meal prep mainly for Lunch because than I am not reaching for something unhealthy when I don’t feel like cooking in the middle of the day!  I come down from working at home, I throw together my salad I talked about before with all of the fixings I already have made, and I have prepared and ate my lunch in less than 30 minutes.  
Pick a meal that you are always unsure about what you are going to do and meal prep for that meal.   

 I also have a meal prep guide that walks you through the 4 Components of Meal Prep and they include: 

• Preparation 
• Cooking 
• Shopping 
• Storage 

And I give you all of the details to get you started on the right foot when it comes to Meal Prep and Planning.  

Need more ways to keep the variety into your meals and diet and not get bored of the same rice, chicken and vegetables every day.  I challenge you to buy 2 NEW things every time you go into the grocery store.   I choose 2 new types of protein, 2 new vegetables and 2 new starches every time I shop.   AGAIN, this is helping me with my variety as well.  It’s only 2, so don’t get all freaked out, just try it and let me know what you knew things you try!  Find something new to keep you excited about your meals and the things you are eating!  

And please, please, please stop trying to be perfect! You will get there. You will find your stride and you will find your groove.  It’s like driving to a place and Google Maps is telling you to take one place, and Waze tells you to go a different way, BUT you have to figure out which way is the BEST FOR YOU!  And trust me, you will find it!  

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FabFitSquad 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fitgirlmagic/ 

Website: https://kimbarnesjefferson.com/ 

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fit-girl-magic-healthy-living-for-women-over-40/id1476883661 

The post What You Need to Know About Meal Prep appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

Plus MANY of these can be made ahead of time, using rotisserie chicken or simple ground meat. I am no Martha Stewart nor do I want to spend HOURS in kitchen. I like to make food that is easy to make TASTY, quick and I can easily freeze. 

Have a read and let me know what you think’ Do you have any other suggestions’ 

1. Beer Can Chicken: Take a whole roasting chicken and cover it with your favorite rub. Open a can of beer and pour out (or drink!) ¼ off the top. Sprinkle in a bit of rub and carefully place the chicken in the cavity of the chicken. Carefully place on a baking sheet and bake in a 375 F oven for about 75 minutes or until juices run clear.
2. Chicken Burgers: You can purchase pre-made chicken burgers. You can make your own by grilling a chicken breast and using that as your patty. You can also ground chicken patties, just as you would make a beef patty. Place on a bun or replace bun with leaf of lettuce and top with your favorite burger toppings. Serve with salad.  Add a little flavor Make it Greek – add in 2 TABLEspoons feta, 2TABLEspoons chopped greek olives and 1 teaspoon oregano. BBQ meatballs – add in 4 TABLEspoons of your favorite BBQ sauce. Mix it in.
3. Chicken Burritos: Pre-made chicken burritos are simple to prepare. Be sure to shred some cheese and dice some tomatoes and colored peppers. Serve with salsa, and/or guacamole.
4. Chicken Cacciatore: It sounds like a complicated dish, but it’s quite simple. Saute chicken, salt and pepper and brown in a skillet. Once browned, add chopped onion, minced garlic, sliced red peppers and mushrooms and sauté. When the vegetables are tender, add a ½ cup of chicken stock and can of stewed tomatoes that you have chopped up. Bring to a covered simmer for about 30 minutes. Season with oregano and basil. Serve over your favorite noodles.
5. Chicken Fajitas: Gather up some soft tortillas, grilled strips of chicken breast, sautéed onions, mushrooms and pepper. Top with salsa, guacamole and/or shredded cheese.
6. Chicken Fried Rice: All you need is some fully-cooked chicken pieces, steamed brown rice, carrots, peas, corn and scrambled eggs. Slice the carrots thinly and sauté them in a large skillet. Add the peas and corn and sauté a little longer. Then add the rice and stir until heated through. Then add the scrambled eggs and mix thoroughly. Serve with soy sauce
7. Chicken Kebabs: Always a great addition to the grill, chicken kebabs are easy to make. Add cubes of chicken and any vegetables you want to your skewer. Brush with seasonings and olive oil.
8. Chicken Veggie Soup: All you need is some chicken stock, your favorite vegetables cut in small pieces, fully-cooked chicken chopped into small pieces and some veggies. Start by heating the stock over medium-high heat and adding the vegetables. Add the densest vegetables first as they’ll need more time to cook. Allow carrots to simmer for about 20 minutes, while frozen peas and corn only need about 5 minutes. Add the chicken 5 minutes before serving. You can pretty much add in any veggie you desire
9. Chicken Rice Soup: Much like chicken veggie soup. You can add rice to your broth as you cook the soup, but be careful not to overcook it, or it will be soggy.
10. Chicken Salad Sandwiches: Take some leftover chicken, chop it finely with a food chopper. Then chop some celery finely too. Mix chicken and celery with a few tablespoons of greek yogurt and a bit of mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on whole wheat bread and add some lettuce and tomato, if you’d like. You can also put on top of salad greens
11. Chicken Satay: A wonderful appetizer or make it a meal by adding brown rice and vegetables, chicken satay sounds exotic, but is easy to make. It’s marinated chicken breast meat, grilled on a skewer. Serve with peanut sauce and dip away!
12. Chicken Stir Fry: A stir fry is what you make it. All you need is some boneless chicken breast, cut in pieces, and your favorite vegetables. Sauté the chicken until no longer pink on each side. Then add your vegetables and cook until desired tenderness. Serve over rice, noodles and add soy sauce or other preferred seasonings. One of my favorite ways to get in veggies 
13. Chicken Teriyaki: Use teriyaki sauce to marinate strips of chicken breast. Sauté with onions, carrots and bean sprouts. Serve over rice to enjoy this filling meal.
14. Chicken Chili: Brown the ground chicken and add it to the crockpot. Then add chopped onion, peppers, kidney beans make your own seasoning with chili powder, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Add some hot sauce or crushed red pepper if you like it hot.
15. Club Sandwiches: This double decker sandwich is sure please. All you need is 3 pieces of whole grain bread per sandwich, turkey or chicken, lettuce, tomato and mustard. Spread mustard on one side of each piece of bread Take one slice of bread and top with meat, lettuce and tomato. Top with a slice of bread and spread mustard on the top-side. Then add another layer of protein, lettuce and tomato. Top with the last slice of bread. Season with salt and pepper and serve with soup or a salad.
16. Cobb Salad: A hearty and delicious salad, all you need is your favorite lettuce mix, chicken breast pieces, sliced boiled egg, tomatoes, olives and avocado Serve with a red wine vinaigrette.
17. Curry Chicken: Instead of boring old chicken, try adding some kick with curry spices. Serve with rice and vegetables. If you’re making it spicy, add some plain yogurt on the side.
18. Deep Fried Whole Turkey: While it may seem strange to the uninitiated, a deep fried turkey produces a very juicy piece of poultry. Make sure to use a deep fryer, instead of frying of large meats and do it outside to avoid messes and accidents. You make think this will resemble fried chicken, but as long as you don’t eat the skin the meat is so tender. We do this for Thanksgiving every year.
19. Egg Drop Soup: This simple traditional Chinese soup is made with chicken broth, chives and ginger. Egg is drizzled in slowly and then the broth is thickened with cornstarch.
20. Ginger Chicken: Ginger adds great flavor to chicken. You can do a whole roast chicken or just bake chicken pieces. Combine some soy sauce, crushed garlic and ginger. Then rub all over the chicken and bake. Click for great recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-garlic-ginger-chicken/
21. Lemon Chicken: Marinate your chicken in a mixture of lemon juice, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Then grill or bake. Serve with roast potatoes and vegetables.
22. Roast Chicken with Roasted Vegetables: Roasting a chicken is not only delicious; it’s actually quite easy. Coat a whole chicken with your favorite rub and place in a roasting pan. Place roughly chopped potatoes, carrots and onions around the chicken. Roast covered for about an hour and a half or until the chicken reaches and internal temperature of 165 F. Don’t forget to baste every half or so and you can remove the cover in the last half hour to help the skin brown.
23. Turkey Meatloaf: Ground turkey, egg, oatmeal and a bit of milk can form your loaf. To add more flavor, add tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes.
24. Spaghetti with Meat Sauce: Whether you use canned sauce or make your own, the addition of ground beef add a nice flavor and texture. Brown the beef first before adding it to the sauce and then let it simmer for a while before serving. Use spaghetti squash, or any other veggie noodles. 
25. Spaghetti with Meatballs: Add meatballs to your next spaghetti dinner. You can make them with ground beef, oats, an egg and a bit of milk. Season with salt and pepper and bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes.
26. Stuffed Peppers with Beef: Fully-cooked ground beef is mixed with cooked brown rice and placed in a stuffed pepper and top with nutritional yeast. Bake for 1 hour at 350 F.
27. Taco Soup: Make a delicious soup with fully-cooked taco-seasoned ground beef. Add 1 can black beans, 2 cups fire roasted corn, 1 can stewed tomatoes and 1 can beef broth. Like it spicy add in some hot sauce or crushed red pepper.
28. Breakfast Sandwich with Egg and Bacon: Forget McDonald’s, you can make a breakfast sandwich at home. Portobello mushroom cap, top with a whole egg and spinach. Bake 400 degrees for 20-30 min
29. Split Pea Soup with Ham: A soup made with split peas, onions, leeks and carrots is pureed and then small bits of ham are added. This is my winter go to!! Love it I make my in the crockpot. I buy smoked turkey parts and cook with it gives it SO much flavor.
30. Barbecued Salmon Fillet: Cooking a salmon directly on the grill can cause sticking, but you can use a sheet of foil, turned up at the edges to create a cooking surface for your salmon. Add your favorite seasonings and grill until the salmon is cooked through. Serve with rice and vegetables.
31. Crab Cakes: Crab meat, onions, eggs, bread crumbs and a few seasonings and you can make crab cakes. I use the canned crab and bake in the oven for 30 min. You can also used canned salmon — one of my favorite lunches — put this over top salad greens 
32. Black Beans and Rice: You can make this dish all in one pot. Use fully-drained canned black beans. Put them in the pot with your rice and cooking as usual. For extra flavor, use a vegetable broth instead of water for cooking.
33. French Toast: Beat some eggs with a dollop of milk and cinnamon. Dip some Ezekiel bread slices so both sides are covered with the egg mixture and cook on a medium skillet. Flip over when browned on one side and cook on the other side. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with syrup. For extra yumminess, top with fresh berries.
34. Lentil Soup: Hearty and full of dietary fiber and folate, this soup is a healthy addition to a meal. You can make lentil soup in a variety of ways, but you can’t go wrong with carrots, onions, tomatoes and garlic.
35. Minestrone Soup: This Italian soup is usually made with a variety of vegetables, stewed tomatoes and pasta. Chicken stock is often used, but you can easily substitute it with vegetable stock, if you prefer.

Do these give you any other ideas to prep your meals’ 

Want more recipes’ I have 58 plant-based recipes grab them here. 

The post 35 Healthy Recipes appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

Back in the day I was hot chocolate junkie!! But most hot chocolate out there is just a ball of artificialness.

I really missed it so I found this great recipe helps to hit the spot. It’s somewhere between hot chocolate and chocolate pudding and meant to be sipped on.

This recipe is RICH. You won’t need a lot of it to get your fill! I’ve used mint in this recipe, but you could get a little crazy and use different extracts for different flavors.

Ingredients

· 2 1/4 cups milk (almond OR coconut milk)

· 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

· 1/4 cup sugar

· 1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch (be as exact as possible or the texture will be weird)

· 6 fresh mint leaves

· 1/2 tsp mint extract

Instructions

1. Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk often.

2. Cook until it begins to boil. Whisking constantly.

3. Once the mixture boils, remove it from heat to serve.

4. (Optional) Remove the mint leaves before serving and either throw them out or put them on the top so you don’t end up finding them unexpectedly in the cup.

The post OMG! The Best Hot Chocolate Ever! appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

One meal that is particularly guilty of this is breakfast. Think about it most breakfast food is sugary and processed cereals and other misleading “balanced breakfast” items.

This makes oatmeal an AWESOME choice!!! For the last month I was down under and they call it porridge. While I was all about experimenting and trying new foods every few days I just wanted some oatmeal. For me it’s my go to breakfast food I just love it!!

The best thing about it is you can make it taste like pretty much anything. Check out these great toppings.

Fresh Fruit!

So many tasty options here are some of my favorites, leave me a comment below with some of your favorites

• Berries – any
• Kiwi
• Pineapple
• Cantaloupe
• Mango
• Papaya

Nuts!

No matter how you look at it, you’re nuts if you’re not thinking about adding nuts to your oatmeal in the morning. They’re a great source of healthy fats and they are perfect if you’re looking for a flavor that’s more savory than it is sweet. Be careful with them as they are very nutritionally dense try 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, pecans or maybe just a tablespoon of diced almonds.

Sweet!

I’ve got a pretty big sweet tooth but that’s okay so long as I don’t go overboard! Brown sugar has always been common oatmeal topping to add some sweet flavor; it’s really easy to go over board with this one. I’ve started using two teaspoons of maple syrup, or one teaspoon of molasses is a tasty.

If you have any other toppings leave me a comment below.

The post Enjoy Oatmeal More By Following 3 Simple Steps appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

Ingredients

• 4 cups shredded zucchini
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese ( you can sub nutritional yeast)
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp Cajun spice
• ½ tsp lemon pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Put the zucchini on a cheesecloth or kitchen towel and squeeze as much moisture out as you can. This is important to make sure the patties stick together properly.
3. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Form into patties no more than ½ inch thick.
5. Place on cookie sheet cook for 20 min then flip and cook another 20 min

The post Zucchini Patties appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

Lucky that I’ve found this recipe that lets me have BBQ back in my diet. This homemade BBQ sauce uses less sugar and instead focuses on spices and onion to get an amazing BBQ flavor without packing in more calories.

• 1 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups water
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 4 white onions, chopped
• 1 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/3 cup ketchup

*I like my spicy so I’ve added in some crushed red pepper flakes or Sriracha.

Instructions

1. Add all of the ingredients besides the ketchup to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn to low and simmer for around 25 minutes, stirring every 3-5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and add ketchup.
3. Serve warm or store in the fridge for later.

Love recipes — me too, grab 30 more right here!

The post I Love Me Some BBQ appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

It’s a low calorie and healthy topping for salads and more. When I was doing fitness competitions as I got closer to show my food choices became very
limited. I needed something to zest up my foods so I wasn’t SO BORED!  needed a way to add flavor without adding calories. Then it came to me…. Pico de Gallo! It’s fresh, full of veggies and it tastes great! I top my salad with some grilled chicken and Pico de Gallo and BOOM healthy lunch. I can use it on my eggs or other lean proteins.

Ingredients

• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 2 medium white onions, chopped
• 1 fresh jalapeno, deseeded and chopped (use more or less based on how much spice you like)
• 5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 tsp fresh garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Juice of a lime

Instructions

1. Put the tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, green onions, and fresh garlic into a bowl.
2. Pour lime juice over the mixture.
3. Add the garlic powder and mix everything well.
4. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

The post Pico De Gallo Can Be A Lifesaver appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

It’s great topped with chopped avocado or homemade guacamole and Pico de Gallo!

Ingredients

• 3 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup hot sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 chicken bouillon cube

Instructions

1. Combine 2 tsp cumin in a bowl with the garlic salt, onion powder, and chili powder.
2. Sprinkle the cumin mixture onto both sides of each piece of chicken and rub it all over to cover.
3. Brown the chicken over medium heat in a skillet with the oil.*
4. Mix the hot sauce, water, bouillon, and 1 tsp cumin in a bowl and pour over the chicken.
5. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat.
6. Cook until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. This should take around 10 minutes.
7. Remove the chicken and cook the sauce on medium-high heat until thickened. Drizzle over the chicken.

I’ve also grilled this. I took the oil and put it in the ingredients from number 1.  Rubbed them on the chicken and then put on the grill. You can also do the same thing and bake the chicken.  All very flavorful.

Spicy food is great for your metabolism as well as keeping your appetite at bay. Try this flavorful…
Tweet This

Would you like more recipes‘

The post Spicy Food Is Great For The Metabolism appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

what’s better’ Adding some tasty flavor to air popped popcorn!

Try this on for size… lemon pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese!

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 3 cups air popped popcorn
• 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Whisk the lemon pepper and olive oil together and drizzle it over the still hot popcorn.
2. Toss the popcorn and sprinkle cheese on top.
3. Serve while still hot.

If you don’t have air popper — you can cook it the old fashion way.  Click here for a great recipe.

I make my popcorn the old fashion way and I use a combo of veggie and coconut oil.

The post Lemon Parmesan Popcorn appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.