They are four and a half and almost three. My babies are potty trained, can buckle their own car seats, and clear their plates from the table. The crib will be passed to a friend next month and I’ve...

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This enchilada recipe is cheesy, comforting, and makes a delicious casserole to take to anyone who just had a baby, or needs a little pick-me-up. They’re also perfect to freeze and make ahead for busy weeknight dinners!

Hi friends! Happy Monday! How was the weekend? I hope you had a wonderful one. We had so many fun adventures – a girls’ night, a date night, park time, a zoo field trip, crepes, and a soccer game! – but the weekend started off with taking a baby meal to a good friend. We’ve known him since our first move to North Carolina; pretty much our whole military life. I was so excited when they welcomed a gorgeous baby girl into the family, and of course I signed up to bring a baby meal to celebrate. 

I can’t believe that I haven’t shared my go-to enchilada recipe on the blog!! This is purely accidental. I want to post it every single time I make them, but they’re eaten quickly and I usually make them at night, so with the yellow light, it doesn’t make the prettiest photos. I decided to just post it with the iPhone photos I took so you guys can have it!

This is the recipe I always make. The girls request enchiladas at least once a month and crush them every time, and it’s my standard baby meal. I feel like maybe I should switch up my baby meal menu because pretty much everywhere you look in Tucson, an enchilada stares you in the face. But, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And these beauties definitely ain’t broke. 

This recipe seems like a lot of steps, but the more you make it, the easier and faster it happens. Just trust the process; it’s worth it. Put on some Juanes radio on Spotify, pour a little wine, and go for it!  This recipe makes a double batch, so definitely make a pan for yourself and one to gift to a neighbor, a friend, someone with a new baby (they really need enchiladas!) or wrap and put it in the freezer. You’ll thank yourself later.

Important: chicken and tortillas matter. For the chicken, I always use store-bought rotisserie chicken. It has the most flavor and best texture. The best part is that you don’t waste 100 years grilling and baking your chicken. And don’t even boil it unless you want the chicken to taste like white, chewy rubber, mmmm k?

As far as the tortillas go, I try to get as close to homemade as possible. When I’m feeling extra, I use the frozen fresh tortillas from Costco. You cook them on the griddle until they’re lightly golden brown and your whole house will smell amaaaaazing. The best part about making your own: enjoy them warm with a little butter and jam, rolled up, and they’re pretty much the best thing ever. (We call them “jam things” in our family and it’s a tradition from when you’re about two until forever.) If you don’t have homemade, don’t worry!! Just make sure to get the ones with a paper label on the inside (this means they’re legit) like Alejandro’s brand. Also, don’t be afraid to feel the tortillas before you put them in your cart. Make sure they’re soft and nice! You can use corn tortillas, but I find that the flour ones give it a better texture. 

(This pic was from a batch I made a couple of years ago! They got a little toasty under the broiler.)

Here’s the recipe! I hope you love it.

I always pack these up with salsa, chips, homemade guac, Instant Pot Mexican Rice, beans (these need their one post, too!), and for this particular baby meal, I added a margarita mix, bottle of tequila, and a few limes.

What’s your favorite comfort food? If your friend has a baby, what’s your go-to meal recipe? I’m always looking for new ideas! I also love to make lactation cookies for new mamas, too. 

Happy Monday!

xo

Gina

The post The best cheesy sour cream enchiladas appeared first on The Fitnessista.

All you need is 20 minutes to get in an awesome strength burn and cardio sweat! I love adding cardio blasts to my strength workouts because I burn more calories in less time, and check both boxes for strength and cardio. You’ll get the lean muscle-building benefits of strength and the fat loss powers + heart benefits of cardio. 

My friend Katie is in this video and provides low-impact and prenatal modifications for the exercises. As always, talk to a doctor before making any fitness changes. Honor your body and modify as needed. Here’s what the workout looks like:

HIIT and strength workout you can do at home:

Here’s the full follow-along video:

and a quick video with demos for the moves:

Please let me know if you give it a try!!

xo

Gina

Video: Grant Hunker

Workout partner-in-crime: Katie Surridge

Studio: Animas

Wearing: lululemon align crops, this tank, APL sneakers

More quick and intense workouts you can do at home:

Cardio weights blast

Total body strength + HIIT

Upper body blast

Prenatal workout video

Total body barre

The post Sweat and Burn HIIT/Strength Workout [Video] appeared first on The Fitnessista.

Serves 8
Total time: 1 hour || Active time: 1 hour

“You got your nachos in my breakfast.” “No, you got your breakfast in my nachos.” OMG, it’s breakfast nachos!

These are loaded with all of the brunchy requirements: scrambled tofu, roasted potatoes, avocado salsa and a creamy, cheesy, cashew sauce. They’re great for sharing with a crowd or for a slightly messy breakfast in bed. It’s definitely “company food.” You don’t want to eat breakfast nachos alone, unless you really really love yourself.

You can make a few huge plates for everyone to share, perhaps as the savory component of a brunch. Because, yes, nachos are a great appetizer before pancakes. Or make little individual servings. Either way, just remember to layer ingredients between the layers of chips. I hate when all of the fun stuff is just dumped on top and you’re left with empty chips at the end. An empty chip is just a crime.

There are a few components here, but it’s very easy to put together. None of them are crazy difficult. While the potatoes roast, you can pretty much prepare everything else, just remember to set a timer because you don’t want to burn the taters. It’s always been my opinion that brunch without potatoes is like going whale watching but seeing no whales. It’s fine, but next time, gimme some whales.

Anyway, dig in! I swear there are some chips under there. Here’s the Instagram pic where you can actually see ’em.

All things considered, I’d say I have a pretty moderate relationship with sugar. I love homemade dessert, and I bake with sugar, be it refined or natural. As a longtime nutrition student and RD-to-be, I’m mindful of how much I use and I keep in mind that treats are special. But I’ve never avoided sweetening.

This works well for me, but the most common question I get asked about my baked goods here on the blog is whether the sugar can be reduced, and how. I do my best to give good answers, keeping in mind that reducing sugar (or using a liquid sweetener in place of granulated sugar) can change the texture and taste of a finished product (less moisture, less rise, etc.).

Now that I’ve spent a few months working with diabetic patients, I’ve gotten savvier and more knowledgeable about lower sugar baked goods. In my last two rotations, my counseling was almost entirely dedicated to diabetes management. I saw firsthand how much vigilance goes into monitoring and carbohydrate intake and covering it with medication, if appropriate. We never advised our patients to avoid dessert, but we did encourage them to be mindful about how much and how often. And we spent plenty of time chatting about how to create pleasurable desserts at home with less sugar, or with alternative sweeteners.

I’ve never used alternative sweeteners because they haven’t been necessary for my own health needs. When I do reduce sweetness of baked goods, I generally just use less cane sugar or maple syrup. But my winter rotations made me remember being a student in medical nutrition therapy, when our professor taught us to take our own blood sugar in class. As we were pricking our fingers, she told us that the purpose of the exercise was to better understand what our future clients—some of whom would surely have Type I or II Diabetes—experienced each day. Months later, she asked us to try liquid supplements, so that we’d know what patients who relied on them for nutrition support were tasting (there weren’t any vegan options, but it did get me thinking about how great a need there is for them).

I appreciated my professor’s perspective. There’s a big difference between abstract guidance and firsthand knowledge. Before telling any client to do something, I’d rather have a some lived experience of what I’m suggesting. And now that I’ve spent so much time with diabetes management, it’s important for me to understand the dietary changes that need to accompany a diagnosis—enjoyment of lower sugar sweets included.

Just as I was wrapping up my rotation at the Institute for Family Health, the folks at who produce the In The Raw® family of sweetener reached out to me about sampling their Monk Fruit In The Raw®. Monk fruit (also known as luo han guo) is a type of gourd that traditionally grows in China, and it’s been used medicinally for centuries. Monk Fruit In The Raw is a zero calorie sweetener that’s perfect for sweetening beverages and baking.  Plus, the bakers bag conveniently measures cup for cup, just like sugar.

Having never tried the product—and especially since I was in the middle of diabetes counseling—I was excited to sample it. I had a much better experience with it than I’ve had with other alternative sweeteners, especially for baking! It has a pleasantly fruity taste, and the signature baking bag makes it easy to add to cookies, cakes, and more. In my experiments so far I’ve used a combination of the Monk Fruit In The Raw Bakers Bag and sugar to reduce sugar while retaining texture and rise. Folks with diabetes who prefer a truly sugar-free dessert could use all monk fruit instead; the brand recommends using about half the amount of monk fruit for the amount of sugar called for.

The baking recipe I’m sharing today takes even more inspiration from my internship, as it was inspired by something I made in my last rotation. I was working with kids, using hands-on cooking experiences to teach them about food and nutrition. My supervisor and I shared a chocolate beet cake, which was an easy and delicious treat for them to make and also a great opportunity to teach them about beets (watching their little faces light up as we cut the beets open and showed them the electrically colored interiors was so sweet).

An upside of using pureed beets in baking is that they add a lot of natural sweetness along with moisture, which means that it’s easy to cook with reduced sugar and fat. The beets add plenty of vitamins and minerals, and they sweeten while also contributing fiber, which helps to control the release of sugar into the bloodstream.

Today’s chocolate beet cake uses a combination of beets, monk fruit, and a small amount of granulated sugar to create something that tastes completely like dessert, but has a balanced ratio of sugar and fiber. It’s also relatively low in fat (only 1/4 cup of oil for the whole recipe), and—thanks to the beets—packed with fiber, folate, potassium, and vitamin C. I based it off of a Martha Stewart recipe, and I’ve made it repeatedly already, so that I could recommend it to patients and clients.

For diabetics and those who are being mindful of sugar intake for any reason, I like to use a 50/50 combination of monk fruit and coconut sugar here (6 tablespoons of each). This gives a nice rise with less sweetener. If you like, you could use all monk fruit, which would yield a denser and fudgier texture—think cakey brownies 🙂 And of course, you could also choose to use all granulated sugar of choice, which will give you a very similar cake, but a little more fluffiness and rise.

No matter how you make it, this one is really a keeper. It’s plenty chocolatey, and the beets give it a wonderful moistness and rich flavor. It’s super fun to make with kids (they love the beet purée!) and nutritious enough to serve as a special snack/treat as well as a proper dessert. Here’s the recipe.

This post is sponsored by Monk Fruit In The Raw®. All opinions are my own, and I love this natural alternative to sugar. Thanks for your support!

The post Lightly Sweetened Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake appeared first on The Full Helping.

Sorghum Salads

I realize sorghum is not your every-day grain but I love showcasing recipes to try and get it used a little more in the kitchen. The flavor isn't big but it does provide a little warmth to a dish. I find, my usage of sorghum is more about texture. Sorghum has a similar texture to cooked wheat berries. Slightly chewy, far from mushy.

Sweet Potatoes

While I tend towards using roasted sweet potatoes in dishes like this, you could easily swap them for something similar. Roasted squash or rooted vegetables during the winter make a good 1:1. During the summer I like to use similar flavors with roasted sweet corn, tomatoes, and peppers.

Spices

Depending on the spice company, chipotle can get hot in fairly small quantities. However, this isn’t the easiest thing to tell. I like to take just a small taste of the powder and see how it reacts. If I find that my mouth is on fire, I might cut back a bit. If the opposite is true, I’ll usually bump the chipotle amount up to 1 teaspoon.

The other option is if you happen to have chipotle in adobo sauce, you can swap the powder for about ½ of a minced chipotle and a bit of the adobo sauce.

Garlic Oil

One of my favorite ways to have a bit of garlic flavor without being overpowering: garlic-infused oil. It’s as simple as smashing garlic, cooking it in a bit of oil, and letting it rest. Occasionally I’ll use nut-oils and infuse with garlic as well.

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We went out last night to pick up a tree. The kids were bundled and the packing blanket was in the back to protect the roof. This is the first year both of the kids are super jazzed about the...

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