healthy

$5 Chicken Sausage and Grilled Vegetables Meal

July 23, 2018 by Stacy Craft 5 Comments

It is a miserable and very humid 92 degrees here today. I spent a large portion of my morning pinning images of pumpkins, bonfires and autumn colored leaves. Just dreaming of Fall. Since my family still wants to eat (even when you could fry your meal on the back porch), I have to come up with simple ideas to beat the heat. This simple $5 chicken sausage and grilled vegetables meal comes together quickly. My favorite part is that it is healthy, packed with colorful vegetables and it is cheap.

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Actually, that is not my favorite part. I like that it is inexpensive. It is nice that it has vegetables full of vitamins. Love quick meals. But my absolute favorite part about this grill meal is that my kids not only eat it, they love it! The cheesy stuffed chicken sausage kind of resembles a yummy hotdog. The vegetables taste like the State Fair on a plate. It is probably my favorite healthy meal that I make (and it doesn’t hurt that it is also probably the easiest and super cheap)!

$5 Chicken Sausage and Grilled Vegetables Meal

Making yourself a list of 5 or 10 easy, cheap family favorite meals really helps to make your weekly meal planning much easier. I usually rotate 1 of our top meals into my weekly meal plan. It also helps to have these super simple meals in the back of your mind. So if you have the choice of running out and grabbing fast food or hitting the grocery store to grab a couple of things, that you can make the right choice for your budget!

If you have been hanging around here, you know that I follow the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle to lose baby weight and stay in shape. Depending on the amount of oil and the type of chicken sausage that you use, you might be able to squeeze this in as a Fuel Pull (FP) meal. If you can’t get under the fat threshold then it would be an S meals. Meals with sausage are usually an S but sometimes i can find a spinach stuffed chicken sausage that keeps the fat very low. This is also a low carb option if you follow some other type of low carb diet.

If you want some more of my THM recipes, try my super popular Cheesy Salsa Verde Chicken with Cauli Rice, Parm Crusted Pork Chops and Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Roll Ups.

Under $5 Supper

Here is what you need for this $5 Chicken Sausage and Grilled Vegetables Meal:

Chicken Sausage (I love the Aldi brand) – $2.99

Bell Peppers (I prefer red or yellow but if you can’t get them on sale, green work fine) – $0.99

Zucchini – $0.30

Olive Oil

Cajun Seasoning (I use this one)

Total: $4.28

This feeds our family of four. I usually give my kids a baked sweet potato to ensure they are getting some healthy carbs and my husband will sometimes add some french bread with his meal.

You could also add onions or asparagus to this if you wanted more yummy grilled vegetables in the mix.

Prep

I am not even really sure you can call this a recipe. More like food assembly. Just chop your chicken sausage and vegetables into bite size pieces and place them in a medium bowl.

Add some olive oil. I just drizzle it on but 1/2 of a tablespoon to a tablespoon should be fine. Add in some cajun seasoning. I just sprinkle some on but for this amount of food, I use about a teaspoon. If you don’t have cajun seasoning, just throw on whatever you have. The beauty of this is that it is so versatile.

Dump your chicken sausage and veggies into a grilling basket or skewer it as kabobs. I like the grill basket because it is quicker to throw it all in the basket and grill.

Cook on low for about 15 minutes or medium for 6-10. You just want to warm your sausage and get your vegetables softened up some. I like my veggies to still have a little “bite” to them so don’t grill until they are mush.

If you need a cheap and easy meal for your dinner rotation, try this $5 Chicken Sausage and Grilled Vegetables Meal. I hope it will be a family favorite at your house like it is at mine.

Red, White And Blue Toddler Trail Mix

July 4, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Looking for a healthy treat for your toddler on this 4th of July? I love trail mix snacks because they are super easy to put together and very versatile. It is a great way to use up things in your pantry.

This red, white and blue toddler trail mix is a cute way to celebrate patriotic holidays with your little one!

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Another fun 4th of July Snack – USA Graham Cracker Flag

Red, White and Blue Toddler Trail Mix

For this red, white and blue toddler trail mix , I used some of our favorite snacks that are always in our pantry. My 4 year old even joined in to help me put it all together. It is a great activity for a younger child to help with because you don’t even need to measure.

Ingredients

Since it is July 4th, a patriotic theme was on my mind. I wanted to select red, white and blue things for this mix that would be appealing to young kids.

The Red

Dried Strawberries

Dried Cranberries

The White

Greek Yogurt Covered Craisins

Cheerios (Frosted Cheerios would be even more fun!)

The Blue

Dried Blueberries

Star Shaped Blueberry Puffs (I didn’t have these but they would be a great addition since they are in a fun Star Shape)

Of course use your judgement and don’t feed your babies something that they are not ready for at the stage that they are in. I picked out select things that my 8 month old could safely eat and allowed my 4 year old to eat as she pleased.

Red, White & Blue Toddler Trail Mix Assembly

Trail mix is the best to make because you literally just dump everything together. I used about 1 cup of cereal and about a 1/2 a cup of the other items. To be honest, I didn’t measure. I just grabbed handfuls of things but if you want to measure, that is the ratio that I would use.

My little helper assisting in the process. Check out the cute little photo bomb. He was wanting to help but was satisfied by a few Cheerios instead.

Here she is snacking on her red, white and blue toddler trail mix.

If you are looking for other healthy ideas for your kids, check out this No Sugar Added Georgia Peach Oatmeal. It has a great texture for kids that hate mushy oats and is naturally sweet.

What is your favorite, healthy 4th of July snack?

Simple Low Carb Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cream Cheese Roll Ups

May 24, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Simple Low Carb Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cream Cheese Roll Ups

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.

Sushi! I learned to love it as an adult and then I started following Trim Healthy Mama and dashed all my hopes of ever getting to eat it again. Just kidding, Trim Healthy Mama (THM) focuses on “food freedom” which allows you to be free in your food choices and start right over if you eat something that doesn’t follow their plan (like white rice). I love these simple low carb smoked salmon cucumber cream cheese roll ups because it gives me the perception of a sushi meal without having to go off plan. Even better, it is so easy to make you can create it at work or home in just a couple of minutes. Then you can do other stuff on your lunch break!

What To Buy:

Smoked Salmon – I get mine at Aldi

English Cucumber

Block of Cream Cheese

Simple Low Carb Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cream Cheese Roll Ups – 5 Minute Instructions

The smoked salmon is already cooked and sliced thin. Just separate a piece of it from the package and place it flat on your cutting board. Next, wash and slice your cucumber lengthwise into small spears. Slice your cold cream cheese in the same lengthwise manner. The actual size that you do is up to you and your personal preference.

Assembly of the Salmon Faux Sushi Roll

I place two cucumber spears and one cream cheese segment on top of the smoked salmon. I like the 2 to 1 cucumber to cream cheese ratio because the crisp English cucumbers give a nice crunch to the roll up.

Once you have the cucumber and cream cheese on the salmon, just start rolling it up.

These simple low carb smoked salmon cucumber cream cheese roll ups do not necessarily stay together like regular sushi. Even though they are not like traditional sushi rolls, I didn’t have trouble with them falling apart and certainly no trouble eating them!

I did not try cutting them. I just picked each one up with my hand to eat them. After 3 roll ups I felt completely full and not missing the carbs!

These roll ups will fit your low carb, keto or Trim Healthy mama diet plan. If following THM the meal is an “S.” If you are on THM or just watching carbs, check out my post with 6 THM S & E lunch ideas and an ultra filling protein packed “S” Salad too.

Read about how I lost 22 lbs postpartum on THM here with a 2 week food diary.

How do you like to use your smoked salmon? I just discovered smoked salmon and would love to see your ideas too!

Easy Protein Packed Low Carb Salad

May 7, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Protein Packed Low Carb Salad (Trim Healthy Mama “S”)

Down the road from my office is a little Italian hole in the wall type of place. They have yummy food but Italian and being able to button my pants don’t usually work together. It’s like I can have one or the other. I’m also not a salad kinda girl when there are delicious things like manicotti and lasagna available. But I decided to be good one day and got what they called their “Mama’s Salad.” Much to my surprise, it was a delicious and filling protein packed low carb salad that satisfied me (and kept that pesky pant button comfortably closed).

Since I also like saving money, spending $7 or $8 on a salad during my lunch hour isn’t something I want to do every day. So here I have found a way to recreate it at home. It is super simple and you can throw it together in just a few minutes.

First, gather your ingredients. I used baby spinach for my base but you could sub mixed greens or romaine. You also need to grab your protein. Today I used ham lunchmeat and pepperoni. I like to use thinly sliced salami as well but I was out. You also want a sliced cheese. My preference is a freshly sliced cheese from the deli because it crumbles less but anything will work.

Next, place one slice of cheese on a cutting board. Layer on your meats – I did pepperoni and then a slice or two of ham.

Then you are going to roll it up jelly roll style. If the cheese cracks, don’t worry about it just keep rolling. I try to “Squish” it down (like that culinary term?) to help it all stay together.

Slice them into about 1/2 inch pieces. The rolling style of the meat and cheese is the secret to this protein packed low carb salad. There is something about the big, thick slices of meat and cheese that make it seem more filling.

Simply place the rolls on top of your greens and top with your favorite dressing. I use ranch to add in some extra fats when I am eating Low Carb/Keto/THM. If you are following Trim Healthy Mama, this is an “S” meal.

I hope you love this easy protein packed low carb salad option for lunch or dinner. If you are following Trim Healthy Mama, check out this post with 6 easy THM lunch options.