All posts by Shari Marks

This SoCal Mom of 6 (former NYer) lost nearly 50lbs after trying everything out there, & has learned a healthy mindset, healthy habits & lifestyle to keep it off. She's been helping others ever since do the same with a Johns Hopkins clinically approved program recommended by over 20,000 Doctors since 1980.
Dairy, Lean & Green Meal Recipes, Pizza, Vegetarian

Spaghetti Squash Pizza

Spaghetti Squash Pizza
2 green, one lean, one condiment (the oregano).
Enough room for 1/2 c more vegetables on top!

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This was an absolute hit! You can also use the crust as a soft taco wrap. I like this better than the Cauliflower Pizza crust recipe, just because it’s less messy to make, and just tastes starchier to me.

Ingredients
one spaghetti squash
1/4 c egg beaters
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Dash of Pepper & salt

Microwave the squash for 5 mins. Wait for it to cool so that you can handle it. Cut it in half lengthwise, then put it face down with one inch of water in a pan. No need to de-seed. Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until the skin starts to brown.

Take out and permit to cool. This can be done on a separate day and put back into the fridge for the next step, done later. Scoop out the seeds, collect the squash strands by scraping with a fork into the bowl. Collect the squash in small batches and vigorously squeeze all of the water out of it.

Mix 1 cup pulp with the egg beaters, cheese, and other ingredients for one pie. Or, as a practice tip, make two smaller mini-pies so that you can easily flip them over. Pat down the mixture into the shape of a pizza crust on a parchment paper on a tray that is covered liberally with Pam. Make it thick enough that you cannot see the parchment under the layer of squash.

Bake at 350 for 15 mins, then flip them. Bake another 10 mins and remove to cool.

Crusts can be frozen and defrost well.

Top with 1/2 cup cheese and remaining toppings. I was lazy above and there aren’t any toppings. We usually eat them too fast to even take a picture!

You can also make the crusts mini-sized! Use them as soft tacos or wraps!

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Dairy, Lean & Green Meal Recipes, Pizza, The World of Cauliflower, Vegetarian

Cauliflower Pizza

Cauliflower Pizza
Inspired by the Pizza Crust #2 on Sandy’s Kitchen Adventures

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Ingredients:

Crust:
1 cup raw Cauliflower processed in food processor, or premade fresh crumbles from the store  (2 Greens)
1/4 cup Eggbeaters from the carton (1/8 Lean)
1/2 cup or 2 oz part skim cheese blend (4/8 Lean)
1/8 tsp garlic powder – optional (1/4 Condiment)
1/8 tsp basil – optional (1/8 Condiment)

Toppings:
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp or 1.5 oz 2% reduced fat Mozzarella cheese (3/8 Lean)
1/2 cup Tomato sauce that is less than 5 g of carbs per serving such as Garlic Paesana or 1/4 cup tomato sauce that is 10g carbs per serving (1 Green)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (I just don’t like cooking at higher temps than that – which is different from the original recipe). Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Take cauliflower and microwave it for 30 sec-1 min. Take a towel and squeeze the water as much as you can out of the cauliflower (another important additional instruction).

Combine grated cauliflower, egg beaters, cheese, garlic powder and basil until mixed completely. Spoon mixture on prepared pan. Use the back of a spoon to thin out mixture (or your hands) and form a circle about the size of a dinner plate without the rim. (Hint: if you make two smaller pizzas, they are easier to flip!)

The thinner the crust the less chance of it being soggy. Bake for 25 minutes. Carefully flip the pizza crust over using a spatula to lift all edges of the crust off the parchment first. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes until edges are crisp. Let cool.

You can freeze the crusts individually and save for another day. A whole cauliflower can yield 4-5 large crusts, if you choose to make the whole head of cauliflower.

Make mini-crusts if you are challenged with flipping with a spatula. I am!

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Add tomato sauce and cheese on top. You can broil until cheese is melted, or just let it bake (I like my cheese gooey).

1 Complete Lean and Green Meal, the spices are not even 1 condiment, with no Healthy Fat required.

You can also use the crusts as soft shell tacos or wraps!

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**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Sauces, Side Dishes

Peanut Shirataki Noodles with Leeks

Peanut Shirataki Noodles with Leeks
Lean & Green

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Sometimes you end up splitting your lean & your green. This is a great vegetable side dish that feels like a real meal.
Just prepare tofu shirataki noodles as usual (rinse thoroughly, then dry skillet fry them until they are so dry that you can see one noodle edge is getting crispy!), and sautee leeks with them. Add 2 tbsp Walden Farms peanut butter for one condiment.
~Or mix and match the WF Peanut Butter and Asian dressing for one condiment (one tbsp each)
~Or even add 2 tbsp PB2 or another brand like Jiffy equivalent of powdered peanut butter, with water to reconstitute to the consistency you want, which counts as your optional snack on the 5&1 and 4&2 plans.

This is a side dish that my guests gobble up and never know is “healthy” or “low calorie.”

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Chicken, Dairy-free, Lean & Green Meal Recipes

Zucchini Chip Crusted Chicken

Zucchini Chip Crusted Chicken
One lean, two green, two condiments, one healthy fat

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It tastes even better than it looks!

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This chicken breast cutlet was spread on top with 2 tbsp Tofutti cream cheese (2 condiments), then coated on top in with my crushed spiced Zucchini Chips. The chips count as one healthy fat because they are made with olive oil. Simply bake the coated chicken in the oven uncovered until done (about 35 mins).

Garnished with kale chips.

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Dairy-free, Lean & Green Meal Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian

Zucchini Chips

My first trial at zucchini chips using my dehydrator – and boy are they tasty!

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I made them as thin as possible on my mandolin – they were just amazing when used as a crust for chicken or fish. Made a little thicker – the crunch is oh so satisfying! Made a spicy blend on it for extra excitement!

1 medium zucchini
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 tbsp lemon juice

The dehydrator just takes out the fear factor of burning the chips, and your house down 🙂 love it!

WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE A DEHYDRATOR?

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place zucchini chips in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, about 15 minutes depending on thickness. And watch it! I love the dehydrator because I can’t possibly burn my house down 😉

Check out my Zucchini Coated Chicken here

Question: how do you know how much is equivalent to a 1/2 cup serving for your green? I weighed my raw sliced zucchini according to this chart of weights for vegetables, and saw how much it came out to before dehydrating them.

https://dashboard.medifast1.com/forum/filedata/fetch…

In my dehydrator, 1/2 cup serving conveniently comes out to 2 rows 🙂 see this picture below to get an idea.

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**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Dairy-free, Fish, Lean & Green Meal Recipes

Wild Sockeye Salmon with Zoodles

Wild Sockeye Salmon with Zoodles
Lean & Green, 2 condiments

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5 oz cooked salmon
1 cup worth of cooked zoodles
1/2 cup diced canned tomatoes
2 tbsp Walden Farms alfredo sauce
2 tbsp low fat Parmesean cheese (optional – one additional condiment)

5 oz of delicious sockeye salmon, purchased from Costco, comes perfectly individually vacuum sealed and ready for your own personal portion. I keep this in my freezer at all times! I defrost it quickly using the defrost feature on my microwave, or you can just soak the whole package in cold water and change the water every five minutes for about 4-5 changes.

Add 2 tbsp Walden Farms Alfredo for one condiment… Some Parmesan to top it all off (2 Tbsp for low fat Parmesan cheese is one condiment), and it’s done! I added 1/2 c diced tomatoes for a burst of color & flavor.

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Chicken, Dairy-free, Lean & Green Meal Recipes

Chicken with Bacon Cream Sauce and Leeks over Angel Hair Shirataki

Chicken with Bacon Cream Sauce and Leeks, over Angel Hair Shirataki
Lean & Green, plus one healthy fat.

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I don’t know how I will ever top the flavor profile on this low calorie recipe. This makes me not want to ever waste a meal in a restaurant again!

2 slices turkey bacon
4 oz trimmed and thinned chicken breast
4 tsp Tofutti Herb & Chive non-dairy cream cheese
1 package any Shirataki noodles
1/2 cup sliced leeks

Rinse and dry the shirataki noodles and set aside.

Bake chicken in an oven with just Pam for approx 10 mins at 350 while you cook the rest.

Cook turkey bacon with Pam in a skillet, then cut or crumble into pieces. Set aside on a dish for now.

Use the same skillet to sauté the leeks, about 3 minutes until soft and wilted. Add in tofutti cream cheese to melt it, and then add in half of the crumbled turkey bacon.

Plate the shirataki, sprinkle with the reserved bacon. Put half the leek sauce on top of the shirataki.

Stack the chicken on top. Put the remainder of leek sauce on top and crack pepper on top to taste.

**I would certainly be tempted to increase the cream sauce here – but that would also raise the fat & calories. If you want something creamier, try adding Walden Farms Alfredo sauce. 1/4 a cup is one condiment.

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Dairy-free, Jewish Traditional foods, Kabocha, Side Dishes

Kabocha “Kishke” (faux stuffed derma)

1 Comment

Low fat Low Carb Kishke (faux stuffed derma)
Yeah, I got that… Nutrition Support approved!

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Every ethnic cuisine has some greasy, unhealthy delicacy that people just go nuts for. This is an amazing plan makeover of the food that was created by one of my clients in response to a joke someone made about making this food plan approved. It CAN be done!

Servings: 8 generous, thick slices

1 tbsp smart balance margarine
4 cups kabocha squash peeled
1 leek (sautéed with Pam)
1/4 cup egg beaters
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp to 1 tbsp cayenne pepper (or less – to taste – sprinkle on top)

Cook and mash kabocha squash and mix all ingredients except cayenne. You can use a food processor to smooth it all together as well.

Roll into log in parchment paper and cook at 375 for 35 mins. Cool to room temperature and freeze until it is hard about 3 hrs. Slice into 8 equal slices, sprinkle with cayenne, and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

This recipe yields 8 servings, per serving: 1 ½ Green | ¼ Healthy Fat | 3 Condiments (using the full 1 tbsp cayenne – she has a heavy hand!)

**Additional serving suggestions: roll it up inside chicken cutlets to make spirals, stuff it under the skin of chicken breast on the bone, bake the slices and spread a bit of Walden Farms BBQ sauce on top).

An alternative recipe is to add 6 tbsp ground up French’s fried onion to the loaf, which adds 2 healthy fats to the whole loaf (with 8 servings so 1/4 healthy fat per serving). Of course it was delicious! ***The status of French’s Fried Onions was hesitatingly confirmed by Nutrition Support as 3 tbsp = one healthy fat.

***Since I am MUCH lazier than my client, I made the whole recipe and just baked it like a casserole or kugel in the oven at 350 until it was done. I scooped out 1/2 cup servings of it and placed it in the bottom of a bowl, and then added in some plan-approved cholent on a cold winter’s day. Really hit the spot!

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**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Fish, Lean & Green Meal Recipes

Tilapia in Pink Sauce over Shirataki Noodles

Presenting: Tilapia over tofu shiritaki noodles with pink sauce!

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I pan fried some tilapia fillets in a pan with just Pam, salt and pepper. Just takes a few minutes in the skillet. They were soft and buttery. Set aside.

Prepare shirataki noodles by rinsing thoroughly, and dry them out in a skillet.

Add 2 tbsp Tofutti cream cheese (I used garlic flavor), melt it into the pasta. Then take one serving of 5g carbs or less tomato sauce (I used 1/2 cup Paesana Tomato Basil brand) and stir it into the cream sauce.

Plate noodles, arrange 7 oz cooked tilapia on top. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp low fat Parmesan cheese.

It was fabulous because the fish had just tons of sauce to swim in 🙂 and I dove right in!

Full lean, green, 2 healthy fats (the cream cheese), and one condiment (2 tbsp reduced fat Parmesan cheese = 1 condiment).

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Chicken, Dairy-free, Lean & Green Meal Recipes

Chicken Alfredo

Chicken Alfredo over angel hair Shirataki pasta and mushrooms. Low calorie, dairy free, and delicious!
One full lean & green (NO condiments – and approved by Nutrition Support!)

chik alfredo

Dry and prepare the angel hair pasta in a skillet or microwave.

Bake or grill 6 oz white meat chicken simply with Pam.

Sauté 1 cup mushrooms (they reduce volume by 1/2)

Take 2 tablespoons of Tofutti Cream Cheese (I used Herb & Chive, but it also comes in plain and Garlic & Herb varieties). Melt it into the noodles, toss the chicken and mushrooms in. Salt and pepper to taste.

Look ma, no condiments!

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.