Friday Night Favs (Comfort Food Edition)
Friday night can be the single night that pulls us in the opposite direction of our goals. A long week, exhaustion and simply craving the comforts of your favorite foods can often outweigh the healthier choices you’ve made all week. But what if it didn’t have to be an either-or? Take a look at our family’s top three Friday Favs!
All of these are spins on one or both of our favorite comfort foods. Foods we could easily eat out, sure! But when we take the time to create these meals, it not satisfies a craving but also creates a date night experience too!
First up! We have a Build your Own Pizza Night!
I hope this is something you’ve tried before. But here is why we love it and how we make it a healthier version.
We skip the prepackaged crusts filled with preservatives and make our own crusts. For Christmas 2022, we received our own pizza stones to make these moments even more fun! If making your own crusts seems like too much right now, and your kids don’t want to get involved or it just doesn’t sound fun, then don’t! Look at the ingredients in your crust. Avoid anything that can sit on the shelf without refrigeration or freezer helps. Aim for the fewest ingredients possible, organic and whole grain too!
We find that building your own pizzas gives us multiple meals as we have different preferences and needs. I need less cheese and sometimes just a bit of goat’s cheese, along with a gluten-free crust. Brendan wants all the cheese and a whole-grain crust. Making our own allows us to both get what we want.
We load up our pizzas with veggies and quality protein from Wild Pastures. They truly have the BEST quality meat that is farmer-focused, with regenerative farming practices, humanely treated animals, and all grass fed and finished or organic. Adding high-quality protein and veggies is a great way to bulk up the meal and help you feel fuller faster. Quality matters. You can feel satisfied with less! BONUS points if you can get your kids, or any picky eater in the house for that matter, to try new veggies because they are on a pizza.
When you make it, you take time to savor it! This Friday fav can have many ingredients so depending on your comfort with cooking, it could take a while to get into a routine.
This is a fun way to spend time with friends too. Everyone contributes a few ingredients and you’re bound to make a pizza you won’t forget!
Build your Own Pizza Ingredients
Dough
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour, bread flour, or 1:1 Gluten Free Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk, or coconut milk
2 tablespoons avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
Possible Sauces:(anything organic with simple ingredients. Primal Kitchen and THRIVE always have great options)
Marinara sauce
Pesto
Avocado Oil and Balsamic Glaze
Possible Proteins:
ground turkey, chicken, pork, or beef
Applegate or Neiman Ranch cured meats like pepperoni, ham, salami, or prosciutto
Possible Toppings: organic when you can
onions
bell peppers
zucchini
mushrooms
corn
olives
banana peppers
broccoli
pears
squash
Add these toppings on at the end for a few minutes or after pizza is fully cooked
sun-dried tomatoes
tomatoes
basil
Our Favorite Cheeses:
Mozzerella
parmesan (aged 1+year)
Goat cheese
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Sprinkle a clean surface with some flour. Knead about 10 times, then place back in the bowl and cover with a towel. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place the dough back on your floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll until about 1/4 inch thick. (you’re going to get a good arm workout here)😉
Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet or pizza stone for 8 minutes. Take out to place all toppings on the pizza. Place back in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
Note: The gluten-free version is chewier than the original and it won’t bubble as much. I’ve been in search of a better gluten-free recipe and this is going to be my next attempt as I ALWAYS love Danielle Walker’s recipes! (stay tuned for an update)
Next up, is the beloved Burger Bowl!
I am obsessed with a good burger! I don’t mean one you get a fast food restaurant. I’m talking about one that has all the toppings and leaves you feeling like you might have cheated on your spouse a little. (Sorry honey!)
But let’s be honest! Packing on all those toppings and the bun with a side of fries, might not be aligned with your nutrition goals. And I don’t want to limit the burgers I get to enjoy, so I often take mine and make it into an EPIC salad…no! Scratch that! I can’t call it a salad. It’s a whole experience in itself; it’s a burger bowl!
Why I LOVE IT:
Again, you can load up on your veggies here and still enjoy the experience of a burger. Save the extra carbs for something else. This is a helpful strategy I’ve helped many clients with. It’s not that you can’t have a certain food, but it’s how you dress it up and it’s learning to choose what you want more. That’s how you discover food freedom; enjoy the foods you love and still hit your health goals.
If I’m having a burger bowl I can enjoy a side of my favorite Sweet Potato Wedges!
Burger Bowl Ingredients
Burger (makes 4 - recipe by Brendan Sills)
1 pound organic grass-fed and finished ground beef (again, this is our preference and choice)
1 egg
1/3 cup oats
an array of spices - (sorry he doesn’t measure and for this, but he thinks about a teaspoon of salt and about half teaspoon for the others)
coarse sea salt (Colima is his favorite)
ground black pepper
smoked paprika
chili powder
ginger (ground or fresh)
Organic Spring Salad Mix or Romaine
Possible Toppings: organic when you can
balsamic glazed onions
balsamic glazed mushrooms
cherry tomatoes
pickles
hard-boiled eggs
shredded cheese
avocado slices
Our Favorite Dressings:
Primal Kitchen Green Goddess or Ranch Dressing
Mix all the ingredients into a large bowl with clean hands. Form 4 burger patties. Grill until they are cooked to your preference.
Layer your lettuce down first, then assemble your salad by placing the patty in the middle. Then create a wheel of toppings around the edges. Drizzle with your favorite dressing and enjoy!
Finally, our last Friday Fav is Loaded Fries!
If you’re catching on to my theme, loaded fries are just another vehicle to get in more veggies and be more whole-food focused. Again, bulking up any carb with a protein, healthy fat, and veggies will fill you up faster and leave you satisfied. They are super simple to make, so simple in fact I didn’t write down ingredients or measurements. I just used up what veggies I had in the fridge, with the cheese or queso I had leftover too. Now this queso is 100% Worth purchasing Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love cookbook. I am not an affiliate, but we love this queso so much I feel everyone should have it. It’s made from sweet potatoes and carrots and I can promise you my husband didn’t know there wasn’t cheese in it until after he ate it. Same with my friend Hannah. I had frozen the extra queso into silicone ice cube trays and gave her a few pucks of queso! Her kids, parents, and husband, scooped up that queso until the last bite and still don’t know to this day that it wasn’t a store-bought brand. GET HER BOOK! We’ve already made over a dozen recipes in it so far!
Again, food freedom is not about living under limitations or restrictions. It’s about enjoying the foods that bring you comfort but learning to choose better.
Loaded Fries Ingredients
Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes or Potatoes
About 1 large sweet potato or 4 or 5 small red potatoes (4 servings)
Possible Proteins:
ground turkey, chicken, pork, or beef
Possible Toppings: organic when you can
onions
bell peppers
zucchini
mushrooms
corn
olives
banana peppers
broccoli
INSERT YOUR FAVORITE VEGGIE 😉
Black Beans
Our Favorite Cheeses:
Finely grated parmesan (aged 1+year) - this one tastes best on the red potatoes
Goat cheese
Danielle Walker’s Queso (see link above)
A mix of pepper jack and sharp cheddar cheese (Tillamook is our FAVORITE BRAND)
Possible Spice Mixes
Cumin, Paprika, Chili Powder
Mediterranean or Italian Blend
Fresh Herbs
Make the fries in your air fryer.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a large sauté pan, cook your meat. Drain and set aside. Add a teaspoon of avocado oil or ghee and sauté the veggies. Add in the seasoning of choice.
On a large parchment-lined sheet pan, place the potato wedges. Top with veggies, protein, and cheese. Bake for about 5 minute to bring all the flavors together and melt the cheese.
