Italian Minestrone Crockpot Soup (THM-E)

This recipe actually comes from my sister. The funny thing is that she isn’t a THM’er and she wasn’t even trying to make a recipe that worked in my eating plan, but she did and it was so good!

My first time creating this soup myself I used Italian sausage and realized after the fact that that meat combined with the beans probably created a crossover instead of on E.

When my sister made it for me and my husband she used ground chicken instead of sausage. That’s the wonderful thing about soup like this, there are so many ways you can make it and it will still taste good.

Pair this soup with a side salad and a sprouted grain roll or peice of toast for a complete meal.

Italian Minestrone Crockpot Soup (THM-E)

1 lb lean meat (ground chicken or turkey)
1-14.5 oz diced tomatoes
3-14.5 oz chicken broth
1-15.5 oz can rinsed and drained Great Northern Beans
1 Med zucchini chopped
1 cup copped carrots
1/2 medium onion diced
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
Mineral salt

Brown meat of choice in a frying pan with the onions. (if you want to use Italian sausage I believe the meal would then become a crossover)

While cooking put all other ingredients in the crockpot

Rinse meat under hot water to get rid of excess grease, add to crockpot

Cook on low for 8 hour or high for 4 hours

Serve with a green salad and sprouted toast or roll.

*All Thing Creative is affiliated with Trim Healthy Mama and this blog post contains affiliate links to Trim Healthy Mama’s website. This blog post contains affiliate links to Amazon.

Crockpot Chicken Fajita Spaghetti Squash Bowl

My husband and I have always loved spaghetti squash and there are so many various ways you can serve it. I have made Asian, Italian and Mexican dishes out of it. Spaghetti squash is the perfect replacement for noodles or rice in many dishes and so much healthier for you.

This week when I went to the local pumpkin patch with my sister for our annual pumpkin outing the stand was also selling squash for only $1! We both chose the LARGEST squash we could find. It was such a great deal! Then my only dilemma was what THM E meal could I make out of it. Why an E meal? Because, we have been eating too many Crossover and S meals. It’s best to mix up the meal types for weight loss. The crossovers more closely resemble what we ate before THM, so I am challenging myself to cook more E meals and figure out how to make them complete meals.

In true E fashion I introduce to you my Crockpot Chicken Fajita Spaghetti Squash Bowl, a quick and easy one bowl dinner for those of you who like simple. But if you like to serve sides with your meals, you can pair this with a nice side salad with an E dressing and some oven roasted veggies.

Leftovers microwave well and are just as enjoyable the next day! The recipe and instructions are below.

Crockpot Chicken Fajita Spaghetti Squash Bowl (Crockpot, THM-E)

1 Large Spaghetti Squash
3-5 Chicken Breasts (depending on how many people your feeding)
8 oz. Frozen Seasoning Blend (onions, red peppers and green peppers)
2 6.5 oz. cans mushrooms
4 fresh tomatoes sliced (optional)
1/2 large onion sliced (optional)
1 15.5 oz. jar of salsa
½ package gluten free Fajita Seasoning or
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp mineral salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
Cayenne to taste

Toppings

Light Sour Cream – 3 grams of fat or less per 2 tablespoons
0% Greek yogurt
Shredded Cheese (if doing a crossover or for growing children)

Instructions:

Place thawed or frozen chicken breast in the bottom of your crockpot.

Then add the un-drained cans of mushrooms, frozen seasoning blend, salsa, tomatoes, onion slices and seasoning to the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 7-8.5 hours.

Depending on how you are cooking your spaghetti squash you will want to start cooking it about about 20 – 45 minutes before you want to serve dinner. I like to microwave my squash, but poking two holes on either side making sure you get into the center of the squash so pressure can escape while cooking, then I microwave my squash for about 4-5 minute increments until the outside skin is soft to the touch and gives when you poke it.

While your squash I cooking you want to shred or cut up your chicken in the crockpot so that it is spread evenly throughout and mixed in with your peppers, onions and mushrooms.

Then once you are able to handle your squash without burning yourself, you want to cut it in half, clean out the seeds an then shred the meat with a fork to make squash “noodles.”

After you have made your noodles, serve with squash in the bottom of the bowl, with the crockpot mixture on top, then your optional toppings! Enjoy!

*All Thing Creative is affiliated with Trim Healthy Mama and this blog post contains affiliate links to Trim Healthy Mama’s website. This blog post contains affiliate links to Amazon.