Healthified Crock Pot Kalua Pork

June 29, 2017 Amanda Plott

Summer time around here (especially July) is when my mom always likes to throw a mostly annual luau. Unfortunately, she hasn't really been able to do that for the past couple of years, just because they had moved about an hour further away from me and well... all of their friends basically too. Either way, this is one of our family favorite recipes for these such luaus! And with it being nearly July, I thought it would be a great time to update this Kalua Pork with a bit of a facelift.

So, what do you do in Hawaii? You go to a luau. What do they serve at a luau? Kalua pork.

Kalua (as not to be confused with Kahlua) is a traditional way of cooking pork in Hawaii. The word kalua actually translates to 'to cook in an underground oven'. While they use something in Hawaii called an imu for this process, I don't readily have one of those at my disposal... so I used the next best thing. My slow cooker!...

Lean Mean Green Power Sandwich

June 27, 2017 Amanda Plott

After a bit of a whirl wind trip to Dallas and back to Austin. And currently with a house full of two very energetic 7 year olds, momma needs some greens. How else am I going to keep up with my daughter and my nephew? With the influx of summer heat and all the madness and chaos around me right now, I figured there was no better time than now for this cool crisp veggie loaded green sandwich!

Of course, this isn't the most 'kid friendly' sandwich; unless you lucked out and have the least picky eater on the planet. So this is for the mommas, the papas, and any other parental/guardian unit that's in need of a way to power through the rest of the day. The kiddos around here opted for turkey and cheese. But, me? I'm strong, happy, and ready to go with this bad boy right here...

Healthified Crock Pot French Dip

October 15, 2016 Amanda Plott

I remember the first time I ever had a french dip sandwich. It was at this cute little diner in New Port, Oregon... I think it was called 'Big Guy's Diner', I must have been about 10 years old at the time. I thought it was so strange to have a sandwich served with broth. Why in the world would anyone want to dip their sandwich and have wet bread? My grandma talked me into trying it anyway. I did. And I've been hooked ever since...

Healthified Cuban Sliders (Sponsored)

April 14, 2016 Amanda Plott

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #RealFlavorRealFast #CollectiveBias

This past week was a whirl wind of fun and now with my post birthday party exhaustion, I decided that it was time to focus on a quick and easy 30 minutes meal and creating Real Flavor Real Fast. There isn't much that more real or fast than a sandwich, but I wanted to of course put my better-for-you twist on it.

Enter this Healthified Cuban Slider. I've taken the traditional Cuban sandwich and turned it into a slider while also making a few more health conscious swaps. These little sliders are perfect for a quick meal that requires little effort and no prep. work in the kitchen!...

Skinny Monte Cristo Sandwich

February 19, 2016 Amanda Plott

Thank you Oscar Mayer for sponsoring this post. With Oscar Mayer Selects Natural, you don't need to give up the good stuff to enjoy the quality cold cuts your family deserves.

With the warmer and more sunny days upon us here in Texas, my mind often starts to go towards brunch items as Spring nears. It's truly one of my most favorite times of the year too. Though, a lot of that could have to do with the fact that my little girl's birthday is during Spring. She's truly the best thing to ever happen to me, and honestly as hard as being a parent can be at times, it's the most rewarding job in the world. Sometimes it feels too good to be true when she hugs onto me tightly and gives me sweet kisses randomly.

Since brunch has been on my mind lately, I thought it was the perfect time to get my Monte Cristo on. Not familiar with a Monte Cristo? It's generally a swiss cheese sandwich that's battered and fried and served with a side of preserves for dipping. Not exactly my jam. Pun intended. Bah-dum-pish.

However, I've come up with a pretty clever way to make this otherwise guilty dish into something that's more wholesome!...

Healthified B.B.Q. Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese

July 8, 2015 Amanda Plott

Here in Texas, we are all about our BBQ. I think that we will just about put BBQ meat in anything, sandwich, taco, casserole, you name it - we put BBQ in it. A few weeks ago I was at a local movie theater here in Austin which was running a special in July for a pulled pork grille cheese. They were all out of one, so I didn't get to order it, but they did have a pre-show commercial that came on the screen showing what all went into the sandwich.

I was entranced. Inspired. De{light}ed.

As soon as I got home I started to come up with my own ways to make the sandwich healthier and lighter...