I am a HUGE fan of Outer Aisle and their cauliflower crusts {use code HACKQUEEN for a 10% discount!} I recently connected with them on Instagram and they sent me some crusts to work on some hacks. I love making pizzas and tacos with their crusts, but I recently purchased Dash’s pie maker and I wondered how the crusts would hold up in there. The answer? Life changing. I literally felt like I was eating something with a super carb-y, flaky crust. No joke. I was floored. I’m still perfecting my chicken pot pie recipe and I’m sooooo close, but first up: egg and cheese quiche with crust. You could even call it a pie, since the crust is on the top and bottom. It’s flaky and delicious and the filling options are endless. Plus, it’s super easy to do. The hardest thing is literally coming up with fillings to complete your Lean & Green, since one large crust equals 1/3 Lean and 1 Green. With this egg and cheese pie, you’ll still need two greens, but it’s awesome with a side salad.

One note: I used the Italian crusts this time, but I’ve tried them all and every flavor is delicious.

Hope you love these as much as I do!

1 Pie Equals 1 Complete Lean and 1 Green

Ingredients:

• One Outer Aisle Italian Crust {1/3 Lean & 1 Green}
• One Egg + Two Tbsp Egg White {1/3 Lean + 1/12 Lean}
• 1/4 cup Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese {1/4 lean}

The math is a little funky, but if you’re interested: basically the crust, the whole egg, and the cheese equals 11/12 of a Lean and the added two tablespoons of egg white are as close as possible to 1/12 of a Lean

Instructions:

1. Plug in Dash Pie Maker
2. Scramble egg, egg whites, and cheese in a pan
3. Place one Outer Aisle crust on a flat surface and use the Dash pie cutter to cut out the center using the “Pie Base” ring
4. Carefully avoiding the heated elements on the pie maker, gently press the crust into the bottom of the machine. If you need to soften it a bit, you can microwave it for ten seconds.
5. Fill the pie with your cooked egg mixture
6. Cut the remaining outer ring into four equal pieces, then cut two of those in half
7. Place the two longest pieces on top facing each other, then place two small pieces where those join, and then cover the center with the remaining two pieces.
8. Keeping the pieces in place, close the machine and press down with a towel. The machine releases quite a bit of steam, so be careful.
9. It should only take a minute or so until the crust is browned. Lift up to see if it’s to your liking. You can cook longer if it hasn’t browned enough. Everything is already cooked, so it’s up to you how brown you like your pie crust.
10. To remove, let the machine cool a bit, then flip over and pop the pie out onto a plate. Use another plate on top to flip it over.
11. Enjoy!

PS. The sandwich thins from Outer Aisle also fit, but the portion size is three crusts for 1/2 Lean and 1 Green. You could always use two of those and then alter your fillings to complete the Lean and Green, and use the third for something else in the same day. I like using the larger crust and having 2/3 Lean to play with for my fillings instead.

PS. You’ll see I have a few different baking dishes in the pics. I’ve made it a few times and ultimately, I like the square or rectangular dishes the best. The round one wasn’t big enough, but I had the best lighting that day, lol.

I’m always on the lookout for easy-to-make, one-batch lean and greens that don’t require a trip to the store. I’m a huge fan of zucchini and I always have a few in my fridge. When I chanced upon this recipe from Joy Filled Eats’ instagram feed, I thought it would be perfect for Optavia 5&1. With a few mods, it absolutely is!

Ingredients:

• 170g shredded zucchini {3 greens}
• 7 {14T} egg whites {1/2 Leanest}
• 3/4 cup 1% cottage cheese {1/2 Leanest}
• 2 wedges original Laughing Cow {2 Healthy Fats}
• ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk {1/4 condiment}
• ½ tsp salt {2 condiments}
• 1T reduced fat Parmesan {1/2 condiment}

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Shred zucchini {peeled or unpeeled is entirely up to you} and place in paper towels to squeeze out as much of the water as possible. Removing the water is a critical step—don’t skip it!
3. Spray a 9″ x 9″ baking dish and then sprinkle 1/2T parmesan on the bottom. This helps to keep the bottom dry.
4. Place the shredded zucchini in an even layer in the dish
5. Blend your egg whites, cottage cheese, Laughing Cow wedges, salt, and almond milk in a blender until smooth. Then pour over the top of the zucchini.
6. Top with another 1/2T of parmesan
7. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, around 35-45 minutes.

Entire batch equals one complete Lean & Green.

A few tips:

1. This is a really large portion, so I often make it in the AM and then eat it in two servings throughout the day. So I end up eating 7 times on those days.
2. If you’d like to use this as a side dish, you can eat 1/2 of the dish and then supplement with 1/2 of a Leanest and 1.5 Greens.
3. I saw a question on Joy Filled Eats’ Insta asking if you can use ricotta instead of cottage cheese. You definitely can, but as much as I LOVE ricotta, I really think this dish is better with the cottage cheese.
4. If/when you store it in the fridge, I recommend placing a paper towel on top and then covering with foil. That way, any moisture is captured in the paper towel instead of collecting in the dish.
5. This would make an AWESOME Thanksgiving side dish. It’s super light and goes with just about anything.

PS. You’ll see I have a few different baking dishes in the pics. I’ve made it a few times and ultimately, I like the square or rectangular dishes the best. The round one wasn’t big enough, but I had the best lighting that day, lol.

I don’t know about you, but tacos are one of my absolute favorite foods on the planet. I love the versatility, the flavors, and I even love the way you eat them with your hands. So many of the meals we eat are with utensils. Frankly, tacos are just fun—and why shouldn’t food be fun?

The problem with tacos on 5&1 is the “shell,” so like I often do, I look to keto chefs for inspiration. The answer: taco shells made from cheese! Now, in keto, they use full fat cheese. To make them 5&1 compliant, we’re going to go with reduced fat cheese. Different fat level, same yumminess level.

Taco Shell Ingredients:

• 3/4 C or 84g Reduced Fat Shredded Cheddar or 4-Cheese Mexican Cheese {3/4 Lean}
• 1.5 oz Ground Beef, Chicken, or Meat Substitute from the Leaner category {1/4 Lean}

Entire batch equals One Lean. What you add inside will count towards your Greens and Condiments.

For mine, I added tomatoes and shredded iceberg lettuce and topped with nonfat Greek yogurt {you could use non-fat sour cream as well…I just had Greek yogurt, so went with that.} These shells are small though, so you’ll likely end up with a side salad to complete your Greens. Or, you can add Greens somewhere else throughout your day: grilled mushrooms on your smashed potatoes, roasted peppers on top of your rosemary cheddar biscuit, etc.

If you don’t want ANY meat at all, you can double the amount of cheese and fill them with veggies only. It’s entirely up to you. Get creative! This is the perfect opportunity to play around with your favorite taco combination!

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Measure out your shredded cheese and cook up your choice of ground meat.
3. Once oven is preheated, place your cheese in circles {it’s important that they’re circles to create the right shape} on a parchment lined baking sheet or use a pan like mine. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until the edges turn brown and the cheese is bubbly.
4. While your cheese is cooking, set up your “drying racks”— turn two {or more, depending on how many batches you’re making} glasses over and set wooden spoons across them.
5. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool for approximately one minute. It needs to rest and firm up, but keep an eye on it. It’s important that you not let them cool too much, as they’ll need to be slightly warm to mold into the taco shell shape.
6. Use a thin rubber spatula to remove the shells from the pan and then hang them on your “drying rack.” Allow them to harden for approximately five minutes.
7. Remove, fill and enjoy!

Lastly, these don’t store well. For me, they lost their crispiness and you definitely cannot reheat them. My recommendation: make only what you intend to eat for that meal.

Hope these add some fun and versatility to your Lean & Green arsenal!