Real Good Food, the secret to having breakfast, lunch, and dinner ready and waiting anytime.

Blueberry chia overnight oats, turkey sausage stuffed pizza pockets, and Cajun shrimp in foil packets.

All make ahead recipes designed for those of us who are dancing as fast as we can.

Like my guest today, Beth McCoin, a full time nurse and single mom.

Beth wants to rein in her takeout habit and find her way to the sweet spot where delicious and healthy meet.

So join me as I help her do exactly that right now on Ellie's Real Good Food.

Come on!

(lighthearted bouncy music) - [Voiceover] Funding for this series has been provided by.

- [Voiceover] Luvo.

Full servings of fruits and veggies, nutritious whole grains and lean proteins, seasoned with bold herbs and spices.

Chef created meals ready made for you in your grocer's freezer.

Luvo, the next generation of frozen food.

- [Voiceover] Hi, you've reached Emma.

I'm out of the office right now, but will get back to you just as soon as I possibly can.

- [Voiceover] For exclusive discovery at sea experiences, Princess Cruises, come back new.

(gentle guitar music) - [Voiceover] Grapes from California grown by families for families.

- [Voiceover] And by the Natural Gourmet Institute for health and culinary arts.

Additional funding provided by the generous support of our kickstarter donors.

A complete list is available at ElliesRealGoodFood.com.

- Hi, I'm Ellie Kreiger and welcome to Ellie's Real Good Food.

Today is all about recipes that get you ahead of the game, 'cause they're designed to load up your fridge and freezer with multiple meals.

And that is definitely the goal of my guest, Beth McCoin.

Beth is a single working mom, a labor and delivery nurse who is also working towards her Masters.

With 12 hour hospital shifts that start at 7 AM, getting herself and her 14 year old son Liam provision for the day and out the door poses a constant challenge.

The key for Beth and for so many of us, including me, is to have easy make a head recipes that will cover you for the whole work week.

That way you can beat the takeout habit and regularly hit the sweet spot by having breakfast, lunch, and dinner on hand in the fridge and the freezer.

(lighthearted bouncy music) (crunching) Blueberry chia overnight oats.

I love this recipe and I'm so excited to share it because honestly I don't know what I'd do without it at this point.

We always have it at my house.

One of my daughter's absolute favorites for breakfast and also a snack.

Make up a bunch at the beginning of the week and you have breakfast and snacks on hand pretty much the whole work week.

Anyway, it starts off with this wonderful mixture of yogurt, cup of yogurt in here, regular yogurt.

And then I'm gonna add some milk, about a cup and a half of low fat milk.

I use low fat yogurt also.

Here you have this together.

And now I'm gonna make it taste really lovely with a little bit of vanilla, about a teaspoon of vanilla.

So the base here of this overnight oat recipe is this milky sweet mixture.

Making it slightly sweet using blueberry all fruit jam.

So I like to use unrefined sweeteners whenever possible, just adding the right amount of sweetness.

It still counts as added sugar basically, but you're getting the antioxidants and the all fruit, and it's also gonna give your blood sugar less of a steep kick.

So now it's all ready, having these lovely seasonings.

And then part of the base also is one cup of rolled oats.

So we all know oats are great for us, right?

That they have this wonderful kind of fiber, it's called soluble fiber.

And what happens here in this recipe is that they soak in all of this beautiful flavorful liquid overnight in the fridge.

You don't cook them at all, they almost taste cooked though when you pull them out in the morning.

So in here I'm gonna put some chia seeds.

I know you've heard of the chia pet things, I think I had a Jerry Garchia at one point in my life, believe it or not.

But basically they're just seeds, they almost are like poppy seeds, and they absorb a lot of liquid.

So in the refrigerator overnight what they do is, the combination of the seeds and the oats make it like almost like a lovely pudding.

Of course you have a ton of nutrition in here, you have all the fiber and nutrients and protein from some nuts and yogurt.

So I'm putting in half the almonds.

And the thing is, you could use any nut you want here.

You could use any fruit you want, there's a lot of flexibility and fun you can have with it.

So I'm putting in some beautiful plump blueberries, but you could use grapes or raspberries, or hmm, what else?

Apples, really lovely in here.

I like to make a pumpkin spice version of this, too.

In that case I'll use pumpkin seeds and some pureed pumpkin.

You could put it in the fridge just like this and it would become this wonderful pudding like I mentioned.

But in the jars it becomes a grab and go thing.

So you can just literally walk out the door in the morning and bring this to work with you, or to school, or whatever it may be.

About eight hours overnight in the fridge and it becomes thick and slightly sweet, and it's everything you want in breakfast.

So then I like to put some blueberries on top 'cause it looks so pretty like that.

And sometimes I put the rest of the nuts on top now, and then it's really, you know, something that you can grab and go and it's all set.

But for the nuts to stay crunchy, put 'em on at the end.

So I'm gonna do half and half.

So you can put some nuts on now or not.

They look beautiful already.

The lids go on.

And in the fridge they go.

Breakfast is ready for tomorrow and the rest of the week.

(lighthearted bouncy music) So I'm reading about chia online the other day and I was literally laughing out loud at all the wild, hysterical claims there are in terms of it being a miracle food.

The truth is it's a delicious seed and it's really cool because chia when it's dry just looks llike this, looks like poppy seed kind of, and has like that wonderful crunch like a poppy seed and mild flavor.

Just lovely and easy.

But then when you add some water to it, look what happens.

It's the soluble fiber in the chia that's making it nice and thick, and it's also good for you to.

It helps make you feel fuller longer, and it also can help reduce your spikes in blood sugar.

So when it's just like seed like this I like to put it on things like my avocado toast to add some extra crunch like that, and it kind of gives a nice contrast in color.

But when I want it's thickening qualities I'll use it similar to the way they do in Mexico where it's traditionally grown, and I'll put it in lemonade for example, or limeade, and then you just shake it up and it kind of gives your lemonade this great body and kind of an interesting texture that's really lovely, too.

So I just make this with a little bit of honey and lemon or lime, you could put some orange slices in there, great way to hydrate.

And then in smoothies it's also a great way to thicken up smoothies.

So here I just have lots of fruits, and bananas and strawberries.

I like to put frozen fruit in my smoothies.

Throw the chia in there with some milk, yogurt, some vanilla, and just blend it up and it makes it really thick and beautiful.

So go chia!

(blending) (rhythmic music) Mm, so good!

Frothy.

And because of the chia it's gonna keep you satisfied longer.

After eight hours they're ready, yum!

You can see it's really thickened up beautifully.

I'm gonna put some extra crunchy nuts on top.

Can not wait to dig in here.

Oh yeah, that's so lovely.

So the oats and the chia combined really give it this beautiful thickness.

Mm.

Perfect for the morning, perfect for the afternoon, and frankly, good for a midnight snack, too.

(giggling) Hi Beth!

- [Beth] Hi Ellie!

How are you?

- [Ellie] Good to see you.

- [Ellie] So good to see you.

- You too!

- I brought you some blueberry chia overnight oats.

- Thank you!

I saw the video this morning.

- Oh, cool!

- It's fantastic.

I'm so excited, thank you.

- I think you're gonna love it, I think you're gonna love it.

So you're cooking's in a bit of a rut, and that's one of the reasons why we're here is because it's such a wonderful place to get inspiration for healthy cooking and just get out of that rut.

Annie Farrel, a long time farmer who resuscitates and creates new farms in the Northeast helps owners Jessie and Betsy Fink here at Millstone Farm in Wilton, Connecticut.

- So one thing that amazes me is just the variety that's here.

I feel so inspired by all the colors and stuff.

- [Beth] It's so pretty.

- [Annie] It's a pallet, you know?

And food doesn't have to be perfect, but it certainly could be beautiful and it can be inspiring.

The heart is just.

- [Ellie] Oh my goodness, look at that.

- Wow.

Who knew lettuce could be so beautiful?

- [Ellie] I think we have a wonderful salad in our future, what do you think?

- [Beth] I think so, and we have a beautiful bouquet until we decide to eat it.

(lighthearted bouncy music) - So many times we buy vegetables and we actually throw away some of the best parts of them.

So for example, when you're buying beets we throw away the greens.

But that is a huge mistake because the greens are so delicious when they're lovely and young and tender like this.

Just cut them up or tear them and put them in a salad.

Or if they're a little bit thicker leaves you can chiffonade them, kind of cut them into ribbons, and just cook them up with a little bit of garlic and a splash of vinegar, and serve them actually with the roasted beet root.

And it is a match made in heaven, it's really meant to be together.

So absolutely do that.

They're nutritious and delicious, and you're using the whole plant.

(lighthearted bouncy music) (scraping) - It is so good to have Beth here in the kitchen with me.

- Thank you.

- Thank you for coming, and I'm excited to show you one of my favorite make ahead recipes, these turkey sausage stuffed pizza pockets.

I think you and Liam are gonna love them.

- Yes.

- I have some sausage here, it's turkey sausage and I just cut it out of the casing.

- Okay.

- and browned it in a little olive oil.

So it's all healthy fat going on there.

And nice protein, and all that good flavor.

Who doesn't love sausage?

- Right, we all love sausage.

- [Ellie] Right?

- [Ellie] Anyway, if you could get some of these greens maybe you could give them a rough chop.

- [Beth] Okay.

- [Ellie] We have arugula there, and then also spinach.

- My son loves spinach, so this is perfect.

- Right to here I'm gonna add just a litle bit of marinara sauce.

- [Beth] Okay.

- And I like to make my own, you keep it in the freezer, it's one of those things that really freezes so well.

You can also use a jarred one if you want.

- [Beth] Okay.

- Oh, this is fab.

I can grab this while you.

- I'll chop up some more.

- So I always think, how can I add a vegetable?

I'm always thinking, where can I put color in?

And this is a perfect way to use greens that you get at the market or the farm.

So it doesn't always have to be salads, right?

Where we use the greens.

- [Beth] No, it's always good to sneak in a little greens.

So good for you.

- [Ellie] Exactly.

- You want the rest of this in there?

- [Ellie] Yeah, you can toss that in.

Thank you.

Okay, so I just want this to be nice and wilted so it's easy to load into the pizza pockets.

Now I just want to let that cool, and once that cools I'm gonna put in some mozzarella cheese.

- [Beth] Okay.

- So it's gonna be lots of vegetables but also lots of flavor from the sausage, the tomatoes, and kind of a nice amount of gooeyness from the cheese, ultimately.

- Yeah.

- But this is the best part 'cause I don't know if you work very often with pizza dough, - [Beth] I haven't.

- But I'm gonna start off, just a little bit of cornmeal.

And you can use flour as well, - [Beth] Okay.

- [Ellie] but I love the texture of cornmeal.

So I'll just grab this.

And this is a whole grain pizza dough.

I think you should get your hands in there and give it a little roll.

- Okay, okay.

- And if it feels a little sticky you just put some of this on there.

- [Beth] Rub a little bit - [Beth] of this on there?

Okay.

Or on top.

And then you just roll it out.

And you want to roll it out so that we that we can make eight pizza pockets out of it.

- [Beth] So get a little muscle into it, huh?

- [Ellie] Yeah.

And so the trick about pizza dough, - Mm-hm.

- Is that if it feels like it keeps springing back, you know sometimes it's like fighting you?

- Right.

- Then it just needs to relax a little, it's sort of like people.

- We all need to relax sometimes.

- We do, we have to relax a little.

So what I do, if it's fighting me, I have a little few sips of wine, I let it relax, I relax, and then I start again.

- [Beth] Okay, good philosophy.

- Oh, but it's already doing very well.

This is perfect, it's nice and thin.

- Had a good teacher.

(laughing) So now we'll just use a pizza cutter, and just cutting it into eight pieces.

Maybe while I'm doing this, if you wouldn't mind, we're gonna do an egg wash on here.

- Okay.

- Maybe you could crack that egg.

- Sure.

- Put the shell in here.

- Okay.

- [Ellie] It's fun cooking with you.

- [Beth] Really fun.

- [Ellie] So you don't get a lot of time to cook, huh?

- [Beth] Um, no.

- [Ellie] So that's nice eight pieces.

I'm gonna put the mozzarella cheese into here.

- [Beth] Okay.

- And the reason why I waited for it to cool is because I don't want it to melt here, I want it to melt when these are baking.

- [Beth] Oh, okay.

- Divide this filling.

There we go, just put some in the center there.

- [Beth] Okay.

- [Ellie] Some snuck away.

And then just use the brush to go just around the edges.

- Every corner?

- Yeah, and go all the way around.

Just extra glue.

- [Beth] Right.

- So I'll show you one and then we can build them all together.

Then you just sort of fold it over like so, and then press it a little with your fingers.

And then I like to do this 'cause it looks pretty and seals it.

- Perfect.

- Just sort of crimp it.

And you know, everything I do is really home style so it doesn't have to be fussy or perfect.

I think it looks good.

- [Beth] This is fun.

This is something you can get your kids involved to do with you.

- I agree completely.

And that's one of the things, when you teach kids how to cook you teach them like such important life skills.

So doing this together not only brings you together, you get to eat realy great food, you get to have this for the whole week or you know, have them stored in the fridge.

- [Beth] You want me to press this?

- [Ellie] Yeah that would be great, thanks.

And I'll just keep doing this.

They're cute, right?

Easy, healthy.

I'm telling you, that's the sweet spot right there.

Delicious, healthy, easy.

Okay, okay.

So I'm gonna move this on to here.

And what we can do now, we'll just brush these with a little egg and then you can sprinkle with Parmesan.

- [Beth] Sounds good.

- [Ellie] Go for it.

- [Beth] Just a little bit, huh?

- [Ellie] Well.

- [Beth] Tell me when.

- [Ellie] That looks good.

- [Beth] Okay.

- [Ellie] You have a good eye.

- [Beth] Cheese is your friend.

(laughing) - Well you know what?

A little bit of cheese - [Beth] Yes.

- [Ellie] is your friend.

And so that's the thing about Parmesan.

It has so much flavor that you don't need a lot to get a lot of flavor.

So those are the kinds of cheeses that I generally try to go for.

Big flavor so a little goes a long way.

And that's the thing about eating healthy, it doesn't have to be all or nothing and you don't have to deprive yourself at all.

Look, we're making pizza pockets for goodness sakes, and they're good for you.

And then once you bake them, you know you can either eat them or freeze 'em.

So.

- Hopefully I get to eat one.

- You will, you will!

(laughing) Okay, so in the oven 400 degrees, about 15 minutes.

- Okay.

(pumping) - So we have to get you a salad spinner because it just makes it so easy to really wash the lettuce thoroughly and then dry it.

Okay, so let's make a salad.

- Okay, let's.

- And just a simple green salad.

Maybe you want to like tear these greens.

- [Beth] Tear this up.

- [Beth] Now do you recommend tearing rather than cutting the lettuce always?

- I do, yeah.

Because using a knife on the greens can make them brown, and it's nice to get those uneven kind of pieces.

Every once in a while I'll chiffonade the greens.

But let's make a dressing that's super simple, really good extra virgin olive oil.

This is when you want to pull out the really good stuff.

- High quality stuff, okay.

- The best quality one.

And the thing is that extra virgin olive oil has lots of antioxidants besides the healthy monounsaturated fat.

So measuring here, 'cause I usually use about two tablespoons of oil to one tablespoon of vinegar.

So here red wine vinegar because I happen to really like that kind of nice sharp flavor with the richness of the pizza pockets.

This is gonna be perfect!

- [Beth] Okay.

- And they're smelling so good.

- They smell amazing.

- I like to put a little oregano.

- Okay.

- [Ellie] So you can totally do this ahead and just throw it at room temperature for a week or so.

- [Beth] Okay, okay.

- So some salt and a little fresh pepper, always fresh pepper.

And literally this is gonna be so delicious, and it couldn't be easier, and also better for you than all those sugary dressings with less good quality oil.

- [Beth] Right.

(whisking) So just a wisk.

And this should be enough to cover us here.

- Okay.

- Right there.

- Perfect.

- [Ellie] Awesome teamwork, huh?

- [Beth] You taught me!

- [Ellie] Those pockets are ready.

- Okay.

- So I'm gonna grab those and we can eat.

- They smell so good.

- [Ellie] Mm, these look so great!

- [Beth] They smell delicious.

- I am so excited for you to try them, I think you're gonna love them.

- Oh, me too.

- Okay, let me serve you one.

I'll serve us each.

- Okay.

- And I don't know, you want to serve some salad?

- Sure.

- [Ellie] Actually, I'm gonna cut mine open first.

Two is a serving, but we'll just have a little snack now.

- [Beth] Okay.

- Cut right on there, be a little easier.

Yum!

That is looking so good.

- [Beth] It does.

- I love how brown they get.

- Yeah, that crust looks perfect.

- [Ellie] I love to eat it with a little bit of sauce.

- [Beth] Okay, load me up.

- A little extra sauce for dipping.

I'm gonna have a little taste.

- Okay, me too.

- Mm!

Mm.

- As good as you remember?

- So delicious!

But you should sit down and relax and eat because I am gonna cook for you, okay?

- Oh how decadent, yay!

- I'm gonna make you an amazing recipe, just wait.

- Okay.

- You enjoy and just wait, - [Beth] Stay tuned, I will enjoy.

- Let me show you, haha.

(lighthearted bouncy music) Cajun shrimp with foil packets, it is my secret weapon.

- Ooh, really?

- For make ahead.

So check it out.

So you basically, you just take some shrimp that's already been cleaned.

- Okay.

- Right?

And some Cajun seasoning, smell that.

- Mmm, delicious!

- Love it.

I get the salt free always because I like to be in control of how much salt goes in my food.

if you buy the one that is not salt free, you never know really how much is in there so it makes it almost harder to season.

- Right.

- So then I just add a half a teaspoon of salt.

- [Beth] Okay.

- And there's so much flavor in there, so you don't need a lot.

And then a quarter teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, always freshly ground .

- Okay.

- So are you loving that?

- It's so yummy.

- I know, what are you loving more?

The wine or the?

- The wine is good, but you know, I also really like the salad because I always kind of feel obligated to put a bunch of ingredients in, and I forget that if you just have great greens and a good, simple, yummy salad dressing, that's all you need.

- Simple, right?

Simple is sometimes better, it doesn't have to be complicated, that's such a good point.

So the thing is about the shrimp is that that's another thing that's great to keep in the freezer.

You can buy those bags of shrimp.

This is really important, always thaw food in the refrigerator.

But with shrimp it thaws so quickly that you can just do it at room temperature with cold water running on it.

- Okay, okay.

- Always thaw in the fridge, that's a really important.

Okay, so I'm just coating this with the Cajan seasoning.

Okay, and then I just make these great packets.

Andn I'm just gonna put in tons of veggies.

Colorful array of vegetables, so red peppers, some zucchini, some corn, and then a few pieces of Andouille sausage because it's just so delicious.

And really just a little bit, again, goes along way in terms of giving tons of flavor.

And it just works with these shrimp.

So large shrimp covered in that beautiful Cajun seasoning.

Has a little kick to it.

Just about four or five shrimp, maybe six, let's say six.

And then I'm gonna put in two teaspoons of olive oil.

Now I always measure my oil because it's so easy to just glug too much on.

- [Beth] Put too much in, right.

- So if you don't really need extra oil, why put it in, right?

You want to get your calories where they're really gonna count in terms of flavor.

And then two tablespoons of wine.

And it's really cool, 'cause what's gonna happen here is these liquids, and the liquid from the shrimp, and the liquid from the vegetables, when these packets steam, they are going to sort of make their own sauce.

Really flavorful, amazing sauce.

So all uncooked you just basically fold it into these little foil packets.

- [Beth] You want to probably get it nice and tight, right?

No?

- [Ellie] So yeah, - [Ellie] you want to crimp it so it's nice and tight.

But you know what?

You don't have to stress about it too much, just get it so that the juice will be locked in.

And here's a really important point, you want to make sure there's some space in there.

So you don't want to do it too tight 'cause you want enough space for the steam to build up.

- Right.

- Okay?

And then on the tray.

- [Beth] Wow, so easy!

- So easy.

- So easy.

Right?

- And the cool thing is is that you can cook 'em right away and have them for dinner or you can make a bunch of 'em and freeze them just like that without cooking them.

And you freeze 'em and then you can go straight from the freezer to the oven.

- [Beth] Oh really, okay.

- [Ellie] And cook it straight from there.

So this is such a good make ahead dinner.

- So easy.

And you know, this is so pretty it would be great company food, too.

- [Ellie] I totally agree.

- [Beth] Yeah.

- [Ellie] How nice to have, you know, your party food already prepared so you can sort of on a whim invite someone over for dinner, you know?

- I slaved over this all day long.

- Exactly!

(laughing) We didn't say which day it was, right?

- [Beth] Right!

- [Ellie] And not really slaved, right?

- No, it's too easy.

- [Ellie] Maybe cut up a few things.

(crackling) - I'm gonna have to stop at the market on the way home and get this to make some for dinner, this looks so good.

- Oh I'm giving you these, are you kidding?

- You are?

- [Ellie] Yes!

- [Beth] Oh my gosh!

Wonderful.

- [Ellie] So we'll just finish these up and then we'll cook some so we can taste them now.

(lighthearted rhythmic music) It smells so good, doesn't it?

- [Beth] Oh, the aroma is amazing.

- So I'm just gonna put some rice on our plates.

- [Beth] Okay.

- For now we'll just have a little, we'll share a plate, okay?

- [Beth] Sounds good.

- It's brown rice.

And now we open the packet.

- The a la moment.

(laughing) Oo, a la!

- [Ellie] Ooh, doesn't it look gorgeous?

- It does.

The colors are so vibrant.

- So now all the juices, I want it all on there.

- [Beth] It smells so good, Ellie.

- [Ellie] Just tumble it all on.

- [Beth] Oh my gosh, it smells so good.

- [Ellie] Mm, now that's a dinner.

- [Beth] Mm-hm.

- I like to garnish with some more of the herbs that I put in.

- Okay.

- Some basil, parsley, and you could use cilantro if you want.

Should we dig in?

- We should!

- So now you have so many different strategies, great strategies for make ahead meals.

So it should be very easy for you, and you to hit the sweet spot where delicious and healthy meet.

Cheers.

Mm, get a shrimp.

- Yeah, the good stuff.

- Thank you!

- Thank you for having me in your kitchen.

(clinking) It's been so fun.

- For being here, so fun.

- So fun, thanks.

- So go chia.

(blending) Or not, or don't go chia.

Or just go a little chia.

(laughing) Okay, so let's.

Explore the issue and offer accessible solutions in and out of the kitchen with, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!

Stop!

(laughing) The thing is, when you buy lettuce it's expensive, you know?

- Uh huh, it is.

- And you want to, it's like an investment.

(crashing off camera) (punching) (laughing) - [Voiceover] For these recipes and much more got to ElliesRealGoodFood.com.

Also connect with Ellie on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Funding for this series has been provided by.

- [Voiceover] Hi, you've reached Emma.

I'm out of the office right now, but will get back to you just as soon as I possibly can.

- [Voiceover] For exclusive discovery at sea experiences, Princess Cruises, come back new.

- [Voiceover] Luvo.

Full servings of fruits and veggies, nutritious whole grains and lean proteins, seasoned with bold herbs and spices.

Chef created meals ready made for you in your grocer's freezer.

Luvo, the next generation of frozen food.

(gentle guitar music) - [Voiceover] Grapes from California, grown by families for families.

- [Voiceover] And by the Natural Gourmet Institute for health and culinary arts.

Additional funding provided by the generous support of our kickstarter donors.

A complete list is available at ElliesRealGoodFood.com.

Ellie's Kitchen is provided by Clarke, New England's Sub-Zero and and Wolf showroom and test engine.

(flame burning) (flute trilling) (dramatic music)