Snacks

Who doesn't love snacks!? I thought I would share a couple of snacks that I enjoy. 

Red Peppers and Hummus

Oranges Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Deviled Eggs (made with Greek yogurt instead of mayo)

Raspberry Waffles

Raspberries are the best! This recipe makes either 2 1/2 big fluffy waffles or about 8 delicious pancakes. So you can pick what to make.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 pinches of salt

2/3 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup raspberries

2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Melt the butter.

2. In a separate bowl add the milk, egg, and melted butter. 

3. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients bowl and whisk together. Fold the raspberries into the mixture. 

4. Now choose to either make in a waffle iron or pancakes on a skillet. 

5. Enjoy!

Almond Joy Smoothie

Do not skip breakfast, folks. I am not going to go into all the reasons why you shouldn't skip it at the moment, but trust me I am going to find time to write an essay on it one of these days. For the time being I will settle with a delicious recipe! I got this one from the "The New Abs Diet Cookbook" by David Zinczenko. The Abs Diet is probably the only diet I get along with. I don't follow it religiously, but they do have several good recipes and ideas when trying to get back on a healthy track.

Servings: 1

Calories: About 330 

Ingredients: 

1 cup of milk

1 tablespoon of almond butter 

1 scoop of chocolate protein powder

1 banana

1 teaspoon ground flaxseed

1 tablespoon of unsweetened coconut flakes

3-5 ice cubes

Directions:

1. Simply add them all in a blender.

2. Enjoy.

Okay, don't let the ground flaxseed or unsweetened coconut flakes scare you away. They tastes just fine when all mixed in with the smoothie. Now the calorie count depends on what type of milk you use. I personally like milk with fat in it, so I use 2%, but skim milk will work just fine. I haven't tried it with almond or soy milk, so if anyone does, please let me know how it tastes. 

Cheesecake

First I will say; everything in moderation. I love cheesecake! I don't usually eat a lot of sweets, but when I do I make them from scratch. I want to know what goes into them and therefore what I am putting into my body. This was for my mom's birthday party.

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

15-20 graham crackers

1/2 cup unsalted butter

8-oz cream cheese, room temperature

12-oz sweetened condensed milk

10-oz can mandarin oranges

5 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Put the crackers in a large zip-lock bag, seal, and crush with a rolling pin until they are similar to breadcrumbs. 

2. On low heat, in a saucepan, melt the butter. Once melted, remove from heat, and add the crackers. Blend together until they are all coated in butter. 

3. Spoon the crumbs into a 8-inch cake pan and put in the fridge to set for 30 minutes. 

4. While the crust is chilling; put the cream cheese, condensed milk, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Beat them until smoothed. 

5. Pull out the crust and add places the mandarin oranges. Pour the cream mixture over the top and place back in the fridge for another 2-3 hours. 

It is a really simple and tasty recipe. Next time I am going to try putting fresh raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo dish recipe will be up soon. Enjoy! 

Two Year Anniversary

I posted this a bit late cause life has thrown me a curve ball this week, but better late than never. On September 10, I have been married for two years! My wedding dress was made my Aunt Kendra (in less than a month...long story) and was measured to fit me exactly at the time. I was around 165 pounds, though I had stopped weighing myself cause of the blow to my self-esteem. I lied on my license and said 155 pounds. So my point being that a couple of days ago I decided to try it on to see how it fit. I was thrilled that it didn't fit, in fact it was falling off of me.

So this odd bottom picture is actually down the back of the dress. Heidi, who took the pictures for me, thought it would be good to show the inches I lost. 

Avocado Burgers

I don't make these very often, but when I do, it is awesome! With everything on it, the burger is about 535 calories (with 94% lean beef). You can always go bun-less, or minus the cheese. Even though I am a total cheese lover, avocados are a good substitute on burgers. I am not saying burgers are healthy, but every once and awhile I crave them and if I am going to eat one, you better believe I am going to eat one I make at home. You can also try ground bison or turkey for a more lean burger.

Ingredients:

Makes 7-8 Patties

For Burger Patties:

1 pound ground beef, bison, or turkey

1/2 red or yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 egg

2 tbsp honey mustard

3 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions: 

1. Mince the onion and garlic in a food processor. 

2. In a bowl add the ground meat, honey mustard, ketchup, egg, and Worcestershire sauce. Add the minced pieces of onion and garlic. Mash together with a fork until well blended together. 

3. Form a ball in your hands with the meat mixture and lightly smash it down to form a patty. 

4. Place on a cookie sheet (with some wax paper) and place the patties in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. This will help them stick together better when cooking. 

5. Cook after the 30 minutes. I use a George Forman grill so that I can get more of that fat off. 

For Burger Fixings (optional):

Avocado 

Wheat Ciabatta Roll

Pepper Jack Cheese

Spicy Mustard

I also put some Frito's on in the picture because I had some laying around my kitchen from a previous meal, but I don't usually do that. I hope you enjoy!  

Motivation 1

Blueberry Coconut Muffins

Now I know some of you are going to be like "Janae, that's not healthy!" Yes, there are better things you could have for breakfast. I am of the belief that if you bake muffins from scratch at home, they will be better for you than a store bought one. Everything in moderation, people! This recipe makes 12 muffins and is 131 calories a serving. This recipe came from "DK Children's Cookbook" by Katharine Ibbs, though I added some extra things.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tbsp oil

1 cup milk

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup granola

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. 

2. In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and add milk and oil. Whisk together.

3. Fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture. There will be lumps, but make sure no flour is visible. Add the berries and coconut flakes.

4. Add muffin liners to the tin and spoon the mix into the liners. 

5. Sprinkle granola on the tops. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes.

Trust me, get unsweetened coconut flakes. They will taste just fine in the cooked muffins. You can also switch out blueberries for raspberries, etc. Or try adding chopped nuts. As always, I hope you try out the recipe and like it! 

Lasagna Rolls

Sorry, I am a bit late on this post. I have been a bit busier now that school started. I found this recipe in the "Cook this, Not that" by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. It was an alternative recipe to Olive Garden's lasagna. Less calories and less money equals a win! If you haven't checked any of those books out, think about it, they are helpful when eating at restaurants or fast food.

Ingredients: 

10-12 wheat lasagna noodles

6 oz Italian-style sausage

1/2 bag of baby spinach

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of salt and pepper

1 cup of low-fat ricotta cheese

2 cups of marinara

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella (if you can get fresh mozzarella--do it)

Directions:

1. Boil water in a large pot and add some salt to it. Add the lasagna noodles. Cook to al dente. Drain, toss, and coat with a little bit of oil so they wont stick.

2. Brown sausage (I used my George Forman grill). In a large mixing bowl combine the ricotta, baby spinach, pepper flakes, nutmeg, chopped sausage, salt and pepper. 

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the noodles in half.

4. Put a spoonful of the mixture on to the end of each noodle and roll up. Place them in a glass baking dish (13x9). This will make about 20 rolls.

5. Spoon the marinara sauce on top of the rolls and sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese. 

6. Cover the top with tin foil and cook for 15 minutes. Take the tin foil off and cook for another 10 minutes. 

This make 6 servings and is about 380 calories a serving. I hope you enjoy it!