I'm at the tail end of my rare three day long "weekend" (Tues-Thurs). I'm a little bummed because I was planning to spend this time in San Francisco with my bestie, but due to the recent Asiana 777 crash, SFO is operating with limited runways and subsequently, cancelled flights. Cancellations mean overbooked flights and that means stand by is out of the question.
Since I was planning on flying to the Bay Area, Boyfriend scheduled to work in Chicago while I was out of town. So it's been me, Puppydog and Netflix for the past few days. I literally went through the entire Firefly series and three different movies. When Boyfriend is gone, I have certain tendencies, including a decrease in cooking and an increase in junk food and dessert intake.
Now to balance the sour cream and onion potato chips and ice cream, I wanted something fresh and light. Since I still didn't want to cook, I refer to my trusty blender.
Cantaloupe and Mint Smoothie
1 1/2 cups of fresh cantaloupe 1 cup crushed ice 3 tbsp mint simple syrup 4 leaves of mint, torn 1/4 cup plain yogurt
Blend in a blender until smooth. Enjoy cold.
Imagine a cantaloupe with cottage cheese and mint... just in a smoothie. Light, refreshing and forgiving. Unlike those potato chips, I can feel good about this meal. Now I just need to let those brownies cool.
I'm not a big fan of "salads" that aren't made of leafy greens. Examples include pasta salad, macaroni salad and potato salad. I attribute my aversion to the mayo "dressing". Don't get me wrong, I love mayo. I love it with my fries with sriracha or ketchup and on sandwiches as a garlic aioli. But something about a "salad" that has no veggies, covered in mayo makes me feel heavy and sick.
I love the idea of a cold Spring/ Summer salad, so I found a healthier alternative.
Cold Crunchy Salad with Yogurt Dressing 4 medium radishes, sliced into rounds 1 medium cucumber, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces 1 cup sugar snap peas, sliced in half 1 tbsp cilantro 2 tbsp green onion, chopped 1/4 cup yogurt salt and pepper to taste
Slice radishes into thin rounds. I used a knife but you can used a slicer. Peel cucumber, slice in half lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Chip into one inch pieces. Peel stems snap peas to remove stems and fibrous ends. Cut snap peas into bite sized pieces. Place all ingredients into a small bowl and mix until evenly covered with yogurt sauce. Let marinade for 10-20 minutes in fridge.
This is a nice salad option without the heaviness of mayonnaise, macaroni or potatoes. Enjoy!
It's heating up in Illinois. The sun is shining, the garden is growing and it's the season for outdoor eating. It's Summer!
Some of my favorite memories are from Summers past: Disneyland, beach time, house parties and frozen treats. I've been wanting to make popsicles for a while and I remember making homemade lemonade popsicles in ice cube trays. It's so fun and reminds me of childhood.
To encourage my popsicle wishes, I bought molds online and couldn't wait to get started. Since we had all the ingredients on hand, we made orange creamsicles.
Feelin' orange
Orange Creamsicles
1 cup plain yogurt 1 1/4 cup orange juice 1 orange, zested and juiced 2 tsp vanilla extract
Blend and freeze. Makes 4-8 popsicles.
Fun and a perfect frozen treat for Summer. They weren't too sweet, so you can add sugar or honey to it, but I liked the dreamy tartness from the yogurt instead of using milk or ice cream. Enjoy!
When I was working at a bank, my coworker used to obsess over Steak N Shake's seasonal chocolate covered strawberry milkshake. Strawberries and chocolate are always a welcome combination, but lately strawberries have been a little too sweet for my taste. An addition of almond milk and yogurt should help round out the flavors. Just wish I had some chocolate syrup on hand.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie 2 cups frozen strawberries 1/4 cup Greek yogurt 1 cup almond milk 2 scoops chocolate protein powder 1 individual packet of strawberries and cream instant oatmeal
Pour all ingredients into blender and mix until smooth.
YUM! Again, I wish I had some chocolate syrup on hand to enhance the chocolate flavor, but maybe it's for the best. I've been getting back into the habit of going to the gym, so I don't need any more empty calories. Enjoy!
Green smoothie take two. I followed a recipe I found online that involves ginger. Ginger is supposed to have anti-inflammatory and immune system boosting powers and since I've been feeling sluggish and under the weather, I figured it couldn't hurt.
Green Smoothie: Spinach, Apple, Banana, Ginger, Carrot
1 banana, sliced 1 apple, diced 1 carrot, grated 1 celery stalk, grated 1 inch fresh ginger, grated 1 cup fresh spinach 1 cup Greek yogurt 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup milk, I used almond milk
Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
Pretty colors
This smoothie definitely has a kick thanks to the ginger. It was almost too much ginger for me. The spinach was a great addition and gave it a fresh feeling. Now I have to figure out what green smoothie combination I'll try out next.
There's been a massive trend in health magazines, blogs and pinterest involving green smoothies. The concept intrigues me. Add the sweetness of fruit with the heath benefits of raw leafy greens, yogurt and supplements. The meal on the go has gone green.
As my introductory green smoothie, I decided to use my new favorite vegetable: kale. I really wish I had some flaxseed or chia seed or vanilla protein powder to add, but there will be more green smoothie opportunities in the near future.
Green Smoothie
1 cup Kale, torn into little pieces 1 medium granny smith apple, cut into 1/4' pieces 1 medium banana, sliced 1 cup Greek yogurt, plain flavor 1/2 tbsp honey 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tbsp peanut butter, smooth 1/2 cup soy milk, I used original flavor 1/4 cup water
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. You may need to push the ingredients down into the blade depending on your blender and in what order you dumped the ingredients.
Easy peasy
The smoothie turned out mild in flavor and beautiful in color. It had a few hints of sweetness from the banana and honey, some tart from the apple and very filling from the peanut butter, yogurt and milk. Since raw kale has very little flavor it, I didn't notice it except for the green color.
I can't wait to try out more green smoothies. Pineapple, spinach, peaches, blueberries... the possibilities are endless.
Valentine's day involves a lot of stereotypes: the conversation hearts, drug store chocolates, red roses. I don't buy into those things. Yes, we've all had those moments in middle school when it meant so much to get a Hershey's kiss from a crush, but as an adult, I like to take it to the next level.
This will be the third Valentine's day dinner I've prepared for Boyfriend. I usually make some kind of seafood dish to make it a special occasion, instead of making chicken. This time I wanted something a little more whimsical.
I took inspiration from a cocktail party, with easy to eat appetizers with lots of flavor and a fun theme. Every course of the meal will be on a stick. It's kind of silly, but it reminded me of that jalapeno skit from Jeff Dunham.
The menu consisted of cocktail, salad, pasta, shrimp, meatballs and dessert. Yummy on a stick.
Salami, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, basil and mozzarella
Lamb meatball
French bread, nutella, banana, bacon paninis from The Chew Book
Cheers!
Poppin' bottles
Nutella, banana, bacon nomz
Even puppydog got in on the V-day action. We're like many other pet-parents that love showering our animals with little gifts. Boyfriend was nice enough to carve a little heart out of dog treats for our large ball of fluff.
Boyfriend'd gift to me was very cute. He got me some artisan cheeses and meats to go with my new bathtub shelf. It even comes with a place to slide your wine glass and a stand to lean a book on. AMAZING! Now I get to eat my fancy snacks while taking a bubble bath. Does life get any better?
Prosciutto, cheeses, pepper sausage and wine
Black truffle mousse
A great Valentine's day is not complete without watching some Comedy Central, listening to Macklemore's Thrift Shop and reminiscing of the past.
Tomorrow, I'll be on a flight to San Francisco to meet old friends for a weekend in the Bay Area. I haven't seen some of them in years, and a fun weekend of food, cocktails and dancing would be much appreciated. Hopefully we can all meet up for a fantastic weekend.
Right now, I'm kinda on a smoothie kick. It's the perfect sweet breakfast pick up or post-workout treat. Plus, I'd give any excuse to use my new blender, I think it's true love.
I've been on a coffee kick as of late. It's been a change of habit since I'm normally a tea person. So to incorporate my new daily beverage into my new smoothie obsession, I found inspiration in a chocolate covered banana.
Chocolate Coffee Banana Smoothie
1 banana, sliced and frozen 1/4 cup lowfat yogurt, I used original flavor 1/2 cup coffee, cold 1/2 cup low fat milk 1 scoop protein powder, I used chocolate fudge
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
Background info: Boyfriend's Dad and Step Mom got me a beautiful blender for Christmas. I've been using it to indulge with some breakfast smoothies. Totally worth the clean up.
Chocolately Blueberry Banana Smoothie
1 small banana, sliced and frozen 1/4 cup blueberries 1/4 nonfat yogurt, I used original flavor 2 scoops lean protein powder, I used chocolate fudge flavor 1/2 cup milk, I used 2%
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Makes enough for two small smoothies or one large smoothie.
In order take it easier on the blender, I sliced the banana before I froze it. I usually add ice to my smoothies, but I omitted the ice for the frozen banana. The smoothie was like a chocolate banana smoothie with a hint of berry sweetness. Yum!
