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26
Dec
2011
 Christmas Trip to The Outer Banks (In Pictures)



First, Mom, aka Psycho Holiday Baker, packed up the car with about 30 pounds of cookies.
Then, we started our drive through the night, and made it to Steak and Shake at about 5 am just outside Raleigh, NC.
Please note: making these kind of choices at 5 am in the morning can definitely lead to weight gain. But, we needed the calories and sugar to keep us going in the car! A one-time only kind of thing.

We finally made it to the Outer Banks at about 8:30 am Christmas Eve where we ate at a Pancake House. My Dad used about 20 or more ketchup packs for his breakfast. Ridiculous. And not very eco-friendly.
Everything was closed, except the grocery store on Christmas Eve, so we bought 6 frozen pizzas and made a large salad for 14 people. I insisted on a few organic pizzas, and no trans fat pizzas!
Oh, and I burnt a pepperoni pizza because I couldn’t get used to the convection oven. Whoops!
Then, we had the baking crew prepping Psycho Holiday Baker’s famous French toast for the next morning.
 We also had a hard time with more quantity foods production. How in the world do you work 4 coffee pots at once… I did go to school and get a degree that qualifies me to perform these tasks!
 Mimosa’s on Christmas morning!
Nala was dying for some lasagna.
Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you have had a wonderful break.
One final pic that I promised the 14 people in our group that they would end up on the blog…

22
Dec
2011
 Holiday Recipes from Around the Web



First, I have to apologize for the malfunctioning pages display at the top of my blog. Working on trying to fix it, but I am no web design expert.

It is getting down to crunch time for Christmas–only today, and Friday, then it’s Christmas Eve! My family is taking a trip to the Outer Banks, NC to spend Christmas at the beach. It will still be chilly weather, but at least we will be at the ocean.

Anyway, here is a roundup of my favorite festive recipes and holiday ideas from around the web:

Happy Holidays!

19
Dec
2011
 Quick and Fun Holiday Lunch



I was trying to get creative with what I had leftover in the fridge for lunch. I realized that green guacamole and red salsa make for a festive lunch.
I shall call this guacamole flat-bread! And yes, I realize it is pretty messy looking.

I bought these Flatout breads just because I thought they looked interesting, and I think I have had them before. I bought the multi-grain with flax. A lot of the other varieties have a not so stellar ingredient list.

INGREDIENTS: WATER, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, OAT FIBER, WHEAT GLUTEN, GRAIN BLEND (CUT WHEAT, WHEAT BRAN, CUT RYE, CORN MEAL, BARLEY GRITS, BULGAR WHEAT, STEEL CUT OATS, OAT FLAKES, YELLOW CORN GRITS, BARLEY FLAKES, RYE CHOPS, HULLED MILLET, WHEAT FLAKES), FLAX SEED MEAL, SOYBEAN OIL, contains less than 2% of each of the following: MALTITOL, SUGAR, MOLASSES, WHEAT PROTEIN ISOLATE, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, BAKING SODA, FUMARIC ACID, PRESERVATIVES (POTASSIUM SORBATE, SODIUM PROPIONATE, SORBIC ACID), WHEAT FLOUR, YEAST, CELLULOSE GUM, GUAR GUM, CALCIUM SULFATE, XANTHAN GUM, SALT, L-CYSTEINE, CALCIUM PEROXIDE, ENZYMES.

My head hurts just from looking at all those words. I think I will stick to my sprouted bread after this.

Anyway, all you have to do to make this flat-bread is to spread some guacamole on the bread, then add a little shaved cheese, and top with a few teaspoons of salsa. Then, bake for about 5 minutes, and you are done. I would serve this with a side vegetable to make it more balanced and healthy. Or, you could add peppers and onions to the flatbread (ex: red and green peppers).

15
Dec
2011
 New Food Product Finds of The Week



1. Jala Frozen Yogurt Ice Cream Sandwiches
I was looking for a cleaner ice cream dessert. This caught my eye even though the price was a bit high (I think close to $4!). But, I always like to give everything a try, and these sandwiches were delicious for 140 calories. I highly recommend them. They still have added sugar, but they are less processed than your standard ice cream bar or treat.

Ingredients: VANILLA YOGURT: skim milk, whole milk, sugar, corn syrup, whey, stabilizer(dextrose, soy lecithin, guar gum, xanthan gum, carrageenan), natural vanilla, yogurt culture (bifidobacterium lactis, lactobacillus acidophilus, lactobacillus delbrueckii bulgaricus, streptococcus thermophilus), vitamin a palmitate, asorbic acid, dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate. chocolate yogurt: skim milk, whole milk, sugar, corn syrup, whey, cocoa processed with alkali, nonfat dry milk, maltodextrin, dextrose, soy lecithin, guar gum, xanthan gum, carrageenan, yogurt culture

2. Lifeway Pomegranate Kefir
Found these super convenient single serve bottles of kefir at Whole Foods today. Super tasty. If you are wondering, kefir tastes just like a drinkable yogurt!
 I like flavored kefir, so I am willing to sacrifice a small amount of added sugars for the great health benefit (and taste!) that kefir provides. You can read here (my post on Diet-Blog) where I talk all about the health benefits of kefir, and why you too should drink it everyday :)

1 Cup is about 140 calories and 20 g carbohydrate which is comparable to other Greek and light yogurts.

3. Wholly Guacamole 100 Calorie Packs
I normally wouldn’t buy something like this because I believe it to be a non-budget friendly purchase. But, the price of avocado these days is pretty high anyway, so I figured I would try this portion controlled guac.
My favorite part about these packs is that they offer great portion control for a healthy food that can easily get high calorie. Perfect for bringing to work for lunches or snacks. You could spread it on a sandwich instead of mayo, or eat which a whole grain cracker, or some veggies!
You can see that you get a decent amount for 100 calories.
 A great way to get in monounsaturated healthy fats!

I have a few more new things I have bought this week, so I will let you know how those are in the next few days! Enjoy the weekend!

12
Dec
2011
 What to Do With Red Wine That’s “Gone Bad”?



Sometimes I don’t finish a bottle of red wine before it starts to “go bad”. And I often leave it sitting on the counter for weeks just in case I find a use for it in cooking. Well, tonight was one of those nights!

You can add red wine to asparagus instead of, or along with balsamic vinegar. I like to add it to any vegetable that goes well with balsamic vinegar. Red wine has a similar flavor when cooked, but in my opinion, adds more depth of flavor (and it’s healthy). Just add a few splashes, let it reduce, and add a few spices, and you’re done!

10
Dec
2011
 BeeWell with Quinoa



You can find me over at BeeWell talking about quinoa’s often overlooked health benefits here!

7
Dec
2011
 Love your Humps Day Wednesday



I am starting a new weekly posting (if I stay organized enough) promoting healthy body image.

Why, you ask? There is just too much negativity surrounding body image on the web, so this will be a blog where you can feel good about yourself!

What will I post? Images, quotes, anything that I find on the web that week. Or, if you have a suggestion, e-mail it to me!

This week’s musings:

Britney before and after Photoshop. Photo found here.

That is all for now to start off the week! Let the positivity begin :)

6
Dec
2011
 Gingerbread People Cakes



I bought boxed cake/cookie mix from Trader Joe’s since I was in the spirit of the Holidays, and made some treats for my coworkers.
 I made them without oil, and used a combination of pumpkin puree and applesauce. I did add some brown sugar to the top (which I have decided that they really didn’t need–I think it makes them look worse).

I baked a thin layer of the cake in a 9×13 pan, and when it cooled, I used a cookie cutter to cut out gingerbread shapes:
This was a great idea, but I would like it to be healthier. I love my healthy food!

It would probably be a great idea for other Holidays, and kids since you can cut out different fun shapes. But, I like novelty shapes too!

So, next time, I will nix the Trader Joe’s version, and make my own healthier cake version :)

4
Dec
2011
 5 Minute Side Dish: Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts



For some strange reason I was craving Brussels sprouts. Probably because I hadn’t eaten my usual 5 to 9 servings of fruits and veggies because I had been sick. So, my body was telling me to pick a super duper healthy veggie–the Brussels sprout!

Easiest, tastiest, and a healthy way to eat them is to buy a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts:

This way they are already softened in the freezing process, but just as fresh. This way you do not have to start with a fresh sprout which could take an extra 20 to 30 minutes to cook.

  1. Thaw the frozen sprouts in the microwave for about 1 minute while you heat up a saute pan on medium-high*. Also add 2-4 Tbsp. diced onions to the saute pan while everything is warming up.
    *Note: I only used an olive oil spray to coat the pan to help brown the ingredients.
  2. Slice the Brussels sprouts in half if they are large, and then add to the hot pan. It is OK if they sprouts are still a little bit cold or frozen.
  3. Cook 1-2 minutes, then add your seasonings. I used a cajun spice blend and black pepper, but you could use any spice blend like the original Mrs. Dash, or another vegetable seasoning blend.
  4. Cook another 3 minutes until they reach a desired brownness. I like them to look almost crispy. Then, I used my tub of whipped butter, and added a few pats of the butter to the tops of the Brussels sprouts. Stir to combine.

There you have it! Don’t worry about adding the whipped butter, or Earth Balance, or you could use a light Smart Balance, etc. This only adds about 2.5-5 grams of fat for the whole dish, I estimate. One tablespoon of whipped butter is only 5-6 grams of fat, and I only used somewhere between 1/2 and 1 whole Tbsp.

You can read more here about the nutrition of Brussels sprouts.

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