Put the Lime in the…

May 14th, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week - (1 Comments)

…coconut and drink it all up! ;-D

There was a lot of lime for my birthday–skinny margaritas and lime pie! Perfect for this warmer weather. Sam made me the lime pie, and my Mom got me this cute little lemon-lime tart earlier in the day.

mini lemon tartBy the way, this mini lemon tart is still almost 200 calories! What the heck!

And of course, Psycho Holiday Baker got me the most decadent cake the day before: “Million Dollar Cake”. I am not sure why it is called this. It could be due to the extremely rich layers of chocolate mousse, cheesecake, and brownie!

million dollar birthday cake

million dollar cake

And you got to love this card from my brother telling me that I must eat unhealthy foods on my birthday ;-)

unhealthy birthday card

Earlier in the day we did have some tasty healthier food.

Mat-the-w made some bruschetta with me as his sous chef.

bruschetta with mozarella

cooking dinner at home

vegetable pasta and salad

pasta primavera dinner

Dad made a delicious pasta primavera with the veggies and chicken grilled, and then mixed with the pasta. The key was to top it with smoked gouda! Yum! You can find a similar recipe here.

There was quite a lot of rich food this birthday weekend, including some nachos last night ;-) Hehe. No worries, I already ate some veggies and an apple today. Back to my normal routine.

birthday balloons

So long year 26. It was nice, but now on to year 27!

, , ,

Lightened up: Macaroni and Cheese Cups

March 28th, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

As usual, I was browsing Pinterest for recipe ideas, and I saw this mac ‘n cheese recipe with spinach from Emily Bites.

I am picky about my pasta dishes, and don’t typically eat too much pasta. But, I love baked pastas!

Since this recipe is made in a muffin tin, you get these cute little portion sizes (and yes, you may want to eat more than one!). Another benefit is that you get crispy edges, and this dish cooks more quickly. If you don’t like crispy edges, you may want to bake this in a large casserole dish.

macaroni and cheese muffin

I followed Emily’s recipe exactly, except I added more crushed garlic to mine, and I used half gluten free pasta/half regular elbow white pasta.

You can use whatever pasta you like, but I recommend cooking it so that it is barely done as it will continue cooking in the oven.

We ate ours with some leftover chicken, and a side salad. Yum!! I loved it, and Mr. Cyclist said it was OK (he said you could tell it was healthier). I was happy to eat more of it the next day as leftovers ;-)

, , , , , ,

Fish in Foil

March 17th, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (1 Comments)

Happy St. Patty’s Day!! Today, I have a recipe for you with a little bit of green ;-)

I rarely cook fish in a foil packet or parchment paper because it doesn’t get crispy. But, what I discovered is that it becomes super moist and packed with flavor.

fish in foil packet

I followed this tilapia recipe from Key Ingredient, except I used green beans instead of asparagus for the vegetable. It turned out like a gourmet meal! And it was nice and light.

Here is how to lay out the foil with fish and ingredients on top:

cook foil packets

how to make foil packets

Wrap them up tightly and place on a baking sheet. It makes for easy clean-up!!

You can use parchment paper as well for a more natural choice.

Then, Mr. Cyclist made some homemade french onion soup to go with it!

homemade french onion soup

It felt like a gourmet dinner! But, the fish recipe was so easy.

, , , , ,

Eats this Week: Best Salad Ever and The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 4th, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week - (0 Comments)

We had a lot of tasty eats this week! Mr. Cyclist and I discovered that if you roast little mini peppers they become even more sweet and delicious.

We ate them with a turkey burger (I left off the bun because I was saving room for chips hah):

turkey burger with roasted peppers

All you need to do is get the big bag of mini peppers from Costco or your local grocery store (if you can find them there) and then roast them on a baking sheet in the oven under the broiler until they brown. We add some olive oil and a few spices.

Next, we added those same peppers to what I am calling the best salad ever (for the moment anyway).

shrimp avocado salad

Lemon shrimp, avocado, Romano cheese, roasted mini peppers, spinach, onion, sun-dried tomatoes and a few olives. So tasty!

For another dinner, we took more avocados and put them on top of a vegetable omelet.

omelet with avocado

Served with a side of spiced black beans for a complete meal.

Last night, Psycho Holiday Baker made a batch of some of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. Even my Dad couldn’t stop eating them! And he doesn’t usually care much about cookies. The recipe was from Savory Sweet Life.

best chocolate chip cookies

For today, we went to one of those make-your-own stir-fry restaurants.

At first, I was horrible at putting together ingredients, but now I am a pro. Haha. Anyway, first I made a vegetable and tilapia curry mix:

tilapia vegetable red curry

And then, a second small vegetable mix with vodka sauce! It was amazing:

vodka sauce stir fry

Look at all of those veggies!

make your own stir fry

I don’t think he really liked getting his picture taken.

Now, it’s time to make some gumbo and relax. I already did my exercise by wandering around on a trail in the woods with Mr. Cyclist! Hah. Typical for a day off.

, , , , , , ,

Baked Eggplant Sandwiches

February 21st, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

Yummy in my tummy!

baked eggplant sandwiches

Mr. Cyclist tried to recreate these eggplant sandwiches from Food Wishes. I bought the ingredients, and he cooked them up.

They tasted so sinfully delicious! They did have a thin slice of salami and some cheese inside, but they were baked and not fried. And at least you get to eat a vegetable. OK, enough. I made it seem as healthy as I could. But, I would classify these as neither healthy or unhealthy–maybe neutral.

Below you will find the Food Wishes video on how to make these eggplant bites.

Don’t worry, we didn’t use too much oil or butter. He suggests to eat them room temp, but I loved eating them still warm. And we did cook ours much longer than 20 minutes. However, I love eggplant no matter what, except maybe completely raw. So, I am easy to please when it comes to eggplant.

You could make a variation on these sandwiches, too! Perhaps using mozzarella, basil, and sun-dried tomato! Or, turkey instead of salami. But, we only used a tiny thin slice of salami on eat sandwich. So, it was an easy way to portion control.

Well, I have been super busy this week! How about you? I just need some time to get a good relaxation. Maybe go take a bubble bath!

relaxation

, , , ,

Eats this Week: Oat Creations and Spaghetti Squash

February 17th, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week - (0 Comments)

This past week i made homemade granola, so I had a small bowl with bananas and almond milk:

granola with almond milk

Up next, I made this antioxidant-rich oatmeal with mixed berries and walnuts:

berry oatmeal with nuts

I added some cinnamon and 1 packet of stevia to even out the bitterness from the berries.

For a snack, I had my favorite ants on a log snack since I had some peanut butter in the house (I usually only have almond butter around).

ants on a log healthy

The night before Valentine’s Day, Mr. Cyclist whipped up some homemade green curry. Again. Yes, once again!

homemade green curry

Served with black rice, avocado, and basil garnish! YUM. We have decided that we are a little tired of those flavors… for now.

I made the same type of spaghetti squash as I did last week because I enjoyed the flavor combinations so much.

healthy spaghetti squash

If I haven’t posted this recipe yet, I will because so far this is my favorite way to cook it. Sun-dried tomatoes and onions! A perfect combination in the squash. I served it with some low fat ricotta for protein.

What did everyone do on Valentine’s Day? I dressed up in red for work that day:

Valentine's Day outfit

For dinner, we made salad with shrimp and avocado:

shrimp and avocado salad

One of my favorite salads!

For a sweet treat, I brought Mr. Cyclist some mats to make s’mores!

healthy s'mores ingredients

Did you know that most all graham crackers contain trans fat? YES, terrible. So, I got these Mi-del graham crackers that are much healthier. The marshmallows are still full of corn syrup, but what can you do?

s'mores healthier

They are pretty fun to make in a toaster oven. No, I do not have a fireplace.

Yesterday morning, Mr. Cyclist walks in the bathroom as I am just rolling out of bed, and says, “I made huevos rancheros”. Haha.

healthy huevos rancheros

Eggs with tomato, onion, spices, avocado on top, and a brown rice wrap!

By the way, I got a new phone, so I now have Instagram. Hence, the reason for some pictures with silly filters. I don’t care if people don’t like it because it is just a fun thing to do! You can find me on Instagram here.

, , , , , , , , ,

Weekend Eats: Thai & Painting Inspiratation

February 10th, 2013 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week | Recipes - (0 Comments)

More curry this weekend!

green curry

I ordered green curry with shrimp, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was loaded with julienned vegetables, had a nice thick sauce, and seemed pretty light for a curry dish.

Meanwhile, Mr. Cyclist was out at another restaurant with some friends eating green curry! Hah! I guess we really love curry.

This is the Thai restaurant I went to North of Atlanta called Lime Juice. It has been under new management for about half a year now, and the food seems to be much better. And everyone is so nice there. It is tucked in a shopping plaza hidden away so you wouldn’t know about it. I highly recommend it for anyone in the Atlanta area.

Afterwards, we went to a wine and painting class. My Dad chatted it up with the wine man, and my sister and I had eagle eye focus on our paintings.

My Dad has this unique painting style. It’s like he’s wanting to paint a Kinkade style house, but ends up with something more pop art style.

dad painting

My painting came out pretty good. I still could have used more extreme lights and darks for better shadows.

diy tuscan painting

Anyway, it was a bunch of fun to see what everyone came up with in the end!

Now, on to food.

Here are some of my meal planning ideas for next week:

, , , , ,

Veggie Baked Pasta

November 15th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (2 Comments)

Baked ziti is one of my favorite pasta dishes. Pasta is not my favorite, but when you add ricotta, I instantly love it.

I went to the store in search of big ziti noodles, but could not find any! So, I resorted to some whole wheat shells.

Instead of traditional baked ziti, I loaded it up with lots of vegetables, fat free ricotta, and no additional cheese. Mr. Cyclist helped put this whole meal together while I did a workout. So nice ;-)

Veggie Baked Pasta

Fills one 9 x 13 casserole dish and you may have extra sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cans diced or stewed tomatoes
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • 1 eggplant, diced
  • 1 small carton of sliced mushrooms
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp. parsley
  • 1 Tbsp. basil
  • 1 Tbsp. oregano
  • 1 large container fat free or low fat ricotta (I think it is 15 oz. container)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 box of your favorite whole wheat pasta (shells, penne, rigatoni work well)
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Prepare your sauce by sauteing the onions and garlic, then added the tomatoes and herbs. Cook for about 20 minutes. We add anchovy paste and about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan for some pizzazz! To save time, you could use a jar sauce.
  3. While cooking the sauce, lightly saute the remainder vegetables in a large saute pan with the olive oil.
  4. To assemble: In a 9 x 13 pan, add a layer of uncooked pasta. Then add a thick layer of sauce. The sauce will soften the pasta during baking. Add the vegetables on the next layer. Add a thick layer of ricotta next. Top with the rest of the sauce. You can lightly stir to combine the layers slightly.
    If you have too much sauce, save the extra for another meal. You can also freeze the sauce for the future.
  5. Bake about 30 minutes until the pasta is al dente. The pasta on the edges may be a little hard, but that is OK. Some love the crispier pieces!

I didn’t add any meat to this, but you could add some grilled chicken or lean ground turkey. The fat free ricotta is also a good protein source at 6 grams of protein per 1/4 cup! For those who love cheese, you could top with mozzarella cheese. But, I didn’t think it needed it!

, , , , , , , ,

Superfood Dinner: Romano Crusted Salmon & Sliced Brussels Sprouts

November 6th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

I was tired of salmon stinking up my house, so I decided to bake it! Fish smell-free!

This recipe turned out delicious! And, the cheese “crust” is really not bad for you. I used olive oil mayo (a little better than regular mayo because it has less fat and more olive oil), gluten free almond crackers for the breading, and romano cheese! Romano cheese is pretty strong, so you don’t need a lot.

Romano Crusted Salmon

Makes extra breading. I put what I don’t need inside a zip-top baggy, and save for chicken another night!

Ingredients:

  • 1 box blue diamond nut-thins (any variety is fine–I chose almond for a nutty flavor)
  • Approx. 3.5-4 oz. Romano cheese (can use Parmesan if that is what you have), sliced
  • 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • Pepper
  • 4 Tbsp. olive oil mayo *Use just enough to combine the cracker crumbs/cheese together
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 lb. wild salmon or steelhead fish

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400.
  2. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until you have what looks like bread crumbs.
  3. Pour half the “bread crumbs” into a bowl and combine with the mayo. Reserve the other half of the “bread crumbs” for another night.
  4. Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. Place the fish skin-side-down, and squeeze half a lemon over the fish.
  5. Press down your cheese/cracker topping on top of the fish with a spoon, and you can use your hands (just make sure to wash well after).
  6. Bake about 15 minutes.

For the brussels sprouts, slice them up length-wise. Saute them lightly (with about 1 Tbsp. olive oil) in a large saute pan. Add salt, pepper, and dried minced onion. Cook on medium for about 8-10 minutes. If you like, you could grate some leftover romano over top of the sprouts!

The reason I call this a superfood dinner is from all of the healthy omega-3′s in the fish, and the potent antioxidants in the brussels sprouts! An added bonus is that brussels sprouts are coming into season now.

, , , , , , , , ,

Sunday Eats: Tasty Coffee Cake & Dinner on the Grill

October 22nd, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week | Recipes - (4 Comments)

Spent Sunday with my family per usual. When I went over to their house, I discovered that Psycho Holiday Baker made some of the best apple coffee cake on the planet:

You can find the recipe here. However, she created a layer of apples in the middle, and she used a 9×13 pan to bake it in.

  • So, follow the recipe, but slice about 1.5-2 cups of apples thin and toss them with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  • Then, add one layer of cake mix, add a layer of apples, then another layer of cake mix.
  • Bake about 40-45 minutes. DO NOT overbake. Check at about the 35 minutes mark to be safe. She made a light sugar icing for the top as well.

Of course, this is not health food. But, I am going to use this recipe as a base to turn into a healthier one like I did with my own apple coffee cake that was a hit last year. I will try using a little more Greek yogurt, and use more egg, and perhaps a little bit of canned pumpkin or apple sauce.

Take the unhealthy and turn it into tasty healthy food!

We had visitors in town: Smart Art and Tommy. So, my Dad made them a steak dinner and I ate a chickpea/spinach patty.

My Dad also made some tasty asparagus on the grill that were marinated in some kind of dressing (seemed like an Italian style dressing marinade).

Yum. The chickpea and spinach patty was just so-so. I wouldn’t buy it for myself because it only had 5 grams of protein and wasn’t amazing.

After dinner, I went for a short little run. The weather is perfect right now. Then, had dessert and watched the Walking Dead with the family!

Time to plan meal ideas for this week…

, , , , , ,