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14
May
2013
 Put the Lime in the…



…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!

3
Apr
2013
 Spring Break Eats



The past Easter weekend, I headed to the beach with my family to a short break. We went to Destin, Florida area which is also near the location for my wedding this Fall. So, I got in a little wedding planning while I was there. But, mostly, we relaxed and enjoyed the ocean and the food!

On the way there, we passed this disgrace:

hardees pork and biscuit

Pork and gravy biscuit? Eww, no thanks.

I brought my seed crackers for the ride down, and my sister enjoyed her Twizzlers ;-)

healthy cracker for travel

I was happy to get to the beach and enjoy some shrimp!

steamed shrimp

We went to Shake’s after dinner. My family and I love Shake’s–the ice cream is so creamy and is more of a “custard”. We only get to have it when we are near Destin!

So, don’t freak out about this less healthy option.

Shake's hot fudge sundae

I will say that they have increased their portions. The “regular” size used to be smaller than this, so we were all surprised when we got this huge ice cream!

Yum! Then, the next night I ordered salmon and asparagus.

salmon on cedar plank

We enjoyed some wine most every night ;-) And took plenty of walks and went for a few runs.

Rosemary Beach restaurants

For Easter, Psycho Holiday Baker brought a huge Costco size Jelly Belly container. And Dad picked up some Donut Hole treats. They are known for their key lime pie, but also have tasty donuts and baked goods. I eat mostly fruit and some natural peanut butter, but enjoyed half a chocolate coconut donut!

Donut hole donuts

It was a fun weekend, but now it’s back to the day-to-day normal routine!!

17
Feb
2013
 Eats this Week: Oat Creations and Spaghetti Squash



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.

10
Feb
2013
 Weekend Eats: Thai & Painting Inspiratation



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:

3
Feb
2013
 Caitlin turns 25 after the Super Bowl



We went for a walk with Nala and MatTheW up Sawnee Mountain to enjoy the sunshine. I was shocked to find “No Dogs Allowed” signs in many of the nearby parks. So, we had to park at a church and just walk up a road to get to the top of the mountain. Still a great view!

sawnee mtn

When we got home, it was time for an artichoke and spinach appetizer!

light spinach artichoke dip

We had it with some of these brown rice crackers (Food Should Taste Good brand) that I LOVE:

brownricecrackers

For dinner we had a homemade vodka sauce with crab meat served over pasta.

family dinner

MatTheW thought his salad dressing bottle had a shaker top, and spilled about one-third of the bottle all over his salad… Figures. But, at least we could dip our crusty bread in the extra dressing!

spilled dressing

We watched some of the Super Bowl, then had some birthday cake!

happy 25th birthday

family eating sitting on couch

Nala wants some too.

Back to watching the Super Bowl… or the game that shall not be named.

This week I made some delicious spaghetti squash, and will post my new recipe tomorrow. Good night!

22
Jan
2013
 Leftover Broccoli Stems? Don’t Throw Them Out!



Many of us only use the florets of the broccoli plant. But, what about the poor little broccoli stems? I used to throw them out, but Mr. Cyclist had a genius idea for cooking them.

chile broccoli stems

He sliced the stems on the julienne setting on the mandolin. Then, sauteed in oil, chili oil, garlic, and sriracha sauce. Topped with black sesame seeds. It was absolutely delicious, but super spicy. I could only eat a few bites at a time.

asian kale salad

We had a cute little salad with it, and some miso soup!

ginger kale salad

Yesterday, I also went to the farmer’s market to load up on fruits, vegetables, and spices. It was a mad house. I finally made it out of there alive, and loaded up my fridge.

fridge with veggies

You can’t really tell from this picture, but there are loads of oranges, clementines, spinach, kale, carrots, celery, cucumber, peppers, herbs, apples, some dried fruit, eggplant, brussels sprouts, and more…

I also picked up these spices for $0.40-$2 each!!

cheap bulk spices

What a steal! This week, I will have plenty of healthy recipe ideas ready to go. It definitely helps to do this shopping ahead of time.

19
Jan
2013
 Salmon Dinner Night: Danny Turns 17



My little brother, who is not little anymore at all (he is 6’3″ tall), turned 17. This makes me feel old. I know that is silly. I still decorated a cookie cake kid style just to make myself feel even younger.

dinosaur cookie cake

Dinosaurs vs. toy soldiers. Haha. Everyone got a kick out of it. Not healthy, but at least Psycho Holiday Baker made it from scratch.

For dinner, Dad made some awesome salmon “burgers” made from fresh salmon. They were delicious! And much more nutritious.

salmon burger

Since I ate leftover turkey lettuce wraps at 3 pm, and we snacked on brown rice crackers and cheese before dinner, I just ate a small salmon burger with a bed of lettuce.

Of course, Danny would not be eating salmon on his birthday. This is the unhealthy version of the birthday dinner night:

unhealthy onion rings and burger

Danny's Birthday

Anyway, tomorrow I will probably go out for a run to burn off the buttery sugary cookie cake. Going to be beautiful weather here in Atlanta. A nice break from the nasty, cold and wet weather we had all this week.

Tomorrow I will have my guacamole quinoa recipe posted!

11
Nov
2012
 Caturday!



This weekend we adopted two precious kitties from Angels Rescue! We had been planning to adopt them, and we got to pick them up Saturday!

Brother and sister kittens that we re-named Liz Lemon aka “Lemon” and Jack Donaghy aka “Jack”. Silly, I know, but for some reason it fits them.

Earlier that day I stopped by the farmer’s market to pick up some goodies.

Mostly kale, sweet potatoes, and lots of carrots.

They had some really good looking lettuces:

When your veggies look pretty it makes it more exciting to eat them.

And turn into pizza! Haha!

Cooked some of the kale with onions, and added a dollop of fat free ricotta. Tasty.

Have a healthy weekend and happy Caturday!

23
Oct
2012
 Easiest Crock Pot Chicken BBQ



When you think of BBQ, many think it is unhealthy because of the meat, the high sodium content, and the sugar from the sauce. I have been making this recipe over the past few years, and health-ified it!

I made the chicken in a crock pot, added about 1/2 a bottle of Williamson Brothers Chipotle BBQ sauce (only 4 g sugar per serving!), a few splashes of Italian dressing, 1-2 spoonfuls of brown sugar, and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce.

Then, I let it cook for about 5-6 hours on low.

So, this makes this BBQ fairly healthy. The meat is very lean (made from chicken breasts) and the sugar is reduced. The only negative is that the sodium is still significant. I made sure not to add any extra salt.

I put my BBQ on top of this sprouted bagel half:

These bagels are made by French Meadow Bakery (I found them in my local Kroger). I love them–they remind me of an Ezekiel style bread. Much healthier than any bagel you can get at restaurants. Plus, they have about 5 to 10 grams of fiber per bagel!

Anyway, we also had a side of grilled asparagus (even though they are not really in season right now… just wanted to eat the little stalks!).

14
Oct
2012
 Fall Foodie Weekend



Met up with the family this weekend for a little hike and a drive to the apple orchards!

We started off the morning with a breakfast casserole made by my Dad:

Not super healthy… Not my favorite anyway because of the sausage and cheese everywhere. So, this is what my plate looked like:

And then ate more nuts, and a slice of bread.

We drove to our hiking spot, and let Nala play in the water!

Stopped in town after our hike, and a few of us (not me!) got some sugary sodas. Not so good. A quote from my sister, “I never drink soda”. Except for when you do! Haha.

Stopped at the apple orchard to pick up some fresh apples. Apple season always is amazing because the rest of the year you forget how fresh apples can taste.

Picked up some winesap and cameo apples. I haven’t had many winesap apples before, but I like them for their mildly sweet and sour flavor and good crunch.

After our scenic drive home, we had family salmon dinner per usual that was delicious.

And of course, some sinfully rich brownies (from Barefoot Contessa recipe) made by Psycho Holiday Baker:

And some apple pies (blackberry, lemon, and coconut too!) that we got from the apple orchard:

And then, and arm wrestle for good measure.

Relaxing fall weekend! As always, it’s about learning how to deal with eating in moderation and what that truly means ;)

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