Tasty Atlanta

October 7th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week | Food Review - (1 Comments)

I was unable to go to FNCE this year with my fellow Dietitians. Definitely going to try to go to the Texas FNCE next year.

So, the least I could do was go to a food festival–Taste of Atlanta!

One of the first things I spotted was this sign:

Reese’s peanut butter cup doughnut… let me just look. And what happens?

Don’t freak out. Yes, I ate a baby doughnut. I am only human. The sad thing is that it wasn’t amazing. This one I would rate as not worth it.

Next, Mr. Cyclist got some tasty bites:

Delicious chips and cheese dip from Lime restaurant that just came to Atlanta. It was one restaurant that we discovered and decided we would frequent in the future.

Mr. Cyclist got some shrimp jambalaya while I ate some baklava.

This baklava was my favorite part of Taste of Atlanta. I have always loved baklava. The texture is moist, yet crunchy. The honey and walnuts are warm and delicious. And I love phyllo dough (insert guilty face here).

More tasty bites. Beet salad with some type of cheese and truffle oil (I think):

Creamy shrimp and grits with hint of sausage:

After feeling a little full, we decided to walk around Atlanta for a little while. And we stumbled across this crazy thing:

It’s a massive mushroom!! Kinda gross.

Walked back to Taste of Atlanta for a few more bites, and this guy:

Great flavor from the grill. But, the artichoke was a little inedible except for the inner most leaves.

We got loads of free chickpea chips and popcorn from Smart Food.

Beautiful sunny day!

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Mac ‘n Cheesy Cauliflower

February 1st, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Love Your Humps | Recipes - (1 Comments)

I was reading Vegetarian Times at a friend’s house, and I got this idea to make cauliflower that tasted similar to mac ‘n cheese.
I added more garlic, onions, and some ground rosemary to mine to make it more grown-up. It was delicious and filling, and I brought it to work for lunch the next day.

I also stopped at Trader Joe’s and found this:
Nutella wannabe. I think they use more canola oil because the saturated fat content is a little lower. But, other than that it is pretty much the same as Nutella.
Delicious! Tastes very similar, but you can taste a slight almond butter flavor, and it just tastes healthier and slightly more gritty.

I have also started to get into couponing this week. I discovered the Krazy Coupon Lady, and have been plotting deals ever since. I figure that if I can save more money, I can spend more of that saved money on things I haven’t been able to do! My goal is to wait for good sales and use coupons on those particular sales only to get the lowest possible price. I am still learning…. But, I did manage to get this deal at Target:
 And here is the dress: Sorry for the crappy picture–it is a wrap dress.
And then, I got 4 cosmetics at CVS using extra bucks and sales for only $8!
Now… if only I can figure out how to get more healthy foods by couponing!

Love Your Humps Wednesday:
Don’t worry about the scale and the number. Put the focus on overall health :)

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Christmas Trip to The Outer Banks (In Pictures)

December 26th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Miscellaneous - (2 Comments)

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…

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Food in St. John: Part 1

July 14th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review | Miscellaneous | Recipes - (0 Comments)

Plane Food
Did you know that Delta now has some food available for purchase in-flight? My Dad ordered a chicken salad sandwich that looked full of mayo, cheese, and white bread/croissant.
Not my idea of a healthy lunch. The red wine is a nice idea though. I grabbed a salad at the terminal earlier–smarter idea. I tried to check the nutrition facts of Delta’s menu items, but have not found any yet. They are trying to be somewhat healthy though. Delta has a Greek yogurt and Kind bar option for breakfast, and always has a fruit and cheese plate.

St. Thomas Welcome Drink
As soon as we got off the plane in St. Thomas, they had free shots of rum and were playing music. I thought it was hilarious. And then there was a bar at the ferry terminal which is where we had our first rum drinks!
Shipwreck Landing
Our first night we went to get some seafood at Shipwreck landing in Coral Bay, St. John. I had some tasty shrimp, and this rice cake side that I have never had before. It was delicious, and makes me want to think of a way to make a healthier brown rice cake.
Homemade Dinners
We were staying at a rental house, so we made quite a few dinners at home. If you travel to the Virgin Islands, be warned that the grocery prices are very expensive (more on this later). Turkey was over $10/pound. Grouper was over $20/pound (locally caught). A box of triscuits was about $8. A can of tuna was $4.

Pasta dinner one night:
Ok, I know this picture is a little ridiculous with my man standing there looking off into the distance. Just silly. We had a lot of dinners out on this deck with such a great view. It was my favorite thing. And yes, I did make my Mom buy wheat pasta which she was annoyed with because she likes authentic Italian food (she is part Italian).
Arroz con Pollo night:
Served with mango, plantains, and a salad.
Shrimp and Mashed Cauliflower:
I made the mashed cauliflower which my whole family enjoyed including my brothers. I carmelized onions, steamed the cauliflower for a while, and added spices while steaming. I mashed the onions into the cauliflower with some whipped butter, sour cream, and a small amount of cheddar cheese.

Dinner by candlelight:
My Dad made grouper–finally, some truly fresh seafood. You could taste the difference. This grouper had a more sea salt flavor, and meatier texture because it was so firm and fresh.
Psycho Baker’s aka “Trixie Treats” Dessert: Key Lime Pie
I kept telling my Mom there was no way she was going to find all the ingredients to a key lime pie at a tiny island grocery store. But, she was determined and she did find the ingredients–even the key lime juice!
This whole pie cost about $30 to make since the ingredients were so expensive. Graham crackers were $6 and these weren’t even organic! Psycho baker insisted that it was worth it. So, I let her bake away. Hey, if she was going to all this trouble to make the pie, I was going to eat it even if it wasn’t my idea of healthy.
To be continued…

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Easter

April 24th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (1 Comments)

Happy Easter, everyone!

This Easter I went to my parents’ house, and the Psycho Holiday Baker (she now refers to herself as Trixie Treats) was at it again. She made cupcakes for everyone with their favorite toppings on each cupcake:

But, before the sweets we had some appetizers. Psycho Holiday Baker aka Trixie Treats made some spinach artichoke dip (Emeril’s recipe), and it was so heavy and filling. I couldn’t bring myself to post a picture of the casserole dish because of all the grease on top.

But, here is what it looks like with some chips. A little too cheesy for me.

And then there was the star of the meal: The Ham. Ugh, gross. I hate ham. I don’t think I have ever liked it. Too sweet, salty, and chewy.

I had a piece of spicy BBQ chicken instead :) And then, went back for seconds!

We also had some delicious scalloped potatoes (Tyler Florence recipe).

And some festive deviled eggs:

After dinner, it was finally time to eat the Trixie Treats. Here was my pretty cupcake:

We also had an advanced level Easter egg hunt since we are all between the ages of 15 and 27. This means finding eggs in the dark. I won $16! Haha.

And the Easter Bunny brought me my Easter basket in a lunch bag–how convenient.

I got coffee, a bathing suit (not pictured), lots of chocolate, lip gloss, gift card to Starbuck’s, lotion, hand sanitizer, magazine, etc. I guess I was good this year because I got a lot of stuff. Either that or my Mom really misses having her girls at home, and likes to buy us girly things.

Anyway, it was a pretty day out, and everyone enjoyed it including Lucy.

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National Registered Dietitian Day!

March 9th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Nutrition News - (1 Comments)

This is my very first Registered Dietitian Day since becoming a RD! The day makes me think about how long and hard I worked toward achieving my goal of being a RD. It’s nice to have a day to think about your own career.

But, more importantly, this day is to help create awareness that the Registered Dietitian is the #1 authority on food! Go here to eatright.org for more info.

Update: Mr Triathlete made me a delicious gourmet meal to celebrate the day. Not super duper healthy, but healthier and tastier than restaurant food.

Fettuccine with shrimp and scallops in a white wine, lemon, shallots sauce

 

 

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Food Network Re-creation: Salmon Dinner

January 14th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (1 Comments)

I was watching Giada the other day, and she was making salmon. It looked delicious and healthy. So, when I went to my family’s house we decided to re-create the whole meal. Even though it is the middle of the winter, light summer-like meals are a nice change from the root veggies, soups, and stews.

You can find the Giada recipe for the salmon and the salsa verde here. For the citrus salsa we left out the mint because I don’t care for mint and neither does my Dad.

My Mom made this sugar snap peas salad with mozzarella balls, red onion, carrots, and balsamic dressing. And whole wheat couscous too!


And then my little brother (not so little though–he is 15 and about 6 ft tall) ate a hotdog because he doesn’t like fish or many veggies or couscous! Picky teenager. I made him use whole wheat bread to ate least get some nutrition :)

And then we had brownies and ice cream for dessert.

Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend.

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The Psycho Holiday Baker: 10 Different Christmas Cookies in 2 Days

December 24th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review | Recipes - (2 Comments)

My Mom called in sick two days to make Christmas cookies.

She baked all day from 7 am until 5 pm. She is crazy! I know she loves baking and aspires to have her own bakery one day, but I find it hilariously intense. I think she used 6 pounds of butter. Gross.

She says one secret rule to baking good cookies is not to double the batch because it doesn’t turn out as well and it makes a huge mess.

Anyway, the favorite cookie was the peanut butter and jelly cookie (not my fav though):

Holiday Sugar Cookies:

Chocolate Peppermint Bark:

Thumbprint Cookies (we make these every year; they are a tradition, and my Dad’s fav):

Gingerbread Cookies (my fav because they are not too sweet!):

Chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips:

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Kisses (my brother’s and sister’s fav):

Oatmeal Applesauce Raisin Cookies:

Cranberry Shortbread Hearts:

And then there were cinnamon chip scones (like Starbuck’s has!), but all that was left was crumbs.

My Mom still says she has to make lemon bars and Italian cookies (like my Great Grandmother made). That will make 12 different kinds of cookies–for the 12 days of Christmas! Hah!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

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How Was Your Thanksgiving?

November 27th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Blogging | Recipes - (3 Comments)

I started off my Thanksgiving by making some festive turkey cookies. No, these cookies are not modified to be healthy because they are simply made for the purpose of being festive.

My neighbor had requested that I make her my famous turkey cookies, so I iced and iced and frosted and glazed and decorated the day away.

The trick to these cookies is practice, and the correct recipe for the royal icing. I referred to Alton Brown’s recipe of course! If you don’t use egg whites, you can use meringue powder which is the key ingredient for icing that holds up and stays shiny.

My sister was put to work peeling potatoes.

My Mom and I didn’t trust her with much else in the kitchen. Just kidding–I know she can do much more than just peel potatoes.

For an appetizer, I made a cheese ball that everyone loved.

It was so easy. I highly recommend it. All you need is one 8 oz. small container of reduced fat chive/onion cream cheese, one 8 oz. plain reduced fat cream cheese, 2 cups of reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese, 2 TBSP. paprika, pinch of garlic and onion seasoning, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix everything together, shape into a ball, and let sit for a few hours in the fridge to harden. It was supposed to look like a pumpkin (with a piece of celery sticking out the top), but I forgot.

Turkey carving time!

Silly Matt eating the carcass–good luck.

My favorite is sweet potato casserole.

I made green beans this year with shallots, mushrooms, and a small amount of pancetta.

My Mom made “luxurious” mashed potatoes.

She was obsessed with getting all the lumps out and making the potatoes as creamy as possible because that’s how my Grandma makes them she says.

For dessert we had a pumpkin roll, apple pie, cookies, pecan pie, and tres leche cake (soaked in 3 kinds of milk).

After dinner, we were stuffed, but my sister and I were watching Taylor Swift and had a sugar rush from dessert.

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How to Make Homemade Pizza

June 25th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

My boyfriend and I made homemade pizza the other night–meaning we made the dough from scratch! Ah! Crazy! I know. Not really, it is pretty easy to make dough if you have a mixer with a dough hook.

We used simple, fresh ingredients. So, compared to your processed frozen cardboard box pizza (PS- California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza has trans fat… I learned this the hard way) homemade pizza can help you eliminate the crap load, 40 ingredient, unnatural pizza. An easy alternative would to be to pick up some dough at the grocery store, and then make the rest at home. Or, the frozen pizza brand I do like is Amy’s Pizza because it is more natural ingredients, yet still has a great flavor.

Homemade Margherita Pizza Recipe
Ingredients (makes 1 medium size thin crust pizza, serves 2):
    Dough:
  • 1/2 C. Warm Water
  • 1 Packet Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 1/4 C. White Flour or Whole Wheat White Flour (regular whole wheat can be too dense)
  • 1 tsp. Olive Oil
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Honey
  • Cooking Spray to Grease Bowl
  • Toppings: 
    • 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
    • 2 tsp. Crushed Garlic
    • 2 Tomatoes, Sliced
    • 1/4 C. Sun-Dried Tomatoes
    • 1/2 C.- 3/4 C. Mozzarella, sliced in 1/4 in. slices
    • 1/4 C. Fresh Basil, sliced
    • 1/4 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese for the crust 
    • Pizza Sauce: 1 Can Crushed Tomatoes, 2 Tbsp. Dried Oregano, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp. Dried Basil, 1 Tbsp. Dried Parsley, 2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes, Salt and Pepper (Combine all in a saucepan and simmer for 10 mins).

Directions (Pizza Dough Directions modified from Betty Crocker):

1.
Heat water to about 105 degrees F, in microwave. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. With a wooden spoon, stir in half of the flour and all of the oil, salt and honey. Stir in enough of the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough is easy to handle.
2.
Sprinkle flour lightly on a countertop or large cutting board. Place dough on floured surface. Knead by folding dough toward you, then with the heels of your hands, pushing dough away from you with a short rocking motion. Move dough a quarter turn and repeat. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, sprinkling surface with more flour if dough starts to stick, until dough is smooth and springy. Spray a large bowl with the cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place 20 minutes.
3.
Gently push your fist into the dough to deflate it. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 48 hours. (If dough should double in size during refrigeration, gently push fist into dough to deflate it.)
4.
Move the oven rack to the middle position of the oven. Heat the oven to 425°F. Place dough on center of an ungreased cookie sheet or 12-inch pizza pan (a pizza stone is best–if you have one, pre-heat the pizza stone before placing dough on it). Press the dough into a 12-inch round or rectangle, using floured fingers. Press dough from center to edge so the edge is slightly thicker than the center.
5.
Add the toppings: 
  • Brush dough with olive oil. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the crust. Brush the entire dough with crushed garlic.
  • Spread the pizza sauce over the dough to within 1/2 inch of edge.Top with sliced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, sliced mozzarella.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheeses are melted and lightly browned.
Top with Basil to finish. Cool, cut with pizza cutter, and enjoy Nutrition Facts (Serving: 2 slices… I ate 3, BF ate 5 I think): 314 calories, 12g fat, 5.4g monounsaturated, 5g saturated (comes from the cheese), 36g carb, 5g fiber, 17g protein.
 


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