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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!!

4
Mar
2013
 Eats this Week: Best Salad Ever and The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies



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.

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!

27
Dec
2012
 All Done with Holiday Feasting!



This particular Christmas, I went to three different dinners over the course of 3 days. Lots of calories were eaten, and there were plentiful white carbohydrates and some unhealthy fats and sugars. Yikes!

It only happens a few times per year, so I don’t worry and neither should you ;-)

Day 1: Southern cooking for lunch (I had roast turkey with gravy, beans/peas, and turnip greens. A quick Starbuck’s stop for some jet fuel black coffee with a dash of cream. For dinner was a creamy seafood soup, half a turkey sandwich, and cranberry cookie pie.
Day 2: Christmas Eve with my family: Fruit, followed by a workout in the morning, then some spicy black beans for a mid-morning snack/early lunch. Snacked on nuts and baked goodies (cookies, biscotti) at my family’s house. I had to hurry up and make an apple pie for the next day. More jet fuel black coffee. Dinner was a delicious lasagna, small salad, and a meatball! More cookies for dessert.
lasagna and meatballDay 3: Woke up and had some black coffee, a banana that I shared with Nala (the dog), and a biscotti. Opened presents, then ate some of the delicious and healthier egg and vegetable casserole that my Dad made.
vegetable egg casseroleCan you see that apple cake in the background? Psycho Holiday Baker made it of course, and it is a traditional apple cake my Italian grandmother used to make. 2 pieces of that were eaten later…

Also had some fresh fruit, and then we were on the way to North Georgia for another feast!

Dinner: Roast turkey, spoonful of mac ‘n cheese, spoonful of dressing, green bean casserole, cranberry salad, steamed vegetables, deviled egg, and wine. Dessert was the apple pie I made, and some more cookies.

Later on we got hungry again and had some snacks: Pimento cheese and wheat thins and some raw veggies with a spinach dip. Probably got so hungry because of our expert Taboo game we had going on. Brain fuel. Final score was 73 to 80.
high taboo score

Day 4: In the morning I had a small cinnamon roll and some All Bran. More jet fuel. For lunch, I shared a small portion of Mr Cyclist’s turkey sandwich, ate a few bites of veggies, and 2 deviled eggs. For a snack, I had some homemade Chex Mix which is super tasty. Sometime later on I had another cookie.

For dinner that night, I made a detoxifying kale dish to get in some veggies for the day. Munched on a few nuts a little later.

kale and artichoke bake

In general, my normal diet is much higher in fruits and vegetables, so I noticed the lack of them in my diet for the past 3-4 days. Less energy overall. And it is mostly just the added sugars that I am not used to in high quantities.

I did my best to eat as well as I could and still enjoy the foods and eat the foods I don’t usually get a chance to eat! That is what it is all about–portion control, eat slowly, enjoy your food, think about the taste of your food, and remember to eat your 5-9 fruits and vegetables on the non-Holiday occasions. :)

baked kale with onion and feta

This kale recipe was made from frozen kale, sauteed onions, spinach, spoonful of cream cheese, garlic, small amount of feta, marinated artichokes, and some spices.

19
Dec
2012
 Healthier Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies



A favorite Christmas cookie in my family are the peanut butter kisses. They are gone before you know it!

holiday cookies

So, I decided it was time to cut the sugar a little, and keep it a little healthier! (less healthy version above, healthier version below)

healthy peanut butter kisses

Only 54 calories per cookie!

Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz white sugar (I weighed these out on a food scale)
  • 1.5 oz Stevia
  • 4 oz packed light brown sugar
  • 1.5 Tbsp. real maple syrup
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 cup reconstituted powdered peanut butter (used PB2, and added water back in to make it creamy)
  • 4.25 oz whole wheat flour
  • 2 oz white flour
  • About 36-40 dark chocolate kisses.

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Mix your wet ingredients. Then, add your dry ingredients. Stir to combine. You can use a mixer if you like.
  3. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or use parchment paper. The dough will not be as thick as regular cookie dough, so just spoon out heaping teaspoons onto the baking sheet. It is OK if they are no perfectly round.
  4. Bake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, unwrap your kisses so you can press them into the center of the cookie as soon as they come out of the oven.

light peanut butter cookies

Perfect! They definitely have a different texture–more moist, almost cake-like. Mr. Cyclist walked in the door, and took one look and said they “look healthy”. Whatever that means… Haha. I don’t care. They are satisfying to me! Enjoy.

17
Dec
2012
 Psycho Holiday Baking: Take 2!



The annual psycho holiday baking has begun! Once a year around Christmastime, my Mom aka the Psycho Holiday Baker whips up about a dozen different kinds of cookies in about 1 or 2 days time.

chocolate dipped snowmen cookies

 

And they are fancy cookies, too! Not just chocolate chip, or simple sugar cookies, but baked goods that take a little more skill ;)

holiday baking

This was just the start of our baking…

I cringed at using so much sugar, white flour, and butter. Not my style. However, I plan to whip up some healthy treats this coming weekend! These are the sinful treats. And just remember, that is what they are–treats!

chocolate melted snowmen cookies

On Sunday, we made:

Italian cookiesEarlier that day, it seemed like my cat ate all the sugar because she was climbing all over the Christmas tree!

cat climbing Christmas tree

Luckily, the tree is still standing because she only weighs about 5 pounds!

cat climb Christmas tree

Haha!

Well, today I am off to do some Christmas shopping, and then get a workout in. I will be back this week to post some healthier Christmas treats!

22
Oct
2012
 Sunday Eats: Tasty Coffee Cake & Dinner on the Grill



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…

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 ;)

7
Oct
2012
 Tasty Atlanta



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!

30
Jul
2012
 Sunday Dinner: Red Snapper



I hung out with Psycho Holiday Baker on Sunday, helping her get supplies at Whole Paycheck to make Birthday dinner for my Dad.

I picked up an organic $10 t-shirt at Whole Foods. They are super soft–I highly recommend if you just need a plain old t-shirt.

I also picked up a nice snack/part of my lunch:
Strawberry kombucha (my fav!!) and a Greens Whey Protein bar. I had my Mom taste the kombucha and she thought it was the nastiest thing on earth. I told her not to smell it, but she did anyway. We had this whole discussion at the Whole Foods checkout counter about kombucha, it was hilarious. You can read more about kombucha here on diet-blog.

Psycho baker had me pick up some unhealthy ingredients at Publix on the way home… I cringed at this purchase.
She was making some kind of special parfait pie for my Dad (his Mom used to make it for him). At least she was mostly using whole ingredients from scratch (more natural that way), except for the Jell-o. And the graham crackers she got were on the healthier side.

Dinner was amazing!
Appetizer (for me):
Carrots dipped in olive tapenade

Arugula salad with pears, gorgonzola, pecans, lemon, and olive oil:
Homemade chipotle potato salad:
Recipe here.

Red snapper with parsley/cilantro puree, and a roasted corn and tomato salsa:
This was amazing. The red snapper reminded me of being at the beach. It had such a clean salt water flavor. Delicious!
Then, the parfait pie Psycho Holiday Baker made:
Just has a little sliver, but much more ice cream ;)

Now, it is the start of a new week. Let’s make it a healthy one!

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