Dinner Idea -- Chana Masala, lentils, and naan!

Chana Masala by Smitten Kitchen

Lentils with Tahini and Cumin by Yotam Ottolenghi

I served this dinner the other night.... delicious, with plenty of leftovers!

Oh, plus naan. If you care to make it yourself, check out this recipe!

Best Foods for a Relay Race

Trader Joe's helped me out with finding the best food to pack for my relay:

Contemplates Inner Peas

Peanut Butter Cups Trax Mix

(I stood in the trail mix aisle for lots of minutes comparing all the different varieties. I was originally looking at some other varieties with pistachio nuts and craisins.... but who can say no to these little peanut butter cups??)

And, of course, grapes.

A little salty, a little sweet, and things that are easy on the stomach because yikes does it feel nauseating to operate on no sleep.

healthy green recipes for your St Patricks day weekend

I wish I had kids to help me get excited for holidays. I love how the little holidays like Valentine's Day or the 4th of July or St Patrick's Day can be a huge deal to kids. Instead of reaching for the green food dye for your Paddy's Day meal, check out these recipes:

Fresh Asparagus Soup from Allrecipes.com



image from here

Avocado Sauce to put on anything from Oh She Glows

Green Falafal from Food Wanderings

image from Food Wanderings

Green Mac n Cheese by Heather Christo

Popeyes Ice Cream from the Blendtec website

why I can't buy avocados from Costco

Blendtec Excitement

Things I have made in my new Blendtec since its arrival in my life one week ago:

- tortilla soup
- spinach vanilla ice cream
- multiple spinach smoothies, natch
- pesto 
- sweet potato curry soup, twice
- strawberry ice cream, which I followed no particular recipe and it was delicious
- a TRIPLE batch of hummus (go ahead and call me an idiot for not separating the batches and doing each one a different flavor.)

omggggg I love it.

How to Make the Perfect Salad

I totally cringe when people tell me they don't like salads. I'm not trying to salads are the only way to eat healthy (definitely not!) but they are a good way to get lots of nutrients, easy to put together, and the flavor combinations are endless.

Greatist has a cute and handy infographic to help the salad illiterate.

Banana-Oat-Whatever Muffins

Whenever there were overripe bananas at my house growing up, someone was bound to make up a batch of Cocoa Banana Muffins. These little guys were easy to make and froze well, not that we really needed to because they were eaten so quickly. And the ingredient list is pretty good, so I'm sure my mom felt okay about me taking 1 or 2 or 5 in my lunch box.

In my quest to eat less processed food, I remembered this recipe and thought how it would be better (and cheaper!) to stock the freezer with banana oat muffins instead of grabbing a packaged granola bar on the way to work. I started making changes, adding different flavors and reducing sugar. For the past year I've consistently had a batch of these Banana-Oat-Whatever Muffins in the freezer and, while they all come out a little differently, they never disappoint.

(all measurements are definitely approximate)
Mix together:
- 3 or 4 mashed over ripe bananas
- 1.5 c oats
- 1/2 c whole wheat flour
- 1/2 c sugar, if you're feeling it
- 1 T baking powder
- 1/2 T baking soda

Then add liquids:
- 1/2 c applesauce
- 1 egg (but I've done it without; it's fine!)
- splash vanilla
optional: 1/2 c milk

Mix until just combined, and go crazy adding whatever else you want!
- craisins or raisins
- chocolate chips or M&Ms
- coconut
- chia seeds
- nuts of any kind
- diced apple
- peanut butter
- avocado, mashed
- canned pumpkin
- cinnamon
- cocoa powder
- protein powder

Bake at 350' for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Yield is about 1 dozen muffins.

Fit-tastic Friday Links - Good Eats Edition

All of the following have been tried, tested, and approved by yours truly:

Garden Tomato Basil Soup -- Season with Spice [Ahhhhh this was so good. We were lucky enough to have received a nice haul from a friend's garden, so almost all the ingredients in this were fresh. We could not stop exclaiming during dinner how delicious this was.]

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries -- a Kitchen Addiction [This is my favorite way to season sweet potatoes.  iI won't do it any other way. The chili powder and brown sugar is a great combination!]

(no sugar) Cranberry Banana Bread -- Once a Month Meals [No sugar, no honey... where does the sweetness come from? It's a mystery. But man this is good. When I was training for my my marathon in March I ate the whole loaf in one weekend.]

Cauliflower Pizza Crust -- One Good Thing [This was surprsingly really good! I liked it thin and we used less cheese than it called for. We also doubled the recipe for both of us.]

Spinach Smoothies

For the past year or so, I've been making a green smoothie a part of my normal morning routine. I love being able to get a serving of vegetables for breakfast! There is a surprising range of flavors you can get depending on what you pair with the spinach.

There are three parts:
- Spinach, a couple large handfuls
- Fruit, to your liking. (I do two pieces, like an orange and a pear.)
- A liquid (I use soy milk or almond milk. Juice is yummy, too, but adds a lot of sugar)

Plus any extras, to give it more flavor, texture, or make it more filling:
- Protein powder
- Oats
- Granola or cereal like Grape Nuts
- Nuts or nut butter
- Ginger root
- Cocoa powder
- Cinnamon

There's no right or wrong way to make this- just throw everything in a blender (or better yet, use an immersion blender!) and blend to your desired consistency. Too thick? Add more liquid! Not sweet enough? Add fruit or juice.

It's fun to see what different flavors go well together. I was surprised at how well cantoloupe goes with my chocolate protein powder. And grapefruit? Uh, yuck. I love grapfruit, but somehow putting it into a smoothie makes the whole thing really nasty. Bananas are one of the most versatile ingredients, but unfortunately for me, I have a banana intolerance and don't get to reap the benefits of this inexpensive and portable fruit.

To see more recipes and pretty photos, check out this blogger's master green smoothie list!

PS- Apparently, smoothies are better when they are consumed through a straw, out of a mason jar or other unique glass, and/or with a pretty cloth napkin. Food blogs just kill me.

the previously undiscovered wonderful world of cabbage

So there's this awesome inexpensive grocery store near us, Aldi. It's very... minimalistic. To cut expenses, they don't have bags- you have to bring your own or use extra boxes they have. You put in a quarter to get you cart, and you get it back when you put the cart back in the corral, so they don't hire people to collect the carts or have to pay to replace as many stolen carts. They don't do fancy displays or carry most name brands. They also don't accept coupons, but their regular and sale prices are so good it's still less money for some items than couponing at other stores.

A few weeks ago I was going for my usual produce run: celery for 79 cents, carrots for 69 cents, caulifower for a dollar, avodacos for 69 cents, etc. (Did I say how much I love Aldi?)

Not sure how I mixed this up, but I accidentally grabbed a head of cauliflower and a head of green cabbage instead of two heads of cauliflower. What was I going to do with cabbage? Cole slaw? Cabbage was something I'd always passed by in the produce aisle.

image from here

So, of course, I turned to Google. Barfoot Contessa is pretty legit, so I decided I'd follow this recipe. Dice finely (like you if you were making cole slaw), throw in a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Seems easy enough....

WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME HOW AMAZING CABBAGE IS. Seriously guys, it's now one of the have-to-have-in-the-fridge-at-all-times veggies. Raw, sauted, whatever. Hm, I've only got carrots and broccoli for my salad... put some cabbage in it! I'm making soup and looking for stuff to throw in.... put some cabbage in it! Quinoa stir fry? Put some cabbage in it! I feel like I've been deceived, going all this time not knowing there is a staple veggie I've been missing.

This also makes me think- what other produce items am I living without? Please let me in on your secrets and give me some more that I can incorporate into my repetoire.

veggies, vitamins, and a plug for spinach

Another neato infographic, brought to you by LifeHacker.
(Sadly, my favorite vegetable is not included! Feel free to add butternut squash in the A, B6, and C wedges.)

(click to enlarge)

I always knew that spinach was awesome, but check this out- it's in all but one of the categories that include vegetables. Bring on the greens!

Popeye's Ice Cream

Originally from the Blendtec website, this recipe for spinach ice cream is delicious!

Popeye's Ice Cream

3/4 cup half and half or coconut milk
1/4 cup agave nectar (can be substituted with 3/8 c sugar)
2/3 cup nonfat powdered milk or powdered coconut milk
2 cups spinach, lightly packed (I used more!)
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups ice cubes (I used a little less)

Add ingredients to a blender pitcher and secure lid. For Blendtec models, press "Ice Cream" and serve. For other blenders, blend at medium speed for 20 seconds, then on high for 25 seconds or until smooth. Makes 3 3/4 cups.

Nutritional Information: (for 1/2 cup serving)
80 calories
11 g carbs
3 g fat
9 g sugar
1 g protein

mashed cauliflower

A wise man once told me not to eat carbs after 3pm.  I took this to mean to limit carbs after 5pm.

Considering this wise man is a doctor of nutrition/body builder/personal trainer, I think he has some little nuggets of wisdom.

So, what does one eat for dinner? No more lasagna, paninis, pasta, burritos... and mashed potatoes. One of my favorite things.

Behold, mashed cauliflower!

photo from here

 - Cut up 1 head of cauliflower in chunks and boil. For a while. They need to be pretty soft to get the right consistency.
- Drain water and mash with a potato masher.
- Stir in 1 ish tablespoon butter, a couple splashes of milk, a few shakes of garlic salt, and if you'd like, a few shakes of instant potato flakes. They make it a better consistency and help if you put in too much milk.

Admittedly, not the exact same as the delicious starchy carb that is the potato, but pretty dang close.  The first time I made them, I didn't let them get soft enough and the consistency wasn't great. I also over-seasoned them.... a common mistake in my cooking. The next time they were mucho better. Even Husband liked them!

stuff i dig: greek yogurt

Greek Yogurt! 

 

I love yogurt of all kinds and flavors, but I am super in love with Greek Yogurt. 

 

Yogurt is a good source of protein- usually about 6 grams in serving cup. Also, the live cultures help with digestion and keeping good bacteria in the body. Add a mix in of fruit, cereal, ground flax, honey, or chocolate chips (I seriously have yogurt and choco chips every night for dessert) and you've got a wonderful snack.

 

Greek Yogurt typically has double the protein- so about 12 grams or more. That's like 4 eggs! It also has a wonderfully thick consistency that feels more like a dessert. It tends to have slightly more calories than a typical "light" yogurt, but considering how it's drastically more filling, I'm okay with that. 

 

I don't have a particular brand that I prefer because I always get the cheapest (usually Yoplait). I considered doing a massive taste test of my own, but Google reconfirmed my belief that it can find my anything and showed me these: Serious Eats, Cooking Light, and a superb breakdown of nutrition values by FitSugar.

 

As always with yogurt, beware of the sugar. I try to stay away from anything more than 20 grams of sugar for one serving.

[A much after the fact edit: I now only go for plain yogurt, which has a much shorter ingredient list and MUCH less sugar. Costco has the best value and good quality: $7 for two large containers.]

 

If you're really adventurous, you can try making your own! Recipe found here from Eating, Etc.

stuff i dig: clif z bars

 

Clif Z Bars!

photo and other information from the Clif website

While the regular Clif bars are great, with 240 calories they are best for hiking, cycling, or other endurance related activities.  These kids Clif Z Bars are only 130 calories; perfect for a desk snack! I am a big proponent of eating snacks and small meals every couple hours, and these bars are great for that. They are surprisingly satisfying for their size. And organic, too!  The only area I feel they could be improved is their protein content. With only 3 grams, it can hardly be a post workout snack.

They come in these flavors: chocolate brownie, chocolate chip, honey graham (my favorite, I think. And I'm normally a chocolate lover!), blueberry, peanut butter, and s'mores.

Z Bars are only 45 cents per bar when you get them at Costco in the 24 pack.

be incredible

The marketing group that designed this campaign should be commended, because today this commercial worked on me. I always see it when I'm doing cardio in the morning, and it makes me go, "I want to be incredible! I need to eat eggs!" Maybe not those exact words, but I did go to the store on the way home and get those neat sandwich thins to make a delicious breakfast egg sammich.

image from here