quick meals!

let's be honest, sometimes hunger and time get in the way of making a balanced meal, which can, after the chips and chocolate are inhaled, lead to more eating, looking for that meal you were craving. i'm as much guilty of this as the next person, and just because i'm a dietetics major doesn't mean all my meals are colorful and balanced. sometimes i'm hovering over the kitchen island table tearing a bagel into pieces and swiping it into the cream cheese (b/c of course, getting a knife and even toasting my bagel is out of the question).

since this month is NNM it's a nice reminder that there's always room for improvement in your diet. here's some quick ideas:

i love eggs- hard boiled, over easy, fried, poached, you name it, i'll eat it. this breakfast literally takes minutes (less if you have two skillets going, one for the veggies and one for the egg). since we keep our bread in the freezer, i popped a slice in the toaster and started sauteing an onion in some oil and then added the kale (or spinach or whichever leafy green vegetable you have a liking for) until everything was nice and wilted. top on your toast then fry up your egg and lay it on top. wha-la! oh, and the oozing yolk over the veggies is the best ever. eum. can i have breakfast again?

 it's always fun having a day off during the week to do some experimental cooking. i can't remember where i got this idea but i'll get you the link to the original soon (i made my blog with my old hotmail account and now can't access both my gmail and my blog at the same time, any ideas?).

this entire meal took me under 30 minutes start to finish (after a whirlwind grocery stop at costco). and the great thing is that it can be spiced and topped with ingredients to your liking (want a more asian flare- go ahead and saute and add tamari and ginger, etc and top with bean sprouts and slivered carrots, etc.)

Cauliflower Rice Southwestern Lunch

(serves 3)

1 head cauliflower

1 onion, diced

oil

1 T garlic*

2 tsp black pepper*

1 tsp paprika*

1/2 tsp cumin*

1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes*

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 avocado, sliced

1/2 c diced tomatoes (or salsa if you have it on hand)

hot sauce*

1/4 c Plain or Greek yogurt

sprigs of cilantro

Rinse cauliflower and cut into smaller florets to fit into your food processor. Food process the cauliflower (I had to do it in two batches) til it's the size of rice (but not mushy). Sauté onion and garlic in oil until caramelized in a large skillet. Add the "rice" cauliflower and spices until cooked. Plate a third of the cauliflower for each person. Top with beans, avocado slices, salsa or tomato and yogurt. Sprinkle with cilantro and/or hot sauce.

*All spicing is to taste or optional.

happy experimenting, try something new this weekend!

bfast- really fast :)

quick and dirty breakfast egg cup-

all night trying to sleep and all i could think of was making this...clearly i tend to hyperfocus on the randomest things. so when my alarm went off at 6 this morning i got dressed for work and went about preparing this quick, healthy and oh so easy to fiddle with breakfast egg cups

Egg Cups
Makes 5

3 eggs, beaten
1/2 c broccoli, small florets (mine were frozen so i zapped them for a minute in the microwave)
1/2 c black beans (precooked)
dash of spices you like (i used black pepper, garlic and oregano)
optional additions- chopped up ham, pine nuts, other veggies, sun dried tomatoes, shredded cheese, etc. go crazy.

Combine all the ingredients and pour into a well greased (or sprayed) muffin tin. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the edges are a golden brown.

On top of those additional items, you can always make each egg cup specific to a persons requests by adding in more ingredients to individual cups once they are all scooped out and before going into the oven.

This all took from start to finish about 30 minutes, so totally do able. I'm going to try it w/ some salsa for lunch today. happy eating!

and she's back!

hello!!!!!! back in md and ready to adventure it up and cook and bake all at the same time:D

all that time i spent in the kitchen and i forgot to grab some of the recipes! oh boy, but today was definitely a re-creation of gmfr. breakfast was my fave- greek yogi, fruit, natural pb, cinnamon, and a handful of dry cereal. man, it'll never get old.

lunch was fun- once again, my goal is to cook more, and not only for me but for others. today's is an egg and tofu salad w/ greens and baked corn tortilla chips.
for the egg/tofu salad (i wanted to buffer the amount of egg in the salad since D has high cholesterol)

Egg/tofu salad
hard boiled eggs (i had 6), peeled and chopped
big block of tofu (i microwaved it for about 2 minutes, pressed all the water out, crumbled and froze for a bit to cool down)
greek yogurt (~1/4 to 1/2 cup)
olive oil (~1-2 T)
diced onions (half a medium onion)
diced green pepper (1 small)
salt and pepper
capers (optional)

Combine all the ingredients:) 

for the corn tortilla chips- i'm liking the fact that corn tortilla has less ingredients to make than whole wheat flour tortillas. gmfr was so unprocessed that i want to try to stick to that (thus, the early morning run to safeway after my workout to pick up natural peanut butter, the smuckers version has only peanuts and salt and pretty affordable. too bad it's such a pain to mix, but i'll get over it)

Baked corn tortilla chips

corn tortilla (cut into 8 wedges)

olive oil

Lightly coat the wedges in olive oil (you can also sprinkle w/ salt and pepper or whatever spices you like, i forgot). Bake in 400F for about 5-7 minutes or until getting lightly brown.

i added a large handful of a mixed greens salad and a cup of cherries. i actually checked my plate like at gm for the size i wanted (about the size of your hand spread out, i have a tiny hand so i give myself some leeway) 

race training

it's 14 days until fitness expo and a little over 3 months until the cleveland half. a fellow dietetics student and i just finished a spread for the student health magazine (it looks awesome, i'll link it when it goes up!) and we focused on eating properly to make sure you can reach your fitness goals and also to fuel it and make sure it runs to perfection.

i love breakfast. i never understand how people's stomach don't grumble in the mornings or they even manage to concentrate when they have glass of juice or coffee for breakfast. not me! give me a full on breakfast and i'm a happy camper:) bfast these days has been oatmeal in soymilk with some fruit (throw some frozen blueberries in after you cook the oatmeal with some nuts!) or yogurt w/ some crunchy cereal and a banana. but today i managed to wake up earlier (and be motivated) to cook an egg (it's extraordinary how accomplished i feel). i toasted a slice of 100% whole wheat toast and topped it with sauteed kale (w/o oil with some cumin and black pepper) and then an egg sunny side up (black pepper). the runny yolk flavors everything to goodness. and now that i have to run off for school i'm grabbing a banana for the road.

happy friday everyone! i'll try an update some more on training and food

i heart pesto

i highly suggest making extra servings of the broccoli and walnut pesto or any pesto for that matter and keeping it in the fridge or some frozen for later use, such as lunch the next day- whole wheat toast with pesto spread, topped with tomatoes and a fried egg. yum yum. happy friday!