Hello there, again. Sorry for my disappearance! (PLUS the second half of the challenge!)

So today is day 15 of the 30 Day Challenge, the day that I am giving you the second half of the challenge. I know that I have been a little out of the loop for about a week, and I apologize. Things on my end have been oober crazy whirlwinds all over the place. I barely have enough time to stop and breathe, let alone write in my blog. In the past two weeks, I have started at a new school, made the final decision in my moving process, began packing, and been at work any time that I haven't been at school. And although I may not have written about the second week of the challenge, that doesn't mean I haven't been doing it.

I have stayed true to my challenge and been pushing myself to do the challenge, no matter what the circumstances -- and boy has it been tough. I even managed to eat completely homemade meals/snacks on day 10, even with having to leave my house for school at 6 am, and not getting back home until 7:30 pm. I was able to pack breakfast, two snacks, and a lunch to bring with me. I almost caved after my last class ended at 6:30 pm and stopped at Chipotle on my way home, but I stuck it out threw my 45 minute drive and made something when I got home instead.

So although I have not been as on top of every bit of the challenge (especially writing things down and posting on my blog), I would like the take the last 15 days of the challenge to change that. What I would like to challenge myself, and all of you, to do for the next two-ish weeks is to take everything learned from the first 15 challenges and combine and improve on them.

I have decided to do this because I feel that it is very important in life to be able to organize your health and food choices on your own. Real life may become an obstacle every now and then, but if is our job to know how to assess each situation and work with it accordingly. We need to be able to balance everything in life, and learn how to do so on our own terms. And that is what I will be doing.

This will be my experimenting phase and I will make sure and keep track and record about what works, what doesn't, what I can change, what I am thinking about next, and more. So I hope that you join in, let me know what works for you, or what you think about what I am doing!

Thanks for all the support so far! I really appreciate it!!!

Happy Monday, and Happy Healthy Eating!

Days 6 & 7: Food Pyramids ... well, sort of.

Over the decades, the food pyramid has changed several times. When thinking about the food pyramid, most probably think of the old school pyramid with the bottom fourth being grains, the next fourth being half fruits and half vegetables, the next fourth being meats/proteins and dairy, and the top fourth being "extras" (fats, oils, and sweets). Now, the food pyramid goes from left to right and the proportions are different as well. Instead of the grains being 1/4 of the pyramid, and most other categories being about 1/8 or less, each category is very similar in size -- except for the "extras", which is still the smallest.

With all the changes in the food pyramid, it is easy to see how someone could get confused or behind with the latest information. That is why I wanted to try and get back on track and fit my meals in to the pyramid.

You may think it can be a bit difficult to actually keep track of it all or work out your food in to the pyramid, but luckily if you go to www.mypyramid.gov, there is a system that lets you fill out all of your information (age, weight, height, sex, etc) and plans out a specific pyramid just for you. This will help you get started and set a customized plan for you and your food.

As far as the "food plate" goes, it is a more specific design for the food pyramid at each meal. If you are to take your plate at each meal and first fill it up with at least 1/2 vegetable (and/or fruit), about 1/4 protein, and the remaining 1/4 complex carbohydrate (aka: grain/starch) then that is your food plate. This design allows for you to fill up on your fiber, keeping you full and stopping you from filling up on unnecessary calories.

If people were to do this for every meal of every day, then it would leave very little room for swerving off the path of healthy eating. And following this meal plan allows for people to have those foods that they can't live without -- all in moderation of course.

So I challenge you to do this -- today, tomorrow, for yourself, your family, friends, and more. This will help to teach your body to know what it actually needs and suppress those urges for things that you may think that it needs.

I hope this helps, at least a little bit! And until next time, Happy Healthy Eating! And happy Tuesday!!

Day 5: Making all grains WHOLE

It may seem like it's not too difficult to switch all the grains you are eating to whole grains -- and you're right, it's not. At the same time, you have to be very conscious and read the labels of the grains that you are eating. It is just as easy to think you are eating whole grains when you're actually not, as it is to truly be eating them.

That is why reading your labels is very key to eating healthy. No matter what the food, no matter who the company/maker is, no matter what the front of the packaging says ... READ YOUR LABELS.

There are a few things to look for when reading labels:

• When looking at breads, pastas, and other grains -- the first ingredient should be a whole one. Whether it's whole wheat, whole oats, etc.
• Know your ingredients. If there is something on the label that you can not pronounce, it is probably not something that you should be putting in your body.
• Beware of hidden ingredients. There are lots of ingredients that are hidden by other names. For example -- high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, monosodium glutamate, hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils. These are all things that you need to watch for because they can easily be looked over when looking at the ingredients. And you'd be surprised how many things these couple ingredients are in.
• Sugar content. The amount of sugar per serving should not exceed about 10. This will help to prevent blood sugar spikes with quick drops in energy, leaving you feeling groggy and bad. There are a few exceptions, like juices (you still want to make sure that your juice does not have any added sugars to it).

For me, it has become innate to look at the labels of almost everything I eat. But I too get off track with my grains, especially when I go out to eat. Yesterday, I tried to be very conscious about every grain that I ate to make sure it was the best quality and a whole grain. A way that I do this, is making sure that anything that I keep around the house is whole grain, so I am not tempted to snack on/eat things that are just empty carbs. 

Some of my favorites that I like to have around are: Ezekiel bread (found at whole foods or any local health food store), homemade granola/granola bars, Food Should Taste Good Brand whole grain/whole corn tortilla chips, Kashi whole grain frozen waffles, Barilla whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and quinoa.

And I understand that sometimes when you go out to eat, it can be hard to make whole grain choices. That is why I always consider two different options when I am out.

1. Is it made in house? More times that not, if the restaurant is good enough quality to make their own pizza dough, pasta, tortillas, etc, then those grains are probably good enough for you to eat.
2. Opt for no grains and sub for other complex carbohydrates such as: potatoes (not fried!), root vegetables, corn, or beans/legumes.

I hope this all helps keep you on the track for sticking with whole grains! I know that it has definitely helped me out a lot. If you have any other suggestions or questions, please don't hesitate to speak up! Hope your week ended on a high and I hope that your weekend is great!

Until next time... Happy Saturday!!!

Days 3 & 4: Taste the Rainbow

So I know I was really bad and forgot to post notes on my day yesterday, and I apologize. But I am back on track and to catch up, I am going to talk about yesterday and today all in one!

Yesterday (Day 3) was the day to "eat the rainbow". And when I say eat the rainbow, that doesn't mean have a bag of skittles and you're good to go. I mean that you need to eat something that is naturally each color from the spectrum of the rainbow. This includes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and even white.

My day looked a little something like this:

Breakfast- Greek yogurt with fruit and nut granola (purple in the raisins)
Snack- Red apple (red in the apple)
Lunch- Chicken salad sandwich with vegetable chips (white onions)
Snack- Peanut butter and banana smoothie (yellow banana)
Dinner- Salmon with a sweet potato and a salad (green salad, orange sweet potato)

Although there were more of each of the colors throughout the day, those were the big ones that I had. And I must say I did a better job than most do on a daily basis. I got every color but blue! I thought we had blueberries at the house, but I was sadly mistaken :(


As far as today went (Day 4), I did an average job. Today's challenge was to get a full days serving of fruits and vegetables. I didn't quite get all my servings of fruit, but I know that I got my veggies!

For fruits, I had a handful of red and green grapes with my breakfast, an apple as a snack, and salsa in my tuna sandwich (if you are one of those that counts tomatoes as a fruit).

For vegetables, I had onions and peppers in the salsa that was in my sandwich, mixed vegetables (carrots, celery, and cucumber) with hummus for a snack, and a big fat chopped salad or dinner with onions, zucchini, and tomatoes.

That being said, I know there are definitely things in my day that I could have done better (like having fruit for dessert instead of a cookie ... or a side of fruit or veggies with my lunch), but all in all, I feel like I did a good job -- especially since I packed everything up and brought it with me when I left at 7:30 am to get to and stay at school until 6:30 pm.

I know that there is a lot going on in my life, and it makes it difficult to stay on track with this challenge, but I am still trying very hard to stick with it and do my best! And I hope you all are too :)

Hope you're having a great week and just keep your head up because the weekend is just around the corner!! and PS -- I would love some feedback if you have any!!


Happy Thursday!

Day 2: Naw on the Raw

So it's Day 2.... and I'm sick. This sucks. Of course I would just happen to get sick the weekend before I start my challenge. I mean, why not? Just adds another level of challenge I guess...


Anyway, I am still going to try my hardest to stick to the challenge of the day and stick to raw foods -- although, I may have to make a few exceptions due to the state that I am in. Since I am still in the (excuse me for being gross) mucousy faze of being sick, dairy is not really my friend. So unfortunately, that cut outs a lot of sources of carbohydrates and protein for me. And as much as I want to stick to the challenge, I don't want to make myself worse either. I have work tomorrow and school starts Thursday, so I have to be at my best for that!

So far, I have been going strong (I know, I know, it's only 9:30 am... but still). I had a delicious breakfast of bananas and nut butters and a glass of refresh tea. I am hoping that I can keep this up the whole day..... We'll see.

I will be back later to update on how everything is going. So if you have any ideas for snacks, meals, etc for today please let me know!

Until then,
HAPPY TUESDAY!

Day 1: H2O Explosion

Today marks the day of the first day of my 30 day challenge. Today's challenge consists of drinking water and only water. This basically means that there should be no consumption of any other liquids -- i.e. coffee, tea, juice, soda, alcohol, etc. I am doing this as the first day of the challenge because I wanted to kind of flush out the body and help to start out with a clean slate. I also wanted to take this opportunity to check in and see if I am ACTUALLY getting the appropriate amount of water.

When I say "getting the appropriate amount of water" I am not only talking about getting the recommended 8 cups of water a day. There are several things that go in to how much water you should be drinking:

• Size of the person
• Activity level 
• Location
• Time of the year
• Other liquids being consumed

Based on these criteria, I need to be drinking the recommended 8 cups of water plus some for my activity level, the fact that I live in Texas and it is still summer months (aka 100+ degrees every day), and that I drink coffee on a daily basis. 

So far today I have done a pretty good job at sticking to only water, although I did have a minor slip up at breakfast. I accidently had some milk in my cereal this morning. But in my defense, 1. it was almond milk 2. it wasn't very much and 3. it was 5:30 in the morning. 

Other than that, I have been doing a great job solely drinking water, and lots of it. Although I do miss my daily dose of coffee and/or tea, I have a feeling that I will sleep nicely with the decreased amount of caffeine running through my blood stream. I feel like it is a great start to what will be a great challenge. I am all cleaned out and am starting with a clean slate. I can't wait to start the more in depth stuff tomorrow!

Until then, have a great night! And just keep sippin' that H2O!

30 Day Challenge!

Like I promised, I am posting the 30 day challenge a few days before it begins so you can see what the first half of the challenges are, allowing you (and myself) to prepare for them! But before I share the challenges, I have a bit of a preface -- a question that I have been asking myself for quite some time.

Have you ever noticed the negative stigma that had been put on to eating healthfully? But why? Why is there such negativity towards being healthy? It's good for you, helps you feel better, look better, live longer .... So why wouldn't you want to do it? Yes, I know that sometimes eating healthier can cost a little bit more, but if you go about it the right way, it can be in your budget and so flavorful and tasty that you will forget all about the foods you used to like. But I always feel like most people aren't/can't be proud of eating healthy. It is almost as if you have to hide the fact that you are health conscious and actually enjoy healthy food.

I have decided to take on a challenge, in hopes that not only will I finish the whole thing and feel better after, but that you all will join in on it and feel the positive changes eating healthy can do to you. The challenge I have come up with is designed to cleanse the body as well as the mind. It is composed of 30 daily challenges (one for every day of the month) varying from trying new foods to following the food pyramid.

My plan is to start off slow, and with each day ease in to harder "challenges". Every day will be a new challenge for me (and hopefully you too!) to take on and conquer. I am going to start off by listing the first 15 today, and in about a week or so I will post the second half of the challenges. Tomorrow will be my first official day of the challenge. Each day I will post something in the morning with my plan for the day. Then, periodically through out the day I will add on updates to let you know how the day is going. I will then post a follow up each evening with how it all went and my ideas for the next days challenge.

The first 15 challenges will go like so:

Day 1 - Drink water and only water: AKA no soda, no juice, no coffee, etc. Only drinking water and drinking enough water. (The avg person needs approximately 64+ oz of water a day, not including the water needed to replace anything lost if you have worked out or significantly sweat)
Day 2 - Eat ALL raw: Basically this means exactly what it sounds like. Eating only foods in the state that they occur naturally. This means no meat (unless you enjoy raw fish sushi), no cooking of your vegetables, no bread/pastas/rice/cooked oats&grains, and so on. It may seem like there are no options left, but this means sticking to nuts/legumes, fruits, vegetables, and natural grains in their purest form.
Day 3 - Eat the RAINBOW: By this, I mean making sure that you eat something throughout the day from every color group. More color = more antioxidants, more nutrients, and just more over all health benefits.
Day 4 - Get full servings of both fruits and vegetables: Most people don't get enough of one or both of these. The recommended amounts are 3-4 servings of fruit and 6-7 servings of vegetables a day (with one serving being roughly half  cup to a cup of either).
Day 5 - Make all grains whole grains: Basically making sure that any grain that is eaten (bread, cereal, pasta, etc) is a whole grain. This means that the first ingredient on the list is whole grain flour/oats.
Day 6 - Follow the most recent "Food Pyramid": The food pyramid has changed a lot over the decades. My suggestion is to go to http://www.choosemyplate.gov/downloads/MyPyramid_Anatomy.pdf and follow those guidelines.
Day 7 - Follow the "Food Plate" model: Again, go to http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ and follow the "plate model". (Explore the site too! There is a lot of neat and educational stuff on there)
Day 8 - Eat from the earth: This may be a little confusing, but what "eating from the earth" means only eating foods that grow out of the ground. For example: Whole grains, legumes, nuts, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables. This excludes things like dairy, meat, processed foods, things with saturated fats (like butter), candy, etc.
Day 9 - Eat vegetarian: No meat, no poultry, no fish.
Day 10 - Eat all homemade: No eating out, no microwave/prepackaged meals, just pure homemade food for all meals/snacks.
Day 11 - Make a new recipe: Ever saw something on TV or online that looked amazing, but you've never had the time/desire to put in the effort of actually making it?? Well now is the chance to change that! Make something that you have never made before.
Day 12 - Try a new food: Be adventurous. Try something crazy new that you have never eaten before!
Day 13 - Use left overs to make something new: Take what ever left overs you have from previous meals and food from your pantry/fridge and come up with a new twist on those ingredients.
Day 14 - No HFCS: HFCS = high fructose corn syrup. This means read your labels of everything that goes in your mouth and make sure that no where in the ingredients is HFCS. (You'd be surprised how many places it hides!)
Day 15 - No preservatives: No preservatives means no ingredients in a food that are put in it to make it last longer. Examples of these additives are: salts, acids, Calcium Propionate, sulfites, chemical additives. That being said, fewer/natural ingredients are better.


So wish me luck! (As I do you) And I will keep you posted each day with how the challenge is going on my end -- and feel free to give me feedback on how I am doing as well as how you are doing!

Also ... keep your eyes peeled for the second half of the 30 day challenge!!

Who's up for a challenge??

Starting very soon, I will be endeavoring on a 30 day food/health challenge. I love having healthy habits especially when it comes to food, and I would love to share those habits with everyone else. That is why I have decided to come up with 30 different "challenges" that I will take on over a 30 day period. Each day is a new challenge, progressively getting more difficult.

I will be paying attention and logging how I feel from day 1 to day 30 to show that there really is a positive correlation between eating healthier and feeling better (physically, emotionally, energetically, etc). In taking on this challenge myself, I hope that you all will join in and take it with me. 

I have a couple of things going on this week and the week after so I am going to wait until the week of August 22 to start my challenge, but I will be posting the challenge sooner than that so if you have time to decide if you will be joining me. It will give you a little bit of time to look it over and plan things out. And after I post the challenge, I will be periodically posting how I will be going about it and meal ideas for the different challenges. So keep an eye out!

And please don't hesitate to give me any feedback or ideas for other challenges for in the future!

Have a great TGIF and weekend!!!

Two loves combined (AKA: Food + Coffee)

Since working at Starbucks, my passion and interest in the nitty gritty of coffee (no pun intended) has grown and continues to grow tremendously. I have been blessed to find a job that feels like anything but a "job". I recently got the chance to showcase my "Coffee Master" abilities and set up a pairing for partners in my store. By pairing, I am simply referring to taking one of our Starbucks roasted coffees and extracting its individual flavors using food pairings.

Every coffee that Starbucks carries falls under several different categories -- origin, acidity, body, roast, etc. Depending on where the coffee falls will help to determine the complementary foods and flavors that come from and pair well with that specific coffee. The coffee that I chose to use for my tasting this time was the Starbucks French Roast. Because of the long roasting that it goes through, French Roast has a strongly developed flavor and pairs well with toasted nuts, caramelized sugars, and roasted vegetables. So when making up my pairing, I decided to make a caramelized onion puff pastry topped with toasted walnuts. This pairing would incorporate all three complementary flavors, making it a sure win!

Not only was it DELISH, but it was oober easy to make! PLUS, you can do it with just about anything -- sweet, savory, tart, crunchy, soft, etc. Here's what you've got to do:

In your local grocery store, go in to the frozen dessert isle. Usually around pie crusts and frozen cakes/pies there will be frozen puff pastry dough. Once you have your dough, let it thaw out in the fridge for about 2+ hours. As it is defrosting, you can gather and prep your filling.

I have tried a couple of different "innards" to my puff pastry, and they all have turned out quite delightful, if I say so myself. Different things that I have put in mine are: caramelized onions, cinnamon sugar, chocolate chunks, and goat cheese + portabella mushrooms.

After you pick and prepare your filling, and the puff pastry has thawed out for a couple of hours, it is time to start making your creation. Take out the dough, unroll it and cut it in to a few same sized strips. Then take each strip and cut them in to square pieces of dough. Get your filling and put a small spoonful in the center of your square. Then fold over the pastry dough to make a triangle shape (or any shape you prefer). After all of the squares are filled and folded, take a lightly beaten egg, and brush the top of each one with a thin layer of the egg wash.

When putting them in to the oven, there is a little trick to doing it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, but as soon as you put the dough in, turn the oven down to 325. I'm not exactly sure what it does, or why you do it, but that it was I was taught. Leave them in approximately 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are golden and flaky. And then..... ENJOY!

Frozen summery goodness

Have you ever been out on a hot summer day -- running around, swimming, playing outside, etc -- and get the craving for something sweet and frozen? Well when you are living in a constant furnace with 100+ degree temperatures every day, you get that craving a lot. Normally, a good popsicle did the trick, that was until I looked at the ingredients and sugar contents of them.

A normal popsicle is made up of basically fruit concentrate and either sugar or high fructose corn syrup. All that sugar does is cause a spike in the blood sugar, ultimately leading to a drop in energy levels and afternoon grogginess. Wouldn't it be nice to find a good frozen snack that satisfied your craving while keeping you energized and was good for you too? I think I found it!

Homemade frozen yogurt pops! ... No no no, actually, homemade frozen greek yogurt fruit pops! Yummmm, I can taste them already. And what's even better is they are SUPER easy to make, and you can customize them to your liking. Fruity, yourty, sweet, not as sweet, etc. Here's what you need:

• nonfat greek (or plain) yogurt
• fresh/frozen fruit of your choice (berries, melon, pineapple, etc)
• milk of your choice (nonfat, lowfat, almond, soy)
• a pinch of cinnamon

Although plain nonfat yogurt is a very healthy choice (especially compared to the fruity kinds), i still prefer greek yogurt. The reason that I like greek yogurt versus plain yogurt is mainly because of the protein content. For every serving (about 6 oz) of plain nonfat yogurt, greek nonfat yogurt has almost double the amount of protein. And when looking for a snack that will satisfy and keep you going, protein is a must! Therefore, greek yogurt is my first choice whenever possible. 

When choosing a greek yogurt, my personal favorite is Fage Total 0%. It has a good consistency and a nice well-balanced flavor. 

But any yogurt of your choice will work just as well. The same freedom goes for the milk as well. You wont need a lot of milk, just enough to help thin out the mixture a little bit. Usually I reach for the lowfat or 1% milk, but on occasion I like to mix it up a bit with some vanilla almond milk. The vanilla almond milk gives it a slightly sweeter and nuttier flavor, making it a nice change from the norm. 

Now it is time to start putting it all together. Get your blender ready and start layering in the yogurt, fruit, milk, and cinnamon. The proportions are rough, but quite simple as well. I usually start out with 1 cup yogurt, 1 cup fruit, and about 1/4 cup of milk and a pinch of cinnamon. This makes a couple of cups of the yogurty goodness, so if you are wanting to make a bigger batch, you can easily double or triple this. 

Once it is all blended together, feel free to throw in a couple of chunks of fruit if you would like some whole pieces in there as well. Then take the mixture and pour into popsicle molds. If your popsicle mold didn't come with the plastic stick tops to place over each mold, then you can pick up a pack of popsicle sticks from the grocery store for a few dollars and use those instead. 

Leave the yogurt pops in the freezer for at least a 2+ hours until their set, and then enjoy at your liking!

Buy once, eat for a week!

I know it's been a while since I have written on here, but I must say, at least it is not because I am just getting lazy. Work has been crazy and any free time I have, I generally spend with my work family :) On the bight side, we spend time cooking and baking, trying out new recipes, and inventing new concoctions.

At least once a week (but usually more than just once), we have what we like to call "Family Dinner". Being young 20 something year olds, the cheaper the better. That being said, we still want to have good quality food. And that is exactly what has inspired this post.

The best solution to a delicious, good quality, well-priced meal all starts with one thing, a rotisserie chicken. Most grocery stores (Randalls, Kroger, Whole Foods, etc.) generally sell hot, fully cooked rotisserie chickens for a fairly reasonable price. My personal preference however, is to get a chicken from Costco. It costs about $5.00 and is big enough to last for a week -- not to mention it is beyond delicious!

More often than not, I get the chicken with the intention of just pulling it off and eating it as is with a salad and some other side. Then, after that meal is over and the chicken has had a little bit of time to cool, I pull the rest of the chicken off the bone and put it in to a tupperware container and in to the fridge it goes.

Sounds a bit boring, I know, but the possibilities of what you do with the left overs are endless. You could literally do just about anything -- nachos, tacos, pastas, salads, sandwiches, etc. Take tonight for example ... After a long and full day of work (that started at 4 a.m.) and an hour and a half of hot yoga, the last thing I wanted to do when I came home was figure out what to cook, not to mention actually cook it. My solution? Left over rotisserie chicken!

I do admit that I did have to put in a little bit of effort, but it was very minimal. I turned on a pot of water for some pasta and put some fresh veggies and garlic in a sauté pan with a little bit of olive oil and let them cook over a medium heat. Once the pasta was done, I tossed it in the pan with the veggies, put some chicken on top and mixed in some left over basil pesto I had in the fridge. I put all of that atop a small handful of spring mix lettuce and dug in.

Between the pasta, the pesto, the chicken, and the veggies, it was the ultimate comfort meal that satisfied every craving I had. All that was missing was a glass of red wine and some good company. So next time, I invite you all to join me.

I hope you try this out for yourself and please share if you have any other ideas or ways that you like to use your left overs! Have a great night and a great holiday weekend! I will be back with more soon, I promise! :)

The perfect summertime refreshment!

It was a typical morning for me -- lounging around, watching the TV, and doing my thing. I was watching the Today show when Martha Stewart came on to give a couple of summer time recipes. One of these recipes was her "Summer Fruit White Sangria". It sounded beyond delicious and looked super easy, so I knew that I had to make it. Not to mention, I had a giant fruit bowl from Costco that I needed to find a use for before it went bad.

As much as I wanted to stick to the recipe, I didn't have any dry white wine (or any white wine for that matter) around the house, and I didn't want to wait until I could go buy some to make it. What I decided to do instead was take a bottle of one of my favorite red wines I had at the house already. At least this way I knew that I liked the wine that I was going to be using for the sangria, rather than picking up a bottle of dry white wine that I have never tasted before.

Now that I had the most important ingredient  set, I got together the rest of the ingredients to put together this delicious drink. Almost every sangria recipe that I have seen calls for different ingredients -- everything from dark liquor, ginger ale, sugar, carbonated water, etc.  This recipe was a little different and a little simpler than those though, and that is what I liked about it. All it called for was wine, orange liquor, fruit, and basil.

I took out my big plastic "beverage dispenser" and got it ready for sangria time. I cut up some assorted fruits (mango, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, grapes, citrus, etc) -- roughly 6 cups -- and then put those into the pitcher. After all the fruit was in the pitcher I poured in one bottle of red wine and 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier (aka orange liquor) and squeezed in the juice of 1/4 to 1/2 of a lemon. I topped it off with a few basil leaves and stirred it all together.

Something that people may or may not know about sangria is that you have to let it "rest" for a significant amount of time in order to mary together all the flavors. It is recommended that you let it sit for at least 6-8 hours and up to about 24 hours. So I decided to wait until I had company over last night to reveal my creation.

Doing as I was taught, I tasted it ahead of time to make sure I wasn't serving anybody something that was just yucky. The sangria was extremely strong (considering it was basically wine and orange liquor mixed together) but the flavors were all definitely there. When serving it to my guests I decided to make it in to more of a sangria wine spritzer. I took my glasses and filled them about 1/3 of the way with an orange flavored sparkling water, followed by the sangria, and topping it all off with a couple of pieces of the fruit that was soaking in it. 


I may be a little bias, but it was to die for. So fruity, slightly sweet, with a hint and little kick of the red wine/orange liquor. Using the sparkling water with it was the perfect combination. You can use any brand and/or flavor you would like, but my flavored water of choice is more often than not Sparkling Ice. It comes in several flavors and you can even get a combo pack for about 10$ for a pack of 18 at Costco. 

I am glad that I tried this recipe because now I know a simple, easy to make refreshment that is perfect for these hot summer months. I know that I will be making it again soon, and can't wait until I do! I really hope that you all try it out as well, I can guarantee that you will love it! Have a lazy Sunday and a great coming week!

Say Cheese :D -- cheesecake that is.

When life gives you lemons, you make ... cheesecake?? Well, at least that's what I decided to do. It was about 8:30 pm on a Wednesday night, and I was sitting on my couch watching the Food Network (big surprise huh??) and got up during a commercial to pour myself a refreshment. As I was walking over to the fridge, I noticed that the last lemon that I had was getting ready to go bad, so I knew that I needed to find something to do with it sooner rather than later.

I turned to my online resources and started looking up different things I could do with a single lemon. After some searching, I came across a recipe that caught my eye -- lemon and goat cheese cheesecake. I've never made cheesecake before, but what better reason to try it out now right?

It was a very simple recipe using basic ingredients found among most households. There was a bit of a problem though ... the crust. A typical cheesecake crust consists of a nice crispy layer of graham crackers, smashed and mixed together with a little bit of sugar and melted butter. Unfortunately, graham crackers are not something that I regularly carry in my pantry. So it was time for plan B ... whatever that may be. I opened up my pantry and scanned top to bottom and left to right to try and find something that could substitute for a cheesecake crust. And then it hit me -- why not an oatmeal crumble crust? It sure sounded good, and I figured I could do it up to make it taste just as delicious as it sounded. 

I looked at the ingredients for the filling, and so far so good.

• goat cheese ---> Check
• lemon ---> Check
• eggs ---> Check
• sugar ---> Check
• cream cheese ---> Uhhhhhh

Okay so apparently there was another problem. I don't necessarily care for cream cheese, and rarely eat bagels, so I knew for a fact that I didn't have that anywhere around here. But I do always have greek yogurt. I know that people regularly substitute greek yogurt for sour cream or plain yogurt, but I wondered if it would be safe to substitute it for cream cheese (the main ingredient in most cheesecakes). Well, it was worth a try right??

I have to say, it was sooo worth it! The cheesecake was just as creamy, decadent, and flavorful as a regular cheesecake. I honestly would not be able to tell that this doesn't have any cream cheese in it.

Finally, a cheesecake that tastes great and is full of flavor, but that isn't a pie pan full of fat and empty calories -- and actually has multiple health benefits. Yes you need to be careful how much you eat of it, but is a dessert you don have to feel guilty about indulging in.

So for those of you interested in trying to do this yourself here is a rough recipe that you can try out if you are feeling adventurous.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp butter (melted)
• 1 cup soft goat cheese
• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• juice and zest of 1 lemon (half that if you don't want as lemony of a flavor)

DIRECTIONS:

>> Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the oats, brown sugar, and melted butter until completely combined. Place this mixture into a food processor if you want a rough chop on the oats so they aren't as big. Take this and pour in to a small baking dish or pie pan and spread it out evenly among the baking dish. Put it in the oven for roughly 10 minutes, or until the oats brown and are set. Take the crust out and allow to cool a bit before pouring the filling in.

>> As your crust is cooling, turn the oven down to 300 degrees. Next put the goat cheese, greek yogurt, and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, slowly mix together the ingredients. While mixing these together, slowly add in one egg at a time, allowing each egg to fully mix in before adding the next. Lastly, add in the lemon juice and zest and mix it all together. Once everything is completely combined, take the filling mixture and pour it over the cooled oatmeal crust. Place the baking dish back into the oven and bake for roughly 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it though, because each oven is a little different and depending on the size and shape of baking dish you use, the cheesecake will bake at a different rate. What you are looking for is the outside to be pretty set, but the center of the cheesecake to slightly jiggle/wiggle when you move the baking dish without being liquidy. After it is done baking, take out of the oven and allow to fully cool before either serving or placing into the fridge to cool to a chilled temperature. Then, ENJOY! :)

I really hope that you all try this recipe out! I loved it and I know that all of you will as well. I openly welcome any comments, criticism, and questions, so do not hesitate! Just remember, the answer to any dilemma is say CHEESE :D

Cold Relief

So for those of you that don't know me as well, I love to run and I love being active. Being a nutrition major, I definitely have learned the importance of refueling quickly after a hard work out. It is also important, especially during these hot summer months, to replenish with liquids as well as the protein and carbohydrates.

Depending on the work out that I am doing -- running, yoga, biking, swimming, etc -- it may be unappealing to attempt   eating anything afterwords. Normally, I just opt for chocolate milk, protein shake, or even just a glass of plain milk. Today however I was in the mood for something a little different. I decided to switch it up a bit and use some of the iced coffee I had left over in my fridge.


In my pantry, I keep both chocolate and vanilla flavored protein powders that I mix in with my milk for a post workout refreshment. Knowing that I wanted to attempt a drink using my iced coffee, I thought that the vanilla would be my best choice. Once back from my run, it was time to create my "cafe concoction". I started by putting a little bit of my vanilla protein powder in my cup. I then poured my milk over the protein powder, making sure to mix them together thoroughly so the powder dissolved in the milk. Once the powder and milk were completely mixed, I then poured in the coffee until it became the perfect oak-nutty, milk chocolately brown color I was looking for.

Although I know that coffee + milk + vanilla = a great combination, I didn't know how this would turn out using the protein powder. I have to say that it was pretty D-lish! The perfect post-run summer time refreshment! For all of you coffee lovers out there, it is definitely worth a try! Hope you like it as much as I did .. and if you have any other suggestions for coffee concoctions or post workout refreshments/snacks, please feel free to share! :) 

Mayo-no-ways

No offense to mayonnaise, but I'm really not a huge fan. This kind of sucks since mayo is in soooo many things -- potato salads, pasta salads, coleslaw, chicken/tuna salad, as condiments for virtually everything. There is just something about the way that it jiggles and blubs around that grosses me out to the max. So I have been on the search to find different ways to substitute out mayo or switch up the dish with a new modern twist.

One of my favorite things to substitute for a mayo/mustard mix in something like a potato salad or coleslaw is oil and vinegar. I love this option because you have so many different choices depending on the flavors and influences you are attempting to reach. Whether you want to change it up and make an asian slaw or a potato salad with a kick, there are endless oils and vinegars that can help you achieve it. Not to mention, most of these oils have different health benefits, so you don't have to feel bad switching from Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or "EVOO" for you Rachel Rae followers...).


At first, using oil and vinegar instead of a mayo base can be questionable. Not sure how much oil or how much vinegar -- you don't want to make it too soggy or dry, you don't want to flavors to be unbalanced, and different things like that. A general rule of thumb to use, at least to start out with, is a 2:1 rule. Two parts oil for every one part vinegar. This is a good place to start because then you can play with the flavors of the oil versus the vinegar a little bit. Not everyone is the same, and you may like your coleslaw a little more mild, while others may like it a little more tangy. For example, I tend to like the kick that I get from using a little bit more vinegar in most things. Knowing this, I tend to use a more 1:1 ratio of oil to vinegar when making things. That being said, I also like to change it up a bit depending on what I am making. When making something like a pasta salad, I like it to have a little more mild flavor so I can taste the other ingredients in it, while when making a potato salad or coleslaw, I like a bit of a bite to it.

When it comes down to it though, you really have to try making it for yourself to get a true understanding of all the flavors and options that you have. So I say, go out there and try it, because really what do you have to lose?? Hope you like this new tasty, healthy option as much as I do!!

Banana Nana fo Fana

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While some people may not think this is true, I am a strong believer in breakfast. It is the meal that gets your day started, so you may as well make it tasty, filling, and long lasting. What does the trick best for me is a good hearty bowl of granola. I have made several granola recipes in the past, but none that have really suck with me. Most of the ones I have ever found have a lot of sugary things in them, whether it's for binding it all together, or just purely for flavor. I have been on a mission for a good tasting granola that isn't loaded with added sugar, but doesn't taste like cardboard. I started trying out a couple of different things -- applesauce, pumpkin puree, greek yogurt, etc. The granola turned out good, but it still wasn't quite hitting the spot. I decided to give my brain a rest, thinking that in time a good idea will reveal itself....... and I was right!

Early last week my dad went grocery shopping and bought a nice little bunch of bananas. Unfortunately, he then proceeded to go out of town the next morning for the rest of the week, leaving me with too many bananas for me to eat before they got too ripe for my liking. Normally what I do when I have a banana at its peak ripeness, I put it in the fridge to stop it from getting any riper.

As I was going to put the couple bananas in to the fridge, I began to bounce some ideas around in my head. I then started to think of ways that I could incorporate these bananas in to a granola. I figured that there was no better way to find out than to just start playing around with it. I took out my MagicBullet, popped in a banana, added a little applesauce and water for some liquid, some cinnamon for flavor, and pureed it until smooth. I then took my oats, and nut mix (almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds) and poured in the banana puree. Once those were all fully mixed together, I evenly distributed it on a baking sheet. It was then time to put my creation in to the oven to bake to its goldeny goodness. But not with out the last step -- the slightest touch of honey drizzled on top. Although I did say that I was looking to eliminate added sugars, I find that a kiss of honey over the top of the granola allows it to crisp and brown to perfection while baking. (I like to use local honey because (1. it is a natural form of sugar and (2. I have read that by having a little bit of local honey each day, it allows your immune system to build up to local allergens, helping with allergies and sinus problems)

After baking the granola, it was time for the best part .... taste testing! I layered together some greek yogurt with the granola and mashed up strawberries/bananas. Although the granola is already made with banana, I love banana flavor so much, I thought that mixing in a little fresh banana with it out be a nice touch. And boy was it! The flavors married together to a sweet (but not too sweet) perfection. I don't like my granola too terribly sweet, so the banana gave it that nice balance of sweetness and richness that I have been searching for. So if you are a granola nut like I am, and want to attempt this concoction for yourself, it is supppperrr easy!

Here is what you'll need:

• 3 cups oats
• 3/4 cup nuts/nut mix of your choice
• 1 medium ripe banana
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp water
• honey for drizzling
• medium/large baking sheet for baking

Start by pureeing the banana, applesauce, water, and cinnamon until smooth in a food processor/blender. In a separate bowl combine the oats and nuts. Then add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated together. 

Take the "wet" granola and spread it out evenly over the baking sheet. Get a spoonful (as big or little as you'd like) of honey and drizzle over the top of the granola. Then place the baking sheet in to an oven preheated to 375 degrees. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked to your liking. Once it is cooked, take it out, let it cool, and ENJOY!! :) 

Dinner for one?

After a marvelous, much needed day off, I thought I would finish it off with one of my favorite things -- PIZZA. Although using fresh, homemade crust is ideal, we don't live in an ideal world all the time. So I improvised. Usually when making pizza at home, I use a pre-made, whole wheat pizza crust (like Boboli or the 365 Whole Foods brand) but I knew that I probably didn't need to be going out and buying a whole bunch of groceries, so I figured I would just use what ever was around the house. Once I got home and looked at my different options, I decided to go with an unlikely suspect ..... naan -- and I am so glad I did!! It was like an elevated pita pizza experience.

The crust was taken care of, now it was time to choose my toppings. I looked through the fridge and made an executive decision: asparagus and goat cheese. A wonderful combination that I couldn't wait to try. I didn't have any sauce or spread to use as a base layer, and didn't have all the resources to make any. What I did have, however is a large container or grape tomatoes. I cut open a generous handful spread them on a baking sheet with some whole garlic cloves and sprinkled them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I heated the oven to 325*, put the tomatoes and garlic in, let them roast for approximately 15 minutes, and out came beautifully juicy, yet wrinkled tomatoes ready to be smashed into a makeshift "sauce".

What made my situation even better, I was able to use the hot baking sheet with the tomato juices on it as a pre-seasoned throne for my pizza crust to sit upon in the oven. After clearing the baking sheet of my glorious tomatoes, I put the naan down and began smashing the roasted garlic and tomatoes onto it. It was then time to layer on the good stuff. A generous, yet not overwhelming helping of asparagus, goat cheese, and mozzarella were sprinkled on with an added pinch of sea salt and coarse ground pepper to top it all off. 

I then put the pizza in the oven at 400* for approximately 15 minutes (until the cheese had melted and the asparagus tender). As I took the pizza out to allow for cooling time, I added a light touch of roughly chopped basil to give it an herbaceous kick. While letting the pizza cool off, I put together a simple salad of spring mix, chopped radish, sweet onion, cucumber, and mushroom, and a dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. By that time, I could hardly wait to eat this much anticipated meal. Yet somehow, I managed to get it on to a plate and capture it all before I sat down to enjoy it. 

And as ready as I was to devour this delicious awesomeness, I knew I would enjoy it more if I took the time to taste each and every bite. So I poured myself a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, got the table ready, and enjoyed it all sitting poolside with my partner in crime...... Lola. 

So I raise my glass to all of you out there reading and say, BON APPETIT!!

Epic Fail ... Sort of.

Okay so maybe "EPIC FAIL" is a bit harsh, but my night last night didn't turn out quite as I was hoping and expecting. After my long day of work and such, I decided to treat myself by making a batch of one of my favorite cookies -- oatmeal dark chocolate chip. I found this recipe a long time ago and have since been able to tweak a little here or there in attempts to make them healthier and heartier. The original recipe consisted of:

• AP (all-purpose) flour
• rolled oats
• sugar
• salt
• baking powder
• vanilla
• egg
• butter
• vegetable oil
• chocolate chips

I took it upon myself to mix it up a bit and put my own spin on it. At first I didn't change too much. I changed the AP flour to stoneground wheat flour. (What I love about a good quality wheat flour, especially stoneground, is that it gives what ever you are making a nice nuttiness to it, with a bit more texture than regular white/AP flour) The only other thing that I changed the first go around was the chocolate chips. Instead of using regular milk chocolate or even semi-sweet chocolate chips, I used dark chocolate and bitter sweet chocolate chips and chunks. There is nothing wrong with your regular semi-sweet nestle tollhouse chocolate chip, but my personal preference is something a bit darker with a bit more bite to it. 

These cookies were great! I loved everything about them. They were chewy, crunchy, oowey and gooey, chocolatey, sweet and savory. And to top it off, they really weren't that unhealthy. They consisted of a hearty serving of whole grains, they had great antioxidants from the dark chocolate, and to top it off, they filled that cookie craving I often get. Over time I continued to wonder if there were any other changes I could make that wouldn't compromise the flavor or texture. One night, I was talking things over with a friend/coworker, Melissa, and we started talking about applesauce. Between the two of us, we came up with a way to substitute the oil from the cookies. I have heard many times that people use applesauce instead of oil in different baking recipes to make things healthier while keeping them nice and moist. I figured I might as well give it a try. So that night I took it upon myself to try it out....and they turned out D-lishh!!! They were every bit as good, if not better, than the modified version I came up with. 

Although these cookies are extremely healthy already, I kind of wondered whether there was anything I could use to substitute for the butter in them as well. (There really isn't much to begin with, and if you are using a good quality butter, there is nothing wrong with that. But once my mind gets wondering, I like to try out new things just for trying's sake) So last night I decided to try substituting the oil AS WELL AS the butter with applesauce............... It didn't quite turn out as I had wanted. The cookies were good, don't get me wrong. But they are not the same. They turned out more chewy then crunchy and were just a little off in the rest of the texture. I think that what happened was the applesauce made the batter a little runnier, causing the oats to be too moist, cookies not to crisp, but to turn chewy instead.

Lesson learned: Keep trying. 

Although these did not come out how I wanted, I am still looking for options to substitute the butter. The options I have come up with so far are:

1. Applesauce  _X_
2. Apple butter ___
3. Nut butter ___
4. Pumpkin puree ___
5. Mashed bananas ___

I will be continuing to make my way down the list and keep you posted on how they turn out! And if you have any other ideas PLEASE let me know! :)

Dinner Anybody???

I need some ideas for dinner that involves left over shredded rotisserie chicken. Any takers?? Let me know!!

Day #1

Let me start off with a nutshell background about me. My name is Kelli and I am a 21 year old student living in Austin, Texas. The three most important things to me are:

1. Family 
2. Friends
3. Food

I attended Oregon State University for 3 years, but recently took some time off to clear my head a little bit. I will be starting at Texas State University this summer, with a focus on Nutrition, in hopes to become a registered dietician. I love food and I love to cook. I like to take recipes and modify them to make them healthier. That will be my focus for this blog. 

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It is Sunday, May 15, and it is the first official day of my blog. I got the idea for this blog this past Friday night. I had an epiphany while sitting outside talking with my dad, sister, and her fiance. I want to take my thoughts, ideas, and passion for food and health and share them with anyone and everyone, and this was my perfect opportunity.

FridaRitaMargarita was designed in order for me to share my perspective on taking the food I love and giving them healthy makeovers. Food should not only be healthy for you, but taste amazing. I strongly believe that food is everything. It is our fuel, it heals, it comforts, it brings people together, and so much more. It basically has magical powers, if you ask me. And I know that there are certain things that a modified healthy version will never fulfill, no matter how similar it may be. That is why I also believe that everything is okay in moderation. It is all about a good balance.

I am excited to start sharing everything I come up with and come across with all of you. This will be an exciting journey!