6 month Hiatus...

So it's been an interesting few months.

            I broke down and bought a Belgian Waffle maker this week and I've been experimenting.  And what better way to experiment than make fresh whole wheat waffles with strawberries and cool-whip. I imagine it could have been worse, and I could have NOT gotten the whole wheat flour, but I needed  my whole grains and carbs for the gym. Or at least that's what I told myself , while I gorged on carbohydrates.

          
        I hope to post something less loaded with sugar soon, but I figured that I would get back in the swing of things with a bang.

 

And this particular bang was DELICIOUS

Sayonara Mayonaise

Guh... I love mayonaise.  It's so good mixed with ketchup and Chik-fil-et waffle fries!

But alas, I have said goodbye to my last bottle of mayonnaise. There really isn't anything good in mayonnaise, besides it kind of tasting delicious.  But now that I'm counting all my caloires (yes, I actually still keeping up with Livestrong.com) mayo just ins't worth the weight.  I haven't sworn off condiments,  I still love them! I have just been on the look out for healthier replacements and I have been succesful!  Here are my two new favorite spreads.  I actually have been using these for a while, so don't be suprised when you see them popping up in my blog in the near future.

#1. Ralph's Sweet Hot Mustard

The sweet part cools down the spicy and this mustard gives your food that extra little kick, without being overbearing.  I usually use it with chicken, and it also compliments salmon very nicely. 


There are 10 calories in 1 serving of Ralph's Sweet Hot Mustard. Calorie breakdown: 0% fat, 100% carbs, 0% protein.

It runs about $1.50 - $2 bucks at Ralph's and it lasts me up to 3-4 months.

#2  Chipotle Chili Light Mayonnaise

(Market Pantry)...aka Target

Ok, so I lied and didn't "completely" get rid of mayonaise, but all my normal mayo is gone, I swear 0_o

This one is great because you get all the taste and texture of a mayo, without the calorie intake.

There are 35 calories in 1 serving of Chipotle Chili Light Mayonnaise. Calorie breakdown: 4g fat, 60 mg Sodium, 1g of Carbs

It runs about $1.99 at Target and it lasts me up to 2-3 months. 

I have learned that mustard is a much safer less caloric way to go. It tends to have 1/6 less calories than mayo, and the consistency is similar.  Tough luck though if you don't like the smell of mustard seeds. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more good cheap spreads. Until next time internet!

My Plate

New toy!! New toy!!

Well, it's not really a toy as much as a personal guilt device.... buttt it's reallly neat!

So, I am always trying to find new and better ways to keep track of things.  I find that people who make lists,  and stay organized, often reach their goals sooner rather than later. So, here is my latest list craze.

 http://www.livestrong.com/

It's a calorie counter on steroids. So just to give you an idea, I thought I had a relatively healthy day. If I don't go to the gym, or do any major physical activity, I should be in taking roughly 1,800 calories a day.  With this calorie counter I changed my intake to 1,600 so I could lose roughly a pound a week.

I wrote down EVERYTHING I put into my mouth today. The red font is bad. I basically went over on everything except fat. and my sugar intake (on what I thought was a healthy day) was 300 %!!! 

But on a good note, I had almost 200% of my daily fiber as well as 250% of my daily protein.  It's crazy how quickly these numbers add up.  The other neat thing about this is, a lot of specific food nutrition labels and servings are already saved on their server.  I don't have to do much, just type in cliff bar and 20 different kinds pop up.  I pick which one I had and how many servings it was, then presto..... instant update.

I actually found myself making healthier choices today because I didn't want to mess up my numbers, it almost became a mental game and test of will. Without the recording phase I would have easily snuck a piece of chocolate during a work break. BUT I prevailed!! Well for today at least, but I must keep forging ahead, we shall see what tomorrow will bring. Night.0_o

Tomatoooo Plant

Here is my little friend....I named him Matt.

 This is a picture of Matt as a little baby plant.

And this is one of Matt's babies that I ate.  He was delicious. 

Matt is a Celebrity, so he is a little sweet and a little spicy. I think the little black cat that lives outside also ate one of Matt's babies, because I couldn't seem to find it. And the last time I checked, little baby tomatoes don't have legs,  but then again I did love Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

 

(so maybe they do grow legs at night)

.....and eat people

Addition # 2

#2. Ninja Master Prep Professional! 
 
Ryan got this little jem for his after workout smoothies. Its basically an upside down blender with what seems like a million blades (hence the ninja name). You can use the container you blend with to store leftovers. Just throw on a cap and into the fridge it goes. It's really quiet, like 5 times quieter than your traditional blender.

I looove making homemade guacamole. The only problem is, I usually beat the avocados by hand, and that can make the guacamole turn brown pretty quickly. Avocados do not like a lot of man-handling!

 
This is all you need for guacamole. I got the two package sets from Trader Joes.  And the green bottle is lime juice, not lemon (hence the mostly green exterior)

It takes maybe four pushes on the Ninja button, and you are all done. No heavy beating or extensive damage to your avocados. No extra salt, or additives, just fresh vegetables.

Literally, it was the best guacamole I had ever had in my life.  It was so fresh tasting, and just the right amount of kick to it. And I had enough ingredients to make another batch later again that week.

Slacking off

So, I don't know if slacking off, is the correct phrase.  I have been making things, just being lazy on my weekends and not doing write-ups.  So I do apologize if they seem to come out in bursts, but back to more important things.  I have two AMAZING additions to my kitchen,  both of which I will be doing lots of experimenting in the near future so prepare yourself.

#1. Champion JUICER! 

My grandma loves me and got me one, and it really is something I wish I had used when I was little.

It's so much fun to make things with it, and there's no hidden additives, no preservatives.  I will be posting a few different things, and recipes I have been playing with and let you know what's good.  And what is not so good, and ended up tasting like dirt. And as always, you are more than welcome to come over and experiment with me! .....................................................(But only on the weekends, weekdays are too busy)

Okey doke, so I'll share what I made this morning, because it is the freshest in my mind. Usually on Sunday's I frequent the Farmer's Market (Which if you haven't been you should try it out, bring some friends, have some lunch. If nothing else it's a fantastic place for people watching, and sketching) . So there's a juice tent that my freinds and I frequent and last Sunday I decided to get a Orange/Carrot juice.  And I almost choked when the man behind the counter said 8 dollars!! For two cups of juice!!!!

I semi-reluctantly paid the man and went on with my day. But this weekend, I was gonna make my own.  So here are my concoctions. Below are the ingredients I used to make two glasses of delicious juice



 Homemade Orange/Carrot


1.5 oranges
1.5 cups of baby carrots
1 sprig of celery

(This one is pretty good, of the two it was Ryan's favorite)

Oranges 1.50
+ Carrots .50
+ Celery .25
____________
Total cost : ~2.25

Homemade Orange/Watermelon

1 oranges
6 sliced pieces of watermelon

1 sprig of celery

Oranges 1.00
+ Watermelon .50
+ Celery .25
____________
Total cost : ~1.75


 (So, basically Juice man at the Farmer's Market is up-selling by 50%) I'll still probably get a juice from him every once and a while,  but for now I think I'll yield.

It's all about what's in season, and on sale! 

Watermelon is in season right now, so you can get them for pretty cheap!

I'm poor....but it's Date Night.....what to do....0_o

Now I have found great way to cook sweet potatoes. They may not always seem so appealing in the store, but once you slice one of these babies open, it'll change your mind. All you need is one sweet potato for two people (depending how big the sweet potato is, you might be able to get more than two servings) Which usually runs for about a buck or two at the store. Give the skin a good rinse and then slice vertically down the potato. You are basically making the slices from 1/4-1/2 wide (which is really a personal preference how you want them)

I have a little grill from Ikea, so I grabbed that and put the slices of potatoes on the grill. Now in the first few moments of the potatoes on the grill, go to the fridge grab some butter and a microwave bowl, and take about half a table spoon and pop it in the microwave. Drizzle the butter over the top of the sweet potatoes and flip them.  You'll be repeating this for the other side.

Now while that's cooking. We have another thing to start prep on, our veggie! I'm going with eggplant tonight,  because it was on sale for $1 at the grocery store. One eggplant will serve about 2-3 people. Cut the eggplant similarly to the sweet potatoes. Then grab your olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some Italian seasoning and/or basil. I always have this stuff around.  If you don't have these ingredients, you should pick some up they are very versatile, I use most of them on a daily basis. Now put all these ingredients in a bowl and we will be glazing our egg plant slices in it.

By now, our sweet potatoes should be done, so grab those of the grill and throw them in a bowl ( I let them sit in the microwave, so the heat doesn't escape really quickly. ) Our grill is now clear for the egg plant. Again it's a personal preference how long you cook the eggplant, the longer, the mushier. =)

We need a protein,  and nothing impresses a guest more than a piece of Filet Mignon. Now, I'm not a huge beef fan,  I usually lean more towards turkey burgers and grilled chicken. However, in those rare occasions that I eat steak, not too much beats out a perfectly cooked piece of filet mignon.

FILET MIGNON?!!?!

yeah, I'm sure that would taste great... but I'm poor so what's the workaround? And my answer to most of these questions is good shopping. Trader Joe's carries a little package of filet in it's meat department. Usually runs about $9 a pound. (Which for those of you who don't know, that is an insanely good price for a pound of filet).

So total our price, with all fresh ingredients is running about $11 . That's it!! You'd spend more getting two meals at the drive through of McDonald's.  And everyone loves to be cooked for, whether they want to tell you or not.

So, that's it, put it on the plate. I almost always have left overs for the next day too. 

Oh, and the sweet potatoes are a wonderful leftover snack!! I'll put them in a little Tupperware and take them to work and eat them like softer potato chips. Homemade and  healthy potato chips.