Whole Wheat Pancakes

Jul 312012

Hey there! Can you believe it’s already the last day of July?! I don’t understand where this month went! August always scares me because I feel like summer is almost over and I feel the heat (get it? lol) of trying to finish everything I wanted to do during the summer.

I think I’ve been lucky enough this summer to get a lot of fun things done like hiking, going to an amusement park, and hanging out by the pool, but I really am hankering for a beach trip. I need some surf, sand, and sun!!

Bootcamp Update

Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp has still been going really well! Yesterday I did a cardio interval on the treadmill and then completed an upper body superset. Man oh man, my arms were feelin’ it. Apparently they are not nearly as strong as I thought they were and today I am feeling pretty tight. I need a stretch!!

I opted to skip today’s morning bootcamp workout in favor of 40 extra minutes of sleep.

The reason? I have an appointment with a personal trainer tonight at 6:00. The appointment is free and is offered by my gym as a promotional tactic to try to get me to sign up for their personal training services. I decided I may as well try it out since it’s free, but I’m feeling a little nervous.

One reason I am nervous is because the trainer is going to do an evaluation ahead of time to see what my fitness abilities are. I’ve heard rumors that they see how many pushups you can do in a minute, how much weight you can lift, etc. Talk about pressure. Another reason I’m apprehensive is because I went to college with this particular trainer and am not looking forward to having him judge me on my fitness skills. Plus there is always the issue of awkward small talk for an hour. Ugh. We will see how it goes!

Either way, I’m planning to catch up on Tina’s bootcamp workout tonight after the session. Tomorrow I’ll be back on schedule with my morning workouts, especially since someone was not happy with me for sleeping in for an extra 40 minutes (cough JACK cough).

Recipe

As you may have seen from yesterday’s weekend recap, I made some pretty stellar whole wheat pancakes on Sunday. I based the recipe off of one from Gina at Skinny Taste and they came out awesome! They were light, fluffy, and filling! Fabio and I ate every last bight and practically licked our plates. Yum! Plus, when served with a light buttery spread (I used Brummel & Brown which is made from yogurt) and light syrup, they’re not too bad for you since they are whole wheat and don’t use any butter or oil. Win! Here’s how they came together…

First, I set a large skillet to medium heat and allowed it to get nice and hot. Then, I added whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, sugar, fat free milk, 1 egg, and vanilla to a large bowl. Then I whisked it all together until it was just incorporated and my batter had little bubbles in it.

Then, I poured the batter onto the hot pan and let the pancakes cook for about 2-3 minutes or until bubbles started rising to the top of the cakes.

Then I flipped the pancakes over and let the other side cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. When the pancakes were lightly brown on both sides, I removed them from the pan and served ‘em up!

Check out that plate of yumminess!!

And here’s a picture of Fabio’s plate, in case you wanted more…

Yum!!!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Recipe type: Breakfast

Author: Adapted from Skinny Taste

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 6 mins

Total time: 8 mins

Serves: 2

These whole wheat pancakes are so good that you’ll never guess they are made without oil or butter!

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
1 large egg
1 cups + 1 tbsp fat free milk
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk until combined.
Coat skillet with nonstick spray.
Pour batter onto hot skillet in small, pancake-size batches.
Cook pancakes for 2-3 minutes, then flip. Cook the other side for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Remove the pancakes from the skillet and serve.

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So there you have it, my new go-to pancake recipe! Although I don’t make pancakes too frequently, I admit that on Sundays they appear on my breakfast table more often than they should. Guilty! But now with this recipe, I don’t have to feel so bad about indulging in them Yay!

So, what do you guys indulge in on weekends? And, what do you do to try to make that thing healthier?

King’s Dominion or bust!

Random 13 Responses »

Jul 302012

Hellooooooo blog world. Are you all having a great Monday? Is there even such a thing as a great Monday? Well, despite the fact that crawling out of bed this morning to work out was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done (slight exaggeration, I admit) the rest of my day is going well But let’s recap the weekend, shall we?

Friday evening started the weekend off with a bang as I went over to my friend’s apartment in DC for the aforementioned Olympics party. She was a great hostess and provided us all with red and blue drinks, red white and blue pretzel M&M snacks, and popcorn torches.

In addition, she had some fresh cherries and baked challah (sp?) bread and hummus for us to snack on. It was great! Fabio enjoyed the popcorn torches best.

Clearly he is ready for the games!

Then we filled up our drinks and sat around watching the Opening Ceremony and the Walk of Nations. What did you guys think of the ceremony? At first I was a little underwhelmed, and frankly thrown off by the story-telling aspect of it all. Eventually though, I realized that I liked all the choreography with the kids on their beds and enjoyed the dances at the end especially. I think it was definitely one of those things where at first you are like eh I don’t know about this and then later when you see recaps you’re like that was so cool! Haha, what did you guys think?

On Saturday morning Fabio and I woke up bright and early for attempt number 2 at reaching King’s Dominion. The result?

Success!

This time we left early enough that the traffic was minimal and we reached King’s Dominion by around 11:00 a.m.

While we were en route to KD, I read some yelp reviews on my phone so we would be prepared for the best rides (it was a long car ride ha). One review suggested buying the Fast Lane passes which, while pretty expensive at $45 a pop, let you bypass all of the lines. On a Saturday in July, we thought this was a pretty crucial luxury and, since Fabio bought the tickets via a Groupon and saved us some money, we decided to go for it. Although we felt a little guilty for spending so much on the passes, we hardly ever go to amusement parks and we decided we might as well live it up! YOLO!

Let me just tell you, it was so worth it. We didn’t wait in line anywhere for more than ten minutes and we were able to ride all the rides we wanted (some even twice). For one popular ride, the Volcano, we overheard the people in line behind us say that they’d been waiting for over an hour. We sheepishly grinned at each other since we’d been in line for only 5 minutes (and were about to get on) and had already ridden the ride once already. Woopsie! Best $45 I ever spent.

So, we spent the day riding all of the rides KD had to offer and had a really great time.

Once we had been there a little while, our stomachs started to rumble and we decided to grab some lunch. We first walked into an air conditioned “grill” hoping to find something good to eat, but after getting one whiff of the oil and fried foods we high-tailed it out of there in search of something a little more figure-friendly (although I do love fried foods on occasion, the smell of this place was GROSS). Suddenly we rounded the corner and saw ~~heaven~~ Subway!! Woohoo!

I chose a 6-inch ham sandwich on whole wheat with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and mustard. Yum! It was perfect.

After riding around on a few more rides, including some water slides, we eventually called it quits and headed home. We were exhausted from all the walking around in the sun! We had a fun evening watching the Olympics on the couch with Jack, and even indulged in some delivery Chinese food for dinner (beef & broccoli + General Tso’s = the perfect lazy evening).

On Sunday morning I hopped out of bed and took Jack on a quick two-mile run. When I returned, I whipped up some whole wheat pancakes for breakfast.

They were delicious! Recipe to come soon!

Then Fabio and I headed over to some tennis courts near us to practice our game (I counted the run and the tennis as part of my cardio of choice for Tina’s best body bootcamp).

After hitting the ball around for a while, it became apparent that we are not very good at tennis. In fact, I was snapping some pictures of Fabio when he accidentally hit the ball over the fence and hit a lady in the neighboring court!!

Before:

Tough guy

After:

Sheepish guy

Lol! Obviously he apologized to the lady for hitting her and retrieved the ball. I think we need some more practice haha!

Later on Sunday afternoon we did some cleaning & chores around the apartment, before eventually going for a two-mile walk up to Trader Joe’s for some groceries. Naturally we stopped on the way home for froyo.

Delish!

Then a few hours later for dinner I made us some skinny buffalo chicken wraps and crispy baked french fries. They were awesome!

Then we spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching the Olympics! They were pretty much playing 24-7 the entire weekend, which was nice. The gymnasts are definitely my favorite, and I could live without the basketball games thankyouverymuch. Seems to me like I have to sit through enough basketball games without the Olympics lol.

Anyway, how was your weekend? Did you go anywhere fun? Flip upside down on any roller coasters? Or maybe you found an excuse to turn an errand into a stop for froyo Do tell!

Book Review: Wild

Book Club 3 Responses »

Jul 302012

Hey guys! This morning I’m doing a book review of Wild, by Cheryl Strayed as part of Julie’s book club. I’ll be back later today with a regular weekend recap, but for now, here is my review of Wild!

Overview

Cheryl Strayed wrote Wild as a memoir to document her journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) more than 1,000 miles from the Mojave desert in California to Washington state. After losing her mother to cancer and leaving her husband for drugs, other men, and an unfortunate abortion, the 26 year-old decided to hike the PCT all alone in order to pull herself out of the slump that was her life.

Through her journey, Cheryl faced physical challenges such as sweltering deserts and slippery, snow-covered passages, as well as emotional challenges such as letting her mother’s memory rest and moving on from her ex-husband. Though Cheryl faced rattlesnakes, bears, and creepy men on the trail who tried to take advantage of her, the hardest thing for her to overcome was to fill the void of emotions left in the wake of her past. Eventually, Cheryl completed her hike and realized she was full again and put all of her troubling habits and memories to rest.

My Opinion

I thought this book, though slow at times, was incredibly inspiring. Cheryl faced so many obstacles during her hike that certainly would have made me break down into tears or turn right back around and give up, and yet she remained strong and persevered. I loved reading about her past and hearing about how she got into the position she was in. Though she was vague to everyone else she met along the way about why she was hiking the PCT, she let readers have a glimpse into her past, and seeing everything she went through was crucial to connecting with her as a character.

Overall I thought the book was pretty well-written, though like I said it was slow at times. I thought some details could have probably been omitted since they weren’t entirely relevant to the overall plot, but then again it is a memoir and it should be told as it happened.

This is a great book for anyone who is feeling a little down in the dumps and wants to read a story about a truly inspirational woman who was able to turn her life around without the help of anyone else. I think it’s safe to say Cheryl Strayed is certainly a role model to us all.

Discussion

So, what did you guys think of Wild? What did you think of the characters she met along the way and her immediate bond with them? How did you feel about the way she talked about men and her relationship with them? Did it bother you that she didn’t seem to regret her intimacy with so many strangers? How did you feel about how she left things with Paul? Any thoughts on her use of symbolism, either in regards to the lost Vietnam bracelet, the Bob Marley t-shirt, or the feather from Doug?

If you’re interested in hearing more about Wild, Oprah has an interview with Cheryl Strayed on her website. It’s pretty interesting and I recommend checking it out!

Note: Pictures courtesy of CherylStrayed.com and Oprah.com

Fashion Friday #15

Fashion Fridays 7 Responses »

Jul 272012

Hello there! Sorry for the late post today; work has been ca-razy! Like seriously, I’ve been running around non-stop all day trying to get a million things done. It’s kind of great though because it makes the time go by so much faster. Weekend, here I come!

Anyyyyway, since it’s Friday let’s jump right into today’s Fashion Friday post! Here’s my outfit today:

Shirt: J Crew

Skirt: Lands’ End Canvas ($12!!)

Shoes: Rue La La

Seriously, can you believe I got that skirt for so cheap?? Lands’ End Canvas is sooo amazing. I bought some jeans there recently for like $19 and my favorite shorts are from there as well ($12). Their regular priced stuff is just so-so (aka- not worth it), but those sales get me every time! Plus, it’s good quality stuff. You should seriously check it out!

Bootcamp Update

Today was another great day for bootcamp! I started my morning by running to the gym, which is only maybe 1/4 mile away (if that) and then I completed the following interval workout on the treadmill:

It was a good one! Running on the 8 speed was a pretty good challenge for me and I was really sweaty at the end of the workout. Then I did a circuit that worked my core muscles. My abs were feeling it big time! This bootcamp has been great so far

Olympics

So I don’t know about you guys, but I am pretty pumped for the Olympic ceremony tonight. I have been watching the coverage on the Today Show all week and they have been building up the ceremony like crazy! I don’t know how they are going to top the ceremony from Beijing a few years ago (those ~~robots~~ people were amazing ), but according to the Today Show it’s being directed by the guy who directed Slum Dog Millionaire and is going to feature Peter Pan in some fashion. I’m so down with that!

[Source]

As I mentioned yesterday, my friends and I will be getting together for an Olympics party tonight. My friend Rachel from work found this amazing article with tips on how to throw an Olympics party, and I have a feeling the beer olympics drinking game (tip #26) will definitely be on our agenda tonight, along with a few of the other ideas (colored shots??)

Also, we debated some costumes to wear out tonight including but not limited to:

USA gear
Having each person be a different color from the Olympic rings
Dressing up like one of the athletes…perhaps in a tight bejeweled leotard?

[Source]

Hm. Maybe not. Oh well, either way it should be a fun time!!

So tell me, how do you plan on celebrating the opening ceremony?

Sticky Asian Drumsticks

Recipes 12 Responses »

Jul 262012

Hello there! Can you believe it’s already Thursday?? I feel like this week is flying by. Kind of the opposite of last week, right? I currently have a few little things I’m looking forward to at the end of this week, and it’s helping me to stay positive and keep my momentum going. It’s always good to have little things in your schedule to keep you moving, right?

In fact, I remember when I was in high school there would be some mornings where I just didn’t want to crawl out from under the covers (did anyone else have to wake up at like 5:30??) so I used to identify one little thing that I was excited for that day- whether it was a new shirt that I got to wear or having lunch with a specific friend- I remember I always found something to look forward to. I am realizing that I still do that to this day, and it just helps to keep me movin’.

For this week, I have had something great to look forward to each day. Monday I was really excited to start to new bootcamp that I’m participating in. Then on Tuesday, I had dinner with my dad and last night I had dinner with my mom and stepdad.

Then today I’m going to happy hour with a bunch of friends and tomorrow I have more friends coming over to watch the Olympics and go out in D.C. Then it’s the weekend!! You can see that with all of these little happy things in my schedule, time has been flying by!

Bootcamp

Today was another successful day with Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp. I began my morning by running with Jack and then running to the gym, where I completed another intense superset of exercises. Today’s exercises worked my upper and lower body, which felt great. I love that you can customize Tina’s moves to meet your fitness ability. Today I was really happy about this because I found that my legs are pretty strong and could handle the moves easily, whereas my arms are not as strong and I needed to use lower weights. It was another great workout!

Before leaving the gym this morning I tried out one of those rope thingys that I always see on Biggest Loser. Check it out!

Haha I know, I’m a dork

Recipe

Today’s recipe is something that I actually alluded to a while ago but never got around to posting. Sorry about that! No time like the present though, right?

Anyway, I created this recipe during the awkward time when I had nothing in my freezer because I had to throw everything out after not having power for five days. When Fabio and I finally were able to restock our fridge, we wanted to wait for a Cosco trip before buying any chicken breasts. However, since we didn’t have any chicken in the house (and that’s pretty much my main protein source) we bought some drumsticks.

I searched around online for some recipe inspiration and after looking at a few different recipes (like this one, this one, and this one) I came up with a yummy sticky Asian drumstick recipe. Yum! Here’s how it came together…

First I created a marinade by adding garlic, ginger, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, honey, and siracha hot sauce into a large Ziploc bag.

Then I added in the chicken drumsticks and mixed everything around in the bag until it was all incorporated.

After a few hours in the fridge (the longer the better!) I removed the chicken from the marinade (don’t throw it out!) and placed the chicken on a wire rack on top of a foil-lined cookie sheet.

Then I set the oven to broil and put the chicken in the oven for about 12 minutes total, rotating the chicken every couple of minutes so they didn’t burn.

Then I poured the rest of the marinade in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it reduced down into a thicker, sticky sauce. As the marinade was reducing, I used a pastry brush to brush the cooking chicken with the sauce.

When the chicken was almost done, I toasted a few sesame seeds on a hot, dry pan until they were light brown.

Soon the chicken was done and I topped the drumsticks with more of the sauce and the toasted seeds.

Yummm, so sticky and delicious!

I served these with my favorite cauliflower fried rice for some veggies and enjoyed a great easy and flavorful meal! Yum!

Sticky Asian Drumsticks

5.0 from 1 reviews

Recipe type: Entree

Author: Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats

Prep time: 2 hours

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 2 hours 15 mins

Serves: 2

These sticky Asian drumsticks are easy and delicious! Serve with cauliflower “fried rice” for some veggies!

Ingredients

5 chicken drumsticks
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. siracha sauce
1 tsp. sesame seeds

Instructions

Place first seven ingredients (through siracha sauce) into a large Ziploc bag and marinade for at least two hours.
Remove chicken from bag and place on a wire rack on top of a foil-lined cookie sheet.
Set oven to broil and place chicken in the oven. Cook for about 12 minutes, rotating every few minutes so the chicken doesn’t burn.
Meanwhile, place the rest of the marinade in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Allow the marinade to reduce to half its original size.
While the chicken is cooking, use a pastry brush to coat the chicken in the sauce.
When the chicken is almost done, place the sesame seeds into a small pan and toast on medium-high heat until lightly browned.
When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and coat in extra sauce and toasted seeds.

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So, what are your favorite Asian foods? This was a good one for me because I don’t cook dark meat like drumsticks very often and I wasn’t really sure what I should do with it. This recipe turned out great though, and I will definitely make it again!

WIAW #13

WIAW 20 Responses »

Jul 252012

Hello!!!! How is everyone today? I personally feel like doing a little happy dance around my cube because my Least Favorite Assignment Ever at work just got taken away from me. Basically our client decided it was costing too many buckaroos and they didn’t want it anymore. Hallelujah, I can hear the angels singing. No more staring at an Excel for hours and hours doing a job a monkey could do. Woohoo! Sorry, lol, I’m done celebrating.

Bootcamp Update

I have to say I am really loving Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp so far. The workouts, while challenging, are not too difficult and I really enjoy that they push me to do new moves and combinations I wouldn’t have tried before. Today’s workout was an interval and then a core circuit, which was great since we did lower body and upper body earlier in the week. I have to admit some body parts are feelin’ a little sore today, but since we worked out each muscle group separately it’s very manageable. Me likey!

Also, I have been doing very well with my goals (although I’m aware that it’s only day 3, lol) and have really cut back on my sweets and ramped up the veggies. Yay!

WIAW

And now it’s time for my favorite Wednesday tradition, What I Ate Wednesday. Thanks, as always, go out to Jenn for hosting the linkup party. We couldn’t do it without you (literally).

So, here’s what I ate yesterday.

1. For breakfast, I had another delicious bowl of apple cinnamon overnight oats. These were again topped with 1/2 a chopped apple and a spoonful of Trader Joe’s Natural Almond Butter. All I can say is delicious, delicious, delicious. I practically liked the bowl clean, it was that good. If you haven’t tried almond butter and apples in your overnight oats, you are missing out!

2. For lunch, I had a repeat of Monday night’s dinner which included more three-cheese cauliflower pizza and roasted brussels sprouts and red onions on the side. YUMMM. The plates at work are pretty small, which is why everything looks so crammed on there. I didn’t mind though, since it made me feel like I was eating more food that I was. It’s crazy how your eyes play tricks on your stomach, isn’t it?

3. My dad came to visit for dinner last night so we went to a sports bar near my apartment called Velocity Five. There weren’t a whole lot of healthy choices, so I went with a grilled chicken pesto wrap. There was supposed to be avocado in my wrap as well, but it seemed to be suspiciously absent. It didn’t matter though because the wrap was really good anyway and I got so full I was only able to eat half of it and a few french fries. It will make good leftovers later in the week for sure.

So, that’s it! Now you have seen everything that I ate yesterday. I purposefully did not have any snacks throughout the day because I knew I was going out to dinner and I didn’t want to spoil my appetite. Good thing too, since I was only able to eat half of what I ordered! Sheesh.

It was a perfect evening to eat out though, and we enjoyed an outdoor table with a nice breeze. We even saw a pretty sunset on the way home.

And then we relaxed for the rest of the night.

So tell me, what have you guys been eating lately? Any new breakfasts you are obsessed with? How about some leftovers? Do tell!

Three-cheese Cauliflower Pizza

Blogging, Recipes 18 Responses »

Jul 242012

Hey there! I hope you’re having a great Wednesday! I wanted to chat with you all first and foremost about something that I recently read about on Healthy Living Blogs. On their announcements yesterday, they posted a couple of recaps from last year’s Healthy Living Summit which I thought were really interesting.

I had heard about the summit before, and briefly considered attending since there would be so many great opportunities for networking and improving my blog, but because of timing and my (very low) bank account, I knew it just wouldn’t work out this year. However, after reading the reviews posted on HLB I started thinking a lot more about the summit.

The reviews (especially the second one) basically explain that sometimes the conference was cliquey and everyone was expected to act the same way. This makes complete sense and now I’m wondering how the HLB community plans to combat this issue. How will the newbie bloggers (like me) interact with all the veteran bloggers who have been blogging for years? What will the dynamic be?

I can’t imagine that there would be any hostility and yet…I can sort of see how all of the established bloggers might stick together and make it kind of hard for someone new to break into the scene. Anyway, this is just something I was thinking about so I wanted to share it with you all. What do you think??

Bootcamp Update

So it’s Day 2 of Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp and I have to say so far it has been great! After my spam issues yesterday, I was really happy to finally complete the rest of my workout after I got home yesterday. And you know what? I bit the bullet and joined the gym. While I love running outside, using my home equipment, and following my workout DVDs, this boot camp is just easier to do in a gym. Period. But it’s not too much money and I think I’ll really enjoy having the option to work out at home, instead of having no other choice. So yay!!

The workouts themselves have been pretty great. Yesterday’s main superset consisted of some upper-body workouts and my arms are definitely feeling it today. However, I thought today’s leg workout was a little too easy so I’m going to increase my weights/intensity for next time. Now I know!

Recipe

After messing around and making impromptu English muffin pizzas this weekend (an English muffin topped with tomatoes, basil, Italian spices, and mozz. cheese) I suddenly found myself craving delicious pizza last night. Instead of giving into temptation and ordering Ledo’s (hello, amazing) I looked through my trusty recipe list that I keep on my phone for inspiration. I happened to stumble upon “cauliflower crust pizza,” which I saw on Pinterest ages ago. I didn’t have the actual recipe anymore, but a quick Google search turned up this recipe from Spark Recipes.

The pizza itself, while it certainly didn’t taste exactly like regular pizza, was really delicious. The spices that go into the “crust” make it taste very authentic and because I used three types of cheese in this pizza, I didn’t miss the doughy, bready crust one bit. It was great and I even had leftovers for lunch Win! Here’s how it came together…

First I preheated the oven to 450 degrees. Then I briefly steamed 1/2 head of cauliflower. Whole. In the microwave. In a plastic bag with a little water.

I know, I know, this causes cancer and is really bad for me. But I was lazy and it worked, so I’m not complaining. I just have to warn you that this is not the best option. Ok? ok.

Anyway, steam your cauliflower.

Once it was steamed a little, I used my Slap Chop to cut it into tiny pieces.

A food processor would have probably worked better, especially since after I was done “slapping,” my downstairs neighbors decided to “slap” right back by banging on their ceiling/my floor. I guess I was being really annoying and making too much noise. Ugh. They hate me. Can I make it up to them with a cauliflower pizza? No? Darn.

Next, I ~~got over the fact that my neighbors hate me and~~ added the cauliflower to a large bowl. Then I added 1 egg, cheddar cheese, fennel, and Italian seasoning.

Then I sprayed a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and transferred the cauliflower mixture onto the sheet. Using my hands, I pressed the cauliflower into a circle.

Holy cheese fest.

Then I placed the cauliflower in the oven and allowed to cook for 10-12 minutes or until the top started to turn light brown.

Meanwhile, I started working on the topping. For my pizza, I decided to mix some spinach and cheese together and then top the whole thing with sliced tomatoes. For the cheese mixture I first added a bit of low-fat mozzarella to a bowl, and then added in a wedge of garlic & herb Laughing Cow cheese.

Then I added in a handful of spinach…

And then I used my hands to mix the cheese with the spinach until it was all well-incorporated. This took a few minutes and was a little messy, but was so worth it for the decadent and gooey cheese taste that I got for my finished pizza. Laughing Cow + Mozzarella + Spinach = SO GOOD.

Then I pulled the cauliflower crust out of the oven…

And then I topped it with the mozzarella cheese mixture and a few sliced tomatoes. Then it was back into the oven for about 5 more minutes until the cheese was bubbling.

It was so good! Mine made four slices, two of which I ate for dinner along side of some Brussels sprouts…

…and the other two were gobbled up for lunch today. SO GOOD!

Three-cheese Cauliflower Pizza

Recipe type: Entree

Author: Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 2

This cauliflower pizza has all the flavor of a traditional Italian pizza without all the carbs!

Ingredients

Half head of cauliflower
1 egg
1 cup low-fat cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. fennel seed
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese
1 Laughing Cow cheese wedge (I used garlic & herb)
1 handful spinach
1 medium tomato, sliced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and set aside.
Steam cauliflower for 2-3 minutes until just tender. Use a food processor (or Slap Chop) to finely chop cauliflower.
Add cauliflower to a large bowl and mix in egg, cheddar cheese, and spices.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix mozzarella with Laughing Cow cheese and spinach until well-combined.
Remove cauliflower crust from oven when the top turns light brown, and evenly distribute the cheese mixture on top.
Add sliced tomatoes.
Place pizza back in the oven for about five minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
Slice pizza into quarters and serve.

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So, what are your favorite lightened up recipes? I love that cauliflower is so versatile and you can transform it in so many ways. This pizza is pretty darn tasty!

Rainy Day Weekend

Random 13 Responses »

Jul 232012

Hello there! Happy Monday to you I hope you all had a nice, relaxing weekend filled with a lot of fun!

Bootcamp Update

Now that I have started Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp, I’ll be posting daily updates on my progress. Day one started off not so hot. I kept checking my email all weekend for the assigned Phase One workouts, but didn’t see anything in my inbox as of late last night. I woke up this morning and ran with Jack for about 30 minutes, figuring I could add whatever other bootcamp exercises I needed later in the day when I received the email. When I came into work this morning and started catching up on my regular blogs, I saw that other people had already gotten started on the bootcamp while I was still missing my email! What the heck was going on?

I emailed Tina and she promptly alerted me that her emails went to a lot of people’s spam since she sent it to so many participants at once. I checked my spam folder and yep- there it was- my assigned Phase One workouts. Although I was annoyed that I missed out this morning, I’m planning to work out this afternoon instead. Wish me luck!

Also, as part of the boot camp you have to make two personal goals for yourself. Here are mine:

Only eat dessert (or anything sweet) once a day: I made this goal because often times at work I will find myself munching absent-mindedly on sweet snacks that I know I don’t need. Free cookies in the kitchen? Check. A couple of hershey kissed after lunch? Check, check. Not anymore though, unless I was to eliminate something sweet after dinner, which is unlikely. I think this will be tough enough that I’ll have to work at it but easy enough that I am not setting myself up for failure. Sounds good to me!

Eat at least three different fruits or veggies a day: Again, this should be a goal that I can easily accomplish. I’d say that most days I eat a lot more than three different fruits or veggies a day, but there are days where this can be difficult such as Thursdays – Sundays when I often go to happy hour or eat out for dinner. I need to be more careful when I’m out and avoid eating too much junk over the weekend. This goal should help me with this process.

So there you have it! My bootcamp plans! Wish my luck and like I said, I’ll be posting daily updates on my progress.

Weekend Recap

So, now that I’ve bored you all with my bootcamp plans, let’s recap this weekend (where there were plenty of sweets and very few veggies on my plates. Ugh!)

The weekend started off on Friday evening when I met my mom, stepdad, stepsister, and her boyfriend for dinner at Not Your Average Joe’s, a new restaurant in Gaithersburg, Md. The restaurant just opened up a couple of weeks ago and it prides itself on serving only local ingredients.

I started off with a delicious beverage made of sparkling strawberry wine, st. germain elderflower liqueur (don’t ask me what this is…), absolut citron, muddled strawberries and chilled house-made lemonade. It was called “berry me in bubbles” and it was delicious! I definitely recommend it.

Next Fabio and I split some tomato basil soup and enjoyed dipping the amazing bread into it. OMG it was so good. Sorry I didn’t take a picture, I was too busy stuffing my face. Woops!

For my entree I ordered pecan-crusted chicken with sweet potato wedges. It was fantastic!

Unfortunately because of all the bread I ate, I was pretty full for my entree and wound up taking most of it home. I will say the leftovers made an excellent lunch today

For dessert I almost got this little baby:

Peanut butter “thing”?? It sounded amazing! But I soon saw that chocolate molten cake was on the menu and it happens to be my Favorite Dessert Ever (so much so that it deserves capitol letters. Watch out people). Of course I had to get it.

Fabio split it with me, which means that he had two bites and I ate the rest. Ha! Oh well, you only live once!

It was a great evening and I had so much fun with my family

On Saturday morning, Fabio had a surprise date planned for me and he told me to put on my bathing suit under some comfortable clothes and to wear my sneakers. I was so excited!! I had no idea where we were going and couldn’t wait to start our day.

However, when we actually got up and looked outside, we saw that it was raining. Noooo! Fabio reluctantly told me that the surprise involved a trip to King’s Dominion and he asked me if I wanted to still go despite the rain. I thought that it might actually be better in the rain because there wouldn’t be any lines. After calling KD to confirm that rides would remain open despite the weather, we hastily left for what was supposed to be a fun day at the amusement park.

Only problem? Because of traffic, our estimated 1.5 hour drive quickly turned into an estimated 3 hour drive. Womp womp. We wanted to stick it out anyway and try going to the park, but after sitting in completely stopped traffic for about an hour we gave up and got off the highway at Potomac Mills, a huge mall in Woodbridge, Va. At this point it was raining pretty hard and was pretty chilly out, so we didn’t mind the change in plans too much.

I had been to Potomac Mills before but not in a while, so I was happy to discover that they still had a J. Crew and Banana Republic outlet. Awesome! I bought a few things (and so did Fabio) and we had a nice day wandering around the mall. Eventually we came home and had steak & quinoa salads for dinner.

Yum! These salads were awesome.

Later that night a few friends came over for ~~way too much~~ beer and wine, and we eventually headed out to Dupont Circle in DC for the night. Jack was not so hot on the party

Guys….let me sleep!

At the bar we danced, drank, and had a great time!

Sunday was a lot more relaxing, and despite a brief 2-mile walk with Jack and Fabio, we mostly lounged around the apartment.

I did munch on a bunch of snacks though including:

A smoothie with tons of fruit and spinach (I told myself this was cleansing out the alcohol from the night before- unlikely lol)

[yes, I wear my sorority sweatshirt on weekends. I'm lame]

English muffin mini pizzas (tomato slices, Italian spices, mozz. cheese, and basil on an English muffin)

An apple with almond butter

Oh and I watched Titanic. Obviously. Because what relaxing Sunday would be complete without a few tears shed when Jack dies in the freezing ocean?

[Source]

Lol. So anyway, what did you guys do this weekend? Anyone else’s plans get spoiled from the rain? Any fun dates-turned-shopping trips to report on? Or maybe you indulged in your favorite dessert and didn’t even regret it because it was so good. Come on, do tell!

Fashion Friday #14

Fashion Fridays 6 Responses »

Jul 202012

First of all, can I just take a moment to point out that this is my fourteenth Fashion Friday post? That means I have been blogging for fourteen weeks. My little baby blog that I started back in April has really been growing, and all of you lovely readers who have been commenting each day really make me happy. Thank you all so much You make my day!

But anyway, let’s get to what I’m wearin’ today:

Shirt: Nordstrom Rack

Jeans: Nordstrom Rack (I think I have a NR problem…)

Shoes: Target

Head band: J Crew (though you can’t really see it ~~that well~~ at all)

I’m not sure why, but I had a really hard time picking out anything to wear this morning. I think I tried on like 7 shirts and didn’t like any of them. Plus, dressing for this weather is difficult because it’s been 100+ degrees outside but my office is freezing. Half the time I wind up snuggling in my work fleece (an awkward black zip-up with my company’s logo on it. Not cute.) So you can see my struggle.

It could also be that I just want some new clothes haha. I hardly ever buy new stuff (though Fabio might disagree :-/ lol) so everything that I have is pretty old and still in the college clothing era, unless they are work outfits. Annoying!

Workout

Ok, I know I normally don’t give workout updates on Fridays, but today I had a bit of a revelation and just had to share it with you guys! Last week I bought one of my favorite books ever (Pillars of the Earth- in case you were wondering) on iTunes. I figured that I can listen to it while I’m walking to and from the metro each day, but that it would also be great for when I’m running with Jack. So, each morning this week I ran my mile and listened to my book on tape (er- book on iPod?) and then went back inside to do part of an Insanity DVD, like usual.

However, today when the mile was up I was at a really good part of my book. It was an action-packed scene and I just didn’t want to take off my headphones and do Insanity. So you know what I did? I dropped Jack off and headed off for another two mile run. It was great! I loved being able to listen to my book while I ran and I still got a great workout in (3 miles isn’t too bad for a weekday morning!). If you ever need some motivation while running I strongly recommend downloading a favorite book to your iPod. I didn’t even want to stop running after mile three; and you know that’s unlike me

Fun Friday Favorites

So I saw some pretty awesome things around the web this week and thought I should share them with you all. I hope you enjoy!

1. This awesome recreation of Beyonce’s Countdown video. Apparently he named his snuggie “Blue Ivy.” Of course he did.

2. This picture of adorable puppies, along with 50 other adorable pictures.

3. This site that I have loved for more than a year now, but forgot about until today. I especially love the posts about iced coffee, tailgating, and tanning. So accurate!

4. If you have ever seen the infamous YouTube video for Honey Boo Boo Child, I saw this week that TLC is making a show on her whole family. Oh goodness, save us all.

And that’s it! I hope you guys all have a great weekend! Hopefully it will involve doing something fun, like say, dancing around your living room with your dog after one too many beers at happy hour. Not that I know anything about that…

Bye!

Fabio’s Favorite Mozz Sticks

Recipes 19 Responses »

Jul 192012

Hey there, people! Remember all that griping from earlier in the week about how slow things were at work?? Well, that surely jinxed me and now I have been running around all day like a crazy person. Seriously, this always happens. I will be super slow or super busy and there’s never an in-between. Ah! So, because I have so much work piling up on my to-do list, let’s get right into this post!

Workout

My workouts this week have not been stellar. Mostly this is because I’m getting bored and, as I mentioned on Tuesday, I am just really excited to start the boot camp next week. However, another reason my workouts have been just okay is because for some reason my ankle/lower side calf has been really sore. When I start running or doing Insanity it has been really painful, although after a few minutes the pain subsides. Weird, right? I don’t remember rolling it or pulling a muscle, but I guess it’s possible that I just didn’t notice. Anyway, it has been kind of keeping me from doing my best in my running and Insanity DVDs. But at least I’m doing them, right??

Also, take a look at what else has been hindering my morning runs lately:

Seriously, my neighborhood is swarming with baby bunnies. They. Are. Everywhere.

And as cute as baby bunnies are, they are not the brightest. Jack literally is able to walk right up to some of them and sniff them before they get the brilliant insight to run away.

HELLOOOOO, BUNNY, YOU’RE IN GRAVE DANGER!! YOU MIGHT WANT TO MOVE…

Anyway, when we see them on our run Jack switches from obediently running along side of me to pulling my arm off and lunging at bunnies. It’s great. Not.

Recipe

So today I want to share with you one of Fabio’s favorite recipes. While I do most of the cooking in our apartment, Fabio will occasionally join me in the kitchen to help me chop an onion or stir something while I’m multitasking. There are very few times when Fabio will make a complete meal for us by himself. Usually when he does, it only involves 1) chicken parm or 2) steak. That’s about it.

However, along the lines of chicken parm he somehow learned how to make really great mozzarella sticks. Like crispy, ooey, gooey, mozzarella sticks.

Yeah, that kind. And while they aren’t the healthiest thing in the world, they are made with low-fat string cheese and whole wheat flower and are only fried in a tiny bit of heart-healthy olive oil (as opposed to the deep-fried restaurant kind). So, when he suggested making them for me last night, I thought it would be great to share them here on the good ol’ blog. Sure, it’s not my most healthy recipe, but they are pretty darn tasty! Here’s how Fabio puts them together…

First, he took 3 low-fat sticks of mozzarella cheese (aka string cheese) and unwrapped them. Then he laid them on a cutting board and cut each one in half, making 6 small mozzarella sticks.

Then, he dumped a bit of whole wheat flour into a bowl and tossed all of the cheese sticks in the flower until they were fully coated.In a separate bowl, Fabio whisked an egg with a splash of skim mix until it was all well incorporated. Then the cheese sticks were dunked in the bowl.

Then, Fabio created a breadcrumb mixture which consisted of parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and of course, breadcrumbs.

Oh hey, Emeril!

He mixed all of these ingredients together in another small bowl and transferred the eggy cheese sticks into the breadcrumb mixture.

Are ya with me so far? As a recap- first you dunk the sticks in whole wheat flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Ok.

Then Fabio laid out all of the cheese sticks, and re-dipped the sticks into the egg and breadcrumbs. At which point a conversation like the following occurred.

Me: Are you dipping those again??

Fabio: Yes, why wouldn’t I?

Me: Because it’s a totally unnecessary extra step that just adds calories.

Fabio: Nu-uh, it makes the breading extra cripsy and delicious. Just go with it.

Me: Hmph.

So these lovely breaded cheese sticks went back through a second round of egg and breadcrumbs, despite my grumbling.

Once they were dipped twice, Fabio moved them to small plate to freeze for about ten minutes.

Like my fun green plate??

While they were hardening up in the freezer, Fabio set a small skillet to medium heat and added in a splash of olive oil.

Once the cheese sticks had been in the freezer long enough, Fabio added them to the hot skillet and cooked them for a couple of minutes on each side until they started to look brown and crispy.

Before…

During…

After…

Yum!

As I said before, they aren’t the healthiest thing ever, but sometimes you gotta splurge! At least the cheese was low fat! And the whole wheat flour was better than regular white flour…right?

Ok, you’re right, there’s nothing healthy about fried cheese. But it’s so good! And as long as you are eating it with other healthy things (like grilled chicken and brussels sprouts, which is what I had) I don’t see a problem with it. Plus, it’s so rare that Fabio offers to make something himself that I just couldn’t say no. Bring on the gooey cheese!

And in case you wanted to see this gem again…

You’re welcome

Fabio’s Favorite Mozz Sticks

Recipe type: Side dish/appetizer

Author: Fabio!

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 6

These ooey gooey mozzarella sticks are so delicious! Plus when made with low-fat mozzarella, whole wheat flour, and just a tiny bit of oil you won’t totally destroy your healthy eating goals.

Ingredients

3 low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks (string cheese)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
Splash of skim milk
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Small bit of oil, for frying

Instructions

Unwrap 3 mozz cheese sticks and cut in half.
Place whole wheat flour in a small bowl and add cheese sticks. Toss until coated.
In a separate small bowl, whisk egg and milk until combined.
Add cheese sticks and toss to coat.
In another small bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings. Mix until combined.
Remove cheese sticks from egg mixture, and toss in breadcrumb mixture.
Dip the sticks one more time in each the egg mixture and bread crumb mixture.
Move the breaded sticks to the freezer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a small skillet to medium heat and add a splash of oil to the pan.
When the pan is hot, remove the sticks from the freezer and cook them for about two minutes on each side, until cheese sticks are brown.
Remove to a plate and serve immediately.

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Do you guys have any favorite indulgent recipes like this one?? I hardly ever make something at home that is breaded and fried, but these are so good! They would be fantastic for an appetizer at a party!