vegan crack sweet potatoes

Good morning!

Today I want to share with you a recipe that I am obsessed with.  I liked this recipe before the Whole30 and I like it even better now.  Vegan.  Crack.  Sweet.  Potatoes.  YUM.  Okay, so this recipe is super versatile and you can change up the ratios however you want.  If you like spicy food....make those red pepper flakes rain on your sweet potatoes.  Not so into spicy?  Ease up.  Love garlic?  Pile that shit on!  You catch my drift??  One of the things that I have enjoyed about cooking recently is that I have learned to adapt recipes to either what I have on hand or to my individual preference.  I always say that you should follow the recipe the first time, but after that....start making changes and make it however you like it.

So these sweet potatoes.  I have started to buy a ton of sweet potatoes every week and make about 4 cups of these babies to use throughout the week.  They work as part of a breakfast hash, on salads, as a side...you can eat them at all times of the day.

The other great thing about this recipe?  It's simple.  Simple foods are the best foods and you know exactly what is going into them.  You can (hopefully) pronounce all of the ingredients and they all add great flavor.  No fillers, no preservatives.  Good.  Whole.  Food.

Okay, so anyway.  Without further ado...here's the recipe!

Ingredients
1 sweet potato, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp minced garlic (I use the pre-minced stuff in a jar)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to  400F.  In a bowl, mix all ingredients. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with olive oil spray. (I actually like to use a 9" x 13" glass Pyrex baking dish lined with foil, but metal cookie sheets work too.)  Evenly distribute potatoes on baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir.  Bake for another 15 minutes, or until fork tender. Voila!  Done.

As you get more and more comfortable with this recipe, you will probably opt to save dishes and prepare it the way I do:  Line baking dish.  Dump in potatoes.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle seasoning in until it "looks right".  Super easy.  Also, notice that this recipe is for 1 potato.  You can always double, triple, or quadruple the recipe, as needed.  I think I have been able to get up to 3 sweet potatoes in a 9" x 13" glass dish.

to your health,

anne

baby bean burgers

Happy summer from Minnesota!!!  It's such a beautiful day here, so you know what that makes me think of??  Cheeseburgers. (Obviously.)

So shout out to all of my cheeseburger-loving vegetarians out there!  Heeeeeyyyyyy!  But seriously, before I decided to take the veg route in life, I loved me a good cheeseburger!  And cheeseburgers off the grill in the summer?!  Divine.  That was probably one of the hardest adjustments for me to make.  At first, I thought the sound of bean burgers was nasty.  It just sounded totally unappealing to eat a mashed up pile of beans.  Gross.

Obviously my views have changed slightly, and this recipe is one of the contributing reasons for why!  By the time I warmed up to the idea of bean burgers, I was much more aware of the crazy crap that came with the premade, frozen veggie and bean burgers and it freaked me out.  So off I went on Pinterest, trying to find some kind of veggie/bean burger that was moderately appealing to me.  I found this recipe for a Spinach and Feta Double Bean Burger.  I made it and actually really liked it!  I’ve made it a few times since, but I have noticed that I had a tendency for changing the recipe.  So today when I decided to make them, I had the idea of making little baby burgers.  I know most people call them “sliders”, but “baby bean burgers” is so much more fun to say!  That alliteration, though!  I crack myself up.

Anyway!  The recipe!

Ingredients

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can white beans, drained & rinsed (I use cannellini)

½ red pepper, diced (about ¼ inch)

¼ cup chopped onion (I’ve used every color and it’s been fine, but the original recipe calls for white)

2 cups spinach or kale, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons cooking oil/ghee/coconut oil

½ cup feta cheese

1 tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning

2/3 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I use whole wheat ones)

2 eggs

Begin by heating about 2 tsp oil in a sauté pan on medium heat.  Sauté peppers and onions for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften.  Add spinach or kale and garlic and sauté another 3-4 minutes, until wilted.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.  In a large bowl, mash all but 1/3 cup of the beans.  Once mashed, add the remaining beans, breadcrumbs, feta cheese, cooled veggie mixture, eggs, and steak seasoning.  Mix everything together until it looks pretty uniform and shape into 10-12 patties. (Now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 375F).  Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a pan to medium.  Gently place each patty into the pan and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, until there is a nice, golden crust on the top and bottom.  Kind of like searing for meat..except with bean burgers instead. :]. After "searing" all of your burgers, place them on a pre-sprayed baking sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes and flip if needed.  Remove from oven and serve!  Personally, I love to top them with white cheddar cheese and sliced tomatoes, but you can top them however you want!  Hummus sounds like a good idea actually....om nom nom!

I have not yet tried these on the grill, so if you try them that way, let me know how it works!

to your health!

anne

mushroom and brussels sprout hash

Happy Sunday Funday BRUNCH DAY!!!!!

As I mentioned in my #veglife post, one of my strategies for making sure I eat enough veggies is to make sure that I eat them with my breakfast.  Something else I have been really trying to do is to eat seasonally to save money and to diversify my palate.  As I was doing my research, I found that brussels sprouts are seasonal to the winter/January and decided to try to find some recipes that incorporate them.  Eating seasonally is an excellent way to save money, promote local agriculture, and to eat healthy foods!  And this recipe is soooooo simple! 

I actually learned about how to peel brussels sprouts and when I saw that I was supposed to slice them, I’m sure the look on my face was priceless.  Slice brussels sprouts?  What the h?  I had only ever had them roasted or sautéed whole…which is a delicious way to eat them, by the way.  But anyway, yes!  I learned things with this recipe!  And I bought a ton of brussels sprouts as part of my shopping this week, and I am really looking forward to trying them sautéed with scallions on a salad.  I’ll share if it works out! :]

As always, you should tailor this recipe to how you like it, particularly with how long you cook your eggs at the end.  Personally, I like the yolks firm, so I cover it and braise the eggs until they turn firm, but if you like yolks runny, then you can just cover and cook for a shorter time!

Without further ado…..here it is!  My January seasonal breakfast!

Mushroom and Brussels Sprout Hash

2 tsp ghee

2 cups brussels sprouts, peeled & sliced

1 package sliced baby bella mushrooms

½ small yellow onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 eggs

½ tsp thyme

Salt & pepper to taste

In a skillet, melt ghee over medium heat.  Sauté mushrooms and onions for about 8 minutes, or until the mushrooms start to get juicy.  Add in brussels sprouts and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes, to soften. Season with thyme, salt, and peper and stir. Make 4 small holes in the layer of mushrooms & brussels sprouts for the eggs.  Crack an egg into each of the 4 holes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook your eggs to your preferred level of doneness and serve!  Voila!

I hope you like this one as much as I did!

xoxo,

anne

butternut squash lo mein

Okay you guys!  

So I seriously feel like I have stepped up my veg cooking game recently.  I have greatly reduced the processed foods that I eat too and it has been absolutely amazing how much happier I am, how much more energy I have, and I even noticed that the cellulite on my ass is slowly but surely disappearing!  I *know* this is related to how I’m fueling my body because I had similar results last spring when I did a no added sugar challenge.  Fueling your body with whole foods is quite underrated and quite amazing.  I’m considering doing a whole foods 30 day kick start challenge, so let me know if this is something you would be interested in joining me in!  I think it would be great to get a small group of people together who are excited to try something new.  But more on that later.

Anyway, I’m very excited about this recipe for spiralized butternut squash lo mein!  It. Is. Delicious.  I think it’s the sweetness of the butternut squash and the salty goodness of the tamari that I am obsessed with it.  Let’s be real…everybody loves a good sweet and salty combo.

 I found this recipe here and tweaked to my tastes.  I also couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to spiralizer the hollow bulb part of the squash, so the ratio is lots of veggies to a smaller amount of noodles, which I’m actually okay with though!

Butternut Squash Lo Mein

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and spiralized

2 tsp peanut oil, divided

1/2 yellow onion (or 1 small yellow onion), sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

8 oz. sliced mushrooms (button or portabella)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups kale or spinach

Sauce:

3 tbsp tamari--you can substitute soy sauce or liquid aminos

1 tsp organic maple syrup

1 tsp toasted sesame oil (plain is fine too, just not as flavorful)

1 tsp peanut oil

1/2 tsp ginger (minced, ground or juice)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Optional topping: sesame seeds

In a skillet, heat 1 tsp peanut or coconut oil over medium heat. Add butternut squash "noodles" and toss for 5-6 minutes with tongs until al-dente. Set aside for later.  In the same skillet, add remaining 1/2 tsp of oil and add your vegetables (sliced onions, peppers, mushrooms).  Sauté for 8 minutes, or until soft. And the minced garlic and stir that baby up!  Then add the kale and stir until it’s wilted.  Add your sauce and reserved squash "noodles", keep stirring with tongs and keep mixing until sauce has coated everything and noodles are as tender as you like them. Finally, top off with toasted sesame seeds and serve!

xoxo,
Anne

quinoa stuffed acorn squash

Omg omg you guys!  It's almost Thanksgiving!!  Living the #basic fall life over here in Minnesota....just check out this awesome sweater:

Literally nothing better than coffee and cozy sweaters!
And yes, that sweater is from Target, with love.

Today, I want to share with you a kind of random, mishmash recipe that I created last night based on a combination of two recipes that I found for stuffed acorn squash.

What a beauty!  Spinachy, mushroomy, quinoay goodness!

I am still learning to cook seasonally, so many of these recipes are just as much of an adventure for me as they are for you!  You can ask my mom though, I did not eat squash when I was young.  Not even the variety that was cooked in butter and brown sugar.  I was not a fan.  I am living proof for moms everywhere that your kids can grow up to enjoy eating plants!

First things, first.  Did you know that you can microwave acorn squash to cook it?!  Mind.  Blown.  It was so cool!  I use this method for cooking sweet potatoes, but I have never tried it with anything else!  How cool is this?!  Just 8 minutes!!!  Check it out:

Now for the exciting part...the recipe!!!

Ingredients:
1 medium acorn squash
1 tablespoon refined coconut oil (olive oil or ghee works too)
1 cup cooked quinoa (I cooked mine in vegetable broth for more flavor)
1 package sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 stalk celery, diced
1/3 yellow onion, diced
2 coves garlic, minced
2 cups spinach
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Red pepper flakes
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper

Recipe:
Follow package directions to prepare quinoa.  I substitute vegetable broth for water for added flavor.  When quinoa is done cooking, fluff with a fork and set aside.  Begin melting your oil in a saute pan on medium heat.  Toss in the onion, celery, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes before adding mushrooms.  Season it up with salt and pepper (maybe 1/2 teaspoon each), a couple shakes of garlic powder, and a dash of red pepper flakes.  While the veggies cook (about 12 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked through), cut your acorn squash in half, scrape out the seeds, and place the halves open side up on a microwavable plate.  Microwave on high for about 8 minutes.  When the squash is should be fork tender, you can set that aside as well.   Add the spinach to the saute pan and cook, covered for about 5 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.  Mix together your veggies, quinoa, and the Parmesan cheese.  Stuff those squash halves full and sprinkle a little cheese on the top for good measure! Enjoy!

Changes you can make:
-Substitute olive oil, ghee, or butter for sauteing
-Cook quinoa with water for lower sodium variation
-Nix the cheese for a vegan preparation
-I would imagine you could use kale or another green as a sub for spinach
-Baked squash in the oven instead of nuking it (35 min at 375 Farenheit)

This is such a great fall recipe and I have to be honest, I was amazed at how quickly and easily it came together, considering I was flying by the seat of my pants as I made it!  Stay tuned for vegetarian Sheppard's pie next week!

Enjoy the fall weather before winter comes this weekend and don't forget to #eatseasonally!

xoxo,

anne

the answer is spinach...spinach pizza!

Happy Friday!

If it is the end of your work week, congrats!  You should celebrate with some comfort food....PIZZA.  Yasssssss!  I love pizza.  So much.  I would eat it every day if that were socially acceptable.  But apparently, it's not.  Rude.

Awaiting the remainder of the toppings!

Anyway, I wanted to share with you the recipe for my spinach pizza! It's so easy and the best part is that you can alter it however you want!  I think a common misconception about cooking with recipes is that you have to stick to them super strictly.  I am not about that life in any way, shape, or form.  In my opinion, that idea scares people away from trying new recipes and diversifying their plates!  Unless it's a recipe for a baked good, I usually stray from the original recipe.  So with that being said, feel free to make adjustments to this recipe!

I typically load this thing up with spinach.  I heart spinach.  Especially on this pizza.  It's amazeballs.

Last spring, my family got together and we did homemade pizzas as a meal.  Remember how I said that I grew up in a meat and potatoes household?  That translates to a meat-lover's pizza household.  Good thing my mom likes my crazy veg cooking and shared my pizza with me.  Or not?  Then I could have had the entire thing to myself.....hmmm.

Anyway, this recipe started in college.  One of my roommates made a variation of this and I tried some and was in love!  I can't remember the exact details, but I basically hijacked the basis for it and made it my own.  It started as a pizza with chicken on it, and I will say, it was excellent when I ate chicken.  If you are a meat-eater, I would recommend cubing some chicken, cooking it ahead and throwing it on top.  Otherwise, I imagine the fresh/frozen chicken strips would work just fine, too.

One last note:  Some of the ingredients do not have quantities next to them.  This is because I usually just sprinkle them on and spread them evenly across the pizza as toppings.

Ingredients:
1 packaged pizza crust (I prefer Target's Archer Farms brand wheat crusts, I would imagine you could do a cauliflower crust too, but I have yet to try it this way!)
Basil Pesto (I don't actually measure...enough to spread across the crust as the sauce.  I buy an 8oz jar and use the extra in other recipes)
Alfredo Sauce (optional)
1/2 bag/tub spinach
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese (approximately)
7 ounce jar quartered artichoke hearts (Again, I buy the larger can and use the rest in other recipes)
Sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
Sliced/quartered black olives
Sliced/quartered kalamata olives
Parmesan cheese (maybe 1/4 cup)

Directions:
Preheat oven according to pizza crust directions.  Place crust on baking sheet.  Spread basil pesto across crust as the sauce.  If you choose to use Alfredo sauce, too, spread that over the pesto layer.  Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.  Cover with 1/2 bag/tub spinach.  Try not to freak out by how much spinach there is....it will cook down.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella.  Evenly distribute artichoke hearts, black and kalamata olives, and sun dried tomatoes over pizza.  Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  Cook according to directions on the pizza crust (about 10-12 min)

Finally, I apologize for the last of photos of the cooked pizza!  Apparently, I have an issue with scarfing it down before I can take a pic of it.  #sorrynotsorry c[:

Have fun with this one though!  Add toppings and make it your own!  Everyone in your family can do it differently and you can have a family-friendly homemade pizza night!

xoxo,

anne

hearty veggie & bean chili

Hey y’all!

Fall is one of my all-time favorite seasons…mostly because I love the comfort foods that warm your soul…namely…chili.

When I was little, our chili recipe was rather odd because my dad pretty much dislikes all vegetables.  Now that I am out on my own, I have had the opportunity to actually eat vegetables and like vegetables, which definitely shows in my cooking as of late!  So I’m super excited to share this recipe with you!

Away we go!

I’m a weirdo who likes to sauté the peppers and onions before dumping in the rest of the ingredients, so start off with about 1 tablespoon of refined coconut oil in a big ol’ pot on medium heat.  Sauté the onions, green pepper, red pepper, and jalapeño for about 7 minutes, until they start to soften and it looks all pretty, like dis:

Peel off the skin on two cloves of garlic and grate into the veggies.  This is one of my absolute FAVORITE cooking hacks in the whole world!  Buy a handheld citrus zester and use it to grate garlic cloves instead of mincing them by hand.  It saves time and energy and who really has the patience to mince anything in the kitchen?!  Anyway, you will probably have to give the grater a whack on the side of the pan to get all of the garlic into the pot.  You can mince the garlic too, if that’s more your style!  Either way, into the pot goes the garlic!

My second cooking hack that is specific to this chili recipe:  buy 2 boxes of Simply Balance organic three bean blend.  It’s the perfect combination of kidney, pinto, and black beans for a chili!  Just remember to strain them and rinse them before dumping them into the pot with the peppers.

Dump in 1 can no salt added corn & about 40 ounces diced tomatoes, juice included!  When I have home-canned tomatoes, I use them, but you can use store-bought, as well.  It comes out to one of the large cans and one regular-sized can.  Now your chili looks something like this:

Finally, you can juice your own tomatoes at home (about 3 large tomatoes) or add about 2.5-3 cups store-bought tomato juice.  Of course you can add more or less, based on how thick you like your chili.

NOW, we get to season this baby up!  Even with the fresh onion, garlic, and peppers, I like to add seasoning to give it a nice, strong flavor.  Again, you can alter seasoning amounts to taste.

Bring entire mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat & simmer for 2-3 hours.  Pour that deliciousness into a bowl and add cheese (obviously), sour cream, chives, crackers…whatever you like and enjoy!!

Ingredients:
½ medium white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
2 cloves garlic
2 boxes Simply Balanced organic three bean blend, drained & rinsed
1 can no salt added corn, drained & rinsed
40 ounces diced tomatoes
2.5-3 cups tomato juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1.5 tablespoons garlic powder
1.5 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons chili powder

Optional for serving:
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Chives
Crackers

Directions:
In large pan, sauté onions and peppers in coconut oil over medium heat for about 7 minutes, until just soft.  Grate garlic into pepper mixture and sauté for 2 more minutes. 

Add strained and rinsed beans and corn.  Dump in unstrained, diced tomatoes and tomato juice.  Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder & stir to combine.

Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 2-3 hours.  Serve hot with topping options!  Makes 10 servings.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Stay fit!

xoxo

Anne

strawberry banana breakfast muffins + my #4weekchallenge

Hello, friends!

So I suppose I am in need of an update as to where I have been.  I’ve been much busier than I had anticipated with work, working out, travelling around Wisco trying to be a supportive old lady, and giving myself very little time to work on myself or my blog.  Sad panda.  I’ve been in such a terrible funk lately.  I didn’t feel good about myself and was struggling with some other parts of my personal life.  Gross.  Nobody likes that.

During this time though, I realized that I wasn’t taking care of myself.  I wasn’t eating well.  I stopped working out for a bit and everything went downhill.  I felt terrible.  I craved comfort foods (mostly refined carbs…no fruits, veggies, or proteins) and when I ate them, I felt even worse.  I felt bloated from the salty, nasty, crap that I was putting into my body.  And the more I ate that stuff, the less motivated I felt and it just snowballed.

I realized that I NEED TO FOCUS ON ME FOR A WHILE.  So that is exactly what I have been doing lately.  I started my own 4 Week Challenge at the beginning of the week.  I give myself tasks each day ranging from getting a good lift in or painting my toe nails to putting together my new wine bar all by myself, cleaning my entire apartment, and creating a whole new workout plan. 

These next 4 weeks are all about me!  I will be posting updates on what I am doing for the challenges on Instagram (@itsahealthything), so head over there and see what I have been up to!  Also, I have been MUCH more active on Instagram lately.  It’s a great supportive network of people striving to be their best selves, just like I am!  It’s so encouraging to see others making progress and living their dreams.  I love the positive vibes from the Insta-fit fam.  Seriously.  Check meowt!  ;] See what I did there?

Anyway, focus……On the first day of my challenge, I wanted to remind myself how much I love cooking and baking delicious, wholesome, healthy meals and snacks.  Also, I had some nanners that were going bad from the time that I was NOT eating well.  So I decided to give myself a choice:  banana bread or strawberry banana breakfast muffins.  Well, I went for the muffins because I also had strawberries that were probably going to go bad, too.  Like I said, I failed HARD on clean eating.

I posted this recipe a while ago, but I wanted to post it again.  This oldie but goodie is a combo of two recipes that I found on (where else??) Pinterest.  Personally, I love them with a little smear of butter on them.  Something about that saltiness mixes with the sweetness of the muffins just perfectly.  Plus, I love butter.  Haha.  Sometimes I don’t know how I can be in good shape at all with my love for butter and cheese.

Anyway, here they are again!  Enjoy!

Strawberry Banana Breakfast Muffins

2 ½ cups Old Fashioned Oats

1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt

2 eggs

½ cup honey or baking stevia

1 ½ tsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp. Baking Soda

1 or 2 bananas

1-1 ½ cups diced strawberries

1 tsp. Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place all ingredients, except the strawberries in a blender or food processor and blend until the oats are smooth. Pour mixture into a medium sized bowl and stir in 1 cup of strawberries. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Divide remaining ½ cup of strawberries over the top of each muffin. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

And there you have it!  Twelve delicious, nutritious muffins!

Stay tuned for more updates on my 4 Week Challenge and what I am doing to focus on ME!

Stay fit!

xoxo

simple overnight oats

Hi, kids!

I have discovered something amazing!  And when I discover amazing things, I feel the need to share them…with you!  I found a recipe for overnight oats a while ago and tried it and was not at all impressed with how it turned out.  It was sufficiently tasty, but I found that the milk that I used didn’t absorb all the way and I had to heat the oats in the morning anyway.  Annoying.  Especially since the whole point of overnight oats is to skip all morning prep and just pull that bowl out of the fridge and chow down.

Anyway…focus.  I am sharing this recipe with you NOW because I found out that using unsweetened almond milk works a million kajillion times better than skim milk!  Whhhaaaat?!  I’m not sure why, but it seems to absorb better and although there is still a portion that is not absorbed, it is thicker than skim milk, so it doesn’t bother me as much.  It’s the ultimate lazy girl healthy breakfast!  Right up there with the Lazy Morning Girl’s Breakfast Muffins.  Yeah.  And they are SUPER FILLING…none of that “hungry an hour later” nonsense.

So here’s the scoop.  I’m going to give you the recipe and then you are going to try it and love it.  Got it?

Simple Overnight Oats
½ cup old fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
½-1 cup fresh berries/fruit (I prefer blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries)
½ tablespoon honey

Add oats, almond milk, and fruit to a bowl.  Refrigerate overnight.  In the morning drizzle with honey.  Eat and be merry.  :]

See?  Super simple.  It’s become my go-to breakfast recently.  It’s too easy.

Anyway, in other news…I have the best boyfriend ever who got me these for Valentine’s Day:

Isn’t he just the best?  AND he helped me shop for supps and pick out a couple flavors of protein to try and as a second Valentine’s gift, bought me NO-Xplode preworkout.  I have to admit, I am a little nervous about the preworkout though.  I guess we will see what happens!  So they are on the way and I can tell you more about them when I try them!

Stay fit!

xoxo

personal spaghetti squash lasagna

Hi, all!

I have been looking for creative way to use spaghetti squash and I kind of wanted to go outside of the realm of "just use it as pasta and put marinara sauce on top!"  

So I investigated on Pinterest and a few recipes for these sweet lasagna boats caught my eye.  As per the usual, I looked a few different ones to see the general preparation guidelines and then made it how I wanted to.  I know, I'm such a rebel.  ;]

Anyway, I used my limited resources and came up with my own rendition that I like to call "Personal Spaghetti Squash Lasagna":

Yum.  Is your mouth watering yet?  If not, look at that melty cheese again.  I bet it is now!

I have to admit that about halfway through one of these babies, I was questioning if I could finish it!  I did finish, but let's just say that I won't be having ANY snacks tonight!  This was SO satisfying!  It fills you up just like regular lasagna and warms you heart and soul!  I would classify this as a comfort food.  A delicious, fairly nutritious comfort food.  And the best part is that like most things I post, there is room for small changes to make it your own!  I already have a few in mind for next time!

Just a random side note, I am providing the recipe for the sauce below.  I had some in the freezer that I thawed out and used.  You can do that, or make some fresh and freeze what you don't use!  

So, without further ado, here is the recipe:

1 small spaghetti squash

1 cup easy meaty spaghetti sauce (recipe found here)

1/3 cup cottage cheese

1/3 cup Italian blend cheese (Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan)

1/4 cup fresh mozzarella

Fresh basil

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut spaghetti squash in half.  Scoop out seeds and goop.  Lightly spray small oven-safe dish with nonstick spray.  Place spaghetti squash into dish and drizzle with olive oil.  Make sure to smear it around to cover the squash's inside and top surfaces.  Season with salt and pepper.  This is where I messed up.  The directions I found said to bake it face down, but I didn't do that.  I left it face up.  And you know what?  It turned out just as fabulous.

Bake in oven for about 30 minutes, or until you can just scrape the squash into strands.  Remove from the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees.  Then scrape those strands out!  Then you can start layering like you would with regular lasagna!  I started with a layer of sauce, followed by squash, then sauce, dollop of cottage cheese, cheese blend, then start over with the squash!  I had enough for 2 layers.  I finished with a layer of sauce, lightly sprinkled some cheese blend, but topped it off with the fresh mozzarella and a couple of leaves of fresh basil!

Bake for another 30 minutes or until hot all the way through and the cheese on top starts to brown, juuuuust a tad!  I turned on the broiler for about 3 minutes at the end to give it a little more color.

And voila:

Your very own personal lasagna!  Just add wine!  ;]

Okay, so it was my day off, so YES, I indulged in a glass of red to go with this warm, delicious, comforting meal.  I think it would also go great with something like brussel sprouts or a nice spinach salad, but like I said, for me, this was PLENTY of food.  Very filling!

I bet you are also wondering what happened to the other half of the squash!  Well, let me just tell you!  You can double the rest of the recipe if you are cooking for two.  I however, am not.  So I lubed the other half up with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper and threw it in the oven at the same time as the half that later became lasagna.  The difference?  I left the other half in the oven until the lasagna was completely done.  I took them out at the same time and waited for it to cool while I ate and then scraped out the strands afterwards!  I threw them in the fridge and am planning to use them in another recipe!

Resourcefulness, people.  Make every grocery count!  :]

So anyway, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!  It's such a great lower calorie, higher nutrient substitute for lasagna noodles.  And, in my humble opinion, it tastes WAY BETTER than regular spaghetti!

Share your favorite spaghetti squash recipes in the comments and stay tuned for what happens to the OTHER HALF!!!

Stay fit!

xoxo

peanut butter energy squares

Okay, so these were previously known as "PB Chocolate Energy Bites", but I decided to give them a new name based one little thing:  how I portion them out.  This is a great and somewhat addicting recipe to have on-hand.  I am starting to have a couple of them on my way to the gym to give myself a little energy boost before my workout.

Although they are delicious, beware!  They aren't called "energy" squares for nothing.  What provides energy?  Calories.  Specifically the sugars in the peanut butter and honey.  I finally did the math and an entire batch is close to 2400 calories.  This is why I recommend splitting them into 24 squares for 100 calorie portions.  These are definitely calorie dense, not nutrient dense.  So, while eating a couple as a pick-me-up is fine, don't eat half of a batch of them!  You have been warned!!!!

Without further ado, here is the mouth-watering recipe:

Peanut Butter Energy Squares
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup milled flax seed
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/3 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the nut butter, honey, and vanilla until smooth.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.  Remove from fridge.  Press into 8x8 pan.  Cut into 24 squares to make bite-sized pieces.  Store in refrigerator or freezer until you want to eat them.

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Keep in mind that you can use any nut butter that you prefer.  In addition, you can vary the ratio of flax seed to wheat germ or cut one out completely, as long as you add 1 cup total of a second dry ingredient.  Although I suppose you could just do 2 cups of old fashioned oats if you really wanted to.  Finally, you can substitute dried fruits or nuts for the chocolate chips if you want to add a bit more of a nutritional punch.

They keep pretty well, but as the dry ingredients absorb the wet ingredients, they lose their limited "crispiness".

I hope enjoy these addicting little squares!!

xoxo,

anne

lazy girl's breakfast muffins

Hi, all!  (Katy)

I have exciting news!  I signed up for a gym membership this week!  Yay!  I was so excited that I lifted on Wednesday and discovered that I am not NEARLY as strong as I thought I would be.  Anyway, adjustments will need to be made for that.  I can't wait to start seeing results.  Because I am already pretty thin, I really want to focus on building muscle and feeling strong and fit again.  I felt absolutely invincible at the height of my athletic career because I was in the best shape of my life.  I'm hoping to surpass that feeling, although I have a feeling it will be slightly different with the training variance.  So here is my starting point:

 January 2014, 144lb.

So this is where the whole "healthy thing" comes into play.  I'm not doing this to lose weight.  I'm not doing this to get skinny.  I want to fuel my body better, workout, and take care of myself because I love the way that I feel when I am doing those things.  Also, I want my butt back.  I used to have this perky, bubble booty when I was lifting for track.  To be completely honesty, I think I can hold it responsible for a few misses in high jump, but I don't have to high jump anymore, so that doesn't matter!!  Mwaahahaha!  So I want my butt back.  Also, my tummy & posture.  Ever since I stopped working out regularly, I have noticed that I stand differently and push my hips and belly out.  I want to be able to see my abdominal muscles and I'm hoping that the core strength that I build will help with my awful posture.

Those are my two main goals as far as aesthetics.  Smaller goals include working some definition in to my back/shoulder muscles, legs, and triceps.  :]

I haven't thought about weight goals too much, so for now I will just say that I want my maxes to be higher than what they were when I was competing.

All of that being said, has anybody ever heard of DOMS before?  It's Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.  It sucks.  I am in the middle of it right now.  It's that awful soreness that you get when you start working out again and it hits on about the 2nd or 3rd day.  Ouuuuch.  Suggestions?

Okay, now to the main point of this post:  breakfast food!  I don't know about you, but I am TERRIBLE about getting up in the morning and eating breakfast.  Since I am trying make better choices, I'm thinking processed granola bars are no longer the way to go.  So I didn't a little research on recipes and, as per usual, tweaked it to my needs.  I give you....

The Lazy Girl's Breakfast Muffins:

They are so full of protein and so filling.  Sadly, they do not incorporate much from the plant world, so adding some mixed fruit to your morning snack would be beneficial.

Ingredients:

1-1.5 cups hash browns (I grated my own potatoes to use)

6 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated cheese

desired toppings:  peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, ham, bacon, turkey....whatever you love!

*keep in mind that you might need to prep some of the toppings before starting this process.  (ex. if you want the mushrooms sauteed first, spinach wilted, etc)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray.  If using hash browns, put about 1/8 cup into each muffin tin.  Season with salt & pepper.  Pop into oven for about 30 minutes, or until they start to get browned and crispy.  In the meantime, get out a mixing bowl and start cracking your eggs.  Whisk eggs until smooth.  Add milk and keep whisking.  When hash browns are finished, pull out your muffin tin and distribute the egg mixture evenly among the cups.  Add toppings of choice.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until eggs are cooked all the way through.

I froze half of mine and have been storing the others in the fridge until I want to eat them.  To reheat, it takes about 30-45 seconds in the microwave.  Easy, right?!

I am the ultimate anti-morning person, so I love this idea.  I made them initially with just a couple of ingredients and I used hash browns, but I think that on the next round, I am going to try to do spinach and mushrooms or broccoli or something and skip the hash browns.

What are your favorite easy, peasy breakfast foods?!  Comment!

Stay fit!

xoxo