My Garden

Today was so rainy! But it was great for taking pictures of my garden. I am anxiously waiting for my hydrangeas to bloom! They are do pretty. My red gardenias are going strong, they are very easy to upkeep, as well as my succulents.

Trying Smoked Salmon!

This mornings breakfast! 2 hard boiled eggs with a fruit plate (kiwi, blueberries, & strawberries) and tzatziki with cucumbers, nonfat plain greek yogurt, fresh dill, & lemon juice, and smoked salmon on top!

I don't like fish, but this is me trying. Smoked salmon can be pretty good, it's still a little difficult for me to get down but with the Greek tzatziki it helped with the fishy flavor!

Carrot Juice

I have been really wanting to try carrot juice. Next time I go to the store I am going to get a small jug of it, and either drink it straight or add it to smoothies!

Picture from Instagram @Skyem

Jack!

He makes me laugh :)

Dinner Served

Shrimp sautéed with bacon, parsley, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper; on top of grilled asparagus with a side of brown rice.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Greek Yogurt Covered Blueberries

Can't wait to make these! Blueberries dipped in Honey Greek yogurt then frozen. A great on the go snack packed with protein!

Shabbot Dinner!

Had Friday night Shabbot dinner at my best friends house and her mom is an amazing cook. She is the one I got the brown rice recipe from!

Grilled Corn

I made a grilled corn salad. First, I grilled the corn, let it cool then added tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, and minced garlic. In a seperate bowl I wisked together chopped cilantro, olive oil, honey, lime juice and pepper, then added that to the corn mixture. As the final touch, I added fresh avocado on top. Served this salad along side my brown rice with dried cranberries, corn, sliced almonds, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.

        With the left over salad, I put it in my cactus leaf corn tortillas added black beans, salsa verde and a little jalapeno cheese.  

Bananas & Peanut Butter

I never liked peanut butter really as a kid but now I seem to not be able to get enough! A really quick snack is to half a banana long ways and put a tbsp of peanut butter on it. I prefer the crunchy kind but any will work.

I Love Sandwiches!

Sandwiches are such a refreshing and simple lunch. I have been making them a lot lately with whole wheat bread, turkey, honey mustard, avocado, tomatoes, spinach, pretty much anything! I love toasting the bread for a crunch. I love to add turkey bacon but try to limit it unfortunately. I'll pack a lunch with a sandwich, veggie sticks and apple slices in a lunch cooler for long days at work.

 

I got this sandwich craving from this picture.. Bacon, tomato, avocado sandwich!

Picture by Instagram @Skyem

Breakfast Made Healthy and Easy!

Great simple breakfast!

My protein shake had nonfat raspberry yogurt, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, spinach, vanilla protein powder and almond milk.

You can't even taste the spinach but it adds a lot of nutrients! Kale is a great one to add also. I sometimes will use powdered greens instead if I do not have fresh greens to add. The taste is more overpowering with the powdered greens, but the nutrients are still there.

Also had 1/2 cup Cheerios, with almond milk and a handful of berries.

Quesadilla

I love Mexican food; especially quesadillas. Sometime I will sit and crave one! A lady at my work introduced me to corn tortillas with cactus leaf (nopales in Spanish). They taste just like normal corn tortillas but they are only 25 calories (opposed to a normal corn tortilla which is 70 calories). For my quesadilla I sprinkled some low fat jalapeño cheese on tortillas on a hot skillet, and paired with some salsa. Super easy and a good 100-150 calorie snack!

Oats & Fruits!

I love hot oatmeal, but sometimes I am not in the mood for a hot breakfast. So, I will make cold oats with milk and fruit! It's simple and super easy. All it had us old fashioned oats, almond milk, chopped fruit like grapes, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries I occasionally will add ground wheat germ and ground flax to bump up the nutrient value.

Brown Rice!

I have started eating brown rice and quinoa a lot lately. There are so many options that you can make with both, and both are packed with good grains, protein and fiber.

My best friend's mom made this fantastic brown rice recipe I tried one day at lunch; I had to try making it. I didn't know it would be so easy and cost efficient yet healthy at the same time! I asked my friend what was in it: steamed brown rice, dried cranberries, corn, fresh parsley, honey, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Left Overs Jazzed Up

With my left overs from the Greek Chicken I made the previous night, I added asparagus, mushrooms and spinach to the sautée. It was a great way to jazz up my left overs.

Greek Chicken

I made up a recipe that I call Greek Chicken. It was grilled chicken breasts with sautéed artichoke hearts, kalamati olives, onions, garlic, and cherry tomatoes with garlic and oregano.

Trader Joes Cilantro Dressing

One of my best friends introduced me to Trader Joe's Reduced Fat Cilantro Salad dressing and I fell in love. It is great on any salad and relatively low in calories (2 tbsp= 45 calories). I made a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, avocado, and corn, it was delicious!

Shrimp Again

After my shrimp success I decided to try shrimp lettuce wraps! I sautéed my shrimp with a little lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper. For the lettuce wraps I used red leaf lettuce, added black beans, red onions, bell peppers, avocado, shrimp and a little taco sauce. I served them with a side of steamed broccoli and a glass of red wine.

First Vegan Recipe

I am not a vegan nor a vegetarian but I do enjoy trying new things. My first vegan recipe I tried I found from a blog called The Vegan Stoner, and it was a chickpea curry. It consisted of a can of garbanzo beans, a container of plain coconut milk yogurt, a chopped carrot, red bell pepper, curry powder and garlic powder. I served it over brown rice with a side salad. It turned out great and I froze the left over curry mixture and had them at a later time.

Even my dog jack wanted some! :)