Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Dinners Sept. 2-8

I am excited about the dinners we have planned this week!  They are all tasty, easy to prepare, and make great leftovers for lunch!

Meals 1 & 6... - Burgers (we bought extra meat to make this 2 times this week!)
Meal 2 - Baked coconut fish with homemade sweet potato chips
Meal 3 - Stuffed shells  - easy to make (including homemade Alfredo to DIE FOR!)
Meal 4 - Chicken fajitas with peppers, onions, and mushrooms
Meal 5 - Apple & fennel seasoned pork chops with peppered couscous

Meals 1 & 6 - Burgers
As stated in last week's post, Neal makes the BEST BURGERS EVER.  Burgers are one of our favorite dinners.  Instead of turkey, like last week, we are using lean ground beef.  I plan on topping mine with goat cheese this week to make for an extra delicious treat!

Meal 2 - Baked coconut fish and sweet potato chips
This meal is much more simple than it may sound at first.  I used tilapia filets, 1 egg, homemade breadcrumbs and shredded coconut to make the fish.  
  • Thaw your fish if frozen and preheat oven to 350
  • Dip in an egg that's been cracked and scrambled (I used a Tupperware container)
  • Dip that fish into a mixture of breadcrumbs and coconut flakes.  I used about 1/2 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup coconut flakes to season 5 tilapia filets. 
  • Place your fish on a pan or I use a metal cooling rack placed on top of the pan and cook for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of your fish.
Sweet potato chips are also VERY easy to make.  I put them in the oven while it's heating up and I am preparing my fish.  Simply slice a sweet potato into thin chips, season with about 1/2 a T olive oil, pepper, salt, and cumin to taste (I used about 1 t of salt & pepper and 2 t of cumin).  After cooking my fish, if my chips still need some baking, I put the oven on broil for 2 minutes + to get them a little crispier.

Meal 3 - Stuffed Shells
This is SO DELICIOUS!  You MUST try making your own Alfredo sauce! 

Easy Alfredo Sauce
Low to Medium heated saucepan, combine the following:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 -1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
THAT's IT!
 
You can stuff your shells with so many different ingredients, this time I chose onion, garlic, mushrooms, mixed greens, ricotta, and Parmesan.
Ingredients
12 Shells - cooked
Homemade Alfredo
1 onion
3-4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
2 handfuls fresh greens (spinach)
4 oz ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/4 - 1/2 cup mozzarella shredded
 
Take those big shells and cook according to the package.  We made 1 dozen, I had 3, Neal had 5, and we have 4 left over for lunches.  Rinse and cool after cooking.
 
In a large pan with 1 T olive oil, saute 1 diced onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic on medium heat for 6 minutes.  Add about 1/4 cup chopped mushroom and saute.  Add in two handfuls of fresh greens (spinach works great) and about 1 T water, cover with lid and let steam.  Once the greens are wilted, take out this mix and chop it up on a cutting board.  Let this cool slightly.
 
In a large bowl, combine 4 oz ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan, 1 egg, and 2 t Italian Seasoning.  Combine your onion/greens mixture with this cheese mixture.  Stuff your shells and place them in a baking dish with a lid (or use foil).  Pour your homemade Alfredo sauce on top of your shells and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.  Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
 


Thursday, August 30, 2012

Cooking with Coconut Water

It's TIU Thirsty Thursday!

Today, I made 2 things with Zico Chocolate Coconut Water, and both turned out to be perfectly amazing!  For breakfast, I made steel cut oats with Zico chocolate coconut water, and for a tasty treat to enjoy later, I created raspberry-chocolate-coconut Greek frozen yogurt (CocoRazz Froyo).

Chocolate Coconut Steel Cut Oats


Cook oats according to package directions, but substitute Zico chocolate coconut water. 
After oats are cooked, top with 1 T natural peanut butter and banana.
 


CocoRazz Greek Frozen Yogurt

This recipe is EASY, DELICIOUS, and HEALTHY!


Chocolate and raspberries are two of my favorite foods to combine.  I first fell in love with this combination when I tried Chocolate Raspberry Truffle from Tic Toc Ice Cream Parlor in my hometown, Loudon, TN.  If you are ever in East Tennessee, Knoxville area, it's worth the trip, but they are only opened during the summer months. 
 
Today I created a healthier version of my beloved combination of chocolate and raspberries.

Only 4 key ingredients needed:
                                   1/4 Cup     Honey
                                   1 3/4 Cup  Zico Chocolate Coconut Water
                                   1 Cup         Raspberries (fresh or frozen - I used frozen)
                                   1 Cup          Stonyfield Organic Greek Yogurt
                                       optional toppings
                                    * Shredded coconut
                                    * Shredded chocolate
  1. Combine honey and 3/4 cup Zico chocolate coconut water in saucepan heat on medium until combined.
  2. In a food processor, or blender, dice the raspberries with 2 T of the honey coconut mixture.
  3. In a glass bowl, suitable for the freezer, co mbine1/4 cup of the raspberry mixture with 1 cup Greek yogurt and 1 cup Zico chocolate coconut water.  Put that in the freezer for 1 hour.  Put the remainder of your raspberry mixture in the fridge. 
  4. After 1 hour, or until edges are frozen, take out your yogurt mixture and whisk to break up clumps.  Freeze another 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes 
  5. Put the remainder of your raspberry mixture on top of your semi-frozen yogurt mixture and swirl.  Freeze until solid.
You can also add shredded coconut or chocolate to the mixture before freezing completely, or just put it on top when serving!


 What's your favorite coconut water creation?  If you haven't tried Zico chocolate, you are MISSING OUT! 

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Booty Stepper Workout

I am loving Tone it Up Beach Week!
 

Today is Hump Day - aka BOOTY DAY!  The AM workout for Tone it Up called for stairs.  I don't have any stairs near my house, and I did not feel like going out at 4:30 in dark of morning to find a suitable outdoor stair case.  Besides that, I can't think of any parks that have one here, and I am not sure where else, besides schools, to look.  So I came up with my own 'Booty Stepper Workout'!



 I had a blast and burned 280 calories in 32 minutes


The original workout recommended by Tone it Up is posted here on their Beach Week schedule or found here for the YouTube video.

This was my 'stair stepper'.  NOTE:  I DO NOT recommend using one of these!  I highly recommend using a real stepper like those found at the gym or probably even at Walmart.  However, I was desperate in wanting to do some sort of booty stepping workout, so I used the  folding stool that normally helps me get to the top of my closet shelves.

 
The stool was already slightly cracked, and now it's a goner!


I finished my workout off with an absolutely delicious oatmeal smoothie.  I dare say it might be my favorite yet!

Blueberry Oat Smoothie
1/2 C plain yogurt
about 1 C frozen blue berries
1/8 C oats
1/2 banana
1 T peanut butter
1/3 C Almond Milk
 

Happy Hump Day!  Now work your booty off!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Green Goddess Grilled Cheese

After seeing a pin on Pinterest about a grilled cheese sandwich with pesto and avocado, I knew I had to give it a try.

After creating my version of the Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Sandwich, I thought I could die incredibly happy with my lunch devoured!

I am so thankful to have found this post on TasteSpotting

I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, but made the most out of what I had in my planter garden, Chives and Basil, and my kitchen.

My Quick Pesto
I couldn't spend a lot of time during my lunch break, so I used my food processor to combine the following:
2 garlic cloves
Handful of basil
2 long sprigs of chive
1 T of pine nuts
Dash of olive oil to get it a little liquidy
 
 
Finishing Touches on the Green Goddess Grilled Cheese
 1/2 an avocado, sliced
1 tablespoon or less of goat cheese crumpled on top
A thinly cut slice of Swiss or another melty cheese
 
The final product:  DELICIOUS! 
 
 
 
 
Even the puppies couldn't resist trying to taste the goodness found in the "Green Goddess Grilled Cheese"! 
 

Monday, August 27, 2012

August Workouts

This month has consisted of walks with the dogs and mainly of yoga. My friend and I got a month Groupon pass and I have since become addicted to Power Yoga! Read more about this month of yoga and where it has lead me mentally in this post.

July 29th-August 4th
  • Sunday - Beginner/intermediate yoga
  • Monday - Beginners yoga
  • Tuesday - Power hour beginner's yoga
  • Wednesday - off
  • Thursday - Beginners yoga
  • Friday - off
  • Saturday - Beginners yoga

August 5th-11th
  • Sunday - off
  • Monday - Beginners yoga
  • Tuesday - Power hour beginner's yoga
  • Wednesday - Intermediate/advanced yoga
  • Thursday - Beginner/intermediate yoga
  • Friday - off
  • Saturday - Beginners yoga

August 11th-18th
  • Sunday - off
  • Monday - Beginners yoga
  • Tuesday - Power hour beginner's yoga
  • Wednesday - Shape's May issue workout Fit in a Flash of 24-minute Blast & Core Challenge.  I wore my heart rate monitor and burned 386 calories in 46 minutes. The workouts took me a little longer since I was confused at first and walked the puppies in between. 
  • Thursday - Beginner/intermediate yoga in the morning
  • Friday - Renew and Restore yoga
  • Saturday - at the gym for a leg day

August 19-25th
  • Sunday - off
  • Monday - Beginners yoga
  • Tuesday - off
  • Wednesday - Intermediate/Advanced yoga
  • Thursday - I went for a small hike and jog at a local park and then went to beginner/intermediate yoga (this one was an amazing class mixed with 15 minutes of restorative yoga!)
  • Friday - off
  • Saturday - hiking Hemlock Cliffs with my hubby & a 'pub' ride at night with friends.  Since Neal is on a new workout, he didn't drink and I only had one beer for the evening, so I will still claim all the cycling as a workout ;)

August 26th - September 1
  • Sunday - at the gym for a 20 minute power run with sprint intervals, and then worked out chest and triceps
  • Monday - Beginners yoga
  • Tuesday - Tone it Up 2 a Days for BeachWeek!  I started with one round of both the Seashells Workout and Cowabunga, then I was still feeling good so I ran 40 minutes, 30 of them with the dogs!  I went to Advance Power Hour Yoga tonight! I FEEL GREAT!
  • Wednesday - AM workout Booty Stepper Workout PM Workout Power Yoga Intermediate/advanced
  • Thursday - AM workouts were 2 rounds of SunKissed Abs and 3 Rounds of Bikini Series Thighs found here at Tone It Up. My PM workout was a 20 minute interval run, also found at the link.
  • Friday -
  • Saturday - First Day of Sept!  Went hiking for about 2 hours.  Covered between 4-5 miles...not sure!