Lately I have been experimenting with cooking, which is definitely a new thing for me, the Queen of Convenience. Some of my "culinary escapades" have been a bust (i.e., horrible chocolate/strawberry trifle that I will not elaborate on but makes me sick to think about) but some others have actually been really good. I get most of my ideas from allrecipes.com as well as various food blogs. I am especially interested in whole-food recipes that are healthy, relatively easy to make, do not include "diet" foods, and actually taste good. Brent and I are trying not to be so dependent on processed convenience foods like frozen meals and such. Here are four new meal ideas I have tried recently that will definitely become staples for me :
Couscous with
Roasted Asparagus and MushroomsThis is based on a recipe from allrecipes.com and is so, so easy and fast. First of all, I only made one serving, because Brent was not interested (asparagus is high in purines, he hates mushrooms, and thinks couscous doesn't have a taste). I changed it up just a little bit. I mixed the mushrooms + asparagus with 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, dried rosemary, sea salt, and pepper (to taste). Roasted in the oven at 450 for ~ 8 minutes. Perfect. I love asparagus anyway, but I think the rosemary is actually what made this so great.
Then I prepared the couscous as directed on the package (using water + 1/3 tbsp butter) and it made a great, filling, and nutritious dinner. Much better for me than the Spaghettio's & meatballs I was (still am? ha!) considering. Man, I love Spaghettio's. But anyway, this was really good, especially when served with a glass of Reisling.
Next, two fantastic breakfast ideas:
First, my favorite scrambled eggs & whole grain toast. I scrambled 2 eggs with 1 handful of baby spinach, a few mushrooms, low-fat feta cheese crumbles, salt & pepper to taste. Wonderful and very filling!!! The bread is from Publix bakery - there is just no comparison between store-bought vs. bakery bread. I really want to try my hand at baking bread at home -- maybe over the holidays.
I discovered The Breakfast Cookie at
the Fitnessista's blog. I have made this twice, both times starting with the
basic recipe and not deviating much at all. The fact that I love this is a big deal, because I hate oatmeal! I wanted to like it for so long and have tried different (hot) recipes, but....blah! I also love the feeling that a good breakfast is waiting for me when I get up in the morning and I don't have to think about preparing anything as I am trying to get out the door by 6:45 a.m! My first time making this cookie, I used chocolate protein powder + almond butter +
Almond Breeze + oatmeal and mixed in a bit of agave nectar, raisins, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. It was great! A perfect combination of chocolate and pumpkin. It was actually much sweeter than I imagined.
The second time I tried the recipe (below), I used the same ingredients as above except vanilla protein powder, no agave nectar (just forgot, don't think I will need it), and added a scoop of pumpkin. I will find out how it works when I get up tomorrow morning! I am already looking forward to it!! Milly is looking forward to it also!!
And finally -- my new favorite snack:
The Green Monster.
I have been drinking Green Monsters for over a week now and I LOVE them so much. Like the breakfast cookie, there are thousands of different ways you could make these. My favorite combination so far is:
2-3 handfuls of baby spinach
1/2 scoop apple-flavored protein powder
several ice cubes
I am fairly certain that my affinity for this drink is mostly due to the Naked Juice. I haven't been brave enough to try a Green Monster without it yet, although I have experimented with different amounts of the ingredients and other things like fresh strawberries and almond butter. Based on my experiments so far, the goodness of the drink to my tastebuds is directly proportionate to the amount of Naked Juice involved.
And I have finally found a use for the margarita glasses Brent won at a dirty Santa game one year! Yay!
