A Question for my Reader's

Hi Everyone! I was thinking of adding a Nutrition Facts label at the end of my recipes. Is this something you would find helpful? It would like just the label below.


Nutrition Facts Label

In addition, I am currently working on a "How-to" piece regarding: How-to read, compare, and interpret Nutritional facts and ingredients from the labels on food products. If there are any specific questions you have regarding this topic and would like adressed in my "How-to" post, please comment or message me and I will gladly address your questions within the "How-to" post, or via comment!

Thanks :)

Amped Up Grilled Cheese

Amped Up Grilled Cheese
*Personal portion

Ingredients:  
2 slices of Bread (your preference, I usually use 12 grain bread)
Butter
Cheese (your preference, I use 2 slices of pepperjack cheese)
Veggie(s) (your preference, I used 1/2 of a chopped green pepper)
Optional: A Sprinkle of Ground Flaxseed  

How-to:  

1.) Slice bread and prepare your veggies.  

2.) Butter one side of each piece of bread.  

3.) Construst your sandwich in the following way: Bread- buttered side down on pan, 1 slice of cheese, veggies, a sprinkle of ground flaxseed, 1/2-1 slice of cheese on top of veggie, then top with bread buttered side up.  

4.) Cook on medium to medium high heat. Brown both sides lightly.

*My tip for knowing when it's ready to flip... Once the butter on the top piece begins melting and the edges of the cheese begin melting, the grilled cheese is usually good to flip!

I'm really interested to hear if you create your own version of the Amped Up Grilled Cheese! Please feel free to comment with your delicious creation:)  

**ENJOY!**  

Prep Night!

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great week so far! Generally, yesterday's post would have been regarding the meals I made over the weekend to prepare for this week. However, this past weekend I was sick and just trying to rest and relax. Although I did make some soup and yummy treats, I didn't really prep any meals for the week. Last night I decided not to cook and prepare the week's meals because, well, the last Presidential debate was on and I couldn't miss it! So, tonight is going to be planning and prepping day this week. Like anything in life, just because it didn't go the way you initially planned it to, still complete your task/goal. The sooner the better! So tonight it is!

Yesterday, being the multi-tasker I am, I was coming up with ideas for meals this week. Knowing that I'd be in the kitchen prepping tonight, I tried to think of a quick and easy dinner we could squeeze in before I took over the kitchen. As you may remember, I love gourment, healthier versions of the Classic Grilled cheese sandwich. One of my favorite ways to make grilled cheese healthier is by to adding veggies to the sandwich, which inspired me to create what I call, Amped Up Grilled Cheese. I don't think you can go wrong when it comes to adding veggies to your grilled cheese so use your imagination and tastebuds and try to create your own Amped Up Grilled Cheese for you and/or your kids! I generally use chopped up green peppers, mostly because I often have extra green peppers in the house. I also like to add a kick to the sandwich by using low-fat, sliced pepperjack cheese. Now, you can also take it to a whole 'nother level by adding some ground flaxseed to the inside of your Amped Up Grilled Cheese sandwich!

1.) Amped Up Grilled Cheese

Amped Up Grilled Cheese w/chopped green peppers!

Our quick and easy dinner, leftover: Apple Butternut Squash Soup and Amped Up Grilled Cheese.

Occasionally, I notice some food going south fast, so I try to use it ASAP! We never want to waste any food. On that note, my bananas weren't looking so hot, so I decided to fast track my Whole Wheat Banana Nut muffins to make tonight. I gotta tell you, I'm pretty excited about these muffins. I'm right in the middle of my semester and my time in the morning is limited, so making these grab-n-go healthy muffins is exactly what I need!

2.) Whole Wheat Banana Nut muffins

I don't have a ton of time tonight, so this is all I am prepping in advance. However, that doesn't mean I am not cooking throughout the week... Tonight, I took some boneless, skinless chicken breasts out of the freezer for Baked Chicken Parmesan tomorrow night. Also, it's looking like it's going to be Taco Thursday. So, expect a killer Fresh Guacamole recipe, and black beans and quinoa as a side!

Cheers!

Apple Butternut Squash Soup

Apple Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium Butternut Squash (it should portion to 6 cups, once cubed)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 tart green apple (I used Granny Smith apples)
4 cups Low-Sodium Vegetable stock (32 oz)
Pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, mild curry to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Optional:
1/4 cup heavy cream

1.) Prep your Butternut squash first. Start by cutting off the neck and the top (where the stem is). Next, peel the squash using a good quality peeler. Then, slice the squash into 1-inch wide pieces, and after that cube the squash. Your cut and cleaned butternut squash should be roughly 6 cups.
*There are many ways to prep butternut squash, if you know a better way feel free to use it!

2.) Chop the onion, celery, and carrots into small, similar sized pieces for more efficient cooking.

3.) In a large pot, heat some olive oil (roughly 1-2 tablespoons) over medium high heat. Saute onion, carrots, and celery for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. If the onions begin to brown, turn down the heat.

4.) Peel, core, and cut apple into pieces sized similar to the butternut squash.

5.) Add squash, apple, and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the squash has softened and can be pierced with a fork.
**Optional: While soup is cooking, whip 1/4 cup of heavy cream until lightly whipped. Fold in a small dash of cinnamon. Place in refrigerator and use later as a garnish.

6.) Puree in either a food processor, blender, or an immersion blender. Return to pot, add spices, salt and pepper to taste.
**Optional: When plating soup, add a swirl of cinnamon whipped cream. Not exactly healthy, but if you're in the mood to indulge it adds a nice flavor!

Makes around 6 servings.

I hope you enjoy this lovely Fall treat!

**Update: Pictures! (Don't judge me though, I don't have a great camera, and I have a low-light apt.)

**ENJOY!**

Sick Day = Soup Day

So, Friday I woke up feeling slightly under the weather. No biggie I thought, assuming I was just tired from work the night before. I went to class, then came home and found myself absolutely dragging and fatigued by noon. It was beginning, the sore throat was approaching, fast. This cold hit me like a ton of bricks and all I could do was try and think of ways to make myself feel better.

My first thought was curling up on the couch, watching scary Halloween movies and eating bowls of soup. In particular, I had a taste for Apple Butternut Squash soup. The next day, I sent my wonderful boyfriend, Tom, to the Farmer's Market with a list. He was hesitant at first, but then I told him my plan and soon we'd both be enjoying some great soup. I was unsure whether or not to get Granny Smith apples (tart apples) or Cortland apples (slightly sweet apples). So I thought, why not just get two of each? Extra apples are never a problem in my house, I love apples!

So, finally Tom was home with a bag full of goodies from the market, I was starting to feel less ill... possibly because I was excited to make this soup! I've never made Apple Butternut Squash soup, but, I had an idea of what flavors I wanted to taste and I looked up a few recipes as a point of reference for measurements. To anyone who has never this soup... it is SO easy and it's only got a few ingredients! I was really impressed by the simplicity and low cost of the entire process. Here's a link to my recipe for Apple Butternut Squash Soup.

1.) Apple Butternut Squash Soup

Later that evening, I was still a little hungry and craving something sweet. Clearly, I needed a dessert. I wanted ice cream (Vanilla Frozen Yogurt), but as an addition to something warm and comforting. My first thought was to make baked apples. Good thing I was indecisive earlier and had extra apples! My leftover apples were Cortland apples which is perfect because they are one of the types of apples I use in my Apple Pie recipe (I'll post that around Thanksgiving!). I couldn't recommend these Baked Apples enough! Not only were they AMAZING, they're also a low calorie dessert! I hope you enjoy these Fall treats as much as I did!

2.) Baked Apples

**ENJOY!**

Baked Apples

Baked Apples

*I created this recipe as a personal portion. 

Ingredients:

1 Cortland apple
1 tbsp softened butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 tbsp chopped walnuts or oats (or a 1:1 ratio of both)

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.) Mix butter, brown sugar, flour and nuts/oats. *I used nuts only because that's all had in my cupboard and I chopped them to roughly the same size as oats.
3.) Cut apple in half. Scoop out the apples core.
4.) Top apples with mixture, place on cookie sheet or foil rolled up on sides, bake for 30 minutes.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did! :)

**ENJOY!**

Roasted Beets

How to Roast Beets

Ingredients:

Fresh Whole Beets (all sizes are fine, I try to get ones similar in size... It's a little less work)
Olive Oil

Time: ~1-2 hours (depending on size)

1.) Preheat heat to 350 degrees.

2.) Wash the dirt off of the beets, some may need to be scrubbed.

3.) Leave the beets whole and unpeeled. If you have some larger beets, cut them in half. Cut the stems (leafy part) and ends off. *You can save the leafy part and steam just like spinach, so don't throw them out.

5.) Place cut and cleaned beets in a Ziploc bag (or bowl) and add a little olive oil. Then, shake the beets so they are lightly coated in olive oil.

6.) Transfer beets to baking sheet with aluminum foil and roast roughly 1 to 2 hours (depending in size). Or until tender and easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

7.) Allow beets to cool, and peel once cooled. *Peeling the beets is quite easy once cooled, the skin basically separates on its own. However, if you'd like you can also use a paring knife to peel them.