i heart food

California Pizza Kitchen: Vegetable Sandwich

Yummy yummy yummy. The bread, though, is a little on the unhealthy side so I’d suggest eating it open-faced or wrapping up half to go since its quite filling

But definitely a new favorite in the menu

second day of “food tasting” at work. I looove my new job :)

When I see pictures tagged as “healthy” an it’s like a cheese platter or Brie sandwich or something… Who can honestly say that while they’re trying to eat healthy they’re helping themselves to cheese and crackers or grilled Brie sandwich? If you are one of those lucky people, bless you, and I envy your superb genetics

Chia Seed Pudding

2 1/2 cups almond milk : 1/2 cup chia seeds

I made it just by combining in a bowl, covering, and refrigerating over night.

Then top with agave nectar, fruit, and nuts :)

Grilled Peach Walnut Salad

ingredients:

• 1 peach
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• honey
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• mixed salad greens (dark)
• goat cheese

Slice peach in half and place face-down on a grill until it starts to get soft. For about a minute, place walnuts on the grill and take off when you can start to smell them (make sure not to burn them). 

Mix together honey and balsamic vinegar (i did about 1.5 tbsp honey to 1/4 cup balsamic). Heat in saucepan to thicken. Add about 1/2 tbsp olive oil, stir, continue to heat for 45 seconds to a minute, then take off heat. 

In a bowl, toss greens, walnuts, crumbled goat cheese, and honey balsamic. Top with slices of grilled peach.

testing out ice creams for Seventeen on this lovely Monday morning

i’m also hard at work adding to the facebook, so make sure to stop by to check it out :)

I Heart Food

Blueberry Oatmeal w. Slivered Almonds

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1 tsp agave nectar
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tsp truvia
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sweetened vanilla almond milk

Bring water to a boil and add oatmeal. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.

In a pan, heat butter. Add blueberries and agave nectar. Keep on low heat and stir occasionally. After 2 minutes, turn off or keep on very low heat and cover.

In an oven-safe bowl, add oatmeal, and blueberries. Mix together brown sugar, truvia, and almonds, and sprinkle on top of oatmeal. Pour 1/4 cup almond milk into bowl and bake at 350 for ten minutes.

Remove and pour rest of the milk over the oatmeal. Sprinkle with more truvia if desired.

my morning:
 8:00 am - drive little brother to school

9:00 am - get home and make breakfast

9:30 am - applications

10:00 am - applications

10:30 am - applications

11:00 am - got offered my dream job!!! nope. more applications

blah blah blah

1:30 pm - head out for the hunt some more

2:00 pm - realize i left my folder at home with applications and resumes

3:00 pm - head out, yet again. and told, yet again that i’m a couple days too late

woo!

Omelettes: The Cure for the Common Breakfast

if you watch Mad Men, you’ll know i’m not witty. but i was clever enough to come up with this winning combination

ingredients:

• 2 eggs (1 egg + 1 egg white)
• red bell pepper
• mushroom
• spinach
• crumbled goat cheese (chevre)

Heat a pan and spray with generous[ish] amount of nonstick spray. Add chopped bell peppers, then add chopped mushrooms, then add the spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted, the bell peppers are slightly charred, and the mushrooms are slightly browned.

Remove veggies and place in a bowl to the side. In the same pam, add eggs that have been whisked in a bowl and add to pan. Cook eggs for an omelette and once mostly cooked, add veggies and some goat cheese crumbles.

Then eat it. And the goat cheese was just perfect with the veggies. 

and I’m about to go make a salad with the same goat cheese because it’s too darn delicious

you can eat this as a taco too, i just decided to cut out some of those yummy starches and replace them with more protein and vegetables

ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp - deveined 
• salsa of your preference
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 limes 
• 1 jalepeño - or less depending on your preference
• plain greek yogurt
• red & green cabbage - buy pre-shredded if you can
• paprika
• chili powder
• cayenne powder
• salt & pepper 
• avocado & cheese - for toppings 
• corn tortillas - or flour 
  

Thaw shrimp according to instructions and make sure all veins and tails are removed

In a bowl, marinade shrimp with olive oil, juice of 1 lime, 1 or 2 spoonfuls of salsa, and refrigerate for 15 minutes

While the shrimp is marinading, mix some greek yogurt, juice of 1/2 a lime, chopped jalepeño, and dashes of cayenne, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper

i have zero tolerance for spicy foods so i cut out the inside of the pepper and made sure all the seeds were out

Mix together shredded cabbage and yogurt sauce to make the cole slaw. Refrigerate slaw until ready to assemble the tacos/taco salad

you can add some salsa to the cole slaw too, if you’re feeling fiesty

Grill the shrimp - they cook/heat up fairly quickly, so a couple minutes on each side should do

In a bowl, combine cole slaw and shrimp and top with some more salsa. If desired, add slices of avocado and shredded mexican cheese blend and some slices of tortilla. Enjoy :)

i had bought two beautiful avocados and completely forgot i had them until after i devoured this. talk about tragedy 

to catch a glimpse of this dish in taco version, click here

so this is a video.. of me.. in case that wasn’t clear

and that angelic noise in the background is my yappy dogs barking at probably nothing

and for dinner… 

sometimes nearly always, the simplest meals are the tastiest

ingredients:

1 tomato

nonstick spray

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 oz spaghetti 

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Slice tomato into 1/4-inch thick slices, spray cooking sheet with pam, lay slices on baking sheet, spray again with pam, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove and roughly chop.

Cook pasta in boiling water for 6-7 minutes. Strain and place in a heated pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Add garlic and tomatoes and toss for about 2 minutes until pasta is coated.

easy. simple. very flavorful. 

just got back from a wedding weekend, (so of course that also doubled as an all-you-can-eat weekend)

not complaining!

these were the appetizers at the rehearsal dinner. i opted for a caprese salad vs. the fried cheese ravioli.

but i made sure my boyfriend got a good helping of ravioli so i could at least have a bite … or two