Sort of Like Fish Tacos

The weather has been unseasonably beautiful. I had to work late last night but stepped out to grab a breath of fresh air at one point. When I stepped out, I smelt the ever-so-wonderful aroma of a barbecue. With that, I knew we  absolutely needed to grill something up for dinner. I had tilapia defrosting in the fridge which I had been planning to make for dinner. As soon as I got home from work, we cranked on the grill!

The tilapia was seasoned simply with salt and pepper. We grilled the tilapia for about 4 minutes on each side. To top the tilapia, I made a homemade Pico De Gallo. I don’t have the exact measurements for the pico but here are the ingredients:

  • Roma tomatoes
  • Red onion
  • Cilantro
  • Lime juice
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder

As a side dish, I cut a head of green cabbage into wedges. I placed each wedge onto a piece of aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray. I sprinkled each wedge with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, wrapped each piece individually and placed on the grill. We grilled the cabbage for about 15 minutes (or less), turning every 5 minutes. We plated the tilapia and the cabbage, topped the tilapia with the colorful tomatoes, and dinner was served.

It was a very simple dinner and pretty darn delicious. I had never grilled cabbage before but really liked how it turned out. It is slightly tender and renders a different flavor from the grill. I ended up taking wedges of the cabbage, topping them with a little piece of fish and pico, and wrapped it up to make mini taco bites. It was messy but so worth it. It reminded me of fish tacos that I ate in California but with no shell. Num!

The rest of the night was spent watching Whitney and Modern Family, as always, our Wednesday shows. I was hungry for a snack a couple of hours after dinner so I made myself a bowl of greek yogurt and cereal. It was the perfect snack to end the night.

Now, I am eating my breakfast which resembles last night snack  minus the fiber one squares and plus a banana. I had a serious hankering for cereal this morning. I had a couple of bowls.

On Thursday mornings I usually get up early to get a run in before work, but I am fighting either a cold or allergies and my body wanted the little bit of extra sleep today instead. So that is what it got. I listened.

Off to tackle the day. Have a good one!

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7 Healthy Eating Tips When You Are Away

Mark this on your calendar because this rarely happens…I ate a SAVORY breakfast this morning. Nine times out of ten I will gravitate towards a sweet breakfast but I figured I would go out of my usual this morning, and cook up an egg white omelet. I only set off the smoke alarm three times! 🙂 It’s very sensitive. I sautéed some onion and mushroom and then added them to my omelet along with fresh tomato. On the top, I sprinkled on nutritional yeast and then of course a drizzle of ketchup.

It turned out really well, and I even got some veggies in already! I didn’t get up for my morning workout this morning but plan to go after work. It is supposed to be gorgeous here today so I am hoping to run outside!

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While amidst our vacation in California, I started thinking about how difficult it can be to eat healthy while away. I feel like no matter how hard I try, I still end up feeling a little bit “off” and not feeling so hot. It’s easy to get a little off track when you’re not in the comfort of your own home with your usual foods and usual routine.

Here are some ideas I came up with to help you stay on track when are away from home.

1. Pack a piece of fruit (or two) in your carry-on. If you need a snack, you have a healthy one right on hand. Plus, fruit is full of water which is important while traveling as it is extremely easy to become dehydrated. Veggies are great too, but not always as portable as fruit.

2. Try to eat vegetables with at least one of your meals throughout the day.

3. Pack some healthy energy bars like my favorite, Lara Bars. During vacations, we often go a long time in between meals without anything to eat. These bars pack well and carry well and are perfect for a burst of energy. Throw a couple in your purse or carry on.

4. When possible, eat breakfast at your hotel. Now, be careful with this one as many continental breakfasts can be full of low-energy carb traps (muffins, bagels, sugar-packed cereals). Try and find some instant oatmeal and get creative with mix-in’s: milk, banana, apple, peanut butter. Oatmeal has soluble fiber, which helps to keep you feeling full, longer. Better yet, throw a couple of instant oatmeal packs (from home) in your bag in case your hotel doesn’t offer it. If hard-boiled eggs are an option at breakfast, snag one of those as well. The protein in eggs will help tide you over for a while and give you a lot of needed energy for the day. Plus, free continental breakfasts are very nice on the wallet!

5. Try to eat protein at each meal: eggs, greek yogurt, fish, tofu, chicken, nuts, whatever it may be.

Fish Tacos

6. Carry a refillable water bottle with you at all times, and drink plenty of water throughout the day, at least 8 cups. Also, keep a glass of water by your bedside at night to encourage yourself to get a few sips of water in at night too.

Can you spot the water bottle?

7. Be cautious of portions while out to eat. Remember that most restaurants serve you twice as much food as you really need. Be mindful while out to eat and stop eating when you feel full. This one is hard for me sometimes because some foods are just SO good. I always regret it later though. I’m still learning too!

So there you have it, a few tips to help you to stay healthy while away from home, whether on vacation, for work, a child’s sporting event, etc. Also, don’t forget about the exercise part. Just because you are away doesn’t mean you can’t find time to squeeze in a few hotel push ups or a quick run.

Give these tips a shot next time you are away from home. Come to think of it, these are good tips for when you are home as well!

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Last night we headed to mom and dad’s for a birthday dinner for Dana. His birthday is tomorrow but we have been celebrating since Saturday. Lucky boy! That is how I like to celebrate my birthday too, with a birthday week!

I give mom an A+ on dinner last night. Turkey lettuce wraps with peanut sauce, brown rice, and mandarin oranges.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It was so nice to have dinner made for us too! Muchos gracias mom and dad!

I’m off to work. Have a great Tuesday!

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CocoaCraisy Energy Bites

Happy Saturday! Hi-fives all around for Saturday love.

This morning I snacked on half a banana with some Smart Balance Peanut Butter then headed to the gym. I was really feeling good today and knocked off a little over 4-miles on the treadmill. Since I got my new phone I downloaded the Pandora app and wanted to try running with that today. I loved not knowing what song was going to come on next but I didn’t like that I wasn’t always able to click to the next song. Maybe it was just me because I am a little special in the technology department. I don’t know, I guess I’ll have to look into that one.

Here is some good news….I haven’t had any shin pain lately. I don’t know if it was the Zumba class that threw me off, or I wasn’t stretching enough, or if it was a combination of factors, but whatever it was is gone. I feel no pain now! Now I can actually concentrate on building up my stamina and not have to be thinking about how badly my shins hurt while I run.

To touch base on the half marathon training…..I have decided to stick with the plan which has me running Tuesdays, Wednesdays if I feel like it, Thursdays, and Saturdays. As far as increasing my  mileage though, I am going to probably be halting it at 3-5 miles for now until the weather improves. I am driving myself crazy trying to run longer than that on the treadmill and no one wants to see crazy Melanie. Unless I am really feeling it one day on the treadmill and want to increase my mileage, it will have to wait a little bit. I am hoping only a month or so. Come on early Spring! I know the Groundhog saw its shadow but that means nothing to me. 🙂

Anyway, after my run I hit the weights to do some leg work.

  • 3×10 lunges with 20 lb weight (really it’s 3×20 lunges because it was 10 per leg–but who’s counting :wink:)
  • 3×10 leg press (both legs, then right single leg, left single leg)
  • 3×10 calf raises (changing direction of the toes each time to hit different muscles–toes in, toes out, toes forward)
  • 3×10 seated leg curls

I was Mrs. Jello legs after this! Can’t wait to feel it later.

I headed to get the car all prettied up at the car wash and snacked on apple on the way. Now I am home and sipping on some coffee as I contemplate lunch. I am really hungry but feeling pretty lazy right now to actually  make lunch. This afternoon Dana’s parents are stopping over to visit and then we are having a couple of friends over for Sushi later on! What a great day!

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Back this thang up to yesterday lunch. Remember how I said let’s see if I branch out from my usual order at Panera Bread? Well, guess who did NOT branch out? Me. I am ridiculous sometimes. The thing is though, I don’t go there that often so when I do get the chance to go, I like to stick with a favorite. If I went there ALL the time I would for sure branch out. I stuck with the French Onion soup and as always I am happy I did. It was served with a chunk of whole wheat baguette on the side. Nummy! It was great to meet up with mama during her lunch break!

What was even better was that I would be seeing her and dad and Kevin that night! Dana and I headed over to their place for dinner where mom had whipped up some of her famous chicken wings (Scott and Jeff if you’re reading this I know you are jealous). The chicken wings were served alongside baked (or broiled?) zucchini, asparagus, cheesy potatoes, and a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette. What a feast!

Thanks for the great company and the great dinner last night!

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For a while now, I have been meaning to share a recipe with you all for energy bites, or what we call in our household, Mah balls (MAH are my initials and we think we’re really clever and funny when we say it). There are made up of dates and nuts primarily, but other ingredients can be added to give them different flavors like cocoa powder, peanuts, Craisins, etc.

Mah Balls: CocoaCraisy

Not the prettiest things, but they are delicious!

These are perfect little bites of energy. I often will pop one of these in my mouth before a workout or if I need a quick pick me up if I’m heading out the door. I will give you other variations of the recipe in the future, but feel free to venture out yourself!

 

CocoaCraisy Energy Bites
Print
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup almonds, roasted
  • ¾ cup dates
  • ¼ cup Craisins
  • 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa
Instructions
  1. In food processor, add almonds and process until they resemble wet sand texture; pour into small bowl and set aside.
  2. Add dates, Craisins, and cocoa to food processor. Process until mixture begins to form a ball, and pieces are small.
  3. Add almond mixture to date mixture and process until combined; about 1 minute.
  4. Form combine mixture into one inch balls using your hands and store in air-tight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

I’m off to get ready for company! Hope everyone is having a great Saturday!

P.S. I updated my Education page under the About section in the top menu.

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Game Day Recipe Recap

Morning!

MMMm breakfast was a bowl of greek yogurt with honey, banana, and Peanut Butter Multigrain Cheerios. It has to be a good day because I had a good breakfast right? One can only hope!

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Quick recap from yesterday. Later in the afternoon after going through some bins in the basement, we turned on the puppy bowl for Moose. His kind of Super bowl.  He was really into it, see him watching the “game”?! Love this photo so much.

I spent a whole lot of time in the kitchen yesterday whipping up our Super Bowl snacks and Dana did an awesome job keeping up with the mega dishes!

At game time I plated up some goodies for myself: chicken bites, bean dip, guacamole (recipes below), sugar snap peas, Blue Corn with flaxseed tortilla chips, and home-made zucchini and potato chips. I went back for seconds of some more chips and guac.

I didn’t really tune in to the game until the half time show (way to go Madonna!) but then watched most of the last half.

Anyway, here are my Super Bowl recipes. I tried keeping everything healthy. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Poppers

Baked Chicken Poppers

Ingredients

  • 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 3/4 cup Fiber One Original
  • dash of onion powder
  • 1/3 cup egg white
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F; coat baking sheet with cooking spray (I laid aluminum foil down first, then sprayed it for less clean up)

2. Break down Fiber One in food processor until ground; pour cereal onto plate; add a dash of onion powder

3. Pour egg whites into small bowl and line up assembly line (L to R): chicken, egg white, cereal, pan

4. Drop chicken one at a time into egg mixture, then coat in cereal, and place on baking sheet. Repeat until all pieces are coated.

5. Spray chicken with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6. Bake for 20 minutes.

Serve with warm with honey  mustard, ketchup, barbecue sauce, light ranch, or your favorite dipping sauce. These were really good–I wasn’t sure how they would turn out but they were winners!

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Green Chili Bean Dip

Green Chili Bean Dip

Ingredients

  • 1/2 small white onion, diced
  • 4 oz can diced green chilies
  • 16 oz can reduced sodium pinto beans; rinsed, drained
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 cup salsa
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Saute onion until translucent

2. Add chilies, beans, garlic powder, and cumin; mix to combine

3. Remove from heat; place in food processor

4. Process until smooth; adding salt and pepper to taste

5. Pour into bowl; stir in 1/4 cup salsa

Serve hot or cold with tortilla chips, sugar snap peas, or your favorite veggies

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Guacamole Salsa (with peas)

Guacamole Salsa (with peas)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup peas, food processed to smooth
  • 1 ripe avocado, diced
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 Roma tomato, diced
  • 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Mix ingredients until combined. Chill before serving. Serve with tortilla chips. SO GOOD!

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I did baked up some home-made potato chips and zucchini chips for the game as well. We used the mandolin to cut thin slices then baked at 425° for I don’t know how long. We actually had to keep adjusting the temperature of the oven because we couldn’t get the chips to cook evenly. They tasted awesome but because of the experimenting with the temperature and not knowing exactly how long they baked, I won’t be able to give you an exact recipe. Sorry bout that! I’ll get ya next time.

In the midst of all of the super bowl snack prep, I also whipped up a batch of tomato soup for a weeknight dinner this week, as well as some energy balls, and pulled chicken for Dana’s lunches this week (and probably my lunches too). I told you I was a busy lady in the kitchen today!

I will share those recipes later this week. I didn’t want to bombard you with 5,000 recipes right off the bat Monday morning. 🙂

What a wonderful weekend. I am so happy I got to spend so much time with my honey. I felt like we had a very productive weekend. I’ll check in with you all later! Happy Monday.

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Super Bowl Sunday and A Day in the Kitchen

Good morning! Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Catching you up from last night….

I marinated two tilapia filets. The marinade included 3 Tablespoons lower sodium soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon ground dry ginger.

I let Dana cook them up on the stovetop because I didn’t want to smell fishy since we were meeting up with family soon after. My hair absorbs smells so quickly and I didn’t feel like nauseating myself and everyone else the rest of the night. He was more than happy to help me cook…take a look for yourself! All smiles. 😛

We served the honey soy tilapia with some mukimame (also a soy product!) and some brown rice with soy sauce. It was a soy kind of a dinner I guess. Ha! The tilapia turned out wonderfully. I usually need to put some kind of sauce on my tilapia, but I didn’t with this recipe. It was so easy too! Give it a shot.

It was a light dinner because I knew we would be snacking and having a couple of cocktails later at my aunt and uncle’s. Upon arrival my uncle made me one of his famous margaritas! He used light margarita mix with a splash of orange juice so really he made us “skinny” margaritas. I truly appreciate that since I am trying to watch my waist a little bit these days! I also snacked on some chips and cheese and crackers with a light cream cheese spread. I negated the skinny margarita with the chips and cheese, but I don’t care. I enjoyed every bite of the salty snacks.

We had a great time visiting and catching up with my mom and dad, my aunt and uncle (Chip and Patti), and their kids. It is always so great to see them. I have the best family!

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Sunday Morning

First off, I love Sunday mornings. I especially love Sunday mornings when I know I don’t have much on the agenda for the day. I started my morning off on the right foot by heading down to the treadmill for a quick two-mile run. After that I through a load of laundry in the wash, folded clothes from the dryer, went through a bin of old clothes from the basement, clipped coupons, and eventually came around to making myself some breakfast.

Fresh blueberries, strawberries, and banana topped with a dollop of greek yogurt sweetened with honey. It tasted like dessert it was so creamy and sweet.

Next on the agenda will be finding an at home strength workout on Demand. I am hoping to find a lower body workout including lots of squats. Make it burn baby! I am in a productive mood today.

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Super bowl plans include staying home with the boys and snacking on some real good treats. I am not the type of person who can sit and watch the whole game, so it will be nice to be home so that I can get some stuff done around the house. I’m hoping this will include going through some more bins in the basement. I am not a hoarder but I do have a lot of junk that I do not need. Like Dana says, “just let go.” I need him with me when I’m going through my old clothes so he can help me justify why I DON’T need that swimsuit anymore that would most likely cover only one half of my behind. Kidding, but seriously, I do have a hard time letting go of old clothes.

On the menu for tonight:

  • Guacamole-made with avocado AND peas
  • Healthy bean dip
  • Home made sweet potato chips and possibly zucchini chips depending on how motivated I am
  • Baked chicken poppers
  • Home made caramel corn

We will see if all of these things actually get made. I also want to make up a batch of tomato soup to have for a week night meal this week. It sounds like I will be in the kitchen all day. I LOVE IT! I am feeling ambitious. I feel like someone injected a triple espresso into my bloodstream. I better stay on top of this.

I will be sharing ALL of these recipes with you once I have developed them! I am excited to get creative in the kitchen. Have a wonderful Sunday everyone! Much love to all!

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Nuts for Nuts

I am so happy it is the weekend! I cannot wait to relax and enjoy the two glorious days ahead.

My day started off with a bit of indecisiveness. I really wanted peanut butter and banana, but I also really wanted cereal. What to do? Throw it all in a bowl, add a splash of almond milk, and you have the best of both worlds! That’s proof that sometimes being an indecisive person can be a good thing.

I made to sure to get my peanut butter banana fix in at breakfast because I knew I wouldn’t be having it at lunch (if you can believe that). My coworkers and I decided to go out to lunch at a Bakery and Cafe called Patrick’s. Patrick’s is connected to Bachman’s and the inside is just beautiful. There are fresh flowers everywhere, the ceiling is made up of some material (like the stuff used in metrodomes maybe?) where a little bit of sunlight shines through and lightens the room naturally. The menu wasn’t ginormous but still offered a nice selection of soups, salads, and sandwiches. They do also have bakery items but I didn’t feel like tempting myself so I didn’t really look at it.

I decided on one of my all time favorite soups, French Onion. It was topped with a large crouton melted with what tasted like gruyere cheese but I am not for sure. On the side a nice hunk o’ baguette.

Pretty with the table linens and natural light, huh? I was pretty excited about that. I am working on my camera skills you know.  The soup was pretty good, a little too salty though. I have very high expectations when it comes to my french onion soup though because my mom makes DYNAMITE french onion. She will be modest and say, “o, goodness really it’s so easy, but thank you.” But really, hers is the best. I only spent $4.00 at lunch today and it definitely held me over long enough to get home and stuff my face have a few almonds.

Let’s talk about almonds for a second. Clearly, along with peanut butter, I really enjoy almonds. I eat them every day pretty much. It must be their slight saltiness and crunchy texture that really get me. They are a good source of protein (6 g per 1/4 cup), they do have some fiber (3 g per 1/4 cup) not to mention that evidence suggests that eating 1.5 ounces of nuts daily can help lower your risk of heart disease. HOWEVER, it is important to watch your portions with these bad boys because they do pack a load of fat at 15 g per 1/4 cup. Many of these fats are the “good” kinds but you still want to be careful with portion control. Yea, I’m still working on that one myself. Sorry Dana if I ruined my appetite for dinner. That’s what you call a tangent my friends. There will be lots of them. The moral of the story is I am Nuts 4 Nuts (just like the vendors in New York right Bets?). I am a pretty nutty gal.

One more important bit to share with you. I resisted sweets (specifically doughnuts with chocolate frosting and sprinkles) again today for the third day. I am very proud. Now if only the pants would start fitting a little more comfortably again. It takes times, I know.

Off to run a few errands then we’ll see if I’ve conjured up an appetite for dinner by then. Then it’s relaxation time including kicking butt in SkipBo, Sequence, and maybe Rummy. I don’t know. We’ll see if we have time. 😛 Har har har.

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