GREAT things!!

Last week was amazing! There is no other way to put it! I had the opportunity to donate a meal from Deelish as a raffle prize for the Core Compassion Project. This is a great cause that works with cancer survivors and uses pilates in their rehabilitiation.  They do more than help survivors with physical strength, they help them with mental strength.  The ladies that spoke were truly an inspiration. Here is a great article covering the event:

Lots of great things have been happening with my decision to let everyone know about my plans of starting a catering company. If you haven't heard, it's called Deelish! I came up with that name simply because I always say, "mmmm, that was deelish!!" Thus, the name was chosen.  This venture is something that I've been working on for a long, long time. I've been keeping notes, journals and logs for about two years now and I've been collecting all of my life a book recipes.  And with a push from some great people in my life and some nudges from God, I truly believe, now is the time to make it happen.

My plan is to cater small events at first, such as birthdays, anniversaries, holiday parties, etc. The response has been amazing and I am so excited to working on my first events very soon.  Don't want to jinx myself, so I won't elaborate until I have some things set in stone.

In addition to catering, I really like to focus on healthy eating.  So also in my plans, I want to incorporate the ability for families or singles to purchase healthy meals from me for their weekly meal planning.  I am very excited to work on this as well!!  There is so much good happening on this front also, so stay tuned.  And if you are one of the ones who want some of these meals, I promise I'm working on pricing and plans as I write this.

Next up is the Q City Charlotte BBQ Championship.  We are entered in the Chicken, Ribs and Butt categories.  This is being held in downtown Charlotte on Oct 18 & 19.  We will have free samples so we'd love to see you there!!! Look for the "Oink Oink My Good Man" booth, that's us!!

And if that isn't enough, I'm training for a half marathon in November. I'm about half way there in my training now, but I feel good about it.  I'm so happy to be training with some great girls in this adventure.

Anyhoo, that's about it for now.. this is just a quick update and hopefully I'll have more for next time!

Breakfast AND Lunch!!

So, I've been completely slack here lately but for good reason. I've been working on my business plan to get my catering business up and going for real. It's been a long time coming and thank you to some dear friends for your motivation and inspiration. I hope that by this time next year I'll be booking your events!!!

In the mean time, I've still been working on recipes and here is the latest paleo/gluten free breakfast I've come up with.  It's posted below, but if you want to check it out and some other cool stuff out, check it out here at http://athletesaddiction.com/flourless-pancakes/. Great things are happening with Athletes Addiction also and I'm so proud to be a part of it!

Looking for a way to use up those super ripe bananas?! These are a great make ahead, grab and go breakfast.

2 eggs
2 mashed up bananas
dash of cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla

Scoop about 2 tbsp for each pancake on a non-stick skillet or griddle and cook them like regular pancakes!

Add peanut butter powder or protein powder of choice for some extra protein but keeping the calories low.

Get creative and add fresh blueberries or strawberries!

Yield about 10-12 pancakes depending on how large you make them.

Nutrition Info (Per Pancake):
30 Calories, 4.5g Carbs, 1g Fat, 1g Protein


NOW I'M GOING TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER!!! Well maybe just lunch time!

And thank you to Pinterest and Marci for reminding me of this great time saver and motivating me to do this!

Salad in a Jar!! Yep, make your salad, dressing and all, IN A MASON JAR!!!

Start at the bottom with your dressing of choice, I used a vinaigrette.

Then layer tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, cheese, bacon, and then lettuce on top.

These will stay fresh in the jars all week and all you have to do is dump them into a bowl and eat!!

No separate containers for the dressing!!

I made mine for the week today, I can't wait to eat them up!!

Enjoy!!!

Time to get your grill on!

This is my next entry on Athlete's Addiction's Recipe section, but you can see it here first!! You're welcome!!

 

Summer is here and that means it’s time to grill!! Let’s get away from the traditional grilled fare and go for some healthy alternatives. Fish is one of my favorite things to grill along with grilled fresh seasonal veggies.  Not only is this good for you, but there’s hardly any clean up!

You can make this recipe with any ‘white’ fish, such as Halibut, flounder, or grouper. Today, I chose Tilapia to grill.  If you are not sure about Tilapia, it’s a very mild and flaky fish and it does not taste ‘fishy’. 

Tilapia is a rock star among fat burning foods.  Tilapia is full of protein, B12, Niacin, Selenium and a great source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids.  The B12 keeps you mentally alert; the niacin keeps your body functioning at an optimal level and selenium is a nutrient know to decrease your risk against cancer and heart disease.  In addition to the loads of nutrients Tilapia provides, it’s a great source of potassium to help prevent post-workout muscle cramps.  Overall, Tilapia is a great way to keep your calories low, burn fat, improve heart health and good cholesterol, and a decreased risk of weight related illnesses.

Grill whatever veggies you like. It’s that simple. Veggies are free game and you can eat as much as you like. 

Then for dessert, what is better than Apple Pie? Guiltless Apple Pie with only 4 ingredients!

 

Prep time for this should be under 10 minutes.

You want to start grilling the veggies first since they will take the longest to cook.

Cook time 15-20 min

 

Grilled Veggies (use what you like, use what’s in season)

2 Medium Zucchini

2 Medium Squash

1 Medium Onion

1-2 Small Sweet Bell Peppers (Any Color)

2 Large Cloves of Garlic

1 Tbsp Thyme

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Cut all of the veggies into ½” pieces and make sure to cut them all the same size so they will cook evenly.  Chop finely or crush the garlic using a garlic press.  Place everything in a large bowl then coat everything with Olive Oil, Thyme, Salt and Pepper.  You could always use Italian dressing on this, but seasoning things the way you like them will always be better. 

 

I have a veggie pan made especially for the grill, but if you don’t have one, you can always use aluminum foil to place the veggies on the grill, just fold up the sides so you don’t have any runaway veggies. Grill on Medium heat until they are cooked to your desired taste.  I like mine with a little char on them, but not burnt to a crisp. Stir the veggies as they cook.

 

151 Calories, 0g Fat, 30g Carbs, 5g Protein

 

Lemon Grilled Tilapia (makes 2 servings)

2 4oz Tilapia Fillets

Old Bay Seasoning

2 Lemons

Olive Oil

 

Lightly coat your Tilapia Fillets with Olive Oil (I have an Olive Oil Sprayer and that seems to coat it perfectly) and sprinkle with Old Bay Seasoning.  Use this as much as or as little as you like.  I use about a half of a teaspoon on each fillet.  Next slice your lemons in rounds and set aside.  Place aluminum foil on the grill for your Tilapia to cook on.  Lay lemon slices in a row and place the fish on top of the lemons.  I like to sprinkle Old Bay on the lemon slices before I set the fish on them. Then layer the rest of the lemons on top of the fish

 

The fish takes about 8-10 minutes to cook.  The fish starts out opaque looking, then will turn white and flake off of the fillet when it is done. 

I serve the fish over a ½” cup of brown rice and this is what your dinner tonight will look like!

 

100 Calories, 2g Fat, 0 Carbs, 20g Protein

Brown Rice
150 Calories, 1g Fat, 33g Carbs, 4g Protein

 

*NUTRITION FACTS FOR ENTIRE DINNER:
401 Calories, 3g Fat, 63g Carbs, 29g Protein

 

Crustless “Apple Pie”

Apple

2 Tbsp Oats

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Tsp Cinnamon

Juice from ½ an orange

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you have an apple slicer, slice the apple, but don’t go all the way to the bottom.  Remove the core, but make sure the apple still says together.

 

 

Place the apple in aluminum foil and make it like a holder for the apple.  Mix the oats and brown sugar and stuff the apple in the center and in between the slices with the mixture.  Squeeze the juice from half an orange on top of the apple.

 

Bake the apple on the center rack for about 30 minutes, or until the apple is browned on top. You can eat this by itself or top it with whipped topping or indulge with ice cream.

 

 

134 Calories, 0g Fat, 32 Carbs, 5g Protein – (Without whipped topping or ice cream)

big, Big, BIG NEWS!!!!

Ok, so I've been wanting to post this news since I learned about this opportunity, but I didn't want to jinx anything... but finally, here it is!

So, one of my very good childhood friends, Robin has started a new business and asked me to be a part of it, as the 'cooking expert'!!  The business is Athlete's Addiction and their main focus is sport specific athletic training, health and fitness. The website launched this weekend and you should check it out!! With this new opportunity, I am going to be taking a course in becoming a Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist.  This will allow me to adapt my recipes into nutrition programs that will be offered thru Athlete's Addiction.  To say the least, I AM SO EXCITED!!!  Take a look at my first entry: http://athletesaddiction.com/sweet-potato-energy-burst-breakfast/ 

So, I was very proud to wear my Athlete's Addiction shirt during my competition in the South Charlotte Ramblin' Rose Triathlon! It's a sprint triathlon meaning you swim 200m, bike 8 miles and run 2. This was my second Ramblin Rose. The first one, I finished in 1hr 9min. This one I finished in 1hr 3min. I guess my training paid off, I was 10lbs lighter and 6 minutes faster! Next time though, I have got to do it in under an hour! So, yes there will be a next time. I'm trying to find maybe a longer triathlon to push myself even further. Any suggestions are welcomed and I would love to have a buddy to do the tri with!!  I've thought about doing a half marathon, but I truly hate running. Splitting it up with swimming and biking seems like a better plan, at least in my head it does.

Anyhow, that's all for now...back to training, gardening, recipes and nutrition.  Hopefully, more great news in the near future!

Until then....life is about the journey, not the destination!

Rainy Monday, so I cook!

The rain today has really sucked! I'm off today, nothing but trails to ride, parks to run, dogs to walk, but nope, I'm stuck inside. Oh well, aside from the usual chores, I spent my day doing one of my favorite things! Chefn' it up!

First, I had the "usual" for breakfast. Sweet potato, bacon and eggs, along with a bottle of water and all of my vitamins, I was ready to go!

I've been trying to come up with something to do with all of these avocados I buy when they are too cheap to resist, so my latest 'thing' are smoothies. I had to figure out how to get that avocado into a smoothie!

Here's what I came up with today. It sounds so weird, but OMG it's delicious and so good for you. I got the idea for the recipe from Martha Stewart, but she was making 4 servings, and she used greek yogurt.  Here's my adapted recipe:

Avocado Smoothie
1 banana
1/2 cup fresh squeezed oj
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsbp honey
1/2 cup ice

This made a full 20oz smoothie in my new Smoothie Maker.


I still had some ideas floating in my head after that, so I kept chefn'.


Next, I made a corn and black bean salad. I usually make this a lot during the summer. But tonite, I planned on making salmon cakes for dinner, so I needed something to go with it. This is super simple, but it's a light and fresh and can be eaten as a side dish or with chips as a salsa. This is not paleo, but it is gluten free and delicious!


Corn Salad/Salsa
1 bag of frozen corn, 'roast' the corn in a pan with a light dusting of olive oil to keep it from sticking. Cook it until it looks roasted, be careful not to burn it!

Drain and rinse one can of black beans and add that to the corn after it has cooled off.  Next comes all the flavors:

1/2 red onion - diced

One plastic clamshell of grape tomatoes, cut them in half

 

A handful of cilantro, chop up the leaves, omit the stems 

 

One  Small Jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced 

once all of that is done, add fresh lime juice, salt and pepper to taste and this is what you get!

It's better when it's chilled and even better the next day.

 

 

Dinner tonight was homemade salmon cakes. While I was making them, I realized I had salmon fillet for dinner last night. Oh well, two nights of salmon is fine by me!

 

 

Like most of my recipes, I made this up and it is scrumptious

 

Salmon Cakes

1 can of salmon

1/2 diced yellow onion

1/2 diced green pepper

1/4 gluten free bread crumbs

1 egg

1 tbsp fresh dill

salt & pepper

 

Combine it all and 'fry' it in a shallow pan, using a super small amount of oil, just so they won't stick, cook to brown on each side

 

Siracha Aoli to top cakes

Equal parts Mayonnaise & Siracha

1 tbsp fresh dill chopped

1tbsp fresh lemon juice

 

Tweak this sauce to your taste, I like to have a little kick to mine

 

I paired my salmon cakes with fresh avocado (the other half from my smoothie earlier). And I was too full to eat my corn salad. But I have a good idea for tomorrow's special 'date night' meal and the corn salad should be a perfect pair.

 

Not too shabby for today.

 

 



Butternut Squash Soup - Deeelish!

My favorite new 'go to' soup these days is Butternut Squash Soup. Now, originally I used a recipe I found online and have since forgotten where I found it and have adapted with my own tweaks and touches. If you have never tried butternut squash, they are delicious, and to me they have a similar taste to sweet potatoes.

First, get yourself a butternut squash. You can either get the ones where they are already cut up into little squares in the produce section or you can get a whole one and do the chopping yourself, and save some money.  Guess what I chose?

Please be careful when peeling this sucker. It's hard to do and it has the texture of a pumpkin, seeds and all. Once you get it peeled and seeded, cut it up into little 1" squares and spread them out on a cookie sheet and coat them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Like this:

Bake the squash at 350 for about 45 minutes.  While you are waiting on the squash, either grate up a 1lb bag of carrots in your food processor, or just buy the already grated carrots. I had whole ones today, so I did the grating. Next, chop up an onion and toss the carrots and onion into a dutch oven pot that has about a tbsp or two of olive oil on the bottom (two swirls of the pot). Now here is where I hate measuring, I swear I tried, but this is the best I can do. Hopefully, you will get it and understand what I'm saying here. 

With the carrots and onions sauteeing on medium/low, I added 10 fresh sage leaves, 6 shakes of ground cinnamon, 4 shakes of nutmeg and 4 shakes of clove.  I like to use fresh ginger in this soup.

I cut off about 2 inches, scrape off the skin and use a microplane grater and grate it into the soup. Freeze the rest. Also add salt and pepper here, just enough that you think will be enough. Some people like salty, some do not.  Mix it all up in the pot. It should look like this.

Let that cook for a few minutes, until the carrots look like they are getting soft, then add about 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock.  I used homemade stock that I had made and froze.  Let this all simmer on medium/low until the squash is done.

The squash takes about 45 minutes to roast.  It smells delicioush when it's done. Be careful opening the oven and don't get a squash facial.

Add the squash and all of it's juices into the pot. Be careful not to splash it all over the place, but that is really easy to do. I know from experience.

Here's where you get to use a cool kitchen gadget, an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender, go buy one! It's so fun to use, it's like a mini boat motor that you swirl around to chop everything up.  If you don't have one, you can use a blender, just do small portions until everything is chopped up and looks smooth.

Last, add about 2 cups of heavy cream into the soup. You can do this after you blend, or while you are blending, but I do it while I'm using the immersion blender. It should be a soupy consistency. Not watery, but not thick like applesauce, but somewhere in between. You can add stock to thin it, but always err on too thick, than too thin. It's easier to thin than it is to thicken.  Here's the end result in the pot. Taste it and adjust your flavors here. I added more of all of the spices for some kick.

 

If you want to fancy it up and add some awesome great finishing touches and flavor, do this.  Melt some butter, like 2 tbsp, do this over very low heat.  When the butter looks like it's browning, take some of the sage leaves you have left over and drop them into the butter.  The sage leaves will crisp up and make great toppers to the soup along with a dallop of cream cheese.  Take the sage infused butter and stir it right into the soup. It is SOOOO good!!

That's it... It is a great soup on a cold day and can fill you up for days.  I hope you enjoy!

My Next Big Thing...

Bees! As in making honey! I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do this. Do I build the hives myself, order a kit, find a used one? Hmmm... still doing the research.  Suggestions, ideas, and comments are all welcome!

In the mean time... I had to go one more time to do my Super Doubles at the Teeter.  I'm not going to run down my receipt this time, but I did have a highlight of getting two bottles of shampoo for $.22!!! I can't wait until triple coupon days, I have a pretty good library of coupons right now in my binder.

So for my birthday yesterday, I went on a shopping spree. First, I decided that I needed a new scale since the one I had was like 15 years old, so I treated myself to a new fancy schmancy scale. But in order to not be afraid to use it, I need to make sure I keep my butt moving!  Next, I got some pretty awesome Acorn slippers at REI for $15! They were on clearance and they are men's small, but hey, they fit and are the most comfy slippers EVER!! Everyone should have a pair! They are like walking on little pillows.  Last, I have had my eye on this FitBit thing that tracks your steps, calories burned and miles walked and all syncs to the computer.  So, Best Buy has it on sale this week for $59 and I treated myself to a super cute green one (here's the link to the sale).  After hooking up my FitBit, day two and I have walked/ran 11,173 steps and 5.48 miles today! This thing is amazing! It even links to MyFitnessPal.com check out my page!

For dinner tonite, I kind of had to think quick.  My dinner plans fell thru, so what to do, what to do? Lucky for me, not only am I good cook, I always make way too much! First stop, what's in my freezer.  I had pulled pork that I made in the crock pot a couple of months ago and I froze the leftovers.  What was so special about that pork? I put a rootbeer in with it as it cooked! So in addition to the chili powder, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika, the rootbeer gave it a great taste! Helpful hint #1, ROOTBEER in with pork!

But I needed a bbq sauce to go with it and I'm not much of a fan of store bought sauce with homemade pulled pork, so of course I made my own!

Easiest (Vinegar based) BBQ Sauce EVER!!
And sorry, I didn't measure it technically, but this is how I did it.  As always, adjust it to your taste.

I used a small glass jar, like maybe a 4oz jar with a lid, a lid is important here.

Next, I poured apple cider vinegar into the jar, about 1/3 of the jar

This may sound weird, but next is ketchup, about another 1/3 

Red Chili Pepper Flakes, add enough to your desired heat level

Salt & Pepper

I added maybe 1tsp of sugar also, just to calm the vinegar down

Put the lid back on and shake it up.

That's it!! Less than 5 minutes and it's better (in my opinion), than any store bought stuff.



I guess that's it for today, an idea, exercise, saved money and added another recipe here.  Happy Monday everyone!