Eating BBQ
And Thai food to end Passover
Lifting weights
Packing for Florida
Online shopping for dresses
Up before 6am
Loving these pancakes
Shining (a post facial shine)
Finally watching Sherlock
Laughing at Cooper
Leaving on a jet plane!
See you next week!
Yesterday, we did a HUGE spring cleaning. I went through closets and cabinets and ended up donating more than 3 full garbage bags of clothes. The BOY needed a little convincing as he really doesn’t see the purpose in spring cleaning, but after relocating a few ‘lost’ items, he was eagerly engaged. For me, purging my closets felt incredible and made room for some of the new spring clothes I’ve already bought : )
Our weekend is not your typical Easter weekend, but I look forward to it each year. A beautiful sunny weekend with no plans…count me in for that! Having a successful Saturday, I still had a little more cleaning and organizing to do. But what I was really looking forward to on Sunday was a yoga class and a facial. Although I accomplished a lot yesterday, I didn’t get my bike down and out and therefore, didn’t get in a workout. It felt amazing to get back into the studio this morning! The class was challenging and a spiritual and physical cleanse. During our final relaxation, the instructor gave a fun analogy comparing us to gold to which he concluded, ‘shine on this week!’ I loved it! We should all SHINE ON this week!
I had my heart set on Protein Bar (quinoa is okay on Passover!) for lunch, but they were closed. Luckily, Potbelly next door was open and their new Mediterranean salad did not disappoint. I only had a few minutes for lunch before heading over to the spa.
I was in need of a post winter facial and decided to use a few dollars from my tax refund to treat myself.
It was the BEST facial complete with a head, neck, arm, and foot massage. It was absolutely divine! I was even more relaxed and my skin was shining when I was finished and emerged back outside into the sunshine. Although there was a short line at the Starbucks, I waited to sip down an extra large passion/green tea. The perfect way to end my selfishly relaxing day!
Next up…
I have to pack! I am working again tomorrow to make up for my weekend trip to Florida.
Believe it or not…it’s Grandpa Al’s 102nd Birthday!
1. I know I didn’t post very much this week. That is because I haven’t really cooked since Monday and have been living on leftovers. I also haven’t done much exercise and then cancelled tonight’s tennis time.
2. I ended up canceling tonight’s tennis because I just wasn’t feeling it and after a long week, neither was the BOY. What ended up happening was that my parents drove out to drop something off and we ended up having an awesome grilled Friday night dinner.
3. Due to Passover, our meal was pretty basic…chicken, broccoli, and potatoes, but it was FANTASTIC! The grill really does make everything taste better!
4. BTW, don’t you love the BOY’s new shirt that I picked up in Peoria last weekend Also, it snowed again this week!
5. This weekend is all about spring cleaning and relaxation (I have a facial scheduled on Sunday). I can’t wait!
Happy Friday Friends!
So yesterday, I went to every grocery store in town and then a few in other towns. I arrived home with a car full of food, to which the BOY replied. ‘Why do we need all that food? It’s Passover…won’t we just eat my mom’s leftovers?’
Welcome to my world people!
Last night, I got started on my Passover baking with some Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies and Banana Bread. The banana bread just might be how I survive the week! I also made a batch of Date and Almond Truffles. And let’s not forget a large batch of Matzah Toffee.
That left the heartier foods for today. I started with everyone’s favorite Fruit Compote and then got started on the veggies. I was considering roasting a huge batch of asparagus, but instead decided to try something a little different.
I went with Citrus Honey Glazed Vegetables, a recipe I found online. This recipe has a few of my favorite veggies (sweet potato, carrot, and parsnips) and a new (to me) veggie, orange beets. I found these guys to be super dirty and challenging to transport (they made a huge mess in my shopping cart), but in the end I had a beautiful, yet fairly monochromatic, array of diced vegetables.
I followed the directions for my glaze and since I didn’t have a big enough bowl, I used a huge Dutch oven.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that I am a good tosser and did not get everything coated evenly. This left a lot of citrusy honey on my second baking sheet, which not surprisingly burned, instead of glazed.
My other and luckily larger pan turned out well though and so there are more than enough veggies to share at tonight’s dinner. I did toss the veggies with Kosher salt throughout as I felt they needed a little extra flavor.
I’m hoping that everyone likes this new Passover side! If not, I also made a Matzah Kugel with addition of some of my Israel seasonings!
This is the kind of recipe that you can easily add into your rotation of sides year round and you certainly don’t have to be celebrating Passover to enjoy!
Citrus Honey Glazed Vegetables
From The Shiksa in the Kitchen
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes – about 2 lbs total
3 large yellow beets (about 1 1/2 lbs total)
1 lb carrots
1 lb parsnips
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp orange juice
2 tsp grated orange zest
Salt and pepper
Kosher salt
Directions
Place racks in the upper third and lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with foil. Cut the vegetables into 1 1/2-inch chunks.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, olive oil, orange blossom water or orange juice, and grated orange zest.
Place the cut vegetables into a large mixing bowl and toss them with the honey mixture till evenly coated.
Spread the vegetables out evenly across the two cookie sheets, making sure to leave space between the vegetables. Don’t overcrowd the pans. Sprinkle the vegetables lightly with Kosher salt and black pepper.
Cover both sheets with another layer of foil. Place the sheets into the oven. Let the vegetables cook for 35 minutes. Halfway through cooking, uncover and stir the vegetables, recover, then switch the baking sheets on their racks.
After 35 minutes, uncover the baking sheets and stir the vegetables again gently. Allow the vegetables to roast another 10-15 minutes till they are glazed and caramelized.
Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm. These vegetables can be made ahead early in the day, then reheated in the oven or microwave just before serving.
Despite Passover’s bad rep on the recipe front, I’ve found some real keepers over these past few years. Seriously, my mouth waters thinking about this Matzah Toffee!
Since Passover coincides with tax day this year, I volunteered to help with dinner prep. It helps that Passover is a Monday so I have more than enough time to cook and bake. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not making the soup (that’s my dad’s job), or the brisket either, but I thought I could find some fun new sides and desserts. I turned to Pinterest for help…
Apps
Apple Cinnamon Charoset with Candied Walnuts
Mains
Slow Cooker Brisket with Potatoes and Carrots
Sides
Caramelized Onion Sriracha Potato Kugel Casserole
Roasted Mushroom Quinoa Risotto
Dessert
Fudgy Chocolate Walnut cookies
Mom’s Chocolate Chip Merengues
For after your Seder, to survive the week…
Dark Chocolate Coconut Banana Matzah Brei
Roasted Strawberry Almond Flour Muffins
Skillet Matzo Brei with Cinnamon Apples and Raisins
What’s on your Passover Menu?
Here are a just few more of my favorite Passover recipes!
I am spending my Saturday in Peoria, visiting a friend (plus her new baby) and touring my old college campus. I am willing to guess that much has changed in the 10 plus years since I graduated and I can’t wait to check it out!
Even though I’m gone, I am rounding out the week with another awesome recipe…this time for dessert!
I was still in the mood for cookies, and so cookies I baked! With my lovely kitchen assistant of course : )
Actually, he wasn’t much help at all, but my cookies still turned out super soft and delicious!
This recipe is a Pinterest find and I added in some chocolate chips for taste and texture (which I highly recommend!).
These cookies were a huge hit with my coworkers who loved the mild cheesecake addition to your typical peanut butter cookie!
Happy Saturday!!!!
This week in recipe awesomeness…
Strawberry, Kiwi, and Kale Juice
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cookies
From Pixie Dust Kitchen
Ingredients
8 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature
¾ C Creamy Peanut butter
¾ C Brown sugar
¼ C granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 generous cup of chocolate chips (optional but recommended)
Directions
Cream cream cheese peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing until combined.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, and soda. Mix into wet ingredients until just combined.
Let chill in fridge for 1 hour or up to two days.
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Scoop 2 tbs size balls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. (Even if the middles look overdone, they will continue to cook and set up as they cool.) Let cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling wrack.
Cookies will keep for 2 weeks. Store in an airtight container.
This week’s lunch was fantastic!
Despite the warming temperatures, I still busted out the crockpot for a simple and satisfying lunch.
And to make an already easy recipe, even easier, I went with the frozen veggies.
I threw everything into the crockpot…
And waited for the deliciousness.
Usually, I eat leftovers all week long and am less enthused by Friday. But not with this lunch!
I was more than happy to reheat my curry for the 4th day in a row and everyone made a comment about how amazing it smelled (for the 4th day in a row).
The BOY and I had a super fun Friday night date night at the tennis courts. After a long week, I am more than happy to collapse onto my couch with a glass of red wine and a few squares of dark chocolate.
Also…I added some of the professional pictures from my Aerial Yoga class to my blog post. They are super cool, so check them out!
Crockpot Green Chicken Curry
From Eat, Live, Run
Ingredients
1 small eggplant, peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cups green beans, cut into 2 inch slices (or 1 bag of frozen green beans)
1 bag frozen butternut squash, cubed (not thawed)
1 yellow onion
2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 13.5 oz can light coconut milk
3 tbsp green curry paste
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
juice of 1 lime
Directions
In the Crockpot, place the diced eggplant, bell pepper, green beans, onion, ginger and chicken. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, cayenne pepper, green curry paste, sugar, fish sauce and salt. Pour this over the chicken mixture in the Crockpot.
Turn heat to high and cook for 3 hours. Right before serving, add the fresh lime juice. Serve over brown rice. And be prepared to share!
Freeze your leftovers.
Doesn’t it seem like everyone is juicing?!
Pinterest is full of delicious looking concoctions, and I have to say I find it an awesome way to up my intake of greens!
So I don’t actually have a juicer or even a vitamix, but I have a pretty new blender that makes some awesome, healthy drinks. I’m a huge fan of the green smoothie, and I’ve recently started getting into the juice.
The benefit of juicing in a blender is that you don’t get rid of the pulp. With a good blender, you barely notice it and it keeps all of the nutrients of your veggies in the drink
.
This week, I used some of the sweet strawberries from my Costco sized container and a few slices of kiwi.
The rest got packaged up for lunch during the week. So although juicing isn’t new to everyone, it’s new to my kitchen, and I just might be addicted.
Especially since now that I know I can double my batch and have fresh juice ready for the next morning.
It just needs a shake and then you can grab it and go!
Do you make juice?
Share some ‘recipe’ links!
Strawberry, Kiwi, and Kale Juice
Ingredients
1 cup strawberries
1 kiwi, sliced
1 large handful of spinach or kale
1 cup coconut water or tap water
1 tbsp ground flax or chia seeds (optional)
Lemon juice from 1/4 of a lemon
Ice cubes
Directions
Place water and greens in blender and chop.
Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend on low for about 1 minute. Increase to high and blend until smooth.
Add ice and blend well!
Store in water bottle or glass jar.
I am committed to strength training and just starting to remember what I used to like about strength training back when I used to be committed to it. I guess this makes me RE committed to strength training then : )
Anyways, I know that I am committed because even though I had to be at work early one morning last week, I still got up, went to the gym, and did my own strength routine. It was shorter than my usual AM workout, but I made it work and using the jump rope in between sets, made the most of my time. I still haven’t mastered the strength training selfie, so I don’t have a good photo to accompany this post. Mostly, I haven’t mastered it because I typically leave my phone in the car or in the locker room because I’m always embarrassed to get caught taking photos of myself. Unless I’m upside down in an aerial yoga class that is…there I did just fine.
So after my workout, I had a quick turn around time to get myself ready for work and on the road. And had to fit in breakfast. I didn’t have any bread for almond butter toast and only had steel cut oats. I also happened to have yogurt from a previous recipe. Although I don’t typically eat a lot of dairy, I wanted to use the yogurt before it spoiled. I knew there was a way to do overnight oats with steel cut oats and thought just maybe the yogurt could work too.
I was able to find a recipe for inspiration and came up with my own concoction. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out and was thrilled with my breakfast when I sat down to eat it before drying my hair.
So excited that I even took a few pictures to share the recipe with ya’ll!
I ate my oats with an apple and was truly satisfied with the thick mousse like texture.
I liked this breakfast so much, that I made it again this morning after spin class!
What do you eat at the gym?
Here are a few of my other favorite On-The-Go breakfasts…
Banana Chia Breakfast Bowl with Flax
Banana Quinoa Baked Breakfast Oats
I know last week was kind of a bust with my messed up meatballs, so I’m excited to have lots of recipes for you guys this week!
Starting with these incredible cookies…
Steel Cut Overnight Oats (in Yogurt)
Adapted from The Lemon Bowl
Ingredients
20 g steel cut oats
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (optional depending on desired consistency)
10 tsp ground flax
10 tsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp vanilla
Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a tupperware or glass jar.
Place in refrigerator over night until set.
In the morning, cover oats with your favorite toppings, like nut butter and fruit, and enjoy!
Note: this is not a sweet breakfast. If you are looking for something sweeter, add in some agave or honey the night before or drizzle with your favorite sweetener before eating.
I teased you with a picture last week and then never got around to sharing the recipe. That was mean, and I am sorry!
Nothing says spring like cookies!
Well, not really! But with a relaxing day, the breeze flowing through our open windows, I really wanted to bake cookies last week! I pulled out butter before going to the gym and hid it on top of the fridge where Cooper (hopefully) wouldn’t find it.
The BOY is a big oatmeal cookie fan, so I decided to make these Loaded Oatmeal Cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Her cookies are always the BEST! For my add ins, I went to the pantry to see what I had open and leftover. I came up with the diverse but mouth watering combination of raisins, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips.
The combination was AMAZEBALLS!
Don’t judge me for using the term AMAZEBALLS : )
These cookies are soft, chewy, and perfect for sharing!
Which is what I did! And they were a huge hit with everyone!
Happy Spring Baking!
Loaded Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon (20g) dark molasses
1 and 2/3 cups (140g) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups add-ins (I used butterscotch morsels, raisins, and chocolate chips)
Directions
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and molasses and mix on high until combined. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, toss the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Fold in the add-ins. Dough will be thick. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Roll balls of dough (about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-11 minutes until very lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cover cookies and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Baked cookies and rolled cookie dough freeze well, up to 3 months.
