January 29th.
Nate decided to eat a more health conscious diet and cut out meat and poultry!!!! How exciting! I've been trying to get him on board for a long long time. I generally stray and eat meat because Nate eats it and wants me to make it and we often share food when we eat out. Whenever he's tried it out it was my idea, it was me asking him to do it for me. Now it's him doing it for him for health reasons and I couldn't be happier!
January 30th.
Part I
Grocery shopping! You may think I'm weird but I LOVE grocery shopping. I love looking at everything, I love trying out new things, I love looking for great deals, and I generally prefer to be alone while grocery shopping. However Nate really wanted to be involved this week so he tagged along and helped out a lot. Before we went I gathered recipes to try and made a shopping list.
Part II
Dinner
Broccoli mac and cheese
Ingredients
3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
4 cups fresh broccoli florets
1/2 cup butter, cubed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cans (12 ounces each) evaporated milk
2-1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup crushed cornbread crackers (about 6 crackers)
Directions
Cook macaroni according to package directions, adding broccoli during the last 3-4 minutes; drain.
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and salt until smooth; gradually stir in evaporated milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in 2 cups cheese.
Place half of the macaroni and broccoli in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with half of the cheese sauce. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs and remaining cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 12 servings.
Nutritional Facts 3/4 cup equals 467 calories, 31 g fat (21 g saturated fat), 106 mg cholesterol, 557 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 21 g protein.
original webpage
Variations
I altered the recipe a little bit. I used frozen broccoli, I omitted the onion powder, I used a cheddar jack blend and put all 2 1/2 c of cheese in the noodles, and I put Italian bread crumbs on top instead of the crackers the recipe called for. I also just stirred the noodles and cheese together, I didn't layer and it worked just fine.
Thoughts
It tasted ahhhmazing!!! However there is a TON of saturated fat in it which is not great. It's better for you than pre-packaged mac and cheese and it tasted a lot better. I got dinner Monday, lunch for Nate Tuesday and 6 freezer portions out of it. So that's awesome for days I don't want to cook. It's also the FIRST time I've ever froze leftovers other than rolls. So I will let you know how it turns out the next time we have it.
January 31st.
Breakfast
Nate-Toast and a bagel w/ cream cheese
Karly- Toast and a smoothie
Lunch
Nate- leftover broccoli mac and cheese
Karly- a sandwich with cream cheese, spinach, tomato, avocado, cucumber, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil.
Dinner:
Nate- a sandwich w/ cream cheese, cheddar, parmesan,
sour cream, avocado, tomato, and cucumber.
Karly- Corn chowder
End-of-Summer Corn Chowder
serves 4
2 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 c diced red potatoes
5 c vegetable broth
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 t salt
kernels from 5 ears fresh corn
1 c grated cheddar cheese
pepper, to taste
2 scallions, chopped
In a large sauce, pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions, and cook 10 minutes, until beginning to brown. Stir in cayenne and potatoes, and cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Add vegetable broth, sour cream and salt, stirring well. Cook 20 minutes. With a potato masher, lightly mash about half the potatoes, to create a thicker broth. Cook an additional 10 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Stir in corn and cheddar, and cook 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with scallions and additional sour cream, if desired.
From: http://www.fresh365online.com
Variations:
I used frozen corn instead of
fresh: 3 c frozen yellow corn and 2 c frozen sweet white corn. I used 5 c water
w/ 2 1/2 cubes veggie boullion, I used white potatoes instead of red, my sour
cream was fat free, the cheese was cheddar jack blend, and I totally forgot to
add the scallions. I did however put some chopped basil on top of mine. I
didn't mash the potatoes, I blended it up a bit with my immersion blender.
Thoughts:
It was sooooo tasty! It didn't
taste too spicy but it definitely left my lips burning after eating it so I
think I'll use a little less cayenne next time. I absolutely love this broth,
the consistency the flavor, everything. I am definitely going to use this for
lots of soups to come. It would be really yummy with some zucchini in it as
well. I can't wait to try it out as a clam chowder base. DELICIOUS!
Dessert:
Vanilla cupcakes
Vanilla cupcakes
One Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes For Two.
serves 2
1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla (yes, a full teaspoon – they are super vanilla-y!)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 heaping teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 2 liners.
In a bowl, add egg white and sugar and whisk until combined. Add in vanilla and melted butter and stir until mixed. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in milk. Divide batter equally between the 2 cupcake liners.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until cake is set. Let cool completely, then frost as desired.
orginal webpage
Thoughts
Well this is the first time I have attempted
to make a cupcake. I have always been afraid they won't turn out right. I doubled
the recipe and made 5. I ate one before I took the picture. I have to say they
weren't very good. They didn't taste very much like vanilla instead they tasted
extremely egg-y; like a custard or something. They also took about 20 minutes
opposed to 10-12 to set up. Very sad and disappointed at how these turned out
:'(
February 1st
Breakfast
blueberry bagels
Lunch
Nate-leftover corn chowder
Karly-another sandwich
egg salad w/ avocado, dill weed, salt, pepper as the
spread, then I added spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and basil. It was pretty much
heaven between two slices of whole wheat bread <3.
Dinner
We go out to dinner with some friends every Wednesday for trivia night at a local restaurant. We ordered some potato twisters with queso. We also won a free appetizer last week and used that for some mozzarella cheese sticks. I ordered peach iced tea and Nate got a beer. Oh and I had a few bites of my friends chocolate mousse. Delish.
February 2nd.
Breakfast
Nate- skipped breakfast just had some coffee.
Karly- a smoothie I made from the frozen smoothie packs I made with sliced banana and kiwi and pre-frozen strawberries and blueberries along with some plain yogurt ice cubes I made. I juiced one very large pear and added the pack of smoothie ingredients in my blender with the juice of the whole pear and it was delicious, one of the best smoothies I've ever had.
Lunch
Nate- a sandwich he made at work with hummus, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, and pickles.
Karly- another egg salad, avocado, spinach, sun-dried tomato sandwich. (pictured below)
Dinner
Veggie Stir-Fry
Ingredients1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 carrot, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced
2/3 cup fresh corn kernels
1 clove crushed garlic
4 green onions, sliced
1 1/3 cups bean sprouts
Directions
Whisk together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Mix in the soy sauce and olive oil, and set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Saute the carrot, pepper, and zucchini in oil for about 5 minutes. Stir in the corn, garlic, green onions, and bean sprouts. Pour in the soy sauce mixture. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender but crisp. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information Amount Per Serving: Calories: 214 | Total Fat: 17.7g | Cholesterol: 0mg
Original webpage
Alterations
I used frozen corn instead of fresh and I forgot to buy bean sprouts so I omitted those :)
Thoughts
This is one of the best stir fries I've ever had. It was more like fajitas so I added some sour cream and avocado and put them in tortillas. It was DELISH!!
February 3rd.
Breakfast
Blueberry Bagels.
Nate had his with cream cheese.
I had mine with butter.
Lunch
Nate- a sandwich with cucumber, hummus, lettuce and tomato.
Karly- I was visiting a friend for the afternoon and we made some spaghetti for lunch with onion, mushrooms, olive, and garlic tomato sauce.
Dinner
After work I had some juice I made fresh with 1 beet, 1 apple, 1 pear, 2 carrots, 1/2 cucumber, a few mint leaves, and 3 handfuls of spinach.
A little later in the evening we met up with an old friend at a local bar. I had a gift certificate for $25 dollars so I got some nachos, covered in cheese, onion, jalapenos, olives, tomatoes with sides of salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. I also ordered some mozzarella sticks and onion rings.
February 4th.
Breakfast
Nate- a smoothie made out of the frozen packets with the juice of one apple and one pear added for the liquid it was super yummy.
Karly- I just had a cup of coffee with creamer and agave nectar with a packet of sweet n low.
Lunch
Nate- skipped lunch :(
Karly- I made some fresh pesto with basil, walnuts, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese. I just put it over some penne noodles with a little more cheese on top. It turned out quite brown and was a little bitter, not sure why, but it was edible ;)
Dinner
Nate went out to Red Robin with his family, he ordered a blue ribbon veggie burger with some garlic parmesan fries and brought me home half of it. We didn't take a picture of the actual burger but this is somewhat what it looked like. EXCEPT it had a garden patty and not a beef patty.
February 5th.
Breakfast
We each had 1/2 an avocado with some salt on it.
Nate also made 4 hard boiled eggs, and I had one of them.
Lunch
We were walking around the mall at lunch time and we split a cinnabon and a water. My first cinnabon ever!! It was quite delicious!
Dinner
Roasted tomato quinoa soup
Ingredients:
2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes *see notes
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 chili pepper, diced (remove ribs and seeds for less heat)
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tsp sea salt or to taste
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground chipotle chili
2 tsp ground coriander
1 cup quinoa
8 cups low sodium vegetable broth
lime wedges (optional)
cilantro, chopped (optional)
Preparation:
Preheat broiler to high. Place the tomatoes on a baking
sheet and drizzle with 1 tbsp of the oil.
Broil in the oven 10 minutes or until the skins burst and
are just starting to blacken. Place on a cutting board and rough chop or you
can put them in a food processor and pulse 1 or 2 times to chop. If you don’t
like skins continue to process until pureed. Set aside.
In a large soup pot heat the remaining oil over medium high
heat and add the carrots, celery, onion, red pepper, chili pepper and sea salt.
Sauté 5 minutes or so until the vegetables are starting to soften and then add
the paprika, cumin, chipotle, and coriander.
Stir in the quinoa, roasted tomatoes and vegetable broth.
Bring to a boil, cover, and lower heat to a simmer.
Simmer 30-40 minutes or until the quinoa is fully cooked.
Serve with a squeeze of lime and cilantro if desired.
Nutritional Info:
Makes about 10 cups.
Serving size 1 cup.
Nutrients per serving: Calories: 146, Cal. from Fat: 47, Total
Fat: 5g, Sat. Fat: 1g, Carbs: 21g, Fiber: 3g, Sugars: 6g, Protein: 4g, Sodium:
505mg, Chol: 0mg
Alterations
I used chili powder instead of ground chipotle because I couldn't find ground chipotle anywhere. I didn't use the optional lime or cilantro but I did add a dollop of sour cream. I used 1 pint of cherry tomatoes and 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes. I only had 1/2 an onion so that's all I used. Also, the recipe didn't specify what kind of chili pepper so I just picked a random one. I ended up with a serrano chili while about killed me. :( I burned my hand completely and a few hours later I scratched my nose and it BURNED for like 30 minutes sooooo bad. :'( So my advice: WEAR GLOVES!!!!
Thoughts
Nate claimed it was the best soup I've ever made though I do think I personally preferred the corn chowder from earlier this week. He must have loved it though because he ate 2 1/2 bowls. :) It was a delicious soup nonetheless. I was very very happy the the heat from the chili pepper wasn't overwhelming. Oh and it's delicious with cheese sprinkled on top.
