Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

The cleanup from my dinner last night included washing only a blender and a cup. And there may or may not have been ice cream involved…

You see, I was in a hurry to finish up work for the day and get ready to volunteer at the Humane Society to play with some lovable dogs for a few hours. My Marine was on duty, which meant that he was working a 24-hour shift and wouldn’t be home for the night. When he’s not around, my dinners can pretty easily turn into a salad or smoothie meal. Plus, in the summer heat, I was finding myself to be craving what I consider a typical fall or wintertime flavor – pumpkin. These combined factors sealed my smoothie dinner fate, and thus, a yummy pumpkin pie smoothie was born:

Here are a few good reasons to eat pumpkin besides that once a year slice of pie around the holidays: Pumpkin is high in a number of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, B, K, and potassium, and contains high amounts of antioxidants and fiber. In this smoothie, I incorporated ingredients typical in pumpkin pie, such as pumpkin spice and vanilla extract. I also added chia seeds to amp up the smoothie from a nutritional standpoint, as chia seeds are a rich source of omega-3 oil, calcium, iron, potassium, fiber and more.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

What you need:

• 1/2 c pure pumpkin
• 1 c almond milk
• 1 TSP vanilla extract
• 1 TBSP graham cracker crumbs
• 1 TBSP chia seeds
• 1/2 c light vanilla bean ice cream
• 1/2 TBSP light brown sugar
• 1/4 TSP pumpkin pie spice
• Cinnamon, to taste
• Ice

In a blender, combine the pumpkin, almond milk, vanilla extract, ice cream, chia seeds, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and ice. Blend until well combined. Pour into a glass, then add the graham cracker crumbs and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Mix with a spoon or straw and enjoy!

Nutrition stats: 330 calories, 11 g fat, 9 g protein, 51 g carbs (and fulfills 312% Vitamin A, 44% Calcium, and 300% of my Vitamin C needs!)

And here’s a random final thought for the night…

Who can argue with that statement? 😉

Zucchini & Rigatoni Parmesan

When I first became a vegetarian, I was the only one in my family to not be a meat eater. My grandma, a little Italian lady who spends approximately half of her life in the kitchen cooking, used to say things like, “How are you going to find a boy if you don’t eat meat? What are you going to make him for dinner or eat on a date?”

[Side note: I somehow nabbed a really great guy eating salads on dinner dates and never cooking him a steak 😉 ]

While she may or may not have understood my choice to go vegetarian, she always went out of her way to accommodate me with vegetarian eats, in addition to about 20 other dishes she would make for every family dinner. One of the things she used to whip up all of the time was eggplant parmesan. While I loved eggplant, I somehow developed an allergy to it in my teenage years. Whomp. From then on, instead of eggplant parmesan, she started making me things with zucchini – especially zucchini parmesan.

I thought of her on Monday night, when I made my own zucchini parmesan dish for dinner:

I first made my own tomato sauce, but if you’re short on time or want to simplify the process, use jarred tomato sauce instead.

Zucchini & Rigatoni Parmesan

Serves 4

• 2 large zucchini, cut lengthwise into thin slices
• 2 c tomato sauce
• 6 oz rigatoni, or other short shaped pasta
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 c part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c chopped fresh basil
• salt & pepper to taste

Boil a pot of salted water and cook pasta according to directions. Preheat oven to 350.

Meanwhile, heat 1 TBSP of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add half of the zucchini slices and cook until tender on both sides. Repeat once more.

Spread 1/2 of the zucchini slices into an 8 x 11 pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer 1/2 of the pasta on top. Next, pour 1 cup of tomato sauce over pasta. Arrange 1/2 of the basil over the sauce, then add 1/2 of the mozzarella evenly. Repeat this process 1 more time.

Bake the dish in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Nutrition facts per serving: 350 calories, 15 g fat, 16 g protein, 43 g carbs

Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes

First thing this morning, Harley and I ventured out for a long walk around our neighborhood trail. As my stomach growled, I started to think about breakfast. Most days, I eat Greek yogurt with fruit, cereal with protein powder and fruit, or a smoothie for breakfast. But every couple of weeks, I get a craving for pancakes. Today was one of those days, and as we got some exercise in, I concocted a breakfast recipe in my head.

Despite my love for pancakes, you won’t find pancake mix in my kitchen cabinets. I’ve become accustomed to mixing a bunch of ingredients together to make up my own recipe when I have pancake yen. Here is today’s creation:

These light and fluffy banana pancakes have a subtle hint of peanut butter, and are the perfect portion to serve breakfast for one. I used butterscotch flavored peanut butter, and think they’d also be awesome with chocolate peanut butter (and of course, plain old peanut butter never fails!).

Banana PB Pancakes

• 1/4 c whole wheat all purpose flour
• 1/2 mashed banana
• 1 packet of Stevia sweetener
• 1/2 TBSP baking powder
• 1/4 TSP salt
• 5 TBSP unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 TBSP peanut butter

Heat up your skillet to medium high heat.

Mix the flour, banana, sweetener, baking powder, salt, almond milk, and oil in a bowl. Warm the peanut butter in the microwave, then add it to the pancake batter. Combine everything well.

Form 3 pancakes and cook until lightly browned on both sides.

Nutrition stats: 310 calories, 14 g fat, 7 g protein, 45 g carbs

I’m off to the gym to for a workout!

15 Minute Meal: Spinach Ricotta Pasta

Hi friends! Hope you’re having a great week.

This evening when I got home from the gym, I was pretty ravenous. Wanting to prep dinner quickly, I threw together this easy, cheesy pasta dish:

Spinach Ricotta Pasta

Serves 4 

• 8 oz [multigrain] angel hair or spaghetti
• 6 c of raw baby spinach
• 1 c cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 c light ricotta cheese
• 1 c light shredded mozzarella cheese
• Salt & pepper

Boil a pot of salted water and cook pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add a large handful of spinach to the pan. Cook until wilted, then add more spinach a handful at a time until all of it’s wilted.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta and mozzarella cheese. Mix together well.

Once pasta is done cooking, drain then return to the pot. Mix the cheeses and veggies in with the pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste, and combine everything well. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 380 calories, 13 g fat, 24 g protein, 44 g carbs

Quote of the Day: “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” – Jim Rohn

Experimenting with Tofu

I’ve been a vegetarian for 15 years. Because of this, you may think that perhaps I’m an expert in typical vegetarian staples, such as tofu. This is definitely not the case, and up until recently, I had never cooked with tofu before. I’ve gotten a bit familiar with it lately and have been playing around and making things like tofu scramble wraps. Today, I wanted to try to make crispy tofu and put together grilled veggie and tofu skewers.

First, I heated up my little indoor gril to 350. I then cut up a red bell pepper, medium zucchini, and 6 oz of extra firm tofu into thick chunks. Next I divided the pieces among 6 skewers:

In a bowl, I mixed together 1/4 c of BBQ sauce and 1/4 TSP of steak seasoning. With a brush, I coated both sides of the veggies and tofu slices with the BBQ sauce. I threw all of the skewers on the grill.

I let them grill until brown and crispy, then paired 3 of the tofu + veggie skewers with brown rice and corn on the cob.

The meal was super healthy and kept me full through my evening volunteering at the Humane Society, but I was hoping to be able to make the tofu more crispy. I think I need to do some research on how to prepare crispy tofu — definitely more to come on this once I’ve mastered it. If anyone out there has suggestions, please do share!

I’m off to relax, good night!

Portobello Goat Cheese Burgers

Before I get to my delicious dinner creation tonight, here’s a recap of my eats today. As I discussed in yesterday’s post about eating ample amounts of goodness to help me get over this dreaded cold, I ate a lot of fruits and veggies today:

Breakfast this morning was a chopped Granny Smith apple sprinkled with cinnamon, topped with a Stonyfield Greek caramel yogurt + 1/2 serving of cashew pieces:

I had a lunch date with a girlfriend I haven’t seen in awhile. We had a fun time catching up at PF Chang’s, where I munched on a mixed greens salad + steamed vegetable dumplings:

After lunch, I headed to the Marine Corps base to watch a ceremony that my hubby was in. Being that it was 90 degrees outside today (which feels pretty damn hot when you’ve been spoiled living in San Diego!), I came home craving a cold snack, so I had a Yasso strawberry frozen Greek yogurt bar…

… and then I felt like I needed some more protein, so I had a serving of cottage cheese along with a nectarine:

For dinner tonight, I wanted to use the portobello mushrooms I’ve had sitting in my fridge. I came up with a burger creation that is definitely worth sharing with you!

Portobello Goat Cheese Burgers

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

• 2 large raw portobello mushroom caps
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
• 2 oz creamy goat cheese
• 2 handfuls of raw spinach
• 2 whole wheat burger buns (Nature’s Own)
• 1 vine ripe tomato, cut into thick slices
• 2 TBSP white cooking wine
• 1/4 TSP garlic powder
• 1/4 TSP dried basil leaves
• Pinch of sea salt & pepper

Heat your grill to 350. Warm cooking wine in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add spinach and cook just until wilted, then set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, basil, salt and pepper. Cut the stems off the mushrooms, then brush the balsamic mix on both sides of each one.

Place portobellos on the grill stem side down, and cook for about 8 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender.

Flip mushrooms over, and brush them again with the balsamic mixture. Cook 5 minutes more.

Spread 1 oz of goat cheese on each portobello, then top each with tomato slices and wilted spinach. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes longer, then remove from heat. Place on burger buns and enjoy!

Nutrition stats per burger: 300 calories, 15 g fat, 13 g protein, 31 g carbs

Last on my list of eats for the day, my snack tonight was a treat. My parents sent Adam and me a gift…

Chocolate covered fruit from Edible Arrangements! Tonight I ate a chocolate covered apple, banana and strawberry:

And on that delicious note, I’m off to enjoy the rest of my Friday night. Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

Broccoli Cheddar Stuffed Potato

Today was one of those days when I couldn’t figure out what I’m in the mood to eat. This afternoon I decided I’d make stuffed portobello mushrooms for dinner, only to find myself feeling totally icky about the idea of eating mushrooms when it was time to prep them.

Looking to be inspired by something else, I peered around my kitchen and laid my eyes on a couple of potatoes. Thus, a veggie stuffed potato dinner was born:

This recipe spices up a plain potato by adding some color to it with broccoli, red bell pepper and cheddar cheese. It can be the star of your meal, or eaten as a side dish.

Broccoli Cheddar Stuffed Potato

Serves 2 

What you need:

• 2 large russet potatoes
• 1/2 c reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 c light sour cream
• 1 c broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 onion, minced
• 2-4 TBSP of white cooking wine for sautéing
• Sprinkle of paprika
• 1/4 TSP each salt + pepper

Preheat your oven to 400. Poke holes in the potatoes, and bake on your oven rack for an hour.

Remove potatoes from oven. Slice lengthwise and let them cool.

Meanwhile, heat cooking wine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for a few minutes until lightly browned.

Add bell pepper and broccoli, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until veggies are softened.

Scoop out the flesh of the potatoes, leaving about 1/2 inch of potato on the skins. Place in a bowl and mash.

Add veggie mixture, sour cream, cheddar cheese, paprika, salt, and pepper to the potatoes. Mix well.

Place stuffed potatoes on a baking sheet. I baked mine on a pizza pan with holes in the bottom to make the skins crispier.

Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

Nutrition stats: 440 calories, 9 g fat, 19 g protein, 74 g carbs

This meal was exactly what I wound up being in the mood to eat. Yum!

Spinach, Goat Cheese & Tomato Ravioli

Hi friends!

Here are three things I’m loving this Thursday:

#1 – Stumbling upon NBC’s Olympics website and discovering that I was able to live stream the women’s gymnastics all-around competition this morning. Sure, it sort of spoiled my watching it on TV tonight, but it was cool to be able to see it while it was happening.  I ❤ Gabby Douglas, she is so damn cute! This distraction may or may not have decreased my morning work productivity. 😉

#2 – Yasso frozen Greek yogurt bars:

I spotted these babies for the first time at my food store and nabbed the strawberry flavored ones. At just 70 calories a bar with no fat and 6 g of protein, these bars are tasty and might be my new favorite nighttime snack.

#3 – Last but certainly not least, my dinner tonight was awesome – a recipe I made up as I went along for spinach, goat cheese, & tomato ravioli:

This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the San Diego area, who makes a goat cheese and tomato ravioli dish. Though I haven’t been there in awhile, I’ve ordered it almost every time I’ve eaten there because it is just that good. With these ravioli in mind, I bought won ton wraps during my last grocery store run. These ravioli turned out even more delicious than I had hoped for!

Spinach Goat Cheese & Tomato Ravioli 

Serves 5 

Ingredients:

• 35 won ton wraps
• 6 c fresh baby spinach
• 3 vine ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 shallot, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 oz creamy goat cheese
• 1/4 c fresh basil, coarsely chopped
• 2 TBSP white cooking wine
• 3 TBSP safflower oil
• 1 TSP fresh lemon juice
• Grated lemon peel from 1/2 lemon
• 6 TBSP water
• Salt & pepper

In a large saucepan, warm the cooking wine over medium heat. Add garlic cloves and shallots, and cook for about 3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and basil, and cook for a few minutes until softened. Mix spinach in, and heat just until wilted. 

Transfer tomato/spinach mix to a large mixing bowl. Add goat cheese in small chunks, as well as the lemon juice and lemon peel. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, and combine well.

Place a spoonful of mixture onto the middle of each won ton wrap. Fold one half of each wrap over, and seal with moistened fingers.

*I kept a bowl of water next to me and kept wetting my hands with it. Sealing the wraps is a little tricky, but it’s important to keep squeezing the sides together in order to prevent the tomato/spinach mixture from later spilling out of the ravioli.*

Next, heat 1 TBSP of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place 11-12 of the ravioli in the pan, and cook until lightly browned on each side, about 2 minutes each. Pour 2 TBSP of water into the pan, then put a lid on it and let the ravioli simmer for 2-4 minutes, until the water is soaked up.

Using a spatula, remove the ravioli from heat and onto a serving dish. Repeat this process 2 more times until all ravioli are cooked.

Per serving (7 ravioli): 300 calories, 14 g fat, 10 g protein, 32 g carbs

Baking a Giant Cookie at 7 in the Morning

That’s right, this AM before I began working, I baked a cookie the size of a pizza.

Why?

Because today is my hubby’s birthday!

I blogged about celebrating his turning 26 a few days ago, but today is Adam’s actual birthday. My, how far we’ve come since our first birthdays together…

New York City, 2007:

Since our birthdays are only 6 days apart (yep, mine is next week!), the first summer we were dating, we went skydiving together to celebrate both of ’em:

It was so much fun, I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

On the menu for tonight:

Dinner: my spaghetti squash casserole  + fresh bread

Wine: A bottle of Mark West  Pinor Noir (<– pretty cool website!), which I actually broke out our wine chiller for to set it to the ideal temp. Their wine is near and dear to our hearts – it’s what we were drinking when Adam proposed! I love it because it’s yummy and not pricey.

my favorite new wine glass

Dessert: The giant chocolate chip cookie I mentioned before (recipe found here), with light vanilla bean ice cream. Although I made a few switches to the recipe to make it not quite as sinful [light butter + less sugar + less chocolate chips + flax eggs], eating this cookie with light ice cream is like ordering a Big Mac and fries with a Diet Coke. Okay, maybe not as bad, as I made it myself and no animals were killed in the making of this dessert!

Okay, maybe I shouldn’t quit my day job… but I have a feeling it’ll taste pretty good!

Post dessert, I’ll probably roll myself onto my couch in a wine hazed sugar coma (it’s a good thing I worked out today!!) and watch the Olympics. I’ve been staying up late watching gymnastics and swimming every night since it started. On that note, I’m off to enjoy my night!

Zucchini Cakes

Let me start off this post on a totally random note.

Yesterday at the dog park, I got peed on…yeaaaaahhh.

A dog just walked up to me, lifted his leg, and started peeing on my leg and foot.

Hmm, what? Has this happened to anyone out there? Was he marking me as his territory?

All I know is that it was definitely my strange moment of the day!

Moving onto a more pleasant subject, on the menu for dinner tonight were these bad boys:

What some people refer to as vegetarian crab cakes – zucchini cakes! This recipe from The Vegan Table is pretty simple and quick. I served mine with light sour cream and cocktail sauce.

Zucchini Cakes

Serves 4

What you need:

• 4 medium zucchini (mine measured out to 5 cups grated)
• 2 TBSP light butter, melted
• 1 c seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 minced red onion
• 1 TSP Old Bay seasoning
• 1/4 TSP salt, or to taste
• Pepper to taste
• About 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 1/4 c canola or vegetable oil

Grate the zucchini in a food processor with a grating blade (the harder way: with a grater or mandolin). 

Spread the zucchini on a kitchen towel, and roll it jelly-roll style. Twist the towel tightly to wring out a lot of the liquid.

In a large bowl, combine zucchini with melted butter. Stir in the bread crumbs, minced onion, Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.

Coat your hands in a bit of oil, then shape the zucchini mixture into 12 patties. Dust each patty with flour.

In a skillet, heat half of the remaining oil over medium heat. Fry half the patties until browned on both sides. Repeat with the remaining 6 patties.

Nutrition stats (per 3 patties): 425 calories, 20 g fat, 11 g protein, 50 g carbs

On this day in another year…

On June 30, 2010, I was on vacation in Hawaii with Adam for our version of a honeymoon (aka 9 months after we tied the knot and in the midst of a deployment, we met up in Waikiki for a week!). 2 years ago today we were at Pearl Harbor:

I got to meet a Pearl Harbor vet, who was the cutest old man ever!

That vacation, I was highly obsessed with wearing flowers in my hair. I think I bought a new gorgeous little arrangement every day! Case in point:

I love vacation memories!

I’ll leave you with my quote of the day: “Happiness consists of living each day as if it were the first day of your honeymoon and the last day of your vacation.” – Leo Tolstoy