Zucchini "Pizza"

 

I don't eat pizza. <---- Is that not the saddest thing you've read all week, no wait, in your LIFETIME? It's true! I just don't. The last time a slice of pizza met my mouth in a glorious reunion was approximately 11-12 years ago...I was 18. Little ol 18 year old me, just minding her own business, eating this, consuming that, and not paying attention to her health. Silly teenaged me. Well, as what usually occurs when something high fat/high carb/high in amazingness touches my belly, I gained weight. Oh it wasn't just the pizza, but that had to hit the road just for good measure.

 

So here we are today, over a decade later, and gosh darnit I'm gonna have myself a GD pizza in the form of a well-seasoned, low-fat, low-carb, no-hurt-my-belly la piiiizza squash!

 

:s

 

Recipe Deets

 

2 yellow squash cut in half length-wise

1 pint of cherry tomatoes halved

1/2 white onion chopped

2 gloves of garlic minced

salt to taste

basil/thyme/parsley (dried, unless you have the real thang)

Grated Parm cheese

 

Pre-heat oven to 375°

 

- Line a baking pan with foil and place cut squash in a row (like boats in a marina)

- In a medium frying pan, spray some oil and heat the pan at medium/high, then add the onions

- Let the onions simmer a bit (2-3 minutes) then add tomatoes

- Season with salt and Italian mix (basil, thyme, parsley)

- Add garlic and cook for about 10 minutes on medium

- As stuffs are a-cookin', season the squash by drizzling some olive oil and shaking some of that Italian mixture over top of each

- Once you're done cooking your tomatoes, pile on top of each squash 

- Sprinkle as much parm cheese as you would like!

- Stick in oven for 25-30 minutes until squash is super soft and lightly brown on the edges

 

Now go enjoy your pizza boat!



Sriracha Baked Cauliflower With a Balsamic Reduction

This super cheap, super simple dinner (or side dish) is low in carbohydrates, fat, and sugar; plus it's vegan and gluten free! Daaaaang, right? RIGHT?

So here you have it, a mid-weeknight-I-don't-feel-like-cooking-meal.

Recipe Deets

1 head of cauliflower (diced into small florets)
sriracha sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chopped scallions (green onion)

Pre-heat oven to 450°

- Pour vinegar into a small sauce pan on medium/high heat and let sit (for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occassionally)
- Line a baking pan with tin foil and spray with oil
- Toss cauliflower florets in as much sriracha as you like! Don't drown it, but cover the stuff
- Put the covered florets on the baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes
- As they're cooking, check vinegar and stir
- After 10 minutes, move the cauliflower around and bake for another 10 minutes
- Remove your vinegar from heat and it should start to thicken, stir
- Remove cauliflower from oven, place in an open dish, and drizzle with vinegar
- Add scallions and serve immediately

Voila! Yummo!

It's That Time Again ~ Weightloss Extravaganza!

About two years ago, a friend and myself started a little ol thang we lovingly called "Weightloss Extravaganza." Why? Well we needed to find some way to spice up the idea that we would be reducing our fun-food intake while upping our workout regime.

What makes this time different?

The difference is, I have a lot less to lose. Two years ago I went from 125-128 lbs down to 113-115 lbs, this time around I need to lose about 5 lbs...easy right? NO. Seriously, losing baby weight was easy, just workout and cut out the crap, but once that weight was off, all further weightloss went into remission. My body just wont budge, and it's driving me nuts.

This post is more to give motivation to myself (and others) in hopes of showing my current workout plan along with some diet changes, which I feel will help jump start this thing!

The Workout

Cardio - 3 times a week (running inclines, bleachers, and clocking at least 10-14 miles a week). During the summer I was working out 5-6 days a week, which helped, but not drastically, so I think 3 days is just fine

Resistence Bands/Weights/Planks/etc. - 3 days a week. The cool thing about this little workout is that I can do it when the baby goes to bed and in front of whatever movie/show my husband I may watch (we get 1-2 hours a week night to enjoy some quality butt-on-couch time)

The Food Goodbyes

Bye-bye reconstitued peanut butter. While you're only 45 calories, 1.5 grams of fat per 2 tbsp, I eat you like ice cream and you're holding me back

Seeya salty snacks. I know we don't hang out that much anyway, but when we do we go crrrrazy for each other! Don't worry, I'm allowing us some super secret get togethers once a week (shhhh)

Alcohol, we can be great buddies, you sure do cut the stress out of my post-work, post-baby in bed evenings. Don't worry, we ain't breaking up, I'm just limiting our time together! While I enjoy that dinnertime drinky-drink, my metabolism sure doesn't! So here's the deal, you and I will meet up a couple times a week for some pal around time, no feelings hurt ;>

So long Little Bites, we've come a long way together. You've allowed me to enjoy wonderful foods such as pizza, ice cream, fried macaroni and cheese, muffins, cupcakes, chocolate bars, Starburst...you name it, we've tried it! But you, Little Bites, add up! This is something you kept secret from me, and honestly, I'm kind of hurt. Where are you going Little Bites? Into my muffin top? The inside of my thighs? UNDER MY CHIN??? Little Bites, we need a cooling off period. Maybe we will talk again once I'm not so wounded...maybe.

Two Coffees with Cream. Yea. 'Nuff said. One of you per day will do. So shush.

What Will I Eat Allllllll Day??

I'm going to continue to eat what I normally do, minus those mentioned above (huff).

Breakfast
Baked Egg white "muffins" witha bit-o parm cheese
Coffee with cream

Snack
Apple

Lunch
Dinner leftovers

Snack (that's right, another snack...shush)
Spring salad mix with some steamed cauliflower/broccoli/carrots OR with pinapple

Dinner (will vary, but here are a few examples)
Baked spicy peppers and asparagus with smoked sweet potato

Cauliflower "rice" baked with squash

Twice baked spaghetti squash with a teeny-bit of cheese

Qunioa with whatever-the-hell-is-in-the-pantry

So there you have it, my little bits of motivation all neatly outlined for your consumption (heh...heh). As I said, I'm not looking to lose 20 lbs, I just want to feel comfortable again, and I believe 5 (or 10) bitty-bits of lost poundage will do just that!

Gluten Free, Vegan Sweet Potato Choco Chip Brownies

 

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. Even as a child, it was mainly about the candy I would gather within 2 hours of going door to door than what costume I would wear. My mother made our costumes throughout childhood and up until high school. She also entered pumpkins into to various school contests, which "we" won a few years in a row until the school caught on and insisted that students decorate their OWN pumpkins (what? 10 year olds can't make a replica of the Tin Man AND Medusa??), let's just say the contests ended there. As I entered college (and after) I went to various parties, but made little attempt at creativity, i.e. zombie Dorothy, white cat, black cat...

 

So! Perhaps I'm embracing sweet potato more than pumpkin flavors this autumn as my personal endeavor to downplay the already extremely abundant pumpkin-ized food items out there. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for baking pumpkin as you would a squash and then consuming its insides, but grabbing a buncha cans of pre-made puree isn't my idea of creating an autumnal treat. Or maybe I'm just jealous I cannot consume said treats ;>  booo

 

 

Recipe Deets (adapted from a regular brownie recipe)

 

1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats (pulverize in a food processor)

1/4 cup reg gluten free flour (you can use all oats, but I didn't want to risk a weird texture)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2/3-1 cup sweet potato (about one medium potato baked/skinned/mashed)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 flax eggies (or two real eggs if not vegan)

3 tbsp coconut oil (or oil of choice, I just prefer coconut)

1/3 cup almond milk (or reg milk if not vegan)

1 tsp baking soda (is this needed? it was in the regular brownie recipe so I used it)

1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used Good Life)

 

Preheat oven to 350°

 

- Combine everything except chocolate chips

- Create a smooth batter (I used a hand blender, but that's up to you)

- Fold in chocolate chips

- Place in a square 8x8 or 9x9 greased pan (or whatever according to how thick you want them)

- bake 25 minutes (if you can't pull out a toothpick without a chocolate, sticky mess, they aren't done)

 

You can add icing of choosing. I just made a simple brown sugar icing, but my step-daughter/husband said they would prefer them without icing...who knew.

 

Done and done! Now go get yourself a pumpkin latte with a pumpkin muffin along with some salted pumpkin seeds!



Chewy Gluten Free, Vegan Sweet Potato Choco Chip Cookies

With all the pumpkin this and pumpkin that talky-talk, I thought I'd bring you another fall favorite (well, year 'round fav, no lie) of mine ~ sweet potato! I know what you're thinkin' "day-um girl, how you do that?" Well, aren't you in luck, because I'm-a gonna tell ya! (Also, we all know my next recipe will probably have a lil pumpkin in it haha)

Recipe Deets

1 sweet potato (cooked and pureed - equals about a cup)
1/2 cup gluten free oats
1/4 cup of organic peanut butter
lil dab of agave (about, ummm, 1-2 tbsp)
1 flax egg (or real eggy if not vegan)
1/2 cup vegan (or reg) choco chips
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon to taste
tiny bit of ground ginger
lil bit of ground sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Pre-heat oven to 350

- Combine your cooked and cooled sweet potato with the oats, peanut butter, agave, and flax egg - blend until smooth-ish
- Slap in everything else (other than the chocolate chips) and combine
- Gently fold in chocolate chips
- Measure about a tablespoon size of dough onto a greased baking sheet
- Bake about 15-20 minutes according to your oven

Done and done! Now go carve some pumpkins or something!

~ A Vegan Picnic ~

There are those moments at the end of summer where you try and get in as many warm weather activities as possible because perhaps, or likely, you and your spouse neglected to take advantage due to moving into a new home, work, the wife (me me me) starting a new job, making our home a home, and other life matters that push days into weeks, weeks into months. So! I thought, let's make a picnic and take the infant to the zoo! She may not care about the zoo and it's many occupants, but it will get her outside and into the fresh air, plus give me an excuse to come up with some awesome fun food items :>

Let's take a look at this menu!

~ sliced apples with a homemade raspberry fruit dip
~ gluten free, vegan (minus jimmies) banana spiced donuts
~ seared tempeh burg with homemade cashew "cheese"
~ gluten free, vegan Thin Mints (one of the spouse's favorite!)

Everything tasted perfectly! Due to my insanity - I ate a tempeh salad (no bread fo' meh) and tasted the desserts (boooo), but the husband inhaled the food! Don't worry, Mirabelle had her fill of Plum Organics puree ;>

Next, we traveled the paths throughout the zoo, pointing at the various creatures that reside there and feigning extreme excitement for the benefit of our little lady.

All in all, a perfect afternoon of fun, food, and affordability!