Showing posts with label Healthy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthy. Show all posts

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Healthy Dinner: Spagetti Squash Burritos

B-hubs hit dinner out of the park tonight.  I came home from Barre class (my legs are still shaking) to these amazing vegetarian burritos waiting for me.  They tasted SO good, and this was the first time a homemade taco has compared to the authentic ones we ate in SoCal.


The recipe we used is a spin off of the one featured on Cucinetta, which is a spin off of the one on Smitten Kitchen's cookbook.  Lesson learned here - spagetti squash is awesome in mexican dishes, and you will likely love it with your favorite taco or burrito toppings.

Here's how b-hubs did it.  Have your own version?  Tell us about it in the comments below!

Need:  

  • 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti squash
  • 1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 4 8' Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup frozen mixed bell peppers
  • 2 tablespoons feta
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 whole avocado, chopped


Do:

  • Preheat over to 350°F. 
  • Cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds, and bake both halves for about 40 minutes on a baking sheet covered in tin foil.  We usually place the squash so that the 'open' part is down on the cookie sheet, thinking that the heat will get trapped in there and cook it better.  You'll know the squash is just about ready when you can easily poke a fork or knife through the skin.
  • Now, carefully scrape the spagetti squash into a bowl.  It's best to use a fork to do this to get the 'spagetti' aspect of the squash.  You can throw the shells away.   
  • Now put your frozen peppers on the cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are cooked, put to the side.
  • In a small dish, mix up the lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and salt, then stir into the squash. 
  • Make sure your black beans are well rinsed and drained, then heat them in a skillet with a little spray of cooking oil.    
  • Place tortillas on a plate and cover with a paper towel, then microwave for 20-30 seconds to heat them.  
  • Now,  build your burrito!  We did squash, beans, peppers, green onions, cilantro, feta and avocado, wrapped them up and enjoyed.  They were juicy and a little messy but so, so good!!
Makes enough for 4 burritos, about 298 calories per burrito.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

New Year, New Plan!

Happy New Year, all!  Hope everyone had a great holiday season and tons of fun ringing in the New Year, I know B-hubs and I did!

As with many of you, we're trying to amp up the health factor here in the Boston Sweetie household.  We have an awesome ski trip with friends coming up later this month, and I want to have my bikini bod ready for the hot tub!

Our Ski Retreat in Vermont - can't wait!!
I've also been becoming more aware of all of the sickness that seems to be everywhere this season and would rather fight that off with nutrition rather than drugs, if I can.

So far the New Year for me has included:
  • Vegan diet Monday - Friday 
  • New organization for the house, with an awesome binder and mail sorter - I'll do a post on this soon!
  • Amped up fitness routine, prioritizing body and health which will help every other aspect of life be more successful.
The vegan diet has been easier than I thought it would be, for the first week at least!  This move was inspired by comedian Eddie Brill and his passionate posts about vegan/raw diets on Facebook.  The health benefits sound unbelievable, and I'm already feeling more energy, just after one week of changing up the diet.  The most exciting part of eating healthier is the idea of fighting off cancer.  Too many people are getting that horrible disease and I want to do everything in my power to avoid it.



New organization is great!  I have a schedule for the week of meals, snacks, workouts and even cleaning.  I'll do a separate post on how I keep it neat and tidy, because I really love it, and it's also a proud Pinterest success story.

Amped up fitness routine has me pumped!!  This week I tried two new classes at the gym; Tabata and Barre.  Tabata was wicked hard, so exhausting, not super fun, but an awesome workout.  I'm going to keep up with that one because it's definitely a results-getter.  Barre on the other hand, I am in LOVE with.  Who knew that such small movements could make your body literally shake.  Un-be-lievable.  I am going to try to do this twice a week, and will continue doing Spin class twice a week as well.


To the my loyal "Sweeties" out there, have no fear.  I'm not giving up desserts and definitely plan to keep baking!!  There will be a new twist on some recipes, for example I will be testing out using applesauce in place of eggs in some of my favorite treats, and I'll be on a quest to see if I can find any desserts that still taste great with no sugar.  Have any in mind for me to try?  Anyone else kicking off 2013 with a bang?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!


Friday, January 27, 2012

Dessert on a diet

Have you ever tried to slim down only to have desserts like the ones I feature on this blog all the time tempt you into massive calorie binges?  Well do not worry, today I have a dessert to share that will not pop the belt.    



I introduce to you my favorite "diet dessert."  When I am feeling motivated and healthy, a nice cup of coffee flavored non-fat yogurt with a tablespoon of dark chocolate chips does it for me.  Sure, maybe it's not as awesome as a sundae or a slice of cake, but it tastes pretty good, actually has some nutritional value, keeps the calories low, and the chocolate chips totally make it feel like dessert.

Eat and don't weep, sweets!  Happy weekend!!!!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Healthy Pumpkin Bread


Hubs & I have a cruise coming up in two weeks, woohoo!  With that in mind, I was craving a sweet bread for breakfast but didn't want to kill my calorie count for the day.  After a little google searching, I found a pumpkin bread recipe and tweaked it just a bit to make it healthy and incorporate what I had in the house.  I warned J that it may not taste as good as usual due to the health factor, but he loved it just the same.  I did too!  Bonus on this recipe?  It's super easy.  One-bowl-wonder.  Love.

Special thank you to my Auntie Elisa who gave me 2-cup packs of her fresh, homemade pumpkin puree.  Healthy, delicious super food.  Thanks Auntie!!

Healthy Pumpkin Bread (adapted from Kitchen Stewardship)
Need:
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/8 cup ground flaxseed meal
  • 2/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1 cup fresh pumpkin puree
Do: 
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl
  3. Grease loaf pan
  4. Pour batter into loaf pan
  5. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes
We ate ours warm with some light cream cheese dolloped on top.  Happy Sunday!


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Morning Muffins in honor of my MUM!

Today is a huge day for my mom.  I am so, so, SO proud of her.  As of today, my mom has lost 20 pounds, and is officially OFF of her blood pressure medications!  Our family has a long history of hypertension, and my mom has been on blood pressure medication as long as I can remember.  I also have normal/wavering on high blood pressure, so I've been wondering if and when I'd have to join her on the pill parade.  Today she proved that we don't need it!  She has been exercising at least five days a week (usually more), doing boot camp, hiking, biking, weights, and the treadmill.  She's also recently been following Tosca Reno's "Eat Clean" plan, avoiding sugar, watching portions, eating more often and making healthier choices.  I saw her this weekend and she looks AMAZING, and now she is feelign amazing too!  GO MOM!




To celebrate her accomplishment, I baked up a version of Tosca Reno's breakfast muffins - sugar free, packed with natural goodness, quick and easy breakfast meal to go.  These little muffies are a great way to start the day - add some hard boiled egg whites on the side and you have your protein and complex carbs, and your metabolism will be totally fired up!

 




Morning Muffins - a recipe adapted from Tosca Reno's "Tam's Morning Constitutional Muffins"

Need:
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. raw bran
1/2 c. ground flaxseed
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
4 egg whites
1/4 c. canola oil (You can be really good and use unsweetened applesauce instead..we just dont have any!)
1/3 c. agave nectar
1/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
3/4 c. water
1 c. dried fruit - I used Trader Joe's mix of dried cranberries and pomegranate seeds

Do:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Line a cupcake tin with liners
-Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until just combined
-Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way
-Bake 25 - 30 min or until a toothpick comes out clean

Happy clean eating!