turkey balls to the wall

I was inspired last night to make another recipe from ELR's website. I'm still steam rolling through recipes! Could be that I really have nothing better to do this weekend since T is working and I have no friends!! :-) It's alright, I'll always have the Noms.

http://www.eatliverun.com/let-me-feed-you-a-meatball/

meatballs n sauce served on top of whole wheat pasta.

 

It was pretty tasty. I think the only thing I would tweak next time is that I'll use panko bread crumbs because I used regular bread crumbs and I wasn't a huge fan. Maybe using panko will make all the different.

On to dessert! I made Katie's Chocolate Rice Krispie treats that are SUPER easy and quick to make. They literally took 10 minutes to prep and were ready to eat after popping them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Love it!

mixture of peanut butter, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, salt, and agave syrup

poured over 3 cups of rice krispie cereal and combined

per Katie's instructions, I pressed down VERY VERY firmly.

after 30 minutes, these puppies were cut into squares and placed in the fridge for storage. I snuck in a big piece of course :)  YUM!!! Chocolate + peanut butter= perfection!

After dinner and dessert, I called it a night on the couch with:

Chili and Football

It's time for some FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! maybe...

blergh.. I mean chili... honestly; I need to find someone who wants to go watch a game with me pronto. Seriously, this season is going to pass me by and I'm not going to know anything that's going on!!!!! Sigh. Ah, the daily struggles I go through ;-)

Here's the chili I made last night at 11p.m. after watching the first episode of Season 3's Glee. I'm not really digging the episode, but I'm really digging this spicy chili.

http://www.eatliverun.com/turkey-and-bean-chili/

I added in a couple different ingredients because #1 I live in the UK and some peppers are hard to find in stores #2 it wouldn't be me if I didn't screw something up or something tasted a bit funky from the original recipe

• 1 serrano chili pepper, minced---instead of a serrano pepper, I used a non spicy piquillo red pepper and added in more jalapeno, and cayenne pepper.
  
• tablespoon of honey and tablespoon of brown sugar-- I added this in because the chili tasted a bit sour and adding these two ingredients fixed that problem up real quick!

the recipe was super easy and fun to make!

The reason why I made this so late at night was because I was waiting on my groceries to be delivered between 9-10 p.m. from Ocado (our online delivery) and the guy was 20 minutes late with my schtuff!! No one was going to stop me from making my chili last night :-). To make things slightly easier, I measured out and combined all the dry spices in a bowl that was ready to go when the groceries arrived. 

I've discovered my secret to not getting frustrated with cooking and the mess that often comes with working int he kitchen. I often prep things in advanced. I'll put on some music, chop, combine the veggies, measure, and mix the dry ingredients, etc. I divide the recipe into sections so it doesn't seem as daunting. Now this might seem straightforward to you but to someone who isn't so skilled in the kitchen, I approach everything with a different set of eyes.

topped with some light sour cream, cheese, and scallions= YUM!!!

The chili was borderline dangerously spicy but O' SO GOOD! 

Did I mention we already ate dinner prior to me making chili? :-)

Hanguk umshik from Ceena.
http://www.ceena.co/ceena/index.asp

yukejang spicy soup- clear glass noodles, beef, mondu combined with a spicy, delicious broth

bbq chicken on top of not so good fried rice. The rice was hard and seemed undercooked.

beef bibimbap with spicy sauce

Rewind back to lunch:

leftover fish pie with broccolini spears

I've never tried broccolini spears before, and I think I'll try them again but next time make sure to cook them all the way through. These were a bit on the raw side.

My chocolate pie turned out pretty damn good! Excuse the poor picture that doesn't do the taste of the pie justice; it was the perfect size to satisfy my chocolate craving.

Agenda on this lovely Saturday morning (it's not really lovely since I have a minor headache but I'm trying to will it to be a good day!!): Enrollment at London Met, maybe get a workout in (BIG maybe), relax

Baking mood

Yesterday's lunch was muy delicioso and very simple to make. I started out by sautéing some prawns in garlic and evoo, taking them off the stove just before they were completely cooked so they didn't turn out rubbery.

Then, I added in some mushrooms, sliced peppers and pad thai sauce, mixing everything together

Last but not least, I added in the GF noodles and made sure every last strand was covered in sauce.. YUM!!

 

this was the perfect lunch :)

Dinner last night:

While perusing the store, I came across Okra and decided to give it a go. I've never made it on my own and have only had it in Indian restaurants, but I really love the texture and flavour of it.

Note to self: make sure OKRA is DRY prior to cooking or else they will turn slimy!! Oops!!

they turned out all right, even though they were a bit slippery tasting in my mouth.

pan fried with evoo, salt, pepper, minced garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp coriander, and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

side of grapes for dessert!

Breakfast then gym time.

In the gym: Tone it up's Bikini Strap workout with some minor adjustments, 3 sets, 10 reps

• Squat, then lateral raise + leg adduction using 3kg dumbbells

• Curtsy lunge with bicep curl

• Plank with 3kg T row's

• Chest fly while butt is lifted off ground

• Tricep extension while butt is lifted off ground

• Upper chest press combined with shoulder press in v-sit position

• V-sit twists using medicine ball

After the gym, I was in quite the baking mood and so decided to make some recipes from Katie's blog.

 

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/15/chocolate-bar-pie/

I made Katie’s Chocolate Bar Pie and it’s currently sitting patiently in the fridge, waiting to be eaten. It’s a sheer test of my willpower!

I'm a huge fan of any recipe that has a secret healthy hidden ingredient.

I snagged a bit of the pie filling and it was mmm..mmmm mmmm!!

This was made in less than 3 minutes since I used premade piecrust. If it tastes as good as it looks, its definitely going to be in my repertoire.

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/04/06/funfetti-cookie-dough-balls/

These honestly tasted like chocolate chip cookies to me; they were super delicious and gone in 30 seconds.

 

Agenda: read, study, teach zumba, relax, make some chili! 

FAT

I was recently apart of a dinner conversation where we discussed eating and eliminating fats. People sometimes avoid fats because they’re afraid of the greater calorie content. What they don’t realize is that eating a small amount goes a long way, and it’s imperative to incorporate healthy fats for the sake of your health. Why you ask? Fats keep your skin and hair glowing-- who doesn't want better skin and hair??; helps with tissue growth and repair; lowers bad cholesterol; potentially keeps diseases at bay; keeps your brain functioning properly;regulates mood; and keeps your heart healthy. Holy crap! After knowing all that, who wouldn't want to start eating healthier fats?

I’m not going to lie-I was definitely one of those people who avoid all "fats" such as nuts like the plague. It was low fat or no fat this day and night. Back in the day, I probably would have chosen a Snack well’s fat free cookie over a small handful of nuts because I was afraid of going over my caloric limit. Let’s be frank, no one’s going to go over their daily caloric needs if they’re carefully monitoring what they put in their body. You just have to make better conscious decisions like choosing to eat solely nuts as a snack prior to dinner instead of nuts, then a cookie, and then maybe some chips. That will DEFINITELY lead to weight gain, and please don’t blame it on the nuts!! Also, eating full fat things can keep you fuller for longer and provide you with that I'm satisfied feeling over eating something less dense and lower calorie.

Moral of this story:

Eat more monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and Omega 3’s!

Try and avoid trans fats and saturated fats whenever possible

All fats should only be 20-30% of your daily calories

Chomp on more:

Fish (at least 2 servings per week)

Olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, and sesame oil

Nuts and seeds

Avocados

Dark chocolate

Peanut butter

Take a fish oil tablet everyday and a multivitamin while you're at it ;)

Eat less:

Butter

Cream

Meat

Margarine

Fast food

Prepackaged cakes, cookies

Lifestyle eating suggestions:

1/3 of an avocado on salad, sandwich, eggs, dips

Handful of nuts – try eating them roasted and unsalted but if it’s not enjoyable, eat a small portion of lightly salted nuts

½ a whole wheat bagel w. cream cheese and smoked salmon

Almond butter on whole-wheat toast

Sprinkle flaxseeds on top of cereal or salad

Drizzle olive oil and balsamic over salad

1 cup of edamame

sprinkle seeds on top of smoothie, yogurt, or cereal

Back to lunch yesterday:

I decided to make lemon and rosemary crusted seabass from Ocado, and a side of bok choy with brown rice.

mmmm.. wish you could have heard that sizzle when I flipped these bad boys over. The textural crunch on them was pretty amazing!

bok choy action on the wok: oil, minced garlic, dash of soy sauce, and a generous squeeze of siracha.

Okay, the fish looks delicious but it didn't taste all that great. I don't think I like the flavor combination of lemon and rosemary together.

The afternoon was spent taking a glorious 2 hour nap, walking the pups, and reading for a bit.

Breakfast: slow and steady scrambled eggs

me gusta fluffy eggs

I'm bringing ketchup back..

Agenda: I already got my morning workout in so I'm hopping in the shower and going to try and not nap the afternoon away again!!

Zumba warm up song of the day: Mr. Saxobeat -- just did this warm up last Tuesday and I loved it!! (hopefully my class did too!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMukoRDNOUQ