Pesto Chicken Pizza

Chicken? and Pizza? Not exactly things a vegetarian and lactose intolerant person usually talks about, but after my best friend, Bailey, made this last weekend I knew it would be something I had to make for my meat-and-cheese eating family!

This pizza is loaded with yummy, healthy sauteed vegetables, pesto (healthy fats!) for sauce, and chicken and feta cheese on top of a whole wheat crust.

Pesto Chicken Pizza
Ingredients:
Whole Wheat pre-made pizza crust
3 chicken tenderloins
1 bunch spinach
1 bell pepper, chopped
2/3 cup mushrooms, sliced
one onion, sliced
1/2 cup pesto sauce (Newman's Own makes a great pesto!)
1/2 - 2/3 cup feta cheese

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Saute onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms together over medium heat. While the vegetables are cooking, spread the pesto over the whole wheat crust.

3. Saute the spinach and set aside.

4. Cook the chicken tenderloins over medium heat until fully cooked. With a fork and knife shred the tenderloins into small bits.
5. Time to put the pizza together! Spread the sauteed spinach over the pizza, then spread the chicken, and layer the vegetables on top of the chicken. Finally, sprinkle the cheese on top.
6. Bake for 15 min at 350.

This recipe is very versatile, you can use any vegetables you have on hand. Plus, with pre-made crust and sauce it's one fast pizza! It got the Amanda approval, too! : )

Amanda cooking dinner!

Amanda has been on a roll making some delicious dinners lately, so I thought I would highlight just a couple.
Two nights ago we had fish taco's for the first time!

Very delicious and so easy to make! We bought two large fillets of frozen wild salmon and baked it in the oven for close to half an hour. We used Kickin' Chickin' (ironic, I know) seasoning because that's all we had, but we'll probably use something more simple (and less salty) next time to season the fish.

Once the fish was done, we just forked some of the meat into whole wheat tortillas and topped it with all the usual taco fillings: salsa, guacamole, and cheese (obviously I didn't have this last ingredient).

Delicious, healthy, and very versatile! I recommend making fish tacos, using any fish you have on hand and stuffing the taco's with your favorite taco fillings! Good job Amanda!

Although I am a vegetarian, Amanda's dinner last night smelled so good I just had to post about it! Amanda made her first slow-cooker BBQ Chicken! 

I was amazed at how little preparation this recipe that filled the entire house with the mouth-watering smells of molasses, brown sugar, and spices took!

Amanda filled the crock pot with a pound of chicken and then followed the direction on the back of the BBQ chicken seasonings packet. Chicken, seasoning packet, brown sugar, ketchup, and water were combined into the crock pot and allowed to cook on high for 4 hours.

Amanda added store-bought bbq sauce and made herself a sandwich. To go on the side, I steamed green beans for about 10 minutes, then sauteed them with onions, black pepper, and butter. Even as a vegetarian I can't help but admit this looked yummy! Oh well, the sacrifices we make : ).

Well done Amanda cooking protein-packed dinners!

Glimpse into the future: look out for my first circuit workout coming soon!

Sara

Discovery of Blueberry Muffins!

This summer has been an attempt to discover go-to recipes for my favorite baked items. Banana bread, check. Chocolate chip cookies, check (still need to post about). My latest discover? BLUEBERRY MUFFINS!

I tweaked a recipe I originally found on all recipes and made these Monday night in a procrastination effort for my final : ). This recipe is incredibly simple! The recipe does ask for 1/3c milk and since I was making these for my dad and Amanda I used regular dairy milk, however I think almond milk could have been easily substituted!

Perfect Blueberry Muffins

Servings: 8 large muffins
Ingredients:
1.5 c all purpose flour
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1.5 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:
1.Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder).
3. In a separate bowl mix together vegetable oil, egg, and milk. Then add wet ingredients to dry mix.
4. Once fully mixed, add in blueberries. Be sure not to over-mix so you don't get purple muffins!
5. Bake in oven 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sara

MMMMMMirza Ghasemi

The title of this post might sound like gibberish, in fact, it's the name of my favorite Persian Dish!

Being a vegetarian, many Persian dishes aren't edible for me (beef and chicken kabob don't scream vegetarian), but this one is and I love it. Mirza Ghasemi is incredibly simple, just eggplants, tomatoes, and onions! Some versions include eggs, but my mother has never made it with eggs, so I don't either.
A bit of prepping goes into the dish to get the water/bitterness out of the eggplants, but once that's done, it's quick, quick, quick.
You MUST love eggplants to like this dish. : )
I've successfully learned how to make this eggplant rich dish from my mother and am here to share it with you.

Ingredients:
1 Eggplant
2 large tomatoes (chopped)
1 large white onion (diced)
2 tsp Turmeric
3 Tblsp Tomato Paste
Salt
Olive oil

Directions:
1. Eggplant Prepping:
Wash the eggplant and cut to make circular pieces of about 1/2 - 3/4 inches. Leave the peal on (it's so delicious in the stew!). Cut the circular pieces down the center to make half-circle pieces.
Line a cookie sheet with paper towels and place the eggplant pieces on the cookie sheet. Generously shake salt on the pieces, this helps get the water out of the eggplants (by osmosis) and kill the natural bitterness of egg plants. Leave the salt on the eggplants for at least 2 hours.

Look at that osmosis at work! 

Flip the eggplant slices, salt, and repeat.

One the eggplant are done drying, put the egg plant on a wire rack (or straight into the oven) and broil for about 10 minutes, or until the eggplant are slightly brown.

This is a picture from when my dad made the dish, he accidentally peeled the eggplant, but be sure to LEAVE THE PEEL

2. Dice the onion. Saute the onions in a large pot. When the onions are only slightly cooked, add in lots of Turmeric (anywhere from 1-2 teaspoons). This spice is purely for color!

3. Over medium-low heat, add eggplant, chopped tomatoes, 2-3 tablespoons tomato paste, and a splash of olive oil. Give it a good stir!

4. Cook for 10-15 minutes covered, lowering the heat toward the end. The stew should get to a consistency where the eggplant fall apart when it's mixed. Turn off the stove when this consistency is reached.

5. Let cool for about 10 minutes.

This dish can be eaten hot or cold and is often enjoyed with bread that's dipped right in to this delicious eggplant-y goodness!

Sara

A Favorite Recipe!

With all the rain that has been pouring over Georgia lately, I have been craving some warmer dishes!
For dinner tonight, while my Dad cooked Salmon and steamed corn-on-the-cob, I made one of my all time favorite dishes, Stewed Cabbage!

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving years ago and now make it regularly. The ingredients for the recipe are always inexpensive and by cooking an entire cabbage you'll defiantly have enough for left overs.

Ingredients:
One head of cabbage, cubed
One (15 oz) can of Italian Style Stewed tomatoes
One large white onion
2-3 colves of garlic
3 stalks celery
Butter/oil
Salt/pepper to taste

Steps:
In a large pot (needs to be able to fit an entire cabbage head) saute onions and garlic in butter until onions are translucent. Add cabbage, tomatoes, and celery and let simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally and salt and pepper to taste. That's it!

Did I mention cabbage is about 20 calories/cup? Low-cal, good for you, and so yummy!

What foods do you crave in cold/dreary weather?

Sara

Tuesday Routine

Hi!
Tuesday's and Thursday's are always busy for me because I have class at a local community college from 2p.m to 8:15 p.m. Technically it's a lecture followed by a lab in that time, but needless to say it's a lot of class at once. It's always important to me to get a workout in the mornings before class so I don't feel so restless sitting for 6 hours.

When I woke up I grabbed my sneakers and headed to the gym for BodyPump. Created by LesMills, BodyPump is a full body barbell class that targets all the major muscles and it is one of the most fun and challenging group fitness classes I have ever attended. The instructors are always so incredible who teach BodyPump! This morning I really challenged myself by upping my weights for legs, triceps, back, and chest. Boy did I feel this while I sat in class!
Breakfast was my go to peanut butter, rice cakes, and fruit along with coffee splashed with my favorite creamer, Vanilla Almond Milk! 30 calories/serving and so good!

I always pack my lunch on Tuesday's and Thursday's and today I attempted Tuna Salad for the first time.

The tuna salad turned out great! All I did was mix a can of Chunk Light Tuna, a spoon of Miracle Whip, a spoon of yellow mustard, a spoon of relish, and a stalk of chopped celery. I even threw in some mild banana peppers because I just love them. I added some baby bell peppers, carrots, and an apple for sides and this kept me going all the way through lab, today.
Lab always leaves me feeling pretty tired and sometimes even light headed--the lab is strict on their no food/drink policy, which includes water, and 2.5 hours without water is a lot! I went on a short 2 mile run to get my legs moving after 6 hours of sitting and then made a very simple dinner of sweet potato, a bowl of yellow squash, peas, and edamame sauteed in just a spoon of Italian Dressing, and a Boca Vegan veggie burgher for added protein (17 grams of protein and only 90 calories!). I hadn't realized how long it has been since I ate a warm meal and it felt great to have these vegetables on my plate.

I'm excited for no class until next Tuesday, since Thursday is Independence Day, which will give me time to catch up in class and relax some more! I'm also excited for a package that will be arriving in the next couple of days...my Gymboss Interval Timer!!!!

 I was introduced to the product through Jess at blondeponytail.com . I can't wait to use this for interval workouts to make them more effective and efficient.

If you have any great interval workouts, please let me know!

I hope you've had a happy Tuesday!

Sara

Father's Day Breakfast

Happy Father's Day everyone! Hope you enjoyed some time with your main man today.
It's a tradition in my family to always cook breakfast for holidays (mother's day, birthdays, christmas, etc). So this morning to celebrate our dad my sister and I cooked dad breakfast. My sister contribution included bacon and eggs and mine was blueberry pancakes. I tried a new recipe for blueberry pancakes that I am seriously in love with!
These pancakes are packed with protein, are made from only 4 ingredients, and are SO delicious!
I found the recipe off of a blog I love to read, Peanut Butter Fingers.
Here is the recipe. I doubled the recipe and followed it exactly to make 6 large pancakes.
Nutrition breakdown:

Check that out: Just over 12 grams of protein in one pancake, only 19 grams of carbs, and hardly any fat. Yummy and so good for you! What a way to start the day : )

Cauliflower Stir Fry

A couple of nights ago I was feeling stir fry for dinner. But traditional stir fry is carb-loaded with rice, so as a low-carb alternative I tried a Cauliflower Stir Fry recipe I found on Family Fresh Meals. I followed the recipe except used an oil spray, egg whites, and added water chestnuts. I didn't have any reduced-sodium soy sauce, which is why the sodium of the meal is a bit high, but other than that the meal is very healthy!

The recipe makes four large servings. Feel free to customize adding in meats/other protein sources and vegetables.