Tuscan Style Garlic Spinach

I was never one of those kids that hated spinach. I watched a lot of Popeye, so maybe that had something to do with it, but spinach has always been one of my favorite vegetables. I'm also quite partial to broccoli.

I also love the combination of spinach and garlic, so when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. It combines the two perfectly, and would make the perfect accompaniment to any meal.

Jicama Salad with Cucumber and Lime

Happy September and happy Labor Day! I am excited to say that I moved this weekend and my sanity remained in tact. I haven't yet slept in the apartment yet because we haven't had Internet in the apartment, but that is getting installed tomorrow. We've decided to go without cable for the time being, so that should be interesting! The past few days have been spent cleaning and organizing - the previous tenants left the place a complete wreck. It's coming along nicely and I'll probably be settled in completely by the end of the week.

This salad does not look like much, but it is really tasty. It is also incredibly easy to throw together and really low in Points+ value. It is packed with fiber to keep you full. I had it along side a rotisserie chicken leg and was actually kept full all night.

Get ready for a whole slew of pumpkin and apple recipes in the next few weeks. Fall is my favorite season and I've got some really great recipes planned!

Whole Wheat Brownie Batter Pancakes

This post was supposed to be up about...12 hours ago, but I am moving tomorrow and just spent a whole lot of time unnecessarily stressed out. Not to get into detail, but a certain moving company, whose name starts with a letter of the alphabet (between T and V), totally messed up my moving plans. Luckily, some family members have come to my rescue and I will still be able to move out at the time my lease states.

Anyway, pancakes. That taste like brownie batter! The perfect breakfast for when life throws you curve balls. These pancakes are not very sweet by themselves, so feel free to use more sugar or do like I do and pour some maple syrup (or chocolate syrup) on top. And another great thing about this recipe is you don't have to share. The nutritional information is for one serving, but if you want to cut the Points+, you can split it with somebody.

See you Monday after my move, providing I maintain my sanity.

Grilled Green Beans with Feta

When I first saw this recipe, I was a little skeptical. But I thought that it sounded pretty cool, so I went ahead, and I am so glad that I did. I mentioned before that I am terrified of using the gas grill so I bought myself an indoor grill. This recipe came with the instruction booklet for the grill. I did it on the contact grill feature, which works exactly like a George Foreman.

 I'm not sure how this would translate onto a real grill, although I am sure it would be fine. If anyone tries, please let me know how it goes!

For as long as I can remember, I have loved feta cheese. I can't remember the first time I had it, but I'm sure there was no "getting used to it". It was love at first bite. The tanginess and sharpness of the cheese is what I love, and the pairing with lemon is so classic. I always use full fat feta. I think the reduced fat is decent and the fat free is completely inedible. I literally couldn't even swallow it when I tried.

Green beans and I have not always had the best relationship. Normally, I can take or leave green beans, but I loved them this way. I think it is because they are grilled and maintain some crispness. I love some crunch to my veggies which is why I prefer to roast (and now grill) them.

I served this with a bunless spiced turkey burger (don't let the picture fool you, these are SO GOOD) and some perfectly sweet corn from Boston Organics. It was an all around delicious meal!

Black Bean, Corn, and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I just got back from a fabulous week-long vacation on Cape Cod! My family used to go every year, but we haven't been since 2006. It is so much fun to relax on the beach and generally do whatever you please. Of course, trying out new restaurants is a must. I think we went out for ice cream every night we were there. Absolutely no counting points on vacation for me!

Even though I enjoy everything vacation has to offer, getting back to a normal eating pattern after vacation feels really good, and this is exactly what I wanted to do with this recipe. It is packed with fiber from beans and vegetables and protein from the quinoa. It is also meatless, so perfect for vegetarians or Meatless Monday.

My recommendation is to prep everything before you get started. There are a fair amount of steps involved in making this, but it does move fairly quickly.

Mint and Watermelon Soda Floats

I was looking at clothes online the other day and one of the websites mentioned getting ahead on fall styles. While fall is my favorite season, I don't want to get rid of summer just yet. With the surgery on my legs in May, I was not able to enjoy summer like usual. I also had surgery in June of last year, so last summer was out, too. Now that I am able to walk around, it is time to make the most out of these last few weeks.

This drink will help you do just that. It's full of summer flavors - the cool mint, the refreshing watermelon, and the ice cream, just for good measure. I think you should try to make this drink as much as possible between now and Labor Day. 

Beet and "Fried" Goat Cheese Salad

I've never been one to crave beets. I've never even been one to particularly like beets. I just kind of tolerated them. But now this has totally changed.

Every other week, I get a delivery of organic fruits and veggies from a company called Boston Organics. It is a great way for me to get more fruit and veggies in my diet. One week, in the delivery, we got a delivery of beets and beet greens. I really had no clue what to do with them. I never made beets myself before and didn't even know what my preferred method for eating them was. I decided I would try to roast them. While it took way longer than I was expecting, I really enjoyed putting them on my salads.

Then a couple days later, my dad came home with something called Love Beets, and I really did fall in love. They were the perfect size for snacking, and that's what I did. I also used them in this recipe, but you can also roast your own beets or prepare them in any other way. To roast, just rub the scrubbed clean beets with some olive oil and salt and place in a foil packet in a 375 degree F oven. When the beets are done roasting, you should be able to pierce them with a fork. I would start checking for doneness around 30 minutes, but it can take upwards of about an hour. The skin should come off easily when done.

 I found this dish to be filling enough for a main meal, but you can also make it smaller for a side dish.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Happy Monday!

During the week, I generally like to eat healthy and then splurge on the weekends. One of my favorite splurges is Chinese food, but I have not had it in a long time. I guess about a year and a half ago, my favorite Chinese restaurant closed down. Since then, I haven't really wanted to get it any other place.

If you look at the back of the restaurant, the sign is still there. As I drove by this weekend, I realized that I wanted to recreate one of my favorite dishes.

This isn't Ocean East's vegetable fried rice, but it will do. I'm sure there are more authentic ways of cooking this dish, but when I wanted it, this satisfied the craving.

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I think ice cream may be one of the hardest things to photograph. I swear in the time it took for me to raise the camera up to my eye, the ice cream melted. I was constantly putting the tin back into the freezer to harden up and then taking it out again to quickly photograph, just to see that it melted everywhere again. It also didn't help that the sun was playing peek-a-boo-with the clouds and just as I would adjust the camera settings, the light would change and I would have to adjust them again. I played around with the idea of not posting, but then, just as I was giving up, I licked the ice cream scoop and realized I needed to share. So these pictures are not at all how I wanted them to be, but the taste definitely is!

This is my first time trying ice cream made with coconut milk and I am definitely a fan! This ice cream is pretty sweet, so you can play around with the amount of sugar in it. I also used two cans of full-fat coconut milk, but I'm sure using one full-fat can and one light can would be fine. This recipe is also vegan, gluten free and dairy free!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Spice Sweet Potato Muffins

The weather here in Boston has been downright cold compared to just a few weeks ago. I'm not complaining, though. It has started to remind me of fall, which is by far my favorite season. I love when the leaves start to change and the weather gets cool and crisp. Sweaters become necessary and apple season arrives! I love, love, love apple season. I could probably live off Honeycrisps if necessary.

These muffins remind me of fall. I know most people are not ready for it yet, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not quite ready for it yet. I still have a vacation to go on and I'm not ready for nursing school to take back over my life. I'm also moving at the beginning of September and we all know just how torturous  fun moving is.

These muffins are seriously delicious. The first time I made them, they disappeared within two days and were a huge hit with my family. The sweet potatoes make them incredibly moist and I love biting into the little bits that weren't completely mashed. The spices are reminiscent of gingerbread, another one of my favorite things when the weather turns cooler.

Regardless of the weather, you should make these muffins ASAP. They are the perfect breakfast/snack/dessert any time of the year!

Blueberry Fool

I'm back! I explained in a post a couple of weeks ago why I had been gone so long, but the leg is definitely on the mend and I don't go back to school for another month.

I'm so excited to get back to blogging! I've spent the past couple weeks trying out recipe ideas and I have some new ideas that I want to implement.

I'm working on getting some social media sites up for the blog, so look for those in the next couple weeks!

This recipe is absolutely delicious. I love being able to get fresh berries this time of year. I would recommend that this recipe be eaten the same day it is made, as I found it it doesn't taste that great the next day.

Quinoa Pilaf

I finally learned how to pronounce quinoa correctly so I figured I should now try to cook with it! I had been pronouncing it kee-no-wa for the longest time until someone looked at me funny and said "you mean kee-nwa?" Oops. I found this recipe on Family Circle and thought it would be the perfect way to introduce quinoa into my diet.

I'm not really one to make new year resolutions, but one of my goals this year is to incorporate more vegetables into my diet (along with drink more water). This recipe is packed with veggies and is perfect for vegetarians and vegans.

Stovetop Mac & Cheese

Look at all the cheesy goodness! I absolutely love macaroni and cheese, but unfortunately it is not very figure friendly. I recently picked up the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook and knew I had to try this recipe as soon as I saw it. I swapped out almost all the cheeses that the cookbook used and added ones that I like and I also decided to use whole wheat pasta instead of regular. Feel free to use whatever cheeses you want. I've been eating this for lunch for the past couple of days. It was so simple and easy to make and it definitely satisfied my craving for mac & cheese!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Told you I'd have a pumpkin recipe soon! I actually made these several days ago but I'm just now getting around to posting them because of some technical issues with my computer. I'm still not sure what is going on but I found a way around it which will do until I can figure out how to permanently fix the problem.

I hope everyone has a fantastic New Years Eve and a fabulous 2013! I plan on spending the night with friends and some kind of sparkling drink. Look for new recipes here in the new year!

Apple-Cranberry Crumble

I know it's been almost three months since I last posted, but here are the apple and pumpkin posts that I promised. School got extremely busy and I just didn't have time to make many recipes. I did make some and they didn't turn out how I wanted. Now I am on break, so I have some time to get this blog up and running again and hopefully I won't disappear again when the new semester starts in January.

This crumble is from Skinnytaste and really delicious. I first made it a couple weeks ago and knew that I had to share. I didn't get a chance to take any pictures the first time I made it but I finally got around to doing that. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Need a last minute Mother's Day brunch recipe? This delicious bread is perfect for it. My nana would have called this a "tea bread" because it goes perfectly with a cup of tea and coffee. I have been enjoying this bread for breakfast or an afternoon snack for a few days now and  it holds up very well.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Another recipe perfect for Mother's Day. There is nothing like waking up to a warm plateful of pancakes on a Sunday morning. I got the pancake recipe from Skinnytaste (aka, probably my favorite website, do you see her pictures??) and then added the blueberries to make them extra special. I also took Gina's tip and froze my remaining pancakes so I can enjoy them all week long!

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Meringue Icing

So I completely forgot about Cinco de Mayo. Shocker, I know. I only remembered when I started seeing recipes pop up early last week but by then I had already planned out all the recipes for the week. But I'm not going to forget about Mother's Day! This is the perfect recipe to make for dessert. Strawberries are in abundance right now and this is a great way to use them.

I adapted the cupcake recipe from How Sweet it Is and I got the icing recipe from Skinnytaste. One of the changes I made to the How Sweet it Is recipe is the addition of light butter. This made the cupcakes a little denser than a usual cupcake, but I liked it because they felt a little more substantial and probably would not change it in the future.

Zucchini Chips

If you told me 10 years ago that I would ever willingly eat zucchini, I would have totally laughed at you. I used to hate it. It was mushy and slimy and had a weird taste. However, since I am trying to expand my culinary horizons, I decided to give it one more shot. This recipe is perfect for someone like me who thought zucchini was too soft because the chips bake up really crunchy. Problem solved!

I have a total weakness for regular chips. That saying about not being able to have just one is totally true for me. I had these chips along with a sandwich I made for lunch and thought it was perfect. They were crunchy just like regular chips and way more healthy - just 1 Points+ and 55 calories a serving!

To bake these, I just sprayed a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and flipped the zucchini half way through. Some of the zucchini crisped up (read: burned) a little more than others so if you do it this way, make sure all of your chips are equal sized as much as possible. An alternative is to cook them on an oven safe rack.

Dijon and Herb Roasted Potatoes

As I was thinking about what recipes I should try out over the next few weeks, I realized that I have very few side dish recipes. I had the idea for this recipe a while ago, but for some reason, I almost never work with potatoes. A goal of mine with this blog is to try out new things, so I thought this was the perfect dish to both cook with something new and boost my side dish recipes. I definitely like potatoes, but for whatever reason they were never cooked very much when I was growing up. However, after this dish, I think they will be making more of an appearance.

The herbs I used are ones that I personally enjoy. Feel free to switch it up however you like.