Snacks and Leftovers

I came up with this recipe while at work because I ran out of snacks and I was really hungry and craving hummus. This is what I do instead of homework...

Spinach Hummus:

1 can of Chickpeas

½ Small Onion

Olive Oil

Handful of Spinach

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Start by sautéing the onions in some olive oil. Then add spinach and toss until wilted and keep it to the side. 

Drain the can of chickpeas but reserve the liquid; you’ll need some of it to thin out the hummus. I used a Magic Bullet, but a food processor will work just as well. Combine everything in the bullet, along with about 2 tablespoons of the liquid and let it pulse until smooth, adding more liquid as needed. 

Season with salt, pepper and cumin and stir all together until it is seasoned to your liking.

Tada! All done, wasn’t that easy? Now you’ll never buy another $4.00 container of hummus again!

Next think I know, I'm running out of chips, but a stroke of brilliance told me to get out a leftover black bean burger and make another wrap. A whole wheat tortilla, a sprinkle of cheese, burger patty, sliced green peppers and a dollop (or 3) or hummus and beauty has been made. 

Happy Eating!

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What's For Dinner: Asian Soba Noodles

Asian Style Soba Noodles with Vegetables

When I say Soba Noodles I will assume that not many people will know what I’m talking about. They are noodles made out of buckwheat, used in a lot of Asian cooking, and probably take 2-3 minutes to make. They’re basically miracle noodles.

So anyway, this recipe is one of my favorites. It’s hearty, full of flavor, and can be served hot or cold.

These are Soba Noodles, for those of you who don’t know.

It’s wicked simple, here’s what you need

1 bunch of Soba Noodles

 ¼ cup of Soy Sauce

1 tbsp. Honey

1 tsp. Ginger, minced

Chili Sauce (any kind you like, if you don’t like spice then leave it out)

¼ Onion, minced

¼ Bell Pepper, minced

¼ cup Carrot, minced

1 clove Garlic, minced

Peanut Oil (for flavor, olive oil works great as well)

3-4 Scallions, sliced thin

As for measurements, add more or less as you please. Taste the sauce as you go, stop chopping vegetables if you think it’s too much, or add more if you think it’s too little. Swap out vegetables as you have them also, don’t limit yourself to what I write down, ever! Use my recipes, and any recipe for that matter, as a base and make it your own!

Okay so, make your sauce first. Like I said, the noodles cook very quickly so you won’t have time to make the sauce while they boil.

Get a pot of salted water on the stove and bring it to a boil. In a separate bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, ginger and chili sauce. Taste as you go, if you think it needs more heat or more sweet, go ahead and add it in.

Chop all of your vegetables, very small, or big, again however you want, and heat a sauté pan with peanut oil. Keep the scallions off to the side as a finishing garnish. Start with onions, then add carrots since they take the longest. Add peppers and garlic after a few minutes and sauté for about 2 more minutes. If you like your vegetables well done, leave them in the pan a little longer. Take them out of the pan to stop the cooking and leave them in a bowl. If you want this dish served cold, lay them out on a flatter surface to cool before putting them in the refrigerator.

Once your water is boiling, cook your noodles for about 3 minutes or until noodles are cooked to your preference. Drain and toss in peanut oil to prevent from sticking.

Now to assemble the dish.

Place your desired portion on a plate or shallow bowl and spoon over some sauce. Top with vegetables and sprinkle on chopped scallions.

If you want to serve this cold, toss the noodles with the sauce and vegetables so the flavors can come together.

And there you have it! 

Happy Eating!

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Healthy Eating: For Dummies

By no means do I claim to have a perfect diet. I partake in the more-than occasional dollar draft night, I will bake cookies on a Tuesday night and I will eat them all, and I’d be lying if I told you I always topped my froyo with fruits and nuts. (peanut butter cups and cookie dough will always win that battle).

But, and this is a big but, I have a big butt. I actually don’t but I just wanted to say that.

But, for real this time, on any normal day I really do eat well.

For example:

Breakfast is either a cup of tea with a package of Belvita Biscuits (totally obsessed), or if I have time I will make two eggs, one yolk only, on multigrain toast with a sprinkle of cheese.

And if I’m really hungry (I’m usually really hungry) I make the best foe-milkshake in the world. I will share with you my top-secret recipe. Ready?

Frozen bananas, non-fat milk, 1 scoop of natural peanut butter.

Did I just blow your mind? I know it’s like the new, cool thing to do but I promise I’ve been making those since I was a kid thanks to the Old Man so take that, Pinterest!

Anyway, moving on.

I give myself an extra few minutes in the morning to pack food so I don’t give into the temptation that is a Dunkin Donuts corn muffin on the way to work or class. Snacks/Lunch is usually some combination of the following:

-Greek Yogurt

-Pita Chips and Hummus

-Watermelon

-Strawberries

-Any in-season fruit really

-Green Peppers

-Naked Juice (another favorite product of mine)

-Almonds or trail mix

-Kashi Granola Bars

-Maybe leftovers from the night before

I have a lot of options for dinner (keep checking back for posted recipes!) but here’s how to make a healthy dinner in 5 easy steps:

1.Choose a lean protein. Chicken breast, fish, tofu, and beans are all great sources of protein without all of the cholesterol that beef and ham have.

2.Use whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa and barley. Not only will they add fiber, and protein but they hold onto all of the nutrients that refined grains lose. 

3.Load up the vegetables! Keep your plate green with asparagus, broccoli, spinach and kale (yes, you can eat kale NOT in a smoothie, who would’ve known).

4. Steaming, grilling, or roasting in the oven are all great ways to keep the excess fat off.

5. Season your food! To lower sodium intake, use herbs, spices, and maybe even a little bit of lemon juice to flavor your food. Trust me, you will not miss the salt.

Just a few changes can make a huge difference. Start with just one or two changes a week. Again, you don’t want to feel like your limiting yourself. When you start doing this, then you won’t feel guilty going out for drinks later, because you earned it. Before you know it, it’ll be your lifestyle and you’ll start looking and feeling better.

Keep checking back for new, healthy recipes!

Happy Eating!

Don't forget to follow me! 

Twitter: @Flat_Belly_Blog

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What's For Dinner: Black Bean Burgers

Yay! My first posted recipe. Black Bean Burgers. This one is very, and I mean very straight forward, but delicious nonetheless. AND it took no longer than 20 minutes to prepare and devour so it’s really a win/win.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

¼ green bell pepper, diced small

½ small yellow onion, diced small

1 tsp. garlic

salt

black pepper

cumin

paprika

I suggest rinsing your beans right away and letting them dry a little bit. The less moisture the more firm the patties will be and the less likely they will break apart. Then chop your pepper and onions real small and put them in a bowl. 

When the beans are dry(ish), add them to the bowl and with a fork, smash the hell out of them. Add garlic, dust with salt, pepper, cumin and paprika and mix all together. *If you like other spices (think Mexican/Cajun) go ahead and add them!* 

Jalapenos are a good addition for some heat, corn to make it sweet, really whatever you like just add it on in! Just make sure there are enough beans to be able to form a patty. Too many extra vegetables will make it fall apart.

I split the mixture into quarters and molded 4 patties with my hands. However, you can make bigger patties if you'd like, I mean, I don't know your life..you could be really hungry.

Then heat a pan with some non-stick spray and sear both sides on a medium/medium high flame (2-3 minutes).

I made mine in a tortilla with jack cheese and salsa, but these will be good in a lot of ways. Another favorite of mine is to lay it on a bed of brown rice and topped with avocado. Damn, now I wish I did it that way instead.

Happy Eating!

Don't forget to follow me! 

Twitter: @Flat_Belly_Blog

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On Health Shaming

Recently I’ve realized something. No matter how trendy being healthy is, you will always get made fun of for it.

I’m a twenty something girl, it’s pretty inevitable my peers are going to find something to tease me about; its just in our nature. But everywhere you look there is another post on social media about “how to get that bikini body” or “lose 5 pounds in 5 days” and yet, it’s not cool to actually do it. Not cool. Ugh, that sounds so 8^th grade.

I know I’ve said that it’s important to indulge every once in a while, but I’m also not one to say it’s wrong to order a grilled chicken salad with dressing on the side. And I would like to do so without your stank face saying "you're gonna eat that?" If that’s what you want to eat, then eat it! As for you, friend, you go order your double cheeseburger with fries and a diet Coke and let me eat my salad in peace. Thank you.

Why should we feel bad for eating well? We're the ones who has to live with how my food choices affect my body. I feel better when I eat healthy foods so that’s what I’m going to do. I won’t make you eat carrot sticks if you don’t make me eat chili cheese fries…well maybe just a bite.

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Fad Diet Dilemma

Ughh I hate these things. Seriously, I will angrily rant if brought up in conversation.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. What I mean by ‘fad diets’ are fat flushes, detoxes, liquid diets, all of that nonsense that gets you to not eat real food for 3 days in order to “remove toxins from your body.”

Okay, what? Seriously, what does that even mean? I have never done a detox in my life and I do not feel any ‘toxins’ floating around in there. I live a pretty healthy life, and I think that’s all we really need to do.

And that’s really my whole point. Why do we feel compelled to subject ourselves to starvation once a month because we think we’ll drop a dress size? Because really, it doesn’t work that way.

So here’s how it does work:

Your body has a certain rate at which it burns calories just to keep itself alive. This varies based on your body composition and physical activity level. This counts for about 65% of the total calories you burn on a daily basis. That’s like, a lot. The other 35% is all the little stuff like walking to your car, taking the stairs, getting a snack… and working out, if you’re into that. It all pretty much evens out when you have a consistent amount of calories going in. Any extreme drop in caloric intake will send the body into survival mode. Since fat stores are vital for living, the body will naturally do anything to hold on to as much as it can. So if you go on one of these “fat flushes” for too long, your body will decrease the amount of calories it burns to live by up to 15%. That means you’d have 15% more calories to burn on your own and that just sounds like a waste to me. AND once you go back to eating normal food you just naturally won’t burn as much as you used to and that’s when you start packing on the lbs.

My point is; do this instead. Clean your diet up a little bit. The FDA recommends a calorie distribution of 20-30% fat, 15-25% protein, and 50-65% carbohydrates. Tell me you can get that from a liquid diet and I’ll show you a liar.

I’m not into restrictions or any “eat this not that” thing. I’m all about eating really well 80% of the time and then every once in a while going for that slice of double fudge chocolate cake because dammit, life is short. In doing this, you won’t feel limited. Not only will eating well make you feel good, like, really good, but having that cake will also make you feel reeeeally good, without the guilt.

Check back for healthy recipes and ideas to help kick-start your new, healthy life!

Don't forget to follow me! 

Twitter: @Flat_Belly_Blog

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Here I go...

As I enter into the blogging world, I think it's pretty important I set some ground rules on what I'll be writing about. This is all about having a healthy lifestyle. I am morally against fad-diets, fat flushes, detoxes, basically anything that limits your intake. I think it's ridiculous and unnecessary. And before you go arguing with me, I want to tell you that I have a degree in Nutrition, so my arguments are valid. 
If you don't agree with what I'm saying, that's fine. I'm not here to change your mind. I'm just here to voice my opinion because I honestly just can't hold it in anymore. There will be posts about things I agree with, things I don't agree with, and things I'm doing on my own. So, if anyone out there is actually reading, please feel free to comment. I'm open to arguments, I'm open to changing my mind, and I'm very open to new ideas on what to write about.

Okay, here we go!

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