Set Your Intentions

I think I can finally say Spring is here.

This long, drawn-out dry spell since I posted last seems to be analogous to the cold weather that won’t seem to end.  I can hear birds through my window though, and I am looking forward.

With Spring comes change.  I saw a caterpillar today and it was furry. I am not talking about my legs since I have been shaving on a regular basis anticipating the nice weather.  I can’t stress how furry it was.  It was really furry. I saw new life!!!

The weather is not the only thing that is changing.  I will be starting a new job next month.  New field, new city, new people and a new routine.  You all know how much I love change in my routine (NAT!) but I am actually excited and ready for the move.  The whole situation is so bitter sweet.  McMaster is {and always will be} my family.

I have also changed.  Only three months have passed this year and I have already achieved most of my New Year’s Resolutions.  I am eating beans and eggs on a regular basis, have protein at almost every meal and am almost strictly gluten free {among many other things}.  I go to yoga at least three times a week and am still flossing on the daily.  If you really want to compliment me you can call me a Yogi.  I play squash now?!  If I would have read that a month ago I would have laughed in my own face.  I don’t know what it is about squash but I have this strong desire to hate it.  When I played for the first time I thought I would absolutely suck at it and that alone would fuel my hate but I was actual not that bad…and I might even say I had fun and have become obsessed with the sport of squash.  To reduce my cognitive dissonance towards the sport I have started referring to it as squish.  Only after publicly asking the boy if he wanted to squish did I realize that I should never refer to it as that.

Nothing could prepare you for the next thing I am about to tell you…

I haven’t eaten Honey Nut Cheerios in one month. ONE MONTH. Remember like two months ago when I said I would never stop eating Cheerios?  It’s absolutely terrifying when your own thoughts lie to you.  Trust nobody and never say never.  And Justin Bieber can suck my toe for making me think of him when I hear the words “never say never”.  Leave me alone Justin Bieber. Watching you go through puberty was very uncomfortable for me for a lot of reasons.

One thing I have loved to love lately is green onions.  I definitely put that squish on everything {it will catch on…it’s so multipurpose I am brilliant}.

As soon as Jessica from How Sweet It Is posted this recipe for Thai Chicken Quinoa was I super inspired.

So. Much. Green. Onion.

Everyone I fed it to (including myself) ran off to make it again.  It was the closest thing to a breath of fresh air I could get.

Click here for the recipe.  It will be the best thing you could do for yourself today.

Before I sign off I have two more things to share with you.

First, happy birthday to my beautiful and talented sister Jessica.  Jess,  this blog, among many many other things in my life would not be the same if it weren’t for you. I would be lost.

Second are the intentions for today:

“Live quietly in the moment and see the beauty of all before you.  The future will take care of itself…”

-Paramahansa Yogananda

It is good to be back.

Best,

Red

Super Bowl Snack Time Show

I watched the Super Bowl last night.  I was a super sad clown today since I was cheering for the 49ers.

On a happier note I have decided to scrap the last year of soul searching because when I grow up I want to be Beyonce.  Seriously.  I am Sasha Fierce-ing it up starting tomorrow.  Speaking of Sasha Fierce, I went to a drag show last Thursday.  This may have inflenced my life goals.  This is also an entire post on its own so I’m gonna save it for a rainy day…

I spoke last Super Bowl about the football family I was born into.  My mom specifically has stuck with her 49ers for the last 20-some years that I can remember, and she never jumped ship.  If anything you’d think she became more of a fan as the pile of swag in our house slowly grew.  I was so excited for her to see her team play in the Super Bowl.  I cheered my heart out and even though they lost, at least she can announce she is a 49ers fan with a little more chutzpah now than when I was aged 1-21.

 

The boy and I watched the game at the house of one of our closest friends.  He and his family were so welcoming and kept us well fed and entertained all night.  I am so glad I made these Jalapeno Beef-Stuffed Crescent Rolls, not because there wasn’t an incredible spread of food already but because if I showed up empty handed with all they did for us I would have felt terrible.

Between all of the “Game Day” Pinterest boards, choosing a recipe turned out to be harder than making a recipe.  I knew my criteria was bite-sized, portable and nothing with more than 1 vegetable in it (onion and garlic don’t count).  If it was up to me I would be eating carrots and dip and chocolate covered strawberries, but I knew I was going to be the only one without footballs of my own at this party so I went for something that covered the other three food groups as well.

 

I made a few adaptations to this recipe from tasteofhome.com.  Overall they were a big hit.  They had a bit of a kick and were very filling (not that I had any, this is just what I heard.  I am off the beef.  I have also never been “on” the beef.  That doesn’t mean I have never ridden a cow, it means that I have never eaten beef.  I have not ridden a cow though, if you were wondering.  I did milk a cow when I was four… well, I had the opportunity to but I was not expecting the udder to feel the way it did -i.e. hairy and rough- and ran to our field trip leader crying as soon as I touched it.  I blame 101 Dalmatians for misrepresenting what a cow udder is like. I digress.).  The boys all went back for seconds, not that they are the pickiest of folk, but it made me happy to see them eat my food!

Now that the Super Bowl is over I have V-day on my mind.  That is a Pinterest nightmare on its own.

Best,

Red

Jalapeno and Beef-Stuffed Crescent Rolls

Adapted from Tasteofhome.com

Yeild: 24 crescent rolls

1/2 medium onion, minced

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 lb ground beef

1 package (8 oz) Herb and Garlic cream cheese, cubed

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1 can (4oz)  jalapenos, diced (if not already)

3 tubes of refrigerated crescent rolls

In a large skillet, sautee oil, onion, and garlic for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.  Add beef and jalapenos to skillet and continue to cook until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Add cream cheese, cumin and chili powder and stir until mixture looks uniform.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Separate crescent dough into 24 triangles.  On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, place 1 tbsp of beef mixture to the short end of each triangle (this is the side you would start rolling the crescent roll from).  Carefully roll up.  Space crescent rolls 2 inches apart on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 11-14 minutes or until golden brown (mine took exactly 11 minutes).  Serve with any dip you please; the boy found some chili to dunk his into!  It is best to serve warm although I served mine cold and heard no complaints!

Golden Gluten-Free Globes

The one year I actually want to watch the Golden Globes I have no cable TV and no roommates.  While Jess came to the rescue with the live stream link, it feels weird worshiping Tina Fey and Amy Poehler by myself.

After my first week back at work and school, I am finally getting back into the swing of things.  Unfortunately my only class takes place from 5:30-6:20 three nights a week, so after working my regular 9-5 I spend 3 very tired nights hungry and unmotivated to cook.  It is these nights where I battle my voracious cravings for pizza. Hot and saucy pizza.  Be a doll and throw in some creamy garlic dipping sauce.

Last weekend I made these Gluten Free Pizza Bites.  Tired and hungry, these got me through two more filling and tasty meals last week. The quinoa acting as the dough, these pizza bites lend themselves well to any of your favourite pizza toppings.  Plus, the taste of fresh basil reminded me of a fresh summer salad and made me feel like spring was on the horizon.  Oh wait, maybe that was the 9 degree C weather we are having in January. In Ontario… Canada. Can’t tell.

I think I have found the perfect recipe.  25 minutes start to finish, still delicious two days later, GF, protein packed and shaped like a muffin.

Oh yeah, and if all the plunging necklines and side boobs of awards season have you “emotional eating”, don’t even think twice about scarfing down 1 or 10 of these healthy pizza bites.

Special shout-outs to Kristen Bell and her best dressed baby belly, Kristen Wiig and her best non-dressed belly, and Isla Fisher for being the best dressed red.  None for Lucy Liu, Sienna Miller and Taylor Swift.

Best,

Red

Gluten-Free Quinoa Pizza Bites

Adapted from: So Very Blessed

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried)
1/2 cup roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pizza sauce for dipping, I used this recipe for homemade tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the quinoa and two cups of water in a covered pot. Bring to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender.  Mix together all ingredients, except pizza sauce, in a medium mixing bowl. Distribute mixture into a greased muffin tin, filling each cup to the top and press down gently to compact.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Broil on low for two more minutes

Veggi-Good Resolution

New Year, New Red.

Whoever just heard Amanda Bynes’ voice in their head saying “New school, new babe pool”, we are so sympatico you can have my left kidney. It’s a She’s The Man reference friends.

New dutch oven too… which happens to be red!

So as you can see some things haven’t changed since last year, yet so much has.

After listing all of the foods I tried in 2012 I am starting this year with some 2013 new food resolutions.  For example, I would love to love eggs.  Omelets, frittatas, quiches, (I had to spell check all three of those words..) I want to love them all.  I will boycott hard boiled though, and I am take-it-or-leave-it with soft boiled.  We will be increasing the protein and decreasing the carbs.  I will never give up my honey nut cheerios in the morning though.  I should state, some things, that thing, will never change.

To all of you with your own food resolutions I wish you good luck!

I want to set an example for how serious I am about goals and about this blog so I am kicking the year off with Eating Well’s “Veggi”strone.  To most of you this looks like a healthy soup recipe, but to me it is so much more.  This recipe includes not one but two types of beans.  Beans! I don’t eat beans! I am grabbing the bull by its horns.

The beans are just 2 of 11 vegetables that are packed into this soup.  This soup is high in protein and fiber and low in calories and fat.  As suggested by the recipe, it lends well as a base for adding a variety of lean meats or even pasta if you aren’t satisfied with the heartiness that this soup already offers.  Heck, you can try every option you can think of because this soup could feed a family of 20.  That’s at least how many minutes it took me to find room in my freezer for all of it.

If you are planning on making this recipe, I suggest you add a bit of salt, pepper and if you like a little kick maybe even some red pepper flakes.  The broth was a bit neutral so add whatever satiates you!

If you are wondering how a 20-some year old working-student on her own could front such a hefty produce bill, I buy all of my veggies from Fiddes Wholesale Produce (F.W.P.s) located in the West end of Hamilton, ON.  The people working there are truly amazing and most of the produce you see on my blog comes from there.  It is my Saturday morning meditation and my Sunday night dinner.

All the best in 2013 babes and bros!

Best,

Red

Veggi-strone

Recipe by: Eating Well Magazine

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups chopped onions (2 medium)

2 cups chopped celery (4 medium stalks)

1 cup chopped green bell pepper (1 medium)

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups chopped cabbage

3 cups chopped cauliflower (about 1/2 medium)

2 cups chopped carrots (4 medium)

2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces, or frozen, thawed

8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth

2 cups water

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 15-ounce can kidney or pinto beans, rinsed

1 bay leaf

4 cups chopped fresh spinach or one 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

10 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven (8-quart or larger) over medium heat. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 13 to 15 minutes. Add cabbage, cauliflower, carrots and green beans; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 10 minutes more.

Add broth, water, tomato sauce, tomatoes, beans and bay leaf; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in spinach and simmer for 10 minutes more.

Discard the bay leaf. Stir in basil. Top each portion with 1 tablespoon cheese.

Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

For nutritional information, click here.