Good Passover Eats

Hey!  I have a lot to share with you.  I wanted to post this yesterday but I wasn't home until 10:30 last night and was wiped out.  I'll back up to yesterday.

Strawberry and Banana Matza

Just a shmear of almond butter over the matza, covered with sliced banana and strawberry was such a delicious breakfast!  I also paired it with some egg whites on the side.  

Mediterranean Matza

Yesterday for lunch I had a very tasty matza creation. I spread on a layer of hummus, then little bit of pesto and topped it with tomato, red pepper, and feta.  Sooo yummy! I had a half of a banana and a glass of milk with my lunch, too. 

Whole Lunch...

Nectarine Matza

Today's breakfast is pretty self-explanatory :)  Just almond butter and sliced nectarine on the matza.  Very tasty! 

I also had some egg whites with parmesan. 

Mozzarella Matza

 I would've called this margherita matza, but I didn't have basil to add :( So this one is just marinara, tomato, and fresh mozzarella.  Still great!  Anything with fresh mozzarella is awesome:) 

Alongside, I had some vanilla greek yogurt with sliced strawberries.  

Matza Nachos

I can't believe I never did this before.  This was super easy. I just broke up one piece of matza, topped it with cheddar and black beans, then nuked it for 30 seconds.  Of course I had some salsa on the side!

I've been having so much fun with all these matza creations! Look for more coming.  I plan on making my my favorite Passover dish tomorrow, so stay tuned! 

I'll leave you with some highlights from last night's sedar!

The one time I'll have good ole matza with butter this week!

Matza ball soup- one chive and onion and one regular. 

Charoset!!!

Some kind of yummy curry fruit compote + a fruit bar of some sort (pretty good!). 

Dessert plate! 

Happy Passover!

Hello everyone.  Man I'm wiped out right now!  I went to spinning with some seriously sore legs from a couple days ago and I guess it took a lot out of me because I could maybe go to sleep right now! My bum and quads are quite fatigued :) OK I'm going to try to get through my day before Gossip Girl starts!

LUNCH

I had some leftover whole wheat white cheddar shells and cheese with broccoli and peas.  Of course, this is a very typical dish for me and I love it.  I also had a sliced nectarine in vanilla greek yogurt, yummm. 

SNACK

My pre-workout snack did the trick!  Lately, I've been having too small of a snack and then becoming too hungry during my workout to go on.  Today I had a Very Vanilla Silk Soy drink and 1 cinnamon brown sugar Fiber One "pop tart." 

DINNER

Well I kicked off passover with one of my favorite things to make during passover, matza pizza! It's super easy to make.  I just covered a piece of matza with marinara, chopped veggies (zucchini and red pepper tonight), mozzarella cheese and put in the oven at 325 for 10-12 min.  

I also had a salad with red pepper, carrots, and mozzarella cheese. 

This year, I went with Yehuda Whole Wheat Matza- 100 calories and 4 g fiber per slice.  Not too shabby!

And of course dessert...

Strawberries, vanilla greek yogurt, and mini chocolate chips. Time for Gossip Girl!

Yummy New Addition

Good morning!  I've read a lot many versions of oatmeal that include yogurt, but I had never tried until now!  OMG- the addition of just one large spoonful of vanilla greek yogurt resulted in amazing flavor and creaminess.  Needless to say, greek yogurt is a welcome new addition to my yogurt that you will see again for sure.  

VANILLA BLUEBERRY BANANA OATS

In the bowl: 

• 1/3 cup oats, skim milk, water
• spoonful of ground flax
• 1 mashed banana
• ~1/4 c blueberries
• 1 lg spoonful (maybe even 1/4 cup!) vanilla greek yogurt stirred in after cooking
• 1 spoonful of almond butter stirred in
• small handful of crumbs of cinnamon shredded wheat

Look forward to the Passover edition of The Tasty Balance all this week!  

Hump Day

Hi!  Besides my lunch, which is pretty much a repeat of yesterday's, today was such a good food day!  I try to make everyday as delicious as possible, but today was the best in a while. Probably because I have some new ingredients to work with that I haven't had in a while! I had been a rut of repeats for quite some time.  I'm hoping to keep changing it up now that I'm settled here in the new place! 

LUNCH

Like I said, this is pretty much the same as yesterday but instead of crackers I had a nectarine. So it was a nectarine, carrots, hummus, cottage cheese, and pb&j on a sandwich thin.  

In the afternoon, I meant to have just one Fiber One "pop tart," but I had two :)  I was just feeling so snacky!  I went to the gym after work.  I was talking to Chris on the way there and said he had a "back day" at the gym, so I decided I would, too haha.  My back workout was all pulling exercises: 

• 60 lbs dual axis row, 3 sets of 10-12
• 80 lbs compound row, 3 sets of 10-12
• 90 lbs lat pull down (with the straight bar, so palms facing away), 3 sets of 10-12
• 80 lbs lat pull down (with handles so hands facing in), 3 sets of 10-12

The dashes are because I couldn't do 12 every time. I also did some abs and lower back stuff and 20 min on the stairclimber. 

DINNER 

Tonight, while watching my new fave Modern Family, I had a great pasta dish.  Look at the pretty veggies that went in: 

Along with the veggies, I added shrimp with red pepper flakes and garlic.  Over the whole things, I obviously added freshly grated parmesan :)

I had to have dessert tonight but could not decide.  Finally I decided to use my favorite gadget, the milk frother.  I put about 1 T white chocolate chips and a little vanilla in a mug with skim milk then heated up.  Then I stirred it up with the milk frother.  This was so simple and sooo yummy! 

Strawberry Almond Oats

Good morning!  I had a couple minutes so I'm going to post my breakfast.  It was very delicious, by the way. I bought some more frozen fruit this week and I think oatmeal is a great way to use it.  Sometimes I make stovetop oats, sometimes I use the microwave.  Often, when I use frozen fruit, I just put everything, except my toppings, in the bowl and stick it in the microwave. 

In the bowl: 

• 1/3 cup oats, skim milk, water
• 5 whole frozen strawberries
• spoonful of ground flax
• couple drops of vanilla
• spoonful of almond butter
• handful of Cascadian Farms Honey Clusters

All Three Meals, Believe it or Not!

I know I've been a slacker lately and I'm sorry!  But I actually have three meals here to show you! Really, you haven't missed much.  I have been having some boring, repeat meals lately because I'm still building my stock at the new place.

Breakfast

I had a yummy egg white sandwich with tomato and avocado.  I'm using a smaller 100 calorie pita right now so I used both halves.  It was very delicious, even with no cheese! See that huge apple I have sliced up on the side?  I only had a few pieces.  I was running late so I put it in a baggie and brought it with me to work.  By the time I got the work, my fullness set in and I couldn't eat it!  Such a waster, I never got to it all day! 

Lunch

Today was super busy and I'm surprised I ever got to sit down to eat. It was filling and good, but nothing too exciting.  I had a Pb&J on an Earthgrains thin, a cut up whole carrot with hummus, cottage cheese, and some whole grain crackers.  I also had a special dark hershey's kiss. 

 

Dinner

I was excited for dinner, I had been thinking about my leftover spicy oven fries pretty much all day :) They were a little drier when I reheated them, but still OK .  I also took a pita, split it in two and made "pizzas."  I drizzled a little bit of olive oil over them, sprinkled garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper over them, then added tomato, yellow pepper, and feta.  I baked them for about 1o min at 350. 

I also had dessert!  I had the last bit of my low-fat tart fro yo and topped it with slivered almonds, white and regular chocolate chips. 

 

Loaded Boca Burger and Spicy Oven Fries

Hello!  I know I've been missing, sorry about that!  Anyways, tonight I went to a really great spinning class then  had one of my go-to meals but with a delicious twist.  I actually haven't had a boca burger in a long time!  

I put my boca burger on an Earthgrains sandwich thin with some sharp cheddar, avocado, and tomato.  

While my sandwich was really yummy, my spicy oven fries were the highlight for sure.  They were really easy to make.  I just cut up a regular baking potato into "spears"- it's easier if you cut the potato in half first.  Then drizzled some olive oil over them, tossed it around to coat all the potatoes, and sprinkled salt, pepper, a little garlic powder, and red pepper flakes.  Then I baked them at 425 for 30 min.  

I went really easy on the olive oil, which made the potatoes stick to the pan.  I tried to save them by spraying them some Pam towards the end and that seemed to help, but I should have put a little more oil on them to start.  That would probably shorten the cooking time so I would watch them from 20 min on.  

Well I'm going to try to get up early to workout before work, so I'm going to hit the hay!

You Have to Try This One!

Hello everyone!  I just had an amazing dinner and used my oven for the first time. It is pretty exciting to learn that it works.  I was skeptical of my oven when I was moving in... it's a convection oven/microwave oven, but really it just looks like a fancy microwave.  But, as I discovered tonight, it actually is a real convection oven and it works like a charm! 

Ever since the February issue of Real Simple came out with the article about 10 ways to use cheese ravioli, I have been dying to make this one variety that was featured.  It was cheese ravioli baked with heavy cream and pesto.  Yes. Very heavy, huh? Well I decided to make a couple changes to the recipe and the result was pretty great, if I do say so myself!

I didn't take actual measurements, so I'll explain what I did.  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Cook the cheese ravioli.  About 2 layers in a shallow 2 qt baking dish. I think it was about 16-18 oz (about a half of a 2 lb bag). 
   
3. Right before draining, throw in about a thin layer worth in the baking dish  of frozen peas (I know, not very precise). 
   
4. In a mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup pesto with 7-8 oz 2% plain greek yogurt. I used the 7 oz container of 2% Fage.  
   
5. Mix the cooked ravioli and peas in with the pesto mixture until combined. 
   
6. Pour into the 2 qt baking dish and sprinkle with ~1/4 cup grated parmesan. 
   
7. Bake for 20-25 min, until it is golden brown and bubbly on the top.  
   

Here is my serving.  I paired it with a big salad of romaine, dried cranberries, and balsamic vinaigrette. 

So goood!!  The greek yogurt was the perfect substitute for heavy cream in this recipe.  I'm going to have the remember this trick in the future.  It actually added protein, while using less fat and producing a really creamy texture.  

Blast From the Past

Hello there!  Well for whatever reason, I was so exhausted last night and went to bed after LOST instead of blogging about my delicious dinner, so I'm going to start with that dinner!

GREEK SHRIMP PASTA

I used to make this dish all the time in college!  It's based off my favorite dish at my favorite restaurant, Kona, in Oxford, OH.  It's really easy.  

1. I cooked up some whole wheat pasta.  While that was cooking...
2. I sauteed some 1 green pepper (chopped) and 2-3 cloves of garlic.
3. When there is only ~3-4 min left of cooking (of the pasta), I added 1 diced roma tomato and shrimp, then sprinkled all of it with oregano.  Note, I had already salt and peppered the other veggies and shrimp.  
4. Once the pasta and veggie/shrimp mixture are all done, mix together and add feta cheese. 

I served mine over a bed of spinach, just to add another veggie.  This dish brought back memories!  It's for sure an all-time favorite of mine!  

I also decided I needed dessert!  So I sliced up some strawberries, scooped up some low-fat tart fro yo, and topped it all with some mini chocolate chips!  Delish!!

Breakfast

I just had my typical banana and PB oatmeal this morning!  I'm gotta get geared up for the day.  Later!

A Foggy Start

Good morning!  I looked out the window this morning and it looked kind of like how my head has been feeling the last couple of day, quite foggy!  Check out my foggy view this morning: 

I actually switched up my oats a little this morning!  And they are REALLY good!  I made blueberry banana oats. 

In the bowl: 

• 1/3 cup oats, skim milk, water
• 1 banana 
• spoonful of ground flax
• about 1/3-1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 handful of hemp granola
• spoonful of almond butter

Daily Recap!

Hello there! I'm super tired, I'm blogging from bed :)  Today definitely felt like a Monday! Here's a recap of the day. 

Breakfast

Today was a nice bowl of banana & PB oats. I bet you are tired of seeing this! I just love them :) So, so tasty! Plus, they keep me full for most the morning!

In the bowl:

• 1/3 cup water, skim milk, and oats
• 1 mashed banana
• 1 spoonful of ground flax
• 1 spoonful of PB 
• sprinkle of hemp granola (from the Whole Foods bulk bin)

Lunch

My lunch was super delicious!  I had a half of a whole wheat pita filled with some pesto feta mixture (I'll post what this is leftover from soon!), spinach, and a roasted red pepper.  I also had some Chobani plain, fat free Greek yogurt sweetened with agave, and topped with grapes, strawberries, and hemp granola.  Soo good!

A better look of the sandwich...

and of the yogurt!

Dinner 

Tonight I had a grilled sandwich (just used some Pam on the pan to make it toasty) using the whole wheat bread.  The innards include:  pesto, 1 piece of muenster, some feta, 1 roasted red pepper, and some mystery hot pepper that I got from work (it was so spicy, I had to take it off my sandwich!) 

The side salad was spinach with sliced green grapes and slivered almonds. Sliced green grapes are one of my favorite salad toppers.  They are especially good with balsamic vinaigrette, which  I used tonight.  I was also craving something potato chips, so I gave myself a small portion.  

Nighty night!  

Soupbox

Hello!  My friend Ann is in town this weekend, so I'm bummed that I'm not feeling too well!  I did get to see her this afternoon though :) She was shopping a couple blocks away so I met her and Lindsey and we went to Soupbox for a light lunch.  It was great! Although I think that it was a tad expensive- $4.99 for a cup of vegetable soup- it was tasty enough that I would definitely go back to try some more flavors!  

After taste testing a couple of varieties, I chose the Fire Roasted Vegetable.  I came oh-so-close to choosing the Fresh Broccoli and White Cheddar, but the heavy, creaminess just didn't sound so appetizing with my stuffed up head. 

I was really happy with my choice.  With a big chunk of multigrain bread that came with it, it filled me up.  I'm very happy I learned about this spot that's not too far from my apt!  

Coffee Talk

Good morning!  So I have coffee every morning, but I realize I never talk about it!  I just have one mug.  During the week, I almost always set it up the night before and set it to start brewing around the time I wake up so that as soon as I get to it, it's ready for me! I like it milkier than many folks, but I use either skim milk or vanilla soy milk depending on what I have on hand.  Then I sweeten it up with a drizzle of agave nectar once around the mug.  I love using agave nectar as a sweetener.  I used to be a splenda freak but I got really grossed out once I thought about all the artificial sweeteners I was using throughout my day (some yogurts, sometimes diet coke, etc.- these are actually all habits I've improved now).  When I use agave, I'm almost positive I'm adding less calories than if I was to stir in actual sugar because a little goes a long way.  I've never actually measured, so I can't say this for sure :/ However, agave is much sweeter than just plain, granulated sugar so theoretically you can use less to achieve the same level of sweetness.  Hmm, I now think I'm going to have to do a little experiment soon!  Regardless, the taste is great!

In the past two or three I've also really decreased my spending on coffee.  I used to pick up coffee from either starbucks, caribou, dunkin donuts, or wherever I would pass, at least a couple times a week.  That gets ridiculously expensive!  Now I just stop into Starbucks or Caribou for an occasional treat (especially during pumpkin spice season!!).  Then it's special and worth the extra money.  For example, the first nice day of the summer, I MUST have a frappacino and considering my pumpkin addition, I have to have a pumpkin spice latte within the first week they are available at Starbucks!  

Well I recently made a purchase to make my coffee at home a little more special.  For just $2.99, I bought a milk frother from IKEA.  I had seen a Bodum one for $11.99 and thought that was a great price until I saw the one at IKEA. 

To prepare my coffee this morning, I poured some milk into a glass and warmed it up for 30 seconds, then used the milk frother for maybe 20-30 seconds and it was frothy and ready!  I had already stirred my agave into my coffee before adding the milk.  And just like Starbucks, I used a spoon to drain the milk into my mug, while saving the froth to scoop out of the glass and add on top of my drink.  And viola! A little fancier version of my regular cup of coffee for just a one time fee of $2.99 (*and 2 AA batteries) and about 1 min extra in prep time! 

I also made a delicious and nutritious breakfast! I made eggs (1 egg + 2 egg whites) with 1  roasted red pepper chopped up...

Then I had to cut it into two pieces to fit into my half of a whole wheat pita and added 1 piece of muenster cheese and some spinach leaves.  I also had a blood orange on the side- that was soo juicy and yummy.  

Look at how colorful!  This is a dietitian's dream to see such a colorful plate.  And it was sooo tasty, as well.  I love, love roasted red peppers!  I'll be using them a lot since I have a jar I have to use within a week! OK well, now in addition to my cold, my back is acting up so I'm gonna just relax some more! When it rains, it pours :)