Spaghetti squash.......what??!!

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash pasta? I know it sounds weird but it tastes pretty darn good. This is so quick and simple to make. I had my dad and grandma try it while they were in town a few weeks ago and they loved it. My husband, not so much, but then again he's not a vegetable eater.

I pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees then when it's ready I stick the whole 

squash in the oven and bake it for 45 minutes. 

Once it's done I cut the squash in half and let it cool for a few minutes.

Then I "gut" it out. 

I literally take a fork and scrape out the middle, it just falls apart perfectly.

While the squash is baking, I will cook my choice of meat, we really like ground turkey. 

I cook that stovetop then add my favorite spaghetti sauce to it. 

Then I take a strainer and lay a paper towel in it and let the spaghetti squash "drain"

The paper towel helps the excess water to be soaked up.

 (this step is optional) 

I let the drained squash cook stovetop with some olive oil and garlic/garlic powder. 

Stir and after a few minutes it's ready to be eaten. 

I only do this because I really like the taste of garlic 

but you don't have to do this at all if you prefer not to.

Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on top.

Then mix and enjoy! 

As I mentioned earlier my hubby did not like it because he's not a vegetable eater so I made him some

whole wheat spaghetti to eat with the ground turkey (pictured below) and he was happy. Easy meal for everyone.

Let me know if you try it! I'd love to hear your feedback.

A quick yummy snack!

I love these yummy energy bites! I’m a chocolate lover with a major sweet tooth. This is a great way to satisfy the sweet tooth with some good stuff. 

I used:

1/2 cup of almond butter 

1/2 cup of peanut butter (I personally like using both but you could use one or the other)

1 cup of oats

1/4 cup of ground flax seed

1/4 cup of raw sunflower seeds

A dash of pure vanilla

2 tbsp of honey

1 tbsp of chia seeds

Coconut flakes (optional) 

1 scoop of chocolate Shakeology or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips  

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then form into individual bite-sized pieces and refrigerate, then snack as needed. Enjoy! 

zucchini pasta!

I've been wanting to try zucchini pasta for quite some time now. Last night I finally did and it was yummy!!!! I bought one of those cool veggetti things at Walmart for $14.

It took about 2 minutes to turn a big zucchinni into this.

While I created my pasta I was heating up some grapeseed oil in a pan and sautéing fresh garlic and onions. I rarely measure anything while I cook so if that frustrates you....sorry! 

Once the garlic and onions heated up I added chopped grape tomatoes, tri-colored bell peppers and a cube of frozen basil.

                                

Then I added chicken broth. I covered that and let it simmer about 8 minutes till everything was a perfect softness.

When done, I sprinkled a small amount of Parmesan cheese on top.

                               

I also made turkey burgers to go with it. 

We really like turkey burgers around here.  

A delicious healthy blend of veggies and goodness. 

Enjoy and let me know if you tried it too!

eat well, live well

I'm part of a 30 day Beachbody challenge and I am so proud of myself for sticking to it and pushing through. I'm actually making better choices willingly and not just because "I should" or "I have to" but because I want to. Soooo this salad here was clean & yummy. I made my own delicious salad dressing, which was adapted from this pin and loaded the salad with all the veggies I could find then added this homemade topping. This was too easy not to. I'm finally putting my pinterest account to use (which is also a goal this year...to actually try the things I've pinned). 
Baby steps! 
This year is off to a great start. 

What changes are you making in 2014?

even baby girl is eating "clean"  heeheeheehee! 

that's a veggie straw in her hand, a favorite snack these days.

easy peach COBBLER

The yummiest, easiest peach cobbler EVER... no lie.

4 ingredients

30 minutes 

chow time

I got this recipe from my organic baby cookbook and it's a recipe the whole family will enjoy

(even my hubby ate it)

Want to know how?

All you will need is canned peaches or fresh peaches.

If they are fresh, just peel & cut 3 good sized peaches in half

(I used a loaf pan to bake because I didn't need to make a lot, so

if you want to make more then just double the recipe)

So I had 6 halves, I layed the peaches down in the pan, 

sprinkled about a tablespoon of cinnamon across the top,

then sprinkle about a tablespoon of brown sugar across the top of the peaches,

then take 2+ shortbread cookies, crumble them and sprinkle on top until you've got a good layer

Bake for 30 minutes at 350

let it cool and ENJOY!

I bought a jar of peaches & a box of shortbread cookies from Trader Joe's (my favorite grocery store)

Gone

French toast for the whole family

Easy....easy....yum yum breakfast for the whole family!! Today I woke up with the overwhelming urge to make French toast for my family, so I did! Even my little one loved it, success! Here's the recipe....

You'll need:

4 slices of bread

2 eggs

1 cup of almond milk (I find that almond milk is better than regular milk because it has the perfect amount of extra sweetness)

3-4 dashes of cinnamon

3-4 dashes of sugar 

1 tbsp of vanilla

Whisk all ingredients & dip each side of the bread for 20-30 seconds no more or it'll get soggy and hard to pick up.

Cook each side well, set on a plate, top with slices of banana, sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle some syrup.

(Of course the little one didn't get syrup or powdered sugar on hers; she got to enjoy the bananas with french toast & boy did she eat it all up!) 

Enjoy the Yumminess!

Baby food making: Ratatouille!

Easy...easy...easy! A meal for mommy & baby (BONUS!)

You'll need:

1/4 cup of olive oil

1 can of diced tomatoes (or whole tomatoes)

1 eggplant

1 medium onion

1-2 zucchini

1-2 yellow squash

1-2 red or yellow bell peppers

1 tablespoon of garlic 

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Add your favorite herbs (fresh or dry) I used pepper, sage, oregano and basil.  

Directions:

In a crock pot add the olive oil and the can of tomatoes, cook on high while you peel and chop all of the veggies into cubes (easier for baby to eat when it's chopped up smaller). 

Add in all the veggies then splash in the red wine vinegar and top with all of your herbs, mix and let it cook on high for about 3 hours. Done!

For baby: puree, if needed, or baby can eat it just like that if they prefer. 

For mommy & family: serve and enjoy!

It's so yummy and healthy, I personally did not think that it needed any salt. The tomatoes gave it such great flavor. Hope you'll try and enjoy it. 

[I had forgotten to take a picture of it when it was cooked fresh, this picture above was leftovers the next day and I added a turkey burger patty that I had just to change it up a bit. Another idea, add some fresh quinoa to it and YUMMO!!]

Easy Caramel frappe

Of course I love me some frappes but they get expensive on a regular.

So what's a gal on a budget to do?

Make them at home. I found that instant coffee is a perfect quick fix.

What will you need?

-your favorite instant coffee

-6 oz of hot water

-caramel syrup, sugar or your favorite sweetener (ie: agave, sweet condensed milk)

- COLD milk

-whipped topping

1. Mix one packet of instant coffee with 6 oz of hot water.
2. Add in your sugars or preferred sweeteners, I like to add caramel syrup or even sweet condensed milk to taste and add in your desired amount of COLD milk then top with whipped cream and dazzle with some more caramel syrup on top [I love CARAMEL syrup and tend to get carried away].
3. Add some ice if you want to make it colder....That's it!
4. Easy and done in under 5 minutes.
5. Enjoy it!

Additional tips: 

-I usually have frozen ice cubes of coffee that I will throw into the mix so it doesn't get watered down with the ice.

-You can use already made cold coffee to add to the mix to make it colder instead of using ice also adds to the flavor.

-Keep it simple and yummy, if it's too complicated then its no fun.

Ted Drewes!

         

OH my yum! Just a quick share and shout out to Ted Drewes frozen custard. I have never even had anything like this stuff before but this is sooooo worth it! When in St. Louis this place is a must visit. This is one of St. Louis' specialties and once you taste it you will know why ;)
You're welcome, ha!
xoxox...Have a lovely day...xoxox

Sweet (& easy) dessert recipe

Sweets!! I came across this yummy recipe for Strawberry shortcake here. It was so delicious and easy to make. I hope you'll try it and enjoy it. It is a great summer recipe. That's all.

Avocado obsessed

I don't know why, but lately I have really been wanting avocado....like all the time. I want it in my soups and with my rice and beans...but then again I guess that's normal for a puerto rican, ha! Also, I love guacamole but until recently have not ever made it on my own. So I gave it a try, I mean...why not? I thought you might like a quick, simple recipe for some yummy guac.

I use: 

1 ripe hass avocado 

1 roma tomato 

a couple branches of cilantro (i love cilantro, so I probably use more than anyone else would like)

2 (sticks?) of chives/green onion (can also use red onion...I just didn't have any)

1 tsp of fresh garlic (if you like it but it can go without)

1 wedge of lime

a dash of salt 

a dash of pepper

directions:

mash avocado & throw it in a bowl

cut up the tomato, cilantro & chives/onions add it to the avocado

add the garlic

mix that all in a bowl together 

sprinkle the salt, pepper & squeeze the lime over it all

mix that altogether and you're ready for some yummy dip.

if you want the flavors to really seep in then you can chill for about 30 minutes 

enjoy!

I made some last night and enjoyed with a homemade chicken quesadilla.......mmmm mmmm mmmm! 

Sorry this picture was taken after I devoured more than half of it.

Seeeeee my obsession....i mean YUM!

Cooking with Kale!

just a quick recipe with kale. i've never eaten kale before but last month for my birthday when my mom sent me an edible arrangement bouquet i realized that the base was filled with kale, so i thought, why not try it? i did and i'm hooked! this was a quick & easy recipe, can't get better than that! you will need:
-2 medium potatoes cut into small pieces
-1/2 a bag of shredded carrots
- 1 med. onion diced up
-1 tbsp of minced garlic
-1 large piece of chicken cut up.
- salt & pepper to taste, also any fresh herbs that you'd like

1. heat up some olive oil in a pot. add the garlic and onions, cook & stir for about 2 minutes.
2. add chicken, throw in your salt, pepper & herbs then cook until all the chicken is white.
3. add 3-4 cups of water, throw in the potatoes & carrots. cover. let boil for 35 minutes.
4. add in the kale and let it cook altogether for 5 minutes.
5. eat

read about some benefits of eating kale here

easy!

Dinner is served...

I really am such a foodie, I love to experiment and try new things all the time. Now being a SAHM I have the time to do so. Sometimes it works in my favor and other times......not so much. But at least I try, even if the evening ends up with me popping a frozen pizza in the oven to save us all.
I think I attempt to make Asian food at least once a week now, ha! I still haven't perfected it but I'm certain I will! My poor husband is always the guinea pig.
At my last attempt we had egg drop soup (I added chicken for a little extra flavor) & fried rice also with chicken. I sometimes think that I should have been Asian because I crave all those yummy foods so often. I think that this particular evening dinner was yummy but that's just my opinion.....

I found a very simple Egg drop soup recipe here
I didn't have white pepper so I used black pepper and I also added some soy sauce to the mix.

I found this very simple recipe for using leftover rice here, of course I didn't add the carrots or green peppers and I added eggs, but that was just a personal preference. 

These were such quick and easy ideas and I just had to share...that's the best part of it. 

What's one of your favorite Asian meals?

Eating Green!

Before I left San Antonio I decided to hit up some places I'd been dying to go including this vegetarian/kosher restaurant called 'Green.' I met up with a couple of my coworkers and we ate the night away. I love friends who love to eat. We started off with yummy fresh lemonade drinks.
I actually tried two different dishes because the first one had way too much ketchup on my "meatloaf" and I didn't like the flavors. Here are the food photos.....mmmmmmmm

Dessert before dinner is a must sometimes! It was all natural and all yummy!
ps it was cream filled...need I say more

This was my Eggplant parmesan and boy was it delish! I really enjoyed it & totally recommend it!

Meatloaf, sweet mashed potatoes with gravy and kale salad. This was the first meal, which wasn't too bad but the 'meat' had too much ketchup & and the kale had crushed pepper on it, a little too hot for my taste.


Happy Eating!
Eat green like you mean it!

Summer Yummies!

The worst part of summer is the exhaustive heat, especially here in San Antonio. I'll tell ya, I run away from the heat at all costs. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant but lately summer heat has had me staying inside. But I love a nice cold smoothie on a hot summer day. I needed to find creative ways to get more iron into my diet so I looked up some smoothie ideas and found a yummy mix that I love.

So easy..What I used was:

a handful of spinach 

2 apples 

1 banana 

a few strawberries 

Oikos organic greek yogurt 

Bolthouse Farms Orange and Carrot juice 

I really like the Bolthouse juices I've tried them all!

[Note* most people are weirded out by the spinach but you really 

cannot taste it in the smoothie, I added it for the boost of extra iron.]  

You can add ice if you choose.

Blend.

Pour into your favorite cup.

Sip & Enjoy!

There you have it...all natural and all yummy!

Try and see if you like :)

Stay cool in this summer heat! 

Good Eats makes a happy lady!

One of the strangest things about my pregnancy, so far, is that I haven't had any unusual cravings. On a normal basis, I crave weird things ALL THE TIME and I eat anything and everything but since I've become pregnant food really hasn't been my favorite. 

This has been an interesting pregnancy change for me. 

So when my appetite is good I make sure to eat good!! 

Here are some of the yummy things I have enjoyed lately:

Greek Food!

Puerto Rican Food!

Chinese food! Yummy lettuce wraps & rice!

Snacks that I keep handy ;) 

Indian food! MMMMM!

Cajun food!

Vietnamese food!

Bobba tea!

What's your favorite food to eat?