THE BEST kookin and kuteness!

So I guess I am down to one post a week now until school is done at least! But I have to share for some special people my best day ever this last weekend.

#1 For "Get Outside Week" and Earth Day I spent my time with some of my favorite people and OWLS! Here is a photo of the Great Horned Owl nest with owlets in it we found on a beautiful hike:) (momma owl was flying around keeping watch!)

#2 Healthy Crab Cakes! (from a couple weeks back)
Ingredients:

1 can (16 oz.) Jumbo lump crab meat (we used left over imitation crab about the same amount and just as good!)

2 tbsp. minced jalapeno

2 scallions, chopped

½ cup minced red bell pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup bread crumbs

Fresh Cilantro to taste! (I added a lot:))

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425. Gently mix everything but ½ of the bread crumbs and using your hands, loosely form the crab mixture into 8 patties. Spread the remaining bread crumbs on a plate and roll each crab cake over the crumbs to lightly and evenly coat. As the cakes are formed, place them on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake until golden-brown on the outside, about 12-15 minutes!
So tasty! We ate it with some spinach and a special Jake made!

#4 Healthy Fettuccine Alfredo!
Feelin like pasta lately? I was! Had this tonight so good, man approved!

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into chunks (about 2 cups)
2 cups roasted broccoli florets
8 ounces fettuccine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup plain FAGE Total 0% greek yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch ground nutmeg
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
Whisk in the flour until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, Greek yogurt, milk, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup Parmesan.
Add cooked chicken and broccoli to sauce mixture, followed by the cooked pasta. Toss to combine and serve with more Parmesan, if desired.
*I would make maybe a little bit more sauce if you like sauce like me:)

#5 GLUTEN FREE Ooey Gooey Goodness PB Choco Cookies!
So easy, only 6 ingredients, new favorite recipe and for my gluten free ladies!

Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used 1/2 creamy Adam's natural and a little bit of an organic crunchy honey kind from the market this saturday)

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

6 ounces semi-sweet, dark, or bittersweet chocolate chips

Let the dough chill for at least 2 hours (I let it sit all day). Bake for 6-8 minutes at 350 in the oven! Cool and enjoy! xoxo

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! I have a few things to share that maybe you want to try this weekend:)

#1First off Spring is here...sorta...it was warm now it's kinda cold it can be a bit depressing but I was looking for something refreshing and different from my normal cran-water so I added some left over cucumber slices (just 2) to my water bottle! It is so yummy! I am addicted to it haha.

#2 A little snack/dessert
So remember those Fried Nanners from a day ago? Well I made them again (or you could use left overs) in my oatmeal! I also added a spoonful of peanut butter, some sliced almonds, and unsweetened HERSHEY'S COCOA powder (only about a t), and some unsweetened almond milk. Such a wonderful snack mmmm who doesn't like chocolate, peanut butter, and banana?

#3 What to do with left over Honey Sesame Chicken Sauce
Okay so if you tried the Honey Sesame Crock Pot Chicken the other day you probably noticed the left over sauce in the crock pot and possibly some left over rice??? Well I LOVE that sauce so I saved it and put it on a spinach salad with left over salmon slices I had (from sushi) that I broiled in the oven with EVOO, lemon and seasoning. I then decorated with sesame seeds left over, cucumber I had, half an avocado I had, and rice on the side! Sooo yummy as a dressing!

Have a great weekend!!! Don't forget to be awesome:)

Already Another!

Two days in a row I can not believe it but I am just too excited to share this banana recipe! haha So Yummy!

#1 Fried Nanners:
1.5 cut Bananas
cinnamon
1T honey mixed with .5T water (warmish so honey mixes well:))
Spray a pan with oil let banana's fry and flip over when brown on the bottom side. Add the honey/water mixture after flipped over and take off stove. Sprinkle with cinnamon as desired and voila!

#3 Honey Sesame Crock Pot Chicken:
Next, is a crock pot recipe I made a week ago that is just too darn good and simple. The picture includes ingredients and literally just mix ingredients together poor over frozen chicken in crock pot, cook on low for 4 hours take chicken out and shred if you'd like, then add the cornstarch disolved in water to the sauce in the crock pot and wait about 10 minutes or until it gets a little thicker (I made white rice during this time to do with:)) then poor over chicken and rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions! yummy with an Asian flair!

Enjoy! :)

Been SO Long!

Oh my goodness it has been so long since I have blogged! Guess I have been slightly busy ;) I have a lot to upload but I'll start with what I made for dinner tonight...my all time favorite meal...Zucchini Quiche!! This recipe is from my Grandma Jan, all though I am sure I don't quite make it as good I like to think about her when I make it hoping she will join me for dinner <3

#1 Zucchini Quiche:
4 cups thinly sliced Zucchini { I shred mine in the food processor}
2 med. sized onions- chopped
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped parsely {Ive used both fresh and dried before}
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon leaf basil
1/4 leaf oregano


2 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese{ you can buy it already shredded}
1 can pillsbury refridg. quick crescent dinner rolls
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Saute zucchini and onions in the butter in lg. fry pan over med.low heat until Zuch is tender {prob. about 10 min,stir frequently}

Stir in parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil and oregano, remove from heat.
Stir eggs and cheese in large bowl
Add zucc. mixture to the eggs and cheese

Separate rolls into triangles and arrange in 9x9 or 11x14 dish or a glass pie plate, depending on how thick you want the crust and how deep you want the quiche to actually be. If you use a pie plate or 9x9 you will probably have too much egg mixture left over. Obviously a quiche pan works too.
Press the dough together over bottom of the dish and up the sides just a little{it will be thin}
Spread mustard over the top of this and add your egg mixture

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 min. pie plate 30 min.

#2 /#3 DIY Body Scrub!
Before we went to Florida I wanted to get a spray tan, but I also wanted to scrub the dry wintery skin right off me! So I looked up DIY scrubs on Pinterest and combined my favorite ingredients/what I had in my apartment. This is a MUST TRY, so easy to make and my skin felt SO GOOD, not to mention it smelt delicious as I showered and I think the coffee woke me up! (Recipe in pic, I stored it in an empty Almond Butter jar-keeps in fridge:))

#4 Dr. Seuss before his time: here is a funny, ironic, true picture I came across via a past professor that I have to share! What Dr. Seuss books really mean, I would rather read about these things in Dr. Seuss language for sure! What do you think?

It has been a busy few weeks and it's not calming down any so no crazy diets or workout regimes to share. I am still having a smoothie once a day, tryin to eat healthy, and workout at least 3-4 times a week (I find I am actually more productive when I do!). This part of the semester/ year is hard I am not trying to kid myself but we can do it...warm weather is on the way! More things to come later in the week or possible next week haha. xoxo

Killin It:)

This is my mantra to Spring Break! Checkin things off the list and working hard for the end goals in mind. That being said, the Smoothie Shake down is also a success! (And that;s with weekend cheat days!) I started at 130lbs and I am down to 126/125 lbs as of today after lunch (which was of course a smoothie)! I feel SO much better, people and kids are sick all around me, I have been so swamped with life but I feel energized, focused, and most importantly not sick! This week I decided it's a marathon run to spring break, I am stopping to take care of my body/sanity on the way, paying attention to smell the roses on the sides and it's a dead spring to the finish line Saturday March 23! Whoo!

I forgot to mention last week that the diet says to take it easy on working out, so if you haven't dieted/worked in a while now is not the time to start hitting the gym hard! Your body needs to adjust. This week was busy busy so I got to the gym Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and today most of those were just my jog for 10, sprint intervals of 30 sec for 10 and arms/abs after but I did make it to Piyo on Monday...a mix of pilates/yoga...let's say if you are older or out of shape it's a great way to get to the gym and ease into it :)

Recipes! First picture is the beef sauté I promised you last week, mmmm and second picture is the Fat Flush Soup (Anne Louis Gittleman)! I have lots of soup so if you are making for one, downsize haha.

*For the soup I used Spicy V8 low sodium and less cayenne pepper, and I also boiled the chicken! Just boil a pot of water, boil chicken for 20 min, check one to make sure it's done, cool and shred!
*Beef Sauté a hit with the boyfriend and could totally be put into low fat low carb tortillas!

With this diet the key is veggies, fruits, raw anything, basically healthy eating! So I had asparagus for a snack one night with cayenne, cinnamon, turmeric, lemon, and EVOO...I also had quite a few low-fat graham crackers while studying...

This week for SMOOTHIES I was really into tropical flavors like the mango shown here with blueberries! Yummy! And mangos are a great source of vitamins!

Lastly, a few things that have inspired me this week in life and choreographing dance and I hope they will you as well! Happy Weekend! xoxox

Katie K's Korner: The K's of Life! : be KIND to your body

Katie K's Korner: The K's of Life! : be KIND to your body-Here is the link to her website! (one that works!)

http://www.annlouise.com/

be KIND to your body

So I have completed week 1! It was hard, not gonna lie, but I'm glad I got through it and I really feel so much better, can't wait to see how I feel at the end of next week! So a little background info, this is a real diet (just healthy eating really) by a Dr. Anne Louise Gittleman. Here is the direct website to the plan: http://www.annlouise.com/blog/2010/03/19/shake-down-excess-weight-with-delicious-smoothies/

Basically it is two shakes a day as a meal replacement and one meal with a healthy lean meat and as many fruits and veggies from her list as possible! (She has a list of approved best-fr-dieting-fruits-and-veggies-there-are list). And 2 Nalgene's of the 100% cran juice and water a day (that 64 ounces total in one day, leave a little room at the top for about 2-4 ounces cran juice- unfortunately this will stain your Nalgene badly...I am in need of a new one!). So no bread, starches, sugar, complex carbs, things like that. It is a gluten and dairy free diet as well and I have had this lingering cough and it's pretty much gone now! She has a special protein powder that I bought that is also gluten and dairy free, yummy, and made from plant proteins (look it up!). Some things you might not expect: nuts are not on the list but doesn't specifically say "no nuts" (I'd say I'm getting enough protein though), eat as many hard boiled eggs as you want for snacks, BANANAS are NOT are the list (lots of sugar and high glycemic index), "legal cheat" is green tea or black coffee:) SO happy I could still drink coffee and I am now a "black drinker" it's official! (Really helps when it's a yummy organic kind like Walla Walla Roastery or Whole Foods Allegro brand:)) No sugar is hard, and I totally cheated last night after my looong day of school and work and ate the rest of that nummy Justin's Almond Butter I uploaded last week....oops, but at least it wasn't ice cream with chocolate sauce right???

Now for the smoothies, it's the same recipe I have been uploading minus the almond milk! 1 T flaxseed oil, cran-water, her protein powder, any frozen berries, apples, cherries, pineapple, mango, grapefruit, oranges, and 1 T Chia seeds:) (add spinach if you want can't hurt!)

The meat should be lean like chicken, any fish, turkey, or beaf. I had tuna wraps (cheated with the whole wheat wrap from Whole Foods) and put green onions, carrots, Turmeric seasoning (a really healthy spice for you and recommended by her!), and mustard in it or a little nonfat greek plain yogurt for my meal to take to school. I also had organic chicken noodle soup one night with added green onion and a little nonfat greek yogurt and Turmeric. Tonight was friday so my roommate and I went out for salads (mine was chicken, apple, grape, walnut, apple cider vinegarette, celery, and blue cheese-YUM! Okay not totallllly on the diet but really close and still very healthy and low fat.)

I snacked on hard boiled eggs, carrots, grapefruit, apples and cinnamon, and oranges this week. I bought some more different yummy fruits and veggies for this week! The key is to have healthy snacks on hand so when you're hungry you go for those, in case you don't have a Magic Bullet on hand to make an extra smoothie cause that's a legal cheat too! Unfortunately almond butter was not...dang.

In the theme of being Kind to my body this week I decided to take advantage of some classes at the gym to inspire me to workout and just for fun:) I did my normal running Sunday and then Monday did TurboKick which made my arms and shoulders incredibly sore and my legs a little sore, then did Cycling on Tuesday which made my legs really sore, so Wednesday I tried Yoga and LOVED it, Thursday long day I only fit in a 15 min ab cruncher on my Nike App, which made my abs hurt so today I did walking around Whole Foods, Fred Meyer and dancing with Preschoolers, so tomorrow I am craving Yoga again!! (Dr. Gittleman says to go easy on working out on this diet....)

I plan to read lots of fun books this weekend but today I am super excited because I finally got Cinder from the library! A brand new scifi Cinderella story, can't wait! Haha Other than that I read Shel Silverstein Where the Sidewalk Ends this week- my favorite was the poem about the little boy with no concept of money! I want to use it in a classroom to explain that 1 dollar is actually worth more than 5 quarters...and so on :)

Here are some photos of my meals and snacks, black coffee, Dr. Gittleman's stuff, and my yummy snack at Whole Foods before shopping today (very bad to shop while hungry haha). I will upload a delicious meal from this diet I am making tomorrow and at the end of next week another update with a weight loss check (if I lost any haha). Happy Weekend everyone! Do something kind to yourself! I bought some yellow lilies today for our apartment:) I figure better flowers than fatty ice cream or flapjacks, or frozen yogurt, or fun dips....