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....

Keeping up and Keeping on Track!

No not Keeping up with the Kardashians which is probably the first thing that came to mind...they eat terrible, are not very kind sometimes, don't do a lot of kinesthetics but they are gaining more kids...anyways last week with Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend vacation it was definitely cheat weak! SO this week is all about keeping up and keeping myself on track (in all aspects of life)! Did you know it is only 30 days until SPRING BREAK?! That's only a month! But true progress, perseverance and and prayer can get us through it until that glorious day when we have a FULL WEEK off. Let's make the hard work pay off and spring break count! This week I have gone back to eating healthy and my 2 Nalgene's of cran-water everyday, a workout schedule, less sweets, a new Bible study, and a couple tests and papers turned in with prep for some projects to come before spring break on the school front- phew! So here's how I'm starting to get on track this week, much more to come next week!

#1 Quinoa Shrimp Stir Fry:
I had a bag of Wild Caught frozen shrimp from Fred Meyer with about 4 servings in it. I cooked 1c of quinoa and boiled a pot of frozen edemame beans while I cut and mixed together to sauté:
green onions
yellow onion (1/2)
carrots
broccoli (frozen and steamed in microwave)
water chestnuts
slivered almonds
garlic salt
low sodium soy sauce
1 lime (juice)
shrimp

Then add the edamame and quinoa maybe a little hot sauce and enjoyed for 2 dinners and one lunch:)

#2 Coconut Almond Breeze (Whole Foods!)
I have never seen this before but it has the same amount of calories as the original (60 cal) but tastes better than the vanilla!! I put this in my smoothies this week and started by 2 Nalgenes of 100% cran juice (Fred Meyer) and water again this week:)

#3 Rosette Spinach
This was in the packaged spinach section at Whole Foods and the label plus the "sweet and nutty taste" enticed me! So I have put it in my smoothies this week and LOVE it! According to
livestrong.com it has 25 calories a serving, 2g fiber and 2 G protein a serving and also....

"The omega-3s in mache help lower triglycerides and improve HDL (good) cholesterol levels, which reduce inflammation, and help reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Folic acid is highly recommended for women of childbearing age. Folic acid is also believed to improve stress and reduce depression."

VITAMINS AND MINERALS
A 4 oz. serving contains 2.2 mg of iron, 459 mg of potassium, 38 mg of calcium and 38 mg of vitamin C
Pretty cool! I love it!

#4 The Smoothie! (I had this everyday this week) I was getting sick of the usual spinach and blueberry smoothie, in case you couldn't tell, so I bought frozen BLACKBERRIES! Sooo yummy.

#5 More of a snack but filled me up enough for lunch at school on Thursday: Chobani cherry greek nonfat yogurt, oats, and JUSTIN'S CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER. If you have never tried in, go buy it! Yummy , yummy, yummy and still good for, still good protein but feels like dessert! And I like my sweets...

#6 K's Pick, Best Book of the Week
I decided rather than uploading all of the books I read each week...it's a lot and would be annoying haha...I'll pick my favorite! This is a new book (2012) and it's a picture book not only about math but FRACTIONS! "Full House" is a story about a cute old lady who owns an inn and all the visitors she gets with fractions on each page. The Inn is the "whole" if that gives you an idea:) I love the story, the illustrations, the rhyming, and the math aspect! Talking about Common Core and integrating Language Arts....teachers go buy this! This author (Dayle Anne Dodds) also has 2 other book on math on a math marathon and another on multiplication.

Kicking off a two week "smoothie shakedown" next week stay tuned for an explanation and update next Friday! ;) Have a great week everyone! xoxox

Kale, K snacKs, Kid's booKs, Kindness

Oh my goodness I have been such a bad blogger lately! I am going to get back into the swing of things! Here are some fun. healthy snacks I have been having lately:)
#1: KALE smoothie
I use a Magic Bullet so I fill the cup up about half way with nonfat milk, then rip up some fresh Kale into small pieces and put it in, about a cup of frozen blueberries, T of flaxseed oil, and my favorite Achieve Protein powder (vanilla) and then after I blend it I add a T of chia seeds. This smoothie packs lots of fiber, protein, healthy vitamins like the Bs and A and all the yummy vitamins in my special protein powder (turmeric), natural detoxifiers (Kale), calcium, antioxidants in the blueberries, and omega-3s! yum!

#2 NEW Greek yogurt: Apple Cinnamon Flavor (look for it in the grocery store, I think it's Oikos brand)- I just mixed it with bulk pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and slivered almonds for a hearty healthy long lasting snack!

#3 Crazy Synergy Kombucha Tea:
Have you heard of this? There has been a lot of hype about it lately so I decided to try it...so good!! This is one of many flavors (Guava Goddess is my favorite so far) but there are SO many, it's 2.99 at Fred Meyer which is a little much HOWEVER cheaper than an afternoon latte...it is also slightly carbonated (DO NOT SHAKE-I made that mistake and it was like a volcano) so it curbs cravings for something carbonated too! Health benefit claims: probiotics and powerful antioxidants, Vitamin B1,2,3,6 and 12, organic acids, aminos and electrolytes. Yum!

#4: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe..GREAT book I just read...beautifully written, could be one of my favorites. Recommended new read that has already won some awards. (youth boys, discovery, letters, love, friendship, hardship, bullying, questions about self-worth and meaning)

#5 "ish"- such an adorable children's book! Don't squish anyones ish! (self esteem, confidence, creativity)

#6 Feminist Folktales?! Haha incase anyone has ever noticed it has been pointed out to me that common folktales as we know them all include a couple themes: the man is the hero, the woman is needy, pretty, not strong, in some cases dumb, etc. The only strong women are "witches" haha why is this? Is this good to teach our little girls? I still love Cinderella but this compilation of folktales from around the world are some alternatives, these folktales are all about the smart, strong, and independent woman:) Pretty interesting! Check it out!

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day everyone! Show EVERYONE some love tomorrow <3 They deserve it!

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4, 13 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.... And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~

Love is a LOT of things (if you haven't read 1 Corinthians 13 in a while go read it! But in the end love truly is the greatest xoxo

Hello blogging world!

I really have not purposely been ignoring the blogging world I have just been really busy! Starting a new semester is always interesting! Anyways not to worry I have some delicious stuff to upload from a Super Bowl sunday full of baking and cooking :) not so much football watching....but go Beyonce! I did watch that, gotta work on my moves haha. First things first, I read a children's book, more like young adult book, called "Hoot" ,surprise right? It was really good! A wonderful story by Carl Haisson about a "new kid" in a small town in Florida who began to fit in and find some unlike friends through compassion for owls??? Yes! I loved learning about the environment of Florida and some middle school kids who made a huge difference in their community. Currently reading more good ones I will update soon, I still appreciate suggestions:)

And now for some kookin...
#1 Lettuce Wraps-my roommate and I made these Sunday, all we needed:
frozen chicken
soy sauce
$0.50 packet of "lettuce wrap mix"
Celery
Water chestnuts
Carrots
Head of lettuce
Brown Rice
And voila! Lettuce wraps! ( We sautéd thawed diced chicken, finely chopped carrots, celery, green onions, and water chestnuts with the packet in a pan in the fridge for about 20-30 min then just cooked it all in a pan). So easy so yummy mmm P.F. Chang's but healthier and in my apartment! (sorry about the picture I was super hungry and already ate half of my wrap haha)

#2 Breakfast Bake-well I do not know exact measurements but one word, Pinterest, haha or Google search, or just make however much you want!
Dry: oats, ground flax seed, brown sugar,cinnamon,crushed walnuts
Wet: nonfat milk, vanilla, tablespoon butter, egg
Sliced banana on the bottom (3) of 9x9 pan, 1/2c blueberries, sprinkle on dry ingredients, pour on wet, sprinkle with 1/2c blueberries, and some more walnuts, bake on about 375 for about 45 min. Warm and eat for breakfast! -next time we make this I would definitely try to add more protein so it's a little more filling, maybe greek yogurt to wet ingredients or protein powder itself? Also cinnamon raisin or pecans vs walnuts or strawberries or raspberries vs blueberries would be just as good!

#3 HEALTHY FUNFETTI CUPCAKES AND FROSTING!
So easy...1 box of funfetti mix with 1c Sprite Zero(replaces egg, oil, and butter)-bake like normal in cupcake tin.
Frosting- Low-fat Cool Whip in the tub, 1 box of French Vanilla pudding packet, mix together and set in fridge to set up a little.
OH MY GOSH SO MUCH BETTER THAN NORMAL CUPCAKES AND FROSTING, and better for you at the same time?! We thought we died and went to heaven haha.

#4 Wheat Berry Chili
1.5 lb lean turkey meat cooked
1c choped celery
1/2c or a little more shredded carrot
1/2 diced potato
2c Spicy V8 veggie juice
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
#5 This Wheat Berry box with included spice packet from a farm in Waitsburg WA!!! Just boil with 1.5 c water for 3 min then add the rest of the ingredients (and whatever else you want:)) and cook on simmer for 45 min. While that was kookin I mixed together and baked some Marie Calendar's cornbread muffins. Topped the chili with nonfat sour cream, onions, and a tiny bit of shredded cheese. MMMM! Prefect for a grey cold day and for left overs for the next like 3 meals haha.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week! Here is a quote for your thoughts from one of my favorite books "Calm My Anxious Heart" ~ Beware of what you dwell on for that you shall surely become- Ralph Waldo Emerson (Dwell on the positive!) xoxo