Iron Bowl Saturday

Last Night's Dinner:

I had a baked sweet potato, squash casserole, green beans, and just a bite of filet with sautéed mushrooms. 

I don't eat red meat that often (and I generally prefer veggies/side dishes to meat), so I didn't want a whole lot of it. I do enjoy the taste though, so it was the perfect portion for me- it was delicious!

My mom's squash casserole is the best- the one Thanksgiving dish we had to make! My dad and brother both claimed they hated squash casserole, but by the time dinner was over, they had both gone back for thirds!

We also had birthday cake for dessert- Edgar's strawberry cake with vanilla ice cream.

Breakfast:

I had a bowl of Oatmeal Squares with skim milk, sliced banana, and blueberries.

Lunch:

In honor of my brother's birthday, we made reservations at SpringHouse for lunch.

I ordered a cup of the Curried Butternut Squash Soup and the Oakview Farms Lettuce- apples, pomegranate, ricotta salata, walnuts, and honey sherry vinaigrette. The soup was soooo good!

I just love these dishes- they're by Earthborn Pottery, and I'm asking for some plates/bowls for Christmas!

After lunch, my dad and I went on a walk. Isn't the lake gorgeous?

My mom nicknamed this area "The Grassy Knoll."

We made it back just in time for the Iron Bowl. While I was watching the game, Angel hopped up on the couch and crawled into my lap. She is not a small dog, but I enjoyed the company!

Roll Tide- what a great win!

Dinner:

Chicken parmesan, broccoli and rice casserole (the other casserole we had to make), and steamed asparagus.

Yum- lake dinners are the best! Had some more strawberry cake for dessert (delicious but feel like I need to detox next week). 

Hope you have a great night!

A Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Although I've had a great past couple of days, my Thanksgiving has been anything but traditional. On Wednesday night, I went to DoDiYo's for dinner with my mom's side of the family. With people traveling from all over the country (My cousin's husband drove from Chicago early that morning and made it just in time for dinner) and world (One of my cousins just got back from Peru), it just made things easier this year. There were 15 of us and we got our own private room- it was really neat!

I ordered the Grilled Mahi, which came with marinated vegetables, arugula, fig vinaigrette, and sun dried tomato tapenade. The meal was also served with a Greek salad and my choice of a side. I chose the Konstadino's Greek Potato Salad- baked potatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper, drizzled in olive oil, and topped with green, red, and white onions.

Everything was delicious!

On Thursday morning, we went to brunch with my dad's side of the family at the Classic on Noble in Anniston. For a small town, it really is a fine dining experience and the food is really good!

Although they had an extensive buffet with pretty much every food imaginable, I took the non-conventional route and didn't put any "traditional Thanksgiving foods" on my plate. I never eat turkey at Thanksgiving anyway (too many delicious sides and casseroles!), and I clearly eat sweet potatoes and pumpkin on the reg, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much. 

To start off, I had a salad with strawberries, mandarin oranges, and almonds, broccoli salad, and spinach dip with pita chips.

The Classic is famous for their shrimp and grits- it's one of the top 100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die- so I opted for that instead. I also loaded up on sautéed vegetables- squash, zucchini, carrots, and Brussels sprouts and and got a little macaroni and cheese.

As for dessert, I got a plate filled with pumpkin pie, caramel pie, and banana pudding. I also tried a bite of my dad's chocolate and coconut cake and peanut butter pie, so I definitely had my fill of sugar for the day.

After visiting at my grandparents' house for a few hours, we headed down the road to Lake Martin. My dog Angel rode with us in the back of my brother's truck!

We had a relaxing night just watching TV- I made my family watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving! Love being at the lake for the holidays- it's so cozy and rustic!

This morning I made myself a bowl of oatmeal- 1/2 C oats, water, skim milk, sliced banana, blueberries, granola, almond butter. 

I love eating breakfast overlooking the water- so scenic.

I had a lazy morning and just caught up on all my TV shows- Revenge, Modern Family, New Girl.

For lunch, my brother grilled some chicken which I had over a salad with Zoe's Greek dressing. I also had some whole wheat naan with hummus and watermelon on the side.

The rest of today's plans include working out, watching football, going on a walk, reading Catching Fire (the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy), and celebrating my brother's birthday (he turns 21 tomorrow!). 

Have a great weekend!

Eggplant Parmesan

When I was at the farmer's market last weekend, I purchased 2 eggplants and a head of spinach that I knew I wanted to incorporate into an eggplant parmesan dish. I followed this recipe from Eating Well but ended up making my own adjustments.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggplants
• 2 eggs
• 1 C whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 3 C spinach
• 2 1/2 C tomato sauce
• 3/4 C part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º F. Coat two baking sheets and an 8 by 11 1/2- inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Cut eggplants crosswise into 1/4- inch thick slices. Whisk two eggs in a shallow dish. Combine breadcrumbs, 1/4 C of the Parmesan, salt, and pepper into another shallow dish. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg mixture, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, turn the eggplant slices over, and bake until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.

3. Stir spinach into tomato sauce. Spread about 1/2 of the sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange half of the eggplant slices over the sauce, overlapping slightly. Spoon 1 cup of the remaining sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese. Add a layer of the remaining eggplant slices and top with the remaining sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Serve with a side salad and whole wheat roll to complete the meal. (I didn't have anything else to go with the eggplant parm but will remember better for next time!)

Enjoy!

Team Edward

Going to see the new Twilight movie at midnight was probably a poor life decision (I've barely been able to keep my eyes open today, which resulted in 2 cups of coffee and a Coke Zero), but I don't regret it all. The movie was amazing- definitely my favorite one of all! Still haven't read the last book though- read the first 3 my sophomore year of college and then just got too busy with school to finish the last one. Maybe I can make it a Christmas project?

Team Edward all the way!

Loved the soundtrack too!

Especially this song.

I made a very festive bowl of oats to warm up this morning. It was freezing last night!!!

1/2 C oats, water, 2 spoonfuls Stonyfield 0% Vanilla yogurt, 1 T Golden Roasted Milled Flaxseed with Blueberries, sliced banana, 1 T almond butter, 1 T pumpkin butter.

I never talk about my workouts anymore, but I promise I still do them! Today I did 30 minutes on the arc trainer, 15 minutes on the bike, and 15 minutes weights (trying to build those muscles!).

Lunch was a Dr. Praeger's California Burger on a spelt tortilla with spinach, carrots, salsa and Strawberry Chobani Greek yogurt on the side. I ended up adding a few frozen strawberries to the yogurt.

Afternoon snack was a Honeycrisp apple with a little almond butter. 

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

I've been really successful at using up all my produce/dairy/leftovers lately- maybe I'm weird but I just hate seeing food go to waste and get such satisfaction from finishing leftovers! I'm trying to hold off from buying too many groceries on Sunday, since next week is Thanksgiving and I have a few dinners out already scheduled on my calendar.

Going to dinner at Bottega Cafe tonight with Laura and Ann- she's visiting for the weekend!!

News

So, last week I mentioned I had some exciting news....

1) I got accepted into UAB's Masters Program for Community Health Education. Classes start January 9 and as nerdy as it is for me to say this, I actually kind of miss studying and going to class. I was one of those who always sat on the front row, wrote down every single word the teacher said, and couldn't bring myself to ever skip a class until the last week of senior year. Can't wait to plan out my class schedule- I have an advising appointment the week after Thanksgiving!

2) I picked up another part time job as a Registered Dietitian at the YMCA. I'll be starting at a new branch opening in Hoover on December 15. I had my first day of training yesterday and loved it! I'm on the Health Coaching team, which means I work with all the personal trainers. We agreed that I could help them with their eating habits and they could help me get muscles. My job duties include teaching classes, one-on-one counseling, meal planning, giving grocery store tours, implementing a children's program, and incorporating nutrition for performance into sports programs- nutrition education was always my favorite part of my rotations in the Coordinated Program. Can't wait to get started!

Recent Meals:

OIAJ! 1/3 C oats, 1/2 C Stonyfield 0% Vanilla yogurt, 1/3 C skim milk, banana, frozen strawberries, 1 T TJ''s Golden Roasted Milled Flax with Blueberries, cinnamon, Hail Merry Cranberry Orange Grawnola. 

Taziki's Mediterranean Salad with grilled chicken. Always a good choice.

Turkey burger, leftover broccoli, and a sweet potato prepared in the microwave. All about convenience.

Possibly the weirdest lunch ever. In a desperate attempt to use up leftovers, I added the last of my Whole Foods Lentil Soup to a spinach salad with carrots, avocado, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and Whole Foods No Oil Balsamic Vinaigrette. The lentil soup actually had a pretty thick texture-more like lentils and less like soup- so it actually worked pretty well in the salad.

Scrambled eggs, avocado, goat cheese, and cherry tomatoes in a spelt tortilla with apple slices on the side. I'm telling you- eggs and avocado is one of the best combinations ever.

Brio's Chicken Orzo Salad- Tricolore lettuce, red and yellow peppers, green onions, cilantro, grilled chicken, orzo, toasted almonds, cranberries, apples, and creamy lemon vinaigrette. They have the best salads.

Whole wheat sandwich thin spread with Smart Balance Crunchy PB with Omega- 3's and TJ's Pumpkin Butter with apple slices on the side.

Going to see the new Twilight movie at midnight tonight- I'm probably going to have to take a nap this evening to make it through the movie!

Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli

Let's face it- eating steamed broccoli without any seasoning over and over can be a tad on the boring side. But let's be clear- I am not about to add so much butter, cheese, and cream that it defeats the whole purpose of even eating a vegetable in the first place. I love pure and wholesome vegetables but believe in enhancing the flavors with fresh, simple ingredients. This recipe for Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli does just that.

Ingredients:

• 2 heads broccoli, separated into florets (or you could be lazy like me and buy a bag of already cut broccoli)
• 2 tsp. EVOO
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice (or more)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400º F.
• Toss broccoli with EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. Spread broccoli onto baking sheet.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice over broccoli before serving.

I'm convinced that you can add olive oil and garlic to anything, and it will taste 100x better.

Great recipe- the broccoli was so flavorful!

I bought these Applegate Organics Turkey Burgers at Publix the other day and thought it would perfectly complement the broccoli and round out the meal with a little protein.

I read on the back of the box that the turkey burgers are especially good topped with Dijon mustard and chopped green onion, so I gave it a try. It ended up being such a great meal- and so easy! I'm a big fan of convenience these days.

The art of simplicity.

Delicious dinners don't have to be complicated!