There are some things you should know… this being a nutrition blog and all!  I don’t really believe in low-fat or fat-free baking.  If I’m going to eat or bake, it’s got to be the real deal!  I did go through phases where I would try to cut out the fat from recipes.  After many attempts, I quickly learned that I did not like the taste of low-fat or fat-free baked goods.

Baking is one of my favorite things to do.  If I could do it all day I would!  On this blog you will see me debut many different recipes, a lot of them will be of baked sweets.  While I don’t believe in cutting out ingredients, you will often see me substitute ingredients.  For example, I always bake with whole wheat pastry flour.  For me, it produces the same results as all purpose flour.  You may see me use regular flour in items such as pie crust… but that’s it.  Another thing you will see me do is “Veganize” a recipe.  In my experience, I have often found that a veganized baked good tastes even better than the regular version… especially in cakes and muffins.  I don’t worry about cutting out the fat or sugar, but I will try to use natural ingredients as often as I can (depending on my budget).

You may be wondering if I’m vegetarian or vegan… the answer is no, I’m not a vegan, and this website is not about vegan food, but I am completely open to experiencing all types of food.  85% of my diet is vegetarian… it’s just the way my body naturally eats.  So, that being said… stay tuned for my debut recipe creation coming soon!!

Good Morning!  What a weekend!!  This was my first time away from my 5 month old daughter  It was tough… but was all for good reason!  My dear friend Natalie married the love of her life Jason.  It was such a beautiful ceremony!  I felt so honored to be a bridesmaid and be a part of such a special occasion.  What I wasn’t use to was the heat!  Atlantic Beach broke records as the hottest weekend in decades!  I’ve been talking about how much I love running in the DC fall weather… running in the Florida heat was rough… but I managed to get a in a decent run.  On Saturday, most of the day was spent with the bride.

Here’s the view from her room

Here’s the beautiful bride waiting to get her make-up done

We had some delish snacks in the bridal room!

The Bride Multitasking

Beautiful Flowers!!!!

The Happy Couple!

The Menu

I love that the Bride and Groom showed their support for a good cause!

Delicious Red Velvet Cake!!!

Here I am with Lauren, another bridesmaid

Everything about the wedding was perfect… from the food to the reception!  

I was happy to be reunited with my little munchkin

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  If you have Columbus Day as a holiday enjoy the last day of you 3 day weekend!

Hi Everyone!!!
Been busy all day and now tending to a crying baby… Hope to have a post up to recap the Florida Wedding Rehearsal! Stay Tuned!!

 My food last night was eaten in that order!  Cupcake first… then pizza!

Good Morning!!

Last night was so much fun!  My husband (Tim) had a great Birthday!  Here’s the Birthday Boy!

 You know your life has shifted when you throw a party and there’s pizza, beer, wine, and baby bottles in the picture!  Ha!

Cupcakes were courtesy of Georgetown Cupcakes!  I love how they deliver them right to your door!

 The pink disk on top is red velvet fondant that say “Happy Birthday” on it.

 I like to buy wines with fun labels!! 

We had pizza too, which was unpictured… my camera ran out of baterries   I was so busy enternaining I only managed to eat one slice of supreme pizza, I also had a large glass of wine.

 The party wrapped up at a decent time.  I was able to get to bed by 10:30. 

I was up at 6am for a quick run.  I came home to find this cutie pie in the living room

 After a quick shower Tim handed me a cup of coffee…

 Love Folger’s Coffee!

I was starving and craving eggs.  I decided on a breakfast taco which consisted of 3 scrambled egg white, one tortilla (all we had was white), and a slice of chedder cheese.

I’m no sure how long this breakfast will hold me over….

Today is a work day for me.  After work I have planning and packing to do for our Florida wedding.  On the agenda…

• Pick of mother-in-law from airport (she’s our babysitter for weekend)
• Pedicure (I desperately need one)
• Pick up bridesmaid dress from the tailor
• Pick up vegan snacks for the brides emergency kit (she’s vegan)
• Pack, then wake up on Friday for an early flight out…

Phew…

On another note… I found this article on MSN yesterday “Menu calorie counts can alter food choices.”  This article talks about the recent law that food chains must post their calories on the menu and how it’s starting to alter our food choices.  I love the idea of this because it’s educating the public… but at the same time, I feel we should be able to eat the foods we love.  If we really want a muffin but don’t get it because it has 579 calories, that may leave some people unsatisfied and may even lead to over eating other foods to satisfy that craving.  If it were me, I would order the muffin and just not eat all of it.  Here’s the link for the article

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33194730/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/from/ET

What would you do?  Do you like the idea of calorie posting? Or, would you rather not know?

Have a great day!!!  See ya later!

Goooood Morning!!!!

Sorry for the late post, it’s been a busy morning. 

We found out last night that my hubby had to go into work today, so I was up at 5am to get a quick run in.  I was amazed how many runners were out at 5:30am… guess it’s marathon season!  When i got back he was ready to leave for work, so I had to feed Marin and get her all packed up for daycare.  I got to work and realized I had 3 back to back meetings.  I did manage to get a quick breakfast in.  All of this went into bowl.

• 1 1/2 cups puffins
• soymilk
• banana
• and an unpictured coffee 
• Below is what I packed quickly for lunch (chobani, naturespath granola, and a honey crip apple)

Tonight, I will be induldging.  I like to plan my day out as much as I can when these occasions occur.  I use to not plan at all and just go with the flow (eat whatever I liked), but I soon realized that I didn’t feel all that great.  My body felt heavy, sluggish, and bloated.  So now, I plan.  One thing I do agree with Bethenny Frankel’s book “Naturally Thin” is her quote “Your diet is your bank account.”  This is so true and I try to use this everyday!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So what do you do when you have an evening you know you’ll be “indulging” in?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

See you tonight after the party!

Hello Bloggies!

The rest of the afternoon was spent planning my husband’s (Tim) birthday!  I think I have a pretty good plan!  You’ll see tomorrow!

I’ve been trying to make the effort to use a lot of our pantry items that have been sitting there.  We have food that we have purchased, and never eat.  Tim had chicken marinating, so I grabbed some bread crumbs, broccoli, and a box of potatoes.

Warning!!!!

This dinner did NOT turn out good…. do NOT attempt!!

Here’s what I started with

Yes, that’s Betty Crocker boxed scalloped potatoes.

In an effort to add some fiber to the dish, I decided to add broccoli and make it casserole style.  The end result was not good, appearance and taste

I lightly coated the chicken in bread crumbs, here was the end result

I ended up adding a side salad to add to the meal.  My body is physically satisfied, but my mind isn’t.  Lesson learned!

Off to watch the Biggest Loser!

night

HELLOOOOO!

I had success at Anthropologie!!!  I had two gift cards and a shirt I got for a gift to exchange.  I was able to get a sweater wrap and a tunic top!!  Anthropologie is my favorite store… just wish it wasn’t so expensive!

My meager breakfast did not hold be over well!  By 11:30 I was ravenous!  My husband happens to be off all week.  He was waiting for me to get home so he can run his errands.  I took the baby and whipped up a quick lunch.

• Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burger
• Hummus
• Slice of American Cheese
• Mixed Greens
• All smashed inside an Arnold Sandwich Thin w/ Texas Pete!
• On the side was a sliced MacIntosh Apple

Sliced Apples

I swear there's a black bean burger in there!

For the rest of the afternoon I have research to do for an article.  I have so many magazines to go through!  I always find myself with an extreme amount of health &  fitness magazines.  

What’s your favorite magazine to read?

That I was married to Kenny Chesny!  I was on tour with him and helping organize and autograph session… when I heard a very loud AHHHH GOOOO  come from the baby monitor!  Needless to say I woke up a little confused… but then a huge smile came across my face!  How can I not smile when I wake up to this every morning!

Once Marin was fed, I set off for my morning run.  Have I mentioned how much I LOVE running in this weather!  My pace is much faster with the cool air! 

After my run, I quickly showered and pondered over breakfast ideas.  For some reason I have no appetite this morning… I think it because of the large chocolate chip cookie I consumed after dinner  I am a true intuitive eater… If I’m not hungry, I won’t really eat until I feel hungry.  Knowing that I have a busy morning, I thought it would be best to have something in my tummy.  I decided on whole wheat toast w/ honey & banana.

• 1 slice Nature’s Pride whole wheat bread
• 1 heaping spoonful Trader Joe’s PB
• Drizzle of Harris Teeter Honey 
• 1 perfectly ripe banana
• Good Old Folger’s Coffee (I’m old school like that)

W/ Hazelnut Creamer

Perfectly ripe banana

On the agenda today:

• Get ready for Florida Trip this weekend
• Use two gift certificates from Anthropologie!!!!!
• Blog Work
• Work on freelance article
• Plan for my hubby’s b-day!

Have a great day!!!

Hello!!!  How was your day?  Mine actually went okay…  For those of you that don’t know, After I had my baby I decided to go back to work part-time.  Before Marin was born I worked full-time as Director of Clinical Nutrition at a Hospital in Washington, DC, ran my own private practice in the evenings, and worked as a freelance nutrition writer for two local newspapers.  I knew sacrifices would have to be made after I had my daughter.  My husband works very long hours and often works on the weekends.  My family is in Texas, his is in New York… something had give.  I decided to temporarily give up my private practice.  If my husband (Tim) was working (which is often) then who would watch Marin?  Fortunately for me, the hospital was willing to let me work part-time.  So, that’s where I’m at now.  I work at the hospital part-time and write free-lance on the other days (more on that in a later post).  Today Tim had the day off, and I was off to work.  With the weather cooling off, something comforting sounded good for dinner.  

This morning before I left for work I decided to use our slow cooker for dinner. So Chili it was!  It’s a pretty easy recipe I adapted a few years ago.  Here’s what was included.

• 1 onion chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• olive oil
• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1 large can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 large can diced tomatoes w/ green chili (undrained)
• 1 12oz can or bottle light beer
• 1 can low sodium beef broth
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin

Drizzle pan with olive oil, saute onion, pepper, & garlic until tender.  Add ground beef.  Add diced tomatoes to mixture.  Transfer mixture to slow cooker.  Add kidney beans, beer, broth, and all spices.  Cook on medium all day.

Final Result!

Sorry for the blurry pic… 

The end result came out great!  I’ve always cooked chili in a dutch oven… this way is great!  

Alright… gotta wrap some items of the for evening.

Night!

Good Morning!!!!!  

After a very tiring weekend, I was up at the crack of dawn to get a morning run in.  My hubby doesn’t have to work today, so I like to take advantage and workout when I can.  I LOVE running in Fall weather!!!  I can’t even describe in words how much I love it!  The cool crisp air, no humidity, and running with the sunrise just makes my day!  One thing I have NEVER been able to run without is MUSIC!!  I envy those runners who can run for miles with  nothing else but their own thoughts.  To make my runs fun, I constantly change my playlist.  Here’s what I ran to this morning.

Sirens - Angels & Airwaves

Is There a Ghost  - Band of Horses

Ain’t No Reason  - Brett Dennen

Let the Drummer Kick - Citizen Cope

Shiver - Coldplay

Crush - Dave Matthews Band

Babylon  - David Gray

Cath.. - Death Cab for Cutie

The Sound Of Settling - Death Cab For Cutie

Dawn of the Dead - Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Rock And Roll - Eric Hutchinson

Two Sisters - Fiction Plane

Learn to Fly  - Foo Fighters

Beautiful - G. Love

How the Day Sounds - Greg Laswell

That It Moves - Greg Laswell

Under the Influence - James Morrison

Brand New Day - Joshua Radin

Sky (feat. Ingrid Michaelson) - Joshua Radin

Undeniable - Mat Kearney

Missed the Boat - Modest Mouse

Starlight - Muse

Weightless - Nada Surf

About Mr. Brown - O.A.R.

For Us - Pete Yorn

Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John

Do the Panic - Phantom Planet

1901 - Phoenix  

Lasso - Phoenix

Rome - Phoenix

Girlfriend - Phoenix

You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne

Trouble - Ray LaMontagne

Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne

Can’t Go Back Now - The Weepies

If you haven’t heard of these artists… check them out, it’s great running music!

Fuel after my run was a bowl of Barbara’s Puffins, Banana, & Soy Milk (my camera is down so no pics… sorry).

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY:

Live from your heart, it will never steer you wrong. 

(from the wrapper of the Dove Dark Chocolate Promise I ate after breakfast – Yes, I eat a piece of chocolate after each meal)

Have a great day!!

Hola!  This morning I woke up in the mood for a Mexican dinner.  My mother is from Mexico and enchiladas are her specialty (and my favorite!).  They were on my mind for dinner, but I decided to venture out for a healthier option.  Where I’m from in Texas “King Ranch Casserole” is pretty popular.  It’s basically an enchilada casserole.  I found the recipe and tailored it for a healthier version.  Here’s what it included:

• 1  large onion, chopped
• 1  large green bell pepper, chopped
• olive oil
• 3 cups  chopped cooked chicken ( I boiled boneless skinless chicken breasts)
• 1  (10 3/4-ounce) can red. fat, low sodium cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1  (10 3/4-ounce) can red. fat, low sodium cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1  (10-ounce) can diced tomato and green chiles (undrained)
• 3 tablespoons  chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  garlic powder ( or crushed clove of garlic)
• 1/4  teaspoon  pepper
• 16  (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) reduced fat shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Drizzle about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sauté onion and bell pepper 5 minutes or until tender (add garlic if using fresh clove). Stir in chicken and all other ingredients except for the tortillas; remove from heat.

Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces; layer one-third of tortilla pieces in bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Top with one-third of chicken mixture and 2/3 cup cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes.

The great thing about this dish is that you can freeze the casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.

This casserole was super easy to make.  The best part is we have plenty of leftovers for the week!  I forgot to take a picture of the end result… here’s a picture courtesy of google pictures!  

What Mexican dishes have you tailored and made healthy?