Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Beets abound...

Hey guys...how is everyone?  Sorry for my delayed post.  It seems like I can't get my feet under me on MondaysJ  I feel like I wake up and before I know it, it's dinner time & then off to the gym.  Guess not the WORST way to spend a Monday, huh??  ANYWAY, so I have a double post for you today...

Sunday & Monday Recap:

8:30am:  Breakfast- Naturally "Sorta-Red" Velvet Baked Doughnuts
So I KNEW my next variations of baked doughnuts had to be RED this weekend...but I wanted to make one little adjustment because I just felt weird about giving our littlest chowhound too much fake red food dye.  It just didn't feel right to me at her age.

So, what to do?  Try making red velvet doughnuts with....BEETS!  I roasted a beet for an hour at 450 until it was tender.  Once cooled, I peeled the beet (the skin basically slips off once roasted.  If not, just use a veggie peeler) and then added the chopped beet into a food processor with buttermilk & vinegar.  The acid from those 2 apparently keeps the red REEEEDDDD... (I did this step the night before so it was all ready in the morning)

I added the rest of the ingredients...

And things were looking UP!!! 

Well, until they baked and then they sorta reverted back to the color of cocoa powder...they actually darken as they COOLED...

Buttt....slap a little cream cheese frosting & sweet sprinkles and you get all the flavors of red velvet and a red tint without all the fakey dye...not a bad trade off, right??

Naturally "Sorta Red" Velvet Doughnuts with Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1 beet
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk + 1 tablespoon
  • 3/4 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 large egg, slightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  1. Wrap beet in foil & roast at 450 for 60 minutes or until beet is tender.
  2. Peel beet & puree with buttermilk and vinegar.
  3. Add egg, butter & vanilla extract to beet mixture.
  4. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and baking soda.  Add to beet mixture and stir until just combined.
  5. Fill doughnut molds 2/3 full & bake 10 minutes at 350.  Allow doughnuts to cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.  (makes about 9-10 doughnuts)
  6. Slather with frosting...recipe below
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4-5 tablespoons heavy cream
  1. Combine ingredients (adding heavy cream to reach desired consistency.)
  2. Slather on doughnuts
  3. E-A-T!!!!!

12:00pm:  Lunch- Leftover slice of pepperoni pizza 
I know I had a few tortilla chips & a Brownie Mix truffle in the afternoon...but no 'solid snacks' that I can think of.  Not the best eating plan, but oh well... it was the weekendJ

Because of my 'bad planned' afternoon, I was STARVING by the time dinner hit the table.  Thankfully this dinner took 12 seconds to make and yet I STILL only managed to get a picture of this pot.  Opps...

Well, and THIS little pesto face trying gnocchi for the first timeJ  I want to bite her little arms in this pictureJ

We also caught up on our horror movies and Netflixed Paranormal Activity 4. (which always seems to be released RIGHT around Valentines day...appropriate for usJ)  
After the DISMAL 3rd installation, I was NOT expecting much...but it actually was really good!  Sometimes I find people just forebodingly standing around MUCH more terrifying than the blatant scares.  (although..how many more of these are they going to make before they actually explain what's going on???)

Monday Recap:

9:30am:  Multigrain waffle with butter & flax...
Yes...the RETURN of the waffle.  I know...don't get too excitedJ

11:30am:  Lunch- Hummus with pita chips

3:00pm:  Snack- Strawberries & Dark Chocolate almonds  
I went from FINE to STARVING in .4 seconds and tried to grab the quickest things that I knew would be filling.  Sometimes it's SOOOOOOO easy to grab the junk food when you're looking for something quick...but this healthy snack took all of 3 seconds to wash the berries & measure out the almonds.  When you get that PASTSTARVING thing, try to take a breath and realize what is going to FILL you up the quickest...not just what is the quickest to grab.  The protein from the almonds & volume from the berries had me full in no time.

5:30pm:  Beet RED Salad J
Yes...one LAST beet recipe for the weekJ hahahahahahaha...   This time I peeled & sliced the beets, drizzled em with olive oil & roasted at 350 for 30 minutes.  They came perfectly crisp on the edges and chewy center.  

Also in the mix:
  • Spinach
  • 1/2 diced avocado
  • Handful diced & toasted almonds
  • Feta cheese 

This may have been one of my favorite salads EVVVVVVEEEEERRRRR.  The sweet & chewy roasted beets, cool avocado, crunchy walnuts & salty feta = too die for!  And thanks to the olive oil drizzled beets & creamy avocado, this was a no-dressing-needed salad.  Always a bonus.. 

6:30-8:00pm:  Beginners Power Yoga
My absolute proudest moment of the day (week, month...) may have been that I FINALLLLLLLLLLY learned how to balance a headstand in yoga class last night!!! 
HP_216_SalambaSirsasana_248
It has taken me YEARS to get my body to finally "CLICK" and understand how to do this without actually putting the pressure on my head & crunching my neck.  Finally my arms understood how to strengthen as a base and support my 'stand.  I almost cried right there on my mat...it was one pose I NEVER thought I'd get.  And like my teacher said: "Just cause you have it this week, doesn't mean it's going to be perfect next.  So don't put any negativity in it."  Pretty good advice for LIFE, no?  
I. LOVE. YOGA!  

 8:30pm:  Dessert- No sugar added Rice Pudding
I was so giddy from class, I just HAD to give myself a little treatJ  And I love this No Sugar Added Kozy Shack pudding because it's no sugar added...NOT 'sweetened with chemicals.'  (now if I can only quit that damn coffee creamer!!J)

Alright folks...that was a lot for one day!  Hope you have a great Tuesday.

(and ummm...did anyone else hear the rumors of another possible snow storm in Jersey on the 17th?? Squeeeeeeeeel!)

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