Powerhouse...

Morning everyone!  How ya'll doin??  Things are good around here.  Who else can't believe it's the LAST week of AUGUST??  This August has been the mildest I can EVER remember (mid-80 temps/low humidity), that I could ALMOST tolerate another month of this.  ALMOST.  Let's not get too crazy here...my head is already swirling for what 'football appropriate food' I'm going to make on Saturday to kick-off Scott's favorite time of year:  College Football seasonJ

Anyway, to quickly recap our weekend, we have:  

A trip to the farmer's market on Saturday morning where Katie & I shared another bacon, brie & peach quesadilla...(she gave a big "MMMM" when she got a bite of bacon.  I was so proud!J)

A stock up on all of the pretty colors of summer.  My mind ALSO keeps swirling of unique ways to enjoy all this good stuff since the season is going to quickly start winding down.

A dinner Saturday night at Woody's in Seabright (an area still terribly affected by Hurricane Sandy).  I forgot my camera, but my friend caught 1 photo of her husband and I along with our dueling (TO DIE FOR) salted caramel brownie sundaes....which came after our dueling rounds of shredded chicken burritos & Dr. PeppersJ  

We were #twinningJ

And we finished up the weekend on the beach at my Mother-in-law's shore house...

On an absolutely PERFECT day.  Not a cloud in the sky as far as the eye could see.  (I mean, not that we could really see since we spent most of the day staring at this HOT PINK bathing suit running to and fro ALL OVER THE PLACE!J)

And there were lots of good eats in between.  You'll just have to trust me on that oneJ  So I was SUPER ready to get 'back to the grind' yesterday!

Monday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer & cinnamon

10:00am:  Breakfast- Apple Crumb Vitatop

Which, I also shared along with Katie...who enjoyed being fed while watching Sesame StreetJ  Ahhh...the life!

12:30pm:  Lunch- Pineapple Chobani

3:00pm:  Snack- 1 small bowl Hummus chips

5:30pm:  Dinner- Kale salad with peach dressing

Yep...being the last week of August, I wanted to go FULL BLOWN summer with this salad, right down to the dressing.  Which I got a little help from one of the gems from this time of year:

• 3/4 diced peach (I saved the rest from the top of the salad)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• salt
• Enough water to create a smooth consistency

Whip all the ingredients together in a mini food processor until smooth.  (ps-I added fresh basil, mainly cause it was staring at me from the counter, but I didn't really think it enhanced the dressing too much...so it's an easy 'skip'.) 

I diced the kale VERY finely, mixed in the dressing & piled on the rest of the ingredients...

• Grilled chicken, coated in Montreal Steak Seasoning
• Grilled corn, 'de-eared'
• Leftover diced peach
• 1/2 diced avocado
• Shredded Cotija cheese

Smokey chicken & juicy peaches, salty cotija & sweet corn, creamy avocado & sturdy kale and a sweet-ish & fresh dressing to tie it all together makes this salad a taste & texture POWERHOUSE!

Not to mention delicious and SUPER healthy.  Scott requested MORE kale salads after trying this one.  They just feel 'extra hearty' compared to light & water-y lettuce.  Try out these tips and THESE toppings you'll have no problems!  

6:30-8:00pm:  Beginners Power Yoga

I was Capital B- BEAT UP last night!  Not sure if it was from helping my cousin move on Saturday, getting beatin up by the ocean or chasing Katie in sand all day on SundayJ  Or all of the aboveJ  But we went to simply STAND UP after our warm up last night and that ALONE was...CHALLENGINGJ  

Well, as soon as I hit PUBLISH on this post I'm off to pack up Katie for another day at my MIL's shore house.  Leave it to me to pack in ALL of the summer funness into its LAST 'official' weekJ hahahahahhaa

Have a great Tuesday, everyone! 

The same & different....

Wednesday & Thursday Recap:

Hey guys, sorry for the delay in post.  The good part?  Both Tuesday & Wednesday looked nearly identical, so you weren't missin too muchJ

Both days started with the same breakfast & lunch of banana chocolate chip Vitatops & Blended coconut yogurt...

But I DO have a new snack to share with you.  My Mom gave me these new Kashi Hummus chips to try and they are perfect and tasty snack for when a salt craving hits...

...all with the added bonus of protein from the chickpeas!

And at 120 calories for 27 chips, they are certainly a HEARTY snack.  I had half of the serving amount and it was more than enough for a quick afternoon bite. 

Anyway, back to dinner...and one that was so good that we had the leftovers again last night!  That may look like an ordinary pulled chicken sandwich, but I bet you'll never guess the 'secret ingredient'...

MANGO!!!  

Pulled Chicken with Mango BBQ Sauce to be exactJ

You can buy pureed mango at the store to cut out this first step, but honestly it really only added about 10 minutes to my prep times, so it wasn't too much of a big deal.  A quick way I cut a mango is to first slice off the 2 sides that are around the center pit...

Next, I dice the fruit into segments, leaving the skin in tact... 

...and then just take a spoon or knife and scoop out the segments... 

WALLAH! 

I tossed the mango segments into the food processor along with about 2 tablespoons of water and pulsed until smooth...or at least mostly smooth.  A few chunks of mango in there is no big deal.

2 mangos will produce a little over 1 cup of puree...

Although this may not be all too accurate seeing as how I found out Katie is a REALLY big fan of mango.  She was eating it way faster than I could even chop it upJ

 Anyway, I added the mango puree to the slow cooker along with:

• 1 diced onion
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 1/4 cup light molasses
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• Sprinkles of salt, ginger, cumin, garlic & onion powder

Mix everything together and add the chicken breast.

I cooked my chicken on low for about 5-6 hours until it was cooked through.  I then took about 1 1/2 cups of the liquid and let it simmer in saucepan on the stove on low heat for about 15 minutes, or until it thickens up. (a good indication its ready is when it coats the back of a spoon)

Let it sit for a few minutes to thicken up while it cools.

While the sauce is simmering, give the chicken a quick shred...which should be super easy since it nearly fell apart with a mere tap of the fork.

Next, pile the chicken on some hamburger buns and top with a cheese of your choice.  Provolone or smoked gouda work great here!

Let the cheese broil for a few minutes to melt, remove from oven, top with some MORE of that great Mango BBQ sauce and DEVOUR! 

A kiss of sweet & smokey from the mango BBQ sauce, gooey cheese and tender pulled chicken and this dinner was ACES!  And it even got better the longer it sat (as evident by our EXCELLENT leftovers yesterday!) 

 I had served it up with a quick 'slaw' made of cabbage, carrots, diced onion and a little vinegar & lemon juice.  I planned on eating it ON TOP of the sandwich...but after a few bites, I decided I liked my sandwich just simple to enjoy all the yummy flavors to the fullest!

However, we did have ONE slaw fan in the houseJ  Katie enjoyed herself 2 servings worthJ 

She also inhaled our 'other' side dish...Corn on the cob!  (I think she even took a few nibbles of the husk.  Opppss....oh well, we've all been thereJ)

Corn made even more awesome by another of our 'great gifts from Austin'.  This special corn salt is made from a mix of chili powder, dehydrated lime juice & salt... 

What is it about lime that just makes the flavor of corn EXPLODE????  This simple seasoning just brought corn from great to reallllllllllllllllllllllllly great! 

So there ya go...a dinner so good that it was enjoyed TWO days in a rowJ  The one BIG difference from Tuesday to Wednesday, though?  My workout schedule!

Tuesday:  20 minutes circle pilates  (and Dance MomsJ)

Wednesday:  1+ hour power yoga (DRENCHED IN SWEAT!), 1 hour Body Jam (even MORE sweat), 1+ hour Kundalini yoga.  That's what I call a full day of body AND mind workoutsJ hahahahahahaha

And speaking of yoga, I had to laugh when I spied Katie watching "Sesame Street" this morning in near-perfect "Cobra pose"...

Point toes and allJ  That's my yoga girlJ hahahahahhaa

Alright, well let me scoot off.  Hope you have a good one (and never fear, the weekend is not too far away!!)

Crazy & calm...

Monday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with cinnamon & creamer

9:30am:  Breakfast- Banana Chocolate Chip Vitatop

12:30pm:  Lunch- Coconut Blended Yogurt 

I have no idea what is "blended" about this yogurt except that it's a little thinner & a little sweeter, but HOT DAMN, I don't care!  These things are gooooooooooooooooooooood!  150 calories, 1 gram of fat and 100% delicious.  This doesn't even need any 'blend ins' since it's dotted with little bits of coconut to give it just enough texture.  Going to the store to CLEAN THESE UP since they're on sale this week!

Katie, ummmmmm, subtly enjoyed her own yogurt for lunch yesterday as well... 

Along with a bath shortly thereafterJ

4:00pm:  Snack- Cherries 

5:30pm:  Dinner- Fried Ricotta with Roasted Tomatoes

As soon as I saw this recipe on Pinterest last week, I KNEW it was going on the menu ASAP.  It just seemed so classic Italian with it's simple, fuss-free ingredients.  And umm...it also helped that I *ahem* didn't make it to the grocery store yesterday and I just happened to have everything I would need to make these on handJ

First, about a half hour before you're about to cook, toss some grape tomatoes (and a few diced cloves of garlic) onto a foil lined baking sheet & drizzle with a little olive oil, salt & pepper.  Toss in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to shrivel & burst.

Once the tomatoes are just about ready, you can start your ricotta mix: 

• 2 cups part-skim ricotta
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour 
• Salt & pepper
• Any other seasoning you'd like....I used garlic powder & thyme since I had them on hand.

Give it a quick mix to combine all of the ingredients and toss in the fridge until you're ready to cook.

Once you're ready, spray a skillet with nonstick spray (I use an olive oil based one from Trader Joe's) and drop ricotta mix in rounds over medium heat.... 

Let them cook until you see the edges turned slightly brown (about 3-4 minutes) and QUICKLY flip to cook of the reverse side.

Some flipped well...and others?  Well....maybe not so well.

But it's OK cause once they hit the plate, you can just patch em up to make them look presentableJ  See??

ANYWAYS...once they are off the skillet, sprinkle em with salt & little nutmeg and set aside.

While the ricotta is cooking, I quickly diced up 1/2 an onion and drizzled it with some white balsamic and a sprinkle of salt to cut the strong onion taste just a bit.   

A few minutes before serving, toss the whole pan of roasted tomatoes in with the onions and give it all a quick mix...

Then it's time to plate the ricotta...

And top with those glorious tomatoes... 

The ricotta 'fritters' were awesome because they had so few 'extra' ingredients that it really had a clean & crisp (NOT HEAVY) taste...but those tomatoes, folks, just put it over the top!  Not sure if it was the summer season or the roasting, but they were SUPER SWEET punctuated with a little tang from the balsamic onions and sweet roasted garlic.  DO NOT SKIP THEM!  They REALLY made the dish.  And what also made the dish was that aside from the extra few minutes it took to roast the tomatoes...this meal came together in about 20 minutes.  AKA-try this tonight!

6:30-9:15pm:  Beginners Power & Gentle Yoga

Yep, another 2 for 1 yoga night for meJ (it also gives Scott extra motivation to squeeze in his own work out since I'm not home...so it's a triple bonusJ) The power class was REALLY active & tough last night while the gentle flew by in a blink.  Perfect combo of crazy & calmJ

Well, the ole mercury is on the rise in Jersey today.  Farewell chili on the sun porch nights...even if HOPEFULLY you'll be back fairly sooooooooooooooonJ  Until then, I guess I should whip up another popsicle recipe to 'embrace the summer' while it lasts (that's an excuse.  I mean, right??)

Have a great Tuesday!!